While Zan was walking with rest of the kids; he was looking around, taking in his surroundings. He saw Omega Units, Spartans, and even Banshees. 'There is enough forces to hold a system for who knows how long,' thought Zan, 'With this many forces and they are resorting using children, shows how screwed humanity is.' Zan looked around at his fellow potential pilots, in his opinion most would be killed in an instant in a combat situation, if it every comes down to that. He stayed up in front of the group. He noticed that their pilot and guide, looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.
When they finally arrived in the room they were being led to, Zan noticed there was enough chairs for all the potential pilots and that was a man who appeared to be a doctor. Then their guide sat down next to the man who looked like a doctor. While the rest of pilots sat down, Zan continued standing since he prefers standing to sitting.
“Finally! My precious children have arrived!” Exclaimed the doctor looking male. “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!” The man's grin widened as his eyes quickly shot from child to child, “We’re missing one.”
Zan got a weird feeling that when he died that man was going to be somehow involved in it. Zan was still smiling, listening what the man had to say.
“What do you mean? I got all that were on the list,” said their guide handing the doctor something.
The doctor snatched whatever it was from the pilot's hands, the doctor reading it. Then the doctor said, “The pilot of Avacramdt… We… I… I forgot to include the pilot of Avacramdt…”
'This is weird,' thought Zan as he continued to listen, waiting for something actually important to be said.
“He’s here,” said another male over an 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,” the man 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?” stated the man with a sinister grin as he slammed his foot onto the table.
Zan was okay with the MIA part, it didn't bother him at all seeing as he had no living family to his knowledge. He couldn't stop himself from laughing when the man said he was their father. Now Zan knew that there was something wrong with this man.
“Any questions about living in your new home?”
Zan continued standing silence, beside his little laughing fit. Waiting patiently, Zan listened to the other potential pilot's questions.
"No problems, but a question?" asked a shorter kid with white hair, who was fidgeting a lot. "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."
'Oh god, thought Zan, 'The first question is okay, but the rest, really.' Zan raised his a hand to his face in a facepalm. Zan's left side of his upper lip twitched every time Cruxi was mentioned in disgust.
"Well, aren't you full of energy." said a blonde girl as she gave a friendly smile to the white-haired kid "I doubt we'll be fighting actual Cruxi anytime soon, friend." "We'll probably start training fairly soon though, I hope." The girl changed her focus to the doctor, with what seemed to be a cold 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."
The girl had an air of confidence to her, in Zan's opinion at least. 'Looks like we might have some people with common sense.' thought Zan.
"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. . ." said the white haired kid to the blond. The kid's expression darkened, then he stopped talking and coughed. "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."
Zan reflected, 'This is going to be a long Q & A if this keeps up.' Zan was still standing even thought there was an empty seat near him. 'Who here hasn't lost family here,' thought Zan, [i']As a scientist!'[/i] Zan almost started laughing again, but stopped himself by covering his mouth with his hand. 'This is going to interesting to say the least.'
"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?" said the doctor to the kid with the white hair, whose name was Drake.
'What's up with this guy and calling us his kids.' pondered Zan.
"Oh, and Ashlyn darling, you sure you don't have any questions at all for you father? Papa is here after all," said the doctor, "If you don't I would like to hear from the others then... Since we have plenty of time until we begin anything."
So the blonde's name was Ashlyn. 'Now I know two of my fellow pilot's names.
The man pouted before he placed 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!" The man 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?" The doctor'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."
'Looks the doctor is having a tantrum.' thought Zan as he watched.
After the doctor ordered a command, the sounds of Banshees, Spartans, and many Omegas could be heard running down the hall. The man simply smiled before turning back towards everyone. "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." said Drake, "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 my fucking god, this kid is going to get himself killed,' thought Zan, 'I hope he learns some respect for his sake.'
"Oh?" A loud bang was all that could be heard as the man shot Drake's hand with a handgun. "Listen to me you stupid brat... I don't give a flying fuck about who your real father is, because you know what," The doctor grabbed Drake by the collar and drew Drake closer before the doctor grinned, "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." The doctor threw Drake back into his seat, the man sighed before he swirled his gun and he placed 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." One girl screamed a little because of the shot.
The shot didn't make Zan jump like some of the other pilots did. 'I am not surprised,' thought Zan when the man said he might shoot Drake.
Another male pilot sighed and he half-raised his hand, "Hey, Doc," The guy spoke up with an intentional emphasis on the Doc. "How expendable are we meant to be?" The male pilot continued talking, looking at 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."
'Those are good questions.' thought Zan.
The doctor turned from Drake towards the male pilot who just asked some questions, while smiling bright.
"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 the doctor 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," the doctor grinned 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?!" the man laughed a bit before clearly giving a signal for more questions, he was obviously enjoying this.
'Of course humanity is desperate.' thought Zan. The morality rate kind of caught Zan off guard. He was not surprised about how expendable they were. When the doctor looked at him, Zan looked him right in the eyes with no fear and smirked at him.
"I have a question, if I may sir." said another blonde pilot. "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."
'What will the crazy doctor's response be this time,' Zan asked himself. Zan kept watching as the events unfold.
The doctor walked over to a cabinet and took out a bottle of unopened soda and said, "Feel free to help yourselves, there are snacks here as well." The man took out a key and opened a safe containing a wine bottle and a glass. After closing the safe the doctor returned to the table, poured himself a glass and looked over at the group of kids before signaling for them to help themselves to whatever they wanted before continuing.
Zan continued standing where he was, not trusting the snacks the man had offered.
"It was urgent, however, you are mistaken if you believe we will begin anything right off the bat. You won't 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, the doctor looked down at the floor, tapped his foot a few times before he continued. "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."
Zan was disappointed that they weren't going to start training soon, but it was logical to have the pilots get to know each other, so their teamwork will be better. The doctor saying that they were basically going to be locked in their rooms for one week for testing. Zan wasn't surprised that they were going to be evaluated and tested, both mentally and physically, everyday. The doctor said something about receiving privileges, but Zan didn't really pay attention to that. Zan went back to paying full attention when the doctor mentioned something about a special score and that it decided whether they lived or died, and whether they get to start training.
Then the doctor 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?!" The doctor's face grew pale as he suddenly yelled and shot up from his seat. "HOW?!" There was only another pause as the doctor listened before kicking the table into the wall and punching the wall hard with a loud thump, then he rested his head against his arm, listening again. "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. The man went quiet as Spartans entered the room, looking at both the doctor and the potential pilots before the man 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 the doctor 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 the doctor looked at the group of kids and said, "Looks like Papa has to take us all somewhere else. It isn't safe here anymore."
'This not good,' thought Zan, 'Really not good.'[/b] Zan watched as chaos started. Zan was starting to get tired of the father act. Zan started to feel his adrenaline start pumping through his body. [i]'Shit just hit the fan.' His smile started to fade away as he started thinking about the Cruxi. Zan heard hissing and looked to where the sound was coming from, to see Drake crushing a pop bottle.
"Well then, we might as well get moving." said Ashlyn, standing up. "Standing around here is only going to get us killed. Or some...practical experience. Which I honestly wouldn't mind." The blonde smirked with the last statement.
"Hey, Father, how did they manage to find us? If you guys can kill children easily, I'd imagine we're pretty well hidden." said a girl with darker colored hair.
"My child... the Cruxi have technology that surpasses ours on every level. Imagine this, firing scorching hot plasma beams capable of laying down tracking beacons at the same time... Well, unfortunately for us, this is what they did to the latest transport. However, it wouldn't have been a problem... but... it would appear that the Cruxi had an idea of this facility's existence, just not its location. But now they do, and now we are leaving. Simple as that. Hopefully we can leave before they can get within range of this planet, or else I can't guarantee the safety of your lives," the doctor chugged down the rest of his wine, then motioned for the Spartans to continue speaking for him.
"Hence why we are here," said one of the Spartans. "You're expendable... but you're not entirely expendable to the point that we're letting Cruxi get you. No human deserves a death that the Cruxi can grant..." the Spartan looked down at dark-haired girl, "...especially a kid." The Spartan looked at the doctor, then got a subtle nod, the Spartan continued, this time shaking his head as if wondering just how stupid these kids were. "Sorry kids, but you are not ready for the Cruxi. At least, not yet. Having you go out, especially in one of our Frameworks that we built would be a large waste of future potential and resources. Of course, not you, but mostly the Framework. We still have uses for you and we can't have you throwing your lives for something stupid like revenge or some hidden agenda," finished the Spartan as he cracked his neck and stared at them all. "We've read everything about you. We know everything about you, and we honestly couldn't care less how you feel, but you are not fighting Cruxi. You are going to follow protocol and get to the Izanagi with Lorenzo and the other scientists before they arrive. If you don't like it... well, too bad. You're not going to have a choice in the matter."
'Did they actually think they would let them fight?' thought Zan.
"Well said," murmured the doctor, who then threw his wine bottle towards the corner before smiling as if he just heard a masterpiece in action. He nodded towards the exit he walked out into the corridor, "Time to go, my children. We are to reach the hangar on the other side and meet up with my good friend Boris... I'm sure you'll like him. The Spartans will ensure that you don't wander off and to make sure you are all safe, they are elites after all," muttered the man as he took out his gun.
"Very well then, let us be off. No sense in standing around until the Cruxi are here to destroy us." said the girl named Ashlyn replied, her smirk she had earlier was replaced with a calm, somewhat cold and confident smile.
'Well today has turned into a wonderful day,' thought Zan. Zan walked up to the Spartan who seemed to be in charge, next in the chain of command after the doctor. "Sir, is there anything I do to help with the evacuation, sir," asked Zan at a louder volume, as he saluted the Spartan. Zan was barely keeping himself together, the left side of his upper lip almost constantly twitching.
