The Architect Codex

He walked into the Titan bay, the section of the ship reserved for Titans either inactive or on standby. Hung on racks that lined the walls were empty chassises, just waiting to house a data-core, and spare parts were lying around every so often. Most Titans found entered a 'sleep' mode when not actively deployed, though there were still several that chose to remain active, and they could be seen walking about the bay.

"KT?"

Several of the other Titans made note of him, but did not address him. Tobias found himself feeling rather out of place here, like he was intruding on something private.

"KT? You in here?"

"Yes, Pilot."

The response came from off to his right. Looking over, he saw an Ion making her way over to him. She appeared slightly different in this new chassis—gone was the monotonous grey of her old chassis. Instead, her new body was nearly black, its texture seemingly that of carbon-fiber, and had orange safety markers on it—obviously, it hadn't been prepped for general use yet.

He took off his helmet, and gave her a friendly wave with his free hand. "Hey. How you holding up?"

She blinked. "All things considered, rather well. You?"

Sighing, he gave her a half-hearted shrug. "I mean, I haven't been discharged. So that's good news."

"True enough." KT looked away. "Though I must admit, the idea that the IMC are building a weapon on a planetary scale is troubling."

His gaze quickly snapped to her. "You know about that?"

"You're not quite adept with controlling your neural link yet—during periods of stress, especially. I heard everything discussed in that room." She held one of her large hands up to halt him from speaking. "Do not worry—I will not share this information with anyone else, as per Commander Briggs' orders."

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and closed his eyes. "That's good. Thanks, KT."

"Of course, Pilot."

A thought struck him, and he glanced tentatively back up at her. "Uh ... you wouldn't happen to have seen anything else, would you—?"

"Besides your clumsy interaction with the Captain? No, not a thing."

His eyes widened, and he crossed his arms with an expression of mock reproach. "Is that a joke? Did you just crack a joke, and at my expense, no less?"

"I don't recall 'cracking jokes' as one of my protocols," she replied innocently. "If I were to perform such an action, I can only assume it would be a learned behavior."

He raised an eyebrow. "Unbelievable—you're blaming me for your newfound funny-bone, that's rich."

"The concept of blame does not hold the proper qualities to be considered 'wealthy'."

"Okay, you're pushing your luck now."

Then she did something he'd never heard her do before; she laughed.

It was a small laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. A moment later, however, she abruptly fell silent.

"Kay? What's up?"

"Nothing, Pilot," she dismissed, trying to move on from the unusual event. "I am simply glad to see you and the Captain growing closer as friends. Your initial conversations were far more ... hostile."

"I thought you were going to go for a subtler word," he muttered defensively, "but yeah, that about sums it up. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad too—she seems to have done a total one-eighty from when we first met." He looked at her seriously. "Though, I'm not convinced that that's what you were concerned about. Seriously, what's up?"