West Virginia sat straight up as she woke from her dream turned nightmare. West was covered in a cold sweat, and the strands of her hair that were actually long enough to cling to her neck were. West brushed them off and felt the AI storage unit constructed into her neck. She gasped for air as she grabbed onto her pounding heart.
West hadn't had a dream in months. In fact, she hadn't had a dream since Phi was still with her. She knew that with an AI in her head, dreams became more frequent between Freelancers. But it affected her so much that she couldn't dream without one.
West decided that Delta had caused the weird dream. She was not the happiest person to be with now, and even Delta knew that with his logic and experiences with her during Project Freelancer. He appeared at her with the hologram form. A man sized green being sat on the couch next to West, watching her intently with holographic emerald green eyes. His technological patterns were similar to Phi's, and West had trouble looking at him.
"What the hell was that?" West demanded Delta as soon as she could breath.
"It seems that your subconscious is susceptible to being manipulated by AIs. While you were passed out, I accidentally corrupted your thoughts with files of my memory banks. If I had known about that, I would not have caused this deliberately." Delta stated; he tapped his fingers together like a therapist would have done.
"What?" West asked deadly serious. She didn't understand half of what he said.
"My memories were intertwined with your dreams." Delta simplified.
"I figured that part out." West told him, "But who the hell was that in my dream?"
"Can you please elaborate? I have no idea which of my memory files has been leaked." Delta said.
"There was this voice, who just spoke nonsense. But he talked about Agent Texas a lot." West picked from her fading memory of the dream.
"That does not give me sufficient information."
"I can't really remember much other than that . . . wait," West said after she remembered something, "I remember the name Caboose."
Delta became silent as he either analyzed the given data, or if he was hesitant from telling West what he knew. West finally took a good look at him to see small, digital beads of sweat forming on Delta. West briefly questioned if that was possible for an AI to do, just before she stood up to look down at the green hologram man.
"Delta?" West demanded, her voice low but as ferocious as a Lion's growl.
Delta sighed before answering. "After York had been killed in a fire fight between Wyoming and Texas, Agent Washington had recovered my programming. His initial intention was to transfer myself into Command. However, difficulties arose and I was stolen by South Dakota."
"That bitch." West interrupted with blind fury. She had never liked South, and this just pushed her harder over the edge. "I always thought that she was jealous of us because she didn't get an AI."
"Please, Agent West Virginia." Delta scolded, much like York had done a thousand times. And naturally, West Virginia complied without a second thought. "In a series of events that are unrelated to the current situation, I was entrusted with the care of a simulation soldier named Michael J. Caboose."
"Really? Is that all?" West sighed with relief. "You made it sound like a big problem that affected me and all of my friends who are now dead."
Delta was hesitantly silent again. Small beads of holographic sweat formed again, giving Delta a green disco ball effect on the walls. West just looked at him with a mixture of curiosity, fright, and spiraling anger. She crossed her arms and waited for him to spill the beans.
"During my time with Caboose, I had implanted important information inside of his mind for the sole purpose of another AI to retrieve that information off record. It was information that was classified and was not permitted to be released to Freelancers." Delta said.
Delta stood up from the couch and walked over to the faulty radio and studied it for a long minute. He put a green hand through the radio. West rose one of her eyebrows as she watched him. West didn't know if he was trying to pick the radio up, or if he was trying to implant himself in the thing. Either way, it didn't work for Delta.
"The information had affected all of the Freelancers and all of their AIs. This includes both you and Phi. My information had led to the deaths of some Freelancers, including Agent Washington. And for that, I regret my decision." Delta said. "If I retrieve the stored information, I can destroy it before it causes any other predicaments."
"Why can't you just destroy it now?" West asked solemnly, finally drawn into how serious this was.
"Sadly, Artificial Intelligence constructs do not work that way. I had to remove almost all knowledge of the classified information to transfer over to Caboose's mind. If I delete what I do have, I will lose all memory of where most of it lies. This will result in those files being lost forever until some other AI finds them. And that information may not be intended for that AI." Delta said.
"So, we have to find this Caboose before someone else does." West put together. "Or else information, that wiped out the Freelancer Project and set the human race's advantages in an intergalactic war back by at least two decades, could cause an the downfall of the human race and its allies."
"That is correct." Delta stated.
"And exactly how are we supposed to find this one simulation soldier out of the millions left stranded by Command?" West asked as she headed for the kitchen.
Delta curiously watched West look for another can of old beans. She found one and popped it open, "I've been listening to some strands of information. From what I can tell, the Project Freelancer part of Command has been shut down by the UNSC. It's being controlled by other divisions; most of them are Project Freelancer's rivals, the Archytas Program being the main one. Those bastards . . ."
West took a couple handfuls of beans before finishing her rant. She ate like a pig, but Delta didn't seem to notice this fact.
"There's no way for us to find this Caboose." West said through mouthfuls.
"With what I can remember from my time with Private Caboose, he has been known to eradicate his own team members and others who are trying to help him. In other terms, Friendly Fire." Delta said.
"And how the hell is that supposed to help us?" West asked.
"Caboose's team killings had rewarded him with his own publicly accessible page in Command's files. It was made for Command's operatives to record his team kills at a more simple pace. This file has a link to the entire omnibus of Caboose's files. If my data banks are correct, even UNSC operatives could access his files." Delta said as he stood up and studied the abandoned base's computer system. "It even has a shortcut to open it up. If only I could retrieve what the shortcut was, for I seem to have lost it with our last interaction."
"I think that I can remember it." West remembered that little part from her dream that still echoed in her ears. "Control F+U."
Delta stood silent for a couple seconds, pondering to see if that was right. Delta stiffly nodded and then he shut off his holographic form. The light returned to the dim grey. West ate the rest of her beans in silence as Delta rearranged his thoughts.
It was good to have an AI back, West thought, but Delta just isn't the same as Phi. The next AI to be fixed will be Phi, she decided. Delta was just too cold and logical.
"I need a working computer to go through Caboose's files." Delta said.
West sighed and headed into one of the unused bedrooms. She didn't use it because it smelled like diseased rodents and rotting brain matter. But she did store some of her equipment in the room.
"So that means that we need to leave my hiding place." West concluded.
West Virginia could feel Delta nodding in her head. She sighed again and felt her way to the metallic closet. West opened it up and could faintly see the outline of her stolen armor. She grabbed what she could and carried it into the Rec. Room. With the help of the Mongoose's light, West began to put the armor on.
She sat on the ground and put the black under armor over her tank top and shorts. It clung to her skin tightly, and if she wasn't trained to ignore it, she would have been freaking out. If felt like a python was trying to squeeze the life out of her. West slowly pulled the black under armor over her arms and tried to push her finders in the appropriate holes.
The under armor was never comfortable, more like excruciatingly unbearable. But it always shoved needed adrenaline in West's system. West soon got the feeling like she was ready to fight. Instinctively, West began to stretch her muscles and began to punch and kick the air, as if it was her opponent.
After her small exercises, West began the other long and boring task of putting the over armor on. She only brought the boot parts with her, so she would have to go back and get the rest. West chewed her lip as she stuck her left foot on the bottom part of the armor shoe. As if it was alive, it compressed against the under armor and stuck to it. She did the same with her right, and the outcome was identical. West felt her feet become heavier, but that was normal to her.
As if like an AI unit herself, West's under armor began to give off a white light in a pattern of turns and twists. This was to help her put her armor on by outlining where the right pieces of armor go, sort of like a child coloring inside of the lines. West was used to this, but Delta wasn't expecting this.
"Is this Agent Carolina's armor?" Delta asked.
"Yeah. I couldn't keep my own armor when I faked my death, and Carolina's armor was unprotected. Actually, it wasn't destroyed like the rest of our armor after we died. I can't believe I was the first one to think of stealing it." West said more to herself than to Delta. "Besides, I can move a lot easier in her armor than I ever could in my own."
"But how didn't Command notice that Agent Carolina's armor was missing, or moving?" Delta pointed out as West continued to put her over armor on.
"Have you noticed that Command only cares for Freelancers who are still alive, or the AI fragments that were left behind? Since I grabbed Carolina's armor about a year after her death, no one bothered to see if her armor was still in the containment cell it was left in. And really, all I had to do was move Carolina's tracking device into another armor of a deceased agent; her twin's." West said.
That seemed to please Delta, because he didn't talk again as West finished putting on Carolina's armor. After the only thing that wasn't covered was her head, the glowing patterns on her under armor dulled down until it wasn't visible.
The suit was heavy, Infact, all Freelancer suits were heavy. But some suits were heavier than others. The small amount of Freelancers that were trained to hold big guns and turrets were given heftier armor that weighed more than others. This was to protect them against larger attacks that only they could survive in. But this made them less agile and flexible. West remembered that agent Maine was granted permission to use that armor.
And then there were Freelancers that were given armor that could be flexible enough for hand to hand combat, but still be able to take a bullet or a two. However, this kind of armor had a weakness. It was much more susceptible to heavy damage that would lead to fatalities. In other words, big guns like sniper rifles were deadly in comparison to the hefty armor. This was the kind Carolina had.
West Virginia, like most Freelancers, got the Mark VI standard issue. It was combination between the heavy and the light armor, both able to bend and carry heavy equipment. Mark VI armor was able to fight in hand to hand, but to survive a stream of bullets. But West could never move as fast as Carolina, or have enough protection against enemy fire as Maine.
But now that she had Carolina's armor, she could never imagine going into battle with something that was like being in a drunken elephant. West remembered having to battle against her armor to move where she wanted to. But now she was like a ninja in the dark: unnoticed.
"Are you ready Delta?" West asked the AI unit.
"All equipments are functioning properly and are at full capacity." Delta informed.
"And my enhancement?" West asked.
"Working properly and efficiently." Delta said.
"Do me a favor and turn my enhancement off by twenty percent." West ordered.
"Understood. Sensitivity enhancement is now operating at eighty percent power." Delta stated.
West nodded and put Carolina's helmet on. The world went dark for a second until the helmet's electronic devices automatically turned on. The once dark room was lit up by her built in flashlight. A temperature gage and clock appeared in the upper right corner of West's vision.
Her health status appeared in the lower left corner of her vision and she took in account at how low it was. West knew slowly that her armor would repair her weakened body a bit. But any damage she took would have heavy consequences to her health. She also knew that a medic should look into her health. But West had a bad history of Medics early during Project Freelancer. She forced herself to ignore that last thought. Right now, she needed to focus on finding an operational computer and locate a simulation soldier named Caboose.
West climbed onto the beaten up Mongoose and slowly drove it around the base's hallways and towards the sealed door. Against her better judgment, West pushed the button on the wall. That button unsealed the door and it opened to unleash a fierce wind and an onslaught of rain drops. The force of the wind slightly pushed the Mongoose back, but West throttled the gas and her vehicle shot forward into the green world.
It was difficult driving on the ragged, slippery ground. Occasionally, the Mongoose's wheels would slip and it would rotate the whole vehicle. West frequently swore aloud when this happened. She put all of her focus on trying to get out of the rainforest. She checked her map in the helmet. About twenty miles north, northwest, there was a break in the vegetation that formed into a road.
West headed into that direction, knowing that that was her way into the forest months ago, and her way out. If it was like before, the road would be deserted. And if she followed that road, she would eventually come into contact of an equally deserted toll booth. A toll booth with a computer.
West weaved through trees and rocks, just barely missing them by inches. Ferns and other shrubbery whipped at her, slashing at her armor protected arms and legs. There was so much moss that everything seemed to meld together. And it didn't help that she was almost blinded from the assaulting rain. Even with her armor enhancement, she couldn't see beyond five feet in front of her. This made West a bit nervous, but she shoved these feelings down and continued down the nonexistent road she was following.
West continued to drive through the forest, going at speeds that others would deem crazy in this kind of weather. But West didn't realize that, she thought she was going at a sane speed. It didn't hit her at all until she hit a disfigured root that was sticking out of the ground. The root was just sturdy and tall enough to stop the Mongoose at full speed.
But it wasn't tall enough to stop West Virginia from flying out of her seat at full speed. She shot off of the now motionless Mongoose and hit the tree that the stupid root belonged to straight on the head and at full force. A huge burst of pain shot through her body.
West screamed bloody murder as she felt to the ground. West felt like a bullet that had been shattered after it was shot. West had felt this amount of searing pain before, but that was a long, long time ago. When she was healthy and had help; not on the brink of death and supposedly KIA. West continued to scream in the silent forest, which had just conveniently decided to stop raining as hard.
"Bloody murder!" West screeched through the pain. "Bloody murder!"
"Please, Agent West Virginia, stop screaming, someone may hear you. You can give away our position." Delta said between the girl's shrieks of agony.
West understood immediately and quieted down. She tried to cradle her head, but she seemed to lose function of her arms, as they hung useless at her side. It was then that she actually began to feel scared. She had learned early on in her training that losing control of limbs meant that something was horribly wrong.
"Delta, convert all energy. . . from the Sensitivity enhancement into . . . the armor's standard. . . healing unit." West ordered through her painfully gritted teeth.
"Converting energy in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." Delta counted down.
All of a sudden, at least half of the pain had disappeared from her head. But there was still too much pain to do anything but moan. West still couldn't move her arms from where they rested. However, her legs were movable, and she tried to move away from the now cracked tree.
"What's the progress?" West muttered with the only strength she had left.
"Healing units were undamaged and are working at full capacity. However, progress is slow. A medic would be most applicable in this situation. A recovery beacon is being sent to Command at this moment." Delta stated allowed.
"No!" West screeched, "No medic, no recovery beacon. I don't exist. Override recovery beacon."
"Recovery beacon overridden. Though I must say, you have been seriously hurt and medical attention should be a priority." Delta said with as much concern as he had for her.
"No way." West said softly, as she was fading fast. "Transfer energy from tracking, clock, and short distance radio to the healing unit. Do it now!"
"Energy transferred successfully. But I think this might be too much power for a standard healing unit. It could shorten it out and leave the suit in armor lock." Delta informed.
"Understood. Revert tracking energy back from the healing unit." West muttered as she sunk into unconsciousness.
"Stay with me, Agent West Virginia. If you fall asleep in your current state, you may fall into a coma." Delta ordered.
But it was too late; she was already lost in a sea of never ending pain.