U.N.E.

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

It was early morning and Angela sat on the side of the on base athletic track, a fresh sheen of sweat covering her from head to toe and her breath catching in her throat. She liked to keep in shape as much as her full schedule would allow, but running on the track was a very rare exercise for her. She honestly hated running. The only reason she was out there with her friends today was because she needed to do something to clear her mind. The previous day had been so chaotic and packed full of surprises that she really couldn't connect with anything right now, and she hoped a brisk run on the track would fix that. It really hadn't though.

It was bad enough being embarrassed as badly as she had been, but then getting a lecture from that prissy little pretty boy had made it even worse. She had been so upset and angry that she really couldn't remember what she had said to him, only that he had really torn a strip off her without even raising his voice once. She had been left stunned by his bluntness and hadn't been able to come back with anything as he walked away from her, something no one ever did. So she had followed him, planning to give him a piece of her mind and patch up her wounded pride. That had proved to be somewhat of a mistake.

It turned out his room was one floor directly above hers, and when she got there she had planned on just barging in and yelling at him. When she approached the door though she was suddenly standing face to face with Captain Richards who had come out of his room a few moments earlier. At first Angela thought she was going to get into trouble, but the Captain didn't even say a single word to her. Instead she closed the door to a crack behind her and held her finger up to her lips to get Angela to keep quiet. It had taken her a minute to realize that Kimberly planned on eavesdropping on whatever was going on inside the room and it honestly shocked her. Kimberly was pretty laid back for a military officer but that was pushing it.

She knew she have probably just turned away and left, but curiosity kept her standing in place and paralyzed. Angela didn't know if it was because she was curious about this strange new pilot that had been the only person to best her, or if it was because of the haunted look in Kimberly's eyes as she stood in front of the door with a sad expression. It really didn't matter either way though. She would never forget what she heard or saw in there that evening.

She had been witness to a very private and intimate moment, and even though she felt so angry at Lieutenant Woods she also felt like she had intruded on him. The woman on the data stick, his older sister and apparently only family member, was nothing like what the stories of her said. Angela had once heard that Gaia, the best Mech pilot in the world, had been a strong and independent woman that didn't take crap from anyone and was a fierce warrior out on the battlefield. But what Angela saw was a tired and sad looking woman who had been beaten down by losing her pilots over the course of many years. She was a woman who cared deeply for her younger brother and only wanted to keep him safe no matter the cost. It was almost heart wrenching to know what had happened to her, and how Woods had seen it with his own eyes. To make it even more sad she had told him that she hoped to see him again later, something that would never happen. Even though Angela didn't like him she could feel her heart going out to him in that moment. It was his quiet sobs that really stabbed at her.

The one thing Angela didn't understand was the mention of something called Project Isis. Commander Woods had mentioned it in the same sentence as the X-04 Project, but until then Angela had never heard anything about it. That was really strange. For ten months she had been the lead pilot on the project and no one had ever said anything about a secondary program being rolled up with the X-04 before. It was really bugging her and she wanted to ask Captain Richards about it, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up. She had looked just as upset as Woods had sounded and it was only then that Angela realized just how close Kimberly was with Gaia. For two years she had fought with her so it was no surprise that they had gotten so close. But that damn question was burning at her mind and she just had to know what was going on and what Project Isis was. It sounded impressive in name so she couldn't even begin to imagine what it really entailed.