A/N
Sorry... I know... this chapter is four days late...
But I had two good reasons!
1. I'm in the middle of final exam season for university - so a lot of my time is being relegated towards studying.
2. I've been strapped with some terrible writer's block as of late; and this chapter was an incomplete and error-riddled mess on the day that it was supposed to be released.
So... I feel like I'm justified here...
Believe me, I will try my best to get the next chapter out on time next week. But like I said, it's exam season, so I may have to throw my fun recreational writing on the backburner in favour of my boring-ass school writing for a while.
Regarding today's chapter, have I ever mentioned how difficult it is for me to write coherent fight scenes? I tend to visualize fight scenes in my head before putting pen to paper, and trying to condense a moving image in my mind into words is incredibly difficult for me to do. The chapter you are about to read has been re-written multiple times in the past few days; and I've been tearing my hair out over it.
Anyways, enough of my usual (but warranted) ramblings...
Chapter 67…
"Hole" was not an entirely inaccurate description for the path cut into the bottom of the jagged fissure…
Granted, the path ahead, which stretched into the depths of Lyra-1, was not as crudely dug as Ashley had anticipated. The dirt and muck which clung to the rest of the quarry had been rubbed away - revealing smooth stone underneath. There was plenty of evidence of industrial cutting, from the sharp corners carved into the stone to the jagged lines left behind by cutting blades.
Ashley raised her gloved hand and placed it against the carved stone wall next to her. The dark haired woman was no expert when it came to excavations, but the passageway felt sturdy enough - and the large supports drilled into the ceiling and walls made her feel slightly more optimistic about what was to come…
"Nervous, 'Kara?"
A familiar, and grating, voice broke Ashley out of her cautious thoughts. Turning her head, Ashley peered through her helmet's mounted cameras down the length of the carved tunnel.
Barker and Valentina had forged ahead where Ashley had decided to exercise caution. The former had propped himself up against one of the tunnel's carved-up walls, his fingers gently clenching and unclenching as he observed Ashley, an infuriating grin climbing up the sides of his lips. The latter stood next to him, her arms crossed in a haughty motion and her helmet concealing her face.
"What's up with you? Are you having a slight bout of claustrophobia?" Barker grinned, his eyes shining behind his blue visor.
Steeling herself, and clenching her jaw underneath her helmet, Ashley slowly shook her helmeted head from left-to-right.
"No," came Ashley's quick response to her employer's accusation. "Not at all…"
"Then how about you join us then?"
Rolling the tight muscles of her shoulders in a nearly imperceptible motion, Ashley moved to follow Barker's request. The soggy soles of Ashley's combat boots made an unpleasant squeaking noise as they dragged against the stone and dirt floor of the tunnel.
Reaching towards her back, Ashley slid her CAR submachine gun across the top of her shoulder and into her gloved hands. She squeezed the weapon tightly - although the familiar motion brought her little comfort.
"Don't freak out on us…" Barker wagged a finger in Ashley's direction as he spun around to continue deeper down the tunnel. "I need you in top shape if we run into any trolls, fiends, or g-g-g-ghosts!"
"Hilarious…" Ashley scowled.
"I know, I am…" Barker chuckled. Turning his head towards Valentina, the man raised his hand to quickly smooth down his short brown hair. "Val, have we lost radio contact yet?"
Ashley's fellow pilot said nothing for a long moment, her finger tapping against her helmet's mounted radio. With a gentle shrug, the blue and white clad pilot shook her head.
"The reception is already fuzzy… and we'll be cut off if we go any deeper…" Valentina angled her visor in Barker's direction. "You did let everyone else know what we're doing… right?"
"Right…" Barker drawled for a long moment, his eyes angling upwards to look at the ceiling.
"Barker-"
"Look, you guys did all of the heavy-lifting so I thought that I would reward you…" Barker huffed and threw his hands up in exasperation.
"Are we even supposed to be down here?" Ashley chimed in, her hands squeezing ever tighter around her gun. "Wouldn't the Militia command have an issue with what we're doing?"
"Stop trying to be a goody two-shoes, 'Kara, Militia command is still a day away from getting here…" Barker waved a hand dismissively. "Me? Well, I'd just like to know what the IMC is digging for. If that means going under the Militia's nose, then fine."
"Information is power…" Valentina chimed in support of her employer's reasoning. The blue and white clad pilot peered over shoulder to give Ashley an unreadable look hidden by her visor. "Wouldn't you like to know what we might be dealing with?"
Ashley fell silent, her grip on her gun loosening.
Looking over her shoulder, Ashley watched as the small patch of sky which peeked through the tunnel became smaller and smaller…
Ashley had never been claustrophobic - if anything she found smaller spaces rather comforting. In addition, one could not be a titan pilot while being uncomfortable in a cockpit…
But something about the descending tunnel made Ashley feel uncomfortable…
Perhaps it was the still air… or the creaking groan of the tunnel's metal supports… or the steady shifting of thousands of pounds of rock and soil above her head…
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
The dark haired woman felt like a trespasser…
In the most basic sense she was, Ashley was infiltrating enemy territory. But there was something deeper here…
Why would the IMC ever be interested in Lyra-1? Clearly this dig site wasn't meant for the excavation of resources; Ashley would have spotted refinery equipment if it was…
"Looks like the tunnel widens up ahead…" Barker called out. "Both of you fall in behind me…"
Valentina stepped back and so did Ashley. The dark haired woman raised the barrel of her CAR submachine gun, keeping the tip pointed towards the ceiling of the tunnel as a precaution.
"Woah!" Barker exclaimed as he led the two pilots into an adjacent chamber. "Now would you look at this!"
In the new chamber, metal and rock fused together in a strange synergy.
Carved deep into the ground was a vertical shaft, a rough rectangular shape that was twelve meters in diameter. The length of the shaft was ringed with thick metal supports bound to the rock through the use of targeted drilling. There was no visible staircase leading into the depths below; but instead a cargo elevator which dangled from the ceiling through the use of a winch. The elevator was controlled by a large switch bolted into the side of the wall - connected by several thick electrical cables.
"Wow…" Barker let out a low whistle of appreciation as he approached the hole. "You've got to give credit where credit's due… this place is a bit more established than I expected…"
The mercenary leader began to lean over the edge of the gap…
"Boss, that's probably a bad idea…" Valentina warned.
Ashley took a few cautious steps towards her employer.
"I can't see the bottom!" Barker chuckled, his hands planted on his hips.
From somewhere down below came a strange echoing noise… like the sound of metal tapping together…
"Hello!?" Baker called out into the void.
"Boss!" Valentina hissed. "Don't-"
"If anyone can hear me down there, this is the Militia and you're completely surrounded!" Barker continued. "Nobody else has to die! Just lay down your weapons and surrender!"
The same noise echoed throughout the shaft… the sound of metal clicking against metal…
Ashley's eyes widened in realization. Springing into action, Ashley dropped her CAR and rushed towards her employer. Barker yelped when Asher roughly grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him away from the edge of the hole.
"Ishikara!" Valentina snapped. "What the hell-"
The blue and white clad pilot was wordlessly answered by the ear-ringing sound of a gunshot ringing out from down the shaft. Inches from where Barker's head had been was the long straight line of a smoke trail - a newly carved hole in the ceiling above sprinkling dirt atop the trio.
Ashley panted from the sudden exertion, still putting her weight down on her employer. She felt a hand tap her shoulder pad two times and turned her helmeted head to observe Barker's strained face.
"I appreciate you saving my life, 'Kara…" Barker gasped. "But you're heavier than you look…"
Awkwardly clearing her throat, Ashley got up off of Barker and helped the man up to his feet. Giving Ashley a good natured pat on the shoulder, Barker once again approached the edge; but this time kept his head clear away from the gap.
"I didn't appreciate that!" Barker yelled into the abyss. "Last chance! Surrender now!"
"Fuck you!" Echoed a voice from deep below.
"Sheesh…" Barker groaned. Turning on his heel, Barker extended a hand and jabbed his finger in both Ashley and Valentina's collection. "You two! Do me a favor and clear out the hole, would you?"
"Consider it done…" Valentina turned off her rifle's safety switch.
"Don't get shot!" Barker warned. "And… go!"
"Elevator!" Valentina called towards Ashley as the pilot rushed towards the large apparatus. The blue and white clad pilot leapt across the minor gap and planted her feet on the large flat plate which served as the elevator's base. "Come on, Ishikara!"
Picking her CAR up off of the ground, Ashley flicked off the weapon's safety as she joined her team leader aboard the elevator. Ashley knelt down, keeping her right hand on the grip of her gun and placing her other hand on the elevator's floor to steady herself.
"Barker!?" Valentina shouted, her visor visibly glowing blue in the low light of the tunnel.
"Good luck and don't die! Signal an all-clear once you're done!" Barker grinned. Without another word the former pilot turned mercenary leader slapped his fist against the elevator's control panel.
The metal apparatus groaned, followed by the grinding noise of a metal winch rubbing against its casing. With a lilting turn the unguided elevator began to descend down the length of the shaft, its bulk gently swaying under the sudden shift in weight.
"They're coming down! The elevator's moving!" Called a voice from deep below.
"They're expecting us…" Ashley sighed.
"No shit, Ishikara…" Valentina snapped back. Kneeling down, the blue and white clad pilot began feeling around the edge of the elevator's plate; she then looked up, observing the single chain which kept the elevator suspended. "This device isn't exactly secure…"
"No, it isn't…" Ashley frowned. "And there's not a lot of cover either…"
Removing her hand from the edge of the base, Valentina silently observed her outstretched fingers. Turning her helmeted head, the woman silently focused on Ashley's jumpkit.
"How much fuel do you have left in your kit?"
"Enough for some simple maneuvers…" Ashley rapped her fist on the side of her kit. "Why?"
"It's an older model…" Valentina pointed out. "That's good… you can set it to full burn without safety overrides…"
"What are you talking about?" Ashley questioned.
"Do you get motion sick?"
"Not easily…"
"Good…" Valentina muttered as the elevator crawled lower down the shaft. "Crouch down and grab onto something… and keep your gun ready. If and when I say so… set your kit to full burn…"
Ashley frowned underneath her helmet and looked upwards at the single cable which supported the elevator…
"You're not suggesting-"
"If and when I say so!" Valentina snapped. "Here we go!"
The elevator continued to descend, and the shaft was beginning to widen. The shaft was shaped much like a bottleneck - a short, narrow opening followed by a considerably wider space.
In the darkness it was difficult to make out the exact layout of the wider shaft. But the camera's on the outside of Ashley's helmet quickly adjusted to the low-light conditions. The sides of the shaft were carefully cut in rectangular, ninety-degree angles; and carved into the sides of the shaft walls were primitive ramps which seemingly ran down the entirety of its length - supported by a complex series of metal pillars.
A far more pressing matter than the construction of the shaft was the sudden eruption of gunfire…
Ashley hissed in shock as fast-flying lead began chewing up the metal base of the elevator near her feet. Her helmet mounted cameras struggled to adjust to the sudden presence of light - courtesy of the muzzle flashes.
"Fuck!" Valentina yelled as she fired back with her R-101. "Ishikara!? Do you see them!?"
Falling to her hands and knees, Ashley crawled forwards until she was peering over the edge of the elevator's base.
Through her helmet's mounted cameras, Ashley caught a brief glimpse of their attackers. Positioned all around the circumference of the shaft, standing on the carved ramps, were a plethora of hostile gunmen. There were far too many for Ashley to count, and their positioning meant that the two pilots were like fish in a barrel…
Steadying the barrel of her CAR against the elevator's base, Ashley squeezed down on the trigger. The weapon rattled in her hands, sending out a quick burst in the direction of Ashley's attackers.
"Ishikara!?"
"I'm a little busy!" Ashley yelled back.
The dark haired woman squeezed the trigger on CAR again. This time she succeeded in hitting one of her attackers. A man in IMC combat dress fell from his elevated position on the ramp, his limp body falling towards the unseen bottom of the shaft.
"Go full-burn!" Valentina ordered, bullets pinging the base of the elevator around her feet. "Do it!"
Pushing herself up onto her knees, Ashley gripped one hand on the edge of the elevator's base. Her jumpkit hummed loudly as she ignited the jets - the hum growing in intensity and becoming a high-pitched roar as the jumpkit's thrusters were cranked up to their maximum power output…
Overtop Ashley's head, the single cable which supported the elevator began to twist… followed by the gentle tilt of the elevator's base as the mechanism began to spin…
…faster… then faster… and then even faster…
The camera's on the exterior of Ashley's helmet struggled to keep up as the elevator began to twirl around, its speed increasing by the second. Soon the descending platform was whirling around like a spinning top - carrying the two pilots with it.
As her vision became an indecipherable blur, Ashley felt bile beginning to rise up in her throat…
But the coming tidal wave of vomit was not her immediate concern…
Using her free hand, Ashley struggled to bring up her CAR. She tucked the stock of the weapon underneath her armpit and then squeezed the trigger. There was almost no chance that she actually hit any of her attackers… but doing something felt better than doing nothing…
"Ishikara! Stand and fire, dammit!"
"Easy for you to say!" Ashley choked out, the sour flavor of bile burning in her throat.
Shakily standing up, Ashley slowed her jumpkit down to low-burn and hoped desperately that she wouldn't fall off of the elevator. Hooking the crook of her elbow around one of the central cable's four supports, Ashley deftly slammed another magazine into her empty CAR and then leaned off the side of the elevator.
Ashley's helmet cameras transmitted a garbled feed - but the dark haired woman could recognize human forms and bright white armor when she saw them. She held the CAR out with one arm, firing in erratic bursts.
Three more IMC soldiers fell from the ramps, their armor soiled with smoking bullet holes…
Something hard slammed into the side of Ashley's helmet, making the woman gasp in shock. Gritting her teeth, Ashley ignored the ringing and spinning in her head and continued to fire back at her attackers.
Two more IMC soldiers fell dead…
…and without Ashley's jumpkit to keep spurring it on, the spinning elevator began to de-accelerate…
There was the crack of a sniper rifle somewhere in the shaft, and Ashley suddenly found herself flung off of her feet. She had not been hit by the flying round…
…but the elevator had…
A sniper round has shear through one of the smaller cables linking the elevator to its central lifting chain. With an audible metal groan the once-flat elevator base shifted and titled until the descending base was on an incline…
"Fuck!" Valentina roared, her R-101 nearly falling from her hands as she slid past Ashley. "Hold onto something!"
The blue and white clad pilot activated her jumpkit and rocketed off the side of the collapsing elevator - leaping out of sight.
Ashley, in her current position, was not able to leap off of the elevator. Sliding down the length of the elevator's base, bullets still smashing erratically around her, Ashley shot out her hand in a frantic effort to grab onto something. She succeeded in gripping the side of the now-tilted elevator base, her shoulder straining as she held on for dear life.
Her legs kicking open air beneath her, Ashley erratically fired her CAR with one hand until the weapon clicked empty. Ashley's right arm ached from the repeated shock of the CAR' recoil; but her right arm did not feel as sore as her left as she held onto the bottom of the still-spinning elevator.
"Ishikara!?"
Ashley struggled to turn her head and find her team leader. Valentina had already cleared the stretch of open air between the elevator and the stairs carved into the side of the shaft. The blue and white clad pilot was taking the fight directly to their attackers.
"Get off of there!" Valentina warned, opening fire with R-101 and cutting down a small group of IMC soldiers. "Jump!"
Dropping her empty CAR and allowing it to clatter out of sight, Ashley released her grip on the bottom of the elevator base. Her stomach leapt into her throat as she entered freefall, but one quick firing of her jumpkit gave her the impulse of speed she needed to counteract gravity. Speeding towards the carved walls of the elevator shaft, Ashley pressed her boots against the stone and soil and entered a wall-run.
With her left hand guiding her along the wall, Ashley reached her right hand up to her chest and fumbled her SMART pistol out of its holster. She held the black pistol out in her right hand, the indicator lights flashing as the pistol automatically marked targets for her.
'FWIP!' 'FWIP!' 'FWIP!'
The SMART pistol fired three times, and three white-clad soldiers fell from their vantage points down into the darkness of the shaft.
Rapidly running out of wall to cling to, Ashley leapt out of her wall-run and pressed herself against the next nearest wall of the shaft. With her jumpkit firing steadily behind her Ashley began her descent down the shaft. She could hear Valentina's jumpkit firing above her - followed by the distinct firing sound of the blue and white clad pilot's R-101 rifle .
Things seemed to be going well… until a sniper round smashed into the stone wall only inches from Ashley's helmeted head…
The crack of the long-range rifle echoed throughout the cramped elevator shaft. Ashley recognized the noise of a DMR when she heard it, and wondered if it was the same weapon that had sabotaged the elevator and nearly killed Barker.
Another sniper round flew inches past Ashley's torso as she sprang off of her current wall and onto a new one…
"They're still coming down the shaft!" An male voice roared out from below, his frantic warning to his comrades followed by another shot from a DMR. "Set up those fucking charges already!"
"Charges!" Valentina gasped through Ashley's radio. "They may be trying to blow the tunnels! We can't let that happen! Ishikara, get down there… I'll deal with the rest of these jokers!"
"Roger…" Ashley sighed.
With the open air of the elevator shaft thick with flying rounds, Ashley's descent was becoming more difficult by the second. The dark haired woman leapt to a new wall, her SMART pistol humming as it locked onto more targets.
'FWIP!' 'FWIP!' 'FWIP!' 'FWIP!' 'FWIP!'
Five shots… but only four fresh bodies…
The only soldier to survive the tracking round had done so due to quick thinking. Perhaps having recognized the weapon in Ashley's hand, the man had stepped behind a tunnel support to shield himself from the lethal tracking round.
Although her helmet cameras were still fuzzy with interference… Ashley could recognize the long barrel of the DMR in the surviving soldier's hands…
Momentarily lowering the barrel of her SMART pistol, Ashley focused on her wall-run. Her jumpkit was still firing, giving her the speed necessary to maintain her risky maneuvers. But there was no telling when the personal jetpack would run out of fuel again; and Ashley could only assume that her emergency maneuver on the elevator had burned off a considerable quantity of the fuel in her tank.
The DMR wielding soldier noticed Ashley's vulnerable position and leaned out of his cover to nail her out of the air. A DMR was an unwieldy weapon for such a tight space; but Ashley also knew that the sniper rifle's heavy round packed enough punch to shear through her armor plating.
Raising his DMR, the enemy soldier fired three times in quick succession, each shot leaving a visible smoke trail. Ashley dodged each one, her jumpkit sputtering behind her as she leapt off of the wall to continue her descent.
The soldier fired again… this shot slicing through the air only inches from Ashley's neck…
Whoever he was, he was a good shot…
Just not good enough… or at least that was what Ashley was hoping for…
Lifting her gaze, Ashley watched as the tilted and bullet-riddled husk of the elevator base continued to descend down the shaft. Despite the damage to its mechanisms it was continuing to crawl slowly downwards.
The closer Ashley got to the sniper, the harder it was going to be for her to avoid his shots…
…and a plan quickly formulated in Ashley's mind.
Ashley leapt off of the wall and cut off her jumpkit. Quickly tucking her SMART pistol away into the security of its holster, Ashley held out her hands and jammed her fingers into whatever nook or cranny she could find on the elevator's base.
With the base tilted as it was, Ashley now had a crude descending cover…
Firing her jumpkit on low burn, Ashley released a groan of exertion as the hanging base of the elevator slowly began to tilt clockwise. Taking her right hand out of the bullet hole she had jammed her fingers into to hold on, Ashley once again fumbled her SMART pistol out of its holster…
"Do you think you're clever!?" The DMR wielding soldier spat as he fired a volley of shots into the other side of the tilted elevator.
Ashley suddenly fired her jumpkit at full blast, her SMART pistol clenched tightly in her right hand. With the sudden burst of speed the tilted base of the elevator rapidly rotated around… exposing Ashley to the DMR wielding soldier's line of fire…
…and he, in turn, was just as exposed to hers…
'FWIP!'
The DMR dropped from the grunt's hands, his hands flying upwards to grasp at the fist-sized hole carved into the flesh of his throat. With a gurgle, the IMC soldier teetered off of his vantage point and fell down into the shaft.
"I'd say so…" Ashley huffed as she lowered the barrel of her SMART pistol.
The dark haired woman did not have time to gloat, however. Above her head came the creaking groan of an already battered mechanical mechanism snapping under the stress of multiple bullet impacts. Ashley looked up in horror as the chains holding the elevator base to the descending cables began to snap.
Kicking off of the elevator, Ashley fired her jumpkit and used her left hand to tear her data knife from its sheath. Pointing the tip of the blade towards the wall of the shaft, Ashley slammed the knife into the soil and stone - creating a crude anchor point for her to hold onto. Her quick thinking had saved her life, as only moments after leaping towards the wall did the elevator's final support snap…
The unsupported base of the elevator entered freefall and disappeared down the shaft, its metal edges carving deep grooves in the stone of the walls as it fell. With a massive crash, the remains of the elevator came to an unseen stop at the shaft's bottom…
"Fuck…" Ashley gasped as she held onto the handle of her knife for dear life, the active jets of her jumpkit helping her to maintain her stability on the ninety-degree incline . "That was close…"
"Ishikara!" Valentina's voice roared through Ashley's radio, her voice muffled by crackling interference and the continuous gunfire which echoed throughout the length of the shaft. "Get down there!"
"What about you?" Ashley yelled back into her radio. Tilting her head backwards, Ashley squinted her eyes to see what was happening higher up in the shaft. It was hard for her to make out any specific details - save for the repeated muzzle flashes of rifles and the occasional bright burst of a jumpkit firing.
"I'm fine… but if they're setting charges down there then you have to stop them!" Valentina cried, the crackle of interference growing in intensity. "Go! GO!"
Gritting her teeth underneath her helmet, Ashley tore her knife out from the wall and turned off her jumpkit.
Straightening her legs, the dark haired woman could feel the air rushing around her as she picked up speed and piked down towards the unseen bottom of the shaft…
Ashley was starting to regret working for Barker…
