Unyielding Resolve - Cecilia Alcott x OC

Chapter 16 - Revealed

Bold: Time/Location
Italic: Character Thoughts/Internal Monologue
Underline: Author's Note(s)

Academy Infirmary - No POV

The room was deathly silent as Chifuyu and James were locked in a staredown. "You owe me answers Mr. Riker. Just what the hell do we have sitting in our science lab right now? First this unmanned IS appears from nowhere with a core that doesn't match any of the other registered 467 cores created by Dr. Shinonono, next it manages to hack our entire computer system which you just conveniently happen to have a way to counteract, and then you nearly kill yourself trying to take that thing down. I know you're not just a student and I suspect that you clearly know more about that IS that attacked my brother than you're letting on. It's time for answers or you're done here." she ranted, slightly more angry than the boy sitting in the bed was expecting.

There wasn't any way out of this situation. Odds were that James would get chewed out back at headquarters for telling her anything, but he also figured that they would rather have her as a potential ally than an enemy. He acted more serious than when talking to Cecilia just a few moments ago and said "I told you earlier that I'd protect everyone here no matter what it took. After today, I feel like I've proven my word, but that's not why I'm here. I'll tell you if you promise me that what I say doesn't leave this room unless it's a life or death situation." She thought about his condition for a moment, and reluctantly agreed with a simple nod. Now was where the truth came out.

He raised his metal hand in front of his chest and spread his fingers out. When he did, it activated the hologram projector embedded in the tip of his index finger. A bright blue hologram of the S.T.R.I.K.E. insignia on a badge with the acronym positioned below the icon hovered above the bed. "I am an agent of a secret organization called the Strategic Tactical Research of Infinite Stratos for Knowledge and Elimination, but since that acronym is a mouthful, we just go by S.T.R.I.K.E. I was sent here to retrieve information on the current generation of IS pilots and suits. Our objective is to create countermeasures to IS suits to protect the world from threats posed by IS technology, and if needed, cross off IS pilots if they pose too much of a danger to others around them. That unmanned IS is exactly the kind of threat we deal with, and I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've got no clue where that thing came from or why it was here. I asked you to deliver its remains to the arena so I could take it back to S.T.R.I.K.E. and find out."

As James closed his hand, deactivating the hologram, Chifuyu placed a hand on her chin absorbing everything the boy had just said. While she definitely didn't trust him, she had enough common sense and experience to know that there were threats beyond view of the public eye. After all, she was forced to forfeit the second Mondo Grosso tournament because of such an instance. To this day, she still didn't know why Ichika was kidnapped or who was responsible. She walked over to the coffee machine on the counter in the infirmary, running over the information in her head. "You're welcome by the way." James remarked while he stared at Chifuyu. Unsure of what he meant, she asked "For what? Spying on us?" she coldly retaliated. "For saving your brother twice now. One time today, and one time years ago during the second Mondo Grosso tournament." the agent clarified.

Catching her off guard was something very hard to do, but James was now someone who could claim that he did. With a sharp turn of her head to look at James, her auburn eyes widened as her emotions from that experience rose to her normally stoic surface. Seeing her sudden change in demeanor, he continued "Where do you think the Germans got the information of where Ichika was being held captive? At the time, Germany was falling behind in their IS training programs, and coincidentally Mr. Orimura got kidnapped for reasons even we still don't know. In the interest of maintaining the balance of power between countries, we gave Germany the information so they could pass it to you in exchange for your services."