As the storm calmed down somewhat, Devors had begun to hover back to NOAH. He wasn't of any use anymore as blowing open the base was the primary goal of his deployment. The man had shut up for once, taking in the eerily silent atmosphere as the two artillery units of the squad were charging and no new orders came in for a little while. His gut told him that it wasn't over just yet, but... there were bigger things on his mind right now. Especially as he was docking, getting out of Ranius and letting the recycled air of the ship wash over him. It certainly felt fresher compared to the cockpit of his framewerk.

Just as he managed to unwind though, explosions loud enough to be heard all the way to NOAH reached Devors' ears. He figured the cavalry arrived- that, or the artillery duo decided to blow their load early. Either way, the man didn't really care. The kids our there could solve out their own problems, he had something else to go and confirm. The man paced past the engineers scrounging to get to his framewerk and brushed off the medics looking to see if he's unhurt and, more importantly, sober. He held a brisk pace, looking for a certain facility in the ship: The Emergency room. He knew he wasn't supposed to just freely roam like that, in case he needed to go back out and all, but it wouldn't be the first time this man would be scolded for insubordination. It's a miracle he hasn't been gotten rid of, really.

Surprisingly, or maybe because the staff was all over the place because of the chaos, there was nobody guarding the door to the ER. Devors was able to walk in, being met with cries of "Sir you shouldn't be here," and the like. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't focus on forcing Devors out of the room as Elise's wounds were much too severe to ignore. Devors still respected their work, however, and kept his distance. She was engrossed in looking at the nearby video feed- no doubt placed there so the medics were able to quickly mobilize for new dockers like himself. She was an absolute mess and Devors couldn't bear to see that. Blood was all over the place, her small body was limp and they hadn't even begun to remove the broken helmet yet- showing just how critical the other injuries are.

He told her to move out of the way, damnit! If only she'd listened to him... but in reality, it might have been his fault for going with a stupid plan. The man was confident in his own skill, but there was no way Elise could have been too- not in the heat of the moment. He knows, however, that sticking around will be worse for her in the long run. The people trained to deal with this situation needed to focus, and so Devors moved out of the room and collapsed against the outside wall. He was going to need to get even drunker after this- forget about the entire mess. That usually helped.

Katya was the first to reach NOAH as she pulled her thrusters to beyond safety precautions, causing them to explode; the Framewerk hit the carrier ship's side violently before she turned and hovered it inside. Pieces of armor were left in space, but it was a negligible loss as Caretaker was parked. A couple of drones came and shot energy tethers around the enemy mech and dragged it to the containment unit.
Weisritter was the next to arrive, and had no problems setting Neo Angel carefully next to it.

Finally, Operation Slingshot was executed: Jason, with Paladin's targeting assistance, charged until X-7:s Moonbreaker was beginning to melt from the sheer energy levels, and then made the shot. The round was shot around the precise range of the nearby planet's gravitation, and thus accelerated the slug to incredible force; it passed through the opened front entrance of the base; and pierced through the central reactor of the base. What followed was a chain-reaction of galactic magnitude; A massive explosion resembling a miniature sun engulfed the entire base, and wholly obliterated the Cruxi fleet around it; even the Juggernaut was destroyed, it's parts flung across the universe.

Assisted by the shockwave, Black Star shot himself to NOAH and managed some kind of landing before it fell, crashing fortunately on it's front side to avoid too much damage to Serah's mangled machine. X-7 and Paladin were then the last ones to arrive, two mighty Framewerks who were applauded and cheered on by the ship's personnel. Even Ritsu smiled as she put a hand to her hip.
"Impressive work, Squad Sigma. You have succeeded beyond the mission parameters, and made a decisive blow on the Cruxi. Medics and engineers, what are you staring for! Get to work!"
In the medical bay, another battle was happening, on a personal level. The medics tried to stop Devors, but knew they had to focus on treating Elise's wounds above all else. Elise laid there still, and once her helmet was removed he saw that she had lost an eye. But, in her unconscious state, she was smiling; she managed to see the explosion set off.

As Black Star collapsed to the floor inside the hanger, Zim let out a long low sigh. "We did it partner, we made it back, and we got Serah and Atty back too..." Zim reached for the hatch switch only to realize that Black Star was facedown on it, and Atty was on his backside covering the emergency eject exit too. "This is Zim Hero in Black Star, I seem to be stuck inside at the moment. I am fine, I took no personal damage. Please prioritize getting Serah to medical. I haven't been able to make contact with her, even through physical contact with Atty, so I am unsure of her status. I will standby for extraction."

Zim looked around the cockpit and started turning off weapons systems and other non-essential or non-functional systems. He made sure to keep life support and comms on as he started the shut down sequence for al.kst everything else. "Looks like it will be just me and you for a little while..." Zim said as he settled in for the duration, cracking into the emergency rations.

Being the one stuck on the ship was a double edged sword. On one hand, you're not in mortal danger, which was a plus no matter who you were. Only adrenaline junkies and those with a death wish could enjoy that aspect of being a Framewerk pilot. In the moment there was a seductive excitement when your life was on the line, but that was always offset with relief as soon as you were out of that situation. Relief or pants shitting terror. It was a coin-flip between the two, really.

The other plus was that he had an outside perspective from which to view the rest of the mission. During the battles he always found himself unable to keep up with all the different things going on at once. He was too close, and had a habit of developing tunnel vision, which was probably more of a liability than his relative piloting skill. But for once he was able to more or less keep track of everything that had transpired after making sure Elise wasn't dead.

On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel useless. The last part of the mission wasn't suited to what he or Yeager could do. He knew that. Yeager was good in open spaces (or at least with enough room to maneuver) against infantry, or getting to and from places. He was one of the best choices for making sure that Elise got back alive. He knew this, but watching the rest of Squad Sigma finish the mission in such a spectacular fashion pissed him off even more. His team managed to actually strike back against the Cruxi and it felt like he had no part in the thing. Not to say that he wasn't excited when the base popped, or he wasn't cheering when X-7 and Paladin managed to get back onto the ship. He just couldn't shake that useless feeling at the pit of his stomach, and every moment it was there only served to make him angrier.

So there he was, hanging around the hangar, waiting for the rest of the squad to get out of their 'werks (not counting Devors. He was basically sprinting through the ship. No use trying to talk to him). So they could celebrate? Inform them about Elise's condition? Honestly he didn't know for what. But wait he did. From the looks of it, he would be waiting for awhile if Zim and Black Star were anything to go by.

---

Katya knew deep down pushing the thrusters beyond their safety limits was a dumb idea. Still the results spoke for themselves as she reached the NOAH first. Only to have her main thrusters explode and hit the NOAH’s side. Setting more alarms than she would have preferred to hear as she watch bit of armour break away from the werk. Katya ignoring it mostly as she used the werks manoeuvring thrusters to get the werk into the safety of the Hanger.

Once in the hanger, Katya was quick to set the elite down, watching as drones came to drag in of. Part of her still wishing she could take peek at its hardware salvage anything intact. But doubted it would happen, but salvaging machinery and putting stuff together out of scrap was something she enjoyed and missed doing. Given she’d not had much chance to since leaving home. Katya was about to remove her next bit of cargo when a warning flashed on her main HUD that Caretaker magnetic lock system had just failed. The werk registering two bits of cargo lost. Her rifle and the stasis sphere both of which were on a course for the ground. Katya letting of several curses in a language native to her world.

Katya made no effort to catch either one. Knowing her werk could not move quickly enough to do so. Merely hope the sphere could endure a drop from Caretaker waist height. While her rifle she knew could take the fall. It was made to withstand a bit of a beating for it failed. So watched as both hit the ground with a loud bang and hoped she’d not get in trouble for dropping Elora. Katya feeling bad she had just let that happen. Katya used Caretaker to scan the sphere which to her relief seemed durable enough to take the fall. Watching as more drones came to collect it and haul it off to what Katya assumed would be the medical bay. Part of her wanting to ditch Caretaker and see Elora. However knew she’d only cause problems so instead reminded she still had drones pair of drones issued the recall command.

However when she glanced at the drones status saw one was still active. It responding and scurrying it way back to Caretaker. Katya turning to werk to towards Black Star to see it had fallen when it landed. Had actually crushed the other drone.
“All but one … I feel sorry for them. I need to be more careful with them next time. Can’t afford to lose so many each mission.” she muttered as she started to feel tired and the headache from the scream once again come to the forefront of her mind. No long distracted with trying to escape or not trying to reign in out of control squadmates.

Having no need for Caretaker, she powered the werk down climbed down and unable to muster up any more energy so fall back onto one of Caretaker feet. The mission having exhausted Katya she merely sat at her werks feet and tried to ignore her head, hoping she’d be able to muster up a little energy in a few minutes. If not pretty sure someone would come give her hand eventually. But for the moment a minute or two alone wouldn’t bother her.
“Agh my head, feels like someones stuck in in vice. Damn that elite for using Elora like that. It deserved a much slower death.” she muttered replying the moment the Elite made Elora perform that scream.

A very battered and crystal filled Paladin landed, letting Paladin dock and a platform to extend for Ariin to climb out of his massive mountain of a mech. Slowly a rather tired looking Ariin climbed out on to the catwalk that extended out for him, he hadn't had it half as bad as the others though. He wanted to check on all the others, but he did need to talk someone first. Making his way down the stairs slowly he looked over at Caretaker in the NOAH's hangar. Arriving at the bottom, he thought back to his last memory before this battle, Katya leading them into a fight where everything seemed to just went FUBAR.

"Katya! Don't I owe you a meal?" Ariin chuckled, his robotic eye changing to a happy face as he moved over to her. "I know you guys had it rough in their... Do you need a hand, I know you probably want to go see Elora." He spoke offering her a hand up smiling a little. He wanted her to see he was okay, he wasn't sure how she felt after his near death and replacement by his Werk. However, he knew she had been in charge of that mission and probably wasn't happy about how it had gone. Of course, he didn't know how bad it had gone for others as well he didn't have Paladin's memories.

"Maybe later you can catch me up on what I missed... Paladin didn't really give me much info on well... Anything. Kinda went into this blind." He rubbed his hair and gently looked around. "Spotted new people... And lot more artillery than we used to have." He mumbled, already thinking of something. "Still... I'd like to see Elora too... Last memory I've got is me failing to stop that thing from taking her." He said, obviously feeling guilty about how it had ended and that he hadn't been there for her. When he'd promised to keep her safe when they all started this together.

---

Watching the destruction of the Cruxi base, and the subsequent destruction of their fleet arriving, he couldn't help but smile lightly. Looking at the picture of his old squad, Jason reached out to touch the image as he turned Ribasu back towards the NOAH. "That was for all of you." He said softly as he arrived in the hangar. The first thing he noticed was Atty's mangled frame, he felt his joy and relief suddenly drain away. "Not again..." He said softly, as he guided the Mech through the docking procedures. Anxious to get out of the machine, dread coursing through his body. The moment the platform arrived, Jason opened Ribasu's hatch and was out in a second. Ignoring the crew members applauding and cheering the efforts of Sigma, he started to run.

Weaving his way out of the hangar, even moving other crew members as needed, Jason had a single goal in mind. It wasn't long before he left the hangar and was making his way through the ship's corridors. The medical bay. He was confident that they would have gotten Serah out by noe and have her there. He had to know, whether or not she was okay. It wouldn't be long before he found his way there, and quickly entered. "Serah, where is she? Is she going to be alright?" He demanded, even as others tried to calm him down. He refused to leave until he knew how she was, until he could see her. Finally giving up on making him leave, they agreed to allow Jason to wait in the corridor. Understanding that they would tell him once he could see Serah. Despite being unhappy with this agreement, Jason figured it would be the best he could get. With an irritated sigh, he leaned against the wall of the corridor and waited for some sort of news about her state.

As soon as the attack from Operation Slingshot was over, Jake immedately got out of his framework. No sooner than he did that he saw the medics swarming the Neo Angel.

Even with the Neo Angel mangled as it was, it still stood there though dropped to one knee to allow the cockpit to be close to the ground as much as possible. He then saw some medics near the midsection...raising a high tech strecher to help carry out it's pilot.

It soon then lowered along with the medics and Jake saw that Mai, now calling herself Maria, was out. Worse, he saw that there was some slight dark coloring around her eyes...server exaustion perhaps. But then again, she had really taken a pounding if she fought and beat a Cruxi Elite of all things.

"Mai! Maria! Talk to me!", Jake called but was held back by medics.

"Cadet Armstrong. Please stand back. We'll take care of her but due to her sync being at a hundred percent, she is still considered to be in critical condition", the medic responded.

That caught Jake off guard when he heard that.

"Wait. A hundred? But she was at seventy two when we went in!", Jake then asked.

"We don't know what happened but due to that sync, she felt every inch of pain and trauma from whatever did that to her framework", the medic responded, pointing to all the damage on the Neo Angel.

Jake then remembered the "stab" hole he saw that seemed to go clean through the Neo Angel when he was assisting Maria.

"Cadet Armstrong. Go to the waiting room in the medical ward but please, don't make our jobs harder", the medic said as they all stared to move.

Jake wondered now EXACTLY what happened in that room with the Cruxi. Then there was the status of Cadet Elora.

"Wait. What about Elora? Is she in the same condition?", Jake then asked.

"I'm afraid I've been ordered not to reveal her status", the medic responded.

"Don't give me that! What is-"

Security then seperated him from the medics as they entered the intensive care area. Jake didn't bother resisting as security led him to the waiting area.

But even he was getting sick and tired of all the "secrets" that were being thrown around...

Devors scanned the people frantically running to and fro, most likely because of more pilots having docked. Their voices and footsteps became kind of a blurry haze of noise- and then there was this ringing! It must've been his ears, they must be exhausted from the fight, or something. The lights running along the roof also annoyed the man's senses- were these always so fucking bright? It's like staring into the sun! Or maybe his eyes are just tired. Actually, lots of things didn't seem right in thinking about it. Everything hurt, and not just from the neural feedback- not that there had been much of it.

The man spied two more patients being hurried into the medical ward- spotted some light blue and pink hairs. Clearly boobs on one of 'em, too. Must be the two girls who bum-rushed the Cruxi, didn't look like they got out too well though. What were there names again? Mia and Sarah? Nah, that seemed wrong, somehow. Devors was also too deadbeat to really care, especially when their boyfriends (they were boyfriends, right? Heck if he knew.) stormed right through. Both of them tried- and failed- to get into the medical ward. Same brute-force approach Devors took, but now there was more staff. He traced the moody one with his eyes as they went and leaned against the wall, trying to look cool. The man got a faint nostalgic feeling from the sight, and that also came coupled with some shame. Not that he knew why, brain's too fucked to tell him.

"Great outcome, right?"

Shit, hang on Devors. Watch what you're about to say... actually, heck, who cares at this point? The burning feeling coming from his lungs told him that it wasn't just his brain talking. That bottle or two of mörder was definitely helping things along.

"Soon we'll be declared heroes for blowing up that station and denting the cruxi's forces, but meanwhile you can look at the result by proxy of the three sleepin' ladies in the room next to us. Looks like you two's better halves got brain-fucked and I'm running the risk of havin' the third's death wearing down on my conscience. Fuck, I still can't believe she even chose this gig. We bust our asses and risk our lives out there fightin' the 'good fight' and half of us don't even care to be here. I know I don't."

Devors violently jerked his head back, banging it against the wall and closing his eye.

"Not that I can quit. Miracle I haven't been tossed into some kinda jail cell or been executed in some way. Naw, we got two options: Death by tentacle dismemberment or death by your employers. Pick your poison, both taste like ass. Meanwhile you, me and the ones over in framesville gotta worry our asses off when someone else gets hurt, wishing we'd have been the ones instead so they didn't have to. Only catch is, then they'd have t'worry 'bout you, right? What a joke."

God, his throat is getting sore. That, and it didn't look like these two were listening anyway. Devors pushed against the wall and shakily got to his feet, his lanky figure as unstable as it appeared. He opened his eye again to look at the two boys, seeing as they hadn't yet left because of this deadbeat's ranting. No surprise, Devors didn't really expect them to just up and leave their lovers like that. At least, he thinks one of them had a girlfriend. The ginger, maybe? Ah, fuck, he didn't care.

"I think I'm gonna go pass the fuck out. What 'bout you lot?"

---

The technicians had given Krista the all clear sign about a minute before the last members of the squad docked. She’d disconnected from the battle feed once the ten-minute timer had been declared; she didn’t have the stomach to watch something she could not affect again. The bright light of the hangar snapped her out of her daze. Thankfully she’d gotten over the worst of her breakdown in time and the residual disorientation of going from four to two legs had faded enough that she could climb out of the Hou Yi with minimal help from the techs.

She emerged just in time to hear the announcement that the mission had succeeded, though she was too tired to register that fact. Shaking out the stiffness in her arms, she gave the mechanics and other support crew wide berth. She wanted nothing more than to go track down the cantina and see how much sugar and creamer one could fit into a cup of tea, but she found herself just walking over towards Roger in a bit of a daze. She stood next to the older boy and awkwardly standing next to him. “Hey there, uh, thanks for the help out there. Glad to see you made it back in one piece. ” She let a few moments pass before continuing. “Uh, What now? I want to go get something to drink, but I don’t know if we’re supposed to wait here or something.”

@Dragoknighte

"This is Zim Hero in Black Star, I seem to be stuck inside at the moment. I am fine, I took no personal damage. Please prioritize getting Serah to medical. I haven't been able to make contact with her, even through physical contact with Atty, so I am unsure of her status. I will standby for extraction."

A couple of seconds later, a response came: "Chief Engineer Savrea here. Atty's pilot has been extracted, and drones are on their way to sort your little Framewerk mess. Hang on for around half an hour or so, and you'll get to join in the party. And congratulations on my part as well, kid. You sure knocked them out of the ballgrid."

Ritsu continued observing the cleanup detail of the operation, and nodded in satisfaction. She heard Krista's question, and answered: "You pilots can go and take a rest for now. You deserve it. I have some orders and reports to make." She was about to turn when he heard Katya mutter something:

“Agh my head, feels like someones stuck in in vice. Damn that elite for using Elora like that. It deserved a much slower death.”

The Captain didn't hear much, but her pained tone of voice told her enough.
"Officer Romanovna, is everything alright? Take a physical examination check in the medical bay, just in case," she ordered, and then left, her heels clacking in a steady rhythm amidst the rest of the hangar's clamor. She spoke to her mobile device. "Set the coordinates back to HQ. Take a fast course; some of the wounded might require surgery."

---

At the medbay, the medics tried to calm Jason down, and said that Serah's stabile condition might worsen if exposed to outside irritant factors. They promised him that they would permit visitors as soon as she showed signs of recovery. He was guided to the waiting area by the security among other pilots, and now him, Jake and Devors were all sitting, hoping to see their significant others.

---

Jason remained where he was, listening to the man rant about something or another. The pilot wasn't particularly interested in what he had to say. Only perking up at a couple of points. "Think the sarge will be all right? I tried to act quick enough to give her the best shot." He said quickly before the other guy continued to rant. At the end of it all, when the man said he was going to pass out, Jason simply gave a look. "I'll be here. Or, around at least." He said before turning away and quietly waiting. After a few hours of waiting, the boy left briefly to find something to eat before returning and waiting outside for them to allow him to see Serah. All the while his nerves ran high, remembering Atty's beaten frame in the hangar. The memories of the last two girls he'd become attached to still fresh in his mind. Both dead. A troubled expression was on his features, as he paced around the room. It would be still another few hours before anything happened.

They came out to tell him Serah was recovering and he could go in to see her. Jason was almost immediately on his feet and following them back, his face plastered with concern and worry. Being led into where Serah was, still unconscious, Jason went right to her bedside. He didn't speak, simply reached out and gently took her hand in his own. Thankful to see she was still alive and seemed to be recovering. Finding a nearby stool, he stayed at her bedside and waited. Having let go of her hand and deciding to wait until she woke up. Despite knowing that she would be alright, he needed that verification. He'd already everybody close to him twice before. "Wake up soon, Serah." He said softly, watching her and the area around with a slight frown on his features.

"Hm, what? Oh yeah, that." Roger was sitting on a crate that wasn't being used, smoking a cigarette as everyone else hurried around doing their job. At first it didn't seem to understand what Krista was getting at when she went up and thanked him. "You don't need to thank me for that, anybody could have done it, and none of us would have just left Elise for dead." He took a drag of the cigarette as Krista remained awkwardly silent, watching the rest of the hangar.

"I was waiting for everyone to get out of their frames, but the rest of the Squad seems stuck or busy with other sh- stuff." The older pilot snuffed out his cigarette on the box and stood up. Rooney stuffed his balled-up fists deep into his pockets at looked down at Krista (kind of hard not to when you were almost an entire foot taller than the person you're talking to). "If you want to get out of here, I'm not doing anything at the moment. Feels like if I stick around here too much longer I'll end up breaking something."

"Don't know how they do it on your planet, but aren't you too young to be drinking?" He tacked on to the end after a background thought finally finished processing in his head. Even on his backwater home world, you had to be at least 15 before you were allowed to imbibe alcohol. Well, at least officially. So hearing a girl four years his junior casually talking about getting a drink sounded wrong.

Jake waited patiently in the waiting area. He had a tablet in his hands in which he was reviewing something of sorts. Really, he needed to keep his mind occupied considering that everything, to him, had not gone according to plan. Sure, they blew up a Cruxi controlled station and most likely got combat data on two new units they used on them.

But, as usual, at what cost? Pilots? Machines?

Devors was on one of his drunken rants but this time, it seemed to Jake that he was really hurting deep down. No doubt that he'd seen so much...that was probably the reason for his drinking habits. Not the best solution to cope but again, considering how brutal the war against the Cruxi got and most likely the critical state of Elise, you just find any way to get through the pain.

Both physical and mental.

When the doctors said that Jason could go in and see Serah, Jake tried to follow. Thankfully, the nurse didn't say anything to Jake. She simply nodded and let him follow Jake in.

Not too far from Serah was Mai. No...Maria now. She was one bed next to Serah as a matter of fact so he wasn't too far from Jason. While Jake was glad that she looked ok, it still hurt him to see her like this.

For that matter, how many coma's or even servere injuries did she suffer daily to always wind up in here? What exactly did she go through in her lifetime? Jake did have some rough moments, even more so involving his family, but this...

Sitting down on a chair next to Maria's bed, Jake brought out his tablet again. He got to work on bringing up a "recording" of the sync rates of his infiltration team during the mission. When Jake held down that corridor and the trap was sprung, he didn't really hear anything good.

But it was that horrible yell he heard briefly before his comm link with his team broke and then he heard nothing.

From what he heard Maria said though, the Cruxi did do something to Elora. More than likely, the Cruxi used Elora against his team. But then she broke loose from her captors control and...did something to Mai to turn her into...her mom?

As part of the Recon division, Jake had made his fair share of weird reports and even heard about stuff like this but to actually see and hear it?

At any rate, he needed to see what happened in terms of sync rates during that battle if was even available at all. Even if it was, he had a suspicion that it'd be "classified" and blocked from his viewing but he'd break some rules if he had to. Like he thought before, he was getting tired of all the secrets...

---

Sitting on the foot of her werk Katya let her mind wander for a moment looking over at the mess that was Atty and Black Star.
“How did Zim manage to land like that?” she thought she heard Ritsu ask if everything was alright and to physical examination just in case
“Yes Ma’am, but I think I’m alright. Just a headache.” she spoke in reply giving a sigh, trying to muster the energy to get back on her feet. But was unable to muster enough to do so just yet. Then she heard a familiar voice call out her name. Katya turning her head to see it was Ariin mentioning something about him owing her a meal. Failing to notice his robotic eye changing into a happy face.

When Ariin offered her a hand, she took it and without much warning tried to pull her self up. Succeeding although she fell forward leaning on him for a moment. Before righting herself taking a step back. Now back on her feet, she was sure she’d be alright. So long as she didn’t push herself or sit back down.
“Sorry body is a little worn out. If you could be so kind as to escort me to the med bay. I’ll get looked at something for my headache and provided they don’t lock me up. We can have that meal you owe me. I don’t trust my legs to hold me up at the moment.” she spoke after Ariin finished speaking. Looking up at Caretaker for a moment.
“I guess I know how you feel comrade.” she muttered looking back at Ariin giving him a small smile which faded after a moment.

“Look as for seeing Elora, I don’t think that’ll be possible. I can imagine they’ll have her in a secured section in case something happens. At the moment I doubt they’ll even tell us if she’s okay. Still, I’ll be asking when I’m getting check over.” she spoke giving a sigh.

“Try not to worry about it. Elora is tough I’m sure she’ll recover in due time. When they allow us to visit, I’ll be the first inline. Until then … best to keep out of the way let the doctors do what they need to do to make sure she’s okay.” she spoke slowly moving towards the door. Finding it difficult to keep her balance and walk. Stopping after a few uneasy steps.

“If you don’t mind could I borrow a shoulder. I’m a little unsure if I can make it to the med bay on my own.”

While Zim sat inside of Black Star waiting for the ability to offload and join the others in celebration, and waiting for a moment to visit with the wounded, he had time to think about things. His muscles finally relaxing, he realized, as he slumped back into the cockpit chair, munching on some field ration or another, and finally put some thought towards something that had been bothering him for quite some time.

Zim had always had a hard time connecting with his Werk. His companions on Squad Sigma seemed to have much closer feelings for their Machines. Serah especially. In her mind, it seemed to Zim, that there was no doubt that her Werk was, in fact, a living, sentient thing. Not to Zim, at least not at first. How long had Zim been piloting Black Star? And he still was only just now starting to make gains in his synchronization with the machine, no... the Werk. In Zim's previous life, before the cadet training program, Zim had done a number of jobs, one amongst them was working on a Terraformer's ship where he was responsible for using a wide range of machines. Some of those machines even had pretty sophisticated A.I. systems, but despite Zim's assertions that these machines were nothing but tools, weapons, and armor. Zim had to admit that he had never experienced the kind of feedback and resistance in using the machine like he had with other equipment.

But now? Now Zim was pretty sure that there was something more to these Werks, that there was, in fact, a type of Sentience to them that Zim had never experienced with the other machines that he had used. The voice from inside the machine. Before, Zim had thought that it was just something that failed pilot cadets had come up with as a way to spook the system. Of course, if that was the case, the military scientists would have simply disproven it and dispelled the rumors, and yet Zim had heard it himself. And that voice had haunted Zim for a long time.

The breaking point, as it were, for Zim was in the fight in Joppa. Three events took place that could not be explained, not without accepting that the Werks were more than machines. The first was the sudden psychic abilities that Elora suddenly possessed. The second was, perhaps unintentional, Paladin's take over of Arin's body. Finally, at the end of combat, Black Star made an attack that it should not have been able to do, not from that range, while simultaneously protecting Zim from harm.

So yes, now Zim did believe that Black Star and the other Werks were sentient, that they maybe even had a soul of sorts, but he still wasn't sure how that made him feel about Black Star. There were times in training simulations that this was getting in the way, the distrust of his Werk got in the way of his Synchronization and it would plummet through the basement, even resulting in a forced ejection from the simulator. So now, Zim had questions, and he doubted that Lorenzo would be keen on answering them, especially in a way that Zim would understand... if that was even possible. But he thought that perhaps his squadmates might be able to assist him with his thought process.

Zim looked around the hanger and spotted Katya talking with Ritsu. She looked in Zim and Black Star's direction. He wanted to talk to her about what went on inside with the infiltration team, about Elora and the Ace Cruxi, and about his questions about the Werks. His hand absentmindedly fiddled with the hair tie that she had loaned him. He wanted to spend time with her, it didn't matter what took up that time, as long as it was with Katya. Then his heart sunk as she seemed to embrace Arin as he helped her up from the ground. It was hard to tell from the angle and the distance, was it a hug or a moment of weakness? If it was a hug was it a celebration or was it something else... Zim's hand pulled on the hair tie now. Not enough to damage it, just enough to pull it tight against the back of his wrist. And off they went together. Zim began down a process of self-loathing and depression. 'This is stupid,' he thought to himself after a few moments of staring at the corridor the two had gone down, 'Get over it. If she didn't feel the same way, then so be it. You returned safely from Combat, give her back the hair tie and move on. Don't let this be an issue.'

His stone-faced composure returning as he felt Atty being dragged off of the top of his frame.

Once he was released from Black Star, Zim made his way to a medic on site to get approval to skip the med bay. After about ten minutes the congratulations became noise to him as he moved down the hallway. No, right now isn't the right moment to discuss this. He would find some other time to ask his companions about their thoughts. For now, he would just go and collect his own thoughts.

Dreams are strange. You don't have any real sense of time, space or feeling inside of them. They're mostly a visual experience, but you don't even remember them half of the time. So these vivid images flashing around inside Serah's head, from cities to deserts and even snow, all jumping from one scene to the next without any cohesion, didn't play on the girl's emotions. It was strangely tranquil, and cold. So, so cold. Wasn't the cold strange though, for this dream?

Well, at least it would have been if it hadn't been interrupted by a ray of warmth.

Serah was sure she felt it. The tingling of something or someone's heat piercing the frigid landscape of her mind. She couldn't tell for how long it lasted in this hazy world, but her brain tied an image to it nonetheless. Snow-covered trees and landscapes melted. They melted into a grassy plain, one with a light breeze passing through. That, too, tingled. At least, the dream told her it tingled. It was a strange tingling, one that didn't actually come from the places where the wind touched her. Not even from the dress, touching her skin as it fluttered in the wind. The tingling came from her chest. But then, she heard something from behind her.

"...Serah."

Serah twirled around in the direction of the noise, and when she did, a flash of white consumed her mind. Then, it was cold again.

---

"...uuuhn?"

A groan escaped Serah's lips as a flash of light assaulted her retinas. Her brain was fuzzy, too fuzzy to really care about the excess light. Not only her sight and brain were fuzzy, though. Her hearing, her touch- everything felt just slightly numb. Something moved next to her, she could hear some muffled sounds. The girl was a little too tired to turn her head and check what that was, though. She was still trying to get her head straight- make sense of the situation. Where... was she? Serah closed her eyes again, giving them some rest. She... woke up from something. It's soft and warm here. Something's covering her. So this must be a... bed. Something's inside of her arm, too. So this place is... a hospital.

Ah, right... it came back to her. The mission. To rescue Elora. She's still alive, so... the mission was a success? She tried to recall the memory, but it was still fuzzy. Like her own brain is telling her to forget about it. All she knows is that she's alive, and that means this was... NOAH. But the sound she heard earlier concerned Serah. What was that? She opened her eyes again, head lazily turning. Her vision was still fuzzy and unfocused, but she could make out a figure. Black suit, but blue hairs. Black suit. Blue hairs. These two concepts rattled around inside the girl's head for a few seconds, putting them together. Suit meant pilot. Pilot meant squad. Squad meant a few people... and a person with blue hair could only mean.

"...Jason?" Serah muttered in a quiet, tired voice.

Jake had just managed to bring up the recording of the sync rates on his tablet when he heard someone. He looked up and even though it was a low mutter, Jake's percectiveness picked up on who it was. Pausing it, he then spoke up.

"...hey Serah your awake. Glad to see you didn't get baked", Jake said attempting a rhyme.

He then look at Jason then said, "Sorry Jason. Didn't mean to be a fool. Cutting you off wasn't cool."

Jake then went back to his tablet to see where the sync rates started changing for his team.

---

Ariin moved to Katya's side carefully moving to place her arm over his shoulder answering her by just helping her walk. "So... Mind catching me up a couple of things? Like where all the new people came from... Or what happened to our chain of command? Last time if I remember correctly you were in charge of our little away team." He spoke slowly guiding her out hangar and into the quieter halls of the ship.

"Of course... I'm sure I'm not the only one with questions, pretty sure the last time you saw me and I had a god complex and was screaming about killing a Cruxi." He sighed and grumbled for a moment. "Shut up Paladin." He spoke as if he heard another voice.

"Sorry... Tech's say a copy of Paladin's whatever is living in implant... Basically, my conscience is a giant killer robot who has unlimited access to my thoughts." He sighed. "And constantly tells me how to do things, it's like a backseat driver for your life." He tried to smile a little, he'd always respected Katya, she'd done her best to lead them and more importantly to work with them all. Of course, she would be curious as to what Paladin was saying that Ariin didn't want to hear.

Hearing Ariin speak of what it was like to have Paladin inside his head she gave a small laugh and patted Ariin on the shoulder with her free hand.
“Yes I recall all too well. It is not something one just forgets. Still, I’m sure Paladin means well. Personally, I find it interesting … no fascinating. From what I know it should not be possible. But yet here you are. So please don’t apologise, I’m interested in learning all about how you and Paladin share that mind of yours. I can understand it would be a big adjustment to have company all the time.” she spoke giving him a small smile. Trying to imagine what it would be like if she had Caretaker inside her head. Wondering if maybe one day she could replicate what happened to Ariin.

“I must ask what did it feel like to connected to your werk? I mean I know what it’s like to have a werk feel like it a part of your body. But you actually plugged in. Became what I would consider one being.”

Ariin chuckled a little in response thinking back to it. "Well... Kind of like I was feeling what Paladin felt. Like our minds were one managing systems and priming weapons, I didn't move my body at all to control the werk we just did it." He explained carefully.

"I had a god complex once it started, the power rush is... Intoxicating. It's having the power to fire weapons and move via thought. Your commanding a weapon that can level armies and decimate planets with nothing more than that." He spoke sighing. "Which is why I worry about others attempting it... It could make them less human or perhaps see humans as less than." He spoke stopping a moment to look Katya in the eyes.

"I'm not saying it's bad... It's a gift no doubt to be able to commune with Paladin in a meaningful way. But to get their I had to have cybernetic's grafted into my brain, risk becoming a part of Paladin's processor, and let Paladin have full control of my body." He sighed looking away. "They way they ran tests on me and stuff... I don't want them recreating this without the person wanting it. Imagine if they did that to Irina? What nightmare would that create?" Ariin said before looking back at the hall starting to walk again.

"Though it would be different with the others here... I'd be willing to help some of them try it if they wanted."

As Ariin spoke Katya listened very intently. Taking in every word and filing it away. It really was fascinating even if the process sounded a little scary.
“I see your point, it is indeed risky and not all would best suited for it. Still maybe one day you could help me try it. I would mind getting into Caretaker's head and knowing what makes him tick.” she spoke giving him a very slight and slow bow of the head in thanks. Regretting it instantly as the head movement made her headache flare. Katya giving a slightly pained groan.
“Thanks for sharing. If either of you ever need my help. Consider me at your disposal.” she stated giving a sigh as the pain in her head faded back to more tolerable levels.

“Also some advice if you're ever told to fight someone with mental attacks. Don’t do it. The headache is not pleasant. Feels like I’ve got a herd of rampaging scuttles in my head.” she said looking at Ariin for a moment.

“So you asked me to fill in the blanks right? Well, what did you want to know first? Can’t say I know everything, but I’ll tell you what I can.”

"Hey it's no problem always here to help you too, were friends we take care of each other." He smiled looking at her as they got closer to the med bay. "Well first off I'd like to know about the new people who seemed to be throwing out the orders when we were out their. Did we get new officers or something?"

Ariin paused a second before adding in a mumble. "Yeah I could see you getting along with your Werk pretty well. Granted are you sure you want cybernetics in your head? I've been told I'm not very good looking because of it." He smiled trying to lighten it all with a joke.

Hearing Ariin say they were friends and friends took care of each other. Katya could do nothing but agree. She did indeed consider Ariin a friend which part of her found funny given they had only known each a few months and she was not the quickest to call people friends. It amused her slightly which showed on her face slightly. Before fading, as he asked about getting new officers. Katya about to answer when he heard Ariin mumble about her getting along with her werk well and asking if she was sure she wanted cybernetics in her head. That he’d been told he wasn’t very good looking because of them.

Katya sighed again before giving a Ariin a slight frown.
“Now, Ariin my friend. If I where you I’d be more confident in your appearance. I’ve seen much uglier boys back home. Even if you were ugly, one needs to be confident in their appearance or simply not care. Plus you do know some girls do like cybernetics right? Like find them an attractive quality.” she spoke not realizing what she said exactly and how it could be taken. It only dawning on her a moment later making her mentally sigh, its was too late to take it back now, plus she had spoken what she deemed to be truthful. It wasn't like she had said she thought that way either.

“Anyway, even if it meant getting an implant or two I would not mind it. Even if it trashed my own good looks. Back home appearances don’t mean much it the soul that counts. So even if I turn in to some cybernetic freak, I could go home and find a partner.” She added after a moment before opting to get back on topic.

“So, to answer your question about the officers. Yes, we got a new one. I’m still second in command, but this girl called Elise Steinhart is our field commander.
I won't tell much about her, as I think it best you make your own impression but I’ll say this don’t let her appearance fool you. Then again I’m not sure if she’ll be joining us next battle I heard she got taken out. Sounded bad.” she spoke a tinge of worry lining her words as she spoke of Elise.

"Huh... Alright, well I suppose I'll play the rest by ear. The new squadmates don't seem bad I worked with them when we were outside." He added sighing as he stopped by the med bay. "No, I'm sure you could get barely nocitable implants... After all, you aren't getting yours put after having a knife toss through your eye." He added wincing a little thinking about it.

"I know some people like cybnetics, but either way it's not like I could ever really allow myself anything close to a relationship." He paused his cybernetic eye flashed the word 'LIAR.' "Paladin, I swear I will drown my head in booze just to shut you up." He warned, of course again he was lying.

His robotic went back to normal now. "Ugh, I swear he just wants to let everyone know exactly what I think and I want." He grumbled moving to open the door. "They probably want me back to check over me and head mate... But I could stay and talk until they show up to test you?" He offered gently helping her to one of the beds so she could lay back and rest her head. "So what did he do with my eye? It's not like I can see what does." Again a word appeared from the screen. 'Sshhhh'

As Ariin mentioned he got knife tossed in his eye. Katya felt herself wince a little at the thought. Pretty sure that could not be something pleasant to experience. Hoping she never would have to find out what that would be like. Even if she was no stranger to pain having broken limbs and stuff she was sure it be nothing like that.

Before Katya dwell on the thoughts when she saw the word 'LIAR' flash in Ariins cybernetic eye as he spoke of not allowing himself to have anything close to a relationship. Thinking that it was odd the eye would flash something like that. It made her mind start to tick and after a moment had a theory as to why, but she’d need to see it again to confirm it.

As they entered the medbay Katya was found amusement in Ariin grumbling. Giving a small laugh as she quickly glanced around. Seeing the medical staff were quite busy. Meaning she’d have to wait not that she minded given there was a free bed.
“It’s up to you. If, want to stay and talk I won't say no otherwise, I might just shut my eyes until someone comes to look at me.” she spoke as she accepted Ariins help onto the bed. Giving a pained expression as she slowly laid down. Pretty sure now that she was off her feat she was not getting back up again for a little bit.

Once on the bed she heard Ariin asked about what Paladin did with his eye and again she noticed his eye change this time with ‘Sshhhh’ and Katya's theory was confirmed. Giving a satisfied girn she had worked it out. Opting to side with werk in this matter, after all, there was no harm in being on Paladin's good side.
“What do you mean? Your eye looks normal to me. If it acting up then maybe you should have it looked at.” she said looking at his cybernetic eye for a moment as if she was trying to spot something wrong before looking away.

"Your on his side aren't you? Your all conspiring to make me a better person." He crossed his arms looking at her. "To think before all this I was happily able to steal things and lie. Now I have my own Jiminy Cricket who tell you all what I'm up to." He sighed and took a seat beside the bed. "I can feel him messing with what it displays at least." He added looking at Katya.

"So let's talk food commander, I owe you one home cooked meal. What would you like? Or would you prefer I just make a lot of different things for you to try?" Ariin asked as he sat back in the chair. Paladin once again chimed in to tell Katya the truth of the matter, flash a thumbs up as Ariin talked about food to alert her Ariin really could cook good food.

"He's doing it again..." Ariin added as Paladin made a smiley face as if mocking Ariin and his in ability to see what Paladin as doing. "He's going to get me trouble pulling this crap, that's your goal isn't? Keep me from having fun by keeping me trouble..." The klepto cyborg fell back in the chair, defeated by a supreme intelligence with control of one screen.

As the words, you on his side aren’t you left Ariins mouth. Katya gave a small sheepish smile. Knowing she was busted but it was quickly replaced with an amused look as he spoke of them all conspiring to make him a better person. He expression was then replaced with a slightly confused one when he mentioned the name Jiminy Cricket.
“What is a Jiminy Cricket?” she muttered quietly having no idea what that was. But she forgot about it as Ariin said he could feel Paladin changing what the eye displayed. Making a mental note of that.

Then he started to talk about food and Katya felt herself perk up a little. Thinking about what she would like when he asked her. Not really sure given all she had eaten was food form her home world and the stuff the military called food. Which to her was far form anything she’d consider food. Katya again spotting the Ariins eye changing as he spoke. It seemed she’d have to keep an eye on it. In case Paladin wanted to say something it would be rude to ignore the werk now that she knew he could communicate, well sort off.

Sure enough, Ariin knew that Paladin had changed the eyes display and it seemed to push him the little too far. Watching as he fall back into his chair in defeat. Katya giving a sigh, it seemed she needed to help Ariin. Katya shifting a little reaching a hand out and made Ariin look at her. Katya looking solely at Ariin’s cybernetic eye.
“Sorry Ariin but I need you friend to listen to me. Alright Paladin you better listen. I want you to play nice with Ariin. I don’t mind you pranking him but when you push him to far like now or he's having a bad day give him a break. Otherwise I’ll put something together to give Ariin the ability to see what you display. I don’t know a lot about cybernetics but that eye is machinery and I’m good with machinery so it wouldn’t take me long. Play nice and I promise I won't do anything and not tell him a thing.” she stated looking into the eye hard. Letting go of Ariin after a moment.

“Anyway Ariin to answer your question I’d want to try lots of different food. I’ve only eat stuff form my homeworld and the stuff the give us in the mess. Not that I would call it food.”

Ariin chuckled. "Well that scared him good." He laughed a little. "Alright, I'll make a bunch of stuff we used to have back on my home world. Farming planet, so be warned it will be a little hard for me to locate the stuff I need." He smiled a little, of course as Ariin had proven when he got Sigma her cake he could find whatever he needed even if it wasn't always allowed.

"Give me a little time to hunt things down and we can set a time and place... Don't need the others showing up and snagging all the food." He smiled, knowing decent meals had been few and far between for them all. "Oh and Paladin says you are a good leader. Also that... No I'm not saying... Ugh fine. He also states you have good symmetry which is a sign of attractiveness." He added blushing a little as the werk made him tell her that.

"He also said if you want to talk to Caretaker he would happily act as a communicator. Oh maybe after I cook everything we slip off and eat our meal out in the hangar with our mechs?" He offered with a smile.

Hearing it would take time to track down everything he needed to cook whatever he had was planning. Katya gave a slight smile.
“Take all the time you need. I don’t plan on leaving the squad anytime soon. Plus even if I did I’d still expect you to keep you promise.”’She said giving him a small grin.
“Oh so I get to eat decent food all to myself? I’m flattered. If it’s nice as I suspect it will be I might have to reward you.” she spoke he tone implying she was joking yet almost might be serious.

Ariins next words made Katya blush even if they from the werk in his head. A little unsure of what to make of being told she had good symmetry which is a sign of attractiveness according to the werk.
“Paladin! Don’t make Ariin say such things.” she blurted out glaring into Ariins cybernetic eye.
“Thank you.” she added a moment later. Ariins next words making Katya look at him with an expression of interest.
“I’d like that and I’m sure Caretaker would as well. Sounds like a good idea Ariin” she stated looking over as doctor made his way over to her.

“Thank you for keeping my company Ariin I won't keep you any longer.” she spoke giving a wave. Thinking it would not be fair to keep him while she got checked over. Having no idea how long it would take.

"Alright, feel better Katya. We can work it out later." He offered as he got up from the chair and left her the doctor to attend to her.

Things had started to calm down after everyone made it back to the NOAH and Zim had a moment to organize his thoughts, still left with questions he decided to head out into the ship and see if he could find some answers amongst his squadmates. As he traveled down the cooridors he first came across Roger. "Hey Roger, you got a minute? I'd like to hear your thoughts on some things. Mind if we head over to the Mess Hall for a moment?


He found Ariin a short while later near the training simulators. "Hey Ariin, Can I ask you some questions? I want to hear your opinions on some things."



Zim moved his way down the ship's length until he reached the tubes to take him down to the bottom layers of the ship, it was here that he found the hangers and it was here that he found Katya. The jealousy came back tight in his chest as he approached her working on one of her drones. 'That isn't what you are here for,' Zim thought to himself as he forced himself to stop fidgetting with the hair tie around his wrist.

"Hey, can we talk for a minute? I'd like your opinions on some questions I have about the Werks."



As Zim moved away Katya may have noticed him fidgeting with the hair tie she had loaned him. Zim moved from the hanger and started on his way through the ship. He stopped for a moment at a port side viewing panel, looking out into the cold black depths of space. He processed for a moment and sighed. He figured he had enough for today and would head back to his quarters and organize his thoughts. As he continued he came across Devors slumped against a wall on a bench at another viewing port. The bottle by his side told Zim he should avoid this conversation with him. He nearly turned to walk away, but his bravery, or perhaps stupidity, got the best of him and he continued on.

"Hey, Devors, right? Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Zim had no idea what to expect from the guy. He had only interacted with him briefly before the mission and in training.



Zim excused himself and continued on with his plan to return to his room and think things over. However before Zim would get there he came across Krista, the Pilot of the Hou Yi. They had limited interactions with one another, so Zim knew about as much about her as he did about Devors. All the same, Zim was aware of the fact that this was Krista's first time in real combat and that she had spent time piloting her Werk with R&D. Maybe her answers would provide some more insight on the subject.

Krista was walking down the hallway, away from Zim. He hurried his pace to catch up with her, as he neared he called out to her, "Hey, Krista! Hold up a second, please. Any chance you've got a minute to sit and talk? I have a few questions I was hoping you might provide some answers to, if you don't mind."



Zim made his way back the way he came and continued until he made it to his room. Once inside he started a datapad up and started compiling the thoughts and opinions of those he had spoken with. He still wasn't sure what it all meant to him, but he now knew that he wasn't alone in either camp. This would require more soul-searching, more thought, and maybe a little more research, but for now, Zim had little interest in doing any more then getting some rest.