Chapter Text
The immediate sensation of dented steel and severed data cables isn’t dissimilar to that of a the dull shock of a broken bone, but the moment adrenaline wears off it is, safe to say, indescribable.
Where we are used to processing biological signals, that of pain or discomfort, and as hard as the researchers have tried to emulate this to be as clean of a translation as they can get, it is still an imperfect translation,
from sensors and binary code to unique neurological signals, bespoke to each an every pilot and thier sync-protocol.
It would be akin to a numb, pure static agony, flittering across the affected zone if it weren't for the white hot, searing heat of a composite metal reaching it's thermal threshhold.
Despite it being a pure psycological halucination, there have been accounts of this having a placebo on a pilot's physiology.
Though, this is not accounting for the nocebo effects pilot's encounter in extreme conditions.
A stray cluster missile rocked the chassis hard enough to dislodge The Pilot out of her seat, and whack her head off of one of the displays within the cockpit.
her consciousness evacuating her body mere moments before it could acknowledge the searing pain of thermite rounds melting it’s armoured plates.
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INITIALIZATION: stable
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VITALS: 70% stable
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LIFE SUPPORT:
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Cockpit: condition stable
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Cockpit: air seal maintained
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Suit: maintained minor damage
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Suit: air seal maintained
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Pilot: concussion suffered, minor injuries sustained
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Pilot: heart-rate stable- 134bpm
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Initializing Handshake Protocol with pilot
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Handshake received
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Establishing communications with piloting
PING: <Pilot, are you conscious?>
PING: <Ugh, for the most part- affirmative>
REQUEST: <What happened? Condition report, where are we?>
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Fetching logs
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DATA received
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Relaying DATA to Pilot
REPORT: <Command requested we evacuate, very little of my Chassis remains, Pilot, Unexpected impact from rear had made you a projectile within the cockpit and largely unresponsive, we return to the repairs hangar of [DETAILS REDACTED]>
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INITIALIZE HUD PROCEDURE
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ERROR
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WARNING: MAJOR COMPONENTS ABSENT OR DAMAGED- PROCEED?
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PILOT H.U.D. INITIALIZED
REPORT: <Impact seemed to be a thermite cluster, rival Chassis or manned gun missed in prior reconnaissance missions and terrain scans prior to impact, my apologies, Pilot>
REQUEST: RECEIVED
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Equalizing atmospheric pressure
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Pressure equalized
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Releasing cockpit locks
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Disable Life Support systems
REQUEST: FULFILLED
The Pilot attempts to stand, nauseas and disorientated she stumbles back into her seat, defeated.
- ACTIVATING EXTERNAL COMM-LINK
QUERY: <I didn’t realise there was an evacuation procedure, how come it’s not used more often?>
OBJECTION: <There is no Official Procedure for evacuations from a battlefield, Pilot>
CLARIFICATION: <Any attempts to deploy recovery teams into an active zone has returned
largely ineffective. You should count yourself lucky.>
EXTERNAL C-L ACTIVE
>_ Lucky is the least of it. Never in my time of surveying you, or your company have I seen a pilot come loose from their Chassis. How [REDACTED] did you manage that?
>_ I can hardly remember the last 10 minutes, you expect me to remember anything from deployment, Commander?
>_ No. But your glorified airbag should be able to, assuming that helmet didn’t damage it’s internals too terribly. Now get out before the techies take you apart with it.
REPORT: <Negative: no major internal damage detected, though, it is not recommended to disassemble The Pilot, calculation from logs report that may result in irreparable damage to The Pilot.>
REPORT: <Vitals from The Pilot also read largely unstable, it is best to let The Pilot recover, or seek a medical professional for further analysis.>
The Pilot stirs in their seat once more, seemingly on cue as an attempt to waive her commander’s frustration and to find the closest medic.
STATEMENT: <Thanks, big guy. Think I can handle myself from here, at least until I hit the bunkers.>
>_ Hey! Someone pull the black-box out that thing before it falls apart any more, hold off scrapping it before we get details-
OBJECTION: <Medical aid is necessary, Pilot, one seems to have been called, though not severe this is an injury you cannot sleep off reliably>
Initializing Core Comm-Link
CC-L Established
CC-L Active
>_ --Doc I’m fine, I promise, think I just smacked my head against a display
>_ That’s Not how this Works, from what I’ve been Told it was high impact and high temperature, we need to ensure there’s no burns or- … is your neck sore at all? Any latent pain or itching on your back?
>_ Not really doc, necks fine and I don’t have a rash. It’s Fine.
>_ [sigh] Look. The least you can do is take one of these a day, drop it in a drink or wash 'em down- however you need.
>_You’ll be out of commission for the first day or two but, it’ll help subdue any potential side effects.
>_ What are they?
>_ Would you remember if I told you?
The pause is too long not to be an answer, the doc shifts to file through some paperwork
>_ It’s on the bottle either way, I would Ideally recommend you take a full week’s recovery but we both know you won’t. Just, keep that core on you in case you start to fade in your sleep.
>_It’s hard to assign a new Chassis if there’s no consciousness to calibrate it to.
Initialize Vitals scan
################################################## 100%
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VITALS: 65% stable
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LIFE SUPPORT:
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Cockpit: Null
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Suit: maintained minor damage
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Suit: air seal maintained
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Pilot: concussion suffered, minor injuries sustained
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Pilot: heart-rate slightly erratic, average- 154bpm
>_ Fade in my sleep? Doc I’m injected with cocktails that make a bullet wound feel like a tickle and who knows how many more to patch it up, on a near daily basis when I’m on Sortie-
>_ I’m not sure what else to tell you beyond, be careful, your commander sees you as a liability, but your success rate is too high to not send you out
Cache error
Rebooting Core Comm-Link
################################################## 100%
Estimated downtime: 6.43 Hours
Initialise Vitals scan
################################################## 100%
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VITALS: 30% Falling
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LIFE SUPPORT:
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Cockpit: Null
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Suit: maintained minor damage
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Suit: air seal maintained
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Pilot: concussion suffered, minor injuries sustained
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Pilot: heart-rate stable- 65bpm
REQUEST DISPATCHED
REQUEST RECEIVED
################################################## 100%
REQUEST ACCEPTED
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Initializing Handshake Protocol with pilot
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Handshake timed out
###
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Initializing Handshake Protocol with pilot
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Handshake received
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Establishing communications with pilot
PING: <Pilot, are you there?>
PING: <Ugh... I think so? There an emergency? I don’t hear any alarms.>
UPDATE: <All is well, Pilot, your vitals fell below corporate standards, I was required to ensure you were still conscious, I believe the medic you visited called it “Fading Out”.>
QUERY: <You were listening to that? Thought you needed the rest of the Chassis to record. Good to know>
UPDATE: <I am required to keep a log, Pilot, so long as you are within sight of UNION’s communication array, my core and your suit are equipped to maintain a link with UNION’s Network.>
UPDATE: <Related to your suit, Pilot, I have requested a replacement due to damages sustained, it should be ready to collect by the time you rise.>
OBJECTION: <Oh? I didn’t notice any damage to this one?>
STATEMENT: <It is just the suit, Pilot, any accessories you are able to remove are not included. You are welcome to keep any accessories permitted on your person, just make sure they are claimed before returning the current suit.>
STATEMENT: <It is best to be safe, than sorry, Pilot. It will prevent any unwanted issues on future missions.>
Communication Severed by Pilot
Transmitting logs to archive