[color=f26522]"Attention all Cadets, the mock battle is hereby over... you all performed as I expected you to do, which isn't saying much. Others performed better than I expected them to!"[/color]

[i]Breathe in... breathe out...[/i]

[color=f26522]"Oh, and one more thing... You all failed the mock battle. Reflect on your failure while you wait,"[/color] The voice finally cut out with a mocking cackle.

[color=lightblue]"You would,"[/color] Lora whispered within the confines of her emergency pod. The old man had approached the pilots with a vague, twisted announcement of a mack battle in order to test the factors that would make one of them the leader. Those factors, he made no effort to make clear, tested by a battle with also no obvious purpose made clear. He asked essentially nothing, and so the not-so-good doctor got essentially nothing. And then he [i]laughed[/i] at them, because that was exactly what he was expecting of a couple of especially prodigious teenage Framewerk pilots.

Yes, he was the old rat that brought this project for the Framewerks into creation, but he was an old rat all the same. Why put [i]him[/i] in charge? Why should the old even begin to dare have control of what they believe is best for the young? It was a classic conflict that began to seriously heat up in the second half of humankind's stay on Earth, with little learned from it.

It's a good thing Lora wasn't fighting for his sake, then.

[color=8dc73f]"Hey Lora, could we... talk?"[/color] The receiver in Lora's headset rung meekly, Elora's tone seeming to have shifted back to its state prior to the battle. [color=8dc73f]"There's something I need to say..."[/color] Lora didn't respond. She had a lot on her plate already, and this otherwise quiet soul didn't need to get caught in the middle of it.  

[color=8dc73f]"...I'm coming over,"[/color] The voice on the intercom concluded, and cut out. Silence again. The pilot of the Caliburn sat still as ever, now ruminating on the battle some more. 

Stukov was technically their first casualty, but in a dishonest way - he died before the battle could even begin, harnessing powers that nobody seemed to truly understand. Based on radar readings, Miles had been next to fall, the cocky lone wolf meeting some form of comeuppance by apparently not wearing his suit properly. Lora was having her doubts that the boy would make the grade to be in the team after this orientation, but now he had to be outright crippled. But that's just what happens when one gets too self-righteous.

Her thoughts turned back to Daemon's destruction. She was still curious as to what exactly led to Stukov's death like that. Lora was aware that his Synchro Rate was outstanding, nearly at 100%. But perhaps 'nearly' wasn't enough. Maybe he was trying to unleash that power before he was actually capable of wielding it. If only there was any salvageable evidence from the Daemon's wreck, there might yet be some answer.

A light knocking resounded on one of the capsule's walls. The pilot within turned her head to the side it came from, an eyebrow raised. [color=8dc73f]"Umm... I'm sorry for what happened. I didn't know what overcame me. It was...scary."[/color] Elora, again. Lora sighed. She felt like an older sister who's younger sibling was coming over to apologize over a spilled glass of milk. 

Lora began, [color=lightblue]"Don't think you did anything wrong. In a real battle, against a real Cruxi, what you did right there was exactly what you needed to do. You're just concerned because I'm not a Cruxi, and that's fair enough. It's nothing to apologize over."[/color] Her voice rung over herself inside the sealed metal pod, echoing to the outside world. Why she wasn't just opening the capsule to speak more clearly was anybody's guess.

Maybe she just wanted to be alone. But then again, perhaps she shouldn't be. One's own thoughts could prove quite dangerous in over-exposure.