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"Can you see what they are doing?" Shin asked, sitting on top of his sentient Titan, rifle in hand.
Rhodes shook his head as he lowered his high-powered-binoculars. "All I can see is that two IMC carriers are ready for departure. Three dropships are at the ready. And the IMC soldiers are lining up the civilians by the city wall."
Shin looked surprised. "I've never seen them do that before… According to IMC protocol…"
Dominic and Rhodes both looked at Shin and each other, alarmed. "W-what's wrong, Shin?"
Suddenly, Shin's face turned pale. "deFranco." He whispered to himself. He quickly went back into his Titan.
"Hey!" Dominic said as he climbed back into his Titan. "Who is this deFranco?"
The earpiece plugged into Dominic's ear rang to life. It was Shin's voice. "deFranco is a terrible men responsible for atrocious crimes… He's here. I know it."
As Dominic booted his Titan's systems to kick in, he said, "What. Is he with IMC?"
"Leader of Military branch." Rhodes answered. "I know that much."
"Shit."
"Let's move." Rhodes said. "Maybe we can catch these bastards by surprise… But do you have any idea on what this deFranco guy plans on doing?"
All three Titans came to life and moved swiftly across the grassy plain towards the city.
"He's going to kill them all." Shin said.
"Are you kidding me…" Dominic muttered.
"Then we better move faster." Rhodes said. "Any idea on how to make these things go faster?"
"Core Drive switch." Shin said. "It's by your right control stick."
Dominic looked over his right hand and saw the bright red switch that was situated along the border end of the display screen. "Found it."
"When we activate these, we will be more detectable." Shin said.
"Does it matter?" Dominic said. "We're going to send the IMC off with a bang."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Shin said over the Communications Link.
As they all switched the Core Drives on, their Titans whirred with intensity. Then, the basic thrust forward became exhilarating. Dominic realized he was moving so fast, the high motion display monitor was getting blurry.
"Cut the chatter." Rhodes said. "Look at your radar on the display screen. We got three red blips moving toward us at high speed."
"We've got company…" Shin muttered.
"Do you know what they are?" Dominic asked.
"If they show on the radar," Shin said. "They are probably enemy Titans if not dropships."
"Wait, the IMC have Titans as well?!" Dominic exclaimed.
"Well, aren't you a slow one…" Rhodes said.
"Luckily, these prototypes come equipped." Shin said. "Press the switch above the Core Drive."
Dominic did as he was told. When he did, his Titan's right arm opened up and a thick barrel with grooves extended out. An ammo crate opened beneath middle of the weapon as the ammo chains linked into the chamber. His Titan's left arm became a long, sharp chainsaw-blade. Then, a female mechanized voice played over Dominic's earpiece:
Combat Mode Initiated
Dominic looked at his display screen and a new Heads-Up-Display appeared. A mini-map appeared at the top left corner and six teal-blue bars appeared with six more thin bars layered on top. At the lower right corner, an ammo count meter was displayed. Dominic's Titan brought the cannon-like weapon close on the HUD, giving a First-Person-Perspective.
Looking at his radar, Dominic saw the three red blips closing in.
"There!" Rhodes yelled over the CommLink. "On top of that ledge!"
Dominic looked up and saw three heavy-set Titans jump off from the crumbling cliff side and in front of them. They each held identical weapons and looked identical to one another. The Titans looked new too, as if recently manufactured at processing plant.
The earpiece ringed again:
You are outnumbered. Three incoming enemy Titans. Advise using caution when approaching.
"Dominic." Shin said over the CommLink.
"What is it?" Dominic asked, his voice filling with urgency.
"Rhodes and I will take care of these guys." Shin said. "Go for the civvies."
"You sure?" Dominic asked, worried.
Dominic heard Shin laugh over the radio. "I've dealt with this kind of crap before. Leave it to us. Now get going!"
"Okay. Got it." Dominic replied.
Dominic switched the Core Booster back on and felt the Titan hum back to life. He heard engines whirring. Gripping the controls tightly, Dominic thrust forward.
The Titan literally flew forward at breakneck speed. Dominic felt the gravity push against him. As he looked at the display screen, he saw that a red dot was chasing him on the radar.
Shit…
"Shin." Dominic said over the CommLink. "One of the enemy Titans broke formation and went after me. I don't know why but I'm losing distance."
The Commlink cracked back to life. "Yeah, I saw him veer off. But Rhodes and I kind of stuck for the moment. We gotta deal with these two assholes…"
"Damn it." Dominic said. "What should I do?"
The CommLink buzzed with static.
"Shin! Damn it, answer me!"
"…Losing signal… Put on…"
The line went dead.
The Titan acknowledged the dead signal.
Shoot.
Dominic pulled back on the controls, skidding his Titan to a halt. From his display monitor, he saw all the dirt and debris being kicked up into the air. The red blip was several hundred feet behind him. Dominic turned his Titan around. He had left quite a cloud of dust behind him. It fogged up his display monitor. Suddenly, the Titan's automated voice activated again.
"Display fogged due to debris. Activating motion-heat camera."
The display screen changed. The screen turned blue with blobs of the occasional red tumbling across. It was an infrared display. Dominic looked at the monitor carefully and saw a large reddish orange figure that was getting closer to him.
It was the enemy Titan.
"Target located." The automated voice said. "Locking on."
Dominic saw a pair of red crosshairs lining up to the red figure that was getting even closer. Soon, all red spokes of the crosshairs lined up together.
"Target acquired."
Dominic looked next to his left analog lever. An orange button encased in a plastic lift-shield was blinking on and off. Dominic opened the plastic and put his finger on the button. The target was getting even closer.
"Enemy Titan. 345 feet away."
Dominic waited.
"Enemy Titan. 215 feet away."
Dominic felt the sweat go down his back.
"Enemy Titan. 130 feet away. Optimal firing range in next motion."
Dominic let out heaved sigh.
This was it.
"Enemy Titan. 50 feet away. Maximum damage range acquired."
Dominic pressed the button.
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