Downtime - Ken Okazaki (Denver, Colorado, September 10, 1999)
Having spent the previous two months on the 7th Division Bravo Company working with Coalition Sciences in various experiments, Ken Okazaki finally had the opportunity to return home for some downtime before his next deployment. It was a good experience for him to glean further knowledge about his interests, especially the study of what makes a good weapon and the application of a weapon for Titan neutralization.
It was taxing work however, the latest Assisted Propulsion System applying considerable physical fatigue to its users. In order for APS to be fully integrated into a regular soldier loadout, the current curriculum for schools and soldier training regimes would have to be revised to place an emphasis on considerable strength, high agility, and enhanced endurance.
Their latest deployment was the last before the Company was rotated out with Delta Company for some R&R. Once they got back to Fort Carson, Ken, Melissa, and a few of their squadmates set out for some of the respectable bars available in the area for a night of drinking. Ken and Melissa ended their night off with a trip to the Okazaki apartment, where Ken's father also resided, and Melissa stayed for the night.
It was a good thing that apartment rooms had some standard measures for privacy such as soundproofing and door locks.
"Good morning buddy," a drowsily-sounding voice of a woman murmured next to his ear. He turned to face his friend, her head on a pillow next to the one Ken's head was lying on and the blanket barely covering the rest of her body underneath. It didn't take him long to figure out what happened last night after noting how provocatively Melissa was dressed, or rather lacking in dress, but she didn't really seem to mind what happened. In fact, she was smiling at him.
"Hey," he smiled in reply.
"Did you like my... 'surprise' last night?"
He chuckled.
"About time you decided to sleep with me huh?"
She pulled herself upright, the blanket sliding down and now uncovering her bare back, with her fair brunette hair sliding down halfway. Even with bedhead, it looked just as good as Ken saw it last night during their escapade.
"Don't read too much into it, testing that new propulsion shit is stressful."
"Well you're no fun. What happened to that lively spirited kid I spent training with and saw again last night?"
"I think you had too much to drink," she said, tapping her right index finger to her temple twice.
He smirked at her before getting up himself and walking to the closet at the end of the small bedroom.
"I think we should get dressed before my dad finds out what happened."
He left his room after he finished dressing into a tank top and a pair of grey sweats and made his way to the apartment's kitchen, expecting his father seated at the table with a fresh brew of coffee and a pad tablet for his reading. Strangely enough, it was much quieter than he expected.
"Dad?" he called out, walking into the moderately sized room containing the kitchen and dining area. He quickly checked the small refrigerator, noting it was recently stocked with a balance of meat, vegetables, fruits, and dairy food stuffs. On the bottom shelf, the sports drinks and water bottles were restocked. It looks only a few items were removed recently.
"Must've left somewhere," muttering to himself.
Ken checked his dad's bedroom before going back into his own.
"It's alright, he's not home."
Once she confirmed herself that his dad wasn't home, she took a shower while Ken prepared breakfast. They ate like they always did whenever they eat together given the chance and talk about recent events: the new technology being tested, how Kuriyama saved Melissa and the fact that she served with Akira Okazaki, which led to the topic of Ken's boyhood.
"Really? Chef Ken huh?" Melissa commented as Ken was telling a story about his time in senior school before registering for the Recon Corps training school.
"Yes ma'am," he replied happily. "I even made Ration 47-C taste like Harry's ravioli special just a few blocks from here."
"You're joking. 47-C had the shittiest pasta, even if you cook it properly."
"But I got it to taste like actual pasta, properly cooked! Like my dad always tells me, 'it always comes down to the preparation.' What applies to deployments also applies to my cooking."
It was a rare opportunity for both of them; they were always eating pre-made rations, which were standard issue across the entire Coalition corps. The civilians had the privilege of eating freshly prepared meals they create themselves. While rations were just as hearty and nutritious, they lacked "soul", as the two would describe often to their fellow soldiers.
There was a short pause before he added. "or that might've been my mom..."
He looked down on his plate of almost finished eggs and bacon, briefly entering into a state of deep thought when bringing up the subject of his mother.
Taking note of the situation, Melissa cleared her throat.
"You've gotten the gene for cooking nonetheless, tastes better than what any of the cafeterias could've done to a simple eggs and bacon."
He looked up and smiled at her. "Heh, thanks. That's saying a lot."
She grinned as she got up. "Probably too much. You're oogling."
"Oh, uh..."
His face flushed in red, and decided to take their plates to the kitchen in a pathetic attempt to hide his embarrassing reaction. He could hear her grabbing her off-duty pack and her overcoat as he set the plates down next to the sink full of used pans and utensils.
He met her at the door to see her off.
"Nice of you to keep me company, thank you."
She nodded.
"Thanks again for letting me over buddy," she said before giving her friend a peck on the cheek. She tapped a button on the console next to the door that whizzed open and stepped out of the apartment.
"No, thank you," he said drunkenly to the closed door. He laughed softly before heading back into his room to clean up last night's mess.
Callout - Angeline Mira (Denver, Colorado, September 10, 1999)
Angeline Mira was experiencing an unusual rush preparing herself for her name to get called on the stage, a bead of sweat beginning to form at the hairline behind her neck. There was no real reason for her to be anxious, it was her promotion ceremony after all. She didn't like being the center of attention of a large crowd is all. Mira, along with a few select officers and several enlisted soldiers, were recommended for promotion by the division commander for today's ceremonies.
One of the officers alongside Angeline was called up, someone named Alan Salazar. He was receiving a promotion from 2nd Lieutenant to Captain for his service in the Transport Corps as an Air Support and Patrol pilot, or ASAP for short.
Once he officially received his promotion to Captain and saluted the division commander, he faced the applauding crowd for a few seconds before returning to his seat. Angeline could hear him sigh under his breath and utter an expletive in relief. She grinned slightly.
"Captain Angeline Mira," the speaker boomed.
She erased her grin and tugged slightly on her dress uniform before standing up and walking to the space near the podium, where the division commander would pin her new golden oak leaf on her uniform's lapel.
"Captain Angeline Giselle Mira, the Coalition promotes you to the rank of O-4 Major for your service in the Coalition Armed Forces by order of division commander Colonel Gerald Simmons and Recon Corps commandant Lieutenant General Eric Shinseki. Let your acts of bravery and courage aid humanity in the fight for survival."
The division commander who pinned her new rank on her uniform stepped back and saluted her, raising his right hand perpendicular to his right temple.
"Always fight. Semper fortis."
Mira stepped back once in a sudden motion and followed with her own military salute to her division commander.
"Semper fortis sir!"
She turned to face the crowd and remained stoic as they applauded her promotion, which was the second-last one of the day. Near the back of the building by the door, she saw a familiar figure with his arms crossed nodding at her.
'Ah so he came.'
She returned to her seat and sighed a breath of relief.
"It's tough facing a crowd like that," Salazar whispered in her ear.
"One thing to face your soldiers, it's another facing the people themselves."
"Heh, amen to that ma'am," he formed a fist with his left hand and held it between their seats. Angeline returned the fist bump with her right hand and leaned closer to his left ear.
"If you were in my unit, I'd have you scrubbing every toilet on the base with a toothbrush for fraternizing with a superior officer, during an official ceremony."
He gulped and let out a hushed "yes ma'am."
She gave him a mischievous smirk then looked forward at her old friend waiting for her at the back of the room. Once the ceremony ended, she split off from the group of officers and followed the flow of the crowd headed towards the entrance doors.
"Akira, you silly old man," she called out to him.
"Hey, I'm not that old," he chuckled and moved to greet Angeline with a hearty hug.
"About time you made Major. Semper fortis ma'am!" he saluted.
"Stop it, you're making me feel elderly," she said, covering her mouth with her right hand and waving her left hand frantically. They walked out of the hall and into a throughway leading out of Denver's city center.
"Well you did pass me in rank about, what, sixteen years ago?"
"I think it was more like seventeen," Angeline corrected jokingly.
"Ah right," he nodded and laughed softly.
"I see your leg's working fine now," she nodded at Akira's right leg.
"Yeah," he began, raising up his right leg and shaking it mildly. "Amanda's making great strides with her position at Coalition Sciences, especially with my prosthetic leg. Feels just like the real thing."
He swung himself around, raising his right leg before it made contact with the concrete wall. He grazed it enough to take a substantial layer off and turn it into a coarse collection of debris and dust.
"Almost," he finished.
"Oops. Let's go before someone notices," she said.
They walked out of the corridor and out into the open. There was a small pause of silence before Akira changed the topic of conversation to a more serious one.
"I get the feeling you didn't invite me to your promotion just for old time's sake."
Her cheerful expression was erased and settled into an intellectual one.
"No, no I didn't. Actually I wanted to ask if you've considered what General Shinseki's told you."
He scoffed before replying casually.
"I've already said no so many times in the past, what makes him think that I'll say yes this time? Actually, what makes you think I'd say yes?"
"Because it'll be a personal favor to a good friend?" she answered innocently.
"Nice try but you're gonna have to do better than that. Major."
She quickened her pace and grabbed Akira's left arm. She dragged him into an empty alley, intent on settling this conversation once and for all.
"Look I know that you and the general didn't see each other off in the best of circumstances, but he's willing to set aside those differences."
"What's the point of even having me there? He already has Amanda, Chiaki, Kurt, even Minami's going to be there."
"Because we need you. We need the experience of your entire team for this mission to work."
"I wrote everything that happened in my report, isn't that good enough?"
Despite having submitted his report shortly before being contacted by the general, Angeline would've thought that it would confirm his teammates' reports. When she read it alongside the other reports however, it only threw more questions into the mix.
"I've read your team's reports myself and all of them lined up, except for yours. I haven't told Shinseki about this yet. I don't know what the hell happened out there and I won't pretend to, but there was something odd about the whole thing."
Akira crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow slightly.
"What, you're going to tell me I chopped my leg off myself?"
Angeline shook her head.
"What I do know, and also confirmed with reports, was that a Titan ate off your leg while you saved Amanda from it. Amanda, Chiaki, and Kurt then incapacitated the Titan and helped you back to the transport. Your squad was positioned strategically to stop an incoming attack from the southern flank just as everything went to shit. What I don't know, is why your squad split so far off from the main attack force in the first place and remained out of contact for nearly five minutes."
"That mission was a mess, we weren't expecting heavy resistance-"
"That mission was a mess, but you split off before you even met a single Titan." Angeline countered before Akira had a chance to finish his sentence.
Akira stared directly at Angeline's eyes. She could see there was a hint of anger in his eyes, telling her to just drop the matter. She was persistent however, intent on having him reveal what he knows for the sake of the mission, and communicated it with her own deadly stare. It was a trait that many of her friends and colleagues appreciated, knowing that they can rely on her to get whatever was necessary done.
"It wasn't our decision to make," he muttered.
It was also a trait that Akira cursed silently at the moment because it was enough to break his resolve.
"You do know something don't you?"
Akira stood his ground, directing his gaze away from her eyes and to the stairwell behind her.
"You realize that by withholding vital information that can jeopardize the safety of humanity, the general has every right to hand you over to the Defense Corps for obstruction."
"You're threatening me now?"
"I would never, especially to a friend."
He placed his hands in his jacket pockets and started walking slowly down the alleyway with Angeline in tow. It took some time for him to come up with a reply, already halfway down the alley. He chuckled softly.
"Would've been a mistake if they passed you up for becoming Major."
She glanced at him and tried to read his face. His vision was fixed at the end of the alley but she could tell that he would let himself play along, even if it was just for this once. This was confirmed with a sigh that left his mouth soon after.
"When did he want everyone to meet?"
Angeline smirked and directed her vision forward.
"Actually we could meet him later today."
He stopped walking, wondering if he really did want to go through with this. Angeline saw no reason for him not to other than what they just talked about, it's not like he's busy with other duties for the day. She walked in front and turned to face him.
"Hmm. I guess later today is okay."
It was a bit surprising to find out that he was concealing something about his mission for such a long time. Considering the trauma he must've endured, it would be natural that he would repress the memories so he wouldn't have to think about it again. That's what Angeline was hoping to hear when she brought up General Shinseki's proposal for Akira to return and his off-putting report. Now realizing that something did happen on that mission, what if there's more to everything about him?
"Very well. I'll pick you up around 5."
He nodded at her.
"Alright. Thanks again for coming, I'll see you later."
She started walking back towards where they entered the alleyway.
"Wait," he called out.
She stopped and turned her head towards Akira. "Hm?"
"Since you 'forced' me to come along, at least buy me some lunch. That talk of old missions made me hungry."
The cheerful expression from when they were walking out of the ceremony hall returned to her face once again. Angeline was pretty hungry herself so she saw no reason why not to.
"Fine, I'm picking the place though."
He chuckled.
"No complaints here."
They walked out of the alleyway and to the Market District, where many of the shops and warehouses were centralized in the city. She decided to continue trusting him despite what he vaguely revealed about his final mission.
'Maybe it was just that one mission. Maybe this person is still the same one that I first met at the training barracks in '74.'
She doesn't plan on telling General Shinseki anything about what she stumbled on either. Instead, she'll trust that her friend, the one she's known since their years of training and serving together, would come forward on his own accord.