"I...I guess you're right," Elora responded as she listened to Lora inside the capsule.
"I'm still new to this stuff. I did a lot of VR, but not a lot of real tests. This was...something else." Feeling like she was unwanted due to Lora staying inside, Elora turned around.
"Thank you for listening. It means...a lot to me." She then slowly walked back to her own Framewerk.
Hours later, a transport shuttle landed on the rooftop of Solaire Base, and out of it jumped out two boys, Karamote and Paris, no older than the rest of the pilots.
Lieutenant Ritsu was already there when they arrived, one hand on her hip and another holding the device, which she pressed with her thumb. She moved her eyes to the device for a moment before focusing on the boys. She motioned for the boys to follow her as she stepped inside and walked in a brisk pace through the facility.
"I am Lieutenant Ritsu, one of your commanding officers alongside Executive Officer Professor Lorenzo here in Solaire. As you know, you were transferred here as replacement pilots of the Framewerk Project XJ9, which your previous facilities should have now locked clearance of. Your Framewerks will be transferred here in a couple of weeks. You finished your pilot training a bit sooner than the others, but that shouldn't matter in the long run; you kids learn fast these days. You will be integrated into Squad Sigma starting now, and your first task will be to be present for hearing the Executive Officer's report on the mock battle the squad carried out. You are to be silent and only speak once he gives permission."The three entered the briefing hall, where the other pilots were now assembled in a row after having been picked up by helicopters and flew back to the base. When the pilots looked back at their Framewerks they saw heaps of metal that once ruled the arena as physical gods, but fell to the earth in their pride, like angels fallen from heaven.
"Take your place in the row. The Executive Officer will begin speaking," Ritsu ordered, and stepped aside as Lorenzo entered the room. The old man deliberately walked slowly to increase tension in the hall. He stepped up the podium and opened up a drawer.
"Alright you failures~!" spoke Lorenzo as he thoroughly enjoyed an expensively made sundae that many would kill for,
"Considering no one won, I decided to declare myself the winner and help myself to this delicious sundae... oh, and the all day pass to the relaxation room~! So, while I enjoy myself, you all will be learning why you all failed today," he grinned as he took a scoop of ice cream and promptly ate it with delight, snickering like a devilish serpent. After taking a bite of the delectable treat, he cleared up his raspy throat.
"Goodwill!" He suddenly shouted at the top of his impressively strong lungs, causing some of the more sheepish pilots to visibly jolt.
"Do you think yourself a hero, huh? The kind who can simply charge into the fray and destroy his enemies because he believes he can? You're an idiot! What was even the point of having teammates if you're going to leave them behind like that? No planning, no strategies, not even a shared word about what you're going to do! Even a trained monkey would have more sense of tactics than in that disappointing noggin of yours!"Lorenzo paused for a moment to let his criticism kick in, before he continued:
"However, even you did better than some of the other imbeciles when you at least attempted team-work with others. And yes, you did immediately engage the biggest threat before it managed to take the initiative and trap the Caliburn alongside you, which does takes something; I'm not sure whether it's courage or simple foolishness, but as long as it gets the job done, I guess. Speaking of the Caliburn..." It didn't take a genius to figure out who was next in Lorenzo's list:
"Shinkai! I'm disappointed in you; I expected more from you than this! As you can probably tell from your experience, skill isn't the only factor when it comes to dominance over a battlefield. You also need a strong presence over your allies, and sound mind to deal with a rapidly shifting situation and react accordingly. You have the Synchronization Rate to prove you are capable of it, but you squander it! Your potential isn't completely wasted, however, but as far as proper leadership goes you have a long way ahead of you. You have the potential for it, since you did attempt to form alliances, but you have to realize that potential! As far as combat performance goes, it's fine, but letting yourself be trapped by the gung-ho and then forfeiting when you still could have fought are still faults! Work on it, and you should do adequately." Lorenzo took a bite out of the sundae.
"Anyway...next...Harold Koehler! Did you think you can hide your dirty secret from me? Well it was a major mistake, buddy, and if it weren't for my interest in researching this disgusting narcotic you're hopped up on then you would have been kicked out of the program faster than an electro-magnetic pulse! What do you think happens when you wave that white flag of yours to the Cruxi? Do you think they'll accept your surrender with hugs and kisses? I'll let you in on some top-secret military intelligence: NO. THEY. DON'T! Best case scenario, they'll kill you in agonizing pain by burning your nerves. The worst case, they'll drag you back to their ships. I have only hypotheses of what they do to their living victims, but none of them are pleasant. You better make a change with that brain of yours. As motivation for doing so, I'll give you doses of the drug for you to consume. If not, I'll give you something more...experimental instead.""Then..." Lorenzo paused as he read up on a sheet of paper he had balled up in his lab jacket.
"Twilight! The purpose of an operation is that you operate, not sit around on your ass and spectate the others like a mindless robot! You have vocal chords as a deliberate process of evolution, use them! I don't care if you have to growl and bark like an animal to communicate with the others as long as you do it! If I wanted a mindless robot, I would have built myself one with better AI, and not loan a piece of junk from those short-sighted fools who can't even terminate a project properly, let alone work on one! Still, you did show capability for teamwork and proper combat skills, but it was too little too late. Next time, you'll have to be more interactive from the very start, and not after a warm-up!""Speaking of sitting around..." Lorenzo spoke, and once again there was no doubt who the next target was.
"Horowitz! You are the biggest failure in this operation, and that's saying something considering Goodwill's participation! You didn't even attempt to ally yourself with the people who you have to trust and who have to trust you when it's the Cruxi you're up against! And when the battle happened, the first thing you do is jump into hiding, like a coward! Not to say that charging blindly into battle is acceptable, but it is no better! The Cruxi would have picked out someone like you easily, separated from the others and with no chance of escape! Worst case scenario, they could have even captured a Framewerk from us! Did you even think about that? Don't tell me, I already know the answer. You made a couple of good shots, granted, but no unit, not even a sniper, can work alone out there. This lone wolf mentality you whipper-snappers have lodged into your minds...I'll carve it out myself If I have to!" Lorenzo took steps away from the podium in Yeshua's direction, but stopped.
"Now let's move on to the people who seemed to actually realize what the purpose of the mock battle was, but even they failed, such as...Ramirez! You actually succeeded at a basic principle of human intelligence: co-operation and tactics! A marvelous feat coming from this rabble! You showed great promise when you took the Black Komodo down together with Reynolds' Framewerk, but after that, you hesitated! You can never hesitate once the fire is on! That's the moment the Cruxi will take advantage of, and then your teamwork will crumble, like it did when Horowitz led you around like on a leash! Still, you have stones, young'un. I heard what you said about me. A fool I may be, trying to get you runts ready to face reality, but I am, in fact, not trying to make 'bloodthirsty assholes'. That would be a very simple procedure, simply lobtomize the subject and treat it with the correct serums, and there you go: a bona-fide asshole, ready to shit on the Cruxi! But assholes don't win wars, son; soldiers do! And the next time you mention humanity to me like that" Lorenzo said as he grabbed Romeo's face by the cheeks,
"...I'll lobotomize you so it won't happen again." He released his grip.
"Hmm...Liu'un!" Lorenzo shouted, this time louder than previously to make the poor girl shake in her suit.
"Just like Koehler here, you forfeited the match, and went against my orders! Do you know what means?" Lorenzo now said, his face suddenly a couple of inches away from Elora, who flinched.
"I...I'll be punished?"Lorenzo straightened his back and paused, before he said:
"No...It means you allow the Cruxi to destroy humanity of your own free will," Lorenzo said in a cold tone. Elora's eyes quivered.
"And the moment you drop your gun and give up the fight means you give up your humanity to those alien's filthy hands for them to violate. Is that what you want, Liu'un? Have you given up on being a human?"Elora started crying, and sniffed.
"N...N-No, sir. I...I want to be human. I...I'll...fight..." The girl was absolutely terrified as her body shivered. It looked like she could pass out at a moment's notice. Ritsu's stoic expression broke a bit into unease when she saw how Elora was treated by Lorenzo. It seemed like she was about to interfere, but didn't.
"Good," Lorenzo said, his expression still neutral and inscrutable.
"Other than that, you did right when you allied yourself and made good use of your position as the information specialist. However, next time you'll stick to the end, and don't run away. The Cruxi won't. I assure you."Once Lorenzo turned around, Ritsu came closer and gave Elora a handkerchief. Lorenzo himself went back to the podium.
"And lastly, the pilot who almost succeeded...Reynolds! You may have one of the lowest Synchronization Rates, and you pilot an unconventional model, but you proved yourself despite the odds. You were the one who first proposed alliances, and even though that idea was rejected, it showed initiative and presence, an important trait that can be lost on even the most promising subjects," Lorenzo said, and gave a quick glance in Lora's direction. He continued:
"You also used your fellow teammate in proper synergy, and took down a Framewerk with minimal damage to the two of you. After that, as I said to Ramirez, you lost control of the battlefield once Horowitz made his move, and took heavy damage from an enemy you should have kept your eye out for. All in all, a mediocre performance, which is very good when you take the entire squad's performance into account."Lorenzo took another bite from his sundae.
"Now, does anyone have questions before I announce who the squad leader will be?" Lorenzo asked in a bored tone.
"Yes, that includes you, Karamote. You may have missed out on the fun, but that doesn't mean you have to just stand there like a fresh lobotomite. You too, Paris. Stay sharp." 
