"SO WE'RE JUST TRUSTING THESE DORSSIAN DOGS!?"

Inuzuka struggled to hold Yamada back from attacking the other soldiers. L-elf and the others had been brought to the debriefing room.

"They've agreed to work with us. They want to fight Dorssia", Haruto defended them.

"LIKE HELL! They're just spies! They've got you all fooled!"

Slap

Yamada stood there struck and touched his cheek. His shocked eyes looked to Saki who was frowning disapprovingly.

"Stop yelling so rudely. If they are spies THEN we can kill them. I don't trust them either. But if we want the advantage in this war, they'll give it to us."

"But, do we really need one?", Inuzuka had let go of Yamada and crossed his arms. "We were able to hold that attack off with just the four of us."

"That one ship is not all that Dorssia has. They'll be back with more. We need to be prepared", Haruto said. "If we're all in agreement, we can get ready for the next attack."

The attention turned to the ex-enemies. L-elf and his squad were sitting at the table, watching the exchange silently. Finally, Haruto and the others sat down as well, just as their commander came in.

"I don't know what they teach you over in Dorssia but over here, we value loyalty. Any assistance you offer will be appreciated but know that if I sense any betrayal it will be the end of you. Your quick decision to abandon your country already makes me suspicious. Don't make me right."

Commander Ichijo took his seat at the head of the table and looked to all the faces staring up at him. They had indeed held off the first attack but it wasn't enough.

"Dorssia has taken control of JIOR's other modules. This is the only one that has held out. They will be back before long and now they know what kind of weapons we have."

"They don't know about Unit V yet", Inuzuka pointed out. "That's still an ace we have for now."

"They don't know about Unit I's other features either." Kibukawa came in and plopped into an empty seat. "There's a side of it that's revealed once it gets hot enough. Did your father tell you about it?"

Haruto shook his head. "Well, he told me that once I go beyond six hundred and sixty six on the heat gauge, 'something incredible' will happen. But he never told me exactly."

"Before thinking of Dorssia, we need to consider ARUS", L-elf said.

A-drei nodded. "He's right. That's where our next move should lie."

"ARUS has nothing to do with this", Inuzuka said. "They're neutral."

"You think they'll ignore this? One country attacking another? Dorssia has gone against ARUS before and now is the time to find out if ARUS is our friend or enemy", A-drei laid it out.

"How do we do that?", Haruto asked.

"We wait", L-elf stood up from his seat. He stuck his hands into his pockets. "We let ARUS make the first move. If they come to us on peaceful terms, we can discuss an alliance. If they arrive to fight with Dorssia then we'll be ready." He walked towards the door only to have Yamada block his way.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?", he glared.

"To take stock of your base. We need to know what we're working with." As L-elf spoke, A-drei, Q-vier, X-eins, and H-neun stood up to join him.

"You think we're just gonna let you do what you want and go where you want?!"

"Yamada is right." Commander Ichijo got up from his seat and held his hands in front of him. "While you have agreed to assist in our cause, I can't just trust you so easily. You'll each be accompanied by one of our pilots at all times. We'll arrange a bunk situation."

There were no objections to that, but Saki spoke up for something else. "You say we'll be accountable for one each. But there's five of them and four of us."

The commander's jaw tightened. "Someone better get me news on Renbokoji's whereabouts in the next five minutes or they will be considered AWOL!"

With that, the commander left the room first, leaving the pilots alone with the Dorssians. Kibukawa stuck his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. He paired up the two different groups and changed their room assignments. Before, Haruto was rooming with Inuzuka, Yamada was with his friend Nobu, and Saki was in the same room as Aina, a fellow classmate.

Now the room assignments were as such, Haruto and L-elf, Inuzuka and Q-vier, Yamada and X-eins, Saki and A-drei, and finally Akira and H-neun, whenever she decided to show up. A-drei expressed some concerns with sharing a room with a female but Saki quickly nipped that in the bud. Haruto packed his things away and went to his new room. L-elf was already there, sitting at one of the desks.

"Um, do you prefer the top or bottom bed?", Haruto asked.

"I have no preference. Take what you please."

He entered completely and put his things on the bottom bunk. Just then, he felt something strange. Haruto fell to his knees and began to pant. L-elf looked at him with a touch of confusion. He got up and approached him slowly.

"What's the matter?", he put a hand on the pilot's shoulder.

Haruto suddenly turned and pushed L-elf to the floor. His strength was too much and all of his struggling was in vain. Just as the door to their room opened, Haruto sank his teeth into L-elf's neck and he screamed.