Subject: Seargent Mikhail Vasiliev
Gender: M
Age: 38
Occupation: State Employee

Interviewer: R E D A C T E D
Gender: R E D A C T E D
Age: R E D A C T E D
Occupation: State Employee

In the following transcript based on the interviews taken, the interviewer will be termed as 'A' and the interviewee will be termed as 'B'.

===BEGINNING OF TRANSCRIPT===

-door opens--footsteps---loud stomp-chair clatters-

B: Sir.

A: I'm not def-

-NAME REDACTED-: At ease, Sergeant.

B: -foot stomp- Sir.

A: -chair screech- How's it going, Sergeant?

B: Good, sir.

-NAME REDACTED-: -chair screech- Sit down, Sergeant.

B: Sir. -chair screech-

A: So, while we set up, tell us what you noticed about Terra in the weeks leading up to this.

B: I submitted reports to General Robyn. It's all there.

A: Humour me.

B: Yes sir. Terra never recovered from her parent's death. She hasn't been the same since. She's quieter, had periods where she doesn't want to see any of us, or talk to any of us, and has overall been just... not herself. I did see some of her behaviour and mannerisms return once she cleared her parents names. The burden she was carrying around lifted from her so visibly, but we didn't spend that time as... we didn't savour that time with her as much as we should have because we were angry that she left us behind to take on something so dangerous alone.

A: I did hear about you three getting arrested at the airport for buying tickets to New Artoca. However... it is not in your report.

B: Terra cut a deal with General Robyn to get those striked from our records.

A: What was the deal in exchange for?

B: The official apology by the State for killing her parents without reasonable cause or looking further into their backgrounds.

A: I see. That takes some balls.

B: Hers are clearly bigger than ours.

-NAME REDACTED-: In many different ways. Her file is thicker than your mission files combined. She's been on the State's radar ever since she moved to... Sector 11. There were even considerations of turning her into an informant once she was eighteen.

B: Knowing her, she would never agree.

A: Why is that?

B: It's hard to explain if you don't know her.

A: I've been hearing that a fair bunch. At the risk of repeating myself, humour me.

B: Terra is careful. If she ever goes into something, she's in it with an almost fanatical absorption. Her ending up in a profession that is against the State- honestly, it would not be good for the State. Her records in the Rebellion and the State missions are more than good enough to prove what I'm saying right. Terra would never flip. She'd go to prison and leave with the head of the warden.

-NAME REDACTED-: Your confidence in her abilities is truly commendable. You also seem to be underestimating the State's powers.

B: And you're making a mistake underestimating Terra. Which is honestly, more of a surprise considering the what she left behind.

A: What she left behind? You think Terra's already escaped?

B: I know she has.

A: Confident.

B: You mentioned.

A: You seem to know Terra very well. However, that's not what we heard from others.

B: You mean Keelan.

A: And you know that... how?

B: They're all my team. It's my job to watch out for them, watch them and know them.

A: I see. Then explain why Terra and your relationship is supposedly on rocky grounds.

B: That is entirely my fault. I was the slowest to trust Terra in our team. There was a time shortly after she started living in the building when she was going out one night. We ran into her while walking in and she told us she has a meeting with a Section D friend. I'd read her file and I got immediately suspicious of her and... -long pause- Uh, I'm ashamed to say, I threatened her with the basement cells if she stepped out of line. She hasn't relaxed around me ever since.

-NAME REDACTED-: Another something you clearly regret?

B: I'd reword myself if I had the chance. I feel like those few sentences didn't give me the opportunity to know who Terra is as well as Rush and Keelan did.

A: And how well do they know Terra?

B: Rush is the one she's closest to. Keelan is absolute putty in her hands.

A: We found that out while talking to Keelan. What's your perception of Keelan? Can Terra manipulate him?

B: Yes.

A: Enough to have him help her?

B: No.

A: Why is that?

B: Keelan can lie as well as he can stay awake through a night shift- not very good. Rush and I would find out immediately if he was hiding something or helping her out with something.

A: I see. So, no chance he helped her?

B: None.

A: What about you?

B: Excuse me?

A: You regret not knowing Terra. Perhaps that regret has led you to overcompensate in some place? Such as helping her out? Maybe listening to her? Giving her some advice about the internal workings and reaction times of the State?

B: Your accusations are misplaced. I wasn't messing around when I threatened Terra to send her back if she stepped out of line.

A: So, you were always watching her?

B: As best as I could.

A: Give me an example.

B: I suggested to General Robyn that we will follow her as best as we could while she was recuperating from her New Artoca injuries.

A: I see. Did it bring any revelations?

B: We were pulled aside as we were heading back by a local thug.

A: Yes... Maker. He's come up a few times. What did you see there?

B: Terra wasn't comfortable but she knew the people who dragged us there. She's worked with them before.

A: All mentioned in earlier police reports. She talk about that?

B: She mentioned that she ran some letters, but she never looked inside.

A: Plausible deniability. Smart girl. What happened there?

B: We were held outside in the bar under watch while Terra went inside. She looked kind of angry and irritated when she came back out.

A: Did she explain herself?

B: It was an intimidation tactic. I believe Terra when she told us that. All the signs pointed to it. I didn't see one sign of any foul play. The flowers he sent her later just added to the belief.

A: Another thing we heard about. Anything about that seemed fishy.

B: The note that came with it said- 'Don't breath it in'. It was signed with a single 'M' so we thought it's Lionel's gift at first.

A: Did she explain what the name meant?

B: Yes, she did. In one of her first meeting with Maker, he apparently drugged her with something in the drink he gave her, and then blamed it on the strong alcohol fumes.

-NAME REDACTED-: This Maker guy seems like a quite a character. I'd like to have a chat with him.

B: Push down hard on him. He knows something.

A: Exactly my thoughts. Anything or anyone else come to mind?

B: Uh, there was this guy bartending when we were taken to his office. They were former classmates and he clearly seemed to have a thing for her.

A: You have a name?

B: Something with 'R'. I cannot remember.

-NAME REDACTED-: 'Rudy'?

B: Yes.

A: Quiet interesting you mention him... because none of your other teammates did.

B: They were quite distracted by the seven-foot giant towering over us.

-NAME REDACTED-: 'Bert'?

B: I think so.

-NAME REDACTED-: The description fits. We had all the data on his gang gathered. Interesting... Interesting little operation he runs.

A: Okay, moving on. The family she associates with?

B: Innocent. She seems close to them, but they know nothing about her and treat her as if she still lives in Section D.

A: Okay. Lionel Mackenzie?

B: Uh... a-a good friend.

A: Not a lot to say about him?

B: Terra introduced our team, of course. He's a fun guy-He was a fun guy. We hung out quite a few times. He loved Terra, and was very distressed when she vanished to New Artoca. He blamed himself for her sudden disappearance because we'd left him the responsibility of watching over her while we were gone on a mission because the last time we returned from one she had been arrested for the Section C fire.

A: She admitted to that.

B: I... see.

A: Did you suspect her?

B: In the beginning. She was vehement about not being involved and I believed her because of that group taking credit for it. It seemed more plausible but when I thought about it- it made no sense.

-NAME REDACTED-: No sense? Terra has been caught on camera and several witnesses saw her threaten that team.

B: She did threaten that team. I'm not denying it. But she has no reason to kill Malcolm. Plus, Terra can't fly. She cannot rise. There's no way she made it all the way to Section C without being caught on camera somewhere. Plus, there's no exit from her room apart from the door. And only one way in or out of our building. All of it covered by cameras.

A: All of this is covered in Dr. Blue's report. He believed the same. Poor chap.

B: Wait, did Terra kill him too?

A: No. He's in a coma he might not wake up from.

B: What? How?

A: She overdosed him on painkillers mixed into a sweet iced tea he had everyday.

B: Where did she-Oh. -chair creaks- Right. Those painkillers.

A: Yup. His own prescribed medicine.

B: Can't say he didn't deserve it.

A: Another common sentiment among your team.

B: He tased her in front of us the moment she stepped off the plane after being held hostage for three days. He has no compassion. He's a fucking coward, and a creep who's obsessed with her.

A: Do you know she bit off a part of his ear when she saw him after she was captured?

B: -laugh- His ears seemed fine when I last saw him.

-NAME REDACTED-: The magic of modern medicine.

A: Indeed. He placed an order to have mandatorily muzzled each time she was taken out of her cell for questioning.

B: You're telling me this while disagreeing with the fact that he's a piece of shit.

A: He's a genius of a man. Terra is one of his best works.

B: Terra is a human. She's not a 'work'.

A: She's barely human. That's not normal.

B: That's not a state she chose to be in.

A: But you agree she's not norm-

B: My team is not normal. Those forty people staying in that fucking isolated building where we are kept under surveillance and bugged 24/7 are not normal. What the State does to us is -slams table- NOT FUCKING NORMAL! BUT WE ARE STILL HUMAN! SHE IS STILL HUMAN!

A: I've seen the work that goes into making one of you. Your DNA is no longer human, Sergeant. The faster you accept it, the better. You're all freaks.

B: Freaks who do your dirty work for you. Terra has been caught on camera as who she is. This won't stay secret for long.

-NAME REDACTED-: That's the thing. It's not a secret anymore, Sergeant.

B: What?

A: Terra released a show-all, tell-all video to media houses around the State and revealed... well, everything. About who she is, about who you all are, about who all are in the building. She was just wearing a sports bra and showed what... she is.

B: Oh.

A: It's a shitshow out there. You're lucky you came in when you did. Your building is barricaded from the outside against press, humanitarian protestors, racists-

B: Your people.

A: Watch your mouth, Sergeant. I could have you kept in here for a year.

B: Good to know. How are the people in the building?

A: Safe. All missions are on hold.

B: So, it really took getting this far for you guys to figure out how much you need us.

A: Excuse me?

-NAME REDACTED-: Think your next words out very carefully, Sergeant Vasiliev.

B: Why do you think we are put to work in mission? I'll answer for you- we're better, we're faster, we're stronger and we bounce back from injuries faster than teams made up of unexperimented humans. If anything is going to give us the respect and recognition we deserve, it's when you start losing men on missions we complete with a perfect rate.

A: So you're looking forward to your own comrades dying?

B: No. But that's what's going to happen.

A: Interesting prediction.

-NAME REDACTED-: It's going to be even more interesting if it comes through. Meeting you was truly a treat. Your profile matches you to the last word.

B: Thank you.

-NAME REDACTED-: You're also one of the oldest surviving subjects.

B: I'm aware.

-NAME REDACTED-: It must hurt to see so many of your comrades and friends in experiments pass away. They're either KIA or you see them die young because of what's been done to your bodies. The stress of what you've been through ages you.

B: I'm aware.

-NAME REDACTED-: Can't be fun knowing that the oldest surviving subjects was only forty-two.

B: I'm... aware.

-NAME REDACTED-: You're already thirty-two. It must be-

B: I know my age, sir. What are you trying to pull here?

-NAME REDACTED-: You have been offered promotions four times. And you've turned it down each time. Would you reall rather spend what might be your twilight years in the field? You could be doing some good beside me. You're a perceptive, smart man. I'd say accept the next one that comes your way.

B: No thanks. I have no wish to sit behind a desk and sign off on any of that goes on behind the scenes.

A: Why don't you do something about it?

B: I'm doing something about it by making sure my team doesn't die horribly. I will not have a hand in more teenagers and children dying.

A: But you didn't die.

B: Of the twenty children who I volunteered with, two survived. The other one died two year at forty-two. He was my captain.

A: My condolences. But there are some good ones.

B: You mean, like Terra? Because she's the best 'subject' I've seen in the thirty-two years I've been alive. And in my 'twilight years', I'm sure I'll be able to see her wreck more damage now that she's free.

A: Oh, so you don't think Terra's done?

B: No.

A: Why would she pop up? She barely escaped.

B: Terra will lay low for as long as needed, but she's not going to hide forever.

-NAME REDACTED-: -laughs- Don't mind me, I'm just having fun.

A: You find this amusing?

-NAME REDACTED-: Very much so. I really like you, Sergeant Mikhail Vasiliev. I'm going to recommend a promotion to a position where you can work for me, and I suggest you take it.

B: I shall deny it right now and save you the trouble and time.

-NAME REDACTED-: Why? Wouldn't you rather have a front row seat, or maybe even rise to head a task force to capture Terra?

B: I'm not going after my friend.

A: Friend?

B: Friend, teammate, subordinate. It all boils down to the fact that she's someone I've put my life on the line with. She's watched my back for the best part of a year, and saved my life many times. I will never find a fit for my team as good as her. No one can fill her shoes.

A: I suggest you drop that thinking. Terra is not favoured anymore within the State.

B: So the feelings mutual between the two.

A: Hilarious. We're going to catch your friend.

B: Good luck.

-NAME REDACTED-: Quite confident about that.

B: For good reason. Do you know how the State captured Terra the first time?

A: We read the report.

B: I'll tell you anyway. They caught her as a fucking mistake. The team that brought her in weren't trained to hunt down operatives, they were there to fix a faulty line. Terra would never have been caught if it wasn't for a fucking fluke. You're never going to catch her. She knows how the State works. And with her experience working for the State. She knows it inside and out. She's your worst enemy.

A: -papers shuffling- Fuck this. I'm not listening to any more of this treasonous shit. -slams table--chair screech--footsteps-

-NAME REDACTED-: Calm down. He spoke with full honesty. -chair screech- And Sergeant Mikhail, my doors are always open for you.

B: Shut them. I'm not working against Terra.

A: -door clicks--chuckle- Scared of a little girl, are you?

B: No. Terra would never hurt me. If anyone should be scared, it's you.

-NAME REDACTED-: You're putting her on too high of a pedestal. She's only 20.

A: You're not putting her high enough. She's the Angel of Death.

-long silence--footsteps--door clicks-

B: I hope you're not done, Terra. Good luck.

===END OF TRANSCRIPT===

Interview Notes:

Succinct answers. Highly organised. Impressive trust in his teammates, including Terra.

Similar regret as the other two.

Some irritation visible at having record cleared by Terra- clearly sees himself as her protector.

New information revealed about Maker- Rudy is a familiar face. Question again.

New information about family- Terra is considered a daughter- helped out of familial love?

Impressed by Terra's solo mission to New Artoca. Noticed a promotion recommendation signed by him.

Maker- ask meaning of gift and about the work Terra did for him. File says he has a lot of connections- helped her escape?

Vouches for Keelan's character. Vouches for Terra's skills. Seems to know her well despite relationship problems.

Overprotective or just strict? Watched Terra like a hawk according to the reports. Probably considered her family like the other two.

Also had no idea about the Section C fire.

Also loathes Dr. Blue. Surprised, but pleased about his coma.

Seemed surprised about the ear biting incident. Terra didn't talk about her time in prision.

Refused promotion- idiot or just cocky?

Refuses to take part in catching Terra- too attached.

Confident that the State won't catch her, cites earlier incidence of capture- he's not wrong.