(A/N) Hey, sorry this one is going up a little late. Written by the fabulous anna1795, who, if you're anyway familiar with RvB fanfiction, you'll already be familiar with. If not, go check out her work, she's incredible! This chapter is from the eyes of Agent Virginia, and opens the way for some very action-packed chapters that will be following shortly. Watch this space!
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Four - Calm Before the Storm
Agent Virginia
Written by anna1795
"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." - Confucius
To Virginia, the armour that she wore was for protection and security in combat situations. She wasn't like some of the other Freelancers who could be in their armour for days on end, it seemed like. The enclosed metal casing got to her after a few hours and made her feel twitchy. It was hot and dank in the armour, despite climate control systems that could be moderated. She much preferred the outfit that she had changed into for their night off; a set of black sweatpants, a black tank top, and a sweater tied around her waist. A set of weathered, fingerless black gloves adorned her hands as they swung loosely at her side on her way to the training room. York was having a party upstairs in the rec room, but she wasn't in the mood tonight.
"Good evening, Agent Virginia," F.I.L.S.S.' voice crackled over the speaker above the rec room door as Virginia stood in front of it.
"Evening, F.I.L.S.S.," she responded politely. "May I please use the training room this evening?"
"The training room is currently vacant, Agent, but I must discourage your use of the room. You are not dressed in the proper attire for the training programs that you prefer to use,"the ship's AI said gently, like a parent speaking to their child. Virginia tugged open her locker beside the door and extricated a hard case from within.
"I'll be using a different program tonight, F.I.L.S.S.," Virginia responded as she went back to the door. "Just tangible targets and varying environment factors, please."
"Please wait for confirmation…you have been cleared, Agent Virginia. Please be notified that this training session may be recorded to be placed in your file for future review." The door opened to admit her, and Virginia sauntered into the empty room. The table of weapons popped up from the floor, but Virginia ignored them and opened the case she had brought in with her. Tenderly, she scooped up the black fiberglass equipment and set it up, the metallic-based string bringing the fiberglass to a smooth, swan-like curve. She felt along the fiberglass for cracks and nicks in the material, remembering some of the memories that came along with the pauses of the pads of her fingers on the bow.
"Congratulations, sis! You'll be just like Hawkeye!"
"I'm not gonna be some super hero, Jennie. I'm just going to be a soldier."
Slinging the quiver strap around her waist, she stood up straight and called out for F.I.L.S.S. to send in the targets.
"Initiating training session in 3…2…1…round begin."
Clay targets on poles started flying all around the room in random patters, criss-crossing with each other and speeding away just as quickly. Virginia notched an arrow into the bow string, found a target, and let the arrow fly. It struck the target a few inches from the centre and sent the clay flying from the top of the pole. Not satisfied, Virginia drew another arrow and set it into the weapon, pulling the string back as she found another target, and she let the arrow fly.
"Agents, your performance on that last mission was quite satisfactory. Given your parameters, you utilized your unique abilities and executed the given task with proficient results," the Director droned as they stood at attention in a neat line in the briefing room.
"Thank you, sir!" They parroted back. For some reason, the words tasted slightly bitter on Virginia's tongue.
"Counsellor, if you will update the board," the bespectacled man nodded to the Counselor, who made a few notes on his electronic pad and looked up at the screen. They all turned their heads as one to see.
Carolina
York
Pennsylvania
Wyoming
Virginia
Alaska
Massachusetts
Florida
They all stared at the results, and Virginia nodded her head slightly at the results. 5thplace was not bad, not bad at all. She was making a name for herself, and she'd keep doing so. There were a few restless murmurs on either side of her, but nobody was actually saying anything too loudly. For the most part, they seemed satisfied…for now.
"You are all dismissed," the Director said after a minute, "except for Virginia. I would like you speak with you for a moment." The other Freelancers filed out the door, with a few turning their visored heads to look back at Virginia. She could tell that Massa's and Florida's faces would have been concerned yet encouraging. Carolina's…jealousy, or would that have been a smirk?
"Agent Virginia, I trust that you remember that conversation that we had a small time ago," the Director paced back and forth in front of her.
"Yes sir. I do remember," Virginia replied politely. The Director stopped in front of her.
"You have been making progress and showing me what you are capable of, but this elevated rank is no reason for you to become lax in honing your abilities, Agent. You were brought here to push the boundaries of what you are capable of doing, and you've barely begun to scratch the surface."
Virginia felt her face grow warm under the helmet. What exactly was this man asking for? Still, best to play the part of the obedient soldier and avoid trouble. "I understand, sir."
"I would advise you to continue to hone some of your more…unique skills in your spare time. It will prove useful to your training and your missions."
"Yes, sir."
"One more thing, Agent." The Director reached over to a desk and withdrew a small letter from it. "I felt that I should be the one to give this to you." He handed the letter to her, and she took it gingerly. The scrawling cursive on the front was very familiar, a handwriting that she had known throughout all her life.
"Thank you, sir," Virginia said gratefully, storing the letter for later.
"You are dismissed, Agent," the Director granted her leave, and Virginia deliberately slowed her steps down to appear calm and collected as she left the room finally.
One of her arrows struck the wall as the ground under Virginia's feet shifted, and she cursed softly before adjusting her stance to accommodate for the pillars rising up from the floor. She pulled a sort of hopscotch move as she chased after a cluster of clay targets, drawing another arrow from her quiver.
"Hey, Virginia!" Virginia whipped around to see Carolina approaching her from the other end of the locker room. The red haired woman was out of her armour already, dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Virginia kept taking off pieces of her armour carefully, storing them in her locker around the long, hard case that she had stored in there.
"What?" she asked in a neutral tone. Carolina did not look happy. Then again, she never did.
"What was the Director talking to you about?" Wow, straight to the point.
"None of your business," Virginia replied, stashing her gauntlets next to her boots. Carolina apparently didn't like the answer, because her hand slammed into her locker door and it flew shut with a crash. The force of the impact had destabilized the shoddy shelves and sent Virginia's armor flying through the locker.
"It's none of your business what I talk about with the Director, Carolina," Virginia snapped, staring evenly into Carolina's blazing green eyes. A piece of neon blue hair from her one highlight fell over her eyes, but she didn't care.
"It does if it threatens how we work as a team-"
"If it really DID matter, Carolina, the Director would have told everyone, wouldn't he have?" Virginia growled, folding her arms. "If it was a threat to anything, he would've let the others know. However, it's nothing to concern you guys about. What happens between me and the Director stays that way unless he tells you for himself. You won't hear it from me."
Carolina didn't say anything. Her face was blank, but her eyes still seemed to burn holes in Virginia's face. Finally, she gave a shallow breath.
"Just remember who's number one up on that leaderboard."
"Good for you. Don't remind me, I'm happy where I am."
"Good." With a tone of finality, Carolina whipped around and stalked off, leaving Virginia with the task of opening up her dented locker door.
Another two arrows embedded themselves in the wall. With a snarl, Virginia tore them out viciously and fired one at the last two targets zipping around the field. It struck them both at once, concluding the exercise.
"You had an overall accuracy rate of 76%, Agent Virginia," F.I.L.S.S. dutifully reported.
"Run it again, F.I.L.S.S.," Virginia called up to the AI, picking up her arrows.
"No, F.I.L.S.S., you don't have to," another voice spoke from the training room door. Startled, Virginia got ready to let an arrow fly at the intruder, who threw up his hands at her reaction.
"Easy, easy," York pacified the agitated woman, walking into the room. Florida and Massa followed suit, carrying a couple bottles of beer and a large bag of popcorn.
"We saw you weren't up at the party," Massa explained. "Figured we'd stop by and invite you up."
"Thanks, but I don't think I could deal with that many people for right now," Virginia explained, sheathing her arrow in its quiver and setting the equipment aside.
"We figured you'd say that, so we brought the party to you, pal," Florida said cheerily, handing her a beer. Virginia took the bottle with a small smile. Florida's antics always seemed to cheer her up, and his smile was contagious.
"Guess there weren't many RSVPs," she joked, taking a small swig and leaning against one of the pillars that hadn't receded back into the floor.
"Al and Penn are busy doing…whatever they do, and Carolina is about to strangle Wyoming because of all his knock-knock jokes," York explained, sitting on the floor, the others followed suit, and Virginia finally settled down in a cross-legged position. There was a period of awkward silence.
"Nice archery there," Florida finally said after a while.
"Thanks," Virginia nodded her head. "Just practicing a bit. I haven't in a while. I usually have a higher accuracy rate. "
"That was only practicing?!" Massa asked incredulously. "It was amazing!" The others agreed loudly, and Virginia ducked her head.
"Where did you learn something like that?" York asked. "I didn't think that archery was something the military used anymore."
"They don't," Virginia agreed, then thought for a moment. "Or, rather, not really. You'll get your odd black ops or Green Beret groups that'll use that type of method, and that's WAY out in the Outer Colonies, where we don't see as much of the…action that you Inner guys get. Where I come from, the tech isn't as good, and we make do with what we have."
"So, you learned it in special ops?" York asked, his eyebrows rising in amazement.
"I didn't say that," Virginia smirked. "No, nothing so fancy. It's just an old family skill. I learned it from my aunt when she was taking me out of school on some days." She seemed lost in thought for a moment, her eyes getting misty.
"You place your hands here and here, and you pull the string back…"
"I'm doing it, Auntie, I'm doing it!"
She shook her head slightly, coming back from a trip down memory lane. "The point is, it's damn useful."
"Did your sister learn to shoot like you?" Massa asked. Virginia's head whipped around to stare at her roommate, who didn't meet her eyes. "I saw a picture of you and another person by your bed, and you left a letter on the mattress. I just thought…"
"It's fine, Massa," Virginia sighed, appeasing her well-meaning roommate. "No, she didn't. She learned other skills that work better for her. I just learned the quiet stuff, like my tracking and sabotage skills."
"You're just like Jazz," York said excitedly. Massa and Florida looked slightly confused, but Virginia actually seemed to know what he was talking about. "You know…that old cartoon show…The Transformers?"
"That's funny, I never had that nickname," Virginia chuckled. "My old unit called me Bluestreak because of my hair and spec ops skills." She fingered the neon blue streak in her hair.
"But what's your actual name, then?" Florida asked. "Like, mine is Butch, everyone knows that."
"Man, you know the rules!" York complained, face palming. "We can't say what our names are. We've got new names now!"
Virginia watched the exchange and shared a glance with Massa. "I just never really share my name with anyone," she admitted finally. "I go by nicknames. Virginia is a nice one, and Bluestreak was fun. Kind of easy to shout during missions, actually."
At that moment, the lights in the training room began flashing, and alarms were blaring. They all stood up as one, looking around to see what was going on.
"You just HAD to say something, didn't you?" York asked Virginia jokingly, and she shrugged. F.I.L.S.S.' voice echoed across the loudspeakers.
"All personnel, please report to stations and remain on standby. All Freelancer Agents, report to the bridge immediately."
"Let's not keep the old man waiting," Massa pointed out, and they ran into the locker room off the training room, leaving their party supplies behind. They ran to their lockers and yanked them open, slipping into their black under armour. Massa and Virginia were helping each other strap into their armour when Carolina ran in, already in her gear.
"Hurry up, ladies," she barked, slipping her helmet on. "We haven't got all day."
"What's going on, Carolina?!" Massa shouted over the alarms. Carolina just shook her head and ran out again. The two women looked at each other before slipping on their own helmets and running after the aquamarine-armoured agent. The rest of the Freelancers joined the three women, all just in their armour (Wyoming was still trying to strap on his boots as he ran). Soldiers ran past them on the way to their stations, acting frantic and tense. They spared no passing glance at the Freelancers running for the Director, they all knew where they were needed.
Carolina couldn't punch in the code to access the bridge fast enough, and the door seemed to open agonizingly slowly. As soon as the crack was wide enough, they hustled inside and stood at attention as the Director leaned over the holographic table, examining a series of holograms. Very briefly, Virginia recognized the Mother of Invention as one of the holograms. The Counselor remained in the shadows, and both their superiors' faces looked ashen.
"Agents, the Counselor is finalizing the specific details of the situation, which will be uploaded to your armour after briefing," the Director spoke distractedly as a few of the holograms flashed scarlet. The ship rocked, and they shuffled to keep their balance.
"Sir, what is going on?" Penn demanded as he tried to find his balance on the rocking ship, flailing his arms and almost colliding into the ever-calm Alaska. The Director didn't say anything for a moment, then spoke a word that weighed on them like a tonne of bricks.
"War."
