Chapter 29…
"Ashley?"
The teenager blinked her eyes in surprise before turning around to spot her father. Reo Ishikara had a habit of moving silently when he wanted to and had slipped into the apartment at some point in time.
Ashley set down her plate and tapped her fingers against the surface of the kitchen countertop.
"Uh… what's up?"
"I know that I've asked you this question before…" Reo Ishikara muttered in a cautious tone. His brown eyes flicked to the floor for a moment before flicking back up to view his daughter again. "But your sister… it's late and I haven't heard from her…"
"Yeah, I don't know," Ashley frowned and felt herself tense. She briefly looked over to the corner of the room where she had tossed her data-pad. The device had fallen silent quite a while ago…
"I mean… she called me earlier," Ashley shrugged and leaned against the countertop.
"What did she say?"
"Mostly nonsense, it was the worst prank call I've ever heard…" Ashley chuckled in a low tone.
"Still…" Reo's frown deepened. "I am worried… I'll have to talk to her about this in the morning."
Ashley battled down the urge to use her favorite nickname for her sister. Considering the blowup from a few nights ago… Ashley was cautious enough to not twist the knife any further.
"She'll be back," Ashley yawned. She turned and picked up the plate she had been previously holding, intending to slip it away in the cupboards. "I'd just stop worrying about it if I were you…"
"I wish that I could… I really do…"
One solid kick from Green smashed open the metal doors of the missile tower. The three pilots tasked with taking the anti-air gun piled in, their guns held at the ready.
Ashley snapped her CAR to the side to view the corners of the entryway. The corridor was clear, with no clear threats that could be readily seen. At the far end of the corridor was another set of doors that led deeper into the building; directly to the left of the entryway sat two closed elevators.
Cozbi took a few cautious steps forwards before breaking into a light jog - her R-201 still held high. Ashley moved to follow her, making sure that the safety on her gun was off.
The only person who had made no move to follow them was Green. He had parked himself in front of the closed elevator doors and was quietly tapping the "call" button.
"Green!?" Cozbi hissed. She turned her angular helmet to peer in Green's direction; although Ashley couldn't see her face she could imagine that glare that she was wearing. "What are you doing!?"
"Trying to save us time!" Green hissed back. He smacked the "call" button again and kicked the door in frustration.
"I'm pretty sure that they disabled the elevators…" Ashley mumbled, lowering the barrel of her CAR.
"Really?"
"Yes really, you idiot!" Cozbi growled. She jerked her R-201 in the direction of the doors that sat at the end of the corridor. "Let's move! We're taking the hard way up!"
"Why do we always have to take the hard way…?"
"What kind of question is that?" Cozbi spat. "Let's move!"
Cozbi and Ashley darted down the length of the hallway and parked themselves next to the second set of doors. Green soon joined them, flicking the safety of his EVA-8 automatic shotgun so that the gun was ready to fire.
Beyond the door, the three IMC pilots could hear the sounds of shouting and running. There was no glass pane to look through, which left the three pilot's unprepared for what was beyond the door.
"Alright…" Cozbi huffed and lowered her R-201. "I'll send in a distraction… Green, you break left, I'll go right. Ishikara… you handle the center…"
Ashley grimaced under her helmet and squeezed the grip of her CAR tighter.
"Everyone ready?" Cozbi muttered. She reached her gloved hand forwards and wrapped it around the door handle. "Count of three…"
"Three…"
Ashley tensed her legs and raised up the barrel of her CAR.
"Two…"
The black and yellow clad pilot crouched low so that she was a small target…
"One…"
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
"Now!' Cozbi shouted. The pilot flung open the door and activated her hologram; the life-like representation of Cozbi sprinted through the open door, immediately drawing gunfire. Cozbi sprinted in first and disappeared behind a row of control consoles. Green activated his personal cloaking device and broke right, his form shimmering in the dim light of the room.
Ashley sprinted straight forwards... she ended up in a tight corridor between two control consoles.
Now… there were some very important tips when it came to clearing corridors…
The first tip… was duck!
Ashley had always followed this first rule religiously. Once she had kicked off from where she was standing and gained enough speed, Ashley immediately pulled in her legs and entered a controlled slide. Her jump-kit helped her counteract friction - the device slid her across the floor and her padded pants protected her legs from a nasty rash.
Good timing too… because only milliseconds after she broke into the slide did a three-round burst annihilate the wall behind where her head had been.
The second tip… was to bring the right tool for the job.
Typically speaking, long rifles were a very poor choice for close quarters combat. Most obviously, because they were hard to maneuver with in tight spaces. You wouldn't bring a plasma saw where a wrench was needed; and Ashley would never bring a sniper rifle to a place where submachine guns were king…
Take her CAR for example. While it didn't possess the frantic-fast fire rate of an R-97, it made up for it with it's highly consistent recoil pattern - a perfect choice for close combat.
Ashley tucked the CAR close to her chest and squeezed the trigger. The trio of surprised Militia soldiers in front of her were left spasming as thirty-two high velocity rounds tore their armor to shreds.
The third tip… don't lose your footing.
Ashley leapt up from her power slide and sailed safely over the collapsed bodies of the three Militia grunts. She ejected the spent magazine of her CAR in mid-air and smashed a new magazine into the gun before her feet touched down.
The fourth… pay attention to your peripheral vision…
On either side of Ashley rose tall control consoles, which shielded the rest of the room from view. A few feet ahead these consoles came to a stop, with a four way intersection dominating the footpath. As Ashley ran through this intersection she repeated the first tip - breaking into a slide and keeping low to the ground.
Ashley held her CAR in her right hand and drew her RE-45 to hold in her left… the Militia grunts waiting to ambush her weren't able to react fast enough…
Dropping her now-empty auto-pistol, Ashley clenched her CAR tightly in both hands. She stood up from her slide and leapt up to press herself against one of the control consoles. It wasn't a flat surface, which meant that running on it wasn't going to work all that well… but it did give her enough leverage to kick off and sail through the air.
The black and yellow clad pilot tucked in her legs so that she was flying like a cannonball. Ashley clutched her CAR close to her chest as if it was a baby.
The fifth tip… always reach the end of the corridor and do a sweep. There was nothing more embarrassing than dying to an enemy that you didn't see…
And Ashley's vigilance paid off…
Only seconds after she kicked off the console did a hidden Militia grunt jump from cover. The man was hiding at the end of the control consoles and had tucked himself away where Ashley couldn't see him.
Thankfully, Ashley being airborne meant that the grunt had to adjust his aim upwards. It was seconds that he didn't have… by the time he was peering down the crosshairs of his rifle Ashley had already barreled into him.
The woman straddled the man with her legs and wasted no time smashing the butt of her CAR into his face. His nose broke with a sickening crack and blood splashed all over Ashley's legs.
The dark haired woman considered hitting him again, but his groaning and labored breathing told Ashley that he wasn't much of a threat anymore. She stood up and got off of him, but not before snatching his P2016 from it's holster and kicking away his rifle.
Ashley heard footsteps and turned her head left and right to spot her allies. Cozbi was emerging from her side of the room and Green from his.
"Clear?" Ashley muttered as she slid her newly acquired P2016 into her holster.
"My side is…" Cozbi muttered in response. "Green?"
"Yeah," Green slipped a new drum onto his EVA-8.
"Then let's continue this party upstairs…" Cozbi looked upwards to the ceiling.
Ashley followed her line of vision and saw the "party" that Cozbi was referring to. There was no ceiling, the ground floor was directly connected to the top floor by a large spiral staircase that sat in the center of the room. Crisscrossing the room was a spider's web of catwalks; from the bottom floor Ashley could hear, feel and see the Militia grunts on the catwalks above preparing for the vertical assault.
"I wish we had just taken the elevator…" Green mumbled under his breath.
"Shut up, Green," Cozbi muttered. The holo-pilot jogged backwards in place and clenched the grip of her R-201. "We're not taking the stairs either."
"What are you-?"
Cozbi answered Green's question before he could finish it. She sprinted forwards and pressed herself against the interior wall of the tower's base. The interior walls were curved to match up with the buildings circular base, which meant that with some wall-running and assistance from her jump-kit Cozbi had an express passage to the top floors.
"Oh… I get it," Green mumbled and sprinted towards the same wall. "Coming, Tigress?"
Ashley scoffed and followed behind the cloak pilot. She pressed herself against the wall and activated her jump-kit. Only seconds after beginning the wall-run did Ashley's legs start to burn, but she had more than enough energy to maintain the necessary motions.
The three pilots ascended the interior of the tower with frightening speed. In under a minute they were halfway to the top, dodging catwalks and keeping their jump-kit thrusters on full blast.
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
Ashley repeated her silent mantra in her head. Proper breathing was the key to maintaining a long wall run - if Ashley messed up her breathing techniques then she would drop like a stone.
The dark haired woman grit her teeth when a high velocity round sailed dangerously close to her and smashed into the wall.
Of course… the bullets were a bigger threat to her than exhaustion was…
"It's getting hot up here!" Cozbi yelled through her helmet radio. "Let's thin them out! Shall we? Follow my lead!"
Cozbi ended her wall-run by leaping off the wall with her feet and hands. She activated her jump-kit to help carry her across the gap between herself and the nearest catwalk. Ashley followed Cozbi as she suggested, but Green did not.
"Green!? Where are you going!?" Ashley demanded as she sailed across the gap like Cozbi had.
"I'll take the higher 'walks! Two of you down there is enough!" Green crackled back. The cloak pilot continued with his wall-run, ascending higher and out of Ashley's sight.
"Idiot…" Ashley hissed as she landed onto one of the rattle-y catwalks. She tucked herself into a roll to cancel her momentum and lifted her CAR up to eye level.
Ashley was immediately greeted to the sight of Cozbi brute-force hurling a Militia grunt over the edge of the catwalk. The man screamed as he fell, which made Ashley's stomach feel as if it was flopping around. There were three other dead men lying near Cozbi's feet, all of them dressed in the Militia greens and yellows.
"Problem, Ishikara?" Cozbi tittered as she lifted her R-201 back up and sprinted down the length of the catwalk. "Going to give me a lecture about cruelty?"
"Oh fuck you!" Ashley hissed back. She broke into her own sprint to follow behind her ally.
On either side of Ashley and Cozbi were multiple catwalks at varying heights. The remaining Militia grunts had set themselves up on the elevated platforms to give themselves the height advantage.
Ashley held her CAR in one hand and her P2016 in the other. She held both arms out at length, squeezing the trigger on her car and rapidly tapping the trigger on her P2016. The hail of bullets she sent in either direction forced many of the Militia grunts into cover - the ones who weren't fast enough were swiftly killed by the storm of hot lead.
Ashley shoved her empty pistol back into its holster and frantically reloaded her CAR. Up ahead, Cozbi had reached the end of the catwalk they were on and leapt back onto the interior wall. Ashley once again followed her, pressing her left hand against the wall to stabilize herself and keeping her CAR in her right hand.
The booming noise of a shotgun, amongst other gunfire, echoed around the massive cylindrical room. Ashley heard grunting behind her and turned her head to find Green following her. The upper catwalk Green had cleared on his own was littered with well over a dozen dead Militia soldiers.
"Were almost there!" Cozbi yelled through her radio. "Two more levels!"
"I'll take the top again!" Green yelled in response. "You two clear the lower 'walk, then we can regroup!"
"Roger!" Ashley yelled into her own helmet radio. "Let's go!"
Cozbi left off the wall again and crossed the gap to the nearest catwalk; as planned, Ashley followed behind her and Green continued the wall-run.
Ashley pulled in her legs and landed back-first on the catwalk. The entire structure groaned and rattled when she smashed into it and Ashley took advantage of the confusion by taking aim at some hostiles and completely emptying her CAR into them. The black and yellow clad pilot spun back up into a standing position; as she did so, Ashley ejected her CAR's spent magazine and moved her hand down to her belt to grab a new one.
"Left side, Ishikara!" Cozbi yelled, lowering herself into a crouch and firing quick bursts at nearby enemies.
Ashley turned her head left to spot the danger Cozbi was alerting her to. Charging down the catwalk was a Militia grunt, his face hidden by a visor and an EVA-8 shotgun clenched in his hands.
With no time to reload her CAR, Ashley reached her free hand down to snatch her empty pistol from its holster. She chucked the weapon directly at the man's face, watching him yelp and stumble back in confusion. Ashley dropped her empty CAR and darted forwards to wrench the EVA-8 from the grunt's hands.
The grunt put up a better fight than Ashley had expected and they were soon embroiled in a tug of war over the gun. In a lightning fast motion, Ashley darted a hand forwards and wrapped her fingers around the back of the grunt's helmet. She forced him down with a heavy push, smacking his forehead head on the railing of the catwalk and stunning him.
Seizing her moment of opportunity while it lasted, Ashley wrenched the EVA-8 from the man's grasp and blasted a shell straight into his chest. The grunt flew back several meters from the impact and landed with a wet crunch on the far end of the catwalk.
"Knife!? Tigress!?" Green shouted into his radio.
"Green!?" Cozbi shouted back into her own. "Problem?"
"Yeah! There's an enemy-" Green's radio cut out.
Ashley craned her head back to look upwards, but she couldn't spot Green from where she was standing.
"Green!?" Cozbi spat into her radio. "Answer me! What's the problem!?"
Suddenly, Ashley could spot Green! The man was falling, perhaps he was retreating downwards to their position?
But if he was… why wasn't he putting his feet down? He was falling like a ragdoll…
"Uh… Cozbi?" Ashley took a cautious step back.
"What is it, Ishikara?" Cozbi snapped. The other woman was tapping her helmet radio, clearly still expecting a response from Green.
Ashley jumped back and pulled Cozbi down as Green's limp corpse smashed into the catwalk where they had been standing. The man's head was gone, whatever scraps were left consisted of loose flesh and the jagged metal edges of what had once been his helmet…
"Fuck…" Ashley hissed as she tore her eyes away from the carnage. "Green's KIA…"
"What was your first clue!?" Cozbi spat. The holo-pilot looked upwards and stiffened.
"We've got an enemy pilot up there…"
