Ch 12
One month after CT's defection
Six stormed out of the locker room, and grabbed a shotgun in the process. He headed towards the communications room and pulled up all the comm chatter that CT gave to the inni leader.
Suddenly, a knock on the door alerted him. He aimed his shotgun at the door, yelling a warning.
"Busy here!"
"It's important. North wants to show us something." York said.
"Not in the mood. Go on without me." Six said, and lowered the shotgun when he heard York leave the room.
Six went through the chatter the computers recorded. He noticed a recurring pattern, that CT had discovered something about project Freelancer.
"What did you discover?" Six mutters.
"Spartan, you're needed for a viewing. It's important that you participate." The director said, his voice muffled thanks to the steel door.
"Copy that." Six said, as he shut down the computer.
Six opened the door, and followed the director. He headed to the familiar holo room and noticed other freelancers in the observation booth.
"What's going on?" Six asked.
"Delta, you'll administer the test. Gentlemen, if you'll take the floor." The director said.
"Sir, what test are you talking about?" Six asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." The director said.
Six watched as four mini guns appeared onto the floor, all pointed at North. Just as they open fired, a doomed energy shield was activated and protected North.
"As you may recall, North used his equipment in the field on a previous mission." The director said.
"He was able to successfully maintain the deflective shield for 3.4 seconds in order to block an explosive projectile attack." Delta said.
"And managed to not kill himself in the process." The director mused.
"The maneuver only had a 1% chance of survival. Had he done it 999 more times, I'm rather certain he would have been killed." Delta said.
"Hey, I'd rather be lucky than good any day." York said.
"That explains you're a cyclops. You should be dead right now." Six said.
"Delta, reduce shield strength by 50%." The director said.
The shield lost power, and only 4 large points were available to protect North. The turrets began to gyrate, moving above and around North. The critical shield tiles move in line with the turrets.
"Excellent. Reset." The director said. The turrets fell to the ground, and the shield was restored to full power.
"Agent North. Your objective is to eliminate the targets." The director said.
More turrets appeared, and all started firing. North aimed, and fired. Six's 'Spartan time' watched as the energy shield disappeared for a fraction of a second, allowing the bullet to clear the perimeter. The shield returned to full power mili seconds after the bullet left the shield perimeter.
"That was incredible!" Wash said, as North eliminated the targets.
"What did I tell ya?" York asked.
"And you're sure they don't get any bigger?" Wash asked.
"What doesn't get any bigger?" Six asked.
"The AI me and North have. They're not that big." York said.
Couple days later, six ran into Carolina. He was on his way to the gym to exercise, wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
"Hey, Six. You hear about the news?" Carolina asked.
"What news?" Six asked.
"We're supposed to be getting more AI. Where they are coming from, no-one knows." Carolina said.
"Carolina, I have a bad feeling about this. Recently, I was going through the messages that CT gave to the inni leaders. She said that the director was doing something wrong. She claimed he was doing projects that were going to bite him in the ass." Six said.
"What kind of projects?" Carolina asked.
"I don't know. I never found out. But it does give me reason to worry." Six said.
"What kind?" Carolina asked, as they headed to the gym.
"Why would CT suddenly turn tail and head towards the enemy? She knows we'll kill her. There's no reason to risk death, unless there's something you're willing to trade your life for. Whatever intel she has on us, is well worth the risk." Six said.
"Pity. But it has to be done." Carolina said.
Six studied Carolina, now that she wasn't wearing her armor, instead wearing a shirt and yoga pants. She had red hair, green eyes, and pale skin. And she had an attractive figure. Having been a soldier for most of his life, he never stopped to appreciate the finer things in life.
"Six, you okay?" Carolina asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Six replied.
"You looked like you were staring into space." Carolina said.
"Thousand yard stare." Six said, hoping she would buy it. He did see all kinds of hell that would traumatize anyone.
"Sure thing." Carolina said, as she started to stretch. Six stood and watched as Carolina easily pushed herself.
"Were you a gymnast or something?" Six asked.
"No. But I'm a very good hand to hand fighter. I find being agile to be more helpful than having brute strength." Carolina said.
"When fighting the covenant, you'll need both, not just one." Six said.
"You got brute strength. And from what I can tell, you definitely got the agility." Carolina said, as she spread her legs wide open and leaned forward.
"Wow. That's impressive." Six said.
"How about a flexibility contest?" Carolina asked.
"Are you serious?" Six asked, as he removed his helmet.
"Afraid you'll lose?" Carolina teased.
"I'm afraid you'll lose. I'm a super soldier. Whatever you can do, I can do better." Six said.
"Prove it." Carolina said.
Six sat down opposite of Carolina and spread his legs wider than Carolina did, and leaned forward, flat on his stomach.
"Show off. And no guy should do that." Carolina said.
"Here's one." Six said, as he closed his legs and stood up.
In the observation booth, South and Wash watched.
"Funny. The most competitive freelancer, and the most badass freelancer, acting as if they're a couple." Wash said.
South gave Wash an odd look.
"Wow. When did you get philosophical?" South asked.
"Six must be rubbing off." Wash said.
"Well, I doubt that'll last long. You said so yourself. Carolina is the most competitive freelancer in the group. Won't be long until she stabs Six, or anyone of us, in the back." South said.
"Like CT." Wash deadpanned.
Carolina charged Six, only for Six to grab her and easily threw her to the ground. Carolina quickly stood up and circled Six. Six purposely stood in his place, and waited for Carolina to approach his back.
Carolina then looked at Six, noticing his 6 foot 9 inch frame. She barely hit 5 foot 10 inches. With a war cry, she jumped onto Six's back, wrapping her legs around his waist, and trying to wrap her arms around his neck.
"Bad mistake. I weigh 300 without the armor. And you don't have the physical strength to crush my windpipes." Six said, as he reached around and lifted Carolina in front and above him, as if she were a mere piece of paper.
Carolina frowned at the super soldier, angry that he had easily beaten her.
"It is how it is."
Carolina still had one last trick up her sleeve. She pulled her right leg back, and swung it hard against his crotch. Six only grunted a bit.
"You were enhanced, everywhere?" Carolina asked.
"Yes. Including the groin. And I'm still a virgin. Thanks for asking." Six firmly said.
"I didn't need to know that." Carolina said.
"Just covering all the bases." Six said.
"You're not that good at human interaction, are you?" Carolina asked.
"I could say a similar thing about the freelancers." Six said.