Chapter 1: It’s Been a Long Road…
It’s been two years since I joined Pilot School… even more if you count my time as a Grunt… me and my friends survived for so long… the normal lifespan for a grunt is what… few weeks? And even the most skilled pilots can fall in combat… how we survived this long, no idea. But as long as we live and breath, me and my friends will continue to push forward. Not only for ourselves, but our fallen comrade… Dom.
About a year after the IMC attacked the training facility, me and my friends started practicing in the Stimpod simulations. But as Sif and Jessica were going to normal Stimpod sessions… Mac pulled me aside for more in depth training. He’s been allowed to train me one on one, as apparently I show great potential, mainly from the defence of the facility. Over the course of my training, I’ve ran the Gauntlet so many times I lost count, just coming short of Jack Cooper’s top score of just under twenty seconds. I’ve also used every weapon known to the Militia and even a prototype LMG that apparently fire “needle” rounds, that split apart upon making contact with skin and injecting a deadly poison in the process. Not really subtle… but it get’s the job done. The gun has been nicknamed “Acid Rain” and as far as I can tell, I’m the first pilot to ever use it.
I also remember Mac saving a Titan for me after the defence of the facility, and of course I told my friends of it. Jessica seemed a little jealous of the fact I got a Titan before even passing, but they were both happy for me… after everything I did, they say I deserve it. I tried my best to not let the fame get to my head, but I couldn't stop people from praising me. I became the top rookie of the facility. Sure it’s good to be noticed, but honestly, the glory get’s to be too much sometimes… like because everyone knows who I am, it feels like I’m being forced on an ever growing pestadel. And with that, everyone’s expectations of be sky rocket with each passing day… and if I make one tiny slip up… EVERYONE knows of it. I just wish I got get some peace and time alone among all this… but that’s what war does to ya. War never sleeps… and no matter what happens, I got a job to do.
Nowadays, the final stages of the training cycle draw ever closer. Soon, me and my friends will set off on our adventure as true poilts… then, we can really earn our fame. But as our final days at this facility approach, so does the pressure and looming reality of the final test. Unlike grunt school… where squads are pinned against each other, groups of four pilots and their matching Titans are thrown into a randomly generated map, and have to sit through five waves of simulated IMC forces. Each wave getting harder and harder until, they seemingly throw everything they have at us. Two Ex-64 points by the names of Davis and Droz take charge of the simulations. You see, the two have formed their own Militia group called The Last Resort. They mainly set up harvesters in resource rich environments to supply the Milita. The hire many different pilots to help them, and anyone is open to help. But what they do has also proven to be a great situation for the final Pilot test. Not only testing your knowledge and Neural Link with your Titan, but also your abilities to work as a unit. Davis and Droz can’t always show up to oversee the training however, but when they do, it’s always a great show. Anyone is allowed to watch the final tests, and their commentary is just the best. But when they can’t show up, the commander of the facility, Andrew Jeeves takes charge. He’s an alright dude, strict, but fair… but it’s not the same as Davis and Droz… I hope they are here when me and my friends do our final tests.
But enough daydreaming, I still have a couple months before we even get close to our final tests.
Chapter 2: One Last Gauntlet
“Ah, Jet, there you are. Come on, we got another day of training ahead of us.” Mac greeted me as I entered the Gauntlet room. My friends already went to the normal Stimpod room for more VR training, but as expected, Mac wanted me in for more one on one training.
“What’s the score for today?” I asked, stretching my arms.
“Got one last Gauntlet for you to run today, then you move on to Frontier Defence simulations with your squad.” Mac explained. It took me a minute to notice he said one LAST Gauntlet.
“Really? Just one last run and we get to move on?” I asked.
“Well, it’s not that simple… you gotta beat Cooper’s time in order to advance.” Mac replied. Cooper’s time is a mere twenty seconds.
“That’s it?” I chuckled a bit.
“Yeah, pretty much. By the sounds of it, you don’t even need a warm up.” Mac laughed back, and leaned against a wall. “Take whatever weapons you care for and let me know when you're ready.” He added and the weapon racks appeared out of nowhere. I picked up my go to setup, Spitfire LMG and Arc Grenades.
“Alright, let’s do this.” I walked up to the Gauntlet Start.
“Okay then, remember, you only got one shot at this.” Mac winked as he set everything up.
“Wait… you never said anything about having on-” I was about to protest, but there's no time for that.
“What? You think the enemy will play fair? Good luck!” Mac started the timer. I scoffed and bursted into a sprint. Jumping into the first leg of the Gauntlet, I ran across the left wall and gunned down the first three targets, leaped off the wall, skipped over a rock and threw an Arc Grenade and the next pile of holographic IMC grunts. I slid under the gap in the next wall and gave the target on the other side an upper cut. As I bursted into the second half of the Gaultant, I double jumped over the gap and sprayed at the targets underneath me, managing to hit all of them. I hit the floor with a heavy thump, plowed through the last target and sprinted over the finish line. Breathing heavy, I leaned against the wall and Mac gathered my results.
“Well, well, well… good job polit. You beat Cooper’s time by a mere two seconds.” Mac actually sounded impressed, like he figured I wasn't gonna beat it.
“No matter how much you cheat, I’m still gonna leave you in the dust!” I bragged.
“That’s just the kinda fire we need in the front line.” Mac laughed to himself. Suddenly, the door behind us hissed open and Cooper walked in.
“Jet, Mac… how’s everything going in here?” Cooper greated us.
“Why, it’s going just fine. Jet here just beat you're Gaultant record.” Mac replied, pointing to the leaderboard.
“Oh, well… I see…” Cooper coughed awkwardly, I could tell he was a little surprised that I beat him. “Anyway, Davis and Droz arrived a few minutes ago, and we just got everything set up for the simulations. I think they already started with someone, and Jet, your squad’s next.” Cooper explained.
“Okay… but who’s gonna be our fourth member?” I asked.
“You’ll see, just head down to the Titan Bay, your squad will meet you there, you’ll set up your loadouts and then it’s off to the sim room.” Cooper replied. I nodded and walked outta the Gaultant room and made my way down to the Titan bay.
Chapter 3: Frontier Defense
By the time I got down there, Sif and Jessica already had their loadouts picked. Sif went with Scorch and Jessica went with Northstar, I of course choose Legion. But we were still missing out fourth member, and the Frontier Defence simulations require four people.
“Way to take your sweet time.” Sif remarked as I entered.
“Yeah well, you know me.” I winked.
“Well, we already picked out our Titans.” Jessica remarked.
“Let me guess, you got Northstar and Sif got Scorch?” I asked, the two nodded. “Well, I already got a Titan.” I added, the two looked at me.
“What?” They both asked unison. Soon, the assembly line shifted, and the old IMC Titan came into view. It was outfitted for Legion, of course.
“Remember when I said they kept the IMC Titan that attacked us?” I replied.
“You mean they gave it to you?” Jessica asked.
“Don’t you remember?” I looked confused.
“I mean, it WAS two years ago.” Sif reminded me.
“Oh whatever, the thing is we got out Titans. We just need a fourth member.” I went back on track.
“Behind you…” A voice behind me walked into the room. I turned around and saw one of the Ion pilots that I helped us many years ago.
“Wait… you're one of these Ion pilots that we helped back at that IMC command post.” I gasped.
“Yeah, I volunteered to be your fourth member.” She said… or she sounded like a she. She took of her helmet, revealing a cybernetic right eye and long, crimson hair. Her good eye was bright blue, and she looks like she’s seen everything. “The name’s Cassie, by the way.” Cassie added.
“But if you were with us, aren't you already a full polit? Why are you doing a simulation?” Jessica asked.
“Eh, you guys seem to know what you're doing… and I can always relate to losing someone close to you… my sister fell victim to the IMC when they invaded my homeworld a few years ago.” Cassie’s voice trailed off.
“Wow… I’m sorry to hear that.” I offered.
“Yeah, but that’s why I’m here… also, I really do enjoy working for Davis and Droz. Those two are great. That, and I perfer defing havesters then fighting other pilots on the frontline.” Cassie replied.
“Well, I guess there is no time to lose, let’s get down there!” Sif chimed in as he and Jessica stormed off to the simulation room. I was about to follow, but noticed Cassie wasn't as enthusiastic as the others.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked her. Without thinking, I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Yeah… just… thinking…” Cassie sighed.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to… losing someone close to you is always hard, more so a family member.” I commented.
“You don’t know the half of it… but really, I’m serious about this. I wanna help you guys pass.” Cassie perked up.
“Well, we are pretty lucky, having a veteran on our team.” I winked, Cassie laughed.
“Alright, alright, you got me. Let’s go.” Cassie cracked a smile. I nodded and we caught up with the others.
As we entered the sim room, we saw Davis, Droz, and a bunch of the other pilots in training in the specters rig above us. You see, the sim room is like, this massive hole in the ground with room for spectators above, Davis and Droz are in the command room where they can control everything. And when I saw massive, I mean massive… it’s like a whole separate facility, across from the training center. Myself and the squad were waiting just outside the sim room, in the preparation center, here we could double cheek out loadouts and go over our strategy. Sif was gonna be our main defence, cause Scorch is good at holding down an area, Jessica was gonna stay in the back and pick enemies off with Northstar, and me and Cassie were gonna be the first line of defence.
“Alright kiddos, this is how it’s gonna go down. There are gonna be five waves of IMC forces dropping in. And all you wonderful pilots are gonna have to defend the Harvester against them.” Davis started explaining everything.
“Right, and at the end of each wave, we will supply you with credits depending on your performance. These can be used to buy defences and upgrades from the armoury to assist you in later waves.” Droz added.
“So, you all ready for thrills, chills and kills?” Davis laughed.
“Must you say that every time!?” Droz sighed.
“Why yes, yes I must.” Davis replied. Droz sighed again as the doors to the sim room opened. We were blinded by the light of the map forming before our very eyes. It looked like Blackwater Canal.
“Perfect map for Scorch.” Sif commented.
“Come on, let’s just go!” I shouted as the four of us jumped into the arena.
“Alright, we powered up the Harvester!” Droz shouted.
“Here comes the first wave! You know what to do politis!” Davis added. I looked up in the sky and saw drop pods falling. Looks like this first wave was just gonna be a bunch of infantry. Regardless, the squad all took our starting positions and awaited the enemy's. A pod slammed into the ground in front of the building I was standing on and a bunch of grunts swarmed out. I walked over to the edge and I deployed my A-Wall, taking aim with my Spitfire, gunned them all down in a single mag. Just as I thought this was gonna be too easy, more and more pods started smalling into the ground. Soon, we started getting swarmed with grunts and specters. I looked across to the other building, and saw a bunch of Specters were setting up some kind forward position.
“Pilots, those moter specters are gonna rain shells on the Harvester! Take them down!” Droz shouted on the radio.
“Sif, you're closest, can you get them?” I asked.
“Oh it!” Sif replied as I saw him jump his way across rooftops and tossed a grenade on their heads, taking them out.
“Jet, on your left!” Cassie shouted, I turned around just in time to see more moter Spector's jump on my rooftop. I quickly reloaded and dealt with them.
“Good eye, Cassie!” I shouted to her.
“Don’t mention it.” Cassie laughed as we went back to the task at hand. Soon, we had most of then taken out.
“Just a handful of them left pilots, you got this!” Droz updated us. Soon, Jessica ripped the head of the final spector and threw it on the ground, like a football.
“Touchdown!” She shouted, trying not to laugh.
“Amazing work pilots, couldn't of done better then that… the Harvester did not even take any damage at all!” Davis complemented us. As I looked around, I saw a big yellow crab thing activate.
“Here are some credits, you have two minutes to build up some defences.” Droz explained as I suddenly saw a counter on my HUD add up exactly twelve hundred credits. All four of us walked over to the armoury and looked everything over.
“I’ll buy some of these arc trap things, maybe a couple of you can get a sentry?” I asked.
“Yeah, I can get a sentry. Jet, you and Jess buy some arc traps and lay them out in the pathways on each side of the Harvester.” Cassie pointed to either side. Me and Jess nodded and bought some arc traps, Jess going to the left, myself to the right. Cassie set up her turret on the bridge down the center lane.
“Now the fun part, your Titans are ready!” Davis shouted. I directed the drop point.
“Stand by for Titanfall!” Droz said as I looked up and saw Legion falling.
“I can do better that that! STAND BY FOR TITANFALL! WOOOOOOO!” Davis shouted as my Titan slammed just a few feet in front of me. Everyone else got in their Titans as I kinda just stood there. He past two years have been leading up this point… but I don’t think anything could prepare me for the real thing. I got over my shock and jump jetted my way to my Titan, who opened his cockpit and let me in. I pressed a bunch of buttons and Legion stood up drawing his massive chaingun.
“Legion AI transferring controls to Pilot.” Legion’s voice crackled to life. I double cheeked everything and turn to face my team.
“You all remember the plan right?” I asked them.
“Yeah, I’m the backline defence.” Sir replied.
“I’m gonna make sure you guys don’t get swarmed.” Jessica laughed.
“And we are gonna hold the front.” Cassie stomped next to me in her Ion Titan.
“Alright, let’s all get into position then.” I nodded and we all took our places.
“Now the Titans show up, shouldn't be a problem for you guys. be careful of those Arc Titans though, they fry energy shields.” Davis warned as the next wave started. Soon, more pods and Titans started falling from the side.
“Alright, I’ll watch the left flank, you stay on the right. If things get to dicy, we can fall back to Sif, okay?” I looked to Cassie.
“Right.” She replied, that’s when it all kicked off, the IMC forces bearing us down.
Chapter 4: Not so Flawless
As the first set of IMC forces dropped, I tried counting them. 4 titans and drop pods combined on the right, same on the left, and 3 titans sight ahead. I stomped over to my side and spun up the predator cannon. As soon as the first Titan, a Ronin, walked around the corner, I opened fire. I took the enemy completely off guard, and the first Titan was melted. However, the others took note, and backed off a bit. I looked over to Cassie’s location to see her rip the arm off a Monarch and kick a Legion behind her, then slap it with the Monarch’s arm.
“Having fun over there?” I asked her.
“Time of my life!” She laughed. I rolled my eyes and turned around just in time for a Monarch to punch me, sending me stumbling back a bit. I regained balance and winded up a swing, crushing the cockpit with the barrel of my chaingun, finishing it off with a powered shot to the face, and it blew up. We kept this up for a couple minutes before Sif was meet with some heavy resistance.
“Uggggh guys…. Scorch in distress!” Sif shouted I turned around and saw an army of at least five Legions and a couple arc Titans storming down the lane behind us.
“Cassie, Jess, can you two hold the front?” I asked
“Of course!” Cassie replied.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” Jessica added. I nodded and started flanking around, moving to catch the Legion army off guard. As I turned the corner, a couple of then turned around and opened fire. I reved up the chain gun and activated the barrel shield, blocking more of the incoming bullets. The only problem, the enemy Legions had it to. As soon as I returned fire, the two enemies in front of me also popped their shields. At least I managed to split their focus between myself and Sif. Just as we were almost done cleaning up the back lance, I saw my minimap flash as another dozen Titans swarmed the center.
“Agh! We're not gonna hold much longer!” Cassie warned I dashed to the front just in time to see Cassie’s Ion blow up.
“What the?” I shouted. Soon, I heard thumping on my hull.
“Friendly Pilot is on the hull.” Legion’s AI alerted me. I looked towards the top of my cockpit and suddenly, I saw Cassie’s face drop into view.
“Morning!” She giggled.
“AGH!” I jumped in my seat, hitting the “powered shot” trigger. Legion aimed the Predator Cannon and fired, nailing an arc Titan in the face, who fell over, sparking. Meanwhile, Cassie bursted out laughing on my hull.
“Oh my god that was perfect!!!” Cassie shouted.
“Ha… ha… very funny…” I mumbled, cracking a small smile.
“Oh come on, you're smiling!”
“I AM AND I HATE IT!” I blurred.
“Oh look, their bonding…” Jessica commented.
“Okay, okay, let’s just stay focused.” I sighed, and got control over my Titan again. Still giggling, Cassie started firing her Thunderbolt from my Titan’s shoulder. Without Cassie’s Ion support, we kept on being pushed back. As if we were struggling enough, a swarm of Reapers charged down the rear lane, and started shredding the Harvester.
Chapter 5: Second Time's The Charm
“Okay, that didn't go so well… but you got another shot at this.” Davis explained as the simulation reset itself.
“Right, we’ve restarted the Hvaster. This is your last chance Pilots, don’t let us down!” Droz added.
“Agh, that last run was just the warmup round, you guys totally got this, right Droz?” Davis turned to his partner.
“Hell yeah they do” Dorz agreed. Me and the squad got out heads back in the game and depth with the first wave as per normal, jumping, sliding, almost dancing our way across the battlefield before there was once one Grunt left. I leaped off the rooftop I was standing on and jump kicked him straight in the head, and his body disappeared in a shower of simulation sparks.
“Wonderful job Pilots, I think that was better then the first run. But now the hard part returns.” Davis Complemented us.
“Remember, form a plan and stick to it. Here are your credits, and you have your two minute break.” Droz added.
“Okay, stick to the same setup as before? Four arc traps on the flanks and one sentry under the bridge?” I asked.
“Yeah, but we need a better defensive strategy.” Cassie explained.
“Don’t suppose you have something in mind?” I walked next to her.
“I do actually… let’s form a defensive half circle around the Harvester, that way we have all lanes of access covered.” Cassie faced me.
“Huh… not bad… but what about the Nuke Titans?” Sif asked.
“Easy, we focus fire them before they reach us.” Cassie replied.
“Eh, good enough for me.” I shrugged. Me and Jessica laid the arc traps down, and Callie placed the sentry a little closer to the Harvester. After that was all set up, we took our positions.
“Alright, here comes the fun part, here comes the next wave!” Davis shouted as the Titans started dropping.
“Okay, team! Hold the line!” I shouted, spinning up the Predator Cannon. The first round of Titans came down the middle, with a swarm of Reapers down each flank.
“Sif, watch the right, Jess, cover the left! Me and Jet will keep watch of the middle!” Cassie shouted as she dashed to the front.
“Eh, good enough…” Sif turned around to his die as Jess started to hover, popping shots at Repers on her side. I ran up beside Cassie and started suppressing the enemy Titans as Cassie finished them off. We do work well together.
“You got Nuke Titans on the way pilots, don’t let them get near the Harvester!” Droz warned.
“Every, tighten up around the Harvester, we need volume of fire to take those tinder boxes down!” I turned around and we all formed a half circle around the objective. As if on cue, the Nuke Titans came running down the center, piling up in that tiny hallway.
“Remember, if we can set them off now, they will probably damage their friends!” Sir remind us. Cassie stepped up to the front.
“Allow me to soften them up…” I could feel Cassie’s smile growing on her face as her Titan lowered it’s rifle, and a giant laser shot out of it’s chest. It completely melted the first Nuke Titan and severely damaged the three behind it. The first Titan went nuclear, blowing up and leaving a green mushroom cloud in its wake, further damaging the two behind it. I took the moment to dash up and power shot the last two, completely bypassing their doom state and they simply blew up without any special effects.
“Well, well. That went a lot better than expected. But that was just the second wave, you still got three more to go pilots!” Davis explained.
“Well, you get some more credits and time to prep for the next wave as usual.” David added. We all disembarked out Titans and got more defences set up.
The next couple waves went off rather well, we only lost about five percent of the Harvester’s hit points on wave four, only because I lost my Titan and some reapers got though the brake in our defensive formation.
The final wave was really the kicker, though. It left like it was never gonna end… Jessica lost her Titan twice and Cassie almost lost her’s. But as the dust settled, we had a fully functioning Harvester, and a pile of slowly disappearing Ttan and specter bodies.
“Well, well. Looks like these Pilots show some real potential, eh Droz?” Davis sounded surprised.
“You said it Davis, most squads have to use both retries to get it right, but you guys only used one.” Droz agreed.
“Eh, there's always room for improvement.” I admitted. My friends nodded their approval.
“I like your attitude, pilot, but for now, you guys earned yourself a break. Head back to the main facility. You should hear the results of the testing in a couple days.
Chapter 6: The Veteran’s Offer
As the squad were walking back to the Training Facility, I managed to catch back up to Cassie as Jess and Sif lagged behind, I don’t blame them… we were all tired after that test.
“Hey Cassie, I wanted to thank you for volunteering as our fourth member again.” I said after finally reaching her.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Like I said you three seem to know what you're doing, and it looks like I wasn't wrong.” Cassie replied, smiling.
“Oh come on, you weren't too bad yourself.... Then again, you do got a few years on me.” I laughed, lightly shoving Cassie in the side.
“Gee, thanks.” Cassie joined in the laughing.
“Well, now that’s done, what’cha gonna do now?” I asked.
“I don’t know honestly, I’ve been thinking about joining the Last resort and working for Davis and Drolz full time.” Cassie explained.
“I don’t blame ya, those two are great!.” I chuckled. Cassie smiled again, but suddenly stopped.
“Hey, I was thinking… maybe you wanna join me? We do make quite a good team.” Cassie asked.
“You mean… you want some fresh of the boat rookie by your side?” I replied, a little shocked that a veteran was offering me to join her.
“You have some incredible skill.” Cassie offered.
“Ah come on, beginners luck.” I countered.
“No really, you can't just get lucky in this kinda work… you need flat skill, and you have a lot of it.” Cassie explained.
“Okay, okay… I’ll think about it, maybe we can talk it over tomorrow.” I sighed.
“Yeah, sure. Take all the time you need.” Cassie smiled. “Anyway, I’m gonna head back to the barracks for now, see ya later Jet!” Cassie gave me a wink and walked off. I was kinda half frozen… stunned of what just happened.
“Hey Jet… you still with us?” Sif asked as he and Jessica walked to me. He looked in the direction I was looking just as Cassie walked out of sight.
“Awwww I think the Team Captain is in lovvvvvvvvvvvve.” Jessica giggled.
“What!? Noooooo….” I felt myself blush. “She… just wants me to go with her and join the Last resort.” I explained.
“Really? That’s pretty cool, actually.” Sif replied.
“Yeah but… I think I need to think about it.” I shook my head.
“Yo, I’d totally take her up on that offer!” Jessica perked up.
“It’s up to you in the end, really. Anyway, we’ll be in the Mess Hall.” Sif patted me on the back as he and Jessica walked off.
“Yeah… see ya…” I replied, left alone in the middle of the courtyard, my mind spinning a mile a minute.
