Year: 2354
Onboard the MCS Valor's Edge

I start sketching the installation in my journal. "Captain, you got any idea how we found this? It doesn't look like any alien construction I've ever seen, and I've seen a few"

The captain nods. "A science team here on Shanxi uncovered some ruins planetside. Apparently, it had coordinates to this… whatever it is, and they requested some more manpower to help figure out how to activate it. Mr. Cooper, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I was under orders"

I nod. "Lemme guess. Admiral Graves?" The captain nods, and I chuckle. "I'm not surprised at all"

Captain turns towards the front. "We're about to enter atmo. You two might want to strap in – it's gonna get a little bumpy"

[-]

The announcement that we're about to enter atmosphere chimes over the radio. I strap into a pod while CV and BT dock in their respective cradles.
The shaking begins. I'm gripping the bars on the inside of my pod, hanging on for dear life. Despite being strapped in, it feels like if I let go, then I'll go flying across the hangar.
"Pilot, I'm detecting a high bpm. Please try your best to calm down" Right. I put on my helmet before entering the pod. CV knows how stressed out I get during reentry. I start taking deep breaths… then the shaking stops. We've entered the planet's atmosphere. I let go, and just relax while my heart slows down. An image pops up on my helmet's HUD. It's the Captain. "Lieutenant Commander Cooper, you are needed on the Bridge. Admiral Graves wishes to speak with you"

"I'm on my way Captain"

[-]

"Jack, Jill. Good to see you both" I nod.

"Good to see you too, Marcus. That another medal on your shirt, or are my eyes starting to fail me?" I ask humorously.

Marcus chuckles. "No, your eyes are fine Jack. Those of us in the top brass give each other medals while reminiscing about past conflicts"

I smirk as the door opens. "And here's our Ell Tee Commander now. Welcome to Shanxi, Ms. Cooper"

[-]

I shake my head, smirking. "Hello Admiral Graves, good to see you. Ready for mission briefing"

Admiral Graves nods. "You'll be joining up with the science team here on Shanxi. Officially, you and CV are assigned as guard duty, but unofficially, I'm hoping you'll provide the brainpower to help find out what this construct is and how to activate it"

I nod. "CV was wondering what this construct is too. And who built it" But what I'm thinking about right now I don't want to bring up here. What was the inclination of the alien faction? Were they hostile? Neutral? Friendly? I tuck these thoughts in the back of my mind for a later date.
"BT and I will drop by from time to time as well, when we're not busy running the odd job planetside" I hear dad say. I turn to face him and smile. "Alrighty then. I can't promise I'll be available to talk all the time, but I'll try to make time"

I see Admiral Graves shake his head. "You sure that's a good idea Jack? Remember what happened last time you and BT got close to an alien weapon – an entire planet got destroyed"

Dad turns to face the admiral. "We'll be fine Marcus. After all, not only will my daughter be on site, but Jill's here as well, and she really knows how to keep me in line" he says with a smirk.

Admiral Graves shakes his head. "So, all of two people are keeping Shanxi intact. Good to know. Graves out"

The captain turns from the screen. "You should get down to the hangar, ma'am. We're coming up on your drop point" I nod. I swear, I will never get used to being called "ma'am". I know he's just following protocol, but I'm twenty-one for crying out loud. Mental sigh. I turn and head back out, and down to the hangar.

[-]

I'm grinning as Jill and I leave the bridge. Jill rolls her eyes. "Glad to be off ship and back on solid ground?"

I nod. "You can't deny that we've all felt a little – "

"Cooped up?"

I chuckle. "Good one. Yah. It'll be good to walk around. Take in the sights. Always heard Shanxi had some nice views"

[-]

Lots more people on the way to the hangar than earlier. I try to make my way through the infantry, to little avail.
"Miss?"
I turn to the new voice. "Yes?" I'm greeted by a older, black man with an earnest face. He looks to be in his mid thirties. "You tryin' to get to the hangar?" I nod. "Follow me. I know a shortcut" He leads me into a Jeffreys tube. "Leads right to the walkways above the hangar. Most of the infantry don't know about this route"

I smirk. "What's your name, soldier?"

"David Anderson, rifleman grade 3. And your name, miss?"

"Melissa Cooper, Pilot grade". I see David shake his head. "Damn. You Jack Cooper's daughter?"

"…Yah"

I can hear David sigh. "So, you get the special treatment"

I exhale. "…Yep. I hate it"

"Really?"

"Yah. I'm only 21 and everybody thinks I'm gonna be the next Hero of Typhon. Lots of pressure with that. All I wanna do is study alien stuff"

David chuckles. "Can't help the parents we get, huh? Well, we're here. I'll probably see you around after we hit planetside"

David drops out of the tube, then catches up with his squad. I drop out a minute later and make my way over to CV. "You ready to get out of this ship and on solid ground?"
CV's response is enthusiastic. "Ready since we boarded, Pilot Melissa"

"Well, get ready for Titanfall. We're above our drop point"

The klaxons go off. "Titanfall in 3…2…1…"
The hatch opens. I see various squad pods drop as CV and I fall to the planet. The impact, thanks to the dampening systems I installed during the trip, doesn't feel as hard as a normal Titanfall. Squad pods open up, releasing the troopers within. I take a deep breath. It's amazing. Everything covered in snow, trees analogous to the Evergreens we have on Harmony, and various tufts of grass poking up through the white covering. I climb out of CV and drop onto the ground. "Troopers! Our objective lies to the north-east. Let's hustle, the quicker we get there, the quicker we get warm!"

[-]

Frontier Alliance Codex
- Titan

Titans are mechanized platforms, descended from pre-spaceflight era combat exoskeletons, designed for multiple roles on the Frontier.

Overview

Titans are used for a variety of tasks throughout the Titanfall Universe. Unarmed variants, such as the Journeyman, can be fielded in a variety of roles such as agriculture, logistics, shipping and salvage, deep space search and rescue, cargo transport and construction. The Reserve models of the Atlas, Ogre and Stryder are civilian model Titans fitted with improvised equipment, such as the Scorch-class Titan, which had some use in firefighting roles, due to its fire-resistant plating.

However, the chief application for the Titan platform and the role that made it famous is that of combat, providing heavy fire support equivalent to armaments found on pre-spaceflight era MBTs, such as the M1 Abrams, fielded by the United States of America, the T-80, fielded by the USSR ( Succeeded by the Russian Federation ), and the Leopard 2A4, fielded by Germany.

[- Deployment

"Stand by for Titanfall."

— A common saying for Titan deployments

Most Titans were typically deployed into battle via the process of a "Titanfall". This involves the Titan being launched out of a starship hangar bay at hyper-sonic velocities in a manner similar to a Drop Pod. This deployment method is extremely precise and allowed the Titan to arrive on the ground in under a minute.

While on a starship, Titans were constructed on-site from parts on the ship before being ready to drop. This process could take under five minutes to assemble the Titan from pre-existing parts.

Once a battle was concluded, the IMC and the Frontier Militia utilized the Widow transport craft to help transport Titans back into orbit, to be ready for re-deployment.

[- Pilots

It requires extensive training to effectively operate a Titan, especially in combat. Titan Pilots are rated by "certifications", most of which apply to civilian applications. The most prestigious certification is the Full Combat Certification - a widely published series of tests that grade a Titan Pilot's abilities. Because of the extreme physical and mental challenges of mastering both Titan combat and dismounted parkour movement, a fully combat certified Titan Pilot is a rare find, and the combat skills of active Pilots in the field varies wildly throughout The Frontier. Pilots are also known to become very attached to their Titans, as in the case of Pilot Jack Cooper ( RET. ) and BT-7274, as they both rely upon each other to fight and survive effectively. It is also not uncommon for Pilots to personalize their Titan chassis with Nose Art, Paint Jobs and Insignias alongside custom modifications and equipment. Despite this, the IMC considers its Titans and Pilots to be interchangeable and disposable where the Militia views each of its new Vanguard Pilot-Titan units as a long-term investment. As a result, an experienced Vanguard Titan-Pilot team is far more flexible and deadlier than any single IMC Titan and Pilot on the Frontier.

[- Variants

There are several variants of Titan employed throughout The Frontier. All currently employed variants, with the exception of the Vanguard and Monarch, are based on the Atlas, Ogre and Stryder-Class Titans.

Pre-Demeter Variants

Prior to the Battle of Demeter, Titans had highly customizable loadouts and flexible designs, based on Pilot preference. This was due to the increased availability and lower costs for construction while supply lines to the Core Systems were intact. Those variants employed after the destruction of the Demeter gateway ( See below ) are much more specialized and less flexible in their roles.

· Atlas - The Atlas is the workhorse of the Titan world and has served in some form or another for countless decades, and likely will continue to for countless more. Equipped with the Damage Core and two dashes, the Atlas is a versatile middle-road Titan.

· Assault Titan - A specialized Atlas Titan equipped with an XO-16 Chaingun and Survivor.

· Mortar Titan - A specialized Atlas Titan equipped with a Quad Rocket and Particle Wall. After the Battle of Demeter, Tone Titans were seen filling this role.

· Ogre - The H-KA02/a Ogre, commonly referred to as "Hammond Robotics' 800-pound gorilla", is a Heavy Titan. Its heavy armor and Shield Core made up for any speed it lacked on the battlefield.

· Nuke Titan - A suicide bomber Titan that uses its armored shell to transport a Massive Payload to deal heavy damage against entrenched positions. Can also be deployed as a Legion.

· Tank Titan - A specialized Ogre Titan equipped with an 40mm Cannon and Shield Core.

· Stryder - Hammond Robotics' premiere in fast-attack Titan design, the Stryder was a lightweight, agile Titan suited for hit-and-run attacks with its Dash Core.

· Arc Titan - A specialized Stryder Titan equipped with an Arc Cannon and Arc Field. The Arc Field can also be seen on the Ronin chassis.

· Artillery Titan - A specialized Stryder Titan equipped with an Quad Rocket and Regen Booster.

Post-Demeter Variants

In the wake of the Battle of Demeter, Titan variants became much more rigid in their deployment and structure, due to resource and material shortages incurred by the loss of many vital IMC robotics factories. Even after the end of the Typhon Liberation War, these variants do not possess recharging energy shields and have one less dash available to them than their Pre-Demeter counterparts (With the exception of Ogre titans). Their loadouts are also static, likely to make mass production and field repair of standard components easier and less resource intensive.

· Ion - An Atlas-based Titan designed around the operation of Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) such as the Laser Shot, Splitter Rifle and Laser Core. Ion's aforementioned abilities, along with her Vortex Shield, all drain energy from a shared energy pool.

· Scorch - An Ogre-based Heavy Titan designed around the operation of incendiary weapons. Scorch employs thermite and fire to burn through clustered targets and heavily wooded areas.

· Northstar - A Stryder-based Titan, designed around the use of the Plasma Railgun and the use of flight.

· Brute - A specialized loadout based on Northstar, employing a Quad Rocket and Vortex Shield.

· Ronin - A CQC-based Stryder Titan that combines maneuverability, agility, a shotgun and a Broadsword to wreak havoc among enemy lines.

· Tone - Named after its use of Sonar, Atlas-based Tone combines the 40mm Tracker Cannon with missile barrages to deal heavy damage.

· Sniper Titan - Tone Titans deployed by the IMC, for the purpose of suppressing defending forces.

· Legion - A heavy Titan of Ogre descent, Legion employs a large rotary cannon and aggressive sustained counterfire to deal an unrelenting field of fire upon potential enemies.

· Monarch - A Vanguard-based titan created by Vinson Dynamics who wields the XO16A2 Chaingun. Monarch had a rearm ability along with a Rocket Salvo and an Energy Siphon that makes her a threat on the battlefield.