Cinder

10 - Deadly Perfection

The corridors of the frigate were just as he remembered them, if not a little worse for wear. He couldn't imagine that upkeep was high on the priority list of whatever resistance group this was.

"I gave them the package," Gates told him as they walked. He assumed she was talking about the cylinder, what Kay had claimed they'd stolen from Spyglass. "With any luck, they'll have analyzed it by now and will be able to shed some light to both of us on what it is exactly."

Wherever he treaded, people became silent when he passed them. He wasn't going to get used to that, not soon anyway. Before accepting his almost self-imposed exile, he thought he'd finally found a family to be a part of, to be one component of something bigger. The Militia had been that, a cause that he could finally believe in. And Gates had gone one step further, inviting him into the close and loyal fold of the 6-4.

Now others stared at him just as they would an outsider, like they had when he was still nothing more than an IMC defector picked up from some operation gone wrong. The way one would stare at something untrustworthy.

The same way Kay had looked at him.

The two of them finally ambled onto the bridge, him barely registering their progress. It wasn't until he noticed Gates waving at him that he finally snapped his attention back to reality. Once she was sure that he was focused on her, she gestured towards the command deck of the frigate, and two individuals who stepped forward to greet them.

"Welcome to the Embers."

One man he was able to recognize from memory, though the fact that his face had been plastered over wanted posters on every IMC controlled planet on the frontier didn't hurt. The last time he'd seen him had been in a bar, so it was a nice change of scenery for the circumstances of their current meeting. He gave a respectful nod, and held his attentive stance. "Sir."

"Nice to see you, Four." He gave a mock salute to him, much like one would to a drinking buddy. The man was more casual than he'd thought. "In case you don't remember, I'm Barker. You've probably heard of me, hopefully good things, though I doubt it. In any matter, I'm one of the people running this whole thing."

"Never would have thought he had it in him," said the other commander, a woman whose outfit definitely spoke volumes of authority and commanded respect. "Would've thought he'd drink himself to death before getting his act together ... but fortunately, I was wrong." She extended a hand to him, gripping it tightly in what he assumed was a subtle show of dominance. "I'm Fenrir, chief tactical specialist and second-in-command of this ship. Nothing happens here without my say-so."

"Relax," Barker urged her, "you're gonna scare the kid into exile again. We only just got him back, no need to be so aggressive."

She pursed her lips, but obeyed what he said and fell silent. It didn't seem like she was a big fan of his.

Barker looked apologetically at Tobias. "Sorry about that. It's just- well, obviously the circumstances of your sudden reappearance were not only surprising, but a bit suspicious. She's not onboard with the idea yet."

"Smart," he replied, "I wouldn't trust something so out-of-the-blue either."

The man shrugged. "Way I see it, you gotta count every blessing you get these days."

He nodded. "So, this resistance group ... the 'Embers'?"

"We needed something to rally behind," explained Gates from his side, "a name that would remind people of what they were fighting for. What we're fighting for is hope, Tobias. And, well ... that's what you are, what you've been for years. An idea that even in our darkest hour, someone will always be there to protect us. I think it's fair to say that if you're the Inferno, we see ourselves as the embers you leave in your wake."