Assault (Red vs Blue)

39: The End Is Near

39: The End Is Near

Present Day: En Route to the Temple of Communications (The planet Chorus)

"C'mon . . . Where are they? They should've been here by now. Or we should've at least heard something from them, right?"

Tucker watched as Church paced back and forth in front of the temple entrance. The Blue Team's leader had been anxiously waiting for any news from the freelancers who'd gone to the Temple of the Purge. No one had heard from them since the lieutenants and Dr. Grey had activated the tractor beam and pulled the Tartarus from the sky. While it had cut off a good amount of Charon's forces and supplies, it left everyone assuming that the Temple of the Purge and the surrounding area destroyed. But while Tucker was concerned for the safety of his former C.O. and his teammates, he hadn't vocalized his worries anywhere near as much as the cobalt clad soldier was.

"Look, dude, I'm sure they're fine," Tucker told his C.O. "Kicking mercenary ass isn't an easy job. If there was a problem, they would've radioed for help."

Church stopped pacing and looked at the aqua clad soldier. "Yeah, I'd like to think that too. But anything could've happened when that ship came down, and if things would've gone okay, they would've been here by now."

Tucker couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You're only worried because you're girlfriend was part of the Purge team. Seriously, man, when are you gonna admit how fucking whipped you are?"

"Oh, fuck you. You're just jealous because I actually have a girlfriend; not to mention the fact that she happens to be the most badass person on a team full of badasses."

"Is that really the best you could come up with?"

"I've been a little distracted, cut me some slack. And remind me to come up with something better after this is all over."

"Don't worry - I'll get right on reminding you to come up with a snappy comeback to being whipped after we finish saving an entire planet. Because that's gonna be the first thing on my mind."

Church began pacing again, his grip on his sniper rifle visibly tightening. Tucker wonder for a split second if his team leader was contemplating shooting him, but almost immediately brushed it off. He'd received that threat so many times from Church that it didn't bother him anymore. Not to mention Tucker didn't have to worry too much about Church actually being able to hit him if he decided to fire — though he had been training with the freelancers, so it was possible his aim had improved. Tucker reflectively took a couple steps back from his agitated C.O.

The four lieutenants and Dr. Grey emerged then; they had to have gotten tired of hiding and waiting for the signal that it was okay to come out. Tucker and Church had stayed with them as a security measure — not that the two Blue soldiers were going to be able to do much against a swarm of Charon's forces had they decided to attack, but it was the thought that counted.

"Uh, I hate to be that guy, but are we ever getting evacuated from here?" Bitters asked.

Tucker looked at him. "You absolutely do not hate being that guy. You've been that guy as long as we've known you."

Jensen tried to be optimistic when she replied to the other lieutenant. "Of course we're getting evacuated. They wouldn't just leave us here." She looked at the two Blue soldiers. "Right?"

"Uh, yeah. Totally," Church told her, but he didn't sound convincing. "Someone is one hundred percent coming to get us. Soon."

"How soon is soon, exactly?" Palomo asked nervously. "We haven't heard from anyone in a really long time. I hope things are going okay everywhere else."