Chapter 4
The heavy mech crumpled like a piece of paper before exploding into a fireball. Loose dirt and grass flew into the air as the Titan impacted. There was a split second of silence as the Rogue VI controlling the drones attempted to analyse the situation. At the end of that second, a flurry of bullets was unleashed from the Titan, obliterating a dozen of LOKI mechs. Despite their lumbering form, the remaining heavy mechs were fast to respond, unleashing a barrage on the Titan's position.
AK dashed from the impact crater, back mounted thrusters roaring. He batted aside a heavy mech and carried on towards the building, crushing several smaller mechs in the process. Branden smiled, seeing his partner brush aside the enemy like toys was always a treat.
"AK, get ready to link up!" He shouted, preparing his grappling hook as he sprinted towards the building's edge. The jump-pack flared twice, pushing Branden high into the air. AK turned back and splayed out his hand, projecting a Vortex Shield that sucked up the bullets that were shot his way.
"I recommend you embark as soon as possible to minimise risk of injury." The bullets trapped in the vortex shot back, obliterating another rank of LOKIs. Branden reached the peak of his and fired his hook towards the Titan. The hook sank into the ground and retracted quickly, yanking him down faster than gravity desired. Before he hit the ground, Branden levelled out into a baseball slide and the jump-pack burst again, sending him sliding towards AK.
The Titan bent down, opening his canopy, to scoop Branden into the cockpit. The moment the cockpit snapped shut the screens flickered to life and the sensation of power appeared and faded in an instant as a warning blared on-screen. Branden ducked instinctively and the sound of burning plasma whizzed past.
Hearing the plasma impact somewhere behind him, Branden stood back up and fired a burst at the mechs. The drones' cheap frames being obliterated by the 20mm rounds. Another warning flashed, and Branden twisted the Titan out of the way of an incoming rocket. An articulated pod on the Titan's shoulder moved and took aim at the two remaining heavies. Shortly after, eight missiles flew out of the pods and slammed against the heavies' shields, burning them out and fracturing their thick armour.
"AK, load the Scorch Core!"
"Affirmative." From somewhere behind him, Branden heard a mechanical 'Clunk' signifying the successful Core switch. "Scorch Core ready."
"Let's light 'em up!" Branden brought the Titan's arms up above his head and slammed them down onto the ground hard enough to shake the chassis. A wave of blazing thermite shot forth from AK's fists. The burning thermite expanded and stretched until it engulfed the heavies and remaining LOKIs, melting them into slag.
A third warning appeared and Branden dashed to the side, narrowly dodging the latest plasma bolt fired by the Geth Colossus.
"Wards, the Colossus' shields are too strong. We will not be able to penetrate them with our current armament."
Branden's mind raced. How could he take it down? AK was almost out of missiles and the cannon was running low. That left Close Quarters Combat or a Rodeo. CQC was risky, that plasma would tear right through AK, there also wasn't any guarantee that they'd be able to break the shields that way either.
"AK, I'm getting out. Get ready to throw me." He explained, moving AK behind some cover. "I'm going to need you keep that thing's attention while I take down the shields."
"Negative." AK argued. "Firing at the target whilst you are in the vicinity is a violation of Protocol-3."
"Then make sure you don't hit me." Branden popped the hatch and crouched in AK's hand.
"Affirmative. Calculating trajectory, factoring in wind resistance." AK turned his eye towards his pilot and blinked. Branden nodded.
The Titan drew back and heaved, flinging his arm forward and releasing Branden into the air with the force of a cannon.
Junko was both terrified and in awe. The enemy mechs were completely obliterated by the Titan, and in mere seconds no less. Just watching it fight made her realise how little they actually knew about AK and Branden. The only thing they actually had to go on was incredibly vague dossier that the Illusive Man had prepared and even that somehow left out AK.
A glance to her companions revealed a similar look of awe. Miranda was trying to rationalise what she was witnessing, her mouth moving but no sounds being made. Kasumi pulled back her hood to get a better look, her eyes twinkling as she watched AK dance around battlefield. Mordin was silent, his eyes recording everything, his mind no doubt on overdrive. As for Garrus.
"Spirits, I had heard the rumours during my time on Omega, but I never put any faith in them." The Turian breathed.
"What rumours?" Junko asked.
"Of the Titan-Caller. That he summons and commands a great beast of fire and steel from the sky, something so powerful that it barely leaves survivors."
"Are you saying that Branden is this 'Titan-Caller'?"
"That's what I'm thinking."
Looking back to the battle, Junko saw Branden climb out of AK and into his hand.
"What the hell is he doing?" Miranda asked, incredulous.
"Something stupid." Shepard answered, stepping towards the door. "Mordin, keep Jacob stabilised. Everyone else with me, we've got a Colossus to kill."
Being thrown by a Titan was something that Branden could barely put into words. The initial rush of being catapulted into the air is quickly replaced by the sobering sight of the ground beneath you, even more so when your intended target was currently the size of an ant.
AK had to throw him high to avoid being targeted by the Colossus, if he was thrown straight at it, he would've been torn to pieces by its machine guns.
He felt a moment of weightlessness, the sign that he was at the apex, now he had to angle himself so he'd land right on the Colossus' back. Using small puffs from his jump-pack, Branden oriented himself upright, leaving enough power for a last moment jump. A streak of tracer rounds told him that AK was engaging, using his ammo sparingly and returning plasma bolts with the vortex shield.
Branden was right on top of it now and AK's firing stopped. He slammed into the alloy and plastic body of the Geth platform, his jump-pack boosting at the last second to try and negate some of the momentum. His fingers scrambled for a handhold, it was nothing like a Titan. The Geth didn't make imperfections in their craftsmanship, everything was smooth and slick.
Acting on instinct, Branden whipped out his data-knife and made to slam the blade into the hull, the plastic and thin alloy plating allowing it to slide in without much resistance. With the blade providing a handhold, Branden managed to steady himself on the back of the mechanical beast.
When he looked up, his vision was replaced by a hooded and glowing eye. A beat passed before either made a move. The Colossus' hood frilled out and screeched in a loud stuttering, drone.
The massive form of the Colossus began to buck like a bronco, trying to shake off its attacker. Branden felt like he was being tossed around in a tumble-dryer, his arms somehow keeping a death grip on the only anchor point on the hull.
As tough as his body was, he was still subject to pain. The Geth on the other hand was not, and would likely keep moving until he let go or something stopped it.
It turned out, it was both as AK rammed the Colossus with a running tackle. The force of a literal freight train being more than enough to wrench Branden's hands away from his lifeline and send him tumbling into the ground a bit more than ten metres away from the war machines.
It was from there that he watched as his Titan pinned the Colossus like an upturned tortoise, its legs flailing uselessly in the air. With a wince, Branden pushed himself into a crouch, a sharp pain flashing across his torso. A broken rib, small price to pay for a defeated company of robots with a Geth equivalent of a Main Battle Tank. He pulled his view back to the fighting giants.
AK had managed to pin the Colossus' neck under his foot and had begun punching away at the Geth's slightly less armoured underbelly with his free hand. Two punches in and the armour gave way, allowing AK to reach into its guts and tear out the fusion core that powered the quadruped.
Instantly, the life faded from the Geth platform, its last noises being a staccato burst of stuttering and chirps. Lazily, AK rose to his feet and tossed the core aside.
"Wards, do you require assistance?" The Titan asked as it approached. Noticing Branden's pained stance and slight limp, he did a quick scan. "Scan indicates a fracture in your ribcage, do you require medical aid?"
"AK, you know that a broken rib won't keep me out of the fight." Branden answered, his breathing a little shallow. "I'll just take it easy, no wall running unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Affirmative. Would you like to embark?"
"Yeah, sure, just give me a hand here."
AK extended his right hand and opened his hatch. The pilot climbed into the open hand and was easily lifted into the cockpit where his comfy leather chair awaited him.
Leaning against the metal plating of AK's arm, the pilot yawned and stretched out his arms. While he would vehemently deny it, the mission on Aite took a lot out of him.
After the debacle with the Colossus, the rest seemed rather tame. There was some opposition, notably a crashed Geth ship with a functional turret and a river of lava.
Due to the fact that there were two separate objectives that needed to be completed, Shepard decided that the best course of action was to ride on top of AK while the rest of the team took the other objective.
A corona of blue surrounding her, Junko leapt up and glided effortlessly on top of AK's chassis. Taking a glance back, she kind of wished that she stayed with the others, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity.
"You sure about this, Shepard?" Branden asked over the radio.
"I think so…" She answered back, wrapping her fingers around a maintenance run. She took a deep breath to reassure herself. "Alright my trusty steed, lets ride!"
"Well don't say I didn't warn you…" the Pilot teased. "All passengers keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times and hold on tight."
With a small start, AK began accelerating slowly, each step the Titan took making her sway from side to side.
"This isnt so bad…" She commented. "…Kinda like riding a horse."
"You hear that AK? Lady's getting comfortable, let's go for a sprint."
"Wait wh- AHHHH!" Shepard's terrified screams were quickly drowned out by the Titan's footfalls booming louder and faster as AK ramped up to a full sprint, leaving patches of torn-up dirt behind him.
Halfway to the actual objective, they had to stop so that Shepard could empty out her stomach into a nearby bush.
"Never again…" She moaned as the bile threated to rise again.
From there on, they moved much slower.
He never thought that Shepard would be the type to get motion-sick. Branden smiled at the memory, now he had a little trivia to hold over her next time she teased him about 'Private Time with Gabby'.
Thinking back again, he could help but lament the lack of ammunition for his Smart Pistol. It would've really helped against the Geth that ambushed them in the ship.
Branden slid into cover behind what he could only guess was a cable-juncture. He leaned his rifle around the edge and pulled the trigger until the gun refused to fire. Steam hissed at him as he whacked it, trying to dislodge the glowing thermal clip.
It wasn't until it was on top of him did he notice the Geth Hunter uncloaking and levelling a plasma shotgun at him. His reactions went into overdrive. Branden threw his now useless gun at the Hunter. Before the machine had a chance to retaliate, Branden had already drawn and fired a round from the Smart Pistol. The bullet blasted through a fluid conduit on its neck, and the machine soon found a Biotic bolt in its torso thanks to Shepard.
The pilot was too shocked to thank Junko as he worriedly eyed the ammo counter on his HUD.
01/00
"Shit…" He breathed, shoving the pistol into his thigh-holster and clipping it closed.
"What's the matter?" Shepard asked, her eyes still scanning the room.
"It's… It's nothing." He deflected. He grabbed his rifle and ejected the spent clip. "Let's keep going."
He withdrew the pistol and pulled back the slid, allowing the last bullet to pop free and into his palm. Holding it between his finger and thumb he examined what was probably the last Smart Bullet in the galaxy.
At a glance it looked like any innocuous bullet. Conical head with a brass casing. But he knew that beneath the brass was a marvel of Ballistics Engineering. An entire computer lay within the bullet, all linked to a transmitter and avionics that would find the optimal path to a target and guide the bullet there, all in less time it takes to blink an eye.
Not all of the work was done by the bullet, since the actual gun also housed a targeting module that identifies friends from foes, paints targets and identifies just how many bullets needed to be fired to eliminate the target. All in all, it was pretty damned advanced. Something that people would, quite literally, kill to have. But sadly, like all guns, it was about as effective as a club without the matching ammunition.
Now if only he had a couple magazines worth of bullets.
"…Time to talk to the Salarian…"
No, no, no, no. Transmission vector is still too ineffective. Needs way to coat entirety of skin-suit without creating additional mass. Current method involves secreting pheromones that signal a paralysed target. Unfortunately, the current design adds an additional 10 kilograms to any combat armour. If the pheromones were to be applied topically, it would only last a few minutes at most.
Most prudent solution is to reapply solution in the field. Perhaps if the pheromones coated the element zero that the shield generator manipulated…
Any further thoughts that Mordin had were interrupted when Branden walked through the door carrying his gunpowder handgun.
"Doctor Solus?" the pilot asked. "If you've got the time, could I get your opinion on something?" He seemed rather apprehensive, almost like he was afraid to reveal a deep secret. Every so often his eyes would drift toward his weapon as well as whatever he was clutching in his free hand.
"Of course Mr Wards." The Old Salarian replied, welcome for the distraction. "Working on countermeasure and could use distraction right now." Mordin stepped away from his terminal and towards the centre table. Branden took a deep breath and gingerly placed his last remaining bullet onto the table, followed by his handgun.
"This is what's called a Smart Pistol. When paired with the telemetry and IFF data from my helmet, it's capable of guiding a bullet to one-one-hundredths of a millimetre of a lethal point on a human body as long as the target is within a hundred degrees of the muzzle exit and within thirty metres as well as determining how many shots it would require to terminate the target." Branden explained, barely taking a breath and without taking his eyes off the weapon. Mordin's expression shifted into curiosity, then disbelief and then back to curiosity.
"…If this is correct, this weapon is quite capable of rendering most firearms obsolete."
"I know Doc." Branden sighed a little, blowing air out his lungs. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true." He reached on to the side of his helmet for something and pulled out a thick chip and set it down on the table. "This is my helmet cam footage. It should show you a couple things from my point of view. Assuming the Normandy can get past the encryption, of course."
Among all of this, Solus didn't once look away from Branden, just looking at him and holding his chin. After few seconds of scrutiny, the doctor nodded. "There is no need. I can see that you are telling the truth."
"Wh-how?"
"Micro-expressions." The doctor stated matter-of-factly. "It's a trait that many Salarians tend to pick up, especially those that deal in mercantile."
"Right well, are you able to produce another of these rounds?" Branden asked, gesturing towards the bullet on the desk.
In answer, the Salarian picked up the bullet and activated his Omni-tool and several scans later Doctor Solus turned back to the pilot. "I believe with the right equipment. It is possible. It will have to wait until I am done with my work on the countermeasure that Commander Shepard has tasked me with. But I can do it."
"Thanks Doc, this, this means a lot to me." Branden took a deep breath and exhaled through his mouth, drumming the table. "I'll uh, let you get back to work now."
"Have a good day Mr Wards." The Doctor called out after him. Now left with his experiments, Doctor Solus placed the weapon, data device and highly advanced bullet to the side and smiled gently, remembering the gun he kept from his STG days.
"I am the very model of a scientist Salarian…" he began singing to himself.
AN: Hey everyone, it's been what? 13 months now or something. Jeez I really went back on my promise. I guess it goes without saying that updates will be, sporadic at best.
Once again, sorry for the wait.