File 3.7 - Minor Inconveniences

Dead silent. Not even the clicking of distant machinery or the muffled sounds of planes penetrated. Only a single light existed in the entire chamber that filled with an ooze of gloom that ran thicker than paint over all the surfaces and into even the cracks between plating. Barely enough illumination leaked out of the iron jaws of the fixture to draw out blurred lines for shadows as though the artist drank too much before starting. Draped within the very darkness itself, the two occupants appeared to have welcomed the void that surrounded them.

Ed never knew why he acted to help someone he barely knew. He realized even before he acted that the entire effort was futile. Honestly, what could he have done inside a military base? While part of the crew of the Niph, they treated him as an adult, even if they teased him as a kid. However, he understood that he was still a teenager. As a teenager, he ruined someone’s life. Even as a kid, he could still make adult mistakes.

He understood the likely outcome was the one where he sat, but he still wanted to change it. Edgar wondered if it was wrong to, naively, want to do the right thing when something wasn’t fair and still ask to be an adult at the same time. It felt like asking for too much. He hung his head on his knees.

Shizuka remained completely motionless since her arrival in the brig. She didn’t even realize that she sat in a different room. Her mind still struggled to deal with everything that happened. Once she knew that they caught her everything shut down for her. The efforts she made to hold back her questions and disbelief about the situation came flooding in bearing the full weight with them.

Unaware of the door sliding open to the brig, someone stepped into the chamber approaching the cells with the prisoners. They stood in the middle of the cells with an eye on both. The dim space erased most of the features of the individual. “You two have given us quite a bit of trouble. I guess considering that you spent your years on the outside rather on the inside, then that is to be expected. You lived unaware of your purpose or destiny. Today that changes.”

“Who’s ya?” demanded Ed. He tilted his head over his shoulder trying to see who addressed them. “And what w’th tha fancy-pants spe’ch, eh?”

“Such crude language skills. You’ll need to correct that.”

“Lik’ hell I’ll do that!”

“Petty Officer Third Class Edgar Dubois, you’ve accepted becoming a part of the HOPE Military, as such that means you will learn discipline, teamwork and respect. Additionally, you will speak correctly when addressing a superior.”

“Eh? Who’s that?”

He stepped back letting the meager light cast on his face so that Edgar could meet his gaze. The man that stood before him still looked very young, but older than him with a serious, disciplined form. His short dark blonde hair and light blue eyes showed someone that fought for professionalism, but still had a kind appearance. “I’m in charge of the two of you. I’m your direct superior as team leader. I’m Ensign Ansgar Toule.”

“Anz-what?”

“…Ansgar…” he repeated with a carefully measured tone.

“…eh? What’ver, think I’ll just call ya Ensign Tool. Sounds perfe’t.” Ed gave a bit of a smirk to him. He tried to pull on his missing fedora again, but stopped himself. The uneasy balance between control and emotional immaturity within Ansgar didn’t go completely ignored by Ed. He didn’t have the keen observational skills, but his gut never led him wrong.

The Ensign struggled to pull himself together. Dealing with the ex-mercenary turned into a troubling issue. He began to regret agreeing to speak with him. As a move to establish his center, he shifted his position a little to look at the girl that remained still. ‘…the prize that Dr. Kitawara endlessly goes on about. She’s at least more human than Air, unfortunately she has a rebellious streak that will be just as troublesome. I don’t know why they decided to let these two into the project.’

Ansgar approached the cell for Shizuka, noticing that she still made no action to notice him. He held his hand to the bar, gripping it firmly. “Have you accepted your reality? I’m not very pleased with the manner that they went about things, but this is beyond my control. The least I can do is make things comfortable for you.”

Shizuka held still, but Ed grabbed on to the bars of his cell pressing against them. “Hey! What’s w’th tha fri’ndly talk fer ‘er? ‘Cus she a girl, eh?”

Ansgar only spared a momentary glance to him. “No, unlike you, she didn’t sign any agreement or asked politely to come back. She was forced against her will. And by her own father, no less.”

“He’s not my father!” snapped Shizuka, on instinct. She had awakened. Her eyes held fire within them once more. They carried a strong angry, all-consuming untamable fire. “I have no father.”

“Considering what he’s done, I’m inclined to agree. However, family is still family, regardless how much of a bastard they are.” He backed away from the cell glad to see her alive again. ‘The reports from the soldiers did not understate her temper.’

Near the center of the room, he came to a stop removing a card from his pocket. He held it up between two fingers. Ansgar turned his head back to the two. “However much you feel you have been lied to about joining the military and however much you feel that you have been forced into the military, your situations are both the same. You are pilots of HOPE, like it or not.

“Now I’m going to let you out. You have two choices, run away to be caught again or follow me. Just remember, at least with me I still consider you human beings before pilots. Those in charge view you differently. So make your choice.” He slid the card over the panel triggering the locks on the cells. After the unlocking mechanics finished, the doors to the cells rotated open.

Ed stepped out of the cell and stood up finally getting his measure of the man before him. While height didn’t mean everything, Ansgar did beat him. All of the speech-giving bored Ed a bit, but despite the obnoxious attitude and composure, Ed didn’t feel him to be as bad as Dr. Kitawara. ‘I did make a promise, e’en if thay’re bastards.’ He turned to look over for Shizuka. Given what he went through with her, he decided that he would leave the final answer to her. He only acted because of her.

The cell with Shizuka waited for her to exit. She stood just before the threshold staring down at the line it made between her and the outside. ‘What’s going to happen after I cross this line? Where will it take me?’ Shizuka grabbed a hold of the bars for support and stepped out with one leg. ‘Forced into military service…why? Why did he want me?’ She still had questions and fears. A lot remained unknown for her. The oppressive atmosphere made her feel sick. She wanted to leave. However, they stood in a military base meaning escape would be difficult. Shizuka finished stepping out of the cell.

Ansgar watched the two of them for any signs, but neither budged from their spots in front of their cells. He felt a bit of relief. ‘I don’t want to imagine what sort of punishment they might have done if they tried again.’ His hand tapped the panel, still holding his code. The cell gates closed up. After finishing, he marched to the entrance. “Follow me, I’ll take you to your rooms.”

Taken outside into the strictly controlled environment of the dome, Ansgar escorted Shizuka and Edgar to the base housing. Since the Antarctica Base was permanent, regular housing complexes lined the outer sides of the base. A few apartment buildings even stood on the grounds. However, as they noted, the Ensign didn’t lead them to the standard housing neighborhood. When they drove past the entrance, the sign to the two apartment buildings said “Special Projects Housing”. They came to a stop in the parking lot positioned in the middle of the two buildings.

Once the engine turned off, Ansgar rotated around to the two in the back. “Alright, all personnel belonging to the highly classified projects of HOPE are stationed here. The west building is the male barracks and the east building is the female barracks. Remember that not all of the personnel are strictly soldiers. Engineers, work crews, scientists, researchers and staff all live here. In fact, the actual military presence here is very low, less than five percent have real military ranks. So be mindful of the other residents.” He opened the door and stepped out. His hand motioned to them to follow him.

When they reached the sidewalk that ran between the two buildings, he stopped and turned to face them. He removed two cards from his pocket and handed them over. “These are your keys to unlock your rooms. The number is also on the card. I will be back for you in the morning. You will find uniforms as well as civilian clothes already assigned to your rooms. The uniforms are mandatory, the civies was me trying to provide you some comfort. So take them or leave them.”

A little hesitation came from Toule as he dug into his pockets again. He sighed a little knowing it was for the best. “One last thing. Put out your arms towards me.” Both of them gave him a suspicious and piercing gaze. “Come on. This is an order!” Reluctance turned to acceptance, though cautiously. He quickly removed the bands from his pocket and attached them to their wrists before they could question things further.

“Hey, what’s tha me’nin’ of this?” Ed already began trying to remove the band from his wrist. If it hadn’t been a seamless appearing strip around their wrist no thicker than string, it might have been mistaken for a watch. “Get this off meh!”

“While I prefer to work on trust, the higher ups don’t agree with me. Since you’ve already tried to escape once this is something you will be forced to wear. It has a tracking chip inside it that sends out a signal to the monitoring station. If you remove them by force we will know about it, immediately. They’ve stationed guards at the apartments on a twenty-four hour shift to monitor you.”

“Damn you!”

Ed threw out his fist at Ansgar in rage. Expecting the reaction, he lifted up his hand, easily catching his hand. “I may not like this anymore than you, but my orders are clear. Since you’ve already made your decision not to flee anymore, this should only be a minor inconvenience for you.”

“…bastard…”

Shizuka turned away and started towards her assigned building. She knew everything the man said was correct. She figured that they would take measures. Her hand rose towards her face to look at her wrist. ‘…a minor inconvenience…’

After Shizuka’s departure, Ed felt a little out of place still arguing with Ensign Tool. He kicked his feet at the ground in frustration and moved on. The distance to his apartment was a bit of a walk. Ed didn’t feel like going just yet. He turned around noticing the Ensign already starting the jeep back up. Across from him, Shizuka walked away from him slowly. She had been very accepting the entire time since being let out. He wondered what was on her mind.

Edgar ran his hands through his hair with frustration in his muscles. He sprinted over to the woman’s barracks with Shizuka still in sight. “Hey! Wait up! Shesu…She…Su!”

The butchering of her name was enough to make her stop. She tilted her head over her shoulders giving him a very healthy glare. “What?” she asked in a tone that passed for being curt.

“…er…ya see…” Her stare and attitude that he was more familiar with seeing returned. Unfortunately, it made it more difficult for him to say what he wanted. His body stiffened up and locked his mouth. The words he wanted refused to come up. ‘…dammit…’ His disappointment in himself made his body start to shake. Ed dropped his head down, losing sight of everything.

Shizuka narrowed her eyes trying to figure out what he wanted. “If you don’t have anything to say then leave me alone.” She turned back and resumed walking to the building’s entrance.

Ed managed to get his mouth to open, but no words came out. He pulled his head up realizing that she began to leave his reach. “…no…I-I-I…” He stretched out his hand to her, already beyond his hold. Edgar tried to get his legs to move, but they didn’t make any progress. Shizuka entered the threshold and the glass doors slid closed behind her. She was gone. “Dammit!” Ed dropped down to his knees. He failed. ‘I’m sorry!’