Ellie was generally a master of her emotions- the angrier she was, the quieter she became. It was a necessary practice she'd developed as she worked with Six, lest her frustration with his unorthodox behavior end up jeopardizing a mission. He couldn't exactly fault her for it, but it didn't make him any less apprehensive towards her when she became silent in his company, just as she was now.
"Ellie?"
Above him, he could see the smallest of swivels as she rotated her head to look at him with her 'eyes', two sets of cyan lights situated on the face-plating that formed the front of her 'head'. She looked away just as quickly, continuing to ignore him as her metallic footsteps echoed off the walls. He furrowed his brow.
"C'mon, Ellie-"
"Don't, Six- just don't."
Though others might not have thought it possible, Six found that artificial intelligences were just as capable of sulking as any human. Despite his earlier claim of her emotional mastery, it seemed that even a seven foot-tall experimental Titan chassis was not immune to the occasional moue.
In any case, there wasn't any time to resolve the little spat between them- the pair reached the end of the hallway, and waited for the door before them to allow them access.
Roughly ten seconds passed before it opened, each of its segments sliding into the edges of the walls, floor, and ceiling.
"You may enter."
As the voice invited them in with a warm familiarity, Six couldn't help but let a smirk cross his features. Both he and Ellie accepted the call, slowly walking towards the back of the room where a single occupant stood guarding an ornate throne of white and gold coloration, the color scheme that made up the interior of most of the ship.
The man, wearing an officer's robes of the same palette, gave a stony nod towards him. "You look mighty pleased with yourself."
"That's just his normal expression," Ellie muttered sardonically.
Grabbing his chest, he faked an expression of pain. "You wound me- I'm gonna spend all night thinking about that one." He raised his arms into the air in mock disappointment. "Am I not allowed to simply enjoy the company of a good friend?"
The officer's facade finally broke, and he smiled. "It's good to see you again, Six. How was your last mission?"
"Same as always, Alastor," he drawled in an exaggerated fashion. "Successful."
Alastor had been a mentor to him for as long as he could remember- some of his favorite memories as a boy were of the two of them sparring on the holo-deck, different environments and scenarios accompanying their often all-too-close matchups. He could still remember the sweat on his back and brow as he tried to regain his breath every time the older man managed to best him, and the words of his teacher that drove him to do better each consecutive match …
You were born into greatness, Six- but victory is something you must earn on your own.
Each and every time, he would get up. Each and every time, he fell again.
Until he didn't.
Now, with his days of training behind him, Alastor fulfilled a different role- that of a friend. He'd been in Six's life longer than most, as very few were permitted to prolong their contact with him. Ellie would have been next, having been working with him for nearly five years now- but even she would be replaced by a newer model at some point, an AI partner more up-to-date with current specifications and requirements for an AI in her position of constant adaptability.
Alastor would never leave him.
Ellie just shook her head in disapprovingly at his answer, and kept her focus on Alastor. The man reached up to scratch at the dark goatee around his mouth, one that grew more strands of silver poking through the black with every passing year. "Is that so?"
Something in the way he said it put Six on guard. He caught a look in Alastor's eye that told him the situation may have been a bit more serious than previously thought, and he immediately changed his tone.
"Yes, the mission was successful. The 'Prodigal' never knew we were aboard until it was too late, and we secured the intel without incident."
"'Without incident' would not be the most accurate term I would apply, Six."
Damn it.
The new voice emanated from the throne itself, garbled undertones disguising its true sound, and a holographic orb materialized within its seat the moment after it spoke. Immediately, Six and Ellie dropped to a knee in its presence and bowed their heads.
"Of course, sir," Six uttered, facing the floor. "I merely meant to say that-"
"It matters not that they detected you 'too late'- they should not have been aware of you at all."
"I humbly apologize, sir," he began again, but the orb cut him off once more.
"Groveling does not suit you, Six. And you are not the one whom I expect an apology from."
Before he could say anything more, Ellie began to speak next to him. "I beg your forgiveness, sir; it would appear that the ship had been prepared for our potential arrival-"
"You are Six's guardian, LE-2, and he is your ward. That means his safety is not simply your top priority, but your only priority. His life is in your hands on every mission you undertake, and mistakes- like the one you made that very nearly cost you both the mission when your presence was detected in their system- will not be tolerated."
"I understand, sir-" she tried to say.
"Your duty is to protect him, even from himself, as was the case with his decision to continue the data transfer. Your choices and failures will speak for the entire future of the NOMAD project, LE-2. Need I have you decommissioned and replaced with a more competent model?"
"That won't be necessary," Six quickly cut in, speaking in place of Ellie. Out of his peripheral vision, he watched her head turned towards him slightly, as much as it could in their bowing states. "I have been very pleased with LE-2's performance- the decision to stay, and therefore the fault, was mine."
There was silence for a solid five seconds before the orb gave them one final order. "Rise, both of you."
They obliged, standing straight and awaiting what came next.
"With all that being said," the voice acknowledged with a hint of admiration, "had it not been for Six's choice to complete the transfer, we would not have realized that the FDN has developed countermeasures to your operations- nor that the Prodigal was merely a diversion."
That last line immediately caught their attention, and their gazes snapped to the orb in surprise.
"The Prodigal's route was too openly discussed, too obvious a target to ignore. Having analyzed the data of the Prodigal's system logs, I can confirm that it is empty of anything useful- aside from one mote of information; its destination.
"It would seem that the ship was on a course to Harmony, a detail that would make sense for a ship of its status if it hadn't been so relatively publicized. My sources have already taken the liberty of sending me a copy of the planet's docking manifest, and one name stood out to me … the Cascade of Spirits.
"Why that ship, sir?"
"I've been setting the board for the last few weeks in preparation for such a moment like this- but time is short. The frigate is en route to Harmony as we speak, and if we wait then the opportunity will be lost. Both of you are to board the ship, take the necessary data, and report back here. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," they said in unison. It was less of an agreement than an acknowledgement of an order, however- no one ever said 'no' to him.
"Now, I wish to speak with Six alone. Leave us."
Wordlessly and without hesitation, Alastor bowed deeply towards the hologram and exited the room. Ellie took one forlorn glance at Six before following suit, her footfalls all too audible in the otherwise quiet ship.
Once the door was closed, the orb emitted a sigh of mixed resignation and disappointment. "You continue to both impress and frustrate me, Six."
He winced. "You know that I'm the reason we almost got caught- do you have to be so hard on her?"
"On it, Six. And yes, I must," the voice iterated. "LE-2 represents a new step in the advancement of Titan technologies, any miscalculation on its part will reflect badly on the entire line of Nomads, not just itself." The orb paused thoughtfully. "This is the third time that you have rejected the notion of a new AI to assist you- had it not been for your stubbornness, LE-2 would have been decommissioned a year ago."
"What can I say? I've gotten used to her- it," he said, correcting himself.
"Compassion is an admirable trait to have when times are right, Six- but these are not the right times. It will leave you weak. Vulnerable. Open to attack from those who would seek to exploit your emotions. You must learn to shut these feelings off, starting with your partnership with LE-2."
Six sighed heavily, knowing deep down that he couldn't postpone this argument forever. He wasn't even sure why he bothered trying to keep Ellie from being decommissioned if it was inevitable to begin with … but the thought of simply letting one of his only friends be forcefully retired was one that felt inherently wrong to him.
"Let's get that data first, and then I'll talk about LE-2's condition."
The hologram sighed once more, but seemed to relent. "Alright. You and LE-2 may now take your leave."
"Thank you, my Advocate," Six intoned, bowing deeply. "Primus inter pares."
"Primus inter pares."
With that, the hologram faded out of sight, and he was left alone in the room.
...
After informing Alastor of the Advocate's command, the two shook hands and bid each other farewell. Six knew that his friend would love to accompany him on all of his fieldwork; but he was one of the Advocate's inner circle, potentially their closest confidant- both of them knew that Alastor would always put the Advocate before all other priorities.
As he and Ellie marched through the halls once more on their way to the hangar bay, he chanced a glance at her. Her stance was less aggressive now, yes- but she was still tense. He gave a small hum of thought, hoping to break the icy air and lead into conversation.
"Well … that could have been worse."
"It also could have been better," she snarked, ever the pessimist. Shaking her head, she murmured, "Typical …"
He tilted his head cautiously in her direction. "What's typical?"
"How everything played out," she replied, zeroing her gaze in on him. "All of the praise, none of the punishment. It's just par for the course at this point- you screw up, I get blamed for it … the usual."
He tried again. "If you're still mad about the mission-"
"You know damn well that it's not about the mission," she muttered, though her synthetic voice certainly still carried some anger in its tone.
He narrowed his eyes at her response. She may have been a seven-foot tall exosuit, but if she was expecting to intimidate him into apologizing, she'd be sorely disappointed.
"I'm not going to say, 'I'm sorry', just because he favors me-"
She turned on a dime towards him, quite the impressive movement for someone of her size and composition. "I'm not asking you, nor will I ever ask you, to apologize for anything- especially not for something as petty as that. You're no more responsible for his biases and your status than I am responsible for being an AI."
In her current position, she towered over him threateningly. Anyone who didn't personally know her would likely have either fled or attempted- and failed- to attack her. Instead, he merely stood his ground and raised an eyebrow. "Then what exactly do you want from me?"
Stepping away from him, she began to walk away from him and towards the hangar again. "I'm not pissed that you won't apologize- I'm pissed that you don't know why you should."
That threw him for a loop. "And why's that, then?" he called out, throwing his arms up frustratedly. Did she expect him to be some kind of mind-reader?
She turned back once last time, the blue of her optics shining in contrast to the white and gold of her armor plating. "I'm not making it easy for you. When you figure it out, then you let me know."
With that, she disappeared around the corner.
He sighed, following after her in consternation. He didn't have time to deal with this right now, the mission wouldn't be delayed because of his equipment having a breakdown.
They just had to finish this assignment, and then they could talk things over. Everything would go back to normal … just one routine operation.
Nothing was going to change between them, he'd make sure of it.
A/N: So, apparently Titanfall 3's been confirmed via some job listings. Not sure that I'll write a ton more of this until we get a teaser or something ... but we'll see.
Be sure to comment/leave a review for a shoutout on the next chapter!
ItsJustMe244 says ...
First came across the trilogy looking for Titanfall fanfics. Sorted by "Most Favorited" and wow, yours was on top lol. I gave it a read and it was fantastic, and you probably know the rest.
As for this chapter: Lots of food for thought here. Not much for me to ponder on just yet, not enough revelations. Looking forward to seeing it unfold.
I anxiously await the next chapter!
Thanks for the review, IJM! Happy to know that there have been people from the original trilogy still following this story.
MarineRaider77 says ...
I accidentally posted my review without finishing but I wanted to also say that I found your story halfway through Inferno when there was not many Titanfall stories continued so when I found this is I never expected it to be fucking awesome, I'm glad I stuck around with this story.
Glad you stuck around as well, MR77! I never thought I'd get this far, but much of it is due to support from you guys!
HeliumFilaments says ...
I started reading the architect series back in early summer of 2017. I found it by accident, and ended up writing a terrible short with TobyKay (that Matt liked for some reason.) I had the absolute pleasure of getting to know this author very well and reading his works have been just as sublime. Six is no exception.
Matt- I'm very proud of you and how far you've come. There's been a lot of stuff you'd had to go through these past years and you've handled it like a champ and came out glowing. You are an absolute sweetheart and you have immense talent and a big heart. I'll always be rooting for you, today and tomorrow. Too cheesy? Good
Your words humble me, seriously. Thank you.
THETA says ...
In response to your question: I have been here since the original trilogy and how i found it was this.
Since i was bored i looked through titanfall 2 fanfics but most of them had been written back in tf1 and they had old weapons ,old titans and i had come for new futuristic vanguard titans. I was about to give up hope and then i found inferno, i was instantly hooked then i read tempest and after that i couldn't find cinder until an later date.
I quite like the new characters but there is still ONE BURNING QUESTION in my mind.
ARE KT AND TOBIAS ALIVE!
Sure i understand why writers use cliffhangers but still.
If you avoid the earlier question could you at least tell me whether they will be mentioned at all in this new ghost series.
KT and Tobias are not the focus of Six, but you will find that their fate and story ties into the Ghost trilogy quite nicely ... I guess the only solution is to keep reading and find out, huh?
Until the next time,
- Matteoarts