A/N: I do not own either RWBY or TitanFall, both licenses belong to their respective owners.
"Steele, you're up. Briefing room in five."
A young man no more than 17 in a grey jumpsuit with brown hair and green eyes sat on a cargo box in the back of a small storage room. His name was Forrest Steele of the Angel City Elite… well not officially, he was just a pilot candidate for now, even if he did exceed the IMC Combat pilot level certifications.
His mentor, Gauvin Green, an actual pilot for the ACE stood in the doorway with his custom Flatline- Justice- in his hands. Steele got up and followed his mentor. "hey there old man, you expecting trouble?"
"what? No, why?"
"oh, I don't know; you just have Justice on you while inside the ship, kind of making me nervous is all."
Green looked over at him, looking up a little as Steele was about two inches taller at 5'10. He seemed troubled; his brow furrowed in concern. "look kiddo, I'll cover it in the briefing. OK."
"Sure, boss man."
They got to the small briefing room on the ship, a single Holographic table in the center of the room with room for less than ten people. Green walked to the far side before pulling up a map on the table.
"You got your mission. Commander Briggs likes what she hears about you and is willing to take you on, provided she likes what she sees on this op. She's seen your records in the simulator and on the field, this is your trial by fire."
He continued. "The Frontier Militia supported by ACE and the 6-4 will be attacking this IMC R&D facility on a planet that should be familiar to you, Maldovir. I know last time we were here things went bad, leave that behind. The objective is this central device, a portal to a new reality based off the fold weapon on Typhon. Intel believes that the IMC has found a stable reality on the other side and is planning to invade it, the Militia has decided that that cannot be allowed to happen." He sighed. "Your mission is this out building on the west side of the facility; inside you will find a group of IMC defectors, scientists and soldiers, a few pilots as well. They are in possession of an experimental device of unknown nature. They need escort to their extraction point… here." He highlighted a hangar just a few hundred meters away. "I know it looks too easy, so what does that mean."
Steele looked at it, there was no way they needed a pilot to make a 300m dash in the middle of an attack. "If it looks too easy, it's a trap."
"Got it in one kiddo, so, this is the catch; this is a subsistence mission, no armor, no weapons except for a data-knife… and I'm not supposed to give you anything but I want you to take Justice. I know you aren't a fan of the Flatline, I just want to make sure you remember where you came from while your out there fighting for what's right instead of what pays. I can't give you any ammo, I'm not willing to compromise you like that… just, this is the last time we work together. So, good luck kiddo, I'll be rooting for you."
Green choked up at the end there. Steele looked down, a blend of powerful emotions running through him. Maldovir had lots of bad memories for him, now he was going back. His mission was going to be tough, but he was one of the best around, he just needed to prove it. Finally, the deep hurt from knowing that the man who practically raised him was going to be out of his life from this point on.
Steele reached out with a shaking hand, and voice. "I… would be honored to bring Justice with me, but I mean really its not like I'd forget… well this." As he reached for Justice Green came around the table and hugged him tight.
"Kiddo, I just want you to know I'm proud as fuck about the man you turned into. Here take her before I make a bigger embarrassment of us both."
Justice was heavily modified from the base Flatline, elongated solid stock, heavy barrel, extended mags, quick loading mechanism. Steele grabbed the offered grip, settling into the feel of old Justice. He had seen Green off to dozens of battles with his gun, had fought along side him in just as many. Steele couldn't imagine Green without Justice, here he was though.
"I know you prefer the R series; I don't expect you to use her often, but she might save your life one day. Now Pilot Candidate Forrest Steele, get to your gunship, you drop in ten."
Steele came to attention, snapping off a quick salute before running to the hangar. This mission had to be testing him on every level, no time to prep, no equipment, no weapons save a knife and an empty Flatline. He was up to the challenge, what ever it took to get into the Marauder Corps, he had a lot to pay the IMC back for.
He launched from a rappel line, sliding to the ground with a roll to recover. Justice was held to his chest with a carabiner, his Data-knife in its sheath in the small of his back. The Facility was only around 4km away, a short jog. The main attack would start in just a few seconds, he moved fast, he wanted to be as close to the enemy as possible when the fighting started.
Thick forests surrounded him, dense foliage and tall trees, a few rocky faces here and there that would have been useful if he had a jump kit. If he remembered the map correctly then there would be a cliff about 20m tall that he would climb, that would bring him to just a 100m from one of the barracks. From there he would be able to reach the R&D lab in under a minute, even if the IMC had a force in position.
He heard voices ahead, IMC grunts talking to a handler. He closed on them, sliding to a stop behind a tree less than 15m away. "Attack at the base? 10-4 we are on our way!" Steel smiled, too easy. He burst out of the treeline at a sprint as the grunts moved away from him, his footsteps silent. He leaped onto the shoulders of the closest grunt, shoving his Data-knife into his head. None of the grunts ahead had heard it. Before they could get to far ahead of him, he grabbed the P2016 out of the holster of the grunt in front of him, emptying the single mag into the backs of all three remaining.
He started scrounging, the vest from the one he stabbed was still intact, the helmets of the other three were good for use. Moving with efficiency he threw together a set of armor and loaded up on firearms, he grabbed a R-201 and a R-97 as well as the P2016. He didn't want to get too weighed down; he still had the climb to go. He shifted Justice to his back, the 97 across his chest 201 in hand.
He took back off to the east, he should hit the cliff in just a few minutes. He could hear the fighting now, the steady thundering of a 40mm above the sound of a Predator cannon were the loudest, faint explosions and the rattle of small arms indicating the intensity of the fighting.
He took up the cliff at a run, getting a few steps before resorting to a physical climb. It was hard, but pilot combat certification was harder. IMC standard for the certification needed a 20km run followed by a 20cm group at 25m with a R-97, he could do 30km with a kill house at the end and still land a 10cm at 30m. he did tougher climbs as a kid back in the mines, even harder ones in training. He took his time, there was no need to exhaust himself by climbing at full speed, slow is smooth, smooth is fast, fast is deadly.
The top of the cliff was only a few meters above him now, he could hear voices, a sniper if he was going to guess. He maneuvered on the cliff to be directly below the voice. "Control, this sector is clear, moving to the next." As the soldier finished speaking Steele pulled himself up and stabbed the sniper's leg near his groin, grabbing his Longbow DMR as he started to fall. He pulled himself up fully, lying on his back with the 201 held tight to his shoulder with his off hand.
Satisfied that the area was clear he shuffled his kit, he managed to find space for the DMR where his knife used to be, moving the knife to his boot and the 97 to his leg. He wanted to have every piece of firepower available to him for the coming segment, he knew he was walking into something dangerous.
The lab was just ahead, he moved at a light jog 201 raised and sweeping every corner. As he neared the door to the lab two grunts stepped out and waved him closer. The one on the left spoke. "you're the Militia pilot? Good, get in here, the egg heads have a lot to run you through."
Steele was confused, the scientists had to run him through something? Wasn't he extracting them? "hold up, I was told I was extracting a group of defectors and an experimental device. What's going on?"
"It's a bit more than a 'device', come on."
The grunts lead him into a central room that was frantic with activity, dozens of grunts were moving crates of weapons and ammo into vehicles, scientists and technicians were calling out to each other and running around a suit of Pilot gear and a Titan.
An older gentleman with a kind but serious expression stood in front of the suit, he looked up as Steele and his escort entered the room. His voice was deep and strong, clear even in his age. "This is the Pilot, good. You two go help your comrades, we still have a lot to pack up. As for you young man, lets get you into the AWS."
"The what? Look, how soon will you be ready to move. We need to get you out of here."
"The Adaptive Warfare Simulacrum. You are the Pilot that Briggs sent us, we specifically requested a Pilot that has never linked with a Titan before. We know that the Vanguard Titans use a link that will interfere with this model."
Steele looked at the suit and the Titan. Both were painted with a Splash Forest camo scheme. The Pilot gear looked like a up-armored Holo-Pilot, reinforced shoulder pads and a neck guard, more hard plates, weapon holsters and sling anchors, magnetic holsters, more pouches than he had seen on any Pilot Kit variant yet. It was also big, a little taller than he was at a perfect 6ft, wider in the shoulders than would fit him.
The Titan was just as obviously new. Based off the Monarch, it had the same tall shoulder guards of the Pilot gear, more thrusters than a NorthStar, nearly as much armor as a Legion, four weapon pods on the shoulders, missile racks in each shoulder guard. It held a up scaled XO-16, longer barrel, larger drum mag, bigger scope. And most interestingly a sword, wider than a Ronin would carry with no serrations. The Titan was covered in feeders for ammo drums, and if the faint glow around it was any indication it had good shielding.
"Wait, these are for me? These are the 'device' I was supposed to extract?"
"Yes, now get out of that gear, we have a lot of calibration to do and not much time. Don't worry about the size, it will make sense once you put it on."
Steele dropped his equipment as fast as possible; this is what he had wanted. A Titan of his own, and this one looked special. As he got out of the IMC rig the Pilot gear opened along the middle, showing that it was a single piece. There was a whole lot of wiring and metal in the underlayer, Steele didn't think too hard about it. As he readied himself to climb in one of the techs stuck an auto injector into his neck. A pinching sensation with no pain indicating anesthetic.
"Are you familiar with Pilot regeneration? And do you have any augmentations?"
"uh… yeah, I've never had a regen before though and no I don't have and augmentations. Why?
"Shame, the next few days are going to be very painful for you young man. That injection was full of micro-tech that will improve your reaction times, physical strength, dexterity, flexibility, healing time, cardiac function, and your ability to link with the simulacrum.
As soon as he was in, they sealed him up. There was a flurry of activity and communication. "Neural link in progress, 16%!"
"Threat detector integrating, green across the board!"
"Smart target online, Enhanced Holo-projector online, Stimulant Kit online, Phase Gauntlet online, Grapple harness online, Pulse Blades synched, Distortion unit online, Cloak online. All systems green!"
"Intruder system ready for integration as soon as the neural link is complete!"
"Jump Kit calibrating… Jump Kit is Go!"
"Neural Link complete, profile is synched, Lazarus protocols online! Let's get him moving!"
The older gentleman stepped up in front of him. "My name is Dr. Suleiman. How do you feel in there, is everything to your liking? Tell me now, calibration can be done quickly in the harness, not so much once you leave it."
Steel thought it fit like a glove, the outside was huge but the inside fit him perfectly. He felt he needed to say something though. "what no A-wall? Aside from that it fits perfectly."
Dr. Suleiman looked at a small pad. "the AWS is reading full contact, good. No, no A-wall, the projection systems took too much room from the Holo-pilot suite, we couldn't get them to work together. Oh, that was a joke, yes?"
"yes Dr. that was a joke. Uh… why can't I move? Also, can we back things up a bit, I just realized that you said simulacrum. I am about to die?" A small amount of worry made its way into Steele's voice. Simulacrums were used to restore dead persons, what he was doing anywhere near an empty one was beyond him.
"oh dear, I most certainly hope not. The reason you can not yet move is because you have not entered the Simulacrum, let the neural link do its work and you will see."
Sure enough, as Dr. Suleiman finished speaking, something happened to Steele's perception, his body felt the same, his eyes seemed to work, his hearing was fine. He felt more powerful, stronger, faster.
"Now, the link is establishing. I have a few questions for you so we can calibrate to your exact specifications. What is your eyesight rating?"
"20/10 natural."
Dr. Suleiman looked surprised. "really now. Link indicates you are truthful. Next, how fast on average can you run 20km. This is the more important, it gives us an idea of how to calibrate your movement."
Steele had to think, if he went off his fastest it was around 45min, his average was closer to an hour. "just short of an hour, 45min if I push."
"long strides or short?"
"long."
"how about your reaction times?"
"0.16s visual."
"alright, we will unlock you in just a moment, take it slow."
Steele felt something shift in the harness holding up the armor, he took a very gentle step forward. It felt natural, like he was naked. Slowly he walked his way up to the Dr. "holy shit doc! It feels natural, smooth, like I'm not wearing a Pilot Kit. How?"
"come with me, I will explain as you walk and get used to your new body. We must get you properly armed as well. First, what you are wearing is the cutting edge of robotics technology. The AWS is a Simulacrum that is meant to be worn as an interface between a pilot and the Intruder and Distortion modules, while you are in the Pilot Kit you now enter the Simulacrum instead of your own body. You are still alive inside the AWS; you can still be killed. That said if you are killed while your neural link is active on the AWS-weather you are in it or not- you will become an active Simulacrum, the AWS itself."
He led Steele to an armory to the side of the room where a group of grunts were working on the weapons he had brought in with him. "The simulacrum will require some time or help to dispose of your body if you die inside of it, if you die outside it will need time to recover your full personality from its memory. In both scenarios full functionality will not be available without a new core, there is one inside the Titan. Your Titan is programmed to install the simulacrum core at the earliest convenience should you die, the Lazarus protocol is extensive. Johnson, give him the tactical."
A sergeant turned to him. "AWS looks good. Ok pilot, I wish I were the one running around in there, but you'll do. The guns your brought in were trash, we kept the Flatline, that looked personal." He handed Steele Justice, completely untouched. Johnson turned to the table and passed him a pistol. "P2020, latest model, there a suppressor in the holster on your leg. 18 round mag, quick loading, you'll like it. next up, R-99, updated R-97, extended mag to keep it at 40 rounds, highest rate of fire on the frontier. We put a threat sight on it with the rest of your weapons, works great with the AWS."
He turned to the rifles. " R-301, 28 round mag, SMART threat sight, gotta love this baby, single or full auto fire, 1x-3x digital magnification, threat sight works out to 200m, same with the smart target, folding stock for when you need to store it." Pulling down a Longbow he Turned with a big old smile on his face. "this is my baby, treat her well. Same smart threat scope as the 301, good out to 400m, 10 round mag. Warning, the smart target on this is fairly slow, it only works through the sight, not like the smart pistol."
At that he turned back to the table. "And that brings us to the Final small arms system for the AWS. Modified smart pistol, fastest lock on ever, high angle of attack guidance for maximum target area, short range 25m no more. With that we get to the cool part of the AWS, you're used to boost cards, right? Yeah you are, you got two boosts in this bad boy. First, Distortion Module; it fucks up time around you for around half a second, it'll feel like five to you, make good use of it. Second, Full Aera Detection and Execution. FADE for short. Its like a pulse blade, but it feeds targeting data to all your smart target systems, including the projector rack in those shoulder guards. It'll fire a single cluster warhead that will clear all nearby targets, after that, go to town with the guns, you get 10s of tracking from the AWS."
He turned to a box on the table. It was a full 5ft long, narrow. He opened it to reveal a sword, a miniature of the one the Titan had on its back. "this is the Intruder Data-blade. The AWS is meant for the other side of the portal, trust me the sword was needed with the fucking monsters that came out of it. as it is, the damn things a Titan killer; it'll cut through a Scorch's leg or arm with a single swing if you have some speed going. See that button on the handle, hit that and it'll get bigger, that other one makes the edge start vibrating, cuts like a mono edge."
"What's the point of it getting bigger?"
"artificial mass generator" He enunciated every word with gentle glee. "the blade will act like it weighs twice as much as a Ronin's Broadsword on impact. Like I said, Titan killer. We pulled the generator off a corpse that came through the portal about a year back, still no idea how it works, just know that some funny powder does it. Your anti-titan weapons are in the Titan itself, MGL with a full auto trigger and 10 round belt and an Archer with the dumb-fire and mortar setting enabled. He's all yours doc."
He handed Steele the Intruder, as soon as he grabbed it, he felt it synch and realized why the Simulacrum part was needed. There was just so much information running through it, there was no way to take advantage of it without the link. Sheathing it on his back without a thought, he realized that he was carrying a ridiculous amount of weapons and ammo; he didn't even feel the weight, cross draw holster for the SP, leg holsters for the 99 and 2020, a clip to hold Justice along the top of his jump kit, two back holsters for the 301 and the Longbow, plus the regular anti-titan holster on his upper back. He had a Data-knife on the inside of his left shoulder guard and one on his right boot. He really hoped he got to keep all this when he was with the Marauder Corps.
Dr. Suleiman walked him back to the Titan with a brief thank you to the sergeant for his work. "Now that tactical is over with, lets get you and XR-03 acquainted. XR-03 or XR as we call him is an extension of the AWS, designed to link only with the wearer of the AWS. This means you, without significant work to the AWS you are now its sole operator. XR is currently offline pending some AI issues, he will be ready in a few minutes, but we don't have that long before you need to start moving. Ill make this brief, XR can tell you about himself later. Once he is active, he is self repairing, just like the AWS. He has a generator capable of recharging his significant shielding reserves and can support three boosts in quick succession. His phasing system will transport him into low planetary orbit allowing for rapid redeploy after damage, if he is set into a 'Doomed' state he will phase out, repair, and stand by for recall.
His weapon systems are primarily missile and grenade based. The main weapons are the Intruder XL and the XO-19, which comes with a hundred round mag which fires guided Arcing Incendiary Munitions. Like the rest of your guided ammunition it has an extremely limited arc of fire. Active weapon systems include homing missiles, a high angle cruise missile launcher, unguided rockets, and an antipersonnel airburst grenade launcher. Defensive options are limited to electric smoke, thermite grenade projectors, and the energy shield. His core module is called the Dispersion Core, when activated it is similar to the FADE in the AWS, it fires a burst of smart targeting cluster munitions as well as activates the smoke and thermite launchers. This results in a cloud of electric smoke, a ring of fire, and a massive series of explosions around him. Do be carful with it."
He looked down at his watch, a smart silver timepiece. "I am afraid we are out of time, take the soldiers and clear the way. Three pilots will meet you outside, they will assist you. When we make our escape, the commander will know what has happened, he will unleash the dozens of Reapers he has stationed on this base specifically in case something happens to this project, he is likely already aware of our betrayal. Use everything at your disposal, we will send XR to you as soon as he is ready, you are already linked so do not worry about that. Now go."
Steele reached out and shook his hand. This mission had taken a turn and he felt another was coming, it was time to start acting like a pilot and bring the fight to the enemy. He saw Sergeant Johnson with a group of grunts, as he walked towards them his HUD lit up with IFF tags IDing them as Militia Riflemen. The Sergeant looked at him. "You ready to kick some ass Pilot? You sure look it, nice glow in your T-slit. You take point, give the new toys a try. I didn't get to cover everything, there's a lot in that Kit of yours that you'll figure out as you go. Let's see what you do with the training wheels off. GET SET RIFLEMEN! We follow the Pilot out."
Steele stepped up to the door and promptly kicked it out, he brought the R-301 to his shoulder as he strode out into the open. He threw a Holo-pilot out in front of him, to his shock it started scanning from side to side looking much better than any he had seen before. A snap of gunfire brought his attention back in, he followed the trail from the bullet to a pair of grunts with carbines. As he brought his up the threat sight lit them both up red and a small hexagon formed on each of their heads once they were in the sight image, a small trail from his barrel indicating the path. He switched to semi-auto as he pulled the trigger twice. Cra-Crack. Each bullet made its way cleanly into its target as he pushed forward.
He had just jumped up onto the wall of the lab to get to a nearby rooftop when the grunts came streaming out through the door. He passed over them and landed on a second-floor roof when he saw the extraction point. A hangar with its doors open, containing a group of transports, just enough to fit all the defectors. He saw the Titans come running around the corner near him. A Tone, NorthStar, and a Legion who was backing up with his gun shield deployed, firing off short bursts with the Predator cannon. A female voice came over his radio.
"good to see the AWS on the move. Where is XR? We need all the help we can get; the Reapers will be here in just a minute!"
"XR is having some difficulties, Ill have to do. You three cover the riflemen, I need to try the AWS out. Where are they coming from?"
"Same way we came, just cleaning up a group of Stalkers. I'll get the troops to lay out a baseline, we just need to get the non-combatants out, the rest of us will be joining you as we hit the portal."
Steele sprinted for the edge of the roof nearest the attack vector for the Reapers. He leaped across the street with a double jump, landing in a slide to make his way to the far edge. When the good doctor had said there were dozens of Reapers, Steele hadn't realized he meant nearly 50 of the damn things. "lady, I'm heading back your way in a second. Prepare for a hell of a fight!"
He jumped towards the Reapers, drawing the intruder and activating the distortion module. Everything around him slowed to a crawl, he landed sliding and swung the Intruder. The single swing cut completely through the Reaper, he danced his way through the group near him before rotating and stabbing the Intruder into one of the Reapers. A bar appeared on the blade, shifting from red to blue as time returned to normal. The bar flashed blue in his visor right as all the Reapers turned to target him, a pulse seemed to ripple out through the group. The Reapers stalled before turning blue on his IFF, the Intruder had turned the whole group.
"cancel my last, I got the Reapers on side, the Intruder works better than advertised!"
Steele was shocked, he had never handled a sword in his life; yet here he was, it seemed instinctual like he always knew how to use a sword. It had to be the AWS, there was no where else that it could have come from. That was beyond awesome. How did I do that? Do I care? He had just cut his way through around eight Reapers and reprogramed the rest in around five seconds. The AWS simply felt like cheating in the simulator, with every passing second, he could feel the synch between him and the AWS improve. There was no way this could have been allowed to stay with the IMC, they would have crushed the Militia on the battlefield.
Johnsons voice came over the radio. "good damn work Pilot, the first of the techs are loading up. Get back here, the Reapers will keep the IMC busy." Steele made his way back at a gentler pace, appreciating the smoothness of the AWS. The short fight had demonstrated to him just how much more powerful this Kit was than he understood; If this Pilot gear had been made to fight what was beyond the portal, he wasn't sure he wanted to know how dangerous it was over there.
When he got back to the main group, he found a female Pilot hanging out of the Legion talking with Johnson. She looked down at him, face unreadable through the helmet of her Pulse Blade Kit. "so kid, how's it feel to get your claws out?"
"Whole new world, I'm not so sure I'm wearing it as much as It's wearing me. The smart lock won't do much for fighting pilots at close range with that lock speed; but for clearing regulars? Oh man, this thing is a monster."
"I'm Annie, you already know Johnson. We'll be sticking with you through this and beyond. I was the tester for the AWS before they integrated the fancier stuff, Johnson was the weapons tester, between the two of us we can have you running the AWS at full within the year. We come with the AWS, so don't get replaced, I like your style so far, would hate to lose it. Anyway, babe, how long until the last of the techs are out?"
Johnson looked over his shoulder at the lab. "I'd give it no more that 10 mikes, the egg heads are still in there working out a hitch in XR, some sort of memory error. They should have him up and running before the last of the techs make it out." He turned to Steele, his face grim. "I wont lie to you kid, things are bad. IMC radio chatter indicates a stalemate on the approach to the Portal, the expedition fleet will be ready to move in less than half an hour. The IMC isn't all bad, but this plan… this is beyond what I can look over. I lost a whole lot of my guys to the Militia, but you guys are at least trying to do the right thing. I guess I'm trying to say I'm with the suit, not the Militia. Anywhoo, we need to shut the portal down ASAP, we can hit the IMC's flank hard once XR is up, just follow us."
Steele looked between the two of them, it was nice knowing that Johnson wasn't going to pretend to be drinking the Militia's Kool-Aid. "Name's Forrest, its good to be working with you. Get us to the portal, keep yourselves alive, I want to see as few lives lost here as possible. Militia and IMC both, my problem is with the IMC not its people." He reached out to shake Johnson and Annie's hands.
Johnson cracked a grin. "stock up on ammo Forrest, its going to be a shitshow out there. Radio indicates that the entire Titan garrison minus these three assholes are out there, they got your guys seriously out numbered. Plus side, your team has them out skilled by the sounds of it."
Steele took his advice. He hadn't used any more ammo then the two bullets to clear the guards, but that was no excuse to not stock up. As he was loading up a bandoleer with grenades and stars a new voice entered his channel. "XR-03 ready for duty Pilot, moving to your location"
Steele looked at the lab where one of the bay doors was opening. "heads up, XR is ready to move."
XR-03 was glorious in motion, graceful and smooth movements coupled with the clear weight and combat intent. A hard frame backpack of all things strapped to him. This Titan was ready to fight, so was Steele. He could feel their connection, the strength of the link, he was willing to bet that he could pilot XR without even climbing in the cockpit. He walked towards XR and held a fist out, only to let out a whoop of joy as XR gave him a fist bump.
Johnson got everyone's attention as he started a small speech. "Everyone ready to move? This is it, one last push. Shut down the portal and save a whole reality from having to live under the IMC at its most brutal. I know we haven't always been the good guys; I know we aren't the bad guys. What is going down today, is inexcusable. The IMC wants to send a subjugation fleet through the portal, conquer a whole reality. The IMC wants to use those fucking monsters that come through as weapons against the Frontier, not today! Not on our watch! Today we throw in with our enemy, to save our selves from the stain of helping this happen. Today… we do the right thing, we stop this madness, we save the Frontier. Now, TO GLORY!"
The troops seemed used to this kind of behaviour, there wasn't any cheering, just laughter and sarcastic echoes of 'to glory'. Steele chuckled at him. "that was some real cartoon shit there sarge. I haven't ever seen a cartoon and I can tell you that. I have to hand it to you though, that got the troops in a good mood."
Annie spoke up. "the idiot does this all the time; god knows why I love him; He leads the men well though. Get ready, its going to be hairy out there."
Steele jumped up towards XR's cockpit, twisting as he hit the mid point. The cockpit was larger than he expected, the control systems were far more automated than he had seen on any other model. "hey XR, what's in the bag?"
"I am carrying surplus weapons and ammunition suitable for extended operations, as well as your simulacrum core should your body need replacement. Pilot, XO-19 armed and ready, Intruder system ready, Dispersal core ready, all systems green."
"good man; what do you say we go help our friends out?"
"mission integrity must be ensured; our intervention increases the chances of mission completion to 78.05%. Recommend Pilot engages in dismounted combat, this unit supports increased independence from standard Enhanced auto Titans. We are better together."
Steele was amazed, he wasn't sure if that was intentional, but he had to laugh. "you know XR, normally that's used to tell Pilots to stay in their Titans, not kick them out. If you think its best, I'll do it. suggested load out?"
" Sensors indicate a mix of high intensity CQB and long-range combat. Recommend the R-301 be taken as alongside the AWS. Recommend the use of the MGL for Anti-Titan saturation fire. Intruder system should be used to maximum affect, Titans destroyed by the Intruder system will cause a temporary feed back that will disrupt other Titans on the same network."
It was a good tactical analysis, only missing out on the fact that he could carry more than just one weapon. "good shout XR, I think we are going to get along great. You can call me by my name you know." There was no point in not establishing a good working relationship with XR right out the gate. Even if they pulled him from the AWS, your Titan was your partner, treat them well.
XR was silent for a few moments, Steele felt something shift inside him. "noted Pilot Steele." Ah well, close enough.
Annie lead them forward as her legion was the slowest of them all. The Tone and NorthStar trailed behind where their long-range styles would be best suited. Steele and XR kept pace next to Annie just ahead of the riflemen, XR kept his weapon up to provide covering fire as Annie couldn't keep pace and have the Predator cannon spun up. It was amazing, Steele didn't have to take the controls at all; when he wanted to check an angle or take a certain path XR just did it. Weather it was that XR had a bit of Steeles personality and could behave like an extension of Steele, or because XR's controls were that well tuned to the link that they would respond to thought. No matter which it was, he was completely hands off.
Steele could make out the fighting ahead of them, long bursts of gunfire and clouds of missile exhaust crossed between the two groups dug in for a brawl. Johnson had been right; the IMC had the advantage in numbers, there were around 30 of them to the Militia's 12. There was a large number of wrecks in between the two groups indicating that the Militia was kicking ass. The portal sat in the background behind the IMC lines, a large ring rotating in place with two large supports on either side of it. The ring was emitting deep pulse that could be heard above the din of the battle, a light blue ball expanding in the center of the ring with each rise in the pulse.
They cut into the IMC's flank with opening burst of fire that doomed two Titans and destroyed a third. As they descended on the IMC, Steele disembarked from XR and pushed along the outside of the road, clearing out as many of the foot soldiers that were backing the IMC Titans as he could. It wasn't until Steele had started engaging the IMC titans himself that the Militia forces noticed their attack. He had just landed Intruder blade first on the top of a Tone, he jumped to a nearby Ion when he heard his first communication from the Militia.
"Unknown Pilot, this is Commander Briggs of the Marauder Corps. Its good to have some extra hands, who am I speaking to?"
"Commander, this is Pilot Forrest Steele, ACE. Its good to be in the fight ma'am, XR and I are ready to assist as needed."
Greene's voice came over the line, full of surprise. "Kiddo, that really you? Holy shit kid, nice kit. Say, is that a sword?"
"hey there old man; save me a bottle, this Kit has some teeth." Steele was ecstatic that Greene was here to see him in the AWS in all its glory. This was his moment; he was getting what he had wanted since he had been rescued from the mines. His chance to join the Militia, take the fight to the IMC properly, not as a merc, as a soldier.
Briggs took control right away. "save the chatter for later. You're the Pilot running the extraction, mission status?"
"all of the non-combatants are clear Commander, everyone else is here to shut the portal down. The IMC fleet is planning to launch in around 20mikes." Steele kept busy as he spoke, firing of belts of grenades and jumping from Titan to Titan to sever limbs with the Intruder. XR was doing far more damage than he was, the XO-19 ripping into the enemy with relentless efficiency, missiles rupturing the hulls of his targets. Steele made use of his mobility and utility to stay alive; XR's shield absorbed simply huge amounts of damage while he was exposed, taking cover to recharge between bursts of combat.
"20 huh; we don't have that long, at this rate ammo is going to run out long before that. That's a whole lot of carnage, think you punch a hole for us? Its been slow going, they had us pretty well pinned down before you showed up."
"more than happy to commander." Steele pulled back in to avoid overextending as a new group of custom Titans landed deeper in IMC lines. "XR, who are our guests?"
"Pilot Steele, IFF indicates that they are members of Apex. Priority target identified, designating. Recommend coordinated strike on target, we are better together."
It was a good suggestion, he needed to inform Briggs. "Commander, new Titans are from Apex, must be Blisk's new crew. XR has identified a priority target, we are going to make a push for them. Keep the rest distracted for us, will you?"
"copy that Pilot. Bad news for you, IMC expedition fleet has just launched way ahead of schedule; looks like you pushed their agenda forward."
That… was unbelievably bad news; they probably had less than 5min before the fleet would be on top of them, at that point the Militia would need to be gone or they would get wiped out. The ring started spinning faster, the pulses turning into a drone that rose and fell in a steady rhythm. The portal itself pulsed and flickered before folding into itself. Then with a crack it opened into a full disk filling the ring, Steele could see sky through it, a forest much thinner than on this world. He needed to move; the portal needed to be closed.
They had no time to take it slow, this was the thunder run. "XR! We need to move, now! I need recommendations on how to shut this thing down." His HUD lit up with a red marker on two spots on the supports for the ring.
"Pilot, the use of the Intruder system on these two locations will allow us to destabilize the portal. Warning, priority target will interfere if we do not remove them first. Pilot, this course of action poses significant risk of being pulled through the portal."
"No time to give a fuck, fastball me at his feet. Get to me as soon as you can, ill try to disable his legs, you take him out!"
Steele ran towards XR, double jumping towards XR's outstretched hand. He turned just before impact as XR wound up his arm. The priority target was a Ronin painted bright red and white that was standing at near the portal, it had at marks indicating a few dozen Titan kills. This bastard was about to meet his match. XR's throw was perfect, as Steele came in the Ronin prepared a swing to kill him while he was in the air. Steele threw a Holo-Pilot and activated his Phase Kit, switching out and sliding so he would be behind the Ronin when he came up. He drew the Intruder and brought it to its extended mode, jumping to hip height on a Titan. He came out of Phase and felt the distortion of mass on the blade just as the blade was about to bite in, the Intruder slid through both legs as a burst of missiles hit the Ronin's cockpit.
The Ronin had no time to prepare for the double team that removed his legs and ruptured his hull. Steel activated the last saved charge on the Distortion Modul, sprinting for the portal. He threw a scattering of smoke grenades to cover him as he moved, for this last stretch he had no real manoeuvre opportunities, if he were targeted, he would die with out question.
He put everything he had into his sprint, firing his jump kit to boost his speed. XR followed him firing every one of his weapons and defensive grenades as he closed on the other support. He called out to Briggs. "commander, we have a way to shut down the portal. Solution, hack into the portal's systems and destabilize it. Solvable, XR and I are probably going to be pulled through when it collapses. We need some time; can you cover us?"
"Pilot, that's one hell of a gamble. We'll do everything we can to..." Greene cut her off, desperation in his voice.
"We will get you the time you need, find the solution to your solvable. I am not watching you throw this away kid. I still have a jar of the blackberry shine that you won from barker, we are going to split that bottle at the end of this. Just hold in there."
Steele decided that he wouldn't tell Greene that he actually had the jar emptied into a flask that he had in his jumpsuit, let him hold on to that memory. Steele knew, deep in his gut that this was it. He would earn his place with the Militia by sacrificing himself for the mission, the mission always came first, doing the right thing always came first. They had minutes at most before the fleet arrived, the Militia would have to retreat before that.
The Militia Titans laid down a withering hail of cover fire, pulling attention from him and on to them. It gave him the opportunity to climb up to the designated panel and shoving the Intruder into it, XR arriving at the other and following suit. As they broke into the portals systems Steele felt a titanic force pull him towards the center of the portal. "Its over! Get out of here! XR and I will be fine, the IMC want across for a reason. We'll make friends with the locals."
"Steele, this is Briggs. It would have been a pleasure to have you with us, good luck Lieutenant."
"kiddo, I swear to god. You hold on out there, ill get Barker to get this place running again. Try to open it again to pull you out, just hold on you hear me."
"I hear you, old man. Save me a bottle when we win. Commander, I wish this turned out differently. Sorry about taking the AWS and XR, would have been a game changer. For the Frontier."
He watched as the Militia group pulled back and the IMC fleet neared the portal, he hoped that the portal collapsed before the IMC got near it. He didn't want to die here; he didn't want to fail here. There was a high-pitched whine as the ring began to slow, he held on to the Intruder as he was ripped into the center of the portal.
Things got weird fast, Steele felt like he was being squeezed, pulled, rolled, and folded all at once. Everything moved slowly at an incredible speed. He felt lightning on his skin, a glow surrounded him as he tumbled, he felt hot and cold in waves, and then something clicked. Just as suddenly as he entered the Portal, he was thrown from it.
He tumbled through the air, forest and open sky flashing in his view. His HUD sputtered and faded, his visions coming through the visor raw. As he fell, he heard faint voices below him. A cheerful "Great the gangs all here, now we can die together." Followed by a much higher female voice "Not if I can help it."
He heard a short burst high caliber fire before he landed flat on his back when his Jump Kit failed to fire. There was the sound of cracking ice and a roar before what he assumed was XR landing around 15 feet from him created an earth-shaking thud, followed by a pained roar.
He couldn't believe they had survived. "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO… Ohhhhhhwwwwwwww." His jubilation turned to abject misery as the pain caught up with him, every cell and bone in his body screamed at him. He felt the relief as the Pilot Kit healing systems and the Stims in his AWS went to work, there was also a faint warmth tingling across his skin.
"XR, buddy, you there?" He called out to his partner, more concerned then he felt was proper for such a new partnership. "can you give me a sitrep buddy, I'm just going to lie here for a bit if that's good."
"Pilot Steele, I am fully functional. I have landed on a member of the local wildlife; I believe it is dead. Warning, hostile avian attempting to engage." There was a short burst of gunfire and the launch of a few missiles. "Steele, the hostile has disengaged. I am detecting a group of eight armed locals, clothing and weapons indicate non-militant in nature. I recommend engaging in discourse with them in accordance with Protocol 2. Pilot, I have discovered an error in my systems; my ammo reserves read at full, this is contradictory to my expenditure count, please assist."
He could hear XR getting to his feet, but Steele was in no way ready to stand as he was. He struggled to his feet slowly. Patting himself down to check that his weapons and gear were in place; there was a brief moment of panic when he couldn't find Justice, but as he stumbled to his feet he found in simply dug into the ground by his impact. During his kit check he noticed the same issue as XR, all of his pouches were full, every drum, belt, and magazine accounted for. As confusing as that was; he had bigger problems, namely figuring out where they were and if they were in danger.
"ok… oh god that hurts. XR, I'll take a look at your systems when we know we're safe. I think your ammo stocks are full, mine are despite all the fighting we did." He turned to look for the locals, finding a group of people around his age staring at him and something behind him.
He recognized one of the voices from earlier. "RUBY" as a female dressed in a violently yellow outfit with blonde hair and violet eyes ran past him.
He slapped the side of his helmet to try to get it to boot back up, getting only a few flickers for his effort. "how the fuck do I take this thing off?" As he made the comment the helmet booted up and disengaged. "Neat!"
Pulling his helmet off to get a breath of fresh air and show his face to his hopefully new friends. There was a commotion behind him as the yellow lady rushed in to hug a smaller female in red as another in all white walked by them.
The whole groups attention was suddenly drawn to him as they finally noticed him properly, the small red one making very obvious and enthusiastic noises while staring directly at XR. "Whoa"
Steele looked between them. "Hello ladies, my partner and I are very lost. Can anyone tell us what planet we're on?" This did not go well.
Instead of an answer all he got were blank stares and a stream of incoherent noises from the small red one. "ohmygoditssocoolwhatsitsnameitcantalkwhatkindofarmourareyouwearing." a red blur of activity buzzing between him and XR and spewing a never-ending stream of questions without pausing for breath.
When she moved back towards him, he reached out and grabbed her. Holding her up so that she couldn't get away. "ok there little red riding hood. ill answer all your questions once you answer some of mine, alright?
Once he had her attention she calmed down quickly. "oh, yeah. That's cool."
The blonde male pointed to the sky. "Guys, that things circling back. What are we going to do? He seemed nervous about that.
The snowflake looking girl spoke up in a no-nonsense tone. "Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us."
This got Steeles attention right on the word objective. "you all are on a mission?" If they were taking missions, that meant that they had contact with something a least recognizable as a chain of command. That meant local leadership, he needed in. "I'm in."
"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs." Little red seemed to be a natural born leader. Snowflake smiled at the acknowledgment. "There's no point in fighting these things."
Steele had to admit, she made a good point. The Knight looking fellow seemed to like that plan. "Run and live, that is an idea I can get behind."
Steele looked towards XR. "I don't know guys, that thing took a burst of 20mm and is coming back for more. I don't think its just going to leave us alone. XR, think you can bring it down?"
"it would require significant amounts of force; I recommend a coordinated assault on the target." XR trundled towards him, opening the cockpit. "Protocol 3, Pilot I do not have enough information to guarantee your safety, I suggest you embark."
Steele jumped up and turned towards the group. "Team, XR and I will run cover for you. XR Protocol 2, update mission parameters; add this group as friendlies and shift current objective to match theirs."
"mission parameters updated. New mission, escort new friendlies carrying mission vital objects to extraction point. Upholding the mission."
The group ran to small pillars upon which sat chess pieces of all things. They paired off and grabbed a piece before making a run for the hills. They were significantly faster than he initially would have expected, XR had to jog to keep up with them.
The giant bird had not fucked off, XR laid down a few bursts to minimal effect. It chased them all the way to a large set of ruins mad up of a wide central path that led to a large tower, there was a large pit around the tower. It looked like it had been some sort of fort in its past, multiple bridges lead to smaller towers that surrounded the central pillar. There was no way the stone paths would hold XR's weight. "XR, we have to separate here. Team! XR is way to heavy for that bridge, he can find his way back to me if we go ahead. If we are going to fight that bird, this is the place."
The bird flew above them, landing on the tower to facing them. Steele traded the MGL for the Archer in the cockpit, leaping out to joint the team on the ground. The dude in green called out to an orange haired girl. "Nora, distract it"
She started firing airburst grenades from a grenade launcher at the damn thing, Steele joined in with the Archer. "XR, lay into it."
A swarm of missiles, bullets, and grenades launched up towards the creature as the three of them laid down covering fire for the rest. It took off and circled around dodging most of the incoming fire, as it came lower it crashed through the bridge right in the middle of the group. Steele focused in as one of the girls dressed in full black launched what looked like a ribbon with her gun on the end of it, pulling herself up to run across its back, slashing with her blades.
Steele ran and jumped the gap in the bridge, joining the rest of the team while XR kept the suppressive fire up. He switched out the archer for the 301, firing short bursts at the creature. Everyone else had gathered around the tower shooting at the damn thing, Steele ran the outside wall keeping it in his sights as he fired. It turned fast, swooping in to take out the tower.
He felt his stomach rise up into his throat as he fell tumbling through the air on the ruins of the tower, he surveyed his area and plotted a route through the debris. Midway through his route he turned towards XR. "Prepare for a fastball buddy, that bird needs to come down!"
Scampering across the falling debris with his jump kit at full, Stelle noticed that the rest of the group had recovered and had gathered at what was left of the tower. He would have questions about what exactly he was seeing when this was all over, spears turning into rifles, swords into handguns, a giant fucking scythe. Focusing in on XR's open hand he readied himself for one of the dumbest things he had ever attempted, fast balling onto an erratically moving creature while above a fall who knows how long.
He landed in XR's hand, facing towards the bird. "Forrest, variables are extreme. I do not recommend this course of action."
"too bad buddy, you got a better idea?" Steele really hoped XR had a better idea. This was colossally stupid.
"I do not. Prepare for throw. Good luck Pilot."
Well fuck, it was time to go. The throw went off target as the bird swept in to take a pass at the rest of the team in the ruins; he launched his grapple at it and readied the Intruder. As he came in for his strike, he saw the golden girl jump up into its open beak. Firing into its mouth as she screamed at it. "I. HOPE. YOU'RE. HUNGRY!"
It was honestly intimidating as all hell. He ignored it as best he could and threw a pair of satchel charges onto its wings, the Intruder stuck firmly in its back as his anchor for his first non robotic rodeo. He grabbed the R-99 and emptied it into the back of its head, earning him a rewarding screech of pain.
The creature started descending towards the cliff towering above them. He sprinted over its head emptying a fresh mag as he went, jumping down towards the clustered team on the last bridge. He landed behind them just a second before it landed at the base of the cliff, he set off the satchels keeping it grounded while four of the girls set up what seemed to be the most bizarre slingshot Steele had ever seen; its projectile was Red hood.
There was a quick discussion between Red and White, something about making the shot. Damn now was not the time for figuring that out. Before he could say anything, they launched her at the bird, she landed feet first on the cliff where a series off glowing disk things started climbing up the face. She grabbed its neck with the edge of her scythe before sprinting up the cliff firing to gain speed. At the top of the cliff she snagged its head before ripping it clean off. The group stood and stared at her.
Steele was having a bit of trouble with everything he had just seen, glowy symbol thingies, transforming weapons, superhero style acrobatics, and giant monsters. "is this normal around here? Seriously, if this is normal I want off world as soon as possible."