she'd accidentally break it off and lock herself inside.
"Ishigaki, how are you holding up?" CO Sano was on the other side, standing with his hands clasped behind his back and a thin smile on this face.
Mari fought down the sudden, strong urge to slam the door in his face. "I'm bored," she said bluntly.
"Not much I can do about that, now, is there?" Sano arched his brows.
"You could let me have some visitors," Mari said. "You know, the other Level 3 Pilots already know something is going on. First the power surge thing with Sae and then the sink-hole situation are kind of telling. Someone is going to figure it out eventually."
"It's better that they speculate than pass on something that's true."
"If I ask them not to, they won't talk," Mari said confidently. She knew they'd agree to almost anything if it meant getting out of the compound they were being held in.
"You seem so sure of their loyalty to you," Sano said, clearly sceptical.
"Pilots are, generally. Especially to a fellow pilot; we're loyal to a fault. You're just used to sources needing to be bribed and cajoled into doing as you say."
Sano didn't say anything for a moment, ponderously scratching his chin. "If I let them in to see you, can you persuade them to keep things quiet?"
"Absolutely."
"You're right," Sano said, tone coloured with resignation. "The Level 3 Pilots and sources are both in an uproar over this. I don't know what to do about the sources, but if you can calm your former comrades down, that would be helpful."
"They're still my comrades."
"You're a Level 1 Pilot now. The only one. Your only comrade now is Nomura."
"All pilots are my comrades, sir. We're all in this together, after all."
"Well said, Ishigaki. We'll let your pilots in to see you."
Unsurprisingly, Matsura was the first one through the door of the suite, and rushed to meet her as soon as he saw her. He lifted her up off her feet in a hard embrace and twirled her around before setting her back down. Then he spared a look for the rest of the room and whistled.
"Wow, Mari, what did you do to get all this? Does this mean I can take over your bunk?"
Mari smacked his arm and grinned. "You're ridiculous. Shouldn't you be more worried about all the inexplicable things that have been happening?"
"I would if it was any great mystery," Matsura said with a shrug as he glanced around at their comrades. "We think we figured it out though, especially after they took you."
The rest of the pilots all nodded in agreement while Mari surveyed them in shock.
"You know what's going on?"
"They may have hired us for our piloting abilities, but we're not stupid," Matsura scoffed, finding a plush seat and falling into it. "Level 1 Pilot is taken away, massive power outages followed by a sinkhole that destroyed our bar? Easy enough to figure out: one of those sources was a Level 1."
Mari found herself nodding, impressed. Here she'd thought she'd have to explain everything, but they already knew. Now all she had to do was try to persuade them to keep their mouths shut about that information.
"So, if I told you the higher-ups wanted you to keep quiet, would you be okay with that?" Mari asked, surveying her fellows, who had all settled onto couches and lounge chairs while she'd been listening to Matsura.
Matsura sighed and shook his head. "I think it's a bit too late to try and keep the secret. The Level 2 Sources have been up in arms all week and have been digging around looking for an explanation. If we figured it out, I'm sure they have too. We all know how good sources are at keeping gossip behind their teeth."
"Really, why don't you enlighten us?" a voice came from the doorway.
Mari's head whipped up, and her eyes found Kaede's from across the room. Kaede was looking around their chambers at the assembled pilots with an air of disdain, eyes coldly dismissing them. Her pilots all sat up, bristling at the intrusion into the conversation.
"If we sources are so terrible at keeping
"Ishigaki, how are you holding up?" CO Sano was on the other side, standing with his hands clasped behind his back and a thin smile on this face.
Mari fought down the sudden, strong urge to slam the door in his face. "I'm bored," she said bluntly.
"Not much I can do about that, now, is there?" Sano arched his brows.
"You could let me have some visitors," Mari said. "You know, the other Level 3 Pilots already know something is going on. First the power surge thing with Sae and then the sink-hole situation are kind of telling. Someone is going to figure it out eventually."
"It's better that they speculate than pass on something that's true."
"If I ask them not to, they won't talk," Mari said confidently. She knew they'd agree to almost anything if it meant getting out of the compound they were being held in.
"You seem so sure of their loyalty to you," Sano said, clearly sceptical.
"Pilots are, generally. Especially to a fellow pilot; we're loyal to a fault. You're just used to sources needing to be bribed and cajoled into doing as you say."
Sano didn't say anything for a moment, ponderously scratching his chin. "If I let them in to see you, can you persuade them to keep things quiet?"
"Absolutely."
"You're right," Sano said, tone coloured with resignation. "The Level 3 Pilots and sources are both in an uproar over this. I don't know what to do about the sources, but if you can calm your former comrades down, that would be helpful."
"They're still my comrades."
"You're a Level 1 Pilot now. The only one. Your only comrade now is Nomura."
"All pilots are my comrades, sir. We're all in this together, after all."
"Well said, Ishigaki. We'll let your pilots in to see you."
Unsurprisingly, Matsura was the first one through the door of the suite, and rushed to meet her as soon as he saw her. He lifted her up off her feet in a hard embrace and twirled her around before setting her back down. Then he spared a look for the rest of the room and whistled.
"Wow, Mari, what did you do to get all this? Does this mean I can take over your bunk?"
Mari smacked his arm and grinned. "You're ridiculous. Shouldn't you be more worried about all the inexplicable things that have been happening?"
"I would if it was any great mystery," Matsura said with a shrug as he glanced around at their comrades. "We think we figured it out though, especially after they took you."
The rest of the pilots all nodded in agreement while Mari surveyed them in shock.
"You know what's going on?"
"They may have hired us for our piloting abilities, but we're not stupid," Matsura scoffed, finding a plush seat and falling into it. "Level 1 Pilot is taken away, massive power outages followed by a sinkhole that destroyed our bar? Easy enough to figure out: one of those sources was a Level 1."
Mari found herself nodding, impressed. Here she'd thought she'd have to explain everything, but they already knew. Now all she had to do was try to persuade them to keep their mouths shut about that information.
"So, if I told you the higher-ups wanted you to keep quiet, would you be okay with that?" Mari asked, surveying her fellows, who had all settled onto couches and lounge chairs while she'd been listening to Matsura.
Matsura sighed and shook his head. "I think it's a bit too late to try and keep the secret. The Level 2 Sources have been up in arms all week and have been digging around looking for an explanation. If we figured it out, I'm sure they have too. We all know how good sources are at keeping gossip behind their teeth."
"Really, why don't you enlighten us?" a voice came from the doorway.
Mari's head whipped up, and her eyes found Kaede's from across the room. Kaede was looking around their chambers at the assembled pilots with an air of disdain, eyes coldly dismissing them. Her pilots all sat up, bristling at the intrusion into the conversation.
"If we sources are so terrible at keeping
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