I can't believe that the solution to the energy flow problem was so basic. After being held hostage by the birthday committee for a day, I figured it out within a few hours of getting back to work. Turns out all I really needed to do was step back and get a new perspective on it.
Everything's been going better since then, actually. Pilot training is nearly complete, we've assembled most of the parts and the whole team is working at peak efficiency. Even Kazuma didn't make me want to throttle him for a change.
Don't get me wrong, these guys are still a bunch of corny idiots. They're just my corny idiots, that's all.