"I see. Don't worry, I'll bring this matter to the UNSF Council on our next meeting. You can count on me."
Being able to voice her problem, Ken seemed to feel much better now, but Elena can still see traces of stress and burden lying on her shoulders. So she decided to give Ken her advice, as a friend.
"You must be tired to go through the test twice, it's not an easy one to start with; So why don't you take a break, go on a vacation before working your way back into class. Afterall the current cadet training will start tomorrow, and you'll be missing the first few lessons which are quite important while I solve this issue."
Maybe you're right, I DO need a break.
Ken sighed, dropping her head slightly. Her smile assured Elena that she'd took her advice, and soon she's back the way she was.
"Okay, then," Ken said as she regain her strength to get on both her feet and make her way to the door, "I guess I'll be off for a month till the next batch of newbies arrive." She smiled again, in an almost boyish fashion, and gave the doorknob a twist.
Elena replied the smile, "Good for you. Take care."
"Sure thing."
Leo could not take the puzzling questions out of his mind. The only thing he could do for the moment was to hasten his pace towards Elena's room. There's so much he wanted to ask her about. For a second he thought he heard the sound of door closing, so he decides to jog his way through.
There was nobody in sight by the time he reached the door, and the sun had probably set about two hours ago, so the co-captain should had retreated into her quarters by now.
I hope she'd some answers to these...
The door felt cold on his fingers as he bring them to a gentle knock on it. And it wasn't really a long wait before the door opened.
Aw, dang! My notebooks!
Ken silent cursed- she'd left them on Elena's roundtable and had completely forgotten about them. Making a hundred-eighty, she tracked back towards the co-cap's room.
She was already at the corner leading to her destination when she heard a short conversation between sombody and the senior officer.
"Elena, I need some answers from you. It's concerning about Jehuty and the other OFs."
Just like herself, Elena had the same puzzled look on her face when Leo mentioned about Jehuty and the other OFs retrieved.
"Sure, come on in."
Weird. What's there to ask about Jehuty?
Curiosity got the better of her, so she decide to do a bit of eavesdropping. To avoid being suspicious, she lean on her back against the wall next to the door, bringing her head closer to the door and at the same time brushing her hair aside from her back while she tried to make out what they're both talking about through the thick metal door. Her cheeks briefly made contact with the door.
Man, this door is as cold as an ice cube!
It takes a while before her cheeks get use to the temperature of the door, and soon a conversation on the otherside came muffled, but still recognizable.
"So, what is it that you wanted to know?"
"I paid ADA a visit today. And I wanted to know the true purpose of them...the OFs being here."
"You mean you went to the R&D? Do you realize that the area is off-limits to pilots? I can take you in for trespassing, you know?"
"Well, I don't care!" the impatient Leo bursted, "ADA told me that there's a research going on, and from what I'd heard from her is that this Professor Morris is working on a new line of Orbital Frames, possibly to be used against Mars!"
Now this is new...Morris back in action? That doesn't sound like him at all.
Professor Edward James Morris was one of Earth's most brilliant scientist. He probably still is now. From what shed heard about professor Morris was that he's a child prodigy. A phD in Modern Science at 17, phD in Quantum Physics at 19, phD in this and that which she don't remember. One thing's for sure though- He could be the next Albert Einstein.
The whole world was thrown aback when he came up with the 'Vector Trap' technology shortly after the historical discovery of Metatron on Mars. And with that technology he demonstrated how he could confined 5 exploding H2-Bombs into a tiny sphere measuring only half a centimetre.
While his researches involved the usage of destructive weapons, his objective was nothing other than to make the world a better place to live in. While other researchers aimed to make stronger missiles to defend the country, he was making miracles that prevents the deadly blast of nuclear missiles. He would never make any tools that would cause harm to humanity, even when he was once offered quite a sum of numbers for his bank account; one with lots of zeros at the end.
But no matter how hard he tried, there will always be a hunger for war lurking in the deep corners of humanity. Soon, the scientists in the mysterious Martian force BAHRAM had come up with the Orbital Frames, humanoid-shaped giant robots powered by the metatron's unique attributes- and a modified version of the 'Vector Trap' which allows the OFs to store destructive weapons without having to worry about the armanents slowing them down or storage space.
It was a devastating result from his researchs. Instead of protecting mankind, he realised that he'd just added another adversary to the list of WMD, along with his name into the hall of fame. Disappointed with the outcome of his work, Morris vowed not to touch researchs concerning Metatron ever again.
The fact that he'd contributed to the countless deaths caused by BAHRAM's OFs, including the lives of his parents and his beloved fiance who were on vacation during the 2172 Antillia raid was heart-breaking. It had been 5 years since the world last heard from him, till now.
"And these OFs are the 'offsprings' of both Jehuty AND Anubis, and from what ADA had caught they were meant for mass production!"
Leo's word snapped Elena back to the present. The word 'mass-production' was not a pleasant thing to hear when it comes attached with Orbital Frames. Then all of the facts started to fit together like a jigsaw. Well, at least some part of it; the UNSF's reluctantness to return the OFs, the recently hired top-notch scientists. Her commander's assholiness.
"Something's going on here, Elena. And I have a bad feeling about what's in store for the future, and I need your help."
Elena stood speechless for a moment, analyzing on all the possible ways to answer Leo's call.
"I don't really have much say when it comes to debating class-1 issues with the tops, you know, but I'll try to get as much as I can and avoid getting busted."
Leo was relieved. Finally he had someone on his side.
"Thanks, Elena. I'm glad that you've decided to help."
Mass-production? Anubis-Jehuty hybrid? That's not a good thing to know.
Ken could feel the thumping footsteps made by the boots that Leo guy alway wear inching closer, so she decided to takeoff before they find out.
Does this have to do with the tiresome trainings the pilots are taking recently? To prepare them for the new batch of OFs? There's also news of a newtype battle A.I. being developed for OFs and the LEVs. For the hybrids?
Tons of questions crammed into her skull in such a short moment, so she decided to shake them all off. She's going to go on a vacation. Plus, Elena is going to the one to deal with it, so there's no point for her to know so much. She'd known enough for today. Now, all she needed to know was what she's gonna be taking along with her when she goes on her break.
Darn! My notes!