Jan went wandering in the base after the fracas in the hangar. He had been confronted with something that irked him. A helpful tech had kept track of his time climbing the NC. "Nine minutes... that could do better." He knew he could. It wasn't like his recent diet of bacon sandwiches with extra mayonnaisse had anything to do with it. A military man like him needed a lot of calories after all. Still though, there was a niggling voice in the back of his head trying to tell him perhaps putting bacon in every meal he could was overdoing it. He would have to shift to something else... maybe something with pasta... perhaps lasagna? Yeah, that sounded good.

Lost in his thoughts about the prospect of a diet, Jan hadn’t realized that he had ran flat into someone who had been walking in the same corridor, white labcoat fluttering upon the impact— the sound of a feminine ‘oomph’ being apparent as the contents of the small box the individual was carrying emptied onto the floor.

“Are you serious? Do you just not like looking where you are walking or is this a New Anchorage thing?!” The woman complained with a huff as she immediately ignored Jan and kneeled down to pick up the contents of assorted belongings that had been contained inside.

Jan almost did his usual reaction of shrugging his shoulders and moving on. Then however, he realized who he had ran into... it was someone he would rather stay in the good graces of.

"Eh... sorry doc, Wasn't paying attention. You need any help with that or...?" Jan's usual tough guy demeanour shifted towards a more pliable submissive posture. He wasn't one to get on the bad side of people that might be poking around in his insides one day... and he definitely didn't want to piss someone off that shared a last name with his boss.

“Well you could stop talking and start helping— or you know, continue looking like an idiot. Your call.” The female medical officer shot out as she grabbed one of her assortments of things and placed it back in her box.

Jan crouched down and started putting things in the box one by one. "So... when did you get here? I haven't seen you around much before now." He tried to change the subject around. This wouldn't be the first time he met someone by accidentally running into them. Though he had to admit, he usually didn't stay behind to help someone pick themselves up.

“Today. The job offer was not limited to NC pilots.” She replied, bluntly.

"Sheesh, a good sense of humour wasn't listed on the job requirements it seems." Jan concentrated and quickly piled all the remaining things into the box. "There, if something's broken, get a replacement and send me the bill

“You want to hear jokes, huh? How about this old Alaskan one I picked up a while ago about an idiot and a doctor? It’s a riot.” The tone was dry with snark to spare as she nodded to the second part of his comment as she stood up with the box's lid secure.

“So, Joker. Care to be useful and help me find the barracks?”

"Eh, sure, I was just on my way to the training facility. The barracks is on the way there from here... I have a fellow pilot to one-up." He had picked up on the snark... she most definitely had a sense of humour; just a more subtle one than Jan's.



Jan had arrived more on time for dinner. One demerit a day was more than enough for him. His muscles ached and his stomach grumbled for food. He had been exercising all afternoon after his unfortunate run-in with the new medical officer. He had reserved a spot on the firing range for the evening. The cathartic feeling of turning helpless dummies into swiss cheese seemed like a good end to the day.

He briefly began assembling his usual mound of mashed potatoes, bacon and vegetables when he thought back on his earlier thoughts about eating differently. He took a large helping of lasagna instead.

Walking over to the part of the mess where he and his fellow pilots usually dined, he saw Stein sitting at her usual table... and also some other guy... who was this other guy? Jan hadn't seen him around before, and Stein wasn't one to make small talk to strangers; much less have dinner with them. With an intrigued huff, Jan set himself down at the same table. Before he could say anything Agatha came in and asked a question Jan could have come up with himself... he really had to step up his game.

This man... stein's father... his manner of speaking was indeed disconcertingly similiar to her. The man walked off before Jan could grill him for questions; instead, he turned to Stein. "Well, he seems like a lighthearted guy... must be great at parties, isn't he?" Jan simply remarked. He didn't wait for an answer, instead digging into his lasagna.

---

When everyone who was harassing him had finally left the hangar to do their own thing, he just stood there, continuing to stare at the junked NC in front of him, running over everything that was said in his mind. He didn't want to admit they were all right as he logicked away all of their criticisms on him.

He was not a wretched human being; he wasn't sadistic and kicking puppies, or kidnapping people. Or worse. He's not a coward; they have no idea how scary it is being a single father for the first time. Ana's not drawn to NCs, she knows it's dangerous, she knows the surgery is painful. He's not a coward. He is NOT a COWARD. Stupid? Definitely. You have to be to think you could just do this and be done with it. Insane? Probably will be before long. Scared? Yes. But there's a difference between being a coward and afraid. He could feel the anger start coming back, but it wasn't directed at any one person. He was more angry at the whole situation than any one person. He let out a huff of breath and went to the first place he could think of to blow off steam.




As Percy got the targets he planned on unleashing his frustrations set up, he noticed Jingo starting to leave the range with some woman he wasn't sure if he knew or not. He frowned slightly - having a little friendly competition with Jingo would've been nice. He shrugged the thought away. No big deal, really; and took the pistol that belonged to him from the rack. He would have put it in his room, but decided that, since he didn't have a safe or anything, it'd be dangerous to keep it in the room with Ana. Even if she knows that firearms aren't toys, Percy didn't want to tempt fate and walk into his room and see-

No. Don't even go there.

He allowed himself a few moments to calm down before, after checking to make sure nobody was down-range, he brought the pistol's sights up to where he could line them up. The pilot then steadied his breathing in an attempt to steady his aim. Bullseye. As he breathed out, he smoothly and firmly pulled the trigger.

Not a bullseye. Close, though. Very close.

He couldn't really enjoy his accomplishment though, because he had a ringing in his ears that made it hard to focus; he forgot earplugs. Fucking idiot. He set the pistol down, barrel down-range, then stepped away so he could give his ears time to stop ringing.

God damn it I can't even do this right. What the fuck is my deal?

Percy huffed as he snatched up a pair of earplugs as the ringing ceased and put them in. He squinted and leaned towards the target to see where the bullet had landed exactly - it was just in the white, but very close to the red dot in the middle. He couldn't surpress the little grin on his face, dumb mistake of earplugs forgotten - he still had it.

With a touch of newfound confidence, he emptied the majority of his ammunition into the target, leaving five rounds in the chamber for a bit of reckless fun. He held the gun one-handed, looked through the sight, then fired off five rounds in quick succession, aiming for the head pictured on the target. Three hit, two missed. Percy just couldn't keep his big dumb grin from showing. He could do this right, at least. He was tempted to go for another round, but decided against it. As fun as it was, he was starting to feel like he left Ana alone for too long. Dinner was just around the corner anyway.

As Percy turned, he stopped as he noticed a woman about 5’8” with hair of crimson leaning against the wall that had been behind him— had she been watching him?

He felt his face flush red, hoping this woman didn't see that reckless one-handed gunplay he did. He didn't need to get reprimanded over that too, for God's sake. He tried not to think too much about it as he put away the pistol and started to walk past her.

As Percy exited the room— she did the same as was obvious by the echoing footsteps behind him. Once they were outside the loud clattering of gunshots of the firing range she only then spoke. “You aren’t awful, you know.”

The pilot stopped again, turning to look at her, unable to hide the uncertainty in his expression. Where was this coming from? "What do you mean?"

“I mean if you actually, you know, aimed, you might be pretty decent with a handgun. Then again you didn’t exactly come here to shoot and hit something— you seem kind of out of it. Bad day?”

Percy shook his head, shrugged, then nodded, still not sure about whoever this woman is. She was just poking fun at him about what he was doing, but something about her intimidated him.. which didn't really surprise him, he was intimidated by every-fucking-body in here. They were either stronger, smarter, or just more able than he was or ever dreamed of being. "I guess you could say that," he replied.

“I’m no therapist, but you look like you could use some more stress relief than your little torrid affair with that handgun.” She chuckled, “When was the last time you let off some real steam?”

The pilot didn't want to think too much on how suggestive that sounded, but it was probably evident in his expression that he definitely took that the wrong way. He dared to glance down at her chest in that moment before looking back to her face to respond, "Just now. In the range. I feel better now than I did coming in, so, I mean-" he stole one more look without really thinking about it, "I'm good."

“I’m guessing you aren’t so good by how you’re window shopping right now. My eyes are up here.” Despite her words her expression didn't seem annoyed but rather giving the man a “really? you’re going to do that?” look and given her tone was a bit sarcastic it suggested she may have been slightly teasing the pilot.

I'm such a creep, Percy just kind of smiled sheepishly like he knew he was being inappropriate, but.. she was rather pretty, like Eli and Stein... or maybe that engineer. Kat? Percy got his head out of his fantasies so he could respond properly, "Do you have other ideas?"

“But I’ve just met you. That's rather forward of you to suggest.”

"No, no, wait, that's not- I didn't mean it like that," Percy said quickly, his face the color of a tomato now, "I didn't mean it like- I'm not like that!"

The red-haired woman shook her head as she began to laugh, obviously entertained by his nervousness. “Man, I have not seen someone buckle as fast as you in my life. Are you sure you don’t have more pent up stress now?”

There was a pause as she extended her hand. “I’m Rebecca, by the way.”

"Percy." The pilot took her hand and shook, praying his hand didn't feel gross.

“A pleasure.” She smirked before she broke hands, “I take it that you’re still getting a handle on things. You don’t seem the type to have volunteered for this sort of thing outright.”

"I didn't really intend to stay here for as long as I have, I mean..." Percy stopped there. How could he articulate his feelings about this place without sounding like a spineless wuss, exactly..? "I thought I could just do one thing and be done with it, have enough money to last.. Months? But I guess I didn't read the fine print, or hell broke loose, or something, but I was forced to stay in the game."

“You didn’t originally sign up to play soldier. In for a penny, in for a pound? I see.” She tilted her neck, “If you burned some of that fat I think a uniform would suit you. But I imagine you probably don’t want your wife to get jealous with you flirting with another girl.”

Percy froze up when Rebecca mentioned his wife. He opened his mouth to correct her, but he wasn't sure how without getting emotional.

“Unless you like wearing wedding rings as some sort of anti-establishment ironic statement. So, if that is the case never mind then.” She added before he could make for a reply to her statement.

Percy just kind of laughed at that, "Yeah, uh.. I guess." He looked at the rings that he wore on his left hand, focusing maybe a little too hard on them to seem normal to Rebecca. Before she could comment on how weird it was, he decided he'd just be honest about it - he saw no reason not to be. "My wife isn't around anymore," he explained, his words coming out a bit slower than they were previously.

“I’m sorry about that. The world is a… cruel place.” She frowned.

"It's fine," was all Percy could manage to say. Really, it wasn't fine. If she was still here maybe things would be different. Ana would have a good mother. He'd have the closest friend he'd ever had back. Maybe he'd stop being so afraid of Ana getting hurt. Her death couldn't be used against him by a jackass commander-

“I’ve got to go. The higher brass needs to have a chat with me about my responsibilities on-base, apparently. Though I meant what I said earlier— you need to release the rest of your stress. Later!”

The red-haired woman bolted down the corridors without another word.

Did she just suggest I hook up with her?!

---

Tahlia sat on the ground with her back against the bed, knees up against her body. She held her left hand up in the air, looking at both her wrist and the bracelets that were surrounding it. The bracelets themselves hid away part of the southern cross tattoo that extended up covering about a third of her forearm, and whilst looking at her markings she was also counting the beads on each band. Her fingers plucked each timber ball with a gentle tug and Tahlia watched them spring back to her skin when she released the pressure. They gave a slight rattle like a maraca as the wood knocked against the neighbouring bead, transferring it's energy to the following one, and the one there after. The room was silent except for the clicking of Tahlia's actions.
She looked at the clock, remembering that it was mentioned somewhere that Dinner was from 6pm. Cautiously, Tahlia placed her hands on the ground and pushed herself up. Walking slowly over to the bathroom she took a look in the broken mirror, trying to glimpse her face. The eyes were red, she had dark shadows under them, and her overall expression was just giving off the aura of tired exhaustion. The tap flipped on, and her hands plunged into the warm stream of water scooping up a cupful and throwing it on her face. With a gentle pad of a towel she gave another look at herself, noting that her look of death warmed up hadn't really gone away.

"Pull yourself together," she mumbled to herself knowing that it wouldn't necessarily stop the hurt, but would drive her to rebuild her composure. The sound of glass crunching under Tahlia's shoes could be heard as she left the bathroom and made her way for the main door, pulling her hoody over her head to both protect her face from the cold outside, and hide away from the world once more.


Tahlia entered the mess hall, hoping no one would notice that she looked like ratshit. She could see a few of the other pilots surrounding a table with the man she saw on the train earlier acknowledging the girl known as Stein. According to Philip and Thomas, Stein was the first in a generation of Volkov Artificial Intelligence. A smart, highly skilled girl that did not compute when it came to any sort of personal emotion. Sitting with her and now talking to the older gentleman was Agatha Smith. For an older generation of pilot she was quickly making her rounds in getting comfortable with the other pilots on base, showing the younger ones that age doesn't always matter. Tahlia passed them and proceeded to the serving table, picking up a tray and making her own rounds in an effort to collect as much food as she could handle in her current, terrible state. On her plate was a few greasy bacon rashes, some baked potatoes and a couple sausages, a necessary item that would lubricate the arteries and help reduce her sickly alcoholic feeling.

When Tahlia turned to reface the seating area, she noticed that it was starting to fill up with more and more people. She was tempted to sit on her own, away from the others for the evening, but she already had enough of that feeling of solitude in her own room. The Australian walked over to the table where the two girls were sitting, dropping her tray onto the hard bench like a convict in a supermax prison before plonking down both next to Stein, opposite Agatha and the new occupant, Jan.

"Well, he seems like a lighthearted guy... must be great at parties, isn't he?"

Tahlia caught the last of Jan's sentence as she stabbed the fork into some diced up potato and moved along to a folded up piece of bacon. She lifted up the small stack and fed it into the mouth of her hooded figure, making a small comment before taking a bite. "So who is he? He seemed to know a fair bit about 'Slave Boy' when we were on the train."

---

---

---

---

He is my father.

Stein had been in the same room with her father many times in her life, of course, but it always had this effect. The suffocation, the feeling of uneasiness, the irrationality of her emotions, and the quaking in her bones. It was not a feeling she had ever been able to logically make sense of at any point in her life. She had tried to cope with it, but her father had not been one to ask for her presence or attention back at Volkov and she was generally left to what she did best— being inside her cockpit. In her entire life… that was where she felt none of the issues with people and could just be alone. In her private quarters she didn’t feel quite as… secure.

“Yes, he is.” She stated in her monotone, though her body had begun to feel tense.

The conversation between Agatha, Jan, and… Ingram continued but she couldn’t really hear it. Everything had started to become hard to understand; as if she couldn’t really comprehend what they were saying— like she was incapable of hearing the words they were speaking. She saw them, of course, but nothing. As her father pushed down on her right shoulder with his hand it became hard to breathe. Her hand slightly shook as she reached for the metallic “glass” and took a drink of the cool vitamin-enriched water that was inside.

I am not okay.

There were questions for her— but she didn’t process them. She couldn’t process them; not right at this moment. Her blue eyes looked at her food and a heavy sigh left her before she stood up from her seat at the table. “I have to check on my NC.”

Without a second word Stein left the Mess Hall— her tray of food laying where she had placed it on the table with not one single bite instilled in her food. There was only one place could regain herself right now and it was not in the Mess Hall. She needed to be inside the Little Dragon; it was the only place in Volkov where she could go— and it was the only place in New Anchorage where she could go in times like this where her body internally screamed at her that something was wrong.

But what was wrong?

Stein did not even understand it and that was what frustrated her the most.

---

A maternal concern dawned on Agatha in the wake of Ingram's departure and the peculiarity of his daughter's reaction. Her keen eye picking up on Stein outright ceasing to breathe as a hand rested on her shoulder much the same way Agatha had done with her own children. She had always glowed with pride when she did the same with her own daughters, barring Ruth who the temerity to grow several inches higher than her.

Yet Stein wasn't acting like a child under the glow of a seemingly caring parent's attention. A tremor had run through hands as she reached for her glass, a sign of something she couldn't pin down. There hadn't been any physical or neurological issues in the dossier she read on Stein, though it could be just as likely they would not give out a pilot's full medical history. Or it could be something else...

Finally her gaze settled on the untouched food. Agatha was certain she was the lesser actor if compared against Stein as she couldn't mask her disquiet. After running for the past five or so hours the Ace should have been ready to tear into a horse, not leave a full tray unmolested.

Tahlia looked up at Agatha with a slightly beweildered look. "Was it something I said?" she spoke as she munched on the food in her mouth

"No, I don't reckon it was." Agatha rose from her seat, giving a sorrowful look towards her own largely untouched tray as well. God, i didn't come here to be anyone's mother, but damn it all...

"Excuse me, I need to be the duttering old woman once again."

Apparently one could quit being a pilot, but being a mom was a lifetime obligation. Heavy was the head that wore such a mantle.

With a gentle shrug and a deep exhale, Tahlia gave a slight backhanded wave with her hand, indicating that it was probably best for the Agatha to head off and find out what was bothering Stein. Tahlia wasn't feeling in the best condition for comforting any other pilots at this point in time and was more concerned about preventing a bad hangover.



The memory of Stein's tour still fresh in her mind, it was easy enough to arrive at the NC hangars. She emerged into that massive hangar that housed New Anchorage's most valuable weaponry, the Neural Combatants, and flicked the datatool that was mounted to her wrist. "Hmm, if I'm reading this right, then Stein's NC should be right about...here."

The Little Dragon, rather an appropriate name for the unassuming beast such as it... and the pilot if Agatha thought on it. It didn't appear to be the stuff of legends, or have some bizarre frame like that spider wreck two bays down, but it seemed like it could hold it's own. Considering Stein was still among the living it probably did so frequently. Now since she had followed Stein to the hangers, and couldn't see her on the ground floor of either row of docked NCs, she felt safe in assuming Stein had entered her NC.

Though how am I going to approach her? Can't ask her to come down, and it would be weird to have her looking down at me from up there—" Struck with a sudden jolt of genius she scanned the rows of NCs once more before settling upon the familiar frame of her own NC. A short hop, skip, and jump up the lift brought her to the cockpit of her beloved war machine where she slipped comfortably into the awaiting pilot's seat. Restrained in their docks as they were, she could still open communications with the NC three docks down from here.

"So, I'm not the only one who finds it comfy to be sitting behind the wheel, eh Stein?"

[“What are you doing here.”] The phrase implied a question, but the way the voice on the other end of the line framed it as a statement rather than any sort of inquiry. The tone was as monotonous as it had been throughout the bulk of the day, but there was a certain irritated implication behind it. The response coming through clear and succinct, it's own sharpness cutting through the joviality Agatha tried to project.

"I didn't get a chance to get a good look at the NCs earlier. Had to make sure some novice tech didn't leave a spanner somewhere important." She chuckled at her lame attempt at humor. "You got an interesting NC there, hate to wind up on the business end of it."

[“The Little Dragon is nothing extravagant, it lacks the indulgences of many of the NC's in this hangar.”]

"But I'm willing to bet my first first months pay you don't need any of these—" Agatha's head unconsciously tillted back, as though she could see the giant thrusters mounted on Charon's back. "—Indulgencies to be effective."

[“The Little Dragon had external armaments, but no— weapons such as the ones you infer put more stress on your thermal pressure and soak up too much power. They are more of a gamble than such a wager you suggest.”]

"So you favor simplicity and efficiency? That certainly has it's charms." She let a silence build between them for a minute. "So do you come here often, to just sit here in an NC, I mean?"

[“No, I come here for other reasons. But if you wish to simplify it, yes.”]

"I think I will be coming here myself. It's nice being in familiar territory...hey, Stein. Can I talk to you?"

[“You already are.”]

The aged woman barked a racous laugh, gladdened to have walked into that one."I suppose I am. I wanted to apologize for blowing up at Moore earlier. That wasn't how someone should act with their fellow pilots." Agatha didn't want to apologize about Moore, but Stein wasn't her daughter so she couldn't just insert herself into her issues.

[“It was a waste of time, but I do not care— I am not your commanding officer, you do not need to apologize to me.”]

"He's just got me worried about sortying with him, and that kid of his. If he doesn't shape up he's liable to get more than just himself killed." Her own attempted discussion on trust ringing in her head. "Not sure you've read my dossier, but i've, well, been retired for the past few decades. Haven't been paid to pilot since I last saw the commander, actually. Had to get out of this 'cause I had kids on the way and didn't want to leave them orphans like a lot of those independents wind up doing."

[“I’ve had my words with Moore about his cowardice and the risk of compromising the squad. It is out of my hands and concerns, it is up to him to act or die.”]

"And if he gets you killed?"

[“It won’t. He will not pass Graham's tests as he is; if he does, he will not be the same person.”]

"Huh. Hadn't thought of it like that." Agatha scratched under her chin, considering Stein's response. Would being able to pass the tests strengthen his character? Perhaps, considering him showing any initiative would be an improvement. Being able to climb the NC would take a measure of courage for someone like Percy, as opposed to the experience of Stein or Agatha who could perform it as easy as breathing. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a good judge of character?"

[“No. Has your interrogation been sufficient to sate your curiosity? or do you have more questions?]

Agatha cringed, realizing she had been caught. "I thought it was more an exchange than an interrogation. Unless you wanna talk about boys or whatever catches your fancy." She tacked on mirthfully.

[“I would prefer not to talk at all.”]

Even if there was no way Stein could see her, Agatha made a show of zipping her mouth closed and throwing away the key. The link was left open, but if Stein had her fill of conversation she wouldn't push her further. The aged pilot thought she did a good job of getting her mind off whatever had ailed her.

---

---

---

---

I don’t want you here.

Why?

Stein had done everything correctly to excuse herself from the Mess Hall to escape her emotions like she had done so many times in the past— but unlike in Seattle she wasn’t allowed to get that reprieve. Why couldn’t she have been left alone to handle this by herself? What right did Agatha have pursuing her to the hangars and invading the one place she felt safe? What right did she have lying to her? Stein didn’t plant herself in the cockpit of the Little Dragon to have a conversation with an old washed up pilot trying to regain some semblance of her glory days. The “conversation” may have been seen as harmless by the older woman and perhaps she genuinely cared— but Stein felt persecuted and disrespected by the invasive behavior. Stein was no her daughter. She wasn’t her mother.

The blonde-haired girl gritted her teeth as her anxiety and discomfort overtook her, shaking in her seat.

WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I DON’T NEED YOU!

She was not a child who needed to be reassured by a protective mother after something bad happened— and Agatha had no right to do what she did. Stein didn’t have a mother growing up… and she didn’t need a fake one in the present. She flicked the switch to her communication channels, rendering her lines mute— and she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears running down her face as she did so.

GET OUT. GET OUT. GET OUT. GET OUT. GET OUT. GET OUT.

Stein slammed her fists downward into the steel paneling, a loud ‘CRACK’ occurring as she did so— the metal denting slightly as blood from her fingers began to drip down the sheen of silver and gray. Tears dropped onto the floor following the splatter that left her fingers and Stein’s lips whispered a few words in a hush. The comm’s were muted, there was no way to hear her.

“…help me.”

Stein's head dropped into a hanging posture.

I'm not okay.

Joshua Ray was in the hangar, looking around his Apollo and making sure it was in the best possible shape. For once, at a glance it seemed like nobody damaged or mishandled anything, which was a pleasant surprise. Inspecting it with renewed vigor once more, paranoia setting in, he found a damn bird nest in the unit's left leg tucked inside the knee plate.

Well, he certainly never seen that before. It was, for him, thankfully vacant. He had to take longer then expected cleaning it, and not long after he was done noted he'd be a few minutes late to eat. "Ah, no...", he whispered to nobody in particular as he begin running towards the mess hall, coming in two minutes late.

He looked around the room, afraid he wouldn't be able to get to eat due to his 'insolence' or whatever term they'd use this time– but, somehow, there wasn't much of a lecture or consequences as far as he could tell by one of the command officer's not doing much except jotting his name down on their datatool. Seemingly in the clear, he then went to get some food somewhat absentmindedly, more focused on surveying the situation with the other pilots and various staff members. As far as he knew, only two pilots were there at a glance.

Mostly wanting to get it done and minimize contact with the staff, he decided upon the standard this day (in order of importance) of bacon, potatoes, and sausages. Going away, he added some bread and some meat he couldn't recognize. Nonetheless, he sat down away from anybody else and alone, as he usually preferred, to eat in peace. Of course, he couldn't say no if anybody wanted to quietly eat with him.

---

Percy wasn't sure how late he was, but he knew he was at least a couple minutes late. He clutched Ana's hand tight in his as he walked to the mess hall, making note that Stein was quickly walking away from a table with a new face; well, back of the head, at least— along with the older woman from earlier.

They were tag-teaming me earlier.. wonder what happened.

Before he could really put too much brain power into imagining what might've happened, he felt his daughter tugging on his hand. "Daaadd, c'monn.. I'm hungryyy."

"I know, I know," Percy said, still looking at the blonde man.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to stay away or go up and meet him; that is until his daughter complained again. He snapped out of his thoughts and got her a tray, walking with her until Percy decided to just convieniently sit close enough to the table this new person was sitting at. He watched the blonde man just to see if he could catch a glimpse of his face, or hear his name, his reason for being there, if he was just visiting, anything. It was better than going up and asking him, at least that was Percy's train of thought.

"Dad?"

Percy gave his attention to his child, unable to speak because of the simple fact he had food in his mouth.

"You're being kinda weird," Ana said as she got another forkful in her mouth. She swallowed before speaking again, "Why are you staring at the guy in the suit? Do you think he's cute or something?"

The pilot almost choked when she said that last part, his voice going into a quick whisper. "No. Ana, you can't— don't ask stuff like that out loud,"

Ana was about to chime in with another comment, but the man in question let out an audible chuckle as he put his fork down on his tray. “Your daughter is very forward. What can I help you with?”

"I'm so sorry. I-it's nothing, really-"

"Dad thinks you're cute," Ana insisted.

"I do not- I-I mean, no offense- you're not like-" he stopped himself right there. Before Ingram could respond, Percy continue, "Who are you exactly?"

“Ingram Kalfox. A pleasure.” His eyes moved from the adult pilot to his daughter.

Percy noted that glance to his kid - it seemed harmless enough, but still. It didn't.. feel right, and he couldn't really place why. Percy opened his mouth to speak, but Ana spoke first, "Kalfox is Stein's last name, isn't it? Are you her dad or something?"

“I am her father, yes.” He chuckled, nodding to the question.

"So she's not a robot?" Percy didn't exactly mean to say that out loud, but the way he delivered it made it out like he was just joking. Thank God.

“I assure you that I procreated, just as you did.”

"Procreated?" Ana looked to her dad curiously, going to ask what it was, but Percy just shook his head in the way Ana recognized as 'not right now,' which really meant 'not in a million years.'

Before Ingram could scar his daughter with the description of how children are made, Percy spoke, "So what brings you to New Anchorage?"

“There was a job opening and I was currently unemployed due to some… complications in Seattle. Pretty simple, really. I had no idea that this was where my daughter ended up, but I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised considering the state of independents these days.”

"You didn't know she was here?" Percy asked incredulously. He glanced over to his own child, pulling her a little closer. He always knew where Ana is. How could a parent function without knowing where their baby was? It wouldn't matter if Ana was eight or eighty-eight, he'd want to know where she was.

Ana scooted her tray over to where Percy had dragged her so she could continue to eat.

“Her career choice is a very mobile one, and I suppose you can say that our relationship is… distant. She has been certainly useful in the choices she has made; as was expected.”

The more he talked to Ingram, the less Percy liked him. He seemed alright at first glance, but now he wasn't so sure. Especially after that "useful" comment. His expression definitely showed his disdain in that moment, too. He kept his arm around Ana's shoulders as if he was afraid she'd just fly away and never return. The child could tell something was wrong, but she simply continued to eat.

"What do you mean by useful, exactly?"

“Ah, right; you’re not from the megacities. He paused for a minute as he took a drink of water. “My daughter, Anastasia, was always a talented young girl; she was always good at logical games such as puzzles, chess, and the like so when it was discovered that she tested positive for neural compatibility it wasn't too much of a surprise. It became a great thing for both of us; she found herself doing something she was not only talented at, but also something she enjoyed— and for myself I became quite proud of her achievements even though we were now so separate when before we were never apart.”

Ana looked up to her father, that last bit in particular making her feel.. something. She wasn't sure what. She knew it didn't feel very nice, and she wanted to just leave. Something about it just didn't feel right. Maybe it was the tone of his voice mixed with the words.

Percy, too, felt something - fear. He didn't really want to think that eventually he and his kid would become that distant. He rubbed his hands together nervously, trying to think of how to respond to that, but he really wasn't sure for a few moments. The pilot cleared his throat before he spoke, "But what did you mean by useful, Mr. Kalfox? That's not how someone would refer to their kid... unless megacities really are that different?"

“Not so. That’s how you wouldn’t refer to your kid. Remember that we come from very different upbringings.. The megacities are indeed that different. As for what I meant, the Volkov Corporation was very happy with the success of their “Little Dragon” and rewarded me and her for it. I never asked for it, nor she, but it was a product of our environment - it was a matter of fact. But then again, life in New Anchorage isn't all that great and perfect either, is it, Percy?” Ingram looked to the pilot's wedding rings, as if he telegraphed the point of what he meant without saying it before returning his glance to Percy's face.

At that, Percy started to mess with the rings on his hand. Is everyone going to point them out or what? "It's just a fashion statement," the pilot said, "screw the government and all." His delivery of that statement failed to convince and he knew it. He didn't even look like the kind of guy to rebel like that, with his flaming red hair and freckles.

“Heh. Ironic how you are working for New Anchorage's government, then. But I suppose many of us sacrifice our ideals and principles for money” Ingram commented before returning to his food.

"Well I'm on good terms with my child, but.. I guess people make sacrifices for money, huh?" Percy quickly retorted, a bit more direct than Ingram was. He was getting pissed off and he knew it - again, he said something that he didn't really intend on letting out.

“Indeed. Anyway, this discourse has been ​fascinating​, but I really should make better use of my free time. Cheers.” Ingram stated as he stood up with his empty tray of food before discarding it. He made a slight wave at the two as he left the Mess Hall.

---

Eli was in and out of the mess hall quickly, her appetite surprisingly tame and her will to remain around company unsurprisingly dwindled, especially once she realized Vera was not present. She’d arrived from the VR training late, but not by much, which meant either the girl had missed dinner, or she’d hurried to get out. Eli angrily wondered at first if one of the new pilots had frightened her off, but in truth it was more likely that she herself was the cause.

The guilt began to set in. She’d left Vera in a shaken huff, then abandoned her to go and practice. It was justified. She hadn’t even looked back when she went to follow Graham. You needed to train, you’re behind. They expect more.

You shouldn’t have waited.

When she arrived at the barracks, Eli made absolutely sure the hall was clear, before collapsing down the wall to sit on the ground. It felt good to relax, like her skin was unwinding into millions of threads, she felt like she was floating, but she couldn’t relish in it. Her palms began to ache again, distinct from the pulsing of fear she’d felt earlier, it was the cold throb of regret. You hurt her. You scare her.

The pain returned, seeping down her back, her arms, her legs. She clamped her teeth together, shut her eyes tight. Stop. Stop. Stop. her nails dug into her palms, her toes curled in her boots, the threads of her skin became a constricting cage once again.

_{“With wings and skies like birds I’d wanna fly~”}

Eli’s head shot up and she scrambled to her feet before even looking around. It was a good few moments before she realized no one was in the hall with her, but that the singing was coming from one of the rooms. It was an embarrassing few more before she retroactively recognized Vera’s voice. Sure enough, as she approached her door, the singing –and the music accompanying it– grew louder, and when she opened it up, Vera shrieked.

”Hey Lizzy! Sorry, you spooked me,” she giggled.

Eli stood stiff at the threshold.

”Ya gonna come in?” But Vera was already leading her by the wrist, shutting and locking the door behind before picking Eli’s datapad back up –the source of the music. ”Missed ya at dinner, but I guess I didn’t really stick around. Kinda felt like chillin’ here, y’know?”

”I…” Eli couldn’t find the words, silently watching as Vera absently tossed the device back onto the bed, the upbeat brass and drums of the song filling their room. The girl bounced on her feet from side to side, moving her arms and popping her shoulders up and down in some beginnings of a dance.

”You feelin’ this song? I’m feelin’ this song,” Vera shimmied over, twirling once on the balls of her feet before bumping her hips against Eli’s thigh. ”Ah? Ah?”

Eli had to restrain herself from snatching the girl up to hug her. She wanted to apologize, wanted to make promises that she’d kill and die to keep, she wanted to hold her hand and never let go. Instead, she shed her coat, then her scarf, and shook her head. ”It’s been a long day Vi, I…I’m tired.”

She prepared for the disappointment, but it never came. Vera just bumped against her side again, smile unyielding. Eli found her hips swaying in response.

”Hah! Now you’re feelin’ it–woo!” Vera began, but Eli took her by the hands and swung them both into the middle of the room.

Vera did most of the laughing, and Eli did most of the dancing. Their feet pattered against their makeshift dance floor, twirling, stepping, tapping. Eli hoisted her into the air, spun her under her arm like a ballerina, put the girl’s feet atop her own to waltz chaotic. What soreness remained in her bones faded, overtaken in her mind by a different, more welcome adrenaline that she eagerly lost herself to. Eventually the song ended, they didn’t care, they danced to Vera’s giggling, they danced to the ambient machinery of the facility and the icy, whistling winds outside. They danced until Vera collapsed in a happy heap on the bed, and Eli’s legs felt like rubber.

She’d never been happier to be tired.

”I forgot you could dance, how could you let me forget you can dance?” Vera asked, not even attempting to mask the joke with sarcasm.

Eli managed to flop down onto the bed beside her, breathing in sweet air, wiping sweat from her brow. She draped her arms around Vera and pulled her in close. ”Sorry.”

”Apology accepted, just don’t let it happen again.”

They shared a smile, and Vera returned the hug before they both let themselves drift off to sleep.

---

Percy’s jaw hurt from having his teeth clenched so tightly. This whole day has just thoroughly fucked with his head. First it was that stupid fucking table, then it was Graham using his wife like that’s going to affect him, then it was seeing Agatha and Stein conquer the test he thought impossible, then finally it was this blonde prick in his stupid suit. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take in a day. He was so close to snapping at the next person that spoke to him. So. Very. Close.

But he couldn’t. He’s better than that. He’s not an emotional coward like everyone is trying to paint him as. He’s not the one that’s poking and prodding at the guy with the kid, everyone else is. And he's the one being prodded and poked at! He didn’t need five different people telling him he was an absolute wuss of a man, a fuck-up of a father, and an inadequate husband, but he sure got it today! He didn’t need ANYONE else to tell him just how AWFUL he was, cause he’s been doing it all by himself. He didn't need the fucking help.

“Are you mad?”

“What d’you think?” Percy hissed through grit teeth. It took him a moment to realize what he just said, and to who.

“I’d be mad too,” Ana replied, not seeming to care about her father’s tone of voice. Percy knew better, though - she was speaking in the tone of voice she’d use if she was getting scolded, almost like she’s asking a question more than stating something.

Percy exhaled, trying to get his nervous energy out so he can speak properly and not sound like he’s going to murder his own child. ”Are you done eating?”

Ana nodded, sliding her tray over to Percy’s. The pilot stacked the two used trays on the counter where they could be picked up to be cleaned, then walked with his child back to their shared room, Percy unlocking the door with a simple tap-tap-flick on his datatool. Ana walked in first and hopped onto the bed, turning to face her father, “Hey, Dad, will y-”

He was sat down in the floor, knees up to his chest, shoulders shaking from what Ana assumed to be him sobbing.

“D.. Dad? Dad, what ha- You were fine just a second ago!” Ana shot back up to run over to her father. She’s only seen him like this a couple times, but it wasn’t this bad. “W-what-”

“I-I’m fine, Ana, I-I’m.. I’m f-fine!” Percy managed to choke, forcing himself to smile. Ana wasn’t stupid, though - she could easily see through it. Her dad was never that good at hiding it. Not to her, at least. Plus, he still had tears going down his face - kinda hard to fake happiness when you’re sobbing like that.

“I wanna help, Dad.”

“Ana, n-no, you can’t-”

“Is it cause today’s just been awful? I mean, I’d totally agree. Graham was being mean, and then Mr. Kalfox was a dick, then-”

Percy snorted, his sobbing turning into a little fit of giggles before he said, his voice still husky, “You c-can’t say that, Ana.”

“Well he is. Graham’s a dick, Ingram’s a dick - a lot of people here are all dicks!”

“Ana!” Percy had a genuine smile on his face now, but he had a little bit of that look he’d get whenever she was pushing her luck.

Ana laughed with her father for a minute before sitting down with him. “Are you done being sad yet?” she asked, looking up at her dad’s face.

The pilot sighed, “Sorta? I dunno…” Percy wiped his face, inhaling shakily before he continued, “I told you not to worry about me.”

“How can I not worry when you’re fine one minute, and then all sad n’ stuff the next?”

“It’s adult stuff, Ana. You don’t need to-”

“-Is everything you worry about just over my head or something?” Ana didn’t really mean to be getting irritable - especially with her dad - but that excuse was starting to get really stupid and waaayy over-used. “You’re always saying that, and you're also always saying that,” she put on a much deeper voice, meant to impersonate her father, “‘oh Ana you’re so smart’ and ‘oh you’re so mature for your age’ and ‘bla bla bla bla’,”

“I don’t sound like that,” Percy commented.

“Whatever,” Ana mumbled before continuing, “I mean, I wanna know. I wanna help. You help me all the time-”

“-because it’s-”

“-It’s the adult’s job, I knooowww!” Ana was exasperated at this point. Are dads always so difficult?! “But I wanna help, Dad. I don’t like seeing you all upset and sad and stuff. It makes me sad and upset.. and stuff.”

Percy actually stayed quiet for a minute, adjusting how he was sitting so he wasn’t in such an uncomfortable position on the floor. Did she actually convince him to tell her? Or was he thinking about it? If it was either one that’d be great!

“Ana, I.. I don’t think you need to worry about all the stuff I do. Alright? I-it’s not healthy. I don’t want you to be like me. You’re so much like your mother, a-and-”

“So it’s about Mom?”

Ana could see Percy bite the inside of his lip. “Well?”

“I don’t want you to be like me, Ana. I don’t want you to be scared. I don’t want you to feel inadequate-”

“Inade-what?”

“I don’t want you to feel like you’re a failure,” Percy reiterated, “I don’t want you to be like me, or feel like I do. Ever. I want you to be like you, Ana. You’re great. You’re such a good person. You’re beautiful, you’re outgoing, you’re funny, you’re smart, you’re brave, you’re-”

“So are you,” Ana countered, “You’re pretty and outgoing and funny and smart and brave too! How else would I be all those things?”

The two shared a long look at each other for a moment. It almost felt a little too long, really. Ana thought she might've said something wrong, but before she could try to fix whatever she thought was wrong, Percy pulled her close and hugged her tight. Ana could feel him starting to cry again. "D-Dad, wait, I-"

“I love you, Ana. I love you so much.”

Ana made herself more comfortable in her father’s embrace before she replied, “I love you too, Dad.”

---

---

---

---

It had been nine days since Graham had given his ultimatum to his pilots, and already things were starting to sort out. Though, it wasn’t without issue; he had already lost one pilot due to the way he had set down his rules and expectations, and he expected that Yeshua Horowitz was only going to be the first of them to ask for dismissal. But it did strike him as odd that Yeshua was the first pilot to leave New Anchorage considering his history.

Before acquiring the NC known as Anzu, Yeshua had been trained meticulously at a Paragon-owned training facility in the southern German provinces. Much like Stein Kalfox and Alexander Sky, they had been trained with expectations and requirements that were demanded to be met or face consequences— so the fact that him wanting out of Alaska with tail between his legs, no matter how eccentric he was, was definitely odd. Looking into it all morning, Graham couldn’t find out anything that suggested Yeshua had problems with his fellow pilots or New Anchorage’s faculty; the kid just nonsensically decided he didn’t want to be in Alaska and decided to pay the fines that went with him ending his contract prematurely. Before the other pilots had even been awake Yeshua had disappeared and Anzu along with him.

But what was done was done— he didn’t need to play detective. He sighed as he looked through the files on his computer; his right hand scrolling through files as his left hand held a cup of cocoa-infused coffee that he brought to his lips.

The reports of the first week of NC pilot activities and training was disappointing outside of the progress of his favored pilots who did as he expected them to— Kalfox had no pastimes outside of training, Smith was out to prove she was just as good as the “young blood”, Van Gent oddly worked well under pressure, Styles was as tenacious as she was blunt, and Jackspar was out to show she could rise to the challenge. The rest of the pilots had a variety of concerns due to what they had shown Graham; Moore was a coward who had no teeth, Sky was foolish in his impulses, Maverick was an inquisitive reporter out for a story, Strange was a vivacious cripple, Verona was forced to be here, and Ray had shown him absolutely nothing. Between himself, Marek, and Lofgren they had a lot of work to do to turn them into something worth keeping.

Rebecca Marek had been responsible for leading the mandatory physical training which she called “pilot boot camp” for the last week and she had done an excellent job providing reports back to him, which was a pleasant surprise considering how... casual she was when she didn’t have responsibilities; he had heard of her reputation back in Denver-Vegas from her former commander, Kaylin Bruere. He felt at least a little impressed by Marek's efforts and was starting to feel he hired the right woman— if anyone could drive New Anchorage’s pilots into what Graham needed them to be it was her.

Graham looked at the clock on his computer.

12:55.

The pilots morning drills by Marek were over and they were just now finishing lunch; which went into a period he hadn't assigned yet. Though he was considering marking it to Lofgren in a few days, after he had taken care of putting some more of his money into the simulation pods. The VR was up-to-date, but the pods sure as hell were not.

“One step at a time.” He told himself out loud, “What would she tell you right now?”

“You’re driving yourself crazy, crackers.”

He laughed as he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes as he took another drink of coffee.

---

This isn’t awful. Percy thought for probably the umpteenth time that week as he sat, wincing slightly. Sure, his legs hurt and it felt like his arms were wet noodles, but he had to admit that the dopamine running through his body sure felt nice. Having Ana kind of gave him the excuse to let himself go for eight years. He wasn’t obese or completely unable to do a damn thing, of course, but Rebecca said it herself - he was kinda fat. He told himself that he didn’t give a damn, but he was lying to himself. That first day of training, he was so aware of how his body looked, it was hard to focus on actually following directions. When he used to keep in better shape, he always did it alone - exercising in a group was totally foreign and awful at first. The days following were much easier though, with much thanks to both Rebecca and Jingo’s assurance that nobody gave a shit.. It was nice to feel like he was getting somewhere, honestly. He was still hesitant about the all the tests - especially the ultimatum - but he had, give-or-take, twenty days to do it and he was confident he could manage. Mostly. He could always completely fail and have his daughter get taken away and forced to become a pilot.

I just had to go there, didn’t I?

Percy covered his face with his hands, letting out a breath. He lowered his hands slightly to look at his daughter, who was eating and was totally unaware of his inner monologue. Their eyes met for a moment and she smiled at him before going right back into eating.

He wouldn’t let himself fail - not because his job would be in jeopardy, or because some higher-up told him to, but because he wasn’t going to let his baby girl get forced into doing the same shit. He’s not a coward. He’s not completely clueless or stupid. He’s smart. How else would his daughter be so smart? She was too smart to sign off her life to being a soldier. There were so many other, safer, less awful things she could be. She could be a doctor, or a teacher, a scientist - something better. She deserved better.

“Dad!”

Percy jumped when Ana spoke up.

“You’re like.. staring at me. Is something in my teeth?” she bared her teeth so he father could look.

Percy actually checked before responding, “No, I’m just.. I’m thinking, hon. Didn’t mean to stare.” the pilot smiled, and Ana smiled back, devouring the last few forkfuls of food on her tray.

“Me ‘n Vera are gonna go do something,” Ana said as she stacked Percy’s tray on top of hers and lead the way to the rack of used trays on the countertop.

“Oh?” Percy had a gut feeling that they were going to get into trouble.

“Yeah, it- It’s nothing bad. It’s just.. A thing,” Ana was on tip-toe, trying to get the trays in an empty slot - Percy took them just as she almost had it to do it for her.

“What kinda thing?”

“J-just a thing,” Ana tried to explain, very obviously avoiding the question. She grinned the way that all parents knew meant trouble. Percy’s pleasant voice took on a more serious tone, “Ana.”

“Dad, it-it’s, just..” Ana looked around like she was afraid of getting heard - or maybe trying to find someone. Percy couldn’t really tell. He did know it was kinda cute, though. “It’s secret. It’s like… It’s a girls only thing! No boys allowed!” The little girl grinned, but she looked more like she was being interrogated and lying than giddy about some girls-only club.

Percy let it go, though. It was more than likely nothing bad. He sighed, then ruffled up his girl’s hair. “Have fun, then - don't get into any trouble.”

---

“Have fun, then - don't get into any trouble.”

Vera could see Ana nod, then run over to her, a much more genuine grin on her face,

“I did it!” Ana squeaked, “I did the lie. It was really hard, but I did it.” the redhead beamed - this really wasn’t something to be grinning about, but if what Ana had told her previously was true, it was an accomplishment; a really messed up one, but an accomplishment nonetheless.

In the back of her mind, Vera felt bad, guilty even, and doubly so because she’d told thereabouts the same lie to Lizzy not long before. But she repeated the same thing she’d been telling herself since they’d met with Graham, it was necessary. They had more than themselves to worry about as it stood, she didn’t want either Percy or Lizzy getting into trouble if they were afraid.

”Knew ya could,” Vera managed to smile back, but truth be told she was glad to turn her back for a few moments heading out of the Mess Hall, at least to vent a frown before smiling again. She couldn’t stay upset for long, after all she was excited, which would make comforting Ana much easier if she had to.

”So y’ready?” she asked on the way.

”Yeah, I think so.” Ana replied with a little nod as she jogged up to take Vera’s hand - a habit of hers now.

Vera led them on to the labs. She’d only been once or twice to watch Lizzy train, or at least to be around while it was going on. She knew the way still, the facility was becoming clearer and clearer by the day, and before long the two of them had arrived.

”Hello?” she called in, looking to Ana before grinning and standing up stiff and straight. ”Operatives Moore and Voloshyna reporting for testing.”

Ana mimicked her friend, standing at attention, glancing over at Vera with a grin on her face.

There was a slight chuckle from behind the monitor of the desk, as the appearance of the blue-haired scientist became apparent as the computer chair slid to the left to look over the two girls who had entered the simulation labs. “Operatives? Heh, that’s adorable. You two must be here for the examination that Graham wanted you to take… nine days ago. You’re late.”

Ana’s grin immediately faded and she looked highly embarrassed - she looked down at the floor, her cheeks flushed red. “Sorry, miss.”

”He didn’t say we had to be here sooner. Besides, you can’t rush greatness right?” she said, bumping Ana’s side to smile at her. The redhead girl smiled back, still looking rather embarrassed.

“He did not. I was told to expect you when you were “ready”. I did not realize ready meant waiting around for “greatness”. But I expected better from Jackspar’s ward.” Lofgren adjusted her glasses after moving a strand of blue hair from her face.

The labcoat-bearing woman stood up, “But yes, I suppose we should begin. Follow me.”

The two children followed Lofgren into what seemed to be a separate room from the main simulation lab’s hub of servers, desks, and pods— this one feeling barren in comparison with only one bed and computer equipment aside from the stream of wires that went into what seemed to be a metal band that rested on one of the only desks in the room. It looked less like a laboratory and more like the room a person would be taken to during a medical visit.

Vera couldn’t help but feel a bit unsettled by it. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but there’d been more to it in her imagination. Perhaps it was a good thing, but she didn’t spare it much thought. Honestly she was more focused on restraining herself from snapping at the older woman for her little remark. Making a bad impression with a facility doctor didn’t seem like a smart idea.

“This is the room we will be testing you in. Originally it was empty, but we’ve since repurposed it to be a small addition to the simulation & analysis labs. I would prefer more rooms but we don’t exactly have an influx of people to test for NC compatibility.”

”Are we going together, or one at a time?” Vera asked.

“One at a time. There is only one bed; the laboratory’s budget went mostly into the VR room.” She prepared to set up the equipment as she continued talking to Vera. “Which one of you is first?”

Vera turned to Ana, sure to squeeze the younger girl’s hand tight. She kept the warm smile on her face, and nodded to the bed. ”You wanna go, or do you want me to?”

”Rock paper scissors? Loser does it first?” Ana waved her free hand slightly, looking more nervous than she had before. Either she had caught on to Vera’s anxiousness, or the room creeped her out just as much as it did Vera.

”Rock paper scissors,” Vera agreed. She brought up her free hand, shook it three times.

Ana threw down scissors.

Vera’s hand was flat.

Ana looked like she regretted suggesting the game in that moment. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

”Psh, sorry? Don’t worry, alright? This’ll be easy as cake,” Vera said, taking the ushanka from her head and plopping it on Ana’s. ”Hold that for me will ya?”

Ana nodded, tugging on the flaps of the hat so it’s more firmly on her head, smiling at the blonde Russian girl. “Kay.”

Vera whirled back around to Lofgren, shaking her hair down and pulling herself up onto the bed. ”Alright doc, hit me with your best shot.” she said, shooting Ana a wink.

“I assure you that you girls are overdramatizing this whole examination. I do not know why you think it is as you believe.” Lofgren smirked as she shook her head, wiping her gloved hands with a light pink liquid before approaching Vera as she took seat on the retractable bed.

”Better safe than sorry?” Vera said, instinctively wincing when Lofgren spread the gel over her temples. It didn’t hurt, didn’t burn, it was a little cold and felt a bit like old shampoo, but that was about it. Still, she stuck out her tongue, giggling to Ana.

Lofgren chuckled before attaching the neural nodes and then the metal band that served as brace around Vera’s entire head— though it was too big, but with a flick of a button from Lofgren’s datatool it detracted to fit her skull’s size and shape comfortably.

“Now all you have to do is wait. It will be a few minutes.” Lofgren stated as she tossed her latex gloves in a trash dispenser before returning to the computer that monitored the equipment that was running the examination.

”That’s it?” Vera asked, though she was still looking at Ana. The redhead girl stuck her tongue out for a moment in retaliation, taking off the hat to look inside.

“No, we’re going to have to remove all of your hair.”

Vera nearly bit her tongue off. ”Huh?”

“Oh, yeah. All of it. Gone. Goodbye hair. Auf Wiedersehen.”

“My dad’s gonna kill me!” Ana squeaked, tugging the ushanka back onto her head, hard.

“If I was actually serious, maybe he would.” Lofgren ended her comment with a broken giggle as she shook her head, her smirk wide and apparent as she continued to observe the readings on the machine.

Vera blinked, and didn’t even attempt to restrain laughing. And here she’d been worried none of the people who worked at the facility would have a sense of humor.

“While that is processing we can move on to your friend now. Unless you really do want me to cut off your hair.” Lofgren teased before turning back to the bed; drawing out another pair of latex gloves and removing the metal band from Vera’s head.

Hopping down from the table, Vera nodded to Ana. ”What’d I tell ya? Easy as cake, go on.”

Ana hesitated for a moment before Vera urged her again, then she got up on to the bed. She looked at Dr. Lofgren and smiled shyly as the blue-haired doctor did the same thing she did to Vera.

In a few minutes Lofgren removed the band from Ana’s head like she had done with Vera only moments prior, and told the two to wait a few minutes for the machine to “process” the information it needed to do. Ana tossed Vera her ushanka back, making sure it was easily catchable so it didn’t land in the floor. “I thought it’d be way worse.”

”Right? Guess we were all worried for nothin’ huh?” Vera said, fixing the ushanka back on her head.

Ana nodded, smiling at her friend, and Vera was quick to come over and tussle up her hair.

”And say an extra thanks we got to keep all this. Can you imagine us bald?”

““Results seem to be in.”

Lofgren’s response seemed to catch both of the two off guard, cutting an end to their banter or at least for the time being. Vera’s eyes lit up, and she felt her stomach go light in anticipation. For a moment she forgot that she wasn’t supposed to appear excited, but couldn’t help it. She found herself reaching for Ana’s hand again. Ana squeezed it in response.

“Huh. I suppose that isn’t strange considering both of your genetic records.” Lofgren muttered, barely audible before speaking up with a more clear voice as she turned to the two girls. “Both read as positive.”

Vera bit her lip to keep her face straight, but she could feel her heart happily skip a beat. Then just as quickly she remembered she wasn’t alone, and looked down at Ana. ”Positive, huh?”

Lofgren nodded, “Indeed. Apparently, you are both compatible to pilot NC’s. Though if you decide to go through with the surgery that comes with the process of becoming a pilot is a completely different department than mine and you’d have to talk with Commander Graham and Dr. Tanaka about the details. My job is simply the process of brain functions, NC analysis, and simulation management. If either of you decide to do it I look forward to putting you in fun simulations.”

Ana didn’t look nearly as thrilled as Vera was. She looked more like someone just told her that her dog died, but she tried to smile anyway. Vera noticed the subtle way her brows furrowed - the same way they do when she’s overthinking something. A very unenthused “Yay.” was all Ana responded with.

”Well that’s that,” Vera said, her tone turning cheery. She hoped Ana would latch on to what Lofgren and Graham had said. It was her choice, she’d never have to step foot in another test like this again if she didn’t want to, whatever made her feel safe.

She started for the exit and waited for Ana,, nodding back to Lofgren. ”Thanks doc, we’ll uh...we’ll keep it in mind!”

And Vera intended to. In fact, she already had her next step planned.

“...and Voloshyna? Make sure Jackspar doesn’t push herself too hard, I’m worried that she’s going to do more damage to herself than she realizes if she keeps coming into the sims how she has. You should… talk to her. If she doesn’t slow down and look at things from a less headstrong position she’s going to hurt herself, or worse.” Lofgren’s tone was oddly sympathetic as Vera made for the door— as if behind the science-y mannerisms and deadpan humor there was something else there.

---

The day started off with the usual morning breakfast call before several hours of hard training under the guidance of Rebecca Marek. Tahlia hadn't done any real training for the longest of time and while she was able to complete the various tasks and requirements set by the Operations Commander, it hadn't been an easy road. For the first couple of days Tahlia had to take her full hour lunch break in order to let her body relax from the torture she was putting it through, watching during that time the various other people that entered and exited the mess hall. She had come to recognise who each person was and even the small friendships that seemed to blossom during that time. One person that she recognised quite easily was Eli.

Eli's NC was parked opposite Hanger #8 and next to Hanger #4, meaning that every time Tahlia went to the Mad-e to get some practice in syncing up with a Bipedal machine, she would often pass by the pale girl as she went about with her duties. The occasional hello, nod and general conversation was made, but it wasn't what one would call a blossoming friendship. Tahlia just didn't like talking about her personal life and her past, and from the looks of some of the others, they didn't seem to really question it... except her two engineers.

Thomas and Philip had learnt by now exactly when to stop asking their pilot questions. They would go on their usual off topic conversations before one would stop and redirect it elsewhere because they knew that they were encroaching on Tahlia's personal space.

"So we're trying this again?" Thomas asked as he loaded up the boot protocol for the Mad-e.

["Yes,"] a voice replied from within the Mad-e, ["I need to show I can sync up with either the VR or another NC other than my own, and 39% isn't a pass."]

39% was far beyond a pass and Tahlia knew it as she sat inside the alien NC trying to get a grasps on the simplicity of how a bipedal NC should operate. It should have been easy for any pilot and in the past Tahlia DID operate a normal NC.

"Tahlia. This just doesn't make any sense. You were just sitting in your NC twenty minutes ago and scored a ninety plus percentage, then you come over here and get a thirty-nine. Are you holding back or anything? Is there something about the Spyder that makes it any different to th— Oof..." Philip felt an elbow from Thomas jab into his side gently as a precautionary. Philip turned to his partner, fuming at his actions, "Hey! It is a serious question!"

Tahlia opened up the cockpit as she climbed out onto the scaffolding and made her way down to the ground below, cigarette already in her mouth when she came up next to the two engineers. They stood there cautiously in silence as she leaned over Thomas to have a look at the laptop that he was gathering the details from. With a gentle tap on his shoulder, she motioned for him to move aside in order for her to sit down in his place. The two were surprised that for once she hadn't told them off, but instead was taking the reigns in seeing what the problem was.

"So these are?" Tahlia spoke, pointing to the various statistics that were indicated on the screen.

"The top one is the sync statistics from the Spyder, bottom two are the details from both the Mad-e and the VR simulation results. Those two lines are showing your elevated heart rate, similar to someone who under extreme distress. They almost match Madison's signs when she had that heavy hit from the Volkov force," Thomas explained, tapping the keyboard to show the various comparisons between the Mad-e's history and Tahlia's attempts, "Without prying too much, is there something we should know because at this rate you're not getting anywhere fast, and if we can't get the Spyder up'n'running you are not entering the battlefield in another NC. You won't be any use to the others at this rate."

Tahlia sat in the chair plucking at the bands around her wrist, listening to the gentle rattle in the sea of pneumatic and mechanical tools that were buzzing around the hanger air. She gave a few heavy breaths before laying her non cigarette holding hand on top of the keyboard. "You're right. I am holding back," she began to type a name, somewhat half looking at the monitor and over at the Spyder in the nearby hanger.

>O-A-K-L-E-Y J-A-M-E-S S-T-Y-L-E-S

"Oakley James Styles? Who's that?" Philip asked as he leaned over to take a look at the name.

"If you repeat his name again and I'll punch your headlights out... But that was my son's name."

---

Madison's eyes opened up to a stark white glow of a sun like object. The glare was enough to blind her and force her eyes to seal back shut, but as the moments passed she gained the confidence to reopen them and face the light once more. A bright light, surrounded by the white of the skies and almost heavenly in it's appearance until she started to notice the gentle flicker of electricity surging through the filament. Everything looked rather unusual, everything felt out of place and her vision felt restricted as though she was only peering out of one eye.

With a gentle twist and turn of her body she attempted to lift her hands to block the light from beaming down on her face, but the weight of limbs were fighting against her. The left arm felt weak, but responded well to her movement, the right arm however felt empty and void. She lifted her left hand and slapped it across her face, feeling a heavy wrap of bandages like an eye patch over her eye. Carefully she dug her fingers underneath the padding and began to peel it back off her face.

"ERGH!!!" she groaned as the light radiated itself into her newly exposed eye, the heat could be felt from the flickering light above, but it wasn't the light source that was causing this pain, it was the un-calibrated nature of her replacement lens. Her body jolted as she turned to her left in attempt to dig that side of her face into the pillow. Her right shoulder unfortunately wanted to pull in the opposite direction and when she rolled back over she could see her right arm was wrapped up.

Eh... That's why, she wondered as she let her left hand drop onto her right forearm and began to slowly peel back the layers until she could see metal. Madison stopped for a moment, confused at what the metal was but as more and more layers were slowly peeled back, the reality of what she was seeing began to hit her.

"No... No. No, No, No!!"

Heart monitors started screaming as her adrenalin began to kick in. Even in her weakened state she shot up in her bed, pulling on all the cords attached to her body and hearing the crash of medical equipment on the ground, but her hand was still ripping into the layers of bandages around her hidden arm until she had exposed what she had feared the most, a limb that wasn't of her own skin and bone. She thought she was only having a nightmare where she continually recalled the misguided words from the medical staff. She didn't expect them to be true. After just waking up and exposing her arm she simply sat there in shock with her mouth open in a silent, harrowing scream while the tears began to form on the corners of her eyes.

Madison looked around the empty room, finally realising where she was and what had happened for her to get into this place. She did this, she lead herself into this place and the only thing that she could see that indicated to her that she was still within "Smith's Rest" was a green fluffy dinosaur on the ledge next to her bed. A toy that Ana must have left behind. Madison leaned over and instantly grabbed it, feeling it's warmth as she wrapped her human arm around it and plunged her face into it's padded body. She could feel the surface slowly become wet as her tears dripped down from her eyes and the soft, muffled sniffling sound of her crying began to fill the room.

---

---

---

---

The lift offered a smooth assent to the cockpit of the NC labelled Charon, a ride its pilot welcomed in favor of the alternative. Her hand tightened on the railing, shifting the weight from her legs to her arms to ease the tension in her calves. The familiar burn of lactic acid left her feeling stiff, and a part of her just wanted to sit down and rest for an hour even after their lunch period had ended. That Ops director is a hard ass. Damn good drill instructor, but that shit is going to smart something fierce.

With an unwelcome jerk Agatha’s lift reached their destination. She disembarked and quickly boarded the Charon under the guise of performing her diagnostics on the NC. It wasn’t unusual for independents to get twitchy around strangers poking around their NC, so it wasn’t questioned. Even then, with Stein being on base longer than Agatha they undoubtedly had to get used to pilots needing a private space to center themselves. Agatha fell limply into the chair the moment the hatch sealed behind her.

“Gyah!” The aged lion slammed her fist into a section of paneling not occupied with essential systems. It was of note for being without any controls or displays, just a slab of metal that was dented and pitted from internal abuse. Weathered hand met tested steel and neither budged, Agatha’s fist driving itself impotently forward even after her momentum was lost. Her knuckles ached as the flesh was scraped from the violent abrasion, but that wasn’t new.

Everything ached, everything felt as though it had been introduced to a meat tenderizer before being doused in the battery acid. Agatha wanted to drag her tired legs to her bunk and pass out for the next week and a half, but she couldn’t afford to fail here. She wanted to pant and groan and bellyache like some of the other pilots after Rebecca’s boot camp, but she wasn’t allowed the luxury of appearing weak when everyone already thought she was past her expiration date. She wanted to pull Stein into a side room and demand she tell her what was wrong between her and her father, but she didn’t have that right because Stein wasn’t her child.

There is too much at stake to not prove myself here.. I’m still the same pilot, and nothing has changed but the date.

Agatha pulled her fist back, leaving behind four crimson smears where she vented her frustrations. It joined a larger mosaic of older strikes upon steel, blood so aged and chipped it peeled just from being breathed upon. Alongside these were the dents caused by a fist momentarily surpassing the substance it struck, and an odd scorch mark from the firing of a laser pistol inside the cockpit. .How weak she seemed in comparison, that her might had dwindled to such a pathetic degree. She’d have been better off staying retired...or maybe-

NO.

-Agatha would have been better off if she died young?

FUCK YOU! I’M STILL HER. I’M STILL A PILOT!

The view screens before her reflected the inside of the cockpit, but in her place was the Agatha of yesteryears, strong, beautiful, and above all, dangerous. Her lips curled back like a predator baring its teeth to future prey and laughed at the old woman. The fool who thought to regain what she willingly gave up. The mirage of days past ridiculed her soundlessly as Agatha brought her bloody hand to her eye, trying to block out the spectre.

But there was nothing to hide from for their was nothing before her. Just a woman, her reflection, and the years that weighed heavily upon her shoulders.

---

---

---

---

Jan was on his way to the barracks to get an after-lunch sleep while that was still an option. Knowing the way Graham was reforming the place, it wouldn't be long till some other exercise or busywork would be instated then. Jan hoped it would be the former rather than the latter. He was glad to follow orders as long as there was some discernible point to them. Busywork did not have a point to Jan, and so he loathed it.

He thought about the training of the last few days. The drill sergeant was quite a fiery woman, but Jan’s primary motivation had been on his fellow NC pilots. Specifically the want to keep up with Stein and leave Moore in the dust. The man hadn’t caused any more trouble since his altercation with the commander nine days ago but Jan sometimes wondered about the sanity of raising one’s daughter on a military base. Moore’s daughter was quite a spritely little imp; just the sort of person Jan wouldn’t want to see in a military environment, if only because they would lose something there that the world was already having a deficit on… idealism... and hope. Still, there was some utilitarian logic to at least testing the girl for compatibility. It wasn’t like they would immediately insert a plug in her the moment they tested positive… or at least, that’s what Jan assumed. Graham didn’t seem like the sort of person to do that.

And just as he passed by the simulation labs on his way to the barracks, he saw two familiar small figures emerging from there, the faint glimmer of residual conductor gel still glistening on their heads.

“So, Moore decided to relent and have you tested after all? Heh… good to see he turned around on that.”

The children stopped walking and Ana looked up at Jan. Her expression showed that she was thrown off by that question.

“Um.. W-well..” the younger of the two children pulled down on her shirt, looking down at the floor before looking back up to the adult, a smile on her face. She sounded as fake as her smile looked. “Yeah, h-he sure did!” Beside her, Vera winced but nodded along.

Jan laughed out loud. “Yeah, and I suppose he also suddenly grew a spine then?! Come on, I know a lying face when I see one.”

It looked like Jan might’ve hit a nerve in Ana, because she gave him the grumpiest little angry face he’s ever seen on someone her size. It was adorable and not at all threatening to the likes of him. “He’s not spineless. He’s really brave,” she said.

Jan’s laugh died down into the occasional chuckle. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t talk about your dad like that. I know I would kick the ass of anyone that spoke about my mum that way…” Jan resisted the urge to ruffle through Ana's hair. He was just an acquaintance, and he wasn’t intent on having Moore on his ass about touching his daughter at all. “So… care to share the results? Or is it some sort of girls-only secret for now?”

”Pff, as if there was any doubt, we both aced it,” Vera said, flourishing her hands in the air with a splitting grin that faltered when she looked to Ana. She cleared her throat and neatly tucked a few stray strands of hair out of her face. ”But uh...that’s that. Was just the test.”

“Well, I was just on my way to the barracks to get some sleep… maybe I could tell you girls what being an NC pilot is all about. And… why you should consider other things first..” Jan chuckled again… He stared at the girls in a manner that suggested just a hint of hollowness behind his lightheartedness. “Seriously, it might look awesome as an outsider observer, but it’s really not all fun and games.”

Jan continued walking down the hallway. He expected the girls to follow him, driven by the curiosity of the young. A few moments passed before he’d hear Vera scuttling after, hands stuffed into her jacket pockets. ”So let’s hear it old timer,” she said, her own lofty demeanor evidently unfazed. Ana was close behind, nodding in agreement with Vera.

Jan kept talking as he walked. “Well first of all, with that plug stuck in your neck you’re never gonna be comfortably sleeping on your back again. I miss that the most,” He poked the metal subtly jutting out of his neck to call attention to it. “And then there’s all the constant hygienic procedures that come with this thing. You ever seen a neural plug get infected? It’s not a pretty sight.” Jan wanted to keep talking about the lighthearted stuff, just to see what sort of reaction he’d get. If they would already chicken out from the minor inconveniences, he would at least have spared them the really bad stuff… like the constant presence of a hole in his spine he could feel every time he shifted his neck the wrong way.

“I had to help with cleaning it once,” Ana said, “it was really gross and I think I might’ve messed up or something cause his back hurt for a little bit. He had to go to a doctor to make sure it was ok. He does it by himself now. He takes aaagges in the bathroom!”

”Li...Eli doesn’t let me mess with it,” Vera added simply.

The mental image of Moore sitting down and carefully cleaning his neural plug out amused Jan for some reason. He didn’t know why, he did it himself regularly too. He considered for a moment how he himself looked while cleaning his plugs out and concluded it would look similarly amusing. “Yeah… now consider you’d be doing that yourself for pretty much the rest of your life… That and you have holes leading directly into your spine… kind of uncomfortable too.”

Ana looked visibly disgusted, but she tried to hide it so Jan could keep going. Judging by what she said, this is stuff she kind of knew already.

Jan sighed. Moore’s kid and her friend seemed to be quite a stronger stock. It was time brought out the things he thought would discourage a kid the most. “The whole thing is a crap shoot when you make a mistake too; if you ain’t outright toasted you’ll be paying off replacement parts for god knows how long. And you’ll have a lot of people pissed at you no matter what side you pick.” Jan stopped walking and turned around. “So, with that being said… does piloting an NC still seem cool to you? I can go on for far longer about the downsides, but I’m just gauging whether you’d make a good pilot.”

He looked at them directly. “Cause if you don’t really want to do something like this, it’ll just be a waste for everyone involved.”

The redhead girl didn’t say anything for a moment, like she might’ve been thinking about what was being said.. If she was anything like Moore, it was probably the whole “everyone being pissed off at you” thing that was really getting to her. It was a little hard to tell unless you were psychic.

”Is that gonna be up to you?” Vera asked, tone innocent despite her words. Perhaps that was intentional.

“Nope, but I’d rather know the people I might be in a squad with one day.” Jan replied in a similarly flat tone.

“But we’re kids. You’re older. If we were pilots we’d be adults and you’d be an old person.. They can’t make us pilot now. It’s our choice. Not Graham’s, not yours, not anybody’s but ours.”

Jan laughed at the statement. “Have you seen Agatha? She’s ancient and she’s still flying. Being an NC pilot isn’t really something you retire from as far as I know. And yes, it’s your choice… but it can’t hurt to know what you might be signing up for in advance… I did that once, it got me firing rockets at civilians for a few months before I got out under a loophole.”

“You hurt innocent people?” The shock in the younger child’s voice was evident. It then turned into anger as she spat, ”You hurt people that didn’t deserve it? Did you shove them in little boxes too?”

Vera had her eyes cast elsewhere, and though she remained quiet, did not look angry.

“Yeah? What do you think I was gonna do otherwise? Make them ruin me and my extended family for breaking a contract? People that don’t deserve it get hurt all the time. You stop giving a fuck about it like I do or it’ll break you. Your dad, now he couldn’t stop giving a fuck and look at how the rest of us treat him for it.”

“Well that’s your own faults! You’re all DICKS!” Ana sounded very much akin to a dying cat by now. She was engulfed with a rage Jan didn’t think an eight year old could have and not combust. ”Maybe if you guys actually DID CARE maybe he wouldn’t be like that! H-he said that he feels INADEQUATE and DUMB and a bunch of other bad stuff and it’s cause of everybody PICKING on him! Why are you people nice to me and not him? Is it cause I’m little? Is it cause I’m a girl?”

“Inadequate and dumb eh? Well… he certainly acts the part. Listen up kid. Out there, I need to know I can trust the squad I’m working with, and Moore does not act like someone I’d trust. At least from what I’ve seen of him so far. Maybe if he’s less of a milksop I’ll actually start liking him. But for now, I’ll just bring him down till he grows some balls and does something back. Cause if he fucks up while piloting, we’re all fucked right along with him.” Jan might have regretted going through a man’s children, but right now the situation just sparked off into that.

“Dick!” Ana stormed off, looking back at Vera briefly like she wanted her to follow.

For a moment the older just kept her place, looking from Ana back to Jan. ”I dunno if I really...buy that. Y’know?” The comment was all she said before she offered Jan, of all things, a sympathetic smile, before trotting off after Ana. Jan could hear the smaller girl ranting and raving to herself even from the distance she was at.

“Heh… feisty one that kid.” Jan simply remarked as he walked off to his barracks. For some reason, he felt like he would be hearing about this.

---

---

---

---

Directly after lunch, Joe Verona quickly returned to the hangar – last time he looked, almost all the speakers had been mounted, and chances were high the four hours were enough time for Katarina Poux to finish mounting the rest.

When he arrived at Unit 01, Joe saw what he had expected, the speakers were mounted, and the engineer was working on the wiring.

He remarked, ”I see you did a great job so far, what a sight.”

“It’s still just a prototype!” Katarina Poux turned, hands at her neck, as she stretched out while she looked to Joe’s arrival to check on Swarm— and more specifically the modifications they had been working on for the bulk of a week. All and all, it was pretty impressive what the tenacity of one upbeat, proactive, and determined engineer could do in the span of a few days. But then again Kat wasn’t just a girl who was good with a few wires and a wrench; she had said herself that she had been learning about internal NC parts since she was seven and designing part modifications since she was fifteen. An impressive measure no matter who you were, for sure.

“But we’ve still got, like, twenty or something days to get plenty of tests done to make sure it’s in ship shape when you get assigned a mission from the top brass.”

”I’d still like to make a benchmark of its raw output before we reinstall the armor, simply because parts of the armor will be in the way of some soundwaves, and I’d like to know how much of an effect that has.” Most likely having parts of the armor in the way is a worthwhile tradeoff for protection, but even so, knowing what the speakers were capable of without armor was important knowledge. After all, the armor could be removed again, should the traded volume be required.

Joe decided to lend the engineer a hand.

“Well if you want to do actual field tests you’ll have to get clearance to go off-base. We can’t exactly test the output in the hangar.”

“Hrm, doesn’t this base have some area on the surface, that can be used as a shooting range for NC-weapons?”

“Yes, but you’d need clearance. Like I said. Are you sure you want to mess with a sonic weapon if you’re that short of hearing?” The female engineer teased.

“Heh, the less I can hear the less a sonic weapon can hurt my ears. Also, you were talking about clearance to go ‘off-base’, which as far as I know means leaving the area of the base.”

“You, like, know that none of these NC’s are cleared to leave the hangar without permission, right?”

“Of course.”

“Yeah, because I don’t have mechanical equipment to remove it. Get the clearance. Talk to me when you got it. I’ll prepare to remove the armor while you go do that.”

“Well, I’ll be off then, I don’t expect getting clearance will take too long, but you never know.” Joe had barely arrived on the height on which the engineer was operating, but he started moving back the way he came, having reverted his decision to help the engineer in favor of acquiring the clearance.

““Unless you want to do some tune-ups on the finishing touches before that. I mean it’s just me up here; I mean the sound of grinding gears, industrial drills, and mechanical rumbling is awesome company.”

Joe once again reversed the direction in which he was moving, remarking jokingly, although what he was saying had some truth in it: “I thought you wanted me to get the clearance before I give you company and a helping hand.”

“Hmph! Joe-it-all.” She shot back.

Joe ignored the use of his nickname, instead focussing on being productive, now that he didn’t think something could offset his immediate course of action. “So, what is there left to adjust right now? Most of what I can think of should be adjustable mid-battle, as it influences direction and accuracy of the sonic weapon.”

“Well, it’s always useful to have a second eye go over something you meticulously worked on for an entire week. Unless you think I’m perfect, which is flattering and all but c’mon I am so not a robot.”

“Well, let’s start with the physical mounts then, after all, if a speaker moves out of place over time, it could upset the entire weapon.” Joe checked if there was enough space between the outer hull of the cockpit and the armor to squeeze in between, in order to check the mounts with his own eyes. There was enough space, after all the NC should need to be taken apart almost completely just to install a few small custom components.

While squeezing inside, he noticed that crawling spaces like this pretty much went across most of the NC below the armor, which possibly were one of the safer ways to climb around an NC, so long as you didn’t get stuck in them.
This knowledge should be useful later, but right now it was not, so Joe turned his attention towards the bolts and welds that held the speakers in place. He tested the bolts by testing how easily he could remove them with a wrench, and the metal could easily be tested for faults by the sound it made when hit by the wrench. Joe’s ears may not have been the best at detecting faults in the steel this way, but it was the best he could do at the moment. He could only find a single faulty screw, which had partially cracked while it had been screwed in.

The wiring itself was rather easy to test, as each wire was color-coded. Because of that, there wires were all plugged and soldered correctly.

Kat plopped down on the metal grating, her legs dangling off the ledge. “So, you don’t really talk all too much. Like Liz. Why?”

“Well, what is there to talk about? Apart from that broken screw.” Joe wasn’t sure himself, but he thought a conversation would improve the situation a bit, but he didn’t like pointless small talk.

The woman rolled her eyes. “Yes, because I’m talking about the NC! I like to know whose bolts I’m screwing, duh. We’ve know each other for over a week and all I know about you is that you’re pale and kind of intelligent. Then again, that’s probably a little more than I know about Liz.”

“Heh, well I am always open to questions. The thing is I don’t know exactly what you want to know, so I can’t just, you know, compile a list, spreadsheet, or graph and show you.”

Kat laughed, “A spreadsheet? What, have you never had an actual conversation before? Do you see things in binary? Wow. Life’s not a spreadsheet, Joe.”

“I know that, but a spreadsheet is one of the closest things my mind has to represent it.”

“No no no no, I’m going to stop you right there. You cannot seriously think a spreadsheet is the best way to have a conversation! That’s so…. boring! Like, there are emotions and stories! Personal understanding. You cannot just go ‘beep bloop I comply with affirmative consent to that answer boop boop’! That’s insane.”

Joe laughed at that exaggeration. “Having emotions is good and all, I even admit to having some, but what do they help you with? Apart from indicating a problem or lack thereof. All my emotions ever did was get me into this mess I cannot get out of.”

“Well not being a boring living calculator is one.” Kat said as she smiled widely. “It builds trust, friendships, understanding, camaraderie, and all of the things that really matter in life. We live in such a bleak world so if we act so detached all it does is continue the misery— there’s no love in binary.”

“Well, if a boring calculator is more likely to survive than a person defined by its emotion, I’d rather choose the calculator. Besides, being a calculator does not mean having no friends, as friends do have numerically expressible benefits.”

Kat went into another laugh at the comment. “You cannot possibly think that. Friendship is not beneficial statistics you can code or quantify! That’s such a robotic way to looking at things! Beep bloop boop boop is not sane. You’ll make no personal connection and people will as a byproduct just treat you as a statistic.”

She frowned, her mood visibly darkening. “...you aren’t a statistic. Nobody is a statistic. That’s… how the corporations see us.”

Joe sighed, apparently the engineer could not understand him using the explanations he gave.
“Well, perhaps you should know the nature of my issues with my emotions. — You see, I am not here, on this base, of my own will. I was sentenced to military service for losing control in a fit of rage and punching my father so bad he suffered permanent brain damage.”

“…oh. I’m sorry about that— but I don’t think that means you should stop feeling. Bad things happen but we shouldn’t let that like define us. You have to refuse to let it define you. But that’s just my opinion.”

“Well, am I not doing that by refusing to let my emotions get the better of me? My emotions do not define me, my ability to reason and my body of knowledge do.”

“You are still letting them control you, in a different way. You’re letting them force you to be completely detached from holding them.”

“I am curious, how is being detached bad, so long as you don’t violate a moral code?”

There was a silence for a moment before she looked at him.

“Because you are barely alive.”

“Measure my heartbeat, metabolism, brainwaves, —”

“No!” Kat interrupted his matter-of-fact retort, “This isn’t funny. You can measure a synthetic rhythm, you can measure the rotation of a mechanical gear, you can measure a lot of things but that isn’t really being alive; I won’t take an answer like that. I won’t. Go get your clearance. I’ll get back to work. I’m sorry I even asked.”

Seeing how this backfired, Joe’s mood darkened slightly. “Oh, okay.” He left the maintenance spaces. Comparatively silent he mumbled, audibly for the engineer: “I wonder how you objectively define life.”

He then left to speak about that clearance.

On the way, he reasoned with himself about what Katarina had said, but his conclusion was a simple train of thought: Logical arguments are by definition correct, so long as one did not make a mistake while reasoning, and factored in all of one’s knowledge. As such, logical decisions are objectively superior to emotional decisions, that would contradict the logical decision. Thus it is logical to listen to reason before listening to emotions.

---

The pilot was simply laying in his bed, on his stomach - he would be laying on his back if he didn’t have bits of metal that grinded into his spine every time he did so. Even with that discomfort, he couldn’t stop thinking about what kind of trouble Ana and Vera might’ve gotten into. Paradoxically, it was relaxing to imagine them getting into some childish hijinks. Maybe they were pulling some innocent pranks on some of the pilots, or exploring the facility. Maybe they were doing something nice, like helping the people in the kitchen - Ana helped him cook before he decided to move the two of them to base. Maybe they really were just having a little “girls-only” club thing. It was only two people, but still; that could be a club, right? Maybe they were getting into makeup and playing dress up and other little girl things. He couldn’t help but grin at the thought of Vera and Ana in cute little dresses and tiaras playing princess with each other.

”DAD.”

Percy’s heart nearly leapt out of his mouth and he very nearly squealed like a girl. He was so engulfed in his own thoughts he didn’t hear Ana screaming. He hopped up and quickly opened the door, allowing her to stomp in. “What? What, what’s up?”

“JAN’S A DICK!” Ana shouted, not caring if anyone else could hear her. “HE’S A STUPID DICK AND I HATE HIM AND HE’S MEAN AND-”

“ANA,” Percy’s voice rose very much above Ana’s, making her stop shouting. He cleared his throat before he continued in a much softer voice, “What happened?”

“So me and Vera just got out of the testing thing and then Jan was all like “oooh so your dad stopped being a wuss and let you do it” and then I was like “well no I lied”-”

“Test? You lied? Ana, wh-”

“—AND THEN he was talking about how awful being a pilot is and I KNOW cause you TELL ME ALL THE TIME-”

“Ana, what test?!”

“—AND THEN HE SAID HE HURT INNOCENT PEOPLE AND DOESN’T CARE CAUSE HE’S A DIIIICKKK! AND-”

“ANA LAURA MOORE.”

Ana stopped shouting again. The look on her face showed that she just realized what she had said. She looked up at her father with a much less angry and much more guilty expression. “D-Dad, wait, d-don’t get mad-”

“What. Test?” Percy insisted. He was praying that it wasn't the one he was thinking-

“The.. the one with the piloting.”

It was.

“YOU TOOK THAT TEST? ANA! NO! N- WHY? WHY WOULD—” Percy stopped and just turned around so he wouldn’t be facing Ana. He wanted to just bend her over and SPANK her, but he wasn’t that kind of parent, and he wasn’t raised like that either. He was better than that. Forcing himself to at least calm his voice, he looked at his daughter. “Ana.”

“I’m sorry! Vera said—”

“SO IT WAS VERA’S IDEA?” Percy didn’t want to have to break up the friendship they had, but if Vera was going to do THAT, then maybe he’d have to.

“SHE SAID WE NEEDED TO WITHOUT YOU KNOWING CAUSE YOU’D GET LIKE THIS!”

“WELL SHE’S GODDAMNED RIGHT THAT I’D GET LIKE THIS! IS SHE OUT OF HER DAMN MIND? ELI AND I ARE GONNA HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THIS, CAUSE IF THIS IS WHAT VERA’S TURNING YOU IN—”

“I’M NOT TURNING INTO ANYTHING!” Ana coughed a little bit, the screaming was obviously hurting her throat. She continued, her voice still loud but not nearly as piercing. “It was just a TEST to see if we COULD. Graham SAID it was MY CHOICE.”

“IT’S NOT YOUR CHOICE!” Percy screamed, “IT’S MINE! I am your FATHER, and you WILL do as I SAY, and I SAY THAT YOU ARE NOT. PILOTING. ANYTHING.”

“I WASN’T PLANNING ON IT!” Ana’s voice sounded a little hoarse at this point, “ESPECIALLY IF I TURN INTO PEOPLE LIKE JAN OR GRAHAM OR YOU!”

“WELL GOOD, CAUSE-” Percy stopped when that last part processed in his mind. He was still angry, but he couldn’t bring himself to shout now. She didn't just say that, did she?

“MAYBE YOU ARE A WUSS. AND STUPID. AND MEAN. AND AWFUL.” Ana continued - certainly she didn’t realize what she was saying. Surely. She didn’t mean it.

“Ana, alright, enough-”

“VERA’S THE ONLY SANE ONE HERE AND YOU WANNA TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME?! YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE SOMEONE TAKEN AWAY! YOU WANNA DO THAT TO ME?!”

Percy felt his throat tense - she had to go there, didn’t she? His voice shook a little as he spoke, “No- Ana, look, that’s enough, I-I’m not mad-”

Before Percy could attempt to settle the conversation any further, Ana screamed and then stormed out of the room, knocking over a lamp and a table in the process.

When the door slid closed, he picked up the table and the lamp. She didn’t mean it. She didn’t mean what she said. She’s just angry, and that’s fine. She’s got every right to be angry at him. He is a wuss. He is stupid. He has to be to be doing this. He can’t do a goddamned thing right and he hates it. He hates everything about this. He hates Graham. He hates Jan. He hates Stein. Agatha. Everybody. FUCK every single person in this stupid place they can all go stick moose antlers right up their asses. He wasn't asking for everyone to fucking kiss his ass and lick his damn shoes clean! All he needed is a little bit of a pat on the back to assure him he’s doing the right thing and that he’s not as much of a fuckup as he keeps thinking he is. He just wanted someone to hug him and tell him he’s wanted. That he’s needed. He knew it was immature and childish but that’s all he wanted.. Aside from Ana being safe, of course. Ana was the top priority.

At that thought, he left the room to go hunt her down and make sure she didn’t do something she couldn’t get out of.. Anger makes people irrational, afterall. Especially children, and especially Ana.

---

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---

It had been just over a week, and already Eli could feel a sense of improvement. Perhaps the scores would not reflect it as profoundly as she hoped --yet, anyway, she would assure herself— but she knew the feeling well. Minor, fleeting, but definite all the same as it overtook her fears. At the very least, she thought herself presentable, if not to the commander, than at least to the other pilots.

Recalling what Lofgren had told her the first go, she decided to request company. Stein would have been an easy choice, but she knew the other girl’s combative style, at least at the basest level. Van Gent had been suggested as well, but she had mentally blacklisted the idea as soon as it had been offered. That left her with another respectable choice, the elder of the group, Agatha. A plus in more ways, since Eli figured she’d need to know the woman’s preference for fighting sooner than later anyway. And so it was she set about to find her.

It was in Eli’s search for a partner that she came upon the eldest pilot, roaming the halls. Her hair, normally in a simple bun, was looser than normal, and she had bandages across one hand, but beyond that she seemed her normal self. Or as normal as Eli would assume, having not interacted much between the two of them. Agatha plastered on a cocksure grin and asked, “Hey, it’s Eli right? You need something?”

”Yes,” she said, and looked the woman top to bottom. She seemed to have been working, which was good. There was momentum to keep up in that case. ”I want you with me in the next VR combat simulation. Are you fit to attend?”

”Fantastic. I’d been mulling over what to do today, and that sounds like a good workout.” Agatha answered, rolling her shoulder in preparation. “Hey, you think we can invite Stein in on this? I think I’m growing on her, but we haven’t done much since I got here. It’ll be a good group exercise.”

Eli thought it over. In all honesty, she did have an urge to fight with Stein again, and survive the simulation. ”Yes, where is she?”

The elder pilot cupped her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, can’t say I have her exact location, but she’s bound to be at one of the training facilities. The woman is a work-a-holic after my own heart. Any luck and we’ll find her on the way to the VR room. If not you could always send her a message asking her to meet us there for a friendly bout.”

”Hm.” Eli set about the task quickly, tapping out the message: ”VR simulation if available. Pilot Smith accompanying.” before setting the datatool away. ”Done. I don’t expect she’ll be absent.”

”Sounds like a plan. Let’s not keep the Ace waiting.” The elder pilot fell into step beside Eli as they moved on.

”The Ace?” Eli asked, starting off for Lofgren’s. It wouldn’t take the two long to make it there.

“Stein. You know, she’s always working herself to the bone, carries herself like she’s been bred for this work. Haven’t seen her behind the wheel of her NC, but I wouldn’t think it’s a stretch to say she’s the Ace around here.” Agatha turned a critical eye to younger pilot. ”Unless you want that claim?”

Eli craned her neck around to meet Agatha’s gaze. ”I want the people of New Anchorage safe. Titles aren’t enough.”

Agatha raised her hands in faux defense. ”No offense intended, just a moniker I’ve taken to using.”

”A well earned one, I won’t argue.”

“I take it you’re a local then? Most recent hires wouldn’t be so invested.”

Eli nodded. ”Concerning, but true.”

”I’d try to convince you that I’m contrary to this trend, and I am, but I’ll save myself the breath and you your incredulity by saying I’ll prove myself when Graham decides to test us.”

”Yes, you will.” Eli would have been content to leave it there, but no sooner did she shut her mouth was she hearing Vera’s voice, scolding her in the back of her mind. It was enough admitting that it was Graham who would be testing their loyalty to New Anchorage, but still. With a sigh, she went on. ”I have the utmost respect for your previous service. I hope you understand my reservations.”

“Completely understandable” ”Agatha paused, remembering something she had wished to discuss with Eli since she had her confrontation with Percy. “Eli, can I ask you about the kid that’s usually around you. She doesn’t look like your kid sister...”

Eli felt a cold chill return to her neck, leaking down her shoulders. She shook her head, hesitant. ”Vera is a friend of the family. She’s here as my assistant.”

”Her family in the picture?”

”No,” Eli said. It was hard to admit why, hard to say that the Voloshyna’s had been driven out by her home. So she didn’t. ”My mother and I look after her.”

”She looks happy.” Agatha said, giving Eli an approving nod and grin. ”A bit strict, but I can’t fault that. You're a good parent, Eli. Glad to see someone who is around here.”

Eli’s pulse quickened at the words. It felt better to hear them than she’d have expected, a different sort of validation even if it was at the cost of someone else. For the second time since she’d begun working for New Anchorage, she was happy for the coverage her scarf provided, and the shadows her hood cast over her face. There was a definite strain to the first words she uttered, but as always, she got herself on leash.

”Good pilot or not, Moore loves his daughter. He’s not a bad parent.”

Agatha scoffed at notion of Percy being good at anything. ”Love is one thing, but he hasn’t shown commitment to defending his child. If he’s going to let Graham and…others walk over him, his daughter, and his wife, then it doesn’t matter how much he loves that girl because he isn’t being her parent.” She thumped her bicep with a bandaged fist. “A parent has to stand up for their own, even if the whole damned world is against them.”

”Measuring someone by their capacity to hurt their superiors is a mistake,” Eli said flatly. ”Percy may not have restraint, but he’s not insubordinate. If anyone posed a true threat to Graham, they would be dead.”

”Come on, you know there wasn’t any real threat of harm back there. Graham had that choreographed to a T.” The elder pilot sighed ruefully, eyes glossing with the haze of recalling days long since past. ”Honestly, we lucked out with our commander. Would have been easy to find a despot, or a corporate shill without any backbone. Used to hear stories of commanders who’d use their authority to, eh, dominate the female members of staff. They used to be the Harem Kings of the East Indies. If we had one of those sorts, well Percy would be finding himself the father of a child bride because he wouldn’t raise a hand in her defense.”

Eli nodded, thoughtful, but shrugged. ”Perhaps, but hypothetical situations are just that. I’ve seen Moore fight, I’m content. For now. He may not be the last one standing, but I’m confident he would not be the first to fall.”

”Hmm, loyal I see.” She clapped Eli on the shoulder heartilly. ”See? That’s a good trait in a parent! You and I are going to get along just fine.”

They had arrived at the outside of the Simulator Labs before Eli could come up with a proper response. Instead, she checked her datatool to see if Stein had responded, or if she was already present.

”On My Way.” The message read.

Agatha nodded her understanding and leaned against the wall. ”So, anything you wanna ask me? Lately I seem to be an interrogator and i just know my girls are laughing at me somewhere for it.”

“I imagine it is not a very funny joke.”

The monotone voice crept up behind Agatha, the familiar sound of Stein’s words catching the two women off guard. Stein’s arrival seemed oddly timely considering Eli’s eyes had cut to her datatool. Nevertheless, she set it away and nodded her greeting to the other pilot.

Agatha pushed herself off the wall and nodded in greeting to her fellow pilot. “Afternoon, Stein. How goes the day?”

“You requested me, so there is that fact.”

”I trust you’re both prepared. I don’t expect Lofgren to exercise restraint while there are three of us.”

“I am always prepared.”

”Wouldn’t be here if we weren’t.”

”Good,” Eli said, and started into the room. Things had turned out favorably in the end, she’d get to observe Agatha in combat, as well as Stein. Though it would be out-of-NC, knowledge was knowledge, and knowing how to fight with the team was essential, even if she didn’t always want to admit it.

With that, the three pilots continued in, ready for whatever challenge would be laid out before them. The days to their test were ticking down, and “satisfactory” would hardly be enough.