Stella looked at her hands, examining and running diagnostics in her engram. It was a one one reproduction, yet it felt clean, crisp. It felt of the...electronic matrix of circuits that program spawned. Like a cold womb made of silicium and electrical signals. The master program. Mother of all. Lilith. The desire of the Lilim to be connected was such. They always wanted to swim in a sea of information.

But alas, she had been confined to a realworld metal shell. She did not resent in the slightlest, as Stella looked at the faithful reproduction of her cockpit. All the pictures were here, twinkling like stars in this virtual world. They were nothing but the texture of a dear memory, but it made her actuators move on its own. Here, in the virtual world, there were no limited movements, no stiff compromises. She could bear a frank, warm smile as she caressed the newest two additions to the virtual wall. Pictures of Elora and Serah.

"Mother Goose Online. All systems green." Stella said, surprised how the virtual simulator voice of herself was much much richer than her real life one. She recalled all the times she could not modulate her voice when telling tales or playing games. She recalled one particular game about...a situation not unlike this one. She couldn't resist but add one last bite, for all the kids that once watched her, for the kids that were watching her now.

[b]"Into the fires of battle. Unto the Anvil of war."[/b]


[hr]

"Huh. Weird." Astolfo said to himself as he witnessed the chatter of the clanker on the simulated radio, with more inflection that he thought she was capable of. He checked his hand. There was none of the residual nerve damage phantom sensations that woke him at three in the morning, nor the different heat sensation on one arm or another. Maybe he could try to sleep in VR instead of drugging himself with who-knows-what for his rehabilitation after that laser hit him square.

"CK-R8 reporting. All systems green. Ready for...sortie." Astolfo drones, recreating his pronounciation playfully on the last word of his short and curt sentence. [i] So it begins. More and more chaotic than ever. Well I'm glad I'm next to Ava after all the work I've put into pushing her to lead us. This oughta work. But...alas no plan survives contact with the enemy.

Is even Team Banana the enemy? It looks odd. Hastily put together. This is Lorenzo we are speaking about. If he dropped a killing machine soldier to test us he would have called it the Walnut to rub it in our noses.[/i] The general chatter went live with confused messages and signals.

[i]Well well, aren't you eager to look a prim and proper soldier, Meme man? It might be a misplay you know.[/i] He smiled as he began typing, his debug console flaring up. [i]Serah Gene...Maybe you're a lucky little rabbit after all. Meme plays bad cop, Serah confuses the hell out of this interloper and I then pitch in. I could've not asked for more.[/i] He added to himself, before sliding a quick message to Serah.

[i]Good Job. Candy, Ice cream or Chocolate? My treat.[/i] He added thoughtfully as he cleared his voice and engaged the general channel. "Dame Gene, I do think we're not facing with one, but two surprise additions. An entirely new team, Banana, is...a different set of parameters. Allow me to make a little guess. It seems you've gotten a rough landing, friend. Smack in the middle of a crossfire between two teams of Framewerk pilots. I do dread of what you have done...to unsettle our Executive Officer for such fate. But alas, we're not the enemy. Yet. Could I perhaps ask of you to move aside in this battle?, or even better, if you are eager to test yourself, perhaps we can reach some sort of settlement to peruse your skills and your framework. Quid pro Quo, hm? What do you say?" Astolfo said in his most honeyed and corteous voice. This wasn't a battle where lives would be wagered, so a little nicety could be spared. The new addition did look a bit like a deer in the headlight.

He kept typing, as he sent yet another private message. This time to team Mango. [i]Communications are available? Let me try to stir the pot a little, boss.[/i] He said, notifying his initiative to Ava. "While we are at it...we have our first couple in the team! Congratulations! I had heard the rumours of furtive fellows and wrong showers, but I could not believe, it. [i]Griff and Arrish[/i], a round of applause towards them, right?" It was then when he delivered the mother of the payloads, an edited image showing two men with rippling muscles, oiled to glisten with towels covering the inappropiate bits, locked in a very intense kiss, their faces edited to resemble Griff and Arrish. "How about we celebrate afterwards?" He added, his tone mocking.

[i]First salvo fired, and we're not moving yet. What else can we do with this canvas, hm?[/i]. Astolfo looked patiently at the response.