Hours later, a transport shuttle landed on the rooftop of Solaire Base, and out of it jumped out two men and one woman, recently transferred from other divisions. Lieutenant Ritsu was already there when they arrived, one hand on her hip and another holding a high-tech tablet device, which she pressed with her thumb. She moved her eyes to the tablet for a moment before focusing on the pilots. She motioned for the girl and boys to follow her as she stepped inside and walked in a brisk pace through the facility.

"I am Lieutenant Ritsu, one of your commanding officers alongside Executive Officer Professor Lorenzo here in Solaire. As you may know, you were dispatched here as part of Framewerk Project XJ9, which your previous facilities should have now locked clearance of. Your Framewerks will be transferred here in a couple of weeks. You will be integrated into Squad Sigma starting now, and your first task will be to be present for hearing the Executive Officer's report on the mock battle the squad carried out. You are to be silent and only speak once he gives permission."

The four entered the briefing hall, where the other pilots were now assembled in a row after having been picked up by helicopters and flew back to the base. When the pilots flied through the air, and glanced back at their Framewerks, they saw heaps of metal that once ruled the arena as physical gods, but fell to the earth in their pride, like angels fallen from heaven. It was a grisly sight, surely to be followed by many more even horrific sights in the lives of those destined to fight. 

But reminiscing had to yield in the face of reality as the female officer clicked her heels together. "Take your place in the row. The Executive Officer will begin speaking," Ritsu ordered, stepped aside and saluted as Lorenzo entered the room. The old man deliberately walked slowly to increase tension in the hall, his eyes shifting from one pilot to the next. He stepped up the podium, took some papers from a drawer, waited for a short while as he cleared his throat and sorted them out, and then suddenly slammed his hands on the podium, scattering the papers everywhere and startling Elora, who whimpered and stepped back. She had been quiet the whole trip back, and shook in her plugsuit as she waited for what she imagined would happen. And for once, she was right.

"Alright you intact medulla oblongatas~!" Lorenzo spoke, letting his voice carry all the way to the back of the briefing hall. It made one wonder how a man of his advanced age could speak so casually while having such volume. "That was the single worst performance I've ever seen since I began the project. It was actually quite a comical sight to see, hee hee!" he grinned as he took a scoop of ice cream and promptly ate it with delight, snickering like a devilish serpent. After taking a bite of the delectable treat, he cleared up his raspy throat. "Over 90 percent rate in casualties...you..." He suddenly turned serious, and placed the ice cream back on the podium.

"Let's start with the worst offender...Gene!" He shouted as he pointed his wrinkly finger at the young girl. "When you shut off your communications you might as well have waved a white flag and surrendered, that is how much you failed! While cutting off unnecessary chatter from personal communications is allowed and even advised, the command channel will always stay open! And what did you accomplish by doing that? Going solitary and picking off an opponent already attacked by another pilot, and then get yourself caught in a crossfire? It was a miracle you weren't killed, kid. If I was your father I would be sorely disappointed...No, I am disappointed even if I wasn't."

"Sorus! You goddamn idiot! There's an enemy unit with long-range capability who has just shot you, and you open your hatch to it? Why not throw yourself off a cliff if you're so eager to commit suicide? Then squad Sigma would have one less moron in their ranks." However," Lorenzo then shifted his tone, "You did provide covering fire as was your combat role, and did engage in the conflict with commendable results..."

And the shouting continued. "...Unlike you, Cadet Liu'un! You were just standing around and twiddling your thumbs until you were also terminated!" Elora gasped in fear, and put her hands to her chest and lowered her head, unable to look at him. Lorenzo stepped off his podium and briskly walked right before her.
"Liu'un, look at me. I said look at me!" Lorenzo's eyes stared at the poor girl with intensity, and she managed to lift her head, tears swelling from the corners of her own eyes as she trembled in fear. "You did succeed in providing initial data with that area scanning, but that is only the first step. After that you must take a more active role, and get to scanning those Cruxi when they assault your squad. Do you understand?" Elora sniffed, and tried to speak, but had difficulty doing so through her sobbing. "Y-Yes, sir."
"Good. Now you remember not to wait and observe; the alien scum certainly won't."

Lorenzo returned back to his podium. "Alright, next up...A-ha! Buell! That was a commendable attempt at organizing a plan of attack, but it ended up with you getting ambushed instead! Even a rookie would realize that if the enemy has used the command channel to send a message, they can also receive them? What kind of backwater cesspool of a planet did you earn your promotion? If I had the bastard's address who gave it, I would call them and tell them how you fucked up on elementary tactics! Still, it wasn't a complete disaster, as you seemed to adjust to the situation quickly enough and have some kind of presence. Acceptable for a lower-ranked soldier like a corporal, but not to a lieutenant. Am I right, Ritsu?" Lorenzo glanced at the female officer, and she turned her head towards him, and kept her neutral expression. "Different approaches must always be considered," she answered diplomatically, and Lorenzo sighed.

"Anyway...Let's see...Sigma! You initially showed promise as you took up a tactical position and used it to pick off distant targets. But no, that would have been far too efficient of you," he said, using words that he was sure would personally sting the young girl. "You just had to run up to an enemy unit despite being exclusively a long-range unit, and get yourself destroyed. Try that kind of move against the Cruxi, and you'll be eaten alive, if not even worse! I expected so much more from you, Cadet, and you have let me down. You know what Irina would say, so let's leave it at that."

"Romanovna! You lost your focus, and let the enemy unit take full advantage of the ambush they had on you! Though this incident wouldn't have happened if Cadet Liu'un for daydreaming when she should have been reporting of enemy movement," he glanced aside to Elora, and she put her hands to her mouth, resisting the urge to cry as her eyes started turning red. "Still, it was commendable action to stay and support a downed ally. Speaking of..."

It was clear who was the next on Lorenzo's hit list. "Shinkai! You may have thought that nobody would find out, but I saw you give up and surrender when you were buried in the rubble! Do you know what that means? Oh, you should know fully well the consequences: It means you allow the Cruxi to destroy humanity of your own free will," Lorenzo said in a cold tone, without blinking once. "And the moment you drop your gun and give up the fight you also give up your humanity to those alien's filthy hands for them to tarnish and violate. Is that what you want, Shinkai? Have you given up on being a human? No, don't answer that," he said as he lifted his hand dismissively. "But as pathetic as you were, you did manage to contribute to the conflict, and with a borrowed weapon. Your display convinced me to make compatibility tests with the Sword of Hope, and if the results are positive the weapon will be installed on to the Dynasty's systems. It's previous owner is dead anyway, so why not make a good use of it while you still can? Heh!" Lorenzo chuckled, though it was done with a menacing tone.

Lorenzo then shook his head as his eyes stopped at Rooney next. "No, I have nothing to say to an imbecile like you, Cadet Rooney. You go ahead and bash your head against that wall over there, I'll be waiting. At least then you'll have some use for entertainment, and a Framewerk is spared from a suicidal retard." He shook his head in frustration. "Goddamn whippersnappers ruining my beauties," he mumbled to himself as he shifted his attention to the last pilot.

"Zim Hero, or rather, Zero! Hah!" Lorenzo mocked the pilot. "But contrary to the numerical value, you actually did something, which is a lot more than can be said of the others. Still, it was a foolish move to not finish off an enemy when you have the chance, or it'll end up taking one in the arse, like what happened in your case. You're fortunate it wasn't a Cruxi Bruiser sticking it up yours, or you wouldn't be standing here like you are. A bit of common sense goes a long way." 

Lorenzo took another bite from his ice cream. "However, as much as you may loathe me for pointing out your flaws and stupidity," Lorenzo said as he rattled his fingers on the podium. "You did manage to take out Irina Spanova, one of our finest pilots here in Solaire. And for that, you have earned a parfait to be enjoyed in the cafeteria. Let it be known that I can be kind as well! Now then, before I announce the new squad officer, do you have any questions? Yes, that includes you, Wilton. You may have missed out on the operation, but that doesn't mean you have the right to stand there and gawk like a clueless barbarian. You two as well," Lorenzo said as he pointed at Mai and Daniel. "No nodding off there."