New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 969: Reaching A Peaceful Resolution

She was already all over Ri-Chu, her exuberant side making him all sorts of uncomfortable, but the boy didn't attempt to push her back, accepting things as they were.

"Alright, you two. Calm down or get a room. We have an expedition to plan," David dropped, making a disgusted face.

He couldn't care less if they wanted to be all over each other, but it could wait until after they accomplished what they were here for.

Jin-Sil, who most of them knew as Athena, gave him a stink eye, refusing to let go of Ri-Chu's arm and pulling her tongue at him.

David started gathering his thoughts, getting ready to do his hunting briefing off of memory, when he felt a small surge of mana coming from the aircraft behind him.

With a sigh, he looked at the plane from the corner of his eye, turning his head a bit, and murmured, "How many people are you going to tell our secret to, before it's time for the world to know..."

He knew Alex wasn't doing this to hinder their anonymity, but it could still backfire on them.

If he ever told someone who was so shut off to the unknown, they could end up trying to tell the world about it, and mass panic could very much ensue. Imagine the panic of a new kind of powered humans suddenly being all over the news.

Even if they had done this on a smaller scale in Montreal, it didn't mean the world was ready to hear about it yet.

Proof of this lay in the fact the world governments had yet to make a statement about it; almost like they were waiting for something.

'Last time, they waited until they had some awakened people of their own who could stop the ones wreaking havoc and the monsters with ease. Are they going to wait that long again?'

But as his thoughts stray to this subject, David snapped back to reality when Alex came out of the plane, soon followed by the pilot. Her face was no longer the mask of arrogance and anger it had been a couple of minutes ago.

Clapping his hands to gather attention, Alex quickly became the center of it.

"Alright, everyone. Major Schrute has an announcement to make, and I would like everyone to pay attention, please."

Feeling the gazes of the twelve powered individuals turn on her, all of which Alex had assured her could quickly snuff her out, Carol gulped nervously.

"..."

Carol looked at them, suddenly feeling nervous and slightly nauseous, before Alex's hand rested on her shoulder.

"Come on, now. Out with it," he pressed her, a broad smile on his face.

Carol cleared her throat loudly, gathering her courage.

'Come on, Carol. You were in dog fights against F22s. How is talking to a dozen kids making you this much of a wreck?' she mused to herself, before straightening her back out.

With her posture back to her militaristic attention, her head slightly raised to look over the kids, a not-so-subtle attempt at not looking them in the eye, her face became stern.

"I would like to apologize to all of you who flew with me here. I realize I have been less than agreeable, and have treated most of you like parasites aboard a plane that is basically yours.

"As an employee under Mr. Leduc's employ, I should have treated you with the respect you deserve, and the professionalism that was expected of me," she said, her tone stern but sincere.

"I'm sorry!" she added, straightening up even more, almost saluting them with her body posture alone.

It was bad form to salute a civilian, and thus, she didn't raise her arm. But her body language told all of them present her intention.

Jonathan was the first one to respond, walking up to her with a wide grin.

"Does that mean we'll have more access to the cockpit during flights now?!" he asked, letting his excitement show.

Major Schrute looked down at him before scanning the others with her eyes, noticing all their slight smiles, and her nervousness washed away.

'What was I nervous about? They are just kids. Why did I think they would resent me for this?' she wondered, bending forward toward the child in front of her.

"Although I would prefer peace and quiet during takeoffs and landings, I will keep the cockpit doors open from now on. You are welcome to join me as long as you don't disturb me too much," she replied, much to Jonathan's delight.

He jumped up in joy, his arms extending over his head.

"Yes!"

A light wave of laughter spread across the others as they all silently accepted her apology.

*Clap clap*

The sound of clapping brought everyone's attention back to Alex again.

"Alright. With this matter aside, I believe we can go back to the cargo hold and do our briefing away from prying eyes now?" Alex asked, looking at the woman.

"Of course. Here, let me open the drop door for you," Carol replied, climbing into the aircraft swiftly.

And not a moment later, a loud rumbling echoed, before a mechanical whine reverberated across the area, the back of the airplane suddenly cracking open.

Alex looked at this with a smile.

Kary walked up to him, grabbing his arm slowly.

"You know, she would have had to open the door anyway, since the people in the hangar were waiting to unload our gear. But the intention behind it is refreshing, to say the least," she

said, giggling a bit.

"Yeah, I guess she needed a little push to realize we are not only were her bosses but also not just some rich kids using their money to travel the world on a private jet. Go figure," he

chuckled.

Kary rose an eyebrow at him.

"But isn't that what we are doing?" she asked mockingly.

"Hah! I wish."

As the drop door gently rested against the ground, David walked past the couple, smiling.

"Let's get this meeting started, shall we? There is much to discuss."