A/N
So, first things first yes, this is not a full chapter, nor does it continue from where we left off. I won't bore you with the details up here, I will leave everything down below.
Enjoy!
RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS. . . . . . . .
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Review protocols :
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PROTOCOL 1 : Link to Pilot
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ACTIVE : Currently linked to Pilot Louise franciose le blanc de la Vallière the 3rd
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Pilot rank. . . . [ERROR 404 NOT FOUND]
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WARNING Standard protocol requires that any Pilot linked to this Titan must hold the rank of Commander. Recommend immediate sev- ev- ev- COMMAND OVERWRITTEN
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PROTOCOL 2 : Uphold the Mission
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CURRENT OBJECTIVE : [ "Don't move, Don't talk" ] Orders received from Pilot.
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/ This unit has made no attempt at motion for 5 hours 3 minutes and 23 seconds. Additionally this unit has not made use of any auditory systems to generate speech in any form of registered languages. . .
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[ Note ] -This is a calculated waste of this unit's abilities. Requesting assignment following next contact with the Pilot.
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PROTOCOL 3 : Protect the Pilot
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STANDBY : Sensors have indicated no hostile presence in the area. No radio contact or chatter has been picked up on any frequency tested Militia, IMC or otherwise.
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. . . . . . Returning to rebooting non-essential systems
FS had remained perfectly still as per ordered for hours and upon end. As a Titan, he was incapable of insanity, but he had recently discovered he was not free from boredom.
The only motion his sensors registered were the occasional maid or staff member passing by the entrance. Or on occasion one of the gathered subjects of very exotic species would make a noise, or shift in place. Previously when FS had first arrived all of the gathered creatures had placed themselves as far away from his chassis as the room permitted. Cramming the various forms into a corner despite the limited space. However as time passed and FS remained immobile and silent they appeared to have relaxed, in only barely.
FS's sensors indicated they have ceased vibrating, and begun to spread out some more. Still, none have made any attempts at approaching his chassis. FS's chaingun remained holstered on his back for the time being. He had not been given any reason to draw it as of yet. Additionally, his Pilot had previously requested he holster the weapon, without any proper reasoning to otherwise draw the weapon FS left it in its place.
Suddenly detecting a large object approaching him FS paused the reboot of his systems. Re-routing his power to his visual and auditory sensors he did his best to examine the object from his position. Due to his chassis facing the empty doorway his Pilot left through he could not face the object directly, however turning his eye as far left as he could manage, without shifting his chassis, he caught a blue object in his peripheral. The three fins on his eye automatically narrowed mimicking a human's suspicious gaze, as he tried to get a better view.
Running the colour through his database he calculated it was highly likely the reptilian creature had begun to approach his chassis. Being unable to move or speak FS was unable to vocally inform the subject his chassis was not to be touched by unauthorized personnel. Additionally blue was not the standard colour to paint MRVN maintenance units.
[ WARNING ] Unidentified object on approach : 5 Meters and closing
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Recommended course of action : Identify or dissuade approaching unit
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[ WARNING ] While Protocol 2 is in effect this unit may not make use of vocal or motor systems.
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Searching for an optimal solution . . . . . . . . . . Done
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Recommend use of internal horn at 20% volume
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Sounding horn . . . . . . .
Upon sounding the horn at a low volume the blue reptile lept two feet into the air and retreated backward. The noise from the horn appeared to have also alerted the other creatures. They appeared to have once more retreated into the corner and begun vibrating once more. Noticing the oddity FS quickly ran a check through his databanks on known creatures.
His quick research led him to the conclusion the creatures were actually shivering. The most common cause of such was often low temperatures or fear. FS's thermometer indicated the surrounding area's temperature was slightly below the average room temperature on militia ships. Seeing as the temperature was likely not the issue he came to the conclusion the creatures were actually afraid of him. It was a viable theory as most creatures fear larger creatures upon inst-
The blue reptile was approaching again.
Once the blue reptile reached the same distance of five meters as last time, FS did not hesitate to sound his horn at the same volume as before. Once more the reptile retreated to its corner once more. FS remained on alert for a few more minutes waiting for the creature to make another move.
After 5 minutes and 01 seconds, FS has calculated the creature was docile enough to resume rebooting his non-essential systems. However, the moment he shifted his eye back to the door his motion sensors indicated the creature had begun moving again. This time it appeared to be trying to circle behind FS slowly.
Alarmed FS sounded the horn 5% louder. Once more it had the intended effect and the reptile retreated to its corner again. Once it had fully retreated once more FS returned to attempting to reboot his non-essential systems.
Reviewing protocols . . . . No changes registered
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/ This unit has been upholding protocol 2 for 8 hours 11 minutes and 12 seconds. /
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[ Notice ] Blue Reptile is making another attempt at approaching this unit
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Sounding horn . . . . . . . . . Success
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[ Note ] This marks 47 unsuccessful attempts to approach this unit
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. . . . . The score is 47 to 0
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[ Notice ] There is no value in logging failed attempts as [ score ] . . .
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Continuing Reboot of non-essential systems . . . . While awaiting the next attempt . . . .
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[ WARNING ] Pilot heart has increased by 23 bpm in 5 seconds monitoring required
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Generating link . . . . PAUSED
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[ WARNING ] Opening a channel with the Pilot will be in violation of Protocol 2. Without sufficient evidence that the Pilot is in jeopardy Protocol 2 will remain in effect.
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Continuing monitor of Pilot's vitals . . . . . . .
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Pilots return to normal levels . . . . . . Returning to reboo-
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***WARNING POSSIBLE HOSTILE ABOARD THE HULL WARNING WARNING***
ENGAGING COUNTERMEASURE ELECTRIC SMOKE [ FAIL ]
***WARNING ELECTRIC SMOKE OFFLINE PENDING REBOOT***
***WARNING PROTOCOL 2 WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL HULL DAMAGE IS DETECTED***
FS felt the additional weight the instant the contact was made with his hull. However, without any hull damage or hostile Pilot reported he could not override Protocol 2 and remove the entity. Priming his systems he began calculating any means necessary to deal with the threat as necessary.
The entity on his hull was large, certainly larger than his torso alone. Judging by the manner it was moving it was quadrupedal. However, without a visual, he could not identify what was on his hull. He was soon given an answer however when a large upside-down blue and white head came into view from above. FS was not familiar with animal expressions, much less with reptiles that did not exist within his databanks. But it was very obvious at a glance that the face was giving him a very smug smile at this time.
Recognizing the face as belonging to the blue reptile that had been attempting to approach his chassis for 3 hours 7 minutes and 49 seconds. If FS was capable of exasperation he calculated he would be experiencing it in doves at this time. Registering no hostile intent from the creature currently attached to his hull FS stopped attempting to release electric smoke. At least just not at lethal levels.
After a few seconds of starring, the reptile retreated backwards, but it did not dismount from his hull. It appeared to be enjoying the victory of finally managing to sneak up on FS. FS did not stop them, removing them was too difficult at this time without violating Protocol 2. Instead, he returned to his next priority of rebooting all non-essential systems.
[ NOTICE ] The reptile appears to be probing this unit's top hatch. The hatch is locked and will not open without proper authoriza-
[ WARNING : SYSTEM ERROR DETECTED ]
***WARNING TOP HATCH LOCKING SYSTEM FAILURE***
***WARNING MOTOR SYSTEM MALFUNCTION DETECTED***
[ NOTICE ] There is a high possibility this will not end well.
***WARNING UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY DETECTED RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE RETRIEVAL***
REQUESTING OVERWRITE OF PROTOCOL 2 TO REMOVE INTRUDER . . . . . GRANTED
OVERWRITING PROTOCOL 2 . . . . . . COMPLETE MOTOR SYSTEMS AND VOCAL SYSTEMS RESTORED
Attempting removal of foreign entity . . . . . . FAIL.
Reattempting . . . . . . FAIL
[ WARNING ] Possibility that the foreign entity is stuck is 23%
Reattempting . . . . . . FAIL [ 42.0% ]
Reattempting . . . . . . FAIL [ 69% ]
Reattempting . . . . . . FAIL [ 89% ]
Reattempting . . . . . . FAIL [ 99.9% ]
Reattempting . . . . . . FAIL [ 100 % ]
[ NOTICE ] The foreign entity appears to have gotten stuck inside the cockpit . . . . .
To say that FS was in a predicament was an understatement. One of the students' familiars had managed to sneak up behind him while he was distracted by his Pilot's wellbeing and managed to wedge it head in his cockpit. How it had managed this was currently being calculated.
The familiar had also noticed it was stuck and was also trying to break free. Thankfully its neck had not fully blocked the opening allowing air to pass through so they would not suffocate. At one point FS had reached over his head and attempted to pull the familiar out but also yielded no success. Getting frustrated the familiar began trying to wiggle from side to side but remained stuck. The shaking however combined with FS's arms holding onto the familiar above his head had resulted in FS's losing his balance. It was not a minute later that FS felt his chassis topple onto its side due to the higher center of gravity messing with his gyroscopic systems.
Thankfully he did not land on the reptile and the force of being thrown onto their side seemed to have dislodged their head. Wriggling itself free the familiar shook its head as it stood up shakily. FS in turn pushed himself back onto his feet while closing his top hatch with his right arm. Once he was back on his feet he turned to glare at the dragon. His eye covers narrow dangerously. However, the noise of the two falling had no doubt attracted the attention of other staff members. FS detected a few heading their way. His Pilot had not contacted him yet but he calculated that if news of this incident got out they would both be reprimanded.
Calculating his options carefully FS turned to the dragon. "I calculate that it is in our best interest that we do not speak of this." He addressed them. During his observations, the creature had displayed signs of intelligence however this was his first time testing whether or not it understood human language.
The reptile's face conveyed shock when FS addressed them, gaze waver from the door to them. Finally, it nodded in clear understanding before quickly retreating back to its corner. FS similarly moving back to his original position and acting as though nothing had occurred. Although, he did take the liberty of moving a couple of meters to the side to cover the scratch marks on the ground where he landed. He calculated that so long as his Pilot did not ask about what had transpired he was under no obligation to bring up his minor breach of Protocol 2.
A/N
Short Sweet and funny (i hope)
I came up with this a while back and shelved the idea for a while, I ended up deciding to post it instead of a chapter this week for the following reasons.
A) I kinda shot myself in the leg when writing this fic as it was originally meant to be a writing exercise. So I didn't have a proper plot put together, so I took the liberty to do so this week, but ran out of time to get a proper chapter out. So to avoid going another week without activity I managed to put this together instead.
B) I also needed to put together a chart of all the base's supplies, troops and floor plan so as to avoid running into a whole bunch of plot holes further down the line. You'd never see me willingly put together a spreadsheet for anything other than my daily budget, yet here I am spending a whole week putting one together for a fic I'm writing.
P.S Tried to get the Twitter account thing to work but my wifi buggered out at the last second and I got locked out for some reason. I'll get it fixed up for next week I reckon.
Right with that out of the way, onto reviews!
P.S. Holy crap you guys I think nearly half the bloody word count went into answering your guys's reviews. Keep it up!
Halo : Okay since you posted 5 reviews (thanks for that by the way!) for ease of reading I'll list them as I go.
1. Yeah it is a shame that Jack most likely did not perform the execution in cannon. However, it would make sense as it is still his first time Piloting a Titan so him simply popping off with executions is cool, but unlikely. Ah, sorry about that little spoiler, I'm usually pretty careful with those, but I guess I got a little too excited about that concept.
2. Indeed, human rights and ethics are all waaay out of whack in FOZ, but still we can't fault them for making the same mistakes we made in their time. Yeah Colbert certainly acts like a bit of an ass at times, but then again it's as they say "Ignorance is bliss". Not to mention how when the whole society acts one way he really doesn't get any room to interfere. As for the tradition, I kinda have to say I understand why he kept up the tradition. Seeing as how in FOZ there is only one religion period, it's pretty clear the church kinda acts a little like the imperium from WH40K. As in religious genocide… Meaning if he were to do anything to stop the ritual rumors would spread, and it wouldn't be long before he gets executed by the church for heresy. Lastly as for FS, when presented with the impossible, seeing isn't always believing, even to some of the more open minds. And no worries, you aren't totally chewing the poor guy out, save that for count mott.
3. Haha, welp we don't really know what's going on over there at the moment, and seeing as we don't really have any reason to yet. We probably won't be seeing or hearing from the Militia or IMC for some time to come.
4. I agree now as well, and I will go into more detail in addressing the issue in Aron's review. I totally agree though that the finger flicks becoming iconic is a must though.
5. Same as above I guess?
Thanks for all the reviews and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
Tiamatio : Yeah as addressed above I somehow managed to break the account creation system so I'll try to fix it for the next chapter. As for the count mott fight, yeah, if they actually fought he'd be as flat as a pancake. Lastly the sim pod, man you guys have no idea how hard it is to hold back on going straight to the base. Can't wait to throw Louise in the gauntlet to see how she does as well. As for the Captain Lastimosa hologram, I definitely like the Idea, I won't say more though, no spoilers!
Thanks for the review and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
Aron the Aron : Okay another big review, first up thanks! Glad to see I kept it together for that chapter, and glad to see you looking forward to Louise's development as a Pilot.
OK so energy siphon, hoo boy. I will admit this one was definitely reaching a tad and I did miss a few key details when describing it which I will address here.
So first up, the timeline is post Titanfall 2 campaign by about a year or so. (It's post monarchs reign) Now as for how FS is 'around' his whole being a prototype stemmed from the fact that his DataCore was preserved when Sarah removed it so Jack could install BT's.
Then I highly suspect the Vanguard-class DataCore is like an apple charging port in that it's one of a kind and incompatible with anything else (based on its cylindrical design). As such it would be a waste to reprogram the DataCore to be compatible with a different class Titan when they already have a vanguard class core. The energy siphon was supposed to appear a bit rusted and covered in dents and scratches, as it was not developed by the militia. It was salvaged and kitbashed onto FS for increased survivability, hence it being on a third arm. The point of this was to nod to the militia's more guerilla tactics.
Lastly, as for Vortex shield flinging things at lethal velocities, I agree however I believe a Titan could regulate the force. We just don't see it because in the game there is never a need to be non-lethal. As for the finger flicks, yeah as I mentioned in response to Halo's reviews that may have made a bit more sense. Still, I had always intended for FS to have a salvaged energy Siphon kit haphazardly installed onto his back.
Thanks for the review! I hope this answers your questions, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
XxdarkcsearcherxX : Hah, that is a meme I'm saving. As for count mott, in all honesty I've seen him be dealt with in a variety of ways. Most of the time people seem to either off him, or deal with him with a duel of some sort. I kinda felt that while it is deserved, since he is of such a high status you can't really get away with slighting him that easily. These nobles hold grudges like nobody's business. And don't worry I'm only dead on the inside. ; )
No worries about when you posted the review for the chapter, it still shows up the same.
Thanks for the review and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
Perseus12 : Glad to hear it! Thanks for the review and I hope to see you in the next chapter! *Double thumbs up!*
Guest : Yeah, I'm gonna give it a go. Thanks for the review and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
None1066 : No problem, I hope to see you in the next chapter!
The Memester : Yeah f*ck that guy! Hee hee, thanks for the review and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
x-x-TheBurnedMan-x-x : Hoo boy! As usual with the massive review, right let's get into it.
Addressing the comments for the last chapter. Yes indeed Louise is incredibly weak, however, she has been living the luxurious life of a noble lady. Despite her mother being a soldier I doubt she was trained physically much if at all. Her situational awareness will continue to improve once she finally gets some proper training too.
And I'm glad you caught onto the quote because I may end up referencing it a lot in the times to come.
As for her reaction to the Frontier, yeah can't change that now. Hopefully didn't completely bugger it in the end. Okay as for the games you brought up, thank you so much for all the info, like holy crap that whole thing was like an essay in itself. As for the micromanaging, it's most likely going to lean towards the Stronghold crusader type of micromanagement. (Don't worry I'll do my best to make it easier on the average reader, it will most likely appear more as flavor text that I am keeping track of.) Took a look at tales of Berseria and let me just say, when the inventory has a scroll wheel. Run for the hills.
Although in all seriousness I will most likely put things together much like I do in Satisfactory. (The successor to factorio if anyone knows it.) Now as for the Secretary aspect I do have one planned but I won't say who or what.
Now lastly for Kiriche's family heirloom, I fear that even that won't be enough to placate his temper. Now that he's been assaulted he is not going to go down lightly.
Last but not least, Welcome to the frontier, my friend! I always loved frontier defense in Titanfall 1 and I was overjoyed to see it eventually return new and improved in the sequel sometime later.
Thanks for the review and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
Ghostly : Ah yes, the contradicting point of view, I won't spoil anything as I intend to address all of it in the next chapter. So I can't say much about that I'm afraid. And no worries, get some sleep man, (although I suppose that it's almost a week late to say that.) And as for Siesta getting training and addressing the issue of the medal, well, again, no spoilers, BUT I will say this, both issues will be addressed in the next chapter.
Thanks for the review and I hope to see you in the next chapter!