As she entered her office, she went straight to looking for Captain Eulysis’s journal. Her doubts and speculations are starting to match his, but still, she can’t just settle with any of it, as nothing of those guesses is proven yet.
She sat down as he if she had been exhausted—she didn’t do anything, but she felt so tired.
“I saw it, Anne. He didn’t use the front door, but there is a secret one he used inside his room. Do you think that one is connected to the rooms next to his?” she asked the program, who’s still silent and haven’t greeted her yet.
She roamed her eyes around. Not even a single surveillance camera moved. She pressed the communication line connected to her Heads, but that too is flatly not working either.
“I am sure I saw it and I know what I saw!” she blurted as she unfolds the diary’s pages, looking for the certain one.
Scanning and skimming, from top to bottom; one by one, she found it all.
“Captain, no wonder you find it hard to know the boss’ trues. I still don’t know who he really is and the background of the organization; and I am already running out of time to know it all,” she talked to Eulysis when she glanced at their team’s photo, hoping she’ll get clues—an idea perhaps if she looked at the picture.
She rests her head on her palm and tried to understand the situation. Just when she hid the notepad, her teammates came in worriedly.
“What’s wrong?!” she queried away when she noticed that they aren’t complete.
Eula gulped as she looked back to the ones behind her. “There’s nothing wrong.” She then smiled at her.
“Where is Euno?”
“Here, Captain! Sorry, I was late. Here! Since you’re not here earlier, I was the one called by an upper to get this. I hate that man! He’s—”
“Pain in the arse. They all are,” Eve continued.
He laughed irritatedly and nodded. “If not for his position, I would have considered giving him something to be ashamed of, but then—well, I am still nice enough to think that I wasn’t there to make commotions.” He handed her the scented envelope he’s holding.
“Guess what I had told him, pal!” He turned to one of their members as he sat down.
“Don’t tell me you talked back to him, bud. We’ll be doomed if you did.” The man laughed nervously.
Again, Euno laughed it off until he can no longer contain his laughters. “You should have seen it, Captain!” He glanced at her.
He stood up and acted what happened exactly. “I was here, and he was there, sitting comfy, of course! He gave me the invitation letter just to insult me right in front of his co-officers. So, I, as a good Head of this team, acknowledged his nastiness with sarcasm—in a good way.”
Gladness kicked Eve’s insides, so is guilt and pity. Euno’s happiness by just stepping out of their building and seeing another people personally—not just through the monitors, had him make feel excited. He was like a kid.
She bit her lower lip as she realized how many years of their supposed to be a wonderful youth was robbed by the organization. In just a snap, they’re no longer teens. They were forced to leap both mentally and emotionally.
“He said, "I don’t know what the boss has seen in your team for him to trust you exceptionally." Man, he was all red and I think if only not for the Program—”
“Program Lux.” She helped him out, as he obviously has forgotten the program’s name.
“Yeah, that program. If not for him, they might have said a lot more. So, politely, I told them that Boss Lux had trusted us because he knows that we are worthy of his trust. That we are capable enough. And guess what, I think they couldn’t even stand against our Captain Eulysis!” he hissed.
“How can you say so?” his pal asked, enjoying how he narrates what happened.
“Well, I have just credited him every ounce of success that our team has. Imagine, they want to get the boss’ recognition but in my—the teams’ decades here, I think those uppers had barely recognized by him. I never thought that Captain Eulysis had been such a threat to them,” he then proudly stated, whilst the other members of her team are dreamingly imagining the scene.
“He really was, and he still is,” she agreed. She can clearly imagine how the uppers treated her Head.
‘What ill-mannered men,’ she uttered in her mind and shook her head.
“Do they treat you that way, too?!” Eula turned to her with her forehead creased.
She laughed at the question. “They are always like that. Not just to me, not just to us.”
“What a bunch of hypocrites!” the woman blurted.
“Well, that’s their nature. We can’t do anything about it.” She shrugged and opened the letter.
“No wonder they acted that way towards you, Head Euno.” She put down the paper for them to see what it is containing.
“The presentation is set to be held two days from now. We should prepare for them and everyone to see what we got to gain the boss’ trust.” Eve then smirked as she glanced at her team.
“By the way, what happened to your meeting with him?” Euno wondered.
She heaved a sigh and put a thumb down. “Not that he literally turned us down. It’s just that, that one is not something we should be requesting. As soon as we leave here, we are already free from anything in connection with them. Thus, we are no longer their liability.”
“And asset,” the man added.
“We are already 'someone' and not their 'something'.” Eula then smiled.
“What did you request then?”
Eve can’t help but to feel even better. “Our discovery will be credited solely to our team.”
It took everyone seconds before they looked at each other, eyes are widened and could barely utter anything as they can’t put into words what they exactly feel at the moment.
“Are you sure?!” Euno almost jumped from where he’s sitting on.
“For real?! Was that just fine with him?!” Eula went to her side and even leaned forward to see her closer.
“I am sure and yet, it is truly real.”
“Yahoo! You heard it, guys?!” the man faced the other five who are still quiet and eyeing on her.
“T-This is real, right, Captain?” one of them inquired in whispers.
She nodded and gulped to suppress her tears when the man started to burst in so much joy; and pain.
“That achievement had cost us nine lives! No one—not even the organization has the right over it! That is really ours,” he lamented as he celebrated through smiles while cries. Indeed, that is a different kind of success. It is painful though satisfying.
“Captain, credit to yourself the one that you’re working on,” he then suggested that everyone else has agreed too.
“Make them know that this team is composed of members that are highly qualified for the position of Captain!” Euno declared as he stood up and switch on their system.
“Oh, so you shut down Anne?” She looked at him.
“I did.”
“For what reason?”
“For maintenance. We don’t know what the organization had done with our building while we’re away. I had to check the program. We actually should have done it the day that we come back from the mission.”
“Are there any suspicious functions added to the program then?”
“Good to know that they did nothing about it. Right, Anne?”
‘Yes, Sir!’ The program showed up next to the man, looking at her in the same way they do.
“You guys have no idea how great that discovery is,” she muttered.
“Then the more that it should be credited to you, Captain,” Eula insisted.
“Are you sure about this?”
“We are.”
“But, are you going to tell them about it?” Euno asked. She can’t blame them for feeling worried. The organization might have considered to have no one word this time. The discovery is such a great one that she is sure it is what the envious teams are getting mad about them.
“Nope. Just not yet.”
“When then?”
“When I already have it patented.”
“That’s the best thing to do, Eve.” Eula clapped her hands, giving her Captain the recognition she deserves to get.
As the sun goes down, so is their plans. One after another, their list had to be turned on the other side; flipped over to the other page for the details.
“It is my first time to see you drink a bottle of wine, Captain. You even rarely drink a glass.” Euno noticed as he approached her.
She glanced at the man and looked back to the sky.
“I am drinking for the ones above.”
“How’s the progress of the thing you are working on?”
“Good so far. Can’t wait to come up with a name for it,” she whispered and toast her glass to the air.
“I am sure you’ll think of something brilliant.”
Silence is her response, but she smiled.
“When this is finally over for once and for all, I will surely miss you more. Captain Eulysis; Head Eulejius and Epharil; you and Eula; the rest of the team; this building—everything. Is this what they are saying that there is really nothing that is filled of darkness and sadness, Captain? Because whatever I do, whenever I look at you all, I know I should hate the organization, but I always end up thanking it for bringing me in. I had a wonderful decade with this team, and I doubt I will have the same fulfillment if I hadn’t joined here.”
“So do I,” she admitted and hid her eyes that is about to tear.
“Are there times that you had thought of staying for good?”
“I did, for a lot of times, Euno. But I have a family waiting for me. I have to go back to them.”
“What if they are not waiting for us anymore?” he uttered and chuckled melancholy.
A cold breeze of wind chilled their exposed skin, bringing her fear.
“That will never going to happen.”
The night is long, so is their conversation. They reminisced it all, from the start up to the present.
They had realized, they don’t remember much.