UNSCDF Chapter 20- Thoughts, Feelings, and Emotions

Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

UNSC Richmond Outpost

July 25, 1999

1130 Local Time

            Charlie walked out of Cole’s office and looked at his watch. He needed a break from thinking about his first mission and decided to eat lunch early. Charlie entered the cafeteria and noticed Mary sweeping the floor.

            “Hi Mary.” Charlie called out.

            “Oh, hello Zyrok.” Mary waved.

            “You busy?” Charlie looked at the broom Mary was holding.

            “Not really, I start work in half an hour.” Mary replied.

            “Can we talk about…?” Charlie’s voice trailed off.

            “What happened two days ago?” Mary asked.

            “Yeah, that.” Charlie said uneasily.

            “Sure, grab a seat. I’ll put this broom away.” Mary pointed at a nearby table.

            Charlie grabbed a seat and saw Mary hurry into the kitchen. He was getting anxious as to how Mary would react when they discuss that night. After a few minutes, Mary walked out the kitchen with two plates of sandwiches.

            “Here, thought we could both have lunch.” Mary smiled and placed a plate in front of Charlie.

            “Thank you.” Charlie smiled and graciously accepted the food.

            “Not a problem. Where do you want to start?” Mary glanced at Charlie.

            “Well, I just wanted to see how you were feeling after that night. I felt so bad.” Charlie spoke his mind as he took a bite of his sandwich.

            “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” Mary looked at Charlie and then grabbed her sandwich.

            “Oh, I don’t have a girlfriend. She’s a girl who has been there for me so much and left an imprint in my life.” Charlie explained.

            “So a friend who is a girl? So a girl friend.” Mary played around with the words.

            “You could say that.” Charlie laughed.

            “I don’t understand…” Mary paused in thought.

            “Understand what?” Charlie stopped eating and looked at Mary.

            “You’re not taken, but…” Mary wondered.

            “Look Mary, I like you as well, but I have feelings for this girl.” Charlie put down his sandwich and looked into Mary’s eyes.

            “Is it someone here?” Mary looked at the other female marines eating at the other tables.

            “No, she’s not here. She’s somewhere in Australia.” Charlie sighed.

            “Woah. That’s very far.” Mary looked surprised.

            “Yes it is.” Charlie nodded in agreement.

            “Are you sure she’s still alive out there?” Mary questioned.

            “I’m not sure, but I have faith in her.” Charlie said with optimism.

            “If she’s alive, how do you plan to find her?” Mary asked.

            “To be honest, I don’t have any idea for that. I enlisted into the UNSC in hopes of improving my chances her.” Charlie answered.

            “Wow.” Mary ate her sandwich.

            “Wow what?” Charlie was confused.

        “I can tell that she means a lot to you from what I’ve just heard from you.” Mary clarified her comment.

       “Yeah, she means the world to me.” Charlie took a deep breath and pictured Sarah’s face in his mind.

         “Well, she’s one lucky girl. You really are different from the other guys I’ve met.” Mary wiped her face with a napkin.

            “Thanks.” Charlie finished his sandwich and wiped his face.

            “You are so loyal and faithful.” Mary commented.

            “Why do you say that?” Charlie glazed at Mary.

            “Well, you’re not taken yet you chose to stay true to her even though you’re just friends. We would have probably slept together that night and became closer, but you followed your heart.” Mary gave her reasons.

            “I see.” Charlie rubbed his chin.

            “Most guys won’t do what you did.” Mary smiled and finished her sandwich.

            “In my mind, I feel like cheating.” Charlie replied shyly.

            “But it’s not.” Mary assured.

            “I know, but that’s how I feel.” Charlie spoke out his feelings.

          “You’re unique Zyrok. I’ve got to head back to work. I’ll talk to you soon.” Mary looked at the clock on the wall and got up.

            “Yeah, for sure. Thanks for the meal.” Charlie smiled and pointed to this plate.

            “Anytime.” Mary grinned and walked away.

            Charlie got up and walked out the cafeteria as a group of marines entered for lunch. He saw Casey talking to a young marine in his early twenties with a mustache.

            “Hey Zyrok, I want you to meet Corporal Mike Stewart. He’s our pilot from now on.” Casey introduced the marine to him.

            “Lieutenant Zyrok, Corporal Stewart at your service.” Stewart saluted.

            “Nice to meet you Corporal.” Charlie saluted back.

            “I was telling Stewart how I had to fly a Falcon with no experience.” Casey chuckled.

            “He’s not bad.” Charlie laughed.

            “I’ve been trained in most air assets, sir.” Stewart replied.

            “That’s good to hear. Oh, by the way, there’s no need to address sir to me.” Charlie smiled.

            “Understood, sir…I mean…understood.” Stewart grinned and nodded his head.

            “Zyrok, I told Cole we could either get a pilot or train us to fly. It looks like he gave us a pilot which is better because I really hate flying.” Casey patted Stewart’s back.

        “Alright, good to hear. I’ve got some business to attend to. I’ll let you gentlemen acquaint each other.” Charlie laughed.

            “Alright Zyrok. Let’s go Stewart.” Casey waved and walked with Stewart to line up for food.

            Charlie left the cafeteria and went to his office. He sat in his seat for a good ten minutes doing nothing and decided to download the chat program he used to talk to Sarah. He downloaded the program and installed it.

            “Here it goes.” Charlie took a deep breath and opened the program.

            Suddenly an error message popped up saying that the server was offline and all network based channels were now used by the UNSC.

            “No…” Charlie thought about the slim chances of meeting Sarah.

            Charlie frantically flipped through his desk for a contact list Cole gave him when he first signed his paperwork to join the UNSC. He opened up the book and skimmed the list of departments and numbers.

            “UNSC Communications.” Charlie read it out loud “There’s still a way of finding Sarah.”

            Charlie placed the book into his pocket and walked out of his office. Just as Charlie was about to head over to the Communications Department, Cole walked over and handed him a folder.

            “New mission. Get your team ready in one hour at the briefing room.”

            “Yes sir.” Charlie nodded and watched as Cole walked away.

           Charlie sighed as he looked at the folder and skimmed the documents. He looked at his watch and was disappointed. The Communications Department had to wait. He had a mission to do.

            “Finding Sarah is getting harder and harder.” Charlie thought and headed off to find his marines.