Red vs. Blue - What If?

Carolina Died (S13E11) - Chapter 6

Crash Site Alpha (RvBlunivese-57)

Locus and Felix stood in the Temple of Gravity Manipulation with Aiden Price, the former counselor of Project Freelancer. Having specific orders not to do anything until Sharkface got back, the mercenaries tried plotting their next move. Felix offered one of Kimball's attack formations, proving useful against the Federal Army. Locus shot it down immediately due to the potential casualty count and the New Republic Leader's ability to recognize her plan.

"What about Sharkface?" Felix asked.

"What about him?" spat Locus, upset Felix would even bring him up.

"If he's as perfect as Control thinks, he'll take out everyone there. We don't need some amazing, new strategy. We just need a plan to get him deep into Armonia."

Locus sighed, explaining, "If we make the plan revolve around him, we don't get the credit. We lose our paychecks. Unless you're okay with that. Plus, I don't trust Hargrove right now. We need to be useful and accomplish something, or we'll be the loose ends he intends to clean."

"So what, we kill Sharkface?" Felix jokingly chuckled. When Locus didn't reply, the orange-clad soldier shuddered. "Hold up. You're not actually considering that, are you?"

His teammate defeatedly shook his head, "No. I doubt either of us could take him out. Between his armor enhancements and his raw strength, we would die before we lifted a finger."

Aiden chimed in, "Did Sharkface ever report what the key does?" Locus and Felix turned to the man, surprised by his question. Neither of them had expected him to add to the conversation.

"No. We should have asked before sending him back to Hargrove. That would have been useful," Felix snarled.

"Well, perhaps you should be thankful I've been on comms all day," the counselor's calm tone made Felix fidget uncomfortably. Noticing this, he continued, "I've been keeping an ear out for our frequency and Chorus's. That key you picked up is bound to Doyle until he dies. Furthermore, whatever happened at that temple updated our maps. From my research, the key can be used there to wipe out all life on Chorus. Except for those in the temple, of course."

"You don't say..." Felix chuckled, looking at his partner. "Then it's settled. We'll send Sharkface to Armonia with the rest of our men. Thanks to his ingenuity, Aiden'll come with us to the death temple. Once Doyle dies, I'll activate the key, wipe out everyone else, and we're home free."

"Hargrove keeps Armonia intact and doesn't have to lose precious resources on this war anymore," Aiden agreed.

"Some of our partners are former allies. Killing them off would be a waste," Locus retorted.

Felix sighed, "Locus, when have we ever looked out for anyone other than ourselves?"

"They trust us."

"And what, that gives them some sort of immunity? Survival isn't a right. It's a privilege. It's earned. Price here is living evidence of that. He's told us exactly how to win, so he lives. That's the one thing we've always agreed on. If they deserve to live, then they'd be strong enough to stop us. And smart enough never to trust anyone."

"Will Sharkface gain the right to live?"

"Fuck no. We bring him in to help, and he steals our thunder. He's off, probably kissing Hargrove's ass and taking our suit. One less paycheck to share. Just you and me since the beginning," Felix held out his fist.

Locus stared at it for a moment before replying, "What about your speech to the Simulation Troopers? 'If an entire planet dies overnight, people start asking questions. But if you stumble on this rock and find they killed each other, that's a tragedy.'"

Felix was taken aback by the mercenary's memory. He didn't want to admit it, but Locus had a point. The soldier opened his mouth to say something but couldn't formulate a thought. That's when Aiden spoke up again. "Three sets of armor—four if you count the Project Freelancer personnel—will be found in Armonia. They're already cut off from the rest of the UNSC, courtesy of Hargrove. With everyone in one place, surely it'll look like everyone killed each other."

Felix smirked at his acquaintance's quick thinking. "See? He gets it," Felix laughed. "Locus, we'll have an answer for everything. Quit worrying. We're almost done with our mission, and we'll be onto our next paycheck soon enough. Trust me." Felix extended his hand again. Locus reluctantly agreed, accepting it.

A thought appeared in Locus's mind, however. "How do we trick everyone into going to Armonia? Sharkface knows about the key, and getting away from him will be harder than we expect."

Felix questioned, "Price, how far away is the temple from Armonia?"

"Far enough that you should consider taking the Tartarus there."

"What if we drop them off ourselves? They'll think we're staying for support and monitoring the situation. We already know Sharkface will take care of the situation. While he's doing that, we fly the ship to the death temple. Easy."

"You say that, but saying and doing are two different things."

Unwilling to discuss this any further, Felix began walking toward his quarters. Finishing off the conversation, he said, "Locus, you are killing me with the negativity. We'll be fine, I promise."

Locus stood in silence with the counselor, watching as Felix disappeared behind a corner. "Aiden. We keep talking about Sharkface being unstoppable. But the truth is: Sharkface's enhancements won't make him unstoppable. The Reds and Blues killed the Meta, after all. How did they manage that?"

The counselor sighed and faced the floor. "That... is a long story."