(A/N) Hey guys, time for another update in Phase Two: Betrayal! An Alaska chapter, written, again, by the sensational Minaethiel, filling in for Avalanche Wolf, this one expands out another little arc in this fic. Same notifications as last time, looking for X-Ray and Vav writers, people to vote for our Awards, yadda yadda yadda. Oh, and that we're only little over a month away from Red vs Blue: Season 12! Who else is pumped for it?

Enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Five – Shadows of the Past

Agent Alaska

Written by Minaethiel

"Ignorance bids us stay judgment." – Andre Maurois

Six ways to end that fight in a two second span. He's a sloppy combatant for not noticing a single one. Alaska could find almost nothing to be impressed with out of the new recruits. Granted, Nebraska had caught his eye over the weeks. Something about him seemed…somewhat shrewd in defiance of that optimistic exterior. Unfortunately, the rest of the recruits were unenlightening. It was either that, or another of the senior Freelancers could perform their jobs better. Why the Director had sought to bring any of them onboard was a mystery. Maybe he hoped the newer recruits would learn from their superiors. This seems unlikely. The only lesson Alaska was interested in was teaching them was where their places were.

Their performance in the Danger Room and on the simulation mission had given him a great deal of information to contemplate, so it wasn't like he was outright dismissing them. However it was clear to him, after putting together the pieces, that none of them would truly shape up to replace the warriors already fallen or deserted. Nevada and Connecticut… their expertise did lie in anything technological, but could they stack up against Arkansas in a fight?

He doubted it.

Even though Ark hadn't been particularly well versed in combat; he almost seemed to relish his time in the field. Utah hadn't been able to match against Maine, even after Maine had taken on three agents beforehand, and he knew that Penn was above Maine, albeit that it was a close match. Kentucky dealt in explosives, so it was no surprise that he had been eliminated in the danger room by a more combat-oriented rookie. Michigan probably would have been able to hold her own for longer.

And finally there was Massachusetts. No one in the new group was a combat medic, nor did they have her motherly attitude. He supposed it would be painful if someone with Massa's attitude had been brought aboard, and Nebraska seemed like he held almost the same concern for everyone, just as she had… He shook his head slightly. In all, while a few of the rookies came close to bolstering their lines… they fell short. Alaska didn't see that changing either.

Down in the training room, Nebraska had opted to train with Jersey. The pair were ducking and diving behind pillars; Neb armed with a battle rifle and magnum, while Jersey had opted for a shotgun and magnum. Both weapon sets had their uses, and the victor would all depend on who was too bold too soon.

"They are nothing but apprentices, mere shadows of those who came before them," he remarked to Florida, who was standing next to him. "We are the actual Legionnaires on this ship."

"Hey now, Al, we shouldn't judge 'em before they show their stuff. Neb is doing a pretty good job against Jersey," the older Freelancer replied, frowning at his companion reproachfully.

Their conversation temporarily put on hold; Alaska turned his attention back to the floor. Despite the fact that Neb had opted not to choose a weapon to combat the power of Jersey's shotgun, his evasiveness was serving him well, as evidenced by the many stray paint splatters on the pillars.

"I wasn't talking about just Nebraska and Jersey. Do you really think any of the rookies stand a chance against Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Harper? They are little more than lambs being sent to the slaughter."

York snorted from Florida's other side, chuckling slightly. "Come on, Al. They'll be fine. As I recall you didn't think much of our last group of rookies either, and you've accepted them just fine. What makes these guys any different?"

"They will never be able to replace the dead, though we all know that's why the Director brought them in. Go ask Cal if any of them will be able to pick up where Michigan left off; I know what his answer will be. None of them will compare."

Silence reigned for a moment - a moment that Alaska had little doubt was spent thinking about Mich and Massa. In the silence, he pressed forward.

"I'm sure you all saw their sim mission. It would be a waste of valuable oxygen to bother reciting what went wrong there."

"It wasn't that bad," York cut in. "It could have gone a lot worse."

"Anything could go worse. That's not the point, is it?" Alaska replied nonchalantly. "Agent Colorado deviated wildly from the plan of attack, not only destroying valuable equipment, but getting herself 'killed' by a less firefight-oriented agent because of her overconfidence. New Jersey does not command the respect a squad leader needs in order to keep her team under control, and her results suffered for it, with two agents ultimately eliminated from her team. Kentucky was so caught up in his celebration that he made an easy target for Connecticut. Utah was so easily distracted that he and Nevada were easily picked off by New Jersey. West Virginia allowed herself to become distracted by the generators blowing up, leaving her open to attack by the very people she was suppressing. Had Connecticut been watching her motion tracker, she probably would have been able to retaliate against Nebraska before he took her down. Nebraska actually performed rather well. He could've tried to neutralize Colorado, but other than that I can't find anything to fault in that particular performance," Alaska recited, as if reading off of a list.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alaska saw Florida shift slightly. "Al, it's only a matter of time before they learn. All you gotta do is give 'em a shot."

"They've already had the chance to prove themselves twice, unless you've forgotten the Danger Room? You only get one chance at a first impression, after all," he continued pleasantly, "And they've somehow managed to find several chances from the rest of you."

He remembered the Danger Room performance well enough. New Jersey had come out on top, with Colorado and Nebraska rounding out second and third places respectively. Alaska hadn't been the least bit surprised that the three had been on top, considering they were the most combat effective of the group of rookies. Unsurprisingly, the two new tech experts hadn't performed as well, nor had the more explosive-oriented Kentucky.

"It was definitely a show to watch," Florida said, interrupting Alaska's thoughts. "They all showed some talent in one way or another, and they can only improve from there."

"Don't forget that you thought the same of us when we first arrived," North chipped in before Alaska could respond. Nevertheless, Alaska leaned back against the wall.

"At least all of you put up a healthy fight in your own debut. If memory serves, Nevada was taken out almost instantly by Colorado, who barely compares to the rest of us.

"You can't judge an entire group by one performance. We've only seen Nev in action twice, and she's been doing good work trying to crack Ark's cube device with Connie and Georgia," North quickly shot back, and edge to his voice.

"That doesn't change the fact that she'll be a liability in combat, as will Connecticut, and while it's important to enjoy what you do, Kentucky takes it to a level that endangers himself more than it helps. He was made quick work of in the Danger Room."

"Ah come on, you have to admit, Kent making it rain with grenades was pretty damn fantastic," York said with a laugh. "It scattered the competition effectively too. That strategy could be a great way to cover teammates that want to move up the field."

"Enemies caught in the minefield he'd set up would be hard pressed to escape too," North added with a nod.

"Do you have a way to compliment West's hesitation when she spotted Nebraska as well?" Alaska snorted, watching as Nebraska managed to land a shot on one of New Jersey's legs. It wasn't enough to eliminate her, however, and she quickly retaliated with a single blast from her shotgun in order to get to cover.

"He could have been a friendly unit," Carolina finally interjected, at last. She had been silent throughout, never turning her gaze away from the training session. Number One was being as astute as possible, as usual.

"Friendly units normally don't attack each other." His own past experiences flashed in his head, ending with the feeling of Penn's fist impacting his helmet. "There are obvious exceptions, of course."

Now Carolina turned from the view to face him, and he met her stare squarely, confident in his viewpoint. "Until we actually see them out and about in the field, we have to withhold our judgments. Our own simulation missions didn't entirely go as planned when we had them either, as I'm sure you remember. They'll all bring something new to our team dynamic, and they'll find their places soon enough. If their performances are something you find to be lacking, then go and teach them a thing or two."

"It's better to learn from experience, Carolina. Perhaps if they come face to face with Ark, Penn, and Harper, their performances will improve. Assuming they live, of course."

"We can provide that experience just fine, Alaska," Carolina replied wryly. "We don't need to throw them out the door to show them what they'll be facing."

Florida nodded from beside Carolina, throwing Alaska a confident smile. "It takes time to improve, Al, and they've only had a few weeks. They'll be more up to snuff in a few months."

Alaska shook his head in disbelief as the fight between Nebraska and New Jersey came to an end. Jersey had come out on top after plastering Nebraska's torso with a shotgun blast just as he came around the corner of a pillar. Dumb luck, Alaska sneered to himself. It would take more than a show of skill in training to impress him, let alone earn his confidence.

"Well, think what you will," he said, more to the open air than to any of the agents themselves. "Eventually they'll prove themselves one way or the other, and I don't expect it to be without consequences." With that, he departed for the barracks.

Alone in the room he shared with Florida, he opened one of the drawers in the room to find Moi's necklace. It was in the same shape it had been when Alaska first found it all those months ago in the medical bay. The Crimson Sun hadn't been his only targets while the project had been shut down for investigation. For several months, Alaska had also been digging into every UNSC resource he could to try and find information on who exactly Moi had been. Figments of a person's imagination did not have real, hard jewelry after all.

This only caused him to wonder exactly how the necklace had gotten there. Moi hadn't made an appearance since her apparent death during the Covenant attack, and there had been no hint of her being on the ship. The necklace had been the sign that Moi might not have been the illusion the Director said she was, nor the illusion Alaska had convinced himself she had been. The necklace showing up in the medical bay cast heavy doubts onto the notion that Moi had been a mere shadow of the ship. However, though he had searched for months in the UNSC databases, Alaska hadn't been able to find a trace of her. If she had been a real person, why had she left him, why had she disappeared? Was the necklace left for him as a reminder of their bond? More importantly, why had she thought to leave it in the first place, assuming it actually had been her that left it?

There were so many questions he now had about her true identity- yet no reliable sources to search for answers. The UNSC had proved to be next to useless on his search, which meant that Project Freelancer was his only link to Moi.

Alaska replaced the necklace into the drawer, staring at it for a moment. What if looking for information turned out to be some wild goose chase? What if Moi actually had been an illusion, and he was just chasing a shadow once again?

Alaska shook his head. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that Moi was a shadow of a thought, he couldn't bring himself to believe it. Moi was out there somewhere, and he'd do whatever he had to in order to find her.

Even the Director himself wouldn't stop him.