Disclaimer:

I don't own Titanfall or any of the resources used in the making of this story. All credit goes to Respawn Entertainment. All characters in this story bear no resemblance to any real people, living or dead.

I sprinted through the streets, away from the shouts of the guards. I had never planned to resort to stealing, but that vendor has tried to cheat me out of a deal on an atomic battery. Things like that weren't cheap.

Sprinting through the streets, I felt shame for how my life had deteriorated. I was once a rich boy living in a palace, now I was running through the slums with a stolen battery powerful enough to run one of those fancy titans the IMC were mass producing.

I shook off the feeling, why should I care at all? Before this life my parents had ridiculed me from being different. They said I should give up and be the next in line for the family business. I hated that idea, I also hated my parents, that's why I left in the first place.

A loudspeaker crackled to life somewhere near me, "Report, a Class A atomic battery has been stolen. The suspect reportedly has brown hair and is wearing a stolen pilot uniform. Any information regarding the suspect is greatly appreciated and the finder will receive compensation." The loudspeaker crackled off. I curse, I could've sworn that I was careful to keep people from seeing me at all.

I sprint faster ignoring the complaints from people I ran into or tripped on my way past. I turned into another alleyway and saw it was a dead end. Doubling back I saw that the IMC guards were almost on me. I ran through street after street, alley after alley without seeming to getting any closer to escaping. The shouts of the guards were getting louder, I was running out of breath, how much longer could I keep this up?

I ducked into an alley to hide and catch my breath, and found a dead end with absolutely nothing that could help me hide from the guards who were almost surely going to round the corner any second now. Suddenly a strong, cold hand grabbed me from behind and I was yanked into a small passage I hadn't seen before. I begin to struggle but am silenced by a hard metallic voice behind me.

"Shut up or they'll hear you." He was right, the guards were checking down this alley right now, just not very thoroughly. They passed on without another glance and their footsteps fade away.

Now I struggled free again and looked at my would be rescuer. Staring back was a robot, but not just any robot, it was a simulacrum. I was confused, simulacrums were produced by Vinson Dynamics, who worked with the IMC, and furthermore they produced most of the titans that are powered by the battery I had stolen. I turned to run but he grabbed me before I could get very far.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you obviously, you're just going to turn me in to the IMC. Right?"

"No, why would I do that?" he looked genuinely confused at my question. I mean as confused as a robot with no facial features can get.

"You're a simulacrum right?" he nodded, "Then why would you not turn me in to them? You work with them."

"Not anymore I don't" he said, I am a prototype and have no allegiances". I must have still looked skeptical, I felt skeptical, because he looked away and said "Actually, I'm a discarded prototype that Vinson Dynamics thought had been destroyed. I don't think they even know I'm still alive. I was made to be the most advanced simulacrum ever created, able to think consciously and make my own decisions as well as make software and hardware modifications as I pleased. However, I proved too costly and they must have decided it wasn't worth it anymore."

"Oh" was all I could muster.

He looked over at me, "I couldn't help noticing that Class A battery you were carrying."

No surprise there, these things were rare outside of military use and pretty expensive even if you could find one on the market. "So, you just saved me so you could take my battery?"

"No, no" he shook his head, "I have a deal for you, me and my team know a contact that would pay handsomely for a battery like that, if you come with me I can see if they will split the profit with you?"

I was skeptical, it had taken me a while to save up for this battery and I had forgotten my money back at the vendor's stall. This would be the only thing that could replenish my funds. "How much would this contact pay for this battery? I paid 400 credits for this."

He looked over at me, clearly shocked. "Whoever you got that from didn't know what he was handling. That battery could power a spaceship for a month. Our contact is willing to pay at least 200,000 credits for one of those."

That blew my mind, 200,000? That could buy me a safe property on a quiet planet and maybe even a lower class titan. "So, who is this contact?"

"I'm not at liberty to share that with you, sorry"

"No I understand perfectly logical for a buyer of Class A Atomic Batteries off the black market to want to keep their identity secret."

"So, how about I introduce you to the rest of the team?"