Elise cut a smile once both Zim and Jason took the initiative. "Acknowledged. I'll send word to R&D to get you boys fitted up for the mission. Now, I feel like blasting some Cruxi scum. This ain't mandatory, but anyone willing to sharpen up their skills report for a space combat simulation session in 20 minutes. Code is A-E-3-0-X. Dismissed."

After Zim reported to Elise to volunteer for an assault pack, he went to the hanger to key in simulations. Zim was a little apprehensive about his choice. It made sense to arm him with something that would let him fire from a distance, it would give him a fighting chance against the automated turrets. But the truth was that he wasn't a very good aim on the fly, that was part of the reason he got put into a melee combatant role. So when he was pulling up the space simulation he took the time to page through the various configurations available in assault packs. It was intense the amount of weapons and armor and various other systems that could be added to a machine. It was no wonder they weren't optimized yet.

Zim picked a few options and got rid of them and picked again. Then he picked an amount that would exceed his frames carry capacity, so he scrubbed it again and started over again. In the end, he chose to go with greater maneuverability, targeting assistance, additional shielding, and a modular long range rifle that would allow him to fire from a distance.

Elise appeared to check on the weapon selection since she had the last word in approving weapon systems. "Good thinking on the rifle, Cadet. Unlike a planetside operation, space ops are a pain when you want to punch the alien bastards. Alright, I see no problems here."

Giving a short salute to Elise, Jason spun on his heel and began heading out to hanger to join the simulations and pick his load out. It wasn't terribly long before Jason stood there looking over his choices, then quickly chose what he thought best for the mission. Targeting assistance, monopropellant thrusters, shielding, and a directed EMP cannon. Sure, Jason briefly debated using the pack to make Ribasu and absolute monster, but he felt this to be better for the mission. With technology shielding, he could afford to draw more attention and give the infiltration team a better shot. The monopropellant would give him more maneuverability. The ATS, the ability to make more precise shots. The EMP cannon would work to disable Cruxi units. Maybe help in disabling the teleporting unit.

With that done, he leaned against a wall and waited for the simulation pod to finish booting up. Once Elise appeared, he looked towards the sergeant with a small nod. A bit lost in his own thoughts at the moment as he peered up at Ribasu.

With approval from Elise, and Jason now being present and his pack selected, Zim took his place in the cockpit and loaded the simulation, waiting for the others to join him. As the simulation was already picked out by Elise, Zim didn't take the time to notice any information about it other than it being a space environment, so he was coming in blind- which was fine, because in real life you rarely knew what you were going to find in space.

Elise was happy to see that Jason also showed up. "Alright, I was hoping you both would try out your new gear. It's gonna be a new one for you rookies, so just follow me, kay?" She winked and then walked to the elevator that brought her up to reach the nape of her own Framewerk, Prometheus. Named after an ancient deity that gave the gift of fire to humanity in defiance of the other gods, the titan stood at an impressive height, under a Heavy-Class frame like Paladin, but still quite sizeable. The most prominent feature of the Framewerk was the face on its chest which was frozen in a scream. Most peculiarly, once the Framewerk's weapon systems are activated a fire, or a phenomenon similar to combustion appears in the center of the torso, and the fists of Prometheus glow intensely with a bright light. Elise has shown that she can use this form of energy as a weapon, either punching a Cruxi unit to smithereens or launch beams of fiery wrath using the same punching motions. "Prometheus systems green, ready to rock," the young sergeant informed over comms. "You boys take it easy now, but don't be afraid to test the weapons out."

Stepping off the elevator, Jason took a moment to look down over the rest of the hangar. He had a nice view over everything else, thanks to Ribasu's massive size, and it was peaceful up here. The Heavy-class frame towered over most other things in the hangar, and Jason didn't quite complain about it. Walking along the small catwalk to reach the cockpit, Jason reached out to run a hand along the frame's massive railgun. "Ready?" Jason asked massive frame. Shortly after, he was booting up the simulation sequence and flipped the comms. "X-7, Ribasu no Hono, systems green. No need to worry about testing the weapons out, Sarge, fully intend to get familiar with the systems." He responded as the simulation came online.

Elise activated the simulation, and the pilots were once again immersed in a virtual reality, floating in the middle of the void. An occasional asteroid could be seen flying in the distance, and countless stars shone faintly in distances too great to fathom.
Soon, the radars picked up three distinct groups of simulated CWMs: One squad was floating in a triangle formation some distance away, another was flying around them in a V-shape, and a third took position on top of an asteroid that slowly moved past them.
"I'll take the rock, Ribasu takes the floaters and Zim takes the birds. YEAAAHHHH!" Elise screamed her battle cry, and Prometheus's arms and torso burst aflame, seemingly activated by her hot-blooded temper she charged forth and launched a blast from the palms of her hands.

"Draw their attention for now if you can, I need time to charge a shot." Jason said into the comms, still used to being a squad leader. With that being done, Jason's hands flew across controls as Ribasu loaded a bunker buster. As the frame began charging its shot, Jason fired up the ATS to give himself a shot to inflict maximum damage on the group he was tasked with taking down. "Do me a favor, make sure you're not close to my targets when I fire. Charging an HE round for maximum impact." He said calmly into the comms, eyes fixed upon the trio he was tasked with eliminating.

"Understood," Zim said to the command. He reached over and activated the ATS and started charging the Wave Surger. They were still at a greater distance than Zim could fire on, so he activated the additional thrusters on his back and launched himself off into space. There was no take off, there was no ramping up of speed, just a sudden jump from 0-100% momentum and inertia. It shook Zim and it took the pilot a moment to get his barrings again and locate his targets. He pulled up the sniper rifle, the default loaded cartridge was the railgun. Now he could fire from the new location, he picked the unit closest to himself and took aim before firing. In space there is no sound, there is no recoil, just the flash of electrical discharge off the end of the long barrel and the gold-platinum cartridge falling off to the side. The shot went wide, Zim was in too great a hurry to try and line them up properly. But now he was away from the Elise and Jason, which should draw some opponents away from them, and if not, it would allow him to attack from the distance without being harassed

"Take this!" Elise screamed as she kept pummelling the void in front of her, sending bolts of shimmering light that struck her enemies silently; she has been on space missions before, but she still couldn't get used to the uneasiness of hearing only her own breath despite bracing against the rain of plasma, and so she was louder than usual to fill the dead air. "Bogey coming at 450!" She relayed the coming assault of a clawed CWM, heading straight for Ribasu, while two CWM's attempted to flank Black Star.

Zim turned and took aim at one of the units approaching him, he took an extra moment this time to focus and make sure that the sights aligned, he breathed in, he breathed out and he pull the trigger, the silent flash of light shot off into the distance, piercing the right shoulder of the target. Judging by the scale of the resulting explosion, a thruster or power pack was hit. Zim hit his own thrusters and jumped away, attempting to avoid the incoming volley of plasma fire. The 'pilot' of the opposing unit predicted correctly and lead the shot, Zim flew straight into it, disabling his added thrusters. He was far enough out now, too, that he couldn't expect support from the rest of the squad. "Stupid mistake," Zim said to himself inside the depth of silence inside the cockpit.

Jason remained calm and collected towards the rear of the battlefield. He noticed the CWM tearing towards him and allowed a small grin to grow on his lips. "Oh, please. Come on over." He said as Ribasu finished charging it's shot. "Firing." He reported as the railgun unleashed its mighty payload. Jason's thrusters fired in a rapid sequence against the recoil of the massive weapon, keeping Ribasu still as a streak of light tore through the void. Like a bolt of lightning thrown from the Gods, the HE Round covered the distance before the CWM's could react. The round sheared through the shoulder of one of the trio he was assigned, it's armor being nothing for the fully charged shot. Then it exploded in a silent, brief ball of bright light. Appearing then blinking out of existence instantly, but swallowing all three CWMs. Two of the machines were instantly destroyed, while the other seemed alive; but heavily injured. Not to mention; it was pissed. The injured enemy unit seemed to go full power as it burned towards Ribasu, the plasma cannon getting ready to fire.

Jason remembered the clawed unit at the last second and slammed the commands for the EMP cannon to get ready to fire. Hoping it wasn't too little, too late.

Elise was too busy with her own beatdown to pay a lot of attention to what Zim and Jason handled themselves, but from quick glances she gathered that they were holding out. With a mighty roundhouse kick she sent the cranial unit of the last Cruxi mech flying deep into space, and got a chance to see the EMP in action; one bright flash later the assaulting Cruxi were left helpless, their systems overloaded. Prometheus first dashed in to pick them off, but then, for some reason, it changed trajectory and went to help Zim, without any kind of verbal communication between the two. "Miss me?" Elise smugly asked as she blasted a sneaky Cruxi out to get Black Star. "No hesitation, Cadet!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Zim said in response. The indicator on wave surger flashed fully charged, Zim lowered the rifle and raised Black Stars left hand, a ball of light grew for just a moment before the beam of energy erupted from it. Zim made a slashing movement with the weapon sending the beam out in a prolonged arc. The cruxi unit turned to flee but the beam caught up to it and cut the unit clean in half. With ATS active Zim picked his rifle back up and took aim on the cruxi unit floating incapacitated and fired a round into it to put it to rest.

Frowning, Jason looked around the simulated battlefield. "Is it me, or is that all of them?" He asked the other two as his hands danced across Ribasu's controls to ensure that he was seeing things correct. After all, the numbers of the groups who had been destroyed added up to the ones who had been there. If they had that easy a time, then these assault packs would be more than worth it in the upcoming battle.

"Looks like we handled the grunt stage, yeah." Not too long after Elise responded, a familiar warning message appeared, signaling a randomly generated extra challenge created by Lorenzo. "Alright, here we go again!" Suddenly, a Mist unit appeared in the distance, and from its core it shot out a giant laser that blew up a nearby asteroid, causing Ribasu to be sprayed with high-velocity rocks that banged against the armor plate as if in a hail. "Geez, it's a big one!" Elise shot out an energy blast, but the simulated enemy changed colors, turning red, and absorbed the energy shot. "And it's in Hard Mode too! Goddamn!" As the pilots were explained, Hard Mode enemies could change how they worked on the fly, with a long-range CWM drawing a huge sword, or a tentacle beast revealed it could spit highly corrosive acid.
These modifications were added by the special request of Lorenzo himself, saying it added more "realism" to the combat despite the actual realism.

"Seems to be immune to energy attacks," Zim said as he began evasive maneuvers to avoid the oncoming debris from the asteroid, "Should we attempt to disable it with an EMP? Wait, will an EMP even affect something immune to energy attacks?"

It would take some time before the wave surger was cooled down and starting to recharge, not that it would be much help if the mist was immune to energy based attacks. At this point, Zim could only stand back and take pop-shots at it, waiting for Ribasu to be able to use another HE round on it.

"Ma'am, if I may? We need to destroy the mist, ultimately, even if we disable it, we still need to kill it, right? Ribasu's HE round should do the trick nicely, but if it can keep changing its properties, we need to keep it focused on defending against energy based attacks until Ribasu is ready to fire. Jason, how long until you can have a shot ready? I'll provide cover with my shielding unit, but I think you need to lay down a bit of 'suppression' fire with Prometheus in order to keep it occupied."

"Doubtful an EMP would hit it. As for the HE, that's a no go. The HE rounds energy-based, for some stupid reason. I can try an armor piercer, physical attack that could go right up the middle. Though if this is like the normal mist, that'll make it fire. Alternate option is set off missiles all around it, see if the force of the blast does anything." Jason reported back as the rocks slammed into his hull. Some help the stupid shield was, if these things got through. He hit the commands to start charging up an Armor Piercing round and used the Monopropellant to silently move Ribasu into the asteroid belt. Floating among the rocks, he hoped to be a less obvious target than out in the open.

"Oh thanks, like luck is gonna help any," Elise jeered as she dodged a shot of the laser. She continued circling around the menacing orb, giving it an occasional shot just to keep it attacking. "You better get that shot in soon! I don't think I can-AAAAHHH!" The young pilot screamed in horrific pain as a laser pierced Prometheus right in the gaping torso, and the shock was enough to cause Elise to be disconnected from the simulation, resulting in Prometheus suddenly disappearing, as if the Framewerk wasn't really there. The orb continued glowing a red hue, seemingly confused by Elise's sudden disappearance.

"Shit, just you and me, Jason! I'll try to keep it busy for you while you get that armor piercer ready!"

Zim activated his shield now and a large blue energy wall formed in front of him with plenty of room for two additional frames to take cover from. With the shield generator up Zim then put his active jammer on decoy mode and two more versions of black star appeared, each with their own shields, at least according to the sensors. Zim then set to flying around in a chaotic pattern, his decoys mimicking the motions as Zim performed them. As Blackstar danced with the illusions Zim made sure to keep outside of the radiation range of a normal mist.

However, either the Mist was smarter than they anticipated and knew which one to target, or it got very lucky it fired of a laser blast that similarly knocked Zim out of the simulation, leaving only Jason in Ribasu to take down the Mist.

As the mist blew Zim away, Ribasu was approaching the point of being ready to fire the railgun. However, Jason still had a few moments before he could fire. Dodging by drifting slowly through the debris. Using only his monopropellant in hopes of keeping the enemy distracted from his presence. Once notified he was ready to fire, Jason gunned the mech forward. Emerging from the field, Jason pulled the trigger to fire the railgun just half-seconds after the mist fired a laser towards him. Soon enough, half his mech was blown away and he was booted from the simulation, but not before his round had been fired. Silently zipping across the distance to hit the mist, though Jason never would get to see the result.

He slammed his fist against the inside of the cockpit. "Damnit. Did I get it?" The boy asked the others over the comms as he began hitting commands to open the cockpit back up.

"Does it matter?" Zim called back, they had failed the simulator, if they had been in a real combat situation they would have all died, and probably everyone else if everyone else had been with him. It was true that the assault packs added quite a bit in combat power, but it wasn't enough for them to overcome a super mist. While it may have been a fabrication created by Lorenzo to push their ability to adapt, the truth was that they still didn't know enough about the enemy to know if such a thing was even possible to meet in the field. In fact, they knew for a fact that there were variants of the mist and we have zero knowledge of their abilities.

Zim knew at that moment, that it didn't matter to defeat the Mist if the rest of the mission was a success. They had to get in, rescue Elora and anyone else they might find, and get out. If they encounter the teleporter, they were to capture it, or destroy it if unable to capture and get out. The rest was unimportant.

"Hrgh, that sucked!" Elise groaned as she clambered out, and punched the side of the machine, leaving her fist bruised. "How could I have been so stupid? I should have anticipated that! So what happened? Did we get it? Wait, I'll check..." Elise checked the monitor and smiled. "All targets eliminated. Well, at least we got the job done, even if we didn't survive. Now you boys should have a better understanding of how the assault packs work, so I expect results now, alright? Now prepare yourselves for the mission, I'll be off now. Dismissed." And with that said, the young sergeant left the two alone.

"I should remember to actually use the shields, huh?" The boy muttered as he climbed out of the cockpit and began heading out of the hangar himself. Pausing for a brief moment, he looked back at Zim, "Also, at least I got the fucker." He said with a small smile before turning and heading out. With the intention of heading back to get changed and workout, help him think about what had happened in the sim and how to improve upon it.

After the simulation had ended, Jason had spent some time with the other two, going through the motions after the sim before he took his leave. Dropping briefly by the barracks, Jason changed into a sleeveless muscle shirt and a pair of shorts. He intended to go get a workout in since they weren't deploying quite yet. As he made his way through the base, along a path he had basically memorized, he noticed the form of one of the few people he actually knew around here. Quietly moving closer, the boy decided to lean against the wall just a little bit behind her. Might as well see if he could scare her, it'd be fun. Unless Serah was the kind to punch somebody in the throat...

With a shrug, he decided his throat was more important than having a little fun. Instead, he opted to calmly speak up and hope she didn't decide to punch him anyways. "So, what's a girl like you doing in a dump like this?" He asked, pulling out a cheesy line, but figured it would amuse her. So he thought it worth the minor embarrassment.

Serah was snapped out of her thoughts when Jason addressed her, freezing in place. Her thoughts had wandered and rattled on about everything in between her squad and her mission. She hadn't been expecting to run into anyone while wandering the empty hallways, as Serah was sure everyone had been busy. She spun around and saw Jason comfortably leaning, a confident and unwitting smile on his face. She matched his smile with one of her own, even though she didn't feel much like smiling.

"Oh! Jason! Erm, weren't you training? Not that I don't think it's, uh, nice to see you, but I wasn't ahm, expecting to run into, ah..." Serah rattled. The older boy had completely caught her off guard, so she was nervously shifting in place.

Keeping up the pleasant expression, Jason noticed pretty quickly that she seemed uncomfortable, or nervous about something. For a small second, his smile dropped to a slight frown as he worried he had caught her at a bad time. She was, afterall, one of the few he felt he could count as a friend around here. So as to avoid annoying her or anything, his smile and former demeanor came right back. "Oh, the training? That was just a quick run with Zim and Sarge. Get us a little familiar with the assault packs we will be using in the battle. We finished up so I was heading to workout, I fear I might be starting to get fat." He joked with a small laugh.

"Also, it's nice to see you as well. I didn't really see you during the briefing or anything. Probably because I was nearly late... but you won't tell sarge, right?" He said, favoring her with yet another smile.

Serah giggled at Jason's joke, warpping one arm around her middle while resting the elbow of the other on it. She rested her head into the open palm of her hand, looking at Jason with a small tilt. "Really? I hadn't noticed, honestly... You were pretty into it the whole ti-"

Serah quickly cut herself off. She was basically admitting she was looking elsewhere during the briefing. Blood started to rush to her head, creating a reddish tint in her cheeks. Her head perked up and the hand she used to support it slowly fell down to her side.

"I-I mean... You hadn't, erm, really said anything so, I thought you were carefully listening and uh... I saw you following Elise out of the room so-" Serah rattled on again, digging her own grave deeper and deeper with each spoken word.

The boy raised an eyebrow at her embarrassment, wondering if she'd actually been watching him during the briefing. Granted, he was rather used to similar situations, but it still made him feel a bit... pleased? No, happy. He rather liked that idea. Still, he'd lose his reputation if he didn't poke some fun at Serah over this. "Looking somewhere else during the briefing?" He asked softly, then decided to take a gamble. "Though I suppose I've no room to talk, I probably would've done the same had a certain person been sitting nearby." He said, watching her and waiting to see what kind of reaction he would get.

Serah's embarrassment reached critical mass once Jason figured out she'd been stealing glances at him. Okay, granted, she'd been doing so to everyone, but Jason was the one person she looked at the most. The motormouth ramblings of the girl came to a grinding halt as she stood there, unable to think of anything to say. She'd devolved into a mess of "uh"s and "ah"s. This wasn't helped by the last comment the boy made.

"Do you really think he's talking about you?"

The thought suddenly crossed Serah's mind and a sudden wave of cold ran down her spine. It cooled her off both literally and metaphorically, bringing along a stinging feeling in her chest. Serah blinked twice, put on a smile and tried to act as natural as possible.

"Ah... Yeah, I did look at you, didn't I? I just thought you looked so... sad." Serah muttered, the words leaving her mouth before thinking things through. Shock hit her once she realized what she said, though.

"Wait, no-! I meant! Argh, sorry, I meant to say you were looking worried and-! Argh, nevermind, I'm so stupid! Sorry!" Serah furiously apologized, biting her lower lip. She really didn't want to upset Jason.

When she said that he looked sad, Jason was thrown for a bit of a loop. That wasn't exactly an answer he had been expecting, but more to the point; he had thought himself pretty good at keeping himself together. He wasn't too keen on others seeing him being sad or likes, lest they'd think him weak. "Don't worry about it, I'm just worried about the mission. This seems like something so... easy for the Cruxi to let past. I'm willing to wager it's a trap, and I'd rather not see the people I care about around here get hurt." He said with a sad smile, looking towards Serah briefly before shrugging.

"Sorry, shouldn't burden you with things like that. Don't want to see you worry." He added, another smile growing on his face.

Serah's mood shrunk like a violet when she saw Jason like that. Even without trying to, she had upset him or made him remember things he might not have wanted to. She cursed herself for her own stupidity! That wasn't the only thing she cursed herself for, though. The girl also cursed herself for not speaking up while the boy was sharing his worries- cursing herself for not saying anything that would lift the burden even slightly. Her own expression softened up, wanting to sigh but refraining from it.

"Aww... don't worry about it. I'd... be a lot more worried if you weren't with us, honestly." Serah blurted out, the arm tightening around her waist. She giggled before continuing.

"I mean... you take training a lot more seriously than I do. You're... a lot better at all of this than I am. So, don't worry about it. Even if it's a trap, I'm sure we'll be fine. You've been with us for long enough to see that, right?" Serah speeched. She couldn't really believe half the stuff she was saying- it all sounded so corny! She'd get embarrassed, but she already showed enough of that side to Jason. For now, she just hoped he'd lighten up a little...

"I mean, I want to spend time with him, not wallow in pity..." the girl softly muttered. Serah flinched immediately afterwards. She didn't just say that out loud, did she?

Listening to everything she said, Jason couldn't help but give a sad smile. He'd seen first hand just how deadly Cruxi traps were, and his squad had paid dearly for it. Either way, moping around wasn't gonna get anything done, just annoy everybody. So he forced himself to shift back to being in a more pleasant mood, when he heard the end of what she had to say. "Oh? Well, I suppose we both want the same thing then. I'd much like to spend some time with you, and wallowing in sadness doesn't sound like the way to go." He said with a small laugh and shrug, curious how she'd react.

Serah was paying the price for her loose mouth, Jason bouncing the comment right back at her. "Y-You... Pretend you didn't hear that! Oh, oh my... oh dear..." Serah started to panic. She really wasn't having her day.

"...Oh, shoot, let's just go then!" Serah suddenly burst out, quickly grabbing Jason's arm and dashing off before the panic had really vanished. She wanted to be out of this hallway, it seemed to cause her nothing but trouble! Serah wasn't really paying any attention to where she dragged Jason, though. She also didn't stop to think that it was strange that he was just letting her drag him around like this.

He was not expecting to be dragged around suddenly. Next thing he knew, she was dashing down the halls and dragging him along for the ride. "Serah... care to tell me where we are going?" He called to her, and the two stopped as he was being dragged by the barracks. "Maybe we should decide where to go first? And give me a chance to go change into something less... workout clothes." He said amid attempts to catch his breath, Serah having dragged him all over the place.

Serah wasn't really tired at all, but she quickly let go of Jason and bounced back. "Eek! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just didn't-... Ah, whatever! Go get changed, I-I'll... I'll wait here!" Serah quickly blurted out. She, herself, was wearing her casual combination of skirt and t-shirt. Since they were what she wore more often than not, she hadn't stopped to consider Jason's thoughts in the matter.

He gave a small nod before disappearing into the barracks, and returning just as quickly. Having changed into a more casual button-up and jeans, he was ready to go. Offering Serah his arm, a small smile played on his lips. "So, where shall we go?" He asked her, wanting her opinion on the matter.

Jason wasn't the only one who took the time to go and have a quick visit to the barracks. Serah also went to fetch something from her room: a pair of sunglasses. She'd still returned sooner than him, though. Serah had been waiting on Jason by leaning against the opposite wall and pushed herself off with a smile. When she saw what he did, the girl had to blush a little. The guy had offered his arm as if it were some kind of...

"Eek! No, that's too embarrassing Serah! Don't think it..."

It's too late. She already thought of it. The girl snapped out of her small little daydream. She couldn't get distracted now, this was too important! Serah inhaled as much air as she could through her nose before giving Jason an answer, as she felt her head starting to get a little light.

"Since we're still in Levictus... why don't we go outside? I'm sure that they'd let me, so... let's go!"

Serah grabbed Jason's hand this time and dragged him off again, though in a bit less of a hurry compared to before.

...

Eventually, the two found themselves wandering into a music store. Something that wasn't overly common, thanks to all the digital ways of getting music. Still, it was something Jason certainly didn't mind. Casting a look towards Serah, he gave her a light smile. "Figures that the two of us would end up in a music store, huh?" He said with a light laugh as he thought about the first conversation they had. After, of course, he had gotten angry with Serah for shaking his ladder.

Jason's comments flew right over Serah's head as she eagerly jumped from one rack to the next, shifting through the colorful scenery of the store's inside. It wasn't particularly large in comparison to some other buildings in the area, but the vast range of music genres had an effect on the casings in which those glorious audio files were being kept. It was like walking through a rainbow! Of course, Serah spent all her time picking out her favorites and didn't pay much attention to anything else in the store. There was more than just songs for sale, with instruments and recording apparatus scattered all over in their respective divisions.

Jason went along with Serah, and couldn't help but give a small laugh at the way she seemed so eager in the store. Meanwhile, he would occsionally pick up a case that had something which snagged his interest. Though his attention kept going towards the instruments that hung on one of the far walls. He certainly wanted to head over and play one of said instruments, but was unsure if Serah would be terribly happy with him just walking off. It seemed a little rude. After a little bit more of watching Serah go between racks, Jason shrugged and began heading over to the wall of intruments. After confirming with one of the employees that yes, he was allowed to play some of them, he went straight over to an acoustic guitar. The instrument was a polished wood, holding a deep brown color as if burnt around the outsides. Smiling slightly, he sat on one of the stools and began tuning it, seeing as hanging around hadn't done much to keep it in tune.

Serah was still sorting through the sea of music open to her when she noticed that, suddenly, Jason wasn't with her anymore. The girl started to get a little nervous, seeing as they were suppossed to stay together the entire time. Quickly scrambling together some of the collections she wanted to buy, Serah wandered into the different sections of the store. Eventually, she found Jason again, fiddling with... a guitar? It resembled one, but seemed almost ancient compared to the models she was used to.

"Jason! What are you doing?" Serah whispered to him, unaware he's asked for permission first.

Looking up at Serah when she began whispering to him, Jason shrugged before continuing what he was doing. "Im tuning the guitar. Otherwise it sounds funky when I try to play." He said, a little confused as to why she seemed bothered by this. "Why, is something wrong?" He asked, hoping that he hadn't annoyed her or set her off. He wasn't sure he wanted to see Serah when she was upset. The adorable ones were always the scariest...

So it was a guitar. Wait, no! That's not the main problem Serah had with this. She looked around, seeing the store clerks apparently not being bothered by this. "I mean- you can't just- why is nobody bothered that you just took some instrument and started messing with it?!"

Ah, that was why she seemed bothered at the moment. Chuckling slightly, Jason gave her a small smile. "I asked first, you're allowed to play them. Just if you break it, you buy it." He explained, figuring she'd want an explanation. "Don't worry, I wouldn't go and do anything stupid to ruin our date." He teased, then watched her to see how she would react to the statement.

"...Heeeey! No need to put it so bluntly! People might get the w-wrong idea!" Serah blushed furiously and waved her arms around. She followed it up with a pout and a sulk, backing off from Jason slightly.

"So what? You're just going to play it here?"

"Who said I wanted that to be the wrong idea?" He said with a small half-smile before strumming the instrument to check it was tuned. Paying no mind to what he had just said, Jason answered her question. "Well yeah, play it for a little bit. Because, unfortunately, I don't think I could afford it." He said with a shrug and began to play a rather soothing tune.

...

"You're such a big dummy, you know that?" Serah told Jason as they were walking back to base, the local sun setting in the horizon. His fancy 'new' guitar was on his back, courtesy of a rather large contribution by Serah. She did have to dissappear for about an hour to scrounge together the money, but Jason eventually got it. Serah herself was walking next to him, sunglasses covering her eyes to disguise herself in the crowd.

"Me? No I'm not. I'd make arguements the other way though, with you buying the guitar for me. You didn't have to." He said, casting a look over towards her as he bumped a hand against hers playfully. "All dummy-calling aside, it was fun, wasn't it?" He asked her, favoring Serah with small smile.

"Ah, c'mon! If you keep bringing that up, I'm going back to the store and demand a refund..." Serah whined, giving Jason a small bump on his shoulder. Her annoyance was very obviously faked, though, as she followed it up with a giggle.

"...Thanks for coming with me, Jason. This was some of the most fun I've had since I transferred to my division!" the girl excitedly said, grabbing his arm and wrapping her own around it. She didn't have any intention of letting go any time soon, either.

Smiling at the girl, Jason nodded. "I'm glad I came with you, that was the most fun I've had in a while." He said, with that geuine smile on his features. "Only complaint I've got is the wind. I mean, how am I supposed to be the pretty boy of the unit if my hair's a mess?" He said in a joking tone, followed by an easygoing laugh as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

Serah puffed up her cheeks and rubbed up against Jason's shoulder. "Mou... don't ruin the mood, you jerk!" the girl complained. Her eyes trailed the buildings they passed by as they drew ever closer to their destination, as well as some jealous gazes from a few guys around the city block.

"You'll lose all this again, soon enough."

Serah's grip on Jason's arm suddenly tightened, almost as if she was scared to let go. Her worries were creeping up again, but for now... for now she just wanted to linger in the moment. It's been a long time she felt this way about someone. It's been a really, really long time.

Noticing her grip on his arm tighten, Jason looked towards Serah with a slight look of worry on his features. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere, so long as you don't get sick of me." He said, pausing and turning to face her. Giving a reassuring smile, he looked at the girl he'd grown close to over the recent days. "Whatever you're worried about, you don't need to. Promise ya that much." He said, before reaching out to take her hand in his own. "Now, shall we head back before the bosses kick our butts?" He said, trying to end on a higher note, as he hated to see her looking upset. As they walked, hand-in-hand, he looked over at the girl for a few moments, happy with the way things turned out. You don't go anywhere either, Serah. Don't want to lose somebody else important. He mused to himself.

@Ammokkx@Apollosarcher@AtomicNut@Evil Snowman@Dragoknighte@Mr Rage@DarkRecon@Jasonhero@redbaron1234

It was finally time for the day when Squad Sigma would have to fight again as protectors of humanity, but this time it would be on the offensive. For some, it was personal; with rumors of Elora being held captive at their target location, the spirits of the pilots were only further bolstered by the hope of saving her, and to exact revenge on the aliens who have killed their own in the battle for Leviticus.
And for this mission, two Framewerks were granted even more power through assault packs. But would it be enough?

"All systems green," Elise worded out. "Prepare for boarding. Over." She shut comms while sitting in her cockpit. In just a few minutes she and the rest of her newly assigned squad would have to board NOAH, and head off to the cold void of space, where nobody could hear you scream. Well, that's fine; she didn't want anyone to hear her show any fear. That's not what his father wanted when she was put in the machine, nor when he passed away. This was all she knew, and she would do it as well as she could. "I know you're watching over me, Papa..." The young girl whispered, and gave a quick kiss to the screen where she stored an image file of him. It was dated six years back, with her looking like she always did, smiling innocently like it was but yesterday.

---

Countless stars blinked from existence for the moment when NOAH jumped to hyperspace, before they came back, lighting up the endless blackness. But among the stars was something else; a station of immense size, with spikes and organic pieces growing on it's exterior; only a scant few pieces were left of the original station after it's takeover by Cruxi forces. NOAH's landing ramp opened up to nothingness, welcoming the Framewerk pilots to jump into oblivion. No sound could be heard aside from their own breaths and the beating of their hearts, something Elise, Jason and Zim had no trouble with, but causing a bit of disturbance with the other pilots.

The silence was soon interrupted by Elise speaking over comms: "Alright, we're splitting up into the frontal assault and infiltration teams. Caretaker, you're on point for the infiltration. Ribasu and Black Star, you got the big packs so you're on big boy duty with me, like we simmed it." Eiswolf took out its sniper rifle. "I'll support you from range," Sigma said, and Elise confirmed it. "Anyone else want to stay here and fight can do so, while the rest follow Caretaker's lead." Elise paused, her eyes closed, and she smiled. "I'm eager to meet with the psychic chick and see what she's all about, so I'm counting on you to find her." She opened her eyes with a smirk, and Prometheus flared up like an engine. "Alright, here we go!"

In the distance stood the front gate surrounded by turrets, and from the front gate launched an armada of CWMS and other units, among them a strange, glowing object resembling a crystal that seemed to crackle with intense energy. The crystal was surrounded by three small versions of the Mist unit familiar to the Leviticus veterans; their patterns were less flashy, but they seemed to still pose the same threat they have previously, but on a lesser scale. There were also two units that looked more lean and thin than regular Cruxi soldiers, only possessing scepter-like appendages. But from a glimpse one could tell these were unnatural mechs, occasionally moving more swiftly than the average unit. "Careful around those guys, I don't trust them as far as I could throw them, even with Prometheus."

I think I will take spot E9. I'll specify in my post as well, but I am going in with the omni-rifle loaded with railgun rounds. I am also planning on moving forward to E7 with the shield barrier up.

As the team loaded out to the launch bays Zim did one more check over his equipment. Statuses were all green. He had made a point to get started ahead of everyone else, with the assault pack equipped it made movement a little more cumbersome than he was used to. Once he was in position, he asked over the comms, "Permission to begin pre-assault armaments prep?" They were still on a ship, floating in the middle of space, traveling at theoretical speeds incomprehensible to his feeble mind. It just seemed like a good idea to check before he started charging up energy weapons. Once he was given permission from bridge control he initiated the charge sequence for wave surger as well as the shield generator so that both would be ready for use once the operation began. He checked the load out on the assault pack's Omni-rifle. Of the three types of ammunition it could utilize, Zim brought along Kinetic rounds and EMP rounds. He put the kinetic rounds in first.

Once everything was set for Black Star, Zim did a double check of himself. He was already in his plug-suit of course, with his space helmet on, in case of a seal breach. He checked over the provisions to make sure that he had enough to keep himself alive for a day or two in the event of a drift off. The last thing he checked for was for Katya's hair tie that she had lent him. He looked at it, tied on over the top of the plug suit's skin tight surface, its faded color still providing contrast to the dark, mono-colored plug suit. Something in the color brought Zim back into his memories. His mind wandered to his first interaction with the Cruxi. He was lucky to have survived at all, but especially in the conditions that he was in. There was little doubt in Zim's mind that if he found himself in a drift situation again he wouldn't survive, not this time. The indicator light came on to show that Wave Surger was ready for use, bringing Zim's focus back into the cockpit of his Frame Werk.

Just in time, too, as the announcement came that they were about to drop out of hyperspace to begin the assault. "Alright partner," Zim said to Black Star, "We got some new toys to play with, let's show them off out there, alright?" Then the securing clamps released, the gates opened, and Black Star stepped out into the dead silence of space. The simulators had helped remind him of just how quiet it was. When you can hear the sound of your own blood sloshing through your veins, you know that it is quiet. Zim immediately deployed the shield barrier as he landed in E9, once everyone else was in position he moved forward to E7, eager to the put the shield to the test and allow his compatriots some cover as they moved into position. Zim missed Elora's scanners as he noticed the new unknowns taking their places.

The rest of the week had breezed by for Serah. She was positively elated ever since that trip with Jason, though it hadn't gotten in the way of her duties as a pilot. She was a bit nervous when the big day arrived, the day when the rescue mission was going to happen. She wanted to see Elora back, but having to go against those things again left a bad taste in her mouth. Still, the team had assembled a plan. One squad to enter the base, the other to fight and hold them off outside...

Devors, on the other hand, didn't have a care in the world. He had just opened his second bottle of whatever alcoholic beverage he was holding, one that's more than likely outlawed in most colonies. His feet were on the dashboard and he watched the numbers and lights flash by on his screens like it were some kind of game.

When the jump happened, Devors landed somewhere on the other end of his cockpit while Serah was sitting pretty. Devors groggily got up, wet from the liquid covering him and tried to situate himself in space.

"Ah, right, uh, 'sup Elise? Whazzat you need me to do again? Like, uh, orders?" Devors asked over the comms. He flew Ranius up into the front lines, spinning circles in the air to keep him afloat and not immediately crash to his death.

Serah, meanwhile, kept a tight grip on her controls. The cold isolation of space took her back, way back, to when that cruiser was attacked. She never had gotten over the trauma. With shaky breath, Serah opened up her communications.

"AA-XOTRY on standby. Following Caretaker as planned."

Serah chased after Katya, not completely into the right mindset quite yet. Even though distractions were deadly on the battlefield, the girl was stuck inside her memories. Memories of her orphanage... and a certain boy. She couldn't help but smile when she remembered that boy. It's what could keep her going, knowing she's fighting for his sake. Fighting to make him live a peaceful life. She was sure of it... sure that she could make him happy that way. Serah then thought of another certain boy. One much closer to her now. Almost without thinking, she opened up a private text channel with encryption.

"See you on the other side. Stay safe, and go get 'em for me alright~? <3"

She sent the message to Ribasu and felt a wave of relief wash over her. She could now focus again, free of distractions.

---

The time leading up to the mission Katya spent in working on her drones. Installing and testing the thrusters. So they worked perfectly. She also had to spend quite a bit of time learning how to modify Caretakers interface to show the thrusters status and add in a program to the drones so they could use them. A lot of work, given Katya only had a basic understanding of the drones programing. Which she learned was quite complex, but user-friendly for the most part. Caretaker's proved to easier as Katya had taken the time to become familiar with most of the werk. It's computer systems being one such thing.

However, the workload Katya put herself under she felt was good. As it kept her busy, she didn't have time to dwell on the mission or Elora. When it came time to board Noah, Katya had finished everything several hours before hand she had spent the little free time sleeping until it was time to get ready. Content the drones would work with thrusters. She'd work hard to make sure they would, so was positive they would.

When ordered to board NOAH, Katya did so. Running one last check on her drones. Which lead to full system check, Katya was nervous. She'd only done a few basic training drills in space. Back on her homeworld. But they always near the space sation. A in clearly marked area and recovery vessel on standby in case something went wrong. The entire trip Katya checked Caretakers systems to keep herself busy.

When the moment came to disembark into the void of space. Katya felt reluctant to do so. But forced herself too so into the void Caretake lept. For the first few moments, Katya thought she was handling the isolation of space well. But then she felt cold bead of sweat run down her the side of her face and her breathing became all too noticeable. Katya gripping her controls tightly. Her eye's closed as she mentally told herself she'd be okay. That she trusted Caretaker to keep her safe in the depths of space. Alongside anything else, she could think of to keep claim.

Luckily Elise broke the silence. Katya surprised by her orders to have her lead an infiltration team. Elise word about looking forward meeting the psychic chick as she called her
"Yes ma'am we will not fail." Katya responded trying to bolster her own resolve. Mentally Katya swearing no matter what she'd bring Elora back. The Cruxi would not stop her, not matter what obstacles were placed in her way.

Katya pulled Caretaker away from main group waiting for those would be joining her. While she waited, she sent Zim a recorded message on a secured private channel before cutting comms with anyone with would joining the frontal assault team.
"Zim you better not die out there. Not before I pay off my debt to you. Just make sure you survive through this. Owing a dead person a debt is complicated and rather not have to deal with it. So this is an order no dying. Well, gotta go, give the Cruxi hell." The Katya recorded for the message before sending it off to Black Star.

With message sent Katya began to work out some sort of plan. Although having no idea what to expect inside the station she suspected she'd be making most of her plans up on the fly. All she knew right now she'd hold off until the assault began. Before moving her own team in hoping the Cruxi would be distracted so less likely to notice them. Still, Katya just didn't know what to expect. So trying to plan things to her seemed like a waste of time and mental energy. All it did was keep her focused on the mission find. Get in find Elora get out. To Katya that was all that mattered.

---

The silence, a calming darkness all around him. The peaceful presence of no other sound, maybe that was what Jason fancied so much about space. The tranquility of it all. Still, that tranquility was about to be disturbed by the violence of war. Not that Jason wasn't looking forward to it, any chance to show the Cruxi who was boss was one that he welcomed. Casting a look towards the side of his cockpit, where a picture hung, of him with his old squad, the boy smiled sadly. Immediately below it, was a new picture. It was a simple picture of him sitting next to Serah, one he had taken and still wasn't sure if Serah had noticed or not. Still, it brought a small smile to his lips. "I won't let you down." He muttered softly, before keying in a few commands as the ship made the jump to their destination. Activating the comm link Jason spoke quickly. "Here's what I'm thinking, I'll have Ribasu spin up one of his Area of Effect explosive shots. A full charge should be a nasty surprise for those in the warpath. Since our past engagements with Cruxi had them liking to group up a bit, I should be able to hit quite a few. It'll give a nice draw of their attention away from the infiltration team. Any objections?" He said, leaving the line open in case anybody had some objections to voice.

Hearing none, Jason powered up RIbasu's massive railgun and began spinning up a round as they prepared to deploy. "Ready for this, buddy?" Jason asked the mech, taking the silent vibrations of the machine as an affirmative. Everything was in order, all he had to do was engage. Then a sudden text message on a private channel opened up. Raising an eyebrow, Jason opened said message and read "See you on the other side. Stay safe, and go get 'em for me alright~? <3" A message from Serah. Typing out a quick response, Jason hoped she would come out of this alright.



The boy smiled slightly at his response, hoping it would help her feel a bit relaxed. Sending the message back over the same link, Jason then found it to be Ribasu's turn to deploy to the field. Piloting his mech with deft hands into position, he ran his hands over the controls until Ribasu's weapon of war was aimed at the enemies. "X-7, Ribasu no Hono, online and in position. Payload is hot, and hostiles are in my sights. Will engage when you're ready." Jason said over the comms, using his targeting computer to get a solid lock between the hostiles. Aiming for maximum effect on the enemy. Remembering something last second from the sim, Jason ran a command through the console and watched as he was notified that the pack's additional shielding was online. With that, a small sigh escaped his lips as Jason sat back and awaited the command to fire.

---

---

Tl:dr

- Text to Serah cause ship.
- Ribasu deployed to E9.
- Ribasu aimed a fully charged AoE shot towards C2, using the Targeting Computer (from extra weapons) to assist.
- Ribasu ready to fire on command (I am unsure if I am to write this or not, so I can adjust as needed).

As the team began deployment phases, it seemed Both the Neo Angel and Weissritter didn't deploy immedately.

"Katya. It's Jake. Like we talked about once before. If you think you'll need my recon drones inside, put me with the infiltration team. If I have to, I can also link at least two of my drones to the main ship where either Lorenzo or Ritsu could control them from the bridge. That way, we'd have some outside the station and some inside. You call either way."

"...Katya. It's Mai. I also recommend me as infiltration. It's...not the first time I've gone into a Cruxi controlled station. Don't worry...I won't do anything stupid", Mai then said over the line.

Truth be told, both knew that this wasn't going to be easy. Even with their new and perhaps powerful commander framework pilots, there were just way too many "unknowns" going into this. Too many for even Jake to plan around.

But the general "two squad" team was the best plan for now. They weren't trying to take over this place. Just recuse a P.O.W. and perhaps more if there were more than Elora.

But Mai's past comments on what she saw the "last time" she was on a Cruxi controlled station didn't settle well with him. Still, it was time to do this.

"...hey Lorenzo. Ritsu. No matter what call is made on my deployment, your going to get two recon drones. Just don't break them since then I'll start taking loans", Jake then said, trying to rhyme 'drones' and 'loans'.

As for equipment, Mai still had her two magnum pistols and had four clips for them. Jake had one energy spare energy clip in case he burnt out the first one and three bullet clips plus one more already loaded into the Neo Rifle.

Krista Reynolds

---

Today would be Krista's trial by fire. After countless simulated battles; endless trials; and two different Frames, she would finally fire a shot in anger. The Hou Yi hummed around her as she slid into the heated cockpit, the quiet chatter of the machine comforting compared to silence of space and the sound of her own breathing echoing through her helmet. It was nice to hear a familiar voice. The other pilots weren't mean or anything like that, there was just a gulf between her and the veterans that she hadn't yet bridged.

Still, she had trained a little with them, and had read up as much as she could on them and their Frames. She wore the Squad Sigma path on her suit. With Steinhardt commanding them, she was confident that they'd be able to make it through this mission. However, as she looked around the battlefield, she couldn't help but note the similarities between the units that were deployed in front of her, and those that attacked her home world. They were just uncanny looking compared to the computer models. However, she could not turn back, she could not run. Not after spending so long yearning to get into the fight. It was time to, as her cousin would put it, 'cowboy up'. Shaking her head out, she took a deep breath, and let herself fall completely into the Hou Yi's cockpit.

She'd deployed next to Ribasu, towards the center of the combat zone. It was a wise choice, as her fire control system told her that the giant crystalline structure and it's Mist-like units were just at the edge of her plasma cannon's effective range. Following Jason's lead, she chimed in. "This is the Hou Yi. I am in position and ready to open fire. That giant crystal's within range of my cannon. Ready to fire when you are."

Summary:
- Starting at F9
- Plan to try and thin out any approaching enemies, and deal with the mini-mists around the big crystal

Roger was slouched in his seat so far that describing it as sitting could be considered overly charitable. In his mouth was an unlit cigarette, held skyward in between his teeth, with nary a touch of skin. He shifted his jaw and angled the stick of tobacco towards his face, another shift and it pointed away, through the steel of the machine and into the emptiness of space out beyond.

This was the third battle the squad would be engaged in, technically the second if one didn't count that first "training" mission, but only a pendant or a sociopath would suggest that a skirmish with as many casualties as there were wasn't actually a fight. The team had a bit of real experience under their belt now, but if you looked at their track record, the prospects of this mission were not as bright as one might hope. Still, they had more support both in equipment and manpower, so this could be a time to really show their stuff.

All that said, Roger didn't know how to feel. There wasn't the anus-clenching fear and ensuing hyper-focus of the last mission, nor was there the naivete of the initial training mission. No, he was just normal Roger for once. And as exciting as it was that he'd be part of the first counterstrike against the Cruxi, his mind still contained a healthy amount of doubt that they'd be able to pull off this mission without dying horribly. At the moment he was more bored than anything. Well, he was until they dropped out of warp. Suddenly he shifted in his seat and grabbed the controls.

"Yeager standing by. Ready to roll whenever you are," he called, hands moving all around the cockpit and unlit cigarette still held firmly between his teeth. This battle would be hot and fast if they were to succeed. And maybe he would be able to actually make it through without suicidally ramming into something.

Ariin was late, rushing towards Paladin he had just left the medical exam room after what felt like year of prodding and poking. He knew it was all official however, didn't mean he liked being toyed with by doctors. The cyborg boy jumped into Paladin starting up systems quickly as patched into comms. "Uh sorry I'm late, Ariin and Paladin reporting for duty." He spoke getting himself ready and dropping behind the others in a hurry. "I'll be dropping the shield the moment I'm in position on D-9 Pompey systems are green across the board." He added cutting his comms for a moment.

"Shut up!" He hissed to himself, or rather the other part of his brain. Ariin's implant which connected his cybernetic eye to his brain now hosted the personality his former body snatcher had. Which meant he always had someone in his head, backseat driving as it were. However it did help him keep an eye on multiple systems at once as the virtual intelligence was not worth annoyance at least currently. "I swear if you keep this up I will become a damn cyclops just to get rid of you!" He told his head mate, before turning on comms back on.

"Deploying Legion shield at D-9, if you need cover I'm here." Spoke the young man as dropped the shield letting it fold out in to a protective bastion as he laid the massive canon a top it. Readying himself for whatever was coming, the young man took a moment to send a short message to Zim. He coughed and then turned on button to record the message, not wanting a live conversation.

"Look, I've been gone awhile and I probably need a refresher on whatever the hell I missed while I was gone. All I know is that Elora is here and were going to save her. I couldn't stop that damn thing from taking her, and now we get a chance to find her." He stopped a moment fumbling with his the coin he kept at his side. "And when this is over you, me, and Roger need drinks you can catch me up on all the shit I missed. Hell I'll even buy... Or well five finger discount." He told Zim before sending the message.

@redbaron1234@Jasonhero@Mr Rage@Dragoknighte@Apollosarcher

The operation on two fronts began, with Black Star spearheading the frontal assault. Zim saw that his synchronization readings returned back to stabile even after the wide shield energized from the machine's arm caused a slight drop; the experience from the simulation helped with the pressure that the new weapon placed on the system, yet the pilot couldn't help but feel that there was something else going on; like a lingering wish for something resembling redemption. Whether Black Star actually responded to his words of encouragement or he imagined it was a mystery.

Other units followed behind; Paladin formed a great wall before the aliens, and Devors swooped around, wobbly at first, but soon gaining a somewhat stable flight trajectory. Ribasu and Hou-Yi came behind Black Star, and Jason activated his personal shield and tactically aligned the sights on the M-810C so that the first shot would be unobstructed by his allies. Krista also prepared to open fire on the imposing crystalline structure right before them, using her Plasma Cannon. Both guns glowed as they gathered in charge, the heavy hitters of the squad all working as a single tight battery of impending destruction.

"Affirmative," Elise responded to the calls her squad made, her eagerness for the fight showing through her voice. "Ribasu, prepare to aim for that left cluster like you are. Hou-Yi, blow up the crystal, and Paladin too." She groaned when she heard Devors over the comms; even if his voice didn't show it, she heard the splashing sounds well enough to know that she was drinking. She first spoke in a cutesy tone: "Well first off, Devors, I would like you...to DROP THE DAMN BOTTLE, and focus on the battle!" She grunted out. "Wait for the Cruxi to converge at the center, and then flank their left! Yeager takes right! Let's try and get a pincer!"

Elise smirked at the sight of the massive guns as Prometheus deployed at D10, and took position behind Paladin's protective shield. "Siggy, take out the snipers! We'll cover you!" In a cold, almost emotionless tone, she responded: "Acknowledged, Sargeant." Eiswolf, deployed at H9, moved up to H8, and took aim as she stabilized her thrusters. It was a difficult shot, especially since it was the first time she experienced the void of space, but her incredibly high synchronization levels with her Framewerk made it possible for her to accurately hit the core of the Cruxi Sniper, causing it to explode in the vast distance, the remains gently drifting around, as they were particles in water.

"Good job Siggy," Elise said with a mischievous grin. She was aware of the risks involved in huddling up, but she felt the triple threat was a good opportunity to cause a bit of psychological damage to the Cruxi, not to mention the layering the unit performed in their defenses; no angle was left fully unprotected, with Paladin forming the left side, Black Star forming center, and both Ranius and Yeager ready to flank the main force. As a whole, the team has grown, both in their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses as well as how they understood each other.

The Cruxi, while on the defense, were not going to stand idly by, and waves upon waves of CWM launched themselves at the heavy units of Squad Sigma. Elise breathed heavy as she had to keep an eye out at the enemy units, while still charging her weapon. Once she felt like they were in suitable range, she screamed: "FIRE!"
The Moonbreaker, true to it's name, launched a far-reaching shot, and it hit right between two squads of CWM, destroying a total of three at once in a spectacular explosion, and knocking two backwards. One of the mysterious new units was also knocked back, but it quickly managed to reposition themselves. Its many stumpy arms then began glowing ominously.

"Wait, what the hell's that?" Elise wondered, and her eyes were shot wide at the horrible sight: the scattered wreckage that was left of the Cruxi also glowed, and they converged together, until they formed two machines that were mangled and broken, yet were whole Cruxi War Machines. Elise simply stared. "So the Cruxi can bring back destroyed machines...Now that's BULLSHIT! FIREEEEEE!" She screamed once again, and reached outwards with Prometheus's arms while the palms were together and opened; in a maneuver resembling a Kamehameha, she launched a powerful beam at the right side, destroying a single squad of CWM in a single, massive blow. "How you like that?" She asked smugly, but was then angry to see that the other stumpy unit also used it's powers, forming two new CWM's from the scraps. "Ok, those have got to go, ASAP!"

Hou-Yi and Paladin fired at the same time as Elise, and attacked the crystal. In response to that, one of the orbiting mini-Mists suddenly shifted course and intercepted the two shots. This proved ineffective against Paladin's Pompey, as the kinetic shot passed right through, while the Plasma Cannon directly caused it to be destroyed, not that differently from the Mist in Leviticus. However, it was impossible to say which one of the two shots caused the following reaction to happen; the Crystal suddenly released an rainbow-colored ray that was aimed at Paladin and Hou-Yi, only to hit Legion, Paladin's trusty wall. The energy-resistant wall managed to resist the beam, but was damaged in the process, charred by almost sun-levels of directed heat. It could only take one or two more shots of that caliber before breaking, but the two were safe from the counter-attack.

---

@DarkRecon@Evil Snowman@Ammokkx

As a vicious battle took place in space, a smaller squad led by Katya made their move, and took a more subtle route. With most of the Cruxi forces distracted by the frontal assault, only a few CWM sentries were left guarding a hangar, swiftly taken out by the combined efforts of Mai and Jake, with Serah handling the clawed units and Katya directing the attack. They entered the hangar, which held row upon row of dormant Cruxi mechs; there were ten in total, unmanned and easily destroyed if the squad wished to do so. The floor was swarming with Cruxi workers and soldiers, who ran around in an obvious panic, often running into each other and writhing around in a clustered mess. The squad members had to be careful not to step on them, but if they so desired, their path would be stained with squashed puddles of the dead numbering in thousands.

The corridor leading away from the hangar was also massive, but was not designed for mass movement of mechs, resulting in only two Framewerks being able to walk side by side. They continued on, destroying the occasional sentry, until they reached the bottom levels, where an area resembling a laboratory was housed. The halls to the sides of the corridor had glass-like domes numbering in about twenty or forty, and each held a hundred humans, trapped in vats or tubes, observed by what could only be scientist Cruxi; worm-like beings with engorged brains and numerous tentacles. However, these domes were situated in halls which were too small for a Framework to fit in. The walls and ceilings of the area were not built for defense, so it was possible for a Framewerk to force their way in through sheer force, although there was a way to reach the smaller area without causing such destruction. At the end of the laboratory area was an intersection that split into three ways. There were hostile sounds coming from far behind the infiltration team, and they had to decide on what to do.

"Ok...if this is a trap, it's a convincing one...those Cruxi look as if they really ARE surprised to see us in here", Jake said as their infiltration mission continued.

As they continued, Jake had launched his three remaining recon drones to help keep an eye on things in the general area around his squad inside the station. As he said before, he had left the other two outside to help the attack squad with information gathering. One thing he noted was the two new units that were out there. The two stubby Cruxi and the crystal like one.

"Base. It's Jake. Our mission is going smoothly so far. I saw some data on the two drones outside the station that I left in your control though. About those "mist grade parts" metioned in the meeting several days ago...that crystal unit looks like it went towards that thing. Not sure where the "tube" part is though. Needless to say, don't get too close to it. I also saw that annoying "regeneration" trick through the video feed...those two stubby units with the glowing spider-like legs might be the culprits. My advice: prioritze those two units first for a butt-whooping."

Then, that's when Jake and Mai saw the tubes...filled with human beings...

"...ugh...no...", was all Jake could say as he saw the sight.

"...it's...just like the first time I saw these", Mai slowly said.

"...and high command wanted you to keep it quiet?", Jake asked.

"...something like this...would decrease morale...or anger...an...g..."

"...Mai? You ok?", Jake then asked.

"...This is Seven. Requesting order to proceed on foot."

"Wha-you kidding?! Those Cruxi-"

"Jake. I no not who but someone left me an assault rifle. If Elora or others are out-of-reach of frameworks, one has to proceed on foot for a rescue attempt", "Seven" said, cutting him off.

"...Katya. It's Jake. As you heard, Mai lied about not doing anything stupid."

---

"Couldn't agree more sarge, Stubby is getting what's coming." Jason said into the comms as his hands flew over the commands for Ribasu once more. This time an armor-piercing shell fell into place, starting to spin as Jason charged a half-power shot. Figuring that it would do more damage than a light shot and get fired off sooner. His target? Dead center on the mystery Cruxi with the stubby arms. "Once I get the stubby one offline, I can shift focus to that crystal if needed, Sarge. Ribasu's got a hell of a punch, combined with some of the others we just might take it down." He said, by way of suggestion for their next tactic even as he unleashed a volley of missiles towards the stubby unit. Thankful now for the targeting computer that had come with the pack, allowing him to fire more than one weapon in quick succession. As the shots went along their way, Jason scanned the battlefield. So far they'd only managed to dismantle a single sniper unit, even with the shields thrown up before them the boy doubted they'd be able to hold off a full barrage. They needed to focus on the other units opposite them as well, although he thought that getting the repair units out of the way first would be better. He'd prefer not to get into a battle of attrition when the enemy could just get back up and go back to fighting.

Hitting his fist on the side of his cockpit twice, as if in a move to signal somebody's attention on the other side; Jason spoke with the comms off. "Paying attention, Ribasu? Want to help me figure out the answer here?" He asked, not expecting an answer from the machine. Still, he figured on some level that the mech was partially alive, after all they'd been through... Ribasu had to be. Focusing back on the way the enemy was arrayed before them, he started to figure out a possible plan. If they could get explosive rounds in on those turrets, it might also weaken the snipers. That'd likely lighten the counter-fire they would no doubt receive. Although... he wasn't sure how long he wanted to leave the crystal out in the open. The power from its blast had been so intense, he could tell even from here. Not good. Then there was the problem of the mini-mists. Perhaps explosive shots on them? Since they seemed to be sticking nearby the crystal. Powerful enough AoE bursts might be able to damage both, with an overlap of shields between Blackstar and Paladin they might also have a better chance holding back its counter. That left another possibility, although the turrets and war machines would definitely be alerted to their presence. Still, that crystal and mists seemed like the biggest threat. He'd make that suggestion later, for now, he had a present waiting for stubby. "Thanks for the help, buddy." He said, patting the cockpit.

The moment the light turned green on his display, notifying him that the shot was ready to fire, Jason pulled the trigger. The railgun shot that had been charging fired with resounding shudder throughout the machine, thrusters firing along the back of the machine to keep it in place. "Hope it hurts, you son of a bitch." He said simply, waiting for the results of his attack.

---

---

TL:DR

- Ribasu engaging the Mystery Unit in Square E3
- Volley of Missiles fired while half-charge of Railgun was achieved
- Railgun fired, armorpiercing shot
- Jason trying to figure out a strategy to engage, speaking to Ribasu a bit

In collaboration with: @Ariamis

---

Back in Solaire, a woman's laugh could be heard from deep in Lorenzo's laboratory. While the main scientist himself continued his work with a strange glowing orb, Daria was prodding and poking at the man before him. At a glance it looked like Harold has come back to life, but in truth, he was the latest experiment in the facility's cloning program, able to grow a grown man in mere months, instead of the longer period of time it took for Irina's batch.

"Sir, it was a success! Harold is alive. HE'S ALIIVEE! HAHAA!" Daria bombastically announced, and gave the man a friendly slap on the cheek. "And he's even got a sense for pain~"

Lorenzo sighed, annoyed with the busty assistant's excitement. "Cut it out Daria, stop playing with the subject. Have you finished up the aptitude tests for him?"

"Of course. I've got all the courses ready for him as virtual reality programs. He'll be soon our beloved Harold Buell...junior, teehee."

"Implanting old memories...This has never worked before, but hell, might as well try." He waved goodbye to the two as Daria led Harold along on a leash, as if he was her pet. Thankfully she deigned him the grace of wearing his Framewerk uniform as well, or it would have been a strange sight.

Daria set the man into the machine, and for weeks upon weeks the man spent every waking moment living through critical moments of his progenitor's life, as was collected during the time he participated in virtual training. He learned of the way the original Harold thought, felt, and dreamed, until the day came when he would leave the pod as the man that once died.
"Hmm, seems like our boy has done himself a resurrection. Now, listen up Cadet. What's your name?"

Harold had stepped out of the memory implanting machine dazed. No, more than dazed. He felt like he was drunk. His vision was blurred and he had to grip onto the machine's coffin lid just to remain standing up. His blue eyes were unfocused, and his pale skin was slick with sweat. His brain was still processing the events of an entire lifetime. Every time he closed his eyes, even just to blink, he would see still images of faces and scenery, some colored, some black and white. These images came like a rapid slideshow to his mental eye and were accompanied by disembodied voices, some dear to him, and some not so. But there were some memories that were like motion pictures as opposed to slideshows. They even featured music and sound. Invariably, these little videos brought up some fierce emotion within him when they came to his mind's focus. He was experiencing such an event at that moment.

The woman before him was asking for his name. But at the same time, he was hearing something else. The voice of a man who he only recently learned was a close friend. Micheel was what he was called. He was saying goodbye over the radio.

Harold had the urge to tell Ensign Micheel to abort his suicide run. It was a pointless gesture. The Cruxi had already set up an effective anti-fighter screen as they pushed into the base. He almost faltered and yelled - but Harold found enough mental fortitude in him not to be swayed by phantasms. The line wasn't very clear, but he could at least distinguish what was real and what was not. And slowly, he could feel his perception getting clearer.

Something in the back of his head also told him that the woman was a person of superior rank. His training kicked in and forced his dizzy self to salute.

He began to speak. His throat felt either very dry or very wet. He couldn't tell which sensation it was. "Ensign Harold Buell, Pilot, Team Sigma, serial number GB-774-332-174."

"Aahh, you can talk with no defects, how wonderful~" Daria reached out for Harold's head, and sensually stroked it with her hand, not unlike the time she made the same move on Zim.
"Do you remember the Cruxi?" She next asked, curious to see his reaction. "Do you remember what they have done?"

"The Cruxi?" Harold's eyes were having just a bit of trouble focusing. He was trying to stand stock still, but the woman's headpatting was making merry hell with his sense of balance. "They... they took the station. They killed the marines. Almost killed me. Then they..." he squinted his eyes. His mind was processing another memory. "... they're attacking a planet. One with two large colonies. I'm supposed to... get in there with my team. Search and destroy. Defend our perimeter if... we've established it?"

"Where is Rostosov?" he added. "Where am I? Uh, permission to speak freely."

Daria giggled to herself, with a finger at her lip. "Why yes, you do. But, you did go and defend the planet, Harold...and you died." She paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "And now, you have been brought back. Do you understand what that means? It means that you have been given a second chance to fight, and to protect humanity. Isn't that right?"

Harold blinked. "So I understand that I was wounded in action, and have been recovering for all this time?"

Daria pouted, her hand sliding down to the clone's shoulder, swiftly gliding across his facial features. "Hmm, you could say that. But the important fact is that you must train and prepare yourself for a new battle. And this time, you won't be given a new chance." She pushed her hand on his shoulder, testing his balance. "Are you prepared to give your all once more?"

Harold appeared to have recovered somewhat from his stupor. It was not a perfect recovery, but he weathered the shove and returned to attention within an acceptable timeframe as detailed in the Standard Officer's Etiquette Handbook.

"I understand," he said, slowly after a pause. "That I have been careless in handling important military hardware and further incompetence will no longer be tolerated. I understand that the maximum penalty for such competence is summary execution. I can't remember much of what happened on my last mission, ma'am, but whatever fuck-up I did, I will be sure not to repeat it. Pardon my language."

"Hmm...he he...Ha haaa!" Daria suddenly laughed with glee, and before the man could react he was grabbed in a hug, his face pushed right between her ample assets, causing him to lose his breath. "I'm so happy to hear that! It really worked! Aaahh, this is a break-through!"
As Harold began losing consciousness, Daria realized the danger of her hug, and released him. "Whoops, respiration may still be developing, so I should be cautious, tee hee~"

Harold withdrew sharply, entirely unprepared for what had just happened. As his mind continued to delve into memories, it was also considering whether the events of the last moment were sexual harrassment as detailed in the military penal code. He blinked - and felt that he should have laughed, or made a quip - but for some reason his usual humor failed him.

He unslackened his jaw and looked sharply at the woman. His memories - rather, the memories with the most vibrance - told him that he should stand at the most rigid attention and ignore trivialities. So that's what he did, and with a clear, well-modulated voice he said,

"What are my orders?"

Daria's smile turned into a serious scowl. "Your new orders...Are to make new memories. Memories that belong to you, and only you. Whether it will be fighting in training, or fighting in reality, you will mold your own destiny. And to start, it would be wise to sharpen up those skills in some VR combat." Daria gestured towards the pod. "Once you feel you are ready, come report to me again. Then we'll see how you'll fare back with the big boys." With that said, Daria turned and left, her swinging hips being the last the man saw of Lorenzo's assistant.

Harold turned to the pod. He was certain some protocols were not met - but then again, he was in the care of the medical arm, and he was unfamiliar with their regulations. Though, that woman was very strange for an army surgeon. For her and her staff to keep VR training facilities in this room - if this even is a medical room - was something of an abnormality. Harold felt a little hungry, and he felt a certain anxiety from not being immediately debriefed on what had happened since his last mission - but he had his orders. His orders were to train, and so he stepped towards the VR pod and opened the door.

"I will complete my orders," he muttered to himself. In the swirling chaos of his mind still looking to right itself, orders were something that gave structure. So Harold grasped this structure, and grasped it tight, as he sank his mind and body into the combat simulation.

"Dropping the shield," Zim called over the coms to warn anybody who was using the shield. With a quick toggle of the controls, the shield disengaged and the energy field dropped away. Black Star moved the shield back to its storage position on the assault pack. "Begining attack on the repair unit at G4," Zim reported before utilizing the ATS and Booster Pack. This maneuver had taken practice to get used to, and the timing needed for it was greatly controlled by the ATS system, which allowed Zim to focus on the controlling the Rediculous speed of a full speed dash using the large boosters on Black Star's back. Simulators could only do so much, as Zim felt the plug suit squeeze tighter against his body in preparation for a high gravity impact. For a moment, Zim could feel what Daniel went through in Jaeger everytime he was about to ram an opponent into a wall. With the target locked on Zim turned on the boosters and made his way with breakneck speed to H6, once there the ATS armed the wave surger in mode 2 for a prolonged beam and unleashed a beam in a spread from G4 through H3, putting priority on the mystery unit in G4, while still in motion. Zim would complete the beam and continue on the planned maneuver and use the second portion of his dash to circle back around to G7. Once there the wave surger would disengage and begin the cool down sequences, waiting for it to be usable again.

Plain Text: Move E7 to H6, attack with wave surger on G4, fan through H3, continue moving to G7.

Krista Reynolds

---

Krista watched with annoyance as the mini-mist blocked her shot. She muttered under her breath."Oh, so that's what they fo—" She was interrupted by the crystal's return fire, flinching away in the cockpit as the ray hit the wall she was using for cover. Once the Hou Yi's video feed compensated for the extra light, she could see the damage the crystal had done in a single shot. The thermal sensors were redundant, the molten parts of the wall were still incandescent.

"Holy crap," she thought, gaping like a fish, "I almost felt that." It reminded her of a time when she had observed a test firing of the Archer's Slag Cannon during a test firing. Even through a foot of transparent ceramic, she stood in awe as she felt the barest hints of the heat radiating from the coils. Now she shook at the thought of being on the receiving end of such power.

The battle raged around her as she focused on her target. Taking a deep breath, she lined up another shot at the crystal. There was still a tremor to her voice as she opened up a line to the Paladin. "I can't tell if it was firing purely in retaliation, or if it was focusing on a direct threat. Still, looks like this thing will make short work of anyone." She swallowed, mouth dry as she fought back against her nerves. "Let's shatter this crystal ASAP. Ah have your back." It was a huge target and she could hit it without the Hou Yi's suggested corrections. Still, she took an extra moment to make sure that she was lined up before she fired, her own mini-sun streaking towards the Crystal.

Summary:
- Sent a message to Ariin @Apollosarcher
- Fired upon the Crystal again

Ariin grunted when the shot impacted his shield, damn, even his barrier couldn't take to many hits of that magnitude. Ariin decided to take four shots with his Pompey, if it wanted wanted to super weapon chicken, he'd happily oblige. He had just started spooling up the coils for a shot when he received a message, from one people he had yet to meet. He opened a private comm channel to the girl, luckily his HUD from his implant informed his that the pilot's name was Krista. He silently wondered how the others got by without implants, his was rather useful for many things.

Granted it also currently house a rather annoying intelligence that bugged him about little things, like checking calculations on his fire line to ensure no back blast would hit any nearby targets. Speaking into the newly opened channel, his shots nearly ready. "Already warming up the magnets, it's probably going after the biggest guns first. Pompey is pretty damn lethal to anything in its path." He told Krista as a super sonic rounds left the gun, then in quick succession a second loud boom as two more left the chamber. "That might be overkill... But the I've got plenty of rounds."

With his shots off, Ariin braced for incoming fire, leaving the channel open for now as it seemed the two them were the artillery for this mission.

---

TL:DR
-Opened comm channel to Krista to help direct future fire support. @redbaron1234
-Fired four shots of delicious tungsten at the shield ruining crystal.
-Braced for more incoming fire.

Well Roger had his orders and he had no reason to disobey them. Wait for the Cruxi to converge in the center and then flank right to form a pincer. Simple enough, the issue right now was getting the bastards to actually converge so he could get into a flanking position in the first place. There was really only a single Cruxi squad blocking a way in from the right, but he couldn't get within range to attack them without barging right into the open, presumably to a very laser-filled death. On top of that, the whole "regenerating destroyed machines" thing that stubby asshole did only made things more bothersome.

For the time being it would probably be best to simply reposition. Roger positioned Yeager right by Eiswolf. Still just out of range, but he'd be able to easily move in and out of range of medium weapons, which would probably reduce the likelihood of being made an obvious target like Black Star. Snipers were a different matter, but that's why he had teammates, like the Sniper to his left. Not a lot for the pilot to do at the moment, but sometimes the best solution was simply to not directly take action.

tl;dr: Move G9->I8

---

Leading a squad on infiltration was something Katya had never done before. Nore had she been given training for it, and that made her nervous; she was aware once inside the Cruxi station there was no backup. That a single mistake, heck even a wrong turn. Could lead those under her commander to a very timely death or worse capture, the latter scaring Katya just a little.

It was that small amount of fear that gave Katya focus as she commanded the team take out the CWM sentries quickly as possible. If anything Katya wanted to be in and out of the base in the shortest amount of time possible. So she directed those under her command to show now mercy. To take out any Cruxi that engaged them by the quickest means possible. Before they could call in backup or surround them.

Entering the hanger, Katya was quick to order the distraction of the unmanned Cruxi mechs. She figured a base like this would have sensors so would have detected her team by now. Failing that surely one of the Cruxi workers or soldier running around bellow them would surely one of them would raise the alarm before too long. So in her mind, it was better to take out the mechs while manned. Better now then leaving them for the Cruxi to man the mechs use against them.

Once they mechs were dealt with Katya ordered the team forward. Katya personally not care how many Cruxi she stepped on. Although didn’t go out of her way to crush the panic Cruxi under Caretakers feet. Moving though hanger into corridors. Katya lead her team down into the depths of the base. Taking out the odd Cruxi mech which surprised Katya thinking even if the base was under attack they divert at least some troops to deal with the intruders. Katay still holding onto the thought that Cruxi knew that they had intruders.

As they reach laboratory area Katya order the squad to halt. Muttering a few curse words under her breath. As she looked down one of the corridors that was too small for a werk to fit. Scanning it, she saw the metal was weak enough for a werk to force its way down one of these small corridors. Aware if the Cruxi where keeping Elora alive then this was the place it would be it more then lucky would be here. Katya feeling frustrated she started to try and think of another option as having her team split up and force themselves down small corridors sounded like a bad idea. If the Cruxi caught them whoever was in the corridor was have nowhere to go.

But before Katya could think of anything Mia, no Seven asked if she could her leave werk to proceed on foot.
“Denied. You are to remain in your werk.” Katya ordered, her tone sounding annoyed. She didn’t need to be dealing with Seven or Mia doing some unnecessary heroics. It only would only distract her from the task at hand. Still, in this once instance, it served to help Katya think of an idea. If the werks could not fit then, they could use the drones or more, in particular, Jakes recon drones. Katya thinking from the name such a drone should be quick with good range. Unlike hers. Even if she could extend the range, her drones were not built to be quick, and by the sound of it, Cruxi were starting to close on the team's location. Meaning her drones might be needed to assist the team if those Cruxi caught up with them.
“Jake deploy recon drones. Send them down the corridors. We can use them to check each area quickly. At the moment we are prioritising the recovery of Elora. Everyone all other captives are to be considered secondary. You to need to be quick. Understood.” Katya instructed, thinking for a moment.
“Seven, Serah. The metal that makes the corridors is weak. Your werks should be able to force themselves down it. If you think can do so without badly damaging you werks to badly or somehow make the fit. You're free to aid Jake otherwise. You’ll assist me in setting up a defensive line, if the Cruxi reach us before Jake can find Elora, then we’ll need to buy him time.” Katya instructed, finishing off with deploying her attack drones. Commanding them, to take defensive positions. Katya doing the same turned Caretaker to face the direction the noises were coming from. Aiming Caretakers rifle in the same direction, ready to engage any Cruxi that came.