Roman's face held a blank expression as the talk of A.W.E.s went around the small sitting area. As he had expected, none of the information was really relevant to him, since nearly all of it pertained to stuff that would be happening while he wasn't around. There was one thing of interest, however. The German man had showed the group a piece of technology that Roman had only heard mention of, but didn't know had been completed. Spirit had only briefly dabbled in the world of direct mind integration, and the final result was the HO10 drone's AI and control mechanism. The technology itself pertaining to mind reading was extremely crude; barely able to pick up simple things such as directions and some images. However, after an extremely long time in the R&D labs, the engineers and scientist managed to get an extremely advanced AI capable of working with what they were given. After that, all further research was dropped due to cost, manpower required, and a stray of focus from what the company was truly good at. The intellectual properties and patents were sold, and there after, not a whole lot of tabs were kept on it. By the German's explanation, this was the final product after numerous years of further research. It was interesting, if nothing else. Silence then fell as everyone seemed to run out of things to mention. Roman's legs began to bounce slightly, as he waited nervously to see what the new topic was about to become. It was too early for bed; no one had even had dinner yet. In truth, if there was any other subject that could be brought up, it would have to be...

Roman's blood pressure began to spike when Richard did the inevitable and begun the one process of introductions Roman had been dreading. It was tie for the sharing phase, apparently. Richard's questioning of the newcomer's hobbies would have to be returning with explanations of their own. Roman would not be able to skirt this bit of interaction. Thessalia certainly wouldn't allow it. Roman's mind began to race as he tried to come up with something to say when it finally became his turn to speak. This was not helped by his desire to listen to the others. Finding out what they liked would let him know where [I]not[/I] to go during the day. In the end, the need for information won, as Roman forced himself to remain calm and pay attention. Showing no signs of his internal battle, Roman fixed his gaze upon each person as they spoke.

Their actual word, however, were both interesting and comforting. It seemed as if the Colonel did a good job of picking people who would compliment the team on a personality basis. The newcomers seemed to be a near perfect reflection of the originals. This would make them super easy to deal with, as well as give them someone else to hang out with. The Wolfgang and Richard would have a field day beating the crap out of each other, while Sasha and Thessalia might start a book club. the former more likely to happen then the latter, it still helped ease Roman's worry. That is, until the silence came once again. Roman could feel Thessalia's eyes on him. He was expected to speak. What, however, was the question. If he was being honest, he really didn't have many hobbies. His general idea of a good way to pass the time was to sit alone in silence and do puzzles. Not really something extremely noteworthy. Nonetheless, he was expected to say [I]something[/I].

Looking around the room, Roman could see all eyes upon him now. He could feel the urge to simply get up, and bolt into the bathroom to hide rising. A wave of unbridled nausea washed over him, as the color began rapidly draining from his face. A quick glance to Richard showed that no help would be coming from him, and Roman didn't even need to look at Thessalia to know none would be from her either. He was on his own. He was alone. In the back of his mind, Roman could faintly hear the sound of Paxton's voice telling him what he was supposed to do in these situations. It would have been useful information, if he could understand an of his words. All the advice he had given him, and that Roman had been practicing on Thessalia over the past two months were now just a jumbled mess of intelligible sounds. The wave of nausea intensified as Roman realized that at this very moment, he was angry with himself. What had been the point of practicing this, if in the end, he was just going to choke? He needed to put his game face on, and just do this. If he did a good job, surely Thessalia would back him up afterwards. The silence occurring as roman fought with himself was long, drawn out, and uncomfortable. It was time to end it. [B]"I..."[/B] Roman started, his voice weak but audible, [B]"I like to-"[/B]

[B][I]"Cadets!"[/I][/B]

The voice boomed over the loudspeaker, drowning out Roman's voice. Roman shut his mouth and rapidly turned to look at the loudspeaker in the corner of the room where the word had come from. The voice of the Colonel was being projected into the room over the intercom. After an extremely brief quiet, it kicked on again.

[B]"-uit yer [I]bitchin'[/I] already Sa'eed! You can throw a tantrum at Balwin if you want, but g-"[/B]

Once again, silence.

[B]"[I]Ahem[/I]... Cadets! I have some good news! Despite some individuals trying to undercut my selection, I managed to get who was and is to be your third new teammate back. She should be arriving at your dorm in a matter of sec- Ah, there she is. Everyone, play nice, and make my work worth it!"[/B]

The intercom went silent for the final time, as the hiss of the dorm door could be heard. Slowly, Roman and everyone else turned to see who had arrived.