. . .
" Welcome, Lieutenant Aryan. Please have a seat. We have much to discuss, and you have much to tell us on what you have found... "
Within the room Pilots, Grunt officers, and the commander of the fleet are all sitting around the holographic image of the Earth. A series of highlighted locations are stretched across continents, but focused around the 'United States'.
Each focused highlight stretches off to show a distinct city. Figures performing superhuman feats are shown in the images, with a few videos among them.
The commander noticing the attention being set on the hologram, he stands up and begins the meeting.
" Welcome, everyone. As some of you may know, following the 'Battle of Demeter', we had entered an emergency jump to escape the nuclear detonations across the planet. The Militia destroyed the only significant fuel depot and mining facility in the entirety of the Frontier. "
The commander looks around after reminding them of the 'Battle of Demeter', a few scowls and frowns appear on the faces of the officers present.
" Well, during the journey of the jump, we had an unknown malfunction in the jump drives. Engineers and Mechanics cannot figure out what went wrong, so we can only assume it was an undisclosed error during production for our fleet... "
" . . . Cutting to the chase, we have jumped back to Earth. "
Hearing that they had returned to Earth, many of the officers and pilots showed surprise and shock. The Frontier was lightyears away from Earth, and even the fastest ship would take weeks to return to the 'core worlds', where Earth is present.
Nodding at the surprise of the pilots and officers, the commander continues.
" But! We do have reason to believe we are not on the Earth we all know... This one seems more 'primitive' in nature compared to the Earth we all understand. They still rely on fossil fuels for everyday life instead of fusion reactors and still have not figured out how to delay or halt global warming. "
" Due to this, I and our analysts in the fleet have reasonable cause to believe that we have... Either somehow gone back in time due to an error in the jump, or we have gone to another version of Earth altogether... "
With the news of possibly going back in time, or being in a different version of Earth altogether, all hell breaks out in the helm. Shock and anger are the key emotions of the officers and pilots, while dread remains among the others.
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, daughters, sons. Many of the officers and pilots have families back on Earth, or at the Frontier. With this news, they may never see them again. And if they do, there's a chance they won't be the same ones they know...
" Silence! We will not have this chaos in MY helm! If you cannot calm down, we will have spectres remove you to your quarters! " The commander yells at the panicking crew. He is also tensed by the situation, but comparing this to the many battles in orbit against the Militia, this is rather mild.
Hearing the commander yell at them, many are quick to sit back down, while others who try to argue receive a glare in their direction, immediately silencing their disagreement.
Aryan meanwhile, has been amused by the reactions of the other pilots and officers present. Officially, he never had a family when he finished his education and joined the pilot academy. In some sense, he didn't understand the panic in the others.
He did feel that this was a bad situation, but found the reactions of the others to be amusing, and somewhat irritating. Giving to their emotions instead of trying to find a solution... Was he being judgemental? Oh hell yes, he was.
As Aryan continues watching the others, the commander once again speaks up, drawing the attention back to him.
" Enough! I know the situation is... Rather bad... But we cannot lose hope! Should we never be able to find a way back, we still need to continue our lives and the legacy of the IMC. It will not die with us, and perhaps the people of the future will once again find a way to return to our home. " The commander yells to the group, a mix of both anger and hopefulness in the tone of his voice.
" Now... We have a plausible solution to create a presence on this new Earth. "
" Our technology is hundreds of years more advanced than the people of this version, so we have a few options to choose from... "
The commander then begins listing the options available for the fleet. Three options gain the attention of the officers and pilots.
The first option presented, would be to invade a small nation on this version of Earth. The production facilities onboard the ships of the fleet could mass-produce spectres to make up for their lack of reinforcements, and likewise, give them an advantage against most modern militaries of this Earth.
The second option is to present themselves and their situation to a developed nation and allow them to have their own region of jurisdiction in that nation, and in return, provide military assistance and technological research. This option, however, received the most backlash... They would be seen as direct targets for most militaries and plausible organizations. The risk was high, and the reward was moderate enough to be considered.
The final option would be to remain in orbit and in a 'blind spot' to most detection equipment and create the 'Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation', or 'IMC', in this version of Earth. This would give them more options, and eventually present themselves to the world as the 'first interstellar fleet', rather than the 'humans from a different Earth'.
Of these three options, the first and the third gained the most positive reactions. It was then decided there would be a fleet-wide vote on which decision... This was beyond a normal military decision, and would require most personnel to give an opinion on the matter before a final choice was made by the Fleet Commander.
. . .
Upon the choice being made to have the vote, the meeting was adjourned.
Aryan would not follow most of the other pilots, but rather go back to the Titan bay to meet with his partner, BRT-1931, an Ogre-class Titan. Also known by Aryan as 'Brute'.
Entering into the bay, Aryan heads towards the dock for Brute. " Hey, Brute! You online? I got some good news and bad news. "
[ Yes Aryan, I am online. ] A deep monotone voice comes from the hulking behemoth of titanium and steel, the blue lights across its armor pulse as it 'speaks'.
" Great! Well, after the meeting with the Fleet Commander and the other officers, we appear to be in a different version of Earth... Or we had gone back in time. That was the bad news, FYI. "
[ . . . ]
" Okay... And the good news! We're going to be deployed regardless of the decision being made! We're either going to be deployed as pilot and titan, or we're going to be sent out as an exemplar for a new 'IMC' on this Earth. Either way, we're going to be together for a while! "
A few awkward seconds pass as the titan in front of Aryan says nothing... The cameras attached to its chassis occasionally focus in and out as it looks towards Aryan, before the monotone voice of 'Brute' echoes through the bay.
[ Understood, Pi- Aryan. I will be entering hibernation mode until deployment to analyze and update the new information from the main computer core of the fleet. I will be available for Titanfall during this time. ]
Once 'Brute' tells Aryan this, the pulsing lights on its chassis shut down, with only the humming of the internal reactor of the Titan, and the distant thumps of machinery within the ship.
Seeing that 'Brute' won't be moving or responding anytime soon, he turns and heads towards the barracks to await the decision from the Fleet Commander.
And maybe a few beers while he waits...