A/N
I'm trying to organize an upload schedule again. It's hard to stick to anything, considering that I have other obligations, but I'd like to have either weekly chapters or chapters every two weeks; the latter is the more likely. If that is the case, however, I will work to make chapters longer.
Chapter 61...
Ashley was still considering her options… how and when she was going to kill Barker…
It was bad enough that she had to stumble her way through his "initiation" ceremony the previous night. Worse when she woke up that morning and had to have a swig of the man's ghastly hangover cure. Worst of all was that asinine maneuver he had pulled after the briefing, Ashley's hands and ears were still sore from the mob of greetings she had received…
Perhaps she could spike one of his drinks? A poison of some kind? Ashley could probably scrounge up some type of industrial cleaning solution… would that be enough?
Ashley unceremoniously tossed her pack onto a disused bunk, still internally musing about how exactly she was going to kill her boss. None of it was serious, of course, but in the heat of the moment, Ashley imagining her hands tightly wrapping around Barker's unshaven neck felt blissfully cathartic.
Licking her dry lips, the dark haired woman gripped the zipper of her bag and tugged on it. The zipper parted, unfurling the sides of the bag and revealing the scattered contents within. Ashley did not own much before she abandoned the IMC - and pretty much all of her belongings had been left back in her room on the Medusa.
She owned even less now. Tucked inside Ashley's only bag was a single change of clothes, her oversized work jumpsuit from her time on Antheia and the cramped steel toe boots she used to wear day-to-day at the mill. There was a small plastic baggy of toiletries: soap, a toothbrush, and some associated paste which Ashley had quietly swiped from her room on the Militia cruiser that had brought her and Barker to Harmony.
Lying atop a small pile of undergarments - and looking terribly out of place considering the other contents of the bag - was the sleek black profile of Ashley's SMART pistol. The gun had been unloaded, of course, and the few magazines of ammunition that Ashley possessed were strewn around the interior of the bag.
Ashley reached into the bag and wrapped her fingers around the grip of the SMART pistol. It weighed noticeably less than it would if it was loaded, and the textured grip fit comfortably in Ashley's palm. There were a few nicks and scratches in the pistol's black paint, but Ashley did not feel the need to give it a fresh coat; it was a gun after all, a weapon designed for killing, beauty was not something that she could associate with it.
Knowing full well that SMART pistols were the envy of most pilots, Ashley sought to hide her ruinously expensive piece of equipment. Crouching down, the dark haired woman peered underneath the bunk she had claimed, finding a dusty looking foot locker with two latch hinges.
Setting her SMART pistol atop the covers of the bunk, Ashley reached underneath the bed and pulled out the foot locker. She tapped her fingers against the latches of the locker and tried to pry them open. To her surprise the latches did not budge.
"Fucking open…" Ashley muttered, placing her thumbs underneath the latches to try and give herself some leverage. "Come on…"
The dark haired woman only relented after the muscles in her thumbs began to painfully strain. She sat backwards on the backs of her heels, placing her hands atop her legs and viewing the foot locker with frustration.
"You need to wiggle the latches…"
Ashley jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Whirling around and looking upwards, Ashley found herself staring into a pair of grey-coloured eyes. Ashley recognized the pilot from Barker's briefing an hour beforehand - but the dark haired woman could not recall ever hearing the woman's name…
"Wiggle the latches from side to side…" The grey-eyed woman continued, her thin lips barely parting as she spoke. Her face was angular, with high cheekbones and thin eyebrows. She did not blink once as she looked down on Ashley, something which put the dark haired woman on edge. "They get stuck when not in use."
Frowning, Ashley turned her attention back to the foot locker. She did as suggested, gripping the latches by their handles and tugging from side-to-side with some force. There was the sound of metal creaking as whatever debris holding the latches in place was loosened up. With an upwards tug, Ashley flung open the top of the foot locker, revealing it's vacant interior.
"Thanks…" Ashley cleared her throat. The dark haired woman stood up from where she was kneeling, taking the time to brush off her uniform as she rose. "I didn't-"
"I know about the trunk latches because both the locker and this bunk used to belong to a pilot named Zhao…" The grey-eyed pilot continued. "He's not around anymore…"
From her standing position Ashley got a better look at the grey-eyed pilot addressing her. She was shorter than Ashley, and her skin slightly more tanned. The grey-eyed pilot wore her brown hair short, neatly parted and pushed to the side in a garcon style.
Ashley frowned. "This pilot, Zhao… did he-"
"Die? Yes," the grey-eyed pilot answered bluntly, her wide grey eyes as piercing as needles. "He was killed in an operation a month ago. We were running for cover and he got struck with a forty-millimeter cannon round - killed instantly."
"I'm sorry to hear…" Ashley cleared her throat. Internally, Ashley was put-off by the grey-eyed pilot's flat, emotionless tone of voice.
"He was a decent pilot, Zhao, I mean…" The grey-eyed pilot continued, her voice trailing off for a long moment. Pulling her thin lips into a tight line, the short-haired woman pulled her arms in to cross them in front of her chest. Her grey eyes rolled downwards in their socket, peering towards the ground rather than Ashley's face. "Zhao was fast and skilled, like all the best pilots should be. But he slipped up, he wasn't paying attention during the most crucial of moments, and that's what got him killed…"
Ashley felt herself stiffen when the grey-eyed pilot lifted her gaze to make eye-contact with her.
"What about you?" The other woman asked.
"What about me?"
"Are you fast? Skilled?" The grey-eyed pilot elaborated. "Do you have what it takes to be here? In the ACES with the rest of us? I want to know whether or not you're capable."
Ashley frowned, her back straightening. "Of course I am. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't capable of running with the rest of you."
"Oh, if I had a credit for every time I've heard that…" The grey-eyed pilot scoffed, although her face still betrayed no emotion. "I've seen plenty of pilots come and go. Zhao wasn't the first to claim this bunk…"
Ashley felt a strange heat burning in her chest. Whoever the grey-eyed pilot was, Ashley already wasn't a fan of hers.
"Have we met?" The dark haired woman asked, unable to mask the annoyance creeping up in her voice.
"My name is Valentina…" The grey-eyed pilot finally introduced herself. For a moment, the woman's face flickered away from it's set mask of indifference. "I'm sorry for being so terse with you, especially on our first proper meeting…"
Ashley could hear just how hollow the woman's apology was…
"I lead Team Four," the grey-eyed woman now-known as Valentina continued. "You're Zhao's replacement…"
"Oh…" Ashley frowned, her hands loosening from the fists she had unconsciously balled them up into. Turning her head the dark eyed woman spared a glance at the empty bunk which she had claimed. "I understand now… were you and Zhao friends-"
"No," Valentina answered flatly, her crossed arms tightening around her chest. "I found him annoying. He was always joking around… he never took anything seriously. Even before he got killed he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings."
Ashley felt the sides of her lips tug into tight curls.
"Zhao had the skills of a pilot but not the mindset of one," Valentina finished. The woman's pupils were as small and thin as pinpricks. "The boss is eccentric but I trust his judgment - he wouldn't hire just anyone for the ACES. If Barker thought that you were good enough, then so be it. But even then, you're filling a pair of shoes that need to be filled for the good of this team; and as leader, I need to know that you're up to scratch."
Ashley narrowed her eyes. "I already told you, I'm capable."
"We'll see about that…" Valentina cooly responded. "Until then, don't go around running your mouth."
The grey-eyed pilot uncrossed her arms and turned on her heel. She left the room quickly, her footsteps silent and soft against the dingy upper floor of the establishment. Ashley's last sight of the woman was her short brown hair bobbing gently as she disappeared through the door frame.
"Bitch…" Ashley hissed, her nostrils flaring.
The dark haired woman knew that couldn't judge. A long time ago she had been just as terse towards her original teammates. But she had never met someone so outright dismissive, not even Kuben Blisk.
Shaking her head and releasing a breath of pent-up aggression, Ashley turned her attention back down towards her bag. She began removing the few other contents of the bag, throwing them unceremoniously atop the sheets of her bunk in preparation to stuff them away in the foot locker.
"Don't stress yourself out about Val…" A deeper voice chimed out from somewhere else in the room. "She's like that to everyone…"
Ashley jumped at the new voice and swept her gaze around the small room. There were a few other bunks, seemingly unoccupied… save for one, where the covers hid a man-sized lump…
"Hello?" Ashley asked, her fingers slowly curling into fists.
"Sorry… didn't mean to make you jump like that…" The same voice chuckled. It was deep and masculine… but there was something odd about it as well… a strange undertone to it that sounded out of place. "So… your Zhao's replacement?"
The strange sounding voice was most definitely coming from the suspected bunk. Every few moments or so the large lump of covers would shift around, confirming Ashley's suspicions that there was indeed someone beneath them.
'Does he have a hangover…?' Ashley wondered to herself. It wasn't an unlikely reason as to why the man had yet to show himself. Rays of sunlight were peeking through the drawn blinds which covered the windows…
"Yes, I'm part of Team Four now…" Ashley frowned. "Are you as well? I can't exactly see you…"
"Oh…?" The man's voice sounded confused for a moment. "Oh! Right… sorry…"
The covers rustled as a peculiar individual arose from the fabric confines of the bunk…
There was a gentle creaking noise as two wedge-shaped feet pressed down against the old floorboards. The wedge-shaped feet led up to two skinny legs, shiny and made from titanium alloy. Further upwards was the torso, a crisscrossed array of wiring concealed behind segmented metal panels and sprouting two metal arms. Furthest upwards was a cube-shaped head with a large square optic, which cast an eerie blue light in the dim room.
"Hey…" The sleek-bodied simulacrum greeted Ashley, his head briefly nodding. "How are you?"
Ashley now understood why the man's voice was so strange. The undertone in his words was of a computerized, almost mechanical nature.
"You're a…" Ashley trailed off, uncurling her fingers and clearing her throat.
"Simulacrum?" The android chuckled. "Yeah… but don't call me a 'sim', it's highly offensive…"
"Really?"
"No, I'm just fucking with you…" The simulacrum chuckled - an eerie sound, considering it's complete lack of a mouth. With a sigh comparable to fatigue, the simulacrum rose from the bunk to full height. It had a few inches over Ashley, and it's legs whirred and clicked as it crossed the room to approach the dark haired woman.
Ashley watched as the simulacrum held out one hand for a shake.
"Elijah Cadman," the simulacrum introduced itself, cocking its head to the side in an eerily human way.
Ashley tentatively reached out her hand to accept the shake. "Ashley Ishikara."
The metal clamp which constituted Elijah's hand was cold to the touch. Surprisingly, the shake was rather gentle, and both Ashley and the simulacrum withdrew from it after a few moments.
"Haven't seen you around before…" Elijah garbled out in a computerized tone. "When'd you get here?"
"Last night…" Ashley frowned. "I guess you weren't at the… initiation…? If one can even call it that…"
"Damn…" The simulacrum chuckled, his blue-optic shining. "Did they make you ride the bull?"
"Only after a couple of shots…"
"Well, you're still alive…" The simulacrum leaned to the side and placed a hand on its hip. "So you must have passed with flying colors. Sorry I wasn't there to see it… I'm not much for parties anymore…"
Ashley nodded and peered around the simulacrum. Her dark eyes glanced briefly at the bed that Elijah had crawled from before flicking back to look into the simulacrum's blue optic.
"Were you…?" Ashley trailed off, unsure of whether or not she wanted to ask such an inflammatory question.
"Like you once?" Elijah finished, his blue optic betraying no emotion. "Yeah…"
Ashley nodded and swallowed, her eyes once again flicking between the tall simulacrum and the bunks.
"Do you have to sleep?" Ashley blurted out, her curiosity once again getting the better of her.
"Huh?" Elijah stuttered, his cube-shaped head turning to view his bunk. "Well… no… I don't have to sleep, or eat, or anything really…"
Elijah turned his cube-shaped head back towards Ashley.
"So, why…?"
"I… uh…" Elijah shifted his metal torso, something perhaps akin to a shrug. "I guess it just feels right. Old habits die hard, I suppose."
"How long have you been this way?" Ashley blinked. "A simulacrum, I mean…"
Elijah was silent for a long moment, his blue optic shining with an unwavering light.
"Oh, hey!"
He did eventually respond, although it was a quick change of subject rather than an answer to Ashley's question. In a surprisingly fast motion the tall simulacrum skirted around Ashley to access the covers of her new bunk. Stretching out one hand and extending a clamp-like "finger", Elijah pointed down at Ashley's prized handgun.
"Is that what I think it is?" Elijah's head cocked to the side. "A SMART pistol?"
"Yeah…" Ashley nodded and cleared her throat.
"May I?"
Ashley waved one hand to the side in a dismissive motion. "Have at it…"
Gingerly and with great respect, the simulacrum picked up Ashley's SMART pistol. Elijah rose the pistol to eye-level as if looking down the currently deactivated holo-optic. He waved his forearm gently, as if getting a feel for the weight of the pistol…
"I don't know why I do this either…" Elijah chuckled, pointing with his other "hand" towards his waving forearm. "Weight is trivial to me now… this pistol is as light as a feather…"
"Do you do it because it feels right to you?" Ashley cocked her head.
Despite having no facial features, Ashley could see a shift in the simulacrum's mood. Elijah's forearm stopped waving, and he gently placed the pistol back atop the covers of Ashley's bunk.
"That was cool…" Elijah muttered, the prior topic remaining unaddressed. "SMART pistols are hard to find… even an older model like this one. Keep it close to you."
"I will."
Turning around with a metallic whirr, Elijah adopted a neutral pose.
"What I said earlier…" Elijah made a noise akin to clearing one's throat. "Don't take what Val said personally. She's like that to everyone."
"She's a bit of a bitch."
"Come on now… don't be harsh…" The simulacrum made the weak "shrugging" motion again. "She's a good soldier… she'll do her best to keep you alive. You're a part of Team Four now, we stick together."
"Sure…" Ashley muttered.
The dark haired woman stepped around Elijah. She unceremoniously shoved her few clothes into the foot locker, gently laying both her SMART pistol and its ammunition inside before shutting the lid. Smacking down the hinges with the bottom of her palm, Ashley slid the locker underneath the bed.
"Are you ex-IMC?"
Ashley hesitated for a moment, her hands resting atop her covers. "Yeah…"
"Don't sound hesitant, most of the pilots in the ACES are… even Barker…" Elijah replied, his computerized voice lower in tone than it had been before.
"You?"
"Nope, Frontier born and raised," Elijah shook his metal head. "Val's the same as me. It might take her a while to warm up to you… old prejudices…"
"I don't really care," Ashley stood up to full height, rolling one shoulder as she did so. "I'm here to make some money."
"Spoken like any good mercenary…" Elijah chuckled, a garbled, computerized undertone in his speech.
"Whatever."
"Say…" Elijah drawled. "Has Barker got you outfitted yet?"
"No…" Ashley frowned. "Is there a uniform that I'm not aware of?"
"Come on, I'll show you the armory…" Elijah headed for the door, his wedge-shaped feet squeaking against the floorboards. "You need armor, don't you? Something to go with that fancy pistol of yours?"
"Guess so…"
"Follow me then…"
The tall simulacrum exited the room, the top of his cube head rubbing against the top of the doorframe. Ashley hesitated for a moment as she watched him leave, her hands balling up into fists.
For the first time in a long time Ashley was expected to work as part of a team…
…for better, or for worse…
