Disclaimer: I do not own Titanfall.
Author's Notes:It's has been a while since I updated. Sorry. School started and I am pretty busy… Anyway, this chapter won't be as hideously long as previous chapter… So yeah, hopefully you enjoy this.
MUCH LOVE,
~SAYONARA~
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He hit the back of his head hard as the transport ship lurched with mid-air turbulence. Scowling, he rubbed the backside of his sore head. He had barely managed to fall asleep earlier only to be awoken rudely by irregular flight routes. Being on the ship for nearly six hours, he needed a smoke.
"You alright back there Bish?" A voice from the cockpit called out.
"Having the time of my life…" Bish muttered, rubbing his neck.
The pilot laughed. "Don't worry. We're almost there."
Bish glared at the pilot who had turned around. "That's what you said three hours ago before we took a wrong turn and taken a detour through the wastelands…" Bish muttered.
"I had to take precautions." The pilot replied, not even turning back. "Can't have the new IMC Technician die before his first day, now can we?"
The pilot laughed at his own morbid joke, continuing to maneuver the IMC vessel. Bish remained silent and looked at Holo-watch. It was something his superiors had given him when he was assigned to this new "project", they said. The damn thing barely functioned right. Sure, Bish was pretty excited when he unboxed the device but that feeling faded away and was replaced by sheer frustration on just getting the thing turned on. And when it did, that in itself was a whole different animal.
Long story short, this piece of crap made me lose my earlier flight.
That was true. The alarm had gone late on the watch and made him a tad bit late on reaching the shuttle docks, which wasn't bad by the way. Sure, he was in a hurry, but being late wasn't the issue. No, the watch had accessed all of his to-be flight records and messed up all the reservations and such. Instead of flying on a top-class, IMC sponsored flight, complete with complimentary meals and drinks, Bish barely managed to find himself a substitute flight.
And here he was, sitting in the back of an empty freighter shuttle.
He was scheduled to meet with the Colony's IMC coordinator and talk with him for his future proceedings. But with the thing the way they were, he was running late.
EXTREMELY late.
The blue light on Bish's Holo-watch began to blink. Looking at its monitor, Bish saw that he was getting an incoming transmission. Activating the receive button, Bish held the watch close to his face. He clicked the answer button.
"Hello?" Bish said to the watch.
"Where the hell are you?!" The voice on the other end blared. Bish flinched slightly. Looking back at the watch screen, he saw a well-kempt, middle-aged man staring back at him in complete IMC drab. It twisted Bish's insides.
"I-uh… I missed my flight…"
"Everyone figured that one at Lorke! When the shuttle flew in and your designated seat was empty, everyone was confused as hell!"
Bish sighed. He was off to a great start with the Colony commander. "My new Holo-watch messed things up…"
"Seems working fine to me."
"I-it's not like that Commander. The system is glitched or something. Something must be messing with the internal coding or the logarithm patches."
"I thought this field was your expertise, Lorke." The Commander said sternly. "Aren't you a technician?"
"No. I'm not the kind of technician that deals with small, handheld appliances. I deal with big freighters and fleet ships. Y'know, space cruisers and battle carriers? That kind of stuff?"
The commander furrowed his brows. "It's all the same to me. But that's beside the point. How long do you think it'll be before you arrive?"
"Uh…" Bish managed to say. He was completely clueless. He simply hitchhiked a flight from this freighter pilot at the last second and thus began his flight course. Bish turned to the pilot.
"Hey… Uh, sir?"
"What's up?" The pilot said, glancing back slightly.
"How much longer do we have until we arrive in Colony H-24?"
"Ah… Close to twenty minutes and counting. Why?"
"Nothing. Thank you."
The pilot returned to piloting the shuttle and Bish turned back to the Holo-watch. The commander's face looked incredibly annoyed.
"Well?" The commander spat. "How long do you have?"
"Close to twenty minutes sir."
"Agh…" The commander muttered, rubbing his face. "Transportation services are scarce around this colony and they all close in about five minutes."
Bish shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine with walking. I'm done sitting around anyway."
"You sure, Lorke?" The commander asked.
"Why not?" Bish said. "Anyway, how far is the IMC Headquarters?"
"That's the problem…" The commander said, shaking his head.
"What do you mean?"
The nearest shuttle site from the IMC Headquarters is about twenty miles, and that's the closest you can get. Even if you say that you'll walk, you'll tire yourself out before you even get halfway."
Bish felt like he had been slapped in the face.
TWENTY MILES?! I'M A TECH! NOT A FOOTSOLDIER!
"I-uh… I could look for a place to stay for the night?"
The commander sighed. "Do what you must. But I want you in my office first thing tomorrow morning and ON TIME."
Bish gave a mock salute with his right hand. "Will do commander."
"Alright then. And before you go…"
Bish looked at the watch. "What is it sir?"
The commander's face turned serious. "The locals don't take well from outsiders, especially ones of IMC personnel."
Bish chuckled. "So what? They're just colonists. I ain't got anything to worry about."
"I'm being dead-serious Lorke." The commander said. "You best watch yourself out there."
"Gotcha commander." Bish said, putting his finger on the end switch. "I'll catch you later."
"Bish, wai-!"
Bish ended the call. Shutting his watch off, Bish leaned back in his seat, trying to make the best out of his uncomfortable seat. His back ached like crazy.
"How much longer, Pilot?" Bish asked.
"We're here."
Bish bolted up from his seat and rushed over to the cockpit. The pilot was right, they had arrived at their destination. The only problem was that what Bish had imagined and what was before him were two different things.
There was dirt… just everywhere.
Normally, near a shuttle dock, buildings and shops would be set up around for all arrival passengers. But this colony was different. There was nothing in sight, save for a watchtower and a dock management station.
"This… this is it?!" Bish exclaimed with disbelief.
The pilot smirked. "That's right. Colony H-24, like you said. This is it."
"God. Damn. It."
"God had nothing to with this man. You got what you asked for."
Bish shook his head and went back to his seat. He picked up his bags and went to the pilot.
"Where's the nearest motel or hotel?" Bish asked the pilot.
"There's one right outside the flight dock, next to the station." The pilot replied, rubbing his fingers with his gloved hand. "IMC policy."
"Right. Anyway, how much do they charge?"
"Go ask them." The pilot said nonchalantly. "I don't know."
Bish scowled. "Fine."
Bish picked up his bags again and began to walk back down to the container hull and towards the exit of the shuttle.
"Hey!"
It was the pilot.
Turning around, Bish looked back at him. "What?"
"Aren't you gonna pay man?" The pilot asked, wiping a tuft of brown hair out of his eyes. "For the flight."
Rolling his eyes, Bish reached into his pockets and pulled out a transparent card with black numbers marked over it. The pilot took out a scanner and held it in front of Bish. Bish slid his card down the scanner.
The pilot stared up at him. "Is this some kind of joke?"
Bish looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Your card's empty man. The scanner picked up nothing."
"How is that possible?" Bish said, exasperated. "It was a full 500 creds in there before I left…"
"Well, it's empty now man." The pilot said.
"Damn it…" Bish said. He thought of a solution. "Do you mind if you put the fee on my tab?"
The pilot sighed. "Y'know what? Just go the inn next to the station and say Nils sent you. The keepers will know what I mean."
"Wait a minute… Didn't you say that you didn't know anything about the inn?"
"I said I didn't know their prices, not the keepers themselves." The pilot replied.
"Oh."
"Now, are you just going to sit around here and do nothing or are you gonna actually get a move on? I've still got work to do man."
"Right, right. My bad."
Bish rushed back towards the back of the shuttle as the pilot, Nils, opened the compartment door. A draft hit Bish. He was unprepared for this windy weather. Dust clouds blew in the wind. Several lights were lit around the dock, lighting the pathway. Walking off the shuttle, Bish gave one last look around the place. There wasn't much to take in.
"Hey!"
It was the pilot again.
Annoyed, Bish looked back. "What is it now?"
"Just a word of caution man. The locals here don't take too kindly to strangers. And when I overheard your conversation earlier, I heard that you were a member of the IMC. So the warning should go double for you."
"Okay." Bish said. "That's it?"
"Whatever man, just watch yourself out there." The pilot said.
"Yeah yeah sure." Bish said, waving him off.
The pilot closed the compartment doors and soon his shuttle took off and flew away.
Picking up his bags, Bish sighed, thinking about what the pilot and his commander told him.
"Locals don't take kindly to strangers… watch yourself out there…
Bish forced himself to chuckle.
"They're just locals, how bad can they be?
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(A/N): Probably the shortest chapter in my FanFic history. Anyway, the story is just beginning.
Stay tuned!
Until next time,
~SAYONARA~