“ thank you, lieutant church, we will be in touch. “ there were two days on reach where all charlotte church could do was wait. two days before confirmation if she was joining a new project or returning to her unit. two days where she wasn’t really anyone, just another face in new alexandria. ( god, she hated waiting. everything in her life was GOGOGO, as fast paced as she could muster. and now: here she was. ) the night after her interview, a concierge at the front desk suggested she take in the night life. take your mind off things. “ might i suggest CLUB ERERRA? “
she was out of place. always a constant air of rigidity to her, even when she was trying to relax. in the back of her mind, she was tracing over strategies, just in case. she’d found a spot at the bar, ordered a beer, and tried to let her mind wander –– but something was distracting her. not the music, the overwhelming thump that she felt in her bones or the flashing lights, something much more simple. something fidgety. out of the corner of her eye: the repetitive swish and click of a red and white lighter in the hand of some guy. some guy. ( the truth was: she wanted to be alone. this was the biggest chance she’d ever had and as much as it pained her to wait, she wanted to be alone. )
instead, charlotte walked right up to him, snatching the lighter out of his hand. she wanted to be alone but instead she got the best DISTRACTION she could have ever asked for. he was witty and not stupid, which was perhaps a bit of a shock. ( this was really the night she needed. ) hours seemed to just melt away as they chatted in a corner booth, shifting close to make out each other’s words as the music carried them through the night. laughter, dancing. it was all almost enough to make her forget what she was waiting for –– but as nice as it was, there was no tomorrow for them.
there had been little thought of the guy from the bar in the next hours. she’d never see him again, so it was frivolous to condemn herself to WHAT IF scenarios –– what if she’d let him come back to her hotel, what if they’d spent more time together, what if ... it didn’t matter when she received the call, a cold and stiff exchange with the director of PROJECT FREELANCER. she made the cut. “ we expect to see you at 0700, agent carolina. “
they gathered in a briefing room on the upper decks, each of them sleek and fit in the black sub suits of their armor. rumors that FREELANCER wanted to compete on a level with the spartan-ii program seemed justified as her gaze swept across the room. TALL and MUSCULAR seemed to be the common mold, some more gruff and massive than others. lips pursed as her eyes fell upon the figure across the holotable, a notable grin on his face. there you are.
if this had been some cheesy romantic comedy, then maybe one of them would have made the plea that “now we can be together” and she was thankful that it didn’t come down to that. aquamarine helmet tucked under her arm, scowl etched on her features, they found a corner of the locker room while the other recruits were swapping war stories, BRAGGING about their specialties. ( she wasn’t surprised at how quickly it had become a pissing contest. and this was just the beginning. ) a sigh, a shake of her head. this was uncomfortable. “ i won’t let anything –– anyone –– hold me back. “ how many times had she said that before? to a boy in high school, to counsellors her senior year, to recruiting officers, and now, to him. agent york. it was her way of saying that she would, but she COULDN’T. not with him, not here, not like this.
if only. in another place, in another time.
lol okay so, i wrote this for an rp blog, exploring the relationship of yorkalina and while i’m kind of proud of it, i’m also terrified because this is the first substantial thing i’ve written for this fandom and i am so not familiar with the halo universe and lololo i am nervous. so yeah. my head canon: carolina is named charlotte elizabeth church, 2nd Lt in the UNSC Marine Corps and leads a recon platoon and her exemplary military record, leadership skills and high test scores put her on the radar for project freelancer. i also headcanon that the director did not want her in the project and that “you will never let anyone know i am your father” is a thing, no special treatment, etc. etc. so yeah, enjoy!! ( or don’t, if it’s really that bad. )
I’m sure there’s going to be a bit more epic battling before things are said and done this season, and honestly I won’t be surprised by some lies and betrayal on the mercenaries part, but here’s what I find myself wanting:
Felix has been a mercenary for a long time, and soldier before that. He is the very best at his job. There’s a reason for that. He knows when to take a job, and when to decline one. More importantly, he knows when to cut and run and make sure no one is ever the wiser. He and Locus had a reputation: they got the job done, and they got it done right. But that’s because they knew their limits. They worked their way up over a long period of time to this point. He was tempted, sorely tempted, to make sure he was the one that got those armor upgrades and the AI. He wasn’t stupid; there were two of them and only one reward. He had been thinking about how he would pull off double crossing Locus. Especially since Locus had been off his game lately - sentimental, almost.
The thing is though, there were very few things that Felix valued more than money.
One was his skill. One was his life.
One was Locus.
Locus who had stuck by him for nearly half his life, who always had his back, no matter what. Having Locus’s loyalty was far more valuable in the long term than risking death on this godforsaken rock for some cash and armor upgrades. His greatest fear? It was losing the one person who always had his back. Felix didn’t care about anyone, didn’t get sentimental, but only a fool thought you could truly work alone. Locus was the only person he’d ever encountered that could match him. The complimented one another in a million ways. They were a perfect team.
The deck was increasingly stacked against them in this fight. Only a fool would deny it. Locus could bitch at him later for abandoning the mission. They’d done it a few times before when things went to hell. They maintained their reputation by making sure no one could ever tell what had happened. The Freelancers thought they were dead, and they had information about Hargrove that no one else had. It would be easy enough to make a fresh start somewhere else, bide their time until Hargrove finished more of his science projects, and steal enough equipment for the both of them. And as for Reds and Blues? Well, they did say revenge was a dish best served cold.
Felix dug some rubble off of Locus’s body, checked his vital signs. He threw the unconscious man over his shoulder and began the slow trudge out of the crater. It was miles away to the small ship he had hidden, just in case, but they could make it. They’d been through worse, and they’d gotten through it. Together.
No, Felix wasn’t sentimental, not like Locus could be. He just wasn’t stupid.
~ He dropped his datapad when he saw her, as she began to fight. The newest contender during the recruitment process was a blonde, blue-eyed woman, someone he’d barely glanced at as he’d gone down the line to appraise them of what was to take place this day.
“Are you all right, Director?” the Counselor asked mildly, reaching over to pick the pad up himself.
The Director grabbed for the pad. “I’m fine,” he snapped. And then he looked out on the training room floor, where the woman spun and whirled and hit the targets that surrounded her. “Recruit her,” he ordered, too sharply, and then turned to go.
“We’re not done–” the Counselor began to protest.
“Ten minutes,” the Director said. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
