Eve slammed her tray down as she sat down next to Isa. "So. Why were you watching us earlier?"
Eve had told her team that she was going to talk to Isa and smooth the situation over during mess, which wasn't completely untrue. However, more importantly she wanted to know what the SW PMC was doing, watching them from the instructor's lounge while they were training.
"Did the Lieutenant let you into the lounge?" Eve continued.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Isa responded, her voice flat as always. Before Eve could see her face, Isa quickly tugged up her black clinical mask.
"I saw you as you left," Eve pressed. "Name the amount of people in this base right now with black hair as long as yours or purple eyes. I can all but guarantee that there's only one in this base as of this moment: you." Eve slurped up her beef ramen, her eyes focused on the noodles so as not to attract attention. Discreetly, however, Eve stole glances at Isa, who remained cold and regal as usual. Ice queen. Got it. Eve sighed.
"You know, you could tell me. It's not like I want us to fail either. You were the one who said that you didn't want anything to get between us working together tomorrow." Eve took a sip of the mess hall green tea.
"..." Isa made little to no indication that she was even alive as Eve talked.
"I now see that this conversation was pointless. Either way, I'm here to tell you that I've talked things over with my squad. They'll keep what you said in mind, and they shouldn't do anything stupid tomorrow. Just remember to not give them any excuse for an altercation. And you better not do anything either." Eve finished the rest of her ramen, and drank the broth before setting down her chopsticks on her bowl and getting up to leave.
Suddenly, Isa's hand shot up, grasping Eve by the forearm, startling her.
"What-" Eve started.
"Please stay," Isa said in a small voice, then muttered something under her breath.
"What was that?" Eve asked, incredulous.
Isa looked up, glancing around the room. Quickly realizing everyone was watching and it could be seen as aggression by the TRACE members observing from a couple tables away, she quickly let go and turned away from Eve. "I said, please stay," Isa repeated, deliberately avoiding Eve's eyes.
Does the ice queen perhaps have a soft side? What happened to Ms. Cold from a couple hours earlier? Eve warily set down her tray back on the table and sat back down next to Isa. "No, after that part," Eve said.
Isa looked down at the cafeteria tea she had been nursing with both hands. "You sounded familiar."
Eve raised her eyebrows. "I sounded familiar, so you took to stalking us? I didn't know you were like that," she joked. Her mind, meanwhile, scrambled to recall where the hell she might've encountered or heard of Isa Nymera before meeting her here at MOB 7, if at all.
Isa clutched her cup tighter. "I wasn't stalking. I was just… watching. You. Not the rest of your team. Quietly. I didn't want to interfere. You weren't supposed to notice." Her voice dipped lower. "You notice too much."
Eve frowned slightly. This last part about noticing too much set off alarm bells as Eve thought back to the briefing earlier. Was Isa part of why the Lieutenant Colonel was so jittery? Or did she simply notice his behavior as well? Nevertheless, Eve kept her suspicions to herself. Instead, she simply restated the fact that was given to her. "So you admit that you were watching."
"I'm sorry. Though to be fair, your lieutenant didn't even notice when I slipped into the room. You've got a good eye." Isa's gaze flicked up to Eve, resting on Eve's face. Even though her gaze was soft and casual, Eve couldn't help but feel an intense pressure coming from Isa's eyes on her, as if Isa was searching every piece of her skin. It kind of made her skin crawl- but strangely, not in an entirely unpleasant way. Another thing that she couldn't help but notice however was a faint flush rising to Isa's cheeks out from the corners of the mask.
Huh, Eve thought. "You said I sounded familiar. Where do you think you've heard my voice?" Eve asked. She picked up her glass of unfinished tea and took a sip.
Isa cocked her head to one side, gauging Eve's reaction. "I don't know. Yet. That's the thing. Unless you lived in the Newton region. "
Eve recalled that the Newton region was the first to be attacked by the Asphodelian Federation. Eve's brow furrowed. "Then you were-"
"Attacked first, yes," Isa said, tugging her mask higher. "We lost a lot. Buildings. Resources. People." She paused for a moment before focusing on Eve's visage. "But I would've remembered seeing you." She looked at Eve, almost too intently, as her amethyst eyes tried to burrow and carve their way into Eve's soul. Something about the way she said it made Eve feel… observed. Watched. As if Isa was always watching, and knew every single detail about Eve.
Isa continued. "Either way, as for every other possibility where I could've heard your voice… highly unlikely."
Eve tried to keep her composure together. "Humor me."
Isa kept her watching gaze leveled at Eve. "Fine. Have you had previous PMC experience in the Newton region?"
"Nope," Eve responded. After graduating from high school, she'd gone immediately into university, where she'd been drafted as soon as the war broke out.
Isa cocked her head to the side and continued. "Specialised at Capital university under developmental technologies at Newton campus or studied at Capital High school?"
Eve blinked, surprised. She thought back to her own major, now long abandoned after she had been drafted. Dev tech? That's one of the hardest majors to get into. Capital University too. Jesus christ, just who is she? "No. I haven't gone to the capital district, even as TRACE."
The Capital district was downtown of Einstein, the city that Eve used to live in, and Eve had studied at ENU, or Einstein university. Capital University, however, named after the district, was the best university that the Halcyon Federation had. It was consistently ranked among the top five or even top three universities globally. However, ironically their main campus wasn't housed in Einstein: their biggest campus, Newton campus, was especially of particular renown, given their developmental technology laboratories. When the Asphodelians invaded, the first call was to evacuate all tech and then demolish the lab.
Isa lowered her head, as if she was thinking. "What else? Oh. Right. This is silly, and the chances are really low, but… did you use to play tactical shooters? As in video games. Undertaker in particular. I used to grind 24/7 when I was on break from CPU."
Eve's eyes narrowed. "I used to play Undertaker, yes… but that was a while ago. Two years. I don't remember duo-queuing or partying with anyone like you. And I don't think I would forget, with your voice."
"I wouldn't forget your voice either. I have a good memory, and I don't forget. Ever." Isa said, tapping her head. To Eve, that last comment sounded more like a threat than a statement, even though Isa was probably smiling under her mask.
Eve interpreted the hidden lines beneath Isa's statement as don't cross me, or I will remember, and you'll be in for a world of pain. She shuddered.
Isa continued, her voice smoother now that she knew where she recognized Eve's voice from. "You talk the same way in the game. You always assumed IGL. You would get everyone to listen, and anyone who doubted you, you would quickly shut up with an ace."
Eve blinked. "You remember my calls?"
Isa's mask moved slightly in a way that Eve could assume was a slow smile. "Like I said. I don't forget. Names. Voices. People. I might take a while remembering where from, but I never forget." Isa said, gently tapping the side of her head. "Especially not the things I want to remember."
There was a beat of silence, then Isa suddenly asked, "What rank were you?"
Eve frowned, caught off guard by the out of pocket question. "Sorry?"
Isa tucked one of her bangs under her cap, her eyes still locked on Eve. "What rank were you, Sergeant? In Undertaker," Isa clarified.
Eve blinked, blanking under Isa's casing gaze. She shifted in her seat. "Uh… Operative Two, I think."
Isa nodded slowly. "Mn. I was Operative One." She tilted her head. "You always rifled, didn't you? I don't think I ever saw you AWP in our games. Generally, people with mechanics like yours get cocky and pick up an AWP sooner or later."
Eve's mouth went dry, and she stuttered. "How do you- "
"I told you, I remember everything." Isa's voice softened, smooth and unsettling- like a snake speaking with a silver tongue. "Do you still play? I know you must be busy as TRACE… but even with all the commissions coming in I still find time to queue."
Eve tried to smile. "No. I've been all over…"
- - -
After that interaction, Isa went back to her cold, silent self, and eventually the two cleaned up their trays to place in the washing mess line. Eve strode ahead, while Isa followed a few steps behind her before meeting up with the rest of her Seaward Wolves fire team.
As Eve and the TRACE squad met up again and started to make their way back to the CQB training grounds for a few more hours of training in the afternoon hours before it closed, Eve couldn't shake the feeling that Isa was somewhere watching her.
Understandably, her team was curious, and Taeyeon inquired about Isa on the way. "Sergeant? What did Ms. Nymera say?"
"She said that she understood, and won't cause any trouble tomorrow," Eve lied. Isa hadn't said anything of the sort, but Eve knew that in the original altercation between her squad and Isa, it was Vian who started it. If not, then Isa wouldn't have said anything back, if it could even be considered that. Her words, while harsh, were solid advice. Besides, after talking to Isa, however… unsettling she might be, she probably wouldn't do anything to go against them tomorrow, and Eve had no doubt that Isa had complete control over her fire team.
Taeyeon nodded, while Seo stayed pensive. Vian, however, remained unreadable.
She's still not happy about it then, Eve thought.
Regardless of how they felt, the TRACE team donned their combat suits, plate carriers, and helmets, as they stepped back into the CQB training grounds once more.
As they moved through and cleared each room in silence, Eve could've sworn that she saw Isa's purple eyes watching them from the railings multiple times, but when she flicked her eyes sideways to look for them, they were nowhere to be seen. Is she still stalking-- I swear to god, that woman… Nope, I'm just delusional at this point. No time to think about her- the mission's tomorrow. We can't afford to make any mistakes.
- - -
Time slipped by until a voice crackled over the PA, declaring that the facilities would all be closing in ten minutes. Eve, drenched with sweat, emerged from the training grounds and signed out by one of the underground exits. She and her squad trudged through the snowstorm, bracing against the howling wintry winds to the visitor's barracks.
At the entrance, Eve brushed the snow off of her uniform before stepping inside. The barracks were mostly empty, except for a few scattered kit bags and a handful of others preparing for evening mess. Her squad followed close behind. Eve unlocked her locker, pulled out a clean set of clothes, grabbed her towel from her bunk's rung, and made her way to the showers.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Eve and her squad managed a few hours of well-earned rest before drifting off to sleep.