In a single fluid motion Pérez unclipped her helmet with one hand and pulled it over her head.
The other hand remained pointing her sidearm at Dubois.
"Cee-Ay, sit-rep," she said. The feed came alive with the sound of muted battle, and then Cee-Ay's rough electronic voice.
"I AM ENGAGED WITH AN IMC TITAN, PILOT PÉREZ," he said, matter-of-factly. "ATLAS-CLASS, ION CONFIGURATION."
That meant an armour-chewing plasma rifle, precision-lasers, and an ordinance-reflecting Vortex Shield...nasty business, but no match for Cee-Ay in a prolonged engagement.
Except Cee-Ay would not survive a prolonged engagement without replenishing his energy reserves.
Hell, he'd likely not last a short one.
"Shit," Pérez said, her frustration at being so far away warring with her concern for her Titan. "Status?"
"I AM CURRENTLY ATTEMPTING TO DISENGAGE," Cee-Ay replied. "MINOR DAMAGE TO DORSAL ARMOUR PLATING."
"I thought the IMC were hours away at least?"
"THIS TITAN APPEARED FROM THE FAR SIDE OF THIS SETTLEMENT," a pause, punctuated by a muted burst of fire from Cee-Ay's Predator cannon. "I DO NOT BELIEVE IT FORMS PART OF THE GROUP WE HAVE BEEN EVADING."
Pérez's mind processed this new information quickly, her mind racing to the most logical conclusion.
She activated her helmet's exterior speakers with a quick neural command.
"Your captured Pilot is IMC," she said, addressing Sokoloff. He nodded slowly, sweat running down his face. "Call off their Titan, now."
"I can't," Sokoloff said, his voice stammering still. "I mean, I can, but not from here. I need to be in the factory comm room."
She looked at Dubois.
"You," she said. "You've got two minutes to get your Titan to stand down…" she shifted her aim from Duboi to Sokoloff, whose eyes widened in terror.
"...or I'll decorate this room with your Foreman."
Duboi scowled, crossing his arms. His posture suggested he wouldn't take her threat seriously.
The sound of a frantic running battle played in her ears.
She cursed every second as it further drained Cee-Ay's reserves.
She didn't have time for this shit.
Pérez turned once more to Sokoloff.
"Tell him, Foreman. Don't waste your life over this."
"I need your promise to protect this town," he said, his stammering worse now. "Then I'll call the Titan off."
"What?" Pérez said, incredulously. "You had better not be dictating terms to me!"
"That," the Foreman said. "Is exactly what I'm doing."
Pérez so very nearly pulled the trigger.
She felt her finger tightening, her arm tensing to reduce the recoil, her blood boiling with the want - the need - to vent her rage at her target.
But she pulled herself back from the brink.
These were desperate people; ignored for years, only to be caught in the middle of a sudden and unexpected IMC and Militia fight at their front door.
Desperate people took desperate chances.
And besides, killing him wouldn't save Cee-Ay.
"If you want me to protect your town," she said. "Then I need my Titan. And then we have that discussion like civilised people, with none of this 'captive-Pilot' bullshit."
"Yes, yes, fine I agree!" Sokoloff said, his eyes still transfixed by the barrel of the sidearm pointed at his face.
She lifted the muzzle upwards.
"Fine," she said moving closer to Sokoloff, her words now like ice as she put her helmeted face to his. "Then go and call off your Titan before I change my mind."
In hindsight, Pérez was amazed that Sokoloff hadn't wet himself as he had fled from the room.
Dubois had stepped aside to let him past, quickly swiping open the security door, before stepping back to bar Pérez entry.
He wouldn't stop her if it came down to it, of course.
She sized him up once more. Hell, he'd not even slow her down.
A few tense moments passed, during which Pérez continued to stare down Dubois as the sounds of a continuing battle drummed in her ears.
Her first confirmation that Sokoloff had acted honourably was a burst transmission from Cee-Ay, informing her that the IMC Titan had disengaged and was holding position at the perimeter of the town.
He'd suffered no major damage, and he was already engaged in limited self-repair and adjustment, but his power reserves were now critically low.
He had two hours - at most - assuming he powered down non-essential systems, including communications, sensors and almost all motor functions on the chassis. About forty-five minutes, if he did not.
Given their situation, neither of them thought powering down anything was a good idea.
That had been nearly twenty minutes ago.
Now, Pérez, Sokoloff, Duboi, were seated around a large wooden table, in what must have once served as a senior management office or conference room, along with two women, and another man.
The two women were introduced to her as Aiko, the Head of Agriculture and Rural Development - a well toned and tanned, stern-faced, middle-aged Asian woman; and Parvati, the Head of Uranium Extraction and Processing - she an older Indian woman, but with a slighter frame and thick-framed red glasses.
The man descended from the American Mid-West going by his accent. He was a heavy-set, well-dressed man with wiry, greying, black hair; he had been introduced simply as Billings, and represented the Townsfolk in general.
The five of them formed a rudimentary Town Council, with Sokoloff acting as a sort of mayor, or overseer, or...well, a Foreman. People brought their problems and suggestions to him, and he did his best to create solutions or find the resources to implement new projects with the help of his 'councillors'.
Currently all five were staring at Pérez with differing expressions of suspicion, or hostility.
If not for her helmet, Pérez's expression would have conveyed much the same towards them.
"So," she said, drawing out the word. "I suppose the best way to move forwards from here, is to ignore the fact you were attempting to hold me against my will, and use me a bargaining chip should the IMC come to call?"
She had expected Sokoloff to look uncomfortable at this, but she was surprised to see Aiko's expression soften with shame as well as she lowered her gaze to the table.
Billings and Dubois shared their own look. Pérez couldn't place what passed between them, but it was significant enough that she filed away the information for later.
"...and also the fact you've already done the same to another Pilot," she continued. "I suppose odds were equal that it would be the Militia that found you, after all…"
"You have to understand," Aiko said. "Your battle with the IMC threatens our independence from both factions."
"We want no part of your war," Billings said, nodding in agreement. "What our people have achieved out here is nothing short of astonishing; taming an alien world, cultivating land, raising shelters and -"
"Well, you may not want the war," Pérez interrupted. "But it's on your doorstep. It always has been."
She looked around the table, watching every face as she spoke.
"The IMC aren't going to care that you want independence. They see the entire Frontier as theirs, and they're going to strip-mine every planet from here to the Core Systems for Earth's benefit.
"Did you honestly think holding a single Militia pilot and her Titan captive was going win you any points before they marched in and claimed this facility?"
"They'd have to find us first," Parvati said, disdain evident in her voice and expression. "These mountains and forests have offered us some protection-"
"I found you," Pérez interrupted once more. "And so did this IMC Pilot you've got trussed up somewhere. Your uranium deposit isn't as hidden as you think it is. It's giving off readings I could detect from nearly seventy kilometres away."
"I told you all that increasing the extraction quotas would cause problems," Aiko said, addressing Parvati.
"This is hardly the time for 'I told you so', Aiko," Parvati replied, somewhat tartly. "And as I recall, you concerns were more related to subsidence and opening sinkholes under the town?"
"Well I didn't -" Aiko began hotly.
"Ladies, ladies, please," Sokoloff said, gesturing for quiet from both ladies. "This is no time for quarrelling!"
The two women reluctantly stopped what was clearly an old and bitter dispute.
The foreman turned towards Pérez.
"What we need is to agree on a way forwards," he continued. "Not to bicker about what we can't change."
Billings took the opportunity to speak up again.
"You're right, of course," he said, leaning back in his chair and arching his fingers over his stomach. "But with the Militia having fled, the only way forwards now is perhaps to capitulate to the IMC as I've been saying. Perhaps if we provide good terms for extraction and processing to them, they'll leave us alone and we'll simply deal with them directly."
"The IMC won't deal with you," Pérez said. "They don't deal, or negotiate, or come to settlements. They come, and they take what they want…"
She folded her arms over her chest.
"...they see the Frontier as their own private play pit. They stumped up the original capital to allow settlement out here; so they think they own it and can do with it what they want after abandoning us. And if you stand in their way, they'll simply crush you underfoot. It's the whole reason the Militia is fighting them."
"Just because you decided to fight them, doesn't mean it's the only way forwards," Billings said. "I can't believe that they're as ruthless and cut-throat as you're suggesting. Who would run a business empire that way? Who could without massive public backlash?"
"The kind of people who have unilateral support on Earth for maintaining the quality of life there," Pérez replied, almost grinding her teeth in her frustration at their ignorance. "The kind of people who control the media, and can display only the footage that shows them in the best light. The kind who can edit and remove anything that shows their true colours and replace it with footage of 'brave warriors of virtue fighting the savage Outer-World barbarians.'"
Billings shook his head, as did Parvati. Pérez glowered at them both from under her helmet.
"If you're so sure you can negotiate with them," she said. "What do you need me for?"
"We don't," Duboi said, finally adding his voice to the discussion. "If you recall, we asked you to go away, to leave us alone."
"Well, he thinks you need me," Pérez said, waving towards Sokoloff. "And you all seem quite happy to use the Pilot you do have as a pawn. So if you're not going to agree with him, or listen to me about the IMC…" She shrugged and stood, as if making to leave.
"You can't leave now," Sokoloff said, his eyes wide and panicked.
"Why not let her," Billings said. "We can still negotiate with the Pilot we have if the IMC arrive-"
"When they arrive," Pérez interjected.
"-and if they don't..." Billings continued without pause, raising his voice slightly. "...then we're still better off than we were before, since we'll have our own Titan!"
"You can't be serious," Pérez said. She looked at Sokoloff. "Tell me he's not actually serious."
"Billings, we can't possibly keep the Titan indefinitely," Sokoloff said. "We can't just keep it's Pilot locked up for the rest of his life."
"Who said anything about keeping him locked up?" Billings said. "If he doesn't want to defend this town, he can take his chances out there in the mountains."
"So you do want protection?" Pérez said.
She had the satisfaction of seeing him recognise his mistake and open his mouth to correct himself. She chose not to allow him the breathing space.
"The five of you around this table need to realise that I'm not lying to you about the IMC," she said. "And I can see only one way to prove my sincerity."
"Oh?" said Parvati. "And what might that be?"
"You've got an IMC pilot in this facility somewhere," she said, returning to her seat. "I suggest you ask him what he's seen and done in the name of Corporate Interests..."
It hadn't taken long to convince them to bring the Pilot to the conference room, and one of Dubois' security guards had quickly been sent to retrieve him.
As they waited, the five on the Town Council sat fidgeting. Pérez decided to make more constructive use of her time.
She keyed her helmet for private communication with her Titan.
"How are you doing, Cee-Ay?"
"MY CHASSIS POWER RESERVES ARE NEARLY DEPLETED," He said. "I ESTIMATE LESS THAN TEN MINUTES UNTIL MY CORE SYSTEMS SHUT DOWN."
"What's the Ion doing?"
"THE IMC ATLAS TITAN HAS POSITIONED ITSELF BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE TOWN. IT HAS TAKEN NO FURTHER ACTIONS SINCE DISENGAGING FROM COMBAT."
"Good, that's what I hoped," Pérez said, careful not to nod her head, or give any movement that might betray her conversation was taking place. "I want you to try and establish a dialogue with it."
"FOR WHAT PURPOSE?"
"We're all in the same boat here," she said. "I'd like you to try and persuade it that we might be able to actually help it - and its pilot."
"SUCCESS IS DOUBTFUL, IMC PROTOCOLS WILL LIKELY PROHIBIT DATA EXCHANGE...BUT I SHALL MAKE THE ATTEMPT."
"Nothing ventured..." she said as the outlines of two people walked past the frosted glass that surrounded the room, heading towards its doorway. "I've gotta go, keep me updated."
She clicked her helmet speakers back on, leaving the private line open in her helmet - she faintly heard the tones of a data exchange beginning between the two Titans as the door to the conference room opened.
The IMC Pilot was male - she had known that much from her conversations to date - Caucasian, about six-foot or so, and appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He had that slightly 'too perfect' clean-cut look and bearing of an Earther about him. Although he'd been stripped of his Pilot's gear, leaving only his white IMC-issue jumpsuit, Pérez saw the training of a Pilot in his physique and actions.
Immediately on being ushered into the room his eyes had scanned it quickly for threats. She watched as he efficiently dismissed the civilians and instead had almost immediately locked his gaze on her.
He smiled.
"I have to admit," he said, addressing the Council but facing her. "I didn't really think you would get the Militia here to collect me."
His voice was American, but not from the same region as Billings' accent placed him. Further South perhaps, or perhaps South West?
She shook her head. It didn't really matter where he was from - he was definitely from Earth, and she didn't need to narrow it further than that.
He smiled at Pérez.
"A pleasure to meet you," he said, moving towards her and extending a hand. "Pilot…?"
"Pérez, Emilia Pérez." She made no move to accept his handshake.
He cocked his head slightly to one side, letting his hand drop slowly.
"Spanish?"
"Somewhere down the line, maybe," she said, nodding. "And you are?"
"John," he replied. "John Tanner, Pilot and field medic, formerly of the IMC Titan corp. regiment Thirteen-Baker."
Pérez raised an eyebrow at that.
"Formerly?"
Tanner looked momentarily taken back, as if he had not expected the question.
"I...yes, that is, I deserted…about a week ago..."
Pérez smiled under her helmet. That explained a great deal about how he had ended up here. He'd been part of the IMC presence on this world; and must have deserted before or during the battle with the Militia forces. If he and his Titan came here the same way Pérez and Cee-Ay did, clearly he had thought the Town was Militia-run and surrendered himself to them. More fool him, as it turned out.
Still, if he'd deserted from the IMC, it was for a reason - and she bet she knew what it was.
"Because of Typhon, I presume?" she said.
"Amongst other things," Tanner said in reply. "The IMC, the Militia, the War for the Frontier...it turned out to be nothing like I had imagined..."
"What's Typhon?" Aiko asked, looking between the two pilots. They both turned their attention briefly towards the Council.
Tanner looked back at Pérez, who gestured towards him for an answer.
"Typhon was a world in the Frontier, and on it the IMC developed the means to destroy the Militia's worlds," he said, turning back to face the five.
"You mean, destroy their bases?" Dubois said. "Their military and fleets?"
"No, sir," Tanner said, shaking his head. "I mean destroy the worlds themselves. They planned to make a statement; destroying the bases and fleets, yes, but also killing millions of civilians."
"Preposterous," Billings scoffed. "How would they even accomplish such a thing?"
"They found something on Typhon," Pérez said. "Something old...something alien. Something they attempted to turn on the people of the Frontier and force them to surrender."
"They called it a 'Fold Weapon'," Tanner said, nodding along to Pérez's explanation. "It was supposed to somehow rip planets apart with their own gravity…at least, that's what I heard."
The Council looked between the two pilots.
"Preposterous," Billings said once more. "Damned lies is what I call it! Alien devices and weapons that destroy planets! What next?"
Billings turned towards the Council.
"Surely we're not going to believe this rot?"
"Two soldiers on opposite sides of the same war do, Billings," Sokoloff said after a moment's consideration.
"But that doesn't mean it's true!" Billings replied, jabbing a finger towards the Pilots. "This is some Militia rubbish cooked up to make gullible, weak men like him-" he jabbed a finger towards Tanner. "-defect to their side. That's all."
"I thought the same," Tanner said, appearing to take no notice of the insult as he stepped closer to the table. "The IMC doesn't let many people from Earth out this far into the Frontier, those of us who volunteer usually end up back nearer the Core Systems." He shrugged.
"But after the Battle of Demeter, resources were suddenly tight, and because of my medical training, and the fact I can Pilot a Titan…"
He took a deep breath.
"...I was deployed to help with the IMC survivors from Typhon...I spoke to people who were there, who managed to evacuate before the disaster…I saw the planet for myself, or what was left after the weapon misfired and shattered it to pieces."
"These baseless accusations are-"
Pérez stood suddenly, slamming her hands down on the table.
"Look," Pérez said, her temper finally snapping. "I don't give a rat's ass if you believe us or not. You asked for proof the IMC is corrupt, without morals or scruples. Now you have it.
"You want to hold me to my agreement to protect this town, fine. You want to send me away so you can live out your fantasy of negotiating with the IMC whilst holding one of their deserters captive, fine. Either way, I need the power source for my Titan you promised me, and I need it now."
She pounded one fist on the table to emphasise her final words.
The Council was silent for a few moments, turning to look towards their Foreman.
Sokoloff sighed.
"We'll need a few minutes to vote on the matter," he said, gesturing towards the room's door.
A/N: I've been blown away by the number of people that have read, favourited, or taken the time to comment on my story so far. Thank you all so much. As a first-time submitter to this site I was very nervous about making sure this was something people wanted to read, and was interesting enough for you to do so. I hope I am hitting that mark, and continue to do so. More coming soon! Thanks again.