Sigma walked her way thoughtfully after Lorenzo's talk. The whole ordeal left her a bitter aftertaste. Yet, she had to lick her wounds and plunge forward. After exiting the allocated quarters, the young girl absent-mindledly headed towards the pilot' quarters. Temporary as they were, Sigma was soon lost in the maze of corridors.

"You seem lost, doll." An all-so familiar voice whispered at her back. Her own voice, but deepened by puberty. Only one person had that voice, and the implications were terrifying on their own.

"Irina..." Sigma flinched, the years of training and conditioning seizing her motor control as she went stiff like a plank. Her eyes darted from side to side, fixing her stare into her hellish trainer, as she advanced towards her.

"I've heard you've been awfully busy. Saving citizens. Killing Cruxi superweapons, even becoming some sort of heroic dolly." The woman sneered, her smile growing wild. "And yet you are here, moping around like some faildoll. Ain't that a shame." She clenched her fist, snapping her fingers in the process.

[i]Here comes the punch.[/i] Sigma said, readying her face for the disciplinary hit to her face.

That never came to be, as the Ace simply did a light jab on Sigma's shoulder. "Stiff upper lip, kid. As some people say." Irina added. "That was no slouch what you did. Do you think that medal of yours comes in cereal boxes?" Irina sneered, as she began to walk away. "You know... you did well there. So don't think on what you could've done. Think on what you can do now." The older woman added as she began to walk away.

"Irina..." Sigma said, wide eyed still not believing those were Spanova's words.

"What? Even if you're a clone which i hate, and completely idiotic, you've killed a Cruxi superweapon. That is good. Keep up the good work. Of course... you probably could use a nudge or two." Spanova said. "So kid, listen. I've decided. I'm going to give you a MORS system and the Sword of Luna blueprints. I've sorted it out with the wrench monkeys."

"HUH!?" Sigma looked visiblely surprised, eyes wide. 

"No buts. I won't allow a second-rate knockoff. If it must be, -it- has to be first rate." Irina sneered. "So, get ready to use those aswell."

"..." The fourteen year old hesitated, unable to know what to say. "Thank you..."

"Don't mention it." Irina snorted as she began her walk. "Give 'em hell, kiddo." She added. "You know, I never got why you like Moby Dick so much. Pinocchio is a much better story for you." The Ace hero laughed as she left. "I've gotta places to save, so catch you later!"

[hr]

Sigma mused in her standing position about the events. Supposedly they were going to be briefed with veteran reinforcements in Solaire. She had kept out of the small talk for the time being, and she only snapped in a militar salute once the other pilots entered out of habit before anything else. The sight of a ... little girl being carted around made the young pilot do a double take. She stood there, incredously as she went before her spiel, her mind completely blown out by the revelation.

[i]She is younger than me![/i] Sigma thought with a forced expression. This changed so many things. Like, if they could recruit this young, why bother making homunculi like her? It was this questioning that made her actual military poise fail on all things and slump forward.

"With all due respect, sarge... How old are you?" She said, still not fully aware of the situation.

[hr]

Daria couldn't keep still apparently. Even if she made an attempt to stay sharp during Elise's briefing, the bombshell blonde could not hold any longer. So, exploiting that Elise was asking for questions before the briefing (her serious business pout was so cute!!) she darted forward.

"Would you look at that! There's more girl pilots like you Elise! Of course they're not as cute as you, but you will have tons of friends to play with when you're not being the Sergeant!" She said, eyeing Serah, Mai and the white-haired Sigma, sparing a furtive glance to another newcomer.

But what followed, would essentially top her crass and bold behaviour. Apparently displaying a blatant disregard for personal space, manners and common sense, she reached for Zim's shaved head with one of her hands, rubbing it vigorously. "Hey look, he's bald! It's a sign of good luck to rub a bald head before the mission! Devors, come and rub this fella's head!" Daria jeered to her fellow companion as she kept a grip on Zim's.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, her interest was short lived, as she noticed the kind of absent stare of Ariin. She let loose of Zim, as she skipped a couple of steps, once again invading the personal space of another pilot as she leveled her face against him, both noses almost touching, and sporting a huge grin.

"Oh, but you're more interesting that good luck charms. Really interesting!" She said, her stare unwavering.