It had been a year since the end of the war with the IMC, and the faction had disbanded after suffering significant losses. Ethan was discharged from the Militia SRS. The bittersweet aspect of this was his separation from his Titan, BT-1022. The neural link between them remained, as did their emotional bond.
The militia had sent the Titan to a classified junkyard, deeming it “old tech.” For the last seven months, Ethan had been searching for his Titan, traveling in his Valkyrie-class freighter to his home planet of Fomos. The pilot activated his comms on the ship “this is the SS valkyrie requesting a docking bay for landing” he said. After a moment a woman spoke “you are cleared to land at dock 6, welcome home captain” she said.
Ethan was part of a popular family at this colony, his father’s family had founded the colony. His dad was the leader of the colony and the leader of the emerald viper mercenary group. Ethan landed his ship at the bay he was assigned, he turned the power systems and engine off. He unbuckled his seat belt and stood up, he was adorned in his militia pilot fatigues and jump kit, he grabbed his helmet connecting to the helmet slot to his kit.
Once he exited the ship by ramp he saw many engineers inspecting his ship. The man spoke “feel free to fix it and refuel it, I’ll pay you when I get back” he said. The engineers immediately jumped to work for him. Ethan made his way down a dirt pathway through the colony. Canopies of red, gold, and blue sheets of silk were hung over the royal marketplace.
The civilians of the colony would watch him as he walked through their midst. Everyone knew of Ethan; he was a titan pilot for the militia, and they called him "Archangel" around Fomos. Highly respected and well-liked, he held a special place in the community not only because of his role as a militia pilot but also because he was the only son of the colony's leader.
Eventually Ethan would make his way up to a large wooden home, it had a giant creature skull on it. It was a luxurious wood lodge. The boy approached the door and unlocked it, the pilot gently opened the door and stepped inside, he was met by a middle aged woman and a slightly older man in their chairs.
The woman looked up and her eyes went wide, her lips curled into a smile. She approached the man and carefully placed a hand on his cheek “it is good to see you my boy!” She said before hugging him tightly. Ethan hugged back before kissing her cheek “I’m sorry it’s taken so long mom” he said. The woman saw his helmet and then she sighed and patted his chest “you’re looking for her” she trailed off.
The boy nodded slightly, the older man stood up, he was wearing an older militia jumpsuit “it has been awhile my son” he said. Ethan grinned and approached his father, the man grabbed his hand hugging him tightly. “My son! You returned safe from the war!” He said with a proud tone. He noticed Ethan’s face was a mix of joy but sadness “what is it son?” The older man asked. Ethan spoke “I’m looking for BT dad, I can’t find her and I need to find her.” He said. Barry’s eyes brightened at his son’s words “follow me” he said.
Ethan followed the older man through the house to a garage out back. Whenever he approached the door he would open it revealing his father’s titan in a bay, next to it would be multiple titans for the other mercs. At the end of the hall was a titan that he couldn’t really see. All the hopes of finding her surfaced, his heart pounded in anticipation. He began to walk towards the bay, the pilots legs were weak, his hands shook slightly.
Each footstep was louder than the last. It felt like time had slowed down as he approached the final bay. He stopped in front of the titan and froze, it was her…the man carefully began to ran his hand across the titan. Barry eyed his son “the militia gave me the titan to either scrap or repurpose…I planned to do it but then I saw the serial number” he said.
Ethan spoke “I’m happy you didn’t, I’ve been searching for her” he said. His father laughed and he approached a switch and flipped it. After a moment the titan booted up “systems rebooted, activating ocular appendage” it said. After a moment the titans “eye” opened and focused on Ethan. “Pilot Ethan, it is very good to see you” she said.
Barry spoke “BT how long have you been linked to Ethan” he asked. The titan focused on his father “my first link with captain barnett was 1826.25 days ago” she said. Ethan stayed silent, a couple stray tears were falling at the sight of his best friend activated again. The titan focused on her pilot and knelt “pilot, I recommend you embark to and restrengthen the neural link”
Ethan looked at his father, Barry nodded “go ahead son” he said. Ethan slowly approached the titan. It was like when he first got her as his titan, his foot steps echoed in his head, his heart pounded against his chest. Time seemed to slow for the young pilot, every step he took only caused his heart to beat faster. Finally he was right in front of the open cockpit.
The man grabbed onto an edge and pulled himself into the pilot seat. He sat down after removing his helmet and putting it on, he began to type on the keypad in the pilots chair “initiate neural link restoration authentication code Bravo Tango 1022” he said. After a moment the core began to over clock activating the neural link process. That familiar feeling struck Ethan as his brain became melded to BTs AI, after a moment the female titan spoke “neural link complete…I have missed you pilot” she said.
Barry grinned “well son…why don’t you take her for a spin?” He asked. The older man hit a button on his gauntlet opening the mech bay door. Ethan grabbed the manual controls and off he went, his father had set up some targets and things for him to test BT on.
Ethan only had one thought in his mind….i finally found you.
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