The Architect Codex

Inferno - Change of Heart

A light flashed into existence, blinding Tobias. He blinked involuntarily to adjust his vision to the newly brightened room.

"So ... let's find out what your story is."

A man sat adjacent to his own seat at the stainless steel table. He wore a standard Pilot jumpsuit, and had short buzzed hair. If there truly was any stereotype of a hardened military vet, this guy was its spitting image. Behind him stood the same Pilot who'd retrieved him and KT from Nedar, her arms crossed over her chest. He noticed that she'd kept her helmet on for this; whether it was something she just normally did or if it was to help intimidate him due to her reveal of her acquisition of it, he had no idea.

"Gates here reported that her team retrieved a survivor from the nasty skirmish down on Nedar, one that was instigated by the IMC." The man narrowed his eyes. "She didn't mention which side you were on."

Tobias crossed his arms. They'd relieved him of his armor and pistol when they'd reached this Militia frigate stationed in the system. He felt a bit helpless without them, at the mercy of the faction that had been his enemy less than twelve hours ago- was still technically his enemy. But so far, the Titan had been right; he hadn't been harmed, just shoved in a cell for the night until they'd woken him up and dragged him here for answers.

She'd asked him to trust her, and so far his faith hadn't been misplaced. For the time being, he was content to keep following her advice.

The man glanced at a data-pad, a mission debriefing of what Gates had found. "Says here that you're a PFC and Pilot in the IMC. Tobias ... Four. Huh. Odd name. How about we start off with a simple question, hmm? What drove you to fight for the wrong side?"

"Funny, I thought it was the other way around." He knew that a biting remark like that probably wouldn't make a great impression on his interviewer, but he had little patience for this 'victim' mindset of the Militia's.

The man gave the subtlest of tugs on the edge of his mouth, the ghost of a smirk. Tobias had anything but a good feeling about that smirk.

"I'd watch yourself, if I were you." The grin materialized in full on his face. "I've been cordial thus far, especially considering the circumstances of how you came to be on Nedar in the first place." He made a tsk sound. "However, if you want to keep that attitude up, then I'm sure the Captain here wouldn't mind the prospect of getting to throw an IMC soldier out the airlock."

A sigh of frustration escaped the Pilot, the one Tobias now knew as 'Gates', and she lightly hit the man's shoulder with the back of her hand. "C'mon, we're trying to convince him we're not savages here." She looked over at Tobias, the visor of her helmet hiding any facial expression she may have been making behind it. "You're not going to get spaced. We just want to ask you a few questions."

That wasn't at all what he'd been expecting. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Humor me."

He couldn't detect any animosity from her stance or demeanor. He didn't know what it was, but something about her seemed worthy of his trust, much like the Titan- KT had been.

He met her unyielding gaze with a steely look of his own. "I grew up on Gridiron, if that tells you anything about my upbringing. Just my mother and me against the world; we weren't wealthy, but we made do with what we had. When the surface of the planet wasn't being bombarded with solar flares, it could be rather pretty at times. If you got out of the cities and made your way to the outskirts, sometimes you could spot a passing group of Leviathans. It wasn't much, but it was home."

The man's eyes were calculated, intent. He was hanging onto Tobias' every word.

"The IMC was a daily presence since I was a kid, constantly keeping a watchful eye over the population. As a kid, they used to scare me. Had gunships fly over every other night, loud noises all the time, the works. When I was older, I failed to appreciate them for what they were doing until it was too late." He leaned forward. "They were protecting us from the likes of you."