1503 HOURS, NOVEMBER 14, 2554 (UNSC MILITARY CALENDAR)
HALO INSTALLATION: SIRCA--UKNOWN COORDINATES-FREELANCER L-BASE

Tysiac was back in his quarters, wearing his ANUBIS-class helmet to peruse over the cameras across the base. The rest of his armor placed on a UNSC armor rack that could sustain the weight of the MJOLNIR armor without damaging the floors.

After having to help clean out what used to be the personal quarters of the Chupadore Agent South, the Spartan had only moved a few essentials from the Last Word to the space. Tysiac had heard that the Dakota sibling had died during a mission involving a Werewolf. Though if one had asked him, he would suspect a certain Alpha had been involved, and she accidentally gotten herself killed.

He never really knew either of the Dakota twins, regardless of whether it was the Project Freelancer funded by ONI or the one here on Sirca. Only thing the Spartan ever knew about them was that North was the sniper and South was the infiltrator.

Tysiac's attention quickly snapped back as he realized that Wash and Constance were talking while sparring. He flitted back to the camera there and listened in.

As he parried Constance's practice knife with the short bamboo stick, Wash said, "-could consider she's actually on our side."

"She's the Director's Pet." Constance argued, having switched her knife to an icepick grip before lunging for his side, which was blocked at the knife's guard, "You let her get too close."

The two disengaged with Wash, using leverage with his defense to shove her away, making room between themselves. Hesitantly, Wash replied, "Yeah... I know that, too."

"Then why?" Constance argued, using the knife to block Wash's attack as he tried to swing for her neck. "She doesn't give a fuck about you."

"That's not true!" Wash said before a knock on the door interrupted them. One militia had peeked in and gave a quick report, "Sir! Sidewinder Base checked in, sent us one man and two crates."

While Wash was trying to focus on both the report and the fight, he pushed Constance back, using the bamboo shaft to create distance between them. As he threatened Constance with getting poked and stabbed, the Chupadore replied, "I thought I asked for two and four. I let them borrow our best Freelancer, and this is how they repay us?"

Constance had backed off and brought her knife around to force Wash to disengage again as he rambled, "Fuggin bet Nelson's still squeezing me for those suppressors. I told her they're for Special Ops! The damn roughnecks only know how to blow shit up. We're the ones going after werewolves!"

"S-sir?" the militia asked as Constance made a critical mistake, resulting in Wash closing in.

With a groan, Wash gripped her knife hand with his free hand, positioning the bamboo across her neck. "Right," he said, "Go ahead and book the crates. I'll do the interview."

He let go of Constance as she knelt to pick up her practice knife and turned to point at the Chupadore, "If I don't like this guy, I'm sending him straight back to Sidewinder with as much dynamite as he can carry."

"Y-Yessir," The militia replied before running off.

New recruits? Tysiac knew that L-Base was short-staffed, but he hadn't considered that the Movement was still so closely linked to the Freelancer Project that it was connected to other bases. Perhaps compartmentalization in case they became compromised by Omega's efforts to quash them?

Constance picked back up both the knife and the conversation as she pointed at Wash, "You just don't want it to be true."

She gave a quick charge as she continued, "You saw what she let happen to that ex of hers. You're next."

Tysiac gave a small frown at her statement. He won't lie and say he knew Bethany enough, though he had enough time around Church and hearing one of their arguments to pin down what likely happened. Given how Church was scrubbed and dumped in a box canyon with no memory of Project Werewolf, it's safe to say he might have been involved in what happened. Especially since he went AWOL after hearing about Bethany.

"This isn't about me and her, okay?" Wash insisted. "I'm telling you, she's on our side, not his."

"Tex is on nobody's team," Constance countered, "She's only going to hurt you, and take us down with you."

The two exchanged another series of strikes and counters as Wash asked, "If you can't trust her, why can't you at least trust me on this?"

"Give me a reason to, Wash!"

"She can't stand what the Director's doing, either." He backed off when Constance made a large swing, "You've got it backwards-It's because of what happened to Church and the others! Can't you see that?"

Constance gave a growl as she pursued the Chupadore. "All I see is that you let your guard down when she's around."

Not soon after the woman had accused Wash of that, Bethany showed up at the door, "Hey Wash, got a minute? We need to talk."

The sudden appearance disarmed Wash as he turned towards her. "Tex? Uh, now?"

That caused him to falter and not see Constance shift around and brought the practice knife across the top of his wrist, leaving behind a dusted mark as she quickly rested the knife at his throat. The two Chupadores stared at each other in silent communication before Constance gave an angry huff before glaring at Bethany as she left the room.

Bethany returned the stare with some confusion as she asked Wash, "Bad time?"

"Always." He grumbled as he wiped off the mark on his wrist and picked up the bamboo stick, "What is it?"

Bethany turned to close the door before stating, "I'm leaving."

"What?" Wash's eyes widened before he began sputtering.

Beth raised a claw. "No, it's not something you said, and I don't care what the others think. I'm doing this on my own."

"This is because of Church, isn't it?" Wash accused. He gave a growl, "I knew this would happen as soon as he showed up."

"It's not just him, either." Bethany countered, "What I found out there... I've never been able to get it out of my head." She turned away as she continued explaining, "I have to settle this with the Director once and for all. He needs to pay for what he's done, and I can't afford to just sit on my ass waiting for the cure any longer." She gave a sigh before telling Wash, "I'm going to go take it from him."

Wash protested, "We're not even sure the werewolf cure exists. Tex just-"

"Just what? 'Wait a little longer?'" Bethany turned and glared at the Chupadore, making him hesitate, "There aren't any more breakthroughs, and I can't bring myself to just sit here and weigh in Tys' own offers. I've got the proof, and the answer is with him."

Not the type of news he wanted to hear. Part of Tysiac knew Bethany had doubts about ONI, even after he told her of trying to get a playing hand that would've let Tysiac make ONI play 'nice' with her and the Movement, if not the Chupadore race entirely. A small memory added to his worries, the time when he read how after a moment of frustration, the AI remnant of Beta-Texas created by Epsilon had gone off trying to look for the Director. Yet what did the fragment get for her efforts?

By the efforts of Agent Washington and a deteriorating Agent Maine, that ended in her defeat and got contained inside the memory unit Epsilon had originally been contained in.

Tysiac ignored Wash's attempt of convincing Bethany to stay for only two days before allowing other Freelancers to join her. Her pride and ego wouldn't allow it in the slightest, not even to ask Tysiac to join her.

Only question now, as Bethany lied to Wash that she'll wait two days and be ready by that time, was what will Tysiac do to force his decision? Considering how stubborn Bethany continued to prove to him, the Spartan would have to injure or incapacitate the woman, which would go about as well as casually challenging three Brutes without armor or weapons.

His mentor's voice quickly came in again. Jun remained as clear in his memory as if he had just stood beside him, "Don't take too long. Hesitating means the fight's over. Make your call and make it fast."

So, what is his call...

Tysiac went through the cameras around the base again, seeing if there was anything he could glean out next as he got out of the bed and began collecting his weapon and duffel bag of ammo. He will need the Last Word in more ways than one, might even need to collect a second weapon to handle whatever heavy armor Omega or the Director might send at Bethany.

Remembering briefly that Tysiac had turned off the camera in her room, he switched it on just in time. Bethany had put something down on her nightstand as Church had barged in.

The audio clicked in as Church became animate with his claws. "Washington! You two have been sleeping together! I knew it!"

Tysiac gave a hard wince as Church's voice was near guttural. It was almost as if the werewolf side of him just gained the ability to speak as Bethany gave an unimpressed look at the now shirtless Chupadore before turning around and collecting a briefcase under her bed, "I thought you accused me of sleeping with York, not Wash." She gave a huff at him. "And please, it was just a couple of seasons."

"How long were his sessions??" Church growled at her.

She turned around and opened up the briefcase, revealing the three small doses that Tysiac had seen Constance fiddle around with earlier during his stay. He had asked before and she explained they were simply something to help around the base. The green that he saw Bethany pick out was meant for healing something, while the yellow was a sedative. Mentioning the red made her become guarded and not as eager to tell him about it other than 'Just don't touch it.'

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Bethany simply said. She turned around as she loaded the green canister into a gun that looked a little too similar to one of her pistols, "Just hold still."

She grabbed Church's arm as he nearly argued before being injected into the neck. The effect had been almost as instant as using Biofoam on wounds. Church's entire demeanor changed. He gasped deeply as Beth plopped him down on her bed, his eyes wide and silent. She smirked and asked, "Feel better?"

"I.. Yeah, wow... I feel really good..." Church commented as he felt around his neck with a claw, "What was that, and why didn't I get it sooner?"

Bethany gave a small sigh as she put away both the gun and the empty container. "Because it might conflict with the serums we've been testing on you before. Didn't want to compromise our experiments until we'd exhausted everything."

He stared at her with some confusion, "Oh... Sooo. I'm done being a lab rat?"

"More like a lab bitch. But yeah, you're done." She commented as she brought out a small pill container and closed the suitcase shut.

Church raised an eyebrow as he pointed out, "You don't make it sound like it's good news."

"Church..." She sighed with some sadness, "That tonic's not a cure. You'll need that same injection every day just for it to last. But... Since you've always hated needles." She quickly tossed the bottle towards the werewolf.

He looked at it before turning back to Bethany, who explained, "Don't take more than two a day, otherwise your kidneys are shot to hell. And that's the only side-effect we're aware of." The Chupadore woman pulled Church out of her bed and started guiding him to the door, "And don't lose those; They're expensive and I know how much a cheap-ass you are."

"Is that your cheap-ass whore way of saying I owe you?" Church snarked at Bethany as he left her room.

"You're welcome, cockbite." She gave a smirk at him before closing the door.

Well... At least there's something to keep Church from being a social pain in the ass while Bethany and Tysiac were away...

Tysiac quickly equipped his armor and started making his way towards the Last Word. After making sure he didn't leave anything that would get nicked, the Spartan closed the door to his quarters and began his trek towards the exit. Some of the Movement Militia looked up at him with some curiosity, but none of them stopped him and asked about anything. He glimpsed Constance and York talking on the ramp leading between either sides of third level. They didn't see him and were walking away from him, letting Tysiac slip by with little notice.

Reaching the Last Word, Tysiac began rifling through the armory. The MA5 was the first thing he kept on himself, as it was good for general purpose. What he needed was more niche situations.

As Tysiac continued to sift and consider his options, a crate labeled with ONI's logo came to his attention. Opening it, he saw a toolset and a series of chemicals that were meant for... interrogations on a level that didn't bode well for anyone subjected to his care.

At first, Tysiac opted to close the crate. It wouldn't do him any good and trying to nab an Omegite was asking for trouble... Wait...

Tysiac went through the crate again until he found the supply of powerful sedatives. Some of them were strong enough to knock Brutes to a sluggish and manageable level... The Spartan quickly pocketed a few doses and one of the syringe guns... How did Bethany make hers look like an actual gun instead of the simple syringe guns?

He shook his head slightly to knock the question away. Something for later. With Project Werewolf turning out to be more trouble than it was worth, it was likely that Omega or the Director had werewolves of their own at their disposal.

Another thought quickly came to him. Doing this wasn't just his mission, as Wash was right. The Freelancers had the right of way getting involved. Tysiac had only reason to go after Omega himself for crashlanding the Spartan here... That said, Tysiac couldn't risk dragging the entire L-Base into following Beth, not with his involvement and still needing a bit of work to know how to coerce Sirca into ONI's hands... Tysiac closed the crate and hid it away where it wouldn't be easily stumbled upon amongst the crates of ammunition. After leaving his helmet on manual cable and having the available data loaded up to the ship to detail a report, the Spartan left the ship and made his way back into L-Base.

He couldn't take everyone, but he knew a few that could be trusted enough to pull quickly and be ready.

However, entering the L-Base's entrance, he encountered one Chupadore waiting for his arrival. Seeing Constance leaning against one corner of the hallway, Tysaic came to a stop just before her. A scent of dish soap quickly reached him and he noticed that her hair was still slightly damp, though she certainly seemed to be a lot more cleaned up. She must've treated herself while he was away.

However, she didn't look happy to see him as she shortly addressed him, "Tys."

"Cons'," Tysiac intoned, "Something the matter?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at him, her tail lazily moving behind her, "I don't know, is packing up in a hurry counted as a problem?"

"Does it need to be?"

"With Tex being unusually quiet, not asking for her punchbag?" Constance pushed herself off of the wall, her arms still crossed, "So, what's going on? Why the armor and empty room, Tys?"

Tysiac gave a sigh. Knowing Constance even with the differences between human and Chupadore, she's the type to ask questions. "Bethany's going rogue and after the Director alone."

Constance apparently didn't expect him to tell her so openly. In fact, him telling her the full truth seemed to take her off guard completely. Her brows shot up as her usual calm broke, "W...How-why?"

"She thinks he's got the cure, and she's looking to take it from him. And she's planning to move tonight rather than wait for anyone."

She stared at him for a moment before asking, "And what are you planning to do?"

The Spartan made a small motion with his head towards the interior of the base, "I plan on grabbing Wash and York and reinforcing her, whether she likes it or not."

"Jus... Just like that? You're not usually this direct." Constance said, her voice tinged with skepticism.

"Just like that," Tysiac replied bluntly, "I'm not doing this on protocol or because of any orders. It's doing the right thing and pulling someone out of a firepit. You and the rest of the Movement's my shot at keeping Sirca from starting anything I or ONI don't want happening." The Chupadore's arms settled to her side as she watched him push forwards and walk past her, "I need to inform Wash and York and get them ready by morning. Beth will have a head start and I'm not stopping her from doing so, but the Last Word can keep track of her. Where she goes, we'll know where Freelance Command will be."

Constance didn't seem to fully believe him, but something convinced her as she softly told Tysiac, "It's out in Devil's Cauldron in Qoppa. Not to put a dent in your ship's abilities, but it's a perpetual storm out on the salt flats. It'll mess with visual and electronic surveillance. There's rods that keep the lighting out of the way on a path to the base."

Pausing, the Spartan turned to face the woman. Her head hung low, her tail swishing back and forth in a restless motion, and her eyes, filled with an uneasy openness, seemed to stare directly at him. The Spartan could sense an unmistakable sincerity in her demeanor.

He gave her a nod. "Thank you. It'll help us greatly."

She didn't smile, but her tail started swaying slightly, "I just don't know what to make of you, Tys. One minute you're an unknowable and untouchable black-ops of armor. Next, you're laughing and talking like someone who gives a damn about everything we do here."

That made him stop. Staring at her, Tysiac asked, "You think I'm like Beth? Selfish, independently stubborn, and all that?"

Constance gave a scoff, a claw moving across her pink mohawk, "I don't know what to fucking think."

Memories started appearing in Tysiac's mind, nearly replacing the Chupadore with a human who felt like she didn't have anyone's back. When Constance learned he had gone to work for ONI and felt like he was turning against her for the shady and jaded agency.

Tysiac shut his eyes and willed the memories back, though a few regrets of that verbal fight provided some idea of what to tell the Chupadore in front of him, "I know not everything can be so straightforward and simple. There're times I wish things went that way as well."

His words seemed to stir the woman as he continued, "I know you're slow to trust. And you're right to doubt me, but I'm not here to be your enemy. With or without Omega, with or without your Director. And I'm not asking you to simply take my word for it."

Her tail stilled as she looked at him carefully. She didn't immediately respond as he began slowly turning away, having to reach York and Wash quickly so as they would be ready sooner. "You're really wanting me to believe you." She called back, "That you're not just another shady asshole, trying to take advantage of us and not giving a shit what you do."

He paused for a moment to reply, "No. I am, it's what ONI is and does. But what I'm not is someone who threw out his heart. And I've had enough of losing people I didn't need to... Be sure to let the rest of the base know of a change of plans with Beth's departure."

Tysiac didn't turn to look at Constance as she gave an affirmative noise, though if there was something to guess, he might have made enough progress to grow some trust with her. However, his mind didn't remain on the woman for long as he quickly made his way directly to where Wash's... ugh, 'personal quarters' was...

Reaching the 'Custodian' closet, Tysiac gave a solid knock on the door with his gauntlet before speaking out, "Agent Washington, I know you picked this closet. We need to talk, it's about Bethany and your plan on the Director."

Wash's eyes widened in disbelief as he opened the door, a wary expression on his face. "How did you know-" he started, but stopped mid-sentence, throwing his claws up in exasperation. "Fucking." He muttered before he looked over and groused at Tysiac, "What do you want?"

"I'm part of ONI," Tysiac gave a smirk as he gave a bit of body language to let Wash know his expression, "I've the tendency to know things." His expression changed and gave a stern tone, "One of which I'm not happy to know is that you turned a janitor's closet into your quarters."

"It's clean, it's cozy, it's PRIVATE." Wash said, crossing his arms with an almost impetuous pout at the Spartan.

"You still reek of bleach," Tysiac countered, which made Wash curiously sniff one arm, "even my nose isn't as strong as a Chupadores and I can smell it. And you're using your suitcase, as a bed." Tysiac cut off the sigh he was about to give. He didn't have time to argue with this childish nonsense.

Shaking his head, Tysiac brought himself back on topic. "Beth's planning on ditching you."

Wash's attention quickly turned as his brow furrowed. "What? When?"

"Don't know, and she's not going to listen." Tysiac replied, "But since she will not wait for two days for you and everyone else, I plan on taking the Last Word to follow and catch up to her. Const's already told me where Freelancer Command is, and I plan on taking you and York with me."

The Chupadore gave a small sputter before recognizing what Tysiac said, "You're not doing the same?"

Tysiac shook his head, "Nope. I still remember what teamwork is."

While still unhappy, Wash gave a slow nod, "Alright.. When do we leave?"

"First light. So catch as much sleep and gear as you can." Tysiac turned to leave. He paused just before Wash returned to his... 'room'... Before the Spartan glanced back, "And for fuck's sake, Wash. Get an actual room, not somewhere with chemical fumes."

Wash gave a groaning mutter before closing the door. Whether he'll actually listen to the Spartan or not was almost up to whatever divinity actually existed. But that's on Wash if he'll do it. He could always tell York, since the tall Chupadore had been wondering and even asking Tysiac if he knew.

Going back up the stairs and reaching York's room, Tysiac didn't waste time in knocking. "York. It's Tysiac, need to talk to you."

There was a bit of shuffling of clothing and his helmet's motion tracker showing York hurrying about. Muttering something about hormonally active fur-lizards, Tysiac was greeted by the sight of a nearly naked York, who tried to give a charming smile.

York tried to play it up with the Spartan. "'Ey there, Tys. Need something with all that armor?"

"It's about you and Wash's involvement with Beth's plan on the Director," Tysiac replied bluntly.

"O-oh," York stuttered before he leaned a claw against the doorframe, his expression getting a little more serious. From what Tysiac could peek into York's room, he had hastily hidden either a saucy romance novel or some other material. Not wanting to indulge in prying on York's private activities, Tysiac quickly got to the point, "I've already told Wash, but plan's changed. Beth's too impatient that she'll be leaving soon. So instead of trying to stop her, I'm taking you and Wash with me on the Last Word to catch up on first light tomorrow."

York was a little slower on realizing what was happening. But once he did, York gave a sigh and placed his wrist over his eyes. After a moment of silence, the Chupadore Werewolf said, "I guess that's just like Tex. Never was the girl for waiting."

"That and she feels like she has to carry everything," Tysiac agreed.

York gave a nod before moving his head off of his wrist, "Alright. So first light, I can be ready for that. Though can't lie, I'm eager to see what that Prowler's like. You know where she's going?"

"Qoppa, out in the Devil's Cauldron."

"Yeah, that'll be it." The Chupadore nodded, "Not certain how the Prowler's gonna handle the storms there."

"Worst case, we'll park and make the journey the rest of the way." Tysiac said as York straightened up.

York gave a nod before saying, "I'll be ready. Just don't play the same game Beth's doing, yeah?"

"Like I told Wash, I still remember what teamwork meant." Tysiac gave a small smirk as York returned with his own smile before closing the door.

With a fireteam setup and an ETA to mission start, Tysiac quickly left to finish things up and be ready for the morning.

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