Chapter 23: Departure

Feeling a hand softly stroke my head, I purr softly and stretch causing Khloe to giggle "Lazy much?"

Smiling I open one eye "It's just so nice…" Rolling on my back causes more people to chuckle.

"Try and wake up okay?"

Stretching once more I nod "Okay" Sitting up on my knees I lick my wrists before rubbing my eyes "What time is it?"

Looking around I meet the gaze of Felix sitting next to Zhloe "One AM, we'll depart in thirty"

A bit taken aback it's so soon I shake my head before smiling "How was Happy?"

His smile widens and his eyes radiate happiness "She woke up, the doctors say she should make a full recovery in a week or two"

Standing up I stretch again "Glad to hear"

Looking at the kitchen I purr softly "Can I grab some coffee?"

Zhloe nods "Feel free, just go easy on the milk"

Happily I nod and dash to the kitchen and grab a large black coffee before dissolving some sugar and milk, yet at that moment my eye falls on my clothing. "Say… What can I expect of this? As I just realized I'm still wearing this suit thing"

Zhloe groans at the realization while Danny replies "Don't worry about the suit, You, Felix, Zhloe and I will depart with an airship towards the border of annexed city fifteen, your former city. Whilst Khloe will depart with us, she will remain in the airship. Once landed, the four of us will head out on wheels towards your old school. It, and the area around it should be abandoned, but both Felix and I will carry arms in case of bandits or wild life."

Rather nervous I slowly nod, making Zhloe smile "While I won't be carrying a rifle, I do still have my pistol and know a thing or two about marshal arts. I am a lieutenant after all. As for you, you remain in my care until Danny and Felix have cleared the area."

With another nod I take a sip of my coffee before looking up "Lieutenant? Are you the highest ranked here then?"

She raises an eyebrow "Yes and no, Danny and I are both enlisted as Lieutenants while Felix is enlisted as a Special Sergeant. But enough of changing the subject. Look me in the eyes and promise me you'll stay with me"

A bit embarrassed I nod "I promise I won't do anything reckless"

My reply causes Felix to burst into laughter "Zhloe you're not going to get the reply you want. But we all know she's capable of defending herself in case of emergency."

Groaning she sighs but nods "I still dislike the idea of taking you out so soon, but you indeed have the capabilities and the Admiral gave the order. So be it."

Looking at my feet I chuckle nervously "I am a cautious one, I'm sure I won't be reckless."

Zhloe smiles while grabbing her tablet, but from the corner of my eye I'm able to see Felix is having trouble keeping a straight face. Yet as soon as Zhloe looks his way he wears a completely natural poker face.

After looking on her tablet for a few minutes she stands up "Alright, Khloe, Leone, follow me. Danny, Felix gear up and meet us in the ship"

They nod, stand up and leave the room. As Zhloe stands up I follow her out of the room and through the halls. "So.. what kind o-"

Holding up her hand she interrupts me "Please limit your questions to important ones for now."

Taken aback I nod and look down.

"Don't worry dear, it's not your fault, she's just stressed because you're coming along with little to no experience in the field."

Looking up at Khloe she softly pats my head.

"Okay.."

She gives me a kind smile before walking ahead so she walks between me and Zhloe.

***

A couple of minutes later we head through a set of opaque composite doors arriving at a steel gate. Zhloe holds her hand against a small panel causing the gate to slide open, immediately a cold wind fills the area making the two of them moan softly.

"Yikes it's a cold night"

Zhloe gives a stern nod "That's why I told you to wear a coat"

In turn Khloe smiles "I'll be fine"

Gazing at the two of them I frown as Zhloe is dressed in a thick winter coat while Khloe is merely wearing a sweater. Apparently my astonishment and confusion showed on my face as the latter giggles.

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With a sigh Zhloe replies "The two of us have awoken to Animus too, however whereas I'm fifty-five percent angelic, she's seventy-four percent angelic… and somehow better suited to both cold and hot temperatures."

Softly giggling I follow Zhloe over the snow covered field "Where are we actually?"

Zhloe lets out an irked groan causing Khloe to reply "Sourpuss over here has her focus on the mission. But we're at the docks, see the ship over there? That's ours"

Following her finger I see the silhouette of a large, yet comparatively small ship. It's about twenty five meters long and in contrast to the bigger plain white, purple adorned ships, is a dark gray with only a small purple dot which I assume would be a logo. Its rather sleek and slender design also creates a stark contrast with the bigger ones making me gaze at it in curiosity.

As we get closer, the lights of the ship turn on while the hatch in the back opens revealing a cargo bay of about fifteen meters long and seven to eight meters wide.

Walking inside a man dressed in an urban camouflage salutes towards Zhloe "Lieutenant, Khloe"

When Zhloe nods the man looks my way "I would assume she's the special package?"

While his words make me feel awkward, Zhloe nods. "Correct Master Sergeant Flyk. But that's the last I will hear of this matter"

The man salutes once more "Yes Ma'am. Khloe please follow me to the cockpit. Our pilot Corporal wishes to speak with her co-pilot before taking off."

Curious I raise an eyebrow but as the man leads Khloe away and Zhloe still wears a rather stern expression I decide to remain silent.

Before sitting down herself Zhloe motions to one of the seats mounted to the wall. Rather nervous I sit down next to her and apparently the anxiety shows on my face as she places her hand on my knee. "It's okay, Danny and Felix are our most experienced field agents for missions like these."

"May I ask a question?"

She looks up with a somewhat stern expression but once she sees me fiddling with my fingers she chuckles. "Ah who am I kidding there's nobody here I need to be stern to, ask away"

"You mentioned Felix was a special sergeant and Danny a Lieutenant, considering the word special, is this team different from normal?"

Smiling she nods "Well, it is a bit more complicated than that. While Danny and I are both enlisted as Lieutenants, Danny is technically a higher rank than mine. Danny has a rather long history in the military and has reached the rank of Major in our ground forces. In our Navy, he has the rank of Captain but during our current assignment he has been temporarily lowered in rank to match mine."

Baffled I gaze her way "Why?"

Chuckling softly she looks outside the hatch "Both as training for me, and to make sure he's not whisked away by other forces. Danny, together with Felix are currently what keeps our special forces team running."

"We're Special Forces then?"

She nods "Correct. While this facility is from the Navy and has a small army of it's own, it's also our special forces its home."

"Okay one more question then I'll be silent"

Chuckling she nods "Alright, shoot. But be quick as Danny and Felix are on their way as I can hear the Otter in the distance."

[Otter?]

Shaking my head I look back up. "But if you and Danny are the leaders of a special forces team, why do you also oversee the Animus treatments as caretakers?"

With a faint sigh she looks down "I honestly never wished to tell you this, but seeing I don't want to withhold anything from you… Your case has pretty much been dumped on us. Back when you were taken here, this was the main center of Animus research, however after the changes in law it was shut down."

"But as I was in the middle of treatment I couldn't be moved?"

She nods "Exactly, and thus had we been tasked to oversee your treatment as secondary duty. The Head researcher Kae had pretty much been relieved of his duties and kept here because of your case."

"I… was that the man…"

She nods "That was the overzealous doctor that even I found creepy at times. And also the doctor who defied protocol and got himself into an accident with your claws."

Sighing deeply I look down but as I now hear a vehicle riding past the ship I look back up. "Thank you for telling me either way."

Hearing my tone her complicated expression eases. "I'm happy you don't hold grudges, but let's shut it for now"

Nodding I look towards the hatch where a relatively lightweight yet clearly armored six wheeled SUV enters. After parking it in the middle I can hear magnetic locks activating while Felix and Danny get out wearing dark gray and black camouflaged suits. The two of them each wear a heavy duty rifle on their backs while Felix also has a short-sword on his waist.

Felix immediately straps himself in opposite to me while Danny walks to the cockpit.

Mere moments later the hatch closes, the engines begin to spool up and I notice the ship taking off making Felix smile "We should be there in half an hour."

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