U.N.E. Book Two: Precipice (ON HOLD)

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

The trip from Japan to Germany, on the military transport plane they hitched a ride on, had been long and uneventful. Neither Angela nor Alexander had been able to talk on the trip, as the noise of the engines roaring in their ears the entire time made it hard to even think clearly. So they had mostly just sat there, strapped into their seats and preparing themselves mentally for their return. It had only been two weeks since Angela had last been in a combat zone, but for Alex it had almost been an entire year. She was sure that he was probably both anxious and a little nervous to be getting back to the kind of environment he had grown up in.

Still, he seemed to handle those feelings well. On the outside at least. Over the course of the last week, Angela had become fairly adept at reading Alexander; even when he was at his most quiet or stoic. As he sat next to her, his chin firm and his eyes fixed onto the opposite side of the plane, most people would think that he was as cool as ice and peacefully waiting until the trip was over. That wasn't the case though. She could tell that he was struggling, and the way his eyes dropped after every time he blinked gave it away. He was actually scared.

Angela had really wanted to reach out and just grab his hand, to squeeze it gently and let him know that she was there for him. She couldn't do it though. They were both back in their uniforms, on a military plane, and headed to a war zone as pilots in the NATO Armed Forces. Alexander also happened to be her superior officer once more, and as long as they were in uniform she would have to remember that. It would be hard though. Over the last week everything had change so drastically between them that she was having a hard time remembering that he wasn't just a handsome young man, but was also one of the most skilled and decorated military pilots in the history of the world.

Their flight landed in Geilenkirchen a little before twelve in the afternoon, local time. The base was still as busy as ever, and as Angela led Alexander down the ramp of the plane with their luggage in hand, she looked out over all the activity and felt a piece of her soul shiver slightly inside of her. Her time at home and in Japan had been wonderful, and she wouldn't trade those feelings for anything, but it was only a small reprieve from reality. She was now stepping back into the real world, and the harsh reality of everything once more fell upon her shoulders and weighed her down.

She shouldered that burden willingly though, reminding herself that it was what she had chosen to do.

“So, this is where you've been living for the last eight months,” Alexander said softly, his voice barely able to be heard over the screaming of the massive jet engines on the massive cargo plane that had brought them to the base.

Angela now turned to the young captain and found his eyes moving over every inch of the base, taking in everything. There was a slight crease on his forehead and his lips were a hard and tight line across his face as he looked towards the massive hangars on the opposite end of where they stood and noticed some of the Mechs that were stored there. It was probably the first time he had seen one in person since he had been injured, and Angela wondered what was going through his mind. She really hoped he was okay, but she just didn't know for sure.

“We should go and report in,” she said a moment later and he turned his eyes back to her. Angela looked deep into them for a long moment and noticed that the light that had been shining in them during their trip to Japan had been put out slightly; and that really saddened her. “Come on, I'll show you to the building where you'll spend most of your time.”