The black void of space felt alive with violence. The battlefield had erupted into chaos—mechs collided, weapons flared, and explosions rang out like thunder. The air, if it could be called that in the vacuum of space, felt thick with the acrid scent of burning metal and the metallic tang of blood from those who had fallen.
Dominic's titan stood at the heart of the storm, a towering figure among the wreckage. His grip tightened around the controls, the neural interface syncing with his movements. His pulse was steady, his mind clear. He had trained for this—lived for it. But the raw brutality of it still hit him like a fist to the chest.
A warning flashed across his HUD. The Juggernaut-class CMC mech, the one he had just disabled, was back in the fight. The hulking machine, now with deep gashes across its armor, charged toward him, its enormous arms swinging with deadly intent.
Dominic cursed under his breath. This wasn't over.
"Come on, you oversized tin can," Dominic muttered, already calculating his next move.
The Juggernaut fired a volley of heavy plasma rounds, each one crashing through the space around him, streaking with a sickly red glow. Dominic swerved his mech, activating the thrusters to dive and roll out of the line of fire. But the sheer force of the blast rocked his cockpit, sending alarms blaring and his HUD flashing red.
"Damn it!" he growled. His mech barely steadied itself as he fought to regain control, but the CMC mech was relentless, its weapons blazing.
"You think you can just dance around me?" The voice crackled through the comms—a deep, gravelly tone. The pilot inside the Juggernaut sounded almost amused, as if the fight was a game. "I'll grind you to dust, scavenger."
Dominic's hands clenched around the controls. He had heard worse threats before—had faced worse odds—but this mech, this battle, felt different. The stakes were higher. He wasn't just fighting for survival; he was fighting to change the course of the war.
"Let's see if you can back up those words," Dominic muttered as he fired the white titan's energy cannon. The blast shot through the void, hitting the Juggernaut's left shoulder and causing a massive explosion. The massive mech stumbled, its weapons faltering for a moment. But it was far from finished.
Dominic's mech dashed forward, closing the gap. He activated the left arm's heavy claw, its jagged edges glowing with dangerous energy. He swung it with deadly precision, aiming for the Juggernaut's exposed torso. The claw connected with a sickening crunch, tearing through the CMC mech's armor like paper. Sparks flew as the heavy limb cracked open the Juggernaut's chestplate, exposing the vulnerable internals.
"How does it feel, big guy?" Dominic snarled through his teeth.
The CMC pilot's voice crackled again, this time tinged with rage. "You think you've won?"
But Dominic didn't stop. The moment the claw made contact, he activated the right arm's energy cannon again, firing directly into the open wound he had created. The explosion shook the Juggernaut's core, tearing through its systems and sending debris flying in every direction. The CMC mech staggered back, its massive form flickering as its AI systems began to fail. But the pilot inside wasn't done yet.
The Juggernaut's right arm raised, its plasma cannon glowing with sickly power. It fired a shot point-blank at Dominic's mech, a blast so strong it nearly ruptured his shields. The force of the impact sent him reeling backward, his mech flipping through the debris field. For a split second, everything went dark. The alarms in his cockpit screamed as the titan's internal systems began to fail, the mech spinning uncontrollably in the void.
"Not today," Dominic gritted, barely regaining control. His fingers danced over the controls, forcing the mech back on course. He wasn't about to let this beast have the last word.
He powered through, pushing the titan forward with every ounce of strength he had left. The Juggernaut was close now—too close. Dominic raised his mech's massive arms, and with a howl, he launched forward, slamming both arms into the Juggernaut's sides.
The force of the impact was bone-shattering. He felt the metal grind against metal, felt the shock reverberate through his own bones. The Juggernaut's right arm fell limp, its cannon shattered beyond repair. But the CMC mech wasn't finished.
Dominic swung again, this time landing a crushing blow to the Juggernaut's head. The cockpit inside the enemy machine exploded in a burst of fire and sparks. The pilot's screams were cut short, the last remnants of his voice drowned in the roar of battle.
The Juggernaut collapsed, its massive body crumpling under the weight of Dominic's titan. But even as the hulking machine fell, Dominic's battle was far from over. The Valiant's distress signals echoed in his comms.
"Dominic!" the voice of the UOP fleet commander came through, panicked. "We've got reinforcements coming in from the CMC. You need to hold the line!"
The battlefield was a mess of metal and fire. The UOP forces were retreating slowly, but the CMC had the advantage in numbers.
Dominic's hands were shaking with adrenaline. His mech was battered, but still functional. He wasn't going to retreat—not after what he had already given. The titan's weapon systems came back online, and he locked onto a group of CMC ships that had just entered the fray.
With a snarl, he fired the energy cannon once more, sending a searing beam of energy into the hull of the closest ship. The explosion lit up the dark void of space like a supernova, its wreckage scattering in all directions. The UOP forces were still retreating, but they weren't as beaten as the CMC had hoped.
"Hold your ground, soldiers!" Dominic bellowed over the comms, rallying what was left of the UOP forces. "We've got this! Push forward!"
The titan charged forward again, its massive arms swinging with ruthless efficiency, shredding through the CMC mechs like paper. Each punch, each blast, was a brutal reminder of the cost of this war. Bodies exploded in showers of sparks. Armor crumpled like tin foil.
But Dominic didn't feel the triumph—he felt the weight of the war. This wasn't just a fight for survival; this was a fight for something much bigger. It was a fight to stop the endless cycle of violence, to reclaim a future from the wreckage of the past.
But as he looked across the battlefield, the carnage was undeniable. The war had claimed so much already.
He'd make sure it didn't claim him.
"For the UOP," Dominic whispered as his mech powered forward, ready for whatever came next.