Lorenzo gave off a smile as he finally closed all the files and handed them to Boris, before lighting up a cigarette. The bulkier man simply sighed, before shrugging and making his way to the door. Ultimately, however, he paused and looked back. “Is what we’re doing right?”

“But of course!” he blurted instantly, “It is for the sake of humanity! What would you do given the option? Rollover with your tail between your legs and let them synthetic bastards cut off your balls or throw the secret weapon you’ve been developing at the Cruxi and watch them suffer?”

“It’s still fucked up. Using kids like this… they should see the terrors of war so up close and personal.”

“At least it is inside of a Framework… back in the Continential Years when there was still such a thing as separate rulers, where wars were fought over religion, territory, and all that stupid stuff… it was far more brutal to see what we did to each other and experience it. Kind of makes you wonder just how sick we humans can become, eh? Honestly, I wish we had those brutal humans back and could throw them at the Cruxi, perhaps we would be winning the war now rather than the cowards we have now,” Lorenzo spoke as he rested his legs upon his desk, his eyes looking towards something… distant.

“It was barbaric… you should know that.”

“But I simply love studying it… all those barbaric monkeys’ years ago whom we came from were nothing more than… well, I don’t know, sword wielding and cloth wearing apes.”

“Yet here we are now… in space fighting for our lives against some bastard race that wants to eliminate us.”

“Correctomundo baby… Still, I would like to capture a live Cruxi. Dead ones are always so… well, they’re nice, but they always filled with bullet holes or plasma shots that you can’t really dissect shit. Hell, they’re so damn deadly it’s impossible bringing back a live one... but all the knowledge we could obtain however… to be able to strengthen and fortify ourselves and prevent more lives from being lost. It would be a great boon to humanity.”

“Yeah… I know… Well anyway, you better prep up, the stealth ships should be on their way here with the pilots.”

---

The landing of the vessel that he flew there was fine, although all the security and all the other planetary fortifications made him reconsider just what the hell he was getting himself into. There were Spartans leading squads of Omega Units everywhere… and they were a bad combination to mess with. The Spartans were known to be highly advanced soldiers who were integrated with cybernetics and synthetic tissue to enhance their abilities, while their armor were far above the standard set that not even plasma could penetrate it. Their training was as secretive as this base, probably. They were also known to be master of combat and fire arms. The Omega Units were, to say the least, just a notch underneath the Spartans. If you couldn’t make it through the initial regime, supposedly you were sent to the Omegas. While they weren’t as fancy as the Spartans, they sure as hell were stronger than your average soldier to take down any large weird alien or large hammer wielding monkey on their own. Their specialty were their array of guns.

Although, those two alone didn’t just scared him… it was the third thing that really scared him; the Banshees. They were slightly taller and larger than the Spartans… and far stronger too. Complete cyborgs resembling Valkyries built to run on Artificial Intelligence, there were dozens everywhere across the facility as Joseph escorted his batch of kids to the designated zone.

The Yamaguchi, Spartans, Omega Units, and even Banshees…? The place was giving the poor guy the creeps as he tried to maintain his brave posture as he led the group down hallway after hallway. Why were there so many of humanity’s best forces stationed out here in secrecy? Something just didn’t sit well with him, but he felt it best to just ignore it for now… he doubt he’d get any answer, after all.

---

After a rather long walk, you all finally arrived at Dr. Lorenzo’s room. Entering, you all sit down while Joseph sits down next to the Doctor, still clearly nervous. Lorenzo just grins intensely as he glares over you all before standing up in a leap of joy.

“Finally! My precious children have arrived!” he exclaims. “From this moment forth you are to be the experiments of this facility… no, you won’t be harmed, I promise you. But we will be having you pilot Frameworks while also going through vigorous training!” Lorenzo’s grin widens as his eyes quickly shoot from child to child, imagining just how powerful they can all be… until suddenly he realizes something. “We’re missing one.”

“What do you mean? I got all that were on the list,” Joseph hands Lorenzo the list of kids from his sector.

Snatching it from his hands, Lorenzo scans it, before realizing that one child is not on the list; one that he forgot to include. “The pilot of Avacramdt… We… I… I forgot to include the pilot of Avacramdt…”

“He’s here,” spoke Boris as he interrupted via intercom, “Someone else… I believe a friend of the family brought him in earlier? He’s just checking out the Frameworks. He’ll be in shortly.”

“Ah, good. I was going to have to smack someone. Anyway… from this moment forth, all of you,” Lorenzo turned his attention back to the kids before smiling and pointing at them, “…are hereby MIA! None of you are to get in contact with any family members, you hear me? You are DEAD to people outside of the military! If you try to escape, we have been given permission to kill you without a moment’s hesitation. No baby acts, no tantrums… NADDA! You hear me? In here… I am your father, and you are my children, you hear me?” he stated with his sinister grin as he slammed his foot onto the table.

“Any questions about living in your new home?”

---

Take this moment to ask Lorenzo some stuff. Go ahead, feel free to. Oh, and yeah. He’s very serious and everything he said IS true. You are hereby MIA and are no longer allowed to contact any loved ones, or anyone outside of the military. This research facility will become “hell” for a little while.

"No problems, but a question?" Drake asked, barely able to keep him self still. Seeing the Banshees, Spartans, Omegas, and even the Yamaguchi had made him go from lethargic to A.D.H.D in seconds. "Actually, a couple of questions. First, When do we get to start?, Second, Are their any Cruxi remains here?, Third, Can I study them with the other scientists in this facility at any time?, and Finally, Are we going to see actually combat with Cruxi units anytime soon." As he said this he was fiddling with a mess of nano bots in his thin, claw-like, metallic fingers, using simple hand motions to morph them into various devices, such as a pen, a holo-computer, a scanner, a small recon drone, and scale models of several famous battleships.

With all of the firepower here, they could potentially hold an entire sector comfortably for, say, a year.

That was Rear-Admiral Airick Skye's strategic - and currently, his only calm - portion of his mind thinking. He walked along a corridor headed towards a port - they said that his new ship would be there for some new command.

Taken in the middle of the night from his own flagship. While he admitted that the captain had relaxed security in order to divert more energy and effort to fighting the alien threats, it led to an uncomfortable situation in which Spartans - bloody Spartans snuck into the Admiral's own quarters and dragged him out without anyone noticing.

They controlled a star system that was officially dead and devoid of life.
They had command of the Yamaguchi, the ship whose disappearance caused panic and a severe morale loss within the navy
They had command of the biggest concentration of elite units he had seen ever since the first attempted counterattacks against the Cruxi forces.
And last but not least, they had the resources -and authority- to kidnap a Rear-Admiral.

Putting all of that together, the kidnapped rear-admiral knew one thing: he was in way over his head.

"So, is this what it has all come to?" The Admiral said in a low, borderline dangerous tone to his escort - a fellow named Boris - even as he stopped to look at a video monitor on a security station that showed the new framework pilots - including Kaila. Dammit, he had promised! He promised Captain Kenneth all those years ago that he would take care of her, that she and her brother would be safe instead of being sent to disappear in the rapidly deteriorating and overflown orphanage system! He had promised - and now here she was, kidnapped and brought in order to be - what? A wind up super pilot sent right onto the frontlines!? Was this what the Captain would have wanted for his daughter!?

"Have we, the conventional military, proven so incompetent in your eyes that you see no alternative but to resort to using children and cloak and dagger techniques?"

Ashlyn walked quietly as she and the others were led through the halls of the facility, her head held somewhat high compared to some of the other teenagers here. Not that she was trying to appear as though she was better than them, she simply did it to give off an air of confidence to let them know that she wasn't afraid of their current circumstances, nor too impressed with the Spartans and other combat units they saw on their way in.

She did, take the time however to look over the potential pilots. They were an...eclectic bunch, to be sure. Some of them looked like they wouldn't do so well in a combat scenario and questioned whether or not they would be useful. Not that it really mattered, in the end. As long as they weren't going to sit on their rear ends and just talk about trying to help. They had to have some ability if they were chosen for this program, and she was willing to trust whoever made the decisions to choose capable people. Their...guide, through the facility seemed a bit nervous about something though. It was actually kind of cute.

After a walk that she thought was unnecessarily long, they finally appeared to reach their destination. Ashlyn along with the other children took a seat as Joesph, she thought his name was, took a seat next to some doctor looking person. He appeared to be the main reason they were here, and looked to be quite intelligent.

“Finally! My precious children have arrived!”

Until he opened his mouth. Ashlyn refrained from commenting on his statement, for now. No sense in being antagonistic, if not for him she probably wouldn't be getting this chance to give the Cruxi what they deserved. She just hoped he didn't continue to do that. He, was not her father nor related to her in any way. Her father died years ago, blown to bits by the Cruxi, and she dearly hoped this man wouldn't try to treat her as his 'child'. The very thought, was sickening to her, though she kept a calm face and hid her displeasure rather well. She would like to remain on amicable, if not friendly terms with everyone she was going to be working with. Still, she listened intently as the doctor droned on about someone who he thought was missing until someone else came over the intercom in the room and told him otherwise. It seemed like they were having a few problems getting all of this set up. They were trying, at least.

However, when he made the next statement about being considered MIA to everyone outside the military, that raised a few red flags. Not to mentioned the whole 'his children' thing again, which she again chose to ignore. She supposed the MIA thing was probably because this was a top-secret project. Not like she had any family left anyways, except for Isabel, and she was...well, not exactly in any shape to be talking anytime soon. The topic soon shifted to if they had any questions about their current situation. One of the others asked various questions before she had a chance too. He fired off a series of questions about the Cruxi, and if and when they would get to fight them. Well, someone was eager to get to the party.

"Well, aren't you full of energy." She gave a friendly smile after he had stated his questions in a rather quick manner. Someone had an adorable case of ADD. "I doubt we'll be fighting actual Cruxi anytime soon, friend." She replied to him, crossing her legs in a leisurely manner as she spoke. "We'll probably start training fairly soon though, I hope." She then turned her attention to the Doctor with a somewhat less friendly smile before continuing. "I myself, have no questions. I simply wish to start as soon as we can. I'll learn anything important later on my own time." She confidently, yet calmly stated.

"True, fighting them as we are now, we'd be slaughtered and this will have all been for nothing. As for my energy, well why would I not be, we are surround by so many wonderful technologies that I want to study,understand, take a part and but pack together again, then repeat that process till I can do it blindfolded. I desperately wish to examine the Banshees, Spartans, Omega's, and especially the Cruxi. Their technology is far beyond anything we have, who knows what secrets we could unearth from them. That is why it is vital that we win this war, so we can take their technology and expand upon it even more. The Cruxi could be holding the secrets to all of man's question, if only we squash them like the dirty, little, synthetic bastards they. . ."

The more Drake talked about the Cruxi, the darker his expression became, seemingly without him noticing until the end, where he stopped himself, and gave a quick cough, as if clearing his throat. "I'm sorry about that, I lost most my family to the Cruxi, which sometimes gets in the way of my research of them. As a scientist, I try to separate any negative personal feelings from my research, as it clouds the mind." Drake then turned back to the man who had, quite creepily, proclaimed them his children. Drake would make sure to spend as little time alone with this man as he could afford without compromising the efficiency of the team.

Boris sighed before pausing a bit in his steps along the corridor. "The military has always been incompetent... but what is going on here, I don't like it any better than you do... The worst part is that you haven't even touched the icing on the cake yet. Look," Boris turned towards Airick, reaching for something underneath his combat armor before pulling out a photo of a little girl and a woman, "this here is my wife and daughter. To them, I'm MIA. I've been MIA for over 10 years... Do you have any idea what's that like, blond boy, to think of your wife possibly in another man's arms and your daughter calling another man father? It isn't pleasant."

Putting the photo back in its place and cracking open a quick flask of... something, Boris took a large swig as alcohol dripped down his beard. Closing it and placing it within his pocket, he looked back at Airick. "Most men here are the same, and we are taking this job quite seriously for humanity's sake. If I were to say anything about what is going on here, you wouldn't see me by tonight... Now come on, let's get to your ship."

Lighting up a cigarette and continuing forward, Boris smile a bit as they got closer and closer to the location of the ship. "Want to throw any other smart ass silly remarks at me, rear-admiral? Oh, and just to let you know, that rank means nothing here anymore... I'm your boss as of this moment, and you too are hereby MIA to everyone outside of the military."

---

Lorenzo grinned a bit as the first two spoke up and attempted to converse among each other. "I'm sorry... but children play with the toys their father will be giving them, and not what father and his associates mess with, okay, Drake?" he muttered after perfectly memorizing each and every one of their names from the files he read earlier.

"Oh, and Ashlyn darling, you sure you don't have any questions at all for you father? Papa is here after all," he said, knowing very well of what happened to her dad.

"If you don't I would like to hear from the others then... Since we have plenty of time until we begin anything."

It was at that moment that he pouted before placing his index finger onto the tip of his ear. "What is it, I'm busy here... and you should know never to bother me when I'm busy god damn it!" He shouted as he spoke into the comm-link. "What do you mean by that? Well they all arrived on time, didn't they?"

There was a short pause.

"One is coming now?" Lorenzo's face became cold. "I understand that it is undamaged, but I don't understand why the fuck is it LATE? I want that ship tracked as it reaches the landing platforms, and the Spartans, Omegas, and the Banshees ready to kill whatever may be inside of it if it is not human. Even if what is on board are those we need they are to be quarantined and inspected while the ship is scanned... if any of them show any odd signs permission to kill. No one will miss them... they're already MIA."

After ordering that command, the sounds of Banshees, Spartans, and many Omegas could be heard running down the hall, but ignoring it, Lorenzo simply smiled before turning back towards his children. "Sorry about that, pesky calls from work... Now then, my children, are there any other questions that need answering?"

"I would appreciate it if you don't talk to me in such a demeaning, and to be frank, disgusting tone again. You are not my father, you are my commanding officer. My father is in a hospital somewhere, recovering from an attack on my home planet by the Cruxi. And as for the research opportunity, that's a damn shame." Drake went back to his place in the group, giving a yawn, as he looked much more relaxed and low energy. He slowly formed a holo-computer, then a scanner with his nanos, then proceeded to fiddle with them, seemingly going over designs for his next type of nanobot type.

"I hope that whoever's supposed to get here, does it soon. This wait is going to kill me if we don't get to see those frameworks soon."

"Oh?"

A loud bang was all that could be heard as Lorenzo shot the nanos within Drake's hand with a special-graded handgun... completely destroying them as they burnt to a crisp.

"Listen to me you stupid brat... I don't give a flying fuck about who your real father is, because you know what," Lorenzo gripped the kid by the collar and promptly drew him closer before grinning, "In here, I'm going to be the only father you will know because you will be under my care. So get used to being treated like this... because you're stepping on toes here."

Throwing Drake back into his seat, and holding himself back from shooting a round into the kid's eye or ear, Lorenzo sighed before swirling his gun and placing it behind his back. "Now Dad is angry... great... Anymore questions or remarks? Hopefully not from Drake who's at risk of getting shot here from daddy."

Leonce walked along with the herd, his eyes flickering from kid to kid, taking in their appearance and spinning their stories in his head. They boy with the grey hair had an ax to grind. He had the eyes of someone who was angry at the world, though Leonce guessed it might have something more to do with the Cruxi. Most people had an ax to grind with them. There was another kid, a girl that was either his age or a year younger who seemed to carry some kind of complex with her. The soldiers and constructs they passed by seemed to be of little interest to her, almost as if she was bored with it all. Probably a military kid. Before Leonce could continue to do a half-assed psychoanalysis of his fellow pilots, the reached a room and were herded inside by their weasely shepherd.

They were told to take seats and Leonce opted for the one most near the door, as far away from the man that seemed to be waiting for them with devilish intent. A faint scent of cleaning solution lingered in the air, though that very well might have been in his head. This man, whom he was led to believe was now his father, was the type of man that Leonce would beat to a pulp for trying to do something shady to one of his girl friends back home. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that this man was ready to use, abuse, and discard each and everyone of them and not necessarily in that order. Unfortunately, there wasn't exactly an option to go back. There wasn't even an option to refuse, was there?

The white-haired boy spoke first, his voice slightly manic, his questions all surrounding the Cruxi. It was rare to hear of someone his age so interested with the Cruxi, even rarer to hear of someone his age imply that they were a scientist. Either he had an inflated ego or was a child genius. Leonce would bet money it was the former. The blonde girl he had been examining earlier spoke up now, her calmness drawing some of Leonce's curiosity. She definitely seemed to feel at home in this situation, something he couldn't say for himself.

Leonce let the doctor ramble on again, the man referring to himself as the father to all of the pilots again, sending a shiver of disgust through Leonce. There wasn't a very warm relationship in the doctor and his future, though the white haired boy's frustration with the doctor gave Leonce the idea that he would get on well with him. Drake's remark drew a sudden fury out of the doctor that neither shocked nor scared Leonce. The man was on par with your typical cockroach. Leonce made a mental note to talk with the white haired boy and get the kid in his corner before either the doc or the kid did something stupid.

Any more questions? A sigh drew out of his lips and he half-raised a hand, "Hey, Doc," he spoke up with an intentional emphasis on the Doc. He wanted to be sure that the man knew he wasn't going to call him a father. "How expendable are we meant to be?" Leonce continued on, his voice smooth and slow, his green eyes locked onto the doctor, "What's the expected mortality rate among us in the next few months? If you're willing to take on folks like us, especially someone like myself, you must be awful desperate."

'Notes to self, don't piss of the psycho,he has a gun, and build more nanos when I have the time.' Drake stayed surprisingly calm, but he also kept quiet. He didn't think this guy was kidding when he said he'd shoot him, and this was one theroy he did not want to test.

With that in mind, he just sat there quietly, with his head down, checking his wrists to see if the queens had suffered from any feedback fom the spontaneous incineration of their drones. They weren't equipped with the necessary fail-safes needed to protect against such things, something he may neec to fix if this man continued to act this free with a gun.

"...No. No, I cannot." Airick finally admitted. "I have no idea how that feels, and I'm sorry. It's just that, well, a lot of this could have been put to other use. With just the Yamaguchi, we could have held at least a dozen more systems than what we managed to do so. I did not mean to be rude, and I apologize."

Letting out a sigh, Airick saw the monitor again and stared as a boy brazenly and openly disrespected a superior.

"...is that... kid... going to be on my ship too?" Airick as slowly as he continued following Boris. "I sincerely hope, for as much as his sake as for mine, that the facility here will instil these kids with some semblance of discipline?"

XXXXX

What. An. Idiot.

Kaila could not help but shake her head at Drake's tone. Could he not see what was going on? Did he really think they could get away with talking like that here? The man was clear - they could all be killed at any moment. No hesitation.

Sighing, she turned back to Lorenzo. This entire situation was overwhelming for her, but she had faced worse. Racing down bombed streets, shouting and death all around her as the Cruxi overran her home - at least this place didn't have anyone actively trying to kill her. Yet. The part about becoming some sort of military experimental pilot didn't concern her the least, truth be told - ever since that incident, she thought she would be unable to serve at all. Here, at least, she might still be able to make a difference.

However, the entire secretive nature of the program was worrying for her - her brother would think she was gone, and what would her father think? Would he even know, out there in the breach, holding the line against the Cruxi? He did say that to "outside the military" - does this mean that her father would know she was alive? Or perhaps he had something to do with this?

Knowing that simply mulling over these things would do no good, she simply paid attention to the present, awaiting the doctor's answer to the question on their mortality rates and their expendability.

This... this was way out of her league.

Tsukihime Manami stood at the back of the group, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. Questions raced though her mind, but words would not come out of her mouth. How... how was one to respond to this sort of outlandish situation? There were scary robot men with guns, robot thingies with guns, and scary men with guns. Just plain men with guns kidnapped her before, with a bag over her head, quickly subduing her before she was brought here shivering with fear.

A loud shot reverberated through the room.

Manami gave a muffled scream, as she quickly clapped her hands over her mouth and squatted down. Did he kill one of them? No, it was simply that boy's thingy he was playing with. How stupid can he be? What if he got all of them killed over his toys?

She had the dreadful feeling that she wasn't ever going to see home again, or her brother.

Lorenzo turned from Drake and towards Leonce, smiling bright that he didn't have to wave a gun run.

"Desperate? Oh, Humanity has always been desperate since the Cruxi came along... picking you specifically wasn't an act of desperation more so as it was... 'luck'," spoke Lorenzo as he sat on the table with a bright grin. "But that's a story for another time. As for the morality rate, that depends entirely on you all. It could be 100%, or it could be 90%... or it could be as low as 0%."

"Truth be told, you're all expendable to the point that I could kill you all right now and no one would give a damn... however, I'm not the kind of guy who would do that, nor would anyone else here. Our orders are simple, if you show signs that you are incapable of working together with your team then the more expendable you have become. It is that simple... Although, luckily for you, I don't have to follow the rules all the time, since I make them here," grinned Lorenzo as he looked at every child one by one. "Haven't noticed? I'm the one in charge of this grand facility, my children. I'm going to make sure that every one of you does well... just as long as you listens to me of course!"

"So... let's get along, shall we?!" he laughed a bit before clearly giving the signal for anymore questions. It was obvious he was enjoying this.

---

Boris peeked at the monitor for a moment, noticing who Airick was talking about before sighing. "Yup... the ones that man is talking to will be a part of your team... and so will that man. Head Scientist Lorenzo... The Insane they call him, but he's one of my comrades who I knew for a long while. We go back before the Cruxi came. Feel free to talk to him when you can, he can be amusing."

"Oh, and here we are. This'll be your ship," spoke the man as he took spat out what he was smoking and punched in something into a panel. Seconds later, the doors flew wide open, and there it was...



...the Izanagi.

"So, what do you think? Still think we're all that bad for kidnapping you to pilot this thing? Hell, I could," snickered Boris before taking another swig from his flask.

Drake froze as he heard the psycho's answer to the question, not on the part about mortality, but at the part where those who don't work well with their team are more expendable then others. Yep, he was screwed witha capital K, his social skills sucked, something he just proved with Lorenzo, and know they decided his fate. Fuck.

'I really hope he values cooperation on the field more highly than off it, please let that be the case.' Drake went back to his diagnostics, but with a noticable shake to his movements. The mysteries of life after death interested him, but he didn't want to explore those mysteries for a long time.

Airick took a moment to slowly let the image of the ship Sink in. He had seen Izanagi-Class ships when he was being taken to the station, but to think that he was being given one - granted, he was probably one of the most experienced officers in the navy at the moment, but when he had been dragged away from his command carrier he did not expect something like this.

Nothing like this.

Vertical Rocket Launch Systems placed as long as he could go. From what he could see, he could not find any standard point defence weapons, but that was fine - he knew that there were types of missiles designed to replace such weapons. Judging by the large numbers of VRLS in place, there was probably a missile based point defence system in place.

The long length of armour and the shield systems the ship must have - he knew that it could be dozens of times stronger than some of the ships the navy had. He could not imagine the specifications of this ship.

And then there was the long weapon that stretched through much of the length of the ship.

"Is that... a wave motion lance?" he asked with a hint of veiled excitement in his voice.

MENTAL CRAWL: Analysis of social dynamic 'FLPilots' and 'COs' undergoing. Completion: 22%.

Calculating...

MENTAL CRAWL: Estimated time of folder(s) completion: 21 days, 20 hours, 7 minutes, 4 seconds.

Usr CautEGO: Consensus request: Stay the course in order to securely integrate with both dynamics.

Debating...

Usr SocEGO: OVERRULED. (Reason: Unacceptable completion time. Hasten analysis at risk of compromise.)

Usr PilEGO: OVERRULED. (Reason: Unacceptable completion time. Danger to designation as pilot. Hasten analysis at minor risk of social compromise.)

Usr CautEGO: RECONSIDERED. (Under protest. Acceptable reasoning.)

OUTCOME: ANALYSIS PROGRAMME REJECTED

NEW TASK: INTEGRATE (PilAPPROVED SocAPPROVED CautAPPROVED*)

---

Demeter blinked to life, having stuck with the group but 'blended' into the background, remaining semi-aware of the events going on around them. Wide green eyes appraised each of the individual pilots and their new 'father', waiting for opportunity to present its self. It eventually did - the first step towards joining/forging the group together. Shock and fear were the conditions under which people were most open to new conditions.

The shot did not cause Demeter to flinch, but it did another. A girl with long black hair, appearing rather fragile in the military situation, nearly screamed. Shock. It was safe to assume that she had not been expecting to be drawn into this kind of life any time soon, and so this would all be very confusing. From confusion, fear. And from both, a chance to begin.

The green haired...girl or boy approached Manami, first bringing a hand down to her shoulder and giving a reassuring squeeze, and then a smile. This was not Demeter's smile, but rather one that had been 'trained' into their mind, done to create an image of a truly kind person. It was slight, but was undoubtedly full of that 'kindness' they were trying to portray. Again, this was not their smile. Demeter said nothing to Manami, leaving it at that and instead focusing on Lorenzo.

"I have a question, if I may sir." Demeter 'computer' got to work, considering the options for a question and the exact wording through it, going through several iterations of the question before concluding on the preferable version. "Putting aside our expendable nature, what should we be expecting in the next few weeks? I imagine there will be some form of training regimen, as not all of us have piloted before. But given the ad hoc nature of our transport here, it probably will not be for too long - it did all seem rather urgent, after all."

Collective interest, a question which would give everyone a vague idea of what was to come if answered sufficiently. Hope, pointing out how, at least by necessity of timing, they were not completely expendable. Personal gain, displaying an aptitude for situational analysis.

Ashlyn gave a lighthearted giggle. It was good to see that he was eager to get started then. Though, she couldn't say she shared his enthusiasm about the Cruxi. Studying them? Nothing good could come from that. They should burn the lot of them, and focus on forging their own path and scientific progress. She saw the value in understanding your enemy, to be sure, but she didn't think taking their technology and making use of it themselves would ever be a good thing. Still, no need to argue with him for now. After all, they were going to be working together and it was just a small difference in ideals. Nothing that would harm the immediate functionality of their group. Before she got a chance to respond, however, Lorenzo replied to the both of them.

He was doing that on purpose, wasn't he? "So that's how it's going to be..." She thought as she folded her arms, and gave Lorenzo a seemingly friendly smile that hid her irritation with the man quite well. "No," She quietly began, silently apologizing to her deceased father. "I am sure we will be told everything we need to for us to do our job to the fullest extent of our capabilities. Anything else, is irrelevant, for now...father." She finished giving a slight bow of her head, though her trigger finger began tapping her arm. He better be glad she had her gun confiscated. It was then that the boy she had spoken to not moments before, had just asked to not be talked down to in such a demeaning way. Well. For someone claiming to be smart, he didn't know how to read the situation very well. The doctor then did something that perhaps she should have expected, but still surprised her. He pulled a gun, and shot the kids...whatever he was playing with.

Poor kid...she should try to say something to him after this. He didn't look particularly shaken up, but being shot at would probably make anyone a little uneasy. The girl who had covered her mouth to muffle a scream though, she would definitely try to talk to. She turned her head and gave her a re-assuring smile, in hopes of trying to calm her for now. That stunt did make it clear, however, that she and this doctor person, were not going to get along so well. He was doing a fairly poor job at being in command here, as far as she was concerned. Still, doing anything now wold be asking to get killed, and she rather liked living.

And then came the question, that only an idiot would ask. If they were expendable. That was just going to cause some of the others here to freak out more than they already were. She refrained from saying anything though. When the doc answered, she got exactly the answer she expected. Playthings. That was all they were to him. She didn't know who made him in charge here, but it must have been some mindless, hairy oaf of an ape. She didn't care how smart this jackass was.

It was then another of the people had spoken, asking about what was in store for them in the next few weeks. That, was a good question. She gave the one who asked it a brief glance. She would have liked to ask a similar question now, but she had told the doctor she didn't have any. That was before he almost shot one of them, and asking now...she wasn't sure how the doctor would react. She was fairly certain he would answer, but he seemed quite...unstable. Plus, asking now would seem a bit...degrading.

Finally, a question he was waiting for. Lorenzo's nature completely changed in the blink of an eye from his 'insane' side to a gentlemanly one as he walked over to a cabinet and took out a bottle of unopened soda. "Feel free to help yourselves, there are snacks here as well," he said as if the way he treated them before didn't even happen as he promptly took out a key and opened a safe containing a wine bottle and a glass. Closing the safe he returned to the table, poured himself a glass and looked over the kids before signaling for them to help themselves to whatever they wanted before continuing.

"It was urgent, however, you are mistaken if you believe we will begin anything right off the bat. You wont be piloting anything yet, nor will you be doing anything serious in the up coming weeks... you will however be working on getting to know one another everyday with minimal contact. You will all be pretty much locked in your rooms with absolutely nothing for one week to see how well you handle solitary confinement and stress before breaking. Everyday you will be evaluated and tested by me and I will see how well you are mentally and physically. Depending on how things go, you'll receive privileges such as radios or other such things and you will receive a special score."

Taking a gulp from his glass, Lorenzo looked down at the floor, tapping his foot before continuing. "This score will then decide whether you live or die as pilots, and whether or not you will begin the real training as pilots... this is why I suggest you, my children, to call me father, because I'm going to be the only one you will be seeing besides each other for the next week or so." It was at this moment that Lorenzo received another call on his comm-link. A tad annoyed, he raised his hand and covered his ear before speaking.

"What is it now...? I'm busy speaking with my children."

There was a pause.

"The new ship was what?!" Lorenzo's face grew pale as he suddenly yelled and shot up from his seat. "HOW?!"

There was only another pause as he listened before kicking the the table into the wall and punching the wall hard with a loud thumb, resting his head against his arm as he listened. "No... NO! You are lying to me! This can't be happening! Not now! We haven't even started the project! How the fuck did that even happen?!"

Another long pause happened.

Lorenzo went quiet as Spartans soon entered the room, looking at both him and the kids before he grunted before kicking the table again. "Sir..." one of the Spartans began to speak, nodding at him and at the kids in the room, before quickly going quiet as Lorenzo raised his hand.

"I know... I know. I'm just fucking frustrated of all the years I may have potentially wasted... The staff already knows what to do with all of our data here; transfer it then destroy everything else. We're abandoning the facility..." It was then that Lorenzo looked at the kids, "Looks like Papa has to take us all somewhere else. It isn't safe here anymore."

---

Boris couldn't help but laugh as the Admiral was gawking over the ship. "Pretty nice, ain't it? Yeah, it's a beauty... it's also specially made for you and your crew, I tell you what. If you have any questions, I'd be sure to-"

As he was about to finish, a call came to him on his his datapad linked to his forearm. "Boris here. What's the problem?"

"BORIS! You there? You are aware of the delayed transport, correct?" spoke the nervous woman on the other end.

"Yeah... Calm down. Jeez. What about it?" He said as he looked towards Airick.

"It was damaged! It was found by a Cruxi fighter on the way here while it was on its way here... but it lost the fighter due to its stealth systems..."

"Then what is the bad news, madam?"

"The Cruxi fighter wasn't shooting lasers at the transport... it was shooting high powered tracking beacons... and it was hit. We currently have three large Cruxi fleets inbound on the facility as we speak! We need to evacuate everyone NOW!" shouted the woman as loud as she could towards Boris and Airick.

Drake immediately forgot about his woes of mortal demise at the sound of the word 'snacks'. He cautiously made his way over to the cabinet, keeping an eye on Lorenzo just in case. Once he arrived, he began picking out various candies, chocolates, and other sweets from it, only paying a marginal amount of attention to what the psycho was saying. He had just grabbed a soda when he heard Lorenzo begin to curse, then say they weren't safe. Not safe, when surrounded by Banshees, Spartans, Omegas, and having the fucking Yamaguchi in their front yard. That meant one thing and one thing only, the Cruxi were coming. The soda in his hand exploded as his fist clenched unconsciously, the sharp claws of his prosthetic easily piercing the plastic bottle. A rush of emotions and thoughts filled his head. Excitement, fear, curiosity, Rage, bloodlust.

'I want to see them' was his first thought, 'and I want to kill them', his second. His eyes went cold, his hear was steel. He was a soldier now, and he would do what ever his commanding officer said.

She jerked violently as a hand touched her shoulder. Manami looked up to see a reassuring smile from a green haired girl. How... how can they be so calm in a situation like this? A bit further off another girl flashed her a smile as well. Despite herself, she felt a little bit better. Surely if she could survive this, she would be able to go home. Hopefully... maybe... Something to hold on to at least. The snacks the professor brought out didn't feel right however, as the sinking feeling in her stomach grew heavier, before his offhand comment about what they were going to face confirmed her fears. Solitary confinement... that was the thing they would use in prison to punish people in tv. It would be even worse for the girls, since she doubted anyone would know or care enough to act if people got raped during the duration. Which would almost certainly happen since the professor revealed they were also very expendable.

"I know... I know. I'm just fucking frustrated of all the years I may have potentially wasted... The staff already knows what to do with all of our data here; transfer it then destroy everything else. We're abandoning the facility... Looks like Papa has to take us all somewhere else. It isn't safe here anymore."

While Manami was only half listening to the professor's words, them going to abandon the facility they had just arrived in did not bode well. There were guards everywhere, with people wielding guns as well. If the professor felt threatened, then that means whatever it was wouldn't be fazed by guns or their numbers. She didn't wanna die, but her fears made her legs feel like limp noodles. Hopefully that kid there with some sort of idiotic streak doesn't get them all killed with his stupidity.