"We had to jump through a bunch of hoops for approval. Red tape, regulations, all of that. It took half a year." Sparks would have said more, but the hotheaded Griff butted in, insulting Dancer and Guinevere in one fell swoop. His easy smile vanished, expression turning stony. "Listen, man, I don't know what your damage is, but you've got a couple things wrong. First off, Dancer's not my girlfriend. If I wanted to program a dating sim, I would have -- and I'd've given it a male voice. Secondly, you do not want a mechanic angry at you. Especially when he's the one doing field repairs on the frame that keeps you alive. Fortunately for you, I'm able to be the bigger man and won't actually do anything to endanger your life...but that doesn't mean I couldn't make your life absolutely miserable, if I wanted to."

Serah watched Elora waddle off after being debriefed by Ritsu, tracing her with her eyes. There really was something familiar about her. Even though the blue-haired girl was joking about not having seen each-other in a while, it rang surprisingly true when she'd said it in the moment. Serah's not one to sweat the small stuff though and instead let her eyes dart around the room to see who was still around... which was pretty much everyone, really. The tall glasses-wearing woman was chatting about frames with the friendly looking guy who's shirt was... indecipherable. The red haired man was talking to the short, winged person. Serah hadn't really seen a tevrainian up close before, only heard about them. She looked kind of neat. Two of the older women in the group seemed to stay silent, keeping to themselves. Then there was the rude man from before, picking fights again.

Serah wasn't really sure who to bug. She didn't have much experience talking to guys older than her, but the girls didn't look very friendly either. But then she overheard the friendly guy quipping with the blonde-haired one, who'd already gone off to bug one of the girls... most like to pick another fight. Maybe she should step in and do something about that...

"Ooo, you do field repairs?" Serah would chime in, getting between Griff and Sparks before things could escalate too far. "Atty's armor is really light. I'm going to be drawing a lot of fire out there, so I hope I can count on you to keep me safe!" she cheerily said to Sparks, quickly glancing in Griff's direction to make sure he wasn't looping back around to give in to Sparks' provoking. "Lets try and be friends, okay?" she'd kindly tell him and waved goodbye, hurrying to Minerva's side before things could get out of hand there, too.

"Physical stuff? You must train a lot, huh?" Serah would say to butt into the conversation, peeking her head out from next to Griff as she looked up to him. "I'm not that strong myself, ehehe... what kinda stuff do you do to keep yourself in shape? Maybe I could learn something from you!"

Minerva & Griff

Collab between @digmata and @Dezuel

The more words that exited Sparks mouth, the more sparks ignited in Griff's head. The blond's hands tightened as he turned towards Sparks.

"So you are basically a mechanic with a hobby! Gotcha. As for a bigger man? We'll see about that! Well looks like you've got some guts after all!" Griff scoffed and crossed his arms, closing his eyes momentarily as he addressed Sparks from a distance.

'I'll show that guy later!' He thought as his attention snapped to Serah approaching."Huh? What? Yo." He said in a surprised way, then he recalled. 'Wait a second. Wasn't this the girl who was more awesome than the rest of us?' His eyes scanned over her from top to toe, a slight flush at his face as he took in a few parts. Momentarily forgetting that this girl was one of his primary rivals "Aha hah! Training! Sure I do!" He began to lift up his shirt to show off his abs.

"These abs didn't grow on their own. You can show yours later! Nothing builds character as well as working up a good sweat! And I am all about character." He gave a cheeky wide grin. "Oh if you want I could show you some good training later! But for now I gave the offer to this gal here! I could of course bring both of you, but see that guy over there? He would get the wrong idea." He nodded his head in the direction of Arrish.

"So catch you abit later allright? Once I am done with Miss Olympus here heh." He looked Serah over. For some reason he wasn't feeling angry anymore. Having almost completely forgotten about Sparks' challenge, his attention set on Minerva again. "Soo...?" He smirked.

Miverva's eyebrows would twitch at the insensitive comments thrown to her. She was initially planning to prepare her room and take a walk around before finally resting. But something, something about this man grinds the gears in her mind the wrong way.

She let out a sigh hiding any annoyance she is currently feeling in favor of showing a face of disinterest. A good mask could save her a lot of grief in the future after all.

”Is there anything you want from me? You've been looking in my direction for quite a while now.” Minerva asked, looking him in the eye.

"Oh yeah! So you wanna do something physical together? You have a killer body! Also what's with that Project?" Griff said in a ponderous tone, looking over Minerva and locking eyes with her. "Oh the name's Griff, what's yours? Also aren't you abit too pretty to be a pilot?"

He said in a slightly teasing tone, before motioning towards a corridor in the distance. "You think you've got what it takes to take me on?" He issued his challenge. This was going to be a moment of greatness for certain. He had no doubt.

Minerva's thoughts were filled with annoyance; the insensitivity of his comments set it to disdain as she looked at her luggage. She was tired before speaking. It would better for everyone if she shut this bastard up for a while

”Alright you can call me, Minerva. I'll just have this baggage sorted out then you can expect me in the gym in an hour. she spoke as she walked away.

"Sounds good to me!" He replied in an energized way as he brought his own baggage to his assigned room, packing his belongings up and putting up his posters of various characters from war movies or boxing champions, then he quickly changed into his gym attire and gave himself a cheeky grin to the mirror in his room.

"Knock em dead ace!" He bro-fisted his reflection and slammed the door shut after he left his room, forgetting to lock it as he did. Then made his way down to the training area, weightlifting, boxing... and just about any other physical exercise, he was prepped. He went over to one of the weightlifting machines and looked it over to make sure it was secure. Then waited for Minerva, he readied himself up to greet her when she finally would.

"Yo! Over here Minnie!" He called out across the entire gym

Minerva would soon make her to the gym, determined to wipe the arrogance of the currently ignorant man, she no longer wearing the spacesuit. Instead she is now wearing her gym clothing a combination of short and gym tops showing off her muscles and figure.

“Alright, Griff what’s the challenge?”. Minerva asked as she started her stretches. It doesn’t matter what the challenge is, she just needs to win decisively.

"Huhu! Looks like you've got some muscles! Not bad, not bad, Minnie!" He said in a slightly fake-condescending tone, he was actually impressed.

'Holy shit this girl is decked out with abs and isn't a hulking monster.' Griff mentally noted as his eyes wandered over her body, his face becoming slightly flustered. He reached up his hand to his mouth and pretended to cough into it.

"Ahem. Glad that you asked! Before you stand the peak of a pilot's power! We call it weightlifting! If you paid attention in the hangar, you would have noticed that my metal buddy there has that power too. I have honed this for years! We shall test how good you are at this! First we do it at an easy stage and if you manage to pass that we will increase to a higher level. The winner of the final push wins, providing you can get that far!" Griff said in a confident tone and laughed out loud, his hands now located at his waist.

"I'll go first! So watch and learn!" The blond said in a smug manner and crawled under the weights with the metal bar in the middle so he could bench press. "Normally you would stand behind me to make sure it wouldn't fall on top of me. That is if I were not the most awesome at this ever." He said confidently and began to lift. He managed with the easy difficulty.

"Piece of cake!" He said and hung the weights back up. 'There's no way she can even be able to lift this amount, I don't even have to go to a higher level heh.' He mused in his head as he moved to place himself behind the bench to catch the metal and the weights if. No... when she wouldn't be able to lift it. He was already in celebration mode.

Minerva would look at Griff as he performed a familiar routine, little did he know she also lifted weights as part of the test and to keep her body in the best state. Silently she added weights when her turn arrived, setting to a little higher than her usual routine. For a normal unaugmented human, it is already pushing the limit.

And yet all Griff will see if Minerva is doing the lift as if it is just the usual weight.

“So what are you saying?” Minerva cheekily asked as she finished her routine.

'Hahahah… what?! What the heck is she able to lift? Tch. Fine let's add on so much that she cannot lift it! That'll teach her! Stupid pretty girl!' Griff plotted before offering a grunt.

"Hnnff! Looks like you can lift after all, but now we are doing a much heavier lift, the last one! First you do it! Then I will do it after you!" He said in an almost worried tone, moving to fetch more weights and attaching them to each side of the iron bar holding them in place.

"Adding one here and another one here. You go try lift these now and I will try the same after you! But let's make it a little more interesting! The winner will get to decide on a single thing that the loser has to do for the winner, it can be anything as long as it's legal. Deal?" He asked and grinned as he placed himself behind the weights and the iron bar.

A smile etched on Minerva’s face as she looked at the weights that made things a lot easier. “I see, I accept your challenge?” Minerva spoke as she measured the weight that was being added, she could do it and add some more after all.

So she added more weights until it was clear that the weight was above the record of what humans could lift. Minerva took a deep breath before holding the bar and lifting it off the ground. She struggled a little before completely raising her arms and dropping the weight to the floor.

Just like that, as if she made to break human limits.

“There, that should do it. It’s your turn now” she spoke in a cheeky tone, confident that she already won.

'Ahh yes, the sweet sounds of victor- No no no! Hold up! This cannot be happening! She must have cheated! Somehow! But… There's no cheating in weightlifting! Crap!' He mentally lamented in panic, he felt the sweat on his neck and forehead. He had to beat her. He would lose both his honor and bragging rights otherwise.

"Errrm.. Well that's good! Ahah… well done!" He said in a nervous manner, before grumbling to himself and getting on the bench.

'Stupid beginner luck probably. I'll show her' Griff prepared himself mentally and began to lift down the weight. That's odd. It was heavy as hell. Heavier than he normally lifted. Wait. She had put on additional weights unto it when he wasn't looking, yet she had been able to lift it? He gritted his teeth.

"This is nothing! Hnnnn! Re-really!" He tried to lift the weight up but he only managed halfways. 'No way! Come on! Go up you stupid iron bar! Shiiiiiit!' Griff felt sweat falling into his eyes and stinging him and he motioned for Minerva to help him put the iron bar with the weights back on its hooks.

"Shi- Okay- You can- put it up!" He made short words as the weight began to lower down against his body, motioning for Minerva to help him.

Minerva would widen her eyes as she watched Griff actually try to lift it, did he not see her adding weights? She made no secret of doing so.

She watches closely, making sure she is ready to stop any mishap at its roots which is why she is ready to grab the iron before he even asks. Thanks to that however they are close to each other allowing Minerva to simply whisper her words.

”I won.” she declared to Griff reminding them of the deal. ”That means, you need to something for me right?” there was a tone of joy in her voice as if she managed to lure her into a trap.

Griff twitched slightly on hearing the whisper close to him, almost making him loosen his grip on the bar. His face was flustered from the effort and just how close she now was to him. The angle gave him an ample view which made him swallow. "Con.. grats? I... lost?" He said, blinking and still somewhat in a state of shock. Sitting back up and he reflected on what just happened. Good thing he was a warrior and well trained in things such as these.

'AAAAAAHHHH! Shiiiiiiit! Crap! Damn fricking shit! Crap! How could this happen?! Shit! Damn it all! I lost? Impossible! SHIIIIIIIIIIIT!' He screamed out internally as Minerva's words reached his ears. Oh no. Oh no indeed. Not only had he lost his honor, the challenge and potential gloating rights. That damnable pretty girl now had some stupid task for him! Curses! How had he'd been tricked into this situation? Wait. It had to have been that old geezer, he knew he would have challenged that girl which in turn led to his defeat? Were she a machine perhaps? Regardless… he had to deal with the situation.

"Ah... erm… ahah… well done! Victory…" He took a moment to mourn. "...is yours. I must have sprained my thighbone in my arm- Probably. Well! I am a man of my word! I can handle an unexpected temporary setback! What request do you have for me?" He blinked in a mix of worry and surprise. He also felt warm. Had he worked up such a sweat? His eyes landed on Minerva's face. 'Why does she have to be pretty? It would have been easier to hate her if she weren't. HOW THE HELL COULD I LOSE?! Shiiiiiit! Weightlifting is such a sham sport!'.

"Ahh… err.. remember nothing illegal!" He said in an alarmed manner, for all he knew the young woman before him could be a sadist.

”Of course.” Minerva spoke as she set the set bar to its place smiling at her victory.

”Well my request is really simple, could stop being a deadweight with your racism.”

The room suddenly went cold as her stare turns into a glare as she crosses her arms.

“I have seen people like you a lot. Nobles who hide behind traditions and prejudice to cover up their incompetence, I will not have it if I could.” her voice is filled with judgement and scorn.

”Am I understood?”

"Racism?" He blinked once, twice and then opened his mouth. "Oh." He said as if a revelation had come before him. "Who did I be racist to?" He thought back to those he had met earlier before he tightened one of his hands into a fist and slammed it into the open palm of his other hand.

"Ah! You mean the little bu- the Terrain-ian? Right? Hnnn… fine... I guess." He grumbled and pretended to kick away a pebble that wasn't even there. "I thought for a moment you would have demanded me to strip down naked in your room or kowtow'd before that jerk with the blue hair." He gave a slight chuckle and then put his hand at his waist, looking her in the eye.

"Seen people like me huh? Sounds pretty generalizing to me! I am not a noble though, screw being a noble, prancing around like a peacock and talking about who has the better ed-… ejuca- adjucation? Frickin book dwellers. So got a grudge against nobles eh? Some incompetent noble wronged you? Oh, is that what Project Octolus was?" He walked up abit and leaned in with his face as if trying to look into her eyes and see her brain. "Oh yeah. And understood… I keep my end of the bargain." He said in a defeated tone of voice.

”Words are cheap, you can prove it in action.” Minerva spoke as began walking away before stopping a bit for some last words.

”And it is called Olympus and that is an inaccurate description of my opinion of nobility. They are more like mosquitoes when I got sent to clean up a mess, it usually them I see hovering like idiots at some point I developed a grudge.” Minerva spoke as she walked away thinking that the conversation was over.

"Oh yeah that's what I meant. Also one last thing… Nice shorts!" He grinned and did a thumbs up.

'So nobles are mosquitoes… They suck and are bugs. It does sound just like...' His mind began to wander as a small winged figure appeared in his mind again. He quickly shook his head and then punched a nearby training dummy. Now he just had to hope none heard or saw his challenge with Minerva or he had to intimidate them into silence. His reputation as a warrior was on the line.

”Remember your promise. Minerva spoke as she walked away leaving Griff to his own devices. For a moment, she stopped as a memory flashed in her mind.

A muscular idiot, a sore loser who is determined to match her at her best. Sometimes he did win and it is her turn to catch up.

She quickly buried that memory because she can't afford to lose herself in the past. At least while she's still alive.

@Ammokkx@shylarah

Ammokkx the best

WHY DOES IT SPELLCHECK MY NAME, AND THEN SPELLCHECK IT WRONG

because your name isn’t a word.

THEN WHY SPELLCHECK ITTTT
spellcheck is dumb.
as the saying goes, “spellcheck, I’m getting real tired of your shirt.”

(OOC kept in because it's funny)
~~~~~~~~~~~~



As Elora placed the last of the few belongings she had with her into the closet and closed the door, she took a look at the reflection of herself on the mounted mirror. She looked tired, with small bags under her eyes. She also felt a bit damp from sweat. She decided she needed to go and clean up. Grabbing her towel, she headed for the women´’s locker room.

The locker rooms were an unassuming facility, with rows upon rows of identical containers, and small wooden benches between them. The only highlight of the dreary space were the larger cabinets in the corners where one could set wet clothes to dry.

Elora quickly undressed, and walked into the showers, hoping she would be the only one inside: holding her blue and white towel, she briskly located the nearest shower stall, an opaque glass door at chest height providing some modicum of little modesty that could be had, and hit the switch. She sighed as the warm water flowed on her and she closed her eyes, letting her have that one moment of solitude, when she could forget all the stress and fear of this entire trip…

Unfortunately for Elora, the door to the locker room soon opened, and Rhylaen stepped inside. The Tevranian quickly stripped out of her pilot suit, folding it neatly and setting it in a locker. She took a moment to flare her wings to their fullest after. She hung her green towel on one of the hooks near the shower area, and then padded over to the stall opposite Elora’s, but paused as she saw who was in the other stall.
“Hey,” she ventured gently. “Earlier...you seem upset. Is all okay?”

Elora nearly screamed from surprise, and covered herself with her hands. Blushing in embarrassment, she turned towards the back wall of the stall.
“I-I’m fine! I’m okay…Well, maybe not all okay.” She sighed, and had to accept the fact that she had to start getting used to being naked in the company of other people: even if they were women, it still felt a bit too intimate for her delicate heart.
“It’s just…I’m afraid I’ll hold everyone back on this team. I’m not like the rest of you, so cool, so beautiful, so talented…I’m already this nervous, and it’s only my first day.”

"You think so?" a third voice suddenly cuts in. Serah’s voice, who’d happened to have the same idea as the two already in the showers. She came in a little later, just happening to overhear Elora’s worries.
"I’m surprised I was picked at all," she’d say, nonchalantly walking past and occupying a shower stall for herself.
"They drafted me just a few weeks ago. I got some basic training, but that’s all. You were wearing a uniform, right? If you went to a school for this stuff, I’d say you’re at least better than I am!"

Serah giggled as she berated herself, her tone implying she didn’t mind it at all. She seemed at ease, breaking into the conversation like a hurricane.
"These showers are so nice though… back where I’m from, it was just one big open room. Boys and girls had to shower in shifts. And the water’s nicer, too!"

“Where from?” Rhylaen asked, shifting her attention to the newcomer.
“I from Tevran, but go to school on Earth. Alfea College.”

“I’m from Toivonhuippu,” Elora answered shyly, glancing at Serah as she entered.
“Toivo for short. It’s supposed to be this prestigious school where many heroes of the war had studied, and where various tactics against Cruxi were developed…But from what I saw of the place, it’s just a place for people of high status to put a fancy name on their resume. I mean, I worked hard to graduate, but…I sometimes feel like I didn’t earn it myself. That I just got lucky…” She pondered about what Serah mentioned earlier: of her living in squalor, of being grateful for clean, warm water…Things she took for granted.

"I’m from Taivar myself. I grew up in an orphanage in district 30," Serah would casually share. "Well, I wasn’t born there. But I did end up there. Me and the other kids got all our schooling done in-house. I missed a bunch of classes due to being sick all the time though, ahaha…"

“Toivonhuippu,” Rhylaen stumbled a little over the name.
“Heard of! Said is good school. Taivar...make frames there, yes?”

"Yeah! They make lots there," Serah cheerily replied.
"Sometimes I’d get a defective part to tinker with, since we were close to one of the factories. My frame was built there, too!"

Elora picked up the courage to turn towards the other stalls, and gave a little smile as Rhylaen complimented the academy.
“I-I’ve also heard about Taivar,” she chimed in.
“But I didn’t know they had residential districts that close to the production facilities. It must have been rough living there…”

Ava entered the shower to find herself hearing the tail end of a conversation between three other girls who were in her new unit.

…

She hated finding herself in this sort of awkward circumstance. The sort where it would be odd to suddenly join in on the conversation, but she could also be seen as dismissive if she simply ignored them.

Truly, the bane of all introverts: hard to navigate social situations.

Well, she also believed that just as some less academically gifted people still need to study to pass basic education, introverts, too, need to make an effort to be functional in social situations.

That was just part of living as a human.

So it was not as if she were helpless, but it was still somewhat frustrating.

“I see almost everyone is here. I suppose we all have the same idea,” Ava finally said with a small chuckle as she entered the unoccupied shower stall.

“I know that the Lieutenant mentioned my name earlier, but since we haven’t been properly introduced yet…my name is Ava Lane. I’m looking forward to working with all of you.”

Rhylaen immediately smiled.
“Ah! Hello. I name Rhylaen.”

Elora, still thinking about Serah’s origins on Taivar, turned her eyes without thinking in Ava’s direction.
“Oh, uh, he-” her words froze, as she saw a glimpse of the older pilot, and she turned red in the face: the glass door was barely tall enough to properly cover her, and the shy pilot ended up averting her eyes from embarrassment.
“Elora!” She ended up half-yelling at that moment.
“Elora Liu’un. N-Nice to meet you.”
Geez…And I thought nobody could win against the lieutenant…

Aurora also drifted in shortly after Introductions had started. But contrary to the others it took her a notably longer amount of time to disrobe. Her pants suit was quickly and efficiently stored, it was her pilot suit that gave her trouble.

The reason was quite clear if anyone glanced in her direction as she entered her own stall. Across her back were large black splotches, the largest just between her shoulder blades. But there were half a dozen more all up and down her spine.

Aurora herself didn’t seem to have any problems with modesty however. Though in another oddity she did turn up the heat on her spray nearly as high as it would go.

“Oh, Aurora. Aurora Briars” She would add in the lull that she herself might have been the cause of.

"Oh yeah! I only introduced myself to Elora, huh?" Serah would chime in, unbothered by two new voices suddenly having joined the gathering.
"I’m Serah Gene! It’s kind of funny we’re all meeting here for the first time."

“I don’t think it’s funny at all”, Elora said. “I can’t believe how casual everyone is about all this…” It was then that she happened to spot the strange markings on Aurora’s back, and she blinked.
“Um, Aurora…Can I ask you something?”

It took Aurora a moment to react, but she would turn towards Elora “Yes? You wanted to ask me something?”

“Um, uh…” Elora hesitated in her words, before she finally gathered her courage.
“T-Those marks on your back…Are they tattoos? I-I don’t mean to be nosy, so you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to…”

“No.” Aurora replied. Her tone veered towards seriousness.
“They are a parting gift from the…” She takes a breath and her tone eases again.
“Scars from the Cruxi. And proof that Sleepy did everything they could to keep me alive.”

Elora’s eyes widened. She was so shocked she lifted a hand up to her mouth, having forgotten her embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” She trembled.
“I didn’t know…That the Cruxi could scar people like that. But, if Sleepy did protect you…That’s amazing. I hope Diver can keep me safe too…” Her words drifted off.

Rhylaen blinked, and said a couple words in Tevranian, then shook her head.
“Ah...ice-eating?” she said softly.
“Looks like....” She shook her head again, and continued in a normal voice.
“Is good you have good frame, protect you good.”

“Sleeping Thunder is the best” Aurora would agree with a nod.
“But all of the Frames I saw were brilliant as well. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better.”
“Sleeping Thunder…that’s the really old model, correct?” Ava remarked.

She remembered seeing the humongous Framewerk being loaded off the transport ship earlier. The design was unconventional, but a non-humanoid looking Framewerk was not unheard of. Albion had several models like that.

What was curious was the fact that the design philosophy itself was definitely not the latest generation, just outfitted with modern equipment. Even for a very heavy Framewerk, the Sleeping Thunder seemed like it would be sluggish even compared to its contemporaries.

It’s how many early generations Framewerk was designed, more as a ‘portable’ heavy artillery in the same sense as the railway guns of ancient times than mobile platforms inspired by tanks and fighter jets.
“Is there a particular reason you are using an old model like that? It seems like it will perform well enough, but I’m just curious as to why.”

“Sleeping Thunder will perform perfectly!” Aurora said sharply, nearly glaring as she looked over at Ava. Before she seemed to recall herself and wilted. “Sorry. I’m… I’m only alive because of Sleepy, as I said, and they are the only remainder I have of… Of my family. They belonged to my brother originally, but he never got a chance to pilot them.”

“Oh…” Ava started, somewhat taken aback by the agitated response. She then continued, “My apologies. I didn’t mean to drag up painful memories.”
Memento, was it? She thought pensively.
She did not have any of him. At least not things she could bring to the battlefield. But if she had one, then Ava supposed she, too, would be very attached to it.

“A lot of pilots—well, a lot of people in general—have lost loved ones in this war, so I understand the sentiment. I’m sure Sleeping Thunder will perform splendidly. If you need to outfit your frame with parts manufactured by Albion, do tell. I probably could arrange some things. Same for the rest as well.”

Elora, having finished washing herself on the front, had realized that there were only small sponges for scrubbing. She could have simply left and requisitioned proper tools to be added to the shower inventory to save herself some face. But there was someone she felt comfortable enough to ask: “Um, Rhylaen, could you help? I can’t reach my back with this…” She quietly asked, in order to not interrupt the conversation the shapelier women had.

“Yes,” was the immediate answer. Rhylaen, still covered in soap, quickly turned off the water in her stall and crossed the aisle to Elora’s. The Tevranian took the sponge from her, and used it to wash the human’s back. It didn’t take her long. “I finish!” she said cheerfully, turning the sponge back over to Elora. Then it was back to her own shower stall. She was flexible enough to wash her own back and wings.

“No need to apologize, I was the one out of line. The professor’s words are the one that exposed the nerve, not your questions.” Aurora would say, as she soaked her hair and began to lather it.
“Nevertheless, I will accept your offer of parts should I find the need. I return with the offer of more personalized mechanical work, to everyone as well.”

Elora smiled as Rhylaen assisted her, grateful for the help. “Thank you! I can-oh,” Elora’s words quietly drifted off as the fairy-like pilot went off, amazed by her independentness. “Rhylaen, is it odd for you? I mean, being here with us humans? Do you miss your home?” She asked, trying to show her appreciation by starting up a little conversation as she was drying herself, unsure of the social customs that Tevranians had.

Rhylaen went still for a moment, then slowly started moving again.
“Tevran...Tevran gone. Cruxi capture. So yes, I miss lots. And humans, they no have same speaking way. Not just language -- also telepathy. Just talk feel...empty.” She’d learned that word specifically to explain the nonverbal component of Tevranian communication. “So yes. Can be difficult, can be lonely. But also is good things.”

Elora nodded, having pushed her towel up to her chin. “I see…I bet most people here have lost someone…” She mused to herself as she left the shower, and returned back to the locker room, passing by Ava and Aurora with a subdued blush.
I guess this will become part of my daily life from here on out… She thought, feeling dejected.

Serah’d been staying quiet to listen to everyone. She’d finished her shower a while ago, but didn’t feel right leaving in the middle of what all was said.
"Tevran’s not gone," she’d chime in, in a softer tone than usual. "Just out of reach. We’ll work together, kick the Cruxi’s butt and bam! It’ll be back in your hands before you know it. That’s what we’re here for, right?" she’d try and reassure Rhylaen, before finally exiting herself.
"As long as we all work together, we’ll get back the things we lost and then some!"

And on that final note, Serah went off to dry herself off, storming out as soon as she could to find the next thing to do with her free time.

In the next stall Aurora couldn’t help but stop at Serah’s parting words.
“Not gone?” She murmured to herself, a bitter smile on her lips for a moment before she ducked back under the near scalding water.
‘If only I could be so lucky as that,’ she thought.

…

“Hmm hm hmm…”

Gosh, Arrish was just having the best day of his life. First of all, lunch had been one of his favorite meals of all time, and he actually got to sit down and talk with one of the beauties that roamed the ship. Oh man, and the way Lieutenant Ritsu was smoldering at him earlier had just made his heart rush in delight. It had put him in such a good mood he began humming one of his favorite songs, an ancient but classic song back from old earth called L-O-V-E. He was so distracted in his good mood that he didn’t notice Elora pass him quickly with a flush across her face muttering to herself about something, nor did he thinking about where Serah had come from when he walked past her and into the locker room.

He just quickly undressed himself, careful to place his sunglasses gently into the locker atop his clothes and threw the towel he brought over his shoulder. He marched right into the shower room with a big stupid grin on his with his eyes clothes when he heard voices speaking in a hushed tone. Maybe even a gasp. Maybe even giggling.

Something wasn’t right. He froze midstep, the smile on his face now gone flat and looked into the room.

Girls.

There were girls in the shower.

He felt the red on his face crawl up from his neck until he was beat red. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. Had there been some mistake? His thoughts slowly trailed back to Elora, and then to Serah.
“Oh. Oh no. I’ve made a horrible mistake.”

“I’m glad you have realized that…Cadet Duval.”

Arrish knew the moment he heard the voice who was speaking, and turned to see the lieutenant glaring at him with the most disappointed expression one can imagine. She violently showed a mop into his hands.

“Here. I expect both showers to be sparkling clean by tomorrow. Maybe you’ll then learn to differentiate between them.”

Collab between @digmata and @Ravion the Red

---

It's been a few days since Minerva went aboard the Solaire, and she made sure to make her time count. After a day getting familiar with the ship, she wasted no time testing the simulators while looking for live fire exercises. Unfortunately, there aren't any developments on the latter.

Argo tore apart another Cruxi machine with its remaining arm as the core of the power plant erupted, ending the simulation in what was objectively a tie but felt like a defeat.

Minerva gritted her teeth at another loss. It doesn't matter if the task is made with a squad in mind. She cannot expect everything to operate under ideal circumstances, after all. Yet, perhaps a change of scenery is in order.

She altered the settings of the simulation, changing the mission parameters to random aside from disabling framewerks. This is not her training; this is her taking the opportunity to vent.

---

To say that Arrish had been using his time well was an understatement. Much to Lieutenant Ritsu’s dismay, he had been flirting with the ladies all over the ship and trying and failing to get their contact info. He told himself that he had plenty of time to use the ship’s facilities and properly train himself in time for a real encounter. He didn’t need to break his back or anything.

Well, he was sure that the Lieutenant would probably snap him in half if he treated his time like he was on a luxury cruise, and honestly, he did want to check out the simulators anyway. Maybe if he was lucky, he could find himself alone for some sparring with the bots.

Much to his surprise, he had found someone already at one of the machines. The young Minerva had already been logged into one of the computers, busying herself with a simulation. He half wondered if she had always been like that, working diligently and always training. He had gotten that feeling from most of his squad mates, and in these times, a lot of people were always pushing themselves. Push yourself too much, he thought, and eventually something would push back. Something that made sure you didn’t get back up again. He grimaced at the thought.

His other thoughts had been on what sort of virtual missions she was up to. He walked up to one of the computers and entered a few buttons before putting on one of the virtual helmets to spectate her for a little while.

---

Minerva wouldn't notice someone spectating her as she returned gunfire from the simulated syndicate. Her shots landed most of the time as she made use of her athleticism, hovering from cover to cover, slowly making her way to her enemies. Eventually, her rifle ran out of bullets, forcing her to resort to her fists and improvised weapons.

She snapped someone's neck before using his pistol to kill another. She improvised a trap to make an enemy fall to his death. She punched and kicked hard so many times that her limbs were now colored in their blood.

For a moment, Minerva would take a deep breath and let out a feral smile. Like a wolf finding itself in a familiar hunting spot, Minerva was in her element.

---

This wasn’t the fighting that he had expected when he joined as a spectator, not that there was any way to know what she was doing without joining in as one. Not as far as he knew. This was the old way that mankind had handled threats, he thought to himself, not inside a giant mech or using a machine to answer problems. This was ancient, almost primal.

He found his fingers entering the code to join her when he saw the gun click dry of ammunition and almost stopped himself when he saw she was forced into hand-to-hand combat, using fist and boot to take down soldiers. The wolfish smile on her face made his heart beat faster, and he found himself staring not at a bodacious woman, but a powerful creature of the wild. She was still beautiful, yes, but in the way that a wolf glittering with the blood of its prey was beautiful. Something to be respected and feared.

He took a small breath and decided anyway to join her. Maybe she would disapprove and maybe she would call him out and turn off the simulation, but what did he know anyway? He saw a squad mate in the middle of combat; who was he to stand by and watch when there was work to be done?

His arrival would be met by the prattle of gunfire as he fired into a man who had been about to jump her from behind. The shot was messy, not as practiced as hers had been, but he had enough skill that it was unlikely the spray of bullets would have grazed her. Arrish rushed toward the nearest source of cover between him and Minerva. He wondered what would happen next.

---

Minerva would roll to dodge only to hear gunfire preemptively saving her. Wait, where did that come from? She made sure that she would have no allies in the simulation, so what was happening?

She looked, no, glared at the source of fire, seeing the lecherous redhead making his way into cover. So that's what happened.

Using her host rights, she paused the simulation, causing time to freeze for everyone except her and Ari- Aru- Aris?

It doesn't matter.

The white-haired clone would walk toward Ari, staring down at him as if she had just seen an insect.

”What are you doing here!?” she asked in a restrained tone, as if she was keeping her fury inside.

Uh oh. Here it comes. There was a part of him that had expected a reaction like this, but he told himself Minerva was a rational, confident, and above all, serious squad mate. It’s not like she would get angry at something so small as joining her for simulated combat, right? Right?

Yet here she was now, staring him down for daring to interrupt her little combat session and demanding to know why he was here. Arrish wasn’t going to let himself be treated like some lesser human. They were equals aboard this ship and held the same rank. He stood up to his full height, straightened his back, and squared his shoulders. He also mentally readied himself for a strike or blow, or some sort of shove that would knock him back. He wasn’t going to just back down and take this sort of attitude.

”I have a right to be here as much as anyone else, Minerva.” His voice was cool and collected and lacked that silver tongue he normally spoke with. ”I came here and saw a squad mate in the middle of combat, surrounded on all sides, and I did what I thought was best. The real question is, what are you doing here?”
That was a question for her as much as himself. If she was this upset with him for interrupting her session, then was this really training or something else?

”You do realize that we were not in actual danger, right? That this is just a simulation, one that I set for myself?” Minerva fired as she crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed at her fellow cadet.

”And if it wasn't obvious to you, I'm training like I always do.” There was a bit of edge in her voice, as if she knew that among everyone, she's the one who is training the hardest.

In fact, it could be said that she did nothing but train.

He could feel her argument fall apart as she made it, and he wondered if she knew too.
”I’m aware we’re not under real danger, cadet Minerva. I came down here to train on the simulators just like you, and my combat expertise is a combination of close-range combat and defensive maneuvers.” He kept his voice firm and steady. “It also seems to me that we’re not training right now. Would you like to amend that, or are we going to stand here talking about why we’re both here?”

”That's not—” Minerva tried to protest before processing what exactly the redhead could mean.

...fine, you have a point.” she conceded as she opened the menu to restart before an idea entered her head.

”You know what? I'm tired of thinking of simulations, so I'll leave the parameters to you. You must have something in your mind before you enter, right?” she asked as she moved the menu to him.

There was a part of him that felt like retreating and crawling back to his room to read manhuas all day, but he would lose all of Minerva's respect if he did that. “Yeah, do you know the historical simulation, the one they teach to the new bloods? It's known as the Duvallian Folly.”

He keyed in the information, and the scene changed. They were aboard a vessel still frozen in time. Men and women were all around them unmoving; bodies were frozen in running positions, and voiceless mouths were about to bark orders. There was damage all across the ship, with debris and paperwork scattered across the floor. Fire had broken out on the deck, and outside had been even worse. Cruxi vessels had poured in all around the space outside, some of them already firing on human vessels and shooting down what were then modern but now ancient models of framewerks. Minerva would know Duvallian Folly had been a massacre against human fleets a hundred or so years ago, and more importantly, it was a training lesson taught to new officers about the impossibility of some scenarios and that no matter what you did, there was a 0% chance of survival.

What wasn't common knowledge was how the folly got its name. He wasn't sure if Minerva knew who he was, much less even his first name, but he shared. ”The fleets of the Duval court were said to be nearby, close enough to help in the effort and maybe actually save some human lives and maybe bring important information back. I don't know if it could have turned things around, but they didn't arrive despite the emergency.” He didn't add that the name had been a mocking one. A political statement. A reminder that if you've got the power to change things, no matter the risk, you should do something.

“So, I know it's rookie stuff, but wanna try it?”

Minerva knew of the folly, if only as one of the few simulations that she is forced to admit to be beyond her sole capacity to salvage. No matter how skilled one could get, they are only one man in one machine.

And yet, despite that truth, that woman did turn the tide of the battle countless times. What is it that she lacks that she possesses?

Grabbing at her wrist, Minerva stared at Arrish before speaking.

”It's been a long time since I last tried this simulation. Perhaps today is the day to revisit it again.” Minerva spoke as she unpacked the simulation, resulting in a sea of voices drowning their surroundings. Some were despair, others were cries for help, and some were grim determination to kill as many Cruxi as possible.

Arrish leapt toward one of the consoles and shoved a young woman aside as soon as the simulation was in motion. With practiced motion, he began to type a code into the machine and shouted over the din of screams. “Minerva, get down to the framewerk bay!” He barked out the order and pulled himself away from the console and toward the stairs. “Down this way, follow me!” and didn’t wait for her to pile in behind him.

The way down had been met by the screams of their crew mates, and one unlucky fellow had been bleeding at his side while walking up the stairs. Arrish didn’t even give him a second look, and with Minerva following him, he would say, “I’m sure you already know this ship goes down midway through the battle, but we can do more good out there fighting the Cruxi than cramped in this little ship.” He blinked. “Unless you think otherwise, I’m going toward the right stern of the ship to stave off the Cruxi. That should keep the Midnight from falling right away before it gets totaled by a lethal bombardment.” He took a breath. “I still don’t know what to do about the little carrier ship that gets destroyed before it can send out a warning to the nearby planet. Anytime I get close, I end up getting shot down by a Cruxi flier. If it can make it, maybe we can save some of the people down there.” He glanced back at her. “Ideas?”

Minerva nodded, skillfully weaving her way to the hangar, where she would find a pair of era-appropriate framewerks that were meant for their use. It made sense, considering the technologies to create the Argo didn't exist in this era.

“I could go ahead and start engaging with the fliers. This Framewerk is made with speed and range in mind. It would go down in a hit, though.” Minerva spoke as she tapped the Framewerk, the implication that this was a sacrifice play in the air.

“You should try and get everyone coordinated from here. If my memory serves me right, it is one of the greatest reasons why the Folly happened. Even if we cannot win, as long as we get the message out, it will be enough.”

Yet, she knew she could turn this into a victory if only she's ‘made’ right

”Good luck.” Minerva spoke as she entered the Framewerk.

He watched her enter the framewerk for a minute and thought to himself if this had been a real scenario, then this would be the last time they would see one another. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but this was something that may just happen one day.

He broke off from Minerva and headed toward the ship's inner right stern, only ever stopping to take a weapon off an emergency rack. He began to direct orders through the ship's sealed radio line, directing it to take emergency action and protect the faster and smaller framewerk that Minerva had been in from threats that would stop her from reaching the little carrier ship.

There was nothing he could do about the Cruxi fliers, and for however skilled Arrish was, he had hoped that Minerva would do what he couldn’t and reach the carrier in time. Not only did she have to survive getting there, but once she was there, she would have to distract enemy fire long enough that the ship could get close enough and out of jamming range to contact the planet.

Still, they couldn’t change what had happened at the Duvallian Folly, but maybe they could change the outcome.

The Framewerk flew into the open space as Minerva steeled herself, steering the controls to evade opposing gunfire and firing the rifle to take some of them down.

She looked at the supporting fire on her way as they covered her advance to the fighters. She let out a breath; now came the hard part.

Another shot of her rifle took down a Cruxi fighter, causing others to spread around. Half of them engaged her, using their faster speed to close the gap. The other half marched to the carrier ship, which she knew would still be enough to take it down.

So she ignored the former in favor of setting her thrusters to overdrive, locking all the missiles onto those going to kill the carrier. It was enough time for the other fighters to graze her frame, dooming her mobility and leaving her with firing back as the only option.

They got her left leg, then her right arm. She charged, making use of the last of her shields until…

“Framewerk down,” a comms officer spoke to Arrish like a grave inevitability.

The ship that she had sworn to protect at all costs, even knowing that it would cost her life, would soon follow after her. Explosion after explosion rocked the vessel until the inner workings of the ship turned in on itself and exploded into a fiery and devastating blaze.

Arrish turned off the comms and lowered his head and gave Minerva a quiet prayer for the inevitable sacrifice. Then, knowing the end would come soon enough for himself, he gave the final orders for the ship and its crew to spearhead one final attack in the center of the battlefield before erupting into flame and sacrificing itself to take down just one more Cruxi vessel.

That didn’t mean Minerva had failed, however. The ship would have gotten far enough that it would deliver its final message down to the planet below and would spare at least some of the people of that planet. It meant that word would get out to the Duval fleet, that reinforcement could be on its way, and even if they couldn’t protect this planet, at least maybe the next planet could be prepared for another Cruxi assault.

Eventually, the Midnight would explode, Arrish would be caught in the blast and killed, and the simulation would end, ejecting its pilots back into the real world before either of them could feel any pain.

When Arrish woke up, he would see Minerva standing beside him, her arms crossed, waiting for him to wake up.

”So how did it go?” Minerva asked as she helped him get out of the VR.

He had something of a sad look in his eyes, but he looked up at Minerva and smiled at her. ”We got the message out in time. The ship delivered its message to the planet.”

What he didn’t tell her was that in real life, that ship had made contact with the planet, and the planet had contacted the Duval Fleet for further orders. The details about the ship being destroyed in the training program had been part of a cover-up by his family. It wasn’t difficult information to dig up if you had good networking or someone had made you privy to the information, but it wasn’t something commonly known. The reality was that the information had been sent, and the Duvals had chosen to do nothing.

Minerva would remain ignorant of the truth, not out of malice but out of apathy; for her, it was just another training exercise. Nothing more, nothing less.

”That's better, my best record yet.” she spoke with a little smile on her face.

”I suppose it's time for me to take a break. And Arrish, don't be too hard on yourself. That exercise is, after all, an exercise in futility.” she reassured him as she looked at his burdened face before walking away.

After all, she could have acted better.

It was Tuesday evening. The end of the first actual day had just come to pass. It was… an adjustment to be sure. But Aurora had managed well, she would like to say. Thus she was taking her well earned free time to once again look out at the Frames.

Yesterday she had only spent time getting a feel for them. Today she had plans on trying to understand them a bit better. Part of her itched to truly dig in and find out how they were put together, but she refused to be like the Professor at this moment.

Thus she restricted herself to the catwalks out in front of the Frames. Today she found herself before Horst Mark VII “Hello to you Good Ser.” She greeted the Frame as she pulled out her Pad, a note app already pulled up. She would then start noting down anything that caught her interest or eye about Horst. Humming an odd tune to herself as she worked.

Arrish was quick to adapt to the new surroundings and all the pretty faces that had come along with it. I mean, surely he wasn’t the only one that thought lieutenant Ritsu had been a total babe and felt lucky to actually work beneath her. If only anyone could tell him what they were actually talking about during the introductory speech because he had felt pretty helpless afterwards and no one had told him a damn thing; Granted, he still needed to work up the courage and actually talk to somebody.

Well, it's not like it was too important. Those introductory briefings were just full of buzz words and fluffy information made to make the new arrivals feel warm and welcome. If he missed anything that he should know then someone would just tell him, or else, he would hear about it again. Besides, right now he felt like checking up on his girl. It had been awhile since he had seen her and was itching to get a good look at her after all this time apart. She was a girl that deserved to be treated like a Queen, and deserved the sort of respect beheld of ladies like her.

He was, of course, talking about his Mark VII. He had been offered between the Horst and a newer model of framewerk some odd years ago when he was obligated through blood to do service under the name of the Duval household. It was true love at first sight, a noble lady with long legs that went all the way up and were tapered at the end in mighty hooves, like stiletto heels. She had this noble look to her that he had never seen in a machine before and it was then, at that instant, that he wouldn’t ride anything else. Sure, he might dabble around in simulations and what not, but he was loyal to her and her alone.

So, when he gathered up his things to head on down to the framewerks so he might really give his princess an armor polish with one of those maintenance machines that were usually set to autopilot, he was taken aback by the sight of one of his new squad mates standing in front of the Horst Mk.VII. He didn’t know how to react. Should it be anger because someone was meddling with his framewerk, or should he saddle up with a flirty remark because it had been that cute girl, Aurora. He settled on something different.

“She’s a beauty, isn’t she? The framewerk I mean. She’s the Dame of the stars.”

“She is.” Aurora would agree without looking away from the Frame in front of her. “Her craftswork is incredible. I only barely noticed the Shining Finger armament. And the laying of her armor is so intricate! Even without her Bastion it would take dedicated firepower to crack into her.”

“And her balance is breathtaking. I didn’t notice that she was unguligrade until I got here. And there aren't any additional supporting struts which means she probably turns smooth as silk.” Aurora let out a soft sigh. “I’d love to be able to open her up and look at her internals and diagnostics. But It would be rude to do such without talking to her Pilot.”

He stared at her for a moment, uncertain how to feel, but then smiled gently.”You really know your way around a machine, huh? Yeah, my Dame is a real dancer on the battlefield, you should see her in action sometime. The extra armor means she can afford to take a couple hits if she needs to and the Multiform rod is just about the perfect weapon in her capable hands. Honestly, if I got that sniper training awhile back I think I could even get a rail gun to work.” He frowned and shook his head to dismiss the memory.

”What about you? You’re one of the squad, right? Which one is yours? Of the framewerks I mean?

“Oh!” Aurora finally turned towards Arrish. Bowing her head slightly, blushing softly at realizing she had gotten caught by Horst’s pilot. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize she was yours.” She was infinitely glad she had already decided not to dig further without asking first. It would have made this all the more embarrassing.

“It’s just that I’ve always loved how machines work. And then Sleeping Thunder saved my life.” She would go on answering the question posed to her. “It felt only right to learn even more about them ever since. They are over there.” Pointing towards the behemoth sized hexapod housed across the way and two bays down. “Their railgun was the second armament they ever got.”

Gosh, what a cute girl. He thought to himself, and one with such a lovely blush. Then he looked up to where she was pointing and found himself freeze in place, his eyes widening and his mouth becoming agape.”That one is yours!? They’re absolutely gigantic.” He slowly drifted his head back to Aurora, and then back to Sleeping Thunder, and then back to Aurora again. He muttered quietly to himself, but enough that she could pick up on it if she wanted to. _{What’s with all the women on this ship being strong and scary.}

He cleared his throat and managed to switch gears.”Well, uh, lets dial back a little bit. Did you say you wanted to open my Dame up and check out her internal parts? I uhm… its not that I don’t trust you, you sound like you know a lot, but are you y’know allowed to do that? Cause if you’re certified for it I don’t see any reason to say no, I mean uhm, as long as you don’t plant a bomb inside of my girl.

“I would never!” She would say almost insulted at the idea. Though she did understand the worry regardless. It was one of the reasons why what the Professor said got to her as much as it did, and still does.

“And…” She would stop for a moment and actually consider the question. “I haven't been told one way or the other. Actually. At least not as far as the Project is concerned. But before we got selected I was Sleepy’s primary mechanic. I was the one who added in most of their weapon systems as well as their targeting arrays.”

“But! It's not as if I want to do anything that invasive. Nothing more involved than a Diagnostic really. I just want to get to know her better right now.”

He considered for a moment, he didn’t really know this woman and although she was admittedly very pretty, he wasn’t really sure that he wanted someone without certification messing around with the insides of his beloved Horst. The consternation was visible on his face as he thought of a suitable reply.

”I… am not entirely against the idea.” he began and thought for a minute longer. ”But I’m hesitant to agree immediately because we’re talking about opening up my beloved Horst and we haven’t even shared names yet. He held out a hand towards Aurora with a smile. ”That one is a pretty easy fix, you can call me Arrish, or Arri if you’re feeling cute.”

There was a subtle loss of tension when Arrish introduced himself. And Aurora was quick to reply in kind. “Aurora Briars. A pleasure.” Smiling politely she offered her hand, but it wasn’t quite intended to be shook. It was more akin to a noblewoman offering it for a handkiss.

“And if you are worried about the Good Ser, we can use the mechanics station rather than opening her up.” She would offer as a compromise. “At least until I can more readily answer your fear about my certifications.”

There was a little jolt of surprise to his face from how she offered his hand to him. Did Aurora know of his noble standing, or worse yet, was she of noble standing herself. His mind tried to dial in the name Briars, but stopped himself. Etiquette was in order here. He would gently lift her hand up and then with a bow lightly pressed his lips to the offered gesture.

If Aurora had been less tense then Arrish had grown ever more so. He spoke with a deeper voice and it took on a tone that was more fitting of the son of a Marquess. ”Please, Miss Briars, the pleasure has all been mine. He then took his eyes off of her and up towards the framework. If she was a noble would that complicate matters if he told her no? He didn’t want to be pressed into agreeing as a matter of politics. He considered quietly for a moment before looking back at her.”Dame Briar, your ambition suits you rather well, I should think. I find myself agreeing to your proposal with the given promise that you should answer my doubts in kind, when next we cross this path.” Gods he hated talking like this, he felt it made him sound all stuffy and pompous. He hoped that Aurora didn’t think less of him for it, or for that matter more of him for it. He hesitated with his next question, as it wasn’t something he would ask as a noble or in polite company, but he was curious. ”Forgive me, may I observe this affair alongside you? I find your presence delightful, and must admit some interest in my part about the method of your diagnostics.”

Unhelpfully Aurora didn’t seem to have a strong reaction one way or the other to Arrish adopting a more befitting tone. She did similarly adopt a more formal tone however. “My Lord, you have my most sincere promise that I shall educate myself on the matter as soon as we are finished here. Indeed I must thank you for raising the concern, as my passions had blinded me a touch in regards to such a possibility.”

She offered her arm for Arrish to take before gently guiding them down to the mechanics stations housed in the bay below. “I have little doubt that I would be denied the right to work on my own. Seeing as that I had inquired about it during the briefing yesterday. But if such allowance would be afforded to me towards others Frames? Even with your approval I am unsure if the Professor would acquiesce now that I ponder it.”

“Nevertheless, A diagnostic changes not, and effects less. In truth it is not the most exciting to watch, but you can learn much from what is shown. Though I doubt it is much you’d not already be aware of as their Pilot. Even if you’ve not the words to explain.”

Arrish took her arm as though it was a practiced and even familiar notion, and kept up alongside her as they went down to the mechanics. It had been quite a long time since anyone had referred to him as lord. The whole process reminded him of home in its own little way, prancing about ball rooms and discussing among nobles and military men the intricacies of politics and society. In a way it made him miss his family home, and in another he was glad to escape it.

”Dame Briar, I cannot help but agree to your words; It is true that as her main aviator I know intimately the details regarding her maintenance and wellbeing, but in my eyes you are a skilled and aspiring machinist regarding the eponymous framewerks.” Something about this made me chuckle lightly.”I put my trust in you to treat her well, possibly even better than I treat my dear Horst myself. I am but only a man with some knowledge of the machines, afterall.”

He motions for her to continue and thinks about the other part she had talked about, how the professor wouldn’t allow her to work on other frames. Well something about that made him mad. It felt like an injustice. Well, if she could prove herself an ample engineer on his own framewerk, why wouldn’t he try to make a case for her. He had a reason to talk to the professor now.

When they arrived at the station that Aurora had been looking for, it looked much like any of the various computer banks hosted around the area. There were some mechanics here already, though none working on any of the Frames. But such was always the case when it came to well staffed grease pits. The confidence in which Aurora strode to the station, plus the fact that Arrish was with her, stalled any of them coming over to bother them.

It took only a moment for Aurora to pull up the correct prompts, though she did note that her credentials were needed to log in. Which lent credence to the fact there were things she’d likely be locked out of without permission. But navigating to and starting up a system diagnostic wasn’t one that threw any errors or denials at her.

From there it was as she warned, not very interesting to watch. As on the screen lines of text denoting which of the various performance tests were starting. Every now and then Horst would make some minor noise as small test firing of its systems cycled through.

But Aurora still watched the screen with open fascination. “Oh. She still uses an older code base?” She would remark at some minor text notation before it flickered out of view as the system continued its progress.

“No, just an extension to allow for older code readings. Ah The Multiform is refurbished and updated.” She would nod a few moments later, once again seemingly noting something from the string of data in front of her with starling ease. “Hmm, there might be an energy loss there. But I’d need to see the source code...”

And on and on Aurora kept murmuring small thoughts and realizations as the data came in. Never once having any difficulty parsing what she was seeing.

“The Bastion is exceptional, as I thought. Oh, They even made sure to offset her native balance to account for it. But it looks like they are using a mechanical offset rather than a coded system? That seems shortsighted. It would only take a few thousand lines of code…”

“That Leaper system is elegant. And they tied the Orbital escape system into it as well…”

“Heavy assault. A reliable enough secondary. Hmm. I wonder if any of the smoke shells could be placed behind the Bastion. With her jumping capabilities it would be an easy way to break LOS and reengage before she could be locked onto again.”

“Ah, I’m almost disappointed. Standard range of articulation for her hands. Guess I shouldn’t be though.”

“The engine work… It's not standard but nothing outstanding. It fits her needs perfectly I suppose.”

“And the Shining Finger… Hmm… Another standard installation. Might have something more in the servos and projectors I suppose. It’s rather conservative with the tolerances though.”

All in all it took about forty minutes for the system to finish the diagnostic. And never once did Aurora’s attention waiver. And even after she spent several more minutes reading over the output from the test.

“She is excellently crafted and cared for.” She would say to Arrish once she was satisfied. A polite smile on her face, and pained gratitude hidden in her eyes. “Thank you for allowing me to take a closer look at her. She is a tribute to your House.”

Arrish smiled at her. Although he didn't understand most of what he said and had at one point given her a far away look during her analysis of the framewerk, it was another one of those familiar feelings. The long often forced conversations he had among other nobles about subjects that he himself had little knowledge or interest in. It has taught him a sort of skill, paying enough attention that he could repeat when asked, but in on something he knew or add to the conversation when he had to.

But this was different too. She had taken her time and energy to do what was asked and allowed him to observe the whole process. Plus there was something so cute about a girl like her being a total machine nerd. Plus those curves, wow. A tutting inner voice reminded him that Briar was a noble to be respected, and not ogled at. His inner pervert frowned. ”You need not look so pained, miss Briar. You did as I asked and with such zeal that I find myself touched by your influence. Anyone can see that you've a great deal of love for the inner workings of framewerks, a love I believe, lost among many nobles who do not interact with the framewerks as we do.”

He looked beyond at his Dame, the Horst mk.VII. “Thank you for the compliments. I'm sure that if she could hear you speak and could act with influence, she would bow at your words and your service.”

He thought about adding: I'm going to talk to that asshole about making sure you're certified, but thought against it. He needed to think about that awhile longer.

Aurora merely nodded in acknowledgement of Arrish’s words. The pain wasn’t because of being limited in some fashion, or worry of having bored him. It was thoughts of her home, of what was, and would never be that hurt.

Her Pad would then start to ring. An alarm she had set much earlier in the day going off. She silenced it swiftly enough. “It seems I must take my departure now. An earlier engagement has come due, and I must be off.” She would explain taking a step back. “Fare thee well Lord Arrish.” She would bow lightly, only barely not curtsying due to the lack of skirt. Before turning and venturing back towards the pilot cabins.

“Remember, Cadets: take care of your body, and it will take care of you. The moment you forget that…you are already dead.”

Sergeant Ken was a stern man while holding the first physical training for the pilots in the morning, his first lesson having been instructions for each pilot, one at a time, to attack him with all that they got until they landed a single solid blow.
Of the pilots, only Minerva, Griffith and Rhylaen were able to succeed at the task thanks to their combat prowess, while Arrish and Serah managed a glancing hit. The others failed, including Ava, who was very close to succeeding but faltered at the last second, and Elora, who seemed to still be a bit shaken after the unfortunate locker room mishap from the previous day.



I know I wore the same clothes back at the academy for physical education, but the classes were girls only. This is embarrassing… she thought, and felt self-conscious about now having to train while in the company of men.
Well, the guys are only ogling Minerva or Ava, so I guess that’s better than being mocked for being so small and weak…But not much better…

The first few days were spent with a variety of activities after the initial martial arts test: strength and endurance training, learning the basics of Star Fist, a few matches of basketball, floorball, and soccer, and even some meditation. Despite being strict, the sergeant was also an insightful coach, and adjusted the training for each pilot according to the level of skill and physical prowess they exhibited, having seemingly gotten a perfect understanding of each pilot’s abilities from fighting them. The more advanced pilots were pushed past their already formidable limits, while the more novice pilots were quickly brought to a competitive level: a sign of a skilled teacher.

Elora started learning proper weightlifting techniques thanks to Griff’s instructions.
Of course, when he suggested moving up to heavier weights, the shy pilot had to decline.
The training sessions did not entirely go without mishap. Lieutenant Ritsu also joined the sessions:



However, she was not a regular, and appeared once in a while when she was not swamped with paperwork, and sometimes certain pilots ended up causing even more work for her.

Despite Elora’s initial difficulties, she had made real progress by the time the fourth session began, which was when Ken instructed the pilots to begin free-form sparring, one-on-one.

“Cade Liu’un, your opponent will be…Cadet Duval,” he announced after reading from a personal device, causing Elora to quietly gasp with a hand held before her mouth.

“Arrish? But…” She frowned, but Ken simply smiled. “I know you got what it takes, Cadet. Just remember to fight from the heart, and let your spirit soar.”She sighed, and walked over to the sparring corner, where a mat was placed to soften potential falls. She then took an uneasy fighting pose, as she waited for Arrish to take his position.

My sparring partner can’t possibly be this cute. His eyes were all over her as he took his position opposite her and mentally prepared himself for a sparring match. The young noble didn’t really think of himself as much of a challenge for some of the other squad mates, I mean, Griff practically dumpstered him so bad that he might as well have given up, found a nice corner to crawl into and cry. That didn’t mean he was going to give up or anything, he just didn’t expect much from himself.

But then, his opponent was Elora. She was cute, and man did he mean cute. The way she fidgeted around and blushed. He wondered if she compared herself to the other girls, I mean, there were some serious tough customers within their group and that wasn’t to mention the advantage in uhm… curvature.

But Arrish loved all women. She had some advantages where the other girls didn’t and he wasn’t just talking about that cute face, or the way she stared at him. She was shorter than some of the others, and that meant… it meant that she could really put the pain on his knees, and while she didn’t have the reach she could dance around him and take the advantage of having a smaller graceful frame. He couldn’t just underestimate her skill in hand to hand.

“Come on princess, put your game face on.” he spoke with cool charm, or at least he thought himself charming. ”From the heart? Spirit soar? Bunch of rubbish if you ask me. You wanna win a real fight then don’t fight fair!”
He charged at her, lunging a fist with an underhanded uppercut aimed straight for her stomach.

“Ah!” Elora dodged to the side with a bit of a stumble, but managed to correct herself.
“Remember your footwork!” Ken instructed over the crowd that soon formed, and Elora gave a silent nod. She gave a frown, attempting to look more intimidating even if it came out as kind of strange, and then delivered a kick in Arrish’ direction.
“Hiyah!”

Arrish had over thrown himself with his own punch, stumbling forward as Elora dodged out of the way. He managed to catch himself and turn around to face the young woman only for a flying kick to come swinging in his direction. He acted quickly and lunged to grab her leg and push her toward him with a harsh yank. He would smirk at her and say.
“You know I didn’t realize what a real gem you were, so cute~”

“C-cute?!” Elora blushed, and punched forward at his chin once she was pulled close: it was more like a close-fisted slap, but it was enough for her to jump back and gain some distance. “You’re…You’re not taking this seriously, right? S-stop playing!”

He rubbed the side of his face, the one where she had made his mark against him. Arrish smirked. Oh, he was enjoying this a bit too much. It fed the ego to see a girl like Elora blush at a little comment like that, but there was a purpose, though perhaps more of an excuse, to his method.
“Sure I am. Do you really think a Cruxi isn’t going to use everything at his advantage to defeat you? Ask yourself, Elora. Are you using everything you’ve got to your own advantage? You’re not a helpless little girl you know.” He let that settle in as he started to walk circles around her while plotting his next attack.

Rhylaen agreed with Arrish’s assessment of fighting. “No distractions! Focus; use everything,” she agreed. “Use whatever you must for winning!”

Elora grit her teeth, a droplet of sweat on her brow as Arrish started stalking her like a wolf. But she was no Little Red Riding Hood, she decided. Encouraged by Rhylaen, she also started walking in a circle, matching Arrish’ pace, trying to keep her composure even as the taller man came closer.

Then, she suddenly lunged: she went for what seemed like a sweeping kick, only to quickly push herself up and hit Arrish in the joint of his arm and shoulder…Which turned out to be a meridian point that numbed his arm muscles.

“There! I learned that from the lesson yesterday,” she spoke, managing a little bit of confidence.

”What the hell.”
Arrish had been about to leap into the air when she had caught him in the arm. Now his arm was numb and had gone unexpectedly slack. Once again his remarks had cost him, just like when he was sparring with Griff and made an offhand remark about sleeping with one of his relatives. Just like that, it was like a switch had turned on inside Griff and Arrish found himself face first onto the floor with Griff standing on his back like a conqueror.

”Alright, so you know some tricks.”
He switched from playful flirting to using his reach as an advantage, keeping a distance away from Elora and swinging wide with his arms and legs to try and keep her off balance.”Come on, you can’t touch me Elora. What are you gonna do, just stand there and let me ‘haa!’ Hit you!”

Elora stepped back, flustered by the wide-reaching punches and kicks that started coming her way. As she mistepped, she ended up getting a punch to her stomach, and she winced hard with a gasp.
“Ngh…” It wasn’t looking good: even if Arrish was temporarily at a disadvantage, he still managed to hold enough power and speed to keep her on the backpedal. If she took another blow like that, she would fall. So, as a last ditch effort, Elora quickly performed a slide under Arrish, grabbed him by the ankle, and twisted as strong as her weak, noodly arms could to slam him down into the mat in a leg lock.
“I’m not…giving…up!”

He felt himself go off balance as she slid beneath him to try and twist his ankle into making him fall, but Arrish had a good center of balance. There was no way he would simply fall over from that sort of action….

Arrish was a man of culture.

He let himself fall over onto the mat with a thud, making a groaning sound as she put him into a leg lock.
“What? What are you…” He sputtered aloud, failing and trying to get himself free. He met her eyes briefly then and gave her a cheeky wink and a grin.

“Don’t let him get away! Keep going!” Griff yelled out and cheered Elora on, then threw a glance to Minerva and he gave her an expression which read ‘what?’. “Keep your eyes on his hands! You never know where they might land!” Griff added finally.

Elora thought, for a fleeting moment, that she actually managed to grapple Arrish into submission, until his dastardly smile dashed those hopes away, causing her to wince. She let go of the leg, rolled to the side, and jumped up, aiming for a more decisive kick to his ribs, following it up with another jab at a meridian point. But, as much as she tried, she was starting to reach the end of her stamina, as she sweated buckets and breathed shallowly, trying to squeeze what strength she had left to her attacks.

“Luvey Duvey! Look over there! The lieutenant has some really short shorts on!” Griff said in a teasing tone towards Arrish, hoping that would distract him long enough for Elora to gain the upper hand. Then after using his ploy, he looked to see if Ken was deceived as well by his cunning plan. The sergeant, however, did not even flinch, his attention entirely focused on the bout with a stony face of observation, as the match started to come to a head.

Arrish winced and groaned in pain as she hit him in the ribs and for a moment he thought he was going to actually lose this sparring fight. Part of him actually wanted to see Elora win, but he wasn’t going to just make it easy for her. As she came in with another jab to his meridian point he would grab her by the collar and shove her down to the mat directly beneath him. Fierce eyes looked down at hers as he pinned her down with his remaining strength and caught his breath.

“Ahh!” Elora yelped as she hit the mat, and vainly tried to struggle from the hold she was put in. But having spent the last of her energy on that last attack, she could no longer break free…And she tapped the mat with her hand.

“Bweeh…” She quietly exhaled, as she realized she lost. The sergeant, however, gave a slow clap as he walked over.

“Cadet Duval has won the spar,” he announced dryly, and with a single arm lifted Elora off the mat like a ragdoll.
“But, Cadet Liu’un…You performed better than I expected. You still have much to learn, especially in conserving your strength, but you showed your ability to act under pressure, and use what you’ve learned. In time, and with proper practice, I know you will improve.” Elora was then placed standing back on the floor, and she held her head down, breathing heavily.
“Th-thank you, sir.”

“With all due respect, Sergeant.” Arrish spoke but was staring at Elora.
“Cadet Liu’un is a capable fighter, but what she lacks isn’t skill but self worth. She underestimates herself, and her knowledge. She was met with adversity when I changed tactics on her and instead of using her strengths she went for a last ditch attack to my ankles.”
He shook his head and crossed his arms.

“Nothing that a bit of training from yours truly cannot fix! We’ll do just like they do in the kung-fu movies! Stand shirtless under a waterfall and gather our fighting spirits!” Griff spoke to Elora and gave her a thumbs up followed by an arm-pumping motion. “Though… I am not sure where we can find a waterfall here.” Griff scratched his cheek as this dilemma presented itself.
Ritsu was in the sidelines, giving an incredulous look at him. “I don’t think that’s the problem with your suggestion…”

“There’s a problem with it…?” The blond blinked once, twice and then spotted some poster depicting a martial artist which he had to go check out.

“Elora, what you really need isn’t just practice, but you need to have confidence in yourself. You need to be aware of your strengths, and not just your limitations. You were chosen among this squad because you were seen as a valuable asset. You should remind yourself of that when you start to doubt yourself.”

Arrish was really, really, really, really trying to ignore Griff right now. He wanted to pummel him for calling him Luvey Duvey and trying to distract him with Lieutenant Ritsu’s thighs.

Elora slowly lifted her eyes up to Arrish, and with a morose look she nodded.
“Y-Yes…I’ll keep that in mind. Um…”
She averted her eyes…And lifted her hand up in Arrish’ direction: a hesitant offer for a handshake.
“Th-thank you for the spar, Arrish…I learned a lot from it. Maybe…I could try again…Some other day?”

Arrish gave her a smile and took her hand.
“I did mean it when I said you were cute by the way.” He let off a single little laugh.

“And yeah, its a date.”

Elora quickly let go once Arrish responded, blushing with a confused look as she turned and headed to sit at a bench near the wall.
D-Date? Is he serious? After he beat me in a sparring match, he’s just calling it a date? In some strange way…The idea annoyed her. Yet…

…

Well…I guess it could be…

Her last thoughts that morning, as she watched whatever sparring happened to come next, were on how to improve her fighting skills, and how to get over her indecisiveness.

Thursday. The end of the week loomed closer and closer.

If Aurora had stuck to her normal schedule she’d have been out in the Hanger taking notes and trying to sketch out what she thought the other Frames specs might be. She still longed to dig into them personally. But now she knew that for any such in depth examinations needed approval both from the Pilot and from the Lieutenant. But with the next one in particular, she felt like she should approach the pilot first, even before just giving an in-depth visual examination.

Which is why she was currently wandering the halls with her Pad in one hand with a picture of Argos and Minverva pulled up on it. Clearly looking for the other woman.

Minerva would be found at the cafeteria eating the usual slurry as if it was a normal meal. A look into her eyes would show that she hates it. Even if it was made to be perfectly nutritious, the texture and taste is clearly wrong. Why did she get curious about the foods of other lands?

They didn't even compare to the meals Hera cooks, she always knew how to satisfy people with her stew.

She took a juice box, drinking it not for hydration but for flavor. She might need to buy another one.

“Please excuse me.” Aurora would state as she approached Minerva. Though not before she had surreptitiously checked the picture she had pulled up for a third time. “But you are… Minerva correct? The Pilot of Argos?” She asked as she stood next to the seat opposite Minerva. She was intruding as it was, no need to further impinge on the others' space.

“My name is Aurora, I’m another of the other Pilots, and I was wondering if you’d be willing to speak to me about Argos?”

“I am, you're a fellow squad mate Aurora right?” Minerva asked as she took another spoon before staring at Aurora, suspicion clear on her face.

”And why do you need to know about Argo? I am confident that the files have everything you need to know about it. Minerva asked in a surprisingly defensive manner as if she was guarding a heirloom.

In a way, she is guarding a legacy. A legacy of ambitious yet well meaning people.

”That would be technically correct.” She would say slowly, clearly noting the sensitive subject. “The files I have read give Argos’ standard loadout and summary of standard tactical operations. But I wanted to get to know Argos more than that if possible. I wanted to learn more about its internal systems and configurations. I find Frames fascinating. And Argos reminds me of my own, at least in terms of spirit.”

”Then that should be enough, a lot of Argo's internal system is classified. Minerva spoke and even if it wasn't, it is personalised for her own use, it's made with her in mind.

Her mind would a little for a while as her eyes narrowed at Aurora.

”Spirit? What do you mean, it is a machine.”

Aurora was disheartened to be twicely shut down. But she was also ever more so glad that she decided to ask rather than just look. She wouldn’t want Sleepy to lose out on a potential friend just because she overstepped. Not that was noticeable beyond a slight tightening of her eyes.

“Just because we made the Frames doesn’t mean they aren’t alive. Not in the same way me or you are perhaps but… Look at Argos, they were built for aggressive and unrelenting combat deployment. Right?” She would ask, tilting her head slightly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that others who might have piloted them would have said that they felt unwieldy, or possibly unbalanced. But that isn’t the case is it? Or at least not for you. Since you know that Argos wants to be the thick of it. They are almost hungry for it. And you don’t try to starve them of it. Right?”

”I'm Argo's only pilot and it is the only Framewerk I piloted in real settings. Are you sure you are not attributing my relentlessness to Argo's.” Minerva bluntly spoke to Aurora pointing out a hole in her logic.

And yet that is the only hole she could point, she knew that piloting Argo is like piloting a storm, always ready to devastate, always wanting to leave ruin in their wake. She hasn't felt it when she's using the other models in virtual reality.

So perhaps her words are not complete madness.

Aurora tapped her fingers along the back of her Pad for a moment as she thought over Minerva’s rebuttal. “There is a chance of that I suppose. I doubt such, but I do not know you or Argos very well. So there is a chance.”

“But. As I said Argos reminds me of Sleeping Thunder, my Frame. Sleepy loves it when the ground shakes in response when we are out. Loves it when we get to vent a full charge from the particle cannon. They are awfully slow in comparison. But I feel that both Argos and Sleeping Thunder only rest satisfied after leaving ruins.”

“It’s one of the reasons I wanted to get to know Argos better.” She gives an oddly soft smile. “Sleepy has never been very good at making friends.”

”You say that as if they are action figures. Minerva complained as she let out a sigh, clearly doubtful of Aurora's words and yet something about her enthusiasm reminds her of an acquaintance unlike the others he is curious about engineering and architecture despite being made to fight. She wonders if Hephasthus is doing well.

”I suppose I could humor you, what is it that you want to know?” she asked biting on her food one more time and preparing herself for a long conversation.

Aurora took the question as an allowance to sit down across from Minerva. “I am as much a mechanic as I am a pilot. And while I don’t think I will ever pilot Argos, I do wish to understand them as best I can.”

She brought up the limited technical specs that were in the files she had access to on her pad to quickly review. “A copy of a diagnostic report would have most of what I am curious about at the moment. But.” She would look up at Minerva, absently adjusting her glasses as she did so. “If I can ask. I’m most curious about the Shining Fingers armament and the energy ratios of the various boosters. The way the Fingers have been molded into a Ripper claw is exceptionally intriguing to me. And I understand the placement of the various boosters are likely highly specific to Argos themselves, but reports seem to indicate that you two are reaching momentary velocities much higher than I’d normally expect. My assumption is that either a super charger system, or a proprietary propellant that’s more efficient.”

While most of Aurora’s attention was on her questions. There was at least enough free to have a sympathetic grimace slip through as Minerva took another spoon full of the nutrient gruel that was the standard fare.

Minerva's eyes widened as Aurora changed seats to be across her, shocked at how close she went. She could hear enough of Aurora's technobabble to follow her meaning even if she was a little too fast. It reminds her of the scientists asking what adjustments they should make. Too enthusiastic even if it is endearing in their own way.

“It is more energy efficient to use Shining Fingers when there is structure to follow than without it, the claws are configured to stay as a claw without prompting. And for the boosters there is a large one placed on its back, that's where I get the initial burst of momentum.” she explained as she tried to keep her distance, feeling discomfort at Aurora's closeness.

Aurora nodded her understanding of that. The nature of the central extreme booster was part of the specs she had. But that still had Argos a bit above expectations. And using the claw as a base to work off was a basic idea too. What she wanted to know was how the energy projectors were aligned and placed to take into consideration the Ripper’s impact pistons. They weren’t delicate by any means, but the kinetic force in the Ripper system wasn’t anything to scoff at either.

She opened her mouth to continue grilling about these. Even as a part of her was beginning to assume that Minerva herself might not have the information she was after. When she noticed the fact that Minerva had… recoil wasn’t the right word. Aurora had the feeling she had just missed it when the other woman pressed away from her.

But it did still feel like Minerva had recoiled from her.

Which drew Aurora up short. “Sorry?” She tried to apologize, but clearly wasn’t fully sure what it was she had done to cause such a reaction. “Too much?” She would ask more directly, as she leaned back into her seat, giving Minerva some of her personal space back.

”Yes.” Minerva would hesitantly admit as she leaned back, taking the space Aurora freely returned as she took a deep breath.

How disgusting, to be bothered by such a small thing. She should have kept her pocket face harder.

”Sorry about that, I've been used to being alone, so you are suddenly getting closer and shocked. I'll try to be better next time. What are you saying again? Minerva asked, trying to steer back the conversation.

“No. You have no need to apologize.” Aurora would counter, shaking her head softly. “I am not always the best at keeping to myself when it comes to Frames. And I mistook your acquiesce to my questions as permission to sit.”

She looked down at her Pad for a moment. Before turning it face down. There were lines she would drift past in her pursuit of understanding, but this wasn't one she was willing to trample on twice in short order.

“I am also…” She would start softly before firming her resolve and looking up at Minerva again. “I have never been very good at being alone. The… Cruxi forced it upon me. And even now years later I can't handle it well.”

“But I'm better with Frames than people nowadays.” She would admit, nervously adjusting her glasses.

Minerva stayed silent, she had an opposite problem. She is so used to being alone that being in a group shocked her, the last time was when Hera dragged her…

She shook those thoughts there is no use reminding herself of failure aside from a reason to wake up and fight again.

”Let's mutually pretend it didn't happen then.” Minerva offered for both of their sakes. Part of her is jealous, to be able to find companionship even if it is with a machine at least she won't be alone when facing the Cruxi.

This reassignment is getting more and more complicated for her.

“At least let me make it up to you in some small way first?” Aurora would ask. Looking mildly uncomfortable with just letting the matter drop entirely for some reason. “I…” She looked around for a moment a bit at a loss of what she could try and offer, when she spotted the gruel again and an idea came to her.

“I could cook you a meal, nothing extravagant, just something that tastes better then…” She gestured at the slurry. Aurora had spent more than enough time unable to eat anything else to know that for all its benefits it left much to be desired.

Minerva took another bite of the slurry, letting the bland taste settle before washing it away with water. ”...fine if you insist.” she surrendered as she looked at the remains of her meal, no longer motivated to finish it despite only finishing a quarter.

Something about Aurora's offer feels familiar for reasons she cannot exactly explain.

“Thank you.” Aurora would state clearly relieved. “I’ve got ingredients in my cabin. But I can grab them and bring them over to yours if you’d prefer?” She would offer, she had already over stopped once so was sure to let Minerva set the conditions for this.

Aurora was also privately glad that her supplies had arrived. Private spaces were a premium on ships, but the second she found out she had a small kitchenette she put in a requisition order. She wasn’t sure if the speed was due to the XJ9 project or her own connections, but in the end it didn’t matter. Only that she could actually put a simple meal together because of it.

”You could do anything you want. In fact I'm actually curious about the cooking process. I mostly subsisted on rations for most of my career.” Minerva answered with a smile on her face, standing to let Aurora lead the way. Once she reaches Aurora's cabin she will sit on one of its chairs and patiently wait as she watches for the meal.

Minerva won't notice it but her legs will move in anticipation of what would be her first proper meal for a long time.

“Oh no, you poor thing!” She would cry playfully as she led the way.

The cabins were sparse by the nature of needing to conserve as much space as possible. Straight from the door was a seating area, with a table and a few chairs, behind which was the bed and some shelving set into the far wall. To the side was the kitchenette, which only had enough space for one person at a time and only if the stove wasn’t open. The corner between the areas held a small lavatory that doubled as a private changing area. Showers were communal, so there wasn’t any need to waste the space here for those.

Regardless, Aurora was quick to pull the fixings needed for a quick stew. Chicken, rice, fennel, green onions, a can of tomatoes, and her spices. “Cooking is simple really. So long as you know the recipe all you have to do is follow it.” She would explain as she set the rice cooker to cook and pulled out a pan to start heating on the stove top with a dollop of roux to grease and season it.

“And even if you don’t have a recipe so long as you keep in mind that everything has a reason in a dish, you can get by with experience. Or a good tongue.” She diced the chicken with a deft hand, before adding it into the pan and stirring it a little to make sure nothing stuck.

Afterwards she would start to dice the green onion and fennel. But already the smell of the food was starting to waft out into the rest of the cabin. Once the greens had been prepped she would pull out a bottle of premade broth from her fridge and would add it to the chicken and tomatoes already simmering, before checking on the rice.

At some point she had started humming to herself. Clearly content with her self imposed task.

She then dry mixed some of her spices. Paprika, garlic, saffron, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Before slowly stirring it and the greens into the stew. She kept up the pace of slowly stirring and adding in spice in several minute intervals before the rice cooker beeped at her.

At which point she killed the heat of the stove and pulled out two bowls. She added a helping of rice to each, with a pinch of salt and her spice as well, before ladled in the stew on top. She brought out the bowls to the table and placed one down in front of Minerva along with a spoon.

All in all it took a bit over thirty minutes, and a lot of that was simply waiting for things to cook.

“Dig in!” Aurora would say as she pulled out her own chair, bowl still in hand, clearly mindful of being sure to give the other woman a bit of extra space.

Minerva stared at the bowl for a while before taking a spoon, memories of the past stirring in her mind as looked at the bowl.

---

---

Minerva's eyes will form tears as she takes another bite. Memories of a far simpler time would fill her mind as she took another bite. She chewed slowly even disregarding the amount of spice in the dish as she tried to wipe her tears away.

“Thank you for the meal.” Minerva would out of genuine gratitude, how long has it been since she had a meal cooked for her?

She really missed them all.

“Of course.” Aurora would reply softly. Noticing, but choosing not to comment on the forming tears. Food had a way of reaching into people in a variety of ways after all. ‘It could even be because of the spice level’ She mused to herself. Though she doubted that, she had cut down on that for this meal after all.

She just hoped that whatever was brought to mind was light, even if it hurt now. She’d never want for her mother’s recipe to remind someone of dark times after all.

@digmata @Shifter_Master

Lorenzo, as promised, held an introductory lecture on Cruxi in a classroom of the fortress ship. Standing before a podium, he was surprisingly analog in his teaching methods, utilizing videos and screenshots on a projector instead of holograms like most academic institutions have normalized. He gave reasons for why there is still very little that is known about them even after centuries of warfare: the Cruxi employ communication-hindering technology and catch planets isolated by jumping in through hyperspace, and only in rare cases have victims escaped their relentless invasions. They are also very protective of their secrets, and employ self-destruction mechanisms for both their equipment, and disturbingly, even their own troops. However, in more recent times, humanity has been able to predict their invasion patterns based on collected data. At one point, he held a pop quiz to startle any pilots who may have snoozed during class. He was strict when teaching, and did not tolerate any distractions in his class, which resulted in Griff getting sent to the brig for one too many comments about how boring the class was.

"To begin with," Lorenzo spoke as he continued the lecture after Griff was sent away, "You must understand that there is no single Cruxian species. Rather, the term Cruxi refers to a force of various alien species that seemingly serve in a caste system." He showed a picture.
"For example, this servitor species is among their most numerous, tasked with various labor positions. Based on autopsies that humanity has performed, some of them are cybernetically modified for piloting their various vehicles, including the Cruxi War Machines, their main weapons in an invasion."

He showed a video of a wide alien knocking over a car with a shoulder tackle.
"They also have front-line shock infantry equipped with energy shields and plasma rifles, and tasked with assaulting key defensive locations in tandem with an armored assault. Study has revealed their genetic material to be near-identical, which lends credence to the theory that these soldier-types are genetically engineered and mass-produced in cloning facilities."

Then he showed a picture of a rather nasty alien.
"Another type we have recognized are designated as a hunter-assassin caste that infiltrate enemy facilities, eliminate key targets and infect the corpses of their victims with their eggs, spawning more of their species behind enemy lines.
Recent reports have mentioned more advanced members of this species even being able to shapeshift and mimic humans, so take caution whenever you spot suspicious behavior, and remember to use rotating pass phrases when encountering one another on the field outside of your Frames."

Finally, he started talking more about the opposition the pilots themselves would fight.

"First of all, they employ various troop ships. They are a low priority, but if you happen to have the opportunity, shoot them down. However, these won't be your main opponents in the field," Lorenzo said while pointing at a new picture during his lecture.
"While planetary defenses are, by this point, prepared for holding out against an infantry invasion, they struggle against the war machines they utilize, with the Cruxi War Machines, or CWMs for short, previously shown being their main units. They stand about half a regular Framewerk's height, but where they lose in size they more than make up for in their numbers. You can expect to see yourselves outnumbered by these units while out there in the field. While the type I'm showing you is dedicated to fighting at range with a pair of plasma cannons, there have also been documented cases of CWMs equipped with rending claws as well as building-sized bioweapons strong enough to immobilize a Framewerk with their tentacles as they bite and claw through armor using acidic spit. Sometimes more advanced models accompany them such as these long range sniper-type Cruxi mechs."

He sighed, and then gave a final picture.
"As an aside note, I would like to mention that, despite our attempts, we have yet to capture a member of what we believe to be their ruling caste: the following picture has been formed using artificial intelligence based on reports and illustrations scrawled by eyewitnesses on the field, and escaped prisoners of theirs. Therefore, it is possible it may not match the actual appearance for them, so keep an eye out. For the most part they only seem to be located on their battleships that escape into hyperspace at any documented case where their invasion was thwarted, but I know that they must also be present during the later stages of the invasion directing their troops. All in all, while these are the types of Cruxi and their weapons we know about, there may be more unidentified and dangerous weapons currently built by them to counter our use of Framewerks. Be extremely cautious when engaging them. Now then, class is dismissed." Lorenzo then went back to organizing the pile of papers he had with him.

Serah looked to be absent-mindedly following the class, but she was paying more attention than you'd expect. She listened to the explanation of cruxi society, how they were a conglomerate of races and the various differences that were observed so far. Cloning technology used for mass producing troops, self-destructing equipment... they definitely sounded prepared for a war effort. Serah was definitely curious about humanity's enemy, she wanted to know more about them. Then Lorenzo dismissed class and looked to be sorting his documents for a quick exit after.

Serah shouted: "Wait wait wait! I have questions!" and raised her hand up in an attempt to stop Lorenzo from departing too quickly. "Cruxi obviously have to be able to communicate among themselves, right? 'Cuz they're a bunch of different species. Can they talk to us? Have they tried talking to us? Even just as a threat?"

Its not like Serah was keen on talking to a cruxi. It just seemed strange that the species would only want war, and nothing else out of humanity, if they were a conglomerate like Lorenzo said. Something at the back of her mind also nagged her, like she'd seen it before. But it was an unsettling thought. "Also... have the cruxi ever deployed a human or tevrainian to fight for them? Like... mind-controlled or something?"

---

The artificial human remained concentrated in listening to the lecture. Admittedly most, she knew the contents of most of the lectures but its been a long time since she sat down and actually studied the enemy. It is entirely possible that new developments had occurred since then.

And she is proven right as she stares at the image of the ruling caste of theirs, while an approximation she made a point of burning the image to her head. No one had captured a member of the ruling caste, not even her.

Although that is not where her attention is placed, as she looked at the information gathered from the hunter/assassin caste. After a moment, she raised her hand following Serah's lead.

"The shapeshifting, how did they get caught? Any other signs we could use to distinguish them from normal humans?" Minerva asked with a slight panic in her voice.

Griff

Again. It had happened again. Well at least this time he didn't punch the superior, fell over the captain's wife, entered the wrong shower room or broke a computer by slamming it's screen too many times with his helmet. Though in his own defense the computer was already broken, how else would it have refused to do his commands. He clearly clicked on the music file once and it didn't play. Some cheeky bastard, some underhanded nerd told him that he was supposed to double-click it. Griff had explained back then that he only double-tapped with weaponry or when trying to get two sodas out of the vending machine for the price of one.

His stay this time had been limited to approximately an hour, just enough time to go through his warm-up training for the day. It was by far a much better time to build up muscles than sit and get fed information about some weird bug creatures. They were bugs right? For a moment he stopped and pondered then gave a shrug, in the end it didn't matter what race they were, if they were going to mess with his team they were going down. He wasn't a racist after all, to him all creatures opposing humankind were legal targets to getting their asses kicked. Though if it were a bug person. It would no doubt allow for a harder kick. For a moment he thought he could see Minerva's face and her words came back to him. It caused him to grit his teeth and he tried to get his mind elsewhere, he decided to distract himself by imagining Minerva's abs. For a moment be felt heat on his face.

'Stupid! Stupid weightlifting!' He mentally lamented as he thought back on his insufferable defeat in the gym, even if performing better than Serah in Ken's lesson and beating Arrish aswell had made his mood much better. Then again. He didn't tell Ken that he thought his Star Fist style was inferior to his own boxing style. The best kind of kung-fu as far as he was concerned. But Ken was a big muscular hulk of a guy, he probably spent years training to get that beefy. Griff however felt a bit of pity. 'To train so many years for a bad fighting style! Pfft! The only spirit you need in battle is the fighting spirit! Not some stupid medi- whatever the heck that stupid stuff were.' He shook his head quickly as he made his way down the corridors, heading to his private room where he had secretly stashed one of the training dummies, even taking the liberty to use a hammer to hammer the screws into the floor. Screwdriver? Who needed such a thing. He was a strong young man, when in doubt… smash.

But he had already trained for now, he realized this was a good time to go to the showers and wash himself. He brought his bag with some clothes for change and a towel. He walked down the corridors and thought of the time passed since first arriving to the massive ship. Arrish had proven to be... according to Griff, a very simple minded man who only had one thing on his mind. Women. The blond shook his head. They were the bane of every male warrior no doubt, he wouldn't be caught in such a trap- Then again. He did realize that the greatest warriors in history had offspring. How did that happen unless? Shit. Maybe Arrish was unto something after all. And by the looks of it, the glasses wearing menace in the red hair had already asked out Elora on a date.

Griff pondered about it as he approached the two doors with the not commonly missed depictions that separated the women and the men's showers from each other. He rubbed his eyes abit, that reading session had really made him sleepy, pouring some water over his head would surely wake him up. The scent of the showers reached his nose as he went ahead and undressed in the locker room, putting his dirty clothing into a separate bag, flinging his towel over his shoulder.

Arrish seemed the type to be more into the Lieutenant types, but perhaps Griff had been too quick in casting judgement. Had be been rash? Him of all people? Perhaps for once he had been. Elora was easy on the eyes. Griff could agree on that. He nodded his head as he wandered into the shower room, hanging up his towel on a hook. He was alone there. Great. That meant no chatterbox of a person would talk his ears off, some people just had no idea when to be quiet.

'Elora' Griff thought as he added some shampoo to his hair. She had been a kind one, and was someone he could get along with. He liked her. She was cute. Though admitting that to her would make him a target for Arrish and make that guy smug about being right. That such a thing would happen. It might be too much to bear. Although Elora were no doubt a warrior-in-training unlike a true warrior like himself for certain! Unless she had some hidden skills that had evaded the sometimes perceptive blond. Minerva had more of a warrior style, she was pretty well trained and even beat him at- No. He had to cleanse his memory of the tragedy. He ruffled his own hair with the shampoo in anger.

But what if every warrior needed a legacy? He entered dangerous territory thinking of Minerva. If he would combine his genes with hers they could give rise to some super duper pilot probably and martial art champion and probably win any weightlifting tournament. Wasn't there some stupid bug creature that ate the male counterpart after-? His mind wandered when he was brought out from it by some sounds in the distance. It sounded like giggles and... voices belonging to a kind of creature he knew well enough to be dangerous. Had they made the walls between the shower rooms of lousy Terrain-ian made materials?

Oh no. Oh no indeed. He had rubbed his eyes in the corridor leading into the rooms and in his moment of self-reflection and greater understanding, the minor detail that was separating picking the right choice from the wrong had led him down a pathway few warriors of his kind ever returned from unscathed.

'Shiiiiiiiit! I entered the wrong shower room! Oh crap! Crap crap crap! Someone is on their way here!' His warrior senses of preservation and perserverence kicked in, he lunged for one of the few solo-showers which had a thin door and lock for them. He hurried inside and closed the door. Phew! He had dodged a bullet but this wasn't a moment to lower his guard. Shit! His towel hung on the hook out there so he couldn't make use of his acting skills to pretend to be a stupid girl! 'Damn it! How did this happen? I have to get out of here before someone notices. But how?! Wait. This is also an opportunity to eavesdrop. Maybe those girls are actually into my Framewerk more than Luvey Duvey's? Hah! That information would surely shatter him!' The blond plotted in the "brig" for the second time of the day.

Arrish silently missed the voice of Griff during the lesson, complaining about it being lame and boring, because that was honestly how he felt when he had to rehash knowledge he had already been schooled on, but he wasn't about to compromise his integrity by whining about knowing something because maybe there would be something new to learn between the lines. What's more, he had to put on a good impression for Lorenzo if he wanted to have that talk with him about Aurora being allowed to work on and do diagnostics on the framewerks. If all else failed, maybe he could get Aurora to work on his framewerk so she would have something.

Something was the problem. Something new in particular. His He had been taught about the Cruxi Castes when he was still a young child but he had never been told how humanity knew the castes had existed, or how those castes were seperated. It had always been through the lens of humanities understanding of how a society works, but hadn't there been other species that lived alongside humanity that were nothing like us? "Excuse me, Professor Lorenzo, but how do we know the Cruxi have a caste system? Is it possible that these biologically engineered specialist species are a slave race, or more like drones to an animal colony?"

There was something else he wanted to know as well, or rather, he wanted his classmates to be aware of. Serah, a young woman that he had thought had been someone's child until just now, asked a very important question about if the Cruxi could communicate. He nodded sagely, and followed up her question with another."Furthermore, I think it would be important to know about humanities attempts at diplomacy with the Cruxi. Aside from a language barrier, Historically, what are the reasons our attempts at diplomacy with the Cruxi have failed and why does humanity no longer continue to make these attempts?"

He thought about his other classmates questions as well. They had been about the threat; Questions about the creatures they would be facing in battle and scenarios they could or would be confronted with. Maybe it would be important to add why the Cruxi were such a threat. "Final question for now, what makes the Cruxi such a great threat to humanity? Putting it simply, a single framewerk pilot is a powerful asset that can take down and assail multiple combatants. We also have powerful battleships that can eradicate and destroy Cruxi vessels. I understand that their technology is like nothing we've seen before, but technology is only one part of the bigger picture." He rubbed his throat from the strain of speaking so loud and so much. There was so much to learn, and it felt like there was never enough time to prepare."What else do we need to be aware of?"

This was a lesson that Aurora did not need. There had been nothing new for her to learn in the professor’s slides and lecture. Nothing she hadn’t long since committed to bone deep memory. That wasn’t to say she wasn’t paying attention, far from it. The only other class she would show this level of focus was the Framewerks lessons. And those lessons evoked a much different emotion from her.

From her position sitting in the middle of the seats offered. She looked out at the images displayed with clear and open Hate. A fake smile sat poorly on her face as she burned with the ever feeling of loss that had been inflicted upon her. A longing to take Sleepy out and inflict a fraction of her pain at them simmered in her as well.

So much so she nearly missed the questions her fellow pilots were asking. She took a breath to keep her composure as she finally processed the questions, at the naivety in them. She didn’t not blame them, understanding was noble in most instances, but these abominations were not worth the effort.

“Because they do not care.” Aurora would state, answering Arrish’s question. Her tone frigid with the hate she held for the Cruxi. “Not for us. Not for any life that is not under their thrall.”

“They do not care for diplomacy, nor at communication. For at the slightest hint of defiance they resort to wholesale slaughter. Orbital bombards to glass everyone and everything. Empathy is not a trait they possess.” She nearly spat the words out. Vibrating in barely leashed wrath.

She could hear the screams in her ears again. Could smell the burnt ash and cooked flesh again.

'Mama? Mama!? Where are you Mama!?'

She could taste the fear and bile and blood in her mouth again.

“Do not give them the grace of being civilized.” She would state with chilling intensity. “They do not deserve it.”

---

Ava listened to the lecture from Professor Lorenzo attentively. Most of these were basic knowledge about the Cruxi that most veteran pilots, such as herself, had picked up fighting them; however, it was interesting to hear them from a more academic perspective.

Many of the new Framewerk technologies, such as Phase Shift, were reverse-engineered from Cruxi technology. She wondered how many actual things humanity had now that were reverse-engineered from the Cruxi. Speaking of 'Alien-like technology', the new-generation Framewerks designed by Professor Lorenzo certainly qualify due to their 'black box' nature.

Not that she expected the Professor to answer that line of inquiry.

Ava briefly took a look around the room, seeing her team members with varying levels of attentiveness during the Professor's lecture.

These last few days, they've certainly started to interact with one another, and certain friend groups started to appear. Such as Aurora and Spark, who bonded over their love for engineering or Arrish and Griffith with their...well, Ava was not sure what to call it, they didn't get off on the right foot, but like the conflict never happened, it seems they're pretty okay now? Just as men sometimes said they didn't understand women, Ava had the same sentiments about men sometimes. Even Minerva and Griffith had established some sort of rapport, sort of.

In any case, the point was that they've all started to form friendship groups.

Not for her, though. As usual, Ava mostly kept to herself.

She was cordial, of course; she nodded and smiled when she encountered them in the mess hall or in the hallways, and made small talk when appropriate, such as that time when the women of her group ended up in the shower around the same time.

But it was clear that Ava had a wall around her.

Her therapist called it a part of her Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder. The avoidance to make connection was part of the diagnosis for that particular psychiatric condition.

Well, Ava knew it wasn't exactly healthy, but given her position...it was probably for the best? Just losing one close loved one affected her this much. She couldn't imagine how much worse she would be if she lost even more loved ones. That was why it was better not make close connections at all.

At least that was how she rationalised it.

It wouldn't affect her performance in battle, because she would die for her squadmates if needed, because that was how a good soldier should be. They were comrades. But friends...or more? That was out of the question.

Then the conversation turned into attempts at negotiating with Cruxi, something that Aurora promptly shut down, citing that they were not civilised beings.

As Ava thought, Aurora probably also had a long history of combat against the Cruxi. Some idealism of 'what if we just talk to them?' was rather common for newer pilots, but most veteran pilots knew that such pipe dreams were just that, pipe dreams.
It wasn't even because 'how can we make peace with an enemy who had killed so many of us?' it was 'it was impossible to find common grounds with Cruxi'.

"I have to agree with Aurora," Ava found herself saying, "If the Cruxi has any morals, they certainly are very different than ours that finding a common ground necessary for negotiation is an exercise in futility."

Lorenzo stopped with a sigh as Serah called out after him, having seemingly hoped that he could exit without having to entertain the ignorance of the pilots. However, he huffed, and turned back to the podium: the students sought knowledge on a topic he was particularly passionate about, and his pride as man of science prevented him from declining, especially when the initial question was quickly drowned out by the pilots throwing out differing opinions. It was time to educate, he decided after coughing into his fist.

"Yes, Gene...The Cruxi have tried to communicate with the Galactic Federation, on numerous occasions. Their language has been incredibly difficult, seemingly fragmented with only bits and pieces that could be deciphered. We first suspected pheromone communication, but no specimens have been documented as having the biological functions necessary." He brought out a remote from his coat pocket.
"This is classified...But I'm going to share this with you, damn the consequences."

Holding the remote with an arm that was slightly shaking, whether it was from a moment of geriatric fatigue or seething rage, he activated a projector, and played back a video: it was footage from under a car at the site of a Cruxi invasion as a civilian held their smartphone and was seemingly holding their breath in utter dread, faint panicky breaths nearly inaudible. They filmed as Cruxi troopers walked in formation across the street, and in the distance sounds of plasma being fired could be heard, alongside a few faint scrams. Throughout the entire video, a sound of an audio recording was repeated, as if blared through loudspeakers, from a nearby Cruxi warship that floated across the sky. The voice that came from it, surprisingly, spoke in Galactic Common, though its intonation was dull and stilted to a disturbing degree, as if the person speaking was talking in their sleep, or in some kind of daze.

However, what was most chilling was the content of the recording:

"Supplication immediate, configuration lifelessness. Resistance Ancients objectiveless. Supplication immediate, configuration lifelessness..." The message repeated a couple of times before the car was suddenly lifted up, and the video ended on the freeze frame of a Cruxi trooper discovering the civilian.

For a moment, Lorenzo was silent, letting the pilots fully absorb the contents of the video, before he finally turned back: his single eye was cast in shadow from his lowered head.

"Despite the admittedly strange delivery, likely because of a poor grasp on our language, the content of the message is clear: those damn devils want nothing less than the unconditional and total surrender of the Galactic Federation and it's member species: humans, tevranians...everyone. Any resistance, no matter how small...would be met with execution." He lifted his hand up, and gripped it in a tightly closed fist.

He then sighed. "It is entirely possible the servants and other aliens members of the Cruxi are but mere slaves to these supposed 'Ancients' of theirs, and one piece of evidence lends credence to this theory: based on findings about strange scribbles and comparisons to their official written language, it seems the Ancients are purposefully suppressing the native languages of these thrall aliens, and forcing their own unified language and culture on them. If humanity would fall, the same fate would most assuredly face us. Everything we would have accomplished, all of our history, art, and independent achievements in creativity and imagination..."
Lorenzo grit his teeth. "...Mercilessly processed or eliminated, until only blind loyalty remains to their eternal masters."

He then tapped his fingers on the desk. "What makes them so dangerous then? How have they come this far in their conquest of these aliens, and now after us? Well, that is an interesting question to pose. You saw the video, didn't you? Knowing what we know of the Cruxi, and the language barrier, how was it that they produced that recording of what sounded like a human speaking for them? The Galactic Federation's stance was that the recording happened to be mere gibberish that just happened to resemble words from our language. However, I do not believe in such a pointless answer. That recording was intentionally made to be understood...And the Cruxi have the means to make it possible. It is amusing you would mention mind-controlling, lassie, as that is one of my theories on how it was accomplished, but there is no conclusive evidence. Of course there wouldn't be, mind-control as a concept is ludicrous, and doesn't have scientific merit. But that doesn't matter!" He slammed his fist on the podium, as if he was reminded of something...Something that he regretted.
"The mere fact that this exists is more than enough proof of the threat the Cruxi present! Of the horrors they are capable of!"

As if on cue after his bout of ranting, his coughing fit once again acted up, and his assistant Lilim, who had since mentioned her name as L-11-SA, or Liisa, stepped into the classroom to offer medicine to him. Afterwards, she stood by his side, as expressionless as ever, but with a hint of sympathy in her eyes. After his sip, he nodded to her, and then continued.

"Now then, there were still questions. Regarding the hunter-assassin shapeshifters, various tells have been recorded: the earliest reports mention difficulties with communicating verbally, which makes sense, since they started deployment soon after the war began, and their grasp on our language was near non-existent. Since then, they have ironed out this flaw, but other times recognizing them have been documented: one time, their limbs or even eyes happened to move independently, something humans are incapable of. And lastly, they have been documented as preferring to target male victims with seduction tactics before killing them: one particular assassin successfully wiped out an entire squadron of men, all of them blaming each other as they fell. Since then, mixed gender units have become widespread, and casualty rates have fortunately decreased." He then sighed, his long bout of speaking done.

"Any more questions?" He asked, eyeing Arrish in particular with a single eye glaring.

---

At an unknown point of time during the week, a new shuttle arrived at Solaire, and brought three new pilots: a strange prince, and a pair of even stranger twins. Lieutenant Ritsu was there, and gave them the same greeting and instructions as the first batch of pilots.
"You will be enlisted as part of the squad of Framewerk pilots of this project," she added. "You're a bit late on schedule in regards to training, but you will just have to compensate for it during free time. Any questions?" She asked them.

The prince breathed deep as his footsteps clacked in the cold metallic feeling of the facility. It smell to oil, cleaning products, metal, human misery and broken dreams. Not a few hours ago, he had been enjoying lobster and some fancy drink worth an entire's planet gross domestic product. Some sort...of last meal for those about to be sentenced to death. Except his had been swapped by this droll... situation. The twins that had been beside him felt...off putting for some reason. He gathered resolve, as he looked at the lieutenant.

His hand raised at his forehead, a salute respecting a superior. Something he had never done before, but never too late to ever learn it properly. "Lieutenant, sir." He said, in a calm softly, and ceremonial manner. "I have two questions. Will you personally be able to coach us in catching up, do we have to rely on our seniors, or we are on our own." Astolfo said, before not missing a heartbeat. "And... are the showering facilities mixed? I have this inkling of curiosity, lieutenant, sir."

The prince said, his expression neutral. Catch up lessons after being discharged from heavy hospitalization isn't very fun. Maybe I can find a senior with a big rack who will take pity on this poor soul and make the meantime much more bearable. The prince thought, still standing firm.

"There are always more questions, professor, but none more for now. Thank you for putting into words, and even showing us why the Cruxi are such a threat." Arrish would stand up from where he was seated and begin to announce.

"I would like to clarify, I have no love for the Cruxi menace but saying things like 'they don't care' or 'they're not civilized' does not properly convey how much of a threat we're facing, and to someone unfamiliar who might still try to show compassion those words are useless." He looked around the room, taking in the appearances of his squad mates. Most he had talked to briefly, and some he even had a moment to share with. "The truth is I do not know everyone here. I do not know if they're a veteran from the war, nor if they come from education, and I do not know if they've had any personal experience or tragedy befallen to them by the Cruxi. Maybe there are some stories I'll never be privileged to know but that does not matter. We are have been gathered here as a team to work together, to fight together and if the day comes perhaps we will even die together. I would thank you again, Professor for your authority on the matter, and I think it should help to unify us against the Cruxi threat by putting us all on the same level of understanding."

Arrish gave a bow to the room and seated himself back down with a slight frown.

Serah covered her head with her hands, as if she was ducking for cover, when Aurora and Ava were starting to shoot down the line of questioning she'd started on. Of course Serah wasn't sympathetic to the Cruxi, hatred for them burned strong in her heart too. But just blind hatred wasn't enough for her. She wanted a reason why they were being invaded, why her parents had to die and why her life had to be thrown completely off the rails. She's not the type of girl who can live off pure hatred like that. If every action the invaders took was pointless, some meaningless lust for conquest, then all that would leave in the aftermath is hollow.

So cue her tentatively pleasant surprise when Lorenzo didn't take the opportunity to exit stage right, and instead actually circled back to answer her question. Though she almost wished she hadn't asked, as the video he projected afterwards was downright haunting. Screams, gunfire, marching troops and the scared, shallow breathing of the unlucky civilian who was caught in this situation. The blaring, haunting message repeating over, and over. A shiver ran down her entire body as she hugged herself, her mind racing. She was all too familiar with screams like that, the day in her childhood where she was caught in the attack being fresh in her mind like it was just the day prior. And the person who recorded this... in a cramped space, alone, and scared out of their mind...

They were almost like...

"Thank you... sir..." she said with a shaky voice. Fear, anger, anxiety- it all bubbled up inside her as her face went pale. Serah felt like throwing up, the room spinning around her. She... she needed to be anywhere else than this classroom for a bit. As class had been dismissed earlier, she did not feel the need to ask for permission either. With a hurried "Excuse me..." she got up and swiftly made her exit before anyone could stop her. Before even Arrish got up, not listening to a word he said. She needed to be gone.

Serah stumbled through the hallway a bit, breathing heavily as she broke into a cold sweat. Its like the world ahead of her stretched on infinitely, the hallway elongating with every step she took. She couldn't think straight. The only thing on her mind right now was seeking comfort.

Serah knew one place she could get that. The one place on this ship she felt the safest. She navigated the hallways, shaky as she was. Though she'd been on the ship for less than a week, the girl had a remarkably easy time navigating it, like she'd lived here for a year already. As for her destination, the place she wanted to get to, it was none other than the hangar. Bustling with engineers like usual, doing maintenance and checkups. She was keenly aware of them, their faces, their words of concern as the young girl passed them while hugging herself. She deliberately ignored every single one.

She just wanted to get to Atty.

She reached her frame and leaned against its leg, going limp as she slumped down against it. Its metal shell was cold to the touch, yet Serah always felt warm inside when she was near him. A familiar, familial warmth. An old friend who wouldn't leave her side. She couldn't hear his voice like this- he never really talked if she was upset. Despite that, Serah still took comfort in the presence of her frame. She knew he wanted to protect her. She felt as much the few times she got to ride him. They'd known each-other much longer than this, the young girl thought to herself. Else he wouldn't be so sweet to her.

"If I'm with you, Atty... maybe things won't be too bad." she said wistfully, a dull throbbing pain in her heart. Subconsciously she reached for her tattoo, fingers grazing her cheek. "Because I know... you wouldn't leave me alone. Even if I went mad."

Mema-Ka stood with his boots lined up perfectly, his hand raised in a salute. His younger twin brother held one hand in his jacket and the other in a lazy salute to Ritsu.

"Do forgive the late arrival Lieutenant. You have our outmost gratitude for finding the time to receive us. I am looking forwards to working together with you closely, Lieutenant Kaname. We have already left our belongings as the designated private quarters and partaken in some of the training albeit not alongside the other pilots." He said in a soft tone of voice, his eyes having wandered over her and spotted the nametag on her uniform.

"In regards to questions, I would just ask for directions to the other pilots of this squad so we may familiarize ourselves with our fellow pilots. While alot of focus is put on the framewerks themselves, it's ultimately the pilot in them that matters the most. A single man or woman can be difference between victory and defeat, like the one who brought humankind together as a whole. Some things are started by individuals. We shall surely make our own history, Lieutenant. Perhaps you would be willing to have dinner later if your schedule allows for such? It would be an honor to know more of the one holding all of this together. No pressure of course~" [Silver-Tongued Devil] The purple eyed taller of the twins said softly, his white gloved hand tracing up his chest and to his collar, adjusting it a bit before placing his hand on his chest and giving her a slow wink, saluting a final time waiting for her to reply.

His eyes kept locked with Lieutenant Kaname for abit longer than necessary before his eyes moved to inspect the other young man which had joined them. The more the other man spoke the more he thought that was someone he had to give some old phrases to. Such as 'Curiousity killed the cat my friend...'

Zel-Ghin had remained quiet, his eyes having wandered over to the other pilot with them, the silver-blue haired young man who seemed to be about their age. He didn't yet know what to make of him. Something about the guy made him feel The younger of the twins didn't bother as much as listening to what the lieutenant said, his brother would surely brief him all he needed to do later either way. But he couldn't help but snicker in a way that left no sounds at hearing Bug's question, concealing his amusment with his previously saluting hand. A shared bath would have been an amusing thing. Not that he would be getting away with kissing someone in it with his older brother or this guy there however. While his older brother was busy trying to arrange a private meeting with the lieutenant, Zel-Ghin's thoughts landed on what possible other pilots there would be and what framewerks they would pilot.

Perhaps one of them would enjoy a game or two in a videogame or perhaps if there was indeed a shared bath some relaxing in steamy water. Perfect for kissing if there were privacy. He bit his lower lip.

"No questions..." Zel-Ghin gave a salute with a smirk on his lips, his back stiffening slightly then tossing another glance to Bug, his both hands sliding into his jacket pockets.

@AtomicNut@Ariamis