A/N
Hey everyone, I mentioned in an upload for another story on Thursday that all of my exams are officially done. Now that I have a wealth of free time again the upload schedules will return to normal, the next chapter for this story will be on Wednesday.
Chapter 23…
In the years since Demeter the IMC had taken quite a few hits. Their remaining ships were dwindling down into nothing, their human troops were slowly being whittled down and replaced with robots, and some more remote sects had turned to raiding in order to keep themselves fed.
But the worst hit the IMC had suffered was in the food department… the rations were god awful…
Case in point: the bubbling grey and brown lump that was sitting on a plate in front of Ashley. The cooks had insisted that it was meat loaf; but Ashley wasn't sure where the meat ended and began.
Was the fetid looking brown liquid supposed to be the gravy? It smelled far too foul and sour to be judged as edible.
'Whatever, food is food.'
Ashley used her reusable plastic fork to slice off a lump of the grey meat. The inside was ever-so-slightly pink - which wasn't a good sign. Without giving herself a second to think Ashley slipped the grey meat onto her tongue and pursed her lips to clean off the fork as it exited her mouth.
Ashley chewed and quickly swallowed the morsel. To her pleasant surprise it didn't taste half as bad as it looked… or maybe a quarter bad as it looked...
There was the distant taste of meat. Other than that there was just the gritty texture of the food and the sour taste of gravy. The first time in a long time Ashley found herself longing to return to Erebus II, where street vendors were as common. A street vendor's career and livelihood was based on their reputation - if they made shit food then they would go out of business.
Ashley's stomach grumbled at the thought of pork buns and kebabs. Or perhaps her stomach was quivering from the "meat loaf"... she wasn't sure…
The mess hall around Ashley was mostly empty. It was late in the afternoon and Ashley had fallen into a routine of eating her three meals before or after the designated times; she was motivated by her instinctive desire to distance herself from others - especially the other pilots. None of her fellow mercenaries had conveniently forgotten her success in the most recent mission and the attention she had been receiving was stifling.
Congratulations in the halls, people asking her to share a drink with them, constant questions about her techniques and the "professionalism" Blisk had lauded her for.
It was insufferable…
In perhaps an hour the actual dinner rush would start, which left Ashley with plenty of time to finish her "food". Her next hiding spot would be inside Cain's cockpit, where she could sleep the rest of the afternoon away-
"Ish?"
Ashley's fork froze in mid-air; the small lump of meat Ashley had been lifting slipped off the utensil and fell back onto the plate with a wet slap. The dark haired woman tore her eyes away from her plate and peered upwards at the one person she really didn't want to talk too.
Cozbi looked like how Ashley remembered her; they hadn't actually been apart for very long, only a few days, but it had felt like much longer. The woman observed Ashley with her inquisitive brown eyes; her dark hair tumbled around her face and tickled her chin.
"Cobzi…" Ashley hid her frown and poked her food with her fork.
"Hello, Ish," Cozbi's lips curled at the edges. She was standing at the opposite end of Ashley's table and tapping her bare fingers against the backrest of a chair. "Do you mind if I take a seat…?"
"I was about to leave, actually…"
"Is that so? You haven't finished your food…" Cozbi gestured to the contents of Ashley's plate.
"You call this food?"
Cozbi didn't look amused. Her lips once again curled at the edges, forming a small grimace.
"Look, Ish," Cozbi's eyes hung low for a moment. "You and I need to talk, it's important. After that I'll leave you be…"
Ashley set down her fork and leaned back in her chair.
"Sit."
Cozbi nodded and pulled out the chair she had been tapping her fingers on. She settled into it as if it was a far more luxurious seat and crossed one leg over the other.
"What did you want to talk about?" Asher questioned, her fingers playing with the smooth surface of her fork. It was a rhetorical question, Ashley knew full well what they were going to be talking about.
"What else? Our little disagreement-"
"Over your conduct in the last mission… yes," Ashley scoffed and used her fork to prod her food.
For a moment, Cozbi's nose crinkled.
"Look," Cozbi frowned. "I spoke with Blisk and he said that you're planning to stick around for more work, I am too. If we're working together again I need to make sure that no more spats arise from this."
"Spats?" Ashley's right eye twitched. "Cozbi… you murdered two civilians in cold blood."
"They weren't civilians, they were Militia," Cozbi argued back, the slightest bit of heat creeping into her accented voice. "Anyone else on this team would have done exactly what I did. It was the mission, Ish."
A slow, dangerous chuckle escaped from Ashley's lips.
"Ish?"
"It's Ishikara to you," Ashley deadpanned. "No more Ish…"
"Fine," Cozbi shrugged her delicate shoulders. "If that's what you want-"
"You don't understand what I want," Ashley growled. "Why can't you just admit that what you did was fucked up?"
"They would've babbled to their superiors, we've been over this!" Cozbi's hands squeezed the edges of the metal table. She was beginning to leer over the table's surface - just a little bit.
"Oh? So what?" Ashley snarled. "It was a fucking hit and run! We didn't sneak in and we sure as fuck weren't keeping a low profile! Their superiors would have figured out what we were after in given time!"
"Of course they would have! And I bought us more time!"
"By leaving two cold bodies lying around in the room adjacent to the database!? You left a clear indication of what our objective was! Of where we had gone!"
Cozbi's mouth wavered before a moment before closing. From across the table Ashley could spot the muscles tensing in Cozbi's jaw.
"It wasn't necessary," Ashley clenched her own jaw. "It wasn't…"
"I don't think you and I will ever see eye to eye on this," Cozbi's voice wavered for a brief moment. "It was the mission and they were our enemies."
"Ironically, I agree with you on that first part… "
Cozbi leaned back into her chair and released her grip on the table. "If we continue to work together… perhaps it's best if we don't bring this up."
"That's your answer to this mess? Shove it away and never talk about it?" Ashley scoffed. The dark haired woman abruptly stood up from the table, rattling her unfinished dish and her chair.
"Look," Ashley seethed as she leered over the table. "I'm a terrible fucking person and I've done some shitty things-"
"I don't pretend to be a good person either."
"But if you recognize it, why continue?" Ashley shook her head and sneered.
"Why do you?" Cozbi's eyes glittered with a cold light. "You just admitted to me that you've done bad things… why continue in this job? Were mercenaries, guns for hire."
Ashley fell silent, her planned retort died on her tongue.
"You and I worked closely together on that last mission. I saw you out there… you were ruthless. So why the cold feet now? What's with the moral epiphany? You kill for money just like I do…"
"Maybe I do…" Ashley cautiously admitted. "But there's a line, Cozbi… one that you shouldn't cross-"
"You're in the Apex Predators!" Cozbi cried, her eyes widening. "There is no line!"
"Then there's nothing left for us to speak about."
Ashley's nose twitched and she stormed away from the table. Cozbi did not call out and made no moves to follow her.
With her early dinner coming to an abrupt end, Ashley found herself hiding in Cain's cockpit much sooner than expected. The woman buried herself into the seat and drew in her legs so that her knees were underneath her chin. Cain's cockpit was dark, the only source of light was the dim flickering of the control panels' few buttons.
Since returning from the botched mission, Ashley had slowly found solace inside Cain's cockpit. The titan was not nearly as bothersome or opinionated as the other people on the Medusa. Cain was a machine - a supercomputer - and he conducted himself as such, cold and clinical.
"Ashley?" Cain asked aloud, his grating voice reverberating around the interior of the cockpit.
"Yes, Cain?" Ashley moved her hands up to rub her tired eyes.
"A question, what are your intentions?"
"Intentions?" Ashley lifted her head off the headrest. "Could you clarify?"
"You have not stated a reason as to why you have entered my chassis."
"Oh…" Ashley frowned and laid her head back down. "To answer your question, I'm hiding."
"Requesting clarification, from what person or persons are you hiding from?"
"Everyone."
Cain's chassis rumbled, as if the titan was deep in thought and was considering what Ashley just said.
"Do I need a reason, Cain?" Ashley quickly lipped her lips and peered upwards at the roof of the cockpit. "Do you have something against me for hiding here?"
Cain's chassis rumbled again.
"Pilot Ishikara," Cain finally answered her. There was the slightest edge of caution in his voice, as if he was trying to speak to her without arousing attention.
From who or what? Ashley wasn't sure…
"I have concerns that I wish to discuss with you."
Ashley frowned and stretched out her legs so that her feet were touching the floor. She rested her arms on the designated armrests and curled her fingers into the fabric.
"What concerns do you want to discuss with me?" Ashley tilted her head.
"I have noted a pattern of behaviour in you that I find… alarming," Cain informed her. "To be precise, your refusal to neutralize known Militia hostiles despite the high likelihood that they would become security concerns."
"Those two back in the communications station?" Ashley mumbled in response. "Cain… we've been over this…"
"Ashley, please understand my concerns," Cain grumbled. "Your past service record and action reports describe you as efficient, analytical, and taciturn. Your recent behaviour both on the mission and back on the Medusa does not reflect the information in your record."
"Cain-"
"First example, your unwillingness to neutralize known hostiles and your willingness to fraternize with them is highly alarming. Second example, your unwillingness to fraternize and connect with your fellow associates on the Medusa is also highly alarming."
"Cain!?" Ashley spat. "Where are you going with this?"
"Furthermore, remote monitoring of your neural activity has displayed… erratic fluctuations…"
"Cain!" Ashley now roared, her voice echoing around in her ears. How could this have happened? Her one place of solace now turning into another den of misery?
"It is not my intention to alarm you, Ashley," Cain rumbled. "But these observations have led me to conclude that you plan to leave the IMC."
Ashley fell back into her seat, her body going limp.
"What!?" Ashley snarled. "Cain… what the hell did you just say?"
"Your sparing of our enemies may have been an attempt to foster good will with Militia forces. Furthermore, the anti-social behaviour you are displaying indicates a dissatisfaction with the IMC," Cain elaborated. "Note: this is not an accusation of treason, no information has been forwarded to IMC high command."
"Cain," Ashley's nostrils flared. "I want to make this very clear… I have no intention of joining the Militia."
Cain's chassis rumbled again, as if he was mulling over Ashley's words.
"I already told you why I spared those two back at the communications station. As for my personal habits and the other people on this fucking ship… that's none of your fucking business."
Cain was silent for a few moments longer.
"Voice analysis indicates that you are being truthful."
Ashley let out a seething breath and collapsed back into her seat.
"Please understand my reasoning for being concerned."
"Just… be quiet…" Ashley gently rubbed her temples. "Please…"
"Affirmative."
Cain fell silent and Ashley felt herself relax. She rolled the back of her head back and forth along the headrest of her chair, a relaxing motion that brought her some comfort.
At some point in time she fell asleep. The voices in her head didn't chatter nearly as much as they usually did.
That was good...
