Prelude for Losers?: Four Seven Niner

Find out what happened before the events of When We Were Soldiers in the Prelude for Losers? specials!

In this prequel collection, you'll find connected character-specific introspective one shots that delve into the backstories of our favorite mismatched group of soldiers before they arrived in Chorus.

The sixth story is Four Seven Niner's.

Main Pairing(s): Four Seven Niner x Carolina, Grimmons, past Yorkalina

Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.

Prelude for Losers?— Four Seven Niner:

Despite the region known as Blood Gulch being located in a spot almost free of the lingering combat skirmishes that scattered the area, there was a still a hubbub of activity in the city's streets. The aforementioned activity had spilled over into one of its many watering holes, an establishment rather aptly named The Gulch in honor of its location.

Four Seven Niner supposed the altogether excited, anxious, and even somewhat celebratory air about the bar couldn't be helped. There had been a rather big confrontation compared to what the region usually got about half a day ago right before she'd even arrived. It was a skirmish that whichever side Blood Gulch was currently fighting for had won. She could never remember who was on what side with all of the differing places she went to and, honestly, it wasn't like the color affiliation ever truly mattered given how frequently they changed without so much as a word of notice.

Still, the enemy had been pushed back for probably another few weeks or so at least. So, they were free and clear of the fighting until someone attempted another offensive. It was a little thing that was worth partying over.

Adrenaline was still running high as people tried going back to their daily lives by celebrating either still being alive, licking their wounds, or mourning those who hadn't been nearly as fortunate in either respect. Niner often found it to be more of a combination of all three scenarios.

The tan-skinned woman took a swig of her drink, brown eyes looking over at the two full glasses of amber liquid sitting nearby her now only half-full drink on the table's splintery surface. She rested her elbows on the table, cupping her chin in-between her fingers as she mulled over why she had even come back to this remote spot.

If she was thinking logically, Blood Gulch was pretty far removed from her usual travel routes these days. Hell, it had been little more than a mere pitstop most of the time back in the "glory days" of Project Freelancer.

She wouldn't have even stepped off her transport the first time she had landed in Blood Gulch if York hadn't insisted on them going to this great "dive" he had stopped at once. It was the very same one she was sitting in now, even if half of the dingy bar looked to be brand-spanking new in light of repairs thanks to frequent damage.

Back then, Niner had been fairly certain she would probably never come back here again. It was funny how two separate communications from two very different, but connected, people from her past had made her rethink her plans entirely.

Sighing, the pilot tore her gaze away from the surface of her table as she heard the door to The Gulch open. She had picked an optimal spot close by the entrance so that she could see who was coming and going, but also where she could remain rather discreet while doing so.

As it had been for however long it was that she had been sitting here now, the pair that entered were clearly not there for her as they greeted her line of sight.

They were two younger males, a lanky redhead with freckles dotting way too pale skin in maroon armor and a shorter, heavyset black-haired guy with tan skin decked out in orange. The two were leaning rather close together, shoulders practically touching. The taller of the duo shook somewhat as the tan one ushered him to a spot at the very back of the bar.

Soldiers then, no doubt here to blow off some steam after the earlier fight. She briefly wondered if they were there on some kind of date as she noticed the two choosing to sit side-by-side at their chosen table instead of across from one another, heads bent closely together as they talked.

Not that it was any of her business what two strangers did together in their free time. Niner tore her gaze away from the two and found it drifting unbidden back down to the three glasses on her table. She frowned slightly, contemplating her own plans for the evening.

Four Seven Niner, long before she had ever taken up that particular moniker, had always dreamt of being a pilot. At least, as far back as she could remember. She had always gazed up at the sky when it wasn't covered by a thick haze of smoke, dreaming about being up there instead, were she would be far removed from the fighting constantly tearing everything apart down below.

It wasn't until a few years after those earliest memories that her naïve ideas about the freedom of flight were forcibly torn from her. An airstrike razed her city to the ground and she had become an orphan. Despite that pain, her dream of being a pilot persisted.

It had probably burned even brighter, now that she thought about it. Maybe it had been some subconscious desire for revenge, or a twisted sort-of coping mechanism. The sky had taken everything from her, so she would give it something back. But, that drive had pushed her to survive situations most kids would be fortunate not to have to deal with even though it was no secret that far too many of them did just that, enduring those types of constant hardships and worse constantly on a daily basis in every part of the world.

The dreamer worked her ass off to become a pilot, leaving her old name and past somewhere in the dust and cloud trails in her wake along the way. Even though Niner no longer believed doing so could truly free her from the war, flying did make her feel more alive. When she first experienced it, she felt free for the first time in a long while.

Niner never felt more at ease than when she was at the controls, even when she was constantly pulling off some crazy and dangerous maneuvering to avoid crashing back down to the earth below in a twisted ball of exploding metal. The literal "high" she got from her exploits lasted for days at a time, but she was always up for flying even just a second more if she could.

Her reputation eventually caught the attention of a rather secretive and very "hush, hush" program looking for pilots willing to delve into often extremely hostile territories. What caught her attention was that this program wasn't involved with either side of the pointless fighting, rather their focus seemed to be to use the continuing conflict to help advance technology that could, at some point in the future perhaps, help hasten the fighting's end.

It really sounded like a pipe dream, an offer so tempting that there just had to be a catch. But, Niner loved a challenge and she hadn't even thought on the offer for a day before she said yes.

Working as a pilot for Project Freelancer meant that she was pulling off her fanciest and ultimately most dangerous flying on a constant basis, and she loved every single chaotic moment of it. She also met some truly fascinating people, striking up a rapport with several as she routinely hauled their asses out of whatever firefight they inevitably landed in.

Wyoming and Florida were her first Freelancers she flew to and out of a mission. Both were fond of friendly banter and teasing their comrades, but they were far more dangerous and skilled than most ever truly understood until it was far too late.

The fraternal twins known as North and South Dakota were next. They worked well together, even if their personalities and individual skillsets were a stark contrast. Sending them out on missions together meant a pretty balanced team.

C.T., who kept to herself more often than not save for bonding with a rookie and some of the Freelancer agents who were never at the top of the board, ended up ultimately knowing a hell of a lot more about what was really going on behind the scenes than any of them could have ever surmised. The genetically engineered rookie soldier Washington was always fun to try and get flustered, and Niner often found herself exchanging a silent nod in passing at least with the towering Maine.

Tex arrived at the program last, another genetically engineered soldier from who-knew-where. Even she didn't actually seem to know at first, though whether that truly upset her or not was something Tex kept close to her chest. She was the very definition of a badass extraordinaire, and shortly after her came the mysterious batch siblings that the higher-ups simply referred to as the Fragments. The cyborgs' later revealed connections to the Director were kept a secret even from themselves until much later on.

York was the one who kept her the most entertained though. The brown-haired man with the easygoing demeanor had been recruited roughly around the same time that Niner had been, and he was fairly easy to strike up a conversation with. It made sense given that as to why he was always quick to talk when there was time for it, always having a smile or a joke on-hand whenever they met. The invite for a friendly drink together after a mission eventually became simply implied.

Then there was Carolina, the altogether utterly fearless, and reckless, leader of the bunch. The redhead was just as much of a badass as Tex was, always leaving the others in a trail of dust in her wake. She wanted to get things done as perfectly and efficiently as possible. The hours Carolina spent on training alone pretty much put everyone else to shame, and that was saying nothing about her performances out on the field.

When they had been first introduced to one another, Carolina barely nodded her head in the pilot's direction before she requested more time from the Director in the training room. Four Seven Niner had gotten the distinct impression that they wouldn't get along well.

But then their first mission together hit a pretty big snag and Carolina had cracked a joke about "heavy turbulence" smack dab in the middle of a firefight, and Niner realized that the redhead was more than all right in her book.

Carolina surprised her further by displaying a keen interest in copiloting, something none of the other Freelancer agents were all that fond of attempting when she was flying, soaking up Niner's advice and comments like a sponge.

Carolina started tagging along with the pilot and York on their bar runs, more than any of the others did. At some point, Niner started to realize that Carolina had somehow turned into the Freelancer she spent the majority of her limited free time with even when compared to York. She was nice company, even outside of work and the bar scene.

The tan-skinned woman tried her hardest not to dwell on that thought overly much once it came to her attention. She tried to not stare too pointedly at the stubborn glint in Carolina's green eyes, or how incredible her truly rare, genuine full-on smiles were.

She tried to stop even more once she saw how truly close Carolina and York became to one another. After all, she wasn't the type of person who would become a third wheel in the face of the happiness of two friends. No silly crush was going to change that.

Instead, Niner contended herself with being happy for the pair.

Eventually, her suspicions about Freelancer being too good to be true came to kick her and everyone else in the program in the ass with a vengeance.

The project fell apart from the inside thanks to the Director's private ambitions. The Fragments were revealed to be his own genetically-engineered clones, ones that he had been repeatedly torturing for the advancement of his research. The mysterious Tex was simply a forbidden replication of a wife he had refused to let go of. The Director was willing to throw them all under the transport so to speak when things went south and the truth finally came out.

Some of the Fragments revolted, and most of them were killed in the ensuing struggle even if they hadn't been directly involved. Tex led a defection in an attempt to free those who might still be alive and escape. The other Freelancers all chose sides in the fight that followed, most of them ultimately dying too.

If they had even been around for the fight, that was. C.T. had been killed some time back after it was discovered that she'd been working for a group known as the Insurrection. It was obvious there was an inside person considering that particular group always had a very interesting habit of showing up at the places Freelancer were sent on missions to, but Niner was surprised to learn it had been Connecticut.

Washington had been sent away earlier for some bullshit health reason. That was after what was supposed to be a routine mission with the Fragment known as Epsilon running cybernetic combat support went horribly wrong. Epsilon had not even been afforded that same kindness, though no one had known that at the time.

Tex ended up pulling through the fight because of course she would. Carolina had done so as well, which was only fitting. She had ended up finally picking her side, no doubt shocking even herself at the time by choosing to try and help her "brothers" over the Director. She and Tex had gotten out together, and they had traveled all over in an attempt to find the missing Epsilon.

Four Seven Niner found herself alone in the wreckage of Project Freelancer's aftermath. Alone and paralyzed from the waist down. She never did find out which one of her certainly now dead comrades had dragged her injured body out of harm's way before the bombs had finished off the site of the project for good.

She didn't blame Epsilon or the surviving Freelancers for the tragedy. How could she, when she had known damn well that the thing had smelled a bit too sour from the very beginning? She had just never bothered trying to look deep enough, the same as so many others, and that was entirely on her.

But, the pilot wasn't one to throw herself a pity party. She mourned those she had lost, and she felt immense relief upon finding out about those she hadn't. They all had shit to do in their lives, and they needed to move on.

The first and only time she managed to work up the nerve to get in contact with Carolina while she was out searching the planet over for her surviving brother, Niner informed her that she needed no sentiment about what had happened…and that Carolina better damn well find something, anything that would make her feel happy in this new stage of her life.

The woman known as Four Seven Niner was a fighter herself, after all. Always had been, even when she had just been a hopeful little kid dreaming about flying one day. She wasn't going to allow anything to keep her out of the skies, even a tiny thing like a wheelchair.

She was quick to prove that she was still the best fucking pilot around.

The next time that the door to The Gulch opened, a certain redhead decked out in cyan armor sans helmet stepped through it. For a split-second, Four Seven Niner's breath caught in her throat as the former Freelancer's gaze zeroed in on her. The time apart had certainly done the other woman justice, while she…

Niner swallowed down whatever self-deprecating claptrap had been about to crystalize in her brain just then, smiling widely instead as she waved the other female over, "Hey," she greeted softly over the din of the bar as she patted the chair next to her, "Saved you a seat."

Carolina walked over with that same purposeful stride she had always carried herself with before, sliding into the proffered seat without having to be asked twice. It was odd, in a way, how quickly they were stepping into their old dynamic together. Almost as if the past time apart hadn't even happened…

"Do you still go by Four Seven Niner, or should I start calling you something else?" Carolina asked in lieu of greeting, always one to get straight to the point.

Four Seven Niner could relate. She smirked in reply, figuring the other woman would ask something like that right off the bat, "I think I'm going to be Four Seven Niner until the day I die." She informed Carolina, "But feel free to call me whatever you want." She frowned a second later though to add, "Except something stupid like Wheels because I will not hesitate to run you over if you do."

A thin smile spread across Carolina's lips, "Noted."

There was a momentary lull in conversation as Niner moved one of the still full glasses over to the green-eyed female sitting next to her without so much as a word. Whenever they had gone out drinking together before, whoever had gotten there first paid for the first round. It was tradition, even if Carolina somehow always only ever managed to be late at those very specific outings once she learned the custom.

Carolina's smile widened a fraction at the silent gesture before she glanced around the side of the silver-wearing pilot's head, her eyes widening a fraction at the sight she caught while glancing towards a very specific table behind them, "I don't believe it." She murmured so quietly that Niner had to strain to even hear her, "What are they doing here?"

Carolina was staring at the two younger soldiers in maroon and orange armor who had walked in before her. Their heads were now touching as they slumped together in their side-by-side seats, clearly well into another helping of alcoholic drinks by the look of things.

Niner raised an eyebrow at her reaction, "New friends of yours?"

A nod, "You could say that. Grif and Simmons are part of the fam—" Carolina paused, catching herself, "Group we're staying with."

Niner was a bit happy at the almost slipup, but figured letting Carolina know that would only lead to a staunch denial of what she had been about to say and her shutting up to avoid further potential embarrassment.

The pilot glanced at the pair in question over her shoulder. The guy in orange had draped an arm over the lanky one's shoulders as he leaned closer against him, his tan-skinned face darkening in a heated blush that matched the near scarlet hue of the maroon-wearing man's.

"Looks like they're on a date." Niner casually observed, turning back around to give them privacy.

Carolina's stare lingered only a fraction longer before she did the same, a surprisingly soft look crossing over her features as she nodded, "It's about damn time." A wry smile fluttered over her lips, "I've been watching those idiots dance around the tension for way too long. We all have."

"Really?" The tan-skinned woman couldn't help but feel rather amused by the revelation. To think that the feared Freelancers would get so invested in the love lives of their friends!

"Church even has a bet going on with Tex over it." Carolina joked, and Niner felt a small trill of exaltation at how the redhead was no longer grimacing noticeably at the mention of the black-armored woman's name. It seemed as if their joint concern for Epsilon had helped them find common ground after all.

"That seems about right." Niner responded, knowing full well about Tex's fondness for earning money. There was another lull in the conversation, and Niner took in a breath and let it out before asking her next question: "How's the rookie doing?"

She hadn't seen Washington since before all of the mess had happened, and he had been badly off then. Details from both communication-wise had been sparse, but evidently at some point his path had connected with Carolina and Tex's again and he was currently living here in Blood Gulch.

"Better." Carolina's expression was thoughtful as she touched her glass, "He's adjusting. He sometimes gets along with everyone better than we do."

Niner felt her own lips curving upwards at the news. That was good to hear.

Carolina looked down at the contents of her glass, her hand still gingerly clasped around it. When she looked up at Niner's face again, her expression was almost uncharacteristically shy, "Do you want to…meet Grif and Simmons now then?" She asked, "Since they're here…?"

It was as if Carolina was offering to invite someone to meet her family for the first time. One that she was protective of, and hoping that both sides liked the other.

Niner's smile only grew larger at the thought, though she shook her head all the same, "Nah, I don't want to ruin their date."

Carolina risked a quick glance over at the pair still very much wrapped up in their own little world, a fond sort-of smile creasing her features slightly before she silently turned back around.

Four Seven Niner watched her for a moment, oddly relieved at the sight, "Your time with this group has done you wonders."

"You think?" Carolina raised an eyebrow incredulously even as she smirked, "They drive me crazy more often than I can count."

Niner shrugged in response, "It takes all kinds."

Carolina looked over at her contemplatively, "You should come back with me. Meet everyone." She stated at length, both sure and unsure all at once, "The others would love seeing you again too."

The hopeful tinge in the other woman's tone caused the pilot's chest to tighten slightly, and Niner glanced down quickly as she tried covering up the sudden rush of heat to her face. It would be truly nice to take up Carolina's offer, to see Washington and Epsilon again. To meet the misfits who had been such an impact on all of them. But, she was already scheduled to meet up with Tex and…

Niner swallowed stiffly, "Tempting, but I should probably wait to see how this last big mission goes before I make too many new friends."

That response gave Carolina pause, and the pilot had to admit she almost felt guilty about being touched by the worry in her regard then, "What kind of mission?" The former Freelancer asked, determined curiosity shining through.

…Because the pilot certainly hadn't worded that carefully enough to avoid anxiety, had she?

Niner tried playing it cool afterwards, shrugging rather indifferently, "Eh, it's nothing too major on my end. I should be all right," she smirked, "And I might just take you up on that offer afterwards."

"I think you should." Carolina relaxed slightly in her seat, "You'd probably get along with everyone really well."

"Most likely." If the impact they had clearly had on Carolina already was any indication, she had no doubt of that.

Carolina's gaze went to the third glass on the table, and she pointed towards it in playful curiosity, "Expecting someone else?"

"Not quite." She smiled wistfully, "It's for York, since he first introduced me to this bar. We shared a drink here whenever we were in the area."

Carolina stilled at the admission, her eyes remaining glued on the drink.

Niner frowned, a sinking feeling forming in her gut that she had just inevitably ruined the reunion, "Sorry. I probably shouldn't have said that, huh?"

Carolina surprised her by shaking her head, "It's a nice gesture." She noted, tearing her green eyes away from the glass to fix them on Niner's face with a knowing smile, "Though we both know how York hated letting a good drink go to waste."

"Right." Four Seven Niner gave a curt nod and reached her hand out to remedy that particular problem…

…At the exact same time that Carolina reached over with her hand to do the same. Their fingers touched, the sudden contact warm.

The two women stared at each other, Carolina letting out a deep breath, "Why don't we split it?" She mumbled, almost as if embarrassed.

Niner's throat felt very dry as she nodded, "Y—yeah."

Carolina picked up the glass first, holding it up in the air for a moment, "To York." She muttered softly before taking a long sip.

She passed the remaining liquid content over to Niner, grabbing her own glass as the pilot saluted with the beverage too, "To York." Niner downed the liquor as Carolina emptied her own glass in one impressively long swig.

"I should probably get back." Carolina stated quietly as she set the glass down, "But thank you for meeting me." She smiled, "It was good to catch up and reminisce."

"Yeah, it really was. We shouldn't wait so long next time." Niner smiled right back at her, "But I guess we both had some growing to do."

Carolina looked as if she wanted to say more, but awkwardly cleared her throat instead, "You have to go soon, right?"

The disappointment in her voice almost made Niner reconsider her earlier decision to go on a mission with Tex, "Unfortunately. Still fighting the good fight."

"Right."

Carolina left a few moments later after a brief nod. It was for the best, really. Neither of them had ever been too keen on lengthy goodbyes. Niner let out a sigh before downing the remainder of her drink and checking her messages again. She shot off a quick "I'm ready." to Tex, wondering just how much the former Freelancer had told the group about what she was setting off to do.

…Not that the pilot obviously had much room to talk on that front she thought with a self-deprecating smirk. But, she had just…she couldn't bring all of the messy details to the surface after she had just seen Carolina being so at ease for once.

As she paid for her tab, Four Seven Niner peered behind her and noticed that Carolina's friends Grif and Simmons were nowhere to be found. She recalled Carolina's earlier words about the pair and smiled, hoping that the redheaded woman would have more moments and people to feel glad over.

Author's Notes: Fun fact about this particular prequel: it was actually the starting point for me deciding to even do these early one shots to begin with! I had the idea to write out a reunion between Four Seven Niner and Carolina set right before the pilot goes off to help Tex fight Charon. My plan was that it would somehow inadvertently tie into another short story about the "in the shade" incident of this AU between Grif and Simmons that they are still quite awkward about in the present day fic's timeline. From those two initial story ideas, the notion to write out a whole bunch of prequels ended up floating to the surface. :D I had a ton of fun FINALLY getting the chance to write this one out. :D

The "in the shade" story will be appearing a bit later on too, though there are still a few chapters for When We Were Soldiers and some more character-driven prequels to post beforehand. I'm getting so excited that I'm finally able to write out some of the ideas for this story-verse that I have been waiting to go into more for a REALLY long time now!

Thank you for reading, as always! :D