Things had started to calm down after everyone made it back to the NOAH and Zim had a moment to organize his thoughts, still left with questions he decided to head out into the ship and see if he could find some answers amongst his squadmates. As he traveled down the cooridors he first came across Roger. "Hey Roger, you got a minute? I'd like to hear your thoughts on some things. Mind if we head over to the Mess Hall for a moment?
[hider=Roger]
Once they were seated Zim started asking the questions. "How do you perceive Yaeger?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? It's a machine," Roger replied as he stuck an unlit cigaret into his mouth.

"True," Zim Replied, "but there is a lot of stuff that doesn't add up. I mean, that's what I am trying to figure out. I have, up until recently, always viewed the Werk as a machine or a tool perhaps, with a very sophisticated A.I to help us control such a large and powerful machine. But lately, I have been forcing myself to see it as more of a partner, than a tool that I use, and it seems like it is getting easier to pilot since I adopted that thought process. I don't know. Maybe I am just getting to be a better pilot."

"Some of the pilots seem to have more of a personal attachment to their Werk. Like Serah and Atty, for example, she seems to view her Werk as a personal friend. What is your relationship with Jaeger?"

"Weird way of putting it, but a lot of the time I don't feel like I'm in the right place if it's not in the cockpit. At the same time, while I'm in there, it never feels like I'm making the right choices," Rodger replied.

"So you don't think that Jaeger is alive or sentient at all?" Zim asked as he spooned a bite of... whatever it was they were eating today. The field rations he snacked on while waiting inside of Black Star tasted better.

"No? I've heard rumors of the 'Werks being alive or having a mind of their own, but that's just a bunch of makin' shit up. A Framewerk's a vehicle like a ship or a jet. They're just so complicated that when viewed from outside they seem mysterious, especially when they act up in ways you wouldn't expect. Like this one time on Troas... actually, it's not important."

"I understand what you are saying. I used to feel the same way, but I have been experiencing things with Black Star that are a little beyond 'programming errors' to me," Zim replied, trying to get an understanding of Rooney's thoughts and opinions. So far, they were fairly textbook, like he had actually read and understood the field manual for his machine. But Zim had to wonder if that was the case, why hadn't he found the breaks for Jaeger yet?

"Ok, but what about what happened with Ariin and Paladin?" Zim followed up.

"Yeah, that shit was weird. He probably just went a bit nuts for a while. Like some kind of psychic backlash after directly interfacing with the Paladin's senses."

"What about with Elora then?"

"You're asking the wrong person if you want answers on what was happening over on that front of the battle. But the Cruxi were doing shit to her, right? It probably has to do with that. And we'll have to make sure to pay them back for it in full."

"But even before that, back on the planet, just before she was taken. She somehow managed to absorb or cancel out that radiation wave. All of that was before the Cruxi got their hands on her. With what little we know about our Framewerks, it just doesn't make sense for her to be able to do that."

"Hey, we're pilots, not scientists. Who knows just how much the Framewerks can actually do that we don't know about. Well, Lorenzo probably. But that's not the point."

"Any thoughts about what Mai...er, Maria did?"

"Beats me."

"You don't put much thought into this stuff do you?" It was sarcasm, Zim was sure Roger knew it.

Roger sarcastically flipped him the bird in response.

"Alright, last question then. If Serah lost consciousness from that Cruxi attack, what happened with Atty going Berserk?"

"I think something like that was mentioned in class once. Rare chance of the werk malfunctioning and going berserk. Don't quote me on that."

"Alright," Zim said with a bit of a sigh, "Thanks for humoring me, sorry to bother you." He took one last bite of the grool on his plate and brought it to disposal, heading out the door in search of someone else who might have a different opinion.[/hider]

He found Ariin a short while later near the training simulators. "Hey Ariin, Can I ask you some questions? I want to hear your opinions on some things." 

[hider=Ariin]
Once they had found a private area to talk Zim started right off with the same questions he had asked Paladin. "How do you perceive your Werk?"

"It's... Symbiosis, at least with Paladin and me. I don't treat him as a weapon he's another being. We become one when we fight, goals and ideals aligning." A thumbs up popped up upon the screen that took the place of his left eye.

"I think that is how I am starting to feel about it too... I just want to make sense of it all. If our Werks are another being, who or what is it?"

"I would guess another being, a lifeform unique. Perhaps made by man or not, it is alive enough to have free will." An explicit appeared now on the screen, Ariin couldn't be doing this as they talked.

"Ok then, given what you experienced, what is your relationship with Paladin?" Zim asked as he wondered about what was going on with Ariin's eye.

"...Very touchy subject... And his thoughts on the matter don't help the situation. Let's just say were closer than most and it's starting to get annoying... Yes, Paladin! I do find it annoying when I'm the only one that can hear your constant corrections... Oh, don't bring her into this you glorified toaster!" Ariin growled as his eye changed to have fluttering hearts upon it "As you can see now that we're sharing my head, we fight a lot more than when he was silent."

"Ok, I feel like I have to ask, but what happened with you and Paladin when you interfaced?"

"...Next question, ass." The eye quickly flashed up 'Rude'

"Sorry," Zim said quickly, "I... I wasn't sure if you were ready to talk about that yet or not. I didn't mean anything by it."

"I mean... It's weird, I had someone literally controlling and operating my body while I remember being in weird limbo inside the werk... Also, I know have a conscience that is a Werk's brain living in my implant... Yes, it is very annoying to have another voice trying to make you change your life." A laughing face flashed up on Ariin's cyborg eye. Something was operating it.

"So to you, there is no doubt that Paladin is a living sentient thing?"

"Of course my werk is alive, it managed to interface and take control my body for a while... Of course, Paladin decided to leave a version himself in my head rather memories of what happened. Little fuzzy on the details... But I apparently don't have to remember any of my radiation poisoning treatments. Small victories and all that." 'IDK' flashed upon Arrin's eye as if someone else was using it to add their point of view to the conversation... Paladin perhaps?

"I mean, I guess..." In reality, Zim still wasn't entirely sure this wasn't some sort of PTSD or space sickness of some sort that had convinced Ariin that he was Paladin for a while, and once that wall was broken, that he has a voice in his head... But still, Zim couldn't be sure of anything, and if it was some sort of mental issue going on, Zim had to believe that Ritsu or Lorenzo would have pulled him from combat. "Prior to your interface with Paladin, was there any indication to you that Paladin was alive and independent in any way?" 

"I mean... A little I guess, it always seemed to guess what I wanted to do and respond better when I piloted than anyone else." Ariin sighed looking away. "I mean... Mai literally talked to me from inside a void like a pit that was supposedly part of Paladin's brain, I just know I wasn't attached to my body and it was weird." Nothing from the eye this time it seemed to go silent now.

"And what happened with Elora?"

"Alien bullshit, perhaps our own mad doctors bullshit, or even some other random event. All I know is that next time I'm making damn sure I annihilate anything that tries to mess with Elora." A thumbs up and a little animation of an explosion played in the screen in Ariin's eye, okay Ariin doing had to be ruled out by now and unless someone hacked him, there was someone talking through his eye.

"True, but if I am being honest, I would be surprised if she doesn't see combat again. Think about it, who knows what else they did to her back there, she could be compromised, she already attacked in the infiltration team when they got there, who knows what she might do next."

"Lorenzo runs things, that madman was going to put my crazy ass one track minded werk brain controlled self on the frontline." A crying face appeared obviously Paladin was upset at the insults thrown at him.

"Hmm," was all Zim could say to that. He was learning to not trust Lorenzo... not that he had much trust or like for the guy in the first place. He was every bit as reckless as he was genius.

"I assume you've heard about what Maria did when she was on the inside," Zim started after a moments pause, "What do you think happened to her, how was she able to do what she did?"

"I would guess it's something similar to Paladin and me... Expect for mine being something caused by external forces. Her issue was more to do with past problems. I mean, I was on cloud nine when I was plugged into Paladin. I had a full on god complex, no really! I thought I was the god of justice or some shit! Heh, a thief as the god of justice that's rich." With that, a massive googly eye appeared and rolled around on the screen as if to mock Ariin, if it was Paladin he enjoyed taunting Ariin.

"Ok, what about Serah and Atty, what went on there?"

"...Well, Paladin says it means nothing, I say it means that's if you piss of the soul in the machine or whatever the hell guides these things they fight back. Or it means Cruxi have a way to interfere with Werk's ability to operate." Nothing this time from Ariin's eye.

"Well that is a terrifying thought, that they could just hack their way into our controls."

"You're forgetting, if you're like me and direct line into werk occasionally... They could hack your brain make you a sleeper agent. Or how do you know that isn't what happened before and I'm already a killer cyborg secretly plotting your gruesome deaths!" Mock evil laugh Paladin maybe his left appear as an adorable cat picture.

"Right, well I guess that was my last question. Thanks for sharing your thoughts..." Zim said as he continued on his way. These questions were giving him fewer answers and more questions... including who to trust.

As Zim walked away he heard Ariin say, "Shut up Paladin, it was funny damn it." The eye flashed with a massive in all caps answer. 'NO' [/hider]

Zim moved his way down the ship's length until he reached the tubes to take him down to the bottom layers of the ship, it was here that he found the hangers and it was here that he found Katya. The jealousy came back tight in his chest as he approached her working on one of her drones. 'That isn't what you are here for,' Zim thought to himself as he forced himself to stop fidgetting with the hair tie around his wrist. 

"Hey, can we talk for a minute? I'd like your opinions on some questions I have about the Werks." 

[hider=Katya]
"Sure Zim, what do you wanna ask me?.

"Thanks, so I guess I'll start with your perception of Caretaker?"

“Caretaker’s alive plan and simple. It”s the only way I can explain the way he acts at times. Although, on that note, I’ve been trying to work out how our sync rates tie into how our werks behave.”

"Yeah, that is an interesting point. It seems to me that as my sync rate increases the less Black Star fights with me for control. It reacts faster then it used to."

"So what is your relationship with Caretaker then?"

“Well, I’d say good for the most part … even if Caretaker is quite stubborn at times. But I trust him. I know in the end he will push himself to see the objective done or to protect me. Even if I have to give him a bit of a firm push at times.”

"So there are times when you feel Caretaker push back against what you want it to do?"

“Well yeah. When my sync gets low. I feel like the werk is trying to do its own thing and controls become hard like the werk is trying to fight me for the right to control it. When Caretaker does get like that he needs a heavy hand to be made to cooperate. Makes it hard when I’m trying to operate him and the drones. Given when he starts acting up they tend to be the first system to play up.” Katya sighs. “I worry being so rough with him hurts him. But alas I have no way of knowing.”

"So do you think that Caretaker is alive, how or why?"

“Didn’t I already say I think he’s alive."

"Ah, sorry, I'm making you repeat yourself. I'm a little tired is all," Zim said apologetically.

"It's fine, although how I’m not too sure on. I believe they have free will, but they are shackled in some way or require us to express that. I'm not sure I can explain it in words. As to why, well the way Caretaker acts at times is simply to unmachine like to make sense I grew up surrounded by machines and never seen once acts like our Werks at times. As for when I believed that … I dunno ever since I started to operate Caretaker I felt he was different from a normal werk. The way he reacts to my own mental state would be the easiest example.”

"Free will but shackled, like a slave? While it is true that Black Star doesn't simply react to my input or input from sensors, I had always thought that it was the result of a complex AI to assist with piloting, but if that were the case then what would the Sync rate have to do with anything."

Hearing the word slave Katya rubs the back of her head feeling uncomfortable. “I guess that would a fair comparison. But I really do hope that is not the case. No one should be forced fight. If I found out Caretaker did not want to fight I would have to question if it was okay to keep using him in battle. Still, it would be nice to know what the Sync rate is really for.”

"Alright, well what do you think about what happened in some specific situations, take Serah and Atty for example? What happened to them?"

“Having had time to think it is simple. Serah lost control of her werk and Atty felt it was needed to protect Serah. Why it thought it needed to kill Elora to do so I don’t know. Also … just between us since we are friends,” Katya moved closer to Zim to whisper to him,  “I’ll admit I feel a little distrustful and wary when I think of them.” Katya moves back to her previous position. “Anyway I think how Atty went about protecting Serah was wrong but I can understand why it did that. I just hope Atty understood why I had to stop him or her.  As for how it will affect my relationship with Caretaker; Simple, I won't let him get out of hand like that. I don’t think I could bear the guilt if Caretaker went berserker and killed an ally. Although for Caretaker to take over and do that, I'd say at that point I’d be in no shape to stop him.”

"So you think that Atty was protecting Serah, not that it just went rogue for no reason in the middle of a mission? That is a reassuring thought, though to be honest, I hope that Black Star never does that either. I understand the thought of a partner protecting the other, but if it means the disruption of the ranks and attacking my allies, I would rather it didn't try to protect me. Not like that, anyway."

“Well it's hard to say, but yes I think Atty was trying to protect Serah. If that’s not the case then there has to be another reason. If our werks are alive like I think or just machines. I can’t see them going rogue like that without a reason and the only other reason I can think of is Serah snapped and turned on us. Which the mere thought of is something that troubles me greatly.”

"So wait, are you saying you don't trust Serah anymore? Has there been any other events that have caused you to distrust her?"

“No Zim. That's not what I’m saying. The fact that you just asked me that I find quite rude. If I didn’t trust her, I’d of said it. What I mean is I don’t fully trust her her ability to keep her werk under control. That is all. As for your second question, the answer is no.” 

"I'm sorry, I guess I misunderstood what you meant. I didn't mean to be rude. But, speaking of keeping control of a werk, what do you think happened with Paladin and Ariin?"

“He touched the mind of his werk," Katya responded with confidence, "I don’t really know, but I think its fascinating. Part of me wonders what it must be like and wants to try it for myself. Yet again … I fear what effect it must have on Ariin, on his mind and body. It can’t be easy having to deal with his werk in his head all the time.”

"And what about Elora, what is your take on what has happened with her?"

“I dunno, but I prefer not to think about it. It reminds me I failed to keep my squadmate safe. All I know is whatever has happened to her it has given her some ability I don’t understand. Having seen it with my own eyes, I’d say it's like telekinesis and telepathy and it has potential to be very powerful if Elora can learn to control and harness it.”

"You didn't fail anymore than the rest of us in keeping her safe. Besides, we brought her home, didn't we? 

Katya frowns at Zim as if telling him to shut up before sighing. “True but she should not have needed to be rescued in the first place! I was her commanding officer which means I was responsible for her safety! Just like I'm responsible for yours and the rest of the squads ...” She trails off and sighs again “Sorry it's still a touchy subject." 

"You think that Elora should be brought back onto the squad?"

"I think if Elora proves she is in control of her ability then she should be allowed to continue the fight. If she feels up to it. Even if I don’t understand her ability, I can see uses for it."

"Uses for it? Like what Mai did? I have only heard rumors about it, but you were there. What happened with that?"

“I don’t know. I got a video of it and having watched it a few times. I still can’t begin to understand it. It was an awesome sight though. I hope I can make a werk move like that one day. If you want to see, I can show you if you like. Otherwise, the best bet for answers my friend would be to ask Mai or is it Maria now? I forget.”

"Yes, I would like to see it, if you could send it to me sometime through the datalink, I would appreciate it. I suspect that we will see it in a briefing at some point, but there is just as much a chance that they will bury it and gag it."

“Consider it done. I’ll send it over in an hour or two, I’ll mark it personal and lock it with the name of your werk should keep security form peeking. It’s quite the sight. When you see it tell me what you think.”

"Well, I guess that is all I've got for now," Though something in his voice would tell Katya that there was more he wanted to discuss, but Zim was already moving, "Thanks for answering my questions, and for the video. And sorry about the rude questions."[/hider]

As Zim moved away Katya may have noticed him fidgeting with the hair tie she had loaned him. Zim moved from the hanger and started on his way through the ship. He stopped for a moment at a port side viewing panel, looking out into the cold black depths of space. He processed for a moment and sighed. He figured he had enough for today and would head back to his quarters and organize his thoughts. As he continued he came across Devors slumped against a wall on a bench at another viewing port. The bottle by his side told Zim he should avoid this conversation with him. He nearly turned to walk away, but his bravery, or perhaps stupidity, got the best of him and he continued on. 

"Hey, Devors, right? Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Zim had no idea what to expect from the guy. He had only interacted with him briefly before the mission and in training.

[hider=Devors]
"I've been thinking about it a bit, giving it some thought, and I still can't get my head around it, so I am asking some of the other pilots what they think about some stuff. So my first question is How do you perceive your werk?"

"Ranius? Iss the smoothest flying machine I've ever piloted. Also the only flying machine I've piloted. Probably."

"Probably? Uh- No never mind that, do you have a relationship with Ranius at all?"

"...I'm [i]really[/i] good at piloting it? Also, I'm glad it hasn't broken down on me. Yet. 's A miracle, honestly."

"Do you feel as though Ranius is alive at all?"

"...No? I mean, I know this theory's makin' the rounds n'd all, but I never really bought it. I don't know why people claim they hear voices or... whatever, but I'm sure it's just the stress of war."

 "You bring up a valid point there. While I have experienced unexplained sounds and seen Black Star do things that he shouldn't have been able to do, I have always been skeptical of the meaning behind them. I have to admit, I have only ever seen these things in the middle of battle... Ok, so what are your thoughts on what happened with Ariin and Paladin?"

 "...who?"

"Ariin, the kid with the cybernetic eye, Paladin the werk with the giant shield? Ah, never mind that one, that would have been before you joined the squad. What about Elora then, you heard about what happened with the infiltration team I assume?"

"Oh, the POW? Yeah, she's pretty funky. Might be superpowers. Didn't the other chick have telekinesis too? What's her name... Martha? Marie? ...May? Err, whatever her name was."

"Mai. Speaking of her, what are your thoughts on what she was able to do?"

"OH, MAI! Right, I'm bad with names... uh, telekinesis right? Wasn't that just a function of her machine?"

"I suppose so. When we were in training we fought with an Ace pilot and she had some sort of special attack, but it was generating a special kind of sword, not blasting the enemy with her mind. Can the machine really do that?"

"Probably, yeah."

"Okay... but what about what happened with Serah and Atty?"

"Uh... wait, are we talking about the chick who's framewerk went nuts?"

"Yeah," Zim confirmed. 

"Isn't that a safety function? When a pilot's unable to, well, pilot, the thing takes over. I heard something like that. Machines don't really have the ability to tell friend from foe, though, so I guess it'd just slash at anything that's got a gun. Or sword. Or bombs."

"But all of our machines are equipped with RFID to signal friendly on scanners and other sensors, if it was just a safety mechanism where the machines A.I. kicked in, shouldn't it still be able to distinguish friend from foe? Especially if it were attempting to protect the pilot, it would want to move to the safety of allies, not attack anything that moves."

"Yeah, uh, the problem with that: the machine just scans stuff. And as far as I remember, Cruxi had put some weird tech on the POW frame, right? Could also be that whatever allies were with her at the time attacked her first, so the frame started seein' them as a threat. If it wanted to keep the pilot safe or whatever, I think it'd fight back."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. You've got more experience in the field than me, so I guess I'll take your word for it. Well, I guess that is all I have for you. Sorry to bug you..."[/hider]

Zim excused himself and continued on with his plan to return to his room and think things over. However before Zim would get there he came across Krista, the Pilot of the Hou Yi. They had limited interactions with one another, so Zim knew about as much about her as he did about Devors. All the same, Zim was aware of the fact that this was Krista's first time in real combat and that she had spent time piloting her Werk with R&D. Maybe her answers would provide some more insight on the subject.

Krista was walking down the hallway, away from Zim. He hurried his pace to catch up with her, as he neared he called out to her, "Hey, Krista! Hold up a second, please. Any chance you've got a minute to sit and talk? I have a few questions I was hoping you might provide some answers to, if you don't mind."

[hider=Krista]
Once she consented the two made their way to another seating area off of the main corridor. 

"What is your relationship with Hou Yi?" Zim asked, "Did I pronounce that correctly?"

"I think I have one of the best base synchro levels in the squad? I know back in the research division they mentioned it was unusually high, especially since the Hou Yi was four-legged. It even was like that with my old Werk, Archer."

"That's something I hadn't even thought of before," Zim said, realizing that she hadn't really answered the question how he had intended, but it was new information all the same, "How syncing with a werk with a different basic body shape might affect the way we sync. I had just assumed that leg movement was handled by the controls, but then the neural feedback from damage on the back legs, for example, would have to go somewhere. How does that feel, does it feel like you have extra legs?"
 
"It's not exactly extra legs, it's more like I'm crawling. It can get a little confusing when getting out of it. It's almost like my real legs fall asleep when I'm in Hou Yi. I can't exactly explain what was like to get hit in the turret though. It's just not a body part that is on a person, but I still felt it in a way."

"So with your level of synchronization, do you feel as though your Werk is alive?"

"Not in a real 'cut it and it bleeds' way, of course. But back home, I used to hang out around a lot of shuttle pilots and the like. Always were going on about certain shuttles and ships being temperamental, and that certain pilots could push certain shuttles to work better. They named some of them too... I guess I have something like that with Hou Yi. He's not at the level of talking back to me, but they've got moods. There's always a low key, almost mumbling, I guess? Very quiet. Except when I got hit back there. Once I stopped spinning out and was on my way home, Hou Yi seemed deathly quiet. It was creepy to not have that. Honestly, it might have been adrenaline or something."

"Alright. Well, can I get your thoughts on what happened with Ariin and Paladin?"

"Honestly I can't say much since I wasn't here to see how they were before. Sounds like something snapped, really. I hope that's the case. The idea that my mind can be messed with like that is scary, to say the least.

"I agree," Zim said, "And what about Elora?"

Krista shrugs. "I have no idea, beyond what was in the official report they gave me."

"That makes sense... Any thoughts on how Ma- Maria was able to do what she did?"

"I'm sounding like a broken record but I have no idea. I'm sure the scientists are trying to figure that out too."

"Well, I guess that does it for me. Thanks for answering my questions. See you around," Zim said as he stood up from where he was seated.[/hider]

Zim made his way back the way he came and continued until he made it to his room. Once inside he started a datapad up and started compiling the thoughts and opinions of those he had spoken with. He still wasn't sure what it all meant to him, but he now knew that he wasn't alone in either camp. This would require more soul-searching, more thought, and maybe a little more research, but for now, Zim had little interest in doing any more then getting some rest.