<strong>Location</strong>: ADAMS Headquarters (First Haven, Watcher’s Island). Grigori Docking Bay – Cockpit of Unit 01-Samyaza<br/><strong>Date</strong>: 5 January 2099. Monday<br/><strong>Time</strong>: Afternoon<br/><strong>Who</strong>: David Shepherd<br/><br/><hr/><br/>“Confirmed,” David muttered along with Allen as the audio communications between them and the bridge once again went silent. David blinked and glanced away from the screen to look at his brother again. He had a soft and obedient smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The blue glow from the screen cast a cold and pale filter over Allen’s features. David swallowed and shifted in his seat for a moment as he tried to figure out how to speak to Allen.<em>Why do you always do that</em>– that was what he wanted to ask his older brother. But the words jammed in David’s throat and made it hard for him to breathe.<br/><br/>The blue glow that filled the entry plug suddenly shifted from blue to a dark, syrupy red as a status update flashed across the screen. The sounds of air and metal and movement filled David’s ears as the entry plug was finally inserted into the Grigori Unit and was locked in place. It went dark, only for a second, but it was a second long enough to cause David’s heartbeat to speed up as the red light returned. And with the return of the light came the sudden rush of liquid into David’s piloting suit.<br/><br/>He’d never quite been able to squash the instinctual urge to panic as the liquid quickly rose higher. It started towards his feet and than worked its way up. It wasn’t water. It wasn’t anything that could harm him or anything that could drown him, but David had to fight the urge now to hold his breath as the fluid reached up to his mouth. He still closed his eyes. A few blinks and a few swallows and it would just be just like breathing air, but David still struggled to do it. He held onto his breath for as long as he could before he opened his mouth and let it fluid flood down his throat. There were a lot of different names for what it was, but he’d mostly heard mostly heard the research and development people refer to it as nutrition.<br/><br/>David didn’t need to look over at Allen to know his brother was handling the transition much better than he was. Once both of their suits were filled up and they were both breathing a second dose of liquid was released, though this time the liquid filled the entire cockpit of the Grigori Unit. David’s field of vision was blinded by red before the lighting system kicked in and suddenly everything went clear and normal. A natural tone of light took over the cockpit. If David couldn’t feel the heaviness in his lungs and the hug of warmth around him he might have been fooled by thinking his suit and cockpit weren’t filled with anything.<br/><br/>“Beginning synchronization,” Allen announced as he reached up and officially activated the unit.<br/><br/>The world might have stayed normal, but David felt a new wave of sickness wash over him as he was synched up with Samyaza. For a second he feared he might experience a feedback kick, though the feeling passed as quickly as it had come over him and David was left content.<br/><br/>"<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: courier;">Synchronization rating for Pilot Goldilocks is 53%. Synchronization rating for Pilot Countsheep is 37%. Fidelity rating at 89%,</span></span>" Metatron informed them. And certainly relayed the information back to the bridge as well.<br/><br/>“That’s really high for you,” David commented with a half smile as he tuned his face to look at his brother. But Allen didn’t respond. He’d lost his smile and was staring at the screen with a concerned expression knitted across his face. But there wasn't any information on the screen that should have made him look that way. David frowned as he watched his brother and tried to get his attention. “Allen?”