The Galactic Federation had really outdone themselves, making a hulking mass of a spacecraft that cut through the vacuum of space with such vigor. It felt like a defining message that the Federation was sending to their enemy, if the Cruxi could even see the ship- a declaration of a glorious comeback, a counter punch to the face. No more Weybridges will be made. Or so, Byrne would say lived to this day. David could only borrow the commander's voice as he could not muster any proper words himself. Like a man stuck in rural towns having his first visit to a forest of skyscrapers, David was looking at a scale he's never seen before, too grand to find a decent description for. As a result, the trip to Solaire was a silent one on his side. His eyes darted between the view of the ship and the (suspected) fellow pilots that were crammed into the small space with him.
The [i]uniqueness[/i] of the collective was as special as the project itself. While David expected them to look like "typical" veteran pilots who went through a handful of Cruxi encounters, the reality was a more colorful bunch. Most of them looked young, perhaps too young to be any kind of a Cruxi fighting veteran. They wouldn't have been called to be cannon fodders, surely. Then he would have to look forward to witnessing some impressive young talents. [i][b]'And of course, bust your ass keeping them alive out there.'[/b][/i]

Deciding that he didn't want to make a strong impression so he could get one of his teammates, David decided to make little to no noise as they boarded the Solaire and was briefed of their position. Half his reasons was the concern of going too "himself" in a thrown comment, and the other was that he didn't feel the need to cozy up with any of them. Brushing past the Executive Officer's comment, David put more interest in the comments made by the lieutenant. It was a shame (or maybe a relief, with his choice of quiet approach) that David himself didn't get mentioned, but he was able to deduce one information about the bunch. Graduates of a prestigious academy, the two who got a smile from the Lt. The rest was a mystery, to be unveiled as it turned out that they would be thrown into an abrupt training match.

---

Once the professor left, the pilots appeared to be more eased. It was either that, or David had been too careless about the people next to him as he focused to the ones in front of him. That was, except for the one poor soul literally scared shitless among the young ones. David decided to postpone a quick strategy talk for the squad to have a heartwarming moment of calming down the terrified girl. [i][b]'But hey, she's not as bad. The first time I had to crawl into my machine out of the blue I attempted to run out of camp.'[/b][/i] Thankfully for her, people gathered around her to provide emotional support. Three men, and a Rosnian, each with increasingly friendly and supportive comments.
[b]"The professor promised safety measures. 'Alive' is a strong word, but I look forward to seeing your set of skills."[/b]
He turned to the scared one.
[b]"I doubt things will go perfectly in the first run, so there's no need to be too scared about it."[/b]
He decided to chime in, with a rather inappropriate choice of words, in the millisecond hindsight.