[quote=@DarkRecon]
"...Elora...calm down...don't cry...", Mai droned.[/quote]

[color=8dc73f]"I wasn't going to. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all."[/color] Elora's excuses came out pathetic and transparent, and she knew it too. The shorter girl's steps picked up a bit as she wanted to keep pace with Mai's efficient rhythm.

[quote=@DarkRecon]But then, she started talking more "normal" than "monotone" or "drone" like when she then said this.

"If you need help, I'll help train you until we deploy...would that be ok with you?"
[/quote]

[color=8dc73f]"Oh, how did you-"[/color] Elora was about to respond, but then interrupted herself with a couple of blinks [color=8dc73f]"Uhhh, never mind. Sure, if you don't mind using your time like that. I know how much you value it. I was thinking of going through the landing maneuver. Do you know how to..."[/color] She continued speaking with a bit more courage as the two of them stepped into VR.
[hr]
The following day and a half seemed to drag forever as the pilots anticipated their coming battle. Some sought company and to share their thoughts with others on the subject, while others toiled alone, and tinkered with their Framewerks or completed virtual missions repeatedly.
It was time for the final adjustments to the war machines, and after a long time, answers finally came on application forms that were sent to Lorenzo weeks ago.

Romeo's requested idea for the Redbloom weapon system was approved, and it would be equipped on Rose's empty arm. Even if the experimental weapon turned out to have flaws such as unwieldiness and only working in oxygenized atmospheres, it was still quite a feat from Solaire's engineers to finish the weapon on time. Orion's application form was also approved, and the fail-safe modification to his Framewerk's defensive system was added. There were still some incompatibility issues with the primarily dissipation-based systems, but the desired rate of 100% absorption upon deactivation was accomplished.

With these final changes made to the Framewerks, it was only a matter of time when the fated day came:

"All units, relocate to NOAH."

The alarms rung out over the base and an unknown man's voice rang out through the entire facility that was bustling with soldiers and other personnel as they prepared to leave. The facility's entire force of several hundred million men emptied out into troopships and larger dropships as the soldiers, vehicles and other machinery was hauled off into the sky, where an ominous sight could be seen.
The sun was blotted out by a massive object in the sky that seemed to cast the entire world into darkness under it's shadow; NOAH, one of the only Jericho-class battleships, arrived with a rumble that shook the very earth. It could have easily been called one of humanity's most ambitious, if not greatest, constructs in a more peaceful age, but in the present time it was seen as but a necessity for combating the rapidly-evolving enemy they were up against.

It was time to board the Ark and survive the flood that would wipe humanity from the face of the earth.