The Architect Codex

Four's Logbook

It's been just over a month since KT and I made it off Nedar, and I joined the militia. To say that my pilot training was accelerated is a bit of an understatement—it's been practically nothing but training session after grueling training session. The simulation pods give me headaches, and my muscles are sore in places I didn't even realize I had muscles. Either the Militia's physical program is far more rigorous than I'd ever anticipated, or I suspect some trainers are taking out their anger on the former IMC Pilot. Still—I think it's about to pay off.

Today's the day.

Dimitri and Gates finally came through on that link-session. I've been looking forward to this for the last few days since they told me, as hard as it may seem to believe that. But I'm not doing this for the Militia—I'm doing it for KT. She and I have come a long way from when we were first rescued—I think I understand what Jospert meant now. I thought I did back on Nedar, but that was just scraping the surface. She's not just some machine—she's an actual thinking being, complete with her own likes, dislikes, ideas, everything. Talking to her is just like talking to another human, assuming you bother to adapt to the more rigid linguistics of a Titan's speech.

Once we're linked, I've been told that we'll be transferred to a squad in the SRS Marauder Corps. It's lead by Sarah Briggs, a name I've heard quite a lot about. She was one of the main leaders of the Militia who helped win the battle of Demeter, the other two being Cheng "Bish" Lorck, and the legendary James MacAllan. I lost a few good friends that day ... though I'm sure she did too. If half the stories I've heard about her are true, then I'd rather not find out personally and become the subject of yet another tale.

That's assuming the link works—which I'm sure it will. I think everything's going to be just fine.

—X—

Tobias walked through the hangar bay towards engineering, his demeanor one of both excitement and nervousness. He'd gambled just about everything on being able to link with KT, and the two of them were about to see whether such a thing was possible.

His old armor had been given back to him, if only to save resources. He wore it now, and couldn't help but feel out of place—the white coloration was definitely going to stand out against the green and brown garb of the militia. He felt torn between wearing it and feeling a nostalgic sense of familiarity or discarding it and allowing himself to feel like part of the team.

Speaking of 'team' ... he noticed three Pilots standing around as he approached his destination, waiting for something. One of them turned towards him, and he was beginning to get a good idea of what they were waiting for.

The Pilot in front, a stockily-built man with bleached hair styled into a quiff, turned to see Tobias approaching and made an audible reaction of disgust. "Oh look, it's another turncoat jackass. Not even gonna have the decency to get rid of those colors, huh?"

Great. This was gonna be fun.

Biting back a retort, he held his pride and stood at attention. "Pilot PFC Four, at your service—"

The man shook his head, his pale green eyes burning holes into Tobias. "Nah, nah, nah. Your IMC rank doesn't mean shit here." He walked up close to Tobias and glared at him, his nostrils flaring and blowing hot breath directly into Tobias' face. "I can't wait for our first assignment together—who's to say that whitey here won't have a little accident on the field—"

"Cut the shit, McFarlane."

He turned to see an odd pair approaching him. One was a woman, the other was... something else. It looked like a new type of spectre at first; but looking closer, he saw that the body had been heavily modified. Rather than flat feet, the legs ended in curved blades, much like types of prosthetic legs used by runners. Their plating was a crimson red color, with pouches and belts adorning their chest and back. The head turned towards him, and the blue light on the front seemed to blink.