"ZK, EMBARKING!"

"Acknowledged." The titan's cockpit opens, inviting me inside. Once I'm inside, ZK's internal speakers boom. "Hull integrity nominal, weapons systems comprimised. Rocket pods failing. Main weapon and vortex shield still functional."

"Well, ZK, we'll make it out, won't we?"

"You will, pilot. Protocol 3."

"Both of us, buddy."

My comms crackle with chatter, these villagers clearly never had a chance of winning, at least not without ZK. I adjust my radio filter and am met with only the magistrate and a few others. they're barking orders, like real COs. I listen, letting ZK do all the scanning for hostiles, and then hear: "THEY'RE PUSHING HARDER FROM THE SOUTH GATE!" I relay this information to ZK. "Hey, bud, we need to get to the south gate."

"En route, Pilot."

"I'll be doing some chatting. Fight for me until I can do it myself."

"Acknowledged, pilot."

I switch to Kev's frequency. "Kev, bud, you there?"

"Y-yeah? What's up?"

"Why do you sound so... guilty?"

"Me? Why would I sound guilty?"

I hear a voice in the background. "ACCESS DENIED. ARMORY LOCKED."

"ARE YOU IN MY FUCKING APARTMENT?"

"I KNEW YOU HAD AN ARMORY IN THE WALLS!"

"THIS IS NOT THE FUCKING TIME!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"AND YOUR IMMEDIATE FUCKING COURSE OF ACTION IS TO GO THROUGH MY SHIT?"

A hostile titan delivers a blow to ZK's chassis. I rock in my seat and scream one last sentence at Kev. "I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Pilot, hostile titan has suffered severe damage, but refuses to take evasive action."

"uhh, okay, disengage for a second so I can get out. I'm gonna see if they're trying to use a pincer manuever on us."

ZK uses his own rifle to push the enemy Titan away, and opens his cockpit while spinning away, nearly throwing me out in the process. I use my Jump Kit to stabilize myself, and hit the ground running before pulling my Pike over my shoulder and aiming it at the enemy Titan's knee-joint. I breathe out, and fire. The round hits something vital and the enemy titan collapses onto its newly broken knee. ZK holds a vortex shield-full of rounds, ready to dispatch the titan, pilot, and anything behind them, before I scream out to him. "ZK! DON'T! I NEED TO INTERROGATE HIM!"

ZK's arm droops, firing the captured munitions into the wall next to him instead of the titan, as if he was disappointed.

"ZK, open this titan's cockpit, and then self-diagnose. Return to the workshop for repairs."

As ZK attempts to pry open the titan's cockpit, the villagers in the square look on, mesmerized, at me. I think they'd seen my antics, and I'm pretty sure I'm the first pilot they've ever seen.

"Okay, people, move it along. We've got corpses to bury, titans to salvage, all kinds of shit to do other than stare at me."

They all shuffle back to work as if on cue. From the smoldering remains of the titan, a cockpit door pops off. ZK looks at me, holding a pilot, the other hand bearing a thumbs-up. I return the gesture.

...

In what used to be a training room, now a makeshift interrogation chamber, the enemy pilot looks at me, almost indifferent.

"So, you got any specific reason you people tried to murder a bunch of villagers?"

She stays silent. I can't see anything but her face because of the head scarf she's wearing. It's round. Under other circumstances, I might have even asked her out for some coffee.

"Listen, I'm a pilot too. This could get messy if you try to play the quiet game with me."

"Orders. Why else?"

"Okay, smart-ass. Why in specific were the orders issued?"

"I'm a pilot. Not an officer. I don't fucking know. Torture me if you want, but I know nothing else."

"I'll believe you on that. Now, who told you to attack the villagers?"

"You wanna know who I work for."

"Something like that."

"Take off the cuffs and I'll tell you."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"I was hoping so."

"Maybe I am."

I walk around the wooden table and remove the handcuffs. I also unholster my handgun.

"Not too stupid, though."

"Hmm, I wasn't expecting you to do that. Guess I did make a promise."

She reaches into a pocket. I'm sure she's unarmed, so I don't move. A second later, she drops a card bearing the Predators insignia onto the table.

I speak. "Predators."

"Yep. You know what the card means, right?"

"Find Blisk."

"Not anymore, he runs the Games now."

"Find the new leader, then?"

"Yep."

"You know I was a Predator, once?"

"Were you?"

"And I know that the Predators would take a bullet for each other in an instant. They'd never give each other up. Who are you actually working for?"

"Damn." She sighs. "IMC. They had us raiding the village, something about claims to the land."

"Somehow I actually believe that."

"Good."

I turn toward the observation window, rigged with some holograms to look like more of the wall. "You guys caught that? IMC."

I look at the pilot. "Well, not sure what to do with you."

"I suppose watch me getting hanged a little later?"

"Nah." I re-lock her handcuffs. "You're getting a stay of execution."

As we exit the room and I lead her across the town square to a ship I'd been promised, she asks me a question. "What do you want in return?"

"Not much. I like you."

"Ah, so it's that. I'm not doing that."

"Did I say anything about doing that?"

"I suppose not."

We climb into the ship after moving all of my supplies from the workshop. ZK can barely fit inside. I handcuff her to one of the pipes in the ship's main cargo hold and leave her other hand free. "Now, I have to go see someone."

"Where?"

"Angel City."

"You're Militia. How are you going to get in?"

"I live there. And I'm not Militia."

"Then why'd you fight for them?"

"I didn't know if going to you was safe."

"Yeah, IMC aren't the nicest bunch. I would know."