A/N

And we're back to the original upload schedule! Even more exciting, were nearly at the half-way point for this story! That's right! Twenty-four chapters of Tigress so far and were not even half-way!

I have plans tonight to finish up some of my RWBY one-shot content, which will be uploaded tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I'll be setting aside some time to write out the next few chapters of Part 3!

All is well... I hope...

Chapter 24…

Washing dishes was a tedious task, but when compared to using the dishwasher it saved water and soap. Money was tight these days - money had always been tight - and having soggy hands was worth it if you knew that you would be shaving a few dollars of the utility bill.

And so… Reo Ishiskara always washed the dishes by hand.

The man found himself in his usual spot in the evenings - leering over the dingy sink in his equally dingy apartment. Well, the apartment itself wasn't dingy, if anything it was meticulously clean, Reo refused to have his family live in filth. But the usual dustings could not prop up the sagging wallpaper, nor could they hide the metal pipes that poked through the exposed drywall.

The apartment was small and cramped - just enough room to (uncomfortably) fit three people. There was a dedicated bath and closet but no space for individual bedrooms, so Reo's family had rolled out three futons in the living space.

It was on one of these futons that Reo's youngest daughter was lounging around - like she usually did. She had her back pressed against the floor and was holding her personal data-pad high up over her head. A few feet from where she lay was located the apartment's only window; outside said window the concrete jungle that was Tokyo stretched off towards the inky black horizon.

"Ashley?" Reo asked in his most unobtrusive tone. The man was fluent in both English and Japanese, but the accent in his voice reflected the latter.

Reo braced himself...

"What?" Ashley groused back. It was a single, simple word; but the sharp tone to her voice told Reo that she was in a bad mood.

Ashley was always in a bad mood… the worst of it had started when she entered her teenage years. She was sixteen now and her unruly behavior showed no signs of letting up.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Reo hid his frown as he placed some dishes onto the drying rack. "But have you seen or heard from Faith at all? It is getting late…"

Ashley snorted. "I am not my sister's keeper…"

"Ashley," Reo felt his shoulders droop and his chest contract. "Please spare me the attitude… it has been hours and I'm getting worried. She told me that she was going out with friends… but she did not tell me who."

"Oh don't worry, dad," Ashley shifted on her futon so that she was facing away from her father. "I'm sure that little-miss-perfect is just fine…"

Reo felt anger bubbling in his chest. Why was Ashley always like this? It did not matter who she was speaking too… rude words were as common to her as breathing.

"But I keep telling you…" Ashley continued, as if she was trying to twist the knife a little further. "She's not as perfect as she seems-"

"Well she is more pleasant than you!" Reo spat, slamming his boney hands down onto the counter; the action rattled the dishes in the drying rack. "Rude, ungrateful girl! Why are you always like this!?"

The words slipped past his lips before he could stop them. In an instant Reo felt shame bubbling in his chest, replacing the satisfying but destructive anger that had been there before.

His youngest daughter looked shocked for a very brief moment. She observed him from her futon with obsidian eyes - her mother's eyes.

"Ashley," Reo frowned and leaned his thin body against the countertop. "I'm sorry-"

"Shut up," Ashley growled back, her voice stuck in monotone.

Reo's youngest daughter rose from the futon and slipped her data-pad into her pocket. She walked straight past her father and made straight for the single door of the apartment. Ashley exited the room abruptly, not even bothering to snatch her coat of the rack.

Reo would need to apologize later. But there were still dishes to wash…

"Ashley?"

The woman's eyes cracked open a little bit.

"Pilot, please respond," called the voice again. Their tone was grating and scratchy, like a knife against stone.

"Cain…" Ashley murmured in response. Her tongue felt like sandpaper and she could feel sweat on the back of her neck. "What is it…?"

"Ashley," Cain rumbled, his voice reverberating around in the small cockpit. "I am requesting that you wake up. Your superior officer is requesting an audience with you."

"Superior?" Ashley rolled her neck around to stretch her joints. She opened her eyes fully and peered around the interior of the cramped cockpit. The dark haired woman had fallen asleep at some point after her confrontation with Cain - she wasn't sure what time it was.

"Cain, what time is it?" Ashley rubbed her eyes. "And which superior?"

"The time is approximately thirteen-hundred hours-"

Ashley felt herself tighten up when she heard Cain's answer. She had been asleep for that long?

"The superior officer in question is Kuben Blisk," Cain answered Ashley's second question. "He has been requesting me to open the cockpit hatch. Would you like me to comply?"

"What?" Ashley shook her head and blinked the sleep from her eyes. "Why would you not?"

"Protocol Three dictates that I must protect my pilot."

"And?"

"There is a high likelihood that opening that hatch before waking you would startle you," Cain answered. "Side effects of abruptly waking up may include: confusion, nausea, increased blood pressure, elevated heart rate, startled reflexes-"

"Ok! I get it…" Ashley murmured, stopping Cain from rambling on further. She retrieved a bottle of water from the ration pack and drained a quarter of its contents before continuing. "I'm awake and lucid… open the hatch, Cain…"

Cain wordlessly complied with her request and the hatch creaked open. Artificial light seeped into the formerly dark cockpit, burning Ashley's eyes and forcing her to squint.

"Oi, Tigress!?" A familiar voice called from beneath Ashley. The dark haired woman - still shielding her eyes somewhat - crawled from the cockpit and peered down below. Blisk was on the ground just a few feet away from Cain. He was glaring upwards at her and impatiently tapping his foot against the ground - as if he was a petulant child.

"Beauty sleep is over!" Blisk called sharply. "Come on down!"

Ashley muttered under her breath and got down on her butt. She slid off the lip of Cain's cockpit and landed in a crouch, feeling her knees buckle momentarily.

"Beauty sleep?" Ashley blinked her bloodshot eyes and stretched her back. "Blisk… are you trying to give me hints…"

Blisk responded to her mockery by sniffing the air. "Save me the bloody banter… you smell like a sewer."

"What?"

"I just spent the last thirty minutes of my life arguing with your robot!" Blisk hissed. The mercenary leaned over to jab an accusatory finger in Cain's direction. The titan remained motionless in it's rack and said nothing.

"You did?" Ashley peered over her shoulder at Cain.

"Bloody machine had the gall to tell me 'no' when I asked it to open it's hatch!" Blisk scoffed. He tore his attention away from Cain and settled his glare on Ashley. "And you!"

"Me?"

"I've been looking for you all morning!" Blisk hissed, his accusatory finger now jabbing in Ashley's direction. "I compliment you in front of all the other pilots and this is how you repay me?"

"Blisk…" Ashley squeezed her eyes shut and held up her hands. "I just woke up… I don't have a single clue of what you're talking about…"

"The meeting!" Blisk huffed, his nostrils flaring as he exhaled.

"Meeting?"

"Yes, the meeting! Clean your ears, Tigress!" Blisk growled. "I sent all of the pilots an alert last night that the next briefing is today!"

"I'm gonna be honest, Blisk," Ashley shrugged. "I haven't touched my data-pad in days…"

"Haven't showered either… from the smell of you…" Blisk once again sniffed the air. "The meeting is in an hour, you were the only pilot who I didn't hear back from. Shower and be there or get off the payroll!"

With his piece said, Blisk stormed away.

As much as Ashley wanted to return to the safety and privacy of Cain's cockpit, she had to attend that meeting. She returned to her quarters and showered like Blisk had suggested. After a swig of alcohol from the stash she kept under her bed, Ashley exited her quarters and made her way to the meeting room.

The moment she stepped through the door Ashley could feel all eyes on her. Ashley knew that she struck a disheveled appearance; her hair was still damp and the jumpsuit she was wearing had only been picked because it was the cleanest.

Most of the pilots at the table were strangers - save for two. Ashley recognized a few from the bar celebration but did not know their names. Of the two that she knew, Cozbi sat at the end of the room and Templeton off to the side. Cozbi was leaning back in her chair and was observing Ashley with a calculating gaze. Templeton on the other hand offered Ashley a respectful nod and did not stare further.

Silently, Ashley padded over to the room's single unoccupied chair and took a seat.

"Thank you for joining us," Blisk mocked Ashley from the front of the room. The mercenary paced in place for a moment before turning to the controls of the room's holo-projector. He pressed a button on the control board and the hologram figure of General Marder shimmered into existence.

"Hello," hologram-Marder spoke. His voice sounded more crackly and garbled than Ashley remembered from the last briefing, most likely due to interference from the projector. "We are not too far off schedule… I would like to begin by thanking you all for attending this briefing-"

"Hurry it up," Blisk scoffed and leaned against the side of the room's long table. "We're soldiers, not socialites…"

Blisk's fellow mercenaries chuckled at his joke, Ashley remained silent.

"Very well, Mister Blisk," Marder's holographic nose crinkled. "Let us begin…"

The large screen behind Marder lit up. On the display was a picture of a planet Ashley had never seen before. It's large, misshapen continents were coloured an appealing green and surrounded by large blue oceans.

"This planet is known as Antheia," Marder garbled out. "It lies just upon the border of IMC controlled space. Due to its abundant natural resources and strategically important location, it is prudent that we place it under IMC control."

Ashley waited and listened along for the impending "but".

"But…" Marder flicked his hand and a new image appeared on screen. It was what appeared to be a well-established military base. The sight was protected by high walls and guard towers - the landing strips and titan hangers were unmistakable. "Militia activity on the planet has increased in the past year. Further scans of the planet indicate small colonies and other military installations - but none reach the size and sophistication of the one I have just shown you."

Marder flicked his hand again, displaying a new picture on the screen. It was a massive anti-air cannon, the kind which could be used to shoot down large ships. The anti-air gun was steel grey and mounted upon a swiveling rack; it's large, blocky missile racks glowed in the sun.

"IMC scouts managed to obtain pictures and even basic schematics of this anti-air device. This weapon is located to the West of the base and could become a massive threat to IMC operations on Antheia."

Ashley waited and listened along for the impending "however".

"However," Marder cocked his flickering holo-graphic head. "Recent planning has concluded that this weapon may prove as a useful tool for the IMC - assuming that it is successfully captured and reprogrammed. There is a high probability of success if IMC forces can realign the weapon to point at the Militia base - we could force a surrender and take the existing fortifications."

"And if the Militia refuses to play nice, we blow their little base to hell…" Blisk muttered and stood up from his spot. He turned to face the room and leered over the table, placing his hands against the surface for support. "The IMC gets a staging area with which to take the planet and we all get paid. Sounds good, yeah?"

There were murmurs of support around the room.

"Indeed, the payout upon the successful completion of this job is four million credits, I will leave Mister Blisk up to the job of splitting the percentages amongst you," Marder droned on. "Are there any questions?"

The room was pin-drop silent.

"No questions, thank you General Marder," Blisk took a few steps back and shut off the hologram before Marder could protest. "We're on route but we'll need to wait for reinforcements to arrive. This job will be ready in a week… give or take…"

The lead mercenary paused his speech for a moment and reclaimed his spot at the head of the table.

"I think that this goes without saying, but I don't want any muck-ups this time," Blisk warned the other occupants of the room. "The last mission had casualties… and the only reason Marder came back to us is because Tigress finished the job…"

Ashley once again felt all eyes on her. She swallowed nervously and did her best to fight down the reddish tinge no doubt blooming on her cheeks.

"I want this job to be clean," Blisk continued. "With any luck the Militia will surrender, which makes our lives much easier. But on the chance that they don't… I don't think I need to tell you what needs to be done…"

"We'll kill them all," Cozbi muttered in a cold tone. She had propped up her legs on the table and had crossed her arms across her chest. "Didn't mean to steal your thunder boss, but I presume that's what you were hinting at?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you, Knife," Blisk nodded with a slight smirk. "Any last questions?"

There were none.

"Good," Blisk straightened himself into a standing position. "Dismissed."