A/N: Yes, I'm already posting the next chapter. You got a problem with that? :p I didn't think so...
I finally finished writing Chapter 44 last night, and it's clocked in at an incredible 22k words! I decided that since I have 12k in Chapter 43 and 22k in Chapter 44, I'll go ahead and post this chapter. Essentially, I have enough content to fill almost five regular-sized chapters ahead of this one. Since Spring Break is coming up, I plan on getting at least one more chapter done during that week. That means that you'll probably see another posting within two weeks. Cool, huh?
My ankle is doing much better now and I'm able to walk on it, with minor discomfort. I still wear my boot when I get out of the house, but only for safety. I don't want to accidentally tweak it and aggravate the injury. Hopefully, I'll be cleared for work in a few weeks. I'm actually missing my job! I'm a strange one, I know...
So, I realized the other day that it's been almost a full year since I posted the first five chapters of this story on this site. I started working on it sometime last February, but it wasn't until March that I started posting it for you guys to enjoy. I can't believe that it's been a year now, and I want to thank all of you who have spent your time reading my work and posting your much-appreciated comments and reviews. There are some of you who have probably been reading my work since Day One, here on Fanfiction. Regardless of how long you've been following my work, I am just glad to be able to provide you all with something that you find rather enjoyable. My writing may not be Pulitzer-Prize material, but I do my best. In case you're wondering, I'm still a good ways away from completing the story, so there's plenty more to look forward to. I wonder what we'll all do with our time when it's finished...? I have some ideas for related projects, but I'll figure out some way to bounce them off of you guys to see if anything sticks. Until then... I'll keep on charging forward with this story.
Oh yes... I'm sure many of you are aware that the 2nd Frontier movie released in Japan recently. I haven't seen it, nor do I intend on finding out what happens until it becomes available on DVD/BD with subtitling. The impression I'm getting from other fellow fans is that it is pretty good, and they're all relatively satisfied with the movie's conclusion. It seems that I have a lot to look forward to. I just have to dodge spoilers until then. The next question is "What project are they going to be working on now?" This is supposed to be the last of the Frontier series, unless Shoji Kawamori changes his mind... and he's been known to break his own promises in the past... for the better, imo. Just as a disclaimer to those of you who know some of the details of the movie, if something I write in the future seems like it was ripped from the movie, it was purely coincidental and unintended. That disclaimer will expire once I've seen the movie, of course...
Okay, a couple of things to mention to you all, in regards to this chapter. The first is that I changed the name of a character I introduced a couple of chapters back. I initially didn't think that I would bring that character back, but I changed my mind as a couple of story arc ideas popped into my head. When I posted that chapter, I was in a hurry and just pulled a name off the top of my head and didn't realize how it was not a very good name to use. The name "Cale" looks too much like "Cal" in the text, so I changed his name to "Kaiel". It's close to his original name, but it looks and sounds different when reading it. It's pronounced like "Kyle", by the way. I'm gonna go back and change that name in the chapter text on the site. He'll pop up from time to time in the story... as long as he's still alive, that is. Oh, I'm sorry, did I spoil something? We'll see...
Alright, I'll let you guys get to the reading. Just remember: you have a 12k word chapter to look forward to in a couple of weeks! Now, I keep getting that nagging feeling like I'm forgetting to mention something else... I hate that feeling... -(03/05/11)
The mid-morning sun desperately tried to warm up the crisp autumn day, but the winds kept on blowing more cold air over the city. Regardless of the weather conditions outside, a cacophony of musical sounds emanated through the walls of Ozma's house, allowing mostly the lower-frequency notes to be heard from the outside.
Wearing nothing more than simple grubbies, Cal took advantage of the empty house to let loose his inhibitions. He had attached his PDA to Ozma's home theater system and used it to play the music tracks he had saved on the device. With the volume cranked all the way up, he stood in the living room near the kitchen pass-through, holding a broom in front of him and furiously strumming his hand across the bristles like he was holding a guitar. It was difficult to discern the music blasting from the speakers because the volume was so high, but it didn't stop Cal from getting completely lost in his own world of guitar-shredding and singing, even if it was just for pretend.
The track finally came to an end and he took advantage of the brief break in the action, leaning to his side to take a bite from the food sitting on the counter nearby. He still held onto the broomstick with one of his hands while scooping out of the bowl, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something in the doorway that shouldn't normally be there. He began to chew his food very slowly while he gradually turned his head to notice that someone had been watching him for an undetermined amount of time. He quickly recognized the individual from her green hair and maroon eyes.
Ranka couldn't help but hide her reaction to the amusing spectacle that had just taken place before her. She had one arm wrapped around her abdomen while she used her other hand to cover her mouth.
A deafening silence filled the room for a brief moment while Cal stood leaning over his bowl, holding the broomstick with one hand, his eating utensil with the other, and slowly chewing his food. All he could do was stare at Ranka while he tried to figure out some way of making himself literally disappear from sight and erase any semblance of his identity; that way, he couldn't be linked to the embarrassing behavior.
Suddenly, the next track began to blast from the speakers, startling Cal out of his catatonic state. He reacted by lurching for the stereo's remote on the counter nearby and turning off the system. Instead of disappearing into thin air like he had wanted, he slowly shrank down to the ground to bury his face behind arms, which were now wrapped around his knees.
"What... was that?" Ranka asked while trying to hold back laughter.
Cal could only look back and smile. He was turning beet red out of embarrassment, seeing as how one of the biggest celebrity personalities in the galaxy had just witnessed him taking part in something of a guilty pleasure. "Hi..." was all he could muster in response.
"Well, sorry for intruding on you there. You must be Cal. My brother told me that he was letting you stay at his place and to expect you to be here if I happened to stop by..."
Fortunately, the embarrassment was fading quickly. Cal began to regain his usual composure, despite being in the presence of someone who he'd seen so many times on television and even at the concert he attended before leaving the planet a few months before. Even though he wasn't a huge fan of hers, he still felt a bit uneasy being in her presence. The very thought of seeing someone famous in person gives most people the jitters, and Cal was no exception. "Yeah, I had anticipated that I might run into you after staying here for awhile. I just didn't think it'd turn out like this," Cal said with a slight laugh. He slowly began to stand up once more. He leaned the broomstick against the wall next to him and invited Ranka into the living room, since she was still standing in the doorway.
"Where's Ozma? Is he not here?" Ranka asked while she gradually approached the kitchen pass-through and took a seat on one of the barstools.
Cal had strolled into the kitchen, grabbing his bowl from the other side of the pass-through. "I don't know where he is. He was gone when I got up this morning," he said while rinsing his dishes off in the kitchen sink. His voice echoed off of the kitchen's solid surfaces.
"Aren't you military-types supposed to be up early in the morning?"
Cal chuckled as he answered, "I should be getting up early, but I have been off-duty for awhile. I just get up to work my 'other job', which is test-piloting at a private company under contract with the Spacy. Commander Lee told me we'd be returning to duty soon, so I am supposed to be getting back onto my usual sleep routine. I just couldn't get out of bed this morning, though!"
"I guess I can relate," Ranka said in an effort to empathize. However, her work schedule generally kept her too busy to afford any time for sleeping in. She placed her arm on top of the counter and leaned forward with a mischievous grin on her face. "So... Are you hoping to get into the music business some day?" she asked.
"Oh, hell no. I'm well-aware of how terrible of a singer I am. I'm very much a musical moron when it comes to instruments, too. I just like to pretend sometimes..."
Ranka laughed at his response. "Good, because I was going to tell you not to quit your day job!"
"Ouch, my pride!" Cal said, feigning a pain in his chest and grabbing at his heart. He then put his hand down and laughed. "Did you want a drink or something? I don't know when Commander Lee is going to be back, but you're more than welcome to stay and hang out... if you have the free time, that is..."
Initially, Ranka felt a little uneasy being alone in Ozma's house with someone whom she had never met before. She quickly convinced herself that Cal seemed like a nice enough guy. It couldn't hurt to get to know a little bit about one of Ozma's pilots. "I'll just have an ice water, if you don't mind."
Cal resembled a bartender setting up drinks for a customer from behind the kitchen pass-through. He even took the time to put a drink coaster out before placing Ranka's glass of water on it. He caught her looking at his disheveled clothing, though. "Sorry. If I had known that I was gonna have company, I would have worn something a little more reasonable," he remarked with a nervous laugh.
She simply smiled, shook her head, and took a sip of her drink. She didn't have to say anything to show that she really didn't care that Cal was wearing some grubbies. After all, she did kind of show up unexpectedly.
"So, how are you and Saotome getting along?" Cal asked in an attempt to make small talk.
"Hm? Oh, Alto... 'Okay', I guess. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason, really. I got to talk to him about you and Sheryl Nome while we were out on duty. He certainly thinks very highly of you both. I can't imagine being in his situation, though..."
Ranka became highly intrigued. Perhaps Cal could help shed some light on what Alto might be thinking, in regards to herself and Sheryl. "What do you mean 'situation'?"
"Well, it's just that he's got his career in front of him. On top of that, he has two exceptionally talented women pining for his attention. I don't know if I could handle all of that stress, to be perfectly honest. It's a lot to have to deal with. Me, I'm at a point where I have to start planning on what I will be doing for the next 10 years or so. Do I focus on my career, or do I focus on other things?"
To hear things said from that perspective made Ranka wonder if the "competition" between herself and Sheryl over Alto's attention was becoming destructive to his progression through life. Even she desired a more straightforward path through life, rather than just playing it by ear from day to day. Some people enjoyed the uncertainty that each day brought, but she was more of a traditional person. It would be nice to know, for the most part, exactly what to expect around each corner and turn that her life would make.
Cal quickly realized that he was trying to impress his perspectives onto Ranka in a judgmental way. "Ah, don't listen to me. You guys are all young and you have a few years to mess around and have some fun, if you so choose." He laughed at himself before he continued, "Here I am, sounding like some old man giving out advice and I'm only twenty-two years old myself. Let's just say that your perspectives and priorities never stay the same as you progress through your life. What seems great now will seem like a complete waste of time in the future. Hindsight is always 20/20."
"Are you saying that I should confront him about the situation? Make him choose between one of us?"
Cal's eyes popped wide open. "I can't answer that question and you know it..." he said with a nervous laugh, "I will say this, though... Saotome seems to not really mind that much. That's just the impression he gives me. Because he attributes so much of his motivation to you two, I think he kind of needs you both in his life. However, maybe even he doesn't know how long that will continue to be his priority."
Although she didn't really want to give it much thought, Ranka simply sat on the barstool with a pensive look, propping her head up with one arm on the countertop. "Honestly, that doesn't really help clear anything up for me."
"My advice is about as good as a fortune cookie's, huh?" Cal candidly admitted.
"Well, even those can be open to interpretation sometimes."
Following her generous response, there was a brief silence as both of them tried to think of something witty to say. Unfortunately for Cal, time was against him. "Damn," he said as he noticed the time on the digital clock in the kitchen, "Listen, I have to get going to my other 'job'. You're more than welcome to stick around and wait for Commander Lee."
Ranka thought about it for a moment, but she had a feeling that Ozma wasn't about to just show up in the middle of the day like that. "Nah, I'll just be on my way, then. Thanks for the company, though!"
Cal had been slowly drifting out of the kitchen and towards the stairs to get to his room. "Don't be a stranger. I'm sure Commander Lee would appreciate it a lot if you came by to visit him a little more."
"Yeah... Yeah, I think you're right about that," Ranka said as she realized that she had, in fact, been neglecting the man who'd spent the last 12 years raising her, even though she was not his own. "Well, it was nice to meet you. Maybe I'll run into you again sometime soon."
Cal poked his head back into the living room to respond, "You too! Hey, if you see Saotome, see if he'll bring you with him to the squadron picnic this weekend. We've got some fun stuff lined up, if you have the time."
"We'll see..." Ranka said with a wave before Cal finally disappeared out of view.
…
"I still don't see what the point is in buying one of those things," Will whined as he reclined in the metal chair upon which he was sitting.
He and Nene were in the food court at a shopping mall in Frontier City, resting after probably doing a lot of walking... and shopping. Nene's side of the table was surrounded by several large bags full of goodies, while Will had a simple plastic bag set next to his feet. It was easy to tell who was doing the most shopping. Will reclined in his chair and put his arms behind his head while he looked up at the sky. Nene, who was in her miclone form, was busily unpacking the contents of a couple of boxes, reading from a manual at her side while she assembled a few pieces onto the finished product.
"I already told you: we need to start preserving our memories as early as possible and this thing is gonna help us with that," Nene said as she snapped the cover shut on the new video recorder that she was holding. She then pointed it at Will, who was still staring upward. "Okay, you're on. Say something; let's see how well this thing works."
Will looked back towards Nene and then stared directly at the camera, but he didn't say anything for a few moments. He finally uttered a response, "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what to say to this thing," he said with a laugh.
Nene sighed in frustration while she looked downwards at the screen on the camera, but at least he said something and the picture seemed to be coming in nice and crisp. "Well, despite your obvious lack of enthusiasm, it looks like it works just great!" Nene said with a hint of sarcasm. She began to place the wrappers and packaging back into their respective boxes before placing those boxes into one of her many bags.
"You know I hate having my picture taken. It just seems so... fake, when you have to pose for a picture. I'd rather just not know that I'm being filmed or photographed. Being captured in the moment is much more interesting, if you ask me," Will stated. He certainly wanted to make sure that he wasn't coming off as a complete party-pooper. Nene did seem to be excited about purchasing a video recorder and using the heck out of it. "Why such urgency over the matter, though?" Will asked, "We have our whole lives ahead of us."
"If it's one thing I learned from my mother, its that if you take lots of pictures during your life, you'll have so much more to remember when looking back on your past. She and my father took many photos of myself and Klan while we were growing up and I enjoy so much being able to see my childhood as an adult now. The same holds true for us now; these are the greatest times of our lives, and it would be a crime to not chronicle it in some way," Nene said as she finished clearing off the table in front of her. She then propped her chin up on top of her folded hands while she glared directly into Will's eyes with a dreamy smile.
"I suppose," Will said as he tried not to roll his eyes in response, "Where's your sister been, anyways? Has she talked to Cal lately? ...which reminds me, that asshole hasn't come by to visit me yet, since he moved out." His face briefly showed frustration over the situation.
"I really don't know," she replied with a laugh, "Those two are driving me up the walls."
"You too?" Will exclaimed, "It's like those two are a couple of schoolkids..."
Nene smiled and nodded in agreement, "It looks like you and I are going to have to do some 'encouraging' once more." She then looked down at the camera sitting on the table in front of her and began to fiddle with it again.
Will turned his attention to the camera as well, but he still wanted to complain about the legitimacy of its purchase. "Who's going to want to watch old videos taken of us when we're still young and dumb?" he asked with a goofy laugh.
"I'd prefer to capture us in the days of our youth, for... you know, future generations to be able to see," she said with a serious, but suggestive tone.
Will froze in place for a moment when he heard those words coming from Nene, but he quickly moved to dismiss such inane babble. "Don't even go there! You'd better not be-"
Nene immediately broke from her serious demeanor and began to laugh. "Got you going there for a sec, didn't I?"
Will sat in place with his mouth still open from stopping mid-sentence before he folded his arms and sat back in his chair with an angry look on his face. "That's not even funny. You don't joke with a guy about that, okay?"
"Oh, come on you big baby. Admit it... you're secretly disappointed," Nene said. She just didn't feel like letting up on her assault. She simply laughed while Will gave her the silent treatment and continued looking away in a pout.
…
The lunchroom inside of the hangar at Bell-Casse only showed sporadic signs of life, since it was well past the usual lunchtime. A handful of technicians and engineers occupied a couple of the tables together, but Cal decided to sit alone at another table in the room. He stared blankly at the ceiling while he chewed on a candy bar and reclined in his seat with one arm over the backing. Suddenly, he was interrupted from his train of thought.
"Mind if I join you?" Kaiel said, standing next to the table in his miclone form.
Cal nodded towards the chair across the table from him. He took a mental note of Kaiel's look of boredom while sitting down in the chair, "Got nothing to do right now, huh? Are they still goofing around with your Queadluun?"
"Yeah... but most of the techs are working on your RVF right now. What are they doing?"
"They're installing a new-type EX-gear, but they keep telling me they're running into bugs. Honestly, I don't even know why they told me to come in today. I've been sitting around, bored off of my ass all afternoon. I could be at home right now- Oh, you won't believe who I got to meet today and had to leave to come to work," Cal said with noticeable frustration in his voice. Apparently not needed at work, he could have been taking some time to get to know Ranka a little better, if he had known ahead of time of his uselessness there that day.
Before he could continue, one of the office workers poked her head into the lunchroom. "Cal! There's an NUNS officer here with a package for you."
"Oh? Okay, thanks!" Cal replied as he stood up to leave the lunchroom and get his package. "Finally, something to do. I wonder what they have for me..." he remarked to Kaiel as he walked towards the doorway leading back into the hangar. However, just as he came into view of the hangar, he recognized a familiar figure waiting outside, holding a package. "Shit!" he gasped, darting to the side to hide behind the wall next to the doorway. He had pinned himself against the narrow wall between the doorway and the countertop, which held the coffee-makers and sink.
Kaiel watched his reaction and raised an eyebrow to show his curiosity. He slowly got up and started to walk towards the doorway while looking at Cal as if he was crazy. "What's the matter? Who is it?" he asked. Cal didn't answer; he just stood straight up against the wall, as if he was hiding. Kaiel peered out the doorway and took notice of the one person whom he didn't recognize standing around in the hangar outside of the lunchroom. "What? Her? It's just a little girl with blue hair. Why's she wearing an NUNS uniform?" he asked of Cal, who was now right next to him.
"She's not a little girl. Don't judge her by her appearance; she's one of the most temperamental people you'll ever meet. You mess up around her and she'll be the first to shove her foot up your ass to set you straight," Cal replied. He didn't dare move from his spot.
Kaiel simply laughed in disbelief. "What? Bullshit... You're telling me that you're scared of a little girl, Cal? ...and here I thought you were a fearless, formidable pilot," he chided.
"Whatever. You don't know what you're talking about," Cal said as he smeared both of his hands down his face, "Why'd it have to be her...?"
"So, why are you scared of her?"
"Because she's pissed off at me right now. I have no clue as to why she's here, but I know that I'm about to get an earful from her."
"You're such a wuss," Kaiel said with a laugh.
"Fine! If you don't believe me, then go see if you can get that package from her for me."
"Alright, I will!" Kaiel smiled with confidence and then left the doorway to head towards Klan, leaving Cal still standing against the wall just around the corner.
Klan stood in an open area of the hangar while she waited for Cal to come out from wherever he happened to be at that moment. She noticed Kaiel standing in the doorway leading to the lunchroom, talking to someone out of view, before he turned and started to head in her direction. As Kaiel got closer to her, she leaned to the side to try and see around him, hoping that she'd be able to identify the individual to whom he was talking.
Cal continued to stand straight up against the wall when he overheard Kaiel start to talk to Klan, "Hello, little girl. Cal is in the john and he sent me here to get his package for him."
As soon as Cal heard Kaiel make the "little girl" comment, he tensed up and gasped in reaction. "Kaiel, no!" Cal exclaimed as he jumped into the doorway and made a dash towards the unwitting Zentran pilot.
"'Little girl'?" Klan angrily asked of Kaiel. Unfortunately, it was too late. Klan had already managed to reach up and drag him downwards by his pointed ear. She then grabbed his shirt by the collar and bunched the cloth up in her fist, putting his face into hers. Kaiel's facial expression was priceless: surprise and horror all mixed into one. He stammered in pain as she held his head down closer to her level.
"I am not a little girl," she seethed through her clenched teeth, using Cal's exact words from a moment before. "Why else would I be wearing an NUNS uniform?"
"Oh-kay! That's enough of that...!" Cal declared while rushing up to separate the two. He grabbed Klan's hands and squeezed them so she would loosen her grip a little bit. He then let go of her hands and helped Kaiel stand up straight again before turning the Zentran pilot's shoulders towards the lunchroom and patting him on the back to get him walking forward. "Next time, you'll listen to me, right? Now, off you go!"
Kaiel dragged his feet back towards the lunchroom, looking like a sleepy ogre. A couple of the employees who had been eating in the lunchroom now stood in the doorway to watch the exchange that had just taken place. They found Kaiel's demeanor to be quite comical and snickered at each other as he approached them.
Cal turned back towards Klan with an apprehensive smile. "Klan... what are you doing here?" he said with a nervous laugh.
Klan didn't immediately respond. She simply saluted Cal and cleared her throat; her way of telling him to return salute in kind.
"Sorry," Cal said as he saluted back. He relaxed his posture after Klan put her arm down.
"You need to maintain military courtesy when we're both in uniform or on-duty, Lieutenant. You may be working with civilians right now, but remember that you are a representative of the NUNS and of your squadron while you are here," Klan said as she began to look Cal's uniform and appearance over. "Stand at attention, please."
Cal was already confused at her behavior, but he had no choice but to acknowledge. "Yes'm."
Back in the lunchroom doorway, Kaiel massaged his ear while watching Cal and Klan from afar. David Nguyen appeared from a nearby hallway and began to walk towards the lunchroom when he noticed Cal standing at attention near the opened hangar door. After a quick double-take, he approached Kaiel with an inquisitive look on his face. "Who's that? Why is Cal standing at attention?" he asked.
"I have no idea. I guess she's his boss, or something. When he first saw her here, he seemed to be scared of her..." Kaiel responded. He finished rubbing his ear and put his hand down to his side.
"Cal was scared of her?" David asked, "She's just a little girl, though."
"That's what I thought, too, but... I don't wanna talk about it," Kaiel said. The other technicians who had been watching started to quietly laugh at him again. "You guys shut up," he demanded.
After fixing a couple of anomalies on Cal's uniform, Klan smacked her open palm onto Cal's stomach, "Straighten that back out." After hitting him on the stomach, she changed her facial expression into that of curiosity and began to gently pat his abdomen. "Getting soft in the midsection, are we? What the hell is Ozma doing with you guys? I'm gonna have to have a talk with him about this. He's letting his pilots get fat and lazy. Have you started getting up at your usual time yet?"
"Yes'm..." Cal trailed off.
Klan detected the lack of confidence in his statement and stared into his eyes for a reaction. As soon as she noticed that he was holding back a smile, she knew that he was fibbing. "Are you trying to piss me off, or something? Try that again. Have you been getting up at your usual time?"
Cal thought about his answer for a moment before speaking again. "No, Ma'am."
"That's better. Didn't I warn you about that? You did get my message, right?"
"Yes'm."
Klan then realized that she was only going to get more upset if she kept on poking into Cal's habits. "At ease." Cal relaxed his stance once more. "So, let me get this straight... you've been sleeping in lately, your uniform is not quite up to par, you seem to have forgotten military courtesy protocol, and you lied to me about sleeping in. Tell me why I shouldn't be stomping your guts out right now?"
He thought for a moment before answering, "I have no excuse, Ma'am." Even though Cal was getting upset that Klan was treating him like a grunt again, he couldn't deny that she had good reason to be checking in on him. "Permission to speak freely?" he asked. Klan nodded in acknowledgment. "Why aren't you already doing so? The Commander Klang from a few months ago would have already jumped down my throat by now." Cal thought he'd use a clever way of getting her to be more honest and forthcoming with him.
Klan stammered for a moment while she tried to think of a proper answer to give. However, it just frustrated her even more; but a bit of redness began to find its way onto her cheeks. She quickly shook the feeling of discomfort and began to firmly poke her index finger into Cal's chest. "Perhaps you should consider yourself lucky that I am not that version of myself, instead."
"I am grateful, Ma'am," Cal said. He knew exactly what he was doing and he was getting away with it, too.
Putting her hand back down, she shoved the package that she had been holding into Cal's stomach with excessive force. Cal grunted in reaction before she continued speaking, "This is from Luca. He asked me to deliver this to you after I had my meeting with him this morning... Which, by the way, you owe me big for. I had plans on sleeping in today and you ruined that for me, so thanks."
"I'm sorry! I just messed up, okay?" Cal said with frustration. However, Klan didn't like his attitude and narrowed her eyes while staring at him once more. "...Ma'am...?" Cal finished. She then relaxed her stance once Cal demonstrated the proper courtesy to her. He looked the package over and had to inquire as to its contents, "What's in it?"
"I have no idea. He says that you should have everything you need in there. That's all he would tell me, though." Klan shifted her sight towards the doorway, where she noticed that they were being watched. "Were you, uh... Were you hiding from me in there?" she said with an evil grin on her face.
"No-" Cal stopped midsentence to think about his answer, but Klan had already reacted to it.
"Calvin!" she exclaimed as she jabbed him in the stomach again.
"Alright, I was hiding!"
"Why would you want to hide from me?"
Cal was obviously embarrassed at his upcoming answer, "Because I know you're pissed off at me. I was hoping you'd have time to cool down before you could find me."
"The Lieutenant Wagner from a few months ago would have never dreamed of letting me intimidate him. What happened?"
He smiled and shook his head. "Things got different between us. It's not that I'm intimidated," he replied, "It's respect. It's because I now care what you think about me. I know that if I mess up, you're gonna be the first one to point it out to me... in your own little way." Cal waited for Klan to respond, but she seemed too flustered to say anything; it was as if she couldn't figure out how to deal with his statement. He felt like maybe he'd said something a little too personal and sought to end the silent discomfort demonstrated from her. "Well, thanks for bringing this to me, Commander," he said, tumbling the small box in his hands, "I'm glad you came to see me."
"I didn't come here to see you; I just came to deliver the package," Klan said. She folded her arms and turned away so Cal couldn't see her face. "I'm glad I did come, though... because I got to see that you're getting to be a bit undisciplined. So, don't be getting any of the wrong ideas, okay?"
"Umm... okay..." Cal seemed disappointed at her answer.
"Listen, I have to get going. You still owe me for making me get up early this morning. I'll have to figure out a way for you to pay me back for it. See ya..." Klan said as she nonchalantly saluted and began to walk away.
"Bye..." Cal said with disappointment in his voice. "Man, what was that all about?" Cal thought to himself while he watched her walk out of view. He then sighed and turned around to see a small group of people watching him from the lunchroom doorway with accusing stares. "What?"
…
The faint sound of chamber music gently floated through the air and hung over a myriad of computer equipment spread over a couple of large desks placed next to each other in a small office room. Luca's brown hair could be seen poking up from behind his large computer monitor. Several computer units were stacked on top of each other next to the monitor, each with a plethora of cables running out from their backsides to parts unknown. The sound of rapid typing could be heard intermittently as he would occasionally lean to the side to read from an open manual next to him.
Although he was buried deep in concentration concerning his work, he was not the only person in the room working hard on their passion. Nanase sat in her chair just a few feet behind him, with her desk set perpendicular to Luca's. She had a computer of her own set on her desk, which was the source of the music playing in the room. She reclined in her chair while resting her legs up on the desk to the side of her monitor with a digital tablet resting in her lap. Each skillful stroke with the stylus in her hand translated into another line on her current work of art, which was concurrently being displayed on her desktop monitor.
Following a long, uninterrupted programming session, Luca aggressively rubbed his eyes and inched his chair back away from the desk. He turned to see the progress on Nanase's work and casually rolled his chair towards hers. "How's it coming?"
"Still a couple more layers left to create and add in," Nanase replied. "I'm just experimenting with a couple of effects right now. Unfortunately, I can't quite seem to find one that works the way I want it to." She carefully placed the stylus into its holding space on the tablet. She then laid the tablet back onto the desk and sat back up in her chair.
Luca wore a confused look on his face while attempting to identify her work. "What is it?" he asked, slightly tilting his head to the side an a vain effort to decipher the image on her monitor.
She began to touch her monitor to command the computer to save the file and upload it into the attached portable storage device next to the keyboard. "You'll see when it's done. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait."
Slightly disappointed, Luca turned back around and scooted his chair back to his desk to stare at his monitor for a moment. "Oh... Okay." The difference between the vivid colors of her monitor and the cold-hard text of his monitor made him wish that he had the ability to make drawings seem to come to life like Nanase could. He propped his head up with one arm and repeatedly tapped one of the keys on his keyboard, causing that character to repeat on his monitor.
"Well, it's getting late," Nanase said with a strained voice. She was leaning back in her chair, stretching out as far as her bones would allow. "I'd better get home. My mom's probably wondering when I'm going to be back home. Don't want to keep her guessing. Did you want me to turn off the music?" she asked with her elbow on the desk's edge.
Luca began to hit the backspace key on his computer to clean up the mess he had just made in his code editor on the screen. "No, you can leave it on."
Before he could finish removing the anomalous characters from his work, Nanase had already approached his chair from behind and pushed down on the backing to make it recline. Luca looked upwards to see Nanase's face upside down to his own. After sharing a couple of short kisses, Nanase backed her head up. "Good night!" she said as she started to move towards the door.
"Hey," Luca interjected, "I'll walk you out."
Nanase had just finished putting her tablet and storage device under her arm to take home with her. "That's okay, I know you're busy. I'll find my way out. Thank you for offering!" she replied.
Luca had just gotten out of his chair and was still hunched forward with his hands on the armrests. "Oh. Goodnight, then." He smiled as Nanase acknowledged him and then left his sight, leaving him alone with the sound of music still playing from Nanase's computer. He spent a moment staring blankly at the doorway before he spun his chair around and began to maneuver his cursor to the correct place on his monitor.
A brief look at the opened manual next to him, and he began to tap some more code into his editor on-screen. Only a few moments passed before a smaller monitor next to him gave three quick, successive chirps. A warning prompt appeared on the smaller monitor, catching Luca's immediate attention.
"Ah, It's you again, huh?" Luca seemingly said to the monitor. However, he wasn't speaking to his computer, but the cause of the warning displayed on the screen. He turned his chair to get positioned in front of a second keyboard, which was connected to the other computer. "Let's see what you're after this time, pal," he said, typing in several commands at a very fast rate. He began to search the monitor over with his eyes, looking for possible answers to his questions.
After a moment of ponderance, he decided to pick up his cell phone and make a call. Following the standard wait time for someone to pick up, he got right to business. "Miss Cathy? Yeah. Sorry, to call you so late in the evening, but he's in my system again."
"What is he after?" she asked.
"I don't know yet. He just got into the systems a moment ago. What should I do?"
"Just watch him, Luca. Let him get whatever he wants, but I want you to trace the source as quickly and as accurately as possible. Slow him down if you want, but don't make him aware that he's being tracked, or he'll terminate his connection and we won't get any idea as to who this guy is."
Luca couldn't bear the thought of letting someone trample all over the computer systems that he had a bit of a hand in creating in the previous months. "But Miss Cathy, I can't just let him stroll into my computers unabated. It's like letting a stranger come into your house and touch all of your stuff!"
Cathy sighed before she responded. "Luca, I can only try to understand how you feel, but this is important. You'll get your chance to vindicate yourself later. Right now, we're just collecting information so we can move forward with as much confidence as possible. I'm counting on you, okay? Trace him, but don't resist him too much, or he'll be gone forever."
Luca winced as he acknowledged her orders. "Yes, Ma'am. I'll do my best." He put the phone down after terminating the call and took a deep breath to think for a moment. He then put on a wry grin and placed his hands over his keyboard. "She said not to resist him too much. That doesn't mean I can't play with him a little bit; see what makes him tick," he said to himself.
He then reached up and to his side to toggle a couple of switches on his devices before diving into his plan. He spent a few moments setting up his first virtual obstacle in cyberspace. Once he completed that task, he moved on to another obstacle, continuing this process while watching how the hacker circumvented every trap that Luca had set. "You certainly seem familiar with these systems. Let's see how you like this one."
Luca seemed to enjoy toying with his prey, even though he had no intention of striking at it. He worked to place breadcrumbs for the hacker to follow, and took satisfaction in the fact that he was getting his way. However, once he felt confident that he had guided the hacker into a dead end, his computer chirped at him once more and a new prompt appeared on the screen.
The message contained in the prompt was enough to cause Luca to drop his hands into his lap and throw himself back into his chair, which rolled backwards a few inches because of the application of force from the front side. "How the hell...?" He rhetorically asked himself.
Feeling slightly defeated, Luca picked up his phone and called Cathy again. "This guy is a pro. He was distracting me the whole time so he could get at his goal without me being able to get in the way," he said.
"So, he's already in and out of the system? Did he get what he was looking for?"
"He knew I was trying to stall him and he must have set up some kind of automated dummy hacker to keep me busy while he got to what he was looking for. He's pretty good..." Such an admission from Luca probably had a lot of weight, considering Luca was well-versed in setting up network infrastructures.
Cathy remained silent for a moment as she waited for Luca to elaborate. However, she could tell that he was being quite succinct about things at that moment. "Okay, just make a report and have it sent to me as soon as possible."
Luca acknowledged and threw himself back in his chair. He could only sit there staring at his monitor with a look of incredulousness and shaking his head in slight disbelief. All he could muster was a bit of a laugh to keep himself from feeling somewhat unsuccessful in his endeavor. However, he did accomplish a little bit of his purpose in being able to trace the source. Luca then began to log the event on a paper notepad nearby, so he could physically pass the information on to Cathy without anyone else being able to sniff it off of a network connection.
…
Aside from the faint sound of slow breathing, a perfect silence filled Cal's room. Dim light shone in through the venetian blinds over the window; most likely light being reflected off of one of the moons in orbit around Aimo. Despite the calm conditions, the incumbent peace and serenity quickly gave way to a cacophony of metallic clattering and raised voices.
Cal's door burst open, allowing the hall light to flood into his room and shine directly onto his face. Brazenly entering the room, Klan held a cooking pot by one handle and banged a metallic spoon on the inside of the pot in a circular motion. "Get up! Get up! Get up! We'll have no more sleeping in around here!" she barked out loud.
Naturally, Cal responded by jumping up from his prone position and squinting into the bright light now shining into his eyes. He didn't need to be able to see Klan to know it was her. Fighting off the adrenaline-fueled heartbeats in his chest from the surprise, Cal quickly let her know that he did not appreciate the rude awakening. "I hear you, dammit! What the hell are you doing in here?"
Klan put the pot and spoon down to her waist, but she still kept the same volume of voice. "I talked to Ozma last night and he told me you were still sleeping in. I know I told you to start waking up early, but here you are sleeping in again."
Cal still had no idea what time it was at that moment and it was still dark outside. He turned to see the time on his PDA, which sat in its recharging cradle on his nightstand nearby. "It's not even four in the morning yet! I set an alarm on my phone," he declared.
"Well, it's past four now and you're still asleep."
Just as Klan finished her sentence, the PDA began to rhythmically chime and the screen lit up to display the time of four AM. After dismissing the alarm, Cal confidently turned his gaze back towards her. "See? I did set my alarm."
Frustrated by his smug attitude, Klan refused to back down. "Well, my clock says that it's a couple of minutes past four. You need to set your time to the correct time."
"My PDA is synced with Galaxy Standard Time. It can't be wrong."
She fumed for another moment after his reply. There was no way she'd admit that she was wrong. "I said that my clock says that it's a couple of minutes past four. My clock is right, no matter what, got that?"
Cal scoffed and then laughed as he rolled over and sat up on his bed. "Whatever." At that point, his eyes had started to become used to the light and he reached over to turn his lamp on.
Now illuminated from the front, Klan could be seen sporting something of a sweatsuit. It was cold outside, for sure, but she wasn't wearing your usual cold-weather gear, such as a coat and scarf. "Get your running shoes on. We're going for a little run. After that, I have something of a special mission for you. Chop Chop!" she barked, clapping her hands together to get Cal moving.
Already annoyed, but intrigued, Cal sat on the edge of his bed with both of his hands to the sides to prop up his torso. He looked at her with narrowed eyes, but immediately got up and grabbed some clothes before heading across the hall and into the bathroom. Just as he stepped out of his room, he noticed Ozma leaning against the wall in the hallway with his arms crossed. He didn't say anything, but Cal stopped for a moment with his hand on the doorknob to stare at Ozma and see if he'd say anything about it. A moment of silence passed before Cal proceeded into the bathroom with a smirk on his face, slamming the door shut behind him.
Ozma continued to stand perfectly still in the hallway for the next few moments. Inside of the bathroom, the faucet could be heard running. Several seconds passed before Klan casually strolled out of Cal's room and into the hallway. She, too, stopped and looked at Ozma. Except she did say something to him. "What?"
Ozma finally cracked a smile and tried not to laugh. "This certainly seems to be important to you, whatever it is. What's the occasion?"
Klan continued to glare at him with accusation. "I'm here because your pilots are getting fat and lazy. If you're not gonna keep them in shape, someone's gonna have to!"
"So, I take it you're planning on doing this for all of my pilots?" Ozma said with obvious sarcasm.
"I don't have that kind of free time. I'll just start with this one," she said, pointing her finger at the bathroom door nearby.
"Why him? Is there something I need to know about you two?"
Klan took a few steps closer to Ozma before answering. "Because I told you that I would be the one to finish his training. The last time I checked, he's not done."
"You do know I already promoted him, right?"
"I said 'he's not done' with his training!" Klan confidently stated. Her aggressive posture just made Ozma laugh.
Unfolding his arms and using his shoulders to push his body off of the wall, Ozma took a couple of steps away to get more space between himself and Klan. "Whatever. Ever since I put you two together, you've been acting very strangely. Your efforts to cover up your true motives are becoming more obvious every time I see it. You can't keep up the subterfuge forever, Klan." Ozma began to disappear down the steps while he was talking to Klan.
"You just keep on believing whatever you want, Ozma. You'll soon find out that your instincts aren't as good as you thought they were. Your powers are weak, old man!" Klan replied. Before he completely left her sight, Ozma cracked a cocky smirk on his face. She did her best to ignore his flippant behavior and turned towards the bathroom door, giving it a good pounding with the side of her fist. "Time's a-wasting, let's go!"
Cal's voice echoed from the other side of the door, "I'm on the pot! Damn! Can't a guy do his business in peace in the morning? Maybe that's why some guys never marry; they like to get to use the bathroom without someone constantly bothering them."
Klan angrily laughed, "Ohh... just you wait until we get out there. When I get through with you, you won't have any energy for those kind of smartass remarks."
"That's what you think..." Cal casually replied. He certainly was building things up for himself. It was yet to be determined whether or not it was all going to come tumbling down him, though.
