And the sky was littered
with the corpses of stars,

[sub]ASCENDANTS - OBSERVER - TAGS - EXTREME - HELLION REF (9FT)[W]isker[/sub]

The Freelancers, in general, had been an interesting group from the beginning. They had been given very vague information from basically the very beginning. They were rarely ever given time frames and when asked when something would be done, they would usually get a response saying that it would get done when it was done. Which had been fine with Washington, because he was patient in that regard compared to the rest of those that were in the program. There had been around 50 super soldiers that had been accepted with applications into the Project. Which was good, but it also meant that Washington had competition. He had never been the most competitive, but he knew taht even he himself needed to be pushed when possible. He couldn't just lay back and do the minimum that was required of him. That wasn't how he had ended up getting to be Corporal when he was in the UNSC. He didn't know the backgrounds of those that he would eventually be teamed up with. Instead, he just fought with them and figured out their personalities and what they were strong with doing as their specialties.

Not everyone could be good at everything, after all, so everyone had their own quirks that were waiting to be revealed. There had been several talks before he had even been accepted into the program. The program was massive, and it was basically held on a massive ship that went by the name, Mother of Invention. It was almost ironic that it had that name because they were indeed inventing a lot of things on that damned ship. Most of those that were there were fairly likable. He wasn't sure how he felt about the Counselor because each time he talked to the guy, the guy basically tried to analyze his mental state, even with a basic conversation. It turned everything awkward because he wasn't about to ask everything that he questioned about. He could be doing countless other things than with talking with the Counselor. If the Director wanted to know something then he would make sure to tell the Counselor so. Then the leaderboard came to be, and they were arrange based on their skill level. Carolina, of course, being at the top of the list while he had been at the very bottom. Being the worst of the best wasn't exactly a bad thing. He was still capable, and he had no intention of climbing up the ranks like the rest of them.

Mentally though, Project Freelancer took his toll a little bit. There were times where he would wonder if he was doing the right thing. If they were the good guys. After all, they didn't exactly go after any alien troops and only went after humans. Having been in the military though, Washington didn't have nightmares about those that he had ended up killing. He had learned to turn away those thoughts a long time ago, practically having been trained to do so. It was one of the reasons why he was able to keep such a clear head when it came to slaughtering an entire ship with the rest of his teammates. No. He wasn't a good guy. He had been on the wrong team from the very beginning, but it wasn't like he knew this till now. He had been led astray, lied to, and stabbed in the back from the program that he had trusted with his life and believed would reach higher levels in the future. He did state the reason he had wanted to join the program was that humans were losing the war and this seemed like the next best option. Which it had been for a short time. After they were able to run a mission after mission together, they grew to what almost could be considered a family.

That's the way that Washington had looked at it, as they would protect each other in battle if they needed to. Especially the Twins because they were both families already. They could walk around without their helmets off without having the barrier between them when having a face to face conversation. Something that Washington refused to do in the current outpost that he was taking shelter in. Carolina having saved his life plenty of times. It would probably be hard to replace him being the top 6 if he was to get blown up. At least that's what he wanted to tell himself but he knew that wasn't true. Even if they did act like a family in and out of armor, they weren't against trying to beat the hell out of each other in the means of training. He saw plenty of times everyone going all out. Breaking each other's ribs. Breaking noses and cracking bones. And yet there was no ill grudges that were left from those blows. Instead, it was almost like a silent note for someone to get better so that they wouldn't end up getting said injuries. While he had been giving information to Carolina, he began to think about what was going to happen to those that lived in this outpost. He was the only one that was maybe keeping Carolina in check if he could even catch her.

She didn't have her armor, so it wasn't like he could put her armor in lockdown like what his armor was capable of doing. She was going to potentially even fight anyone that looked at her the wrong way. Sure, there were other's around that were quite nice, but at the same time, he didn't know exactly how far that facade really went. He wanted to get out of here probably just as much as she wanted to. His eyes darted back toward Roy and Imperia, and then Roy finally spoke up. The Colonel was obviously pissed, and he didn't blame the guy. Although he wasn't sure exactly why, because he wasn't one of them. He was just some random soldier that was in the wrong place and wrong time. Washington didn't say anything to what Roy said, mostly because he knew that if he said something and try to give any instructions his arm was as good as broken. He would greatly like to keep his arm, especially in this strange place. One thing that Washington did not know though was why Carolina tensed at the mention of the name Church. Washington had never gotten close enough to get to know the Director and who he was.

Not even his real name, and instead he only knew Carolina's father by the name of Director. And even then, he didn't know that Carolina was the director's daughter either. When he did feel the tightening of her grip, he stopped breathing, thinking that he had said something wrong that had actually pissed her off. What that could have been though Washington had no idea. The other was going to let him up, and he released the breath that he had been holding for who knows how long. Finally, he wasn't going to have his arm broken. At least for today. However, she wanted to see Church for some reason. "Sure thing Boss" Washington would say complying with her order almost immediately. Mentioning that the other knew a little bit about Project Freelancer must have peaked her interest, but he wasn't sure how the leopard was going to treat Church when he did arrive. He noticed that her attention turned from him back to Roy, and he clenched his jaw. But his arm was finally released. Agent Washington didn't get up right away and instead waited for Carolina to shift herself into a standing position and say that he could get up.

From there, he would roll himself over onto his stomach getting up. His armor shifted a little bit back into place, and he rolled the shoulder of the arm that Carolina had held. Washington had known to get up when only told to in this kind of situation, as any wrong move could lead to some sort of punishment. It was proper to follow orders from someone that was higher ranked. Hearing her talk back to Roy wasn't good. The guy was a Colonel and held a rank in this outpost. He took one small step toward Carolina to hopefully try to calm her down. If that was even possible. "Carolina, he lives here. Considering what just happened he might think you'll attack his teammates. He's a Colonel." Washington was quick to inform Carolina of the other's rank. Which was pretty high in military terms, at least to him anyway. The armored smilodon looked toward Roy and lowered his shoulders as if to say a silent sorry for Carolina's attitude. He knew what she was going through, and it was certainly jarring. Then she asked about his sleeping quarters and his body language came back to the soldier stance that he usually took.

Gesturing with his helmet in the direction toward the base. "Their base is this way. They live in an abandoned observatory that was abandoned by humans. And this outpost seems to peaceful in regard to its residents. Their base is in the middle of the area that they do control. Trees are located at the perimeter and mostly wide open plains make up the majority of the rest. There are a couple other landmarks here and there but I've swept it for any signs as to the rest of us but over the past couple weeks there have been no other signs other than the simulation troopers." Washington's words would come out fast and informative. He made sure to give her the time frame that he had been here. Literally alone with civilians. Which had been a change in itself that took a while to get used to, to realize that these guys weren't exactly soldiers. Speaking of the one that they wanted to talk about, Church had made his way over. He turned his head hearing the simulation troopers voice, and the muscles in his shoulder tensed. Well, this was going to either go good or go very bad. "Church, this is Agent Carolina." The armored smilodon would introduce the leopard with a small pointing of his paw, although it was more of a vague gesture than anything.

He was pretty sure that Church would already know that she was a Freelancer considering that he knew he was a Freelancer basically from his name when they first met. When a shadow passed over them though, his helmet snapped up to look at the sky. Oh no. It was this guy. Washington had to stop himself from saying anything as the large guy was above them. With wings. He still didn't know what the hell this guy was. The other's words to Washington were passive aggressive to him. Was the other going to attack Carolina? Even if it was a misunderstanding he was going to protect someone that understood what he was going through. He took one small step toward Carolina. Not for her safety, but to stop her with the way that the beast was addressing her. He had never caught the other's name. How was he going to diverge this situation now? "Uhh I'm actually just taking shelter for now. I'm not sure calling someone a member who hasn't contributed anything is the right term to be used to describe me." Agent Washington would state calmly, and therefore what he said was null and void and Carolina would be allowed to hurt him. He didn't need them to protect him. He was capable of protecting himself. He wasn't one of them and was going to make sure that he was never going to be. "speech"

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It all happens in slow motion. Tension builds--slowly at first, then faster and faster before it explodes. The strange leopardess--Carolina, he calls her--leaps at Washington. An overwhelming wave of fear washes over her, frightened by the gnashing teeth and the unsheathed claws. It is all too familiar. The growling, the hissing, the shouting. A part of Imperia half-expects Carolina to tackle her, which is a completely irrational but entirely uncontrollable feeling that causes the girl to momentarily wink out of existence. Not really. But she is invisible for one moment, two, before the anxiety levels lessen some and she regains control of rational thought. As the petite she-wolf grows more in control, her physical form slowly comes back into view. Despite being visible once again, Imperia still cannot bring her body to move. All she can do is watch, wide-eyed, as Carolina growls something at her friend. She hears, but none of the words make sense for the thundering of her heart drowns it out. Imperia is vaguely aware of more and more of her clanmates arriving on scene, exchanging words, contributing to the oppressive tension in the air. She is paralyzed.

That is, until a powerful feeling of injustice begins to drown out the terror left over from her childhood. Imperia gazes upon Carolina ordering Washington, her only real friend (in her mind), around like some sort of puppy. She sees the strange female treating her clanmates in a similar manner. It upsets her that this unfamiliar person dares harm the people she cares about. And it upsets her even more that she is powerless to do anything about it. "G-get off of him.." she murmurs meekly, the demand beginning as a thought before accidentally spilling into spoken word within the chaos of her rather stressed and frazzled mind. Some part of the canine's mind fears Carolina's wrath, envisioning the beautiful ginger wildcat in the form of her father, slashing and kicking and biting until the rage subsided. Those were the worst moments of her life, and as much as Peri wishes that those experiences remain in the past tense, they continually rear their ugly head in the form of uncontrollable terror whenever exposed to an even remotely similar situation. But the young female cannot stand the sight of Agent Carolina harassing her friends...friend. Maybe she is also a bit confused why Washington seems to have history with the other female and is acting submissive towards her. And perhaps Peri feels a little jealous too.

Finally, she finds her voice. "Stop bossing people around like you're in charge here," she says sternly in a manner not so unlike a mother scolding her child. Slender legs propel the dainty predator towards the front of the group, angling herself so that her petite frame acts a feeble barrier between Agents Washington and Carolina. Stunning silver eyes shine with a mixture of terror and defiance. Imperia is frightened by confrontation but is emboldened by her sense of justice. "I-I'm sure you're stressed and whatever business you have with Washington and the others is important but this is not a warzone. You do not get to order everyone around, especially in our home--I don't care who you are." She stares down Carolina with a deep frown marring her angelic features for several moments following the end of her miniature rant. For claiming that she does not have to obey people whose power is derived from a system unrelated to herself, Agent Carolina seems to be enforcing a lot of power that is completely unrelated to the Ascendants. That is a double standard in itself. Pierre used to do that too, but she quickly learned not to speak up for fear of retribution.

Only when Imperia is assured that the ginger wildcat at least heard what she had to say, the metallic hued she-wolf turns to gaze up at Washington. Peri wonders briefly what his expression might be beneath that helmet. How does he feel? Is he alright? "You don't have to go with her if you don't want to," she says towards all the individuals being ordered around by Carolina, but especially Wash since she is most familiar with him. Argentine eyes glimmer with earnest intentions. Imperia is small and the other female could easily overtake her if necessary, but the she-wolf is sincere in her commitment to preventing Carolina from ordering around Washington and Church against their wills.

It was rare for him to ever really take charge in a situation. If he had doubt about a commanding officer that could easily mean that he wasn't going to listen to what they had to say and make sure that he was going to be the one to give orders. Although after what the Director had done not only to him, but to everyone else, he realized that he may not be willing to do everything what other's asked of him. There could be instances where he would just simply refuse an order that was given to him. And that was partially because he needed some form of actual therapy to deal with the trauma that Episolon had done to him. It was horrible to that extent and despite this, he was doing his best to hide the problems that he was actually going through. He was a soldier. He could suck it up and still do his job. Hell, he continued to do his job with a bullet wound through his stomach and still managed to make it out. Dealing with a little bit of pain in his head wasn't going to kill him, at least he hopes that wasn't going to be the case. Either way, it made it easier for him to follow orders. That's all that he had done when he was when he was in Project Freelance.

He was so low down on the list that was the leaderboard, he wasn't really allowed to do much other than do what he was told. He had a little bit of free will here and there, but he made so many easy mistakes and got too easily distracted during missions that it was probably best that he shouldn't lead anyone into battle. That had been Carolina's job. Always appearing when missions went south to help their fellow Freelancers. Helping with the raid against the insurrectionist ship. Which he had almost messed up because he had turned off the gravity in the ship causing all the vehicles and soldiers that they were trying to kill now floating around in zero gravity. Luckily for their suits, they came with gravity boots which let them hold onto objects. That had probably been what saved their lives, but it had been Carolina that had taken out the majority of them. Using a mixture of Freelancer equipment and alien tech that they had managed to grab from their previous missions. The enemy soldiers didn't stand a chance against them as they were all slaughtered in the hangar. It was from there that Carolina gave the shots and gave them all different tasks, which they were quick to comply. Having faith and trust in a commanding officer was the first part when it came to someone giving out orders.

It made everyone's lives easier, and it was exactly how the military worked. His free will had been taken away from him a long time ago, specifically, it had been the moment he had signed to be in the military. He was capable of making his own decisions if someone wasn't around to order him. Just like what happened with his outpost. So far he hadn't heard anyone giving out orders back and forth. Which was something that he wasn't even used to anyway. Agent Washington still wondered how this place remained into any sort of order anymore. Wash had been hoping that he could just get Carolina and Church away from everyone. This way he would be able to explain more openly instead of Carolina looking at everyone as a current threat that needed to be handled. Besides, he was pretty sure that if she didn't get some rest soon her body was going to give out on her whether she liked it or not. The last thing that he thought was going to happen was for Bast to appear. Basically out of nowhere. He was barely able to see the commanding officer out of the corner of his visor, and the other appearing out of nowhere made him just a little. Barely.

He wasn't afraid of the commanding officer, but he was the guy that ran the outpost and was due some sort of respect, and from the look on his face he wasn't exactly happy with what was going on. This was going great. Everything was going to hell, and his headache was starting to get worse and worse with each passing second. His lack of sleep and the effects of his starvation were still taking its toll on the rest of his body. All Washington wanted to do at this moment was yell and shout for everyone to shut up so that he could explain everything without everyone speaking at once. He was perfectly fine with dealing with stressful situations. Before the trauma. Now though? He wasn't all that sure. He turned toward Bastille though, a worried expression hidden behind his visor. He was keeping his breathing under control. That was a start. "Sir if I may, she recognized me and thought that I was a threat because of what happened to all of us. There is plenty of time to explain everything later, and she isn't going to hurt anyone here. She has no reason to, just like I've had no reason to attack to. If you knew what she went through then giving her a bit of a break would definitely be nice. Not to mention we don't know who is who right now without any sort of investigation. It's literally engraved into our training." His voice was calm and almost apologetic to the Astral Seraph.

Part of him knew that his words would mean nothing. These guys weren't military. They didn't know what meant to be a soldier. One that wasn't really capable of free real, and the trauma that all the Freelancer's had gone through. Now all he had to hope was that his words didn't piss of Bastille. Although with past experiences Washington had a knack for pissing off people by speaking when he shouldn't be. Washington also didn't seem to be bothered at all that she had just nearly threatened to break his arm just two seconds ago. It was almost as if something like that happened on a daily basis. The Freelancer was only capable of keeping his nerves intact. When Carolina set her sights on the biggest guy that was around them, Washington felt his jaws clench. "Carolina..." The smilodon would warn the leopard. She had to see that this wouldn't end well if she wanted to start a fight. He couldn't take on all of the members that were around them now, could he? He could barely fight her in his condition. The armored smilodon could do a couple things, but he also had no reason to try and dispatch any of those that were around him. Who would he even defend first? If he had to choose, it would probably be Carolina.

Having felt alone since the Episolon unit was removed, he was bound to latch onto anything familiar and they had worked with each other for years. He did lean his head a little bit away from her when she did start hissing at him again. He was used to it, but he also had yet to hear a hiss coming from an animal that large before since he had been here. The Freelancer would shuffle his paws onto the ground as he let out a low sigh from his jaws. There was no point in arguing her about that, and he was probably going to have to explain a lot to literally everyone that was here. Even if he didn't want to bring this up ever again. At the mention of the supplies, Washington now was the one to become confused. Supplies, specifically for what? To sleep or to take all of their stuff and move it somewhere else? He debated whether or not asking would get him hit again, something he was trying to avoid. "They usually have some rooms already set up, and they're decently sized. I have acquired a decent amount of supplies while I was gathering intel and data on where we are." Washington would be quick to respond with that.

There was no way the Freelancers would be able to take out the likes of a telescope. Besides, it was better to leave something that big there and not move it if possible. The way that she addressed Church was definitely something that he wasn't expecting either. And then Carolina finally exploded. Washington made sure to be directly at her side to make sure that she didn't attack Bastille. This was going to end bad wasn't it? He sure as hell hope it didn't because he was actually making progress on figuring everything out. He had one of his arms raised, poised to stop the leopard if he could in time if she decided to lunge toward him. He had to admit that the term Friend was indeed not the right word to say. No, they weren't trying to hunt down the people either, and he knew that once Carolina finally got time to cool down and get the information she needed she would be easier to tolerate. She always was. The increasing tension though was making his headache worse. For the span of a couple seconds, one could see his head twitch slightly to the side.

A bad habit that was starting to develop. He was certainly glad that he had a damned helmet on. "Sir, I've known Carolina for years. She literally just arrived after an explosion and needs time to come to terms with things. We trained together so I knew what was going to happen when she did attack me, as she thought that I was going to attack first. I can debrief in a couple hours with some information, sir. I'll be keeping track of her the entire time that she's here." Washington knew that Carolina was going to beat his ass for saying that. She was probably going to think that he was babysitting here. While it was the exact opposite. He wasn't going to do anything against her because he knew better. And honestly, he agreed with everything that the fellow Freelancer was saying. They weren't looking for their friends. They were looking for their former teammates that could be a potential threat not only to them but also the surrounding outpost. At the mention of Maine though, Washington couldn't help but clench his jaw. He had been his friend. They had talked a couple times even if the big guy hadn't been much for words. He changed as soon as he acquired sigma though.

The Freelancer lowered his head a little bit, his gaze now on Carolina. He looked back toward Bastille though, hoping that his willingness to talk to the other was going to be good enough. No one was going to be fighting anyone. And he was mostly protecting them from Carolina because he knew exactly how lethal she could be no matter what form she took. As she turned around to walk off, Agent Washington finally lowered the paw back down to the ground. He hadn't noticed that he started to shake a little bit, and this was only because of the stress of everyone yelling at each other. It was pointless. Ridiculous. They should just trust them that they were just going to stay out of their way. Hearing Carolina telling them to leave, he nodded in the other Freelancers direction. His golden gaze turning toward Church. "Church we're moving out, lets go." Wash commanded the simulation trooper like he usually did. However, it was during this time that a familiar voice rattled through his helmet and his attention instead turned to Imperia, stopping him in his tracks.

Great. They had almost managed to leave but this wasn't helping either. He was about to open his mouth when the smaller canine walks in FRONT of him. Was she asking to get herself killed? His helmet looked down at the wolf before looking back at Carolina and shaking his head toward his fellow Freelancer, as if to say 'I have nothing to do with this'. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Imperia obviously wasn't a fighter, and someone challenging Carolina, in general, was bound to get attacked. What the hell was he supposed to do? She was talking about warzone, and that made sense to Washington, but the only time they had ever lived had only ever been in a warzone. Nothing else. They had never come to a time of peace. And there probably never would be either. Agent Washington remembered plenty of what it was like to fight in those wars. The Great War had started itself. A pained grunt escaped his jaws as his head would suddenly start hanging.

You're going to make me late.

They're waiting for me.

Don't worry you'll SeE mE aGaiN

Images of Allison flashing across his face. Memories given to him by the AI that nearly killed him. His jaws slightly gaped in his helmet as he kept himself from repeating the same words that were inside of his head. He knew that she didn't come back. Leonard had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to come back either. He needed to get a hold of himself. These weren't his damn memories. It's whatever that damn AI did to him. Feeling the pain of Leonards loss was enough to nearly make his knees buckle but he stood strong again. His breathing had increased, but this only lasted a couple of seconds before he seemed to return back to normal. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and he needed to get away from this heated situation and get away from it now. "The thing is. Our world never knew peace. I and Carolina have been fighting in wars to protect the human race since we were young and we've never been outside of a war. It's going to take more than just say it's not a war zone to change how we feel about a strange place. She also isn't ordering any of you. She's ordering me. In the military its normal for a higher ranked officer to give orders to another. She's done it for years, and I followed her through missions and back because of her orders. I've followed instructions and orders since I was just a kid." Wash would speak basically directly toward Imperia. Maybe it was giving a little bit too much information. But he didn't care.

They needed to understand that they were soldiers. And that just telling them that this was a peaceful place wasn't going to be enough. There was going to need to be time to adapt. His breathing returned back to normal as he tilted his head back and forth. Raising one of his paws and scratching at the massive scar that was on the back of his neck. Not enough to draw blood with his claws, but enough to bring his attention to where his claws had just been. When Imperia looked at him, the armored smilodon looked down at the smaller female. He had a choice. But in his mind, his decision had already been absolute. "The thing is, I want to." The Freelancer would say with confidence to her. He would offer her a reassuring grin behind his helmet as he walked around her. He would stop short though, looking over his shoulder. "It's complicated." Agent Washington would say to the other calmly, before turning his head toward Church. He hoped that the other would just follow them as it would make their lives easier. He had intimidated the other but hadn't attacked him. He made sure he wasn't going to attack a subordinate if he could. "Church come on." The Freelancer would say as he would gesture in the direction that Carolina was walking. His body ached. He just wanted to get out of here so that he could have a moment of peace, or just have someone talking to him so that he could just focus on something that weren't the damn memories. "speech"

♡ //hhhhh its kind of too late to reply but have something bad and brief anyways :'^)
Caboose, despite what he would say, doesn't actually know a lot about what's going on. Honestly, he only knew whatever had personally happened to him, and maybe not even that. He didn't remember a lot half of the time, but if anyone thought to ask Caboose, he probably would've spilled everything he knew without a second thought. Not that it'd be terribly coherent -- Caboose hadn't ever learned how to say stuff in a way other people would understand. Though, Caboose's lack of ability to keep secrets was probably the reason nobody would tell him anything. Why he didn't know anything. Not that Caboose was aware of this. He hadn't even asked questions that would've given him any better of an idea before. But as it was, Caboose was, above all else, honest, or at least very easy to prod into spilling stuff if you ask the right questions.
Anyways, similar to everybody else, Caboose ... didn't really have a lot to do with this situation. He'd shown up here late, of course. Very late. And Caboose .. usually wouldn't care, probably wouldn't even notice. But there was Washingtub and a scary cat and Church!! There's a lot of noises and arguments when Caboose finds himself here. The Retriever is, for once, quiet as he stands there, and if his helmet were off, the soft confusion on his face would be clear. He doesn't understand. Even without the helmet, it's clear that he's surprisingly unsure, tail lowered as he looks between the three. The only things he had really heard upon approach was Roy's argument and they were walking away and Church was asking something that Caboose didn't understand. And maybe Caboose shouldn't follow or get involved and let things work themselves out themselves. He did that, sometimes -- he'd mess stuff up a lot 'cause he got involved and then people would be mad and Caboose didn't like that. But Church!! Caboose glances at Roy. He doesn't know if he's done anything wrong, but after a few long, delayed moments, Caboose bursts into movement, making to follow the other three.
"Where are you taking Church?" Caboose barks, very loudly and very confused. That was his best friend, and Caboose didn't even have a grasp on what was going on, probably wouldn't even if he was told, but he's getting just a touch defensive anyways. Just a touch, though -- it was all that Caboose could muster even in a high-stress situation, even if he'd arrived too late to get it.