Lt. Lee and Rosalind heard the pilots’ responses to her questions for a long time. She had a better picture of how these pilots interacted with the mecha and of most interest was that they seem to have access to new mecha abilities. That was a curious finding because she was sure these six mecha and their pilots are the only ones at this stage and when word gets out there are more to the mechas abilities every base and country with mechas are going to demand that it be unlocked. Rosalind knew she needed to ask the mechas more specifically about what caused the change.

            “Do you still have some time?” Rosalind asked without stuttering but not at all providing eye contact. She always let her work come before her health and apparently it temporarily worked for psychological trauma.

            “Yes, we are supposed to be on bed rest, until we can complete our physicals again.” Lt. Anderson replied.

            “Let’s all talk to the mechas before you go.”

            Rosalind’s request had the pilots all looking at each other in disbelief. They had heard the rumor that Rosalind talked to the mechas on the beach yesterday, but they didn’t believe it.

            “Yes, Miss Rosalind.”

            Rosalind walked with the pilots and Lt. Lee towards the mecha. She was beginning to feel a pain in her stomach but chose to ignore it. When they arrived at the mechas feet, Rosalind greeted the mecha as usual before asking her questions.

            “Hello, again. The pilots told me that they all completed another bond with their mecha.”

            “Yes, it’s true,” Bleu responded.

            “About that to confirm these pilots are the only ones capable of using these new abilities with their mecha?”

            “Yes.”

            “Is there a process that the pilots must go through to unlock these abilities?”

            “Yes.”

            Rosalind had to think about her next question. It was obvious that for the sake of being prepared for the alien invasion the mechas needed to be as useful as possible. And now there is proof that they have abilities beyond, their basic flight, strength, and speed.

            A quick thought popped into her head, to have the pilots also field their questions.

            “Would you mind if the pilots and Lt. Lee were to ask you questions and you respond through me?”

            “That would be fine. I would advise that you do it quickly?”

            “Why?”

            Bleu didn’t answer that question.

            Rosalind turned to the pilots and Lt. Lee and told them to ask any questions they had. She learned from Bleu’s replies to the questions that the mechas did have the ability to shoot ammo, and that 20% of their abilities had been unlocked, but not what the other 80% of those abilities were, and that the process to unlocking these abilities was not standardized. There were more questions Rosalind wanted to ask, but she felt faint. She grabbed Lt. Lee’s sleeve when she could no longer feel her lower body and all her thoughts faded away.

            “What? Oh, not again. I thought you were at least making sure to eat breakfast!” Lt. Lee replied while hooking his arms underneath Rosalind’s armpits to slowly lay her down.

            It had only been one day since she last passed out.

            “What just happened?” Lt. Martinez asked, looking to Lt. Anderson for both an explanation and a command.

            “Ah, haha. She passes out when she doesn’t eat. One of my jobs is to make sure she eats, I thought she had been getting breakfast at the mess. So, I didn’t think this would happen,” Lt. Lee explained. He began wondering if he should bring her food or carry her to her office and then bring her food, or maybe even the infirmary.

            “This is our fault, or mine, she didn’t get to eat breakfast because of me,” Lt. Anderson spoke up.

            “Oh, I see. Well, I think we have to cut this session short. Should we move her inside?”

            Immediately after Lt. Lee’s question all of the mechas moved. Five of them walked towards their towers, while one remained behind and kneeled while slowly reaching its fingertips out towards Lt. Lee and Rosalind. Each finger was more or less the length of a limousine with intricate joints and peculiar patterns and just one finger could offer more than enough shade. Rosalind who never stayed unconscious for too long after passing out awoke to the familiar sight. As a child, she didn’t understand her fainting spells, but Bleu always knew when they would happen and have her sit down before she went unconscious. Since the mechas were always outside in full sun he would make sure to provide her with shade, while she laid there.

            When Rosalind awoke, she felt much better and was even able to sit upright. She really wanted to touch Bleu’s finger, but when he noticed she was about to get up he moved his hand away and returned to his tower.

            ‘Ah. That’s not fair, Bleu.’ Rosalind sighed in her mind.

            Lt. Lee was caught up in the movement that Bleu had exhibited that he hadn’t noticed that Rosalind was trying to stand up on her own. When Rosalind realized that she couldn’t quite get to her feet, she was about to call Lt. Lee’s attention for help but noticed Lt. Anderson offering her his hand. She was surprised he was trying to help her and would have refused his help if it weren’t for how he seemed to be giving her space, by averting his gaze. After a second Rosalind took his hand and put her weight into it and was able to stand, but she should have known that she wasn’t going to be able to let go, because of her weak legs. Luckily, Lt. Lee had finally noticed what was going on.

            “Oh, Rosalind, you’re already up? Here lean on me and I’ll walk you to the mess hall,” Lt. Lee said quickly.

            “Alright.”

            Rosalind shifted her weight to her left side where Lt. Lee was and felt uncomfortable that she was leaving Lt. Anderson behind, obviously choosing Lt. Lee’s help over his. But she did turn back to Lt. Anderson and offered him a quiet, “Thank you.” She hoped it sounded sincere, despite her inability to make eye contact while saying it.

            The two hobbled over to the mess hall and although they were a few minutes early for lunch, Rosalind was able to get a scrumptious looking meal thanks to the chef, who was surprisingly easy going.

            “Are you going to eat?” Rosalind thought to ask Lt. Lee noticing he was sitting down with her without food.

            “No, I’ll eat later. After you eat and feel better, I have to leave and report what we learned to the Major.”

            “Aww. Alright.”

            Rosalind fell silent focusing on the grilled chicken salad in front of her. It was hard for her to eat with Lt. Lee sitting in front of her watching her eat.

            ‘I wish he had gotten his own food or something, this is so awkward,’ Rosalind thought. The awkwardness increased when more people entered the mess hall and saw Lt. Lee empty-handed while Rosalind was stuffing her face. She was at least trying to but eating quickly wasn’t one of her strong suits.

            “Okay, this is so awkward,” Rosalind spouted surprising Lt. Lee and drawing more attention to the couple. “I think I feel fine. You can leave.”

            “Are you sure?” Lt. Lee said while standing up, obviously eager to leave and meet up with the Major.

            “Yes, seeing how eager you are to leave!”

            “Yes, sorry. I just want to report our findings ASAP! Send me a message when you get back to your office! Bye.”