Isolated (Red vs Blue)

6: Unknown Soldiers

6: Unknown Soldiers

Present Day: Undisclosed Location (Somewhere on the edge of colonized space)

A large ship slowly glided through space, orbiting a small, insignificant planet that existed on the very edge of what the U.N.S.C. considered to be colonized territory. A soldier clad in gray armor with orange accents walked down the hall, spinning his combat knife between his fingers. Any members of the ship's personnel that he passed were quick to move out of his way. They didn't move out of respect, either; they moved because they were scared. The mercenary intimidated them. Someone of his skillset wasn't a common encounter for them. Not to mention it wasn't too often that he was on the ship. His employer didn't make too much of a habit of pulling him and his partner out of their jobs. When he did, it was only for something he deemed extremely important.

The soldier entered the Bridge of the ship, not surprised to see his partner already there. The other soldier — who was clad in gray armor with green accents — was standing near the center of the room, arms crossed. He was much more physically intimidating, and he tended not to talk a whole lot. The latter was something that annoyed the first soldier just slightly. The lack of talking made certain jobs drag.

"You're late," the other soldier stated, sounding annoyed.

"Am not. I'm exactly on time. I can't help it you insist on being early for everything. Besides, our employer isn't even here yet," the mercenary pointed out. "So why are you only complaining about me being late?"

"If you weren't early, than you're late," the soldier with green accents said gruffly. "And our employer will be here any moment."

The first soldier rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that. He's probably not even on the ship right now. He just had us come here so it'd be more secure."

"Felix."

"Locus. Why are we playing the name game?"

"You don't have to try and be right about everything. It's cocky."

"Just wait. You'll see that I am right. And I'm always cocky; it's part of my natural charm."

Suddenly, the screen in front of the two mercenaries lit up. No face appeared; in fact, there was no image at all. There was simply a text box. The first soldier — Felix — crossed his arms and leaned back against the central table, feeling rather smug. He'd been right. Their employer wasn't on the ship, and he certainly didn't seem to trust the crew very much. Otherwise he would've initiated a video call. Glancing over at Locus, Felix could see that the other mercenary's posture had stiffened up. He couldn't stand when Felix was right about anything.

"Hello, gentlemen," a filtered voice greeted. The words appeared on the screen as they were spoken, and a single word was displayed in the I.D. window: Control. "I apologize for not being able to meet with you personally. There was a rather pressing matter that needed my immediate attention."

"And what was so important this time? Another press conference to try and keep up your appearance with the U.N.S.C.?" Felix asked, though he really didn't care. He was still just pleased with himself over being right.

"If you really must know, I was making sure some important assets that will become relevant for us soon are still secure," Control answered. "However, I did not ask the two of you here to discuss what I'm doing."

"Why did you want us here, sir?" Locus questioned, not sounding anywhere near as snarky as the other mercenary.

"According to the most recent data I've received, the ship transporting the Red and Blue soldiers of Project Freelancer has recently crashed on Chorus," Control stated. "Have either of you spotted them or made contact?"