I learnt the value of team work on alternate Earth.
Alternate Earth was overrun by bestial creatures. In order to survive, the forefathers of alternate Earth built huge machines, to mine the resources of the Earth and to defend themselves against the creatures. The very first machines were crude and slow, with newer ones coming out each year, improving on the old ones to form more efficient machines.
Each machine was a towering titan that could only be crewed effectively by proficient members. Over time, the large machines grew into power and wealth. We called them the Knights. Neural implants came next to help pilot the machines more efficiently. There were at first skull caps and skeletal frames to integrate the controls of the machine, but soon, wires and chips were inserted into the most skilled crew member. We soon began to call them our Princeps. The amount of surgery and sacrifice they gave to wield these machines of war were too high.
In time, I was able to command one of the towering guns on the titan's armory. Nicknamed 'The Maw", it was the chest cannon, sited right in front of the Princeps's command throne. I was the lead loader of the cannon, and I helped to load and sight the cannon before it was fired. I was able to also see how the Princeps work the titan and honestly, this life is not for me. The Princeps did not even resemble a living man; he was more machine than man.
I earned a new nickname when I was with the Battalion: The Conductor. I would fire my gun and control it via a neural link that was attached to the guidance of the bullet. With 1 bullet, I was able to slew a multitude of creatures and to support the Princeps. Our machines were not as grand as the Titans, they were make shift frames with large guns as primaries. Other crew members would often jury rig their own hardpoints to add more armament but ultimately we had to keep our weight to a minimum, so most crew would carry their own firepower as a back up weapon, or otherwise known as the Last Resort. We've all seen the carnage left behind by the creatures when they fell upon the unprotected crew of the machines. We weren't always crews on a mighty war machines; we had to start from foot soldiers, to the small Squires.
