"I have wondered about you, Where will you be when this is through. If all, if all goes as planned, will you redeem my life again." - Faunts, M4 Part II
TITANFALL: DEAD MEN WALKING
CHAPTER 4: ALEXANDRIA
Caleb shot up from his bed after a panicked spasm, panting rapidly and wiping his forehead from the cold sweat of his nightmare.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you okay?" After waking to the sound of Caleb's panic, Allison rolled onto her side, investigating.
The alarmed soldier began to relax, slowing his breathing once he had realized that he was awake, and safe.
Sorin sat up, wrapping her arms around the man. "What's wrong?"
"These fucking nightmares!" Caleb exclaimed, shuddering as he did.
"It's okay, Caleb...I'm right here...Everything's gonna be okay…"
Captain Orion awoke slowly, his eyes fluttering open to reveal himself in the cockpit of his titan. He sat up, getting his bearings. He groaned in discomfort.
Caleb shook his head and slammed his fist against the side of the cockpit, resulting in a mechanical voice raising an inquiry.
"Did you sleep well, Pilot?"
"No, VC. Not really."
"As I have expressed, Pilot, the cockpit is an unsuitable location for dwelling and will result in fatigue due to poor posture-"
"I know, VC, I know...Just, didn't wanna go back to the cabin for a bit."
"Very well. However, I recommend proper sleeping arrangements for you soon."
"Yeah, Yeah, I gotcha, VC." Caleb manually opened the hatch, revealing the painful brightness of the Titanbay where the Soldier had retreated to shortly after the mission briefing the previous night.
The soldier lifted his hand, shielding his eyes from the incoming light while his eyes adjusted from the pitch black of the cockpit.
"Pilot, if need be, I can alert Lieutenant Wright about your sleeping habits and perhaps she could arrange something better for you."
"Nah, VC. This isn't something anybody needs to know about...But thanks big guy."
"Of course, Caleb."
The pilot dropped the steel floor of the bay, making an audible clang as his boots made contact. Caleb stretched and observed his surroundings, now seeing a few servicemen and women beginning their work in the bay. He glanced at his watch, figuring they'd be arriving at Alexandria soon enough.
"Don't go anywhere, buddy. Might need you soon."
"There is little room for me to move, Pilot. I will wait here."
"Right..."
Caleb made his way to the cabin, following the path he had taken hundreds of times on the Redeye before, remembering each hallway and deck change he needed to get to his location.
He halted before the door, taking a deep breath, refusing to keep hiding like a scared by. The door slid open, and the lights illuminated the room.
After a needed shower and facial hair trim, Caleb prepared his combat gear, meticulously placing each item he would need into his vest, memorizing each one. Extra magazines, first aid, radio and other such items found their way into his vest, upping the weight with each placement.
After fitting his equipment to his body, the pilot grasped his helmet and made for the door, only stopping after taking a quick glance at the mirror. With the much needed clean up, he began to look like a soldier again, for better or worse. Seeing a shine in his open bag in the reflection, Caleb turned to investigate, retrieving a half empty bottle of moonshine, courtesy of Barker's own brewing operation.
He opened the lid, taking a fast swig before pouring some into a flask he now kept on his belt - an idea he got from Barker, advice which the man didn't intend to give. Sealing the bottle away, Caleb grabbed his G2A4 and left the room, not bothering to close it up.
Captain Orion slung his rifle over his shoulder whilst carrying his helmet and making way for the ships armory where he would meet up with Lieutenant Wright and her men.
"Captain Orion."
A voice made the Pilot glance over his shoulder. Warrant Iroh, similarly geared up and likely heading to the same location along the same avenue of approach.
"Warrant." The Captain nodded. "Ready to move?"
"Yes, Sir. If not a little concerned…"
"Wright will do fine, and we'll win if they're down there."
"Neither of those topics are my main concern, I'm afraid, Sir."
"Then what is your concern?"
"With respect, that would be you, Captain."
Caleb stopped and stared the Warrant down with a raised eyebrow.
"If your record is to believed, you are an impeccable soldier, and a good pilot. However, I am concerned about skill fade and your ability to...shall we say...work well with others."
The Captain exhaled loudly from his nose, unsure where this, what he felt was a personal attack, was coming from. He had met the man not even two days ago and the Warrant believed he had the Captain figured out. A mistake, Caleb deemed.
"Please don't take offence, Sir. I only mean well for my men and Lieutenant Wright. They're all young and I think having a legend there for them would do well for the mission. If you truly believe we're going to get into an intense fight...I think they could use that much from you. And so far, Sir...I think myself and the Lieutenant are a tad...underwhelmed."
The Warrant sighed.
"Perhaps that isn't fair of me to say. Legends are exaggerated. It's unrealistic for one man to live up to tales forged by troops on the ground."
"I've heard reality is often disappointing." Caleb muttered accompanied by a grunt and a shrug.
"Nevertheless. I ask that you bring it all to the table when it comes to this, Sir. I don't want to send a bunch of kids home in body bags."
The Warrant had guts, Caleb would give him that. Many wouldn't speak like that to an officer, or any superior. Much less if that superior was a Pilot. Even fewer if that Pilot was Caleb Orion.
Caleb had thought about arguing, maybe even reminding the Warrant of the chain of command and blasting his ass into oblivion. He was above that however, and Caleb could respect the man wanting the very best for his soldiers, even if it meant on relying on a drunk.
"I will." Caleb assured.
"Then we have no issue, Sir."
Caleb walked in silence for a few minutes while he thought. A thought crossed his mind, which made the previous conversation make a little more sense in context.
"You were a Pilot, weren't you?" The Captain abruptly asked.
"I was." The Warrant answered, looking forward. "May I ask what gave that idea, Sir?"
"For one, the gear. which at first glance I assumed you'd taken off of bodies to up-armor your gear. On second thought, I figured you salvaged your old equipment. Also the way you carry yourself. You're ballsy, putting it lightly."
"And you'd be right. The second part, that is. Why do you ask?"
"If you were so concerned with a shitty pilot being attached to your unit, why chose to leave?"
"I never said you were a bad pilot, Sir, and that wasn't my intention. And, I simply believed that I could do more as a frontline soldier than as a Pilot.
Caleb didn't say anything in response, and instead pondered on the man's words. Truthfully, it didn't matter, and yet he found himself curious as to what kind of skill this ex-pilot could employ on the battlefield.
In time, both men arrived in the dropship hangar, where several dozen Militia soldiers awaited. Among them was Lieutenant Wright, briefing the Platoon as a whole. Upon her word, the crowd dispersed among their respective squads - finding their assigned dropships. The same old dance routine for every mission the Republic ran.
"They're a bunch of kids." Caleb growled through grit teeth. "The republic sent us out here to fight an unknown enemy with children?"
"Sir, I assure you, their skills are far greater than their age lets on...I would've briefed you had I known it was an issue." Wright clarified upon hearing the Captain's distaste.
"I have an issue with sending a bunch of kids to their death, Lieutenant...I thought we were better than this." Caleb sighed and put his helmet on.
"Most of the combat experienced men are out fighting the IMC on the frontlines, Captain." Warrant Iroh said while placing his helmet on as well. "We can't spare the men from that fight."
"Yeah, we'll see if we're all singing that song after we get down there...Lieutenant, any comms with the colony?"
The Captain immediately went straight to business upon boarding their dropship.
"No." Wright nervously answered. "Captain McKay has also assured me that our communications as well as the Colony's communications are online...There's just no one picking up on the other end…"
"Nothing from the Garrison, either?"
Wright shook her head.
"Fantastic." Caleb sarcastically exclaimed before pulling back the charging handle on his weapon, loading a round into the chamber. "Have the Platoon ready weapons and let's get down there. Has Commander Briggs been alerted to our departure?"
"Yes, Sir. Commander Briggs and Commander Barker are awaiting intelligence reports on the bridge."
"Right then, let's get this over with."
THE FRONTIER
FRONTIER REPUBLIC COLONY - ALEXANDRIA
MCS REDEYE
FRONTIER REPUBLIC ARMED FORCES
CAPTAIN CALEB ORION
"Oh man." A distressed exclamation came from the cockpit of the shuttle. "Lieutenant, you might wanna take a look at this…"
Wright left the cramped troop compartment on the shuttle, making way for the cockpit to see the pilot.
"My god." Terra Wright was suddenly flushed with a feeling she remembered all too well from Typhon. Fear. "Captain Orion? We've got bod-"
"Lieutenant."
Wright looked over her shoulder, seeing several of her troops, all with similar faces of fear, looking over at her like children looking for some certainty of safety from their mother. The Captain, on the other hand, faced forward, patiently waiting for the ramp to drop. He had stopped her from talking about it before lowering morale any further. If there was something grim down there, they didn't need to hear it - they'd be seeing it shortly.
The small fleet of crows touched down in the outskirts, ramps facing the colony.
"Good luck down there!" The Pilot shouted before tapping a few keys on his console to deploy the ramp.
The ramp slowly lowered, just adding to eerie sense of unease that every one of them had. A slowly steady rainfall could be seen in the dead colony. The closer the ramp came to the wet grass, a wider image was displayed to the passengers. Smoke, smoldering buildings, bodies everywhere. They had landed just on the outskirts and yet they could already tell it was going to get much darker before they even got to the core of the colony.
Caleb shouldered his rifle, stepping off first.
"Secure the landing zone, move." He calmly spoke into his platoon comm, getting the message out quickly.
The rest of the unit flooded out of their dropships, fanning out into a defensive posture around the landing zone.
Captain Orion took a knee, scanning from right to left. Nothing but burnt out buildings and corpses. Lots of them.
"What's everybody seeing? All squads report in sequence." Wright's voice came in subtly over the radio, checking in with all teams.
"Alpha Squad - Nothin' to our rear, just fields."
"This is Bravo, we're up front with the Captain...seeing dead colonists in the streets and shot up buildings. Doesn't look good, ma'am."
"Charlie checking in; we've got the same over here."
"Roger that, advance towards the colony and watch your arcs. Bravo team, be prepared to establish a fire-base if we come under contact. Alpha and Charlie, be prepared to conduct a flanking mission."
It wasn't exactly a groundbreaking strategy, Caleb noted. However, it was simple enough that everyone knew it and everyone could perform if things went south.
Reluctantly, each Soldier rose from their semi-protected and semi-defendable position to advance towards the dead colony. Caleb followed suit, shouldering his rifle and advancing slowly, looking just above the weapon sight to observe the immediate surroundings.
Once the Platoon had entered the heart of the Colony - the scene only worsened. The dead in the outskirts were likely stragglers chased down. In the middle of the town, a blood bath was displayed.
"Jesus Christ…" A Republic soldier voiced his fear and dismay at the sight.
Bodies. Everywhere. Rendered nearly unrecognizable with the sheer firepower and shrapnel put into them. On the surface, one couldn't even call the scene a battle - more of a slaughter.
"Fucking Marauders..." Another soldier said aloud.
"Marauders like to take people alive, kid." Orion coldly stated. "Can't make money on a corpse...No this is something else. Probably our pals that made a mess on Harmony."
Caleb groaned silently under his helmet. He knew hoping that the Republic would beat the enemy here to Alexandria was unrealistic and too optimistic. Still, he had held onto some semblance of hope that he would be wrong. And yet - he was proven right by the universe again, something he was getting exponentially more tired of.
"...Why? Why the hell would someone do this?" A young Private murmured, sounding close to breaking already.
"One way to find out, kid." Caleb muttered. "Stay calm and watch your arcs, whoever did this could still be around. Sooner we're done, sooner we can get the hell out of here..."
Caleb would be lying if the whole settlement didn't disturb him as well. It was a true display of barbarism in warfare, one he wished that Humanity was above. Evidently they were not.
Captain Orion stopped, observing the bullet riddled corpse of a farmer with a small rifle - likely for hunting or simple home defence. Several casings surrounded the man. Caleb glanced over to the likely avenue of where a target could be, revealing a small puddle of blood with no corpse to claim it - leading the Republic Captain to believe who ever attacked at least faced some resistance, no matter how small.
"Well." The Captain tilted his head slightly. "At least they bleed."
"Captain Orion, how's it look in the center of town?" Wright radioed him once again.
"Not good." Caleb answered while observing a building, following the bullet trail upwards. "Definitely not Marauders. Colony extinction was an old move by the IMC if they thought they could weed out Militiamen. No, this is them alright."
"Roger that...We still can't get anyone on comms from the Republic outpost here."
"I'd wager they're all dead, Lieutenant." Caleb harshly stated while observing a Frontier Republic soldier's corpse surrounded by civilians.
"We don't know for sure."
"I've got a feeling we do."
"Should I dispatch a team to go check out the outpost regardless?"
"We need the men. We'll make a full sweep after we've confirmed if there's a threat or any civilian survivors, Lieutenant."
"Yes, Sir."
The unit continued inward, checking each building carefully for survivors, turning up nothing but dead men, women and children. Subtly, Caleb could feel his old rage rising. He vowed to kill whoever had done this, but he also needed to find out why. Why they were doing this, what the goal was. And where they had gone.
"Captain Orion! I've got something!" A voice called out to the Captain.
Caleb jogged over towards the origin, finding a lone soldier observing a bar.
"What do you have?"
"This, Sir." He gestured to a small craft awkwardly parked outside the bar. "She's still runnin' Sir, and I swear I heard something inside…"
Iroh and Wright came jogging over a few moments afterwards, having the soldier repeat his findings to them. In response, the Warrant and a few troops began stacking up on the door, preparing to breach on the Lieutenant's orders.
Caleb didn't move, however. He stood motionless, completely fixated on the craft and a symbol it displayed on the side, crudely painted on. Old style Marauder Corps, used exclusively by Jacob Herrick's faction of mercs. The rage that the Captain tried to suppress early came back in full force. He was seething, breathing heavily.
He slung his rifle onto his back and drew his B3 Wingman from its holster. He stormed up the short stairwell, moving for the entrance. The Warrant and other troops in the stack watched him in disbelief as he squared up with the door and fed it a boot, sending the doors crashing open.
Handgun raised, the Captain entered, immediately setting his sights on two individuals who quickly went for their weapons, only to lower them upon a swarm of Republic troops entered the room weapons raised.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa...Easy lads…" One of the men spoke, holstering his side arm
The other let his weapon, an EVA-8, hang from its sling before raising his arms.
"Identify yourself!" Warrant Iroh screamed at the two Marauders, not taking his eyes off them for a moment.
Caleb sighed. He'd just planned on shooting them, but the Warrant's move made sense. They'd maybe gain some intelligence on the situation depending on how long the two were there.
"Well I'm Dominic and that there is Ryan...You can lower your weapons guys, we're all cool here."
"That's not gonna happen, Marauder scum." Caleb hissed, keeping his B3 raised.
"Hey, relax man, we didn't shoot this place up if that's what you're wondering."
Lieutenant Wright peaked into the doorway. She'd been waiting for the all clear before risking herself as well as the Captain and Warrant all at the same time. Seeing the surrendering Marauders, she stepped in.
"What are you even doing here?" She demanded.
Caleb sighed again, louder this time, seeing that it was the Lieutenant's intention to question them. He lowered his sidearm and holstered in before crossing his arms in frustration.
"I could answer that for you, Lieutenant." Captain Orion spoke. "They're here to snatch up any goods left over."
"Snatch is a bit of a harsh word, I'd say...Hmm, relieving the deceased of their burdens."
"I don't care what you call it."
"Warrant Iroh, take the unit and continue the sweep, I'm going see what we can get out of these two." Wright calmly ordered the search.
"Yes Ma'am. Holler if you need anything."
With the room getting crowded, Iroh dismissed himself and all but two security riflemen, leaving to continue the sweep under his command while the Captain and the Lieutenant questioned their detainees.
When Iroh left, Wright removed her helmet, and took a seat. Immediately Caleb could sense the two bastards eying the Lieutenant up like a piece of meat to be toyed with or traded. He grit his teeth, wishing she hadn't done that.
"You're lucky the Lieutenant is here, or I'd have shot you both already." Caleb grunted, removing his helmet once the situation was under control.
"Well I'll be damned...You're Caleb Orion, aren't you?" The Marauder who claimed his name was Dominic failed to withhold an expression of genuine surprise.
"You know me?"
"Hell, every Marauder knows you. Quite the price on your head. Herrick isn't a fan of yours.."
"Herrick." Caleb chuckled apathetically. "Typical, place a bounty and hope the scum of the earth mercenaries and bounty hunters of the Marauder Corps collect. How's that working out for him? Did he tell you how many Marauders I've killed? Or does he still think he has even the slightest shred of a chance against me or the Republic? Is he so desperate that he's now sending backwater inbreds to kill me?"
Caleb was getting closer, toying with his holster as his tone got more aggressive.
"Captain…" Wright gently grabbed the pilot by the wrist, pulling him back slightly.
Against his judgement, once again the stood down, allowing the Lieutenant to take the reigns.
"You've got a lot of pent up anger, Captain Orion." Dominic mused, playing with a half empty bottle of alcohol he had found on the table, likely prior to the Republic's arrival.
"When did you get here?" Wright inquired, getting right to the point.
"Maybe an hour ago. Colony was like this when we got here. Didn't see anybody if that's what you're wonderin'..."
"What brings the MCOR this far out of their domain? Gotta be risky on the fringes of Republic and IMC space."
"Maybe, but the scores have been worth it. Whole colonies goin' dark makes for some pretty decent pay outs if we manage to get enough and bring it all back."
"...Did you say whole Colonies? That can't be right...That's not what Day told us on Harmony." Wright glanced over to Captain Orion, hoping he had answers. When no answer came, she faced the marauders again.
"How many?"
Even the Captain had his interested piqued...At the time, Republic intelligence only suggested that a total of three outposts had been attacked. Either the intelligence was well behind up to date events or only reported on high profile facilities getting hit, and simply assumed all other hostile action against the Republic had been at the hands of either pirates or the IMC.
"Guess it's hard to really stay informed when you spend a lot of time on nice, cushy, garden world of Harmony, right? We know of maybe five or six, including this one."
"Anything irregular at the Colonies?...Any idea what whoever is doing this is after?"
"No, and rightly we don't care, it's none of our business. Now can we carry on with our drink and job, or are you gonna arrest us or whatever?"
Caleb looked towards the Lieutenant, non-verbally confirming she was done with her questioning.
"I wouldn't arrest you."
"Well then, I'm glad the Lieutenant here is in charge so we could have a nice relaxed chat like civilized folk."
"Just...get out of here...If I ever see or hear about you in Republic territory again...I don't care how much intel you could have, I'll kill you on sight and make sure there are orders given to every soldier on the Frontier to carry out the same."
"Whoa, hey now, these people don't need anything anymore...We're not doin' anybody harm by comin' out here. We'll finish up our drink, get what we need and leave, you won't see us ever again."
"No. You leave now, that wasn't a suggestion."
"This is bullshit! Dominic, we need this money! Fuck this, let's just schwack this Militia goon and get out of here! "
Caleb glanced over his shoulder, facing down the other Mercenary.
"You shoot me, these two tear you apart. If you somehow, by the grace of God, manage to kill all three of us, how long do you think you'd last against an entire Frontier Republic unit waiting outside?"
"You're bluffing."
"Try me, asshole. Put a bullet in me and you're dead either way. But before you do...You better pray that first round kills me..."
"Whoa whoa whoa, everybody relax! Nobody's shooting anybody, right Captain?" Dominic threw his hands up.
The seemingly calm Marauder climbed over top the bar.
The sudden movement startled the Captain. Caleb's hand found his holster, playing with the release clasp very slowly. The Marauder placed his sidearm down atop the counter, facing the Captain. His sudden attitude shift and weapon removal had been an attempt to get the Captain's guard down. It didn't work.
"Just a couple of friends havin' some drinks. But say, Captain...You know what it's like out there...out on the Frontier, yeah?"
"What do you think, smartass?"
"Well, then you know, with whoever did all this still runnin' around and with the Militia nor the IMC able to stop em'...guys gotta make a livin' somehow."
"I'm not giving you an option. If you know who I am like you say you do... it'd be the best option for your personal health to get the fuck out of here. Ask your boss, I'm not the forgiving type."
"Fair enough. But, since you're so smart...where do you suppose we go? What do we do?"
"...I don't know. I hear Harmony is nice."
"Aha! Harmony...This guy…"
The Marauder went for his weapon.
Caleb drew his Wingman, firing one shot into the Man's skull, killing him instantly. A red splash stained the bar top and the bottles on the counter as the limp body fell. Caleb spun on his heel, ready to meet the second marauder who had been raising his EVA-8 during the confrontation. The Pilot fired two rapid shots into the second mans chest. The marauder recoiled, smashing violently in the wall then sliding down, barely clinging to life. The Captain fired a third shot into his forehead, ending the confrontation in a flash.
The room fell silent, with only the Lieutenant's and the Private's heavy shocked breathing filling the air.
"Wrong move."
Caleb shoved his revolver back into it's holster before grabbing his helmet and walking out of the bar.
As he stepped outside, Warrant Iroh had been sprinting back towards the building with the unit upon hearing the gunshots.
"Sir! What happened?"
"I dealt with the situation." He curtly responded. "Continue the search. I want to know what happened here, but survivors are still your top priority, move out."
A handful of the troops exchanged concerned glances before doing as their were told.
Caleb unslung his rifle before carelessly walking further into the settlement looking for clues.
As the Pilot was far enough away, Iroh stepped into the bar, seeing Wright and the Militia Trooper both looking equally dazed and confused. Both of them had been trying to process what had just happened.
"Lieutenant?" Iroh called out.
She looked up while reaching for her helmet.
"Are you alright?"
Lieutenant Terra Wright said nothing, instead, she walked past both men in the building, giving a pat on the shoulder to each as she passed them. She couldn't help but shake a feeling that coldly crept up on her when the last shot was fired.
What could have possibly happened to that Pilot that caused him to act the way he did.
She didn't know, and she reckoned she'd never find out. Not from Commander Briggs, not from Commander Barker.
And certainly not from Captain Orion.
A/N: Sorry folks, got delayed with computer issues, and a serious case of writers block on multiple projects. Hope you all enjoy, though.