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The troopers at Archive Outpost Alpha had gotten used to how slow the elevators were. The tower was equipped with state of the art technology, but the buck stopped when it came to elevator repair. They didn't remember when it happened, but the ride up from Red Team's Archive Terminal gradually got longer. It went from a few seconds to a few minutes. Fortunately, being isolated in a tower meant there was no real rush to any place for any reason. Their objective was to maintain and archive data. Nothing more, nothing less. As long as the elevator worked, no one on the Red Team really cared.
For Howell, the ride was excruciatingly long. Her eyes were glued to the screen as she watched the numbers slowly change with each floor the carriage climbed. Normally the cause of her anxiety would be something related to being in close proximity with the enemy, but unfortunately there was a greater danger. The day before their combined forces were able to send out a distress signal, but at what cost? The forces that responded were nothing they could have expected just by asking for help. Her mind still couldn't comprehend what exactly they wanted from them, or why they had been so hostile.
A hand on her shoulder snapped her from her spiral. She turned her head to see Rowe looking down at her. The leader of the Red Team had been a thorn in her side since the day they had met, but in their time of need, he and his team came to their rescue. Rowe could have easily gone with the enforcers and left the Blue Team for dead, but he didn't. Now they were standing in their elevator, covered in various shades of red paint. Rowe may have played it off earlier, but maybe they didn't need to be each other's enemies for the sake of being enemies.
The man cleared his throat to catch her attention. Howell turned her frame to face his. Meanwhile the heads of their subordinates turned to listen in. Knowing the history between these two, any conversation they had was worth listening in on.
Rowe's gaze locked on her visor. “Just one last thing, Howell. I’m in command.” His voice lowered at that last part.
Howell felt as though someone had thrown ice down the back of her suit. Seriously? At a time like this he's worried about his rank of all things?
“You're joking.” She deadpanned
She could hear him chuckle “Indeed I am not. You're now a member of the Red Team, which means you report to me.”
Howell grit her teeth. He really was a pain in her ass. “You do realize this is only temporary, right?”
A giggle came from behind her. She turned her head to see Willow with a hand to the front of her helmet “If it's only temporary then why are you getting so worked up about it, Howell?”
Howell bit her lip. She and Willow had been friends since Willow had arrived at the tower. If anyone could get away with making fun of the captain, it would be her.
Rowe smiled from behind his helmet “And to make sure you remember, I suggest we do a little practice.”
“I refuse to call you any sort of honorific.” Howell took a half step back. Working with him was fine, but having to call him anything above his name was a step too far for her.
A darker red helmet came into view from behind her. Wells stood not too far away from Willow. The boy was part of the reason why they were there and not hiding in a storage closet waiting to be found… or worse.
“With all due respect ma'am, if they catch you giving out orders or refusing to follow Rowe's command, they might get suspicious. Well… more suspicious than they are now.”
A soldier in orange armor snorted “oh yeah, her refusing to call Rowe ‘sir’ is way more suspicious than their armor being covered in house paint”
“Wasn't painting them your idea, Miller?”
She shrugged her shoulders “I don't know. I just work here.”
Rowe chuckled “You know, I like the sound of that-” Howell turned her attention back to him. “You heard the lady, Lieutenant. Call me sir.” His voice lowered once again. He wasn't joking around. This had to be one of the worst moments of her life. Howell's hair stood on end as she stared up at his helmet. Could she get away with pretending to be mute? Surely that would be a better option than this.
A soft chime signified the elevator had climbed another floor. “Tick Tock, Lieutenant.”
“Rowe, this is-”
“- nope. Say it.”
Howell bit her lip so hard she most definitely bruised it. This was embarrassing. Did he really have to wait until they were trapped in an elevator to put her through this humiliation ritual; and with the rest of the team in here with them?
“This…. is ridiculous…. sir.”
It felt as if ash was in her mouth having to say that. Unfortunately it was obvious by the way he didn't move that Rowe was not impressed. She didn't expect that he would be.
“That lacked the confidence a true Red Team member would have when addressing her leader. Try again.”
A wave of heat crawled its way up her neck and to her cheeks. She was happy for the helmet or else everyone would be able to see the flushed look on her face. Howell licked her lips as she forced herself to try again.
“I hate you, sir.”
She could hear the soldiers behind her shuffle in discomfort; all the while Rowe stood as still as ever. He easily brushed off the mild backlash. If anything he stood a little taller, a little prouder even. No doubt he was getting some sort of sick satisfaction having his “mortal enemy” under his command.
“Better, but it's awfully rude to have a subordinate insult her captain while company is over” His helmet did nothing to hide the shit eating grin he had on his face. His voice was a well of emotions and the most notable of all was when he smirked. It was all she could hear whenever he jeered at her from across the common areas of the tower.
Howell balled her hands into fists. Oh how she wished she could punch the smile off his face. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tried to calm herself down.
“Can we please stop, sir.”
Before he could open his mouth a soft chime was heard followed by the jolt of the elevator carriage being locked into place. “Common Area”
Rowe kept his gaze firmly locked on Howell. “That'll do, Lieutenant. Now about face and be sure to remember your lesson”
Howell kept her mouth firmly shut as she turned around and exited the elevator with the others. Once out of the elevator Rowe fell in line beside her. Her pace slowed as the pair fell further back behind the group. There was one thing that itched at the back of her mind, not the fact that Rowe absolutely had a superiority complex, but something else…
“How did you know my rank?” Her voice was softer as she tried to keep the conversation between the two of them. It wasn't exactly a secret to anyone on the Blue Team. If they wanted to, anyone could go into the archive and go through their respective files. Even so…how did a member of the Red Team learn that information?
Rowe leaned in as if to whisper in her ear “There are a lot of things I've learned about you, Miss Howell. But we can discuss that later.”
She visibly shuddered as a chill ran down her spine. This was far from over.