Orisha ran to her car which was parked right next to Jack Sisco's at the Lightning Team's home of residence. The idea was for her to ride to the funeral in Jack's sports car but now; she wished she had gone by herself. After seeing the way he acted like a jerk and a total cretin at the funeral and towards her in general, glorifying the fan worship towards him, she was wondering if she made a mistake in becoming his friend in the first place. Those thoughts ran through her mind as she fumbled with the car key, but in her grief, she couldn't get it to open the car door. Orisha was making scratches on the paint job, which frustrated her even more. Orisha knew she had to calm down before she had a nervous break down over the likes of a man who didn't seem to know the true value of friendship. It wasn't worth it. After a few tries, she managed to get inside the vehicle but all she did was sit in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel and sobbed.
"How could he be so heartless and selfish?" she cried. "He never did care about our friendship. It was all but a big joke to him. I wished I had never known him..." and broke down in tears. She brushed the hair out of her face, her hands trembling slightly. She knew she had to reassert herself so she would be calm enough to drive.
"Ok, Orisha, get a grip on yourself girl."
She started the car and left the driveway in a hurry, leaving tire marks on the drive way before speeding off. She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. Orisha didn't want her vision to be blurred to cause her to be in an accident. That's the last thing she needed.
She knew she had to talk to someone and right now, she didn't want to discuss with her father and her brothers. She knew what they were going to say, knowing how they felt about Jack. She sure as heck didn't want to hear them say "I told you so!" or "I knew this was gonna happen sooner or later!" to her. They would only upset her even more than she already was feeling, making her feel worse about the situation and not really improve it. There was only one other person Orisha could think of, someone who could relate to the emotional turmoil she was suffering.
"Yes." she thought. "I have to talk to her."
She turned off towards the exit ramp that read 'To New Edwards Military Base'.
Orisha headed to the nearest entrance to the base. As she approached the booth, she checked to see if both her waist and shoulder seat belts were fasten, knowing how strict the military was about that sort of thing. Her car moved up in line and Orisha lowed her car window as the soldier on duty approached the vehicle.
"May I see your pass?" he asked her.
Orisha nodded and looked thought her purse but couldn't find what she was looking for.
"That's strange, I thought I had put it here." She said in puzzlement.
She looked through the glove compartment, but to no avail.
"Its here, somewhere..." She muttered, her face flushed, as she continued to search for her ID.
The guard nodded at her. "If necessary, you may have to pull your car to the side so traffic doesn't get blocked up."
"Yes, I understand…ah!" Orisha blanched in panic at a sudden realization. She had left it in her other purse at home, thinking she didn't need it. "Oh, no!" she moaned and looked at the guard sadly. "I thought I had it but..." She signed. "I need to talk to my aunt."
"I'm sorry, but without your ID, we can't let you on base."
"But you have to! You have to let me talk to her! I need to see her! Please!" she pleaded to him, her emotions had taken such a hold on her, her mind wasn't clear enough to tell the guy who her aunt was and show them her driver's license to see they shared the same last name. "Its important..." her eyes welled up with tears. "I have to talk to my aunt..." She could feel herself breaking down again. "Have to talk to her..." She finally covered her face with her hands and cried.
"Ah, man..." The guard looked helplessly as the young woman sobbed in front of him. He tried to comfort her, feeling bad about giving her a hard time. "Please, don't cry. What is your aunt's name?" Other soldiers had come to see what was happening.
"Does she work here?" asked another soldier.
Orisha nodded, she was was unable to answer the first question because she was too upset to speak.
One of the soldiers went behind her car; he was holding a small device, doing a scan on her license plate. It didn't take long for the registration inform to come into view on the small view screen. He reacted in surprise at the last name. "Estus...could she be related to Dr. Nia Estus? That could be the aunt she's referring to."
"Yeah, but I'll check just in case." The guard went back to the booth, dialed the number to the Director's office of the Research And Development Center. When the secretary greeted him, he spoke into the mouthpiece. "This is Lieutenant Caruthers from the North Gate. I need to speak to Dr. Estus...this is very important."
On the huge training field reserved for zoids training, military soldiers were doing what was termed 'Evasive Maneuvers' against the approaching darkness of night. There were four of them, one of them operating a Saber Fang while the other three were in black Redlers. The action was fast and furious as they went through the paces of attacking and counter attacking each other, to see who could get the upper hand. So, far the Saber Fang had the advantage, as it darted across the field, avoiding shots from its comrades. It did some shooting of its own, impressive by most standards, but not enough to impress the Center's Director who watched the action. She was not the sort of person to be easily impressed by anyone.
A tall attractive woman in her early thirties, she was the youngest sister of Orisha's father. Nia wore the typical long white lab coat that many scientists in her field wore, but unlike her male counterparts, she had on female attire, complete with high heels, naturally. Her long black hair was pulled back into a stylish bun while she wore steel rimmed glasses, showcasing her light gray eyes. Some people had commented on her appearance as being similar to Lady Une, much to Nia's dismay for she couldn't stand 'the heifer' as she often called her.
Working with military types had given her a tough as nails attitude. It masked the sweet, gentle woman she really was inside but Nia knew she had to develop a thick skin so she wouldn't be intimidated nor pushed around. Some of the soldiers had chauvinistic views and they were not too keen about following orders from a woman. Nia managed to made herself known, thanks to a sharp tongue and equally sharp wit, that she was to be respected and taken seriously.
From the Center's Observation deck, Dr. Nia Estus was busy collecting data on the Zaber Fang she had modified for Colonel Karl Shubaltz. Soldiers from his Panzer Division piloted the black Redlers. The heads up display was tracking the training exercise from an orbiting satellite. It gave real time visuals from its location, miles up in space with pin point accuracy. As she watched from screen displays and over head projections, she couldn't help but think how the she was able to fulfill the dream of operating her own Research and Development Center which specialized in zoid technology. The idea of working with both Republic and Imperial Military Forces didn't appeal to her at first but she soon gained the recognition of being one of the best in her field. She always had a humble approach to her work, not letting it go to her head that soldiers followed her orders without question, being a civilian scientist working in the military. The only other person who had that much clod was Dr. D.
The soldiers had just finished their first drill and were about to start on the second phrase of their exercise. Nia adjusted the headset microphone she was wearing and took off her glasses. She needed them to read inform from the smaller computer monitor screens for she was far sighted but wearing both the glasses and headgear was giving her a headache. The heads up display would suffice for now. She shut her eyes for a bit while rubbing the space between them with her fingers.
"Dr. Estus, are you alright?"
Nia turned toward one her aides, a young woman with strawberry blond hair sitting behind one of the many monitor screens scattered throughout the room. She looked at her boss out of concern.
Nia smiled at her. "I'm ok, Laura. Just a little tired, that's all."
Laura nodded and continued with her work.
Nia turned her attention toward the main monitor display.
"Colonel Shubaltz, are you and your men ready for the next phrase of testing?"
"Yes Dr. Estus, awaiting your order." came his reply.
"Ok, gentlemen." She said into her headset mic. "The name of the game is to fire at the targets in front of you in continuous fire for approximately ten seconds on my mark..." Her voice boomed throughout the area as she completed the count down. "...five...four...three...two...one...mark."
The zoids fired on their targets, in continuous fire as requested. Bright bursts of energy lit up the surrounding landscape. The deafening noise they made was numbed down a bit by the sound filters but the demonstration could still be heard throughout the base. When the zoids finished their shooting exercise, the echoes of the rapid gunfire could be heard afterwards. Dr. Estus looked at the data display and frowned, while the Saber Fang managed to hit all its targets, the Redlers didn't do so well, missing half.
A visual of the Saber Fang's pilot came into view on the main monitor. "How did we do?"
"It's satisfactory." She replied, her voice lacked any emotion.
The blond officer could tell she wasn't pleased. A visual of one of his soldiers came up in his cockpit. "Sir, I don't understand. Is Dr. Estus pleased with our performance or not?"
"It means we do it again." Karl told him.
"Yes, sir." came the reply.
Nia looked at the display of the green eyed Colonel on her main screen, she heard their conversation. "Hopefully, we will get better results this time." Nia's reputation of testing zoids and pushing their pilots to the limits was well known. Karl nodded and right before Nia was getting ready to commence with testing, a toning sound emulated from her headphones. It was her secretary.
"Dr. Estus, I'm sorry to interrupt but there is a urgent call from a Lieutenant Caruthers. He says a woman claiming to be your niece wants to see you."
"Put the call through, I want to speak to him directly."
"Yes, ma'am."
When the call was put thought, Nia could hear the sound of heavy traffic. "Dr. Estus, this is Lieutenant Caruthers stationed at the North Ga-...”
"Yes, yes, I know that already!" Nia said, impatiently, cutting him off. "What's this about a niece wanting to see me?"
"Yes, the woman's name is Orisha Estus."
"Orisha is here?" Nia reacted in surprise but suddenly her voice took on a hard edge. "Well, why didn't you let her through?"
"She didn't have a military issued ID and we were taking precautions."
Nia spoke curtly to him, trying to control her temper. "Does it really matter if she has a ID or not?! We do share the same last name or did you fail to realize that?" She came to the conclusion that the guy was fresh out of the academy or else, he would have used better judgment about the situation.
"And while you are wasting time talking to me, she could have been admitted onto the base without this unnecessary hassle!" Among the traffic noise, Nia could hear a young woman crying in the background. "Is that my niece crying like that because if it is, so help me, your commanding officer is going to hear about this!" she hollered at him.
The soldier's voice trembled slightly over the thought of facing his CO. "W-we're sending your niece right over to the Center, ASAP."
Nia listened, the sound of a car door slamming could be heard over the phone and Orisha protesting about her car. The voice of a soldier could be heard talking to Orisha. "It'll be safe Ms. Estus. We'll have someone watch it for you. Someone is coming over to take you to see your aunt." The engine of an army jeep could be heard nearby. A soldier took up the phone. "She's on her way."
"Thank you." came Nia's reply, before cutting off the phone line transmission. "Sheesh...these military types get on my nerves, sometimes." She thought to herself. Nia rubbed her forehead tiredly and spoke into the headset mic. "Colonel Shubaltz, sorry to keep you waiting but the training exercise will have to be called off, for now. Something urgent has come up that needs my immediate attention."
"I understand."
"We will commence with the exercise when this matter has been taken care of. I will let you know when."
Karl saluted her before his image disappeared from the screen. Nia rushed out of the room to meet up with her niece, the sound of Orisha crying over the phone filled her mind with dread and anticipation. "Something is wrong, very wrong." She thought frantically as she ran into the elevator to meet up with Orisha at the Center's entrance.
Several minutes later, Nia returned to the executive level of the Center, with her arm around Orisha. Orisha had managed to stop crying by the time Nia had taken her inside. When Orisha saw Nia coming out to see her, Orisha had broke down in tears and hugged her aunt like a lost child reunited with her mother, which broke Nia's heart. After Nia told her secretary to hold all her calls, she closed the door to her office. The Director's Office was spacious and comfortable looking, appearing to look more like a small studio apartment than an office. It even had a bathroom; there was even a microwave and small refrigerator. The only thing that gave it away was the huge flat screen monitor and three computers in the corner of the room. Orisha sat on the couch, looking sad eyed and down cast, as if she was all alone in the world. Nia kicked off her high-heeled pumps, with her lab coat draped over a chair. She snuggled next to Orisha, putting her arm around her once more. Orisha laid her head on her aunt's shoulder and said nothing, a tear or two going down her face.
Nia hugged her niece. For a while, nothing was said 'til finally Nia said. "Kinda like old times when I used to baby sit you, huh?"
"Except we're not eating popcorn." Orisha muttered.
Nia chuckled. "Well, I could pop some for us, if you like."
"That would be nice."
Nia put a packet in the microwave and in minutes, a bowl of freshly popped popcorn was ready for Orisha to enjoy. Orisha munched on the popcorn while Nia took out two cans of soda for them to drink. Soft music played from a CD player in the background, causing Orisha to relax. It was a song by her favorite entertainer, Aaliyah. Nia noticed how Orisha was feeling, a vast improvement, thankful her niece was feeling better.
"So, what brings you here to see me?" Nia asked Orisha, she could sense something was bothering her. "Is everything ok, hon?"
Orisha's mood darken again as she stared downward. She waited a few moments before saying anything, fumbling with her hands. "Its about Jack Sisco. He made me so mad today that I'm starting to question my friendship with him."
Nia nodded. "Hmm...I'm listening."
For the next 30 minutes or so, Orisha told Nia, in precise detail, what had happened, leading from the funeral, the mini mart incident, right up to her running out of Jack's house in tears. While Orisha talked, Nia said nothing, but listened instead. After Orisha was finished, Nia decided to speak.
"Ori, you know how I feel about your friend, with him being a mercenary and all. You know, especially, how I feel about mercenaries in general and Jack Sisco is no exception."
"How can you base Jack's worth as a person on his occupation? What does that have to do with anything?" Orisha questioned her. "But since we are on that subject, how are mercenaries any different from the military soldiers you work with?"
"For one thing, mercenaries are hired, as in the case of your friend, by others to work for profit. Money is the name of the game for them and that spells bad news, Orisha."
"Soldiers get paid too and they both fight for war, don't they?"
"Yes, that's true but the same could be said for you as a zoid pilot. You tend to fight as a member of the Zoids Battle League and plus you get paid as well. How does that make you different from the mercenaries or even the soldiers that serve on this base?"
"But we fight for sport, not war! There's a big difference!" she retorted back. "At least I don't kill like soldiers and many mercenaries do."
"But fighting is fighting, no matter how you look at it Ori. War is war, to kill or intent to kill, that's the bottom line."
Nia could tell Orisha was getting frustrated so she kneeled down in front of Orisha to look directly into her eyes. Nia gently brushed a few strands of hair out of Orisha's face, soothing her nerves. "I know you didn't come here to debate with me and I'm sorry for upsetting you. It’s just that, I can only give you my opinion on things. I know they may sound a bit harsh but the last thing I want to do is tell you something that will hurt you. Sounds to me like Jack has taken advantage over you, not knowing what true friendship is all about. What I mean is this: friendship is a 50/50 deal; both sides have to work together. But Jack has you carrying the whole load; you are the one doing all the work while he's doing nothing. That's what I mean by him taking advantage of you, you're giving while he's just taking, not appreciating you as a friend. See what I mean?"
"Yes, I see." replied Orisha sadly. "But it’s not fair! How can he treat me this way?"
"I know it hurts, and like I said before, all I can do is give you my opinion on things. You have to make the final decision on whether you want to try and save this friendship or end it. I can't do it for you. All I can do is comfort and support you on whatever decision you make. No matter what, I will always love you. You understand?"
Orisha’s eyes swelled with tears, she gave her aunt a hug while sobbing. "Thank you." to her.
Nia patted Orisha's back as she comforted her, drying her tears.
"Aunt Nia."
"Yes?"
"Can I spend the night with you?"
"Of course, sweetie." Nia smiled at Orisha. "I think I have some extra clothes for you to wear, seeing that we both wear the same size."
Orisha chuckled while both women sat up. Nia went by her desk to get her purse while turning off the CD player.
"Well, I guess I better call it a day." Nia said. "Its still kinda early, I guess we can stop by McDonald's and get something to eat perhaps?"
"That sounds cool." Orisha nodded happily.
"Hehe, well, this is like old times. Eating fast food burgers, fries and soft drinks. Mmm...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it."
Orisha smiled at Nia.
As Nia said good night to the soldier on duty before leaving the building, Orisha was thinking about the future and what it holds for her, concerning her friends, concerning her family, and concerning Jack...
Orisha and Nia went out to the parking lot, coming along side the silver Escalade, which belonged to Nia. Orisha got inside the vehicle when the door locks were opened.
As Nia started the car and drove off, Orisha looked at the night sky. In surprise, her eyes widen when she saw a shooting star. She made a wish, hoping it would come true...