1 YEAR, SIX MONTHS LATER

"Think that's our new meat?"

Vale turned to look at the rifleman who'd spoken up. He was standing next to McFarlane a few paces away, the two of them staring off to the left. She followed their gaze to see a Pilot donned in IMC armor approaching them.

"Must be the transfer they gave us," Tyra muttered quietly. "The deserter?"

She'd heard about it, a new guy they'd picked up on Nedar. Everyone dead but him and a Titan. She didn't know much else about it other than the fact that he was former IMC.

Before she approach him, McFarlane beat her to the punch and let out an obnoxiously loud guffaw. "Oh look, it's another IMC-turned-Militia jackass. Not even gonna have the decency to get rid of that white, huh?"

She half expected the Pilot to snap at him, but instead they just stood at attention. "Pilot PFC Four, at your service."

"Four?" Tyra snickered, unable to keep silent on the unusual callsign.

Vale wasn't really focused on that- instead, she was analyzing his mannerisms thus far. He wasn't trying to fight back against McFarlane, he just wanted to get on with his job. Something about the way he stood there taking McFarlane's abuse reminded her of her own past …

We're a team. Not humans, not Simulacrums, not MCOR or ARES or whatever the hell else there is; a team.

Her mind flashed back to that escape from the facility, a memory that she didn't like to dwell on often. All those Pilots, IMC and Militia alike, working together to take down a greater evil. If she'd learned one thing that day, it was that the world wasn't black and white.

"Nah, nah, nah. You may have been a PFC on their side, but to me?" She watched as McFarlane closed the gap between him and the new Pilot, placing his face directly in from of the latter's. "You ain't shit."

That final act on McFarlane's part reminded her of herself, when she'd been too ignorant for her own good. She quickly came to a decision.

"I can't believe Briggs and Gates are still allowing IMC to join our-"

"Cut the shit, McFarlane."

He stopped his rant and turned to see Vale approaching the pair of them with anger in her gait, Tyra following close behind. McFarlane quickly took a step back, allowing her access to the new Pilot. Maybe the newcomer didn't see it, but anyone else who'd known her a while could tell that she was seething.

The Pilot- Four, his name was- analyzed her form, and she had an idea that he was wondering how to react to a Simulacrum. Truthfully, she was wondering how he would as well, and she had a small test to see how well he'd be willing to put up with it.

"You said your name is Four, right?"

He nodded, stoically silent as ever, and she extended her hand towards him. Would he take it? Or would he be like she once was, apprehensive of what he didn't understand?

To her immense surprise, he firmly grasped her hand in a firm shake without hesitation. A bold statement among the frontier, to so willingly trust a Simulacrum. She appreciated the gesture.

"I'm Vale. I apologize, but it seems that McFarlane here doesn't realize that without the massive influx of IMC joining our cause, we would have lost this war a long time ago." She glared at the other Pilot who failed to respond with anything other than a scowl, and walked away grumbling.

"Tyra," the woman beside her said, introducing herself to the newcomer. "Odd name you've got there, Four."

"That's what I'm told," he agreed, shrugging. He looked at Vale again. "You know, I heard rumors about something like this, but I didn't think it had already been done."

"Pilot uploading?" she clarified, "Yeah. Transferring the mind of a human into a robot is definitely a tricky business, but it's effective. So long as a copy of me exists somewhere, I can't die. Just get reuploaded. I tell you though, I definitely miss some of the more … primal feelings of being human."

She said that last part teasingly, trying to make him feel more at home. As he and Tyra began to discuss the plans for this assignment they'd been given, she couldn't help but think that Four was going to fit right in. In spite of her tendency to avoid making attachments in this war, she found herself quickly growing fond of the young Pilot.

She had a feeling that meeting Four was just the start of something much greater.

END OF "LIVE FIRE"

BUCK AND VALE WILL RETURN IN "CINDER"

A/N: Alright, a few things to get out there.

First off, yes, Buck and Vale are going to be in "Cinder." Maybe not for a bit, but they'll be there nonetheless. If you don't know what "Cinder" is, then you have read this continuity very out-of-order, my friend.

To any who have not been reading "Cinder" (or to those that were given a faulty link), a discord server for the Architects' community has been created for discussion and generally just hanging out. If you'd like to join and communicate with me directly, feel free! I spend a lot of time in there talking with others.

The invite link is ( discord . gg / zmPGAhB ) without any spaces.

In any matter, writing Live Fire has been an absolute blast, and I can't thank you enough for those that stuck through it until the end. I may have some other Titanfall writing projects coming up in the future as well, so be sure to mark me as a favorite author and follow me if you'd like notifications on my activities!

Until the next time,

- Matteoarts