Chairman: To the Director of Project Freelancer, from the Oversight Sub-committee Chairman. Dear Director, I want to thank you in advance for your openness in response to our Sub-committee's request for more information. We were... disappointed that your Recovery force reported a total loss at Outpost 17-B. We had hoped there would be at least one soldier left, that could shed some light on the situation. I know that your agency has enjoyed a high degree of freedom with very little scrutiny in the past few years. It is not our intention to disrupt such a... progressive military program; but instead to find a way we can work together, in a manner that befits all our responsibilities. I am certain that you will agree. And we look forward to making this review process as painless as we possibly can.

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A red soldier is brought to a room with several large view screens with various displays on them, Counselor Price appears on the screen in the center of them.

Counselor: Thank you gentlemen, would you please excuse us?

The two soldiers walk away, leaving the red soldier in the room.

Counselor: You are Private Walter Henderson, correct?

Henderson: Yes, sir!

Counselor: You can dispense with the formalities, Walter. Please feel comfortable to speak as candidly as you wish. Can you tell us what happened at your outpost, Walter?

Henderson: Yes, sir-ah, yes. I had been there about six months. Everything was pretty much like normal and one day this... ship... crashed.

Counselor: I see. Is this the ship to which you are referring?

A holographic representation of the downed transport ship appears.

Henderson: Yeah. Yeah that's it.

Counselor: Please, tell me what was on the ship, Walter.

Henderson: I don't know. The Blues got there first. They fought us off while they cleared it out. Took the stuff back to Base. By the time we got a hold of it, it just seemed like a regular old transport. Our engineer said some of the wiring had been messed with but he didn't seem, you know, worried about it or nothing like that.

Counselor: I see. Thank you for that.

Henderson: But whatever was on the ship, must have been what started the whole thing.

Counselor: Please, Walter, define "thing."

Henderson: The infection. The Blues just stopped fighting us. Some of them set up camp outside their base and trapped the rest of their team inside; blew up their comm tower for some reason. Their own comm tower... Then they blew up ours. That's why we couldn't radio for help, we couldn't figure out why they would do that. After that, nothing. No word from them at all. The CO sent a squad over... all the Blues were dead. They had killed each other.

Counselor: Why do you think they did that?

Henderson: I don't know. They had torn the radios out of their helmets and dismantled their computers. The CO said they were trying to build something... but I saw all the stuff, no way! They were trying to break it. And there was another body in there too. Not a Blue, somebody else. Actually, she looked like them.

Henderson looks over to two soldiers. One soldier being gray with yellow accents and the other being black with red accents and a skull on his visor.

Counselor: Don't worry about them for now, Walter. Please, continue.

Henderson: We brought all the equipment back to base and brought it online. And that's when the infection started for us.

Counselor: The soldiers became... sick?

Henderson: No. They just... they were different. Off. We would catch guys getting into areas they shouldn't get into. But the weird thing was, a guy would go crazy, act up, and then we would throw him in a cell, and he would be fine. Then another guy would go nuts, disobey orders. Like trying to bring the comm tower back online even though we were told to leave it be. Maybe they knew it was coming.

Counselor: They knew what was coming?

Henderson: At first we thought it was help. It ransacked Blue Base, searched all the bodies... then it came after us. Seemed focused on the guys that were infected. Eventually, it just started killing everything.

Counselor: Could you describe it for us, Walter?

Henderson: Not really. It moved fast, when we first saw it, and after Blue Base it was... it was different.

Counselor: In what way, different?

Henderson: It looked... like it wasn't there. I don't know how to explain it.

Counselor: That's alright. I know this has been difficult for you Walter. We're going to do everything we can to help you.

Two soldiers in grey walk up behind Henderson.

Counselor: Please, follow these men to your new quarters. You'll be with us as long as absolutely necessary. You have my word.

Henderson follows them out of the room.

Counselor: Agent Washington, what do you make of all this?

Washington: I think it sounds like exactly what I encountered.

Counselor: Mhm.

Washington: Except it's stronger now, and becoming more so all the time.

Counselor: Does that concern you?

Washington: It doesn't make me excited.

Counselor: Agent Washington, may I ask who the soldier is next to you that you decided to... acquire into our mission?

Washington: This is Corporal Zakariah Slade. He and his squad were out on a mission when they heard the... ruckus coming from my fight with the Meta.

Counselor: I see. Where is your squad, Corporal?

Slade: (with fake American accent) Dead, sir. The 'Meta' as your Agent called it, killed them all. I'm the last survivor, and I want payback.

Counselor: I see... you feel, angered at this.

Slade: No offense, 'Counselor', but I didn't come here to get analyzed. I came here to bring this thing down.

Counselor: Of course, Corporal. You've been through a lot with this program, Agent Washington. The Epsilon A.I. we assigned you-

Washington: Has already been discussed to death. I'm over it.

Counselor: Now your, physical problems... because of your last encounter-

Washington: I'm better now. Mentally and physically.

Counselor: Our profile of you disagrees with your assessment.

Washington: Look, the last mission I ran against this thing, I tried to do it alone. Now I realize that I can't

Counselor: Because of Agent South.

A video appears on the screen showing South running off like Wash had told her to.

Washington: Yeah, you should. If it hadn't been for Corporal Slade over here, I'd have been dead. So while this isn't ideal and I don't feel like sticking my neck out for you guys, if it puts me on a path that leads to him, you can trust me at least that far.

Counselor: So you would say that you have overwhelming feelings of anger, and a need for revenge?

Washington: More than you know.

Counselor: Excellent. Now that our agency is under investigation, the Director feels it is important for us to be as open as possible. With each other. If our suspicions are correct, the Meta has made another addition: the Omega A.I. We think the best place for you to start would be the Omega's last known location. The soldiers there have the most experience with our program.

Washington: I see. So I should contact these experts-

Counselor: We do not like the term "experts."

Tex: (in Slade's head) Because they're absolute morons.

Slade: (in his mind) Would you keep it down, lass?

Washington: Because no one really knows what our program is doing?

Counselor: Let's just say the term "expert" is a little too... complimentary in this particular case. Do you still have your old suit of armor?

Washington: Of course. Wait... why?

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Wash and Slade fly through space towards Blood Gulch. Wash takes off his helmet and rubs his hand down his face.

Washington: I cannot believe you made me lie on the report. AND to the Counselor's face!

Slade: Wash, you have to trust us.

Washington: Trust you? How can I trust you?! You were my best friend back in Freelancer, Travis! And you just left us all to die! After what happened with Carolina, you just up and vanished!

Slade puts the ship in auto-pilot and gets out of the cockpit.

Slade: If you really didn't trust me, you would've ratted me out, David. But you didn't. So that proves something, mate.

Washington: (scoffs) Yeah, I'm losing my mind.

Kan then stands up, having been sitting in his seat the whole time, quietly.

Kan: I believe we have bigger issues to worry about.

Washington: Remind me again: how did you get an alien to follow you and how does he speak English?

Slade: I saved his life and he swore loyalty to me. Plus with the two years I've known him, he must've picked up a bloody word or two.

Washington: Just like that?

Slade: I see your sense of perception hasn't gotten better.

Washington: And you're the guy that just decided to stop being MIA and come back with North's A.I. and an alien.

Theta appears on his shoulder.

Theta: He's doing the right thing. I know I may be just a kid, but Cal has shown what the Director has done. We have to stop him... even if it'll be scary.

Slade: You'll be alright, lad.

Kan walks to the cockpit and sees their destination.

Kan: Leader, we've arrived.

Slade takes the controls.

Slade: Oh, one thing Wash: the men I've worked with in this canyon are kind of... off.

Washington: So the Counselor said.

Slade: Just bear with me.

Tex: (in Slade's head) I sure hope you know what you're doing.

Slade: (in his mind) Me too.