“And there I was. Trapped in a pit of fire and flames. Explosions raged all around me. The shouts of dying soldiers filled my ears. I tightened my grip around the case. I was ready to sacrifice myself in order to protect the box. The flames came closer every second. I could feel their heat slowly burning away my breath. There was absolutely no way out. But then, right when I was starting to accept my faith, I felt a strong metallic hand catching my arm. One firm swing and I landed back on the battlefield. I looked up to my savior and saw the cold red metal face I’ve been wanting to see for my whole life. A warm feeling filled my insides. I felt like I’ve finally come home. And there I was, sit-”

“Oh for god’s sake Jarvis, shut up already. Can’t you see the face of this poor guy. You sound like an old woman writing a bad fanfiction. Look. I swear he’s gonna start crying soon.”

The young, blond-haired man had covered his face with his hands. A silent moan slipped between his lips. The man, dressed in an old and clumsy military coat, had had enough of the two overly-sarcastic prisoners in front of him. A young woman on the left had already finished her rant. The woman’s short and bright red hair covered her right eye, while her left eye seemed to be observing every possible corner of the room she was placed in.

The room was small. It was full-concrete and had absolutely zero windows. The only entrance was a suspiciously shiny metal door behind the desperate soldier. Inside the room lied nothing but the three chairs and the people sitting on them. The young military officer was facing his two prisoners with despair on his face. The man, an interrogation officer by the plate on his jacket, really did look like he’d burst into tears any second.

The third person in the room was also a man in a military coat. The man, or Jarvis as the woman called him, had a wide smile on his face. His dark brown goatee was bent up in the very same smile and his half-length hair jumped gently up and down while the man chuckled. He, by the looks of it, seemed to be very satisfied with the story he’d just made up.

“Don’t be such a killjoy, Zoey. The man’s doing his job. He’s here to see what we have to say. So I’m giving him stuff. This would be awfully boring without my input towards a more entertaining story.”

The woman, or Zoey as Jarvis called her, shook her head determinedly, but Jarvis was able to see the smile from her face too. While Zoey’s hair moved with her head, a small glimpse of her right cheek exposed for a brief while. Molten red veins on her face would have caught anyone’s attention, but Jarvis didn’t even seem to properly notice them. It was clear that these two had known each other for a long time.

“I know you’re an artistic soul, Jarvis. But this isn’t the right time. I’m starving, and I bet there’s going to be food if we tell this guy what he wants. So just get on with it. I know you want to be the one to speak.”

Jarvis nodded and grinned slightly. “Well, if you say so. To be honest, I was starting to get uncomfortable with these handcuffs.”

The interrogator finally lifted his head from his hands and glanced both of his prisoners briefly. Zoey and Jarvis both had their hands cuffed behind the wooden backs of their chairs. The hands of the interrogator were shaking. He was clearly holding back a strong emotion.

“‘Oy. What do you think, pretty boy? You know. I could tell our story, I really could. It’s just that I really think you are not quite high-ranked enough to hear this stuff. But… okay, what the hell. I’m kinda getting bored here. I think I’m going to tell you. Should I tell you? Zoey here totally thinks I should tell you. So maybe I will. Yeah, I’m gonna tell y-”

“OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE, QUIT WITH THE TEASING, YOU GUARDIAN LUNATIC!”

The interrogator’s voice was cracking. The sudden burst of rage made Jarvis’ eyes widen up violently. Zoey rolled her eyes. A silent word “men” could be read from her lips.

“WE’VE BEEN SITTING HERE FOR TWO HOURS. TWO. FUCKING. HOURS! Three different stories you’ve told. Three. Stories. EACH A HUGE PILE OF BULLSHIT! Do you even realize where you are? Are you really that dumb? This is the N.S.E.F. This is where the prisoners do what they are told. I am not authorized to leave this room until you explain your actions earlier today, Commander Holloway. You and your alien-scum-girlfriend are in deep trouble and you are only making things worse. So if you want to live to see another day you better be telling the truth next time you open that pesky mouth of yours.”

Silence fell into the interrogation room. The interrogator stared blankly into the wall behind Jarvis and Zoey. He had clearly scared himself with the sudden burst of tearful rage. Jarvis improved his position on the chair casually. Zoey, however seemed insulted.

“But… I’m not an alien. Nor scum. Actually… I’m not even his girlfriend. So, awkward.”

The sad voice of Zoey’s seemed to calm the interrogator down. Jarvis however, knew that the voice Zoey just used was her “not-so-quite-seductive that-kinda-hurts” -voice. The commander leered at the interrogator until an eye-contact between the two men was created.

“Please tell me your name, interrogator.”

The blond-haired officer seemed to carefully consider his next words. Names were irrelevant, but the situation had already crossed all the lines of sanity.

“Second Lieutenant Carter. Former N.S.E.F. Air Force.”

The look in Jarvis’ eyes was intense. The atmosphere from the room had radically changed from the stickiest of all the sarcasm to the most serious possible in mere seconds. The voice of Jarvis was almost like a whisper. The room around the three was deadly silent.

“So, Second Lieutenant Carter. You want the real story? Here’s one, so listen carefully. You’re about to hear something that in a few years is going to be the coolest part of the known human history.”