"Aren't you two supposed to be with the others discussing about the mission?" Atlus questioned.
Wash and I managed to find the way back to the throne room of the A.I. gods. Lucky for us, they were still there and debating about if pineapples are allowed on pizza.
Which doesn't make sense because they are A.I. They can't eat food.
"We were hoping you could make us a portal back to Jax's studio." Wash answers.
The gods look at each other. "You realized that entering the throne room without a good reason will result in death." Kalirama states.
This took a dark turn..
"Well.. you see.. uh.." Wash nudges my arm to talk and I can only roll my eyes. Leave it to him and York for always putting me on the spot.
"The planet we saved from a civil war is about to be invaded by Covenant, an alien race wanting to destroyed Humans." I explained. "My brother told me that there was already a small recon team trying to gather data on Chorus' defenses and we don't know if there's anymore on the way."
"Wait since when was the Covenant was that big of a problem?" Wash exclaims, clearly not expecting that kind of reason. "All I heard was possible. NOT confirmed."
"I got the word right before we came here about the recon team. Other than that, I just suspected since Chorus is filled with alien artifacts."
"But the war ended years ago." He says. "Why attack now-"
A cough sounded from one of the gods, ending our conversation.
"We can see that this is.. urgent on your case." Atlus looks at Burnstorm and Genkins. "You two are dismissed."
"Time to post more spoilers on YouTube!!" Genkins gleefully says. "The next one, the Covenant attacks Chorus!!"
Burnstorm says nothing and walks out of the throne room with Genkins following very closely behind him.
The queen waits til she is sure both of them has left and asks. "Is it wise for you to leave and let your friends decide the fate of the universe without your consent? They seem-"
"Stupid?" I offered.
"I was going to say uneducated but yes stupid works too."
"Well, with my experience with them, they know what they're doing as long as they have an objective at the end." Wash says confidently. "I trust them with my life."
The king and queen share a glance before coming to a decision.
"Very well. We will do as you wish." Atlus creates a purple portal a few feet from our right. "This will take you straight back to Chorus."
"Is there a way we can go back to Jax's studio?" I ask hopefully.
"Who's Jax?"
"The guy you smited through the portal."
"Oh him.." Atlus closes the portal and opens a new one. "Just do me a favor and give me my weapon back."
"No problem." Wash replies.
We both walk through the portal and we're back on the beach near Jax's studio. Wash rips off his helmet and takes a gasp of air. "I.. hate.. portals.."
"Oh don't be a baby." I say, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Hey hey hey! You're back!"
Jax walks up to us, in his normal cheery mood. He didn't seem like he was hurt very badly. He had an arm in a sling but that's it.
"Hi Jax." I greeted. "You alright?"
"Just a broken arm. But my medic team says that I'll be fine."
"That's good. Hey uh.. by any chance you have that hammer the god tried to kill you with?" I ask.
"Oh it's still on the beach." He looks to his right and I follow his gaze to a semi-giant hammer, lying in the sand. "It was too heavy for anyone of the set to carry so we left it there."
"That's.. bigger than I thought it was." Wash says and I hate to agree: it was bigger than Burnstorm's.
"We'll take care of it for you." I told him. "The god who threw it at you wants it back. He also said sorry for nearly killing you."
"Eh, I'm alive so it's all good. Have fun with the Hammer!" Jax walks away and starts yelling orders to his film crew.
"So.. this hammer." Wash crouches down and placed his hands on the long handle.
"Wash.." I warned him.
"Relax. I'm just testing how heavy it is." He assures me. He tighten his grip and lifts. It came up two feet off the ground for a couple second before he had to put it back down. He shakes out his hands. "That thing is heavy, but I think we can manage."
"You mean I can manage." I start tapping away on my wristpad, swiping through the many armor enhancements I have.
"You're not gonna let me-" He looks over my shoulder and see all the other enhancements I've collected over the years. "Since when did you get all THAT?"
"I.. may or may not have stolen some from the Project." I finally find the strength boost and activated it. My armor becomes lighter in a sense as the enhancement makes my muscles stronger than the average Spartan. "Right, let's get this Hammer back through the portal."
I pick the hammer easily with one hand, moving it to a throwing position above my head. I use my thumb to align with the portal and threw it. The hammer goes throw the portal, which closes a few seconds after.
"Show off." Wash teases.
I roll my eyes and head up the beach. "Come on."
***
The Lone Wolf was right where I left it, untouched by Jax and his crew-
"Hey Tiger.. I think there's a dent-"
"What?!" I rush to where he is and sure enough, there's a 3 inch dent on one of the bottom panels. "My brother is gonna kill me."
"But isn't it your ship now?"
"We.. share the ownership."
"It can't be that bad, right?" He asks.
Well..
***
Chorus
A Few Days Earlier..
"J, come on. It's just a small paint job." I reasoned.
"I told you that you can have the ship but NOT change anything on it." He looks regretfully at the small yellow wolf I painted back on the moon base. "Especially when it's your boyfriend's colors."
"Well gee, an audio recording of you telling me that I can have your ship since you 'DIED'," I did air quotations with my fingers. "Clearly didn't state I wasn't allowed to mess with the cosmetics of the ship."
"Well 1) I'm alive. And 2) I'm taking partial ownership."
"UM NO. You said that it was mine!!"
"Only because I didn't think that I was going to be standing where I am today." He looks at me with a serious look on his face.
"Fine.." I pout. "But the wolf is staying."
***
Jax's Studio
Present Day
"It's like.. sharing your toys with your siblings when you really don't want to." I start loading my gear into the cargo space of the ship.
"I know what that feels like.." Wash groans which makes me laugh. I forgot that he had younger siblings. He knows the pain I'm talking about and possibly any other kid who has siblings.
"You got everything loaded?" I ask.
"Just about." He tosses in his gear and closes the cargo space. "By the way, did I see a motorcycle-"
"Yes you did." I reply like it was normal to have a motorcycle in a Sabre. "Hop in."
I stepped up on the ladder and unlock the windshield, sliding it forward to reveal the gray cloth seats. I stepped into the pilot's seat and sat down. I mess with the controls while Wash climbs into the seat behind me and settles in.
"You good back there?" I ask, starting the engines and double checking everything to make sure it's all in working order.
"Ready when you are." Came his reply.
"Alright. Prepare for take-off."
The Sabre moves forward slowly as I guide it to the studio's runaway. Once lined up, I increased the speed and lifted the nose up. The landing gear folds away and the ship takes off into space.
I set up the Auto-Pilot to fly the ship to Chorus and from there, I'll land the ship manually.
"Well Auto-Pilot is on," I informed Wash. "It's gonna take us about an hour to get there so if you want, you could take that nap you wanted earlier."
"And what are you going to do?" He asks.
I take Beta's A.I. chip out of my helmet and turned it around in my hand. The chip Tex gave me all those years ago when we were on the run..
"I'll be fixing something." I replied.
"Alright." I hear shifting behind me and a minute later, a soft snore. He must of been real tired.
I pick up my tool bag from the floor in front of me and pulled out a small magnifying glass. I hold the chip behind it so that I can assess what the situation is. Then I set off to work.
***
"About time you got here." York pulls me into a tight hug. The one where you feel the life being squeezed out of you.
"J.. can't.. breathe.."
"Sorry." He lets go and looks over my shoulder. "Looks like just had a cat nap Wash." He grinned.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Wash replies.
"Now that greetings are out of the way, we can focus on the important matter." Dylan says, pushing off a crate he was leaning on. "We need Beta to run some numbers and you two to get the army into shape."
"Yea.. about that.."
Dylan eyes me suspiciously. "What is it?"
"Beta's under maintenance." I explained. "She's been.. not herself."
"I've dealt with rampant A.I. before." Dylan states. "I'm sure I can handle a fragment of one."
I scoffed. "Yea and then not only you'll have an angry A.I. but you'll also have a downed Freelancer that has no control of the situation."
"Fair point but we need the numbers now-"
"Then have Santa run the numbers." I interrupted. "Once I get Beta in stable condition, I'll bring her over to double check. I need a few tools from Dr. Grey."
Dylan looks at my brother for help but York just puts his hands up in surrender. "Don't look at me. She has a point."
The Spartan sighs in defeat. "Fine but be quick." He stalks off, probably back towards the War Room to get Santa to run the numbers.
"You also need to get to Dr. Grey." I tell Wash. "Maybe get another test done to see if you are getting better."
"Easy Tiger, don't need to be all bossy." Wash teases.
I lift up my helmet and stuck out my tongue at him which makes him laugh and my poor brother facepalms. "I can't believe I have to deal with you two again."
"We're not complaining about you and Carolina are we?" Wash says, putting his arm around my shoulders. I lean into him, enjoying his close presence.
"Just remembered our deal Wash." I feel Wash stiffen beside me as York walks away towards the training area. Once my brother is out of sight, Wash relaxes a bit and says. "Let's get moving."
"What deal are you two talking about?" I asked curiously while we walk to Dr. Grey's lab.
"The deal is something you don't have to worry about." Wash replies. "That's between him and me."
"Let me guess: it involves me?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. But like I said: you don't need to worry about it." He looks at me and adds. "And no pestering your brother about it either."
"I hate you both.."
"Admit it: you love us both." He gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
I sigh. "You right.. I do. But you two annoy the heck out of me."
"It's our job too."
"I think you should quit that job."
"I kind of like it though. It's fun."
"You're impossible.."
"That's why you love me."
"Touché."