[B]"Sorry, got a chronic case of foot in mouth syndrome. Didn't mean it like that,"[/b]He managed out. She smiled a little. She could definitely understand the F.I.M. syndrome, as she had it herself on occasion. The boy seemed polite and nice enough. As the boy's mouth opened to speak, her eyes snapped behind her as she saw a Spartan catch up with them. Eyes wide in astonishment, she was unable to finish forming her thoughts before... [B]"L-"[/B][i]SLAM.[/i] The Spartan's roundhouse kick caught both of them in the stomach and sent them literally flying back towards the others. All of the air in her lungs was forced out with a cough as the two of them were caught and subsequently forced to the ground. Esther having a brief flashback of the hand-to-hand combat training she had with her father. Unsure of whenever she had closed her eyes, she opened them to see the Spartan who had kicked them be thrown back also. Only this time, he was missing his arm. Expression frozen in horror, she withdrew into herself as memories from her younger years replayed in her mind. The sound of deafening gunfire being drowned out by her thoughts. --- [i]"Papa?..." Asked a younger Esther, sitting at the kitchen table with her father. It was night time, all of the lights in the house were off. The only light present was that of the glow of the moon outside. Her father sat in relative silence. A smoldering cigarette in one hand, a glass of liquor in the other. He looked...Dead. "..." "Papa, may I ask you something?" Her father's eyes were glassy, as if he wasn't all there. "..." "Wh-...When you saw combat...D-...Did you ever lose anyone?" Her father stirred. "...Yes." He croaked out, weakly. "Was it someone close?" Even Esther herself didn't quite know why she sat there, questioning her father on such sensitive matters. She just wanted to know more. Her father blinked slowly, but remained still. "...Yes." "Who were they? Were they your friends?" Her father's eyes lifted to look at Esther. "...Brothers." "How did they die?" Her father slowly sighed, his chest rising and falling wearily. "...From my mistakes." Esther's voice caught in her throat, she was unsure of how to digest that answer. She was still desperate to know more for some ungodly reason. "Did...Did you ever move on?" Her father's eyes lowered to his look at his bionic hands. No response. "..." "Papa?" She pressed on. Her father raised his glass to his lips and took a sip. He chased the bitter liquid with a drag from his cigarette and closed his eyes. "Esse, you should go to bed. It's late."[/i] --- Returning to reality, she blinked as a Spartan muttered at her and the other boy to stay behind him. As she watched the following fight, she felt her stomach sink. She said she was ready to accept the consequences of her actions, but...she wasn't quite ready for [i]this[/i]. She didn't realize that she would be the one to make the first, grave mistake. Not like this. Eyes trying to keep track of the Cruxi Hunter, her heart grew icy and cold. She had always only seen images of the Cruxi. Descriptions of them being recounted by her father and shared with her whenever he was functional. She felt like throwing up, her body still aching from being battered and jostled. As the Spartan executed the Cruxi and the struggle ended, she looked up as the other boy stood and offered his hand to help. [B]"Leonce,"[/b] He forced out, finishing what he meant to say earlier. [B]"Sorry, hope you're okay."[/b] Why was he sorry? It was her fault that a Spartan got injured. It was her fault for endangering them all. Taking Leonce's hand, she got to her feet. Keeping her eyes on the ground, she bowed her head in shame upon seeing the others' disapproving looks. She had acted foolishly in front of them all and embarrassed herself. A Spartan was now missing his arm. She had put them all at risk. She shrunk from the shame and internalized, her cheeks reddening hotly. [B]"...Which is something that wouldn't have been necessary if Esther and Leonce here would have been fucking patient, and waited for Father and his men to finish finding a safe route… That Hunter was scanning the area and was almost done patrolling until your foolish running caused it to jump into action…” [/b]spoke Lorenzo as he gritted his teeth as he looked at both Esther and Leonce, before looking at the wounded Spartan. [b]“We were waiting because this specific location is rather safe for the time being… but now I'm not too sure.” [/b] Esther's color drained from her face. Any ounce of her spirit and bravado had quickly left her. She drowned most everything out, only temporarily breaking from her spell to jump at the sight of a terrifying Cruxi Grinder batter at the walls of the room's shields. She hid in the back of the group, not wanting to show her defeated expression. She relegated herself to just staying with the group, quiet and obedient. --- As they had arrived where they were supposed to evacuate to, Esther looked up to see a Framework work on loading their ship. Blinking in in awe, she found herself drifting towards it, reaching out. Enraptured and fascinated with the large machine, she wanted to get a closer look. She stopped when she heard the doctor speak again. [b]“Hundreds… huh?”[/b] whistled Lorenzo as he placed his hands in his pocket as looked at the many Hunters, Harbingers, Grinders, the normal troopers and the heavy troopers. [b]“I'm surprised to see so many…”[/b] [b]“It would appear the Hunter we engaged earlier sent out a distress signal prior to its defeat,”[/b] spoke Matilda as she folded her arms and ran calculations. [b]“So… you are saying this is something that could have been avoided?”[/b] asked Lorenzo as he looked at Leonce and Esther, his eyes cold. [b]“Correct, sir,”[/b] spoke Matilda as she continued looking at her information. [b]“They gathered here upon the Hunter’s signal since they couldn't breach the walls of the route leading here.”[/b] Esther lowered her hand and head, returning to the back of the group as she withdrew once again into her shell. A Spartan Captain then spoke to the good doctor, urging them to board the ship. [b]“My children will get on the ship, yes, but I still need to wait for my fellow scientists… if any of them actually show. It is my duty as Head Scientist to wait and collect their data and follow through with the final protocol after all. We've all sworn an oath, and everyone on this facility knows this.”[/b] he replied. [b]“…Well then… Children, board the Izanagi and prepare yourselves for departure. There are Spartans and Omegas on the ship who will protect you, find them and stay with them. Ignore the White Framework as it does its work, and your Father will be coming shortly,”[/b] spoke Lorenzo as he indicated the massive ship before turning towards two other gentleman. [b]"Alright, lets get going then. Everyone on board."[/b] She spoke aloud to the other kids.  [b]"Before any more of you decide to do something incredibly stupid." [/b] Returning to reality, Esther scowled at the other female pilot candidate's remarks. Okay, so she fucked up big time. So what? They were human. They were all evitably going to make mistakes. At least she didn't sit around waiting to be told what to do like a little lost lamb. Eyes burning with anger, Esther snarked up a loogie and hawked it out. Spitting on the ground in response to the other pilot candidate. As if to dare, "What, you got a problem with me, bitch?" It seemed that she already made a few enemies. Oh, well. With her rage bolstering her, she found her spirit returning. She would probably have to confront the others later and clear the air if anyone had any problems with her. She was only a bit saddened that she inadvertently dragged Leonce into all of this with her.