Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Snow-White Hearts. Enjoy the 1500-word chapter. I don't own RvB, Rooster Teeth does.
Vermont looked at the space pirates. These were the idiots who had ended up killing his comrades. This was going to be his payback on them.
"Mu, you encrypted this com signal?" Vermont questioned which garnered a nod from the AI. "Good, I don't know how well this will work out. We need to be ready for anything, you know." Vermont asked as the ai rolled his eyes.
"Like your suicidal overconfidence?" Mu questioned, his tone displaying the trademark sarcasm he was known for. "I do not know how well this plan will work. Their technology is far beyond anything Project Freelancer has fielded before. I recommend far more caution than you usually do." Mu stated as he looked at the group.
There at least a half dozen of the soldiers and several 'rebels' which he had noticed before back during the years of Project Freelancer. The squad spread out in a semi-circle; the regular soldiers armed with UNSC weaponry rather than the advanced tech of the pirates.
"Did Charon send reinforcements? Those guys don't look like the mercenaries we've been killing." Vermont stated to which Mu hummed for a second.
"Charon may have decided that backup was required, diverting troops from one of its bases." Mu responded as more data fell over his body. "I cannot calculate how large the enemy force is, but I believe it is smart to consider Carolina isn't their only target." Mu added to which Vermont merely rolled his eyes.
"Mu, you know how tough Carolina is by herself." Vermont said before lining up a shot with one of the pirates. "We both know she's an army by herself, anything less is insulting her talents." Vermont added as he readied his gun to fire.
"And ours?" Mu added to which he got a blunt nod in return. "You have not changed at all, Vermont, but I suppose neither have I. I just cannot believe how this would have gone." Mu stated while he cracked his fingers.
Vermont fired the bullet, it whistled through the air and into the head of the pirate, the man collapsed to the ground as Vermont quickly shot one of the rebels as he did so.
"Damn it, shoot him!" Vermont heard as he sighed, ducking under cover once more. "Carolina, can we please go!? I love getting shot at as the next guy, but fighting an entire army by myself isn't fun, I'm not Tex!" Vermont yelled to which the comm was quiet.
"I believe you have forgotten how much Agent Carolina dislikes being reminded of that." Vermont heard from Mu as he rolled his eyes, simply imagining how this could go. "Agent Carolina? Agent Vermont has eliminated 2 out of 3 dozen hostiles, we are working on drawing fire away from your position." Mu stated as he shook his head.
"How is that much better?" Vermont stated to which he shook his head as he looked over the cover. "Please come and get me, there's a small army shooting me, it will be quite annoying." Vermont said as he shook his head.
"This is going to be ridiculous at the moment, isn't it?" Vermont stated, sighing as he looked at the ground. "Mu, how many hostiles are there in actuality? There's not like 50, is there?" Vermont questioned as he made sure to look over his shoulder with interest.
"I'm quite curious to how this will end up being." Mu said before the sounds of an engine was drawing closer. "Never mind, he will end up getting run over by Agent Carolina anyway, I will enjoy this." Mu said to which he chuckled with much more amusement.
Vermont said nothing, wanting to be left alone with his own thoughts at the moment. The longer he thought about it, however? The more annoying it came to be. Vermont aimed his pistol once more with a look of interest.
"She's going to kill me, isn't she?" Vermont questioned as he sighed, unsure of the true intent.
"Kill, no. Punch in the head like she usually does? Probably." Mu put in to which Vermont sighed. "Maybe avoid ticking off the one-woman army of death and violence who's ranked higher than you on the scoreboard." Mu put in, pausing to let his words sink in.
Vermont shook his head before the sound of engines roared towards them. Vermont turned to see the warthog rev its engines as it raced up to them.
"Vermont!" Carolina yelled as Vermont raced over cover. "Magnum!" Carolina ordered to which he tossed said gun to her.
One of the pirates raced to stop them as Vermont pulled his knife from his holster. Vermont turned to stab the soldier in the stomach, grabbing his rifle as he did so. Vermont turned to look around only for a feeling to shoot through his chest.
Vermont cursed and collapsed into the warthog, his palm slick with blood as his armor burned where he was hit. Carolina floored the gas, aware of how this could have gone.
"Damn it!" Carolina hissed, turning to fire over her shoulder at the rest of the pirates. "Church, status?" Carolina questioned before turning to Vermont.
"Well, your boyfriend just took a shot to the ribs, probably going to need a bit to heal." Church reported which garnered a glare from Carolina. "Ok, your super important best friend I've never heard about is fine, he's currently bleeding through the side." Church added as Vermont turned to look at her with interest.
Vermont looked incensed, but it wasn't like he could really say anything. He could tell that she was quite incensed, but she was also concerned at the end of the day. Vermont was many things, but unconcerned was NOT one of them at the end of the day.
"I've been shot before, no big deal." Vermont stated, holding a hand to his stomach. "Plus, I stole one of their fancy guns and we killed some of them. I call that an equal trade." Vermont added as he paused to think of how it went.
"Yes, getting shot and almost killed is well worth it." Carolina deadpanned as Vermont hummed. "Church? If I was to punch Vermont in the head, would that kill him?" Carolina questioned which caused Church, Mu, and Vermont to fall silent.
The freelancer was quiet, well aware that if he said something? She probably would punch him. Seeing him after several years like this had brought up dozens of buried memories that neither wanted to confront.
"Are we safe?" Vermont asked, causing Mu to appear next to him. "Those pirates, they're not tracking us down as we speak, right?" Vermont questioned as the AI hummed, data scrolling across him.
"They do not appear to be pursing us currently, but I do not know." Mu put in as he shook his head. "I do not understand how they track us though. I will make sure they do not get another chance to do so." Mu added before he vanished.
"Those guys seem like Freelancer knockoffs, all their missing is AI." Vermont stated, turning to Carolina as he did so. "You know those guys who tried to kill us. You didn't act surprised they got armor enhancements, or anything close." Vermont added, pausing so he could crack his neck.
"Their Charon Industries mercenaries." Carolina responded, pausing so she could look at the road. "Their part of that group of rebels. The one Project Freelancer fought years ago." Carolina added to which Vermont turned towards her.
"I thought their leader was killed?" Vermont questioned before activating his armor's healing unit. "We killed dozens of them when we raided their base. You're telling most of them survived?" Vermont asked, leaning back in his chair as he did so.
"We killed their commander, not their leader." Carolina responded, stopping the warthog. "Charon is who hired and employed them. All we did was fight a majority of them. They still have a full army and resources to equip an army like this. Me and Epsilon were busy researching them when we found you on Chorus." Carolina added as Vermont nodded.
He was forced to recline in the seat. The feeling of blood loss coursed through his body like a drug. The healing unit took some of that pain away, but it didn't fully force it out of his body. It was enough to tell him that he was still alive, though. He was glad to understand that in some capacity at the very least.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that next chapter will be longer and such. Next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show Carolina and Vermont talking and such. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter will be in 900-4500 words and such and such. It will be much longer and such. Next chapter will not be delayed hopefully.