More than a year ago, the entire citizenry of Horizon underwent a mandatory, mysterious scan. A select few had been contacted, and asked to cooperate. In essence they were being drafted, though the assignment had to be voluntary to a certain degree. Once consent had been given however, there was no turning back. To pull out at this stage of a secret military project was treason. It wasn't mandatory, but the volunteers were encouraged to enlist for basic military training and discipline. However, training and discipline were not stressed as there was an unusual desire to preserve the volunteers 'as they are' as much as possible for reasons of compatibility. At any rate, some already came with military or pseudo-military background, and as far as team composition was concerned, the amount of training and discipline was considered, 'enough to get by'.

The day had finally come. Each volunteer, each prospective 'cog' pilot, was ordered to report to the space elevator on Pythagoras, the capital planet of Horizon. The space elevator was in essence, a space station in geosynchronous orbit that was tethered to the surface of the planet by massive cables. Large elevator trains ran up and down the cables, carrying freight and passengers to and from the surface to the orbital platform. The platform itself was organized like a massive airport, a spaceport to be precise. It included a 'residential district' that operated more or less like a hotel, as well as shopping centers, food courts, service kiosks, etc. The arrival and departure gates connected to short-range shuttles that carried freight and passengers to the actual starships that hovered in orbit in the vicinity of the spaceport. Each pilot was ordered to report to departure gate G3 at 0700 hours universal time to catch shuttle 1543, which will take them to the Horizon Defense Fleet Evolution, the carrier designed specifically for housing the products of this particular military project.

Upon receiving the Volunteer request, Arienne RHD calmly sat down, and calmly pondered.

Space warfare. It was one form of combat she had not done yet and the prospect seemed intriging.
But, she loved the feeling of the ground beneath her feet as she sprinted after a fleeing target...
Loved the intensity of staring down a group of armed mercenaries, waiting, daring someone to flinch first...
Loved the intimate feelings of a death fight with crazy yet skilled murderers...

These things and more are what she loved and did as a bounty hunter for the last 13 years in FAS territory.
She wouldn't have these things in a space fighter, or at least it wouldn't feel the same.

...

But she was Horizon. It was time to expand.
She spent the rest of the night camping next to a peaceful river, watching the embers of the first sculpture she made flying off into the sky...
Into space...

After tying up loose ends, responsibilities, and a few more bounties for old times sake, 6 months before the departure date, Arienne returned to her Horizon homeworld and reunited with her father. She spent the 6 months spending quality time with him, catching up with him and with old friends, and downloading general knowledge concerning military structure, procedure and protocol.

1 hour before departure time, Arienne arrives to an empty gate and mingles far away, but close enough to see when anyone shows up.
She probably didn't need to do this, but scoping out the location and the people involved was a habit she found useful as a bounty hunter, and wasn't about to drop anytime soon. She wanted study the people she would work with for the foreseeable future. To size them up.

She calmly pulls up her hood, calmly turns on some tehcno in her head, and calmly waits...

A lone shot resonated through the enclosed firing range.

"Two inches high and three left," a male voice muttered, the owner of the voice peering at the paper target through a pair of binoculars.

Corina Chun adjusted her aim appropriately and took another shot.

"Stop hesitating with your trigger pulls, ma'am. You're three inches high this time," the male voice muttered.

"Screw you, Mitch. I don't need firing tips," Corina shot back, pulling her eye away from the scope of the rifle she held to glare at the man next to her.

"I think you meant, 'Thank you, Sergeant Mitchell, where would I be without you?'" he grinned, not moving away from the binoculars. "Take your damn shot."

Corina only grunted in response. She returned to the assault rifle's scope and took the shot without hesitation.

"There you go. Perfect headshot, right between the eyes. Let’s see three more, loose grouping."

Corina took three rapid shots in succession, all landing on the paper target's head. "So I think I killed it."

"That you did, ma'am. You showed that piece of paper who owns this range," Mitch responded, setting the binoculars down on the tray table in front of the pair. "So Lieutenant, tomorrow's the big day. That secret scan and your extra training is finally gonna pull through or something."

Corina shifted nervously. Typically she was well composed and unmoving, but this project she had joined had kept her in the dark for more than a year. Her lines of questioning had all been stopped past two or three levels of authority, and that made Corina uncomfortable. The most she had been told about was that she had participated in a 'cog' scan, and that she'd be piloting one of her own along with a small team of other ‘notable individuals.’ The goals and motives of the project were unclear to Corina, and she did not like that.

Corina recollected herself quickly, straightening her posture and setting the rifle down on the tray table. “You could say that. All I know is that I’m to report to the elevator tomorrow morning. There’s still a lot being kept secret about this project, and you know how I feel about military secrets,” Corina responded, unloading the rifle and switching the safety on. Range safety was menial and boring, but it kept people alive.

“That I do, ma’am. In any case, good luck. Hopefully you don’t need it, but it doesn’t hurt.” The sergeant smirked at Corina before excusing himself, leaving Corina alone in the firing range.

She checked the time; twelve hours until she was to report to gate G3. She reloaded the rifle before her; another half an hour in the range to destress, then she’d still be able to get a decent amount of sleep before she had to get ready to report.

--

Corina arrived at the space elevator exactly an hour before the report time. She had already been awake for three hours, giving her enough time to take a quick cold shower, eat a light breakfast, and take the elevator up to the platform.

As she neared the departure gate on the platform, Corina slowly began to put her guard up. Being military personnel, Corina was allowed to carry a small personal sidearm, but no extra ammunition other than the clip it was loaded with. Anything else she wanted to carry had to be checked into security, not that she packed anything further than her extra set of black and grey military fatigues and a dress uniform. Regardless, she kept her hand close to the holster on her thigh. Just in case.

Corina arrived at the gate, and she couldn’t help but notice the hooded individual lurking a distance away from the gate. They were far enough to be unnoticeable to most, but Corina was trained to spot anything out of the ordinary. She stopped walking momentarily to stare at the hooded figure for several seconds, making clear that she knew of their presence. Corina then continued into the gate, taking a seat. She checked the time; twenty minutes until 0700.

Upon Corina's stare, Arienne gives a smirk and an informal salute, but otherwise does nothing.

Pharazon arrived at the gate 15 minutes before departure time and saw Corina. "Lieutenant Chun; Lieutenant Commander Pharazon CXS, pronounced 'Chess'," Pharazon introduced themself. Pharazon was promoted to lieutenant commander when they were appointed to lead the cog team, while all other cog pilots would start at the rank of ensign except those who had official Horizon military history. In Corina's case, since she served in the Planetary Defense Force instead of the Fleet, she was made lieutenant regardless of her prior PDF rank. Although Pharazon felt awkward around humans, Corina had received professional military training, and that was something Pharazon could trust in. Pharazon also failed to notice Arienne.

Corina stood at attention and gave a short salute. She subtly straightened her posture; first impressions were key. "Lieutenant Commander. I assume that your knowledge of who I am means you're going to be the CO for this assignment, then?" Corina asked, hoping that she'd finally be able to get the answers she'd been waiting so long for. Like what exactly they'd be doing and what their purpose was. "Also, you know we're being watched? Hooded figure just outside the gate," Corina dropped her voice slightly, nodding towards Arienne's general direction. "I've been military long enough to know when someone's looking suspicious, and they fit the bill."

"At ease," Pharazon replied appreciating Corina's formality, "And yes, I'll be leading the team of pilots." Pharazon looked to where Corina indicated. "Oh, that looks like one of the ensigns in our team," Pharazon said, giving no indication that they found Arienne's behavior or appearance unusual in any way. Many Quantums adopted unusual eccentricities, Pharazon was eccentric in their own right, one of which was having a poor grasp of what constituted 'normal' behavior. In an economic gesture, Pharazon waved Arienne to join them.

Arienne walks over and gives another informal salute in a loose and relaxed posture.

Looking at both Pharazon and Corina in turn, she says "Arienne RHD, pronounced 'Rahad', reporting for duty."
Then turning to Corina, "Glad to see a lance mate who is cautious and vigilant"

"Come on, Chie, you've got to meet the others," said her father, with a good-natured smile.

The tiny blonde girl huffed and folded her arms across her slight chest. Of course, she couldn't be allowed to go on her own. Of course. Her father had to escort her. It's not like that was embarrassing or anything... sure, she was ten years old, but she was going to pilot a mecha! A real mecha! Surely that meant she didn't need to go around with one of her parents guiding her, right? Her father sighed, and gently took her by the shoulder to guide her in. Chie could only resist so much, and she grumbled under her breath as she finally came in and started walking.

Chie entered the room first, her father nearly pushing her in by this point. "Hmph... are all these idiots the ones in the project, too? Do I have to talk to them?"

Her father let out another sigh. Chie had been in a sour mood ever since it turned out her father would be escorting her all the way there. She had complained and been threatened with the removal of her new simulator, and finally told that this kind of attitude would possibly make the people in charge reconsider her position as a pilot. That had definitely been enough to make her agree to be escorted by a parent, as annoyed about it as she was.

"You can't talk to them like that," her father admonished, straightening behind her. Chie didn't respond, instead simply turning to look away. If her father wanted to escort her so badly, he could introduce her, too.

"... Fine," he said. "My name is Doctor Richard Alberton, and this is my daughter, Chie. She'll be a part of this team as well."

Chie spoke up, at this point. "The best part."

Her father sighed, feeling like he had been doing so many times this day. "They're qualified for this, just because you're skilled for your age doesn't mean you're better than anyone else."

"Hmph."

"Glad to have you here, Ensign RHD," Pharazon replied, then turned to Chie and her father, "and you as well, Ensign Alberton, Dr. Alberton." Then, to give Chie a sense of who she'll be answering to, Pharazon added, "I'm Lieutenant Commander Pharazon CXS, pronounced, 'Chess', I'll be your commanding officer." Pharazon had said this while placing their hands on their knees and bending forward to speak to Chie in an almost patronizing fashion. Pharazon wasn't really happy with what they considered Dr. Alberton's 'mistake', which Chie's enlistment was a direct result of. Pharazon hoped that this mistake wouldn't end up giving the entire team trouble, though first impressions certainly led Pharazon to believe that it would. What Pharazon was really trying to hide under their disgruntlement of the current situation was their fear of human children: human adults at least had to attempt to maintain a facade of being reasonable and professional, whereas children had no such restriction, making them unpredictable, uncontrollable, and chaotic.

Corina had just begun to relax when Chie and Dr. Alberton showed up. The LC and Arienne seemed decent enough, but a child? Children would not be so easy to work with in any scenario, nonetheless in a military setting. It took everything she had to stifle a deep, exasperated breath. Hopefully this assignment wouldn't turn into a long babysitting job.

On that note, I wonder if I can get some more background info on these people, Corina thought, as she eyed this ragtag team of individuals. Based on first impressions, Corina began a mental assessment of the team members thus far. She knew that they'd all be piloting cogs together, so their physical attributes really wouldn't be a problem. Corina marked that off her list.

First off was the LC. If nothing else, Lieutenant Commander Pharazon CXS knew how to keep up the formalities. There had been no slip in their personality thus far, but at the same time, Pharazon was a Quantum. Who really knew what was going on in their heads? In any case, the LC seemed capable enough to lead a team as of this point. Of course it was impossible to come to a definitive conclusion without the stress of battle in front of them, but first impressions were good.

On to the second Quantum, Arienne RHD. The small Quantum had done her best to stay discreet, and in all fairness, she did a damn good job. To Corina, that simultaneously spoke volumes and posed many questions regarding Arienne's line of thinking. Clearly Arienne was one for the shadows, but for what reason? Corina was sure she'd find out soon.

And then there was Chie. Where did Corina even begin? Chie seemed like she could cause all sorts of problems unless somebody kept her in line. And no disrespect to the good Dr. Alberton, but he did not seem very capable of keeping the girl in check. At least, not to match Corina's standards of military discipline. At this point, however, Corina cut her analysis of the girl short. Just thinking about the mess Chie could cause gave Corina a headache. This was a problem for another time.

However, there was one question she wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure whether or not it was the time or place to ask it. She pursed her lip momentarily as she considered the options, and finally opened her mouth to speak. "With all due respect, what exactly are we doing here? Having just been reassigned from the PDF, it would be comforting to know that our mission here is, in fact, more important than my previous one."

"I'll have to answer that in the privacy of the shuttle," Pharazon replied to Corina's question. Taking a look around, Pharazon continued, "It looks like everyone's here, and it's time to board." The boarding gate opened and Pharazon walked through the corridor to the shuttle, expecting the others would follow. It was a small military shuttle about the size of a short bus, with an aisle down the middle and two columns of seats on either side of the aisle.

Once everyone was situated, Pharazon answered without showing sentiment, "Importance is relative, Lieutenant, and dependent on many factors including priority and immediacy. What you'll be doing here," Pharazon now addressed all pilots, "is, in essence, weapons testing. You may have heard the term 'cog' being used. One could think of a 'cog' as the next generation of strike craft. However, that is a very limited definition. The capabilities of a cog have already been demonstrated to be much more than a strikecraft, more than a team of strikecraft can do. Because cogs are still classified as strikecraft, the project is under Horizon Defense Fleet (HDF) jurisdiction, but in addition to being a space-based fighter, a cog is also quite capable as a surface-based mobile weapons platform, so if the project goes well, we may see cogs deployed in the Horizon Planetary Defense Forces (HPDF) as well in the foreseeable future. The development of these may give us an edge in defending Horizon from the scattered remnants of violence left from the wars and the instabilities that still plague our borders. I hope you can agree that this project has its due importance, Lieutenant."

Upon hearing Pharazon's answer to Corina, Arienne finally frowned.

At the mention of strike craft, she remembered her original misgivings about joining this project in the first place.
'I'm going to be piloting a fancy plane' she thought to herself. That just didn't feel right.
Her training and skill set are in close quarters and hand to hand combat. Sure she can aim a pistol really well, but she wanted something more... personal, more intimate.
With a sigh, she pushed her doubts away. Might as well give final judgement after she had seen these 'cogs'. She had other things to worry about right now.

In Arienne's eyes, Chie Alberton was an adorable girl. She liked children with attitude and thought the little bit she'd seen of Chie's was endearing. But Arienne had never had to work with such an attitude on a professional level. And even then, why was a child part of a military project? Arienne loathed the thought of a child getting put into dangerous situations, but this was assuaged by 2 things:

• They were gonna be test pilots, so shouldn't see actual combat (this fact also annoyed Arienne). Chie, for the most part, should be safe.
• Chie must have gone through the tests so she must be qualified for the job. She probably had the skills and aptitude needed so that the Horizon government would be even willing to recruit a young child in the first place. On this point, Arienne didn't know whether to be impressed or disturbed.

Having sat down in the row in front of Chie, she turned around with a small but sincere smile on her face, piercingly searching blue eyes, and asked Chie in a quiet voice,

"Ms. Chie Alberton, if you'd be so kind as to answer this question. I wanted to know, are you here by your own choice or are you in any way being forced into this?"

Chie narrowed her eyes at her 'commanding officer'. Folding her arms across her chest, she let out a huff and turned away, shutting her eyes as she did. Bending down like that... she was a pilot, so didn't she deserve to be treated just like all the others? She didn't need someone acting all... all... patronizing like that! She was irritable the whole way onto the shuttle. She sat with her arms still folded across her chest, looking firmly to the side and away from all her fellow team members... at least until one of them spoke to her. And she was talking to her normally! Hah!

... Even if the question was kind of weird. Still, given the chance to talk about how she was here, the blonde little girl couldn't help but give a cheerful and incredibly smug smile in response to the question that had been asked of her.

"Of course I'm here of my own choice!" she said, unfolding her arms to place her palms on either side of her hips where she sat, kicking her feet slightly. "Do you think I'd have to be forced to do something like this?"

Her smile shifted, becoming a rather sarcastic expression as she cast a sideways glance at the other team members. "Maybe they're dumb enough to think that..."

Arienne gives Chie a bigger, relieved smile. She says to Chie "That's good then. I look forward to flying with you lance mate." before turning back around.

Settling in her chair, Arienne decides to push the rest of her worries away for now. 'Wait. Watch. Act.' she told herself.
Arienne decided not to turn on her music and kept an ear out for whatever tidbit she could hear.

Corina gave a short, affirmative nod. "Understood, sir. I look forward to this assignment," she added, as if to reinforce that she did, in fact, appreciate the gravity of this detail. After all, Corina didn't want to come off as if she felt she was above this kind of an assignment. She went where she was most needed, and it sounded like that that place was here.

However, she was not without her doubts. Corina was a foot soldier, after all; piloting ships was never her forte. Of course, Pharazon made clear that they weren't just piloting ships; whatever they would be piloting was just as effective as a surface weapon as it was a strikecraft. That was slightly reassuring, but still, there was a reason Corina was assigned to an infantry unit and not the cavalry.

If Chie's remarks had any effect on Corina, she didn't show it. She maintained her stoic, rigid composure - not out of any active desire to appear composed, but as a result of years of military training and discipline. This was going to be an interesting assignment. Out of the corner of her eye, Corina noticed Arienne getting notably more comfortable than herself; the woman seemed fairly relaxed and easy-going, and while Corina could not understand that kind of behavior, she certainly respected it.

Pharazon nodded to show that they understood that Corina's question was borne of inquisitiveness rather than criticism.

The shuttle zoomed through space, heading towards a group of four starships: two mid-sized carriers and two mid-sized destroyers. HDF ships had a smooth, silvery appearance broken by thin lines that emanated a blue glow. The carriers had a long central body with a hexagonal ring around it from which strike craft deployed in six directions, whereas the destroyers resembled umbrellas or mushrooms with short stalks, with the cap pointing forward. One of the carriers, the HDF-Evolution, had a slightly modified hexagonal deployment ring.

The shuttle headed for the Evolution and docked on a platform at a point where the ring connected to the main body. The platform descended and took the shuttle into the carrier's interior. As the elevator went down, it passed through an airlock, after which the hangar could be seen from inside the shuttle, and the pilots saw their cogs for the first time. The Hangar was a zero-gravity environment, and was also hexagonal, the cogs being mounted with their backs to the walls and their heads pointing towards the front of the ship. The hangar engineering crew could be seen going about performing maintenance on the cogs.

When the shuttle had finished docking, Pharazon stood up, "Alright, follow me. If you're not used to zero-g, make sure to hold on to the handrails. Once outside the shuttle, Pharazon turned to address the pilots again, "Welcome to the Evolution. Those are your cogs over there."

Each pilot should be able to identify their cog and, depending on their personality, will react to their cog differently, but the reaction should be positive. The shape, design and color of the cog should speak to each pilot on an aesthetic and personal level.

Dr. Alberton then took over, "So, a quick introduction to cogs. The term 'cog' was chosen as an abbreviation of 'cognition'. Though the cog is piloted with a classic stick- and pedal-based control system, the cog subtly collects your thoughts and mental commands, augmenting your ability to control your cog with greater precision and accuracy than you would be able to get with just clumsy physical controls. The cog is considered the next evolution of strikecraft. You may notice that they are humanoid. The reason for this is that the cog also subtly sends messages into your mind in addition to receiving signals. Most humans, and even most Quantums, feel most comfortable in a humanoid body, and a body, a cog that you are not comfortable with creates a dissonance that impedes the ability to send and receive mental signals essential to cog piloting. However, this problem extends beyond the shape of the body, as it turns out, individual minds can be very particular about tiny nuances, and personal combat preferences apparently have a very large impact on how a cog 'feels' to the pilot and an even larger impact on how the cog and pilot perform. You may remember a scan that was administered to the population a little more than a year ago. That scan determines each individual's 'ideal' cog. Since this individuality prevents the cogs from being mass produced, they are incredibly expensive, so all cog designs were then evaluated for their potential, and each potential pilot was also evaluated. And that's why you're all here, you've passed the selection process, your cogs have been manufactured, and now we will see if your piloting verifies previous data. Previously, only one cog had been manufactured, which is Lieutenant Commander Chess' cog, Phalanx, the green one over there. Are there any questions?" Dr. Alberton mused to himself how the concept behind the cogs was similar to random mutations and natural selection; different personalities gave rise to different cogs, each with their own unique way of adapting to combat. Multiple iterations and prolonged conflict could produce 'evolutionary pressure' and push cogs, and weapons development in general, into new, undiscovered territory; creating machines that adapt better and better to the combat environment.

Arienne didn't have time to marvel at the carrier. She saw the black cog and all her doubts went away. Her face broke into a silent and large snarl of a smile.

Before Dr. Alberton could speak, Arienne (having participated in plenty of zero-g hunts through asteroid fields and derelict spacecraft) kicked off towards her 'ideal' cog. She marveled at the sleekness, the stealthiness and speed that the cog seemed to exude.
She steadied herself against the face of the black cog, holding on with both hands and staring at the visor in rapt impatience.

...

"You and I... We are going to have some great hunts together!"

Corina had had a little zero-g experience before, but not much. Being a foot soldier, Corina felt out of her element in space; it occurred to her that that was going to have to change quickly or else she would not have a very good time on this assignment. Within moments, she grasped the basics of zero-g movement and maneuvered relatively well.

She did her best to pay attention to Dr. Alberton's briefing, but lost focus as the well-intentioned scientist began to ramble. Her eyes wandered, making contact with the black and grey colossus that was her cog. Like Arienne, Corina moved away from Pharazon and Dr. Alberton, immediately lost in the titan's features; it didn't take her long to identify the various weapons systems and functions of the cog. At a glance, it spoke for itself; two big guns, high intensity shields, and heavy armor. It was a powerful, enduring soldier, just like Corina. And she already had a name for it: Farfalla. The Butterfly. The name exuded the elegance and grace Corina saw within the cog.

Corina managed to avert her gaze long enough to lock eyes with Pharazon and Dr. Alberton. She gave a slight affirmative nod, indicating her approval and commitment to the cog project, and to her own cog.

Arienne floats over and settles next to Corina with arms crossed, also staring up at Farfalla.

"Hmm... quite the tank this one."
Turning towards Corina, "I hope I can count on your protection from now on. If mine is as quick as it looks, then hopefully I wont need, but you never know."