***ATTENTION***

The first chapter is titled, "Building a Better War," over on MjrGenMatt's profile page.

Summary: Jack asked her what they were doing tomorrow. Liera wasn't sure if Commander Briggs would let them live to see it.

If you've ever seen a hospital's emergency room during an epidemic, you'd already know what a Militia Titan Bay looks like after a major conflict with the IMC. If not, well…

The best way to describe it is:

Complete and utter chaos.

To make matters worse?

There was a giant robot following us home, floating in outer space right alongside the MCS Braxton.

"Pilot-"

"I know, EV. I see it."

No, I hadn't thought about what came after I neural-linked with the so-called "Architect" EV and I found underneath ruins that didn't exist outside of classified SRS reports. And no, I shouldn't have gone to check out the strange frequencies we picked up without asking permission, or on my own…

And none of that mattered now. All that did was that there was a robot half the size of the ship following us through each slipstream jump we took.

I sighed, and pulled my helmet off. EV's cockpit doors opened, and our designated mechanic waited for me to disembark before handing me a clipboard.

"Here's the damage, Pilot."

I gave him an acknowledging grunt, flipping through the report.

Severe damage to the hull. Burnt sparkplugs. A jammed acolyte pod launcher. Sensory malfunctions on the rear optical panel. Near complete depletion of ammunition reserves.

I stopped reading halfway, and turned to EV as she put her face back together. The cockpit doors locked tight, her innocent little lens blinking.

She was scratched to all hell, the nose art I ordered to be painted reduced to a mess of dents and what used to be feathers.

"I'll give you 50 Credits under the table if you fix her paint job."

"Uh…" He looked around at the sparking, twitching Titans that began unloading their own Pilots, "You do realize we're understaffed with more emergency operations scheduled than we've had since Typhon, right?"

Some of his metal patients were missing limbs, others were…set on fire…and-

Shit.

MOB-1316 had parked. His Pilot?

Commander Sarah fucking Briggs.

I shoved the clipboard at his chest, and jumped the railing. I'd just landed and began to hightail it to my Quarters before I heard a terrorizing shout.

"LASTIMOSA!"

I froze, spun on my heel, and gave her the sturdiest salute I have in years.

She pushed herself to her feet, not having waited for her own cockpit to open entirely before jumping out. She ripped her helmet off, and stormed towards me.

Yeah.

Shit.

My hand began to shake, the edge of my palm trembling above my brow.

"What were you-…What is-…" Her lips curled, "Just WHAT?!"

I gulped, and folded my hands behind my back.

"Commander, I-"

The hatch at the end of the Bay peeled open, and a limping BT shoved another Titan out of his way before continuing his walk of shame. No, that's a bad word for it. More like his walk of, "I'm still here, mother fuckers."

Sarah snapped her fingers in front of my face, "Hey, HEY. I asked you a question, Pilot!"

I swallowed again, and shifted my frightened eyes to her.

"I'll have an official report to you by this evening."

Her gloves squealed as her hands imploded into fists.

"I want it on my desk within the hour. Do not make me hunt you down."

Her shoulder hit mine as she stomped past me, strong enough to dislodge my prosthetic arm from its stiff salute.

My lungs drained the breath they held captive. I closed my eyes, trying to reel in the fear of being pummeled, but honestly, I would have preferred to be out there wrangling that thing I found rather than pissing off the Commander.

"Hey."

My eyes snapped open, and my brother was the one talking, now.

"Hi."

He gave me that stupid sideways grin he's had since he was a kid.

"You never answered my question."

I bit my lip, and tried not to yell. Tried not to ream him for the "I want to be a hero again," shit he and BT pulled out there. The kind of shit that forced my hand in riding a goddamn murder machine in the sky so it could get its fill of IMC Titans.

Still, he was alive. I held on to that, and let him off easy.

"What question, Jack…" I sighed.

My shoulders tensed to my ears as another shout came from behind me.

"COOPER!"

He broke into the same, panicked salute I had a moment ago.

"Yes, sir, COMMANDER BRIGGS, SIR?"

I inched around him. She was standing there, neck arched over her shoulder.

"Eye-witness statement. FORTY. FIVE. MINUTES." She shouted, and took a sharp turn towards the Command Deck.

He squinted at me, "This is your fault."

I shrugged, "Worth it."

…

Sarah had one hand tucked under her arm, holding Jack's written statement in the other. Her brows slowly pinched in the middle as her eyes darted from the first sentence to the last.

When we finally made it back to Harmony, Jack and I rushed to our terminals. Writing a full-on report like that in 10 minutes did neither of our stories justice, and she made us stand at full attention while she read them.

She stood behind her desk, staring us down. She adjusted herself, leaning the small of her back on a filing cabinet.

She was not a happy Commander.

"'Giant murder robot?'" Sarah glared at Jack.

He cleared his throat, "Yes, sir."

She glinted her death-glare at me, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"So it's actually called an Architect?"

"Yes, sir." I answered.

Sarah took a deep breath before sitting down, folding her hands and placing them on her desk.

"Take a seat."

Jack and I sat in a quick, simultaneous motion.

"Lastimosa, your report says you evaluated all available options before linking with…'Tiny'…and then woke it up. Cooper's report suggests otherwise, and I quote," She pulled Jack's snitch-report closer to her face, "'I can control it with a mental link not unlike how we use our Titans. There's a lot of science bullshit besides that, which I don't really understand, so don't ask.' Which is it?"

"He said what?" I reached out, trying to snatch it from her hands.

Jack grabbed my arms, aiming them away.

"YOU-" He started to defend himself, but my shoulder bumped his mouth, interrupting him, "YOU SAID IT, NOT ME!"

"PILOTS!" Sarah slapped the report on the desk like a newspaper on a dog's behind.

My back hit my chair, and so did Jack's.

"Need I remind you that every Pilot in the Marauder Corps is liable for severe charges should they intentionally compromise themselves or their Titan's neural-link." She folded her arms, and crossed her legs, "I've got half a mind to lock you in the brig."

"I didn't-"

She raised a hand, "I'm not done."

I shut my mouth, and let her keep berating me.

"The refugees in Newdrift are panicking. The Architect parked right next to them after we got the Braxton in drydock." She ran a hand down her face, "Every time it…purrs…the ground shakes. We've been getting complaints from the colonies outside the city. So, oh wise Lastimosa, where do you propose we even put this thing?"

I was ready to suggest the biggest moon we could find in the Freeport System, but the radio strapped to her vest crackled before I got a word out.

The electricity flickered, and the whole building trembled.

"Commander!"

Her face turned red. She shook her head slowly with daggers for eyes, "I swear, if this has anything to do with your new pet…"

 A heavy sigh left her, and she clicked the button on the side of the radio, "What's up, Bish?"

"This…this-"

"Giant murder robot…" Jack mumbled.

"Whatever this is, just started burrowing on the Outskirts!"

Sarah bit her lip. The edge of Jack's report crinkled in her fist.

"Hang tight."

She flattened her hands on the desk, and pushed herself out of her chair.

"This is your mess. Fix it." Her lips twitched in anger as she spoke.

I nodded so quickly I made myself dizzy, "Yes, Commander. What are my orders?"

"Put together a Fireteam, get out there, and get that fucking thing out of here."

I pursed my lips, "Or…"

Her nose scrunched, "'OR?'"

"We could…you know, just let it do it's thing. Build stuff."

She slammed her fists on the desk, sending a pencil holder to the floor. Jack and I jumped in our seats.

"Unless it can build us a better war, I don't want any 'stuff,' it has to offer! Now MOVE IT!"

I almost knocked the chair over as I jumped to my feet. I'd just got my hand on the door handle before she barked again.

"And Lastimosa…"

I cocked my chin towards her.

"The next time you slam my door, you'll find yourself with two prosthetic arms. Are we clear?"

I nodded.

"Good. Dismissed."

Jack and I escaped the Commander's office, and I put my hands on my stomach. Delta Wing rumbled again, and an alarm went blaring overhead.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I raised a fist to my mouth.

"No time for that. You've gotta take Tiny for a walk."

I gave him the most condescending look I could muster, "If you think you're getting out of this, you're even more stupid than you were when you thought taking on half the IMC's fleet on your own was a good idea."

"Great…"

I stretched my back, and hiked a brow, "Oh, and what question didn't I answer? The one from before."

He blinked himself awake, "I asked you, 'What're we doing tomorrow…?'"

"HAH!" I slapped him on the back, and flipped my helmet over my head.

My visor lit up, and more warnings than I could keep track of littered my HUD.

"We gotta make it to tomorrow, Jack."

A/N: To keep things interesting, neither of us tell each other how our chapters will end. You will see us commenting on each other's chapters because of this.