The Race For Power (old & incomplete, revision in progress)

Chapter I

You woke up and shielded your eyes as the light in your room progressively got brighter, signaling the start of your day. You stretched and slowly got up from the bed as the sounds of Pilots and Grunts busy at work alerted your senses.

You went to the bathroom and ruffled up your short (H/C) hair, letting out a small chuckle as it stuck out in every direction it could. You then went back out to the main room and grabbed your jump kit, which sat neatly on the windowsill next to your Spitfire and L-STAR. You looked out the window, seeing other Militia carriers flying slowly next to yours.

You heard someone knock on your metal door. You felt your heart race, in hopes that your friend, Jack Cooper, had come to get you for breakfast. "Be there in a minute!" You shouted.

You slipped your jump kit over your flight suit, giving a small grunt of satisfaction as you observed your appearance in the large mirror leaning against the wall. You grabbed your helmet from your desk and attached it to your belt before going to the door.

You hit the button to open the door and smiled as Cooper's warm smile came into view. "Geared up so soon? I'd think you'd wait until you've at least had breakfast."

"Never know. Might randomly get deployed somewhere in the middle of a game of checkers," You pointed out, letting out a small snort.

Cooper chuckled and shook his head. "You have a point there."

You walked down the hallways to the cafeteria with Cooper, cracking corny jokes and sharing small stories as you went along. Other Pilots gave you weird looks as you and Cooper slowly entered the atrium while telling each other every possible way to cook tomatoes.

You entered the cafeteria and gently squeezed Cooper's hand as the sight of so many Pilots and Grunts made your anxiety rise a little bit. He looked over at you and smiled gently. "You'll be okay. Just follow my lead."

You held onto Cooper's hand as you maneuvered through the crowded cafeteria, clumsily bumping into Grunts and MRVNs as you went along. Deep breaths, You told yourself.

Cooper slid you into an empty booth before sliding in next to you, signaling for a MRVN to come over and get you your breakfast. He pulled you closer to him and wrapped his arms around you in a hug. You smiled at him and looked into his light brown eyes, seeing something that seemed to lurk around in the depths of his gaze. "Are you alright?" You asked him.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Cooper answered, rubbing his neck nervously.

"I dunno... There's just something I can see deep in your eyes that suggests otherwise," You noted.

A MRVN shuffled over and set two plates with bagels and cream cheese on them in front of you and Cooper. You took a bite of the bagel and looked up at Commander Briggs as she jogged to your table.

"Thank god you two are still here. Research teams have picked up signals of some sort of artifact deep within the territory on Planet Troy. I need you two to go down there and find out what it is. Stop by my office in fifteen minutes and I'll give you the file with everything we know," She explained.

"You got it, Briggs. We'll be there in a bit," Cooper responded.

She nodded curtly before walking away.

You looked over at Cooper, worry shadowing his face. "Are you sure you're alright, Cooper?"

He looked up from his bagel and stared at your (E/C) eyes. "Listen, there's, um, something I've been wanting to ask you..."

You tilted your head sideways, curiosity rimming your eyes. "What is it?"

Cooper hesitated. He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again. "You know what? It's not important right now. Let's just go grab that file."

You gently rested your hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Cooper. You can tell me anything."

"I said it's not important right now," He repeated, a hint of annoyance edging his tone.

Your heart sank as you looked out the window at Planet Victor. "If you say so."