Assault (Red vs Blue)

13: Earthbound

13: Earthbound

Present Day: The Mother of Invention (Primary freelancer facility/aircraft)

When morning rolled around — way too soon — Washington found himself dreading getting up. The team was about to bit split three different ways, and things on Chorus had seemed to have come to an almost complete standstill. And, on top of everything else, he was going Earth-side for the first time in years. Wash couldn't clearly remember the last time he'd been on his home planet; it had to have been right before he'd left for basic training. The idea of going back seemed strange to him now after all the years he'd spent bouncing around through various positions in the military.

To add to the stress of everything, the Director called for a meeting almost immediately after Wash had managed to pull himself out of bed. Muttering some rather harsh things under his breath, he got dressed and made his way to the locker room. The others were slowly starting to trickle in as well; most of them looked just as sleep deprived as he felt. York almost fell over as he tried to put his Kevlar layer on while in the middle of a yawn, and South almost fastened her chestplate incorrectly. The rest of the team seemed to be fumbling in much the same manner. Squad Two — whose members had come in just behind Squad One's — appeared to be in the same boat. It made Wash feel a little better about his current state; he'd nearly reversed his shin guards and almost forgot to secure his arm pieces entirely.

Once everyone had managed to somehow get suited up, they all made their way to the bridge. The Director was waiting for them, looking rather tired himself. Washington assumed he'd probably been up early dealing with Kimball — it was a conversation he imagined most likely didn't go very well. Kimball could be a very stubborn woman when she wanted to be; it was her stubborness that both made her a good leader and tended to get her in trouble. If she'd tried to have that attitude with the Director, Wash had a feeling his commander had knocked the general down a size. He wasn't looking forward to hearing about it once he eventually went back to Chorus.

"I have called you all here to make sure you know exactly where you're going and what you are to do," the Director stated. "I know plans have changed slightly, but I believe going about things in this fashion will give us the edge we need."

"We trust you with this, sir," Carolina said.

"Not like we have much of another choice," South muttered under her breath, earning her a not-so-subtle elbow to the ribs from North.

"While for some of you, your mission hasn't changed much, for others it has changed drastically," the Director continued. "Agents Carolina, Texas, Maine, and York; you will all be returning to Chorus and continuing your trek to the location given by the coordinates. We need to find out what's there before Charon does. Wyoming and Florida; the two of you will be returning to Armonia with Squad Two. The generals will need your help to keep their soldiers under control. Things need to keep running as smoothly as possible in the Capital until I can send the rest of Squad One your way for the attack on Crash Site Alpha. As for agents Washington, South, North, and CT; the four of you will be heading to Earth to speak with Mason Wu — A.K.A., Siris. We need to know everything he does about Locus and Felix. Are there any questions?"

"When are we all supposed to deploy, sir?" York asked.

The Director looked at him. "Everyone will be deploying at oh-eight hundred hours. That gives you all an hour to make sure you're prepared. Are there any other questions?"

Everyone's voices echoed loudly through the room as the whole group said, "No, sir."

"Very well," he said. "I'd like to speak with the agents who are Earthbound for a moment. The rest of you are dismissed."