Chapter 1: Beginning

The day was April 6th 3073, seventeen years following the creation of Project GENESIS.

The room was quiet and tense as light from the monitor shined onto the floor. This was the room where "Project GENESIS" had started.

"This project has gotten so far within these years..." one scientist said, head scientist Lenard Takach, the one who created this project. Lenard was almost 85 this year. So far he had been the oldest individual to continue working at ExaTek. Rules stated that no person over the age of 70 could continue to work at ExaTek; thus, they would be forced to retire. In Doctor Lenard Takach’s case, he was needed by ExaTek; therefore, he was not forced to retire, yet.

Doctor Lenard looked over his shoulder, towards the back of the room, with a smirk crossing his features. He placed his hands behind his back and gave a huff. "What do you think, Miss Volante?"

The woman, in which he was speaking to, looked up from the ground. Her back leaning against the wall and her arms placed over her chest, she narrowed her eyes at the older doctor.

"It's interesting..." she muttered, giving a grin. Her voice was low and seemed to be giving off a cynical feeling. "I still don't see how this will help us figure out what's wrong with our city..."

Doctor Lenard turned half way to look at the woman fully. "With the advances we're making it doesn't matter if it does or not. What matters is that we keep it safe. For all we know it could help us create a weapon to win the war." Doctor Lenard faced the monitor and spread out his arms. “With Project GENESIS, we can win this war with little to no casualties!”

The girl frowned and glared at the scientist. She pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the door. The door slid open, but Lenard stopped her before she walked into the hall, saying, "Leaving so soon, Miss Volante?"

The woman looked over her shoulder and smirked. "I'm tired of hearing words dealing with the war. If you wish to play Army, Doctor"-she faced forward and walked out-"then go join the men who are dying in the field. Then you have the right to speak of something so pitiless." The door then slid shut, leaving Doctor Lenard rather livid from her words and snobbish tone.

Phoenix Amira Volante did not like Project GENESIS, unlike the old man called Doctor Lenard. She believed Project GENESIS was something that should be used to learn about the human mind, not something to help them improve weapons.

Phoenix gave a deep sigh and crossed her arms once more.

"You really shouldn't be so ratty, Phoenix."

Phoenix stopped walking, peering behind her, seeing a face she knew a bit too well. The dirty blonde hair and blue eyes; the lab coat that always look dirty when it actually wasn't; the black pants and shoes with a brown turtleneck; all belonging to one person: her brother, Kaiden Volante.

"What do you want, Kaiden?" Phoenix said, looking away from the stupid expression he was giving her. The silly grin he showed ever so often, and eyes shinning with enthusiasm. He was mischievous one, that he was.

Phoenix felt an arm go around her and felt Kaiden’s head rested on her shoulder, still giving a genuine smile. "Aw, that's no way to treat me..."

Phoenix rolled her eyes and shrugged him off. "Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me 'Phoenix'?" Truthfully, she always had the strangest hatred for her name-seeing as how it always reminded her of her parents.

"Oh, come on!" Kaiden said, beginning to walk with his sister down the corridor. "I can't just stop calling you by the name you were given, Phoenix. What kind of brother would I be if I started calling you by 'Amira'." Kaiden titled his head a bit and smiled caringly. “Plus it’s a special name, Phoenix.”

Phoenix sighed. A few years ago she had asked to be called 'Amira', finding it better then people calling her 'Phoenix'. So far, everyone still called her 'Phoenix' or 'Miss Volante'.

"How about I just call you 'Nix' from now on? Or maybe 'Nixie'?" Kaiden said, laughing.

Phoenix glared at her brother. She hated being called Nix, it was worse than anything. She only knew two people who called her that. One of them she knew was just teasing her, but the other... To put it bluntly, she hated the man. He said it every time he saw her, even if it wasn't often. Phoenix knew it was just to get under her skin. If she could, she would cut out his tongue and feed it to the dogs. Then maybe she could finally be rid of the young Commander.

Kaiden smiled and laughed again. "I know..." He patted her head. "I won't call you that..."

Phoenix looked away from her brother, her cheeks had gone to a ruby red. She had always hated being treated like a child, but it was different when her brother did it. It made her feel somewhat secure and protected, knowing there was someone who cared for her.

"Anyway," Phoenix said, shooing his hand away, "why aren't you working?"

"I was walking from Director Killian's office and I saw you leaving Lab 7," he said, pointing back at the room Phoenix just left. "So, I decided to try and talk to my little sister."

Phoenix looked up at her brother. It was rare that someone got called to the Director's office, and if they did, it was not for something good. "Why were you called by Director Killian?"

Kaiden looked ahead and to the floor. A small sad smile went to his face and his eyes softened, an expression he only showed at rare times.

"Well," he muttered in a soft tone, "a few days ago I asked if I could transfer..."

"Transfer where...?" Phoenix said, a bit concerned.

"I wanted to join GALACTIC..." Kaiden finally said, glancing over to his sister. There he saw her brow lifted, waiting for more detail or just questioning if he's lost his mind or not. He gave a small grin and a small laugh hidden in his voice. "Don't look at me that way, Phoenix."

"How am I supposed to look when my brother tells me he wants to join GALACTIC?" Phoenix said, looking away. She crossed her arms.

"I guess you're right..." Kaiden sighed. "Do you remember that one day when we were sitting at the table and I kept talking about GALACTIC?"

Phoenix gave a small laugh. "Yes... You kept saying how they got all the fun while we were both stuck in the lab... You said you wanted to be where the action is, feel the thrill of war." Phoenix's smile faded. "Are you telling me that's your only reason to join GALACTIC?"

Kaiden gave a grin once again. "Actually, I've been thinking lately..."

"That's dangerous..." Phoenix said, giving a small smile.

Both gave a small laugh, but soon continued with the conversation at hand; it was more important.

"I've been thinking about mom..." he said, giving a sad smile. Phoenix's eyes widened a bit, remembering the sad and painful memory. "I want to join GALACTIC because I don't want her name to go in vain... She deserves some respect... Plus I want to keep others safe and not have others go through the same pain. I can't very well do that sitting in a lab..." Kaiden glanced over to his sister, seeing her pondering expression.

Phoenix had nothing to say. He had good reasons to join, and she wanted to do the same thing. Her mother died because of that cursed war, and she deserved some peace. The METASOCIETY soldiers will pay for what they did. To her and others.

"Phoenix?" Kaiden said, lifting his eyebrows at his sister.

Phoenix swallowed the lump in her throat and sighed, shaking off her thoughts.

"I don't really want you to be doing something like this, Kaiden..." she muttered. Kaiden's expression saddened.

"But, Phoenix, I-"

Phoenix looked at her brother and said, "But I think it's the right thing..."

Kaiden smiled, not one of his usual goofy smiles. But his smile was one that showed the love he had for her.

"Great!" Kaiden said, hugging his sister tightly. "'Cause I've already got my first mission!"

Phoenix pushed Kaiden off of her.

"Well," she said, "when are you leaving...?"

Kaiden was silent. Phoenix glanced up to the young man and saw a sheepish look. He rubbed the back of his head and hummed, like he was thinking about what to say.

"Well?" Phoenix said.

Kaiden looked at her, same look on his face. "Tonight..." He then gave her an awkward smile.

Phoenix looked away from him and crossed her arms, pondering.

"Well," she sighed, "just promise me one thing..." Kaiden looked at his little sister with a questioning glance. "Just promise me you'll come back...safely..."

Kaiden smiled, seeing the small blush go on his sister's cheeks. He wrapped a hand around her and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled feeling the touch on her forehead, knowing she still had someone who loved her. "Promise..." he muttered, hugging her tightly. As soon as he let go, she felt alone.

Phoenix looked up to see the goofy smile he normally showed.

"Well," he said, "I have to go find Leif and tell him!" Kaiden then jogged down the hall. "I promise to come back!" He waved back at her, smiling

Phoenix held up a hand and waved back. "Be safe..." Kaiden disappeared from her view and the halls were silent once again. She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets and began walking down the hall. "Hopefully he won't be an idiot..." Phoenix then made her way down the hall once again.

Reviews

[Trigorin]

Check your spelling and grammar, and make sure you avoid passivity. You have a good concept but it's marred somewhat by these little, easily fixable errors. Leaving them untouched the way you have makes it look like you don't care, which I'm sure isn't true.