Smut, Gen, Angst, Fluff, Anything, Everything. PFL era, Post war, Pre Canon, AU, whichever Brackets or Prose whatever you're comfortable with Tag and go, baby!
"Backwater colonies have old tech. I was playing with this shit in highschool, man." Not for weapons or encryption keys but, damn. Good to know that his juvenile delinquency is going to be of use for once.
Well not for once it's been pretty damn useful his whole career.
"The rest of it is just inventory. Armor, transport, fuel, mess. But with these numbers we can get an idea of how many people were at this base and maybe where they were going." He copies over the last of it and shuts the system down.
"Of course it was cutting edge top of the line tech back then," Wash teases. "This stuff was ancient history when I was in high school."
If he keeps it light, friendly, they might get out of here without too many mishaps. "It at least gives us a better idea of their power than we had before. They always seem to have a new base set up somewhere."
"Now that is a little curious. These buildings aren't prefab and they aren't new. They've been around for awhile so obviously this place used to have a standing military. Honestly? This looks like a training base." He unplugs from the console and turns, resting his hip on the counter. "That and all the alien tech lying around- I wanna say they're probably hopping through bases established leading up to and during the war. Not a lot of use after till this conflict popped up. Which means there should be a public record of them somewhere."
And where there are public records, there are maps.
"I guess," Wash replies, looking around at what he can see of the base. "This place saw some action during the war I think, although I didn't really read up on the history before I came here."
He shrugs. "The capital, Armonia. It's a fair distance though. Couple of days drive if you don't hit bad patches on the road. There are a lot of those. It's Fed territory. We don't tend to go that close to it."
"No other towns? Suburbs? Public libraries?" Somewhere with a network that's not the base. Last thing he wants to do is try this from there and get noticed.
Wash thinks for a few moments. "There's a couple of villages closer by. Been abandoned for a while. I think everyone moved into Armonia when the civil war got going but... we could check it out. They seemed to be pretty well stocked with services." That should be safe, right?
"We can do recon on one in a few days. They aren't going anywhere and the kids need consistency." Speaking of, he checks his hud. "Gonna have to rush on the way back or I'll be late for my own drills."
"They're adults but I'm teaching them how to be soldiers. They're kids, wash. none of them signed up for this- to fight? Sure. What that actually means? No. No one ever does." He pushes away from the counter and starts back the way they came. It's gonna be a long week, he can already feel it. "you mind helping me demo the hand to hand stuff later today?"
"Yeah, the military would be pretty understaffed if they were honest about the nightmares and PTSD and watching your friends die." That it would turn you into someone who couldn't function in normal society.
"Dunno what the recruiter told you, but I actually got that memo. Didn't believe him. I really, really should have." He doesn't regret all of it. Just. Most of it.
"It was all... serve your planet! Honour humanity! Be a hero stuff. And I was a stupid enough kid to believe them." Starry eyed and desperate to be someone important. To do something worthwhile with his life.
"My parents were already in the military. That wasn't really gonna fly with me." Out of the compound and back down to the caves. it's a quick enough path.
"Well. You sure managed that much. We all did. I haven't been back to earth since..." Since he shipped out the first time. "...I actually fought on the rings. Up till the project. Kinda trippy."
Never met a Spartan but they seemed solid. just as fucked up as the rest of them.
"Yeah? Heard about that. Difficult not to. I haven't been back to Earth in... since before the Project. Honestly for a while it was weird just to spend so much time on one planet."
When he gets paid for this job, when Charon lets go of his chain, he's going to go back to Earth. He is going to buy a house near the beach and not leave it for a year.
"This place, though. It ain't half bad. I don't think I'll mind sticking around to make sure the win sticks." Like they've actually got a chance. Like it's not a death sentence. "They got beaches here? Been forever since I've gone surfing."
"Yeah, they have beaches," Wash says quietly. "It's really pretty. Seen a decent bit of it recently. They've got auroras, you know that? Big floaty blue and green swirls in the sky. It's a shame they're at war."
"Not for much longer. We'll get this knocked out. Broker some kind of treaty because honestly the 'kill 'em all' mode of winning a war is historically bullshit." He actually did pay attention in school. Sometimes. "Give them back their home. Then you can fuck off with your alien whatever and I'll do the heavy lifting of getting society set back up. I wonder if I'll get a statue out of it."
Wash pauses when he says that, let York get a few steps ahead of him and stares at back of his head. "You're really serious about this aren't you?" he says and he can't quite believe it. "You'll stay here until the bitter end. After it even. To help some people you don't even know rebuild their homes."
He doesn't know if York had always been like this. He thinks perhaps he had been. Was wonders if he'd been like that back then too. That optimistic.
"I got a lot to make up for." He couldn't save his team. He couldn't stop what happened to the Alpha. Couldn't keep Delta safe. But this? This he can do. This he WILL do. "This is what I signed on for back at the beginning. What I was TOLD I was joining the project to do. I got these skills...I got them to help people."
Not a crazy bastard. He can't imagine how many of the mooks he shot down back then had no idea what they were doing or why it was happening. Not a one.
"So that's what I'm gonna do. And you? You'll do what you do." Before he'd claim a no judgement zone. Pat Wash on the back and say it was okay, they all get to be assholes. But now? Now he's judging. A lot. "Maybe because you kind of are being an asshole."
He is speared, caught like a rabbit in the lights of an oncoming car. It hurts more than he'd imagined to hear that. To hear it from York. One thing to tell himself that he doesn't care, that none of it matters to him, and another to have York slap him in the face with it.
And he doesn't even know half of it. If he knew, Wash thinks now that York might very well just shoot him. Treacherous ground.
"Fine,"he grinds out after a moment, everything in his posture defensive. "I'm an asshole. I'm a- a monster. If not giving a fuck is how I survive, that's how I'm going to do it. It's better than the alternative." Which was seeing everyone you cared about die over and over again. "I'm not David anymore. I'm not the rookie. I'm- I can't be him anymore."
"If you're that apathetic, David- " And it's not fair to use the name after he just disavowed it but York has never really been one for playing fair. Not in shit like this. "Then what's the point of surviving? You think I didn't try that? You think that it actually works worth a damn? Wake up kid! Shit happened. People we cared about died. Not giving a fuck doesn't change anything- all it does is leave you hollow. I've had more than my share of that. You grieve. You move on. You make connections."
Says the man that's been avoiding everyone on the way home- just so he COULD get home. Then again pretty much everyone around him had been trying to kill him.
So.
He feels justified in this.
"And sometimes those people are gonna die too. And then you push on, you do it again, because that's what humans do."
"Maybe I'm surviving just because I'm too much of a coward to put a bullet in my head," Wash snaps back. He's shifted into a fighting stance without even thinking. It's been a while since an argument like this didn't come to blows. Why would this one be any different? "There is nothing left. I hollowed myself out a long time ago Taylor. All that's going to happen here is you're going to watch them die. And it will kill another part of you. And then you'll run. Like you ran away from the Project, and from Carolina."
He takes a breath. "So don't act like you're so much better than I am. At least I'm honest with myself."
"Third time's the fucking charm, kid. The project wasn't the first time I lost everyone. And even if they all die and I somehow live, again, I'm gonna keep trying. Because I refuse to become the fucking hollowed out mess of a man that the director was." He snarls, stepping forward. Not swinging. Why lash out with a fist? What's the point of that?
"The project was broken and she was DEAD. I WATCHED HER FALL!" Last thing he fucking saw before he had to get North out of there. Before they had to leave. The engines were going up and the whole damn thing was going to blow if they didn't get the fuck out and he tried. He tried to get to her. To talk to her. To save her.
"Hell, maybe this time I'll finally fucking die with them like I was supposed to. Instead of this fucking bullshit."
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Well not for once it's been pretty damn useful his whole career.
"The rest of it is just inventory. Armor, transport, fuel, mess. But with these numbers we can get an idea of how many people were at this base and maybe where they were going." He copies over the last of it and shuts the system down.
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If he keeps it light, friendly, they might get out of here without too many mishaps. "It at least gives us a better idea of their power than we had before. They always seem to have a new base set up somewhere."
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And where there are public records, there are maps.
"Where's the nearest city?"
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He shrugs. "The capital, Armonia. It's a fair distance though. Couple of days drive if you don't hit bad patches on the road. There are a lot of those. It's Fed territory. We don't tend to go that close to it."
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"I can do that. It'll be like old times."
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"It was a way for me to get away from home, I guess," Wash says nonchalantly. "Set out on my own."
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Never met a Spartan but they seemed solid. just as fucked up as the rest of them.
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When he gets paid for this job, when Charon lets go of his chain, he's going to go back to Earth. He is going to buy a house near the beach and not leave it for a year.
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He doesn't know if York had always been like this. He thinks perhaps he had been. Was wonders if he'd been like that back then too. That optimistic.
"You're making me feel like a real asshole."
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Not a crazy bastard. He can't imagine how many of the mooks he shot down back then had no idea what they were doing or why it was happening. Not a one.
"So that's what I'm gonna do. And you? You'll do what you do." Before he'd claim a no judgement zone. Pat Wash on the back and say it was okay, they all get to be assholes. But now? Now he's judging. A lot. "Maybe because you kind of are being an asshole."
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And he doesn't even know half of it. If he knew, Wash thinks now that York might very well just shoot him. Treacherous ground.
"Fine,"he grinds out after a moment, everything in his posture defensive. "I'm an asshole. I'm a- a monster. If not giving a fuck is how I survive, that's how I'm going to do it. It's better than the alternative." Which was seeing everyone you cared about die over and over again. "I'm not David anymore. I'm not the rookie. I'm- I can't be him anymore."
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Says the man that's been avoiding everyone on the way home- just so he COULD get home. Then again pretty much everyone around him had been trying to kill him.
So.
He feels justified in this.
"And sometimes those people are gonna die too. And then you push on, you do it again, because that's what humans do."
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He takes a breath. "So don't act like you're so much better than I am. At least I'm honest with myself."
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"The project was broken and she was DEAD. I WATCHED HER FALL!" Last thing he fucking saw before he had to get North out of there. Before they had to leave. The engines were going up and the whole damn thing was going to blow if they didn't get the fuck out and he tried. He tried to get to her. To talk to her. To save her.
"Hell, maybe this time I'll finally fucking die with them like I was supposed to. Instead of this fucking bullshit."
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