Tales From Sirca Chapter 14: Jersey Tells a Tale

I sat comfortably on the mongoose, headlights on and illuminating the passing foliage as it tore through at a breakneck pace under the midnight sky. The last I had checked Icarus, on the other hand, stared up at the stars. I wished he would say something but has been uncharacteristically quiet, maybe something was on his mind.

"You're real quiet, Grease," I commented over the engine, voice amplified and slightly modulated by my helmet. "Thinking about something?"

From the faintness of his voice, I assumed he continued his look at the sky, "Why were you following me?"

"I- whaddya mean- I did not follow you."

"Jersey, the idea that you just so happen't to show up when I come out a dark and abandoned hospital kinda tells me that you followed me. You ain't a good liar."

"Aight, look, you and Aries are fresh off injury and I was just makin' sure you didn't go out 'n getcha-self killed. Am I the bad guy for that?"

"You're the bad guy for lying about it for no good reason."

I scoffed. "You're naive."

Icarus fell silent and I mentally face-palmed; didn't mean to say that. I shouldn't have said that, but it came out and it was too late to take it back. I need to find a way to unfuck this up, quickly.

"As much as I hate to admit it... I used to be exactly like you, Grease."

"I assure you, Jersey, we ain't nothin' alike."

"I can prove it. I could tell you about my first big op in the Freelancer bullshit."

"Two things: that depends on if you plan on lying in this story, and I think we might want to stop first."

I cranked the accelerator, speeding into a clearing and catching some air on the entry. Leaning and turning hard, spraying dirt as the 'goose drifted around the center, the mongoose fishtailed and spun out, coming to a spiraling soft halt.

I killed the engine and hopped off with arms outstretched at Icarus, who looked dizzy. "Stopped enough for ya, kid?"

"Where did you..." The albino shook his head before shakily stepping off, being extra careful with his bag. "Where did you learn to drive like that?"

"Eh, I used to do motocross - race dirtbikes and ATVs. There were a few times we stole warthogs from the nearby bases. They didn't have turrets, so it wasn't like we were hurting anybody. After all, the hell's the point of being the best driver in Qoppa with nobody to see it- ya know? I made money doing it too, drag racing every now and then. My ma did notcare for it. Dad threatened to put me in the military 'cause I was hangin' out with 'ruffians'."

I chuckled, but Icarus didn't seem particularly amused.

Icarus set his bag down carefully and began gathering sticks while the armored freelancer sat on the vehicle. "I could imagine most moms wouldn't. 'Cept mine."

"Astrid you gonna hurt yourself- Astrid why you dress like that- Astrid why you hang out with those guys- Astrid why don't you go do art- Worrying about nothing. Probably still doing it now. Like- Ma, I got it handled. I'm doin' me. The guys 're just a little rough around the edges, man. You're from out in Sampi - you get me, right? Close knit communities and all-"

"She still around?"

I jerked my head away from the handlebars to glance at the sniper chupa. Icarus glared daggers at me. "Beg pardon?"

"Your mother. Is she still around?"

"Yeah, still probably in that same old run-down house we lived in."

"You need to go apologize to her. Soon as you can."

"I don't know how she'd feel about her supposedly dead daughter walking in her front door."

"You'll only find out one way. Now, about your Freelancer story?"

I internally winced. That was two strikes against me on an already rocky night. Not being my old jaded self was way harder than York made it seem, I was trying to be nice and it wasn't working. By the time I was ready to talk again, Icarus had a fire going.

"Right." I mozied over, took off my helmet, and sat across from the irritated sniper. "This was a while back, I was more of an asshole than I am now if you can believe that. I wasn't too familiar with York and Wash yet, they were just some guys I'd only heard or heard about. It wasn't my first op, but it was the first I led. Tasked with helping some sorry-ass blues with reds that threatened to overrun them out in Blarganthia, shit this armor was still new back then."

---

I shifted uncomfortably in my bodysuit. It was way too tight for my comfort. I hadn't been around long but it seemed this Freelancer business wasn't as fun as they advertised it, then again, I can't even tell how this is different from the military.

That's how they get you, I guess. I get to legally drive military-grade stunt cars basically and shoot motherfuckers- After completing a fuck load of training and being around some assholes who talk too much, don't talk at all, or mean-mug everyone.

I chose a wall and leaned my back up against it, glad to have a moment to myself. It was like these people never heard of personal space or free time, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back.

Nice to have a second.

A shadow covered the overhead light shining down on me, I reluctantly opened my eyes and was met with a greying red-furred slightly scruffy-looking chupa in fatigues leaning on the wall and leaning over me more importantly. Mostly black greying mane tucked into his matching cap, his other hand was hidden behind his back. One of the other shitty parts of this program. I don't know when exactly it happened or what I did, but one of the Specialist Sergeants had taken a liking to me. I didn't even know this guy's name.

"Lieutenant Valentino," He grinned down at me with half-lidded eyes, much to my discomfort. I glanced at his name patch that read 'Kovich', the name rang bells and I remembered who he was.

"You call me Astrid. Not whatever the hell that just was."

"Really? Your designation is Agent New Jersey, last I checked, but I could make an exception for you."

---

Icarus held a hand up. "Wait, wait wait a fuckin' second. Kovich? Gunnery Sergeant Harry Kovich? That Kovich? The motherfucker Aries and I killed a while back?"

"Yep," I let the 'p' pop.

"He was old enough to be your father-"

"He was a fucking creep. I avoided him at all costs, when possible."

---

Kovich either didn't notice or didn't care as he used his free hand to lift my face to look at his. I considered recoiling in disgust or having a more violent reaction but decided against it, no matter how tempting it was. "You know, Astrid, I figured I'd make your first leadership role a bit easier on you."

I pulled away and moved from my spot unable to bear that any longer but now he had my attention, "So The Director finally trusts me to run my own shit now? I been saying I don't need a goddamn babysitter."

"I came to deliver the good news," He produced a manilla folder from behind his back, "Blues need some help in Blarganthia and you're going to give it to them. Expect heavy resistance from local red forces. Go grab your armor and come down to the hanger, I'll run down your equipment when you come down."

I had never gone and suited up faster, even still I had taken a moment to look at my ornate helmet with disinterest. I wished I got to pick the design. I carried it with me as I headed down.

Ugly thing.

I was down to the hangar in no time, in it waiting for me was almost everything I was expecting, and started jogging over. Kovich and a pelican ready to take off, what I wasn't expecting was the figure standing next to him that was slightly more than half his height and dressed in a black bodysuit with a black helmet that resembled a motorcycle helmet. Across its chest was what looked like a metal harness that crossed at the middle of the chest with buttons on it. I slowed to a cautious walk, now observing the smaller figure closer. It stood rigid like what people think when they think of a cartoon soldier, its bushy grey-almost-black tail looked well groomed but sported a cyan-blue band of fur around the thickest middle part. On its hip was a blade the size of its leg and strapped to its back was a combat backpack. I stepped within five meters and it snapped a crisp salute.

I stopped short in front of Kovich and I must have been making a face because he smiled in what I assumed was an attempt to calm my growing caution. "What the hell is this? I thought you told me this was my op?"

"It is- it is," He said in an almost condescending tone, resting a hand on the shoulder of the sword-bearing chupa. "He's running support for you. Designation: Hope. Anything you need, he can do it. He's the best of his group."

"What's wrong with him? What's up with the blacked-out visor on his helmet?"

"The visor is because everyone else finds him very... Unsettling."

"Show me."

Kovich slowly moved his hands to the helmet and pulled it off, revealing bright yellow eyes that stared into mine. It was creepy. They seemed to radiate a myriad of emotions yet seemed drained of life. His muzzle was, well, muzzled. His breaths were slow and focused.

This is a kid. He's just a kid.

"What's with the eyes and muzzle?"

"You know I can't tell you about the first part. But the muzzle is because he's known to bite, and is not allowed to talk."

He glared down at him as if to emphasize it, but the kid never looked up at him, only at me.

"Kovich, this is a child," I looked up at the Sarge and he looked away, "This shit ain't right."

"Listen, Astrid. I already told you more than I was even supposed to. They want you to run an op, here's your shot. If you can't handle it, Hope will do it himself. He's run countless simulated and multiple actual operations. Surely, you can overlook this... Minor detail."

I put a hand on my hip looking down at Hope. I didn't like the idea of working with what basically was a child soldier, I didn't like that there was clearly something Kovich wasn't telling me. There was something about that far-gone look in Hope's eyes that made me uncomfortable.

"So, what can this pipsqueak actually do?"

---

"You just... went along with that?"

I could hear the irritation in Icarus' voice. "Listen, kid, what choice did I have? My CO tells me either do this or I'll send him to do it for you. That kid was a freak of nature, there was just something so odd about that stare. Like-"

"Wait- you said Kovich called him Hope?"

"Yeah, I mean, I thought it was a weird ass name but-"

"That was Aries. You went on an operation with Aries when he was a kid. While he was being experimented on!"

"And how the fuck would I have known that?" I finally exploded, fed up with his attitude, and for once Icarus looked taken aback. The surprise was illuminated by the roaring bonfire. "I had just become a fucking adult when I was forced into Freelancer, so you tell me what the fuck I was supposed to do? As it turns out, the military doesn't like when you steal their shit! You think the effects of my actions were even a thought? I was just trying to survive! Even if I had known what they had been doing- you think I could stop them? What choice did I have?"

"There's always a choice," The albino snarled. "Maybe you didn't know about that, but you knewfrom that point forward, and I guarantee you did much worse and looked over much worse all because you believed you had no choice. So you hada choice. Doing nothing isa choice."

"Every choice has a consequence. When your family is used as a cattle prod, it makes it impossible to fight back."

"Not impossible," Icarus sighed and some of his rage died, "Just hard to do something that feels like enough."

"Sound like you're speaking from experience."

"When I was forcefully conscripted by HADES, under the premise of 'specialist or execution', I was forced to kill innocent people only guilty of openly opposing them. Or at least they thought I was. Whenever possible I let people go, let them live. It wasn't much, but you never know whose family member or friend you're letting go home one more time."

"You're right. We were different. You were more rebellious than I was."

---

"Five minutes until drop zone. Jersey prep your gear."

Even though the pilot couldn't see me I nodded and stood up from my seat, reaching into the overhead and grabbing my new weapons. Twin SMGs that I secured on my hip holsters and a Battle Rifle, I didn't care for it much. Precision rifles were more the other guy's thing, that smiley dude whose name escaped me. I turned my gaze to Hope, he hadn't moved since we got on and hadn't stopped looking at the floor.

What's wrong with him?

I took a few steps over to him with the Battle Rifle in hand and knelt down so that I was at eye level with the kid, I tapped his helmet with a nail in an attempt to get his attention. "Hey, kiddo, you broken?"

He slowly shook his head.

"You understand the mission?"

He nodded at the same speed.

"You gonna keep up this silent act the entire time?"

Once again, a nod.

I looked over my shoulder at the cockpit door that was shut securely, "Are you a... Freelancer?"

He, surprisingly, shrugged.

"You training to be like me?"

There was a slow but sure nod.

"This is fucked." I stood up and handed him the battle rifle. "I don't know if you ever handled a gun before, but the tube end is where the bullets come out. That thing where you hold it is the trigger. Don't shoot me and we won't have any problems. Do what I tell you when I tell you. Do as I do- unless I tell you not to."

He took it gently from my hands, turning it over in his small fluffy hands.

I moved away from him and tuned my helmet radio, hailing for command. "This is Jersey, Command?"

"This is Kovich, what do you need Miss Jersey," I cringed at the sound of his voice.

"I got a question about Hope."

"Already? You haven't even arrived at the Blue base yet."

"I know." I lowered my tone. "What's in the bag?"

"In his bag is a metal case full of syringes. Red, green, and blue. Red is adrenaline, blue is a tranquilizer. You might need those to get him to sleep. Don't double dose the same color; we haven't tested that on him yet."

"He's just gonna let me jab him? Most kids are afraid of needles."

"If you order him to stay still, he will."

Something about the way he said that seemed almost malevolent.

"What about green?"

"Just pray you never need the green. From now on, you should carry that bag. Good luck. Command out."

What the actual fuck.

I motioned for the kid to stand and he did so wordlessly, "I'll take the pack off your hands, looks too heavy for you anyways."

"Touching down in thirty, Jersey," The pilot called.

Hope turned away and there was a soft metal click before the bag clattered to the floor, I wasn't worried about the case inside as I was pretty sure metal could take a ding or two. I picked it up and stuck my arms through the straps, looking out through the back as the pelican circled around a medium-sized base plastered with blue flags. With a glance back down at Hope I watched him slide the Battle Rifle across the back of the metal harness, it clicked into place like it was magnetized.

Nice. Let's get this over with.

I turned my focus back to the base now in front of the open bay doors of the pelican, rolling my shoulders and cracking my neck. I looked back to tell Hope to follow me only to catch a glimpse of him mirroring my stretching, "Let's get this shit, kid."

We stepped off and our ride took off as quickly as we arrived, a blue captain with a handgun on his hip came to greet us. He didn't really smile or if he did his overgrown violet fur hid the corners of his mouth, "You're-"

"Astrid. Only my superiors call me Jersey. You're Captain Matte, correct?"

He nodded, walking us toward the base. Four sentries stood posted: Two on the top with long-ranged rifles, and two ground level with Assault Rifles. "Yes, glad they could send us a Blue for the job. Everyone inside, we need to get acquainted with our new allies."

He didn't speak while we walked the halls, but I noticed his eyes kept darting to Hope and then away, a few left and right turns and we were in a sizable mess hall that I figured doubled as a meeting room. I was led up to the front with Hope shadowing me, a fitting term given his appearance. Slowly but surely at least thirty chupas filed in and took seats facing the raised platform.

"This everyone," I whispered to Captain Matte, he gave a silent nod and I cleared my throat. "Good morning, Blues. I am Lieutenant Astrid Valentino. You may call me LT, Lieutenant, Astrid, or New Jersey if you're feeling lucky. I'm here to help you deal with your Red problem, with my help you'll all be able to hold your own after I leave."

"Any questions," The captain asked his soldiers.

A cerulean soldier toward the front with a sniper rifle across his lap rolled his baby blue eyes, his blonde ponytail was certainly not regulation length and his hands were wrapped up. "Yeah, I got a quick 'q' for the lady. Any particular reason you, uh, brought your kid? Couldn't find someone to shove him off to?"

"Brian, what the fuck," A few chupas around him chuckled, but the girl next to him glared daggers at him.

"My colleague here has a rare growth condition," I lied smoothly, staring at the chupa and then the symbol on his forearm guard. "He's also with me, and outranks you, Private. You will refer to him as Hope."

Hope, as if on cue, stepped forward and saluted before allowing himself to stand at parade rest with hands folded behind his back.

"Either of you two wanna take your helmets off, or you too good for that Lieutenant?"

This guy must be fun at parties.

"Private Agustine!"

"You know what, Private? I am. You called for help, and you got me. Now I know it might be hard for your fragile ass ego to realize a woman's telling you what to do that isn't yah fuckin' mother, but tuff shit. I don't have to like you, and I could give less of a fuck if you like me. Captain, how long ago was this base cleaned?"

"I'd say a week ago, why?"

I laid in my new bunk with a bright smirk on my face. This commanding officer shit was easy. I didn't have to take shit from people and they did whatever I told them, no matter how bullshit it was, and I didn't even need a reason.

Poor fucks probably hate me now, heh.

I chuckled to myself and finally took off my helmet and relaxed a little, as comfortable as I was I didn't trust these Blues enough to sleep with my armor off but the Blues must have felt the same way because none of them slept on the same side of the room as me. It didn't bother me. I scanned the room one last time, this time spotting a figure in the room that wasn't one of the Blues. Hope stood in the light of the hallway that shined into the room, Battle Rifle in hand. The kid sat in the doorway facing the hall and pointed the rifle down it.

Is he... Sitting guard for us? Even though there are posted guards outside?

I gave a low whistle and he seemed to perk up, tilting his helmet my way. I could only assume that meant that I either had his attention or he was at least looking my way, I took the opportunity to motion for him to come over to my bunk. He stood silently from his seated shooter position, creeping across the room and refusing to point his barrel away from the doorway.

"Chill out, kid," I whispered. "There's guards on patrol outside, you can rest. We still got all of tomorrow and however long this takes. You gotta be tired, right?"

Hope looked my way and quickly shook his head.

"I have a hard time believing that." I leaned over the side of my bed and popped open the metal case, grabbing a blue syringe.

Fuck, I'm really gonna do this-

"Look kid, you have to sleep. Might as well do it while we're relatively safe. I ain't gonna lie to you, this is probably gonna hurt. Hold still."

Just like Kovich said he would, Hope held still while I injected him not even tensing. The whole process felt gross. Whatever was in the needle worked fast as Hope dropped to a kneel scooting back until the wall propped him up, it was a few moments of slow movement before he lay still. I lightly put the side of my head against his helmet and was met by soft, slow breaths despite the fact that his hands still tightly gripped the rifle.

I stepped up onto the top of the base in the morning sun. I'd been here about three days and not seen a red hair. By this point, the Blues seemed to have gotten over me being present, or at least acted like it. I walked up behind a blonde ponytailed chupa, quietly as I could. He yawned, sitting on a ledge dangling his feet over the side of the base.

"Agustine," He flinched, fumbling his rifle in his hands before scooting back and standing up, "Sleep well?"

"Fuck off, Lt. I'm busy." He scowled at me, and I rolled my eyes behind the visor of my helmet.

"Obviously. I'm leaving Hope to sentry duty with you and MacMillian, I've got some recon to run."

"Don't leave me with that mute."

"It's an extra gun and less you have to do. You might be able to teach him something."

"Whatever, Half-Moon."

Half-Moon, that's the newest one yet.

I let Hope walk past me to join the sniper. "Make sure you keep him busy. I'll be back soon."

I made my way outside and went for the garage. For some reason the base's garage wasn't actually connected to the base. It was disconnected and fifty meters away. I walked into the place to find four chupas standing around just shootin' the shit until they noticed me. They quickly dispersed but I wasn't concerned about them, I was looking for someone in particular.

"Heidi," I called walking around one of the warthogs until I spotted the one mechanic I was looking for, she was halfway under the thing only sliding out when I stepped near. Heidi was the one who gave the side eye to Private Agustine when he gave me that sideways comment. "Hey, you got that mongoose ready for me?"

Heidi brushed her hands off on her blue-grey fur and for a moment I almost chuckled at her pinned-up teal mane but she seemed chipper, "Finished it earlier this morning if you can believe it, Leftenant. There's bags on the side plating that have some useful tools in."

"How's it ride?"

"Like a hot knife through butter," One mechanic called across the room.

"I'd take Lance's word for it ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am, it makes me sound old," I walked over to the mongoose in question and sat down on it, careful not to knock my SMGs against it.

Lance, a tall tan Leo wearing his regulation armor, walked up next to me. "Don't scratch it, alright?"

"No promises!"

I started the engine and peeled out, leaving the blue base behind.

"Hell- fuckin'-yeah!"

Just like I was promised, it was a smooth ride. What should have been rough crashing through the dusty undergrowth and grass felt like floating on an ATV made of clouds. I checked my surroundings, I sure as hell wasn't from here but I needed to make sure I remembered my path. I cut a hard right kicking up tons of dirt as I remembered the Blue's map of the terrain, there was supposedly a red outpost a few miles north and I needed to make sure that maybe was a certainly. I was closing on the supposed area when I spotted a bit of ground that was vaguely ramp-like, my logical mind was pushed to the side as I felt an adrenaline rush. I cranked the accelerator speeding up. I hit it at max speed, shivering at my momentary weightlessness before meeting the ground hard spinning the mongoose out with a slide.

I gotta come riding out here someday.

I nearly let out a cheer when I spotted something close enough that I could make out what looked like the form of a building but too far to make out clear details, I got low and reached into the side bag on the 'goose.

Let's see what Heidi left me.

I felt around and pulled things out.

Screwdriver, jumper cables, grenade, bottle of-

I lifted it up to my visor, and the bottle's label was written over in marker.

Headlight fluid?

I shook my head, grabbed the last item in the bag closest to me, and pulled out binoculars.

Now we talkin'.

"Alright," I leaned forward onto the handlebars, holding the binoculars up to my visor, "Let's have a little look-see."

No doubt, it was a Red base. The red banners all over the damn place were a dead giveaway, there were too many soldiers to count rushing around outside and probably even more inside. I turned my gaze toward the red-decal vehicles surrounding the place. A tank, and a boatload of 'hogs parked out front with turrets ready.

"Oh shit," I muttered, "These Reds ain't fucking around."

I watched as a Red soldier hopped into the tank and began to turn the main gun left and right.

I called the Blue base, "Blue base?"

"Captain Matte here. What's the situation, Lieutenant?"

"Not fucking good. Hella bad guys, tank, and enough hogs to fill a slaughtahouse. Armor up, get everyone armed."

"A big battle in broad daylight? Those Reds are bold."

"I'm headed-" I froze when I noticed the main gun of the Scorpion turning my way.

No way he can see me, right?

As if to answer my subconscious, with a puff of smoke and a deafening boom the tank spat out a shell that went short enough that it didn't hurt me but close enough for me to feel the shockwave. I sat back, dug my heel into the ground, and gunned it spinning one-eighty back toward the blue base.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

There was another boom and the dirt thirty meters ahead of me exploded, I leaned forward twisting the accelerator so hard I swore it might break. There were more distant booms and explosions but I was way out of their range at this point. I pulled up to the blue base and jumped off the 'goose without touching the brakes, letting it veer off and tip over. I threw a glance toward the roof where Private Agustine was crouched down, wrapping Hope's hands up like his.

"What's the enemy eta, Lieutenant," The private asked finishing up before looking down at me with his rifle shouldered.

"Five minutes." I looked up at my helmet clock, "Ten tops. Aren't you glad I made you guys build entrenchments?"

"I heard they had a tank, that true?"

"Affirm. Aim for the radiator. Hope, on me."

The kid leaped down and landed gracefully from a height that most people would have injured themselves, I was used to his strange acrobatics by this point and it quite frankly wasn't the most pressing matter at the moment. I sprinted to the garage to find the chupas inside armoring up still, Heidi secured her gear before lifting a rocket launcher onto her shoulder.

"Heidi, you ever fire one of those before?"

She smirked, "Never had a reason until now, that a problem?"

"Just don't miss."

"I won't."

I rushed out of the garage and back into the base, making a beeline for my bunk. There was something I was- Hope was going to need. Just like it was when I left it, the metal case sat leaning against my bed. I popped it open and fished out a red syringe, I turned toward Hope. I couldn't tell what he was feeling through his blacked-out visor, but his head tilted at the sight of the red needle. I could only imagine he had never seen it before.

"I need you to hold on to this, don't let it break, and don't lose it," I handed the capped syringe to him and he clipped it onto his magnetic harness, with a curt nod. "Just in case."

I gotta get me one of those.

We made our way outside, and from what I could tell, the Blues were spread out in the camouflaged cover points.

"Agustine," I called through radio.

"Yeah, LT?"

"Lemme know when you see something. We don't want to get snuck up on, Bright Eyes."

"Roger, Captain you got any radio traffic?"

Captain Matte coughed on his end, "Got some battle chatter. Stupid Reds don't even know not to broadcast on an open frequency."

"Or they want us to hear it. Agustine, Captain, radio silence until the shooting starts. Astrid, out."

It was silent. Creepily silent. Hope and I lay in the yellowing tall grass, I looked over at him and he looked calm as always. His breaths were slow and controlled, not a single tremble in his body.

"Hey, kid," I whispered reaching for his helmet and taking it off him. His long jet-black mane flopped out from under it and draped all over his face with his muzzle poking out the front. His eyes peered out with a low yellow glow. I reached for his mouth and undid the muzzle, and I don't know what I expected but his mouth didn't betray his emotional flatline. "Hope. You scared?"

He held a look of conflict for a moment, seeming to think.

"Fuck Kovich, tell me- are you scared?"

"N... No. Never," he rasped in the smallest strained voice.

I pushed his mane out of his face and placed his helmet back on, "I hope not, cause we're gonna need everything for this."

"A... Affirmative..." He whispered grabbing the Battle Rifle off his magnetic harness.

It was soft at first, then slowly built in intensity. The ground rumbled, and now I could hear engines roaring toward our position. Three sniper shots cracked out from various directions behind me.

"That's seven-foot-mobile KIAs," Private Agustine shouted, "Open fire!"

Gunfire exploded in every direction. I moved to stand up but a small hand grabbed my chest plate and yanked me back down with a strength I couldn't fight, a warthog narrowly roared over my head and towards the base.

Either this kid is psychic or he's got the ring's best reflexes.

"That's ten," Agustine called over radio.

"Cover left," Another voice added the wild chatter.

A third voice, one of the snipers I assumed joined the fray. "I see 'em, I see 'em. He's history."

I pushed up to my feet, silenced SMG drawn, but Hope had beaten me to the punch gunning down three soldiers in one rifle burst leaving me to just spray down the last one. I dove backward, narrowly missing being run over by another warthog. I threw a look at Hope, a warthog was thundering his way. Before I could even get to him he jumped as it would have hit him, grabbing the gunner as it zoomed by and hitching a ride. He threw the red off as if the guy didn't weigh anything. It was at that point I realized he could handle himself and I sprinted back toward the base, toward better cover dropping into an entrenched position with Lance and Heidi. I checked myself for wounds before popping up to lay down fire, dropping seven reds before I had to reload.

Heidi poked the barrel of the rocket launcher over the top of our natural cover and shouted, "Clear back blast!"

"Back blast clear," Lance shouted back.

"Missile away!"

The rocket tore away from us prowling forward until it found its prey, it collided and dug into the nose of one of the enemy hogs vaporizing the soldiers inside. The wreckage tumbled forward gaining height before landing on top of another that attempted to swerve out of the way, killing the soldiers in that one as well.

"Double kill!"

"That doesn't count, Heidi- you gotta call it in the air first."

" Bull- Shit, Lance."

I reloaded, "Glad you two are enjoying yourselves- Now lay down some fire!"

Heidi raised up for another shot at an approaching warthog.

"Missile awa-" She pulled the trigger and fired the missile as she was struck by a stream of turret fire, painting her armor with her own blood as she collapsed to the ground. The missile still hit its mark, effectively getting revenge on the vehicle that struck her down.

"Fuck!" I pulled Lance over while I got on the radio, "Pressure on those wounds, MacAlistair! Heidi's hit!"

"MacAlistair's busy tending to one of our snipers," Captain Matte called over loud gunfire, "Sending Gallow your way."

"Copy!"

I hopped out of the trench and spotted a small figure rushing toward a battalion of reds with a recognizable shape in his hands, a shotgun. They opened fire on him and I couldn't say if it was to my horror or surprise as I watched him dodge the bullets, literally weaving out of the way at a speed I nearly failed to comprehend as I approached.

"Enemy numbers dropping fast, keep it up, Blues." Agustine called through the radio, "We're almost through this- Everyone off the roof! Tank!"

I heard the telltale boom and looked back in time to watch a few blues jump off the roof and the sniper's nest explode into industrial-sized confetti. Hope rushed forward nonetheless, throwing punches and kicks using the shotgun as a battering tool. I ran up and ran over one red who had his gun pointed at the kid's back.

"Shotgun," I yelled with my hand held out.

The metal of the barrel met my hand and it took no effort to shift my hand to the trigger, I turned sharply and gave the nearest red a faceful of buckshot. One hand cocking the shotgun I turned to shoot another but Hope was all over him, I turned one more time and lined the iron sights on a lone red and fired. Instead of him screaming in pain, the rounds hit metal plating. The scorpion had blocked the spray and begun turning its main gun on me, meanwhile, the gunner just noticed me and began yelling at the tank operator.

"No, you fucking don't," I darted around behind the tank and was immediately grabbed from behind and pulled to the ground by a red. I felt my body for my combat knife, but it was nowhere to be found. I began improvising, administering a healthy dose of elbows to his head and body. "Get- Off- Me- You- Fuckin'- Dick!"

The tank began to roll and he released me, I kicked him off and away. What I hadn't realized was that the tank had been rolling backward in what I could only assume was an attempt to run me over. It instead crushed my attacker under the treads, while the bottom of the tank went over me just barely scraping my shoulder pads.

Thank fuck for generous ground clearance.

I stood up the moment I could, only then remembering the gunner. I lifted my SMG. A knife sunk into his skull, killing him instantly. I already knew who could have thrown it, only glad that he was the one who had taken my knife. Hope wasn't finished though, he jumped on the tank and stood over the canopy. The tank operator wasn't worried about me anymore, I could hear him screaming before he fired off the main cannon way off target. Hope drew the blade he carried and jammed it into the canopy's frame like a crowbar and opened it up slightly, the kid put the sword away and pried it off the hinges with his bare hands. I could only feel bad for the operator as he was dragged out by his throat, he let out one last scream before there was a sharp crack.

"Captain," I called on the radio watching Hope hop down and wipe his hands off in the dirt, "Sit-rep?"

"We've got wounded, two dead," He said somberly before energy surged through his voice, "But those Reds are fucking toast!"

"Can confirm, Lt, no hostiles left standing," Agustine added, "That tank salvageable?"

"Operator canopy's busted, but I'm sure that's an easy fix," I sighed and sat down against the tank treads before looking at all the red-armored bodies that littered the dusty battlefield, "Might need a hose down though. What about Heidi?"

"Gallow says she's stable, nothing vital hit."

"I'd say the reds are gonna leave you guys alone for a good while."

They began to cheer over the radio and I tuned back to my own channel.

"Command?"

"Responding, you sound winded, Jersey," Kovich said with mild concern. "How's the-"

"Reds are dead. I- we- Ahh, just get us the fuck outta here."

I laid down in the grass while Kovich stumbled over his words. "Already? Damn, you work fast. I'll have a pelican out by tomorrow."

"Fuckin' A. Jersey, out."

I clicked off my radio, removed my helmet, and just stared into the sky. Hope popped into my field of view, sitting down silently, laying the Battle Rifle over his lap. I couldn't see through his visor, but I knew he was looking at me.

"What is it, kid?"

He carefully removed his helmet, allowing his mane to shadow over his glowing eyes. "A... Agent New Jersey..."

"It's just Astrid."

"As...trid. Were you... scared?"

Now that was something I didn't expect.

I closed my eyes, "You know what? With the odds we just beat and the fact that I nearly died like ten times... Yeah. Pretty fuckin'."

He must have been satisfied with the answer because he didn't say anything else. There was only the sound of him putting his helmet back on.

"At least we didn't need the needle, right?"

---

I turned to face Icarus, to see him and a small bat face poking out of his bag. "How long's he been here?"

The albino glanced over at his bag, and then did a double-take. "You aren't supposed to come out of the bag!"

"I wanted to hear the story," he whined slapping away Icarus' hands, trying to force him back inside. "What happened after? Did you two keep working together?"

"Well..." I crossed my arms in defeat. "No. That was the last time I saw him for a long time."

I winced. It wasn't technically a lie, but I wasn't about to tell Icarus I was ordered to kill him and nearly went through with it.

"Why? Was he better than you? Did he get the cooler missions? Was Hope his real name or was that his super secret spy code name an- mhm!"

"Geezus, you talk too much." Icarus pinched the bat's muzzle shut. "How about you just write down some questions and Jersey'll get back to you... After Andee takes you off my hands."

"You were headed back to see Andee?" I scoffed. "Why didn't you say so? I wouldna' took the scenic route."

"Why does everyoneknow who Andee is except me?"

"You gotta get out more, Grease."

"Wait, just one more question," From the look on his face he must have been thinking about this for a while. "How did you and Miranda meet?"

I smiled wide, remembering the story like it was yesterday.

"Oh, that's easy- Aight, so boom. I was already part of the resistance by that point. I was tasked with rescuing some damsel from a gang of mu'fuckas. I don't remember what they were, wanted a ransom. All I know is Wash told me go get her. You know me, I waxed those fucks with the hushers and went in to collect her. I stepped into where they had her tied up. Had. She had escaped and next thing I knew she shot me with a fucking shotgun. Thank fuck for bulletproof vests, know what I'm sayin'? We bonded over her helping me get over a broken rib."

"That was quite possibly the least romantic shit I ever heard in my life. My parents met on a hunting trip-"

"Oh fuck off, Grease. Didn't Aries take you prisoner?"

"There's more context to it than that!"

"Right, Stockholm. I'm sure there is."

Red vs Blue © Rooster Teeth. Halo © 343 Industries. Concept by Myshu, assisted by The Department of Chupapology.