The video the professor showed them was disturbing on many levels, and once the discussion concluded Sparks found himself heading for the mech hangar. He wanted the comfort of working on machinery right then, and he'd had less time with Guinevere than he would have liked the past few days anyhow. To his surprise, there were three new mechs in the bays. Distracted from his original intentions by the new frames, he went to take a look at the unfamiliar mechs. One was a Claines Kalinin, though it looked newer than the ones he was used to seeing, in its usual less-than-flattering shade of green. Not even painted, poor thing, he thought.

Another was a transforming unit, it looked like. He could see the wings and fins of a jet carefully placed piecemeal about the mech.

And the last -- an octopus-looking unit in purple and red. Clearly a custom make, and it looked like it might combine with one of the others. Sparks was nearly certain the transforming mech was its counterpart.

Mema-Ka & Zel-Ghin

Regardless of the lieutenant's answers, the dynamic duo would salute and excuse themselves from her and Bug's company, chosing to take the scenic route over to the hangar section to inspect their framewerks and that of the other pilots. Mema-Ka walked first, his hands down and his walk smooth and proper almost like an officer in the army would. His younger brother walking behind him holding unto his handheld video gaming device, he was playing a game so old none would ever remember it even existing. Space invaders 34. He bit his lip as he began to fight the boss of the level he had gotten to.

Meanwhile Mema-Ka inspected the various other machines that lined up the hangar. There were as many different designs as there were dreams in the world. But is a dream just a dream? He smirked softly then he stopped in his tracks as he spotted a young man ahead in blue hair. With no further ado, he walked ahead on confident steps.

"Quite menacing aren't they? These tools of war." He said it in a matter of fact manner, soft but the echoing hangar amplified it abit. "You must be one of the pilots then? I am Mema-Ka Ezquess Degadraz. Pilot of the white beast you see there. The Raptor. An ordinary name for a not so ordinary machine. The one behind me is my younger twin brother. Zel-Ghin Mizqess Degantes. He is the pilot of the purple and red framewerk over there. 5Q-U1 Type D. Squid that is." Mema-Ka said in a pleasant tone of voice and held out his white gloved hand towards Sparks, offering the young man a handshake. Waiting to see if he would take it.

"Nak! Nak degalza!" Zel-Ghin said aloud behind him as something apparently didn't go too well with his videogaming boss fight.

"Zel-Ghin. Gadra zentra." Mema-Ka spoke out to his younger brother in a more stern tone but nontheless polite manner, seemingly calling him to attention to the scene before them. Zel-Ghin looked up and without protest put the gaming device into his jacket and approached and held up his hand in a lazy salute.

"Danz. Mema-Ka Zo. Pleasure is all mine. Pilot." He said and then reached into his other jacket pocket, taking out a lolipop and putting it into his mouth. Then for a moment considering tossing the wrapper on the floor, before feeling his connection to his brother that it would not be the right place for that.

"Forgive us. We are speaking our home language of colony Melta-Zole. We are from a region in space they call the outer sector." Mema-Ka explained and smiled softly, his head tilting slightly to the side.

@shylarah

Sparks turned at the sound of an unfamiliar voice addressing him. He'd caught a glimpse of the two men talking to the lieutenant on his way in, but hadn't paid them much mind at the time. "Yes, I'm Sparks, the pilot of the Guinevere. She's the one in white, with the gold and red accents." He shook the offered hand firmly. "It's nice to meet you, Mema-Ka, Zel-Ghin. And you won't be the only pilots from the Outer Rim, or with a different language, so don't worry about it too much."

His gaze wandered back to the new Framewerks. "Am I right in thinking the Raptor and the Squid have a Kattai system?" he asked. "I've only encountered a couple frames with that -- I understand finding pilots in synch with both the mechs and each other is difficult."

The world around her dissolved into static. Her attention locked to the video playing out in front of her. It overlapped with the one playing in the back of her mind. The screaming multiplied over, and over, and over until she could hear nothing else. She choked on the ash, on the blood, on the bile. Frozen in place as her world burned down around her again, and again. Until all that remained was the frozen void and the endless screams that haunted her nightmares.

And then with the click of a button, the video stopped, and Aurora slammed back into herself. Pale, shaking and nearly hyperventilating. She was cold again. Cold and alone. The screaming wasn’t gone but she recognized where she was, if only barely. And….

A man was speaking behind her. She parsed his words as if from a great distance. ‘He cared enough for others to let himself be labeled a fool.’ She thought in some distant part of her that had escaped the fresh horrors of her past relived.

But that wasn’t important now. So very little was important now. She needed….

‘Sleepy!’

Mechanically Aurora stood up. She gave the one-eyed man at the front of the room a regal bow. ‘I hate him… But we share a hate for them that is greater’

She turned to the man behind her, the one who had asked knowing what was to come, so that others wouldn’t be caught unaware. And gave him a regal bow as well. ‘He is noble, and kind, even if it would draw ire’

She then drew herself up, squared her shoulders and left. She did not say a word or make a sound.

She did not let herself think as she strode through the halls of the ship. Eyes locked forward, head held high. She could feel it all bubbling within her again. Fresh as if it has just happened, but with teeth edged with the vicious truth she only learned after. The screaming in her ears hadn’t abated. Nearly drowning the world in pain, that she longed to give back to the ones who caused it.

She couldn’t say how long she haunted the halls. Even with a destination in mind the entire time that she never once deviated from. She saw no one other then the corpses melted by plasma fire along the way. Smelled nothing beyond the acrid stench of burnt flesh and tasted nothing beyond thick ash, and fresh bile. Her face a frozen mask of indifference, only holding by a thread.

And then all at once she blinked and she felt something crack inside of her. She was before Sleeping Thunder. They had saved her back then, and would shelter her now. She knew it in her shattered heart.

Heedless of the now twicely concerned mass of engineers in the bays. She moved closer, deeper towards the back of the bay, before slipping into one of the gaps between the stabilizing flanges on Sleepy’s feet.

Hidden in the Frames shadow. She brakes. Crying silently as she shakes almost violently.

“We talked… Talked about them… Today, Sleepy.” She would say between silent sobs pressing close to her Framework.

“I know… I know… But there…. There was a video this time. Of… We weren’t the only ones Sleepy… I saw it happen again… It…” She breaks off, shaking her head. Uncaring of the tears streaming down her face.

“I miss home Sleepy.” She croaks softly. Knowing she will never see it again.

Elora was quiet throughout the entire lecture that Lorenzo had made. She took notes on her study laptop dutifully, but when the video began, she found it difficult to write anything down. In fact, her fingers froze on the keyboard, and tears started slowly drifting down her cheeks: it was a terrible reminder of the day she lost her parents, and the pain and sorrow that had followed her since. She buried her head in her arms, and started sobbing.

But amidst her crying, she heard Arrish' voice ,and she slowly lifted her head back up to look at him. Though he seemed apologetic for bringing up the topic, she never blamed him for it. In fact, as he recounted the need to face this evil together, she found herself nodding, and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"I-I agree. I can't turn my eyes from the Cruxi. I must face them, just like my father did." That was when other pilots began to excuse themselves from the classroom, and Elora found herself following after them. "Thank you for the lecture, professor," she said with a little bow before she headed out, giving one last look at Ava as she passed by her desk.

Lorenzo, however, still remained, as he seemed focused on Arrish now. "Duval...I know what you're doing." He walked up to his desk, and leaned forward, his single eye now staring at him. "You're brown-nosing. I don't like that. Speak what's on your mind, laddie, or get out. My patience is wearing thinner than a squeezing Scyllian."

---

Lieutenant Ritsu saluted in return to Bug when he made the appropriate gesture, and afterwards listened as he asked her if she would be able to assist in their training. "Yes. In fact, I have submitted a proposal for some additional training sessions to be held by myself and Sergeant Ken to Admiral Cain. He and Executive Officer Lorenzo have personally spoken with the emperor of Ytalia, and informed me regarding your...specific circumstances in the induction to this project," she said, referring to his brother Orlando. "He wants to ensure you 'get properly started on your training and don't slack off and fool around', to quote him."

However, the lieutenant's expression shifted from a cordial one to a displeased one when Bug next made a crude question. She sighed, and shook her head. "Despite any rumors you might have heard prior to your arrival, the shower spaces are gender-exclusive. There was, however, a mishap caused by a certain pilot," she said, and refused to elaborate. "I advise you study the ship's map so you won't make the same mistake," she concluded as she adjusted her glasses.

She then turned her eyes to the twins, who seemed more pleasant to speak with. She seemed especially interested in Mema-Ka, whose gift of gab made a good first impression on the usually stoic woman, causing her to give a slight smile at the suave request for a date.
"Dinner, you say? Well, I suppose I could use a change of pace from the rather chaotic routine here...I'll reconsider my current schedule." She took out her personal device, and tapped it with a wink. "Expect a message soon for if I am able to make time for it. In the mean time, I expect you three to start your training at 8 AM. Dismissed."

When Lorenzo leaned up against his deck and glared at him, Arrish found his shoulders squaring and his back straightening out. It was true that Arrish had since learned about the position of squad leader and how the more ambitious of his squad mates were chasing after the position, and it would be remiss for Arrish to not join them as well."What's on my mind, sir, is that my squad mates are a scattered bunch of children. You can see it in some of their eyes and how they act. Some are frozen in some terrible moment in time, ready to throw themselves into the fire for revenge, and others are unaware or unwilling to see the depth of the threat we're facing. Put on the battlefield we'll have suicidal zealots throwing themselves into the enemy, or immature children pretending to be one of their childhood heroes, trying to be the strong man that saves the day and end up forgotten as nothing but a fool. What they lack is in stability, unity and vision."

"Many of them are young, but their minds need to grow up and realize there's no time for selfishness. We need to work together, and we need to work towards a goal that will change the shape of the war." Arrish took a long deep breathe before concluding. It was true that he was pursuing a head position, but it wasn't entirely for prestige or glory, or even because he wanted to clean his family's name. In fact, it was simpler than that. He didn't wanna fucking die. Maybe it was a sort of arrogance that made him think he could be the one to get himself and everyone out alive and out the other side. "There is one other thing, sir. I would like you to give aurora certification to work on the framewerks. If not, than the engineering privilege to my framewerk. I promised her I would speak to you, and here we are. Was there anything else, sir?" His voice had the tone of defiance to it as though daring to tell off Arrish for daring to speak to him that way, and to make a request—no a demand like that.

@Ariamis

@Ariamis

Bug let the salute rest for a second, before nodding. "Duly noted, lieutenant." He added, hiding the hint of annoyance on his voice. So someone beat me to the promised land? Who was!? Now half my strategies are ruined. And these green haired dweebs honeyed words had an impact on the Lieutenant? How are you so weak to flattery, woman? If I had known... It was no use crying over spilt milk, and the Lieutenant had to mention him. His skill still had phantom itches from the burns and injuries suffered by the sheer power of the orbital laser they had fired upon him.

But it seemed the smug copies had gone ahead, so he excused himself. Get started? Oh I believe I will. I am in the itch of killing some ugly ass bugs now, and Cruxi virtual asses will do just fine. Bug advanced towards the hangar in strides, his grace sometimes giving way to something more primal, more aggressive. He caught up with the twins, who where discussing Kattai with what it seemed the gaudiest nerd of the entire bay.

"Good for you, I guess." He added as a quip. "Normally the Kattai system breaks dreams, frames and spines." He said, in an acerbic comeback. "And...just a heads up. I'd appreciate if you didn't touch my framewerk unless you're my assigned qualified engineer." He added, his voice seemingly hostile as he strode off.

He heard faint rustly behind a mech. Oh great, space rats now, just brilliant. He strained his eyes and saw what it looked a sobbing figure under a mech. Well, she wasn't wounded, and he was no psychologist, so he just ignored her after giving her a good luck. Pilots breaking before the first week, so fucking splendid. Are you sure you're not a royal torturer, XO Lorenzo?.

He made it past towards the simulation chambers. He had better get acquainted with what was the evaluating system from the start. Nobody seemed to be there trying to crunch a record. Well, that was good. He didn't like nosey onlookers looking at what was his game. Specially if they were the moral types. Inside a simulation...there was no morality to speak of. It was just ones and zeroes. And sometimes neural feedback.

"What's this. Unwinnable simulation? Duvallian Folly? I like the sound of that. Seems like an stress reliever." Bug said to himself as he loaded the situation.

As soon as he was inside he saw his framewerk simulated inside the bay. Good to know. But as alarms were blaring. Astolfo smirked, and turned his back on the mech, grabbing a nearby rifle. He ran on simulated legs, on simulated lungs, until he reached the cockpit.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be-" The simulated drone voice was cut short as the now inanimate simulated pilot fell to the ground, dead. The nearby soldiers thought twice, before they saw Astolfo sending the ship in direct collision course with the Cruxi mothership. Astolfo laughed cathartically. This was good shit, good, consequence-less shit. Simulations weren't real crimes, after all.

Things escalated all the way up from here. More chaos. More pieces in the simulation being broken and used on the wrong order, as chaos rained down the skies, as Astolfo felt purging the negative feelings off himself.

The end result. "Victory. 3 Human ships remaining. Cruxi Fleet Annihilated. PLANET CORE RUPTURED."

Astolfo disconnected from the simulation, and let the adrenaline flush out of his system. He was no longer along. A junior engineer was looking at him bewildered. "Wha...HOW? WHY! YOU LUNATIC! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"I played...a simulation." Astolfo replied calmly. "It was good stuff."

The poor bullied engineer gulped, as he flickered through his pad and messages. One sender stood among them all. Professor Lorenzo.

"Simulation done. Maybe I should try the gym machines now? Or find whoever is going to sortie with me. Mingle with the pleb. Gosh. So droll. But necessary." He said to himself.

---

Ava walked out of the classroom in a pensive mood.

Unlike one might have thought after being shown the horrific video of the Cruxi laying devastation, that was not the source of Ava's pensive mood. Rather, it was the small discussion at the end regarding the shapeshifting Cruxi assassins.

Ava had never encountered one herself, but she, of course, had heard of them.

And among all of the Cruxi's capabilities, there was none she feared more than the shapeshifting Cruxi assassin.

The reason was, of course, the existence of Luke Chapman, or rather, the existence of the possibility that a Cruxi assassin was impersonating him.

Of course, Ava realised that the possibility was rather low, near non-existent. After all, neither she nor Luke's father, Colonel Chapman were particularly important for the Cruxi to specifically impersonate someone to target them.

But the mere possibility terrified her.

It was easy to say, 'Well, obviously, I would just not believe it's really him. He is probably dead already'. Add to that the idiosyncrasies exhibited by the Cruxi Impersonator, there was no way she, who knew Luke intimately, would be fooled, right?

But just like she was cognisant of the fact that deep down she has the illogical wishful thinking of 'If enough Cruxi were killed, Luke would return' despite knowing full well it was a distorted mental state, and something she tried to suppress.

The human mind was a curious thing, able to believe in things even if they knew it was illogical.

If someone with his face and voice appeared before her, even despite the verbal difficulty, would she simply accept it as a 'miracle' and that his verbal difficulty was simply a 'medical condition due to the harsh condition he endured during capture'?

That terrified Ava because not only would it mean she would endanger the other, but it also felt like she was disrespecting her former lover's memory for accepting a fake that easily.

Ava sighed. She needed to clear her mind.

At times like these, she wished that framewerks were more like a personal vehicle one could operate freely. She had heard of people just driving around the city to clear their minds and to think. But obviously, she could not do that with military-grade equipment like framewerk.

Piloting a framewerk always seemed to calm her down, almost paradoxically, as piloting a framewerk meant she was about to enter combat. She heard it was rather common for those who had high synchronicity with their framewerk like hers, though. She had heard that some even needed to sleep in the framewerk's cockpit to feel safe.

Ava was not that bad, but she did feel calmer inside a framewerk. She had read various theories on how, with the most intriguing, yet bizarre one about how pilots with high synchronicity were reminded of being in the womb while inside a framewerk cockpit, and thus they felt safe.

That one was too far-fetched for Ava, but regardless, it seemed that it was a rather near-universal experience for those with high synchronicity to feel safer inside a framewerk.

Since she could not simply enter Argent Wings and pilot it on a whim, Ava settled on the next best thing, which was to do training simulations.

As she entered the simulation room, however, she saw that there was a bit of a commotion, with an engineer looking exasperatedly at a pilot she was not familiar with.

She did hear that they were possibly getting new members; perhaps this was one of them?

"Did something happen?" Ava asked as he approached the two.

@AtomicNut

Mema-Ka & Zel-Ghin

"The Guinevere. A name from an ancient tale I believe. Wife of a ruler, lover to a knight. Does that means you are the ruler or the knight, Sparks?" Mema-Ka smiled softly before shaking his head to his own question.

Do forgive my attempt at jesting. You are correct in that both mine and my brother's framewerk are using that very system you call Kattai. It would likely have not been possible would we not bear the connection we do. When you understand another being as well as you know yourself, that is when you can make the most of this system. I am looking forwards to seeing how closely attuned you are to Guinevere, perhaps you will someday find someone you resonate with to adopt the Kattai system for yourself. The key to that lies in understanding. Know someone's heart and soul, and you will be very close to attaining it. What is the role for Guinevere in battle?" Mema-Ka nodded his head softly, while he wanted to speak longer with each individual pilot, he felt it was more prudent right now to meet each and everyone of them.

"We should get going brother. There's still other pilots we need to check out." Zel-Ghin said in a slightly eager manner, lolipop in his mouth as he began to walk ahead expecting his older twin to join him. Standing around talking about the framewerks or old tales were not amongst the things he found interesting.

"Do excuse us however Sparks, we would like to familiarize ourselves with the other pilots before we have to train. No doubt we shall have further opportunity to converse more later." Mema-Ka placed one hand over his chest, then slowly moved the same hand into a salute. There were plenty of things do do. He expected to hear something from the Lieutenant later, he had some particular things which he intended to ask her. First over dinner, and then if she would be willing he could lead her to the small park on the ship. An ideal spot in his opinion to discuss philosophies and other things. A promising start, more promising than their creation either way.

Mema-Ka waited long enough to hear what Sparks would say, even answering if there were questions, but soon after he would continue along his way following his younger brother who had already strolled further ahead.

@shylarah

@Randomguy

"Did something happen?" A second voice chimed in, a feminine voice with few inflections, which however a stark contrast with the engineer's heavy sighing. Bug turned to the new source of sound gingerly, stopping for a moment to admire the figure. Oh ho ho...what do we have here. The silent belle type. Fills the clothes really nicely, this one. Granted, she's no Lieutenant Ritsu in that regard...but I guess such a senior is a welcome sight for sore eyes. Astolfo offered a kind smile as he got up.

"Oh hello...senior." He said, as he stood up and performed a salute towards Ava. "Lieutenant Lane,sir." He knew he wasn't supposed to, and he knew it was bungling up the ranks. But well, newbie mistakes could be made, right. "Oh, wait, we're not supposed to do this anymore, are we? It is my first day after all. And you're such a known quantity. A shining star in certain circles." He admitted. There was no denying he had locked on interest on Ava even before he had met her. One of the things his life had taught was to scout potential allies. Partners. So to speak. And she was...easy on the eye too. "...But I am getting carried away, am I? I'm Astolfo Bugatti. Bug...for friends and peers. Short and concise. Nice to meet you, senior." He smiled once more. "The gentleman and I were having a conversation about...simulations. It appears I may have carried it too far a little when trying to win an unwinnable scenario. The Duvallian Folly, if I must be...precise."

"YOU BLEW UP THE PLANET!" The engineer whimpered.

"A simulated planet, friend. And thanks to that...we managed a sort of victory condition. Which is not supposed to happen." Bug replied as he raised his finger. "Excuse me for a second, senior." His eyes darted on the frazzled engineer.

"I SHOULD THROW YOU IN THE BRIG!" He exclaimed exasperated. "YOU MASS MURDERER!"

"Is it murder when we're speaking of simulated entities? Is it not the job of simulations to train and otherwise test things that would otherwise have unacceptable costs in real life? After all, you can regenerate a simulation. But you can't regenerate a human life in this hostile cosmos." Bug said. But still we must burn lives in the conflagration to just survive. He thought mentally. "Well, who knows. Maybe it is a good thing. Look at it this way... won't the next simulation version be better now that you will account this kind of possibility? If anything It would reassure me." Bug replied as the engineer stopped his whining and looked to Bug up, as if he had grown three heads and tentacles.

"...I guess." It was his sheepish reply, as the words sunk inside him like sweet, numbing poison.

"Next time, bring me something...harder to break. I'll buy you a good vintage bottle if you do manage make me yield. Thanks for looking out for us pilots, engineer..." He paused, reading his ID plaque. "Andersen."

The engineer nodded thoughtfully, as he went to work, his mind clearly racing about reports and improvements. Bug looked at the spectacle before he decided it was far too boring and face once the beauty of the redhead besides him.

"It seems I have much to learn, senior. Would you be so kind to give this junior of yours a tour of the ship? Maybe even exchange stories." Bug smiled once more. "We all have stories."

She was a redhead too. Warm like the sun, and with sparkling green eyes. Ample bosom and great beauty. Such bittersweet memories... I remember her lifeblood sprawling on the ground of my princely chamber, the stained butter knife on my hand, caked with the fat, skin and blood of her pretty neck. A bottle of poison rolled from her garments on her limp body, as if trying to get away from the wrath of the Prince. My wrath. I was merely 10, and I had already killed my first person to not be killed in a futile battle for the throne. She had been lying all along. Thinking I had been easy prey. In a sense I was. Had I not realized and snapped there and then, there would be no present. Nor future.

...Such bittersweet memories.

He thought to himself, as he awaited a reply from Ava Lane.

---

"You...blew up the planet?" Ava repeated after hearing the engineer.

Certainly, that was a strategy, but not one that would be endorsed by any military leaders of the Federation. At least not yet. The war was desperate, but not yet so desperate that an entire world would be sacrificed just to slow the Cruxi down.

She hoped it would never reach the point where, in the ruthless military calculus, destroying a planet was considered acceptable.

"Well, I suppose he is right that there are no actual crimes here. Though 'beating' the simulation with a strategy that cannot be applied to real life seems to beat the purpose, but I digress."

Giving her new colleague a polite smile, Ava continued, "In any case, it seems you've already known who I am, but my name is Ava Lane. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Bugatti...if Ava remembered correctly, that was the name of the Yatalia Empire's royal family. Ava never met them directly, but as part of the 'elites'...everyone there was connected to each other through something or someone, so she at least had heard the name. Furthermore, they made intergalactic news when the ruling Emperor and Empress went missing due to a Cruxi attack.

First, there was Arrish from the Duval Family, and now a Yatalia royalty...money was not enough to avoid drafts, but nobles at their level were one of the few groups who had similar influence to Framewerk manufacturers in the current state of the world. Even if they joined willingly, the Federation would be very peculiar in picking where they would be deployed. Meaning, they would specifically be placed here for a reason.

Or at the very least, this project was important enough that they sent two nobles here.

Ava's thoughts were then interrupted by Bug asking her if she was willing to show him around.

Well, she supposed that was all right, given that they were to be working together.

"We're outside of the Federation's normal chain of command, so no need to call me senior. But yes, I can show you around Solaire. I was planning to jump into the simulator, but well...Anyway, are there any particular areas you're interested in, Astolfo?" Ava said, deliberately using his proper name instead of the more informal Bug.

This was simply just her being courteous, after all. She still did not intend to make friends.

@AtomicNut

@Randomguy

"Oh, but nothing *prohibits me* from doing so, senior. So I will keep calling you that unless you specifically ask not to." Bug put his most polite smile as he wobbled ever so slightly. "Regarding the validity of the strategy...well, Scorched Earth *is* still a proven tactic. And If we fail in this pursue of the unknown, our last desperate tactic." Astolfo replied, seeing an opening to continue conversing with the fellow pilot, despite her calling him by his given name.

Back in Yatalia, that was extremely disrespectful, but he guessed he was trying to distance herself. He breathed deep. "I have been on a hospital bed for the good part of the year, so...a little jog won't hurt. Maybe see the greenhouse areas, meet and greet fellow pilots and perhaps seeing firsthand the scene of the...shower incident so such things never occur again. There was a...stern warning after all." Astolfo replied, still offering a smile. "I'm curious how the signs could've been mixed up."

"Alternatively, we can jump in the simulator together. I feel bad for destroying a planet and an engineer's dreams." The not-so-hidden prince replied.

"The Guinevere is a support frame. We do field repairs, with a side of hacking and control of enemy frames," Sparks replied. He didn't touch on the idea of him using Kattai. Somehow he doubted he'd form that close of a connection with anyone in this particular setting. Fall in love? Perhaps. But acting on it would be unwise, as an active duty pilot.

The twins excused themselves, and Sparks gave them a cheerful wave as they headed off. Then he made for the Guinevere.

---

Rhylaen took diligent notes on the lecture, even though a lot of it was stuff she already knew. By the end, her datapad was full of writing in the flowing Tevranian script. The idea of impersonation and mind control bothered her a great deal, and the video Professor Lorenzo had shown shook her. Arrish's words about how the pilots weren't truly ready to fight struck a nerve as well. Yes, she wanted revenge, but the best way to do that was by working as a team. She wasn't being selfish...was she?

Bothered more than she'd like to admit, Rhylaen grabbed her datapad and headed out the door. The cold metal of the bulkheads was oppressive; she wanted greenery. Fortunately for her, the ship had a rather large greenhouse, with both soil-based and hydroponic areas, a place she'd already visited a few times. She headed that way.

Immediately upon stepping into the carefully cultivated rows, Rhylaen could feel the tension leaving her. It wasn't the same as a walk through the woods -- there were no trees, and the regular spacing of plants made it far more akin to a farm -- but it was close enough.

Lorenzo leaned back into his regular slouching posture when Arrish spoke up regarding the frail state of the squad, of the position of squad leader, and indirectly made a case for himself being appointed in the position. "Hmm..." He stroked his beard, and tapped the floor with his walking cane. "You make some good points, Duval. You have a sense of duty towards your fellow man..." He glanced down at his device as he heard the beep of a message having been received, followed by a scowl. "Unlike some other nobles..." He muttered, before he put the device away. "I look forward to seeing you prove yourself in the coming test, lad."

He then sighed as Arrish requested for Aurora to be granted engineering rights to the pilot's Framewerks, or at the very least, his own. He glanced at Liisa, who simply stared back, and then turned his eye back to the redhead. "I did not consider that she would be willing to work on any Frames other than her own. Very well then," he responded, and turned away. "I will write her down as an engineer for the Frames. If my suspicions are correct...She may prove quite valuable for this project." With that, he shuffled away, followed after by the Lilim.

Meanwhile, Elora had reached the hangar, and was checking out the maintenance work done on Logic Diver in a reticent manner, a hand held up to her chest as she examined the Frame.

It was only after Lorenzo had left the room and turned off the screen that Arrish would slouch into his chair, and take off his sunglasses. Tired eyes looked over to the spot that the projector had been beaming its emotional payload and thought to himself.


What the hell was that?

He had known about some of the creatures they were facing, and even that potentially what was thought to be a caste system could just be genetically enhanced slave drones, but that was something else. Had the Cruxi been kidnapping sentient life to add to its collective, or were they transforming any species they came across into their own personal slaves and warping them so far as to be unrecognizable for a specific use? What would humans look like if they were stretched so thin as to be another species entirely? He shuddered at the thought.

He needed to get away from this, and into another room. He needed to put himself to use. The redhead stood up from his chair and was about to dismiss himself from the class as Elora had done, only to see the other person left was Minerva. When did that happen? He whipped his head over to where Minerva had been sitting and forced the words out."Muh-Minerva, where did everyone go? Forget that, do you know where I can find Griff? I need to catch him up on the lecture he missed. He wouldn't still be in the brig, would he?"

Griff

Man on a mission.

The blond warrior's brain was going full speed ahead, he had to come up with a plan, a master plan. The doors to the individual showers had it's glass be made in some material which made it all seem foggy. 'Shoddy Terra-mian creation no doubt… allright that should give me some cover. But my muscular body and wide shoulders! They will be able to tell for sure! Think Griff! Think!' He tapped his forehead in thought until he felt a sense of enlightenment hit him, if he turned slightly he could make himself only viewed in profile. That way they wouldn't be able to see how broad his shoulders were. And with his somewhat shoulderlong hair, he could definitely blend in like a sneaky cuttlefish. For a moment the physical training junkie felt like he could tackle the world with his head alone. A headbutt was a classy if painful move. Thank goodness he had trained years to make sure his head could take it.

Then he looked down his own body. 'Ah shit! I totally forgot about that!' Dread overtook him. His masterfully crafted plan to simply turn his body slightly to put himself in profile view wasn't waterproof. He still had his shampoo bottle, he held it into one of his hands, making sure the shadowy shape seen through his shower stall was making it appear as if he was constantly holding it in his left hand. 'I knew I should have gotten a bigger bottle!' He lamented as he took his disguise, seeing two silhuettes pass by his stall and enter the adjacent ones.

Then came the giggles and the gossip.

'Stop! Stop talking about magazines about make-up! Stupid dresses! Ahhh! Griff! Focus on the martial kings of past! Block out all sounds! I am not listening!' He closed his eyes and looked upwards, causing the water from the shower head to fall right down into his nose, causing him to cough. That causes immediately silence from the other two stalls.

"Whose there?"

"Ah... I mean- It's Emira, I am totally sick.. sorry. Aha hah!" He said in the lightest way he could make his voice and coughed softly into his hand. 'Shit! That was close as hell! Dodged an uppercut right there! Brilliant dodging man!' His eyes glimmered and sparkled, he could hear one of the women on the other side of the thin wall.

"Oh! Right! Emira? You do sound really awful!" The first of them said in a tone which made the blond grab his chest with his free hand before it tightened into a fist. 'Why you little featherweight-' He mentally lashed out in irritation, his left hand squeezed together really hard as he raised both arms up abit. The ray of shampoo came flying through the air like a very dangerous projectile. He had headshotted himself with his bottle. "Ah!" He called out as he felt the sting in his eyes, dropping the bottle which slid right under his side of the stand into one of the adjacent ones. He bent down to pick it up quickly, hitting his head into the stall as his foot slipped from all the excess shampoo having fallen down his muscular form.

'Aooow! Fuc- Fuckin' shit! My eyes! My head! My knee! Uh oh..' His eyes flickered open as the water cleared them of the shampoo, the person in the other stall was holding her hand under the stall into his with his shampoo bottle.

"Are you okay?! Did you fall?" The same voice again. Yep. That was definitely not a guy.

"Aha! Oh yeah- I- I just s-slipped! How clumsy of me!" He did his best to alter his voice, even as he felt like dying inside, reaching down to take the bottle from the hand. "Thanks!" He said in his usual voice. Then panicked and softly coughed "Thankies! Hihi." He quickly added and then pressed his face against the non glass wall. 'Kill me now. This can't get any worse than this...' He cursed in his own head.

Then it happened.

"Do you need help with washing your back?" The voice was heard again from the other side of the wall.

'Idiot! Who the hell needs help with that! Stupid! I am a warrior damn you! Don't put me into the same class as those damn civilians!' He mentally recoiled and tightened his hand into a fist as if he wanted to punch something. But then he realized he had to answer. "Aha no no! I am all-rightie! Aha!" He said and did his best to giggle and then dragged his hand down from his forehead down his face. 'Besides... my back would require at least two of those small featherweights to soap up. Oh yeah! Look at those back abs!' He suddenly felt a surge of hope, where did it come from? He had no idea, but the two women in the stalls were seemingly done and were leaving.

'About damn time! Just how much things do they have to soap in?! Ehh... I need to get out of here.' He carefully opened the glass door and peeked outside, his blonde hair slightly over his face, he scurried over to his towel. They had not stolen it. At least they were no thieves. He really hated cowardly thieves. He recall hearing about Terrainian's stuffing stuff under their wings in the stores. Those pesky little thieves. How in the world...s.... could he trust one of those? They were sneaky and underhanded. I mean, how could those guys with the anti-alien signs have gotten it wrong? They looked just like him, but less beefy, and less of alot. Well... at least they were human.

The blond wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out into the locker room, the two adversaries of the female kind had seemingly left. The coast was clear. 'Why is it called that? Since when have any coast been clear? There's shells and sand all over the place if one is to trust the pictures.' He thought to himself, maybe someday he would get to know the truth himself by seeing the ocean... well... any ocean. For now looking at the water in a bathtub with a rubber duck would have to suffice.

He was about to reach for his bag when he heard the door being opened again.

'SHIT!' He moved and pressed himself into a locker meant for storing mops and cleaning tools, he watched as a short young woman moved back into the lockerroom to take her bag that she seemed to have forgotten before leaving, she took the green bag and headed back outside. The blond young man sighed of relief and went out of the closet. The locker. Whatever.

He scurried over to his bag. Those damn girls had moved it. Well at least they didn't look inside. "That was close." He said and exhaled, opening the bag.

"Eh?" He pulled out what he could only describe to be looking like a double slingshot, a pair of shorts which seemed to have shrunk… and changed colour… and... 'What the devil is thi- Oh craaaaaap-' He grabbed unto his hair and pulled with both hands, he had been bamboozled, he had been robbed. Those girls had made off with his bag and left their own. How could this happen? He wasn't some dumb guy! This was like one of those shows he hated where the guy was dense as a brick and some girls were always picking on him, despite clearly not knowing anything about weightlifting! He looked at the clothing left behind. If he would remain the girls would return with his bag... or worse yet return without it and with it the Lieutenant.

There was a name for a situation like this. He had heard about it before. This was what it meant to be.

Fucked.

He sighed and took out the shirt and whatever else he could find. 'Come of Griff! Dignity is within. Focus! See it as a mountain you must climb to reach elevated kung-fu mastership.' He mentally chanted as he began to dress... as well as he could.

Well at least the clothes smelled better than his. Some girls just got ripped off. With that knowledge he allowed himself a victory chuckle.

Serah stayed slumped against Atty for what felt like an eternity. She’d keep whispering and talking to it with phrases like "This isn’t like me, right?” and "I promise I’ll be okay soon.” To an outsider it looked like she was talking to nobody, trying to reassure herself as she embraced her own body in an attempt to calm down. There was no doubt in Serah’s mind she was talking to her frame, though, and that it would talk back to her. The people around her who saw this, however, were concerned. Something had to have happened to make two of the new faces come to the bay as distressed as they were, both showing the same symptoms of wanting to be near their frames and talking to it. Thus a well-meaning, if slightly misguided engineer walked over, asking if Serah was okay and trying to check on her. The girl got startled and shot upright, eyes wide with surprise as she was addressed.

"Ah… haha… ahaha! Yeah, I’m totally fine! Sorry for worrying you,” she’d say, putting on a brave face to deflect how she really felt. "I just got unnerved a little. I’m… okay! Totally fine. Thanks for checking on me!” she’d tell them with a beaming smile, with Serah having taken a step back. Then another as the engineer asked some followup questions. "No… really, it’s okay-” she’d keep insisting, and they’d get pushier in turn. Serah couldn’t keep this charade up forever. She just wanted them to leave her alone. She wanted to be alone. Alone with Atty. But this person wasn’t going to let her. "I-I’m fine… uhm… excuse me!”

Another step back. Then another. Then a few more as Serah turned around and started running away from the engineer, straight through the docking platform for the frame next to Atty’s. She didn’t make it super far though, as in her haste, Serah tripped right over a stray wire laying around. With a small shriek she tumbled down and over, crashing right into someone who had up to now been sitting in her own shadowed corner away from prying eyes: Aurora. The older woman did catch Serah in time, but that didn’t stop the girl from looking up at her all flustered, the panic clearly written across her face. "O-oh… sorry, I’m so sorry!”

It was clear that Aurora had been crying. But that had not stopped her from moving to catch the younger girl as she tripped. But strangely her first reaction wasn’t to directly make sure that she was okay. Instead she glared up at the massive Framewerk that shadowed them.

“Sleepy! Don’t be rude!” She scolded, her voice rough from her crying. “She’s not done anything wrong.”

It was only after that she turned her attention to the person in her arms. “Hey, sorry about them. They’ve never quite liked others, but that doesn’t give them any excuse.” She would say, giving a wobbly smile, still shaken from earlier. But she wouldn’t deny that having someone else nearby was helpful now that she had gotten past the worst of it. The warmth was grounding.

“Are you okay though?”

Serah blinked once or twice as she got a good look at Aurora’s face. "Ah… yeah, I think,” she’d answer the older woman, taking note of how exhausted and red her face looked. It didn’t take her long to connect the dots, with where they were and who she was. Aurora must’ve come here for the same reason Serah had, to seek comfort near her frame. The young girl didn’t know Aurora well enough to enjoy the hug, so she pushed herself away and sat down just opposite to her.

"I actually… think I know what you mean,” she sheepishly said, scratching her cheek. "Atty doesn’t like it when other people come near me either. I don’t know how to describe it… I can just tell he doesn’t like them. He’s very protective of me.” Serah looked up at Sleepy from below, noting its impressive size, and said: "I’m sorry, Sleepy. I didn’t mean to fall on her.”

“Atty?” Aurora would ask, wracking her mind for which frame could be being talked about. “Oh, do you mean AA-XOTRY? That’s a wonderful nickname.” She would add. Before looking back at her own Frame. “Be nice, we could learn a thing from her and Atty.” She told the looming warmachine.

She shifted a little to give Serah a decent amount of space in the small area they had to themselves. “I take it you are one of the other Pilots then. I’m not sure we’ve been introduced. My name is Aurora. It's a pleasure to meet you, even if the circumstances are a bit odd.”

"Mhm! I know,” Serah would respond, some of the spring in her step returning. "I remember you from that one time in the shower. You know, on the first day? You told us about how Sleepy protected you. He sounds really nice to you!” Serah would talk and talk, forgetting she’d been asked her name. Her eyes were sparkling when the focus was put on the girls’ frames. "How long have you known Sleepy? I haven’t been with Atty that long… but it feels like it’s been forever! It feels nice and safe inside his cockpit, and he talks lots to me… too…”

‘Oh,’ she thought to herself. ‘I probably sound crazy to her now.’ She’d been told before that frames don’t talk by both recruiters and other pilot-prospects. "S-sorry… I’m getting a little ahead of myself, huh?”

“Huh, I’m a bit jealous I’d say.” Aurora would reply with a thoughtful look at Serah. Before looking back up at Sleepy.

“I’ve known Sleepy for most of their life. I got to see their blueprints before their construction was finished.” Aurora would go on to answer, partly glad to be able to skim past a prior interaction with them. Since she didn’t remember the shower talk that Serah was talking about. But also slightly disappointed as well. Since it made it harder to get their name again. Though at least now she had something to connect them too. “Even got to witness the final installation of their original systems. But I’ve never had them talk back to me. At least never clearly.”

“I’ve always been able to feel out their mood by the sounds of their engine, or the servos when they walk.” She would state with a fond smile. ”And while I’ve always found Sleepy sweet, though they’ve never shown anyone else that side of them.”

“I chalked it up to it only being the two of us now. But It would be nice to hear if I’m right. Or just to talk to them in general.”

Serah closed her eyes for a little while and listened carefully, but no matter how long she listened, she couldn’t hear Sleepy’s voice. "Mmm… I wish I could tell you. But Sleepy won’t talk to me. Only Atty does,” she told Aurora, opening her eyes again and looking straight at her. "But I think you’re doing it right. Even if you can’t hear Sleepy’s voice, you can still tell how he’s feeling, right? Atty’s voice isn’t that clear either. I feel it more in my heart when I’m near him… I feel his thoughts and his emotions. I feel that he cares about me and wants to keep me safe. And when I’m upset, he goes quiet too. It feels like a warm, silent hug.”

Serah put her hands on the floor behind her and leaned back, her gaze shifting sideways to Atty. She could still just barely make it out from the two girls’ hiding spot. "It just feels like… we’ve already been through a lot together, somehow. He wouldn’t accept any pilots other than me. They all did terribly on the tryouts. And I don’t think I could ever pilot anyone else, either.” With those words spoken, Serah turned her attention back to Aurora. "Everyone seems to think frames are just machines… and I thought so too at first. But I can feel Atty’s heartbeat. I can hear his voice. So I think… I think you should be able to feel Sleepy’s heart, too. I hope he’ll talk to me too some day, ehehe...”

“Mmm, I get that. Me and Sleepy did go through hell together after all. It’s one of the reasons I know there’s more to them than just being a machine.” Aurora would agree softly, leaning into Sleepy's foot a bit more. “The lesson earlier… It pulled me back to that time.” She would say after a moment.

Her gaze went distant, memories only just out of sight. She wasn’t worried about them though, not here next to her dear partner. “But we got through it together, and everything that came after as well. So it’s okay if I can’t hear them the same way you can with Atty. I know Sleepy’s with me until the end. And maybe we’ll be able to learn from you two. We’ve learned so much since we joined the pilot program after all.”

The younger girl watched Aurora’s face, her movements, as she gave a small glimpse into her past. Serah told her: ”I could tell. ‘Cuz I was the same just now… remembering something I can’t forget.” She touched her tattoo subconsciously again. "I saw the look on your face, and that you were here next to Sleepy and I guess I just… didn’t feel alone.”

Serah jumped up and dusted herself, doing a small twirl with her hands on her hips. She certainly looked more energetic than before, though a part of her was still hurting. But when she’s hurting, she can’t help but put on a brave face for others. "Aurora’s a really pretty name, by the way. I’m glad I got to know you and Sleepy a bit better. I think I need to go and apologise to Atty, though, ehehe…” she sheepishly said again, glancing in its direction. With a small wave, Serah told the older woman: "I’m Serah! Let’s be friends, okay Aura?” and ran off towards her own frame again, full of vigor as she’d always been.

Aurora gave a small wave as Serah ran off. In a little bit of awe that the other girl had bounced back so quickly. But heartened as she too felt better knowing she had someone else who understood in their own way. “I’m glad we got to talk as well Serah.” She called out before the girl got too far.

She then turned a look back up towards Sleeping Thunder. “I get it, and thank you. But you didn’t have to be rude about it.” She told them. Before shaking her head and standing up. “I’m going to head out too. But I’ll come back soon I promise.” She adds patting the foot with no small amount of affection. Before walking off, back towards the rest of the ship.

Serah hummed as she paced through the halls of Solaire, a smile on her face from her talk with Aurora. 'Aura's a really nice person,' she thought to herself. It'd been a few days since all the pilots had been brought together, but Serah had felt a little lost in the crowd. Not many people were her age and she'd had trouble really becoming friends with any of them. Aurora felt like the first person Serah actually managed to connect with in a meaningful way, so her head was all abuzz about it. It made the girl want to find another pilot to talk to and become better friends with, get to know everyone before the big test. Both Sparks and Elora looked busy attending to their frames, so Serah went to look for one of the others instead. There were a few locations people could be at; their rooms, the simulation room, the cafeteria, the green zone... and knowing Griff, he was probably hitting up the gym. Serah didn't mind going around to check, as even in the worst case she could find something to keep herself busy with.

She carefully considered who she might talk to. She already felt pretty positively about Elora and Rhylaen, so there wasn't much need to find those two. Lieutenant Ritsu was her superior, and honestly seemed a little hard to talk to. She didn't know much about Minerva, Arrish or Ava. It'd be nice if she could find one of those three. She lost herself in thought and absent-mindedly rounded a corner, her head bumping straight into a set of hard abs as she did.

"Ow!" she cried out in pain as she stumbled back a bit, rubbing her head. Serah was a polite girl, though, and opened one eye, quickly apologising: "Sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you... okay..."

It was Griff.

Not only was it Griff, it was the funniest Griff she'd ever seen. Pulling her hand up to her mouth to avoid showing her grin, Serah could barely contain herself. "Griff? Wha... what are you wearing... ahaha..." she started giggling. It was no surprise, because the usually manlier-than-the-manliest-man Griff was standing in front of her, hair half-dried like a wet dog, wearing half-closed booty shorts and a shirt several sizes too small. It really brought out and emphasized his tummy, abs glistening in the ship's lighting. The glory of his six-pack was only matched by the shirt's low collar really emphasizing his pecs, a truly awe-inspiring chest for any ladies to gawk at.

Serah couldn't contain herself. Her giggling didn't take long to turn into full-blown howling. "Oh... oh my god, I can't, I can't breathe, ahaha!" She couldn't contain her laughter, and wasn't about to pretend to either. "I need... I need to tell Elora about this... and Aura... and everyone..."

She knew that with those words she'd just signed her death wish with Griff, but Serah did not care. This story was juicy enough to give up her life for. The moment she had even a little bit of composure, Serah turned around and booked it, sprinting back towards the direction of the hangar in the hopes of telling everyone what she'd just seen- or even better, have Griff follow her to it.

Griff

"Watch where you are walk- Ah?" Griff blinked as he had managed to sneak out in his new attire, gracing the first empty corridor with his abs fully on display just to have someone bump into him. Seriously were people blind? How hard were it to watch where you would walk? Then again… he had entered the wrong shower room. But surely that wasn't his fault. Right? His face grew abit red when he saw who it were. 'It's the cute looking little trainee in weightlifting need! Shit!' He cursed inside his head as he decided on his next finely chosen words as Serah was addressing him by his actual name? Were she also to tell it was indeed him? "Don't be stupid! It's not me." He gritted his teeth together and tightened his hands into fists the more she was laughing.

'If I knock her out she might forget what she saw. But… no self respecting warrior would hit a woman. WHAT SHOULD I DO?!' He lamented as he considered his options, the girl before him was laughing to such a degree that he wasn't sure if to blush or if his boilers were about to burst. Then he heard the words that made him decide on his course of action, and he was all about action. The cute little girl was going to tell Elora, who was basically his disciple after the great fighting tournament. He didn't care if Ken simply called it training or sparring or whatnot. Stupid star fist fake kung-fu. Boxing was the path to enlightenment. Take enough punches to the head and you become invincible.

But it wasn't just Elora she would tell, but Aura... who the heck was Aura? Wasn't aura some spirit mumbo jumbo stuff? She was going to tell everyone that she had seem him in this attire, in a girl attire. Well, he had to admit it actually could have been alot worse, the short shirt really accentuated his abs- but that was beyond the point!

The blond sprung into action the moment she turned around, there was no chance in hell she would get away from him! Cardio was one of his strongest traits! He ran after her, she was quick, surprisingly so but Griff went all gears and caught up, stretched out his left hand over her mouth and the other grabbing her arms as he joinked her into what appeared to be the closest room nearby and closed the door, still holding her grabbed with hand over her mouth and the other grabbing her arms behind her back.

'AH! Why did I grab her?! Fuuu- Shit! What now? I need to somehow explain myself! What to do, what to do!' His mind scrambled as best as it could, scrambled as eggs. They were now in a dark room with alot of calculations on the walls. A math and science room. How typical. Just how bad could this day get.

'I need to explain to her about the situation at hand, that this has all been a big misunderstanding! That's right! But first I need to calm her down and tell her I didn't mean to do this! This stupid! Stupid cute girl showing up at the worst of times!' He cursed inside his head when he leaned in with his face towards her ear and shoulder.

"Just be quiet and stop resisting." He said in the most badass way he could, stern and serious. He saw it in a movie once where that happened and that line was used. Wait. Wasn't that something the villain did? Oops. 'She is really struggling? What to do? Maybe singing would work? It does calm down wild animals I heard. But I am not a singer… ARGH CRAP! She is making my hand all moist- Oh I was holding it over the mouth and nose...' He removed the hand momentarily from her mouth and nose as he began to think of his next course of action.

What in the world was the next right course of action?

@Ammokkx

@shylarah@Dezuel

The hectic pace of the new arrivals from different ways of life and had made quite a ruckus in the hangar bay, although things seemed to be settling in a lull after the initial frenzy. Two figures, in somewhat greasy work clothes stood, sipping a couple of coffees served in plastic cups.

"Well, it seems it's calming down, Billy." One of the engineers said, as he sipped. "Or at least this part looks calm. I heard the guys at the simulator got hit with a very troublesome newbie."

Billy for the most part nodded. "Don't tempt luck. I heard about it. Bastard of the vomit-colored mech. He loves to poke around and break stuff, or so I heard. It's gonna be tough...prima donna pilots, am I right, Joe?"

"Right you are. They think theirselves they're the hottest shit, but who keeps the real game? Us. Without them they'd be nothing but a bunch of flailing brats." Joe replied bitterly.

"Speaking of pilots, who pilots this thing?" Billy said, eyeing the large figure shadowing thing. They had seen and serviced mechs but this whole thing was massive. Way pushing the limits of a superheavy mech, judging by how strained and cramped it felt in the scaffolds. A colossal titan of black steel with a hammer.

"Big...bonk? I dunno. Maybe they'll come later. There's a crate there with spare parts, I think." He said. "...Well, we need a little table to lean, isn't it?" He added, advanced towards the crate and leaning.

"Yeah, my shoulder aches after that Shiva maintenance. Expensive shit." The other engineer said, leaning too.

A faint buzzing could be heard, must have been the machinery.

Checkup Finished. Restarting Operation.

A large elegant fist shattered the top of the crate, sending splinters everywhere. Hot coffee was launched high in the air.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Both engineers screamed, clinging to eachother as they saw a figure break through the cargo crate and adjust herself. It was a large, shapely synthetic being. A lilim. Sleek black plating covered most of her body, and her synthair seemed to match the colour. If they weren't scared out of their wits, they would say the figure looked easy in the eye and perhaps motherly.

"Where is Ritsu Kaname?" The steely, robotic voice demanded.

"I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE IN HER OFFICE!" One of Engineers panicked, tremblingly pointing in a direction.

"Designation acquired. Thank you." The Lilim said, still with her impassive face, before her head tilted so slightly, as her mind raced with some tests.

"Distress detected." She said, as she raised two hands at the panicking engineers, softly patting their heads as her voice gained a slight tender inflection. "There, there. This unit will deal with the scary monsters." She said, unaware that she had been the source of the distress. Without more mediation, the Lilim began to walk towards the offices, with measured steps.

"What the hell was that about...Did that Lilim just...ship herself!?" Billy said, regaining his composture.

"I don't know man, we don't get paid enough for this." Joe replied. "Let's get more coffee."

"Let's." Both engineers agreed.

---

The Lilim walked around and around, with a pensive pace, registering and marking every corridor to navigate in her mind. Humans of all kinds stopped and looked at her. Perhaps they needed assistance in cooking meals or being tucked in beds. She however could not stop by and inquire, as a more overriding command had been issued.

The showers. She registered. A couple of humans shaking hands. No, actually this was an act of aggression. The one with more body mass, male, was exerting pressure on a female. Females were less muscular than males. Chance of damage was not negligible. She had to intervene.

She darted like a panther, closing the gap between her and the fleeing figures, and she stood outside the door, giving a last chance of surrender "Naughty protocol activated. Spanking module initiating. You have ten seconds to cease and desist."

She then paused. "Where is Ritsu Kaname?"
@Ammokkx