Titanfall: In Ruins

By Glen Harris

Author's note: I'm a fan of Titanfall and play it quite often. I've researched into its lore though not extensively so I apologise if there are any errors, please feel free to let me know if you spot anything. Likewise, though I have checked, if there's any grammatical issues let me know as well and I'll correct it once I'm able to. I feel there's still a lot to be explored in the world of Titanfall, so I'll be taking a few liberties here and there to extend the universe given the fact there isn't a huge storyline to go on based solely off the game. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, I had fun writing it and I have plans for future chapters so all being well I'll be adding them shortly. Stay tuned!

Chapter One: Shadow of the Jungle

The first glimmers of sunshine woke him, just as they always did. Slowly, gently. The light-orange rays caressing his forehead, his cheek, his eyelids, pulling him slowly from peaceful dreams of times long passed. In those precious, waking moments, Axel actually felt content. There was a hazy serenity in those few fleeting seconds, a brief instant where the horrors of yesterday felt like ancient history, and the horrors yet to come were but a distant worry. However, that mental sanctuary, no matter how treasurable, was not to be indulged in for long. It may have only been a state of mind, but it was dangerous one. One that could rob the unwary of their better judgment, dull their senses. As tempting as it might be, escapism had its price, and in Leviathan's mightiest jungle, that price was certainly death.

Collecting himself quickly, Axel familiarised himself with his surroundings once again, checking for any details that might have changed overnight due to the movements of some hidden third party. He had founded an ideal spot, located high amongst the trees, just below the canopy. One hundred yards to the east lay the treeline, the edge of jungle, marked by a surprisingly-straight row of towering tree trunks, standing in line like soldiers in rank. Ahead of them lay the swamplands, a seemingly endless pit of mud, ooze and filth that sprawled out for miles and miles. To the west stood more and more jungle. Axel had only ventured into it on desperate occasions, hunting for food when resources were threateningly low. During such ventures, he soon discovered that the floral-green world he had found himself within only became more and more hostile. The trees grew larger, closer together, hiding wild beasts that Axel had never heard of, let alone seen, before.

The thick, wooden planks that Axel sat perched upon encircled the tree's trunk, jutting out and providing a sturdy radial ledge around its perimeter. As he began to adjust to the morning light, his back leaning against the bark of the tree he had now claimed, he was reminded of those who had actually created the crow's nest he now found himself in. A scouting party had arrived perhaps fifty moons ago, maybe more, and established a crude base on the edge of jungle, just outside of the treeline. It was a meagre base of operations for an extraction team, barely able to accommodate a dozen men, never mind the thirty poor souls who were stationed at it a week later. Their mission had been innocent enough, collect emulsion and any other available natural resources from the swampland and then leave. The workers had just been civilians; they had not deserved the fate that had befallen them.

Instinctively, Axel reached out his right arm, his fingers flittering across the wooden planks beneath him until eventually curling around their target. He brought the weapon into his lap, a semi-automatic Longbow-DMR sniper rifle. It was sturdy weapon, his weapon of choice in fact, equipped with a suppressor, twelve round extended magazine, stabiliser and, most importantly, a personally-customised 4.5x zoom scope. Axel began to strip the weapon expertly, examining each component with care. It was a routine he carried out each morning, his movements robotic, unhesitant. He had always prided himself in his weapon maintenance and now, in the depths of the jungle, it was more vital than ever. The rifle was his protector, his lifeline, he had to respect it. Any flaw, anything left unchecked, could result in a jam, and that could be the difference between life and death.

Satisfied that the rifle was still in a prime, working condition, Axel rose to his feet, picking his mask up as he did so. He disliked taking it off, his combat gear was there to protect him, but he found it so much easier to sleep without it, and he needed all the rest he could steal. Without another thought, he brought the mask up to his face, connecting the straps behind his head, his mouth closing around the respirator. The air in the jungle was thick, so humid that it was suffocating. The respirator was a welcome luxury. Pulling the protective, camouflaged hood up and around his head, he picked up his rifle and made his way around the side of the tree, quickly locating a steel hook. The hook was nailed deep into the tree's bark and held firmly in place by several small bolts. Tied around the hook was a rope, the end of which lay in a small spool at Axel's feet. He brought it up to the perch every night before he tried to sleep, he could not be too cautious after all.

With a swift swing of his arm, Axel threw the rope over the edge of the perch. The spool unwound rapidly as the rope fell, eventually hitting the soft, squelching ground with a light thud. Axel grabbed the rope tightly, holding it with both of his gloved hands, the rubber fingertips providing significant grip. One moment later and he was on his way down, descending in a quick and controlled manner, the air whistling by, faster and faster as he neared the ground. He could have reached the ground far quicker if he had wanted to. His pilot gear was indeed equipped with working jump kit, the thrusters of which would have allowed him to make a controlled freefall. However, with no idea of how long he would remain within the jungle and fuel supplies rapidly diminishing, Axel was adamant on using his jump kit as scarcely as possible. Seconds later, his boots connected with the sponge-like marsh beneath him and he began to make his way east.

His destination was the extraction team's resource base. He had scavenged it for supplies long ago, returning frequently to top up on fuel or shelter himself from the merciless thunderstorms that had made a habit of suddenly appearing and disappearing without a moment's notice. Most importantly, however, he returned to relay his distress call. Admittedly, it was more of a desperate cry for help, but Axel new it was better than surrendering himself to the jungle. For a few days, Axel had actually slept there. He had been new to the Leviathan jungle then, unknowing of the dangers that lurked amidst the mud and vegetation, or even within the swamp waters themselves. When a large, lizard-like creature had prowled into the base, also finding shelter from a storm, Axel quickly became aware of the hell he had unwittingly entered. Of course, living directly beneath the canopy of the trees was safer, though he still faced dangers. Winged beasts and giant insects were common inhabitants of the jungle, joined occasionally by four-legged mammals with claws so strong and so sharp that they could climb even the highest of trees. Nowhere was safe for long.

After a short, cautious walk, the resource base came into view. It stood on steel girder stilts, suspended a metre or so above the murky swamp water beneath. Large tankards surrounded the structure, connected with a variety of pipes which extended down into the waters, pumping up whatever they were able to. At least they had when the base had been in working order. Now it was a mere shadow of its former self, a dirtied ruin, claimed by the jungle. It was only a small base; its white and orange metal exterior was soon tainted by the jungle's greenery. Moss, algae and vines clung to steel framework of the structure, clinging to the walls and sprawling across the rooftop. Though if the outside was a sorry sight, the inside was something else entirely.

As Axel made his way into the structure, he found himself face to face with the familiar sight of the extraction team, or at least what remained of them. Even now, after all the visits he had made to the base, he was unable to prevent him stomach from turning at the gruesome scene before him. Amidst the slimy green filth that covered the floor lay violent streaks of red, now mouldy with age, reminders of the numerous bodies that had been dragged outside, kicking and screaming by the worst of the jungle's creatures. Not everyone had been taken away however. Some had simply been killed, left to rot whilst their colleagues were consumed in some far away treetop or nest or wherever the creatures had chosen to live. Almost a dozen bodies lay scattered about the interior, mutilated, torn open, their rotting guts spilling out of congealed gashes within the stomachs. Their heads, or at least those still them, were more skull-like now, the skin shrivelled around the bone, grey and rotting, their eyes gone, mere hollowed out shells.

Axel did his best to avoid looking at them. They brought forth too many memories. Axel had been part of the team sent to protect the civilians when there had been word of a creature threat. They had been unsuccessful; his fellow men were slaughtered along with the rest of them. As it turned out, they had been overwhelmingly unprepared. Minutes before they had arrived, the temporary Wildlife Repulsor Tower that had been established by the scouting party had malfunctioned, opening the gates for a wave of creatures of an unaccountable measure. In the panic, most forms of communication were either lost or destroyed, the dropship that had brought Axel and his men being ripped apart by a flock of flyers, four-winged dragon-like beasts of immense strength. However, one device had miraculously remained intact, a satellite radio, handheld but powerful enough to reach anyone within the System's orbit of Leviathan should there be a clean line from the surface to the stratosphere. Axel had salvaged the device from one of the dead civilians days after the attack. After some handiwork and some playing with the base's technology, Axel had managed to not only restore the radio but also increase its range, or so he hoped. Accessing a service ladder and ascending to the rooftop, Axel held the radio out before him and clicked in the talk button. After a brief pause, he spoke, loudly and clearly.

"Anyone on this frequency, please listen to me. I am stranded in the Leviathan Badlands. I am alone and have few supplies. Can anyone please help me?"

Though he tried to hide it, Axel was unable to avoid a hint of desperation in his voice. He went on to call out his geographic coordinates, then repeated his statement a second time before releasing the talk button and lowering his hand. He paused for a minute, perhaps longer, he did not keep count. The radio was nothing but silent. There was no static, nothing at all. He tried again, repeating the phrase, almost identically to before. He had said it so many times that, by this point, he might as well have rehearsed it. He had intentionally left out his name, and the side for which he had fought in the Titan Wars, that might only complicate the matter. It was a cry for help, nothing more, nothing less. If he were fortunate enough for anyone to respond and they turned out to be hostile, he would deal with them accordingly. Again there was no response from the radio. He tried several more times, the words becoming more and more emotionless with each round. The sadness and defeat that had once consumed him after each failed attempt was no longer an issue, he had already lost all hope of being granted with a reply. Part of him felt the only reason he made the daily trip to the base was to simply give himself something to do.

A faint rumble echoed throughout his stomach. Axel ignored it at first though, when it began to persist, he eventually decided to climb down from the rooftop and begin searching for food. Mere weeks ago he was gagging whilst trying to swallow a highly undercooked insect. Now, however, he relished thought, craved it in fact. Somewhat absentmindedly, he placed a hand over the grip of his knife, tucked snuggly at his side in a leather sheath. It was a reliable blade, and had earned him many a meal in the past. As he entered into the shadow of the jungle once again, he holstered his sniper rifle, slinging it over his back, and slid the knife into his hand, holding it delicately. The glanced down towards the blade. It was clean, its front edge still razor sharp, its rear edge serrated and jagged. Suddenly, he heard a faint buzz beside his head. In an instant he was upon the tiny beast, skewering the insect with the tip of the blade and pinning it against the bark of a nearby tree. With its body impaled, the small winged creature writhed uncontrollably, its legs kicking, its wings fluttering, stuck in place and squealing quietly. Axel seemed to savour the moment, the slightest hint of a smile appearing beneath his mask. He knew it to be pathetic, feeling so powerful over such an insect, but it was one of the few chances he would have at feeling anything but helpless. Axel twisted the blade and the insect fell still. Without any hesitation he brought the blade back up to his face, the creature still attached, lifted his mask and consumed it in one large bite. He had learned from more desperate times that that particular insect was safe to eat uncooked.

Whilst the tiny body of the insect crunched inside Axel's mouth, he started on his way once again. A simple insect would not be enough to satisfy his hunger for the day. It had been some time now since he had found a sufficient meal, if he wanted to keep his energy up, he needed to find something far bigger. As he made his way through the trees, he began to sweat. He could feel it trickling down his torso, down his limbs, with every step. His combat gear had been installed with technology designed to keep perspiration down, however his gear was slowly starting to falter and the shear humidity of the jungle was enough to put even the finest of combat suits to the test. His blistered feet ached as he moved, the wet, muddy ground doing little to soften his footsteps. The sun had now risen high above the treetops and was emitting a fantastic quantity of heat. Though very few rays were able to penetrate the upper canopy, those that did seemed to be carried by the moisture within the air, reflecting a pale green mist throughout the entire jungle. Twinned with the echoing roars of faraway creatures and chirping insects, Axel could not have imagined himself to be stranded in a more hellish place.

Hungry, tired and aching, he had to indulge in a quick rest, placing one hand against a tree and leaning, catching his breath. It was at that moment, as he scanned he surroundings, he spotted something in the distance. It was alive, that much he could tell. He could just make out a large torso, inflating and deflating gently whilst whatever creature it belonged to slept. Eagerness consumed Axel and he hurriedly returned his knife to its sheath, whipping his rifle around and raising it before him, looking down the sights keenly towards the slumbering creature. Through the glass optic, a skeletal orange outline of the being pulsed before Axel's eye. He had custom-fitted a radar pulse to the rifle's scope, which identified and used the heartbeat of anyone, or anything, within its sights to draw a live, x-ray image of the subject's body. The creature was one of the biggest Axel had seen since the attack on the resource base, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was just lying there, waiting for him, like some twisted gift. It seemed too perfect, though as Axel surveyed the area through the scope of his rifle, he found himself unable to identify any other nearby targets. He and the creature were alone.

Axel trained his sights back upon the beast and steadied his breathing, fearful of moving any closer should he wake it and ruin his chances. He had not fired his rifle for quite some time and, even now, he was instinctively hesitant. He had been trying to conserve ammunition whenever possible, far too much had be spent during the attack. He toyed with the idea of sneaking up on the creature, slitting its throat with his knife, but his mind was filled with too much doubt and his stomach urged him to hurry and make the kill. Axel's mind was made up. He held his breath, his finger steady on the trigger, squeezing with just enough pressure that the slightest bit more would cause the weapon to fire. The second his sights fell upon the creature's x-rayed skull he exhaled and pulling the trigger. The round flew almost silently through the air, whistling out of the suppressed barrel and meeting its target in the blink of an eye, an explosion of blood briefly replacing the creature's head. Axel lingered momentarily, holding his sights upon the creature, ensuring it was dead. Its torso had indeed stopped moving. As its heartbeat faded, so too did its orange skeletal outline Axel observed through the scope. Satisfied, he lowered his weapon and began sprinting towards his prey, hunger and anticipation swallowing the rest of his thoughts.

As he neared the body, he was able to truly appreciate the size of the beast. It was at least six feet long, a muscular and hairless creature, with a long curling tail and large bloody claws. That was when Axel noticed it. The creature's claws were not the only thing covered in the blood. In fact, the majority of its body was. Confused, and a little disturbed, Axel nudged the creature with his boot, lifting its torso just enough to see beneath it. A pool of fresh blood had soaked into the mossy ground and, now curious, Axel knelt down and, pushing hard with both hands, rolled the creature over. The move revealed a ghastly sight. The other side of the creature's body had been entirely ripped open, the skin cut to shreds by large talons, some of the gashes exposing innards and the ribcage. Something had attacked it and left it to bleed out.

Unable to see any nearby danger, Axel decided not to allow the body to go to waste. He collected two sturdy sticks from some foliage and began rubbing one against the other rapidly in an attempt to start a fire. Initially he had always been afraid of igniting any sort of flames for fear of drawing the attention of any creatures in the area. However, after several cooked meals, Axel had learnt to use the fire to his advantage. Fire made the creatures predictable, they were drawn to it, though it was very rare that it would catch the attention of more than one beast at a time. That made them controllable. In the past he had been able to start a fire, lie in wait and, as soon as a creature arrived, he would be able to sneak up on it and kill it, using the fire almost ironically to cook it straight after. Now, however, as the first small wisps of smoke began to rise from the sticks, Axel could not help but feel uncertainty about the situation he had found himself in. As the smoke began to intensify, he suddenly heard a noise, the rustling of leaves. Not from the ground, but from above, in the trees.

Axel dropped the sticks, immediately twisting round, bringing his rifle up in an instant, searching for the perpetrator. He looked towards the canopy, hurriedly switching his aim from tree to tree. It was only when he heard the low swooping sound of large wings flapping behind him that he realised he had been tricked. He swerved around as fast as he could though it was not fast enough. The flyer crashed into him, claws raised ahead of itself. Axel had just enough time to raise his rifle, holding it horizontally in defense, the flyer's claws slamming into it, curling around it. Axel was thrown off his feet, the pure might of the winged beast easily overpowering him. He hit the ground hard, damp soil splashing up around him upon impact. The flyer was on top of him, its two clawed feet still curled around Axel's rifle, which was now pressed against his chest as he tried, and failed to wrestle with the beast. It wailed loudly and Axel feared it would draw the attention of other creatures nearby. He watched, terrified, as the flyer's elongated neck curled back, signalling that it was about to lash out. Axel prepared himself, quickly moving his head to one side and narrowly dodging its pointed jaws which instead connecting with the dirt.

It was in that moment that Axel spotted the bullet hole in one of the flyer's wings. It was a small clean wound, but Axel recognised it. He had encountered this particular flyer before, about a five moons ago. He hard narrowly missed its head and it had flown away into the wilderness, escaping. Yet now it had returned. In the fleeting seconds Axel had whilst the flyer recovered from its failed attack, he realised that the flyer had set a trap for him. It had attacked the animal he had found, waited for him in the treetops. Axel had had no idea the flyers were capable of such intelligence, he could not believe it was possible. As the flyer prepared to strike again, Axel released one hand from his rifle and fumbled for his knife. His shaking hand struggled to find the grip and his hesitance almost cost him his life, the beast striking down again, snapping at his face, tearing off a large strip of his hood.

Finally, Axel's fingers closed around the knife's handle and he swiftly unsheathed it. The flyer withdrew slightly, preventing Axel from reaching its head or neck. Instead he decided to cut at its ankle, swiping quickly and so suddenly that it severed the flyer's clawed foot from its leg. The flyer recoiled, screeching in pain, yelling up into the air. It flapped its wings wildly and began to hover above Axel, snatching his rifle from him and holding it in its remaining claws, its injured leg spurting blood violently. Axel took the chance to clamber to his feet, holding the knife up defensively and jabbing out towards the beast, warning it. The intensity of the flyer's pain must have been great, as it continued to screech relentlessly and, upon seeing Axel's blade again, it began to retreat. It flew, higher and higher into the area, leaving a trail of blood behind it. There was no time to relax, however. Axel had not been victorious. He could not survive without his rifle. He had to give it back.

Without another thought, Axel began to give chase, following the trail of blood across that trickled over the foliage, a line of red amidst a world of green. His aching feet and tiring limbs were a distant memory. Any lack of stamina had vanished behind a veil of adrenaline, coursing through his veins, fuelling him as he sprinted through the leaves, the flyer's cries echoing ahead. It was slowing, the rapid loss of blood clearly affecting its ability to flee. Axel managed to start closing the gap, keeping the flyer directly in his sights. That was until he sprinted over something hard. Before he could take another step, the stone surface that had suddenly appeared beneath him collapsed. Axel disappeared in an instant, as if swallowed by the earth, plunged into darkness. When he hit the cold floor below, he was unconscious.