Inferno

6 - A New Lead

Four's Logbook

Thanks to KT's timely arrival, that Stryder is nothing but dust. Before he died, he said something about the Erebus system. As far as I remember, it's IMC controlled, but I don't know much more than that. I suppose that they must have been doing something there in the last month or so since I changed sides. I don't think that they were waiting for us here at Tyche; I think that they were just refueling some of their ships that are going to this Erebus, and we happened to stumble upon them. Whatever it is that they're doing there, it can't be good.

The Remnant Fleet of the IMC seems to be getting more and more aggressive, as shown by that Stryder. I would have never seen Jospert or Yodel do something like that, playing with a man before they killed them. I think that without contact to the core worlds, the IMC cares more about winning than they do about the morality of their goals anymore. Maybe it's a good thing that I got out of it when I did.

In any matter, KT and I received a transmission from Vale and Tyra to rendezvous a few clicks north of here. Most of the IMC fleet has left the system, we just have to make it to the evac zone and wait for transport. We're en route. I have to get this newfound info to the head of the SRS, Sarah Briggs. She'll know what to do about Erebus.

—X—

Riding on the Titan's shoulder, Tobias was able to look every which way and monitor his tracker for hostiles while KT carried them both to the LZ. So far, they hadn't come across any other IMC forces. It seemed like they were pulling out of the system; they just hadn't been prepared to fight them, and had tried to flee as quickly as possible.

He looked in the corner of his HUD, where the status of squad-mates could be seen. Both Vale and Tyra's statuses had their current heartbeat (or in Tyra's case at least, Vale had some kind of reading for her core processor; it looked way more erratic than a human's heartbeat, but at least it meant she was functioning), and a green light to indicate that they were alive. But McFarlane and all of the grunts' lights were red, with flatlines for pulses.

He hadn't known McFarlane, his only real interaction being that less than enthusiastic welcome that he'd received from the man; but that didn't mean he didn't feel sorry for his death. He had saved Tobias from the Stryder, likely because he'd seen that he was truly dedicated to the Militia cause now. In the end, McFarlane was the reason he was still breathing, and he thanked the man for that.

"We are approaching the rendezvous point. Be sure to check the surrounding area and ensure that we are alone."

He heeded KT's advice, and looked at his tracker. No FOF tags could be seen, and he decided to chance a transmission. "Vale, Tyra, you copy?"

"We're here, Four. Where are you?"

"We're coming in now, should be there in a few more seconds."

"Copy that. See you then."

Indeed, KT only had to walk a few more meters before they broke the cover of the woodlands and entered a small clearing near the edge of a cliff. Now, he was able to look up and see the massive Militia frigate in the sky, coming down to refuel since the IMC ships had left the position open and available.

"Four! Over here!"

He looked down from his perch atop KT to where Vale waved him over. He let himself fall to the ground, and moved forward while the Titan stayed where she was and continued to look around the surrounding area.

Tyra glanced over at her. "That your Titan?"

He nodded. "Yeah. KT-0298."

"I could have sworn that was Captain Shears' Titan. How'd she end up with you?"