As promised
It begins
~O~
PLANET NIBELUNGEN – ARES DIVISION RESEARCH FACILITY 4-0
"The Liberator's reporting damage in lower decks four through seven!"
"Fighter wing five wiped out! Wing six is asking for reinforcements!"
"We got Titans coming in from the northwest, they're hitting us hard!"
"The tenth battalion's through the second checkpoint, they just need some more time!"
"Pilot Henders is down! Dammit, someone kill that Northstar already!"
"Teams Romero and Aurea, head to the northwest gate! Drop some Specter pods on the southeast barricade and reinforce our troops there! We're almost off this rock!"
Elyse growled as the flood of voices barraged her comm link, only interrupted by the cacophony of rounds pelting against her Monarch's hull. A Reaper mech leapt over the wall she was using as cover, but quickly met its end when Elyse kicked the wreckage of a car into it before emptying what remained of ammo on her chaingun onto the robot. With a loud electronic roar, the machine exploded in a ball of plasma and flame as the silver Monarch Titan ran past it while placing a fresh drum into its weapon.
Four hours. They had been at this for four hours, and now it was starting to finally end. The packages were being moved to the Heimdall, and as soon as the survivors were loaded they'd lift off and leave this God-forsaken planet behind, and the Ares Division with it.
"WARNING. ENEMY TITAN INCOMING."
"Goddammit—FUCK!"
Her very-much unprofessional language was a suitable response to a Ronin Titan phasing into existence mere meters away from her position, swinging its sword down and almost slicing her rifle in half. With grit teeth, Elyse raised the XO16A2 Chaingun and held down the trigger, hosing a hail of Arc-Charged rounds at the light Titan.
The Ronin, unfettered, raised its blade with its flat side outwards, blocking several of the shots aimed at its torso. Some still did strike, but the shields held the ones that got past the impromptu barrier and made the blue barrier flicker around the lithe Titan. Suddenly, it lunged forward, aiming the blade tip-first at the rifle, and before Elyse could react the sword sunk all the way to the hilt through the chaingun, nearly taking the Monarch's hands alongside it.
Before the Ronin could back away, Elyse took aim with both her Monarch's missile pods and rammed the holo-grips of the cockpit forward, sending forth two dozen high-explosive warheads at the exposed enemy. With no Phase Dash to vanish away, and its blade stuck inside the bifurcated rifle, the Ronin was struck with the full force of the missiles and disappeared in a massive fireball, the wrecked rifle falling to the ground with a loud clang.
But the Monarch did not mark the target as destroyed.
Without hesitation, Elyse charged forward towards the smoke cloud, scooping the fallen sword as she passed and ripping the stuck chaingun free from the blade. And indeed, as soon as she entered the cloud, her Titan was struck thrice by the familiar impact of a Leadwall discharge, dropping her shields down to zero and nicking the armor of her Titan in several places. The camera feed fizzled and glitched, but thankfully remained intact, allowing the Pilot to see the flaming and damaged Ronin trying to replace the weapon's drum with a fresh one, but it had been too slow. In desperation, it tried to boost back, only to hit a wall behind it.
With a boost of her own, Elyse charged at the enemy Titan and spun, swatting aside the shotgun and exposing the Ronin's torso before finishing the movement and ramming the sword into the Titan's side. Metal groaned and flames licked over the blade and the Monarch's hands as the Ronin nearly came undone from the attack, its arms slackening as the whole mech sagged on its feet.
"Out of my way, damn you!" roared the woman as she reared back the Monarch's fist and punched clean through the Ronin's front, and when the hand returned, it held in its grasp a dazed but still alive IMC pilot.
SQUELCH!
Who, with a tightening of the hand, became nothing more than red paste dripping from the Monarch's fingers.
Letting out a breath she did not realize she had been holding, Elyse relaxed her and her Titan's posture, thumbing through several of the readouts of her Titan's status.
Hull integrity at 72%... Missile payload down to one salvo on each launcher… Shield emitters still working, reactor stable… It was the miracle of her life that her Titan was still this intact, even if it was her fourth consecutive Titan used.
Now she needed an even greater one to get her people out of this planet alive.
"…-mander, can yo…ar me?"
Her radio crackled to life with the garbled voice of her squad mate, Harper, static making him barely hearable. With a few smacks to the panel and some button presses on the equipment, the audio began clearing up. "Harper, can you hear me?"
"—ait, ju… -ere, got it!". Quickly, the static vanished, and the channel became a clear connection between both Titans. "Finally, there we go… My comms array got a bit shot up, had to reroute through the helmet"
"What's your position, Harper?"
"One moment."
Before Elyse could question him further, her Titan and the world around her shook violently when something crashed down like a meteor a few meters away. Dust and gravel kicked up into the air in a thick cloud, revealing only a large black blob behind the brown and grey mist. The shape became taller as whatever it was rose to its full height, before something flew through the debris cloud and landed just short of the Monarch: a thoroughly demolished Tier 2 Atlas, with a massive hole through its torso and one arm missing.
From inside the cloud walked out a white-and-red Legion, its Predator Cannon spinning to a stop as the Titan threw aside the spent ammo box and clicked in a fresh one. Steam hissed from the mech's torso before the hatch opened, allowing a Pilot clad in an IMC Rifleman Pilot rig to stand up and give a two-finger salute to Elyse.
"Pilot Harper, reporting for duty ma'am," said the man in a playful tone before taking a glance at the wreckage of the Ronin, then to the Monarch's bloody hand. "Had an uninvited guest?"
"Something like that," replied the woman as she moved towards the destroyed Atlas, ripping the XOTBR16 Chaingun from the older model's remaining hand. She pulled the cylinder out to make sure it still had ammunition, locked it back and for good measure, took the remaining two that remained intact on the Atlas. "Status report, Pilot."
"Tenth battalion just got to the second checkpoint, they're on their way to the Hippolyta with the packages."
"And the rest of our forces?"
"Pulling back to assigned evacuation zones."
"Good. Then we're heading back to the Hippolyta," said Elyse as she ripped the Ronin's sword from its owner and sheathed it on the Monarch's back. With a few taps to the HUD, her frequency changed back to the entirety of their forces. "To all Sentinel Aegis forces, the packages are secure. Fall back and prepare for extraction. Elyse out."
"Lead on, commander," said Harper, and thus both took off, the Legion and Monarch stomping towards the landing area of the facility.
-O-
ARES DIVISION RESEARCH FACILITY 4-0 – LANDING BAY THREE
The Hippolyta was, in the words of Elyse, "a thing of beauty". Taken while fresh from the IMC's production line, the Draconis-class heavy transport had been customized from the ground up with any tech that the Militia got their hands on: more powerful engines, a top-of-the-line shield system, the addition of heavier guns and a more powerful jump drive, even a freshly-created cloaking system. The commander had more than once rubbed onto Kuben Blisk's face that her ship humiliated his Draconis, a claim that was responded either with indifference or, in one particularly memorable occasion to the crew of Elyse's ship, with a very animated and intense brawl.
She kept hearing from the crew that her nose was still crooked, even after months.
But now, seeing it covered in scorch marks, and surrounded by the wrecks of numerous Titans or the abandoned bodies of Spectres, Stalkers, Reapers and Pilots, its crew felt nothing but hatred for ARES, and disappointment in themselves.
The only thing that could keep their spirits still propped was the sight of the small containment units being hauled up the ship's ramp, guarded by every intact Titan the 10th Battalion still had operational, and squads of Spectres lead by T.E.C. Pilots. Proof that their mission had been a success, even with the high cost of life.
At the foot of the ramp stood a Tone Prime, sweeping the area with its 40mm cannon. On its back, a crouched Cloak Pilot peered through the scope of a Double Take sniper rifle. "Hurry up with those things, ARES could be back any minute now," he said aloud, knowing his helmet's built-in comm would pick it up.
"I doubt it," came the reply from one of the Pilots on the ground. "It cost us blood, but we managed to trick them into heading to Landing Bay Eight. They think we're loading nukes to take off-world."
"Wait, WHAT?!" came the horrified cry from the Cloak Pilot, his head snapping around to glare at one T.E.C. Pilot that had just flinched from the assault to his ear.
"Damn, easy on the voice there, Gardner!"
"Talk before I point this thing at YOU and not the ARES!"
"Look, we found out these guys had some warheads stashed in a bunker nearby. A few units volunteered to raid the place and draw fire from some hot zones, then to make ARES think we got some of the nukes and planned to steal them. As far as they know, Bay Eight is a priority target filled with nuclear weapons, and we're just a bunch of runners."
The Cloak Pilot let out a growl of frustration, but at this point, what could he say? Volunteers were volunteers, and by now either they were dead or evacuated. All he could do was hope for the latter, rather than the former…
"PILOT, FRIENDLY TITANS APPROACHING. ENEMIES FOLLOWING," called out his own mech, snapping its aim to one of the tunnels leading to the landing area. And indeed, not a moment later, a black-colored Monarch with a hoplite helm and spear painted on the front, and a white-and-red Legion with a devil's skull on its hatch emerged from said tunnel in a mad dash towards the Hippolyta, firing their weapons wildly behind them as they ran. Gardner recognized the emblems immediately.
"Commander…?"
"GET THE SHIP IN THE AIR NOW!" came the scream from the Monarch's speakers as it fired one last salvo of missiles behind itself, at what was now revealed to be a large mob of Reapers and Titans, chasing down and firing back at the escaping two.
As the remaining forces clambered up the ramp, dragging with them the massive polygonal spheres, Gardner opened the access hatch atop his Titan and slipped into the cockpit, quickly syncing it up to his implant.
"TONE SYSTEMS TRANSFERRED TO PILOT. ROCKET SYSTEMS ARE IN YOUR CONTROL." With one flick of the trigger, the aiming reticle switched and began lightly trembling as it followed his line of sight. Gardner pressed down on the trigger, and the Tone Prime's chassis groaned as, like a wall of destruction, seventy two wire-guided missiles shot out from the Titan's pods and streaked through the air, guided by eye-sight around the allied Monarch and Legion and onto the mechanical horde approaching the two.
Elyse and Harper did not stop to see if the attack had been successful. They simply ran, boost-dashing past the wall of missiles and up the ramp, Gardner coming up just a moment after. "Seal the ramp, get her up in the air!" he barked into his comm, and indeed the massive metal slab rose from the ground and closed the entrance the three had gone through. The metal structure rumbled and trembled as rounds and missiles began pelting it, but the armor held easily. The rumbling only increased when the Hippolyta's lower hull guns fired back with heavy railgun and laser shots, tearing apart any unfortunate machine or being that remained out of cover.
As soon as they reached the Titan berths, the three pilots opened their hatches and jumped to the ground below, leaving the AIs to dock the mechs as they thundered down the halls towards the bridge, passing by equally frantic crewmembers. In mere seconds they had gotten to the bridge, Elyse quickly jumping to the command chair. "Get us out of here, full speed!"
"Aye, ma'am!"
With a deafening roar, the Hippolyta's engines flared to life and raised the massive warship into the skies, its shields barely flaring as Titan-grade munitions peppered its hull before it flew too far to be reached, soon becoming nothing more than an orange dot in the distance.
-O-
ARES DIVISION RESEARCH FACILITY 4-0 – HEADQUARTERS, MAIN CONTROL CENTER
The IMC workers at the control center spouted off frantic warnings of security breaches or still-remaining forces covering escaping Militia transports. The most preoccupying being the reports of some rag-tag group making off with a sizeable nuclear arsenal. ARES had poured every Titan, troop and bullet they could spare at the perpetrators, but they had been too determined, suicidally so. In the end, all ARES could do was watch as three Albatross dropships and one more transport, marked as the infamous Rust Bucket, took to the skies and flew to meet the Militia's Draconis-class transport towards their fleet.
And standing in the middle of the room, flanked by two Stalkers, with his arms behind his back and watching the monitors and windows with a cold, unflinching stare, was Maxwell Marder. General and de-facto leader of the entire ARES Division.
"Operator," he called out in his usual cool and collected tone of voice towards the closest person operating the consoles.
"Yes, general?"
"What is the status of the weapon?"
"It is operational, general, but… Its structural integrity is untested yet. Site Control reports they might only be able to fire one shot," answered the operator with a hint of nervousness, staring up at the still unmoving commanding officer. A moment of silence passed, before Marder motioned methodically towards the horizon.
"Ready the weapon. Target the Militia's fleet."
Those words made the entire control center stop dead in their tracks, every man and woman staring in shock and horror at their commanding officer. "W-Wha… B-But sir, our ships are s-still locked in pursuit of them! If we fire now—"
"By the time we order an evacuation, the Militia will have realized our intentions and will take measures to evacuate. We will not allow these criminals to grasp victory. Is that clear?"
"… Yes, sir. Transmitting orders to Site Control."
And as the operator turned back to the screen, Marder kept his gaze onto the sky, at the exact spot the clouds had parted where the last Militia vessels had escaped from Nibelungen.
I am sorry, my acquaintance… But your progeny will now join the common scum in the depths of hell.
-O-
On the surface of Nibelungen, far away from the battlefield of the Militia and IMC, stood seven rings aligned one in front of the other. Built onto a chain of mountains, these monoliths bore no resemblance to the architecture of either faction that populated the Frontier. Indeed, with its stone-like exterior, pulsing green and blue lines and graceful merging to the mountainside, one could be led to believe these rings had been grown from the planet itself.
And one by one, they began to spin, a deafening hum filling the air as massive pulses of energy began travelling through the seven circles, aimed towards space at its unsuspecting victim…
WARNING. VARIABLE FOLD WEAPON FIRING SEQUENCE INITIATED. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED, ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE.
For indeed, these rings promised naught but death.
-O-
OUTER EDGE OF NIBELUNGEN'S ORBIT – MILITIA'S 5TH FLEET, AKA SENTINEL CORPS
"How much longer until we can jump?!"
"A few more minutes, commander! We're making the final adjustments!"
Elyse grit her teeth and clenched her fist in frustration, staring at what remained of her fleet as it formed up around their flagship, the Avalanche, readying themselves for the moment their jump drives would finish charging and give them freedom at last from the battle. Behind the fleet, IMC vessels fired their weapons non-stop at the retreating Militia ships, some shots glancing or even hitting outright their over-stressed shields. Elyse watched as one of their ships, the Malta-class battleship Fearless, was struck between its engines and broke apart in a ball of fire and broken metal. "God fucking dammit, HOW MUCH MORE?!"
"Final calculations being readied, three minutes until jump," came the machine monotone of the Avalanche's Spyglass CO, one of its proxies standing right next to the commander. Just then, the ship shuddered once more as another heavy round impacted the massive dreadnought, though thankfully its shields held.
Just a little longer… Just a little more, and they'd escape…
"Warning. Massive energy signature detected, originating from the planet's surface."
Elyse's spine went ramrod as she stared incredulously at the hologram as its hands flew over an unseen keyboard, before turning to stare at the visual of the planet they had just abandoned.
And there, right on the northern hemisphere, she saw it. A massive blue light, growing brighter by the second.
"Get us out of here, GET US OUT OF HERE NOW! ORDER THE FLEET TO JUMP!"
"Commander, final calculations are still not complete—"
"I DON'T CARE, JUMP NOW!"
The screamed order barely left her lips before the light shot out from the planet, forming a massive white-and-blue beam that broke apart space and reality around itself as it flew out towards its target.
The Sentinel Corps fleet.
"SHATTER, JUMP RIGHT THE FUCK—"
"Jump initiated, all hands brace."
Behind them, the IMC fleet had but a few scant seconds to dodge from the beam's path, and while some of the smaller or more agile vessels managed to pull away, the rest were not so lucky. The beam carved right through them, peeling the warships apart layer by layer as space and time shattered like glass with each struck vessel.
Moments before the beam struck them, the 5th Fleet's ships jump drives discharged their own space-time-bending particles, intending to catapult the armada to a vaguely calculated location. The resulting contact of the beam's and the fleet's spatial distortions served to create exotic energies and matters never before witnessed by the science of the 25th century, the space-time continuum churning and twisting like a liquid in that singular spot, until a multi-colored shockwave erupted at ground zero of the explosion and washed over Nibelungen and its three moons.
Two of them were destroyed by the event known as the "Frontier's Roar", the planet itself suffering catastrophic orbital shifts that forced any surviving IMC and ARES forces to evacuate. For the following forty years, Nibelungen would become nothing more than a blasted wasteland, destroyed by the fragments of its own satellites and the spatial distortion resultant from the firing of the alien weapon in its surface.
General Marder survived the ordeal, but lost the use of his legs and his entire left arm.
The Sentinel Corps fleet, meanwhile, was declared Missing in Action with all hands, with Militia High Command unable to ascertain its final fate.
And so it would go, with the Milky Way never learning of the end that befell the 5th Fleet and its survivors…
-O-
OUTER RIM – HYPERSPACE LANE – EN ROUTE TO PLANET RUGOSA
Aboard a Consular-class C70 Combat Refit Cruiser, Clone Captain Zak walked calmly towards the main quarters of the ship, passing by what little crew the ship possessed until he reached the unremarkable door that now separated him from one of the galaxy's wisest beings. The captain knocked once, and in response the door opened, allowing the clone to walk inside the room and salute the diminutive figure sitting in meditation while floating in the air.
"General, we're approaching the planet Rugosa and will arrive in a few minutes" spoke the captain quickly and professionally, his posture at attention. His response was a low, accepting grunt, as the figure slowly hovered back to the floor and stood to their still unassuming height, picking up their branch-like walking stick.
"Hmm… Thank you, captain" finally replied the small green alien, as he turned to face the clone that unwillingly towered over him. "Then to the bridge, we shall go, hm?"
"Of course, general"
And so, Captain Zak led his current ward, Jedi Master Yoda, towards the bridge of his vessel, in preparation for his meeting with the ruler of Toydaria, King Katuunko.
-O-
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
TITANOMACHY
~O~
This got done faster than I expected… Huh.
Regardless, as promised, here it is. Next upload will be the next "Discard Blade" chapter.
However, a few closing thoughts:
First, is that I've begun streaming as a way to relax and wind down! You can find me at .tv/thelandmaster45, and for now I'm doing a full playthrough of SD Gundam Cross Rays!
Which leads me to the other two points.
Secondly, I've been thinking of restarting progress in "Iron Flower Eternal", since Cross Rays put me in a Gundam mood again. But that'll depend on the wishes of my followers. So I give you the option: I can either continue "Titanomachy" alongside "Burning Fire" and "Discarded Blade", or I can leave this as a teaser/entry, and go back to "Iron Flower Eternal". Votes away!
Thirdly… Well, as I've announced quite some time ago, I'm unemployed. And right now, I see this as an opportunity to start an old wish of mine of making writing as my breadwinner, and add to that some game streaming on the side. For now, nothing will be set in stone, but… I'll admit it'd be something I'd definitely like to turn into my job (especially since, with my followers being primarily from the US or outside countries and our money being very undervalued, 200 dollars a month would cover all my bills), especially since writing has been such a massive blast for me than ever before, and how much positive feedback my projects have garnered. And I thank you all for this, because it pushes me forward every day, even through the writer's block and bouts of sadness.
So yeah, nothing official for now, but I leave the thought in the open there. I'll probably have a true decision closer to the end of the month. Something like a ko-fi or similar.
Regardless, I'd like to thank all my readers and followers for the support you give me, and I wish you all a happy Spookyween!
PS: I post a Burning Fire chapter and almost immediately after a Berserk chapter drops, maybe I should write more of it.