Hello everyone. Here's another chapter for y'all. This one ended up around 5,250 words and I'm quite happy on how it turned out. So here's another big chapter for you. Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"Learn by Experience"

"So, Miss Applejack, I guess we'll just jump right in." Tesla started after Rebel and AJ sat down in front of him.

"Please, if it ain't too much trouble, call me AJ." AJ replied, smiling.

"Of course. Miss AJ, the first thing I want to ask you, is have you considered upgrading your Titan?" Tesla asked, pulling out a notepad and pen from his desk drawer.

"Uh, upgradin'? Whaddya mean by upgradin'?" AJ asked, looking perplexed.

"I mean changing your Atlas-Class Titan to a newer model, such as a Tone or Northstar." Tesla explained briefly.

"Uh, honestly, I'd rather not. I like ma' Titan the way she was made." AJ said, crossing her arms and legs.

"Um, okay. We'll return to that subject at a later date. Second question is from Lieutenant Ryan Jackson and Commander Sarah Briggs. How much military-style Titan Training have you had in the last six months? Stupid question, I know, but I am required to ask."

"Well, seein' as I am a damn apple farmer, I ain't got no need for military trainin'." AJ replied, tipping her hat back a bit more.

"Alright. Last question, by SRS Pilot Rainbow Storm. If not trained beforehand, would you be interested in extensive training with SRS Pilot Rainbow Storm and Lieutenant Ryan Jackson? Personally, I feel it would benefit you greatly." Tesla said, drinking a bit of his coffee.

"What exactly do ya mean by 'extensive training'? What's the difference between that and normal training?" AJ asked, looking thoroughly confused.

"I can answer that, Tesla." Rebel spoke up before Tesla could say a word. "What he means by Extensive Training, is the kind of Training that I do with Storm and Ryan, like he said. If you refuse to do said Training, you will most likely be placed in the standard training of pilots that Storm, Ryan and Felix all went through."

"Hmm, hold on a second." AJ said, lifting her hand up to her chin. "What kind of training did you go through, Rebel?"

"Oh, me? I had some rather, uh, speedy training with my Father and Storm. I was rather handpicked by Commander Briggs to train with them." Rebel said, stroking back his hair.

"Hmm, I'll go with the Extensive Training. Sounds better than whatever the higher-ups went through."

Tesla leaned back in his chair, taking another sip of his coffee. "Good choice. I believe it would be more beneficial for you. Now, onto the Data Core."

"Yeah, heard 'bout it. So what's new?"

"Well, good news is, since it is an older chassis, it was relatively simple to convert to a more modern data core as well as A.I. I wouldn't necessarily consider this bad news but… I may need to pull out all of the electronics and the power source so it is compatible with the Titan batteries we have in stock."

"How much is it gonna change?" Applejack asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Do not worry, the chassis will remain the same, for your convenience. I will just need to take out the… inner workings and replace them with more modern technology, so we can repair it easily."

Applejack scratched her chin. "I'm not sure… we have ta remove everythin'?"

"On that thought, probably not. I think I can switch out the main power source so it will run on titan batteries, and that would be it. Should take no more than a couple minutes."

"Alright. If I don't like the feel can we switch it back?"

"Of course," Tesla said, taking another sip of coffee.

Storm was on his way back to the storage room to grab the finishing materials he needed for the obstacle course when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Gah! Huh!? Who are you?" he said to the stranger that had gotten his attention.

"Sorry to bother you, sir. I just wanted to thank the man that had spared my life on that day the damned IMC decided to attack." the man replied.

"Wait, that was you? You're actually on the base! Sorry, I actually forgot about you. I meant to try to find you when everything got settled in, but I got swept up in other matters." Storm said, shaking his hand. "How has the militia been treating you?"

"Great. Much better than the IMC. My name is Sean Williams. I was forcibly enlisted in the IMC Training program about three months before the attack on the old militia base." Sean explained, returning the handshake.

"Well, nice to meet ya, Sean. You already know me, SRS Pilot Rainbow Storm, at your service." He said, smiling. "You can just call me Storm. Most people do. Want to come back to my room for a drink?" He said, standing up straight. "I don't have to start training for another hour, and I just snuck in a new case of Cider with Felix. Don't tell anyone," he said, smiling.

"Sure, why not. I've always told myself that if ever my higher-ups invite me to something socially, I should always go. It usually mean good things," Sean replied.

"What a great mentality. Let's go!" Storm said, motioning for him to follow. When they arrived to the barracks building, Storm led Sean to the door to his room, and motioned him in. "The Cider is in the fridge under the bed. Go ahead and grab some. I'm gonna see if we can get a third today." He walked over to the door next to his, and knocked on it. When the huge apple farmer finally opened the door, Storm told him about the CIder, to which he quickly agreed. Alcohol was sparse on the base, usually used for special occasions. With the higher-ups, even Briggs herself have bought a variety of drinks from Storm and Felix, allowing for quite the parties in the Officer's Barracks. When the two walked into Storm's room, Storm heard Sean say he was in the restroom, and would be out soon. He looked over to the table, where the case of Cider lay unopened still.

"So what's your name, anyways?" Storm asked, sitting down and opening a bottle.

"My name is actually Marcus, but most people call me Macintosh, l know, just like an apple. I prefer Marcus or Mack, honestly though." the farmer replied.

"What's with your family not having last names?" Storm asked, and he swore he could of heard someone gasp at that exact moment.

"I don't know, but if you can tell, I'm a bit more well-spoken than my sister. She like to carry on the, 'earthen tradition' as she calls it."

"Whoa, you two are from Earth?" Storm asked, sitting upright. "I've always wondered what it's like there."

"Well, once the IMC decided to take it over, it's looked much more city-like than it used to. Most of our family still lives on our old farm." he said, grabbing a bottle of Cider.

"You know, you don't just sound like you're more well-spoken, but you sound a bit more military-style. Why is that?" Storm asked, leaning back in his chair.

"It's because he's originally IMC!" Sean exclaimed, now out of the restroom and pointing at Macintosh. "Commander Marcus. He apparently disappeared from the face of the universe after he resigned from the IMC. Who knew you'd end up back as an apple farmer. With your military experience, I'm sure you could take down this whole base without your Tita-" He was cut-off by Storm waving his hand dismissively.

"Sean. You need not worry about him. I believe he won't do anything against the militia, right?" he asked, looking at Marcus.

"Of course not. I'm done with that life and honestly, I really don't miss these metal walls. I'd like to get back to the farm as quickly as I can."

Sean just shrugged and sat down in the third chair, sipping his Cider as Storm and Mack continued their conversation. "I'll believe it for now." Sean whispered to himself as he watched the two exchange jokes. "The IMC doesn't just resign and leave forever. You're always called back eventually." He whispered once again, downing half of his Cider.

Suddenly, there was a very odd knock at the door, to which Storm got up and slowly walked to the door, motioning for the other two to hide their drinks. He opened the door to see a young man, looking to be about sixteen or seventeen. "Um, hello there." Storm said, silently motioning for Sean to get up and hide the case. "What are you doing here?" Storm questioned.

"Um, sorry to bother you, sir. I just wanted to know if I could possibly see your Titan. I've heard lots about it and was hoping that you'd be able to let me see it." The boy said shyly.

"Hmm, guys!" Storm called to the other two in the room. "I'll be back in a bit. I'm gonna go encourage someone to become a Pilot. Let's go, uh, what's your name?" Storm asked as he walked the boy outside.

"My name is Jordan Smith. I couldn't approach neither Ryan nor Felix, so I came to you. You three are the most famous within my group." Jordan answered.

"Maybe you should introduce me to your friends. The Militia is always looking for young men and women to join the Pilot Training program. We never forcibly enlist anybody like the IMC. We usually go by a volunteer basis and Officer referrals. Are you interested in becoming a Pilot, Jordan?" Storm asked as they approached Volt's warehouse, where R41N-80W and Ronin were stored.

"Uh, kinda. I never really thought about it. I don't really want to have to go through paperwork and such."

Storm thought about it for a moment, and then, remembering something from several years prior, he had an idea. "Tell you what. See if you can try to get some of your friends to be interested in being Pilots, and I'll give you some behind-the-door training through some old simulations. Hell, I'd even come talk to them if you wanted me to." Storm said, smiling. He turned to Jordan. "Now I need to warn you about something. My Titan and Rebel's have a rather upgraded AI. They might seem a little bit like us humans, with some feelings and such."

"Okay, thanks." Jordan replied as they walked into the warehouse where Rainbow and Ronin seemed to be talking.

"I am telling you, Rainbow. My sword is fully functional. There is no reason for an upgrade." Ronin seemed to be saying.

"But are you sure you do not want to have some type of laser sword? You would be able to vapourize enemy Pilots and easily cut off enemy Titan's limbs." Rainbow tried.

"No, I am rather content with the blade I am equipped with."

"This is not what I expected, although, that would be pretty cool, honestly." Storm said, looking up in awe at the two Titans.

R41N-80W looked at Storm and slowly moved his fingers into thumbs up, causing Jordan to gasp in amazement.

"SRS Pilot Rainbow Storm." Ronin addressed him. "You have brought a guest. What is your name, young human?"

Jordan looked at a loss for words for a moment, then quickly recovered, standing up straight. "My name is Jordan Smith, pleasure to meet you." He firmly stated.

"Jordan Smith has now been registered in my Data Banks." Ronin replied, to which Storm burst into laughter.

"Jordan." R41N-80W addressed him. "Ronin is actually joking. He wanted to see if you had good potential to become a Pilot." he gave the thumbs up once again, causing Storm to break into an even harder fit of laughter. "You passed."

"God, guys!" Storm exclaimed between laughs. "You're both going to give me like, a deflated lung or something!"

"Pilot." Rainbow addressed Storm. "Two of my three batteries are extinguished. I request a refill on that before Extensive Training."

"Alrighty, 'Bow-man.' I'll get on that." Storm replied, motioning for Rainbow to kneel down, allowing Storm to reach his battery ports. He grabbed the two dead batteries and walked over to the charging station, where three batteries always were. He finished replacing R41N-80W'S batteries when Jordan spoke up.

"What's Extensive Training?" He asked.

"Oh, Extensive Training, is about to start!" Storm exclaimed, quickly slamming on his Helmet. "Okay, Jordan. What I'm about to ask you is probably illegal and is extremely dangerous to those without Training. Get on my back." Storm said quickly, motioning for Rainbow to come over.

"Wait, what?" Jordan asked, perplexed.

"You heard me. Get on my back." Storm replied, crouching down. When Jordan finally clambered on his back, he used the jump jets on his suit to hop on top of R41N-80W. "Okay, you need to grab hold onto these handles here, and lock your feet into these slots." Storm instructed, pointing at each part as he explained it. Once Jordan was locked in, he put an earpiece in Jordan's ear. "This is so we can communicate easily. Hold on tight. This is gonna be a bumpy ride." Storm said, jumping into R41N-80W's cockpit. "Ronin, you should come with us. We're going to the same place after all."

"Understood, SRS Pilot Rainbow Storm." Ronin replied, moving from the back of the warehouse to next to Rainbow.

"Alright. Let's go." Storm said as the two Titan's moved towards Storm and Ryan's Training area, with a surprising lack of screaming from Jordan. "You alright up there?" Storm asked him. "You're kinda quiet."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jordan replied. "Heights never really bothered me."

"Huh. I was terrified my first time that I rodeoed a Titan." Storm replied as they approached the Training area, where the Obstacle Course was set up. "Ryan!" Storm called, getting the Lieutenant's attention. "Could you get this kid safely down, please?"

"I got you, Storm. Why is he here?" Ryan questioned, quickly grabbing Jordan and bringing him down to safety as Storm jumped out of the cockpit.

"I was showing him Ronin and R41N-80W." Storm looked at the Prime Ion Titan standing behind Ryan. "Hey, that's your Titan? You got a Prime! That's pretty cool."

"Not as cool as your damn Vanguard." Ryan mumbled to Storm, who smiled egotistically.

"Can we jus' get this Trainin' started?" AJ asked, startling Storm.

"Gah!" Storm exclaimed, turning around to face the Trainees. "AJ, I wasn't informed about you being here." Storm said, smiling.

"I was. I wasn't informed of this guy here either, Storm." Ryan retorted, pointing at Jordan. "What is your name, by the way?" Ryan asked.

"Wait, is that?" AJ exclaimed, walking over to Ryan and Jordan. "It is! Jordan Smith! Where did you end up goin'?"

"Applejack!? You're here too?" Jordan exclaimed. "Sorry I left so abruptly. My father took me and my mom to this base once he found out they arrived." Jordan said, giving AJ a hug.

"Sorry, this may take some splainin'. AJ said to the others. "Jordan's father used to bring him around to the farm to help around every week. They were like a part of the family to us." she turned back to Jordan. "Y'all were always so helpful."

"Whoa, hey. Wait." Storm exclaimed suddenly, staring at AJ's Atlas. "That's an Atlas titan, right? Tell me I'm not going crazy. That is an Atlas, right?"

"Yep. Rebuilt her myself." AJ boasted, walking over to her Titan and patting its leg.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Storm ran up to it, and it seemed to shy away from his close proximity. "Whoa, hold up. How much personality does it have?" Storm asked, looking confused.

"We got Tesla to make one for it." Rebel replied, walking over to him.

"Oh! Sorry. I am SRS Pilot Rainbow Storm." Storm said to the Atlas, who upon hearing that name, stood up straight a bit more. "Uh, can it speak?" Storm asked.

"Yes." The Titan quickly said.

"Uh, okay then. A shy Titan. That's new." Storm mumbled as he walked back over to Ryan and Jordan. "Jordan, why don't you sit on that bench behind us, so you can watch, as long as it's alright with Ryan."

Ryan thought about it for a moment. "Eh, sure. Why not?" Jordan excitedly ran over to the bench and sat down.

"Alright, so. Shade, Rebel and AJ. How about we have you test your jump jets for a bit?" Storm instructed, looking over at Ryan, who smiled. "I think I'll join you." Storm said, suddenly sprinting towards Rebel and leaping over him, onto the top of the gate leading into the Titan Obstacle Course. "Beyond this gate is an area that mocks a Titan battleground. There are multiple buildings you can move into as a Pilot, as well as plenty of space for a Titan battle. I find the best way to train is through experience, so, what we're going to do is a 3v3 Training Capture the Flag. We will use training rounds and if you are hit five times in quick succession as a Pilot, you must move back to your base and Restart. Your Titan will be able to sustain 100 shots before you must exit the Titan and your Titan will be out of that round. As a quick warning, all the shots that hit you will, and I repeat, WILL hurt. Your body might go into shock from it thinking that it's about to die. If this happens, press the button on the right arm of your suit and it will call a timeout on the round, and we have a team of medics on the scene ready to treat you. The teams will be Instructors versus Trainees. Myself, Ryan and Felix against you three, AJ, Rebel and Shade. You three are on the far side. Obviously, to win, you must capture the other team's flag. Go to your spawn. The match will start in five minutes."

"Hey, Shade, you got nerves shook or something?" Rebel watched the pilot as the trio walked down the hall towards their side of the area.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good, just… this fight seems kinda one sided, don't you think?"

"Hey, in wars, y'all are sometimes under a disadvantage, right? So this has gotta be a more realistic approach," AJ said, elbowing Shade.

"Okay, she's got you there, Shadester."

"Hey, guys, you ready yet?" Storm announced through their helmets.

Rebel loaded his Alternator, AJ grabbed a Hemlok from the rack, while Shade used the usual R-201.

"Alright, I think we're good," Rebel said, taking aim in front of him.

"Well, then let the games begin!" Felix yelled, firing a grapple hook in their direction, latching onto the trainees' flag. "Ready or not, here I come!"

Applejack was first to react to the situation, standing in front of the flag as Felix came whizzing towards her. She simply lifted her leg, and stuck it out, connecting with Felix's face.

"AAAAGGGHH! What do you all have against my face?!" he shrieked, holding his head as he moved back to the starting area.

Rebel simply chuckled, as he sprinted out their base, and leapt up to a wall, running up the side of it, and slid a couple feet, firing his Alternator as he saw movement.

"H-hey! I'm not on the enemy team!" Applejack said, sprinting alongside the A-wall outfitted pilot.

"Whoop, sorry." Rebel then was knocked off balance and shot several times by an R-201.

"Aw, man."

"Ha! Gotcha!" Storm yelled from a rooftop. He swooped in from the same roof into the trainees' base, snatched the flag, and launched out of the base in three seconds. "Catch me if you can, suckers!"

Storm failed to realize the white flash in front of him. "Surprise!" was the last thing he heard before Shade knocked him out of the air.

"Nice one, Shades!" AJ called out, as she ran into the opponent's base. She came sprinting back out, flag on her back. She tossed a sonar kunai behind her, and its pulse resonated to her team. Rebel immediately ran to her side, providing some covering fire.

"AJ! Take the high route!"

"Gotcha!" Applejack quickly ran up a wall, and launched herself a good couple feet in the air before sliding down a roof. She launched herself back up into the air, only to have Storm latch onto her with a grapple hook.

"Get back down here!" Storm yelled, as he pulled AJ down with the grapple line.

"Not so fast, Pal!" Rebel yelled as he drop-kicked Storm ten feet away, disengaging the grapple from AJ.

"Hey guys, I need some backup over here!" Shade called and the two other Pilots quickly moved to his side. Everything was quiet as the three Pilots stood together, their focus unwavering. "What are your guys' Titanfall numbers at?" Shade asked.

"I'm at fifty-six percent." AJ replied.

"I'm at seventy-eight." Rebel added in.

"Alright. Now we just need to-" Shade was cut-off by three thunderous booms in quick succession, the three Pilots knowing exactly what it was.

"They've already got their Titans…" Rebel said, raising his Alternator.

"An' we're no closer to it than we were before!" AJ whispered.

The three of them huddled into a building as they saw the three Titan's feet walk past, with the larger of the three stopping right next to their building. Suddenly, the roof of their building was torn off and cast away, revealing the three Pilots to the three Titans staring right back down at them.

"Why, hello there!" R41N-80W said, raising his charge rifle. "We've been looking everywhere for you guys. Looks like you were here all alo-" He was cut-off by Ronin charging into him, knocking the much larger Vanguard-Class into the much smaller Prime Ion and Legion Titans.

"Good save, Ronin!" Rebel yelled as he jumped into Ronin's cockpit.

"Get in pilot, we are evening the odds."

R41N-80W's cockpit opened and Storm jumped out of it, instantly grappling onto Ronin. "Rainbow, help Ryan and Felix and I'll get you a shiny new battery!" he said as he flew at breakneck speed towards the unsuspecting Ronin. "Good thing I'm mostly silent whilst doing this." Storm whispered to himself as he carefully ripped the battery out of Ronin's battery slot.

"Battery lost, Pilot." Ronin stated to Rebel within the cockpit.

"Wait, what!?" Rebel yelled as he jumped out of the cockpit, giving chase after Storm. After using his Stim, he caught up to him with ease, grabbing the battery off of his belt. "I'll take that!" he said to Storm as he ran away.

"Oh no you don't," Storm said, turning and grappling Rebel before he could turn a corner. Rebel quickly spun around and used his forward momentum to raise his fist as he flew towards Storm. Storm caught his fist and the two locked eyes for a moment, both breathing heavily. "You're not getting away that easily." Storm said as he kicked Rebel in the chest, knocking him back and fired a couple of shots into Rebel before realizing he had to reload. In that moment, Ronin came out of phase shifting for a moment and picked up Rebel before disappearing once again.

"Thanks for the save, Ronin." Rebel said as he lay in Ronin's hands, regaining his strength.

"Ha! At least I've still got this batter-" Storm paused and looked down to see a grenade roll to his feet. "Oh, come on!" He yelled as the grenade exploded, sending Storm a good twenty feet into a metal wall.

"Pilot, are you alright?" R41N-80W asked him, peering around the corner.

"Yeah, yeah. I've still got health left. Just pick me up and we'll get your shields up." Storm replied, picking himself up. "Yeah, I see you snickering up there, Shade!" He yelled as he quickly chucked an arc grenade into Shade's building whilst he got into R41N-80W.

"Shields regenerated." R41N-80W firmly stated.

"Alright, let's switch to a Legion loadout, Rainbow." Storm instructed.

"Understood Pilot. Activating long range mode." R41N-80W replied.

"Not really my style, but a minigun's a minigun." Storm laughed.

"He can switch his weapons!?" AJ cried out.

"It's a Vanguard-Class ! It's one of the special things about it!" Shade replied.

Both Shade and AJ called down their Titans, with the shock wave from the event knocking down both Ronin and R41N-80W. As the two Pilots quickly moved into their respective Titans, the three Titans on both sides lined up against another, each locking into a Titan fistfight. It was R41N-80W against Ronin, Ryan's Prime Ion against Jewels, and Felix's Legion against AJ's Atlas. The six Pilots each jumped out of their Titans in unison, looked at each other for a moment before diving into their own fights.

"You're a much better fighter now, Rebel," Storm stated, as each threw and caught their own punches. "You're anticipating moves much faster."

"What can I say? I learned from my father." Rebel replied, connecting his fist to Storm's sternum.

"And me. Don't forget about me." Storm replied, using his grapple to spin Rebel around and kick him on his spine, to which Rebel quickly activated his Stim and overpowered Storm.

"You know, Shade. This battle seems really one sided." Ryan said to Shade while he had him pinned down, arm across his back.

"Yeah, you think? There's no way I could beat you. You're a Lieutenant." Shade replied.

"It really is unfair. Maybe we shou-" he was cut-off by Jewels kicking him over Felix and AJ, into a metal structure.

"Thanks for the save, Jewels." Shade told his Titan before it went back to it's own fight.

"How your face, Felix?" AJ asked, laughing.

"How can you still talk so calmly whilst fighting?" Felix asked between punches.

"Simple. You jus' talk." AJ replied, punching him in the jaw.

"Gah! Why must you do this?" Felix asked, rubbing his jaw.

They all heard a whistle, and everyone froze, quickly looking around to see where the noise had come from. Standing on top of the building overlooking the battleground, was Commander Briggs as well as Jordan, each one holding one of the team's flags.

"Did you forget this was Capture the Flag? No matter, we win now. Pilots, freshen up a bit. We've got a mission for you." Briggs said, dropping the flag down in front of Storm and lowering Jordan to the ground safely, who ran off back towards the base.

"Okay, our first mission..." Shade muttered, while casually walking up to Jewels.

"Not exactly what I meant by 'learning from experience,' but this works." Storm commented.

"Everybody, come around," Ryan called. "Me and Felix here, we've been doing this for almost nine years now. I wanted to tell you, that as much fun as this training may have been for you, it's time to sober up, because this is the real thing. We must go within our own squadrons. We'll be dropping in two different dropships." A Grunt walked over to Ryan and handed him a report.

"Alright, here it is. Militia scouts have picked up traces of IMC forces somewhere due far south of our location. Judging from the report, it looks like a small outpost, and nothing more. It looks like it's locked down fairly well, but nothing that a group of pilots and Titans can't handle. They'll be sending us in with some squads of grunts, as well as anything else if the fight falls out of our favor. Our mission is simple: clear out the area, secure it, and make sure the IMC don't get any idea that there's a militia base here. Got it?"

The pilots nodded.

"We'll be split into two dropships, each one led by a squad leader. I will take Felix and Shade. Storm, I'm putting you in charge of Rebel and AJ. Remember, no one here is gonna be a hero. Is that-" He was cut-off by Marcus walking over to them and waving his hand.

"Hold up. Wait. Did I just hear my little sister's name in that mumbo jumbo?" He asked, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Yeah, what of it, Mack?" AJ asked, suddenly looking annoyed as well. "You gonna shoot me when I drop?"

"Whoa, whoa, AJ. You alright?" Rebel asked, gently laying his hand on her shoulder.

AJ just shrugged him off and moved closer to Marcus. "No, I am not alright. Tell me, Macintosh, what are ya plannin'? Tryin' ta take down this whole base? Did one of your goons come back for ya? Like they always used to? What abou-"

"ENOUGH!" Marcus yelled out, causing a dreadful silence across the whole base. "I told ya I'm done with that life, Applejack." Marcus whispered, anger obviously spewing from his face. "I dropped that name years ago. I am not the Great Commander Macintosh anymore! I enlisted on that force because I originally thought it was the right thing to do! I never-"

"You're the Lost Commander?" Felix asked bluntly.

Marcus completely ignored him. "I never thought you'd ever get involved AJ. I broke from the IMC to protect you. To protect the whole damn family. You know Bloom wouldn't even be 'ere if it weren't for me." he added darkly.

"Don't you dare bring Apple Bloom into this. She's completely innocent." AJ defended.

"If you want her to stay that way, I suggest you rethink this whole, 'Piloting' thing." Marcus warned, then turned and stomped away, pausing to hear Rebel talk to his sister.

Rebel sighed as he put his hand on AJ's shoulder once again. "Listen, if it's for the best-"

"Then I'm fightin.'"

"Wait, what? What about your brother there?"

"Don't mind him, he's just got some frayed nerves. I wanna help protect this planet, this IMC seem ta be jerks if they are doin' all these things to other planets."

"Alright AJ, but I promise your brother is still gonna see you back in one piece."

"You'd better, or else you won't be," Marcus growled, driving his fist into Rebel's chest armour.

Rebel stood as Marcus walked away, Felix freaking out.

"He's the Lost Commander! On our Base! W-w-w-w-what do we-" He was cut-off by Ryan punching him in the face this time. Hard.

"Shut the hell up Waterschilick! Get a hold of yourself! Nothing going to happen you damned piece of-" He cut himself off, looking at the shocked faces of the Pilots around him.

"A-and that's w-why we don't anger Ryan…" Felix whimpered, with a surprising lack of screaming, probably to not piss Ryan off more.

Ryan stuck his hand out to Felix. "Get up." He commanded simply. Felix quickly took his hand as Ryan hauled him back up to his feet. "Go to the Medbay." When Felix had moved from the group, they all heard him yell out in pain. Ryan turned back to the group, still seething with anger. "The rest of you. Go… elsewhere." He said, with a wave of his hand. "I don't care. Briggs is here anyways." He stomped off with even Briggs moving out of his way in fear.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that. Ryan is hard to anger but he's got quite the temper when you actually get to him." Briggs said, shaking her head.

"Kinda like Rebel," Storm muttered, glancing at the pilot.

"Let's just get ready for the mission," Rebel said, heading towards the Titan Docking Facility.

"I-I'll come with ya," Applejack piped up, following suit.

Storm walked over Shade who was looking after the two.

"Hey, you alright?" Storm asked, putting a hand on Shade's shoulder.

Shade looked at Storm in surprise. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I-I'm fine." He replied, obviously holding back tears.

"Hey, let me know if anything's bothering you, alright? Just come to my room if you need to talk about something." Shade just nodded. "Good. Now, go rest up." Storm said, walking back towards where Rebel and AJ had gone.