…

…

…

… systems calibrating {DESIG. N/A} first_activation (00:00.00)

[CRIT SYS ONLINE]

[PRIM SYS ONLINE]

[OCU SYS ONLINE]

/ INITIALIZING … 0% /

/ INITIALIZING … 14% /

/ INITIALIZING … 37% /

/ INITIALIZING … 83% /

/ INITIALIZING … 100% /

[STATUS: READY]

/ RETRIEVE PRIORITIES /

[PRIORITY 1: await orders from superiors]

It was alive. It wasn't sure how, or even really what being 'alive' meant- but it was alive.

"Titan, can you hear me? Respond."

A voice. It came from below, from a person standing down on the ground looking up at her-

Her? It was a 'she'? Analyzing that particular strand of thought, she found that it satisfied her. She, not it.

"Acknowledged," she spoke aloud for the first time. Her first word, one of obedience and submission. Was that who she was? An obedient, submissive servant?

"Response time normal," the engineer beneath her muttered, typing into a data-pad. "Titan, lift your arms and extend them outward."

Again, she obeyed. Holding both of her arms up and away from her torso, she held the position as the man inspected her. "Gyrate both sockets and bend your knees."

Heeding his command, she lowered herself carefully towards the ground as both of her arms spun in a slight windmill-like fashion. The engineer let this go on for a few seconds before nodding his head and looking back to the data-pad. "Mechanical motion looks good, stress test checks out. You can stop now."

Standing back up, she waited patiently for his next order, eager to fulfill his requests. She hoped her performance here was satisfactory.

"Okay, let me just … I know the techs sent me your assigned designation," he murmured, sliding his finger along the pad as he attempted to pull up the info once more. "Ah, there we go."

Looking down at the data-pad to confirm one last time, he stepped back and faced her. "Titan, register your serial designation; Kilo-Tango-zero-two-nine-eight."

/ REGISTERING … COMPLETE /

{DESIG. KILO-TANGO—0298}

"Designation registered," she replied after a moment.

"Repeat your designation back to me."

"I am Kilo-Tango-zero-two-nine-eight."

"That's right," he agreed, a small smile breaking out on his face. "Okay, Kilo-Tango, I'll be right back- I'm just going to grab the Captain and introduce the two of you."

She had no idea who this Captain was, but bowed her chassis anyway in compliance. He walked out of the area- what seemed to be a large mechanic's workshop, one with other Titans and engineers nearby- and disappeared down a connecting hall.

Kilo-Tango stood there awkwardly, wondering what all this was for. She'd only been alive for a few minutes now, but she had to say that she was enjoying it far more than non-existence. She could hear the tinkering of metal and machinery, she could see the hazy steam of heat in the room- and color! Oh, the color was magnificent! She hadn't even been aware of such a concept before, but now she saw how easily everything fit into its own nuanced category- that was brown, that was tan, that was grey, that was … well, evidently she wasn't exactly in the most vibrant of places.

Then she turned to look behind her, and found herself rooted to the spot. Awestruck, she rotated the rest of her body as she stood frozen.

A window, a large view-port that looked past the walls of this workshop, adorned the wall. And she saw a great blackness beyond it, one that stretched out into the barest reaches of infinity, just daring to touch the horizon of forever. But the blackness wasn't what intrigued her, no- it was the millions, billions, trillions of lights that winked in and out among it, like minuscule specks of color dotted intermittently across a shadowy canvas.

"Stars …" she whispered aloud, testing the word.

Stars. That's what she was seeing, stars. Wherever the blackness went, they followed- never allowing too much shadow to grow before they added a bit of light to it. Little beacons that called out to all who could see them, letting them know that there was more than just nothing out there-

"Kilo-Tango? Respond!"

She heard the same voice from before, and reluctantly turned away from the viewport. When she looked back, however, she saw that the engineer was accompanied by someone new- someone wearing garments that were outfitted for intense combat.

"Here she is, Captain. She just woke up, so some of her systems might still need to cycle through-"

"I'll handle it from here," the newcomer chuckled. "This isn't the first time I've met a new Titan." The man looked up at her, arms crossed. "Do you know what I am?"

"You are a Pilot," she answered, the information coming easily to her. "An infantry unit generally linked via neural connections to an AI within a Titan chassis."

"That's right," he confirmed. "Can you relay your protocols to me?"

She performed a search through her memory banks, an admittedly quick one given how empty they were, and found what he was asking of her.

"Protocol one: Link to Pilot."

"That's me now," he told her. "I am your Pilot- and you're my new Titan. Captain James Shears, you understand?"

"Yes, Captain Shears," she replied, "I understand."

"Good. Keep going, then."

"Protocol two: Uphold the mission," she obliged, then looked down at him. "What is the mission, Pilot?"

"To protect the frontier," he said immediately. "To help those who call it home, and to fight those who threaten that home. You're a freedom-fighter now, Kilo-Tango. Welcome to the Militia."

"Thank you," she said courteously, still unaware of many of the terms he was using- but she was starting to get it.

"The last one?"

"Protocol three: Protect the Pilot."

"That's right," he said, stepping closer. "You and I are a team now- you protect me, and I'll protect you." He paused. "The mission will always be priority number one, but I'll make sure that you're number two."

She liked this man- he was honest, and seemed to care deeply about those he was protecting. He would make a good Pilot.

"Understood, Pilot."

"Glad to hear it, KT."

A/N: Trying something new for the TAC universe here- might make a few one-shots every once in a while when I'm having writer's block. If I do, I'll post them here- or, if you guys have a specific story idea you'd like me to cover, give me some suggestions. I'm open.

- Matteoarts