Chapter 8: The Beacon
"Do we have to go all that way?" Cooper asked.
"Affirmative. We must deliver this data. Otherwise, the 40 million lives on the planet Harmony will be lost."
Cooper sighed, slouching down slightly.
"Alright then," Cooper replied. He walked up to BT and BT grabbed hold of Cooper, placing him in his cockpit.
"Let us make with haste," I added
Cooper grunted in response. Then the journey began. Cooper had begun climbing up the side of the Reception building, easily hurling himself up with surprising efficiency. I walked up to the base of the building and, gazed up at the looming tower. Cooper had already reached the top, staring down at me, waiting for me to follow suit. I braced myself, then fired up my thrusters, slowly flying higher and higher, eventually bringing me close to the top.
I grabbed hold of the ledge and pulled myself up onto the safety of the roof and I pushed myself to my feet. Cooper turned around and continued on, not wasting a single moment. I followed after him shortly as he pressed on into the depths of the overgrown forest that surrounded the decrepit facility. The trees in this forest were rather short, in terms of my standing height.
They certainly obscured Cooper beneath their canopy, but the canopy only reached up to my abdomen. It could be both a good thing or a bad thing either way you looked at it, but it only caused more issues with me. Firstly, not seeing where your guide was going was a pain in the ass, and secondly, pushing past the copious foliage that was the canopy was an even bigger pain in the ass.
"E-0001! Wrong way." Cooper called.
I grunted, and turned toward his voice, trudging on in whatever direction it originated from. I can't tell you how many times I've shot off-course, well it's been one too many times. I've grown accustomed to him calling out my name every minute or so, especially due to the fact I literally couldn't see him, aside from very small snippets of his plating through small spaces in the canopy.
By kilometre 10, the environment had shifted proportionally to my height, the trees now looming over the both of us. I had a clear view of Cooper now and my movements were no longer obstructed, and both those certainly helped speed things up substantially. The rest of the trek flew by in the blink of an eye, as the trees slowly started growing shorter and farther apart.
And by kilometre 20 the grass had shifted colour, from cool green to a dry olive and the trees had grown short and scraggly. The entire plain was wide-open and flat, giving off a vibe of endlessness. Cooper hadn't stopped for rest at all, and he continued at a light jog. Slowly but steadily breaking out into a sprint. I admire his dedication to the task, I must say.
I kept pace with him, sprinting through the constant savannah all while keeping an eye out in the distance. The sun slowly made its way through the sky as we ran, for hours on end. And just as impatience started to build, I spotted something far off in the distance. Beyond was the very vague image of a mountain range. They pierced the clouds and continued for the heavens, well, from what I could see down here at least.
Cooper seemed to have noticed too and he sped up once more. As time passed, the mountains grew closer and closer, their outline growing clearer by the second, until we were at the very base of the crag. Cooper gazed up at the soaring mountainside, sighing a little, then grabbing hold of its rocky face. He pulled himself up the wall, the rock crumbled slightly beneath his weight but he pushed on either way. He seemed confident.
I walked up to the wall, gazing up at the massive cliff face. I hesitated slightly, even though I knew full well that if I fell I could easily catch myself with my thrusters, I guess it's just one of the great defects of the human mind. I grabbed hold of a handhold and pulled myself to the wall, I slowly pulled myself up, reaching out for the outstretched rocky outcrops that littered this crag.
The holds slightly crumbled as I let my weight unto them, and I'm certainly surprised that none of them snapped off yet, I mean I weigh somewhere about... I dunno... 2... 3... 48,300 kilograms. I gotta give it to these holds, after all, if something can carry multiple semi-trucks' worth of weight, it's gotta be worth mentioning.
Cooper was actually pretty good at this, he leapt from hold to hold with pin-perfect precision, easily climbing up the mountainside. Yet I still managed to keep pace, even without all this fancy jumping and leaping. I mean, my size was probably the main defining factor, but it was a downside too. It helped me climb, yet it also didn't.
I looked down, and I probably shouldn't have, the least I can say is I was high up, like way up. Everything was but a speck from up here, and Cooper and I were soon reaching for the clouds. That's how high up we were. I pried my cameras away from the sight and pushed on, as I clamped down on an outcrop, it crumbled and cracked, it wasn't far from shattering. I was quick to react, swiftly pulling myself up and stabilizing myself upon another outcrop, hopefully, one that wouldn't immediately crumble apart.
I pushed on, eventually passing through the clouds, the gloomy atmosphere immediately dispersed, replaced by a cloudless sky. Mainly because we were... you know. After we'd broken through the clouds, the climb was only momentary, until we reached flat ground.
"Pilot Cooper, Anderson is dead, but we can complete his mission if we can re-establish contact with the fleet. The interstellar beacon ahead will serve our needs"
Cooper leapt from the wall, tumbling out onto the safety of the trail. He pushed himself to his knees, before disembarking BT's cockpit. I was soon to arrive, pulling myself from the cliff face up onto the path, collapsing onto the trail, and slowly picking myself up.
"Let's hope someone on our side is listening out there," Cooper replied.
"There is only one way to find out. We must uphold the mission"
Cooper and BT walked up the trail, and I followed soon after. They stopped at a ledge that overlooked a massive beacon of sorts, gazing upon it.
"Pilot. I see the beacon up ahead"
BT jumped down the ledge, continuing onward as Cooper followed shortly behind him. I kept an eye out for enemies as they made their way.
"Scans detect minimal power functionality. It may need repairs."
Something got shot out from the sky, falling off into the distance and exploding. I pulled out my pistol just in case somebody tried to get the jump on us. I kept my cameras peeled as I walked alongside Cooper and BT. We dropped down another ledge before continuing along the trail, slowly making our way to the beacon.
"Caution- I am picking up multiple contacts."
BT stopped around a bend in the path, holding out his hand to stop Cooper from moving any further, we were just a little bit away from the Control Quarters for the Beacon.
"Hostiles confirmed. The Stalkers appear to be programmed to attack the control room."
I took a quick glance at our environment, we were currently on a massive terrace of sorts, and it was entirely covered in a deep greenish fog. There were two major buildings here, one being a giant satellite dish and the other being a control room of sorts, they were on completely opposite sides of the terrace. And they were both connected by a giant cable that ran through the fog.
There was also a charred dead Ronin-class Titan laid upon what remained of a fence ahead of us, and beside it was its signature weapon it in perfect condition.
"Caution- I detect traces of poisonous chemicals within the fog."
"What is this fog?" Cooper asked.
"Scanning... the ground fog is a toxic by-product of the beacon power grid. I recommend you embark when operating in hazardous environments with a greater than 1PPM tungsten-hexafluoride"
Cooper nodded and walked up to BT, who immediately grabbed hold of him, placing him in his cockpit.
"Pilot, I am detecting Militia forces inside that beacon control room. They are signalling distress, patching in..."
Our comms fizzled a little until we connected to their signal, and a distorted voice crackled over, eventually straightening out.
"Hey, you out there! Pilots! Are you reading us? We could use some help over here!" "This is Captain Cole from the 3rd Militia Grenadiers! We're getting overrun by Stalkers! Please assist!"
"I recommend we help eliminate these Stalkers, and then make direct contact with the Militia Riflemen."
Cooper sprung into action, grabbing hold of the Leadwall off the ground and rushing over to the base. We ran toward the control room, taking out stray Stalkers that hid away in the fog, as soon as I got to the facility gate, I opened fire on the offending Stalkers. They were everywhere, climbing up the side of the building, trying to reach the glass window up top.
I raised my pistol and fired at them, taking them out one by one. Cooper assisted as well, tearing them to shreds with the spread of his Leadwall. I turned my attention away from the attacking Stalkers, letting Cooper deal with them. And I focused my efforts on the approaching enemies, I started up my wasp missiles, the battery extending from my shoulder and letting loose a barrage of missiles toward the massive swarm of Stalkers, each individual missile targeted a different Stalker, piercing into their weak chassis before exploding them into a thousand tiny shards of scrap metal.
I turned back, just as Cooper finished off the last stalker, stomping down on it.
"Threats neutralized. Well done. This victory has raised our combat efficiency rating." "BT-7274 to Militia forces, all threats have been eliminated"
"You saved our asses. Those Stalkers just kept on coming. We may not have lasted much longer." "We're opening the blast doors. Come on in. Your friend has gotta stay outside though."
"BT-7274." I said.
"Yes?"
"Is it possible to establish a video feed from the Pilot's helmet to me? I cannot connect to it. I can provide combat advice in the heat of the moment. After all. My Pilot and I worked very well together, I have learned many great techniques from them" I replied
"Affirmative. I am transferring some of my AI functions into your datacore, this should provide a live feed, so long as you are not too far away."
Then, the blast doors hissed to life, slowly opening for BT and Cooper. Though due to the size of my chassis, I couldn't quite fit, resorting to me having to wait outside. Cooper walked inside, hooking the Leadwall to his back and the doors closed behind them, leaving me outside with the dead Stalkers. I listened in on their comms and connected to Cooper's feed. eavesdropping on their conversations.
"The Pilot and Titan are on the lift. McCord bring them up. Let's go!"
"Right away sir!"
The lift hissed to life, extending up to what I guessed was the main control area, there were Riflemen scattered about, some wounded, some not. They were inspecting their weapons and they were tending to the injured as well. There was a singular dead Stalker that'd managed to get inside, but it was... well, dead.
"Captain, what is the status of the beacon?"
"The power has shut down. We've lost all control of the beacon." "We need something like this to start up the beacon, but this one's destroyed." Cpt Cole lifted a bulky gun of sorts, showing it to BT. BT leaned in closer and inspected it.
"Designation: Arc Tool. Functions: Generates power up to five megajoules"
"Yeah, yeah. We know what it is."
"Can you repair it?"
"Nah, we've already tried. Sensors indicate another one in the substation, but it's nearly impossible to get down there. This place just ain't built for Humans."
"Understood. Pilot Cooper, I advise caution while navigating this facility's substation. You must recover the Arc Tool."
BT pointed to a door on the other side of the room, with a giant sign above it that read. POWER GRID. Cooper disembarked and walked up to the door, a Rifleman rushed up to the panel beside it and typed in a code for a few moments. The door opened shortly after, and Cooper walked up to it. The interior was a large dark hallway, only illuminated by some dull lights on the ceiling. There were Riflemen huddled up in the hallway, some were injured while others were keeping a lookout. There were also sandbag walls littered about the hallway, alongside the corpses of dead Stalkers.
Cooper walked through, making glances at the Riflemen that littered the hall, before stopping himself at a slope down into the bowels of the power grid.
"Good luck, Pilot"
"Good luck, sir, hope you make it back. We've lost too many down there"
Cooper looked back, nodding to the Rifleman before pressing the rifle to his shoulder and pushing on into the facility.
There were Riflemen scattered about the hallway, keeping an eye out for hostiles, one was huddled behind a sandbag wall, recoding a turret of sorts. They looked to Cooper as he made his way down the hallway, but they went back to their duties moments later. Snapping back to attention.
"MRVN Delta-Seven-Three-Zulu, please report to sector Bravo-Seven."
Cooper pressed on, passing by some Militia Riflemen, each doing their own thing.
"It's great to have a Pilot with us again. Looks like we'll have a chance of getting out of here after all."
"Who is this loudspeaker talking to? It's not like these tin cans can speak English."
"Maybe they can..."
"Man shut up-"
Cooper continued, making his way into a generator room of sorts, there were these giant energy fans of sorts at the very end, separated by a railing and suspended over a giant pit. There were Riflemen and MRVNs spread out around the room, trying to get something to work as they typed into various laptops.
"We're getting low on ammo... And soldiers."
Cooper walked up to a giant blast door, guarded by a Rifleman wielding a Double-Take rifle. But he didn't go through the door, instead, he parted from the path and walked through an opening in the wall, which was currently being patched up by an MRVN.
"The Last Pilot in our unit went that way a few hours ago, but he never came back. Be careful."
"This place is run by machines. It's not like there's an elevator around here. How's he going to get through this place?"
"Pilot, I have patched both E-0001 and I into your helmet display to monitor your progress. The channel is open if you need assistance"
Cooper stopped by a ledge, leaving him no choice but to wall run through this part. But there was one problem, there were giant electrical grids on the walls, yet they only covered one-half for each grid there, giving Cooper a chance to make it through, possibly unscathed.
"BT, what's up with these walls?" Cooper asked, gazing at the grids.
"Scanning... Exposed power circuits. You should avoid physical contact. Proceed forward with caution."
"Got it," Cooper replied.
He stepped forward, readying himself to parkour through this portion of the facility, but hesitated.
"BT, remind me what I'm doing here," Cooper asked.
"Your mission is to obtain an Arc Tool. Using it, we can jump-start the power systems and get the beacon back online. Scans detect its signature further within this facility's substation"
Cooper took a deep breath, and sheathed his Rifle over his back, before running up to the wall, and wall running through the hallway. Jumping from wall to wall, just narrowly avoiding the arcs of electricity the exposed grids shot out. Eventually, he leapt from the wall and landed on a platform as he reached the end of the hallway. There was an MRVN that came to check up on him, helping him up off the ground, before continuing with their job.
He brushed himself off before walking across the platform, there was another electrified corridor he had to go through. He ran without hesitation, before jumping over to the wall, running alongside it, and jumping from side to side, to avoid the hazards that this hallway brought along with it. He soon reached a platform at the end, stopping for a little breather.
He then snapped back to attention, looking around for a path deeper into the facility. Atop a string of pipes was an open wall panel, which presumably would be his way farther inside. So he climbed up the pipes, before continuing through the open panel. There weren't any exposed circuits or environmental hazards aside from a very obvious giant pit in the centre of the room, but there were some drones were flying about. Plasma drones I mind you.
"Unauthorized Human personnel detected. Deploying automated security forces."
He pulled his rifle from his back, and opened fire, knocking them from the air, and causing them to fall to the ground and self-destruct. Stalkers swarmed in from the other side of the pit and fired upon Cooper with their L-STARS.
"Cooper, aim for the satchels on their back," I said,
"Got you," Cooper replied
Cooper dashed behind cover and shot back, aiming for their weak spots, causing them to self-destruct prematurely.
But eventually, his rifle ran dry, and as it did, he threw it to the ground, and he reached for his pistol, yet that was empty as well, he had no frags left either. So he ran up to the pit, dodging the lazy bolts that'd been fired by the Stalker. He jumped up to the wall that bordered the pit, and started up his jump kit, allowing him to stick to the wall momentarily as he wall-ran. He leapt from the wall as his boots began losing traction and he dove straight for the Stalker.
The unfortunate Stalker wasn't fast enough to pull the trigger before Cooper from a flying knee to its head. It fell to the ground hard, and Cooper made sure it wouldn't get up again, kicking it across the head, and breaking its neck. He threw away his empty pistol and grabbed hold of the L-STAR that the Stalker dropped. Before continuing onward.
He walked down a small flight of stairs, before being greeted by yet another electric corridor. Yet instead of being on the walls, they were mounted on the ceiling and floors. He shrugged it off and wall ran through the corridor, like he always had, eventually reaching the platform at the end of the corridor
"Status- Beacon Three Power Substation- shock resistant bombardment survival envelope is within acceptable operating limits"
"It's a maze down here. How deep does this thing go?" Cooper asked.
"Scans reveal a maximum depth of 300 meters"
"What is this place?" Cooper asked
"The computer details this location as the power grid for an IMC interstellar beacon."
"MRVN Delta-Seven-Four-Alpha, airflow regulation request - authorized"
Cooper made his way to the other end of the platform, traversing down yet another grid. He breezed by it like usual before stopping at the end of the corridor. The Platform connected to a giant turbine of sorts, and it was currently active, sending a great flow of air right through the chamber.
"MRVN Delta-Two-One-Bravo, retune blade angle on Turbine Five to one point eight seven degrees."
Cooper ran over, jumping out into the flow of the fan, it sent him hovering midair, in the centre of the chamber. He glanced about the room before catching wind of an opening just above the door he'd entered. Within this room were an MRVN and a control panel of sorts. Cooper lit up his Jump Kit, sending him flying into the room, skidding to a halt in front of the MRVN. He dashed past it and got to the control panel.
"Anomaly detected. Organic. Code yellow. Unauthorized personnel. Unauthorized personnel."
Cooper pressed down on the control panel, shutting off the turbine. It slowly skidded to a halt, restricting the massive rush of air to the chamber.
"Unscheduled turbine deactivation detected. Running diagnostics."
"Bypass successful. The fan exhaust is offline"
"Intruder detected. Deploying security forces for further investigation."
A few Plasma Drones flew in from the open exhaust pipe in the ceiling, scanning the room for Cooper. Cooper immediately pulled the L-STAR from his back and shot them down. Causing them to blow up. Cooper looked down at the turbine, from way up in the control room, I could guess he was feeling a bit queasy.
"Do not be afraid- your jumpkit can take that fall."
Cooper sighed, taking a few steps back, before running ahead and jumping down. He plummeted down, but at the last moment, he activated his jumpkit, breaking his fall.
"Foreign object detected in turbine thermal exhaust shaft. Analysis inconclusive - excessive magnetic interference."
Cooper glanced about the exhaust shaft, eventually laying his eyes upon an open door, he rushed in with his L-STAR at the ready. The room he found himself in was some sort of testing chamber. There was a singular MRVN on the other side of the room, carrying the Arc Tool, yet there was a massive pit separating the two. But, there was also a platform down in the centre of the room, giving Cooper access to the MRVN
"Arc Tool detected at 30 meters"
The MRVN started up the Arc Tool, firing a bolt off into the centre of the turbine, and activating it. Causing the turbine to whir to life, yet that didn't matter much to Cooper.
"MRVN Delta-Five-One-X-Ray - turbine power cycle iteration 16,487 - complete"
Cooper jumped down to the platform, running along the staircase that led to the MRVN, he walked up to the MRVN, tapping it on the shoulder. The MRVN turned to Cooper curiously, then Cooper snatched the Arc Tool from the MRVN's hands. The MRVN looked to its empty hand, opening and closing it as if the Arc Tool were still there, before slouching over, with a sad face appearing on its torso-mounted screen.
"Well done, Pilot. You have acquired the Arc Tool. Return to the control room. We are ready to jump-start the system"
Cooper looked about the room, connecting the dots in his head.
"Pilot, there appears to be an override switch on the central turbine" "Try using the Arc Tool on that switch. That should allow you to run across the face of the turbine"
Cooper nodded, and took a few steps back, before taking a running jump, he fired the Arc Tool at the switch, just before he got caught in its draft. Cooper wall ran across it, before jumping to the platform just outside the thermal exhaust room, just as the turbine started back up. He slid to rid himself of some of the momenta before looking about the room.
"Status- Beacon Three Power Substation - hostile force lockout protocols in effect for all critical access points - manual activation by Arc Tool required."
Cooper noticed a green tablet just across the room, which he ultimately fired upon with the Arc Tool. It opened up a blast door for him, giving him access to the neighbouring turbine chamber. He ran to the next room, just barely making it through the doors before they slammed shut. He stumbled out onto the turbine, looking about for the next switch to shoot.
And right dead centre of the turbine was a switch, which he immediately fired upon, just like everybody else who played Titanfall 2 did before him. The turbine whirred to life, sending him flying into the air, he glanced about quickly, catching an opening in the wall. He double-jumped toward it, and just as the turbine shut down, he rolled to lose his momenta, before picking himself up and glancing about the room cautiously. Before continuing off into the next.
"Deploying security reinforcements."
He snapped to attention as two Stalkers disconnected themselves from the walls, mastiffs in hand. He blasted them with the Arc Tool, causing their AI to short-circuit, momentarily stunning them. Cooper ran up to the closest, and kicked it off the platform, into the molten metal below. The other shook off the daze and pointed the Mastiff straight at him. He was quick to react, ducking out of the way of the dangerous spread of energy from the Mastiff. He immediately blasted it with the Arc Tool again and it went haywire. Cooper took advantage of that, running up to it and slamming its head into the concrete wall, killing it almost instantly.
He continued onward, to the next room. It was a turbine room, much like the one with the Arc Tool, yet this one was on constantly. There were two sheets of sorts, cooling off in the turbine's airflow, giving Cooper some cover. There was a door on the other end, yet Cooper couldn't quite reach it due to the strong currents produced by the turbine. Yet, besides the door, which Cooper immediately shot. A red-hot sheet of metal shot out of the ground, blocking the turbine's airflow.
"Automated cooling process-activated"
Cooper took to it, rushing through the room and into the doorway. He took cover in the short corridor, before taking a look into the next room. Which was the exact same thing. Cooper breezed through the room and its puzzles. Which if I'm being honest, an eight-year-old could accomplish. Before reaching the next. Once more, it was a turbine room, but the last one to be sure.
He continued on and completed it in no less than 10 seconds. It was underwhelming, to be honest. The next room wasn't a turbine room, but a stairwell, filled with many Stalkers mounted on the walls. The moment Cooper stepped foot into the room, all the inactive Stalkers immediately sprung to life, grabbing their weapons and turning to Cooper.
Cooper immediately zapped them, sending them into a daze. Cooper rushed up to the closest one and stabbed his data knife into its neck, rewiring it to fight its brethren. Its visor changed from red to blue, and it turned to the other Stalkers, who were still in a daze. It immediately opened fire, killing them all, it then mounted itself back into its charging port and deactivated.
He walked up the stairwell and up to a vent of sorts. There was a switch which, let's be honest, you already know what he did. The vent opened, but as it slowly opened, it was ripped from its hinges by the extreme airflow of a massive turbine. Yep, it was another turbine room. But there was no puzzle to this room, only speed.
Cooper jumped into the overwhelming air flow, and he got flung down the room, being sent flying into an exhaust pipe. He steadied himself as he started up his jumpkit, wall-running across the pipe walls, all while being flung about by the turbine. He was sent crashing down right back in the main room, yet not with all the Riflemen, no, he was across the pit behind all those turbines from before.
"Is that the Pilot? He must be crazy making those jumps!"
"That's the Pilot! He's going to make it! I thought he was gone for sure!"
"Those fans are pouring out deadly exhaust! Be careful, sir!"
Cooper jumped up to the first turbine, shooting it dead centre with the Arc Tool, shutting it off permanently. He leapt to the next, firing at its switch with the Arc Tool, shutting it off too.
"One more, Pilot, and we're heading home! We got your back!"
He leapt to the last one, shutting it off and wall-running back to the main platform. Leaping off the turbine and reuniting with the Riflemen.
"Now that was impressive, Pilot. They're waiting for you back in the control room."
Cooper walked along the platform, taking a small breather from all the shit he went through. He entered the stairwell and headed up the ramp, passing by the Militia Riflemen, one after the other.
"Good to see you back safely, Pilot. That Arc Tool is just what we need to signal the Militia fleet."
"You sir, are one hell of a Pilot."
Cooper pushed through the blast doors to the control room, with Arc Tool in hand.
"Good work, Pilot Cooper. Now we can jump-start the power to get the beacon functional."
Cooper walked up to the Captain, who was currently speaking with a Rifleman.
"The cable is secured, Captain"
"Good"
The Captain turned to look at Cooper, who was slowly approaching him.
"Glad to see you made it back, Cooper. Just in time too, the system's rewired - now all we need is some power."
"Pilot, the chamber relays are offline. The Arc Tool should be able to jump-start them manually."
BT pointed to a door, in the middle portion of the room, it went by the name. POWER RELAY. It also had a board of all the ways you could die inside, including Radiation and live electrical cables. The rest was smudged out by the thermite residue left from an exploded Stalker.
"Cooper, let's hope that Arc Tool was worth all the trouble."
The blast doors opened, leading down a dark stairwell. Cooper walked up to the doorway, and he held the Arc Tool tight. He swiftly made his way down the staircase, it led down to a glass tunnel which ended at a thick blast door. It was locked tight, with no switch in sight. Much to Cooper's disappointment.
"Caution - High radiation levels detected ahead. Your suit will only protect you for a limited time inside the chamber. I suggest you move quickly."
"I wouldn't stay in there too long unless you wanna be burnt to a crisp."
Cooper readied himself, getting into position.
"Okay, opening the hatch in 3..."
Cooper tightened his grip on the Arc Tool,
"2..."
Cooper braced himself.
"1"
Cooper took a deep breath
"Go!"
Cooper dashed into the room and immediately shot at anything green. The Arc Tool auto-locked anything that got into its crossfire, making Cooper's job much easier. He paced through the room, activating every relay he could see. He managed to get half the room, till the Arc Tool overheated. The vents shot out its side, releasing all the built-up heat while Cooper impatiently waited for it to cool.
A few moments passed and the thing finally cooled to an acceptable level, Cooper went about activating every relay he could lock on to, but as he did, his movements slowly grew sluggish. He went a little wobbly as he ran about the reactor, but finally, he'd managed to charge the final relay. The doors immediately shot open, allowing Cooper to leave.
"Power at 100% I recommend you exit the chamber immediately."
Cooper dashed through the door as fast as he could, and as he made his way to safety, the blast doors slammed shut behind him. Stopping the radiation from leaking out any further.
"Great job, Cooper. The power is back."
Cooper walked out of the power relay room and back to the main control room, back to the remaining Militia Fleet.
"All right! We got power! Open those shutters! Let's get that beacon up and running!"
"Opening shutters!"
I watched from both Cooper's display, and my cams as the heavy shutters retracted, letting a great deal of light back into the control room, and giving everybody a clear view of the beacon.
"Diagnostic complete. Power 100%"
"Initiate dish targeting reset"
"Uplink Targeting Module reset initiated."
We all watched as the satellite dish righted itself, the rings around the shaft of the tower sliding up, sending a great beam of electricity up into the dish.
"70%...80%...90%..."
Then something in the dish exploded, as a plume of smoke rose from the point of fault. Electricity arced all around it, climbing up and down the dish.
"WARNING. Fault detected. Emergency shut down."
"Ah, great. What's going on? Talk to me!"
"Not sure. Some sort of failsafe!"
"Captain, the Uplink Targeting Module is offline"
"Not good. I bet the IMC are on their way."
"That is a reasonable assumption."
"McCord, can we bypass the module?"
"No sir. Not unless we want to send a message to the entire IMC fleet"
"Then the module is going to have to be repaired manually."
"Pilot, this situation could use your skills"
"I hope you're up for another trip to hell, Cooper. You'll need to repair the beacon on-site and get back here as fast as possible."
"Embark, and we will move Pilot."
Well, seems like I've got a few hundred robots to kill. Well, you better be ready for this Elijah...
Cooper walked up to BT, and he opened his cockpit up. Cooper took a deep breath, and jumped in, sitting down in the seat and flicking some switches. I don't know how Titans work in the slightest, so I have no fuckin clue what he's doing. He pulled the Leadwall from his back and readied himself. I disconnected from Cooper's feed, clearing up my view. I watched as Cooper walked from the blast doors, shotgun in hand. Ready to kick some ass, much like myself.
I immediately sprung into action, running up to the satellite to clear any enemies that dared stand in our way. I dashed through the fog, with Cooper following shortly behind, and I pulled my sword and pistol free.
"Be careful. We've already lost a lot of good soldiers over there."
I climbed up the wires, emerging at the beacon ready to slice and dice, yet, there was nobody there. Just a flaming corpse of a Titan. Cooper emerged from behind me, scanning about for enemies.
"Scans indicate a fallen Pilot. My memory recalls this Pilot as an exceptional fighter proven well during the Fracture operation"
"What's Fracture?" Cooper asked
"Fracture was the codename of a major combat refuelling operation conducted by the Militia on the planet Victor. We sustained many casualties but the Fleet survived"
"Damn," Cooper replied.
As BT finished, Cooper spotted something, a green switch. He disembarked from BT, and activated the switch, opening the doors for the base of the Beacon. BT caught wind of something too, because he simply continued on, leaving Cooper in the dust. I couldn't quite fit through the doors so I simply rounded the beacon, meeting up with Cooper and BT. They stood at the edge of the Beacon, staring off toward a satellite dish that was currently under construction. There was a massive gap between us and the dish, it wasn't fog this time, oh no. It was a steep drop down the mountain, that's what separated us.
BT pointed toward the dish, looking down at Cooper.
"My scans detect a functional Uplink Targeting Module. 428 meters northeast." "My scans indicate a throw is our only option here. I can throw you across the gap."
He's gonna do the thing!
"That's insane," Cooper said,
"I am incapable of insanity, Pilot"
BT crouched down, winding up his arm. Before opening his palm so Cooper could climb in. Cooper slowly made his way over, and BT picked him up. BT then stood tall, pointing his hand out, aiming for the perfect throw.
"Wind: 3 knots, heading 247. Range: 95 meters. Projectile mass: 89 kilograms"
He looked back at Cooper, before clenching his free fist.
"Trust me."
Then, he lobbed Cooper straight across the gap. He flew, and flew, eventually landing on one of the many towers for the satellite array.
"I think I'm going to need some new underpants," Cooper remarked.
"Copy that. Noted for next supply drop"
I tuned into Cooper's feed again, before sitting down on the ledge of the beacon, overlooking the satellite array.
My HUD fizzled and crackled, before bringing up a live feed of Cooper's helmet.
He was currently in a circular room, he was holding his L-STAR as well. There was an opening that led towards a platform with a crane atop it, with the only thing connecting the two being a wall that was suspended in place by said crane. Cooper was just about to wall-run across, that was until somebody talked over the comms. And the voice didn't belong to anybody in the Militia...
"Richter, this is Blisk."
"Ja hier ist Richter"
"That damn Pilot is trying to use the beacon. End this. I'm counting on you. Blisk out."
"All security units, this is Richter. Get to the beacon now! Find den kleinen Mann und lasst mich nicht hāngen."
"Copy that! Zulu One, Kilo One, move in! Alpha Two, get soldiers on the ground! Move it!"
Well, seems like I've got a few more robots to crunch before I can get the hell outta here. This beacon is my only hope of getting back to civilization, will they even accept a 48-foot-tall Titan as a civilian? Now that I think about it I'll probably be sent off to war... Well, fuck me then.
Cooper had already made it to the platform by now and was currently operating the crane, rotating into position. Once the wall was in place, Cooper left the crane and ran off towards it, jumping onto the side of the wall, and wall-running to the next tower.
"IMC dropship headed to your location."
Cooper continued up the side of the tower, before stopping at a closed door, locked by an Arc Tool switch. So in response, Cooper pulled out the Arc Tool and zapped it, switching back to his L-STAR almost instantly. He traversed the interior of the tower before ending up at the top, there were multiple towers each connected by bridges, and there were certain doors that were locked with an Arc Tool switch as well. But what was most important were the multiple dropships, delivering soldiers all about the place.
Cooper activated his cloak, peeking around a corner, there were about 10 Riflemen and 3 Specters, all heavily armed with Hemloks and Mastiffs. Cooper dashed back around the corner as his cloak started running out. He then readied himself, and he dashed around the corner, immediately opening fire on the group.
"TAKE COVER"
They rushed for cover, yet they weren't fast enough. All the grunts lay dead, with only the Specters left, one of them caught Cooper off guard, shooting him in the. Cooper dashed back around the corner, and he let the self-healing systems of his suit patch him up. The bullet got pushed from the wound and the flesh was stitched back together.
Cooper holstered his L-STAR and pulled out the Arc Tool. He cloaked himself and dashed round the corner, as soon as the Specters entered his view, he blasted them with the overwhelming amount of power produced by the tool, causing them to short circuit. He charged up to them, elbowing one to the ground, kneeing another in the stomach, and throwing the third off the tower.
The remaining Specters tried to pick themselves up, only for Cooper to break their neck, kicking them across the face. He reached down and pulled the grenades from their belts, before clipping them to his belt. He continued on through the construction site, jumping from building to building, shooting his way through the swathes of Riflemen and Specters.
"Zulu One-Six, we need reinforcements!"
"Alpha-One-Four, we are diverting forces to assist. ETA three minutes"
Cooper found himself operating another crane, swerving it and the panel it was holding into place. He ran from the crane, wall-running across the panel to the next platform. This platform led up to another crane, but 2x as large, it carried a massive panel in its claw as well, just like all the others. Cooper ran up to the control panel, swivelling the wall into place, facing right toward the neighbouring tower.
He continued this over and over, running, operating cranes, more running, more cranes. Shooting Specters, shooting Reapers. Yadda yadda. Blah blah.
"All units, Kilo-One is not responding. Prepare to engage the target at Beacon Four."
"Copy that, in position at Beacon Four Gantry, standing by to intercept"
Cooper ran along to the next building, till he found himself in a shootout with an entire group of Stalkers, across a large gap. The Specters opened fire with their L-STARS, attempting to kill Cooper. He immediately dashed for cover, pulling a frag from his belt. He pulled to pin, before hurling it at the Stalkers, they tried leaping away, yet the grenade was faster. Exploding and killing them all.
Cooper double-jumped across the gap, glancing about for any more hostiles. There was a group of Riflemen, huddled away in a hallway, that ran alongside the pit. Cooper tore through them before they could fire at him. Yet as the last Rifleman perished the L-STAR ran dry. He chucked it away and picked up a Volt from one of the dead Riflemen. Before pushing onto the second floor.
Two Stalkers were waiting for him at the top, but Cooper was also ready for them. Lighting them up with the energized bullets from the Volt. He rushed forward pulling out his Arc Tool and opening the automated door that blocked his way, before jumping down onto a platform way below the tower he stood upon. The platform was circular and filled to the brim with MRVNs walking about, building the platform up, from the unfinished walls, or simply carrying around barrels of supplies to assist with the construction.
"Targeting Module detected. Check your HUD"
"Zulu-One-Six, Beacon Four gantry team is KIA. Pilot may be attempting to transmit from there" "Zulu-One-Six to Richter, the Pilot's intentions are unknown. He may be attempting to draw us away from the Titans."
"Nein. Focus on the Pilot, I have other plans for the Titans"
Oh, that doesn't sound very good.
Cooper had managed his way up the tower, connected to the Platform. He was at the very top, controlling the massive crane arm mounted atop it. This crane held the unfinished satellite dish in its claw.
"Good, you are at the controls. Move the dish to the far right to bring it within your reach."
Cooper moved the dish along, and it slowly soared along, before locking in place near one of the neighbouring towers.
"Alpha-Two-One, is he dead yet? Give me a sitrep, over."
"Richter, we need backup! The enemy Pilot is active around Beacon Four, over."
"Back up?... Typischer IMC Schwachkopf. Sending backup."
Cooper rushed out of the tower, Volt drawn. There were Riflemen just about everywhere, including a couple of Reapers. Cooper cloaked himself and hurled his last frag into the group of Riflemen, turning them into a bloody paste. He then opened fire on the Reaper, aiming for its exhaust port, it stumbled back as Cooper opened fire on it, and it eventually stumbled off the edge of the tower, falling to its doom.
There were a few more Riflemen, laying heavy fire down on Cooper. Cooper didn't bother with them, cloaking and fleeing the scene, rushing toward the satellite dish. Before climbing on and running up one of the stabilizer beams.
"Pilot, the module is in the projector of that dish"
Cooper reached the projector, and he crouched down over a panel, it had a lever lock, which he gladly opened, before pulling out a blueish device from within.
"Targeting Module...disconnected"
"Protocol 2 Mission Update: Uplink module acquired. Standing by for your return, Cooper."
"Caution- entering maintenance mode."
Cooper rushed off the satellite as it creaked and groaned, jumping down onto a small platform. The platform he was on had a massive line of hydraulic systems, holding up a bunch of panels. They were all locked with an Arc Tool switch as well, currently suspended out of reach.
"Alpha - Two, One. Komm rein! Was zum Teufel!"
Cooper pulled out his Arc Tool, holstering his Volt over his back. He got a running start and shot at the Arc Tool Switch, causing the panel to shift down, allowing Cooper to wall run on it. He shot the next one, jumping to that one next. He continued this cycle of shooting, leaping and wall-running. I disconnected from his live feed as I saw him far off in the distance.
I saw a flash of green before one of the panels on the track shifted down. A small figure started growing closer and closer, that figure being the man himself, Jack Cooper.
But as Cooper grew closer, something panged against my hull. I turned to look at what it was, and there was a Specter, carrying a Charge Rifle. He was charging up another shot, it didn't have the chance to fire another as I brought my fist down on it, turning it into a pile of scrap. But then, I got hit again, and again, and again. Till I was taking fire from all sides, there were tons of Specters and Riflemen all carrying Anti-Titan weapons. From the humble Mag Launcher to the much-hated Archer.
"Anti-Titan squads have arrived. Requesting assistance." I said,
BT got to his feet and pulled out his Leadwall, bringing up his sword and blocking the projectiles fired at him, as he advanced towards the hostiles. I tightened my grip on my sword and pistol and charged the enemy. I brought my sword down on the groups of Specters, and I shot at the approaching Stalkers, the explosions from my bolts engulfing them in a cyan flame.
A zipline had been shot from the construction site, and Riflemen had started pouring from all over. BT had started tearing away at the Human forces, while I stuck to the Robot Forces, even though I was technically not a human anymore, it still felt wrong to do that. I mean, you would assume the robot wouldn't like killing robots, but it's the opposite for me, for obvious reasons.
As I fired upon the swarms of Specters something landed on the back of my head.
"Where's the battery on this thing!"
I holstered my pistol and grabbed whatever was on the back of my head. I brought it to my face and it was a Rifleman, he was currently panicking and firing wildly at my face with his R-201. Sometimes ambition can lead you to bad places mate.
"You're not a Pilot," I said,
"Let me go!"
"Hm," I replied, I let my hand to my side, placing him down on the ground.
"Leave," I added, staring down at him.
He immediately dropped his rifle and ran. He wouldn't get far due to the toxic fog, but I at least hoped he would turn himself over to the Militia.
I watched as Specters and Riflemen poured in from the zip lines, but it all stopped as a series of bright flashes emerged from their start. Then, a small figure shot down the zip line, I'd almost shot at it till I realized it was Cooper, with the glowing blue visor and all that. He unclipped from the zip-line as he reached the beacon platform, rolling to lose the momentum he'd built up.
Just as he reached the platform, Reapers started flowing in, alongside swarms of Ticks. Cooper immediately rushed over to BT, jumping into his cockpit which he'd gladly opened for him. With Cooper in control, he started shredding through them. He'd swapped from the Leadwall to his Chaingun, and he'd opened fire on the Ticks. Causing a chain reaction within the swarm. Making most blow up.
Yet there were still a few stragglers, most of which had swarmed to me, climbing up my chassis and readying themselves to self-detonate. I ripped as many as I could free from my hull and I hurled them at the hostiles. Destroying the Reaper I'd thrown them at. The rest exploded, digging deep into my armour, though not piercing into my muscle.
There was a singular Reaper left, and he was currently firing upon Cooper. I sheathed my sword and run up to the robot, then, I grabbed hold of it. It flailed about as I held it in my grasp, and then I hurled it off the mountain as if I was throwing a baseball, but bigger, metal, and angry. It broke through the clouds as its angry cries echoed out through the mountains.
That was about all of them from what I could see.
"All threats eliminated. Area secured." "Are you okay, Pilot?"
"Hell yeah - I'm on a hot streak!" Cooper said.
"Your vitals do not indicate a temperature problem. Do you wish for me to investigate this 'hot streak' sensation further?"
"Funny, BT. You're funny." Cooper replied.
"Apparently" "Protocol 2 Mission Update: Replace the uplink module" "The socket for the module is at the top of this dish. A throw with additional climbing is required. Unless you want E-0001 to attempt a throw."
"We need this done as quickly as possible, alright, E. It's your time to shine." Cooper said, disembarking BT.
WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT BT?! Okay... just stay calm... you got this...
I sheathed my blade and held out my right hand, "get on" I said, staring down at Cooper.
Cooper climbed into the palm of my hand, I took a mental deep breath and focused. I aimed, pointing my hand up to the satellite dish. You got this Elijah...
"You sure about this BT?" Cooper asked, growing slightly nervous,
"Judging from the distance and velocity from the thrown Reaper. E-0001 should have more than enough throwing power to get you up. Trust me."
"Alright..."Cooper replied.
Just then, I hurled Cooper as hard as I could, and he just flew up. Straight up into the sky. I tapped into his feed and watched it from his POV. He was currently just a little bit above the dish, and when I say a little bit, I mean several hundred feet above. He spun out of control, but as the dish grew closer and closer, he just managed to straighten himself out. And just before he was about to hit the dish, he boosted with the jump kit, breaking his fall just a little bit.
As Cooper balanced himself out on the dish, the Apex Predators spoke up over the comms once more.
"Blisk, this is Slone"
"Go ahead"
"Kane and Ash are dead. Someone's been killing your mercs., and it looks like one of our radios has been nicked" "I knew you shouldn't have hired those tossers"
Blisk began laughing, if I weren't a 48-foot-tall killing machine I probably would've been feeling pretty nervous.
"Oi Pilot... This is Kuben Blisk." "You've been listening to us, eh? You want to be a hero, yeah? Okay." 'Keep coming at me, keep coming!" 'But if I were you, I'd stop trying so hard to be a hero. You'll live longer."
Cooper slowly made his way to the top of the dish. Walking toward the centrepiece, there was a blueish slot thing with a lever lock attached to it.
"Hypothesis: The dish will automatically reorient itself once the new module is installed."
Cooper pulled the lock, opening the hatch. He pulled out the dead module and slotted in the new one. The hatch automatically closed, and just like BT had hypothesized, the dish righted itself. Slanting down significantly, Cooper lost his footing and began sliding off, before completely plummeting off the ledge.
"BT!" Cooper called, I disconnected from the feed and watched in shock as Cooper plummeted, heading straight off the Beacon.
BT had already reacted though, sprinting to the edge and reaching out for Cooper, before miraculously catching him.
"Got you."
Cooper flashed him a thumbs up, and BT stood, with Cooper still in hand. He looked at the gesture, before staring down at his hand. His AI processed the gesture, flashing through its memory files, before staring back at Cooper, giving him a thumbs up back. Before opening up his cockpit and placing Cooper back in, giving him control back.
"Cooper the dish is back online. Get back here and we'll send this message to the Fleet. Outstanding work."
Cooper made his way back to the control room, I kept pace with him. He went underneath the beacon once more, forcing me to go around. But we made our way back at our own pace.
"Richter, this is Blisk."
"Ja. Ja. I am already on my way. Richter out." "This is Richter. Intercept and destroy those Pilots. Then execute the remaining Militia troops."
Several burning shapes started falling from the sky.
"Reapers inbound"
We'd arrived at the front of the Control Room, and then multiple Reapers dropped from the skies. I pulled my sword and pistol out. And Cooper pulled out his X0-16 Chaingun. He immediately opened fire, shooting them with his Acolyte Pod and catching their missiles with his vortex shield. I simply ran ahead and just started slashing away with my cleaver, chopping them in two like butter.
"Militia forces, lockdown the control room. Threats detected."
"Copy that. Locking down. We will assist from here."
The turrets in the control room were brought to life, firing upon the Reapers. I stomped down on a reaper, crushing it underfoot, and I shot another with the pistol, it only took 2 bolts to put it out of commission. Cooper finished up the rest, filling them full of holes with his heavy Chaingun. There were a few ticks which had been deployed by them, but I easily took care of them, shooting them with my wasp missiles.
"Caution - Anomaly detected. Possible hostile Titan."
"IMC, ground squads, I am looking for someone to promote. I am also looking for someone to kill. You get to choose which one you wish to be. Und jetzt mach ihn fertig!" "Do not let them leave here alive!"
Two titans dropped in the fog, both Stryder-class. One a Brute, the other a Ronin. Yeah, I think I'll do better with a Northstar, let's see how Cooper fares against a Ronin.
I sprinted toward the Brute sword raised, it fired a cluster rocket into my face, but I pushed through it. It dashed out of the way as I brought down my cleaver, I then attempted to Pistol whip him, only for him to hover out of the way. But the Brute made one crucial mistake, one that literally every Northstar main makes, he used the hover utility.
I activated my wasp missiles, sending a massive swarm of rockets flying straight toward him. They all impacted, digging deep into his chassis, they then blew up, basically turning him into a firework, sending chunks of metal flying as he was torn apart by the explosion. Cooper had simply activated a Burst Core and he tore through the Ronin like butter, as it fell limp in the toxic electric fog.
"Ugh... You all deserve to die!"
The sound of a Titanfall rang out, just before a red-coated Tone dropped from the sky. It got to its feet and shouldered its 40mm Tracker Cannon, before popping open the cockpit. It was non-other than Richter himself.
"Can we have a real fight? Let's see what you two got up close and personal. Oder willst du weglaufen wie kleiner Junge?"
He closed his cockpit hatch and tucked the cannon into his shoulder, opening fire on Cooper and I. But, I mean, what did this guy have that every other Tone pilot didn't? more health? That's it.
I stood from afar and simply shot at him with my pistol. He dashed away from the first and set down his particle wall, in hopes to shield him from my hellfire. Yet it only held up for so long, eventually breaking through and tearing away at his Titan. Each bolt had the kick of a tank shell, and I'm quite certain that Titans don't like those very much.
I fired until my pistol overheated, forcing itself to stop ejecting steam from two vents mounted on the sides. Cooper decided to take over, rushing in close while firing at him with his X0-16 Chaingun. He was forced to his knees as the bullets tore into his Titan, he brought up his hand to shield some of the bullets, and as Cooper closed in, he switched to his Leadwall. Sending a white hot spread of lead straight into Richter's face. The vents on his titan started venting with flames, and his Titan was looking worse for wear.
"You pitiful Weichei, this is impossible!"
Cooper didn't bother listening to him, grabbing hold of Richter's shoulders and flipping him over his head, slamming him into the ground with great force, before spraying him with rockets. All while Richter screamed out "Dieser Kampf geht in den dunklen Tiefen der Holle weiter!"
The blast doors once more opened, letting Cooper and BT within the control room. They looked back at me for a moment before walking into the lift. I tuned into Cooper's helmet once more and eavesdropped in.
"Okay, all systems are functional!"
"Grenier! Fire it up!"
"Yes sir! Transmission sequence activated!" "It's working! Transmission power is at 25 percent and climbing!" "60 percent! Looking good!" "Almost there! 80 percent!" "Signal strength at maximum power! We are a go for transmission!"
"Broadcasting data stream. Awaiting response."
"Here's hoping someone's still up there."
"Got it.
Then, salvation arrived. Just a moment after the signal went out.
"This is Commander Sarah Briggs of Marauder Corps, Militia SRS Authenticate."
"Commander Briggs, this is BT-7274" "Protocol 2: Uphold the Mission. Report intel to the fleet attached to the SRS unit."
"Solid copy - Good to hear you guys are still down there. We're receiving your data now."
LET'S FUCKING GO! Time to get my ass off this planet!
"Alright, everybody. We're saved!"
Everybody cheered, even the heavily wounded made an effort.
"Cooper, you meet Briggs at the Beacon, she's gonna want to see you and your friend. Sending you down... now."
Cooper and BT descended the lift and the blast doors opened, Cooper stepped out and headed toward the beacon, waving me along. I followed shortly, passing through the toxic fog until we reached the beacon. Cooper disembarked BT and sat down on his shoulder. And I just sat it out too, waiting for the fleet to arrive.
Eventually, the fleet arrived, as dropships littered the sky, flying about the area and dropping in reinforcements to properly secure the area. Riflemen marched all around us, most making glances at me, before tearing their gaze away as they noticed me staring right back at them. Soon enough the commander herself, Sarah Briggs showed up.
"BT-7274, your data recorder says your original Pilot was KIA."
"Correct. Captain Tai Lastimosa was killed in action."
BT pulled Cooper off his shoulder.
"I am now linked to an Acting Pilot - Rifleman Jack Cooper"
"Wait a minute - Lastimosa linked you to a Rifleman?"
"Yes, he had no other options"
"Understood, we'll get you transferred to a fully qualified Pilot."
"Objection. Cooper is my Pilot. Our combat effectiveness rating now exceeds ninety percent."
BT placed Cooper in his cockpit.
"Request permission to retain this link."
Sarah sighed "You're lucky our backs are against the wall BT. Permission granted" "That's high praise coming from a machine, Cooper." A Rifleman walked up to Sarah, presenting her with a tablet, which she took from him. "Thanks to your scan data of the Ark, we've tracked its energy signature to an IMC base right here on Typhon."
"One more thing."
"What?"
"E-0001's Pilot was KIA, he is currently without a Pilot. Recommend you transfer one to him." BT pointed straight at me, and Sarah Briggs stared at me
"E-0001? I don't think we have a serial number like that within our databanks..." She walked up to me, "Well then. We'll assign you a Pilot. But I'll have you know that you aren't off the hook, we'll designate you to a training base. We can't have mysterious Titans like you roaming about. Prep yourself for interrogation when you arrive."
She turned away from me,
"We don't have much time! Let's go!"
Luckily, they'd brought a small carrier ship along with them. Two Vanguards led me into the ship, with their Chainguns drawn like I was gonna rip them from their cockpits and scrape the flesh from their bones on the floor. I wasn't gonna do that though, for obvious reasons. They stayed in the carrier ship alongside me, nervously glancing at me.
The ship's back door closed, and it began hovering. It then flew off into the sky, with the rest of the Fleet.
BOOM. That chapter's done and dusted. And 10,000 words? Well, that is yet another new record. This is where the story goes a little of the main campaign, and it's where we're introduced to a new main character. Wonder who it is? because they certainly aren't canon in the story. And seems that Elijah's gonna be forced into the war. Wonder how he'll fare with that.
Thank you all for reading this far, I truly appreciate it. And if some of the things I wrote sound a little strange, it may be because this is the first version. Please leave a review if you want, negative or positive. And I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I'll see you in the next one.
