"Is this a paid test?" was the first question to come from the assembly. Richard chuckled, admiring Jason's bluntness. 

"The payout for the mission is over four million creds, which will be divided among you lot. The rest goes to fund the [i]Samigina's[/i] upkeep and crew. You can expect to walk away with around five hundred thousand each, give or take."

"But don't get ahead of yourself," Cecilia chimed in. "If you don't [i]make[/i] the cut, you don't [i]get[/i] a cut."

"Do we have any information on the numbers and strength of the security forces?" asked a familiar voice, belonging to Elaine; already a fully-fledged Panther.

"I can't give you a hard number, but I would expect at least two FRAMEs per vehicle. There are supposed to be four to five trucks. Let me remind you that businesses in the OSU are state-owned, so there's a good chance the FRAMEs we'll encounter are military. I'd expect them to be running medium Dreq FRAMEs." Richard brought up an [url=http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/frontmission/images/c/c2/437165813.png/revision/latest?cb=20110709065457]image of a Dreq[/url] on the screen. "It's the standard general-purpose FRAME of the OSU. Don't let your guard down."

As Bentz finished his answer, he was almost immediately met with another, asked by one of the newcomers. He recognized the man's face as [i]Harold "Juppy" Benson[/i], a Sodroyan. He had a pretty respectable knack for intel, even if he was a little eccentric. Cecilia shared an awkward glance with her boss and opened her mouth to retort. 

"You'd better [i]hope[/i] I don't send you into this operation on point," she snapped, furrowing her brow. "Your background may have enticed the boss but until I see you in a FRAME, I don't care what your 'qualifications' are. You follow my instructions while we're in the field, you understand?"

Richard raised a hand and wore a grin to diffuse his adjutant's outburst. "You'll have plenty of opportunities to mod your machine how you see fit," he said calmly. "I can't guarantee you'll build the FRAME of your dreams, but you shouldn't be wanting for options. Your loadouts for this mission are very basic, I'll admit; but within good reason. We need to see what you're capable of at the most basic levels, without the aid of fancier tech."

"If there are no further questions, you're all dismissed," Cecilia announced, in a voice more suited to indoors. The glare of her eyes still simmered, however. "Be ready to board your FRAMEs at 0700. [i]Don't[/i] keep us waiting."