A Proper Lady

General Gordon tapped his finger on the table for a bit before exhaling deeply. "Then that's what we have to find out for ourselves. This holds the key as to what they are planning.

"The stolen exoskeleton and the recent attack have set our plans back at least three years. As it stands, we still have to wait for about eight more months before new recruits are accepted into the training camp."

Richard nodded, however, he recalled that back then—during the war of the three countries—Crevania had made an open invitation to all those who were of age and were strong enough to wield a weapon to join the fight. A lot of people—even the loathed criminals in Crevania—took up arms and went to battle for their country. It was something that made Richard to have a rethink about certain issues. These criminals weren't on the side of the law but yet they didn't back down from a fight that threatened them.

"It is worth noting that the exoskeletons that attacked us weren't the same or even a base variant of the one created in Base 52." Richard reminded the General.

"It could be that they haven't gotten it to work yet since it was still a work in progress." Pauline shrugged lightly.

Gordon nodded gently. "She's right, Colonel. They might be saving the best for last."

"Then should we worry about the nuclear powered exoskeleton?"

Gordon sighed heavily again. "I could say that. It was equipped with more fire power, explosives, missiles, grenades and had two types of ammunitions. It has a precise targeting system which was supposed to be in Maya's control.

"Then there are the flame throwers and the canon at its back. It also had heat blades and laser shots. It was made to last and endure. It was created to cover our flanks and most importantly deal a huge blow to the enemy soldiers."

Richard was astonished at the amount of weapons packed into one exoskeleton. Could the thing really handle the power build up and the heat? Could it work as intended? What about the weight?

After much thinking, Richard took a deep breath and said, "It's good that we recovered some bodies that were still intact. We can use their face and identities to trace them and whoever they've been in contact with and we might be able to grasp who their companions are."

"We still can't rule out the possibility of a mole in the military." Gordon added.

Richard nodded. "I suspect so too. How could they know exactly where we were and strike at us so prepared? If it was just a random hit then they wouldn't have gone the extra mile to block all communication channels."

Gordon nodded and leaned back into his chair. "That will be okay for now. You can leave."

The two stood up simultaneously and saluted before walking towards the door. The moment Richard wanted to step out, Gordon called back to him. "Richard?"

"Sir?"

"Thank you for your effort in protecting the recruits. You're really capable."

Richard nodded. "I'm doing my job."

He left the office, leaving Gordon to stare into empty space for a few seconds.

….

Pauline had already walked past him and was at the other end of the corridor. Training wasn't over yet and they had only rushed over after Neo-Impulse notified them about the General's call.

He walked down the corridor with brisk steps. A few soldiers were also walking about the corridor, doing different things. His eyes subconsciously glanced to the screens that hung on the wall all the way to the corridor. He felt that it was impossible for the military HQ to have built an A.I. as sophisticated as Maya within eight months. They claimed it was done while he was away but the results spoke otherwise.

It reminded him of how the military secretly tried to modify an exoskeleton into a killing machine. It was obvious that the military had worked on Maya for years—in secret—before launching it. There were too many buildings in the HQ and not all of them had the screens.

Only the main building and a few others had the screens where Maya could freely interface with and project words. The other rooms had projectors instead. This made him think about the issue a little bit more critically.

As Richard was walking along the corridor, someone suddenly jumped to his side and due to the speed, he stumbled to the side. He was still a little bit uneasy after the attack at Groovy Wild. It was Priscilla.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Did you just hide there to scare me?"

She smiled brightly and nodded. "Yep! I figured you needed someone to scare the living daylight out of you."

"That was a pretty weird way to keep people company." Richard chuckled and they walked down the corridor. He looked at one of the screens. "Neo-Impulse, why didn't you alert me about this trick?"

The screen lit up one after the other and lines of text were thrown out. The reason it lit up all was because Richard was moving so the A.I. split its words into different sections and used different screens. "I do not interfere with human interactions unless necessary. I do not have the permission to warn you about someone trying to scare you unless you ask ahead of time.

"And also, Colonel Brad, call me Maya."

The screen darkened leaving Richard a bit surprised. "The A.I. sure loves that name."

Priscilla laughed a bit. "'she' is a proper lady!"

Richard chuckled at her joke. The A.I. would never know they were mocking it and it made it all the more fun. They walked towards the main hall while chatting.

"What did the General say?"

Richard glanced at her and held back a smirk. "I almost forgot that you rushed out from training just to follow me here."

Priscilla's face reddened from embarrassment. She cleared her throat with a cheeky smile. "I wasn't running after you, believe me."

"Are you sure? I can ask Maya."

"Please don't!" Priscilla panicked a bit.

Richard smiled and shook his head at her reaction.