A/N
There was a setback with this chapter... which has been a running theme for the past few weeks...
Anyways, this chapter marks the official end of this story arc - leading into the final arc and eventual ending of Tigress. There might be a chapter next week... but I'm not really sure if I'll be able to write it out. First, because university is starting up again. Second, because I need to make sure that I have a proper plan for the next few chapters.
Chances are that Tigress will be put on the backburner for a bit. Like any good piece of meat, a story needs time to simmer and char before it can be safely served. Team MARS is probably what I'm going to be focusing on for a while - given that that story has seen barely any attention from me for the last few weeks.
Speaking of my RWBY story, the chapter for that comes tomorrow. I need time for a last minute revision/review before I post it...
Anyways...
Chapter 58…
"You look better than you did the last time I saw you…"
"Thank you."
"How's your shoulder?"
"Still tender… I doubt that it will ever fully heal."
"Bullets have a way of doing that…"
"Hm?"
"Hurting you, I mean…"
Anatoly cracked the lightest of smiles, his dry lips lifting at the edges of his mouth. "Did you make a joke?"
Ashley frowned and shrugged, feeling awkwardness in her joints. "More like an attempt at small talk. But if it made you chuckle… I suppose that it wasn't the worst attempt…"
"Thank you…" Anatoly's voice wavered. "This place is rather boring…"
"I know…" Ashley nodded. "I was stuck in here for a while too. I'm lucky, the worst things I had were bruises and pulled muscles…"
"It pales to the bullet that went through my shoulder…"
"It could have been your head," Ashley reasoned.
"Yes, only that kick from you saved my life…" Anatoly shifted in the covers.
The man, much like Ashley had a week ago, struck the appearance of a mummy. His limbs were tangled in multiple layers of bandages and sterile pads. A long strip of adhesive cloth had been wrapped over his nose - holding together the bones of his face as he healed from the brutal beating he had received at the hands of the bandits.
"How is the town?" Anatoly asked.
"Not much to tell…"
"I cannot look out the window…" Anatoly sighed. "And the catheter keeps me in this bed…"
Ashley wrinkled her nose. "Fair enough. The town's alright… things are getting back to normal - for the most part…"
"Ah, yes… normal…" The bandaged man closed his eyes wistfully. "Soon I shall be out of this dreaded bed… the mill will be reopened…"
Ashley frowned and looked down at her feet.
"... and we will all be working again-"
"About that…" Ashley interjected. "Well…"
She lifted her gaze to meet the eyes of her now-former boss.
"I suppose I should just lay things out straight…" Ashley sighed. "I'm leaving…"
"Leaving?" Anatoly's face fell. "Where? With who?"
"I got offered a job by the mercenary group that came to the town's defense. It was a good opportunity… and after a bit of thinking I decided to take it…"
"I see…" Anatoly blinked and looked down at his lap. "So this is a goodbye?"
"I'd prefer to not think about it that way… I've never been good with goodbyes…" Ashley cleared her throat. "Besides… Big Ivan is a pile of scrap metal now… you don't really need me anymore…"
"You were a good worker-"
"I wasn't finished…" Ashley interrupted. The woman reached behind her and pulled a small pack off of her back shoulder; it contained what few belongings that she had - credits she had saved up, for the most part. Unzipping the top and reaching into the bag, Ashley retrieved a small stack of papers.
"Here…" Ashley handed the small paper stack over to her former boss. The bedridden man accepted the stack in his thickly bandaged hands. He flipped through the papers, his eyes scanning the pages.
"This… is a buyer's receipt… for-"
"Something to help out the town," Ashley shifted in her spot. "Technically speaking, I'm the one who got Big Ivan destroyed… so…"
"This is too much…" Anatoly blinked. "Where did you get the credits for this?"
"I managed to negotiate for some advance pay…" Ashley tucked a loose lock of hair behind her head. "Look, it's a brand new model, state of the art design with a ton of safety features."
"Who will operate it-"
"Any of you," Ashley moved her hands down to rub her knees. "It's designed for civilian use and has a proper automated function. Anyone can pilot it… all you'll need to do is read the instruction manual…"
"This is a kind thing for you to do… but it is too much…"
Anatoly tried to hand back the papers, but Ashley pushed his hand away.
"You gave me a job…" Ashley cleared her throat. "And you kept quiet when I shared my truth with you. Look… the town needs a proper loading titan… and now you have one…"
Ashley abruptly stood up from her seat, visibly startling her former employer.
"I'm not good with goodbyes…" Ashley muttered. "So if it's okay with you, I'd like to leave things here…"
"I understand…"
Anatoly held out his hand for a shake, Ashley accepted. The shake lingered for a moment, Ashley not yet removing her hand from Anatoly's grasp.
"Will you come back?"
"Maybe… one day…" Ashley cocked her head in thought. "I like Antheia… it's a beautiful planet…"
"Well, if you ever need work again…"
"I'll know where to find you…"
"Good…"
Ashley removed her hand and offered her former boss a rare smile. She turned around and made for the room's exit, feeling his eyes digging into her back. Ashley opened and closed the door gently, leaning her back against the wooden panel.
"I had hoped that you wouldn't leave so soon…"
Ashley snapped to attention and lifted her head. She turned her eyes in the direction of the speaker - a man clad in a familiar white coat.
"Were you…" Ashley quirked up an eyebrow. "Listening in?"
"No, not at all…" Fedorov lifted his own eyebrow.
"Are you sure? Because your timing is impeccable…"
"Coincidence, I assure you."
"Right…" Ashley pushed herself off of the doorframe and hoisted her bag. "I, uh… shouldn't keep the Militia waiting…"
"Where are you going to go?"
"Wherever Barker wants me, I'm his employee now…" Ashley shrugged.
"You could stay here."
"This place isn't a home anymore."
"Says who?"
"Me…" Ashley drew her lips into a tight line. "But… things just don't feel the same since the attack. Like it or not… I need to be a soldier again. There are things I have to take care of…"
"And what kinds of things?" Doctor Fedorov asked. The man leaned against a nearby wall, one calloused hand tracing against the faded wallpaper.
"You're rather inquisitive today…"
"I am merely curious."
"I don't really want to go into specifics," Ashley frowned. "Just… know that there is going to be a lot of blood."
"How unpleasant…" Fedorov frowned. "Before you leave, I have a question to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"Ever since I first met you… there has always been this... air... of mysteriousness surrounding you…" Fedorov muttered. "I wonder… what do you run from?"
The bag over Ashley's shoulders, despite being almost empty, felt oddy heavy in the present moment. She fought the urge to slump her shoulder, instead, stiffening her back.
"Who says I'm running from something?"
"Perhaps you are not… but I cannot think of another explanation for why you do what you do…"
Ashley frowned, her lips tugging downwards.
"I'm from Earth, you know…" Ashley muttered, her gaze being drawn to the faded wallpaper of the clinic's hallway. "I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan…"
"And what was it like?"
"Filthy, crowded, crime everywhere…" Ashley shook her head. "The place is a dump - most of Earth is, the cities are all like that…"
"And why did you leave?" Fedorov cocked his head. "Did you have family? Friends?"
"I had my dad… and my sister…" Ashley mumbled. "Neither are with us anymore - dead, I mean."
"My condolences."
"That was a long time ago…" Ashley waved her hand. "I'm not sure if I'm really over it… but dwelling on it won't do me any good. I wish I could say that I had a good relationship with either of them; but I didn't... I- I wasn't the easiest person to live with…"
"I see that times have not changed."
Ashley chuckled, but did not raise her eyes. "After I lost them I joined the army… then the IMC under contract. I came to the Frontier… the rest is history…"
"Your story is strange… filled with many gaps in time. You came from small beginnings… and yet became a Pilot… why?"
"I had a mouth to feed… Pilot's make a good salary," Ashley hoisted her bag up again. "But if I'm being honest… I guess that ambition had a role to play. What sounds better…? Ashley the drug dealer and hoodie? Or, Ashley the accomplished Pilot? I had the talent to get my Pilot certification… and I had nothing else to go back to..."
Ashley tilted her head backwards, rubbing it against the smooth surface of the wooden door at her back. "I guess that I was so caught up in my own issues that I never stopped to think about what I was doing. I've done terrible things, doctor…"
"Like what?"
"Round up civilians for execution… sometimes I even did the deed myself…" Ashley felt her chest coil in apprehension. "I helped tear down towns like this so that the IMC could take whatever they wanted. There is no justification… I've told myself for years that I was just following orders; but the simple fact of the matter is… I'm just as responsible for the atrocities as my superiors were."
"Is it possible that you are still running?"
"No…" Ashley gently shook her head, her eyes having drifted towards the ceiling. "This time, things are going to be different… I know what needs to be done. After that? Maybe I can finally find some proper solace…"
There were the sounds of floorboards squeaking as Doctor Fedorov approached her.
"Well… I hope that you might be able to find this solace… sooner than later…"
"Me too, doctor…" Ashley felt a genuine smile tugging on the edges of her lips. The aged doctor has approached her, one hand outstretched and his eyes shining with understanding.
The handshake was brief… to the point…
"Take care of this place… and yourself too…" Ashley withdrew her hand.
"Of course."
"I'll wire you the rest of the credits I owe you…"
"You don't-"
"Please, just take them," Ashley argued. "Let me pay off the debt; at this point it's more out of pride than anything else…"
"Very well…" Fedorov smiled. "Safe travels."
"Goodbye, doctor… and thank you…"
Ashley hoisted up her bag and walked out of the clinic, the evening sun warming her face; she tried not to look back...
Barker's ship was resting on a hill on the outskirts of town. The flying craft was painted in Militia colour tones - greens, oranges, and yellows that made the craft stick out like a sore thumb amongst the evening sky.
A gentle wind blew over the hills, tickling the grass and making the many patches of colourful wildflowers bob and dance.
Ashley's pack, despite holding her very few belongings, felt strangely heavy as it hung off of her right shoulder.
The owner of the Militia aircraft - Ashley's cantankerous new employer - was resting near the closed door. He was splayed out in a fold out lawn chair, his legs crossed and his back relaxed. A pair of aviator shades concealed his dark eyes, clashing with the rather loud flower print shirt that he was wearing. Hanging limply from his left hand was his omnipresent metal flask.
Ashley closed the final few feet of distance, another gentle wind wafting over her exposed skin…
"So…" Barker muttered, stretching out in his lawn chair like a lazy cat. "Said your goodbyes?"
"Yeah…" Ashley nodded, her face set in an immovable mask of calm.
"And…?" Barker lazily lifted his head. His dark aviator shades made it impossible to see his eyes, but the strange smirk crawling up the side of his mouth put Ashley off a little. "You're all ready to go?"
Ashley frowned and shifted in place. "Yeah…"
The dark haired woman felt a strange urge to survey the land behind her. She twisted her torso and turned around, sweeping her obsidian gaze over the sleepy little town she had called home for months.
Okraina's little collection of squat shacks and ramshackle buildings seemed tinier than ever - a small blip of human civilization amongst Antheia's sprawling expanses of rivers, hills, and wildflowers.
From where she was standing, the townspeople scurried around like ants.
She would come back here one day - it was a promise to herself that she planned to keep. One day, Ashley would return to this leafy green planet in the middle of nowhere; it was a place of peace and solace… for the most part…
Maybe they would forget about her - the townspeople. Maybe that was a good thing… she could return to a clean slate and a better future…
"Looks like everyone else is taking off… you done gazing?"
Ashley's eyes followed her employer's words. In the distance, dozens of Militia ships rose from their landing sites and filled the orangey-coloured evening sky. It was a mass exodus, the Militia having decided that the town was safe again…
"Yeah, sorry for the wait…" Ashley gripped the strap of her bag. She twisted back around to find her new employer standing up; he had packed up his lawn chair, tucking the portable furniture under his armpit.
"We're gonna link up with the ships in orbit… and then we're off to our headquarters…" Barker loudly yawned. The man looked as if he was about to continue, but a strange look took hold of his unshaven face. "Hold on…"
"What is it?"
"I meant to give you this earlier… but I kind of forgot…"
The man stored his flask in his shirt pocket and then fished around in his waistband. From the folds of his shirt, Barker pulled out a familiar looking pistol.
Holding the SMART pistol by it's slide, Barker gestured for Ashley to take the weapon.
"I found it on the ground… after your little crash landing on the roof of that building…" Barker explained. He waited for Ashley to accept the pistol before continuing. "I uh… considered calling dibs and just keeping it for myself. But that wasn't really fair to you… I mean, you earned it…"
Ashley held the SMART pistol in her hand, her eyes scanning the weapon. It was marred with a few nicks and scratches from the beating it had taken - but was still intact, a testament to it's sturdy construction.
"-everyone is going to be jealous of you… fancy gun like that…" Barker chuckled, having a one-sided conversation with Ashley. It took the dark haired woman a moment to snap out of her reverie - realizing that her new employer had opened the door of his craft.
"Hey, are you listening?" Barker peeked over his glasses as he leaned out of the craft. "Not having second thoughts, are you?"
"I-" Ashley stuttered for a moment. "No, I'm not…"
The dark haired woman tucked the SMART pistol securely in her pocket.
She took the hand offered to her and entered the craft...
