A/N
Well, here's the chapter that was supposed to be due on Wednesday. Although my workload is picking up I still intend to stick to my current upload schedule, so you guys can still expect the next chapter this Wednesday.
Chapter 16…
Pilots weren't just ordinary soldiers… they were forces of nature.
Just one pilot could turn a stalemate battle into a crushing victory; and that wasn't even mentioning the titan that came with the position...
Pilots had to be expert firearms users, maintain a high level of physical fitness and were expected to have mastery over several different forms of martial arts. They were fast, deadly, clinical and highly efficient combatants.
Of course, there were some other- smaller aspects of the job that had to be addressed. A pilot had to know how to maintain their weapons, fix their titans and have a basic understanding of electronics.
Ashley knew how to maintain her equipment, she knew how to fix a titan to (mostly) working order…
But the wild assortment of parts Ashley was currently gawking at… she didn't have a single fucking clue where to start…
The dark haired woman had made her way back across the catwalk to the storage room she had crept through. After fumbling around the room for a few moments to find a light switch, Ashley just opted to turn her helmet visor back on. The dull red light of the ocular piece bathed the room in an eerie glow, but it was at least bright enough so that she could see what she was manipulating.
At the behest of Jeremiah, she had pulled down several of the tubs from the shelves. Unsurprisingly, they had contained a mish-mash assortment of spare parts; so many parts in fact that she was up to her ankles in them.
Ashley swore under her breath and tapped her helmet radio. "Hey, can you hear me?"
There was a crackle for a moment.
"U-uh yeah," the stutter-y voice of Jeremiah warbled over the line. "I- I can hear you… o- over?"
"Good," Ashley let out a long exhale, her nostrils flaring. "What am I looking for exactly?"
"Uh… t-two parts-" Jeremiah crackled back. "O-one is s-sh-"
"If you keep stuttering I'll walk across the catwalk and beat it out of you," Ashley growled into the comm. "Take a fucking breath and tell me!"
There was silence on the other end for another long moment.
"Okay," Ashley could hear Jeremiah gulp. "You're looking for a long cylinder, it should have a- a shallow indent near the top… like a two-pronged fork…"
Ashley frowned and knelt down, removing her hand from her radio but keeping the channel open. She sifted around near her feet for the part Jeremiah had described, but to no avail.
"Are you sure it's in here?" Ashley muttered over the line. "I'm not seeing it…"
"I- I could come over to the room if you want?" Jeremiah warbled back. Ashley could hear the fear oozing from his voice.
"No," a small smile tugged on the edges of Ashley's lips. "You're right where I want you right now. Why? Is my friend giving you any trouble?"
There was silence on the line.
"I- I think I'll stay put…"
"Good," Ashley licked her dry lips and returned to her search. Her foot bumped something and she looked down to check. Near her ankle was a long metal tube with an indented top. "Hey… long cylinder with an indent, right?"
"That's right!" Jeremiah crackled. "I'll need that and one other part!"
"Don't keep me in suspense…"
"The other part you're looking for slips into the top of the first one, I'll need that part and my toolkit," Jeremiah began. "The part should be cubic in shape, but with shaved down sides. Uh… it'll have a power cord sticking out of it, I need that too."
Ashley murmured his directions underneath her breath and scanned the objects below her. There were none matching the description the man had given her, so she turned her eyes up to peer at the tubs that were still on the shelves.
Ashley approached the nearest shelf and reached up to grab one of the remaining tubs. She placed her hands on either side and tugged it off the rack; grunting in discomfort as she shakily dropped the heavy tub to the floor. Ashley unceremoniously ripped off the top off the tub and overturned the vessel to spill out it's contents.
The part in question was now lying on the floor. It was a small metal block with shaved edges. A frayed power cord was sticking out the side… just like Jeremiah had mentioned.
Ashley reached down to grab the metal cube in her left hand and the cylinder in her right. She hefted them both up to eye level and viewed them with a critical eye.
"Jeremiah," Ashley clicked her tongue as her radio crackled. "Is this it?"
"Yeah… that should be everything… did you grab the toolkit by the door?"
"I see it and I'll grab it," Ashley huffed back. "But these parts… this is all you need?"
"Yes."
"Okay," Ashley lowered the parts, sticking the cylinder under her armpit for easy carrying. "But if you're bullshitting me… I have a homicidal supercomputer who can verify that the station is working…"
"I'm not bullshitting you… you're the woman with the gun," Jeremiah crackled. "And- and the homicidal supercomputer…"
"Great… be right over…"
Ashley used her free hand to snatch the old toolkit that was sitting next to the door. With everything ready the woman exited the storage shed, walking back onto the catwalk and into the cool night air. She crossed the rattily old metal catwalk in just under fifteen seconds, using her finger and thumb to pry open the door of the control room.
Everyone was exactly where she had left them. Jeremiah was sitting at his worn-out old chair, his chubby fingers tapping nervously against the badly frayed armrests. Edwards - who was still unconscious - was lying on the ground next to the former's chair.
Cain was in the window. Ashley felt a small prickly sensation in the back of her neck when she saw him. Not because she distrusted her assigned titan, but because he had shoved the barrel of his loaded Leadwall shotgun through the gap where the window had been.
"Cain," Ashley spoke in a low tone as she observed the three large barrels. "Put the gun down…"
Ashley could hear Jeremiah let out a sharp breath.
"Affirmative," Cain responded. There was the unpleasant noise of glass fragments clinking as Cain removed the barrel of the weapon from the window. The empty space was soon filled by his glowing red optic. "I was merely exercising caution while you were absent."
"You being here is enough," Ashley shook her helmeted head.
The female pilot closed the door with her hip and crossed the threshold of the small room. She set the toolkit on the floor and slid it over to Jeremiah with her foot; she then tossed the two parts onto the man's lap.
"Do… whatever it is you're going to do…" Ashley muttered, watching as the man scrambled to grab the parts. "And get out of that chair…"
"Huh?" Jeremiah looked up at her with wild eyes.
"Out of the chair," Ashley deadpanned, sticking up her thumb and throwing it over her shoulder in gesture. "Out…"
Jeremiah slowly and carefully lifted himself up from the chair. He was taller than Ashley had expected. The man cradled the parts in his hands and sank to the floor to access the toolkit.
Ashley maneuvered around him as he began to tinker. She spun around and collapsed into the old swivel chair that Jeremiah had been in a moment before. The moment she hit the seat Ashley felt a frown clinging on her face.
She shifted around for a moment, searching for a comfortable position… but to no avail…
"Your chair has an ass indent," Ashely muttered as she wiggled around in the seat. "It's not comfortable…"
"Sorry?" Jeremiah awkwardly called over his shoulder. He had opened up his toolkit and his hands were occupied by a myriad of tools.
"You should be," Ashley tapped her gloved fingers on the armrests. "How long?"
"Huh?"
"How long have you been… here?" Ashley lifted up her hands to gesture to the room around her.
"Why do you even care?"
"I don't," Ashley clicked her tongue. "But I don't feel like sitting in silence… and I'm the woman with the gun… so answer."
"I-" Jeremiah looked over his shoulder for a moment. "A year…"
"A year?" Ashley tilted her helmeted head. "And your friend?"
"T-two months," Jeremiah stuttered. "Edwards was a transfer…"
"Hmmph," Ashley huffed. She turned her head down to peer at the young man on the floor. Her assumptions about his age had proved correct. Edwards was clearly young and still in the awkward phase of his teenage years- eighteen or nineteen if she had to guess. Ashley had turned him on his back and tilted his chin up to keep his airway open.
"Must be boring," Ashley tapped her fingers on the armrests.
"It's quiet…"
"That's not much of a reason, Militia," Ashley chided.
"Okay," there was a small pop as Jeremiah used a soldering tool to bind the two parts together. "It's a paycheck…?"
"That's better," Ashley responded, but she felt an inkling of curiosity inside of her. "The Militia… gives paychecks now?"
"They have for a long time," Jeremiah answered. "Have you been living under a rock or something?"
"Something like that…" Ashley trailed off. She moved her head around to stretch her neck.
"Why? How much does the IMC give you?"
"That's a rude question to ask… don't you think?"
Jeremiah fell silent, save for the occasional mutter when he fumbled with his tools.
Ashley frowned and shook her head at the lack of interaction. She reached a gloved hand down and withdrew her P226 from it's holster. Ashley made sure the safety was on; then, with practiced movements she began ejecting the magazine and sliding it back into the weapon. She did this absentmindedly, focusing on the gentle clicking and tapping noises that the motion made.
"You're uh… distracting me a little bit…" Jeremiah called from the ground.
Ashley froze for a moment before slowly sliding the magazine out of the weapon. She pulled back the slide and watched as the chambered round was ejected. Her hand darted out with a flash, snatching the bullet out of mid-air before thumbing it back into the magazine.
"You uh…" Jeremiah gulped. "You've made your point…"
"Good," Ashley lifted up one leg to cross it over the other. "How's it going down there?"
"Almost done," Jeremiah called from the floor. "Almost… there!"
The was a final pop from the soldering tool as Jeremiah powered the small device down. He tucked the tool back into it's kit before getting up onto his knees and turning around. In his brawny hands he held the parts that Ashley had gathered. The cylinder and cube had been grafted together with wire and tape, the power cord that extended from the cube had been plugged into a slot on the cylinder.
"Is this it?" Ashley tucked her loaded gun back into her holster.
"Well… yeah…" Jeremiah stuttered from the floor. "It's a signal booster… we'll need it to send your message…"
"Signal booster," Ashley nodded. "Interesting…"
The dark haired woman held the device up in her right hand so that it would be right in the light of Cain's optic. "Cain… authenticate it…"
Ashley's foot tapped against the floor as Cain's optic scanned the item. Finally, the bright red light of his scanner faded back into its usual dim tone. "Well?"
"The device is authentic, albeit crude," Cain reported aloud, his scratchy voice reverberating around the tiny room. "It will be sufficient, provided that the array is working at full power."
Ashley turned back to Jeremiah. "Good work."
"Thanks…"
"So," Ashley stood up from the chair with a huff. "This booster? I have to attach it to the dish?"
"You'll need to graft it onto the antenna," Jeremiah answered. "I- I don't that should be a problem for you… getting up there, I mean…"
"It won't," Ashley lowered the booster. "Do you want your chair back?"
"Yes please…"
Ashley watched in amusement as Jeremiah scrambled up to reclaim his seat.
"I'll be dealing with this," Ashley wiggled the signal booster. "You… just guide me like you did before."
Jeremiah nodded, his beady eyes serious. Ashley turned back to the door and wrapped her hands around the handle. With a twist she flung it open and left the squat building for the catwalk.
The pilot walked to the center of the rattling catwalk. She stopped and looked up at the very top of the dish, which she would need to find a way on top of.
"Cain," Ashley mumbled. "I need a way up… thoughts?"
"I have an idea," Cain crackled back.
"Let's hear it…"
