i present to you the rest of your lives {cryowake}

You stand tall with your arms folded regally as you look down at the six pilots before you. None have ever manned a cryowake suit before, let alone been to war in one, but you have enormous faith in your recruitment process. Each has been individually vetted, evaluated, and selected for this program. They are your vision, they are the future.

Baines stands to your left. She looks tired, but then you cannot remember a time when she didn't have bags under her eyes and when every tenth breath was a sigh. She scans the six, assessing them as they are assembled here together for the first time. By the time she is done with them they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Whilst some of these young faces have been here for years, they have never been given an opportunity like this before. There is some pride in the slight smile on your lips as you see them lined up, ready for duty, together as a group at last.

Kipling. Junior. His father is one of your best engineers, and one of the few people you would consider a friend. He is not here on favour, but by merit and potential. He has worked hard, he knows the mechanisms inside and out, and above all else he is a good young man. You lost your previous pilot for A1, he will not fail you like she did. The boy is far less reckless, levels more focused, and below the surface, driven by grief - the model soldier, then.

Hargrave. Hates the world, loves himself. You aren't sure yet if that is a good combination, but if Kipling is water then Hargave is fire. You found this wretch when security footage of him clearing out a bar-full of men with just his fists came into your possession. Son of a failed politician, more money than sense, more brawn than brains, but has the rare ability to know when to stop. Rough around the edges, but you think that A2 is perfect for him - variety is key to victory, after all.

Carrow. Girl genius. Came from the gutter. Knows what it's like to have nothing. Could make a remote detonation bomb out of a broken microwave and some scotch tape. It makes your chest sink when you think about how much she is like Elliot, and thus you are determined not to make the same mistakes with her. You are giving her less responsibility, the A3 suit will be ideal. She has nagged you since the day you brought her into the program to pilot one, and after gauging her potential you are only happy to grant her the opportunity.

Gloria. She didn't give a surname. You don't particularly care. You have never seen such determination in a person, a fire behind the eyes, a scowl that never dares let up. Her academic scores are laughably sub-standard, she shows no aptitude for the theoretical or strategic side to this, and so why did you give her command of B-Unit? Call it a gut feeling. There's fight in her, there's drive, and above all else you are of the belief that there is nothing more dangerous than a girl with nothing to lose.

Griggs. His late father paid for all of this. It simply wouldn't be possible without the financial backing that he provided over the years. Another loss in this war of yours, you begin to start asking yourself: how many more? As many as is necessary. His son is a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none. You are struggling to find a focus or a direction for him, all you have is forwards. He knows the mission, we will just have to see what this war turns him into.

Youngbae. Unrivalled ambition. She has worked and worked and worked, and here she is at the end of it all, ready to claim her reward. Girls from the outskirts don't usually amount to much, there is not as much educational support, but occasionally a gem unearths itself, and that's the diamond in the rough that is your B3 pilot. She's here to prove the world wrong, who are you to deny her that chance?

"Welcome to Day 1 of the rest of your lives." You begin, licking your dry lips, "By now you will have settled into your new quarters. Before you begin training with Lieutenant Baines, a word from myself."

You glance to your right-hand-woman for a half second, before returning your gaze to your squad.

"Our cause is one that you all have invested your futures in, for that I thank you. Make no mistake, there will be hard days ahead, but I believe in the better world that we are trying to create. If you apply yourselves, if you strive to reach your potential here then you will go down in history as heroes."

You signal behind you, to the seven stasis tanks. Six empty, one occupied.

"This is the price of failure."

You look over at Elliot, sound in her forever sleep, her body bobbing up and down in the liquid.

"Do not let me down, do not let yourselves down, but above all else, do not let Panem down."

You look each of them in the eye.

"Dismissed."