"Of all the things I've seen on the battlefields of the Frontier, the Pilot is the true dominant force. Fast and agile. Graceful, yet devastating. Perceptive. Resourceful. And relentless.
A Pilot sees the world differently. Sheer walls become flanking routes. Pilots fight differently. Experienced in deception and manoeuvre. Even overwhelming odds shift in their favour.
But what truly separates the Pilot from all the grunts and machines of the battlefield, is the bond between a Pilot, and a Titan.
When linked to a Titan, a Pilot can only be stopped by overwhelming force.
Or an equal."
Pilot (formally Rifleman Class-3) Jack Cooper. Just before The Battle of Typhon.
Pilot Cpt M. Jackson was not having a good day. Far from it. He actually thought that this was one of the worst days in his life. And he's had more than a few bad days in his time.
He dived behind some cover to avoid another volley of gunfire from the Spectres that had him pinned. He knew that the titan he saw earlier would be practically on top of him in a matter of seconds. 30 at the most. He had to think fast.
Reloading his trusty R-101C Carbine, he prepared to run. Activating his Radar Pulse, he quickly assessed what he was up against: 6 second generation Spectres armed with R-97 Compact SMG's, and 2 with Titanhammer rocket launchers. Far behind them, but closing fast, 2 squads of Grunts were running towards them. And finally, at the back, was the enemy that Jackson was most worried about.
An Ogre class titan. An old chassis type but by no means less deadly. Armed with a 40mm cannon and a Cluster Missile pod, this was a serious threat. Fortunately, it was also slow, meaning that his chances of killing the Spectres before it even got to him were good, but diminishing far too quickly for his liking.
Sprinting from cover, he threw 2 'Shock Rocks': modified, magnetic Arc grenades, at the Spectres. He then brought his carbine to bear and quickly dispatched the three closest Spectres. As he reloaded, the grenades went off, destroying the 2 robots they had attached to and severely damaging the rest, stunning them in the process. Using this time, he dropped the remaining three with his rifle, before grabbing one of the rocket launchers and sprinting towards one of the nearby buildings.
He dived through a broken widow, rolling as he hit the ground. He then activated his Cloak, rendering himself completely invisible to a titan's optics, and nearly so to the naked eye. He ran up the stairs and climbed onto the roof, just as the grunts and the Ogre came in to the clearing.
Before his cloak ended, he locked onto the titan and fired, hitting it in the back with the powerful missile. He dropped the now empty firing tube and sprinted away from the ledge and back down into the building. The titan had turned round just in time to see him dive down the stairs. The pilot inside ordered the grunts to search the building, in an attempt to flush out the 'savage'.
The Grunts were not pleased by this order. Of course they were trained soldiers with state of the art weaponry. But none of that mattered to a pilot. He would chew through them like a cheap sweet. However, it was either that, or be squashed by the angry IMC pilot in the 63 ton walking tank. It was lose-lose, either way. So, reluctantly, they entered the bullet marked building. They had no idea what it was before, nor did they care. Their job was to kill or be killed.
When up against a Pilot, it was usually the latter.
As the 8 of them entered the building, Jackson was waiting by the door. As the last man stepped through, he grabbed him by the head and pulled. The grunt's head rotated 180 degrees, snapping his neck and giving him a view of the ghostly silhouette before he died. The sound of his body hitting the floor caused another grunt to turn around. Unfortunately, he was met by a flying kick to the face, courtesy of Jackson. This instantly knocked out the grunt and sent him flying out of the room. The pilot then activated his recharged cloak and disappeared.
He dealt with the grunts silently, using neck breaks, kicks and his Data Knife to kill or incapacitate them. He at last came to the last grunt, the Squad sergeant. He was more heavily armoured, and wielded an EVA-8 semi-automatic shotgun. He was probably better trained and had sharpened perception and senses due to years of fighting. As Jackson entered the room, the Sgt swung his shotgun around and aimed directly at his head. Now Jackson may be a pilot, but he had no delusions of invulnerability. At this close range, that shotgun would tear through his body before he even took one step. He had to think this through.
The sergeant stared at the Militia pilot with cool indifference. He looked almost bored with the situation. Then he began to talk.
"So… A pilot, eh? Always wanted to test my skills against one of them." And with that, he threw his shotgun to a far corner of the room and charged. Jackson was surprised, and slightly impressed. It took vast amounts of stupidity and/or balls to drop your guarantied kill for a chance to fight them hand-to-hand. And judging by the speed and fluidity of the punches the sergeant sent his way, it wasn't stupidity that this man had in great quantities.
Blocking yet another of his punched, Jackson decided to go on the offensive. Feigning a right cross, he then delivered a lightning fast jab to his opponents exposed side. This move was meant to throw an enemy of their game and test their reflexes rather than to do damage. However, his fist hit one of the armour plates hidden by the Grunts clothing. Using his ever so slight shock to his advantage, the sergeant clasped both his hands together and delivered a double hammer-fist to the side of Jackson's head. His helmet protected him from damage, but the sheer force of the blow staggered him. This allowed the sergeant to close in and pummel his abdomen with heavy blows. Before he could do any more damage, Jackson brought his knee up to strike him in the stomach, and pushed him away to put some distance between them and so he can regain his bearings.
If Jackson didn't have respect for the sergeant before, he certainly did now. This man was not only close to a pilot's skills in hand-to-hand, but he was able to challenge him in a test of both training and durability.
'He would have made a fine pilot.' Jackson thought as he analysed his fighting stance, looking for anything exploitable. The sergeant stood with his left foot leading, head ducked and his arms in a standard boxer stance. Armour plates protected the usual weak spots: the ribcage, under the arms and the neck. His armour could also be used to his advantage: it must weigh a considerable amount, and it must make him slower. Speed is the answer.
With a game plan figured out, Jackson charged, closing the distance in milliseconds. Ducking under a right cross, he span around to face the Grunt's back. He then back stepped away from the mule kick that the sergeant sent his way. As he turned to face the pilot, Jackson quickly stepped back into range and struck out with an elbow to the sergeants exposed face. Blood spurted out from his now broken nose, and he stumbled backwards. Jackson pushed his advantage, throwing punch after punch into his face. When he brought his hands up to defend himself, Jackson grabbed them and with one swift movement, broke them at the elbow.
The sergeant screamed in pain, before being kicked across the room and smashing through a table. As he lay there in the rubble, barely clinging onto consciousness, he looked up and stared into the blue visor of the pilot that had bested him. He waited for him to deliver the killing blow, but after a few seconds of nothing happening, the pilot began to walk away. The sergeant was bewildered that he had been beaten to near unconscious, then left alive. He must have made some noise of confusion, because just before he left the room, the pilot tuned back to him.
"You fought admirably. I'm leaving you alive so that you can get medical treatment. Hopefully while you're in there, you'll rethink your choice to fight for the IMC."
And with that, he left, presumably to deal with the titan still outside. Permanently, he hoped before unconsciousness took him.
Jackson, meanwhile, was indeed about to tackle the titan. He was just wondering how. Being an Ogre chassis, it was extraordinarily tough, even amongst other titans. It was unlikely that his current anti-titan weapon, a Sidewinder with an extended magazine, would take it down before the pilot inside obliterated him with 40mm shells. He cursed himself for using the Archer just to get its attention. The Archer…
He quickly peeked out of a window and found his target. The other rocket launcher the Spectres had. Good news: It was out in the open and easy to grab. Bad news: it was out in the open, where the titan could see it. His cloak would make him invisible to the titan's optics, but not his jump kit's exhaust ports. He would have to time this right and run.
As the Ogre turned to look at another section of the building, Jackson leapt out of the window and activated his cloak as he hit the floor running. He was nearly at the launcher when the Titan turned around. Not having time to think, he grabbed the Archer without stopping and sprinted for one of the buildings opposite. Whilst the titan couldn't see him, it could perfectly see the launcher suddenly rise up of the ground and make a break for one of the buildings. The pilot inside brought his cannon up and fired. The bang of the 40mm round being fired was only matched by the explosion it made as it whizzed past him and exploded against a wall less than 15 feet away. Pouring on the speed, Jackson ran as fast as he could while more shells flew overhead, some too close for comfort. At last he was within spitting distance of the building, and with one desperate effort, he flung himself through the doorway and threw himself against the door. He only then noticed his error at that point he dived away from the door, just as it was blasted off its hinges by the titan's cannon.
He thought he was safe for the moment, until the titan fired its cluster missile at the building. The rocket impacted the reinforced concreate creating a large hole, whilst the smaller explosives impacted around it, further weakening the structure. The titan then began firing at the damaged area of the wall. Jackson then figured out what pilots plan was as he ran out of ammo. He then made his titan sprint at the wall, using his rocket dash at the last moment. 63 tons of titan came smashing through the wall, easily breaking through the weakened wall and the thinner inner walls. Jackson ran for the opposite door, the titan lumbering after him like the T-rex from Jurassic Park.
He pelted out the door, just seconds before the Ogre came barrelling through the wall next to it. As rubble exploded outwards, the titan slid to a stop. Jackson was waiting there with his rocket launcher pointed at the titan. The war machine pointed its freshly reloaded cannon at him in response. They just stood there, a Mexican standoff of epic proportions. The IMC pilot then seemed to realise that that even if Jackson fired, it wouldn't penetrate his shield. With his victory assured, he decided to taunt the soon-to-be-dead pilot.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He asked sarcastically. "It looks like a lowly savage who thinks he's a Pilot." He mocked. Jackson simply tightened his grip on the Archer in his hand.
"Do you really think that will kill me? Face it asshole. You can't win. You can't kill me!" He exclaimed, ready to put him down and move on. Jackson simply smiled behind his helmet.
"I can't kill you, sure. But she can." He said cryptically. The IMC pilot was about to ask what he was talking about, when he was rammed by a much heavier, much larger opponent. The Ogre was lifted off the floor, sent flying through the air and crashed into the smashed building, causing it to collapse. As the pilot tried to get his bearings, his now-fuzzy HUD showed him what had hit him. He couldn't believe his eyes.
Standing in front of him was a titan. A very large titan. It looked like an Atlas class but on steroids. Standing just over 30ft tall, it was much taller than any other titan. It was wider than an Ogre and had arms that seemed slightly too big for its frame. It had thick, advanced looking armour plating covering its entire chassis, along with thick limbs and large hands. The arms themselves seemed to have advanced tech running underneath its armour, and it had many rocket pods attached to its body.
Its paintwork was the standard drab green and orange stripes of all Militia titans, but this one had extra artwork dotting its body. It had a yellow and black shield with a vortex inside of it on its left shoulder, two semi-circles with a smaller circle inside them on its right arm, cartoonish rockets up near its left side rocket pods and a red grenade on the opposite side. On the legs it had a black titan in a red triangle on the left leg and a plain orange bomb on the right. On the left hand side of its waist it had some green squares on a white background, and on the other side was what appeared to be a feminine robot sitting on a rocket with the words 'Full Metal Badass' painted underneath. Around the eye was kill tallies: One side had small, white marks, whereas the other had larger, but still small black marks. There were lots on either side.
The titan then reached behind and grabbed something off its back. It turned out to be an XO-16 Chaingun. This one, however, had electric arcs running across the frame. It also had a much larger magazine and grip. It looked highly modified and could probably cut through his titan's chassis in seconds, even though it was an older model chaingun. It aimed at him as he forced his titan up out of the rubble and aim his cannon back at it. Jackson simply stared.
"Take him KC."
The larger titan opened fire, the rapid booms echoing through the air as electrified 20mm rounds tore through the air and slammed into the IMC titan's shield. The noise was then added to as the heavy, slow roar of 40mm explosive slugs joined in this test of titan shield durability. The 40mm cannon was physically more powerful, but the chaingun's Arc rounds were designed to tear through shields, and its much higher fire rate meant that the IMC pilot soon found that his shield was down and his titan's armour was being shredded by the high calibre machine gun fire. He looked at the corner of his HUD to see his Shield core was almost charged. The question is would he last long enough to deploy it. His magazine soon ran dry, and he deployed his Particle wall to give him cover as he reloaded. Luckily, he had decided to fit his titan with a faster recharging shield generator and his shield was at full capacity as he finished reloading.
Unfortunately, the Militia titan hadn't run out of ammo, and its rounds pelted the particle wall, quickly destroying it and continuing to attack him. However, with fresh ammo in the clip, the IMC pilot could continue to shell the larger titan with his more damaging cannon. As he began firing, he also fired his freshly reloaded cluster missile at the behemoth, determined to kill it. His plan hit a snag as the titan in question raised its left arm and caught the missile and all the rounds he fired from his 40mm in a Vortex shield. Now the IMC pilot was pissed! This Auto-Titan was showing him up. Him! A fully qualified pilot. If he had been thinking straight, he would have stopped firing as soon as he saw the vortex shield, but his judgement was clouded with rage, so he kept on firing more and more rounds into it until his magazine ran dry. With nothing left to catch, the Militia titan reversed the polarity in the magnets forming the shield, sending the caught projectiles hurtling back towards the Ogre. 12 high explosive shells and a missile slammed into his shield, it buckling under the immense firepower. The residual energy not dissipated by the shield hit the thick armour underneath, ripping chunks from their mountings. The explosives discharged from the cluster missile then peppered the area around him, causing even more damage and severely damaging the titan's internal systems. He used his one dash to propel him out of the immediate area, but his titan had taken a severe battering. Armour had broken away in several places, exposing the workings underneath. Any armour that was still attached to the chassis was heavily damaged and dented, not protecting much.
The IMC pilot assessed his situation: his titan was nearly destroyed, its shields were down, the ordinance was still reloading and his 40mm was out of ammo. His titan then spoke.
"Pilot, your tactical ability had recharged and the shield core is ready for activation." The deep, menacing voice echoed through the inbuilt speakers. Thinking quickly, he threw down the particle wall just as the monstrous titan began to fire again. Knowing he didn't have long, he reloaded the cannon whilst the shields recharged.
"BB, ready the core for activation on my signal." He commanded his titan.
"Affirmative. Awaiting command."
The particle shield then broke, but before many bullets could hit his shield, the Militia Titan stopped firing. It then dropped the mag and began to reload. The IMC pilot smirked. A titan that was stuck reloading was a sitting duck. He began to open fire with his cannon, the heavy slugs pounding the shield of the larger mech. Far too quickly for his liking, it finished reloading and opened fire once again. He had to time this right, because if he didn't he would die a very quick death. Just as the shields were about to give, he gave the order.
"ACTIVATE CORE NOW!" He bellowed. In seconds, the core activated, replenishing the shield and increasing its protective capabilities to double that of a normal shield. The Arc rounds slammed into the new shield in great quantities, eating through the shield without compromise, but slower than before. He then reloaded his empty cannon once again before continuing to fire. If he wasn't so pissed at this titan for not dying, he would have been impressed at its durability. Not many titans can take round after round of direct fire from a 40mm cannon and still function. As he reloaded again, he launched a third cluster missile. It spiralled towards the target, and almost hit it. If it hadn't dodged at the last second. And it didn't dash like a normal titan, it rolled out of the way.
The IMC pilot was astounded. As the rocket neared, all the rocket pods on its shoulders folded into the chassis and the titan crouched slightly. Just as it was about to hit, it dived to the left, the missile passing within feet of it. It rolled back up to its feet and resumed firing, as if it hadn't just performed an amazing feat of titan agility.
Breaking out of his shock, the IMC pilot noticed that his enhanced shield was about to break. With the particle wall still recharging, he would quickly be chewed to pieces by the chaingun's heavy fire. Suddenly, his console began beeping at him. Someone had a lock on his titan. A rocket smashed into his cockpit, breaking what was left of his shield and dooming his titan. He swore. He was so focused on killing the titan, he had forgotten about its pilot.
Jackson smiled. He dropped the empty launcher and pulled out his carbine, just in-case he ejected. He watched as his titan closed in for the kill.
The IMC pilot started the eject sequence, but had barely started when his titan was knocked backwards by the larger war machine shoulder-checking him. He swung his left fist forward, only for it to be caught in the grip of the larger titan and stopped. It then proceeded to rip the entire arm off and smash him with the socket end. His titan staggered to the right before catching itself. He then swung his right arm, still holding the cannon, in a downwards hammer blow. His opponent simply caught his wrist and stopped it dead. Defenceless, he watched as the titan used its now free right hand to pummel his cockpit once, twice, three times before stopping. Its right hand then began crackle with energy, growing bigger very quickly.
'What the he-' Was the pilot's last thought as the energy discharged, tearing through the heavily damaged cockpit, liquefied the pilot inside before blasting out the back of the titan, blood and torn metal following in its wake.
The victorious titan dropped its now off-lined opponent ceremoniless-ly to the floor. It crumpled in a pile of twisted, sparking scrap, waiting for scavengers to pick it clean like a pack of vultures. It then wandered over to its pilot and kneeled down, the front splitting like an Atlas and revealing the cockpit. Jackson wordlessly climbed inside, the heavy cover sliding shut after him. The screen flickered to life, showing the world as the titan sees it.
"That's another one to you KC." He spoke warmly to his friend and wingman. Actually, wingwoman would be more accurate.
"Affirmative. Titan/Pilot kill counter increased to 152/148." She replied in a calm and feminine, if robotic, tone of voice. The large titan handed control over to her pilot, content she was in skilled hands.
Jackson then headed over to the dead titan, still sparking with electricity. He picked up the 40mm cannon and examined it. It was just a standard cannon. No upgrades fitted, just as it came out of the factory. It was also largely undamaged. A few scratches but nothing that affected the workings or the effectiveness of the weapon. He checked the magazine and, satisfied it was full, clipped it onto his back. He also grabbed a couple of ammo boxes of the titan's corpse and attached them to the hull of his own titan as well. It was always hand to have a second weapon on hand, just in case.
That sorted, they turned towards the sounds of heavy fighting that drifted across the clearing, now that it was mostly silent. They grabbed their XO-16 and headed towards the main battle. Seeing how far away they were, Jackson engaged in some small talk with his titan.
"Thanks for the save back there KC. If it wasn't for you, I'd be paste by now." He truly was grateful that he currently wasn't sitting on a cloud, holding a harp.
"Noted." She spoke with something akin to amusement in her voice.
"Any structural damage to worry about?" Jackson asked slightly worried. She definitely took a pounding in that fight.
"Maximum shield loss was 20%. Cause: 12 40mm high explosive shells. No damage was incurred by my chassis." She sounded almost smug, and with good reason. Not many Militia vehicles could take a dozen 40mm shots and only incur a fifth shield damage.
"Good. I don't want you getting damaged Kay." Jackson smiled, relived his friend was ok.
At this point you're probably confused as to what's going on. Well, I'll explain briefly now and in detail later on. But for now…
Mitchell Jackson is a pilot for the Militia, a group of freedom fighters fighting to free the Frontier from the tyrannical grip of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation. They plunder the outer colonies for resources and ship them back to the inner worlds. Jackson himself joined the Militia after they saved his life and several others during an IMC raid on his settlement. After the battle, he joined up without hesitation.
During training, he displayed excellent fighting skill, as well as a sound tactical mind and compassion for his fellow soldiers. But his greatest trait was his movement. For as long as he can remember, he loved to run. He ran everywhere during his youth and even when he was a young adult. As such, he was much faster at moving than any other soldier. He also reacted faster and he was quite adept at free running. All these factors brought him to the attention of Pilot Nakiwawa, a pilot of oriental decent who held honour above all other factors. He taught Jackson how to be a pilot and how to fight with honour.
Near the end of his training, he and his squad were tasked with infiltrating an off-the-grid IMC weapons research site, whilst a larger force occupied the security stationed there. In the assault, unfortunately, Nakiwawa perished protecting a fellow pilot whose titan was damaged. Jackson didn't find out until after the battle, and was devastated.
However, what his squad found in the lowest level of the research centre was a monstrous titan, larger than anything else on the battlefield. After takin care of the few scientists that remained, they decided to use the titan against the IMC. Being the only one with Pilot training, Jackson donned the modified jump kit that was found nearby and climbed into the titan. After converting it to Militia protocols, he and his soon to be best friend lead the charge and surprised the IMC, defeating them swiftly.
When they got back, he presented the titan to his superiors. After having technicians examine the titan, they deemed that she was unreplicatable. She was also the most powerful titan they had ever seen. Armed to the teeth and even heavier armoured, she was one of a kind. He was allowed to stay her pilot after they turned the tide of the assault. And after a few missions, he became a fully qualified pilot.
Over the next few decades, both he and his titan, Designation KC-28457, gained a few upgrades. Jackson discovered the refreshing, yet painful, process of regenerating, each time becoming a little better than last time. He gained augmentations to further improve his speed, his biggest asset, and strength. He armed himself with an R-101C Carbine, modified for more stopping power along with an extended magazine and a HCOG sight, and a RE-45 Autopistol. He then chambered both with armor piercing rounds for maximum damage. He also equipped a Sidewinder micro-missile launcher for heavier targets. His jump kit and armor gained multiple upgrades, such as a longer lasting cloak, longer lasting STIM pack and an active radar pulse built into his helmet. The jump pack itself gained increased jump and wall running abilities and power cells to allow him to use his tactical abilities more. He also found a modified data knife, that he dubbed the 'Icepick'. He armed himself with modified versions of the Frag and Arc grenades. It was fair to say that it was probably overkill, but it allowed him to be the most effective killing machine on the battlefield.
At least until KC stepped up to the plate.
Over the years, her rocket salvo, multi-missile targeting system and slaved warhead launchers to hold more rockets. They also added a cluster missile launcher to her left forearm. Also on her left arm, she had a modified vortex shield, two particle walls and electric smoke launchers on her main body. Her armament of choice was a heavily modified XO-16 Chaingun. It fired Arc rounds that demolished shields, and was kitted out with a 150-round magazine. Her shields, loading and recharge systems and dash boosters also got an upgrade. But her titan core was heavily modified. He core was a combination of all three cores, allowing her to improve her damage output, reinforce her shields or boost her dash abilities to untold levels. The upgrades improved its recharge rate and the amount of time it stays active. Her armour was revolutionary and thickly layered. The only change was a fire resistant coating on the over and undersides after the Battle of Demeter, when more titan classes appeared, to combat the Scorch's ability to melt armour rapidly.
He was now a Generation 10 Pilot, one of the few that were skilled enough to survive this long. He and his titan were infamous among both the Militia and the IMC forces. When they appeared on the battlefield, they brought hope to the Militia forces and struck fear in to their enemies. Ground troops couldn't stop them, and titans barely slowed them down.
Off the battlefield, they were both quite friendly, Jackson taking time out his day to visit the infirmary and the barracks to chat with the troops. KC was also surprisingly human-like in emotion, thanks to a self-learning AI data core unique to her. She talked to the newer titans and their pilots, giving them combat advice and answering simple questions. She was easily the most approachable titan in the Militia, which wasn't difficult to be honest, despite being 32ft tall and weighing 154 tons. This endeared her to everybody who ever met her, and she quickly became the darling of the Militia, the grunts christening her the 'Full Metal Badass' because of her savagery in combat.
Jackson and KC had been through so much together that it was no surprise how firm a friendship had formed between them. They would never willing leave the other, even in the direst circumstances.
"Is everything alright Pilot?" KC asked, breaking Jackson out of his explanation to the confused readers.
"Yeah, just thinking Kay. Nothing to worry about." He answered truthfully. Of course she already knew this, due to the neural link that they shared, but she still felt worried for her friend.
A nearby explosion startled both of them. They had arrived at the main battle. They were attacking an IMC refuelling post, with orders to either capture or destroy. Their job was to circle around and attack the IMC line from behind. From their position, they could see IMC titans rush forward into combat, with many squads of Spectres keeping pace. Rockets and heavy calibre bullets flew across the battlefield.
"Ready KC?" He said as they pulled out their chain gun, readying for combat.
"Affirmative Pilot. I am ready when you are." She spoke in the formal way that all titans do, despite of Jackson's best efforts.
"Alright then. Let's do this!" And with that, the pair charged, as one, into the fray.
AN: I have a little announcement to make. Due to having to use the computers at college to work on these stories, and the internet having no decent recordings of Young Justice online, I will be TEMPORARILY taking a break from Dark Justice. However, I'm not going to leave you all hanging. So I decided to write the first chapter of another story I've had on my mind for a while.
After Christmas I'll (hopefully) have the means to write more regularly. And I'll be able to continue writing Dark Justice as well as this story.
Any way onto the bits of the story I should probably clear up.
This bit of the story takes place during Titanfall 2, you'll see why next chapter.
Because of the age that I'm saying KC is, she will have all of the abilities from the first game, but not the second. Same goes for Jackson, but I may change that…
The backstory of these two will be explained at a later date. I just want to move the story along and give you guys plenty of badass action!
AND FINALLY! I wanted to make these two super overpowered so that when the big story plot happens (wink wink), they can tackle it with ease.
Next chapter, they kick so much ass it isn't funny. Ciao!