Chapter 14…

One step, two steps, three steps, four steps… and a thousand more steps after that. Cain- who was wholeheartedly lacking the limitations of human anatomy, was keeping a fairly brisk pace.

Ashley was still riding atop the Ronin titan's chassis. Her gloved fingers tapped against the surface of his metal hull as her vision slowly panned around the local environment.

The two of them were still trudging through the alien woods that blanketed the surface of the planet they were on. Every time Cain stepped on a log or brushed some tree limbs out of the way, yellow sap oozed from the vegetation and stained the dark blue paint of his chassis. The six-eyed bird creatures still fluttered around in curiosity; they made odd noises as they observed Ashley, alternating between loud screeches and off-key chirps.

Despite their six eyes and rude demeanor… Ashley didn't really dislike the little creatures. Their feathers were coloured in shades of blue and orange- giving them a tropical appearance that she found instantly appealing.

She had taken to holding out her hand with a small piece of food as an offering; but not a single one of them had worked up the nerve to approach her. Perhaps it was the constantly moving and shaking titan she was moving upon… Cain's presence served as an easy explanation as to why the creatures were nervous.

Ashley could sympathize… she was also terrified the first time she saw a titan.

Not the industrial kind, of course. Titans were an everyday part of life on Earth; but during her upbringing the only ones she had ever seen were civilian variants used for heavy-lifting.

The first time she had seen a titan that was equipped for warfare… she had been eighteen. A wide-eyed girl with no other path in life than the one that guaranteed her big sums of money…

A wide-eyed girl who hadn't even been done mourning when she signed up for the army…

Ashley's distant memories of Earth made her feel a little sad… but her trip down memory lane persisted. Perhaps it was because she hadn't thought about her early life in such a long time. Or perhaps her little exposition session to Cain had opened up some old wounds that she needed to tend to.

Of all the people she knew back on Earth, only two stood out from the crowd.

Her father… her sister…

Ashley could still recall an image of her father's face. It was from a time before he got sick… before he slowly wasted away to nothing but skin stretched over old bones…

Her old squadmate Caleb had once told her that it was bad to live with regrets. But just like Ashley couldn't choose to stop feeling pain, she couldn't choose to forget the man whose life she squandered away with her own selfishness.

Her father had been stoic, unreasonably kind and had possessed a quiet intelligence that she had trouble seeing when she was younger. With Ashley's mother absent from their lives he worked his hands to the bone-almost literally- to keep them all fed.

How many times had she derided him, castigated him or insulted him straight to his face? Too many times to remember properly… too many times to count…

Perhaps it was because he worked all the time… it was hard to know and understand someone when they just weren't in your life, even if it was for your own benefit.

Ashley's attention was slowly pulled away from her memories and back to the world around her. She scanned the tree tops with her dark eyes to see if she could spot more of the bird-like creatures. The large flock that had been following her and Cain around were still present; they watched the pair with hundreds of tiny black eyes.

"C'mere," Ashley spoke softly, holding out her gloved hand. Sitting in her palm was a small bit of dry crust she had broken off a ration bar. "Any takers?"

The horde of creatures sat silent.

"Fine…" Ashley mumbled, withdrawing her hand. "Be that way…"

Ashley squeezed her eyes shut as a cool breeze washed over her, ruffling the branches of the nearby trees. She once again allowed herself to be pulled back into her memories.

Her mind was now occupied with the memory of a young woman who had a face just like hers.

Faith… her sister… how long had it been since she had thought about her own sister? Ashley's treatment of Faith was an even bigger regret than her treatment of her father. Faith had been the yin to her yang…

"Little Miss Perfect…" A cruel and vindictive voice sang in Ashley's head. It was a voice that she recognized as her own.

Faith always had the top grades in school, Ashley was always skipping class. Both Faith and Ashley had excelled at sports… but it was the former who was good enough to make the team. It was Faith who had the wide circle of friends, Ashley was only ever "cool" enough to hang out with her fellow social rejects.

Faith had been kind where Ashley had been stand-offish. Faith was regarded as beautiful when Ashley was regarded as gangly and weird. Faith had been dependable, honest and had some level of control over her life…

Smart Faith, beautiful Faith…

No Faith… as it turned out… her name had been a lie.

Back then… Faith had seemed perfect… but now Ashley knew better.

Not all diseases were something you caught… sometimes they were just something small that you couldn't control. It was Faith's lack of faith that ultimately killed her.

A small chittering noise captured Ashley's attention. The dark haired woman turned her head and spotted one of the small bird-like creatures right next to her. The blue and orange animal was perched on Cain's battery access port and teetered around whenever the titan took a step.

"Hi," Ashley spoke in a low, gentle tone. The dark haired woman held out her hand, which still contained a small piece of food. She was slow and cautious with her actions, not wanting to spook the single member of the flock who had been brave enough to approach her.

To her delight the tiny creature took a hint and hopped atop her gloved hand. It's elongated head darted down to snatch the tiny piece of food Ashley had offered it. The dark haired woman watched in quiet fascination as the tiny creature gobbled down the piece of ration bar. It turned it's head to regard her with three of it's six eyes.

She reached out her other hand and extended a single finger; once again moving slowly so she wouldn't startle the tiny beast. The bird-like creature opened its beak and gently nipped the tip of the digit, most likely hoping that it was food..

A small part of Ashley's chest felt warm… but all good things ended eventually... Whatever fleeting happiness Ashley felt in her current situation would be squashed when reality pulled her back to the ground.

Ashley jolted forwards and nearly lost her balance when Cain suddenly stopped. The tiny creature that was perched on her hand was startled by the shift in gravity and scrambled back to the treetops.

"Ashley," Cain spoke in his usual low tone.

"Problem?" Ashley growled, flicking Cain's battery port with her finger.

"Enemy signatures have been detected by my long range scanners."

Ashley drew in a sharp intake of breath and retrieved her helmet from between her legs. She slipped the helmet over her head and patted her body to make sure that she still had her weapons.

"How many?" Ashley asked, maneuvering so that she was crouching atop Cain's hull.

"I have detected multiple Militia IFF signatures, an exact amount cannot be concluded," Cain responded. "I have also intercepted enemy radio chatter."

"So?" Ashley frowned behind her helmet, carefully scanning the forest with her eyes. "What's our plan?"

Cain was silent for a long moment. "I would suggest that we perform reconnaissance."

"Lead the way," Ashley shrugged.

"Ashley, I would suggest that you embark and assume manual control."

Ashley wordlessly adjusted her footing and let go with her hands. She slid down the front of Cain's hull and allowed the titan to catch her in his metal hand. She grunted slightly when Cain's hatch opened and she was tucked inside.

It took only moments for Ashley to get comfortable inside the titan. She performed a quick systems check before assuming manual control.

"Where to?"

"Travel North-East for two-hundred meters," Cain instructed. "Closing that distance will put us within visual range."

Ashley complied with Cain's suggestion, maneuvering the titan into a fast jog. The terrain of the alien forest around them was ripped up as Cain's metal feet dug up the ground.

"Any clue what we might be up against?" Ashley asked as she pivoted Cain's chassis to avoid a large tree.

"Unknown, the Militia radio signals are using an encryption I am unfamiliar with," Cain responded. "I would suggest that you refrain from making contact with any and all hostile forces, if possible."

"Noted," Ashley chewed her lower lip.

The two of them were sprinting up a large hill now and half-way to the top.

"I would suggest that you stop after cresting the hill," Cain warned. "We can use the angle of the hill to conceal ourselves."

Ashley slowed Cain down to a slow walk as they crested the top of the hill. Following Cain's advice, Ashley did not stand atop the hill, instead peeking over with her titan.

Below the hill a massive expanse of trees stretched out towards the horizon. There was a notable exception to the vegetation however. That exception was the massive radar tower that sat in the middle of the expanse.

The radar tower loomed from where it stood, a massive radar dish resting on its apex. Clustered around the radar tower were a collection of small buildings- connected by a system of bridges and catwalks.

"Cain, are you seeing this?" Ashley muttered, tapping Cain's control console.

"Affirmative," Cain responded. "It appears to be a communications relay of some kind. I am magnifying my visual sensors… it appears to be guarded."

"Not by friendlies, I'm guessing…"

"That is an astute observation."

"Then how do you suggest we proceed?" Ashley leaned onto Cain's control console, her fingers playing with the seal of her helmet. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Elaborate…"

"It is possible that the Medusa is still within communications range?"

"I cannot provide an exact answer," Cain responded. "Although… it is highly probable that the Medusa is."

"Do you think we could use that relay to send them a message?"

"With some modification, yes," Cain agreed. "But we would need to be on-site."

"Well then…" Ashley paused and hit the release on Cain's hatch. The hatch opened with a small hiss and Ashley leapt out, landing on the soft dirt below. "Let's get planning then… suggestions?"

"I would suggest we wait until the cover of darkness," Cain suggested. The small red light of his seer-kit squinted and turned, as if he was deep in thought.

"Agreed…" Ashley frowned. The woman crouched low to the ground and drew her data-knife from its sheath. She placed the tip of the blade into the ground and drew a crude representation of the radar dish and its surrounding buildings. "Is there anything else you can suggest?"