Chapter 8
Redrat8- Yeah sure. Why not?
Kai
Federation garrison base
Kai was sipping a cup of coffee, enjoying his breakfast for the day, when Crick came up to him.
"Uh sir, I've already sent the article to Lombard." Said Crick. "He'll be sending it straight to the nearest available publisher outside of Side 3. Within a week or so, we should have our article appear in both digital and physical copies throughout the Earth Sphere." Kai nodded at that before sipping his coffee again.
That was good to hear. Hopefully, it'll do what both he and General Revil wanted it to do and get people to finally give Side 3 the break that it deserved. He knew that he'll also get a lot of pissed-off people as well, especially those that were greatly affected by the war by the Principality of Zeon, but that was something that he expected when he took this job. Life as a reporter is not something to be done if you wanted constant praise from the public. No sir.
Finishing his coffee, Kai then asked if there was anything else that Crick wanted to talk about.
"Actually there is, sir." Said Crick. "It's referring to one of our security personal, Erika Yugo." Upon hearing that, Kai looked at him in surprise.
"What about her?" Asked Kai as he looked at Crick, who just spoke up.
"Well, I was meaning to tell you this when we got back to the base last night, but events prevented me from doing so." Said Crick before getting down to what was on his mind. "It's my belief that Miss Yugo may provide us a source of information for our future articles." Kai rose an eyebrow at that before motioning for Crick to that, Crick told Kai what happened yesterday. All that he spotted from Erika, from her sad expressions and to her anger at someone prying on her family. He then explained the reasons why he thought she would be a good candidate for their articles. Needless to say, it got Kai thinking. "So, what do you think sir?"
"Well," Started Kai as he rubbed the back of his head. "The more the merrier. She can get us some sympathy points from the people because she was young during the One Year War. Plus, she must have lost a lot of loved ones during the war if her attitude is any indication. That's bound to get us some meat on our board as well. It must have been hard to live without a caretaker around." Crick nodded in agreement before speaking again.
"It also should be said that she's hurting sir." Said Crick, causing Kai to blink before nodding his head in agreement.
"Yeah." Said Kai as he recalled the time she confronted him about his questions regarding her acceptance to kill her fellow countrymen. How tough and hard she was in answering him. Some people may say he wasn't the most insightful of person in the world, but that was a lie. He knew when someone was hiding something back when he had to fend for himself after his parents died and that ability only improved when he took a job as a freelance reporter. They had to because one wrong move or misjudgment can drastically change the facts and how things come across to people in what he writes. It might also lead to a broken nose here and there, something that Kai learned firsthand when starting out as a reporter. "And you want me to help her?"
"If you can help, sir." Said Crick. "She is far too young to be dealing with whatever is affecting her, sir. I know that she isn't unique in that situation at the moment, but she is unique in that we can help her go through whatever turmoil for an extended period of time. We can help her get over what is churning her up and help her become a better person as a result." Kai just frowned at that as he placed a hand to his lips. "Is it not part of being a good person to help others that are hurting, sir?"
"True, but the problem is if they should or if they're able to in the first place." Pointed out Kai as he crossed his arms. "Still, we should at least try. Wouldn't want to be called an asshole because we let a pretty lady be angry all her life. Now would we?" Crick just nodded at that, relieved at what Kai had agreed to.
"We should leave soon, sir." Said Crick. "Colonel Lombard would no doubt wish to send us somewhere else in order to interview more people as well as give people some pictures of what Side 3 is facing." Kai nodded his head in agreement before resuming to eat his breakfast. As he ate, he wondered what Erika was doing right now.
Meanwhile
Erika
"Are you sure she's doing well, sir?" Asked Erika as she looked at colonel Lombard as he wrote a digital report concerning Side 3's capital. Currently, Erika's face had a look of worry and concern on it. "It's been a full two weeks since I last checked up on her and I'm getting worried that she's hurt and that she wants me there to help her with…" Erika didn't get to say anymore when Lombard raised his hand, silencing her.
"Don't worry about your sister, Miss Yugo." Said Lombard as he clasped his hands together as he looked at Erika. "I assure you, while you've been unable to speak to your sister recently, I've been doing that for you. And I can confidently say that she's doing okay. There are no problems with her nor does she seem to need anything from you or me." Despite the words from Lombard, Erika still looked worried and spoke.
"Thank you, sir." Said Erika gratefully. "But I'm still worried and anxious. I'm worried that someone like those brutes that attacked us yesterday will come for my sister and…" Lombard then interrupted her by getting up from his chair and walking over to Erika to place a hand on her shoulder, his eyes holding sympathy and understanding in them.
"There's no need to say anymore, Miss Yugo." Said Lombard as he looked at Erika, trying to placate her worries. "I understand what you're going through and I assure you, your sister is one hundred percent safe under my watch. I have people I trust completely taking care of her at this very moment and I have complete confidence they won't leave any sort of bad influences on her. You have my word." Erika just stared at Lombard for a moment before nodding.
"Of course." Said Erika as she calmed down. "Thank you, sir. For everything." Lombard just nodded at that.
"It's the least I can do for someone that has suffered so much from the war." Said Lombard as he went back to his desk. "If only I could do it to more people." Before Erika could comment on that, Lombard got a call from someone. Answering it, he asked what the caller needed. They then replied that Kai was on his way to his office. Which caused Lombard to say thank you before ending the call and waiting for Kai to arrive with Erika. Upon seeing Erika adjust in her seat a bit, Lombard asked what was wrong.
"Nothing is wrong, sir." Said Erika before adopting her usual stern expression, causing Lombard to sigh.
"I know you more than you think, Miss Yugo." Said Lombard as he looked at Erika sternly. "Just say what you think of Mr. Shiden. There's no point in hiding it." Erika sighed at that before speaking.
"Sir, is he really the best that we can get?" Asked Erika. "He's reckless and a bit foolhardy for his own good. We may be better of with someone that is a bit more…easier to manage." Lombard hummed at that before speaking.
"You're not giving the man the credit that he deserves, Miss Yugo." Said Lombard. "He's much more intelligent and insightful than it may seem. He wouldn't have been chosen otherwise."
"I'm not disagreeing on his resourcefulness, sir." Argued Erika. "But his general attitude and eagerness to risk the lives around him, including himself, is making my job much harder than it should be. I should also note that he has a clear disregard for military protocol and procedures. He took us to a restaurant instead of using the standard military MREs. Sir, I don't know if I can continue to be his bodyguard if he continues to be such a reckless idiot. Sir." Lombard just sighed before speaking.
"Ensign Yugo, you know as well as I do that you and miss Hepner are the only ones available that are capable of both protecting him as well as deterring those in Side 3 that still want to continue the fighting." Said Lombard. "Everyone else is either too old, unavailable, or too stuck up in grudges to be of any help in this mission. I know you dislike people like Mr. Shiden, but your country needs you to put up with him in order to help it and its people. I know you're not the most patriotic of people, considering what your country did in the One Year War, but I also know that you wish to do what you can for the people that have been adversely affected by the war but had no involvement in it whatsoever. So please, just put up with him until this is all over. Who knows, you might find a newfound respect for him." Erika just frowned at that.
"I already did sir." Said Erika, causing Lombard to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "It's just that I don't think that's enough for me to not complain about working alongside him." Lombard was about to speak up at that when a knock caught both of their attention. When Lombard told them to enter, the door opened to reveal Kai.
"Good morning, colonel." Said Kai as he walked in.
"Same to you, Mr. Shiden." Said Lombard as Kai took a seat in front of Lombard. "I trust that you had a good night's sleep in Side 3."
"I did, considering the fact that I'm well protected by a full garrison of Federation troops." Said Kai as he looked at Lombard before smirking. "Now if you wanted me to have a less then ideal sleep, then I could go outside the garrison and try my luck with the locals, though I don't think that's a really good idea, even in the securest of regions in Side 3." Erika rolled her eyes at his immaturity before Kai went down to business. "Anyway, where should I go next? I went to one of these so-called yellow zones. Does that mean I'm going into one of your red zones?" Lombard just nodded.
"That's correct, Mr. Shiden." Said Lombard as he clasped his hands together. "Your job here, minus one incident, has been smooth sailings so far, but now you have to do the more dangerous parts of it. We're sending you to one of the red zones in this colony and let me assure you, it's a messy place there."
"How messy?" Asked Kai, wanting to know what exactly he'll be going straight into.
"Very." Said Lombard. "The red zones have constant patrols of Federation soldiers of all types in them. Firefights with Principality of Zeon loyalists are frequent and we don't know who is a loyalist and who isn't in those zones. We tried to minimize that by getting people we know to leave those zones, but all it did was increase activity with those loyalists. *Sighs* Needless to say, those zones are chaos." Lombard then looked at Kai seriously for a moment before speaking. "Mr. Shiden, I know I'm sending you to a potential meat grinder this time, but…"
"Hey, don't worry." Interrupted Kai. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this job, and I'm damn not going to run away from it just because of a good chance of me ending up dead. That's not who I am. I'm going to that red zone and I'm going to do my best to make the rest of the Earth Sphere realize it's time to stop being petty and move on." Lombard just stayed silent as he stared at Kai before nodding.
"Very well, Mr. Shiden." Said Lombard before looking at Erika, who was looking at Kai with respect. "Before you go, I'll send word to the engineers to change the armaments of your escort droids to lethal weapons. Much as it pains me to say, considering the circumstances, you're going to need them. I'm also going to requisition two more mobile platform squads to reinforce your escort. This may sound overkill, but the red zones have proven to be dangerous enough to warrant it. Believe me. You'll be leaving in three hours. I suggest you prepare your crew." Kai nodded at that before leaving with Erika. Once they were in the hallway, Kai spoke up.
"If it isn't too much to ask, but can I interview you once we're out of the red zone?" Asked Kai, causing Erika to look at him in surprise.
"Interview me?" Asked Erika as she looked at Kai incredulously. "What can I provide you that you can't get anywhere else in Side 3?"
"Well easy access for one thing." Said Kai with a smirk, causing Erika to twitch her left eye in annoyance. "But another thing is because I want to help you." That caused Erika to raise an eyebrow at that. "Crick noticed your behavior yesterday. The cracks that occurred when you thought you were alone and no one was noticing. It caused him to come to me and ask that we both interview you as well as help you in whatever problems you have at the moment." That last sentence caused her to hitch her breath. Before Kai could ask her what's wrong, Erika glared at him.
"I don't need help with my problems. Nor do I want them revealed to the public." Said Erika as she glared at Kai. "I'm more than capable of dealing with them myself. I don't need help from an immature, freelance reporter with my problems. Especially one that had a hand in them, however unintentionally." Kai just frowned at that. Refusing help was a sure sign of someone hurting but refusing to allow people to help them. He would know. He had a similar problem in his teenage years, before the war.
"I don't know. Looks to me and Crick that you need the help." Said Kai as he looked at Erika with a frown. "Don't let your pride prevent you from getting help when you need it."
"I don't need help." Repeated Erika as she intensified her glare at Kai. "I don't need help. It's all completely under control. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be here right now, listening to you." Kai just took her glare in stride before speaking.
"Well, I think you need my help, Erika." Said Kai. "I know when someone is hurting and you're hurting a lot. I'm a reporter, Erika. I have to know these things. Plus, don't you want to be interviewed? Your story could provide some good stuff that may or may not help my goals. Your goals. Why not let me interview you?"
"Because I don't want to." Said Erika, frustrated with Kai. Why was he so insistent on this? "I don't want to get an interview because I don't want the trouble that it'll bring. You think that nothing will happen to me and anyone I'm close to after all this is over? You're dead wrong. There's still plenty of people in Side 3 that will stop at nothing to harm those they deem traitors to the Side if they so much as think about aiding the Earth Federation in any shape or form. Do you think I want that for myself? And those close to me?" Upon hearing her reasoning, Kai narrowed his eyes on her.
"And it doesn't bother you that the people I've interviewed are in danger as well?" Asked Kai. He knew that those that helped them yesterday will suffer greatly from Principality of Zeon patriots if they ever found out that they helped him. That's why he kept out their names when he wrote his article. And he'll continue to do so as a precaution, not wanting any of those that helped him to suffer because of some overzealous people. He knew that it won't keep the most tenacious and resourceful of them back. Forever at least, but it helped Kai sleep at night that they won't be hurt more. For a little while longer anyway. He could do the same with Erika, so what was her problem?
Thinking about it, Kai figured that it had something to do with her loved ones. Erika didn't seem to be one that was afraid if she lived or died, nor one that cared much about killing people from the same country as her. Kai knew that loved ones being threaten can make even the most stoic and bravest of people stay their hands on something they felt was right. Or make them do things that they normally wouldn't do. He guessed whomever Erika had left was worth too much for her to lose.
While Kai could understand her wish to protect her loved ones, he felt that it was also hurting her. Protecting one's loved ones is a noble thing, Kai wasn't going to refute that, but sometimes it prevented people from seeing what needed to be done or if they can help those in need. And right now, Kai felt that Erika needed to help her people, even if she hated a lot of them at the moment.
"Erika, I know what you're going through and what you're doing." Said Kai after sighing and adopting a more sympathetic look. "You think you're doing the right thing by not giving me an interview because you're worried that it'll cause people to go after you and your loved ones. And while I won't deny in some ways it is, after all one had to look out after their loved ones, even if they don't like it, sometimes you have to do things that put them in danger. It's a natural part of life. You can't protect them forever you know." Upon hearing that, Erika intensified her glare.
"That's rich coming from the orphan reporter that doesn't need to protect and care for a young girl that lost their parents when they were a baby. Then lost most of their sisters in the war because they allowed themselves to be deceived by an egomaniac that refused to surrender when it was obvious he was losing, forcing the sole surviving sibling to fend for them and herself when no one was able, or willing, to help them in a war-torn Side that hated by nearly every other person in the Earth Sphere." Said Erika, getting louder and louder as she went on until she was almost shouting and up to Kai's face, who was silent as he heard all this. "And I don't want to add even more problems on top of it all, even if they may never come because I don't want my little sister to get hurt because of my decisions. You got that, reporter?" Kai just stayed silent. The two starred at each other for a few minutes before Erika decided enough was enough and left Kai alone. Once she was gone, Kai sighed.
"Doing this all for your little sibling, huh?" Said Kai in a whisper as he looked at the direction where Erika went. "Doesn't that remind me of someone?" His thoughts then went to another redhead like Erika, only with lighter red hair and a kinder disposition, despite her conditions and situation. One that…he missed terribly and wished that she hadn't died in the One Year War. Sighing in sadness, Kai walked forward in order to get his team ready for the trials ahead of them.
