2 years following the Fold Weapon conflict on Harmony, titan manufacturing has blossomed into an industry capable of supporting a multifaceted turf war with a fractured Militia and various mercenary branches. Titan technology has grown increasingly deadly and diverse, fabricating subclasses of titan and pilot alike. As the Militia struggles to fill the void of a crushed IMC economy, rising merc payoffs and endless bounties on Militia leaders bring the righteous powerhouse to its knees.
Staff Sargent Eli Arquus, linked to Northstar ARCH 814 is pulled headfirst into a guerrilla war between the 6-8, a sister squadron of the 6-4, and the Apex Predators. After a vital reconnaissance mission for the Marauder Corps is botched in a chaotic Apex ambush, Eli finds himself separated from his Titan, a prisoner of war and de facto pilot for a lone Apex Ronin class titan. || Titanfall: Bounty is a tale of fiction exploring a lone pilot's understanding of friend and foe, and what it is to provide for one's family. Rated M for violence, language, and suggestive themes. ||
The rock beneath his chest plate refused to give way under his weight, grinding incessantly at each minute movement. It baked in the sun, heat beating upon them and bouncing between the atmosphere and ground with more determination than most planets in the galaxy. From the skies, a flock of windtorn predators orbited with piercing gazes and empty stomachs. He couldn't be bothered. To them, the surface below was the same tedious and barren hellscape that plagued their day-to-day. Still, they watched for the tiniest hint of a moving silhouette, shadows that might betray a far smaller creature scuttling between sources of shade. A chime echoed in the helmet to his side, vying for attention. A synthetic reply struggled to keep its volume in check, slightly gravely and aggressive in nature.
"Pilot, Alpha 6-8 is requesting a sitrep. Your helmet can't protect your pathetic cranium if you refuse to wear it."
"… Can it Archie. They can wait. Who's idea was it to post us on recon duty over the hottest fuckin' desert this planet has to offer anyway?"
There had been little to no movement in the sprawling ruins before them over the course of the past few hours. Disheartened to say the least. Eli shuffled to face his 9 o'clock, lifting his hand up and applying pointless pressure to the underside of its outstretched arm. The piercing hiss and gust of air as the arm's pressurized cylinders adjusted cut through the humidity for a moment, and he couldn't help but lift his face to capitalize on it. While most ghillie and cloaking technology for pilots used imaging to create the effect of transparency, it had a nasty habit of flickering or catching light in strange ways that could get a marksman killed.
The massive tarp that stretched out and over them was a new model freshly delegated to the 6-8 from one of their recent sponsor acquisitions. It used magnetic fields to pull at the metal deposits in the soil and rock around them. To anyone outside their makeshift spotter's nest, they were one of countless rocky outcrops. Their only tell was a slim titan-mounted digital periscope that remained vigilant to their surroundings, rising through a small hole from the mech within. Archie was a Northstar version 4A class titan, gifted with a reconnaissance suite, and to Eli's surprise was dealing well in supporting the weight of the earth covering the structure around them. Archie moved his arm and the tarp in silent understanding, giving Eli a narrow opening to observe the firefight between the 6-4, Alpha 6-8 and Apex mercs. A few clicks to the dials on his Doubletake's optic gave a quick threat analysis of the firefight.
The pilot slaked of thirst, and downed the remains of a canteen before sliding his helmet back down to the base of his jawline. The helmet engaged the edge of his base layer, clicking into place with a satisfying click. Tiny servos whirred into motion, hard at work to shift temps inside the visor to something more hospitable.
"Alpha 6-8, this is Charlie 6-8, ruins are quiet. I've got visual on 5… no 6 M. Corps titans, 4 Apex titans, and… 3 Vinson titans? Looks like you all have your hands full. Please confirm? How copy."
Archie remained motionless, all focus routed through his periscope, taking in the scene alongside Eli. He decided it was time for another jab at his pilot. Something about heckling his partner ranked high in his programming's list of directives.
"Surprised those pitiful balls of flesh you call optical sensors can see that far pilot."
Eli slammed his fist into the side of the Titan's chassis with a dull thud.
"No one calls them that."
Finally communications buzzed in reply, though crammed with static and battle noise.
"Solid copy Eli, and you couldn't be more right. Vinson just dropped in from our West. Honestly think they plan on capitalizing on whatever side remains, fucking vultures."
Gate's voice was unmistakable. The pilot had nightmares of her barking orders. Another frequency intruded.
"Alpha 6-8, this is Cooper. Got word from Briggs up high. Sounds like we have a wave of Apex approaching from South of your posi…"
There was a pause and the deep impacts of metal against metal, likely BT scrapping with another titan.
"Position. Sorry bout that, bastards keep trying to steal our power cores for some reason. It's probably obvious from what you are seeing, but our hands are tied and we can't handle any other players on this court at the moment if you catch my drift."
A synthetic interruption.
"Cooper, I'm detecting an average elevation variance of 0.43 meters. This hardly qualifies as a court by any known human sports databases."
There was a long and awkward pause, and perhaps a mutually understood eye roll from every militia pilot listening in on their transmission. Cooper rang back in.
"BT… NICE ONE. Now stay off comms and focus big guy."
A snicker could be heard from someone. Possibly Davis. BT droned on as usual.
"Is ARCH 814 on this communications… party?"
Eli heard a pleased drone emanate from deep within Archie's turbines as his sensor tipped to one side and squinted with glee to be acknowledged.
"Effective humor sequence BT 7274! ARCH 814 present with his meatbag…"
Another slam echoed over the radio
"… Ahem, pilot. BT 7274, ARCH 814 has a sequence for analysis."
A collective sigh spread across the frequency. Eli cringed in preparation. Gates tried to interject before it was too late but got cut off as the titan boomed in volume over anyone else.
"WHAT DO YOU CALL A 1001001010 that 10010101010010101?!…0100010!"
It took seconds before every pilot on communications retched, their helmet displays quickly deciphered the archaic code-filth and sharing digital files across their internal displays. Eli croaked in defeat.
"Gates… remind me again why I've been saddled with this filthy animal?"
Archie pushed in.
"Pilot, ARCH 814 is fully synthetic and…"
Gates, victoriously cut him off.
"Because like it or not, you and Archie get shit done when we need it Eli. Now as Cooper was saying, check to the South and do all you can to slow down that Apex squad. Tether traps, mines, the hole nine yards. I'll run our expense reports through Briggs when we get back to the hanger safe and sound."
"Solid copy mam. Charlie 6-8 out."
Setting his rifle to the side, the pilot settled into a kneeling position to quickly dump his gear into his pack. Once everything was squared away, he gave a nod to the titan. After a few moments of scanning the landscape around their position for hostiles and uncertainty, the titan nodded with minor body movement and a bob of its optic assembly.
"Disengaging cloaking magnetics pilot. Please stand clear."
The air sparked to life with static, and a constant hum that had become a staple to their time in the desert dissipated. The soil and rock that had once clung to their shelter slid back to the earth once more. After all heavy debris cleared the tarp, Archie stood quickly to full standing height, towering over Eli below. A metal canister offset on its back slowly began to reel in the tarp, cautious to avoid creating any sharply folded areas that might damage the cloak when stored and compacted for transport. Eli all the while, set to reattach his thrusters as he reviewed their next steps aloud. Archie looked to the ground, projecting a faint image of the ruins beyond, highlighting key defensive points and hot spots for burying snares and explosives to the greatest effect.
"We'll push South and set down a Sonar charge here, aaaaaaaand here."
With all buckles fixed in place, he followed up with pointing to the light below. Archie brightened the projected light to combat the intsense sunlight beating down on them, slightly hunching over to provide darker shade for viewing. The tarp finished it's journey, as it's canister locked closed with a small chime of completion.
"Once we get those anchored into the earth we'll have a far better understanding of what's beneath the ground. I'd love to get some of our wires on sinkholes or uncomplicated earth. We'll be able to react better to their numbers that way and aim to disable rather than just hitting their shields. Hell, if the earth is compacted enough, we may get enough vibration to show us some of the Titans heading our way."
Archie cut off the projection, reaching down to carefully pick up Eli's pack, and lift it to the left underside of his chassis. The pilot quickly latched it into place on a few attachment points, and climbed to the top of the titans hull to get one last look at the desert ahead. It was as thirsty as he was, and dense enough to make digging difficult, and provide sound footing for heavy-class titans like Legions. An uneasiness gnawed at the back of his mind as Archie released the upper hatch locks, allowing his pilot to slid down into the cockpit. Once the internal air pressure equalized and the door hissed shut, the titan provided on last two final words.
"Ready pilot?"
And with a nod, the Northstar bolted with impressive speed, multitasking with weapon preparations as they grew ever closer to the ruined city beyond.
Author note: Thanks for any reviews and comments you might have! This was my debut of sorts, and while it might be rough, I'm excited to expand on this story with you all. Any follows and favorites are much appreciated, and I'm sure to read some stories from you all as well. See you in chapter 2.