Animated conversations and chattering echoes through the premises of the bustling cafeteria, along with the percussions of ceramic dishes that emanates a symphony of clinking and clattering.
Noralie's nose wrinkled with a subtle flare amidst the delightful scents that wafts through the air, her fingers absentmindedly tapped on a ketchup bottle, creating faint clicks that were drowned out by the cacophony of noise.
At a table, Noralie was sat along with Carl, the two were waiting for Ilse for their order of meals containing the hyped stew everyone had been talking about.
"...wait wait wait wait wait!" Carl piped up, his young and annoying voice fills the air around the ongoing conversation. "So your dad was once a squad leader?!"
Noralie nods, "Something like that, many of my relatives from my father's side are REISS operatives."
"So, it's like some sort of tradition among their family?"
"Y-yeah."
"You must be good then."
"I wish," Noralie forced a smile. "I'm nothing like my papa."
"Hey, don't be harsh on yourself." Carl sighs, "Sometimes, you gotta trust the process, Nora."
"I do, and I'm just wondering if I'd still be alive when that time comes." Noralie chuckles, "I already messed up a few times back at the Baümer's mansion, it's just pure luck I'm still here."
"Nah, there's no things such as 'luck'." Carl leans closer, "Anyways, about your father...do you know anyone here who knows him?"
"Aside from Commissioner Engelhaft? No one."
Carl thought for a moment, "Now hold on, if your father was an active operative during those years, there's probably a chance that lead knew him."
"Who? Walter?" Noralie's gaze trails off, "That's possible."
Didn't papa worked with the Orion too? Her eyebrows wrinkled at the thought since that's what she recalls, though she's not entirely sure, as her memory sometimes fails her. Maybe mama knows. I should probably ask her sometime.
"Maybe, ask him next time? They might be bros in the past, who knows right?" Carl chuckled as his attention shift at a distance. "Sheesh, there she is."
Noralie followed his gaze and spotted the annoyed Ilse, her hands balancing a couple of trays of food as she approached their table. She placed both metal trays on the surface of table, sliding one towards Noralie while keeping the other out of Carl's reach.
"Uhm, sorry?" Carl raised an eyebrow.
"That one's mine. I'll go get yours in a moment," Ilse smirked.
"Aw, this is ridiculous!"
A stern glare from Ilse was enough to silence Carl, she then proceeded to tap Noralie's shoulder which was followed by a smile. "Enjoy."
Ilse huffed and left. Maaking sure she was out of sight, Carl leaned over towards her tray, attempting to spoon some of corned beef hash from the small bowl. However, Noralie was quick to swat his hand away.
"Nuh-uh!" Noralie held out her finger.
"Come on, she doesn't have to know," Carl playfully winked. "Just one bite."
"Nope, not gonna happen. You'll have to wait for yours," Noralie said while preparing her utensils.
"Aw, you're no fun at all," Carl rolled his eyes.
Noralie scooped up a spoonful of her meal from the bowl on her tray and shoved it through her mouth, teasing him with a frisky *hmmm*.
Carl scoffed and pouted in return, earning him a faint chuckle from Noralie.
The food wasn't living up to the hype contrary to what Carl claimed. The beef seemed a bit undercooked and the salty, tangy sauce is the only respectable aspect of the dish. Maybe she's just used to a well-done fare.
Despite that though, she proceeded to indulge and savor it as it would be a shame for the food just to go waste.
Suddenly, another person who was also carrying a metal tray joined their table and took a seat beside Noralie.
Looking up, she saw Leon who was inspecting and eyeing his meal as if he's having second thoughts about it.
"Yo, sec lead," Carl nodded at him.
"Hey," Leon greeted nasally. "Oh, sorry for taking a seat without asking."
"Yeah, yeah, no problem." Carl chuckles, "You're already here anyway."
W-why is he here? Noralie gulped, she can feel her pulse slightly racing.
She quickly turned away and awkwardly focused on her food, the way she pace on her seat earned a side-eye from Leon.
Fortunately, his attention shifted to Ilse as her voice can be heard as she approach, filled with sarcasm while spewing snarky remarks to Carl.
"Hi, big bro, sorry for that," Ilse greeted, carelessly placing Carl's tray on the table that caused some of the red sauce to splatter around, before taking a seat. "Nice to see you here."
"It's a cafeteria after all," Leon stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, it's just unusual to see you eating in a place like this. You're usually the one bringing your own lunch."
"I didn't have time to pack one today, that's all."
"Hey, stop questioning him will you?" Carl threw a crumpled tissue at Ilse. "Just let him enjoy his food."
"Heh, kiss ass," Ilse chuckled before digging into her food.
Noralie sighed, pondering if she should start a small talk. He's probably not that scary as she think it is and she should stop overthinking about things. Now's a good time, right?
Noralie stole occasional glances at Leon who was engrossed with his meal. After mustering some courage, she cleared her throat and took a deep breath before asking, "Um, how's the food?"
"To be honest, it's not really my type," Leon sighed. "Ju told me to try this beef soup and I guess she has a bad taste."
"I agree," Noralie nodded. Her response earned a dubious look from Leon, which prompted her to look back and forth. Did I said something wrong?
To her surprise, Leon flashed her a warm smile, the friendliest she had ever seen amidst his usual stern poker-face.
"Nice to hear someone on the same page," he chuckled.
The two were left into muffled snickers before going silent again after the brief conversation. Not sure how to continue the conversation, they proceeded to eat quietly, as did Ilse and Carl.
After eating, they remained seated at the table for a while to rest their well-fed stomachs, Noralie proceeded to scrape the leftovers off from their plates, which she neatly arranged and stacked after.
As Noralie sat there, her phone buzzed, prompting her to retrieve it from the pocket of her lightweight vest.
A message from Dr. Christina— 'Are you free today, operative? I could extra hands in my lab right now.'
"Something wrong?" Leon asked.
Noralie shook her head as she slip the phone back to her pocket, "It was Dr. Christina, she's asking for assistance."
"Alright then." Leon nodded, "Take care."
Noralie returned the nod and excused herself before hastily headed out of the cafeteria.
Well, at least that would add something to this otherwise uneventful day…
It's already past noon...
The passing of time is difficult to notice when you're inside a confined building of identical, complex halls while barely able to see a glimpse of view of the outside. It's disorienting at times.
Noralie entered Dr. Christina's Lab where she was hit by a sharp, chlorine-like scent that made her nose wrinkle.
The room before her is coalesced by the incessant high-pitched whirring and humming from the running lab equipments being operated by the lab technicians and assistants.
It's a bit crowded here than she's used to and it's unusual for the doctor to ask for aid while her subordinates are around.
The last time she was called here was Dr. Christina tasking her, alone, on cataloguing a variety of organic samples like an alchemist's apprentice organizing the potions of her master. The doctor surely have her reasons today.
Now where is she?
Noralie looked around the busy lab and searched for Dr. Christina, a few heads batting her an eye as she walk.
After a short stroll, she caught a glimpse of the good doctor at the far corner who was inspecting the shelves of assorted containers of liquids with a clipboard at hand.
"Doc!" Noralie called out with an enthusiastic smile as she approached.
Dr. Christina shifted her gaze towards Noralie and flashed her eyebrows, "Hello, operative. It's nice of you to show up."
"You know, I can never resist such interesting lab work."
"You always do." Dr. Christina tucked the clipboard under her arm, "Anyways, I called you not because I have a task for you. I was just hoping I didn't disrupt your day."
"Not at all, doc," Noralie smiled. "I'm just curious why you called?"
Huh, it's a bit strange for the doctor to call without any tasks at hand. As far as Noralie knows, the doctor values every bits of time she have and even uses her leisurely time to do some extra projects— very much like Leon; both are sharing compulsive tendencies on their works.
Being part of REISS is Dr. Christina's passion after all. The way her eyes blisters with thrill and excitement when discussing topics about phantom cases is evident despite her usual calm and collected demeanor.
"I'm really sorry for the misleading message I sent you. To be honest, there's something I've been dying to ask to you."
"It's fine doc." Noralie reassured, Though, it still begs the question, what does she have in mind today?
As if the doctor can read Noralie's thoughts, she responded, "A word got to me from Ilse...did you really came across Eidessa's nest?"
"I did," Noralie nodded. "I fell into it, to be exact."
"May I ask what did you see?" Dr. Christina began walking towards her desk, which was now transformed into a makeshift cubicle.
"There are…things," Noralie followed and trailed behind the doctor's steps. "Flesh walls, the rotten stench…there's these sacs that contained premature lurkers, and…"
Dr. Christina eyed her from head to toe, "And?"
Noralie's eyebrows curled as she recall the memory, her hands ran around the back of her head as the familiar throbbing headache invades her once more, "I saw a strange thing right at the middle of the nest that looked some sort of satellite dish or something like a flower made up of carcasses that were stitched together."
Dr. Christina nodded as she held a hand around Noralie's sweating forehead. Her eyes looked at her as if she's examing Noralie before nodding at herself.
Upon entering the makeshift cubicle, the doctor gestured at Noralie to the empty swivel chair.
"What you saw was an obelisk, Noralie," Dr. Christina said while her hands deftly navigating through the drawer under her desk.
Noralie blinked repeatedly for a moment as she sat, "Hmm?"
"An obelisk. Sounds familiar?"
I think I've heard it somewhere... Noralie shook her head, "I think so?"
"That's one thing." From the drawer, Dr. Christina yanked her hand, now holding an orange pill bottle that rattled by the sudden motion of her arm, "The thing that you saw back at Eidessa's nest, the structure that looks like a 'satellite dish' is called an obelisk. It is the heart of every phantom nests and colonies that helps the hunter to coordinate its lurkers."
"And?"
Dr. Christina leaned against her chair, "As the colony grows, so does the obelisk. The larger it gets, the more powerful it becomes."
"I can't exactly follow you, doc. What's the big deal about it, does it attack or something?" Noralie's brows furrowed.
"Yes and no. You see, an obelisk attacks a living entity not physically but mentally. It employs psychological attacks using the signals it emits which causes migraines, paranoia, and other forms of mental distress, while prolonged exposure might lead to hallucinations and even temporary memory loss."
Noralie nodded, Oh, I see...
Dr. Christina continued, "Ilse also mentioned that you were experiencing headaches lately?"
"I do. Throbbing migraines at times. And there's this weird feeling at the back of my mind that I couldn't pinpoint."
"Was that your first time seeing one? An obelisk?"
"Y-yeah." Noralie nodded, "I think so."
"That explains it. The sudden exposure to obelisk signals may mess with our brains and it could inflict minor mental changes." The doctor handed over the pill container to Noralie, "Here, take it."
Noralie reached out and observed the orange vial, "What is this?"
"It's a supplement that can help you recover with your head pains, just be sure to take a pill once a day on a regular basis."
"Is this really safe?"
Dr. Christina tapped her fingers on the surface of her table, "Mmm-hmm, I've been using it for a while now. Helps me get rid of my obelisk-induced brain fog."
"You go into field missions?"
"Sometimes when the situation is urgent." Dr. Christina chuckled, "They need someone with credentials like me."
"How are you exposed to these obelisks then?"
"Oh, I also have a work in the compound. They would bring extracted obelisks there so yeah. The dampeners installed around the place weakens their mind-wracking signals."
As far as Noralie know, the compound is where the REISS bring in the captive phantoms before their transport to the extermination facilities. She never really entered that place ever since she joined REISS, mainly due to the strict system that allows only the authorized officers inside; Dr. Christina included. And I guess, it's not just phantoms they keep in there.
"So," The doctor suddenly stood from her seat, pulling Noralie's focus out of her reverie. "I guess that's all."
Noralie slipped the orange pill bottle into her pockets before sheepishly rising from the chair. "Y-yes, doc. I'm heading back now. Thank you."
"You're always welcome, operative." Dr. Christina nodded and with that, she sauntered out of the cubicle. "Thank you for your time."
Well then, off I go, Noralie gave the doctor's table a one last lingering look, before trailing behind Dr. Christina's steps.
