#because even though the boys aren't in it there are mentions of the gdf

[hebuiltfive]

Meanwhile, on Skybase...: Debrief

Series: Part 2 of The Long Game

Colonel White is growing increasingly concerned, and Scarlet seems to be keeping secrets.

Words: 1,657

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Additional Tags: Dark themes, violence, mentions of injuries, implied mentions of suicide, heavy angst, blue and scarlet being bffs, cross between ocs and ncs, black is very machiavellian, Swearing

Notes: Earlier drafts had me word vomiting the relationship between the GDF and Spectrum, so I'm hoping that I managed to fix it enough for it to flow better. One thing I underestimated as I went into writing this series is that timelines are horrendous and difficult to manage.

Read it below or on AO3 here.

Part 1: The Alaskan Train Crash

Chapter 1 found here on Tumblr, or here on AO3.

Chapter 2 found here on Tumblr, or here on AO3.

Chapter 3 found here on Tumblr, or here on A03.

Chapter 4 found here on Tumblr, or here on AO3.

Part 2: Meanwhile, on Skybase...

Chapter 1 found here on Tumblr, or here on AO3.

Skybase was abuzz with activity.

On the bridge of the vast aircraft carrier base, Colonel White sat at his desk. His brows were pulled into a concerned frown. Scarlet had yet to report in and, whilst he knew had no need to be so worried over his virtually indestructible officer, White found himself troubled more often than not when Scarlet failed to get in touch whilst on mission. Couple that with his call from the Global Defence Force, and Colonel White found himself teetering on the edge of a very colossal ‘worry’ cliff. He didn’t acknowledge it however. After all, he didn’t reach the rank of Colonel by being an anxious mess. He quickly pulled himself straight. He would have to take things as they came and, for now, the only thing he could do was assess the GDF’s situation whilst he waited for Scarlet to report in.

The call had been as pleasant as Colonel White could have expected. The GDF’s long standing reputation and legacy was naturally always going to be in contrast to that of the newly created Spectrum. Occasionally, White often wondered whether Colonel Casey felt the same way as her operatives clearly did. More than once his officers had reported their GDF counterparts were less than welcoming and claimed that Spectrum were stepping on the toes of the organisation. It had been three years now, almost to the day, since the Spectrum Organisation had been signed into existence, and still the squabbles between the teams seemed daily. White couldn’t have cared less, and he hoped Casey didn’t let the petty rivalry between certain officers taint her own view of the set-up they both had to deal with.

Set up by the World Council after a series of GDF failures, Spectrum were originally created specifically to aid the former organisation in duties they found more challenging. Spectrum were created to be more elite compared to the GDF’s more mundane, and were developed to deal with any manner of issue in a more succinct manner than the GDF could have ever dreamed. Answerable only to the World President, the red tape that had been cut was beneficial not only for Spectrum but also for the Council itself.

Spectrum’s role had grown beyond it’s original conception, however. In the months following the expedition to Mars, and Captain Black’s rash attack on the formally peaceful race of beings known as the Mysterons, the earth had been catapulted into a War of Nerves. Vowing revenge on Black’s attempt at decimating their Martian city complex, the Mysterons had repeatedly tried to attack and destroy the planet. Spectrum, and only Spectrum, had been given clearance by the World Council to deal with the threat.

“Imagine the state of the world if word got out about this mess.” World President Younger had exclaimed to Colonel White in their private meeting on the matter, and White found himself agreeing with the man. Better for the world to continue unaware of the threat that was now posed to them than to send the planet into turmoil, though he was sure the Mysterons would have benefited from that greatly.

And so, the war remained classified. Only those who worked for Spectrum were privy to that knowledge, and even then, only those with higher clearances were allowed to know the specifics. They were the only thing standing between the Mysterons and the earth being completely decimated.

But, as only Spectrum knew of the threat, the world continued life as normal, including the GDF. Hence the call from Colonel Casey earlier. Protocols demanded than any case that the GDF were unable to handle were to be handed over to the more capable outfit of Spectrum. At first, White was going to decline her call. He had far more pressing matters nowadays than a bizarre train wreck in North Alaska, and was about to ask his right-hand, Lieutenant Green, to come up with an excuse when the initial details came through. Three workers who were seemingly uninjured in a crash where all evidence suggested it should have left no survivors.

With Scarlet still silent, White began to develop a hunch. He hated hunches. Matters were best worked out logically, not emotionally, and yet he couldn’t shake this one.

Of course, he had left out any information about the beings from Mars on his call, but they were in the forefront of his mind. As Black had found out, the Mysterons had the remarkable ability of retrometabolism; the ability to recreate any object or being. From their Martian city complex, to the murdered bodies of Black and Scarlet, the Mysterons were able to recreate almost anything.

He had not long signed off the call when Scarlet finally buzzed in. After relaying his report on his skirmish with Captain Black, who had now turned traitor against his will and was being used as a pawn by the Mysterons in their War of Nerves, White ordered Scarlet back to Skybase with immediate effect.

Whilst he may not have liked his hunches, Colonel White often found the ones he couldn’t shrug off were the ones that rarely failed him.

The capabilities of Spectrum’s jets were incomparable to anything else on the planet, except the Thunderbird machines. Within three hours, Captain Scarlet was back on base. After a brief visit to Doctor Gold in the Medibay, he appeared on the bridge for his debrief. He greeted Lieutenant Green, who was sat at her command control desk, with a nod and a smile. “How was the vacation?”

“Relaxing.” Green replied with a smile that matched his. The back of her chair bent as she stretched backwards. “Not that I feel as relaxed now I’m back.”

“Isn’t that always the case?” Scarlet offered a chuckle before jogging up the few steps to reach the desk of Colonel White. The glass sound barrier slid into place behind him and secluded White’s office from the rest of the bridge. Scarlet remained standing, hands clasped behind his back, the image of pure military professionalism. “Colonel.” He greeted his superior officer with a nod of his head.

“Injuries all healed, Captain?”

“Like new.” Scarlet replied.

Despite escaping Mysteron control, and being the only known replicant to do so, Scarlet had retained the talent of retrometabolism. Even mortal wounds that would have made the best of men fall were nothing but scratches to the now virtually indestructible Captain Scarlet. This advantage, as well as his ability to sense nearby Mysteron agents, had made him one of Spectrum’s best hopes in their war against the Mysterons. Unfortunately, the Mysterons also knew this and went out of their way to try and dispose of Scarlet whenever they had the opportunity.

“Good. Take a seat.” White extended out a hand toward one of the chairs in front of his crescent-moon shaped control desk. “We have a lot to discuss.”

Scarlet took one of the seats.

“You claimed in your call that you didn’t know why Black was in Burgas?”

“That’s correct, sir.”

“Take a look at this.”

With a simple swipe White had displayed a grainy CCTV image. Though blurry, it clearly showed a person appearing from what looked to be an abandoned warehouse.

“Black, sir? Scarlet guessed from the worn, washed-out features he’d come to equate to his former friend.

White flicked through the images until one that was slightly more clearer came into the frame. It was indeed Black. “These were captured a few hours prior to your arrival. It was a warehouse a few miles southeast to where you caught up with him.”

“Any ideas as to what he was doing there?” Scarlet’s brows furrowed. There had been no intelligence suggesting Black had been meeting anyone.

“So far, we have found no possible reasons for him even being in Burgas at all.” White swiped at the images again, this time making them disappear. “I assume Black didn’t give anything away whilst you… bumped heads?”

For a moment, Scarlet remained quiet. He hoped that White would not clue in on his hesitation and instead believe him to have been in deep thought. Pursing his lips, Scarlet shook his head. “No, sir. Nothing of note.”

“Very well.” White concluded impassively, though Scarlet was certain he saw something akin to disbelief flash across his features. “That’ll be all, Captain. I hope I can assume a report will be on my desk?”

“Tomorrow morning at the latest, sir.”

Satisfied, White offered Scarlet a single nod. He pressed a button on his desk and the glass partition doors slid open again. Scarlet then left the bridge, offering Lieutenant Green a wave as he passed her, and entered the elevator.

It was only once Scarlet had disappeared from view that Colonel White stood and made his way towards Green’s desk. “Lieutenant, see if there is any CCTV in the area Scarlet brawled with Black.”

“Sir?”

“I have the feeling Scarlet was withholding something from me, and I fear he won’t be putting it in his official report either. See if you can find out what it is.”

White had never liked nor agreed with spying on his operatives unless it was an urgent case, but the pause Scarlet had taken when he had asked about Black had the Colonel feeling uneasy. It wasn’t that he distrusted Scarlet, but the captain still had many things to learn.

“S.I.G, sir.” Green affirmed and began her search.

White returned to his office.

From the windows that curved around the outer wall, he saw Spectrum planes and heli-jets parked and landing amongst the clouds that surrounded Skybase. Hands clasped behind his back not dissimilar to Scarlet’s earlier, White stared out at the sky they floated through. He sighed. That hunch of his was starting to grow into something more tiresome. He still couldn’t shake it and he doubted it would leave him any time soon, not until this whole messy business was resolved.