The year is Unknown. The planet Terra has been Destroyed, the rise and prominence of space travel drew it’s contemporary states to tear each other to shreds and those far beyond the gaze of Sol declared them disowned. Those that Remained, re-inhabited what was left of Terra’s orbiting body, now a ringed dwarf planet, stands as the homestead of The Union. Those who the destruction of Terra had affected, or those that witnessed it’s rapid decline and inevitable end, formed a collective to protect and enforce the future of Humanity, igniting a revolution and funding the development of more advanced interstellar travel.

The immediate sensation of dented steel and severed data cables isn’t dissimilar to that of a the dull shock of a broken bone or a limb gone numb, but the moment adrenaline wears off it is, safe to say, indescribable. 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 fleeting moments before it could acknowledge the searing pain of thermite rounds melting it’s armoured plates.

- INITIALIZATION: stable
- VITALS: 70% stable

- LIFE SUPPORT:
-- Cockpit: condition stable
-- Cockpit: air seal maintained
-- Suit: maintained minor damage
-- Suit: air seal maintained
-- Pilot: concussion suffered, minor injuries suffered
-- Pilot: heart-rate stable- 134bpm

- Initializing Handshake Protocol with Pilot
- Handshake received
- Establishing communications with Pilot

PING: >Pilot, are you conscious?<

PING: >Ugh, for the most part- affirmative.<

REQUEST: >What happened? Condition report, where are we?<

- Fetching logs
- DATA received
- 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]<

- INITIALIZE H.U.D. PROCEDURE
- ERROR
- WARNING: MAJOR COMPONENTS ABSENT OR DAMAGED- PROCEED?
- 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, apologies, Pilot<

REQUEST: RECEIVED

- Equalizing atmospheric pressure
- Pressure equalized
- Releasing cockpit locks
- Disabling Life-Support systems
REQUEST: FULFILLED

- 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 previous attempts to deploy recovery teams into an active zone has returned largely ineffective. Count yourself lucky, Pilot.<

- 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 did you manage that?
>_ I can hardly remember the last 10 minutes, you expect me to remember anything from Impact, 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 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 further, hold off scrap 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.

>_ --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 them 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 calibrate a new Chassis if there’s no consciousness to calibrate it to.

>_ 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

QUERY: >Pilot, are you alone, currently?<
QUERY: >As alone as I can be, Why? Not often you check for privacy.<
QUERY: >I wanted to ask, why is it you Fight, Pilot?<
QUERY: >wh- What do you mean? It’s my job, I suppose, I’m paid to<
CLARIFICATION: >Why is it you joined The Company, Pilot, What was your motive to recruit?<
OBJECTION: >What, this a new satisfaction survey? Gonna report this back to command to reprimand me again?<
CLARIFICATION: >Only if it jeopardizes your personal safety, or the security of The Company, Pilot<

>:_