text: Here's a short story I wrote around the TitanFall 2 universe. if you have no idea what Titanfall is or you've never played it, here's a brief rundown: it's the future, humans can travel at light-speed, and now there's intergalactic war. It's between the IMC, ruthless corporation trying to exploit the planets on the quote-unquote frontier, the edge of space colonized by humans, and the militia, a group of pirates and outlaws trying to stop the IMC from exploiting the frontier so they can continue to live their lawless lifestyle. Pilots firewall running wall jumping super soldiers with cool gadgets like grappling hooks and such, that control giant robots called Titans and grunts are little human cannon fodder that run across the battlefield, specters are human sized android-robots and stalkers are bigger versions reapers are almost Titans but not big enough. [Edit] Stalkers are more like Terminator versions of Specters i.e. they'll keep moving if missing legs, or appendages. Can kill humans, and have laser guns. Reapers are like the size of SUVs, they Hulk jump around the map and going plasma balls from their hands I also like to say that I'm a young kid in middle School, I like to come up with stories in my head, and I just wanted to see what would happen if I decide to write one down. Any positive feedback in the comments would help, but please no hate speech. 90 Seconds It was an easy job. Holmes had never thought otherwise. He grew up on Meridian, an IMC fueling port; constantly under use. He met people, saw war. He was only 19 on the Battle of Meridian. He saw what Grunts did. Drop in, shoot, get paid, repeat. Easy. So when he he was 23, and the IMC raided his colony and executed his family he was willing to do whatever it took. That was 4 months ago. He was in the MCOR now. He was ready. Holmes glanced around. The hangar was busy; They were preparing for drop, and it looked it. Pilots were readying their Titans, engineers working on Spectres, and Grunts loading into their Pods. He turned back to his squad leader, Mercer. There were 4 of them, including Holmes. Standard. Anston, Perry, Mercer and Homes. “Get ready boys, here comes our Pod.” said Mercer. As he strapped himself in, he slung his weapon into its holster and uttered the words he’d heard long ago “90 seconds.” That was how long the average Grunt survived on the battlefield. At least, according to the IMC. Holmes knew it when he signed up, he didn’t care; all that mattered was getting back at the bastards. A siren blared. Holmes woke up again, looked around. It was drop time. He sucked in a deep breath, breaking the silence. They knew too. Every Grunt did. But so did Pilots, when they were Grunts. That was the end goal of the average Grunt: Pilot. But as everyone also knew, it took years of experience to be a Pilot, and that was a hell of a lot more than 90 seconds. Less than a second. They were falling. He saw the other Pods. Falling stars. Poetic. “From heavens of steel, the stars fall on Angel City” Perry shuddered. Anston prayed silently. Mercer pictured his daughter. And Homes just stared. THUD. 1 Second. The Pod slams into the ground. 3 Seconds. The doors open. 7 seconds. They’re out of their seats. 11 Seconds. Boots on pavement. As they look around, stars glint. Giants of hell fall. And they run forward. 16 Seconds. Movement ahead. Gunfire in the air. Spectres are dead. Holmes looks for other people. 17 Seconds. Reaper. Demon. Bombs fall, troops separate. He stares at it, and sees Mercer yelling. Holmes woke up. He grabbed the R-97 and ran. 22 Seconds. At the town square, Perry dies. Shot through the head. Clean. G2A5. Anston is quicker. Longbow shot rings through the air. The sniper is dead. So is Perry. 26 Seconds. Holmes gets his first kill. Ambushed from corner of the apartment building. So easy to pull the trigger. Holmes wakes up. 31 Seconds. Holed up at B. Pilot slides through the window, a friendly one. A Spectre jumps in afterwards. Then one more. They stay till the objective is amped. Momentary rest. Holmes wakes up. 37 Seconds. At A again. Only Stalkers are guarding it. Mercer says they should stay. No one disagrees. 45 Seconds. Firefight. A group of Grunts assaults A. Mercer kills 2, Anston kills one. Holmes wakes up. 49 Seconds. First encounter with pilot. Gunfire then silence. Pilot is gone. So is a father. 56 Seconds. At the alleyway, they meet Stalkers. Holmes is hit in the leg. Pain fills the air. So do bullets. 62 Seconds. They pass through the house. Screams fill the air. A man. Red on a white uniform. Begging. Mercy, reconciliation, regret. Holmes gives him what he wants. 69 Seconds. Titan. Hellfire rains through the window. The way is blocked. Backtrack through main floor. Holmes limps. He wakes up. 72 Seconds. On the street, Scorch meets Longbow. Scorch wins. Anston will not be buried. 77 Seconds. A star falls. So does the Scorch. Brown on green. Holmes is safe. 80 Seconds. Two Pilots. 4 dead Grunts. Holmes fires. Bullets fly. They connect. 84 Seconds. He lies in the street, on a car. Pain. He wakes up. 86 Seconds. Holmes screams. Begs. Mercy, reconciliation, regret. 87 Seconds. Holmes wakes up. 88 Seconds. A pilot hears him. She lands by him. Mercy. She stares. 89 Seconds. Reconciliation. A pistol. 90 Seconds. Regret. She gives him what he wants. 91 Seconds. Holmes sleeps.