Accession || Ongoing ||

Twenty-Eight: I Bet You Don't Even Know Who I Am

"Welcome on board," A tall, lanky man in black-and-orange formalwear greeted the motley crew as Burt shoved them gleefully into another room against their will. "You must be tired after your long journey from Thanna."

"Yeah, we're also pretty tired from being dragged like meat sacks, stuffed into a vehicle and thrown into a detention room," Reiley snarked, unwilling to hide her displeasure. 

"I apologise for that unpleasantness," A stocky woman with streaks of blue and grey in her hair offered with a smile. "Agent Lukyan has never been one for gentleness." Alyxia guessed that by 'Agent Lukyan', she was referring to Burt. 

The woman's eyes travelled to Farron with a look of unmistakable disappointment, a look which Sylvie would have more than likely given him. Alyxia's heart hurt to think of Sylvie, and her prone body before they had to flee from Regis. "And Agent Lennox. We're glad to see you back in Ignis, though we admit that we wish you hadn't resorted to... drastic measures." 

Farron nodded. "Thank you, Director Flint. Director Millette. It's good to be back." Alyxia's eyes darted to the desks near the far side of the wall, on which two name placards read 'Director Ryeland Millette' and 'Director Iolite Flint'.

The man, presumably Director Millette, smiled politely. "Well, we expect you to stay here for a long time. We've prepared barracks for you to stay in, right here in the base. If there's anything you need, simply give us a holler. But at the same time, you need to pull your own weight. "

"Understood," Reiley replied, meeting Director Flint's eyes firmly. "Now if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to get started right away. Where can I get information on the defensive capabilities of Ignis, in event of an attack on the inside?"

"That would be with the weapons master," Director Millette suggested. Alyxia decided that the directors seemed nice enough, but she remembered that she needed to be on guard at all times. The second things went south, the people at Ignis could easily hurt her.

"Would you like a tour of the facility, Ms. Peyton?" Director Flint inquired, her grey eyes studying the young princess as if she was an interesting rock she wanted to harvest.

Alyxia shook her head firmly. In reality Alyxia wanted to find out documents which could help her find out whether Ignis had any ulterior motives. "No thank you, Director. I'll just...find my own way around and get myself acquainted."

Her stomach felt queasy at the thought of second-guessing her new allies, but she had to make sure that Ignis had no other plans with her like her family did in Thanna.

Family. She remembered that she still had her mother's diary tucked in her pocket. Save that for later, her conscience advised. You can do that at your own time. For now, we find the archives.

***

"Internal circular... notice...internal circular..." Alyxia mumbled as she perused the files which were stored in Ignis' holographic database, swiping through scores of boring documents in a bid to find something of value. "I can't find any links to archival documents!"

"That's because you're looking in the wrong place," An unfamiliar voice spoke out of the blue, in the secluded File Room of the Modea-Kol base. "Most of Ignis' old files are in the Regis HQ archives."

Alyxia spun around to find a person examining a newsfeed device casually, their straight black hair fanning over their eyes. They weren't clothed in the black-and-orange garb which the members of Ignis usually wore, but a combination of forest and hunter greens from shoulder to toe. The only thing which fell out of that colour scheme was the silver circlet which lay on their head, glinting in the firelight of the File Room.