A/N

You know what? Forget schedules for now. There's no point in me blowing hot air about schedules if I don't have the time to properly commit to them.

That being said, this chapter took me a while. Much like the chapters before, I had to go through a couple drafts before I ended up on one that I was (somewhat) satisfied with. Today's chapter contains everything I need for it to contain to keep this story moving along. I don't want this current arc to drag on for any longer than it already has.

Except the next chapter at... some point.

Anyways…

Chapter 70…

Ashley didn't know what hurt worse… her vast array of injuries or the medical techniques employed to address them…

The bullet wound on her back ironically hurt the least - although that was only because the armored plating of her vest had stopped the otherwise lethal round. Ashley had no way of knowing what the wound actually looked like, but the dark haired woman could imagine the sight of a dark purple bruise swelling underneath her skin.

Modern pilot armor could easily stop small-arms fire; the tricky part was stopping the bullet while also protecting the wearer from the immense power behind the round. Ashley wasn't sure if her ribs were cracked or not, but she wouldn't have been surprised if they were…

Then there were the more shallow wounds… the bruising and the cuts which littered Ashley's face and arms. Many of the pale scars from her drug-induced romp in the wilds of Antheia still crisscrossed Ashley's forearms; but now there were even more to add to the collection.

As superficial as most of them were, however, blood loss and infection was still a risk…

Ashley hissed in discomfort as a needle was gently drawn through the flaps of loose skin hanging above her left eye. She kept her left eye shut tight, blocking any stream or trickle of blood from getting clogged in the sensitive organ.

"Look at you… taking this like a trooper…" Chuckled a voice from above Ashley; a voice which had a distinctly computerized tone to it. "If it was me in your position I'd be kicking and crying. Good stuff!"

"You want to switch?" Ashley growled out from between her gritted teeth.

"I stopped needing sutures a long time ago…" Elijah chuckled out from above Ashley. "Although on the topic of personal health, I'll need to wash out and rust-proof my servos later…"

"Gross…"

"Ditto," Elijah's computerized voice lowered in volume. "Now hold still, and tell me if I accidentally jab anything important, alright?"

Ashley ground her teeth together as her simulacrum teammate continued to seal up the wound on her forehead. Elijah's clamp-like hands were oddly well-suited for the delicate task; and moved with a certain level of precision that Ashley could only describe as "robotic."

"It was a shame I missed this little party… I was too busy topside…"

"Too busy?" Ashley scoffed.

"Looting…" Elijah gently shrugged his metal shoulders. As he did so, the plethora of newly-looted weapons slapped to his back jingled and knocked together. "I'm willing to share some of my finds with you, if you'd like."

"All I want is a drink…"

"Just don't mix your drinks with painkillers, alright?"

"Yeah…" Ashley grunted as Elijah finally removed his metal hands from the wound on her forehead. Her skin and flesh burned with agony - as if someone had pressed a piece of hot metal to her skin. But other than the slight dribble of blood, her wounds had been sealed.

'-.-. .- ..- - .. - -.'

Now there was just the matter of her head…

Squeezing her eyes shut in frustration, Ashley leaned back on her makeshift seating and spared a glance up at her simulacrum teammate. Through the crust of dried blood clinging to her eyelids, Ashley met Elijah's gaze, his bright blue optic only worsening the dark haired woman's existing headache.

"I don't suppose that you have anything for my head?" Ashley asked her teammate. "I've got this headache-"

"Say no more."

Reaching his clamp-like hands towards his waist, Elijah rooted through one of several the satchel bags bolted to his metal body. After a few moments of silent searching the simulacrum withdrew an unmarked bottle - shaking it gently in his grasp to cause the pills inside to audibly jingle together.

"Should I ask why you're carrying pills?" Ashley asked.

"Better to have them and not need them, rather than need them and not have them…" The simulacrum explained. "Well, sort of… considering I myself never need pills of any kind. Anyways, take two of them. Want some water?"

"Sure…"

Elijah handed the pill bottle to Ashley before withdrawing a small flask from his satchel bags. Handing the flask to Ashley, the simulacrum silently watched as the dark haired woman took the offered pills.

Placing two capsules on her tongue, Ashley maneuvered the pills between her teeth and began to chew on them. An unpleasant, sour flavour spread throughout her mouth, but Ashley quickly washed the taste and residue down with a quick swig of water. Finished, Ashley offered her teammate a nod as she handed the pill bottle and flask back to him.

"You should rest for a little while…" Elijah muttered as he finally moved from his standing position. The simulacrum slowly turned and sat down next to Ashley, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his joints in an eerily human way. "No offence, but you look like shit…"

"Well, that's what happens when you get tossed around by a jumpkit…" Ashley hissed.

"Val filled me in on what happened down here…" Elijah muttered in Ashley's direction. "It sounds like you had your hands full. Good work keeping a lid on things."

Ashley bit the inside of her lip and leaned back against her makeshift seating. The dark haired woman scanned the interior of the cavern, silently watching as her fellow mercenaries bustled about and secured the area.

As disorganized as Barker's leadership style was, Ashley had to silently admit to herself that she was impressed with how quickly the ACE Operatives tackled problems. True to her word, Valentina had travelled back to the top of the elevator shaft to retrieve Barker and some reinforcements… and a large horde of pilots had followed behind her…

Ashley could barely protest as several pairs of hands worked together to move her to a more comfortable position. She could then only watch as the dozen or so other pilots on the mission with her worked quickly to secure the inside of the cavern. The ACE operatives had thought far enough ahead to bring portable light sources with them; which proved to be just adequate enough to brighten up the interior of the subterranean space.

Continuing to gently chew the inside of her lip, Ashley observed as her fellow pilots began picking apart the debris littering the cavern. Bodies were marked and neatly lined up for collection, discarded weapons were retrieved and secured, and every piece of mining equipment was swiftly disabled.

"Something about this operation seems strange, wouldn't you agree?"

Ashley turned her head to face her simulacrum teammate. Elijah was still seated next to her, his square metal head turned to face Ashley's direction.

"You mean all this fuss over some swampy little moon in the middle of nowhere?" Ashley huffed and leaned back. "Yeah, it is kind of strange that anyone would care about this place…"

"But the IMC clearly did," Elijah gently shifted his metal shoulders in a shrug. "But I'm more interested in the setup that they had going on. I mean, there's a giant digging machine up-top, but only one tiny path down here?"

"What?"

"That excavator up there…" Elijah paused for a moment, pointing upwards with his metal hand in gesture to the surface. "A machine like that can tear a pretty sizable hole in the landscape - and it did. The quarry up there would be appropriate if the IMC was digging around for resources. But then why stop using it just to dig out smaller shafts like this one?"

Ashley frowned, her fingers tapping against her legs.

"They stopped, because whatever they're digging for required a more precise excavation…" Elijah gently wagged his metal hand. "That's what I think, at least…"

Still frowning to herself, Ashley gently shut her eyes and waited for the pills to kick in. Chewing on them had broken the protective capsule, so the medication should have already kicked in, but the buzzing in Ashley's head still persisted…

'.- ... ... .-.. . -.-'

"How's your head?"

"It's still pounding…" Ashley replied.

"You should probably get checked for a concussion…"

"I agree," Ashley gently shook her head. "But this headache… it's different…"

"How so-"

"Hey, 'Kara!"

Ashley snapped to attention when she heard the familiar moniker. Turning her head to face straight ahead, Ashley watched as her employer navigated through the cavern towards her. Barker's face was easily recognized by the slight blue glow of his eyewear. His body was repeatedly obscured by shadows as he walked in and out of the lights illuminating the cavern.

Barker was not alone, he was joined by a familiar female pilot. Valentina walked several steps behind her boss, her arms crossed across her chestplate.

Hearing metal shifting around, Ashley turned her head and watched as Elijah jumped up from his seated position. The dark haired woman made no move to copy this motion, remaining seated where she was.

"Boss!" Elijah squared his metal shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah," Barker waved dismissively at the simulacrum, his eyes turning to point and look down at Ashley. "Am I paying you to lounge around, 'Kara?"

"Barker…" Valentina loudly complained. "Give her a minute-"

"She's had several…" Barker interrupted. "Let's go, 'Kara."

"Go where?" Ashley asked, raising one eyebrow as she stared up at her employer.

"Where else?" Barker cracked a smile. Turning his body and raising his arm, the older man pointed off into the darkness. "Deeper. I want to see what the IMC was digging for."

"And this involves me… how?" Ashley grunted as she pulled her legs closer to her chest.

"Barker, she's been through enough…" Valentina argued on Ashley's behalf, which surprised the dark haired woman. "She got dragged around by her kit and her stitches are fresh-"

"Is she missing her legs?"

"I-"

"Hey, 'Kara, are your legs missing?" Barker swiveled his gaze back towards Ashley, regarding the woman with an amused look. "Hey?"

"No…?"

"Then stand up on them and walk with me," Barker shrugged. "Don't tell me that after all the trouble I just put you through that you don't want to get some proper answers…"

"Barker-" Valentina threw up her arms in frustration.

"Zip-it!" Barker huffed. The man looked downwards at Ashley and lifted up an eyebrow. "Well?"

Shifting in her seated position, Ashley considered her employer's words. Flexing the joints of her legs as a simple test, Ashley was unsurprised when she felt an unpleasant burning sensation in her muscles. Drawing in a sharp intake of breath, Ashley slowly fought her way up into a standing position; her sore legs gently quivered as they supported her weight, but Ashley's muscles did not give out.

"You see?" Barker scoffed as he glared at Valentina. "Look at her go! There's no slowing this one down…"

"Whatever you say, boss…" Valentina mumbled in response. Ashley could imagine the woman's lips being pursed underneath her helmet.

On the topic of helmets… where had Ashley's rolled off to?'

Looking around and squinting her eyes in the darkness, Ashley feebly searched around the local area for her headgear. She would not have to search for very long, as her helmet was quickly thrust into her hands.

"Looking for this?" Elijah asked, her clamp-like hands gripping the gap near the helmet's bottom. "It was just over there…"

"Thanks…" Ashley muttered as she pulled the metal helmet over her head. The dark haired woman hissed as the interior padding of the headgear rubbed against the fresh wounds littering her face. Her nose was once again filled with the musty scent of her clogged-up rebreather.

Attaching her helmet to her jumpkit through the connecting wire, Ashley waited for a long moment as the helmet's exterior cameras booted up. In less than a minute, Ashley had a grainy view of the world outside of the metal headgear.

"Maybe I should come along too…?" Elijah suddenly placed his hand on Ashley's shoulder, steadying her. "I mean… Ishikara isn't exactly in fighting shape right now…"

"She should be treated for her wounds…" Valentina interjected, stepping around Barker to stand in front of the man.

"She's fine…" Barker shook his head. "Right, 'Kara?"

Ashley hesitated for a long moment.

"If you say so…"

"Right, well then…" Barker turned his head towards Elijah. "Cadman, uh… I suppose you can come along too."

"Sure thing, boss," Elijah extended one of his metal digits in a gesture resembling that of an outstretched thumb.

Turning on his heel, Barker walked off, with Valentina following close behind him. Barker suddenly stopped in his tracks, his head turning left and right to view the other pilots guarding the inside of the cavern.

Raising his fingers to hip lips, Barker released a shrill whistle.

"Tran, Serjenko!" Barker called out to two of the other pilots. Stretching out his thumb, Barker threw his hand over his shoulder in gesture to his back. "With me!"

Ashley watched as the two pilots Barker called out to moved to flank behind him. The dark haired woman began to follow her employer but was temporarily held back by Elijah's clamp-like hand. Ashley moved to shake it off, but Elijah's grip remained firm.

"What?"

"You and I both know that you can barely stand…" Elijah muttered, his computerized tone a low whisper. "If anything else happens down here, just hold back, alright?"

Ashley felt a rebuke on her lips but battled it down…

"Whatever…"

"I'll take that as an enthusiastic 'yes',"

"Sure, whatever."

Giving Ashley an affectionate pat on her shoulder, Elijah carefully shadowed the dark haired woman as she stumbled after her employer.


Ashley was definitely coming to regret working for Barker…

"Are you falling asleep back there, 'Kara?"

"Fuck off…" Ashley mumbled in response.

"What was that?"

"No… coming now…"

Elijah gave a computerized chuckle as he and Ashley descended the steep slope. The simulacrum had stuck close to Ashley throughout the descent; something which the dark haired woman was quietly grateful for, although she would never say it out loud…

"Good, so hurry up!" Barker loudly chuckled from his position at the bottom of the ramp. "We're all going grey down here…"

There was the sound of snickering as the two pilots Barker brought along, Tran and Serjenko, leaned close to one another for an inaudible exchange of words. Valentina stayed silent, her R-101 rifle hanging loosely from her hands and her face hidden by her visor.

With a final grunt, Ashley reached the bottom of the incline, with Elijah following close behind her. The dark haired woman's feet pulsed with pain, but Ashley kept her mouth shut and didn't complain about the sensation.

And to make matters worse, Ashley's head was still ringing…

'.- ... ... .-.. . -.-'

Trusting in her helmet's mute faceplate to hide her discomfort, Ashley joined her small group of fellow pilots.

"About time!" Barker huffed.

Turning on his heel, the older man took several steps forwards and gestured for his mercenaries to fall-in behind him. Ashley bit her lower lip and ignored the pain wracking every inch of her body, silently focusing on putting one sore foot in front of the other.

'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'

Squinting her eyes through her grainy camera feed, Ashley titled back her head to observe the shaft around her. She and the rest of her fellow pilots had just finished another descent - this time down a square formation of ramps and struts. At the bottom lay another long tunnel, perhaps seven meters in width and three meters high. Much like the carved walls of the elevator shaft, the tunnel was supported by a crisscrossing series of beams and struts which were bolted into the rock.

"Psst, hey?"

Ashley blinked in surprise. Levelling her head with her shoulders, Ashley's gaze met the x-shaped visor of the pilot standing off to her left.

"Your Ishikara, right?" Asked the pilot. "The new hire?"

"Yeah…"

"Cool, Nhat Tran," the pilot held out his gloved hand for a shake.

Ashley looked down at the offered limb for a long moment before accepting it. She slapped her own soggy hand into the embrace, giving a brief shake before withdrawing.

"You took out that titan up there, right?" A newly introduced Tran muttered.

"I had some help…" Ashley shrugged, gesturing to Elijah as she did so. "It was a team effort…"

"Don't sell yourself so short," Elijah chuckled from Ashley's other side. The simulacrum titled his square head, his optic casting Ashley in an eerie blue light. "She was unreal, Tran, faster than anyone I've ever seen…"

"I bet!" Tran chuckled as he leaned away from Ashley. "Y'know, I had my doubts when Barker put you on the mission, newbie… you're filling-in Zhao's shoes after all. But I saw your handiwork with the titan up there and the explosives down here… you're seriously talented."

"Thanks…?" Ashley replied, an awkward feeling spreading throughout her body.

"Tran, stop bothering her…" Valentina called out from up ahead.

"Yeah, who are you?" Mocked the other pilot Ashley had yet to be properly introduced to. "The president of her fan club or something?"

The unidentified pilot leaned in and offered their own hand to Ashley.

"Felix Serjenko…" The pilot introduced himself as Ashley accepted his handshake. "A pleasure…"

"'A pleasure?'" Tran mocked his fellow pilot. "God, you're lame…"

"Says you!" Serjenko retorted. "Lathering her with praises a second after meeting her!"

"Can both of you be quiet!?" Valentina hissed from up ahead, looking over her shoulder at the small group following in her wake. "Do you all forget where we are!? Focus!"

"What she said!" Barker called out from his position at the head of the group, throwing his outstretched thumb over his shoulder in gesture to Valentina. "Guns up, mouths shut!"

"Sorry boss…" Serjenko muttered. Gently twisting to face Ashley, the pilot leaned in a little bit. "It was nice to meet you…"

"Ditto!" Whispered Tran.

"Thanks…?" Ashley repeated herself.

For a moment, a long silence fell over the small group of pilots as they journeyed through the tunnel. There was only a brief interruption, when Ashley felt somebody tapping on her shoulder. Turning her head, Ashley's camera feed was suddenly occupied by Elijah's blue optic.

"Look at you, first day at school and you're already the most popular kid in class…" Elijah joked.

"Shut up, Cadman…"

"Heh!"

Basking in the newfound silence, Ashley settled into her breathing techniques as she continued to walk. The pain wracking her body still bothered her, but it was not as intense as it had been before; Ashley credited the pills that Elijah had given her for that. Despite her improved physical condition, however, Ashley's head was still pulsing with that strange headache…

'-.. .- -. -. . .-.'

Licking her dry lips, Ashley shut her eyes and allowed her feet to carry her forwards - one step after the other.

"Alright, everybody look professional for a second… the tunnel is widening up ahead…"

Snapping her eyes back open at the sound of Barker's voice, Ashley reached towards her chest to draw the SMART pistol from its holster. She didn't have that many bullets left, and the last thing she could handle at the moment was another firefight, but Ashley couldn't just let her guard down…

True to what Barker had said, the tunnel widened up into a larger room. The packed and supported ceiling hung ten metres overhead, with the width and length of the room being similar dimensions. Directly across from the tunnel Ashley and her cohorts emerged from was another passageway leading deeper into the abyss…

But the new passage was not the first thing to catch Ashley's eye…

"Bodies!" Ashley warned her cohorts, her grip on SMART pistol tightening.

"Yeah, I noticed them too…" Barker muttered. "You've got a good eye, 'Kara…"

Ashley bit her tongue at her employer's facetious muttering, her gaze slowly scanning the chaos of the room.

Littering the floor were well over a dozen, or perhaps two-dozen bodies. They were all men, clad in jumpsuits and protective harnesses. Several of the corpses were wearing large dust masks, intended for use during excavations.

"Holy shit…" Tran muttered as he stepped past Barker. "Were they workers?"

"They're dressed like it…" Elijah responded, his blue optic shining eerily in the dim light of the cavern.

Reaching out his hand to pull Tran back towards the group, Barker knelt next to one of the bodies.

"Boss, be careful," Valentina warned.

"Something tells me that this guy isn't going to hurt me…" Barker muttered.

Using his hand, the older man turned the body over so that it was face-up. An unknown face, permanently set in an expression of disbelief, peered out from behind the shattered remains of a dust mask.

"Serjenko, get in here…"

Gently moving past Ashley, Serjenko knelt down on the other side of the corpse and began prodding at it.

"Three, no four wounds to the chest… they look like bullet holes…" Serjenko mumbled as he prodded at the torso of the unidentified man. "Yeah, definitely bullets. They punctured his harness, but I didn't see any exit wounds through his back."

"So your professional opinion is that he was shot?" Tran scoffed. "I could see that already…"

"Shut up, Tran," Valentina scoffed. "Now's not the time for a joke…"

"Who shot all these men?" Ashley asked.

"The IMC forces you just dealt with, I'm guessing…" Elijah muttered from beside Ashley. The simulacrum shifted where he stood, his servos and metal limbs gently creaking.

"But why?" Ashley frowned underneath her helmet. "Why shoot your own dig team?"

Ashley turned her head towards the room's far wall. Several bodies were slumped up against or near the packed dirt of the wall; and in the dim light of the room Ashley could spot multiple bullet holes and chips in the stone.

'A firing squad…?' Ashley thought to herself. The woman quietly constructed a version of events in her head that made the most sense to her. Judging from the bodies scattered around the room, what had begun as a targeted shooting had quickly become all-encompassing…

"I'm guessing that somebody didn't want them questioned about what the IMC was digging for here…" Valentina chimed in. The woman had lowered her rifle and had joined in in checking over the bodies.

"That's what you think?" Ashley muttered. "Do you think that our attack inspired them to do this?"

"It's pretty ruthless, but well-within the IMC's playbook…" Valentina gently shrugged.

Ashley gently bit the edge of her tongue and stayed silent. Her team leader had a point, it was well-within the IMC's playbook to target rebellious workers...

The dark haired woman knew this very well; after all, Ashley had once taken part in atrocities just like this one…

"Well, these guys aren't going to be telling us anything…" Barker sighed as he stood up from the corpse he had been examining. "Serjenko, hang back here and tally up the bodies for disposal. Tran, you help him out. The rest of you lot, fall-in behind me and let's keep moving."

"Great…" Tran sighed, his voice muffled by his helmet. The man slowly ambled towards his fellow pilot, his shoulders visibly slumping in response to his assigned task.

Silently, Ashley observed the two pilots as they immediately set themselves upon their task. Serjenko and Tran moved in silent coordination, the latter grabbing ankles and the former grabbing shoulders as they began moving and stacking the bodies into a neat line. Ashley could hear the two pilot's quietly conversing and joking as they worked together…

What surprised Ashley most was the callous indifference to the situation. As experienced a soldier as Ashley was, even she could feel the slight spike in her heart rate when she first spotted the bodies. Yet here were these two men joking with one another as they neatened up the sight of a massacre…

Or, maybe it wasn't indifference… but acceptance…

How long had the Frontier Wars waged on? Years? Ashley had seen plenty of action on the IMC's side; but her recent switch over to the side of the Militia had given her new insight into the conflict…

As a mercenary for the IMC, Ashley had created plenty of fresh bodies… and somebody had to be tasked with burying all of them…

… and it was possible to find humor in anything if you were desensitized enough.

"Uh, 'Kara?"

"Right…" Ashley quickly responded to the sound of her employer's voice - Barker having once again snapped the dark haired woman out of her reveries. "I'm coming now…"

Rejoining her squadmates and employer, Ashley hobbled along and did her best to keep pace with them. The pain-pills had done wonders for her muscles, but her head was still killing her…

'.-.. .. ... - . -.'

There it was again… that strange pulsing that echoed around inside of Ashley's skull…

Slowly blinking her eyes to distract herself from the pain, Ashley continued to put one foot in front of the other…

For a long time, Ashley and her comrades walked in silence - save for the crunch of boots against soil and the whirring of Elijah's servos. The walls of the tunnel, which had once been chaotic fusings of rock and soil, now had more in common with the former. Hastily installed lights ran along the length of the tunnel, illuminating the path just enough for Ashley to be able to see without the assistance of helmet's night vision mode.

As Ashley continued to walk, her headache continued to worsen…

'-.. . . .-. . .-.'

There was something about the headache though… something about the strange pulsing that was almost… rhythmic…

'.- . .- .-. - -.'

Shutting her eyes for a moment, Ashley continued to walk forwards, temporarily focused on the pain in her head…

The dark haired woman yelped when she collided into something hard…

Stumbling for a moment, Ashley centered herself and re-opened her eyes. She was met with the almost unremarkable view of the tunnel wall she had walked face-first into.

"Are you alright?" Asked a computerized voice.

Turning her head, Ashley was met with one look of concern from Barker and two unreadable looks from her teammates.

"Yeah…" Ashley coughed. "It's nothing… my head's just killing me…"

"That's because you should be recovering…" Ashley's team leader began. Turning to face Barker, Valentina balled up her hands into fists. "Why did you have to insist on bringing her down here?"

"I offered, she accepted."

"That's not how it went and you know it…"

Ashley slowly turned away from her teammates and laid her helmeted forehead against the dusty tunnel wall. The noise coming from her comrades was doing little to calm her down or help her head.

'.-.. - - -.-'

'Wait…'

It took Ashley a moment to realize, but something was strange about the wall she was leaning against…

With the argument continuing in the background, Ashley raised her gloved hand and began to wipe away at the dust coating the wall. Dirt crumbled away and filth fell in gentle sheets as Ashley rubbed, revealing a smooth but time-worn surface beneath.

The material hidden beneath the filth was thick and smooth - far too smooth to have been made by natural process. Ashley was no expert, but even she could recognize the familiar texture of metal…

Ashley rubbed harder on the strange metal with the bottom of her fist. More dust fell away, revealing small but intricate swirls and patterns in the alloy…

"Hey…?" Ashley called out.

"What is it, 'Kara?"

"Check this out…"

There was the sound of feet scraping as Ashley's comrades huddled around her. Ashley felt uncomfortable with the presence of so many people in close proximity to her, and felt relieved when her employer brushed past her to examine the wall.

"Huh…" Barker muttered as he traced his fingers against the hidden metal.

"A bit of an odd place to cast a metal wall, don't you think?" Elijah chimed in.

"You're right about that, Cadman…" Barker spoke in a low tone. "I have a hunch… and not a good one…"

Wordlessly, the mercenary leader left his position next to the wall and hurriedly continued his journey down the tunnel.

"A hunch…?" Ashley asked aloud. "Is there something here that I'm missing out on…?"

"We can all fill you in later…" Valentina called over her shoulder as she followed closely behind Barker. "Come on."

Ashley grit her teeth and fell in behind Elijah as they all continued down the tunnel.

Her headache was definitely getting worse… if that was even possible…

'-.. . . .-. . .-.'

As they walked, the walls began to change…

'-.. . . .-. . .-.'

Rock and soil had been rubbed off of the walls, revealing more of the intricate metal alloy hidden underneath…

'-.. . . .-. . .-.'

Soon enough, there was no more stone and soil… even the roof and ceiling were made of the dingy looking metal. Ashley traced her hands along the wall, her fingers grazing against the engravings in the alloy. Flanking the walls were large protrusions… almost resembling columns…

'-.. . . .-. . .-.'

Cables snaked across the floor, which were hooked up to large flood lamps that the IMC had left lying around. Several of these lamps illuminated patches of the metal walls - just barely revealing larger motifs that had been lost to time…

'-.. . . .-. . .-.'

"What is this place?" Ashley asked, the words just barely escaping her mouth. "Did the IMC build all of this…?"

'.- -. -.-. .. . -. -'

Ashley could… feel something… a phantom feeling which fluttered throughout her body…

She felt the same thing whenever she had been inside of a titan cockpit… power, energy… a fuzzy feeling which tickled her skin and churned her stomach. Something about this strange subterranean place gave her the same feeling…

"Build it? No…" Barker mumbled. The man's quick pace had slowed to an ambling walk, his boots dragging against the ground. "Discover it…? Yes…"

"Discover it?" Ashley coughed. The dark haired woman looked back towards the metal walls and columns - noting the intricate engravings and long-faded motifs. "You're not saying…"

"That's exactly what Barker is saying," Valentina chimed in, her whispering voice almost inaudible underneath her helmet. "What? You didn't think that something like this was possible?"

"I guess…" Ashley admitted. "I've heard some tall tales-"

"Well, now you're seeing it for yourself…" Valentina muttered. "Congratulations, Ishikara… you're one of the few people to step foot in a place like this… a place not built by human hands…"

Ashley felt a lump rising in her throat and the churning of anxiety in her gut. She now understood the strange energy that seemed to surround this place. Ashley was not just standing in an ancient ruin - she was standing in a ruin that possibly predated human civilization…

The realization was both jarring and exciting at the same time… and only served to worsen Ashley's headache…

After perhaps a minute of walking through the ancient tunnel, Ashley and her associates came to a scraping stop once they reached what could have only been described as an atrium. More flood lamps had been set up inside the massive room, providing an excellent view of its dimensions.

The atrium was circular, its smooth outer walls decorated with intricate designs and flanked by tall columns which held up the dilapidated ceiling. Protruding from the exposed sides of the columns were large statues depicting vaguely humanoid creatures… although great emphasis had to be placed on "vague".

The statues depicted bipedal entities, although the similarities between them and humans ended there; their heads were too large, their fingers too long, their bodies too sleek. Each figure lacked defining facial features, although it was unclear to Ashley whether this was by design or if the finer details of the statues had been lost to time…

Each statue struck a different pose. Some standing tall, others hunched over or seated in thrones. Some were depicted as wearing flowing robes, others in what appeared to be loincloths…

Ashley found all of them to be equally unsettling…

'.-. .-. . -.-. ..- .-. ... - .-. …'

The floor of the room was not flat, but rather a ringed staircase which descended towards a mysterious obelisk sitting in the very center of the space…

Ashley could barely concentrate as she descended the ringed steps. All around her were sights which the dark haired woman struggled to comprehend. The walls, the statues, the stairs… nothing around her had been carved by human hands…

Gently rapping the side of her helmet to refocus its exterior cameras, Ashley turned her attention to the strange obelisk sitting in the exact center of the room. It was spherical in shape, and made from the same dark alloy which the rest of the room was constructed of. Ashley made note of the gold engravings along its surface, and the distinctive grid shapes carved into the metal.

'.- . .- .-. - -.'

Ashley stayed in place as her associates fanned out to examine the spherical obelisk…

"Boss…?" Elijah muttered his computerized voice sounding almost… stressed.

"I see it, Cadman…" Barker spoke quietly in return. The man's eyes were as dark as the shadows which clung to the edges of the room, his face twisted into an uncharacteristically serious look.

"Fuck…" Valentina muttered underneath her helmet. "Oh no…"

"What?" Ashley huffed as she moved around the obelisk to see what her employer and teammates were gawking at.

Upon reaching the other side of the large spherical structure, Ashley caught a glimpse of what was so interesting…

A large hole had been carefully carved into the side of the obelisk. The hole revealed the interior to be dark and hollow, and Ashley wondered if something important had once been hidden inside…

The closer the dark haired woman got to the hole, the stranger she felt. Her head beat and pulsed more painfully now than ever before; and the strange creeping sensation of energy in the air tickled at Ashley's skin. Her helmet camera feed, which had always been a little bit grainy, worsened in quality the closer Ashley got to the hole…

'-.. .- -. -. . .-.'

"What is it?" Ashley asked her silently gawking teammates. "Fill me in…"

"Later, 'Kara…" Barker muttered. Turning his head, the man gave Ashley's team leader an enigmatic look.

"Val, scramble topside and get on the horn with Militia command… now…"