Serah let herself sink onto one of the chairs laid out for visitors in the room, eyeing the hallway until Zim was out of sight. The door closed behind him, courtesy of a soft kick from Serah. "...Well, we're alone now!" Serah giggled, turnign her head to look back to Sigma and putting on a smile. "So, I'm glad to see you're doing well. I uh... was a little worried. I mean, I'd be the only underage girl in the squad left if something happened to you!" The girl's cheery attitude seemed to return to her in the blink of an eye, replacing the rather sullen and grim one she had before.

"Mmmh" Sigma droned as a reply, continuing her search for clothes. Her little pale hands deftly, and methodically acquired the desired pieces of clothing. Without skipping a beat, she then began to change in front of both girls, whom she only acknowledged with a side glance. Her petite, but toned body, full of scars was in full view as she undressed her hospital gown and began to change into more suitable clothes. The blue-haired girl didn't even so much as flinch when Sigma undressed, having seen the other girl change before in the public changing rooms and seen her naked in the shower. It's hardly news to her.

"Pilot Gene. If you had survived that meant that I had survived. We both were hardly...apart." Sigma's words were cold, and harsh, even if they were said in a childlike voice. It seemed that her personality had..."reset" to some kind of absurd default, as unlikely as it would be.

Serah did flinch at that, however. "A-Ah... I guess you're right, huh?" It's not like Serah didn't know that, but she didn't really know what else to say to Sigma right now. What they both experienced inside of Eiswolf was... pretty incredible. They'd become one, almost.

"So... what's your take?" Serah sat pretty straight in her chair, arms and legs crossed. Her smile faded for a more neutral and questioning look, tracing Sigma with her eyes. She'd almost forgotten Iota was in the room alongside the two, even though she would stand out because of her looking identical to Sigma.

"My take..." Sigma mumbled as she eyed her hand and sleeve. "I...don't know. Probably..." Her eyes finally rested on Serah, oddly unfocused, as if looking far away. "It's kinda fun!" She said, cheering. Iota, whom had done nothing to make herself noticeable, shifted nervously, seeing how truly off key Sigma's smile was right now.

Iota's hand zipped towards the remote, intent on calling the nurse. As one of the dolls who had been made by the same template as Sigma, she knew exactly this was anything but good.

"Oh...so the spare parts disagree, that's too bad. Everything is wrong, it's so laughable. We will all soon be pasture for the maggots." She hung limp, as her shoulders slumped. "Elora... is gone. Because of an elite cruxi we didn't know. Elora, whom was the first person to call me a human... is taken... like a doll... while I'm left behind. And the spare parts aswell..." She began to giggle, initially in a low, rather contained tone, finally bursting into laughter. Iota's eyes seemed to bulge out of her orbits, unable to press the dreaded nurse button.

"AND THE BEST THING IS, WE KILL A SUPERWEAPON, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER AT ALL, BECAUSE , HAHA, THEY HAVE MORE!" The fourteen year old yelled, inbetween laughter, as she shook her head into disbelief.

Tears. Tears were flowing from her eyes as she finally slumped..."It's so unfair...it must be a cruel joke..."

Sigma eyed her own tears, now falling in her hands. Hands that turned into fists. "No... this is real." She braced herself, as if trying to steel herself in the moment of weakness that had fallen upon her. "We're going to fight. As if nothing can happen. Whenever they take something, we will fight even harder. If only because they deserved to be hated that much." The young pilot's keen gaze was back, and it now rested on Iota.

Ignoring Serah for the moment, she took heavy strides, until the dumbstruck Iota could do nothing but stare agape. "I'm sorry Iota. You're not spare parts." Her arms were open wide, as if to hug her.

And hug her she did. "You're just a fool... like we are." Sigma clenched the other clone's torso hand, as her fist balled up once more, poised to strike.

"Now, accept your punishment. You really did bad there."

Serah watched Sigma embrace Iota, a small smile creeping up on her face to see the sisters making up. That smile wasn't meant to last, it seemed, as Serah also took notice of the hand that was balling up into a fist. She took a second to think about it, clarity hitting her when Sigma mentioned punishment. "Sigma, no!" Serah shouted, followed by jumping out of her chair... but it was too late. The fist was already flying. A wet, ominous sound impacted Sigma's cheek. She reeled in pain backwards, just as Iota did. Somehow, both clones had decided to cross counter eachother in a single blow.

"You...are one to talk Siggy piggy." Iota finally spat, after getting her bearings. "YOU ARE NOT IRINA. YOU ARE NOT THE HEROINE OF YOUR OWN TRAGEDY. SO WHAT IF I FUCKED UP!?" Iota's subsummed temper finally flared up.

Sigma's eyes went from her fist to her bruised face, trembling with rage.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, IOTATARD!" She yelled as her fury was rekindled, at the same time as her sister.

Serah flinched as both clones hit each other, quickly taking note of the situation. Both of them were barely out of arm's reach of each other, but they didn't look like either of them were going to yield quite that quickly. "I said NO!" Serah yelled again, running up and locking her arms underneath Sigma's shoulders. She gave a quick pull and turned 180° with the girl, shoving her towards the other end of the room. Serah was now in between the two girls and wasn't going to allow them to continue fighting.

"Both of you need to calm down! Fighting isn't going to help us at all and it's nobody's fault Elora is gone! Not Iota's, not anyone else!"

Then, the door to the room opened with a click as a very familiar face walked into it.

It came as no surprise to everyone involved in the aftermath that the formal events were postponed due to various circumstances including the Galactic Federation's politics, public relations and the military's involvement in some perceived war crimes. It was a mess, all things considered, but at least there was something left to bicker over.

Jason, once he reported back to his officers, was arrested, accused of committing crimes against humanity during the invasion. A court martial was about to be held, but it was cancelled by Colonel Cain of the Galactic Fleet. The stoic yet responsible commander ordered the pilot stripped of any ranks he may have earned during his stay in Doom Squad, and transferred over to Lorenzo's scrutiny. None knew why, but it was rumored that the Galactic Counsel had a hand in this affair.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo himself made the rounds, and decided to meet with various Framewerk pilots in the hospital while they were mostly in one place for his convenience. Loose ends always unravel from the fabric after the clothes are worn, he mused to himself, and initially ignored the stranger waiting for him by the entrance before he sighed and slowly turned his way to him, his eyes dull with annoyance.

Approaching the man he had been given a description of, Jason hesitated for a long moment. The man seemed about to enter the hospital, and the boy didn't wish to interrupt him if he was else busy. However, he had to report in to this man now. Having lost his rank over in Doom, not that it mattered since there was no more Doom Squad. Forcing his features to be neutral, the boy walked up to the man. Pausing a respectful distance away and giving the man a salute, holding it until Lorenzo would drop his. "Sir, I apologize for the timing, but I have been told to report to you asap. Jason Diabolus, Squad Le-... sorry. Pilot, former member of the Doom Squad. I've been reassigned to Sigma, Sir!" he said, voice as neutral as his facial features.

"Hmm, is that so...." Lorenzo mused to himself, and slowly gave him a look-over. "Cain's found a new specimen for me..." He took out his personal device, and gave it a couple of clicks. "I suppose there is something else to you than your intelligence of a single-cell organism, so I'll accept his offer. Report to Lieutenant Ritsu in PDF, and prepare your farewells. If you have any to give..." He coldly spoke, and then entered the hospital.

He first went to see Wilton, and openly chuckled at the sight of his self-made research. "Oh-ho, taken an interest in Cruxi technology, have we? What do you hope to gain by prodding at a sample of bionized carbonite, boy? It's a miracle it hasn't rotted away by now; the metabolism in the Leviathans is astounding." As he turned away and began to leave, he spoke: "You will be more use to me as a research assistant than as a pilot. Report to Dariya back in Solaire for your new duties."

Next, Lorenzo came to visit Sigma and Serah, and this time held a personal device he seemed to use to write notes to himself. He didn't even notice the fighting the two clones had or rather, he didn't see any reason to quell it. "Fascinating, simply fascinating," he said, almost to himself, as he continued writing into it, only offering a harsh glance or two at the young girls, which was enough to make them stop. "You two have gained quite a name for yourselves, and not just in eliminating Mist. The energy spike that threw my scanners into disarray was quite impressive. To think that instead of rejecting the foreign entity like it was supposed to, it instead accepted it. You could say it even caused a reaction of sorts. And since the reaction was based on the proximity of pilots, I deem it approrpiate to categorize this form of connection separately from mere Synchronization. How about...Unionization? Wouldn't that sound nice, my dear?" He then said, as if he was talking to his daughter, and for the first time there seemed to be a genuine smile on his wrinkled lips.

"C-Commander Lorenzo?!" Serah accidentally shouted in surprise, before saluting her surperior. The man didn't choose a very good moment to enter, with Serah's eyes shifting to Sigma to check on her. The teenager swallowed some of her saliva. She didn't know how to talk to Lorenzo, because of his unpredictability. Still, the commander was probably expecting an answer. Serah decided to just be honest, not thinking too hard about what she was going to say. "I... think the name is very fitting for what we experienced, sir. It felt like my heart was directly connected to Sigma's... like we'd become one, almost."

Lorenzo stroked his beard. "Hmm, yes, that would happen. To think Irina and her Homunculi would have this kind of compatibility, as expected of her." He went closer to Serah and gripped her wrist, pulling her sleeve back and baring her arm. Before she realized what he was up to, the old man had pulled out a syringe and injected it into the young girl, filling the tiny tube with blood. "This will do nicely," he mused to himself, creepily smiling. He then looked at Sigma, but gave a quick turn of his head. "No need to take from you; Irina has been gracious enough to give her DNA sample. Well then, carry on, Cadets, and make sure to rest; it's soon going to be a big day for you." With that said, he left, and the two girls could hear a weak cackle disappear to the hallway.

For his last, and shortest visit, he went to see if Mai Twilight had the will to return back. As he fully expected, that was not the case; she was still strapped to the hospital table, advanced machinery keeping her alive. Lorenzo scoffed; it would be more merciful to grant her death, but as with many things human, sometimes illogical choices had to be upheld. However, he did lift an eyebrow in surprise at the visitor she had; a young man wearing headphones and sleeping. It didn' take long for the Executive Officer to recognize him; he was also fresh meat thrown to his slaughterhouse. He didn't know whether to be thankful for having a steady supply of experiments, or annoyed for having to tolerate yet another buffoon. Having already met one rookie that day, he decided to leave him as Ritsu's responsibility.

After Zim had visited the others in the hospital he had requested a time to meet with Lorenzo to discuss Ariin's behavior, amongst other things. He was told that Lorenzo was too busy at the moment, but set up a time for the next day. So on returning for the next day, Zim dressed in his formal uniform for the meeting, as appropriate for such a meeting within the military system. Once he was permited access to Lorenzo's office Zim saluted and stood at attention until he was told other wise.

"Sir, I assume you are aware of Cadet Ariin Sorus's condition?" Zim asked.

If permitted, "Sir, if I may be so bold as to say, I do not know nearly enough about the psychology of Framewerk pilots to be able to make a true decision for myself on what it is that we are dealing with. When I spoke with him previously he spoke as if he were Paladin and that Ariin as we knew him was lost somewhere within the memory banks and networks of Paladins targeting system. I don't really think such a thing is possible, but I am no expert. 'Paladin' suggested that perhaps the person who had created Paladins system, his Architect might be able to assist in drawing out the 'real Ariin'. Without further ideas as to what we can do to get Ariin back to combat ready, and back to himself, I humbly request their assistance in this situation. However, personally, I think this is a byproduct of the stress of real combat, having said that though, doing what he asks might just help him get back to normal."

Lorenzo nodded. "Hmm, yes, that's a rare phenomenon, but definitely possible if the design for the Framewerk is shoddy. Apparently the fool who created the lumbering brute thought the excessive mass of the machine required a modified interface in order to work properly. Well, as far as I am concerned, I see no problems with his change in attitude..." Lorenzo left his words hanging in the air, and smirked. "After all, Cadet Sorus can now focus on his task as a soldier, unhindered by such emotions as fear and foolhardiness. True, he has lost much of what he has learned, but his Synchronization levels are still optimal. Maybe I should consider his designs more..."

Zim stood quietly for a moment studying Lorenzo's face and debating with himself as to what he should say next. He decided to go with his gut reaction, if permited. "Sir, may I speak freely?"

If permitted, "Sir, you've got to be kidding... If mindless killing machines was all you wanted, artificial intelligence could certainly be used to pilot Werks autonomously, or squads like the one that Cadet Twillight was in would have been more successful. Of course, I say this without knowing anything. I'll admit to my ignorance, but certainly you need people in those seats with emotions and decision making processes in order to actually be able to unlock the full potential of these machines, like what the Pilot of the Skoll used on us in our initial training assesment. Could 'Paladin' as he is now, accomplish such a feat? I certainly don't know, but I have my doubts about any of that. What I do know, is that I would just as soon die before submitting my self to such a procedure, sir."

"Do you think I would joke about lobotomizing soldiers, Cadet Hero?" Lorenzo's voice uncharasteristically picked up, and his gaze was so intense it could set paper on fire. "If that was a viable option we would have done so ever since the xenos began their invasion. The loss of free will causes the nervous system to turn passive and discrete, like a digital signal; it doesn't have the adaptability of an analog brain, capable of shifting from one situation to the next, and Synchronization levels drop to a dead state. You've seen the results of what happens when one has been treated through similar procedures; there was nothing salvageable left of pilot Twilight's Framewerk." Lorenzo coughed a bit, and then turned away. "Consider yourself fortunate, Cadet Hero; you are getting out with just a warning. But the next time you question me, I'll restart my human-based research again...and I'll know who will be my first specimen..." As he said those ominous words, the professor left, his shuffling steps the only visible sound, before they disappeared as well.

With the recovery process fully underway, the big day came; in the colony of Troas, the site of a great battle, both native and foreign soldiers stood in countless blocks as the representatives of the Galactic Council and some military leaders gave their speeches on global broadcast to the denizens of Leviticus IX, mourning the multitudes of lives, both civilian and in service, that have been lost. Yet, the populace was told that their deaths were for a noble cause, as it was with everyone's efforts and sacrifices that the Cruxi invasion was repelled. A moment of silence was held, and the people held candles, glowsticks, and other sources of light; in the faint light of dawn they seemed to shine like countless stars.

Then, Colonel Cain opened with a speech of humanity rising as one against the menace across the galaxy, and that through determination and willpower they will see an end to the war. During this, the Solaire branch was at the forefront, specifically the pilots who fought in Troas minus Jason; the public regarded that group as heroes, for they destroyed MIST and saved millions of lives. The Joppa team, including Jason, on the other hand, was deep in the center of the mass, seemingly hidden from the public's eyes if Ritsu's comment when organizing the pilots was any indication: "The people may start to attack you, so you must keep a low profile."

Cain gave out commendations, medals and even promotions to several soldiers; Ritsu in particular was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain for her efforts in organizing the counter-attack against the Cruxi after their trump cards were discarded. Katya Romanovna was promoted to Corporal, and pilots Gene, Sigma and Rooney were granted Steel Heart Medals, the highest honor available to a non-officer member of the military. The masses flocked to the three as the ceremonies came to a close, each one wanting even just a glimpse of the "saviors", believing a touch was enough to give them good fortune. As history is written by the winners, so are losers also cast to obscurity, to be forgotten despite their sacrifices.

Serah had slipped out of a rather... rowdy crowd, even long after the ceremony was over. She was adored and praised like some kind of saviour to the people, even though the girl herself didn't feel like she did much of anything. She'd mainly acted recklessly and went with the first ideas that came to mind, so the medal that was temporarily hanging from the left side of her chest didn't feel very deserved. She didn't bother to change into anything special for the ceremony, it's not like she had a dress or anythign anyway, so she was still in her regular attire. The girl found herself wandering the hallways of the base, whistling idly without a soul in sight. She happened to walk into the hangar, where a tune she didn't recognize played... or, at least not directly. Judging from the instruments coming from it, it sounded like an almost ancient rockband... or at least, ancient by this point in time. She was a little curious why old music like that was playing, so Serah snooped around for a bit.

As the sounds drew closer, she found herself in a section of the hangar she hadn't been to before... because she didn't have a reason to. AA-XOTRY was stationed in the more frontal parts, so the spaces in the back weren't something Serah felt a particular need to investigate. The source was the spot occupied by a framewerk she didn't recognize, the music so loud it could blast your ears off. Someone seemed to be on top of the oversized chunk of steel, engrossed in polishing and fixing up any damaged parts. The framewerk was a mixture of grays and blues with a large cannon at the top. Serah recalled the voice of a stranger over the communications, saying they were reinforcements. Maybe that was the guy? Still, even if the person was that stranger, the music was so loud and they were so high up that it'd be hard to grab the boy's attention...

So, naturally, the small girl did the one thing that would get that person's attention. They were standing on a maintenance ladder, operated by two sets of controls. One of them was on the platform that was raised, and the other was down all the way where Serah was. The girl happilly skipped over and pressed the buttons for it to go right, left, up and all around. The platform shook a little, causing whoever was standing on top of it to lose grip of a wrench which clattered to the ground right next to Serah. It barely missed out on her head, making for three near-death experiences.

Jason, who had been hard at work restoring X-7 after the little damage it took, didn't notice anybody enter. Instead, the boy had been focusing on his framewerk, occasionally talking to it as he noticed certain connectors being slightly out of place. Just as he was finishing up near the top, getting ready to check on X-7's legs and ankles after the impact, he felt the ladder he was on suddenly shake. The boy cursed loudly, losing his grip on the wrench as it fell towards the ground. With one hand gripping the ladder, he clicked a remote and paused the music. He then slid his way back down the ladder, toward the girl who had been playing with the controls.

His face very clearly displayed the anger he felt inside and Jason quickly snapped at her. "What the hell do you think you were doing? Are you out of your mind?" he growled towards her, annoyed at her stupidty. "Any idea what happens to somebody when they fall off a ladder 'cause somebody was shaking it from that height? Hm? What if I had been working on, oh I don't know, the giant railgun? Don't ever, play with the ladder while somebody is on it." he growled. Jason then turned away from her as he went to look up at X-7. A few moments later, he would turn back, looking at her, much calmer this time around while crossing his arms and studying the girl. "Sorry. Been a bit stressed, something I can help you with?"

Serah was patient with Jason, listening to the entirety of his angry scolding without skipping a beat, or even blinking for that matter. "I'm a little out of my mind, yeah!" Her answer was energetic and cheery, but she did take a step back as Jason was a little too close for comfort. Then, she continued. "Don't worry about it! If you'd have fallen, I'd have caught you. You weren't working on any weapons either, and the frames are deactivated anyway. You're a-okay with me around!" Serah had a big, dumb grin on her face and seemed to be completely serious with her answers. She then stared intensively at Jason, almost in reply to his own inspecting gaze.

"I'm not that cute, you know. But I dooooo recognize your voice... Pilot Diablo, or something, right?" Serah closed her eyes and gave a quick bow. "Cadet Serah Gene, pleasure to meet you!"

Her small, deep blue eyes looked back up to Jason. He seemed to be about Roger's age, which slightly dissapointed her. Every other guy was older than her... not to mention, there weren't any girls as old as her either. The hopes of sharing teenage drama were diminishing by the second. Still, she kept up her peppy act and asked: "So you're the new pilot, right? Riiiiight?" The girl's eyes sparkled with curiosity, staring intensely at Jason to pry the answer out of him.

A small sigh escaped the boy as he studied the girl. She was cute, no lying there, but seemed a bit younger than him... around 16, if he had to guess. "They may be deactivated, but if I were working on the railgun's core, I'd have to give it a bit of power in order to keep it stable. I fuck up there, and it would kill me outright. Anyways..." he said before giving her a polite bow.

"Cadet Jason Diabolus. Yes, I am the new pilot. It is a pleasure to meet you." he said, tossing on a small grin.

Serah was right! ...or at least partially. She botched up the name, but was spot-on with the deduction he was the new recruit. "Score one for me," she briefly thought before looking over to the speakers in the back of the room. "Hey, what was that music just now? It's not from any of the groups I recognize, not to mention it sounds like it's reeeaaally old." As the girl asked her question, she went over to said speakers and crouched down in front of them. They were small and compact, yet still produced a lot of volume. It was painted a rather boring silver, but that was the default color. A small musical note was inscribed on the bottom. "This, on the other hand, is pretty modern... Newest model from the Musicia company, right?" Serah looked back as she interrogated answers out of Jason. She seemed pretty interested.

Whatever annoyance he had previously evaporated into pity for the girl when she said she didn't recgonize the music. The poor girl hadn't been educated in the classics, which was a terrible thing in and of itself. "Yeah, newest model. Had some money before the battle, picked them up. As for the music, that's the classics. AC/DC. Classic rock from a long time ago, but still great music. A true shame you haven't heard of them," he said, trying to seem friendly enough. Sure, he was still annoyed, but the boy didn't want to create any rifts with his newfound comrades. Not to mention, she was a bit... he wasn't sure how to phrase it. But she was hard to stay mad at, that much was for sure. "So, if you don't know any of the classics, then who do you listen to?" he asked.

Serah thought a bit about the group Jason mentioned. "I see dee see, huh..? Yeah... I think someone might've told me about them a while ago..." She tried her hardest to think back on it, but it'd been years. Ever since she got ripped away from the orphanage, Serah didn't exactly have time to keep track of everyone else's music styles.

She did get pretty excited when Jason asked her what she listened to, though. "Oh! I'm a very M-Poppy girl! You know, modern pop? I'm especially a big fan of the Utau group! Have you heard of them? They were nearly idolized back where I came from! Aaah, that sweet voice with those energetic melodies..." Serah started to drift off into fantasy land, thinking of the newest singles that had supposedly been set to release a week from now. She definitely had to get her hands on those.

She caught herself drifting off, though, and quickly snapped out of it. "...Oops!" She bonked herself on the head, shook it and looked back to Jason's speakers. "Wow... I can't believe I'm so lucky! Someone else who's into music... I never thought I'd get that chance!" Serah looked back to Jason and hopped over to him. "Hey, hey! Let me listen to some of those songs some time! I don't know much about the older generations, but I'm eager to learn!" The girl had her hands clasped together in her plea, looking up to Jason with eyes as pure as a small puppy's.

A small laugh came from the boy as she spoke about the music. So he had found another music lover, just with slightly different tastes. "Can't say I am a huge fan of pop. Mostly classic rock, and hard rock. As far as listening to the music sometime, sure. I don't mind much at all." he said, his forced smile from before becoming a bit more genuine as he spoke. "So, Miss Gene, which one of these werks is yours?" he asked, gesturing at the massive machines in the hangar. As he spoke, the boy moved over to lean against X-7's leg and waited for a response from the girl.

As Jason moved over to lean against his framewerk, Serah grabbed his hand. "Nope, you're not getting away that easily! C'mon, I'll show you!" She tugged once, pretty forcefully. Then she started to dash off into the long corridor, Jason in tow. AA-XOTRY was stationed at the front, and so it took them a bit of running to get there. When they arrived, Jason was greeted with the sight of melted armor and a broken chest. Serah's framewerk took quite a beating in the fight, but the general gist of it was still clear as day. With the way its wing was melted to the unarmed fist, they looked a little knightly even without the unlit sword.

"This is my best friend, Atty!" Serah let Jason go and turned on her heel, her smile the biggest it's ever been. "I know they're a little beat up right now, but... we went through a lot. I... wouldn't trade them in for the world, though! We're the ultimate team!" She spoke full of pride and confidence in her Atty, looking away from her fellow cadet again and up at the hulking machine. While her face was out of Jason's sight, her smile began to wane and her eyes started to close a little. "It's... a bit of my fault they're like this, but I'm sure they'll pull through! They've... always pulled through."

Serah took a deep breath and faced Jason again, spinning around like a teacup attraction at the amusement parks. Any sign of how hurt she was had been completely wiped off of her face again. "Sorry, got a bit sentimental there! What do you think? Atty's really cool, right?"

Before Jason could say much of anything, he was being dragged down the way by Serah. As he stopped in front of the machine which had taken quite a beating, Jason raised an eyebrow. Before he could say anything, Serah's attitude seemed to change a slight bit as she stared at her framewerk. Only an idiot wouldn't notice the change in tone. The boy wanted to say something, as he didn't like seeing others in pain or feeling upset in general, but then suddenly Serah was back to her normal self. "It's quite alright. I can get that way when talking about Ribasu. Atty seems like they've taken a hit, but I am sure they'll pull through. What sort of things can they do?" he said, hoping to keep the girl more cheerful at the moment.

Serah nodded at Jason's questions. "I guess you wouldn't know, huh? They're a front-line fighter, classic sword style! The armor's light, but that's so I can zip around the battlefield no problem. All the protection we need is in our wings, anway! They can detach and be used as floating shield, taking most of the fire for us. The sword's made of plasma, and can even fire some of it if the enemy is further away or tries to flee! It's maybe a bit dangerous, but we've proven we can do it once already!" Serah's spirits certainly were lifted after Jason asked about Atty, she seemed to really enjoy talking about them.

So it seemed she was in a bit of a better mood, which made Jason feel a bit better. "Ah, nice. Atty seems like they're a fearsome fighter. Probably a great friend to you as well. The real question, however, is whether or not Atty can fly. Can't tell me you got wings but don't fly?" he said, now curious about why the mech even had wings. It didn't seem overly efficient to him, but whatever. The boy wasn't the manufacturer or pilot of the frame.

Serah held out her hands and waved them from side to side, almost in a panic. "Oh, no, no! The wings aren't for flying at all! They're just the shields, the way Atty flies list in the thrusters installed all around it's body. Yeah, it's not as stylish as a pair of wings, but that's not the point. We're meant to quickly move around and be able to protect ourselves on the run, so something that can move freely helps a ton! Especially when you have two of them!" She calmed down soon enough, looking around the room. She found a small piece of cardboard to help her illustrate. She ripped it up in two, placing one in front of her chest and letting the other piece lean against her ankles. "See? If they were in this formation, I'd be protected from most frontal assaults. If I moved the one on my side to my back, you'd have to catch me from the side." After the explanation, she placed the two pieces of cardboard back where she found them. Hopefully those weren't important for something.

"Mobile shields. Interesting. Ribasu just has a lot of armor. Can't hurt me if they can't break the armor. Still, would be pretty cool if the wings worked to fly. Kind of like an angel in battle." he said, allowing himself a moment to laugh slightly. "Suppose that means the angel is elsewhere in that mech..." he said and cast a brief look at Serah.

"...Eh. Eh? ...EEEEEH?!" Serah got really flustered and red for a moment from the sudden compliment, shaking her head violently alongside her hands. "Nono- I'm not- You're wro- I- Uh! Aaaah..." She pinched her own cheeks and coughed twice to regain her composure, eyes shifting left to right. "U-Uh... Uhm... S-So, you mentioned something about a 'Ribasu'? Was that the framewerk you were, eh, working on earlier? R-Return the favor, tell me about them!" Serah was desparate to change the topic, stuttering quite a bit due to how embarrassed she was. She was not used to being called an angel.

Jason smiled when she got all flustered as it was, quite honestly, adorable. "You may think you aren't, but... you're probably wrong." he said before returning the favor of earlier and grabbing her hand to drag her back down the hall without much a chance to react. Payback was only fair, after all. The pair stopped in front of the behemoth of a werk which was Ribasu, with Jason stepping in front of her and gesturing towards the werk. "Serah Gene, meet X-7, codename: Ribasu no Hono. Ribasu, be nice to the lady and say hi." the boy said with a huge smile. When the machine said nothing, he simply knocked on its leg before addressing Serah. "Ah, Ribasu is just shy. Anyways, Ribasu here is a Heavy class framewerk. My own little fortress on the battlefield. We are not particularly fast, but we make up for it. Ribasu boasts heavy armor which is designed to take quite the punishment." He said before moving towards the Werk's right foot.

"But we aren't one trick magicians, no Ma'am. Ribasu here is outfitted to take a punch, then give it right back to enemy tenfold. Up on top of the mech you'll see our main armament; the 'Moonbreaker' Railgun. This beast, when charged up, has the power to punch through small moons. Either that, or really pesky Cruxi with their armor. With the slugs travelling at extremely high velocity I'd argue it is a bit like a finger of God reaching out to obliterate the enemy. Ribasu's railgun fires three kinds of slugs: your standard railgun shot, an AP shot meant to ruin a battleship's day and our final one being an explosive shot that goes off and has a massive area of effect. Great for clearing out groups of enemies with brutal efficency." he said before slapping what appeared to be a small heaxgonal flap on the shin.

"There are a hundred ports, just like this one, all over Ribasu's body. Inside they carry self-defense missiles. It's good in the case that somebody gets in close, or if you really want to make sure something is dead." he said before hopping down and approaching Serah once more, a stupid smile still on his face. Obvious that he cared and loved the Werk deeply. "Ribasu is the only family I have left. His codename, which translates from Japanese to be Flame of Rebirth, is quite personal to me. He's both my fortress and brother in arms. Couldn't ask for anything better." he said, his grin fading slightly before coming back as he seemed to get his composure back.

Serah's head was spinning from the mad dash and the sudden influx of information, mirrored by her eyes spinning around in their sockets as if they'd witnessed the true terror of a high-speed rollercoaster. She snapped back to reality once Jason started talking about the meaning behind X-7's codename, and softly muttered "You too, huh..." under her breath as a reply. She took a few steps towards the giant behemoth, inspecting it. "So, we're kind of the opposite, huh? I move around and really dig into them, and you stay in the back laying on the hurt..." Serah trailed off, putting her hands inside the pockets of her vest.

She didn't turn around like usual, but instead looked back over her shoulder to Jason. "...Yet, we're similar in how we think of them, huh? ...I... think that's kind of cool, honestly." She was a lot less cheery than before, shifting into a more awkward tone of voice as if she was embarrassed to say it. A small laugh escaped Serah, looking back at Ribasu.

"...Well, I like them a lot!" The girl spoke with confidence again, turning around and bowing for Jason again. "I'll be relying on you in the future!" She raised her head, the smile on her face being more modest than it was before. It also felt a lot more real compared to any other smile she'd shown so far, as if a bit of how she really felt about everything was starting to leak out.

When Serah mentioned relying on him in the future, Jason felt a bit awkward. The Doom squad had relied upon him, yet he had gotten the whole thing killed. Hopefully, he wouldn't be doing that to this group. After all, Serah did seem like a person he could grow close to, as if she understood a little bit about him. He'd hate to see her hurt, or dead. He didn't need another name added to the list. But... seeing her smile, and the way it seemed genuine, brought Jason back to reality. "Well, then, I hope I will not disappoint. Anyways, I am a bit... hungry. What do you say we go get something to eat?" he asked the girl, a kind expression on his features.

Serah nodded, her goofiness returning to her in the blink of an eye. On cue, her stomach started to growl alongside Jason's. "Totally! Whoever gets there last pays for the food, though!" Before Jason could give an answer, Serah dashed off down the halls.

"See ya later, Ribasu." the boy said before racing off after Serah. He might as well enjoy himself while he could. "No way you're gonna win!" he called after her as they ran.

Meanwhile, near the front of the base, two individuals can be seen. Though one with a headset around his neck is clearly seen as the new cadet in squad Sigma, Jake Armstrong.

However, it was the redheaded girl he was leading in that would more than likely turn heads. At the moment though, she seemed different. More...frightened than anything. But at the same time, determined.

"...Mai. I really think you should be recovering", Jake said as she continued to lead.

"I know Jake...but even though I don't like it, duty calls", Mai said, even sounding normal for a change.

And Jake knew why too. Much like he had been doing his "recon" homework on the cadets around squad sigma, it didn't take him much time to know the rumors about Mai "Seven" Twilight. Even back in the day when she was in his reconnisance division.

But it was the fact that...Mai and "Seven" were two different people that confirmed the reason why she was who she was. Why Mai was able to actually go out there and fight. To even take lives when ordered to.

Split personalities. And Seven was born due to the training in the first division she was in though not even Jake knew the full circumstances behind that. The "Helldivers" division. Even though Jake knew that the name comes from a digital game from a very old console back in the day, the name itself tells what kind of a division it was. But the seven pilots there were considered the best back in it's day.

But it was when it's director, Caulder, suddenly changed when he started making his pilots use some..."top secret" weapon or something even he had trouble finding information on. Just that it was "classified".

But now...it seems that it wasn't "Seven" that he was escorting into the base. It was the real Mai Twilight.

"...well let's go eat. I know your beat", Jake said with a rhyme.

Jake knew Mai was different when she chuckled at that. Back then, Seven had just glanced coldy at him.

"...Jake. Thank you but...you know being around me is trouble...I...don't exactly have a...good mindset", Mai then said.

And Jake knew why too. When he found out why Mai let "Seven" run the show most of the time. Why she only showed up on occassion.

Jake simply said, "Come on. Were almost at the cafeteria. I'll fill you in. Though I imagine the other cadets would want to talk to you as well."

"I know...just not about the...battle and what...happened...", Mai slowly said as she let Jake lead her into the cafeteria.

Zim stood stone-faced and stoic throughout the duration of the ceremony. Pretty words were said about the triumph, celebrations and salutations were issued for those that performed well. The subject of those who had not performed as well was sharply evaded, even unto the point that Zim and the rest of the Team from Joppa had been squirreled away as far from the front of the pack as possible and hidden amongst the crowd of soldiers and volunteers and dignitaries. When at last they there relieved of the doldrums of the ceremony Zim made his way back to base as quietly as he could. Once there he stripped out of his Class A uniform and slid back into his plug suit to make another attempt at the simulators.

Zim felt he had performed well in combat this time. He was the first member of Team Joppa to receive any damage, but it had actually been from friendly fire due to Zim rushing in and not waiting for Paladin's salvo to hit first. That was a stupid mistake and it cost him much of his protection. Protection that Zim thought might have allowed him to make it through the rest of combat in one piece. And when it was all said and done, it was a sniper that had taken him out. Zim's inability to safely and effectively close the distance against a sniper may have been a game changer too. There were a lot of what ifs involved. Maybe, if Black Star's armor wings hadn't been blown off then he wouldn't have taken the damage that destroyed the active jammers. If he still had the active jammers then he could have perhaps closed the distance with stealth or distraction. Even if the active jammer had been destroyed, the armor wings might have still taken enough damage to get Zim in close enough to deal with the opponent. And while closing the distance was the biggest obstacle for any combat situation for a melee combatant, the sniper is the melee's natural enemy.

As such, Zim entered the simulation pod again, plugging his suit up to the system and sliding the helmet over his head. A moment of darkness before the system recognized his authority to use the equipment, then the helmet activated and started displaying information. Zim already knew the numbers for the sniper category and with a few quick keystrokes a menu of scenarios popped up with variables listed beside them, quickly scrolling through them Zim found another simulation to run through. A brief pause while Zim waited for his settings to autoload and then a countdown timer to the start of the combat. Three seconds later Zim was in the cockpit of Blackstar leaning up against a building. Sensors were down, so the location of the sniper was a complete mystery. This scenario had two ways to win, survive and escape, or survive and destroy enemy sniper. Captain Ritsu had made it obvious before they descended to this terrible planet's surface that escape was not a viable option.

It didn't take long before the simulation ended with defeat. Frustrated Zim took the helmet off and leaned back in the pod and let out a long, low sigh.

The crowd loved what was left of the Troas crew. Adored them even. They were the great saviors of the colony. And Roger felt like he didn't deserve a single second of the praise being put upon them. Yeah, he shot a few of the alien soldiers and managed to make it out of the whole situation alive (and in the case of Yeager) mostly intact, but in the big scheme of things it didn't feel like he contributed much of anything. Hell, as far as Rooney was concerned only Serah and Sigma deserved such honors, being the ones to stop Mist almost single-handedly.

As it was, he was still here, so he tried to look good and smile for the crowd, but the muscles in his face refused to cooperate. After a couple of attempts it was clear that smiling was not going to work, so he settled on a neutral expression that hopefully wouldn't be read as snobbery or disdain. After finishing the ceremony, Roger quickly separated himself from the rest of the squad and the very touchy public (he was pretty sure more than one hand touched his butt as he was escorted away from the event) in general to get some alone time.

As he walked down the street smoking a cigarette he looked down to his hand. In it he held the Steel Heart Medal, he ran his thumb over the emblem, feeling the smooth metal surface over. He knew it should be a great honor to have such a prestigious accessory, but he didn't feel anything towards it. Still, his folks back home would probably love to have it around. Maybe they'd frame it above the mantle. If nothing else, everyone back home would know he's doing well. At least they'd think he was doing well.

Stuffing the highly coveted award into his pocket, Roger made his way back over to base, specifically the VR training room. It almost wasn't even a conscious decision, he just spent so much time there that it was second nature to be there. To his surprise, he wasn't the only one there. Zim was strapped in, but with the helmet off, looking rather frustrated.

"Not holdin' up so well either, are you?" He asked positioning himself in the pod across from his elder. "Come on, you're just gonna keep fucking up if you beat yourself up."

---

The ceremony was a long dull affaire for Katya. Who was made to stand in the thick of the crowd for it. Not paying attention to a good part of Colonel Cain made a speech. Katya finding that as the Colonel praised the actions of those that fought in Troas. Painting them as hero while the rest of the Sigma was all but forgotten about. She understood why, given Ritsu's comment when she was organizing them and that the Joppa battle was just an utter mess. If the people exactly knew what happened during the battle it was be understandable they'd be upset. That, however didn't make feel better. The young woman finding she didn't like that while one part of the squad was praised, the other part tucked away out of sight. Like a dirty little secret. They had all fought hard and she thought everyone deserved a little recognition for that. Even if was just a very basic acknowledgement

Even as Cain started to give out commendations and other things. Katya was surprised to hear her name called out as Cain mentioned her increase in rank. Although she didn't move from her spot from deep within the crowd. She couldn't help but feel a little happy. Even if she was still pretty annoyed by the Colonels speech. As the ceremony came to a close, Katya was pleased as she quickly slipped out of the crowd. Finding herself to be very uncomfortable by the end, being in among so many people. She didn't know other people did it. Maybe it was something one just had to adjust to. Never in her life had she been near so many people. Regardless Katya hoped she wouldn't be shoved into a crowd that large for a long time.

Now free of the crowd Katya breathe a sigh of relief. Thinking now she wanted to be somewhere isolated so what better place than a simulator pod. She had already planned to log sometime in the simulator. Given in the days leading up the ceremony Caretaker had been issued new drones. Which had pleased Katya, as the new Drones required Caretakers drone hanger to be modified to accommodate them. Being larger than the Eden drones the claps just needed to be adjusted and have the new drone’s schematics uploaded. Nothing too hard, just time consuming. It providing a good distraction from the negative thoughts Katya still found drifted around in her mind. Every so often Katya couldn't help but think of the what I did this instead about the Joppa battle. She still blamed herself for Elora being captured, but Katya was starting to accept there was simply nothing she could have done to stop it. Even if that realization gave her little comfort.

Making her way over to the where the simulator was kept. Her mind replying the Cains speech, well the part that involved her being promoted. Katya was unsure what that meant. Minus that she was no long a mere cadet. It made her wonder what the old man was planning. Katya pretty confident it what it meant, but she'd prefer to hear it from him, or the newly promoted captain. For the moment, it was filed away as unimportant. Katya sure next time the squad had meeting everything would made clear.

For now, thought Katya planned to get a little simulator time in. Unfamiliar with her new drones she wanted to run thought a few simulations to get a basic feel for them work out a few different ways she could deploy them effectively. So, come next battle she wasn't having to work it out on the fly. Having planned this since she awoke Katya had been wearing her plug suit under her normal uniform, long before the ceremony started. Having planned to sneak a quite round in the simulator before it started.

Arriving at the simulators Katya quickly spotted Zim and Roger. Katya looking at them both for a moment before claiming the pod next to Roger.
“Hi guys. That ceremony was a rather long and dull affaire don't you think? I'm surprised to see you here Roger. Couldn't handle the adoring public? Can't say I blame you. Either way congratulations." Katya spoke, as she started to remove her uniform revealing the plug suit underneath. Katya having little care of how it may have looked when she started to remove her uniform.

Ariin

Inside Paladin's central cortex

---

Ariin was... Somewhere, he wasn't quite sure exactly where he felt as if trapped inside a black hole. Time and space no longer seemed to have meaning, simply existing was... Difficult. He felt as if he constantly demand his own memories to remain in place, for his consciousness it was fluid. Sometime's he was on Mar's sewing up clothes and cooking meals for his siblings. Other days, he was in boot camp having the shit kicked out of him by a man twice his size.

Ariin slowly began to organize his thoughts, he began to understand the inner workings of the system. The patterns, the rituals, the code around him. He felt as if merging with him. As if had not been trying erase his consciousness but meld with it. Relaxing finally he did not lose his mind yet now he could see his body reform no doubt this 'dream' was done to ease his struggling. Whatever it was Ariin recalled a moment he wanted to watch, a moment that defined him. A moment he could look at and never forget what drove him to being here, he remember the burning of his world. He stared at it, unsure for how long from his spot inside a space holding his crying siblings as he knew what the Cruxi meant to do, genocide.



Paladin grumbled exiting the simulation, groaning as he slammed his fist into the console. Ariin memories had him doing far more advanced moves and even using the shield as a weapon. Yet he had gotten himself killed more times then he carried to think about. He had failed the mission a dozen times over, he knew what needed to be done his fleshy host however was far to unwieldy. He had just started tugging on Ariin's clothing over the plug suit, feeling unnatural without layers over his body.

The former titan of war stepped away from the console, looking at the other arrivals. He grit his teeth carefully, he did not understand how to interact with them. Ariin's memories showed him disregarding protocol several times when speaking to them yet he wanted to follow protocol... Admit his failures in the simulation, yet he could not something hurt him inside... An emotion, pride? No he was not proud creature he knew that, no he felt shame. Shame that he could not live up to pilot Sorus, who had risked everything to try and protect those around him. Who gladly was ripped from his own body if only to see the enemy driven back, so he spoke up looking between Katya, Zim, and Roger.

"I have failed a simulation... Again. This is one pilot Sorus has yet to fail, and his effective rate remained at a solid eighty percent. I cannot manage above a twenty, nor can I survive the mission." He spoke staring at the console again, eye burning with hatred and fury. He would master it, he had too. "I have been told by the doctors I am to remain in this body? I am unsure that is the best course if I do not improve, pilot Sorus is... Was much more capable." The former frame spoke touching the eye carefully before shedding the clothes, back down to his plug suit. Sitting back down he touched the port above the eye, the point where he had entered this body. "Pilot Ariin would be throwing a fit... He would demand we strike back and find Elora..." Paladin chuckled. "The boy was always so emotional, especially towards anyone who resembled his sisters." With that Paladin began to ready another simulation, he would improve and perhaps one day he would make Ariin proud.

Back at the cafeteria, both Jason and Serah were seated at a table that made them face each other. Serah had won the race and dragged the odler boy over to buy some pastries, but she didn't look like she was enjoying any of it. The fork in the girl's hand shook as she kept prodding the pie on her plate. Her face had lit up as red as a tomato, almost as if she suffered from an allergy. Jason, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind one bit. If he wasn't busy eating, there'd be a smug smile plastered all across his face. Jason was continuing the conversation they had earlier about a Framewerk's circuit, before he interrupted himself to look at the cafeteria's door swinging open.

Serah looked up as well, seeing Mai stumble through while leaning on a boy she didn't recognize. Though still flustered, a sense of worry rapidly crept up in Serah's chest. She shot up from her chair, quickly muttered "Excuse me," and ran over to Mai.

"Maaaai! Ohmygosh, what are you doing?! You shouldn't be moving! Oh, dear mercy..." Serah's cheeks were still a bit red as she stood there, in front of Mai. She wanted to throw the girl's arm over her shoulder and lead her into a chair, but that boy worried Serah. She doesn't know how he'll react when she tries to help the poor girl out.

Serah glanced down to her left, seeing a table with an unoccupied chair. She pulled it back, then snuck underneath Mai's elbow to guide her to sit down, whether she wants to or not. Once Mai sat down, Serah looked up to Jake. She was struggling between letting the anger she felt show and putting up her happy smile, so her face was pretty tense. "W-What's going on? Mai should be resting up, not... not walking around like... she shouldn't..."

Serah relaxed, breathing a little deeper and snapping out of her little panic. The boy led her to the cafeteria, so they probably were intent on getting some food. Serah leaned back on the table she took the chair from, looking back at Jake. "Hey, uhm... could you go and get something for her? I... I need a bit of time with Mai."

Mai was suddenly approached by Serah. Jake seemed to understand what was going on though and allowed her to help lead her to a table.

Jake himself had temporarily left after Mai was sat down by Serah so he could find his own chair.

"...don't worry...I'm fine Serah...more or less", Mai said.

"...oh so this is Serah Gene? Oh I'm so mean", Jake said with a rhyme.

Giving a polite cough, Jake then said, "Sorry. Just like to rap and rhyme sometimes. Name's Jake Armstrong. Reconissance division and newest pilot to your squad. Sorry if I'm nosy about people's name's and such but...kind of my job."

"...Jake...your scaring her", Mai then said.

"Hey. Just telling the truth. These days, just too many lies going around", Jake responded.

Looking at Serah, Jake said, "My bad though. Anyways, Mai was briefly in my division back in the day when she was "bouncing around" division to division. She and I are sorta buddies."

"...it wasn't for very long. "Seven" never got along with you", Mai then said.

"Whoa whoa...first off, is anyone "aware" of your condition?", Jake then asks.

Mai looked down at the table. She closed her eyes then said, "...some most likely...if I remember right...I think Harold and Daniel picked up on it when I spoke to them about my framework's classified parts on a private line...I think Zim picked up on it too during the...battle..."

Shaking her head, Mai then looked at Serah.

"...Serah...this is a depressing question but...I need to know...who did we lose? My memory is still jumbled...I know we lost one en route to the battlefield due to some space sickness but I forget who...then I landed in Joppa..."

Jake shook his head then said, "Mai. Were here for food. Not heartbreak."

"...then do as Serah says and leave us...I won't do anything "crazy"...Some ice cream will be fine if they have any", Mai then said.

Letting out a sigh, Jake said, "Well nice to meet'cha Serah Gene. But keep and eye on her like a laser beam."

On that, Jake left the table to fetch Mai and himself some food.

---

Sigma eyed her insignia once again. Nervously, for the ninth time she cleaned the shiny surface, now clouded because of her hands constantly fidgetting, as if it was telling this had been real.

She had not being paying attention at all at the ceremony, being somewhat focused in not appearing gloomy and keeping as much poise as she could after having that fallout with Iota. Conflicting emotions dwelled within her.

In the sidelines, Lorenzo's gaze drifted over the masses, his attention as drawn to them as a colony of ants, when he noticed the slight discomfort that the clone had; as composed as the young girl tried to be, her body language told a different story. When the over-enthusiastic crowds were then dispersed by a couple of shock-baton wielding enforcers and the event came to an end, Lorenzo also took his leave back to the shuttle which would bring him up to NOAH. But of course, he expected her to want to talk to him.

Sigma rubbed her cheeks once more. A small, fleeting memento of what had happened moments ago, with some overeager citizens skipping the security controls only to pinch her, trying to see if the young pilot was a real girl or just an android. That had been quite the event.

However, her mood quickly darkened as she flipped her ID card through a detector. Grimacing, she took a heavy breath as she, once again, went down the belly of the beast. Lorenzo's lair, as some of the most crass staff called it. It had a familiar feeling to it. An eerie familiar feeling. Very much like the facility she was born.

Left and right, she eyed the different walls layered with cables, signs and ocassionally the window to some kind of holding cells, with who knows what they were investigating in there. The fourteen year old wisely decided not to think too much, as she hurried her pace to meet Lorenzo in his office.

She gulped, as she knocked on the door.

A firm voice immediately answered: "Yes? Come in." When Sigma entered the office, she noticed it to be more compact than the one in Solaire, yet it had the exact same atmosphere to it: a shelf filled with old, tattered books, glass containers filled with strange objects and specimens, and the desk was cluttered with papers scattered all over, even to the floor.
Lorenzo quickly glanced from behind an unc-crumpled piece of paper, and gestured for her to take a seat as he forecfully stuck it in a binder before haphazardly throwing it to a pile of identical binders. He then clasped his fingers before him, looking just above them in a grim look. "Is there something you want to discuss with me, Cadet?"

Sigma gulped as she took a seat, her body language that of a child facing a stern parent, as she fumbled to take a sit at the chair. She sit there, rigid as a plank, her stared avoiding Lorenzo, before beginning to talk. "It's about the cores, sir." She meekly said. "During last battle... they seemed to recognize eachother. This happened before the ah... what was the word, onion? Unionization!" Sigma struggled to make herself clear. But no matter how eerie the atmosphere, she had a duty to let Lorenzo know. Each little detail would help in the war.

"The cores?" Lorenzo asked, though more from hismelf than the young pilot. "Hmm...Yes, that would be a necessary prerequisite for something of that caliber to happen...As I recall, it was you who made the decision to use Serah's core as a makeshift projectile, yes? Did you experience something from your Framewerk when it happened?"

"Uh..." Sigma clenched her fist, looking elsewhere. "Actually, using the core was Serah's idea. But I complied... still." Sigma eyed Lorenzo. "She was sad, sir." Sigma replied firmly. "I had the urge to cry. But I couldn't tell my fellow pilot about that kind of mental feedback."

"I see, she was willing to go that far to accomplish the mission." Lorenzo now stood up, and went to grab a specific bottle, containing something that writhed and reacted to the bottle being picked up. He looked at it with disinterest. "It must have been hard on you, but I'm glad you were willing to go through with it. Thanks to your success, my projects were granted more attention, and thus I can continue with my research on this new phenomenon you two have discovered." He placed it back. "Emotions are a natural part of being human...When you take that away, you are left with a husk, a simple ghost in a shell. Completely useless."

"..." Sigma didn't say anything, as she bit her lip. "I was your creation after all. If anything else, what can I do?" The young clone said, her eyes finally meeting Lorenzo's. "...this is a war we cannot lose, Sir."

Lorenzo nodded. "I'm glad we are at an understanding." He went to sit back at his desk. "So, was there anything else?"

"umm..." Sigma fidgetted. "What exactly happened to pilot Sorus? Was that a ... switch??" Sigma added, swallowing hard. It certainly looked the case. That could've explained the secretism and the odd behaviour of the people that surrounded that event.

"Sorus is an unfortunate case brought on by inadequate design and amateur execution. His mental signals are now carried through an unnecessary filter that was formed through a feedback loop with Paladin's processing unit, thus mixing the two up. Fools..." He muttered to himself.

"Uhh..." Sigma strained her brow, trying to understand what Lorenzo was saying. It didn't answer anything at all, as she did not understood a thing of what he had said. And thus, she decided to simply acknowledge it. "Alright, sir."

Lorenzo chuckled, a scary sight from a man of his disposition. "I suggest not trying to ask questions you won't understand the answer to and simply stick to doing your part of the war effort, Cadet Sigma. It would be far more beneficial in our line of work..." He said, and then picked up another piece of paper, seemingly by random, though Sigma noticed that he read it with the kind of interest that suggested deliberate choice. "Dismissed."

The young pilot startled somewhat upon hearing Lorenzo's laughter, her stance freezing in the expression, only to react to Lorenzo's statement. "Yes, sir." She added, as she began walking the other direction. She gritted her teeth, the conversation making her remember unpleasant details.

They really had to win the war. Ariin. Elora. Harold... their sacrifices would not be in vain.

Serah didn't quite know what to think of this "Jake", still. He told her that he'd worked with Mai before, but that didn't put Serah at ease in the slightest. She was a little relieved when he left, but still gave him a smile as he left. Serah turned back to Mai, avoiding eyecontact and scratching her chin a bit nervously. "Erm... you sure you want to know, Mai? I mean, shouldn't you be getting your strength back first or something?"

Serah's smile was forced, and so was the small laugh she gave Mai. It's clear that the girl would rather avoid the subject of who died on the battlefield. The girl was silent for a few moments, then changed the topic. "...Anyway, so! What's up with you and Jake, hmm? He can't just be from another division, right? I mean, you two know each other and all... You sure he didn't just transfer to see you again?"

Serah giggled a little mischievously as she said that last part, glancing back over her shoulder to see the boy still standing in line. Once the girl confirmed the two of them were in the clear, she put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on top of her folded hands.

"C'mon, we're both girls. You can tell me~! I won't tell anybody, promise!"

Zim looked over to Roger as he sat down in the opposing simulation pod. "Yeah, but I keep going through these simulation runs and they seem nearly impossible for me. I am attempting to close the gap on snipers in various situations, I am having little luck. Being a primarily melee combatant, I have to get all the way into the firing zone and all the way up to the sniper before I can counter attack. I can usually get the sniper to waste one shot with a decoy or a feint, but I don't get much of a chance after that. If I use stealth I can close the distance, but with a highly experienced sniper, it can find me using other signs of me like sound or dust debris. Maybe if I was faster like you, but I'm not."

"Well," Roger replied, "You're the pilot of a melee unit. Fighting snipers isn't really something you should be doing in the first place. It's kinda like a 'rock, paper, scissors' situation. 'Course you're going to keep getting trounced when you're trying to attack something that has a natural advantage against you. Being faster probably wouldn't help you all that much, especially if it was speed like mine. Yeager's good at moving in straight lines. To throw off a sniper's, it'd be better if you had the ability to rapidly shift directions."

Katya entered the room, Zim exited the pod and stood at attention, she did officially outrank him now.
"Yes, Ma'am," Zim responded to Katya's inquiry on the length of the ceremony. He remained at attention as Katya removed her outer uniform and down to her plug suit, he did avert is gaze, though. He thought to himself how much she had changed since their first meeting when she blushed at Zim's partially opened plug suit exposing his scar riddled chest, now she was stripping down to her plug suit in front of two male soldiers and plug suits being skin tight left little for the 'boys' to imagine.

Modesty is one of the first casualties of war it seems.

Roger, on the other hand, stayed seated. She clearly wasn't treating them as inferiors now that she was a corporal, and he wasn't going to just up and change the way he treated his squadmates at the drop of his hat. However, he still had not idea how to talk to Katya directly, face-to-face and couldn't really find the right things to say to her answer, so he just remained silent. When she began to disrobe he averted his eyes, listening for any movement that would indicate that it would be safe to return his attention back to the simulation.

With the uniform off Katya felt a cold chill run up her spine. Sighing, as she still found most of the base was too cold for her liking or maybe it was anxiety from being in a large crowd catching up with her. Regardless, Katya hoped once she got to training whatever the cause was would go away. Turning to Zim, she looked at him with a small frown on her face. Looking at the two boys she could see they averted their eyes. Katya realizing, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to simply strip down into one’s plug suit in front of the opposite gender. Even if not a good idea, it still beat walking to the locker room and back. Katya trusted Zim and to a lesser to degree Roger. That both boys had seen her in her plug suit. A one off thing wouldn’t be too bad, right?

Katya cleared her throat to let the boys know it was safe to look. Turning to Zim, Katya wanted to deal with this Ma'am thing before it became a habit.
"Zim I don't want to do the whole yes ma'am bit, alright. I'm still Katya. Alright. Only do the ma'am thing if the situation requires it. Otherwise, you'll just annoy me." Katya stated looking at Zim as she spoke, only turning Roger when she finished speaking.

"Yes, Ma'am," Zim said with a smirk as he slouched back into his pod. He couldn't help himself.

"That means you too Roger, not a ma'am out of you either." she quickly spoke, feeling a content having told both the boys. Although she was still looked at Roger for a movement, her frowning growing slightly.
"Also you know it's also rude to not acknowledge someone when they speak to you. Even if it's just a basic answer." Katya added, feeling a little angry he kept quiet. Katya didn't like to be ignored when she spoke. It went against the way she was raised.

Roger still had no idea what to say in reply to Katya. His mind just drew a lot of blanks, so he did his best with a facial expression that could best be described as a combination of an attempted smile, confusion and anxiety thrown into a blender and pulsed a few times. Decently mixed, but also rather chunky, with its separate components discernable from one another. Thinking to himself that his dumb expression probably wouldn't suffice, he added in a nod.

Katya waited for Roger to say something. Watching as he did something that might be called a smile. To her though it looked like it was mixed with a couple of other emotions. Her frown growing, Katya could feel her temper starting to flare. Even as he nodded, Katya merely shook her head disappointed. All she wanted was a simple hello. Was that too much to ask. Katya had no idea what Roger problem was, all she knew it really annoyed her.

"Well, I'm tired of getting shot at from too far a distance for me to do anything about. Shall we run a simulation together? Or maybe do a little sparring? Or would either of you prefer to train alone? If we are training together, it would be my recommendation that we run a simulation against Cruxi models, perhaps some of the new units we encountered? We should be developing strategies for dealing with these target types."

"Would probably do us best if we stuck to workin' together," Roger answered, more than a bit glad he knew what to say to Zim. "Sparrin' and such is occasionally fun and all, but improving teamwork should take precedent. I don't think I need to point out how the last few days could have gone better if we were more prepared on that front."

“I agree, it would silly to waste a chance to improve our teamwork …” Katya spoke trailing off. Shooting a glare at Roger. Now he spoke, Katya huffed feeling quite annoyed at her teammate. Whatever his problem was he’d need to get over it pretty quickly or there would be problems. If it was one thing Katya wouldn’t tolerate was a lack of basic respect. Especially from those she now outranked.

Once Zim had everybody on board he leaned forward and starting pawing through the controls. A moment later he had cued up a simulation that he felt would force the trio into having to work together and not simply being able to take things on one at a time. It was a new simulation wrote after the events of Troas and Jappa and included the tentacle beasts and CWM. Zim removed the snipers from the mix for the moment, a temporary respite for himself. He upped the number of CWM to compensate for them, selected a landing Zone for all three of them to start in and let the computer place the opponents based on the live data that was collected from the previous three combat situations.

"Alright, plug in, we are all ready to launch on our side," Zim said to his training partners while leaning out of the pod to put his eyes on them, "This one is going to push us to our limits I think. We will have a total of 15 opponents, primarily CWM with a few tentacle beasts as well. I've placed us in a landing zone together. The computer will determine where the enemy is. We will have no more information than what we have in our heads and what our werk's sensors can tell us. We will probably fail, but that is how we learn to be more efficient. Don't think of it as 5 opponents each, that defeats the purpose of attempting to work together."

After the usual boot-up log in sequences were over and the simulations were loaded in, each of the three pilots would find themselves in their respective cockpits. With little time to check statuses, the HUD counted down from 3...2...1...BEGIN! Suddenly the sensors would pick up signatures of the three comrades, but also another 8 units in the immediate vicinity that were marked hostile. Without an initiated higher power scanner, the three pilots didn't know for certain what lurked beyond the buildings.

"Call the shots, Katya," Zim said over the team link. "But based on the numbers and placement I suspect that we are looking at two pods of CWM and two TB." Zim only recalled the CWM operating in groups of three composed of both melee and ranged combatants, so that was the most logical explanation without seeing what was waiting for them. Even as the trio waited the split second for a decision they could see the opponents converging on their location.

Getting into the pod, Katya readied herself and before she knew was in a simulation of Caretaker’s cockpit. Katya glancing over her controls out of habit. As the HUD counted down. Looking at the sensors as they suddenly showed Roger and Zero, alongside 8 other units. Hearing Zim say ´Call the shots ..." Katya nodded, half expecting to put in charge. The young woman looking at her map trying to put together some sort of plan on how to try and win the simulation. Katya frowning as she saw the enemy units already converging on the squad’s location.
Katya muttering several cruse words under her breath. Even if this was just a simulation she wanted to win. She wanted time to work out a proper strategy, however, lacked the time.

Looking at the map Katya knew she’d have to merely trust her instincts and hope they were good enough.
"Zero, Roger we are going deal with units in front of us first. Also, prioritizes Tentacles we don’t want them rushing us. Spread out but stay close, we need to able to back each other up. We’ll advance and meet the enemy in front of us, you two have point I’ll cover the rear and back you guys up.” she stated unsure what to do in this situation.

As the Virtual overtook the real, Roger found himself in the far more comfortable situation of being seated in the cockpit of Yeager, even if it was a false sensation. The degree of familiarity he also had was mostly fiction, but it didn't really matter here.

Roger made a quick assessment of the situation: another urban setting, but even more enemies to deal with in proportion to the size of the forces available to them. He immediately positioned Yeager behind a building for cover, kneeling down. Zim had said nothing about snipers being present, but it was always possible that they were mixed in there, and he had seen firsthand how dangerous those fuckers could be. Katya didn't seem to have much of an initial plan going forward, which could end up being a problem. His mind racing, he quickly assembled a plan that might put their machine's strengths to better work.

"Understo-" Zim started to respond to the orders when Roger chimed in.

"Katya," Roger said over the comms. "Permission to make a tactical suggestion?" Roger monitored the positions of the enemies, although they were closing in quickly for the moment they were still outside of the range of his machinegun, and splitting off from the other two so soon wouldn't end well.

Hearing Roger call her on the comms, asking permission to make a tactical suggestion. Katya couldn't help but frown. Now he wanted to talk to her? That boy was going to get it at some point, that was assured. However, for now she had to let it slide.
“Granted.” Katya replied, her annoyance with Roger sounding strongly in her voice.

"Make it quick," Zim said as he watched the dots closing in tighter and tighter on their intersection on the map. In this simulation, they not only had superior numbers, but they also knew where the team was at, they were also surrounded and being closed in on. Zim knew that this wasn't the time to sit around and discuss. The plans needed to be fluid and they needed to be immediate.

The Cruxi always had it easy, their goal was not domination, which usually wanted to keep assets functioning and in good condition, their goal was destruction. Meanwhile Zim and the rest of his teammates would probably always have defense as their goal, which was to kill the enemy while causing as little collateral damage as possible. This was effectively why Joppa was considered a failure; too much extra damage occurred. Too many civilians died. Now, in this fake city, the same was about to happen again.

Plasma fire started raining down on Zim's position, thinking fast he maneuvered out of the way of the enemy fire and switched his active jammer on, making him invisible to direct digital observation. No time to make a plan, but the other two would need to learn that the hard way it seemed. Zim remained invisible for the moment readying for evasive maneuvers. Waiting for whatever the new plan was going to be.

"Thanks Zim, you're making things easier for me." Roger said, checking that the Cruxi had made it within the range of his machine gun, the machine popped out from its hiding spot, spraying super-sized bullets at one of the machines, damaging it, but not enough to take it down before its friends started raining gunfire in his direction.

Yeager's over boosters activated, sending it screaming across the street out of the gunfire before it performed a slide across the ground to maintain cover, but also provide a degree of ambiguity as to his machine's current location to the enemy. The downside of this whole situation was that the group was now effectively split up. Roger could make it back to either Caretaker or Black Star (if he knew where it was), but not so that he'd be able to cover both if he needed to.

"Basically," Roger said, speaking quickly in the small amount of time he'd afforded himself, "it's a bait and switch. I act as bait, using hit and run tactics to draw the attention of Cruxi before Zim comes in and wipes them out while they're focusing on me. Katya acts as support, stopping us from doing anything too stupid that could backfire. And Zim, it'd be great if you'd tell us where you are so we can plan accordingly." After talking, Yeager popped up from its hiding place to be greeted with more lasers. Fuck, he had hoped they wouldn't have pinpointed him so quickly. Using buildings as cover wouldn't net him too much protection if he didn't stay mobile. The white Framewerk moved backward down another nearby street, outside of his weapons' effective range, but out of theirs to, making his way back towards Caretaker, even if it was via an indirect route. He wouldn't act on any plan until he got a go-ahead from the squad leader.

As fire started to rain down on Zero, Katya instinctively took cover behind a building. Pop out for a moment to return fire, although she failed to hit anything. Only taking a quick shot in the Cruxi general direction. As Roger gave a quick rundown of his plan. Personally, Katya didn’t like Rogers plan. Even though it could work. She was unsure how effective it would be while surrounded. With enemy’s closing in all around them. She glanced at her radar. She had no time to think, no time to plan. It frustrated her, having to make a choice so quickly without being able to think of backup plans or work out the plans possible outcomes. Katya feeling as if life was trying to remind her of her blatant lack of experience as a commander.

“Fine, but you two need to work very quick. We’ve only got a few minutes before we have Cruxi trying to take us from the rear. I will make sure you two don’t get yourself “killed”.” she started deploying her attack drones. Even if it was just a simulation she could hear the sounds of her drone hang opening and the sound of something heavy moving around.
“Artemis Drones deployed” Katya announced as the four drones leaped from Caretakers hanger onto the ground. Katya’s HUD updating to include the drone’s status.

"Understood," Zim responded. He explained where he was located at on the coms. "Alright, lead them into the kill zone, Roger. Katya, good idea to cover the backside, but if we start to drift away too far you need to follow after us or else you will get surrounded."

The first pod of CWM finally advanced into Zim's line of sight of their intersection and started firing again. "Keep them where they are, Roger. I'll get around to the backside." Zim moved for cover and waited a moment before moving again. He was theoretically invisible, but the random shot could still get him. Jaeger acting as bait zipped back and forth keeping ahead of their plasma fire. Zim moved around wide of the pod and deactivated the active cloak once he was within striking distance, the armored wings raising up into an ominous large black shadow against the urban environment, the thermal scythe flashing to life as it easily sliced through one foe hip to shoulder and down on another foe head to crotch leaving one melee type in the pod, Zim jumped back and lowered the armored wings, reactivating the active jammer.

"I'm clear!" Zim reported, letting Jaeger know it was alright to open fire.

Jaeger flew by behind the melee unit and laid down a line of fire across its backside finishing it off from the damage previously done.

Caretaker would soon start to feel the pressure of the encroaching enemies as one of the Tentacle Beasts would start rapidly closing in on Katya's position.

"Zim, I'm going to go back up Katya. I know firsthand how hard those sons of bitches can hit." Roger said, not even waiting for a confirmation before piloting his Framewerk away from the scraps that made up the virtual Cruxi squad.

Sure his action might be deviating from his own plan, but as far as he was concerned, maintaining the integrity of the team was more important than bull-headedly sticking with one hastily thought up plan of action. Any of the three getting caught alone was a compromise that could potentially lead to ruin, and he wasn't going to take the chance. If he were a more wily type, he might have even justified it as continuing to act as a distraction, if only for a different person this time.

Or rather backing up Katya had been his plan before he looked at his radar and noticed that another tentacle beast was running directly at his framewerk. It would intercept his own course before he could get within support range. He possibly could get past it if he initiated his Overboosters, but then they'd have to deal with 2 of the beasts instead of one.

It was around this time when Roger had one of those stupid, crazy ideas for some big gamble maneuver that he went through with despite the very real chance of it backfiring on him. First he activated his boosters, sending the machine rocketing forward, while airborne he sent the machine spinning around and relied on a combination of intuition, and the machinegun's built in targeting computer to open fire on the Tentacle Beast before putting his Framewerk back on course.

Surprisingly enough he did manage to keep control of the Framwerk without crashing the thing or even losing much speed. He wasn't so lucky as to shoot the Tentacle Beast itself. Despite the onboard targeting computer, the machine was still spinning quite rapidly and the bullets went wide.

"Well, shit." Roger remarked to himself after checking his radar once he was within range of Katya. The beast turned around from its charge to face him again, and the other one would be arriving in another second or to. The next skirmish of the training mission would be 2v2.

As Zim dealt with the Pod Katya was busy commanding her drones. Ordering them up into positions around her out of way so she wouldn’t step on them and so they fire on the targets she designated. Katya watching her sensors closely as the little blips on her map that indicted enemies kept moving closer. Katya noting that one of them was headed right for her and moving too quick to be a CWM.

“Crap.” She muttered to herself, she didn’t want to handle a tentacle beast on her own. Feeling that would be a fight she wouldn’t do well in. Katya scanning the area for a better position to deal with closing tentacle beast. About to move as she became distracted by Rogers maneuverer. It was something she had never seen before. Katya snapping out of her distracted state as Roger entered range. Katya seen on her sensors a tentacle beast was right behind him and the other one was nearly right on top of her.

Aiming her Marker light at the beast that was coming after her Kata quickly fired the rifle. Getting a single shot of which only just missed its mark. Katya having no time to avoid the tentacle beast braced Caretaker for the impact. The tentacle beast crashing into Caretaker, knocking the werk over. Pinning the werk to the ground as its tentacles began to wrap around the werks limbs. Katya cursing as she struggled with the beast. Katya ordering her drones attack the beast with their weaponized dismantling kit. Unwilling to risk them firing at distance in case they missed and damaged Caretaker. As Katya struggled with the tentacle beast trying to loosen its tightening grip on her werk.

'First they choose a bad plan, and now they are deviating from the plan!' Zim thought to himself as he started to head directly to Katya's aid. Nobody had stayed in contact with a Tenticle Beast long enough to know what would happen if they stayed in its limby embrace, so for the purpose of simulation they primarily stopped your movement and did low damage over time. Analysis hadn't come back in any meaningful way, at least not in a way that impacted the training sims. Zim had run so many of these he knew that he had some time before Katya was in any real danger so he opted to take a slightly different approach to the situation. "Katya, fire your drones on Yaeger's opponent. Once they are disposed of Yaeger can assist you with yours. I am moving to intercept the next pod of CWM coming your way."

Zim moved as he watched the close grouping of three units move closer and closer, Black Star moving down a road alongside a factory or warehouse of sort, so his vision was obscured until the last possible moment. Just as his foes were about to come into his attack range he opened up his armor wings and disabled the active jammer expecting to find another group of CWM, what he found instead was a tight group of three Beasts. Lower to the ground than a CWM unit would be Zim entirely missed his first swing. Just as quickly as he had made his attack, they had made their counter attack with a flurry of biomechanical tentacle arms stretching out towards Zim and his werk. He was forced to act defensively now and he began spinning his scythe rapidly to cut off as many of the offensive tentacles as he could as he stepped back. At first this was working as he was able to back up and keep himself on the edge of their range but suddenly Zim felt that his leg couldn't move anymore, the sensors indicated that the left leg had been entangled and in very short order the tentacles continued to wrap more and more of him up until he too was pinned on his back by multiple Tentacle Beasts. 'Shit, what a stupid mistake,' Zim thought to himself as he struggled against his binds.

Each of the three pilots would notice a number change on their HUD, a number that didn't exist in their real units. It was a probability counter that indicated how likely, by percentage, they were to succeed at the mission. It was rapidly decreasing and finally stopped in the single digits, at 9% chance to mission success.

Roger knew from first-hand experience that these tentacle beasts didn't take sustained damage very well, and if he managed to get in a good volley of shots in the damned thing, it would probably go down no problem. The issue was actually shooting the damn thing. In the previous battle, he had always managed to shoot it when it was focused on something else, like attacking one of his teammates or being in pain after getting rammed into a water tower. Right now, its attention was focused solely on him, attacking like a mad dog.

Roger in his virtual Yeager could avoid its attacks, but only just. He didn't really have time to think about returning fire, let alone look up at the number on the HUD telling him that the trio was probably screwed. Sure, according to the simulation, the tentacles might not do much when they've got you in their slimy grasp, but he was fairly certain that a head-on attack like the ones being thrown his way wouldn't leave him doing so hot, even in a decently bulky framewerk like Yeager.

After dodging yet another swipe of a clawed hand by a few meters' space, Roger decided that nothing was going to change if this pattern kept up. Eventually, he'd fuck up and get clobbered, so he might as well try something offensive. The next time the tentacle beast lunged at him, Roger rushed forward into the attack, machine gun blazing. The framewerk got smacked into a nearby office building, the armor on its torso caved in and the mechanics underneath significantly damaged, but the beast likewise was in a similarly poor situation. It wasn't quite dead, but it wouldn't take much to get it to such a state.

Yeager didn't move, but a quick check showed that if anything, it was merely the pilot recovering from the shock of impact.

The numbers rolled down to 5%.

No matter what Katya did she could get Caretaker free of the tentacle beast. It’s grip tightening with each passing second to a point where even merely trying to struggle free became impossible for the work. Even as her drones arrived and started to cut into the tentacle beast they were eliminated by one of the CWM pods that arrived mere moments later. Inside her cockpit warning lights flashed as tentacle beast had completely immobilized Caretaker. Knowing the simulation was lost, she let go of her controls as the display in front of her told her she was dead. Annoyed she slammed her fist into the panel in front of her. Feeling like she could and should have done better.

Even as the trio struggled against their foes more and more enemy indicators popped up within range of the units basic radar functions. The remaining two pods of CWM arrived from opposing sides as the last remaining TB arrived on the scene. The remaining 5% probability continued to drop until it finally ended in a 0% chance. The simulation was over, the result a complete and utter failure. The simulation screens faded to black as the analyzer began to tabulate what occurred and what went wrong.

Zim didn't wait for the results to reappear. He was already out of the simulator pod with his helmet off when Katya and Roger got out of theirs. He knew he didn't have rank over them, especially the recently promoted Katya, but he was older than both of them, and perhaps he felt that gave him enough cause to attempt to lead them in the training simulators. Either way, he started the dialog.

"What do you think went wrong there?" Zim asked Katya first, and then turned to Roger and asked the same.

Climbing out of the pod. Katya barely had any time to collect her thoughts when Zim asked both of them what went wrong. The young woman thinking for a moment before providing her answer.
“We allowed ourselves to become surrounded.” She stated after a moment.

Roger blinked a couple of times before climbing out of the pod. He found himself immediately confronted with Zim asking what went wrong.
"Well, a lot of things went wrong. We got shoved into a situation with no plan of combat and almost no time to come up with one. We didn't have the numbers necessary to deal with such a large force as got sent at us, and as a result of both we ended up without the communication necessary to deal with the place we found ourselves in."

After hearing thier answers Zim gave his answer to the question, "It started from the very beginning. We have a leader, she made a decision and it was questioned, costing time. I'm not saying that her decision was perfect either, Roger, but I think it was more correct than your's for the situation we were in. We were surrounded by enemies that knew exactly where we were at. Our only real option was to go in any direction, together, and fight our way through it and force them to follow us. We were well out numbered and the only way to counter that is to force them to face us a little at a time by bottlenecking them and forcing them to fight us on only one front. Once we had them in the bottleneck then we could turn and fight them. Using distractions would be unnecessary but could still prove useful. Once we were in a defensible position and the two of you had it under control I could have stealthed around them and started picking them off from the back with hit and run tactics. But where we were, in the middle of their ever closing circle, those tactics could never work to any real degree of success. So to me, lesson one is in the heat of battle don't question authority. Lesson two is that when you are surrounded the whole group must move together in a single direction and keep moving until you are in a defensible position."

Zero was unusually frustrated, and visually angry with the situation which was very out of character and a rare show of emotion from the typically stoic little man. Unzipping the top of his plug suit part way he turned and made his way out of the simulation room without another word.

With Zim gone, Katya looked Roger a little dumbfounded by the older pilots reaction to their loss. From what she knew of Zim it was very out of character. Making Katya wonder if something was bothering him. However, for the moment whatever his problem was for the moment at least. She thought he’d leave him be. She still had other things to do and right now, but she made note to check on him later. For now, however, she had a few words to wanted to say to Roger.
“He has a point you know. I was in charge and you questioned me. While that is my fault as well for allowing it. Next time it might not be a simulator and get someone killed. Just remember that for next time. Anyway, I've got things to do. So I'll spea ... well see you around.” Katya said before leaving the simulator room

And so, Roger found himself standing alone in the room. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about what just happened. Briefly, there was the fleeting thought of going after one of them and trying to talk, but he quickly dismissed the idea. If either of them were in the talking mood, they would have stuck around. And he had the feeling that it would just get awkward (with Katya) or some possibly violent incident would occur (with Zim). Well, it's not like he was planning to train with other people when he came to this room in the first place. He strapped himself back into the pod silently and went back to the virtual realm of war.

Mai shouldn't have been surprised when Serah skirtted around her question about the casualties of war. For her, it was just another fact of life.

But Mai respected Serah's wishes not to talk about it. Sooner or later, she'd hear about it from someone though.

Still, she was surprised that she was asking about her relationship with Jake and not about what he was talking about in terms of her "condition".

"...well...I'm sure that's the reason he transfered here. But remember. He's with the "Recon" division. For them, it's all about information warefare. Their job's may sound like the...well "crap" work but in this war with the Cruxi, it now actually means something...they always like using new stuff against us so...kind of his job to help analyze such enemy units, weapons and such", Mai said, actually sounding normal for a change.

Mai looked at Jake in line with the other random members of the base in the cafeteria and noted that he may be there for awhile.

She then looked back at Serah.

"...Serah...you should know...I'm not exactly "normal"...didn't you even question what Jake was talking about when he briefly metioned my "condition"...or for that matter, why I'm not talking all serious or drone-like right now?", Mai then asked.

The Solaire battalion, having been a critical part in the defence of the planet, were granted rights to use the local facilities and resources to set up a temporary base for their campaign against the Cruxi. It thus didn't come as too much of a surprise that the pilot's daily lives of peace and training ended after just a week, signaled by Captain Ritsu ordering a briefing. She also mentioned that someone called Sergeant Steinhart would hold the briefing.

When the pilots arrived at the briefing hall, they met with a smiling middle-aged man standing on the side. A tall man over two meters, he first didn't even notice the others, and seemed like a carefree person as he simply gave a quick motion with his hand instead of a proper salute. It was clear from his decorations that he was a veteran, though no shoulder badge, so he was not the Sergeant they were waiting for.
Then the pilots heard the voice of a mature woman talking to someone, followed by another voice giggling in a childlike voice:

"Careful Elise, you're going to fall~"
"Haha, no way! Faster Daria, faster, haha!"

It didn't take long before the pilots saw a woman enter the hall. The woman wore a scientist's jacket, and was beautiful, her physical features sure to catch the attention of the male pilots present. However, it turned out even she was not the Sergeant.

On her shoulders Daria was carrying what looked to be a girl of grade-school age in a piggyback ride, and she was waving her arms around in an excited manner, before calming down as she was put down. She looked like a doll come to life in her miniature officer's uniform, though the tiny decorations on her chest and shoulder revealed that not only was she also a veteran, she was the Sergeant mentioned by Ritsu. The small girl smirked smugly as she put her hands to her hips. "So this is the famous squad Sigma that kicked Cruxi butt in Leviticus, huh? Nice to meetcha, hehe!" She gave a cutesy laugh as she saluted and winked.

"I'm Sergeant Elise Steinhart, though you can call me Sarge for short. This is Daria," she said gesturing to the mature woman beside her, "and that goofball over there is Devors," she said pointing to the tall man. "We were brought in as reinforcements for Solaire, and I was assigned as commanding officer to your squad. We'll be going on a new mission soon, briefed in detail by the Captain later. Until then, I'll be in charge of your training schedule, so let's train lots and get buff! Any questions?" Elise then asked, trying to give a stern glare and posture, though it came off as endearing more than threatening due to her lacking stature.

Zim took his place in the briefing hall, the frustration of the simulations was behind him now, mostly. Having returned to his usual stoic personality he gave a proper salute to the newest people in the room. Devors, the tall man was nearly twice the height of Zim, but when the new Sarge entered he was a little dumbfounded. The apparent age wasn't so much a surprise, everyone else around him was far younger then he was, it was her decoration and rank on such a young person that surprised the older pilot. But, at least he wasn't the shortest member on the squad anymore.

When asked if there were any questions Zim was tempted to ask the obvious question. He wanted to raise his hand and ask just how old she was, but he knew better. He instead came up with a better question. He raised his hand to indicate he had a question and waited to be addressed.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I am cadet Zim Hero, you mentioned that you were sent as backup, I assume that to mean that you are all pilots, correct? Might I ask what kind of armorments your werks use, or any specialization that you each have? Or to be more specific about the question, beyond your command and training in what ways are you three supplementing and augmenting our team?"

As soon as Zim stopped talking he realized that it could sound as if he were challenging the three of them. It could sound like he resented them being there. He should have just kept his mouth shut and waited for the captain to come and explain it all.

For Mai and Jake, the week seemed to go on as normal though for the both them, each faced some individual challenges.

Mai's lack of "Seven" was the first problem. Although she was only in a coma for roughly a day or slightly less, she had requested to be cleared for duty ASAP. She had a feeling too that Lorenzo would have done the same. For him, it seemed there was no rest for the weary or wicked.

That had reminded her of her Helldiver commander, Caulder, before things changed.

Either way, without "Seven" keeping her in line, Mai's behavior was that of depression. Sure, she was much more talkative to the other pilots outside of training now but inside, even more so with the simulations, Mai seemed to have some disregard for safety. In a sense, that's what had happened on Joppa when she had thought that those two remaining Cruxi were going to...destory her. She "pushed" Seven out and went crazy and went on one last reckless assault before she went out.

It was because of this that some or perhaps all the pilots, from Mai's view anyway, were showing more concern than when she was letting "Seven" do most of the normal stuff around base and in combat. And she was sure that since Jake was here, they were more than aware of her split-personality problem.

Still, she did follow protocol when ordered so it wasn't like she was constantly causing problems around base.

Jake, though, had his "mixed" bag of affairs. Jake had no trouble with the squad leader Katya in his view. Though he did have to stop the rhymes sometimes since it did tend to bother her. Still, he did help her with planning strategies and enemy information during sim runs so in terms of cooperation, he felt he was gaining her trust to some extents. Jason and Serah were a "mixed" bag so to speak. While he did have fun sharing and listening to their kinds of music, Jake had sensed that neither fully trusted him. Probably due to how much he had already known of them before even meeting him.

He was from a "Recon" division so yeah, making friends tended to get rough in that regard. At the same time, he knew that "unity" was needed in this squad so he did his best to help.

From Sigma and Iota to Mai's unstable personality and helping other squad members like Katya and Ariin's unique condition, Jake had the busy week.

Then this day came when he and the others were called by Captain Ritsu to the briefing hall. Mai was rather surprised about the "child" but she knew better when she saw her rank on the uniform.

For Jake, though, he knew Squad Sigma was going to get some attention but wasn't expecting THESE new additions. Another thing he had tried to do during the week was to talk about their last battle at Leviticus. Despite all the collateral damage there, he had told the squad members that they none the less repelled the Cruxi so the squad would be probably getting some "special attention" at some point.

But these three...even Jake knew better than to be too nosy while they were around.

Needless to say, Jake didn't ask any questions so he kept to himself.

Mai did the same too but her mind wondered on the little girl who was now her superior. Mai knew some of the things that were done to try to win the war with the Cruxi...from the Helldivers division to what Sigma, Iota and their sisters went through...experimentations with frameworks...

What was that little girl forced into to get to this point? What did SHE endure to wind up here in the war?

After the simulators could help but dwell on what Rogers problem with her was. Although she never spoke to him about it. She found her dealings with young man always left her feeling quite annoyed or even angry. So outside of necessary conversations, she didn't speak to him, even went as far as to completely ignore him even if he had input on a conversation with another person. She would just speak over him or if he was luckily he'd get a glare that told him to shut up. Whatever his problem was Katya was over it and until he started speaking to her she was going to treat him like crap. After all, what was he going to do about it? She outranked him and whenever Ritsu or the Lorenzo was around she was respectful to him ... well to a degree. However, in training simulations, she continued to support him as needed at times she was even nice to him. Praising him for good maneuvers, with that said she came down hard on him for mistakes. All Katya wanted was him to speak to her and she be content to leave him alone.

Before the briefing, Katya was in the hanger doing maintenance work on her Artemis Drones. She had been studying the schematics and was eager to get her hands dirty on seeing what the insides were really like. Katya working away quickly getting parts of the casing off. She started working on the targeting array and the weapons. Moving on to the power systems and the reactor. Her mind not fully focused on what she was doing. Pondering what had caused Roger to not speak to her. She was unable to work out an answer. Katya without even knowing caused and overload an Artemis nuclear reactor, which caused it to being to meltdown. To Katya's luck, the chief engineer was nearby and able to stop the reactor before the meltdown reached critical mass. The engineer then gave Katya a dressing down and order her to report to the infirmary to make sure she wasn't exposed too much radiation. By the time she was scanned and injected with antiradiation drugs got herself changed out of her engineering overalls and into her normal uniform she was late to the briefing.

By the time Katya had arrived, she just managed to catch a little girl saying all let train and get buff. Alongside if there were any questions. Katya taking the chance to quickly interject. Looking at little girl given she was the one speaking, noticing right away she was the Sergeant.
"Sorry, I'm late ma'am. I was in the infirmary." Katya quickly spoke giving her a salute. Even if it felt a little weird to her. How did someone so young get to the rank of Sergeant? She was surprised someone so young was even allowed in the military unless she was a lot older then her appearance led on. It didn't matter she was the higher ranked officer Katya would give the proper respect. No matter how weird it felt.

Serah puffed up her cheeks when Mai mentioned Jake's recon work, placing her elbows on the table in front of her. She also leaned forward to rest her chin on top of the folded arms. "Oh, c'mon Mai! Quit talking about the boring stuff, I wanted some juicy details!" Serah complained and let her head fall to her left side, staring at Mai with half open eyes. Serah's eyebrows also sunk, giving Mai a nice frowny face to look at.

Even as the girl started talking about her condition, Serah's head shot back up to shake wildly left-to-right. "No, no! Mai's Mai and that's that! I couldn't stand seeing you lying there in the hospital, I don't want to know what else is wrong with you after the battle!" Serah nearly yelled all that at Mai, letting it sink in for a few seconds before flinching in shock.

"Oh...! Mai, I'm so sorry!" Serah stood up to make a bow in apology, frantically looking back at the counter. Jake seemed to have bought some icecream already and was on his way back. The blue-haired girl mumbled "Sorry," a few more times before excusing herself and leaving the two of them to finish the rest of their day.

The rest of the week went by pretty happily for Serah. She was having fun with her newfound friend, Jason, and managed to keep her worries at bay for now. She'd spend a lot of time with him, mainly because the boy was incredibly interesting to her. Serah had grown a little more distant to Sigma after their fallout in the hospital, unable to look the other in the eye for a while now. Iota, on the other hand, was caught a few times tailing Serah. Why, the girl didn't know. She just knew it... happened.

When she was called in for briefing, Serah was among the first to arrive in the room. Diligent and hardworking, Serah took her spot and prepared to wait for the new sergeant to arrive. In the corner of her eye, though, she saw someone else already standing there. A tall, lank man with golden hair going all the way down his back and a rather shaggy choice of clothes. He had his right eye covered by a black bandana, with a nasty burn creeping out from under it, but that wasn't the part that caught Serah's attention. It was the fact the man had been staring at her with his remaining, golden eye. There was a goofy smile on their face, and Serah reeled because of it. She quickly averted her gaze, not wanting to know exactly what the man was looking at.

The others arrived soon after, filling the room. A quick glance back at the man showed him waving at everyone, but Serah was having none of it. She patiently waited for the sergeant to arrive before hearing a woman's voice from the hall... alongside that of a small child's. Maybe the child hadn't hit puberty yet, like Sigma, and was another addition to the crew? Serah began conjuring up all sorts of expectations in her head, a smile of her own starting to form on her face.

All those expectations were smashed when she saw the duo, however. Serah's eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the little girl's medals, noting the sergeant's crest resting on her shoulder. The teenager couldn't believe this was their new commander, even when they made it clear. She wanted to speak up, but cut herself off before she could get a word out. Good call, because Serah didn't feel like getting into trouble for disobedience or questioning her superiors.

Serah flinched at the salute from Sgt. Steinhart, mimicking it swiftly. Then Zim asked a question that sent chills down Serah's spine. She wanted to cover his mouth quickly, but by the time she realized it, it was already too late. The most experienced and oldest pilot, making a basic blunder like questioning his superiors... What is he thinking?!

---

Devors felt like whistling when a small girl with blue hair walked in through the door, but he missed one front tooth too many to be able to. Still, that girl was incredibly cute. He knew all the pilots here were going to be pretty young, but if they were all as pretty as the lass before him, he'd be enjoying his stay a whole lot more. He noticed her staring back, a bit fearful. He smiled to make her feel comfortable, which was met with a flinch and quick turn of the head. Bummer...

He loosened his already loose dark green tie a bit further when he saw more of the females pour in. A pink chick, pretty mature for her age. A cute little girl with white hair was next, but she was nothing he'd chase unless he felt like getting arrested. The final one, who came in a bit late, was a stunning black-haired beauty... but the badges she wore also demonstrated her authority. Aw, shoot. The best chick was also the one who could punish him for being... well, him. Devors sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He remembered reading that one of the young girls was missing, which was the entire reason he signed up for this crew. Rescuing a fair maiden, bridal carrying her out of danger...

Devors' fantasies were interrupted be a short, bald guy who spoke up. His tone was rude, and that pleased Devors. This guy was sticking it to the man! "Hey, hey! Not bad, shorty! You got a good set o' brains in that skull a' yours." The man gave a thumbs up to Zim Hero, showing off the fingerless gloves he wore. The man then took on a bit more of a serious posture by folding his arms, resting just under the exposed part of his chest. It looked like his shirt was missing its first two buttons.

"Ever heard of a stealth bomber? Drop the stealth part, an' ya got me. Far 's I'm aware, you guys don't really have anyone quite like yours truly. Honestly, though, some of the orders I get would make y'think I was a suicide bomber instead!" The guy laughed at his own joke, then stopped when he noticed nobody joining in on the fun. Man, did nobody have a sense of humor these days?

"...Anyway, I'm not the briefing dude. 's Elise, as ya figured out already. I been told to keep my mouth shut, but I'm no good with that. I'll leave the rest to her now though," he chuckled and nudged to the small girl. He fully expected to be punished for that behavior or... something, but the guy didn't look like he cared at all.