" I trust the classes went smoothly, " He spoke indifferently. The sound of his voice carried a disembodied quality as if he was not totally of this earth but a spirit.

" Yes, everything proceeded without any problems. The current crew of students shows a lot of promise. A few of them have already demonstrated good leadership capabilities. I'm sure live exercises can be conducted sooner than projected. "

" Indeed...? If that is so, then bring the exercises forward. You should know that presently, the war effort on the surface is not exactly going well. Those Elruean Lambs prove surprisingly hard to deal with. "

" Elru? " The mention of the desert land invoked a sense of apprehension in Reya but outwardly her composure remained unperturbed as before.

" Yes, Elru. They have been able to resist most of the invasion attempts up to now and there is no doubt that Shevat, that cursed country is covertly giving them aid. Seems that their underhand methods have not changed much even after almost five hundred years. Will Elru become the next victim of betrayal this time? "

Krelian spoke as if to himself, the words barely above a whisper yet Reya heard each word clearly. They were expressed apathetically but Reya was certain that she sensed an undercurrent of rage behind them. Shevat and Elru? Betrayal? Every Solarian knew that the other city in the sky was an age-old enemy and the name Shevat was anathematized. Yet not many understood the true reason behind the enmity that had endured for centuries. Perhaps, he is the only one who knew the reason besides Emperor Cain and the Ministry...

Although many people thought of Krelian as an emotion vacuum devoid of all human feelings, Reya knew better. Through all the years she had spend by his side, she had seen most of the hidden facets of his personality but she was no closer to understanding him.

" You speak the Elruean tongue, don't you? "

" I did studied the language... Are you thinking of mediating? "

" Perhaps that would come in useful if ever the fools decide to surrender but no, mediating serves no purpose. Lambs loved war too much. " A barely discernable tone of regret accompanied the last statement.

" But the war has dragged on for so long. Surely, they are tired and hoping for peace... " Reya started to argue.

" Impossible. " The rebuttal was swift, cutting her off. " Humans never change. Bloodshed, dissension, treachery, deceit, all this qualities are inborn in them. Have history not proven this over and over again? Motivated by greed, they will fight until everything is destroyed. Nothing has changed and never will. Peace is nothing but a lie. "

" You sound... as if you hate humanity... " Reya's eyes rested on his back as she made her observation.

Krelian did not turn his head to return her glance but his hands stilled for a moment, resting on the keys of his computer before resuming their activity. " Hate? Humanity? They are nothing to me. "

Reya frowned a little, expecting to hear the words that were left unsaid. Nothing... how you lie even to yourself. No, there are still 'things' that you care about... He had said much more to her than usual but Reya was not going to push her luck by asking him any more questions.

" How is the progress on Imarla? "

" Cellular fusion is at 37% but the preliminary trials conducted on the AR detected a problem. Repeated scenario testing resulted in actions and responses that are too erratic and unpredictable. The primary reason has been traced to the insufficient DNA information. "

" Is the AR system structure still fundamentally sound? "

" It is but some modifications might have to be done. The level of synchronization should be the same as that of an Omnigear. However, it will never be able to match the Extra Sensory control I have with Caliginus. "

" That is good enough. Do whatever needs to be done on the cellular fusion process, I will check the AR system again myself. You have your orders. "

" Very well then, I will take my leave, " Inclining her head, Reya acknowledged the dismissal, leaving the man with his dreams and machines.

" Control, do you copy? This is Red Leader; units have commenced entering into Sector 4301. No enemy units sighted so far, " Static cracked as the young pilot reported in, scanning the terrain as his Gear covered the ground rapidly.

" This is Control, Red Leader. Proceed with extreme caution. Intelligence indicates presence of a large group of heavily armed Gears in the vicinity. Check your heat detectors. "

" Understood. Relaying orders to all units. "

Switching the intercom unit off, Bernan looked about him in amazement. If he did not know better, he would have swore he was already on the surface. Contrarily to the dull and drab wasteland he had been expecting, the simulation's live interactive environment painted a different picture. The grassland on which his Gear traipsed was a sheet of emerald waves, undulating and bending with the force of the wind.

Is this really the surface where Lambs live? They certainty don't deserve it. Left alone, those lowlifes would probably destroy everything and themselves in the whole process. That's why we have to rule over them, we the 'Abel', the Shepherds. Bernan smirked openly; he was proud being a member of the Gazel, the ruling class of Solaris. The position of Red Leader should only fall naturally to him since Second Class citizens were good for nothing except maybe being cannon fodder.

In fact, he held the man who was his commander in contempt. Bernan was not foolish enough to let it show since regardless of how he felt, Kahran Ramsus was a full member of the elite Elements class. Rumors had it that Ramsus was born on the lower levels of Solaris so Bernan drew the only logical conclusion that he must have been a decedent of Lambs. At least, he was grateful that he was not assigned under the Fire Element. He's nothing but a disgusting Lamb! Look at that skin and hair! How the top brass could accept this sort of trash into Jugend is beyond me. Just wait... things will change once I take over... I'll show them where their places are!

Lost in his own dreams of glory, the arrogant young pilot failed to notice the warning flash of his heat detector until it was too late. A bright flare of light exploded right before his eyes, blinding him.

" Wha