Wow... I thought for sure I would have gotten some comments for my Quaritch thought monologue last chapter but no... surprising lol. Anyway enjoy Chapter 21! Don't hate Sophia, the green eyes monster is a bitch! hahaha! XD
(Sophia's POV)
I turned the corner, folder in hand. I know Lyle and I agreed to keep this a secret for a few days but I felt bad. Clearly dad was just as worried as I was… and keeping things from him wasn't fair.
So I gathered up my courage and made my way to his door before dinner. My hand froze, hovering over the metal as feminine laughter whispers around me. I move slightly closer, hearing that laugh again.
"Colonel stop…" the voice giggles.
"Why? you've never had a problem with it before."
My hand lowers slowly, a sense of sadness filling my chest.
'Because I have to go…" a clearly torn voice says, slow footsteps moving towards the door.
I step back, making my way into the supplies closet to my left and peak through the cracks.
The door opens, revealing a younger brunette, her milk chocolate hair was thin and put in a messy ponytail. I watch her adjust her shirt, trying to straighten the crumpled fabric.
"Colonel, I really have to go," she whispers but Dad pulls her closer with a smile
"Well I'm your superior officer, I could just order you to stay here all day." his hand move up to her dog-tags, eyes flickering down her chest.
"Colonel Quaritch, I am going to be late for rounds and I will throw you under the bus if I get in trouble. Now hands off." she does a quick look around the room, pushes them both back in the room and kisses him deeply.
I shut the door, tears rimming my eyes and hold my dog-tags softly. Dad had never mentioned anything about a lover, or even a love-interest and believe me, I had asked him multiple times. Their easy interactions told me this had been going on for a while.
Why hadn't he told me about her?
I force back the tears, checking the coast was clear and move down the hall, instead of going to the med-bay I move to the link room. Max smiles when I walk through but that quickly falls.
"Who ever fucked up it wasn't me." he says with a raise of his hands "I have been here all day."
I shush him, moving to the console
"Hey! Hey!" he snaps his finger sat the other scientists "Out! Out!"
Max moves, locking the doors with a huff.
"Why are you kicking everyone out?" I sigh, swiping my pass
"Because the last time you had that look Quaritch put six people in the morgue"
"Well that will be my job, when I figure out her name…." I state, moving to the large screen in the center of the room and pull of the employee data-base.
"Her?" Max's eyes widen slowly, standing beside me as my fingers fly across the screen.
I eliminated the science personal and focused on the military, removing the men from the search as well and anyone over the age of forty. My fingers hit the button, scrolling through the photos quickly, ignoring the red-heads and blonde and after two minutes of faces I freeze.
My eyes take in the familiar milk chocolate hair and scroll down, with the eyes, nose and mouth I was staring at the woman from the hall. I glance at her name, Paz Socorro, pushing the link and frown when beeps loudly.
'Classified' flashes across the screen.
"Oh that's not good." Max whispers from my left.
I click it twice, the same thing happening and narrow my eyes.
"Why the fuck did you lock me out?" I whisper, glaring at Dad's name in the bottom left. My mouse hovers over the name, the basic info coming up and I almost hurl the mouse across the room when I notice the bottom.
Master Army Aviator, C-21 Dragon Assault Ship, First pilot.
"What the hell is a Dragon assault ship?" Max reads over my shoulder.
I felt my blood boil, every nerve in my body wanted to go deck my father.
"It's my dad's fucking ship."
He was screwing his fucking pilot, and the bastard had the nerve to chew ME out for keeping secrets?!
"SON OF A BITCH! DAD!"
..
..
Unfortunately Dad was in a meeting, so I was left simmering in my anger for at least another twenty minutes. So I sent him a vague 'we need to talk when your free' message and went to the lunch room. Food was the last thing on my mind but I had to eat.
I tucked my legs under the table, listening to the chatter of the marines around me and tried to distract myself with the notes Tyler had given me. My hand scribbled on the note pad beside me, trying to come up with something that would work.
The piece of paper had been some sort of Symbol, a Circle of sorts with two lines running thorough the center, the problem was we hadn't found anything close to it. The fact that it was damaged was worse, without the full picture we were guessing here.
The others had told me to move on, that it was nothing but I knew what my gut was telling me. This slip of paper was important. He wouldn't have kept it with him for nothing.
"Still looking for ghosts huh?" a female voice says, My gaze flickers to none other than Paz fucking Socorro, my glare wasn't hidden in the slightest as she sits beside me, wiggling a pen "Did you want a hand?"
"Why are you talking to me?" I sigh, adding another random shape to the centre of the logo.
"I wanted to meet you, officially." she smiles, my anger flaring to life again "I'm-"
"I know who you are okay, and I don't care, so leave me alone."
Her face shifts "Did I do something to offend you?"
"Did you do something…" I chuckle darkly, catching Max's wince of pain from across the room
"Hey soph, why don't you come sit with me." Max tries, confusing Paz more "Please kid."
His eyes were begging me not to make a scene. I sigh, shoving my food away and gather my paper. One slides to the left, Paz's fingers reaching for mine as I stand
"Sophia-"
My hand is moving before I can stop it, my fist colliding with her nose, Paz hits the floor with a grunt, blood streaming down her face.
"Oh shit!" Max sighs, already moving to us
"It's Miss Augustine-Quaritch to you. Quaritch, you know, my father. The man you're sleeping with!"
The entire cafeteria fell deathly quiet, eyes flickering from her to my father who had walked into the end of our conversation.
Paz eyes me softly, wiping some blood with her handkerchief "So you-"
"Know? Yeah… I know all about you sleeping with my father, your supervisor if I'm not mistaken."
"Sophia-"
"BUTT OUT DAD!" I level him a death glare "PAZ WANTED TO INTRODUCE HERSELF," my eyes snap back to her "So now she has my full attention."
Her eyes flicker around the room before she swallows softly "… Sophia I understand why you're angry. But it wasn't my intention to start something with-"
"My dad?" I toss the papers on the table "So what? You're saying you slipped and fell into my dad's bed? Is that it?"
"No! I-"
"No! So you choose to sleep with my father and thought it was a good idea to come talk to me? Really? Now! You could have picked any day in the last six months and you chose now?!"
"Sophia! That's enough!" Dad had reached us by now, pulling me away from the older pilot
"Enough?! Oh no Father dearest, I'm just getting started."
His grip tightens, pulling me to face him "I said that's enough."
"OR WHAT?!" I yell as he drags me out of the mess hall kicking and screaming "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?! HUH?! I'M ALREADY STUCK IN THIS HELL HOLE! AND CLEARLY I'VE NOT MENTIONED THAT ENOUGH IF YOUR WHORE THINKS ITS A GOOD IDEA TO BEFRIEND ME!"
"SOPHIA!" Dad roars, his strong arms shoving me into an empty room. I feel my eyes rim with tears, they spill down my cheeks killing some of his anger "… kid." he sighs "This isn't how I wanted you to find out."
"Yeah…" I agreed, feeling more tears run down my face "This conversation should have been had six months ago."
I storm out of the room, wiping angry tears as I went. While a part of me was howling in victory I knew I was just taking my frustration out of her. The other half of me was rightfully pissed she chose now of all times to approach me. I mean I was literally drowning in problems right now, my fathers mistress wasn't another thing I needed to think about right now.
I hated her. Every fiber in my body hated her. I hated her for touching him. I hated her for looking at him. I hated her for breathing at this point.
I tossed open the door in anger, throwing my bag across the floor and hear some things clatter to the ground as I toss myself onto my bed. The frustrated tears rolled down my cheeks.
..
..
After a good hour of crying and angerly punching my pillow I sighed, lazing on my bed. My eyes flickered around the room. I had moved into a shared living space with Trudy last week, since she was still in the med bay I didn't worry about unannounced visitors.
My hand fell off the bed, dragging on the carpeted floor, the stupid purple rug Trudy had brought with her from earth. It was old and ratty, fading in multiple spots but she wouldn't let me toss it.
"Everyone needs mementos of the past, it helps you appreciate the good days."
my eyes flickered to the pencils and books I'd knocked across the ground, my gaze settles on the clear case in the corner and felt that familiar shiver run down my spine.
I pulled myself from the bed, grabbing the case.
G.A. 7398463, 2107-2108.
..
..
"I don't know how to be objective about this," her hand hesitantly lands on her belly "I don't know how to be around you. I mean I'm a scientist," she laughs sadly "I studied for years on the basic principals of life, I know the stages of pregnancy… but no one teaches you how to be a mother."
I hit the spacebar, pausing the recording and let my head fall on the desk. These videos had been beyond depressing. Shockingly, they showed just how much Grace's people skills had matured over the years. She was still a bitch don't get me wrong, but she actually acknowledged others as human beings now…
I sighed deeply, rubbing my face and glance at the clock. 2:35 stared back at me. The logical part of my brain told me to go to bed, I had another meeting with Doctor Carter at 7.
I rubbed my face again, moving the mouse to the top of the screen and freeze on the X. Grace had her elbow on the table, head leaning to the left as she contemplates something but my eyes were on the small bag in the bag. I hit a few buttons, slowly moving through the tape and manage to find a slightly clearer picture. I screen shot it and open google pics, trying to get a clearer picture of the bag. I stared at the slightly blurry symbol and grab the picture from the folder Tyler had sent me and place both on the screen, my eyes flickering to both. I enlarge the one on the right and slide both images on top of each other, my fingers kill the light in the room and my eyes slowly widen.
"Max was right,"
The image on Grace's bag could be a perfect match.
Read and Review, peace.