Tale 1: The Titans Fall

Mission Number: 1st Drop

Perspective: Grunt Private Daniels

I watched in horror as the Dog Whistle Towers collapsed. The dragons moved inside the perimeter. A jet exploded near my position. I looked over at the source and one of the flyers had a dead pilot in its arms. My squad leader screamed in my comms for us to move. The Frontier Militia had continued to drop Titans to secure the fueling station and make sure that the IMC forces remaining there couldn't push back. A goblin dropship flew overhead. It stopped and opened the hatch and a corporal waved his arm, beckoning them in. Two flyers attached to the hull of it. They began attacking the metal plating. A third flew down and grabbed the soldier. It flew off and the bird attempted to lose the two dragons aboard it. The transport shot forward with speed but the wildlife were too attached to it. One of the monsters broke the engine and caused it to explode and spin out of control. I looked away to avoid seeing the fate of it, but the sound of a explosion from its direction was enough. I looked around to see that my other squad mates were alive. We decided to head down from our high point to avoid the beasts soring above. The leviathans made no attempt to walk inside. They weren't hostile. All I could think about was the horror of everything around me being torn to shreds by the Frontier Militia. The insurgents had made sure that the IMC forces could not regain a foothold well. None of the men around us could think to fight back. Just to run.

We met with another squad down in the launching stations. They were as keen to leave as us. We moved under a bridge and up a road that tanks and over vehicles took. On the other side was supposedly another group of dropships. Instead of making it up there, a Stryder titan appeared in the entrance. A XOBR-16 in it's hand. We moved into the single doorway next to use to attempt to escape it. We ran into a hallway. I made the mistake of turning around to see one of the other squad members get shot up by the titan, who began to charge. I ran inside and pulled out my archer. It had crouched and begun firing at us. My commander ran with one of my squadmates while the other took a bullet to the side. The other squad fired everything they had into it. I grabbed my squad mate and dragged him away from the firefight. I went to stop the bleeding and looked up to see that the titan had killed two of the three remaining members of the squad. Then I heard the familiar sound of crackling of rockets.

Slam!

That was heard by everyone. I thought it was another Militia titan. I was wrong. The titan attacking us was soon backing up as round after round from a 40mm cannon tore into it. A atlas titan filled the doorway. It bore the white paint of a IMC titan. The other squad survivor and I cheered. I turn to try to find my squadmates. They were backing up as a spectre squad from the Militia blocked our escape. The atlas titan opened up and the pilot jumped out. He wore the rifleman outfit and used the carbine I used. The R-101C Carbine. He fired short bursts at the robots and they soon fell. He turned back and spoke. "Goblins are near our position. If we hurry, hopefully they will be there. Don't worry. My titan will protect us from the flyers."

We did follow. Two had arrived. Another squad was waiting there and they piled into one. The survivor of the other squad accompanied them. I carried my wounded teammate as my commander and his corporal got onboard. The weight of my friend decreased and I turned to see the pilot helping me. He got on with use and we were soon flying away from the mess. I watched as the pilot's titan fight two other titans and multiple squads. It didn't last long, but it stalled the attackers. I turned to the pilot. "Thank you," I spoke solemnly, "for saving us from those terrorists." He turned and looked directly in the eye. He spoke, "You are welcome. I tried to save as many squad as I could from attack. Hopefully we can take this place back." I nodded as it would be nice. But with the amount of wildlife, I doubted that we'd do it with soldiers and spectres. I watched the spectre on board help our wounded heal. It was nice that we were safe. I decided to ask the pilot one question. "What is your name?" He looked out the window and at the falling base. "Just call me John." That was the first time meeting the pilot. I didn't know that was his first mission as well.