— FDN VESSEL "CASCADE OF SPIRITS", HARMONY, CHORUS DOCKYARDS —

"This isn't possible."

You'd have thought that maybe she could have gotten some sleep over the last half a day- that maybe she'd be able to rest well, knowing that the frontier was safe at last from the claws of the elusive Wraith.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

As the engineers had worked to get the Cascade back into working order, Gray had tossed, turned, and laid awake for hours- the haunting image of his face always in front of her, burned into her retinas.

Six years had passed since Regis was destroyed, six years since Spyglass had been overthrown- and six years since Tobias Four and KT-0298 had mysteriously vanished.

It had been initially been assumed that they were dead; but later, it was theorized that they'd been swallowed up by the explosion of temporal energy left behind by the unstable portal of Spyglass's fold weapon, sucked into the time-stream along with the half the planet. Debris from the event had turned up everywhere and anywhere- not to mention anytime.

Every year or so, another temporal rift would open up on some distant world, and the FDN would send a retrieval team to collect whatever had been spat out of time. It was these ships that usually had found themselves targeted by the Wraith, though why they never stole anything physical had always been a mystery.

She and the others- Gates, Vale, Buck, all of them- had accompanied the retrieval teams for the first few instances, but … it eventually became too painful to build up hope and ultimately have it wither away, time and time again.

She couldn't claim to have been as close to him as the others were, and wouldn't have dreamt of pretending to be- Gates and Vale had been with him since the beginning as a part of his team. But he was still her friend, and humanity's hero- he meant a great deal to her and the frontier as a whole.

And now he was back from the dead.

She had so many questions- where had he been all this time? Why was he doing this? Where was Kay? The whole myriad of them swirled about in her mind, plaguing her thought process with demands for answers.

Now, she was going to get some.

Gates and Davis had settled down together on the edge of Chorus, Harmony's most prominent city- and the rebuilding efforts after the Seed's attack on it had turned it into a metropolis to rival those of Luma. Skyscrapers stretched high into the air, it had the largest interstellar dockyard in the system … and yet, the two of them preferred to live out in the suburban areas, close to the Floating Gardens, or what remained of them.

She knew why; so many years of warfare had left them, especially Gates, with a desire for stability in their lives. The last time she'd seen them had been three years ago, the final time she'd gone with on a retrieval mission. They had kids now, kids that they wanted to protect from a life of high-octane action.

To truly get the answers she needed, she needed Gates with her. She knew Tobias best- and as Gray had expected, she'd accepted the invitation to the Cascade the moment she'd been told of the situation.

Now, the former captain stood next to the Ghosts and other crewmen in an room adjacent to the interrogation chamber, staring through the one-way glass at their captive as he sat at a stainless steel table, his hands cuffed in front of him. On the table was a tray of objects that had been confiscated when he'd been searched, ones that Gray intended to talk with him about.

"I know it's a lot to take in," she said softly, sympathizing with the other woman's shock, "but it really is-"

"No, you don't get it- I mean, this isn't possible," Gates emphasized, her eyes never leaving the Wraith.

Danvers coughed slightly. "Well, I mean- he's right there. How do you figure that?"

"What I don't get," Blisk began, a hand on his chin, "is how he can be sitting there- and yet, Gates is right." He turned towards all of them. "I fought both against and with Four- this doesn't add up. The attacks the Wraith carried out, the indifference to killing those who saw him- none of it matches his M.O."

"Six years," Gates breathed, her voice hitching slightly. "Six years since I last heard his voice, but I'll be damned before I ever forget it. Something's not right." She turned to Gray. "I need to speak with him."

"Good," Gray said with a nod, "because that's why you're here."

It's time to bring him home.

Taking a deep breath, she turned away from the glass and allowed herself to be guided by Gray towards the door. Opening it, the two of them entered and found themselves immediately under the watchful eye of their captive. The side of his face was now sporting a rather noticeable mark, purplish in coloration where Gray had punched through the visor and hit him.

He said nothing as they walked to the other side of the table and took their seats, opting to simply observe and react rather than initiate. Gray was more than happy to lead the conversation.

"Do you know who we are?"

He remained silent, giving no indication that he'd even heard them. That was fine- she hadn't expected him to be cooperative, not after everything that had gone down between them. She gestured at her partner.

"Elizabeth Gates- does that name mean anything to you?"

Gates waited expectantly for him to confess that it did- but if he showed any sign of recognition, neither of them could detect it. Had his memory been damaged? Wiped? There was still something off about him, something that she couldn't quite place …

The older woman sighed. "I remember first meeting you, Tobias. I remember thinking that you would turn out to be just another pain in my ass- and you were, at first." She chuckled softly. "But then, I watched you grow. You grew in your compassion, your character … and somehow, you ended up becoming my best friend. More than that." There was still a smile on Gates' face, but the corners of her eyes were becoming wet.

Finally, there was a response- a slight narrowing of his eyes.

Gray waited for more- but when he stayed quiet, she gave a small sigh. "Four, we're trying to help you here- but we need you to help us understand." She reached into the tray, and lifted up his data-knife that they'd pulled from the terminal.

"You downloaded all of the research findings concerning this ship's classified cargo- but you never attempted to take any of the cargo itself. This is almost the exact same approach you've taken with every other ship you've targeted over the last four years." She crossed her arms, setting them on the cold metal of the table. "Why the data? Why not just take the cargo itself? You've certainly proven to be more than capable of it."

His only answer was an cold glare that made Gray feel as though all the heat in the room had dissipated, his icy demeanor beginning to leave her more shaken than the state she'd been in last night.

"How about this?" She moved on, trying to keep herself from becoming rattled. She lifted up a small, glass cube with a coin frozen inside of it. Engraved into the coin was an unusual emblem- a sword sticking through a broken planet, with small words that stood out quite clearly in contrast.

Primus inter pares.

"I've seen one or two of these before," she spoke, her voice low. "Those that had them never told me what they meant, nor where they got them from, and a net search hasn't given us any useful info aside from urban legends- so what are you doing with one in your pocket?"

This time, the silence was almost oppressive as the three of them stared at one another, each waiting for the other to break. A full thirty seconds passed before Gray gave a resigned sigh, and moved to stand up.

"Alright, we'll leave you be. If you want to talk, give us a shout."

He said nothing in return, but watched Gates and Gray exit the room with a curious expression on his features. Once they were gone, he sat back in his chair- seeming more puzzled than anything else.

The two women rejoined the viewing room, their faces glum. Ava waved them over, however- her movement energetic. Everyone else seemed to have surrounded the Ancillary unit, piquing Gray's interest.

"Lieutenant Gray? I was watching your interrogation- and I've noticed several anomalies concerning the captive that you may be interested in."

"And what would those be?" she asked, stepping closer.

"Several of you mentioned that there was something odd about him, something you could not place," Ava explained. "An idea occurred to me, so I checked records on the net and performed a facial comparison- look at the results."

Holding out her hand, the plating on her wrist split apart to reveal a small circular lens which then lit up and projected a hologram into the air; it was two pictures presented side-by side, one of Tobias from the photo they'd all taken on Atania … and the other was of their captive, taken from the interrogation room's security footage. Now that they were put together, she could finally pinpoint what had been so unsettling about his face.

"My god, he's younger."

"By a large degree. A detailed analysis of the comparison estimates that our captive is approximately twenty to twenty-five years old- Tobias Four was thirty when he disappeared," she confirmed. "I would need blood samples to confirm a more exact age …"

"He and the Titan were exposed to a massive burst of temporal energy," Blisk remarked. "I remember the tests that Marder used to run with the Ark on Typhon- could that exposure have reversed the aging process?"

"A good theory, Commander Blisk," she acknowledged, "but there is another anomaly which causes me to question its legitimacy." She gestured towards the glass. "The Wraith has ten fingers."

Gray's eyes followed to where the AI was pointing, and she realized with a start that Ava was right. Counting them herself in disbelief, she noted the presence of all ten fingers on his hands.

"In contrast, Four was missing the fourth and fifth digits of his left hand," she continued. "While the reverse-aging could potentially be explained by exposure to a temporal rift, it does not explain the sudden appearance of phalanges that should be gone- no surgery can reattach fingers years after cell death, and limb regeneration is a field that's still years from leaving the experimental stage at best."

"What are you saying?" Gates asked carefully, trying to understand what the AI's point was.

Ava looked back at the Wraith. "That is not Tobias Four."

"If that's not Four," Gray said carefully, trying to control her voice, "then who the hell is sitting in that chair?"

"Though such practices were outlawed over a century ago for being deemed unethical," Ava said slowly, "I can think of only one procedure that would result in a scenario like this- where all things aside from genetic makeup are different."

The silence in the air was deafening, to say the least. No one spoke, as though for fear that voicing the realization out loud would cause reality itself to shatter.

"You're telling me," Gray began, her voice no louder than a whisper, "that someone cloned Tobias?"

"I'm not certain," Ava admitted, "but I believe it is the likeliest possibility. All evidence points to this being an individual with identical DNA to his, but with vastly different environmental influences on all other accounts."

"I know that symbol," Husher said, suddenly speaking up. "The cube with the coin- it's called a 'Mark of the Advocate'."

"The Advocate?" Danvers asked confusedly, "What the hell is that?" But Vogel was already shaking his head.

"Not what- who. The Advocate is supposedly an information broker, or group of them, that's been influencing the frontier's politics and government for decades," he explained. "The first simulacrums were designed and developed by them."

"He's right," Husher agreed, "it's one of the stigmas against sims, or was- when I was turned into one, it had already become a relatively standard procedure amongst the Militia and IMC."

"Not much else is known about them," Vogel continued, "but if anyone had the desire or capability to clone Four …" He trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

"Okay."

They all jumped at the sudden sound, turning in unison towards the glass where they saw the Wraith waving at the glass with their cuffed hands. "I'm willing to answer some of your questions- but only if you're willing to answer some of mine."

Gates' face had turned especially white, pale from hearing the voice of a ghost- a voice which had been silent for six years. Gray grabbed her shoulder reassuringly, and pointed to Ava.

"You, with us. We're getting to the bottom of this."

With a curt nod from the AI, the trio walked back to the door and entered the room once more. Gates and Gray took their seats while Ava stood next to the table, her hands behind her back as she awaited orders patiently.

The Wraith looked at her with distaste. "Are you planning to torture me with that?"

"No," Gray replied swiftly, her tone all business. "I plan to get some answers."

"Ask away."

"Do you know who we are?"

"No more than what you've told me," he said with a shrug. "I assume that you're an elite operative working within the FDN, you said you've been hunting me awhile- she, on the other hand, is dressed more like a civilian." He looked Gates up and down, furrowing his brow. "I think."

Gray nodded. "Alright. Now, what are-"

"No, that's not how this works," he cut her off with a smirk. "My turn."

She shut her mouth, and gave a small nod for him to go ahead.

Immediately, his expression became less smug and more analytical. "What's 'the net'?"

Gray stared at him blankly. "What?"

"You said, 'a net search hasn't given us any useful info', right? What the hell is the net?"

She tried to scrutinize his expression, see if he was trying to pull some kind of stunt- but for all intents and purposes, he seemed genuinely clueless.

"Um … it's a digital network that spans across the frontier. The inner worlds have something like it, but not exactly- and each planet out here has their own centralized network in addition to the overarching one," she explained. "Essentially, it's a method of storing information and sharing it so that others can access it, even from other systems."

She finished and noted that as she'd spoken, his expression had become more and more focused. It seemed that he truly had never heard of such a concept.

She blinked. "In any matter, onto the next question- what are you stealing classified intel from retrieval team ships for?"

Now, he cracked a smile. "Sorry, but that's a no-go. Try again."

She'd figured that he wouldn't answer, but it hadn't hurt to try. She leaned in closer. "What is 'six'? What does it mean?"

Among the theories she'd heard (and some of which she'd contributed to) were that of it being a religious icon, some odd fascination with the number six, or a countdown to a time when there would be six of something- maybe six years after they first started appearing, or something similar. But she watched as he simply jabbed a thumb backwards at himself.

"Six."

"What does that mean?" she asked, scrunching her eyebrows together in consternation. "How does that help me?"

"You … you're Six?" Gates stammered quietly, putting the pieces together. Surprisingly, the Wraith nodded.

"That's my name."

"What is it with the numbered names?" Gray muttered to herself, then looked back up at 'Six'. "What's your first name?"

He tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You know …" she muttered, feeling ridiculous for even having to ask this, "A proper name, perhaps? You've got to be more than just a number."

He didn't answer, his expression mirroring the one he'd worn when he'd asked about the net. With a sigh, she gave a resigned nod. "Okay, Six it is …"

"That brings me to my next question," he started, leaning in just as she had done. "You called me 'Four' earlier."

His eyes narrowed. "Who is Four?"

Both Gates and Gray were silent for several seconds, neither of them completely able to process the sheer irony of what the Wraith had just asked. He waited expectantly, his eyebrows raised impatiently.

"Ava," Gray finally muttered, "pull up a net article of Tobias Four … read it aloud."

"Of course, Lieutenant," Ava complied, holding out her wrist and projecting a holographic image of the site she was pulling information from. After a second or two, she began to speak.

"'Tobias Four was a Pilot that served in many interstellar conflicts, most notably the Frontier War, the Amalgamation event, and the Embers' assault on Regis. First fighting on the side of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, he later defected to the Frontier Militia after meeting the Titan, KT-0298 …'"

Six's eyes widened, staring at the holographic article before him, reading the words himself as Ava read them aloud.

"'The Pilot and Titan went on to fight for humanity in various galactic conflicts, the last of which being a suicidal mission to overthrow the rogue artificial intelligence, Spyglass, on the planet Regis. Though their efforts were successful, the pair is tragically assumed to have been killed by the destruction of the fold-weapon on the planet's surface …'"

His mouth parted slightly, his eyes moving line by line down the text, drinking in the information as though it were water.

"'His best friend and former squad-mate, Elizabeth Gates, delivered a eulogy for the pair at the post-conflict funeral held on Harmony. In remembrance of those lost in the final assault on Regis, the planet's capital city of Chorus established and dedicated a memorial to the fallen men and women who gave their lives, Four's name being chief among them. Despite her eulogy, Gates has declined to further speak publicly of her friend's actions, stating that, 'He would never have wanted his legacy to be honored above others''. Nevertheless, Tobias Four remains a hero to all on the Frontier, and humanity as a whole.'"

Gates said nothing, but the wetness in her eyes had fully materialized as tears which streamed down her face, running down her chin and onto her jacket.

Ava finished speaking, the hologram having switched from the text of the article to a picture that the page had added to accompany it. It was a photo of four Pilots in a ship hangar, sitting on a few supply crates. The caption beneath it read, Foxtrot-Three, 'The Heartless', in the hangar of the MCS Soaring Griffin: (from left to right) Amelia Vale, Tyra Crane, Tobias Four, Robert McFarlane.

Six had heard the name Vale before, he knew her as the former leader of the FDN. The other two, Crane and McFarlane, he didn't recognize- but the man in the center …

He moved closer to the hologram, Ava assisting him by moving her wrist towards him as well. Tobias was decked out in his Pilot gear, a jovial smile on his face- but it wasn't the gear Six was paying attention to. His eyes darted to every physical feature of the man, one by one, noting the shocking similarities- the same ashen brown hair, the same fair skin, and his eyes …

"You have his eyes," Gates finally spoke, practically whispering. "The same piercing blue that pulls you in, threatens to drown you in its waters if you spend too long looking into it."

He turned to look at her as she clasped her hands together tightly, meeting him eye to eye. "I spent many hours gazing into those eyes, watching the storms within them unfurl. But his storms spoke of pain, friendship, loss, love- they had winds of all colors and emotions …" She shook her head ever so slightly.

"Yours are just empty."

Six's jaw tightened, and he sat back in his chair once more.

"We believe you are a clone of Tobias," Gray began tentatively. "It's obvious that you were not aware of your origins, and I understand if this is quite a bit of a shock to you. We know that you have ties to a figure known as the Advocate-"

At the mention of that title, his eyes widened.

"Work with us, and we can help you," she quickly added, sensing his rising anxiety. "Whoever they are, it's apparent that they have power over you. If you help us, we can protect you-"

"No," he whispered, "you can't."

"We have many resources that we can use to ensure your safety-" she tried again, but he cut her off.

"You don't understand who you're dealing with- they already know." He looked down stonily at the table in front of him, his life unraveling before his eyes. "Knowledge is power … and the Advocate is knowledge. If I didn't know any of this, it's because they didn't want me to know, and that means …" He trailed off, turning to internal thought rather than muttering aloud.

Neither woman knew how to respond to the sudden change in demeanor from Six. Ava looked expectantly at them, wishing to know how they wanted to proceed. Gray was about to suggest that they take a short break when Six sat back up and a look of determination overtook his features.

"Alright, I'm done- I'm ready," he said.

Gray gave a sigh of relief, and nodded encouragingly. "I'm glad. We'll start by assigning you a temporary escort detail-

He shook his head slowly, forcing her to stop mid-sentence.

"I wasn't talking to you."

Without warning, the wall behind him exploded. Gray immediately dove to protect Gates, pushing her down and onto the floor to avoid the debris and rubble that came flying at them. When she was sure that the blast was over, she looked back up.

From the hole in the wall, something stepped through. It was a biped, taller than seven feet, and stood upon digitigrade legs that ended in metallic feet that resembled Ava's, two claw-like toes on the front and heel that provided additional stability. It was likely outfitted in a white and gold color palette, but the dust from the explosion had coated the entire exterior with grey chalk.

She watched as it stepped forward, reached down, and broke the cuffs binding Six's hands together easily. Now able to stand up, he immediately did so and spread his arms in a 't' shape as the front plates of the thing's chest and head split apart, shifting in every direction to allow access. Jumping backwards, it caught Six within itself, and the armor closed up again. After a second or so, two blue lights illuminated on the front paneling of the 'head', staring directly at her.

From within the other room, the occupants watched on in horror. Danvers pointed a shaking hand at the sight. "Uh … Husher?"

The simulacrum was just as nonplussed as he was. "Yeah?"

"Miniature Titan!"