text;

[bloodbathing]

[ "Augusta" is the name attached to this TAB. The picture is of curved white metal with a stripe of dark orange — leg armor, for any who may recognize it. ]

UNSC. Marines. RT-636.

[ In order: the military Maine knows, the branch he's in, and the hull classification symbol for the Mother of Invention.

[ North insisted on gathering intel while keeping a low profile. Maine's only interest is in returning to their mission. This is the result of compromise. ]

Comments

[bloodbathing]

Very desperate.

[nishizono]

and i still want a cool helmet.

[bloodbathing]

Whiny.

[nishizono]

bully :/

[bloodbathing]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[nishizono]

3===D

[bloodbathing]

[ Whole-hearted grunt of agreement from this guy! He slides another shot Wash's way. ]

[bloodbathing]

Lol

[ Congratulations! He's entertained. Hell, he'll even humor the request. ]

Nonfunctional?

[nishizono]

[ persistence is rewarded! ]

if you mean without the bells and whistles then yeah

if it protects my head while on a motorbike i'll take it

[bloodbathing]

Materials here?

[ What does he have to work with? ]

[nishizono]

give me a list, i'll put it together
i'm very resourceful

[ if he can put a mixing console together out of garbage he can find you enough materials to work with. ]

[bloodbathing]

I'll consider it.

[notyourrookie]

[Wash beams at him and takes the shot, downing it in one. Ooooh, he feels sort of fuzzy.]

[bloodbathing]

[ Maine shoots his and lets out a huff of laughter. This is more like it!

[ But if they're going to continue like this (and Maine's not about to stop), he should probably figure out where to take Wash, if the rookie passes out.

[ (Not that he's a rookie anymore, is he?) ]

Where're you staying?

[notyourrookie]

[Wash grimaces at the question and slams the glass back down.]

Got a flat.

[Sort of, anyway. It's the tiniest cheapest place he could find on short notice.]

[bloodbathing]

[ Maine cants his head and raises his eyebrows. Why the grimace? What's wrong with it? ]

[notyourrookie]

It's just a bit of a dump. That's all. Slept in worse places.

[bloodbathing]

[ He snorts.

[ "Haven't we all?"

[ Could always be a hole in the ground. Go planet side, and Space Marines are still Marines. ]

Room?

[ SO CASUALLY, like he's just storing it away for future reference. Just in case of emergency. Definitely not like he's planning on crashing at Wash's place to keep an eye on him in the immediate future. Definitely. ]

[notyourrookie]

It takes him a minute to catch up to what Maine's saying, but then he nods.]

Yeah. If you want.

[bloodbathing]

[ Maine grunts an affirmative and, as the bartender brings another set, he shoves a shot Wash's way. ]

Carolina offer?

[ Because why she has room and Wash has room, but they're not rooming together, is a mystery to Maine.

[ Actually, why all the Freelancers aren't staying in a central location, pooling their resources and watching each other's backs in this fucked up place, is a mystery to Maine. ]

[notyourrookie]

[Wash's expression hardens for a moment and he tries to cover that by downing the shot as quickly as he can.]

We didn't get that far into a conversation.

[bloodbathing]

[ Between Wash's shot and his own, Maine misses most of that expression. But the answer? That gets a groan that sounds suspiciously like, "Fucking future."

[ (Hey, he's not unaffected by the alcohol.)

[ Then Maine stares at Wash. Come on. Lay it on him. ]

[notyourrookie]

[Wash looks at him stubbornly for a moment before slumping forward. He rolls the shot glass between his hands.]

She didn't come back for me. None of them did. Fucking... fucking years, locked up and interrogated and called crazy and-

And then find out Carolina is alive. Was always alive. And she never- never bothered to find me. Find anyone.

[bloodbathing]

[ Wash is Maine's friend. Maine trusts him. Believes him. Can see that Wash is telling the truth.

[ "We scattered," York said. "Everything fell apart," Carolina said.

[ ... But how could Wash get left behind?

[ Carolina is their leader. Carolina takes care of her team. She wouldn't leave Wash behind. She would never leave any of them behind. It's completely fucking incomprehensible. ]

Something happened.

[ Something must have happened. Why else would Wash talk about her being alive, like that was some surprise? Something prevented her from being able to go back for him.

[ Maine's words are a hell of a lot more confident than his conflicted, confused expression. ]

[nishizono]

[ after like six months fucking finally he has a goddamn helmet!!! ]