Interrogation

Ayla awoke her, vision blurry and her head spinning. She tried to stand but she was on her knees and she couldn’t feel her legs. Struggling, she pulled and fought the rebar that was tied around her wrists but only ended up falling towards the floor. Her Thorakai seemed undamaged and she silently thanked the designers for the failsafe that prevented a forced exit without the possibility of death. Ayla groaned from the oncoming headache as she reflected on the beach landings.

If it wasn’t for that whore’s son Pankraz they wouldn’t have made it to the beach! Why did he pull troops so soon? I guess he didn’t think that the Navy could take on the Roman’s scrappy ships. He used us as pawns. Maybe I should count myself lucky. I'm the only Nistresi on the planet. The damned Mattia​​ci call upon the other tribes but don’t even tell us what the hell is going on! What could be so important that they’ve kept us all in the dark, Ayla thought to herself as she struggled against the metal binds that kept her tied against the chair.

The scraping of metal against concrete cut off her thoughts as the door to the cell was opened. Eversor, Ajax, and Roark entered the room, stepping down the stairs into the pillbox. Seeing how much she was struggling against the rebar that was holding her wrists Eversor and Ajax looked at each other and then back at her. If their helmets weren’t on she could have seen their grimacing faces of worry that their plan would fail. Moving towards the corner of the room Ajax began grabbing and setting up four chairs, he set up three chairs facing the one they were to sit her in.

Eversor kneeled down near Ayla while holding up his arm. His mechanical fingers were held up for her to see, his index, middle finger, and thumb pushed together before his thumb jutted across both, creating a scraping sound. The sound was followed by a clink, a small mechanism popped out from the side of the armored forearm before a blade extended from it. The large blade extended in a sliding mechanism that when finished formed the blade. The same blade he’d used during the landing on the beach.

The blade was worn but not at all decayed, it shone well in the light as he brought it so close to her helmet. Ayla winced, expecting him to try and cut her out of the armor. To her surprise, he raised his blade before stabbing downward, severing the metal rebar binding her wrists. The bent rebar clinked onto the ground having served its purpose. Reaching for the chair he stood it up before offering his hand to her. The blade still pointed toward her as he extended his hand before he snapped again with his three fingers and it retracted.

Ayla looked up at him, the two could look into each other's eyes through the slits in their helmets. Her glare was enough to let him know she wasn’t taking his hand. Slowly she stood up leaving Eversor to pull his hand back. Eversor pointed at the seat before stepping back to pull up his own alongside his two comrades who had their own.

“So, First Sergeant Ayla Glasner…it would be a pleasure if you hadn't almost blown my friend’s brains out,” Eversor spoke a bit of irritation in his voice. Roark held his rifle across his chest while Ajax had one of her pistols in his hand. The same that he was nearly shot with.

Ajax chuckled, reaching to rub the back of his helmet still feeling a dull headache. He held Ayla's custom pistol in his hand while the other remained holstered. Even though engineering wasn’t his strong suit he could recognize good weapon craftsmanship when he saw it.

"These pistols are in top shape, and nearly spotless. The slide's been reinforced. The interlock with the frame is tightened. It has magnetic elements to aid the grip of a Thorakai suit’s gauntlets. Nearly every part of this gun has been customized and crafted beautifully…Where did you get them?” Ajax asked.

“Built them myself. What little they give us for equipment couldn't kill a rat let alone enemy soldiers without some sort of modifications. ” She was surprised he read the art of weapons so well. She wasn’t going to give away any information on their weapons beyond that, her words were more of an insult towards the standard issue weapons she disliked.

Ajax's look of being impressed seemed to be the only positive expression as Roark grimaced towards her and Eversor tried to keep an apathetic gaze.

“We're offering you a deal that is in the common interest of you and us. It would be a shame to send you off to be a prisoner. We both know how women are treated there on both sides as prisoners…sometimes they even end up as slaves. It’s only becoming more common for prisoners and the pillaged to be brought over to the other side” Roark spoke with a husky voice cutting in. Under the mask, his apathetic gaze rested on their captured foe seemingly as if he didn’t care if she lived, died, or was enslaved along with the rest of the prisoners. It was an all too common sight for him to see the vulnerable civilians enslaved, his heart may have grown bitter by then.

Ayla stared right back at him, her own gaze questioning why their commander seemed to be so indifferent to her. Regardless she didn’t fear him, she had faced worse positions in the past, and was still her. She hoped it was a fair deal but it didn't seem like she had a choice. She sized her opponents up, their Thorakai seemed on par with hers, and since she lacked any weapons she listened carefully to their proposal.

Eversor took the reins, pulled out a circular device, and placed it on the floor before turning it on. A hologram of a facility surrounded by flat land popped up, its blue hue illuminating the room. “Now that the threats are established we can actually tell you what we have in mind. From intelligence we know that the facility is only about ten miles from here but five of those miles are no man's land that is suicide to cross…Hephaisteion is the name if our intel is correct.”

“I know all about the Hephaisteion… I helped organize it.” A moment of deafening silence passed. Roark stood up pulling out his revolver, cocking his pistol, and putting it to the front of her helmet. His motion was smooth as if he had done it hundreds of times before and with the way his finger rested over the trigger. Standing up with him Eversor grabbed his commander's shoulder not risking grabbing his arm. His hand resting atop his commander's was shaking as he did so.

“Explain,” Roark said, his tone cold and uncaring as if he wasn’t looking at a person and was instead as if the soldier in front of him was a threat to be put down. Eversor and Ajax looked between each other and the gun. They knew better than to question their commander. After so many years of serving under him, they trusted his judgment but both seemed to agree without speaking a word that the gun was uncalled for.

“I was assigned to this beach’s defense and the anti-aircraft up this and a few other of the beaches…we had assumed that if there was an assault it would be on the beach or from paratroopers so we took defenses against those…you chose the one place that we were weakest. If you had come from the air straight towards the facility we had just mounted turrets to take you out and had set up these new weapons called ignis canons…top of the line.” Ayla said calmly as she looked at Roark despite the barrel of the gun pointed at her.

“Why are you telling us all this? If you had any intention of getting out you’d be…what's your angle?” Roark said almost frantically as he spoke faster than before. The two young men looked at each other and then at their commander. Roark glanced at them before Ajax spoke up.

“Let's hear her out, she is a high-ranking officer after all,” Ajax said with a seemingly calm tone but beneath the helmet he was sweating as he tried to diffuse the situation.

“What if she’s trying to lead us into something?” The older man spat back.

“Commander, if she was in charge of so much just think about what she could tell us,” Ajax said. The older man glanced between him and the captured woman thinking for a few short breathless moments.

He pulled the pistol away slowly, his eyes towards the ground it was clear he was lost in his own thoughts. His hoarse voice spoke out as he seemed to have been calmed by his comrades' words although something was off. Something perhaps shifted within the mind of their superior officer but neither of his subordinates spoke.

“As he was saying, we have a deal for you. Betray the united tribes, give us intelligence and a way into the facility. After that, you’ll become a high-value prisoner. Good treatment, security, and safety. If you give up more, maybe they’ll even let you return to your tribe…the Nistresi right?” Eversor asked, making Ayla’s eyes go wide in surprise that he knew of her tribe's emblem.

Ayla looked at Eversor with a questioning gaze as she glared up at him from her disadvantaged position. His option was enticing, fair, and would be mutually beneficial. Potentially at least. It would be a betrayal of the greater tribes as a whole but if it meant returning to her own it would make sense for her to take it. Whether or not she would rely on the question of if she trusted them to return her to their tribe.

“I’ll do it.” She said looking towards the ground as if she was in shame.

“Good.” Roark said sharply as if he was going to do something if she refused, “You deal with this, I have better things to do than deal with her.” Their commander stomped away up and out slamming the door to the pillbox behind him. The two men looked between each other and then back at the door Roark exited from. His words threw them for a loop as he stormed away almost in a tantrum.

“He’s in charge of you?” Ayla asked condescendingly.

“Shut it. Now what can you provide us with?” Eversor said sharply.

“Turrets, land mines, the defenses of everything outside the facility. Even a bit of the inside, although it wasn't under my jurisdiction.” She said grinning beneath the helmet but the two in front of her had no way to tell.

“Ok then, get to it.” Reaching down Eversor grabbed the metal disc deactivating it before throwing down another metal disc a landscape of the larger area popped up showing the facility, no man's land, and even the trenches.

“Every detail is necessary. If we find out you’ve been giving us false intel you will be punished and enslaved along with the rest of your comrades that don’t comply.” Ajax warned coldly but beneath the helmet he shook, feeling ashamed of his words.

Eversor looked at her as if to intimidate her with his harsh gaze but beneath it his eyes were shut as he shook, hating the idea of threatening a person with a lifetime of slavery. What kind of sick animals do that, she thought. It disgusted her that he would threaten her with that but in the reality of their world it would be a fact and he could not lie to her about it.

Hours had passed since the interrogation had concluded. Ajax, Eversor, and Roark sat around one of the fires around the camp. The burning fire warmed the dozen troops sitting around it.

“Eversor ask if I'm a tree. Ask if I'm a tree. Ask if I'm a tree.” Ajax said tapping his shoulder over and over again. Ajax's olive skin had bits of sand on it as he hadn't showered since the battle. His coco brown eyes appeared darker in the light of the fire and his curly hair was ruffled thanks to wearing his helmet for hours.

Eversor raised an eyebrow as he rolled his sore shoulder that was finally out of the armor. “Are you a tree?” Eversor's white skin glowed in the light of the fire as his grey eyes looked towards Ajax.

“No. Are you stupid?” The two were silent before they began to laugh as if it was the funniest thing to have ever been said.  

One of the golden boys who overheard the joke stood up, “You guys remember that one time we had that mean sergeant that was a jerk, super tough, invincible guy, and one day we found out he was afraid of heights.”

“Yeah we had to climb this obstacle that was three stories tall and when we got towards the top he sat down, tied himself, went over, untied himself, and went down. They told us to go over and back down. He acted all cool but he was dead scared with that harness.” Another chuckled.

Roark laughed heartily, slapping his knee with one hand while holding a wine bottle in the other that had only been sipped on, "So one day one of our guys during training, instead of going back to the rear for some reason, went ten…twenty yards outside the safety perimeter towards the enemy. He squats and poops while everybody’s got their rifles and is waiting since we're training and he walks towards the no man's land to poop. ” The rest of the men watched and laughed along with the story." By then the entire group of men was laughing uncontrollably imagining the absurdity of the situation.

The rest of the men watched on, balling their eyes out as more jokes began to get passed around, "I should have gotten it recorded but back then I didn't have my chip in the back of my helmet. Wasn't a high enough rank for it." Roark said as he shook the half empty bottle

"Maybe one of these days we'll pull it out of your head to see what the hell you were getting yourself up to before you kicked the bucket." Ajax laughed drunkenly nearby.

Roark smiled with teary eyes as he watched the men enjoy themselves with heart laughs, “Where did all that time go?” He asked himself as he looked down at the bottle of wine. Seeing his own reflection within it.

Eversor and Ajax sat by one another flicking wood chips into the fire making a game out of who could land them the highest, “Roark, have you ever loved a woman?” Eversor asked as he flicked another wood chip into the fire.

“Why do you ask?” Roark said as he slowly rubbed the bottle with his thumb.

Eversor snickered, “Because Ajax here seems to be really concerned with his love life after this war.” The others around them chuckled as Ajax laughed, slamming his fist into his friend's shoulder.

“You're sick.” Ajax laughed uncontrollably, the wine he had sipped from Roark’s bottle getting to him.

“No, I haven’t,” Roark said as he sadly shook his head. A few moments passed before he spoke, “Actually there was this one girl…she was kind, protective...had a hell of a right hook, beautiful, laughed like a dope, and always did her best to hide her two buck teeth that she felt so self-conscious about…would have loved you boys as sons…had long swirly hair…cerulean blue eyes.” 

The men around went silent as they looked at Roark who had gone from staring at his reflection to staring at the fire in front of him as he paused. Roark seemingly sobered up as he looked around at the men who looked at him, his eyes bolting between them, “And...and it all went wrong…everything got ruined…when I met Ajax’s mother!” Roark laughed loudly as he pointed the bottle of wine at his subordinate.

The rest of the men burst into laughter taking his entire speech as a joke along with Eversor and Ajax who couldn’t stop laughing. From behind Roark heard somebody approaching. Taking a seat right next to him was Nestor, “What do you want?” Roark asked while passing the bottle to Nestor.

“A short talk.” Nestor raised the battle to his lips sipping on the wine to enjoy the flavor.

“About what? Your killing sprees?” Roark asked as he took the bottle back to sip on, “It doesn’t bring them back you know. The dead can't be brought back to life.” He said as he handed Nestor back the bottle.

Nestor sighed while shaking his head, “I wouldn't call them killing sprees. Anyways, I came to remind you that you shouldn't be here fraternizing with your men It's unprofessional and will make you sentimental with time,” 

Roark scoffed at Nestor's words "Whatever you say." He muttered.

Nestor stared at Roark for a few silent moments before changing the subject, "You may say I'm just a murderer but you have to have felt the urge to deal with the Germanics. To end this war faster through any means."

“I have…just never acted on it.” Roark shot back wondering how his friend could have fallen so far.

“Why not?” Nestor asked before taking a few more sips and then handing the bottle of wine back.

“Because they’re people, it’s as simple as that. Fathers, sons, brothers, husbands. The only difference between us and them is our beliefs, where we were born, and what we're fighting for.”

“You say things like that aren’t big differences.”

“Oh they are but it doesn't stop them from being people.”

“Whatever you say old dog…just think about this. Every man you let live has the chance of coming back to kill you or one of your men. You were there when we lost everybody, how it was our fault.” Nestor clenched his fist as he thought back to the memory. Images of their friends being ambushed and gunned down in the tight hallways of a building they were trying to capture flashed in his mind.

“Do you know how childish that sounds?” Roark's previously calm face turned to one of disappointment, almost sadness as to what his old friend had become.

“It’s because it’s simple.” Nestor snapped at Roark with a grimace across his face.

“Whatever you say…and what are the chances of that?” Roark scoffed, guessing that Nestor was simply paranoid.

“If you ask me, it's too high. Nestor said before standing up and walking away from the warmth of the fire. Roark simply scoffed and took another swig of the wine. The sound of Nestor's footprints faded away as he looked upon his squad. With tears in his eyes that he wouldn't let fall Roark rubbed his eyes and the tears from them.

If you're all here...I can keep going, Roark thought to himself. He had to remind himself repeatedly as if he was telling himself a lie.