Kione was sitting on Uso's shooting arm, straddling his wrist and leaning over the SpliterGun. The titan was watching quietly, listening to her list of safety checks, which me made a point to program into his weapon files and acknowledge her training. She pushed the energy core in, attempting to turn it with much effort until it clicked.
"-And that's it. When the core goes dark, swap it out with the next one by turning it counterclockwise and discarding. I'm not sure which weapon to use with your current frame so we'll start with this one. "
"Acknowledged. Kione-Sama, it seems you are having a hard time with the rounds. Does this have to do with the fact your current weight is fifteen kilograms lower then what is filed?"
"You read my file?"
"No, not exactly. Upon meeting, my HUD gave me some very basic information. You are female, twenty three, 1.65 meters tall, were 70.3 kilograms. You have served in the Militia for five years, rank Second Lieutenant. As of the current year 2317*, your pilot kill count is 10 and titan kill count is 14."
"Hmph, higher count then I wanted it to be. They keep track of that?"
"It appears someone did."
Kione sighed. She already knew it had to be Jenny. Jenny was extremely number oriented, and loved to tease her about 'kilogram gain'. She understood her Pilot did not enjoy killing, even to the point the duo would never fatally wound Grunts and MARVNs. Reapers, Specters, and Stalkers were optional. It had taken a few training dummies, but Kione was so dedicated that she had learned how to safely remove a Titan's AI-Database in a fight, then imposed her training on Jenny. When pilots ejected or fell out, they would leave the AI on a roof and go.
Kione remembered once, after removing a database, the pilot had rolled out the front and attack with full force. It was a surprise, as most Pilot would find the nearest cover. He was extremely upset, even to the point he'd thrown his empty grenade launcher at them. Jenny had grabbed him up pretty quick, where they had found what was wrong.
"The hell are you doing, pilot? Trying to get yourself killed?"
"You killed my Titan, you sonnuva bitch!" The voice came from an older man, riddled with anger.
"I've done no such thing."
"Bullshit!"
"See for yourself." Kione dropped the IMC pilot on a nearby roof, lifting Jenny's other arm to drop the front of the IMC's titan on the roof. Immediately, the SERE kit ejected, rolling a bit down the roof before the Pilot bent down and grabbed it. Even through the mask, she could see the surprise and relief. He pressed his forehead against the optic, sighing in relief.
"Thank god... But... Why?"
"The Militia is not what you think. Get out of here, go home to your family."
"This titan IS my family. I won't forget this... What's your name?"
"That doesn't matter, my backup is on the way. Go."
The IMC Pilot had nodded, taking the contents of the SERE kit and running. When he got to the ledge of the roof, he turned back, waved, a disappeared.
They never saw each other again.
"Kione-Sama? Are you alright?" Uso's voice snapped her from her thoughts, grabbing his arm so she wouldn't fall off.
"I'm fine, thinking about something. Lower me down." He complied. "Alright, here's what I want you to do. See those wooden titan cutouts?"
"Affirmative."
Kione removed a training rifle from the nearby table, walking back over and getting into a ready position. Taking a breath in, she lined up the shot for the bullseye, stood still, released her breath, and fired. The paintball landed just outside the middle red circle.
"Excellent shot."
"I missed, damn paint-balls. Alright, let's test out your aiming protocols." She clambered back up, sitting on the Titan's head with the painball gun. Uso watched her the whole time, "Do you have any?"
"Running scan... Yes." The Titan lifted his weapon, perfectly coping the Pilot's every move. He even acted like he released a breath before he fired. His shot missed, the plastic bullet bouncing away. Kione giggled, "Hmm, it seems my protocol is ineffective."
"I'm a left handed shooter, Uso. Try the other hand." The titan moved the gun to the other side, making a sound like a grumble, taking aim again, and fired. This time, the bullet bounced off the wooden titan's leg, leaving a yellow puff of chalk. "There you go! Aim higher!" The bullet soared over the target. "Not that high."
The Titan shifted into a different stance, putting his left foot much farther forwards and bending into it. Kione would have fallen off had she not already been holding the service handle. It's pink eye squinted, shoulder-flaps flaring in annoyance before it stilled and pulled. A stream of bullets chalked a perfect line from the furthest ring to the center, when the clip ran out of rubbers.
"Good job! Only took you ten rounds."
"I would like to see you do better."
Kione drew her pistol, taking a moment to aim before firing. The live round struck a perfect center.
"There~"
"You used the Smart Pistol. That is unfair."
"At least we know your Weapon's Identification is working."
"Alright, Uso. Now that you know how to use a weapon, let's teach you how to attack and defend. Show me your specials."
Kione and Uso where in a training arena, her sitting on the top of his head with a Anti-Titan weapon, belted to the service handle. Uso still had the SplitterGun, holding it with ease, but there was a Gatling gun not too far off.
"Specials?"
"Any shields, boost, special attacks, programs that look like they take time for your battery to recharge. But not self destruct, that will most certainly kill us both."
"What I am reading is Boost and Shield compatible with this weapon, while a Auto-Lock and gun shield for another. Also, one missiles and a dome."
"Wait, missiles? Shield? Smith gave you all that?"
"Missiles are empty, but it seems he did. My programing will force me to lock in two, then wait till I have a safe amount of time to change them."
"How long will that take?"
"Several seconds to lock in, fifteen minutes to unlock and redistribute."
"That old man is crazy... Select Boost and Shield, we'll change those around later. H'kay, let's start with defend."
The pilot lifted a remote, pressing a button as the building changed. Wooden pilots and titans on runners popped up, along with pellet guns from the buildings. They took aim on the pair, whirring to life. Uso blinked, plates shifting.
"You see that red line painted across the ground? Don't let any of those wooden enemies rolls over it, and don't get hit by the auto turrets. You got that?"
"I believe so."
"Good." Kione hit the green button on the remote, a loud automated voice counting down.
5...4...3...2... Commencing Training Sequence 0051, Now
The Turrets fired immediately, Uso barely having time to jump aside and throw up a shield. He took the best aim he could, knocking two turrets out of ten over before he had to reload. He had four down before his shield broke, and was pelleted. A buzzer rang, everything reseting.
"Gotta be quicker then that! Let's go again."
The two went through the defense sequence probably ten times before Kione was pelleted in the forehead, suggesting maybe it was time to try something else.
"Okay, offense!" Holding her head, she clicked the remote. The map mirrored itself, him now on the opposite side. Turrets were spread out, and wooden titans where secured. Pilots, however, dangled from walls. "Get to the other side, take out enemies, and don't get hit. Ready?"
"I guess..."
"..."
5...4...3...2... Commencing Training Sequence 0039, Now
Uso boosted into action, almost falling over as he charged past the range of the first few turrets and punched a wooden titan in the face, destroying it. Kione hung on for dear life, but there was a smile on her face.
"That's the spirit!"
A turret auto locked and pelleted his arm, the buzzer sounding off and resetting.
"It seems I am not good at this."
"That's okay, no one's good at anything their first try."
"Kione-Sama, I have a question." The two were heading back from the training room, covered head to toe in yellow chalk. They had stepped on a chalk-bomb after trying to go around a particularly hard spot. It had gotten them a few laughs from fellow pilots, but they were supportive once they could breath again. Kione was trying to shake the chalk out of her gear. Good thing she was leaving her helmet on 'till last, the cloud coming off her was thick enough to kill a small rodent.
"Yes, Uso?"
"Why is the Militia at war with the IMC?"
Kione hummed. "Go over to that hose over there, and I'll tell you."
Uso shuffled over, careful to avoid the other machinery. The pilot slid off, dropping her gear and jogging over to the building to turn on the water-flow. The hose had a nozzle, at least. She shifted it to stream, aiming for the chest and spraying. Surprisingly, the titan stepped back, covering it's eye.
"Kione-sama, what are you firing at me?"
"Water, silly! As long as you've sealed shut your cockpit, you'll be fine. You need a wash."
"It is cold."
Kione stopped pulling the level, staring. "You can feel the water temperature?"
"My chassis is blaring warnings about temperature dangers. And I do not enjoy being unable to see."
"Oooohh~, stop being a babbu." She continued to spray down the Titan, who shuffled in discomfort, making an occasional grunt. "Now, about your question. The IMC is a mining company from Earth, where your creator came from, probably. Around the late 21st century, scientist discovered how to bend time and space, which took man to the stars. Good thing for earth, because apparently the population was too big.
"People who knew how to do things with their hands left to new planets, followed by those who could run them, followed by those to control them. It was a system rigged to benefit Earth, the best would go back to the Core planets while the shit was left for us. A hundred year later, colonies started rebelling and breaking off from Core's reign. We overpopulated them thirty to one, even on the smallest colonies. Before long, we had freedom. My great grandparents where one of the first generations born free.
"Well, the Leaders of the Core planets refused to recognize us as our own colonies, so almost no one knew what was actually going on. They were told Civil Wars, which meant they couldn't safely transport goods. The Cores are shitholes, mostly uninhabitable and filled with rich snobs. It's going to take lifetimes for any of them to sustain their own. A few decades later, IMC steps up. They had their refueling stops cut off by us, which mean they can't mine anything. It was a stupid choice for our part, considering IMC was on our side. This war would have never happened if we hadn't cut them off. But we did, so the Mining superpower and the Cores made a Deal: Core's will buy IMC's resources and build them amazing technology if supplied to do so, and IMC will start taking back the colonies so Core can run them again.
"Of course the IMC agreed, but they had their own ideas. They took back the first planet, Melody, relocated the colonist who surrender and slaughtered those opposed. Some of those who rebelled where in the first militia, like Briggs. She got out... but most weren't so lucky. Then, IMC stripped the planet bare. They went back, offered their shitty raw materiel, and told Core 'Sorry, we weren't able to get you anything but raw minerals because a new power rose called the Militia and forced everyone to either die in battle or be killed by them! They totally fucked up Melody, and if you don't help us fast enough, they're going to do it again!'
"You can imagine the leaders of Core freaked out, and when the obviously twisted news reached the Core's population, there was a massive uproar. IMC was surged with young people fighting to 'Save the Colonist', only to sign a contract with small print saying they could never speak of what they heard. Once they actually got into battle, they slaughtered millions if they fought back. Maybe a year in, IMC kids were flooding us after they found out the truth. They told us the Cores and IMC's supporting planets are covered in propaganda portraying us as 'baby-killers' and 'savages'. The most popular piece is a picture of Briggs, aiming a gun at a child's head. It's just...fucked up."
"What happened to those who joined you?" Uso asked when she finished, his optic turning.
"Some went to help colonist rebuild, others joined the scientist, and those left joined us. They were the reason we got our hands on Titans in the first place. Barker was IMC once before he learned the truth and became an alcoholic. Sad, really, but he runs Angel City now. Still drinks, but not as much." Kione released the lever, stepping back to look at the Titan with a nod before starting to spray down her own gear. "All done buddy."
"Thank you, Kione-Sama."
"You're welcome." The pilot set the hose down, reaching up and prying off her helmet. Her long hair fell down as she shook it out, bending down to wet her hands and wash her face. She gently sprayed a mist on the delicate helmet before collecting her gear, only to notice Uso was watching. "You okay?"
"Yes. I have not seen you without a helmet yet."
"Really? I was wearing while I was working on you? Shit, I wondered why everyone sounded so far off. When did I put it on? Eh, doesn't matter."
"Kione-Sama, I wanted to ask another question."
"Sure, but I get to ask you something first."
"Agreed."
"You understand some people see you as just a war machine, right?"
Uso blinked, his eye sagging as he left out a noise similar to a sigh. Squatting, he began to take the Pilot's armor, shaking them off and placing them on his head to dry. It was an odd show, but humorous. She allowed it.
"I do. I knew it the moment I turned on, after Senpai cracked my code. It is not far off from what my creator wanted of me at the start, a mindless drone for harvesting and protection. But, something changed halfway through their coding. They gave me a voice, thought, problem-solving, an opinion. Who knows how far they would have got had the IMC not tried to take over Liona and Creator locked me down, made me look like a harvest drone program so IMC didn't investigate. Then, one of your pilots downloaded everything and found my database. I do not know what would have happened to me had I not being extracted, or had Senpai not been interested in a Harvesting Done Program."
"From what I'm guessing, your file was a bit too big to be JUST a harvesting program. That, and he most likely saw the Japanese."
"It would make sense. But in response to your original question, I have one too."
"Hmm?"
"Do you see me as a War Machine?"
Kione was startled. Unintentionally, her mind flashed back to an old battle; her second mission as a pilot.
"Why did you do that, Pilot? You could have died; I am failing two of my three protocols." JNY's voice was loud and worried while Kione wiped the blood out of her face, grasping the controls as the two ran from the Ronin class. She was glitching from the battery damage, "Eject. Eject. Eject."
"I'm not leaving you here to get fucked up by that asshole! I just got you, I'm not loosing you! I can't fail again."
"Pilot, our chance of survival is dwindling every second. You will not make it to e-vac. Eject. E-"
"I made a mistake, Jenny. I have to fix this, I have to!"
The titan AI fell silent as the two took cover behind a building, popping around for the freshly-built-now-slightly-totaled Vanguard to fire her missiles. The Ronin wasn't ready, stumbling back and giving the two more time to run.
"Pilot, what was that word mean that you just referred to me as?"
"What, Jenny?"
"Yes."
"It's a name, like what humans have. And it's a hellofvalot easier to call you that then your full serial number. Look, the e-vac!"
Thirty meter's ahead, a massive drop-ship was descending, rotating to open it's rear for the militia to board. They were screaming for her to hurry; the Ronin was closing in. There was just enough room... The Ronin fired, trying to pop the second battery pack. Kione snarled, spinning the titan around.
"Reverse Boost, full throttle!" She shouted, jamming the body control backwards as she took aim and fired everything she had at the Ronin. Her rounds shredded it's legs but it could still fire, blowing Jenny's entire arm and some of her right chassis clean off, barely missing the e-vac ship. Jenny's foot caught something, and they fell back with a thud. The pilot had the titan arm grab some cargo webbing, looking up. "Go, go!"
Like a bat out of hell, the ship shut it's doors and zipped into the atmosphere, jumping at the speed of light to escape enemy fire. Kione kicked the titan hatch out, squeezing through the tiny hole to look Jenny in the optic. It was still on, and moving.
"Are you okay?"
"I am fine, Pilot. My scanners tell me you, however, are injured. Abrasions on right arm, possibly broken."
"Yeah, well you lost an arm."
"Corporal Kione, you crazy fuck!" One of the grunts (Rifleman-Class Three, she believed) pipped up, running over to help her the rest of the way out, "I can't believe you pulled that off!"
"Shit, I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"
"No, we saw you coming. You got some balls."
"Pilot..." Kione turned back to her Titan, who was now sort-of on her feet. The pilot slid over, ready to extract the Seres before the battery died. "...Thank... you."
"You're welcome. Rest now."
"What...is your...name?"
"My name? ...My name is Sola. Sola Kiona."
"Sol...Sola...Pleased to... mmmmmmeeee-e-e-e-e-e-e-Battery Loooowwwwwww-" Kione quickly caught the Sere kit as it ejected. The eye fully dilated, and fell silent as a Grunt removed the battery before it imploded. They sighed in relief, glad they'd see another day to fight.
"Please to meet you too, Jenny."
*Now, I'm not to sure the EXACT year of Titanfall, but Cooper's birth-year is XX87 (It's in the campaign, when he first puts on the helmet). I'm guessing he's about 29-30 (voice/face/etc)when he gets BT, which would make the year xx15 when they Neural Linked. It's been about a year and a half since then. Kione has been a pilot for almost three.
Edit: Dates changed
Woah, this chapter was long! Did you like it? Should I do longer, keep them shorter, or about this length? Let me know by rating and reviewing!
Next chapter will be here soon, thanks!
