Chapter 18…

It had been four hours since the message had been sent…

Four straight hours of sitting in a small, dank room with two men that were her enemies...

Strangely, Ashley hadn't been all that bothered by it. She always preferred being alone- far away from others and the problems that they brought. However, her two hostages had been pleasant company thus far. Well… her idea of "pleasant company" was a deviation from the norm…

The two of them were pleasant because they weren't saying much… or anything at all for that matter…

Ashley had taken a seat in the southern side of the room, leaning her back against the wall to rest her joints. Jeremiah and Edwards sat opposite to her, taking cover in the shadow of the control board.

Cain- ever vigilant, was still poking his ocular piece through the broken window. The titan scanned the room slowly, no doubt trying to ensure both Ashley's safety and the compliance of the hostages.

Clenched in Ashley's right hand was her P2016. The safety switch had been flipped on and the gun was slack in her palm. The barrel was tilted down to point at the floor, but in an emergency situation it's aim could be quickly adjusted.

She really, really hoped there wouldn't be an emergency situation. Chances were that if either of the two men were to try something, it would be Edwards. Jeremiah had remained silent and complacent thus far; but Edwards had been fixing her with a cold glare for the past four hours…

There was something dangerous in the younger man's brown eyes… it made Ashley's neck feel prickly.

"Cain," Ashley muttered, rubbing her heels against the ground in a desperate attempt to alleviate boredom. "Anything?"

"Negative," Cain reported aloud. He was still standing as still as a statue. "I have detected no known IMC signatures…"

"Great," Ashley grumbled under her breath. "Just great…"

Cain stayed silent, and so did the rest of the room.

After a few moments Ashley broke the tense blanket of silence. She very gently and slowly placed her pistol on the floor, keeping it well within reach. With slow, deliberate movements she reached up her gloved hands and twisted off her helmet.

She set the headgear down onto the floor with a hollow thunk and wrapped her fingers around her pistol again.

Jeremiah and Edwards seemed perplexed; given that they were now for the first time gazing at the face of the pilot who was holding them captive.

"What?" Ashley quirked an eyebrow. "Do I have something on my face?"

The two men stayed silent.

Ashley rolled her eyes for a moment and turned her attention back to Cain. "Anything?"

"Negative."

"Have you considered that your friends left you behind?" Edwards sneered from across the small room. Ashley looked up in surprise, not expecting the young man to be so bold. "Because it looks like that from where I'm sitting…"

"Shut up, Edwards," Jeremiah grumbled in a low tone, but his plea fell on deaf ears.

"You shut up!" Edwards growled back. "Did you hear me, IMC? I think your friends abandoned you!"

"Not likely," Ashley tightened her grip on her gun and peered up at the ceiling with half-interest. "The IMC wouldn't cut their losses and flee… they're hanging around…"

"Right…" Edwards snorted in derision. "Have you been living under a rock? Of course the IMC would flee! They've been scurrying around like rats since Demeter…"

For a brief moment, Ashley's right eye twitched…

"Edwards, shut the fuck up…" Jeremiah growled in slightly louder tone.

The young man whirled around in his ally's direction, his eyes filled with wrath. "Fuck off! You fucking coward! You helped our enemy!"

"It was our best chance of fucking survival!" Jeremiah snapped back. "She said that she would kill us!"

"And what's stopping her?" Edwards spat. His dark brown eyes turned to view Ashley critically. "Why?"

"Why what?" Ashley deadpanned, her fingers tapping against the slide of her pistol.

"Why not kill us and be done with it?" Edwards elaborated. "You have the gun…"

"I've never heard a hostage argue for their execution," Ashley smirked. "But to answer your question, I'm a woman of my word… your friend helped me send my message. So I have no plans to kill either of you…"

For a brief, fleeting moment… Edwards looked perplexed.

"That makes no fucking sense," Edwards bit back. "You're a pilot…"

"And?"

"You don't become a pilot through pacifism," Edwards narrowed his eyes. "How many people have you killed… huh?"

"Shut up…" Jeremiah growled through gritted teeth. "Please…"

Ashley took a moment to think over her answer. "I haven't kept count…"

"So quite a few then," Edwards slowly nodded. "You're no symbol of moral perfection… so again, why spare us?"

Ashley's right eye once again twitched in irritation. She longed for the atmosphere silence that had enveloped the room beforehand,

"I-"

'Ashley,' Cain's grating voice scraped around inside her head, making her pause.

'What is it Cain?' Ashley thought back.

'I strongly oppose any verbal interaction with the enemy,' Cain grumbled in response. 'I would suggest you refrain from answering any and all further questions…'

For a moment, Ashley considered it.

'No,' Ashley thought back in response. 'I won't reveal anything important…'

'Very well…'

"Did you hear me?" Edwards repeated in a low tone. "Hey!? Why are you sparing us…?"

"I-" Ashley paused and took a moment to compose herself. "Perhaps 'morals' isn't the right answer… I suppose 'pragmatism' is a better one…"

"Pragmatism?"

"Well, yeah," Ashley shrugged. "Let me ask you a question… I'm just here to send a message and then get my ass off this planet. Where does killing you two fit into that?"

Edwards looked unconvinced.

"It's like kicking a Marvin," Ashley gestured to one of the "dumb" robots manning the rooms other console. "Why? What purpose does it serve…? If I shot you two after the message was sent, I'd be picked up and rescued. If I leave you two alive… I'll still be picked up and rescued. Either way the result is the same… why should I shoot you two?"

The room was silent for a long moment.

"Pragmatism," Edwards slowly repeated, his brown eyes cold. Suddenly he began to chuckle, a low dangerous tone that made Ashley's neck prickle again.

"What?" Ashley sneered. "Not good enough for you?"

"No, actually," Edwards chuckled darkly. "It's a perfect response… and exactly what an IMC dog would say..."

"It was?" Ashley tilted her head.

"Yeah," Edwards smiled coldly. "After all, the reason why the IMC stranded my great-great grandparents in the frontier was due to pragmatism. It was also because of pragmatism that the IMC came back to steal everything that wasn't nailed down-"

"Shut up, Edwards," Jeremiah pleaded, but his pleas once again fell on deaf ears.

"-it was because of pragmatism that the IMC started stomping on the necks of whoever told them to stop," Edwards snarled. "Or how about when they started butchering villages or lining up farmers for execution? There is something pragmatic about that as well… isn't there? Tie up the loose ends before they even think about organizing against you!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" Jeremiah finally roared. The much larger man sprung up from his spot and tackled Edwards to the ground. "YOU'RE GOING TO GET US KILLED YOU IDIOT!"

Ashley swallowed down her retort and tightened her grip on her gun. "You're both going to get killed if you don't cut it out!"

Jeremiah's grip on Edwards slackened and the younger man pushed him away.

"Good!" Edwards snarled. "I'd be happier if you killed me, you fuck!"

"Really?" Ashley spat. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!" Edwards physically spat a wad of saliva on the ground. "I'd rather die than live under the IMC's fucking thumb! Even in this situation!"

Edwards didn't flinch when Ashley raised her pistol to eye-level. Jeremiah scurried off, finding some solace and safety underneath the control console.

"Shut you fucking mouth," Ashley growled. "And sit down…"

"And if I don't?" Edwards' mouth and eyes quivered with barely contained rage. "Are you going to shoot me? Huh!?"

"If it comes to that," Ashley moved her thumb and placed it on her pistol's safety trigger. "Are you going to make it come to that?"

"You know my answer, cunt," Edwards snarled. Suddenly and without warning, a thoughtful look flashed across his features. "How many?"

"What?" Ashley snarled, her gun still held high.

"How many massacres were you involved in?" Edwards spoke coldly, a curious gleam in his eye. "How many families did you drag from their homes? How many civilians did you gun down like wild animals? Huh?"

Ashley's grip on her pistol tightened. "Shut up…"

"Ah!" Edwards grinned and pointed a finger. "That wasn't a no… I should've known. I thought that I recognized that little patch on your arm…"

Ashley's vision flicked to her shoulder pauldron. Emblazoned on the black and yellow paint was the logo of the Apex Predators.

"Apex Predators," Edwards slowly nodded. "You're one of Kuben Blisk's goons… aren't you?"

Ashley stayed silent.

"I bet you're pretty damn familiar with the concept of war crimes then," Edwards slowly turned his head from side to side.

Ashley's grip on her pistol tightened further, if that was even possible. "Sit… down…"

"Please," Jeremiah desperately pleaded from under the control board. "Please man… you're going to get us both killed…"

Edwards' mouth opened but no sound came out. The young man turned his head to peer underneath the control board, where Jeremiah observed him with a pleading look. The Militia soldier looked like he wanted to say something for another long moment; finally, he took a gentle seat back onto the floor, his lips drawn into a tight line.

With a sigh, Ashley flicked her pistol's safety back on.

Another two hours passed without a single peep from any of the room's occupants. Finally, it would be Cain of all… titans, who would break the newfound silence.

"Pilot, I am picking up a faint IMC signal," Cain droned out loud.

"Really?" Ashley perked up. "Now?"

"Affirmative…" Cain responded. "They are approaching our position… readings indicate a WIDOW-class dropship"

"How long?"

"ETA is five minutes."

Ashley slipped her helmet on and stood up from where she was sitting; groaning as her cramped legs cracked multiple times. She slowly slid her pistol back into its holster and turned to address the room's other occupants.

"I'm going out for a look," Ashley spoke in a low tone. "You two… this isn't over so don't try anything. Cain, keep an eye on them, would you?"

"Affirmative…"

Without another word Ashley turned on her heel and exited through the door that would take her to the western catwalk.

Outside the small, cramped control room the warm sunlight shone down on her. It was early in the afternoon and the nearby forests glittered with reflected light. Far above the communications dish the small, six-eyed bird creatures fluttered around in droves.

Ashley activated her helmet visor and peered upwards at the sky. Toggling the helmet's in-built scanner on, she focused her vision and slowly turned around in place.

After a few moments the first blip would appear on the visor's screen. High, high in the air and far off in the distance a small dropship could be seen descending from the clouds.

It's designation…?

'Friendly…'