Assault (Red vs Blue)

Epilogue: Hymn For The Missing

Epilogue: Hymn For The Missing

The ceremony had been extremely long and agonizing. U.N.S.C. officials had flown to Chorus specifically for the event. Fallen soldiers were acknowledged, medals were handed out to a select few — Tex had recieved Church's medal along with her own, just as South had gotten North's. Pictures of the missing and killed soldiers had been displayed on a large screen; Tex had felt a twinge of an unknown emotion when she saw Church had been listed as K.I.A. There was no proof that he was actually dead — no bodies had been found for him or any of the missing freelancers. The U.N.S.C. just didn't want to waste time or resources to go looking for any of them. As far as they were concerned, losing soldiers was just one of the unfortunate consequences of war.

Tex was well aware of that fact. However, it didn't mean she thought it was right.

After the ceremony had finished, the blond woman snuck away to have a moment to herself. Once she was sure she was alone, Tex pulled out a small tablet from the pocket of her skirt, hitting play on a message she'd listened to six times before.

"Tex," Church's familiar voice started. "If you got this message, it means I . . . didn't make it off the ship. There's no easy way to go about saying any of this, but I want you to know I was only doing what I had to do. If there would've been another way, I would've taken it in a heartbeat. Leaving everyone — leaving you — was the last thing I wanted to do. This wasn't how this go-round was supposed to end. I know you don't wanna hear it, but I'm gonna say I love you. I've loved you through every iteration of our lives. Just do me one favor: Don't make the same mistake I did with you. I don't want you to forget me. And don't ever let me go. I'm sorry."

Tex shoved the tablet back into her pocket and leaned her head against the cool brick of the wall. Those words would be burned into her mind forever. The stupid idiot wasn't supposed to sacrifice himself to play the hero. But, at the same time, she wasn't fully sure he'd really managed to sacrifice himself at all. She just had a feeling Church was still out there somewhere, and she needed to find him. He wasn't going to bitch out on her that easily. Not this time.

Suddenly, a couple figures moving out of the corner of her eye caught the blond's attention. Tex immediately tensed up with anticipation, but her reaction wasn't necessary — it was only Tucker and Caboose walking toward her. Then again, the two of them were notorious for causing trouble in even calm situations, so she couldn't let her guard down completely.

"What are you two doing?" Tex asked as the two men came to a stop next to her. "I thought you would've been sticking closer to everyone else?"

"Eh, we know our way around here better," Tucker said. "Besides, I don't wanna be around everyone else right now. Not with how fast they seem to be getting over everything."

Tex looked at him. "What do you expect them to be doing?"

Tucker shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe act like they actually give a shit about the people we lost? Try to argue with the U.N.S.C. guys that we don't actually know our guys are all dead? Seem a little sadder?"

"I'm really sad," Caboose mumbled. "I . . . I really miss Church. This doesn't feel like all the other times he died. It feels worse. I do not like it."

Tex sighed. It wasn't going to be easy to help the two of them through this. "Look, I know it seems like everyone's moving on really fast. But when you're soldiers — especially higher caliber soldiers — you're expected to pull yourself together after a loss a lot quicker. You guys didn't have to see that aspect of things before because, until you helped fight the Meta, you'd never seen any real combat. Or at least not any major combat. But the rest of us know how the U.N.S.C. trained us to handle these things. You're expected to accept the fact that in war, no matter how good you are, there's a chance you or someone you know might not make it back. And when something does happen, you grieve in private."

Tucker's hands balled into fists. "That's not fair! None of it is! You shouldn't have to act like an emotionless asshole just because the U.N.S.C. thinks it makes you a tougher soldier. It's all a bunch of bullshit!"

"You're not wrong," a new voice said. The three soldiers looked up only to see that South had joined them. "It is bullshit. And so is how they determine if someone is K.I.A."

"You still don't think North is actually dead," Tex said. It wasn't a question.

South shook her head. "No, I don't. My brother is a selfless person by nature, but I don't think that he wouldn't have tried to save himself. He wouldn't throw his second chance away that easily. And I would know if he was really gone. I just . . . Something's telling me he's still alive."

Tucker looked at the other freelancer. "They never found a body for your brother, right? Just like they never found Church's."

"Right," South agreed. "The U.N.S.C. just assuming that anyone that's missing is dead doesn't sit right with me."

"Or us," a different voice said.

The small group turned their attention to the other soldiers that had joined them then. The rest of the freelancers, as well as the Reds, and all walked over to them. It had been Carolina who'd spoke, but it was obvious that everyone else was in agreement.

"So then what do we do?" Tucker asked.

"At the moment? Unfortunately nothing," Washington replied. "We won't be able to do anything until the U.N.S.C. isn't watching us as closely."

"Which means laying low for a while after we're relocated," Tex concluded.

"But that's gonna take too long!" Tucker protested. "A lot could happen between now and then!"

"We don't exactly have another choice," Carolina told him. "The last thing we need is to draw more attention to ourselves."

"Besides that, we have people with injuries that need to heal, and everyone else needs to bounce back from being physically and mentally exhausted," York pointed out.

"Seriously, dude. No more crazy adventures for a while. I don't wanna do it anymore," Grif said.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Grif. We all need a break," Simmons stated.

Tucker sighed, clearly defeated. "Fine."

"Speaking of what comes next, we should get heading back to the Pelicans," Carolina said. "We still need to head back to the Mother of Invention to change and pack."

The whole group began making their way toward the landing area where all the Pelicans were waiting. As they walked, Tex glanced over at Tucker and Caboose — and even South for a brief moment — and immediately felt bad. All they wanted was to find their missing person. Tex wanted that, too, but their hands were tied. At least for a little while. But she wasn't going to just not do anything once they were relocated. After all, she made a promise to not forget and not let go — she wasn't about to break that promise.