Aftermath

12 1 0
                                    

Part 2 of "flashes of the past"
---

To put it simply, he waits.

He stands at the entrance of the bay, in view of the landing zone. Flick is beside him, chippering in binary in an attempt to soothe him. Sympathetic looks from hangar workers bore into his back.

It has been hours since the recovery ship left.

It has been hours since his mind has been at ease.

We know where she is, the medic had commented. We know her location.

He knows that. He also knows the only reason the beacon had gone off was because it was standard issue to have a distress signal implanted into Militia Titans. The signal goes off when the Titan takes severe damage.

CK's signal had gone off.

Something in the sky rumbles. He instantly snaps his attention to it, reading radar arrays and scanners alike.

The dropship.

Flick bweeps excitedly at him. He is too distracted to notice it.

The ship lands smoothly, plumes of dirt dancing away as the thrusters die off. The pilot steps out, looking pensive. They round the ship to the Titan-sized door and wait.

Shortly, the door opens. The Recon squad hops out one by one, gathering around the pilot anxiously. A Vanguard disembarks as well. Its pilot stands at its feet.

And in its arms, he sees her.

She is lifeless. She does not move. She does not respond to stimuli. Her Acolytes spit dangerous sparks where the mangled remains are. Her arm hangs down limply, leading to the wreck of remains that is her palm.

Gently, the Vanguard trots to the repair hangar with its cargo, the ship's crew in tow.

Flick follows their movements curiously. TB follows them broken-hearted.

Is that it? Did such a ferocious soul as her die out, alone and abandoned?

He was not there for her.

He had failed her.

Quietly, he uses the commotion in the bay to slink back to his dock. Flick titters after him persistently. He's thankful for the company.

He shuts down. He dampens his senses to everything around him. He does not respond to the kind-hearted workers that offer him comfort and reassurance. Flick takes to delicately shooing them away on his behalf. Once they dissipate, the MRVN returns to TB's side. For once, Flick is silent. It does not prod him to speak or respond.

For being synthetic, the other is surprisingly human.

Distracted by his thoughts, he does not notice the Vanguard's Pilot approaching. It's only when Flick shifts at his side that he even registers they're there.

"You're TB?" their voice comes out soft behind the helmet.

Flick answers for him.

"Excellent," the Pilot responds. "I'm, uh-- Dex. I pilot that Vanguard you saw carrying...yeah."

TB does not acknowledge Dex. Still, the Pilot pratters on nervously.

"You--you realize she's alright, yeah?"

Tentatively, TB looks up at the other. He dares not believe their hopeful words.

"Her batteries ran out, she had some severe damage to one of her hands and her Acolytes, and her struts have frozen up. But, yeah, she'll be fine."

TB narrows his optic at them. How does he know this is not just the calm before the storm?

"I mean it, too," Dex continues. "My Titan and I were the ones to locate her. She looked worse for wear, but it could have been a lot worse." Awkwardly, they shift from foot to foot. "They've got her in the repair bay right now, as you saw. Some fuel cells and patchwork welding done will fix her up, good as new."

He blinks owlishly at them.

"Cross my heart, man," Dex says sincerely. "She'll be back on her feet soon." Someone from the hangar entrance calls for them. Reluctantly, they move away, stopping one final time to wave goodbye and rush out "you'll see her soon, bud."

TB watches them go. Flick waves back at them, but their back is already turned as they rush away.

Does he dare hope?

Quietly, he looks down to Flick.

The MRVN is already looking back at him. It looks at its hands for a moment before, determined, it moves its fingers into what TB recognizes as a gesture of good will and luck.

He mimics it back to Flick.

---
this was written by Mav bc they wanted to fix the angst i wrote. 
CK belongs to me
TB belongs to slavic_potato
Flick and Dex belong to Mav 
<3
Also their might be a 3rd part, we dont know yet lol

Jaxs's Random Titanfall abominationsOpowieści tętniące życiem. Odkryj je teraz