A/N. Hey guys! this is my first Titanfall fanfic. Ive been writing this for a few days in my off time, and i hope to maintain a chapter a week upload schedule, but no gurantees. My schools EOC tests start soon and i may be very cought up in studying. Anyways, in this story i want to mention a few small changes to things from average. First off, the Kraber in this will be more like the first one, with a magazine of 5 instead of 4, and titans in general are controlled by keypads and other things unless you are one of the rare people with the nervous system set up just right. Also, titan health systems are different. The shields are actually a third layer of health, and batteries power a second layer of shields, with critical damage permanent until repairs. That is all and please enjoy!

1800 hours.

Militia Battleship The Red Eye.

A scientist rushes through a metal hallway, almost unapologetic as he accidentally knocks another person down in his rush. He mutters an apology, but doesn't bother to help. He has info for the commander that is of greater importance than helping a perfectly capable human being get back on their feet. Coming up to a heavily guarded door, he flashed his ID at a grunt before busting through the automatic doors. The room he was now in was the main control center of almost every attack the rebellion conducted, a big holo-table in the middle of the room with many people planning and strategizing the resistance's next moves. Around the table, countless operators bustled about, to and from consoles and the end of the room, where the head of it all was.

Commander Briggs was leaning on the railing of an elevated platform, looking out a big glass window into space, looking at the home planet Harmony. Upon noticing a certain scientist rushing towards her, she leaned back and faced him.

"What is in now Dr. Winston? I already approved the funding a month ago. What more do you need?" She asked, slightly tired of the scientists frequent requests.

"I don't need anything this time. I come with great news. We have completed it! It works!" Winston said, taking a moment to breathe and push up his crooked glasses.

The commander looked blankly at him for a second before the meaning dawned on her. "The titan based off the Ark." She asked, not really believing it. Winston nodded, before elaborating.

"We have successfully created a smaller version of the Ark, but what we found out after doing tests on our recreation of Coopers scan, was that the Ark itself was not only a massive powersource, it had something akin to an A.I. in it more complicated than any in known existence. It seemed to be restricted by a couple of things though, it had no means of connecting with the outside world without connections to sensory equipment, and no real means of processing without external hardware. It is basically an almost limitless power source and databank in one. Putting it in a titan would allow the A.I. to see and interact with the world, process it's thoughts, and be used as a force to bring peace upon the frontier. We had to custom make the chassis it is currently implemented in, but the possibilities the miniaturized Ark created were almost endless, and now that we are done, I'd be proud to say she is probably the most versatile and deadly titan in our arsenal. All we need is a pilot." Winston finished, pushing his glasses back up again.

"Wait, the A.I. is a she? And how can we be certain that she won't be able to be used against us?" Briggs asked, eyes narrowing. Winston sighed and sat down in a nearby chair to continue.

"Please, give us more credit than that. We modified her some so that she has a strong moral compass, and we've taught her everything we could about both sides so that she knows which side is morally better. After showing her some footage of what the IMC has done to people and the hardships we've suffered, she wanted to immediately pick up a weapon and fight them. In her words, 'Lemme at 'em!' She has shown responses like that of a human being, and even started developing a personality of her own. But, even if she seems like a perfectly capable artificial intelligence, we still need a pilot that is capable of meeting a few different physical and mental bars. She will require more mental and physical control than other titans. I suggest we start looking for candidates." Winston sat back in the chair, relaxing while Briggs thought it over.

"Alright, I'll start screening the militia for pilots and get back to you with the best options. And start her on training and drills. If she is like a human, I don't want her unprepared for battle."

800 hours

Militia Barracks

Max sat on his bed, tying the laces on his boots in preparation for the day's numerous drills, exercises, and activities. He was around 5'8 with medium brown hair, and stormy gray eyes, wearing the militia's standard orange and dark gray uniform. He finished up his last boot and stood up, heading to the cafeteria for breakfast and the morning brief with about ten other grunts. In truth, he and the others hated being called grunts rather than the proper term, riflemen, but it was the truth. They were the grunts of the war. Doing the dirty work, a dime a dozen, and expendable. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered sticking around, most likely waiting for his own death. It was very rare that anyone was good enough to be promoted from rifleman to a pilot, but yet he still hoped he could prove his worth to the militia, and be a key member in finally bringing peace to the frontier, ending the IMC's raids and it's twisted version of justice.

Before he could continue his daydreaming though, a hand laid on his shoulder and held him back from walking straight into a pole in the middle of the doorway to the cafeteria. A nearby group of grunts burst out laughing at the close call. Sending a glare at the laughing group, he turned around to face his best friend and savior, Jax. He was slightly shorter than Max, with wild black hair, green eyes, tan skin, and his ever present smirk evident on his lips.

"Daydreaming again are we? What was it this time? Getting that girl back on Harmony? Oh oh oh, wait. Let me guess. It was your impossible dream of becoming a pilot again, wasn't it?" Jax teased, causing Max to groan.

"First of, it's not impossible, secondly, aren't friends supposed to be supportive of other friends?" Max asked, frowning at Jax's antics. Jax just smiled back and shrugged.

"Sure, but where is the fun in that? I wouldn't be the ball of fun I am today if I just supported everyone that had a dream." Jax retorted, dramatically putting a hand to his chest. Max smiled and slugged Jax's shoulder, chuckling.

"Come on man. Rumors have it something big happened higher up and they're going to announce it today. Don't wanna miss that." Max told him, grabbing a tray before going through the line. Jax followed, and after getting some good old fashioned bacon and eggs, they sat at a table near the usual morning announcement wall. That was another benefit of the militia over the IMC, we had home grown, home cooked food. Not those bland protein packets. He slid down next to the rest of his squad of riflemen, some were bantering back and forth before a group noticed them.

"Well, look who it is boys, the cereal bros!" One grunt jeered, causing most of the table to look up and chuckle. Max just grinned before reaching over and socking the grunt in the arm.

"Careful Jake, next thing you know and you'll be eating those words. Remember what happened to Brian when he called me out?" Max retorted, causing Jake to shudder.

"No thanks man, you keep doing you." Jake replied before stuffing some bacon in his mouth. Max responded in kind, starting on his eggs. Jax slid opposite of Max before grabbing the salt and pepper from further down the table. They all started casually conversing about different things, jokes were thrown, scalding burns were received, and all in all a pretty normal morning. Soon the morning klaxon sounded, and almost everyone looked up to the TVs mounted all over the far wall. They flickered to life, showcasing a combined background of the MCOR and the Militia's logos before showing a woman in armor and a red bandana standing in front of the logos. It was Sarah Briggs, the commander of the Militia. She stood tall with a proud light in her eyes, looking from side to side as if she could see the entire mess hall before addressing us.

"I have a major announcement for a lot of you today. In light of recent events, it has come to my attention we have more titans than pilots. During the time after Demeter was destroyed, we have been able to ramp up our production so much that we can build three titans in the time it takes for one to fall. We will be screening every volunteer of whom wish to become a pilot within the next 96 hours. Our hope is for a new generation of titan pilots to arise who will help us secure more and more victories from the IMC as we chase them back to the core worlds. Screening will begin at 1000 hours. Make me proud. Sarah out." The screens faded to black before switching off.

Max could hardly believe his ears. He was still staring at the blank screens, almost willing them to come back and confirm what they just announced. He didn't even notice his friend calling his name until someone flicked a piece of scrambled eggs at his face. He snapped back to reality, wiping the egg of furiously while Jax and half of the table laughed at him.

"Very funny Jax. But still, I told you it wasn't impossible! Now I jet to jump kick your ass for saying it!" Max said, kicking him in the kneecap under the table. Jax still laughed.

"Not if I pass and you don't!" Jax said before the entire table conversation burst into who could pass pilot sims and whoop the other's ass. It would've continued on had the breakfast end klaxon sounded. Only one hour until I can try out. Thought Max, heading towards the training center. Normally the practice area in the ship held obstacle courses, firing ranges, and a weight room, but now one of the firing ranges had been converted into an area for the sim pods. Four rows of seven sat, doors open and condensation drifting off the computer cooling units. Max stopped to look at them for a minute. Only one more hour…. He sighed and grabbed a DMR off the rack next to a shooting range.

Militia Headquarters on Harmony

0924 hours

Briggs clomped down the hallway, a small team of scientists behind her, exchanging notes and tapping away at datapads. She stopped at a far doorway before swiping a security card over a lock and walking inside. This new room was similar to that of a hangar, a retractable door to the rest of the world on one side, and lots of MARVIN units working around many titan chassis and the rest of the hangar, but that's not what she was here for. She spotted it in the corner of the room, next to the retractable doors, a gaggle of scientists and grease monkeys either arguing, working, or sitting around using datapads. In the center of it all was a bigger than average titan. It looked like an Ion chassi, but with lots of modifications around it's back and thinner less armored limbs. It's single eye swiveled around, watching some smaller humans work while the smaller optics studied others. The titan was colored an almost silver shade of grey with dark orange accents along some of its moving parts, wires and creases. On it's back were two laser launchers, two acolyte pods, and four thrusters. Its limbs were longer than normal, with two more small thrusters on it's heels. A heavily modified splitter rifle and sword were sitting against the wall next to it. Briggs started walking over, noticing that the modified Ion had started to face her, optics shuttering before focusing in on her. Briggs walked up the rest of the way before she was intercepted by Winston, whom she had come to see.

"There you are Briggs." Winston said before grabbing her arm and leading her over to the titan. "This is her, SP-13124. She hasn't chosen a name yet so we call her SP." Winston finally stopped at the feet of the machine. It was there she finally realized how big the modified ion was.

"How much taller is this over a normal titan?" Briggs asked, craning her neck to look the titan in her optic.

"She is currently around ten feet taller than an average titan, due to the massive amount of energy converters and computer bays we had to put in. Upon tests, she has actually performed better than any auto titan or record. Say hello SP." Winston told her.

"Hello Winston. Who is your guest?" The titan asked. Her optics brightening and dimming to her speech.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you about her. SP, this is Commander Sarah Briggs of the militia. The very founder of the fight against the IMC." Winston explained as he quickly wrote something down on another computer. The ion seemed to lean back some, as if taken aback by the announcement.

"You're the Commander?" She asked, seeming to brighten in mood. "I'm so honored to meet you! Will I be getting a pilot soon? Can I fight soon? I am willing to whenever you need me. Did I mention I want to fight?" SP asked, hands coming together in a hopeful manner. Briggs smiled before shaking her head.

"You will be able to fight in a week or so, and hopefully you will have a pilot within the next few days, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. True, it's nice to see people willing to fight, but don't let that affect you much on the battlefield. Some people get too excited and end up dead faster than you can say eager beaver. Remember to take your time in thinking things through before acting, and you may just get out ok." Briggs told her before Winston came back over with a datapad.

"Now I assumed you wanted a rundown of her abilities and weapons, so this is a list of the stats, but I assumed you would want a more verbal explanation, so I'm going to give you an overview of her." Winston paused to gather his thoughts. "She is a modified custom built Ion for handling and using the energy, but since one of the most true classic phrases is that the air is the safest place in a war, we have made her capable of flying around with those movable jets on her back and heels. Now you may notice the abnormally less armored limbs, but that's because of weight and mobility. Her chassi can take quite a few hits, but her limbs can't. Don't worry much though, we have plenty of spares. Her main weapons are designed for long range and close quarters, with the modified splitter rifle acting as a sniper, and the sword for melee engagement. The two laser launchers on her back are for anti missile defense and precision shots, while the two acolyte pods are designed for bombing runs on enemy forces. The energy based weapons will never need to reload because they feed directly off of the Ark, but she can only carry four missile payloads. Her core ability is similar to the Ion's normal laser core, except it's more powerful and lasts shorter. That's about it besides what you already know." Winston finished, taking a second to drink some nearby water. Briggs crossed her arms and put a hand to her chin, thinking while looking over the titan again.

"And in the case of when she is being targeted, does she have shields? And if she does get to critical damage, is she recoverable?" Briggs asked, turning to Winston.

"She does indeed have shields, but due to the lack of internal space, they are weaker than normal, but almost instantly recharge to full after three seconds of not taking damage. If she gets destroyed, inside the cockpit the ark will pop out into the lap of the pilot and the main optic will open and produce a standard SERE kit." Winston finished, looking back at Briggs for feedback. She raised an eyebrow before patting him on his back.

"I'd say you've outdone yourself Harold. Good job. Contact me when they've found a pilot." Briggs said before walking off.

1023 hours

Screening center

Max waited anxiously in line as others were in pods or watching others performance from a screen next to each one. Taking a breath to calm his slightly shaking hands, he counted the line ahead of him again. Only three more people… thought Max as one person got out of a pod and another went in. Soon there was a big wave of people finishing, and Max was next in line for a pod. After a few minutes, a pod towards the far right opened up, it's occupant finished.

Almost trembling with excitement, Max walked over to the pod manager before being beckoned inside it. Gripping the side of the pod, he squeezed in before sitting down in the chair. The pod doors closed, leaving him in darkness. Two mechanical arms came out from behind him and pinched a few nerves, rendering him in a state of paralysis while another came directly behind his neck to read his spinal nerves. Green lights flooded the pod before he found himself in a tile floored area, stone brick walls, open roof, and a pistol in his hand. He was facing a long corridor with a few beams going over the floor to act as obstacles he guessed. Starting forwards, he got a running start towards the beam.

"Jumpkit assist enabled." said a bored sounding voice. Before Max could understand what it meant though, his attempt at a hurdle over the wall sent him flying into the left wall. Standing up, he realized he now had a jumpkit on his back. Brushing off his surprise, he proceeded to jump over the wall correctly now, much higher than average. Starting to grow confident, Max continued to run before double jumping the next two. After passing the next two bars, the open topped hallway smoothed out before a curve up ahead.

"Try sliding on your pads." The bored voice announced. Max shrugged before running and sliding on the backs of his legs, almost laughing at how far he slid. Repeating it, he came upon the curve. It wasn't really a curve so much as an exit to a much larger space. The world out here had floating rocks with cherry blossom trees and grass, covered by a lot of fog. The platform he was now on was joined with other platforms and a wall, seemingly floating in the air. Max couldn't admire it much though, since the voice spoke again.

"Wallrun off the wall and onto the other platform." It said. Taking a deep breath, he holstered the pistol before running at the wall. Jumping, he almost lost his grip against the wall, but the jumpkit thruster provided him with a steady support against the it. Almost tripping on his own feet, he still managed to make it to the other side with meters to spare. Up next was a wall of weapons and what looked like a shooting range made out of the same brownish bricks the first hallway was made up of. Walking over to the wall, Max grabbed a DMR off the wall before noticing something further up. The Kraber! He loved that gun. Only problem was that it was the most powerful weapon available, meaning it was harder to find and use on field, so he never got to use it much, but when he did use the Kraber, he used the Kraber. Stowing the DMR on his back for the moment, He jumped up and snagged the Kraber off the top rack. Hefting it in his hands, he walked over to the range.

"Shoot all five targets the most accurate you can with both weapons." He was instructed. Shouldering the Kraber, he quickly aimed down the scope and shot all five targets in quick succession. Five shells hit the floor, and five bullseyes were hit. Little did he know though, a small crowd was starting to watch his trial from outside the pod. Switching his Kraber for the DMR, he once again took aim, making each bullseye faster with its semi automatic. Walking over to what he assumed was the exit, he was greeted with a wide open plain.

"Call in a titan using your tac-pad." The bored voice droned. Max visibly straightened up though before looking at his tac pad. Six titans versions were there, he just had to pick one. He hovered over a few before deciding to pick a jack of all trades titan. The Ion. A marker appeared on his hud, showing the words Titanfall and a countdown. Hearing a roaring noise, he looked up to find a blazing object falling to the planet before landing in a giant crash of shifted dirt and smoke. A light started to shine through the smoke, focusing on him. As the smoke cleared, he saw the metal giant standing before him.

"Holy crap." Was all he could say. He had always fought against and alongside titans, but he was hit with the new meaning of piloting one of these. Walking up to it, the Ion leaned down and opened its cockpit, one massive hand acting as a step into it. Taking a deep breath, he hoisted himself up and into it, the cockpit closing and he felt the machine standing back up. The panels in front of him shifted into a view of the area in front of him. Similarly to the sim pod, he was rendered immobile while another scanner was pressed up against his neck. Trying to move his left arm, he was greeted with the titan's left arm moving instead. Practicing movements, he took a slow step forwards, surprised he could feel it in his feet some. Putting his left hand back under the gun, he felt the contact. Taking a few seconds to move each limb and get used to the titan, he was kind of stumped on how to use the laser pod.

"Hey, uhh, whoever manages this, how do you use the laser pod?" He asked through the titans speakers. A deep sigh was heard before an answer.

"Press the red button next to the keypad." The bored announcer voiced. Max thought about it for a few seconds. He couldn't press it while in control of the titan.

"I can't actually do that. Whenever I move, the titan moves. I can't move anything inside the cockpit besides my mouth." Max stated, looking at the sky irritatedly.

"Ohhh, you must be one of those rare people able to control them better. In that case, any pods on the back of the titan is like an extra limb. You'll find it, just try to move stuff near your shoulder blade and it'll reveal itself." Max was told. Taking his advice, he mentally focused on his back, feeling a slight something there. Sending random signals to it, he felt the pod moving some on his back. With some practice, he was finally able to move it over his shoulder and into his view. Quite on accident, he triggered the laser, creating a small blackened crater in the ground and a startled titan.

"Alright looks like you've got it all down. Time for combat!" The voice said smugly. All of a sudden, buildings rose from the ground and a fence enclosed the area.

"Hostile titans inbound." Said his Ion. Not two seconds later, a missile narrowly missed him. Taking cover behind a building, he peeked out to see what he was dealing with. A tone class titan was advancing on his position, white paint glowing in the sun. Leaning out of cover, he laid down a stream of ionized particles that started to shred the tones shields. Ducking under a shell that was shot, he retaliated by firing his laser. It wasn't very accurate because he needed practice, but it still got the job done as the tone's health was reduced to half. Ducking back into cover, the splitter rifle ejected it's now spent cartridge with a hiss of coolant. Grabbing another off the titans side, the rifle accepted the cartridge and twisted in. Switching a lever on the side of the weapon to triple shot, Max rounded the corner once more, prepared to take down the tone, but when he looked it wasn't there.

A familiar tingle on the back of his neck occurred, and he whipped around, bringing his fist straight into the tones optic, sending it flying back into the fence wall. Wasting no time, he ran over to the tone before it could get up, punched it again, and ripped open the cockpit, revealing a very startled pilot. He shoved the barrel of the gun inside before shredding through the pilot and the back of the titan. Removing the gun, he turned his back on it before coming to face two ronin titans.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." He said, slumping the Ions shoulders before holstering his splitter rifle. "How's about a good old round of fight club?" He voiced. Surprisingly, the Roni took the challenge, drawing their swords.

"Laser core ready" his titan announced. A wicked grin came to his face before he activated the core, sending a massive energy wave at the first Ronin, melting straight through it's sword and cockpit. The core finished, and now it was just him and the last ronin. It charged at him, intending to impale him against the wall, but Max wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He waited until it was almost at him before reaching out, and shoving the sword upwards, unsettling the ronin and causing it to fall on its back, letting go of the sword. It then fell back to earth and impaled itself in the ground. Making a break for the sword, he grabbed its hilt before pulling it out.

Turning around, he just barely had time to throw up his vortex shield, catching the shotgun blasts from the Ronins lead wall. After a few more shots, the ronin ran out of ammo, and I let go of the decaying shield, throwing the blasts back at it. It stumbled for a second, shields failing. Taking a running start, Max held the sword high, intending to cut the ronin a new one, but it phase shifted at the last moment, kicking Max from behind. Spinning back around, he caught the Ronins fist mid strike, and held it in place, using the laser launcher to shoot the Ronins leg at the joint. Letting go of the ronin, it stumbled back, trying to get away, but Max wouldn't let it. Taking a sword stance, he ran at it again, this time successfully knocking it down before impaling it through the cockpit.

Pulling the sword out with a giant metal screech, Max held it up high like a trophy. His first titan battle. He barely had time to relish it though, since he got pulled out. The world flashing a bright white before disappearing to the black of the sim pod. Finding he could move again, he pulled the top lever in the pod, opening the doors with a hiss and a cheering crowd outside of it. He couldn't help but smile and wave as he got his bearings.

"Did I do good?" Max jokingly asked, causing most to laugh. He got fully out of the pod and stretched his legs and back. It was going to be a good day for him. -

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