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[This day had to come eventually, didn't it? Just another one of those damn Blood Gulch Sim Troops arriving here to crash the party, and predictability a little late like always. But hey, it wasn't like he hadn't been busy saving a planet or being blissfully retired or anything equally as important. Nope.

The video shifted a little as Tucker tried to set it upright, but it soon found itself quickly propped at an angle that said this wasn't his first time recording himself; the purpose of such skills would be left up to the viewer to guess at their own discretion. But hey, have Tucker with that beautiful aqua colored armor looking right back at you, even as he sat back down and tried to appear relaxed, cool, okay with ...well, all this. All this.

Ladies in hot tight superhero outfits definitely helped.]

So, yeah, Tucker here. [It felt like an interview with Dylan. Good thing talking about himself was one of his favorite things to do.] Please try to contain your applause, but ladies, feel free to toss your bras in my general direction.

[No shame, this one.]

You know, I was kind of busy back home. [With Church shit. It was always Church shit, and there wasn't a single damn regret for it; in a way, he hoped it kept being Church shit because that meant that bastard was still around. Tucker wanted to be back there, needed to be back there because--] Those idiots - my idiots - have no one to lead them now unless you count Sarge and no one counts Sarge. Shit, I don't even think the Reds count Sarge. Okay, so maybe Simmons does, but whatever.

[He sighed, rubbing his hand over his helmet before he just waved his hand.] But cool, superpowers, am I right? I mean, if I was getting chicks before, I'm getting triple chicks now.

[Let the record show that he was not, in fact, getting ladies before, and that the triple of "zero" is still "zero".]

Look, I just want to get this shit done and over with so I can get back to being a badass back home and get my shit done. So, you know, I'll do what I have to, I guess.

[There's a sigh, that burden of few choices and responsibility - ew - before he cocked is head up.]

Hey, important final question: where do all the hotties hang out around here? There's the title of wingman up for grabs if you tell me.

[At least the video ends there, and everyone was probably better for it.]

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[Tucker made A Face, before leaning back. Shit, there was so much he wanted to say, but this meant everything had to go into lockdown. Crap.]

Um, sorry, but yeah I do. I already said too much, probably.

You really don't.

[Have a frustrated face right back. Connie huffs a breath as she leans forward, weighing the bitterness in her next words. Outside of the Freelancer and the odd merchandise who already knew, she hadn't told anyone what she was leaving behind or what state she'd most likely return to if the Time Trapper left her in the state he found her.]

Over whose dead body do you think your CT will get his armour from?

[Well, that changed things, didn't it?

No, really. Did it?

For a minute, he just stared; it wasn't that he didn't believe her - he did; it was that he didn't know what to do now. Was it still safe to tell a dead person? Could that...somehow change things?

Probably not. ]

That sucks. [Teeth chewed his bottom lip before he asked. ] Freelancer did it? [Because what hadn't Freelancer fucked up?]

The Director never liked people knowing his secrets. I...defected when I found out. Everything. The tests, the lies, what he was really doing to all of us...to Alpha.

[shaking her head she has to consciously unclench her fists as her nails dig into her palms in memory. It's more honest than she's comfortable with but it's hard to hide the anger that's always been there.]

I didn't want me and my friends to pay for what he'd made us do. And they were who he sent to kill me.

So, like I said. You don't have to worry about it.

Church.

[It was instinct to correct someone when they said it. Alpha. Epsilon. Both were Church, and the name was out before he could stop himself, a different Church than the Director to him and his friends. And even after it was out, he didn't think anything of it. It was just his best friend, a name that never seemed to go away no matter how many times the guy died.

He stared for a minute, unsure of what to say; he knew some of the things that happened, knew of the stuff that he was put through, but he couldn't imagine the Reds and Blues being sent after him to take him out. Fuck.]

Shit I tell you, it stays here, right?

That's another thing I wanted to ask about.

[But that's also another confirmation, Tucker's 'Church' is Alpha. How the hell Alpha would find his way to a Sim Trooper base is a mystery to her, unless it was another one of the Director's convoluted plots.

Connie nods her head, matching Tucker's gaze.]

Of course. And likewise, I hope.

What do you want to know?

[And what he would give away. Church...as a certain topic, something important. And while Tucker bitched and complained and everything else, Epsilon's death created a divide, a caution on what he would share, to apparently dead people and still living.]

Lips are sealed, unless you're kissing me. [There was a small raise of his eyebrow; it was so much easier to joke than to talk about this.]

How many years ahead of me are you? I know I'm eight years behind Wash...

[And she's got the feeling that Tucker might be familiar with Wash, or at least some of the other Freelancers.

As for that last comment, she raises an eyebrow, replying in deadpan that would make Wash proud.]

Oh I don't know, you seem pretty fond of the whole kiss and tell thing.

Ten months ahead of Wash. But I haven’t told him anything about what happens.

[Oh, he knows Wash, for the good, the bad, and the answer came easy enough; he didn’t even hesitate to think of saying anything else, of questioning things. Right now, he was too busy being floored that he was talking to a dead woman who was the original owner of the armor that spent what felt like forever battling him in the goddamn desert.

There was a lot to unpack here, even without the Charon link.]

Baby, if you want to keep it under wraps, I can keep your secrets. In all ways. [Oh yeah. The implied catchphrase hung off the words.]

Good to know he's still kicking.

[Even if some of them weren't. She had so many questions, there were so many years Tucker's lived through that Connie will never see, so many new questions that layer on top of the old. But first things first, since he'd mentioned 'Church'.]

How did you find out about Alpha- or Church? And what's he like?

[Connie knows a a good deal about the trauma the Director put Alpha through; she can't help but wonder how much of himself was left by the end of it.

...Tucker, why do you do this? Connie shakes her head a little and gives him a flat look. You were doing so well.]

Well then, lets count this as a test run.

Pretty sure nothing can kill Wash at this point.

[And we're starting right out of the gates with that question, huh? Tucker frowned a little, looking at his hands, before sighing. Church. Shit. Well...]

Dude, he's kinda an asshole. [Nothing like mincing words.] He's constantly bitching and pissed off over something and always in the middle of a bunch of dumb drama. We're constantly going after him to help him out.

[But he also went to their greatest enemy to save Tucker when he was pregnant, and he saved their asses a bunch of other times, too, not to mention he was...well, his best friend. Not that he had a lot of options in Blood Gulch, but still. Church was--Church was important.]

We were stationed together on the same base, Blues against the Reds which was a bunch of bullshit. After Flowers died, he just kind of took charge. I mean, we still didn't do anything all day except sit around and bullshit and keep an eye on the Reds, but it was good, you know? It was out thing.

[That earns a small, bitter smile. She's proud that against all that he's been through, that Wash is still fighting, still alive. Just goes to show how full of shit the Director and his Leaderboard was.]

Asshole sounds about right. [She quirks a brow at the mention of Flowers- Florida, another Freelancer dead but one still apparently in the pocket of the Director- but otherwise she listens quietly.]

Sounds peaceful. If a bit boring.

[Tucker laughed. Boring?]

You would think, right? I mean, sometimes it was, and that was great; those were the good days. But when stuff started happening...it just never stopped. It was like this stupid snowball rolling downhill, getting bigger and bigger and faster. Freelancers kept showing up. Aliens. Certain Chosen Ones who had Certain Chosen One babies. Getting blown into the future except not really. It was way too much shit when all any of us really wanted was to sit in the canyon and just bullshit. That's when it was the golden era.

[He was quiet for a minute.]

I think that's when we were the happiest. Well, next to retirement anyway, because at least Carolina and Wash were there, even though...[He stopped for a minute.]

...even though Church wasn't.

[Connie nods at certain points of Tucker's recap. Grif had mentioned meeting Wyoming and Texas while at their sim base, but the rest of it as he goes on get a more and more surprised and skeptical look.

She's honestly probably most surprised about the retirement, and that Carolina was there. Given how Connie last saw her...it's hard to picture Carolina letting herself rest at any point. But who knows how she'd change after the fall of Project Freelancer.]

I take it back, that sounds like you've been through a whole lot of shit. But congrats on making it to retirement.

[That last part...well. Eight years, almost nine is a long time for an AI, even without all the trauma that the Alpha had been put through.]

I'm sorry you lost your friend.

[Oh, he could tell you about retirement, Connie. He could tell you about Wash's creepy beard and Carolina's bad singing and Grif's lessons of trying to get her to relax, of burning waterparks that she hadn't been that into. He could tell about how they had gotten drunk a few times together and how they would talk around Epsilon, but not about it directly other than the one moment where Tucker whispered, It's so fucking empty. He could tell you stories.

He wanted to tell you stories. He wanted to tell someone.]

Thanks. Um, [And wow, this was uncomfortable for a minute.] wish you could have, too?

[What? What was he supposed to say to that? He didn't want to think of her being killed by the people she was friends with. Who...did that?]

Thanks. Knowing him, he'll probably find his way back. He never stays gone for long.

[He hoped...]

[Connie smiles, something a little more genuine in this one even if it's still plenty dry. She appreciates the sentiment.]

I'd be surprised if I ever did, I'm too curious to stay out of trouble. Would have liked to get myself a nice motorcycle at some point.

[She tips her head in thought at that last part. Curious, but she doesn't want to pry too much ~~even if the temptation is there.~~]

From what I knew of him he's good at finding loopholes and exceptions.

[It seemed like every Freelancer he had met seemed to have a dry smile. Must be a prerequisite before getting brought in. Or, you know, more likely an after effect.]

Well, what's stopping you from getting one now? You'd look hot in chaps.

[Goddamn, Church. Tucker's lips twitched down a little, before he shrugged.] That's one way to put it. He's good at drama, but...he's good at saving our asses, too, so it balances out.

[And there it was: the truth. Wash saved them and vice versa.]

If I get one, it's going to be some futuristic as hell space motorcycle. If I'm going to treat myself then I might as well customize it, right?

[She rolls her eyes a little at the chaps comment but it's becoming more out of a general reaction than actual irritation. It may get annoying but it's something she can get used to, especially if it keeps the conversation going. There's so much she wants to know about.]

So...backing up a bit, you said Carolina's with you now in retirement. It's hard to picture it.

[She's quiet a moment, weighing her words a little even if Carolina wasn't around to tell her off for her smartmouth.]

How is she?

Let me warn you: they jump a lot farther than you think they're going to, so if you're planning any dramatic drop ins, be careful.

[Or maybe that was just alien shit, which still applied in this case. He noted her lack of comment on the chaps and it reminded him a little of Tex and the way she ignored at least forty percent of what he said, too. Cool. He could work with that.]

Yeah, she's not great at it, but neither is Sarge. Hell, I think the only one who was good at it was Grif, but he's born for doing nothing. We all kept getting into shit even when we tried to do nothing, like when Donut burned down the waterpark.

[The question was loaded, and he didn't know why. His brow furrowed a little.]

She's...Carolina. She's a scary badass that's like a sister to us. She's shit at doing nothing and she's hurting but she's a survivor. Like the rest of you Freelancers, right?

[And then he realized his fuck up, and looked away.]

Um, shit, you know what I mean.

Still sounds like fun if you ask me.

[So long as they had an understanding. Also- Connie knows she looks good, no need for her to be redundant about it. Connie makes note of the names she doesn't recognize, snorting a soft laugh at the idea of a water park burning down.

And then there's Carolina. It's bittersweet to hear, because she recognizes and remembers a bit of that from before things in Project Freelancer got too terrible. If Carolina showed up, how would she react to seeing her? There's more than a few things Connie wishes she could tell her.

She shakes her head as Tucker corrects himself, her tone a bit quieter and thoughtful.]

It's alright. Thank you for telling me, I'm glad to hear she's...moving on.

Damn right it was! Just...wish I had better timing with it.

[That fight had been fun. It shouldn't have been, not really because they were killing people, but these assholes had assaulted him for how long in the desert? How many innocent other diplomats had they taken out? How many more would have they taken out if they had gotten their hands on those weapons? Fuck them. Fuck all of them.

Tucker stared at the camera before laughing under his breath and shaking his head. Is that--]

"Moving on"? I wouldn't go that far; I don't think any of you guys ever move on from the shit they put you through. You just learn to live with it and that's what she's doing.

If you know the plans for it you might be able to get it remade here.

[And if he could do that, she might be able to snag the designs for her own copy.

Connie quirks a brow, giving a small shrug.]

That's still a solid step of moving on past when I last saw her. The Carolina I knew was all work non-stop; always training no matter the cost. I'm glad she's trying to relax, even a little.

Do I look like like an engineer to you? I don't know how it worked; all I know is that I got my legs around it and it went fast.

[Sorry, no bikes. Hell, he wished he had one, too, because bike races would get chicks easy. Eeeasy. Sure, it couldn't hold as many as a tank, but he could work around that.]

After the whole Charon thing, I think we all needed a break, even her and Wash. It was rough. [Rougher than any of them let on.]

Did you know she sucks at singing? She's fucking awful.

We've got future-google around here, you might be able to find it if you look.

[Well, if Tucker doesn't look for it then she will. And...well, from what little she knows about Wash's future from the man himself, namely the Epsilon incident during Project Freelancer, she'd say he deserved a break years ago.

Connie nods in agreement up until the comment about Carolina's singing and she snorts a sudden laugh.]

Oh god, you let her sing?

You want to ride on the back of my bike, baby?

[Yes, he did have the perfect inflection for a come-on, and no, he didn't regret it. He never regretted it, even when Tex had kicked his ass after the fiftieth one in a single day, a new record for him. He had been marathoning then, mostly to piss Church off. It had been great.

Tucker rolled his eyes, but found himself grinning, warmed by the memory. Fuck, he missed her already.]

Dude, you don't tell a woman like Carolina that she can't do something; you just find some earplugs and try not to go deaf. Way better than letting her kick your ass. [But wait--]

So you've actually heard her sing before?

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