[u][b]Jake and Elise[/b][/u]

Jake sat inside his framework, Weissritter. His eyes were closed. Thinking. Trying to make sure he did his part to keep his team not only safe but aware of the battle conditions, situation and of course, information.

He may not the strongest of his family, the Armstrongs, but he still had enough of the brains to not do anything stupid. To show good teamwork. Synenergy.

Now, with Elise's help, he was going to show it.

"This is Jake Armstrong in the Weissritter. Ready to deploy. Bridge. Is Elise ready to go?", Jake then asked on the comm line.

Jake heard Elise's voice on the other side. "Affirmative! I'm on the bridge, and deplyoing REC-1," she said, a code phrase coined to describe their plan with using the drones. "Whenever you're ready."

"Roger. Stand by. Looks like we still have to sort out who gets the assault packs here. Not me though. Being the sniper and all..."

Jake did trail off a bit there. He just seemed to think about something.

He then switched to a private line so that only Elise and perhaps others in the bridge area could hear them.

"Elise...were on a private line. I just wanted to ask some stuff before we get rough. For me, such a question is out of the blue but...what did you do to achieve a perfect sync with your framework?", Jake then asked.

Elise was quiet for a moment, and then answered: "...It's because of my father." She seemed somber as she spoke those words. "He was the one who built Prometheus, well, at least the important parts of it. Even after mom died, he continued supporting me. I was proud to be her daughter. He has always been there for me...Even now."

"...I see...the bonds that keep us together...to keep us going...makes sense. It's also one of the reasons why many within the military use terms like "may your souls be as strong as steel" or similar sayings leading to that", Jake responded.

Jake was quiet for a few second before he spoke.

"...Elise...I'm sure you've heard about my military family the Armstrongs. But I'm also sure you've heard rumors about a "black sheep" of the family...it's because I didn't quite live up to the military expectations. Sure, I'm perceptive and smart but with my low sync, I'm not exactly the best in the family. And...unlike you, I've had trouble getting along with my family members...well mostly my mom and dad..."

A pause before Jake spoke again.

"Sadly, I couldn't patch things up with my dad...he was K.I.A...and...my mom suffered a rare sync fault against a Cruxi Ace unit that keeps her sync at zero percent no matter what she did. Still, she was re-assigned to a battleship and is now leading it as it's captain and a team of Frameworks on missions currently...but being in a military family...it's tough holding attachments to anything...but I've managed somewhat..."

Jake let out a sigh before he finished his story.

"...after all...in a war as brutal as this and being in a military family, your life expectancy isn't exactly "great"..."

Elise sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. I bet most people here have sad stories, but yours is one of the worse ones. Yeah, I've heard of the Armstrongs; they're famed for their contributions to the war effort."

"Yep...rain, shine or even blood...we gave it our all for the sake of humanity...though you were wrong when you said that we were nothing more than a stat in general...were actually a stall tatic...from frameworks to cloning like the homonculus...hell, I've even heard a rumor that there are even robots with human feeling being tested in secret...high command is just trying to find something to end this war...but how long before it happens or it ends up biting us in the ass I wonder..."

Taking a deep breath, Jake then said this.

"And not just the Armstrongs...Mai's mother was the one of the few pilots who helped break that mold for a time...and...well you thought my story was bad, Mai's was worse...when her mom was shot down, high command were desperate for someone who had her abilities...they pressured her into framework combat testing...then came the Helldivers...her split personality problem...doing whatever she was told to do...now this..."

Jake then cleared his throat before he said, "The reason I look out for her because she's like family to me. Hell, even her mom was kind to my family members back in the day. But now...she's got all sorts of pressure on her again. A new mind set. A new sync that she's never experienced before...a new outlook on life I suppose..."

Jake was quiet before he then said this.

"Elise. Do me a favor and keep an eye on her for me during this fight. I'm sure you, your busty wingmen and drunk wingmen would even say that just because your perfect sync doesn't mean your invincible. Mai's seen plenty of combat sure but not in this state of mind and not on this sync level."

"Acknowledged," Elise said. "Assuming radio silence. Over."