Sam wasn't the only one who had been ordered into the kwoon room that day. Gadreel had been without a Jager since Eden had fallen nearly a year ago. A good pilot had died and while no official blame had been cast, opinion among the other pilots was that the fault had been his - that somehow Gadreel had failed and not only cost the life of his co-pilot Eve, but the lives of a thousand civilians along the coast when the Class IV Kaiju, codenamed Lucifer, had decimated the city.

Since then he'd been a pilot without a Jager. Aimless. Court-martialed and cleared, but only by a razor thin margin. Marshall Singer had been the deciding vote.

Gadreel stepped out of his shoes, taking the mat before Sam, staff in hand. This was his last chance. Prove himself here or linger forever in disgrace.