Sweet 16, everybody! Enjoy, and please R&R!
Chapter 16
"I knew that Freelancers could be stupid, but this really takes the cake."
North Dakota gasped as a deluge of cold water splashed across his body, and he jolted upright in the cot. Julius stood above him, holding a wooden bucket and scowling, while York sat in another cot in a plain room only decorated with the banners that they had seen before.
"We were just trying to-" North started, but Julius cut across him.
"I know EXACTLY why you're here, North, and the Director was an idiot to send you three along," the older man snarled, and North lurched back in surprise at the medic's harsh tone. Then he took a closer look at what Julius was wearing: black HAYABUSA armor with alternating gold and red shoulder and knee pads. He carried two magnums at his side in holsters and two separate daggers in sheaths. He, like York and North, wore no helmet.
"Can you tell us what's going on here?" York asked quietly, and Julius' attention was diverted to the tan Freelancer.
"Just so that you can report back to the Director when we give you back to Project: Freelancer?" Julius scoffed. "No chance."
"It's not like we're going to tell him!" York protested. "We, personally, want to know what's going on with Dawn and why she needs to go back to her own planet."
"I can attest to that," came a female voice, and a woman in black MJOLNIR armor came out from under the blue banner with the constellation that concealed a separate room. She wore no helmet, and thus her jaunty blonde hair was free to flow against her shoulders. Intense green eyes stared at the medic, then at the other Freelancers, as if daring them to ask who she was. There was no need, really: the harsh voice and intense gaze suited Agent Texas quite well.
"You wouldn't understand, being outsiders…" Julius started, but the stares from the Freelancers caused the man to sigh and sit on the edge of North's bed, tiredly. "I can try and explain it to you, but some of these things, you can't understand."
"I told you of Dawn's early history on Terra Beta, after she and her mother left Reach before the attack by the Covenant. Up until her mother's death, everything seemed to run so smoothly. Then, the government set up by her mother began to fall apart with corruption and violence. Pretty soon, most of the UNSC officials that had been part of the old government had rallied under one person: a ruthless man by the name of Kao Jin. Once a minister, Jin rose to power by massacring entire towns, burning them to the ground, and threatening anyone else who opposed him with the same fate. You have to understand, these were very dark times in our planet's history," Julius paused, looking around. "At this point, we were becoming a feudal system, with two distinct groups."
"The people that had the courage or had the luck not to be attacked by Kao Jin again moved to the provinces where five distinct…I suppose you could call them 'warlords', were stationed. They were commonly known as the Operators, 'cause they helped operate the rebel group that went against Kao Jin. These Operators weren't called by their normal names out of respect, and were instead given titles that could be passed on in the events of their deaths: Blue Andromeda, White Dragon, Green Solitude, Yellow Jacket, Red Stallion, and-"
"Black Phoenix?" North interrupted, looking to the black banner with the white bird in flight.
"Yes. Dawn became the Black Phoenix, one of the most popular of the Operators, and also one of the most vicious. While Blue Andromeda, Green Solitude, and Yellow Jacket were quite peaceful and were not as accustomed to the idea of war, it was the Red Stallion, White Dragon, and Black Phoenix that were prepared to take on Kao Jin should he threaten the people who had come to the Operators for safety. When Kao Jin attacked the Operators' provinces, White Dragon, Red Stallion, and Black Dragon would defend the borders. Pretty soon, Kao Jin was drawing the attention of the UNSC, and he teamed up with a budding Insurrectionist group to make himself stronger. It looked like the two forces would tear each other apart."
"Didn't you say that Dawn's niece was taken prisoner by the Insurrectionists sometime during this?" North asked.
"Yes. Those were the Three Days Wars. When that happened, Dawn went on a rampage with the Operators, their armies, and some of Jin's forces that had abandoned him after he kidnapped a girl. It was three days of non-stop fighting, and it only ended when Jessa was rescued and Jin was driven from society. He swore that he'd come back with the rest of the Insurrectionists someday and kill Dawn and her family, and he's been living in the wild of Terra Beta all these years…until now, at least."
"Has this guy come out before?" Tex asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"No, but his son has. You met him on the Mother of Invention, the one called Kilt."
"THAT was Jin's son?" York exclaimed angrily, and Julius held his hands up in defense.
"Easy there. In all honesty, none of those from our branch of the Outer Colonies except for Dawn realized who he was, and she wouldn't say anything so that we didn't draw attention to the conflict. Besides, Texas took care of him for us. Our main purpose was to get into the UNSC so that Terra Beta and the surrounding colonies in our area of the galaxy could gain independence. We refer to ourselves as the IAOC, the Independent Alliance of Outer Colonies."
"So, if you were working with this IAOC, why were you involved in Project: Freelancer?" Texas asked suspiciously, remembering the conversation between the two soldiers on the Pelican some hours earlier.
"It was a means to be able to reach the UNSC while within their territory. To the Director and the other members of the UNSC Oversight Subcommittee, we were just a batch of militia volunteers from a group of Outer Colonies that so few people remember to exist. We get jack from the UNSC, and when we do, it's all either so outdated or so broken that we have to scrap it. To us, we'd be better off as our own governing body." Julius' last few words about the UNSC were deep and bitter, like he harbored a deep grudge for them, which he probably did. Given Terra Beta's history, it sounded like no one in that particular group of colonies really trusted the UNSC because so many of their former leaders had been UNSC politicians.
"Why are you the one telling us this? Why isn't Dawn here to explain it?" North asked, and Julius tensed.
"Lots of people on board this ship are…less than happy with the idea of Dawn and a bunch of her people working with the UNSC, and even less so now that you guys snuck on board. To White Dragon, you guys being here is grounds for execution." The Freelancers bristled at the threat made by this man who didn't even know them. "Now, Dawn's working it out so that you can stay until we can find a way to get you back to Freelancer."
"Do you think that talking's going to help at all?" York asked doubtfully, and Julius looked at him incredulously.
"Are you crazy?! With those two people, words don't work so well if you want to get anything done. They're fighting it out right now, a fight to the death."
"Okay…wait, WHAT?!"
"Master, our scouts have searched the ruins of Charum Hakkor as you requested," a gravelly female voice spoke into the white light of the Command center, where the six Forerunners sat on their Gravity thrones. The speaker, garbed in white armor and a white faceless mask, knelt before her superiors. "There is no sign of any sort of technology that would allow us to find our target."
"You are certain that you checked ALL of the ruins, even the most decrepit Precursor ones?" the deep growl of Eruption of Violent Salvation interrogated the lieutenant that spoke. Gold eyes narrowed in response from the white-garbed stranger.
"Yes sir. I would NEVER leave anything unchecked," she hissed in response, dipping her head lower in reverence and submission.
"Have the Prophet of Benevolence send more Covenant forces to check the surrounding planets," Father snapped his orders. "I want any sign of our target's last whereabouts, and where she might move to next."
"Of course, my lord," the Lieutenant responded with one last deep bow before turning on her heels and striding out of the chamber.
"Our impending victory grows closer with each day, my sons," Father chuckled, and they all turned to stare at him. "Though, we must always remain strong in our resolve to expand our might once again. Bloody Surrender, are you ready for your next mutation?"
"I am, Father," his son responded eagerly, and three of his four brothers leaned forward eagerly.
"Then, we shall retire to the Ceremonial Room. Except YOU, Blessed Victory," Father snapped at his fourth son, who cringed at his father's tone. "You shall remain here and oversee the continuation of our Project. That is your punishment."
"…Yes, Father," Victory snarled as his family left, and he sighed as schematic after schematic flared open in front of him, while a Monitor approached after his family had retreated.
"You really should not provoke your father's temper in such a manner," the construct said in a rather oily, sweet voice, like oversweet nectar from a rotting fruit.
"I did not ask for your council, Mendicant Bias," Blessed Victory snarled, and the Monitor shied away. "Leave me in peace to obey my father's commands."
"As you wish, my lord," the ancilla 'bowed' its metal body before retreating from the room again, to leave Blessed Victory to brood and reflect on his thoughts.
Any of you recognizing a new character with our Forerunner enemies? The plot continues to thicken, like a good soup...that was a very Caboose statement.
Anyways, I appreciate the reviews that you're leaving, so keep it up!
Sincerely,
anna1795