A/N
A bit of a shorter chapter, I know. But all of my attempts to lengthen this chapter just made it feel bloated and word-y.
(And my writing style is word-y enough as it is)
There was another scene, but it felt tacked on and anyone who reads my stories knows that I like leaving things on cliffhangers.
Anyways...
Chapter 74…
"Calm down!" Briggs yelled out, her dark eyes growing wide in surprise. "Calm down now!"
But the Commander's words were drowned out by the cacophony of noise which had erupted throughout the cramped briefing room. A minute before the announcement about the reward money the mood in the room had been almost tranquil. But the allure of money had whipped the hungover mercenaries into a frenzy. They leapt from their chairs and bowled over the table, each reaching out their hands as if the job offer was something that could be physically seized.
"ME! PICK ME!" One of the ACES roared at Briggs, his heavy beard shifting with the motion of his mouth. "I'LL DO IT!"
"FUCK OFF, ROBERT!" Roared another mercenary. The woman shoved past her bearded companion. "PICK ME INSTEAD! EVERYBODY HERE SUCKS EXCEPT FOR ME!"
Commander Briggs, who had once commanded the attention of the room's occupants with just her presence, visibly recoiled under the sudden onslaught of voices. The woman took several cautious steps backwards, the horde of greedy mercenaries hot on her heels.
Not one member of the ACES was still remaining in their original seats. Like a human tidal wave, they slid and spilled over the table until all were crowding Commander Briggs in a semicircle.
Although she would look back on the incident with some embarrassment, Ashley was very much a part of the horde. The dark haired woman was being crushed from all angles as she fought through the crowd; she gave as good as she got, throwing her weight around as she savagely pushed her way to the front.
'Twenty-five thousand credits!' Ashley internally shrieked at herself, the large number forming a visible image in her mind. It wasn't exactly retirement money… but it was close to retirement money - enough credits to keep Ashley afloat for a long time.
"CALM DOWN!" Briggs yelled out, any pretense of civility now long gone. "PLEASE JUST CALM DOWN!"
Briggs' pleas still fell on deaf ears.
"ME! ME!" Another pilot shouted as he lurched out from the crowd. "I'LL DO IT!"
The pilot kicked and screamed in rage as his cohorts quite literally dragged him back into the fray.
Pursing her lips and willing herself to forgo her moral code, Ashley balled up her fists and released a flurry of punches in random directions. There were several yelps of pain from the people around her as Ashley took advantage of the confusion and rushed to the front of the pack.
Surging out of the line, Ashley slid to a stop in front of a frazzled looking Commander Briggs.
"I-" Ashley began, even slapping one hand towards her heart in preparation for the pledge she was about to make. But the dark haired woman never got the chance to speak, as she was quickly yanked backwards by multiple unseen hands.
Wordlessly, the dozens of Pilots in the room devolved into crab mentality. Any who got too close to Commander Briggs were abruptly pulled away by their jealous fellows.
"ALRIGHT!" Barker roared out. The man, unlike his employees, had remained in his position leaning against the table. "GIVE HER SOME ROOM! HEY!?"
But even Barker's voice failed to penetrate the roar of voices. To Ashley, her employer's voice could barely be heard over the blood rushing in her ears. That was until Barker continued…
"AH, FUCK IT…" Barker half-yelled. "NEVERMIND, BRIGGS! WE'RE NOT TAKING THIS JOB!"
All at once, the competing roars of the Pilots devolved into babbling confusion. The ACE members looked around the room and at each other in confusion - Ashley included. The dark haired woman stood on her toes so that she could peer over the heads and shoulders of her cohorts, her dark eyes turned in Barker's direction.
"So, now you all decide to listen…" Barker hissed, his dark eyes cold. "Listen to me, all of you. We may like to have some fun here in the Angel City Elites… but I don't employ children. Now back off and let the Commander speak!"
Grumbling amongst themselves, the horde of Pilots broke away from the messy semicircle and returned to their seats at the table. Ashley followed the group, her healing body aching from the sudden exertion she had just put it through. In the noise and confusion Ashley had stopped registering her pounding headache; but with the excitement having fizzled out the dull aches once again became apparent to her. She was grateful for her seat, even if there wasn't a whole lot of space to move around.
"Thank you, Barker," Commander Briggs visibly gulped. The woman swiftly regained her composure, brushing off her uniform and reclaiming her spot at the head of the table.
"Anytime…" Barker shrugged. "And uh… remember who you're talking to right now…"
Barker pinched his fingers again to mimic the act of rubbing two credit chips together.
"Right, yes…" Briggs cleared her throat before turning to address the room. "Well, it seems as if we have quite a few contenders. I think that it's fair to say that all of you would like to throw your hat in the ring for this opportunity…?"
There was a general murmur of affirmation from the mercenaries. Ashley silently nodded her head.
"I hope you all realize what you're getting into…" Briggs warned, planting her hands on the table to leer over the crowd - as if she hadn't been cowering in a corner only minutes before. "If you are selected for this job, you'll be expected to leap into a violent planetary storm from orbit…"
There was another murmur of affirmation… but a few mercenaries remained silent, as if they were considering the implications of Briggs' words.
"And assuming that you do make it safely to an extremely specific landing site, you'll then be expected to disable the maelstrom barrier," Briggs continued. "All while potentially facing heavy enemy resistance. There will be no backup until the barrier is disabled. This is, of course, assuming that the maelstrom barrier even exists in its theorized form; we have no idea what it's specifications are or what it even looks like…"
The room was now quiet, save for the occasional nod. Ashley swept her gaze around the room and studied its other occupants. The other mercenaries, who moments ago had leapt out of their seats at the first mention of the reward money, now seemed nervous and tepid as the reality of the job sank in.
"That's what I thought…" Briggs visibly smirked and crossed her arms. "Like I said, I can't and won't force any of you to take this job. The money is alluring, I know, but every single one of you needs to understand that there is a good chance that you might not make it out alive…"
Now, the room sat silent.
Turning her head, Briggs directed her smirk in Barker's direction.
"Welp," Barker grunted as he stood up from his position against the table. "How about this…"
Barker patted at the pockets of his jumpsuit until he found what he was looking for. Pulling a folded piece of paper and a pen from his lower left pocket, Barker laid the paper down atop the table and placed the pen on top.
"If you want to 'throw your hat in the ring', as Commander Briggs so eloquently put it, then put your name down on the paper," Baker grinned. "And remember, there's no shame in passing it off to the next person."
Sliding the paper and pen to his nearest employee, Barker stood up and placed his hands on his hips. The Pilot who received the paper, a man with tousled brown hair, regarded his cohorts with nervous eyes. After a moment's hesitation, the man wordlessly slid the paper and pen over to the person sitting next to him.
'Everyone was quick to get cold feet…' Ashley thought to herself. The dark haired woman crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat. Her eyes remained locked on the paper and pen, which was slowly being passed in her direction.
The next two Pilots to receive the paper passed it on without writing down their names. The third person to receive the paper was Elijah. Without a moment's hesitation the simulacrum picked up the pen and neatly scrawled his name onto the paper before passing it on.
Ashley wasn't surprised by this. Out of everyone in the room Elijah had the least to lose; or nothing to lose, considering that his body could be destroyed without endangering his conscience.
The next three mercenaries passed the paper on. But the fourth, a dark skinned man with neatly coiled hair, put his name down on the paper before sliding it away.
Two of the four slots had been potentially filled…
But did Ashley really want to claim one of the two remaining slots? As she sat in place and awaited her turn, doubts were beginning to brew in Ashley's mind. The dark haired woman had taken part in plenty of high-altitude jumps both inside and outside of titans.
But this was different…
Commander Briggs hadn't pulled any punches when explaining the dangers of Aeolus' atmosphere. This was a violent planetary storm - so massive and deadly that only a single stretch of the planet's traversable surface was considered safe enough for human habitation. One wrong move… one miscalculation… could send Ashley hurtling off into the upper reaches of the planet's atmosphere; and assuming that she didn't suffocate from the lack of breathable air, an even crueler fate awaited her in the form of the high-speed winds which would most certainly tear her body to shreds…
Nature was a cruel, indifferent thing.
But then again… what did she have to lose…? Her last mission had seen her nearly shot to pieces by a Legion titan. This was an entirely different operation, but danger was always a certainty in Ashley's line of work…
How many times had she been shot? More than once…
How many times had she nearly been stepped on by a titan? Or nearly killed in an explosion? More time than she could count.
As a Pilot, and a mercenary, death was a constant companion.
Would jumping into a planetary storm be any different? How far was too far for her?
Nothing was too far anymore.
These thoughts continued to swirl in Ashley's mind as the paper was placed in front of her. The dark haired woman stared down at the paper with hollow eyes, her fingers absentmindedly grasping the pen…
Elijah Cadman…
Akunna Okeke
Veronica Grier
There was only one space left…
'Fuck it.'
Ashley pressed the tip of the pen against the paper.
Ashley Ishikara
Placing the pen neatly down atop the paper, Ashley slid it to the person next to her without looking. She sat for an indeterminate amount of time and silently grappled with her choice. But she soon shook off her indecisiveness.
'What's done is done.'
Turning her head to the left, Ashley watched as the paper continued its way around the room. Serjenko, the Pilot who Ashley had briefly interacted with back on Lyra-1, scribbled his name on the sheet before passing it on; he observed the room with his dark eyes, and briefly met Ashley's. The two exchanged a quick nod before breaking eye contact.
Finally, the paper made its way back into Barker's hands.
"Well, looks like we've got five contenders!" Barker spoke aloud as he held up the scrap of paper for all to see. Ashley's boss turned towards Commander Briggs and handed the woman the paper. "Do you think we can squeeze in one more?"
Briggs frowned as she accepted the paper and read over the names.
"Well… I suppose the more the merrier…" Briggs sighed as she folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket. "There's a greater chance of success with five people, so we'll just eat up the costs."
"This is finished now, hey?" Barker turned to observe his employees, his eyes shining with an uncharacteristically cold light. "You all had the chance to sign your name. So if you didn't and you're now coming to regret it, too bad for you…"
"That being said," Briggs stepped around Barker. "For those of you who did put your name down… you can still opt out. I'm not going to take that choice away from you."
"They know what they've signed up for, Briggs," Barker waved his hand. "I only recruit the best, we'll get it done."
"I hope so," Briggs frowned. "We will move on this soon. To my knowledge the MCS Dorado has several simulation pods, so I'd suggest that you five make good use of them and get some practice in."
"I second that idea," Barker nodded. "Any other questions…? No…?"
Ashley leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms.
"Dismissed!"
Ashley remained seated as her fellow mercenaries stood up to leave. The room became a flurry of motion, with the sound of scraping chairs and nervous breathing filling the air.
"Did you really put your name down on that paper just now?"
Ashley turned her head to her left in surprise. Staring down at her with wide eyes was Nhat Tran, his fingers curling into the fabric backrest of the chair he had been seated in just moments ago.
"Yeah," Ashley nodded, turning her gaze back towards the table. "Yeah I did."
"You're crazy," Nhat chuckled. "You know that, right? "
"Oh yeah," Ashley gently smirked. "I know."
"Well, good luck to you…"
"Thanks," Ashley turned her head to face the other Pilot. "Oh, wait for a moment… I've got a question for you."
"Shoot."
"If I wanted to purchase some new gear for myself, where would I go?"
"Well…" Nhat scratched his bare chin. "You can always buy gear directly from the armory, but they have some rules about what they're allowed to sell and who they're allowed to sell to. But… well… can you keep a secret?"
Ashley nodded and leaned in, her dark eyes briefly scanning the now empty room.
"I know this ship's quartermaster," Nhat muttered in Ashley's direction. "Tell him I sent you, and for the right amount of credits he may be willing to 'misplace' some of the more restricted gear. Understand?"
Ashley nodded again in affirmation. "Good to know, thanks. And don't worry, my lips are sealed."
"You're alright, Ishikara," Nhat winked. "Try not to get torn apart in that storm, alright?"
"I'll do my best…?"
Offering Ashley a mock salute, Nhat sauntered out of the briefing room. Left alone to her thoughts, Ashley lifted her feet onto the table and leaned back in her seat. The dark haired woman turned her eyes towards the room's windows, watching silently as distant starlight drifted by.
She had just agreed to jump into a planetary storm for twenty-five thousand credits… there was plenty to think about.
Ashley lifted her right hand and used it to gently massage the top of her left forearm. She pinched her fingers against her wrist bones and left indents in the skin. Placing the tip of her pointer finger near her wrist, Ashley traced a smooth line up towards her elbow. She burrowed the tip of her finger into the flesh there, forming another gentle indent in her skin.
Licking her lips, Ashley released her grip on her left forearm.
She still had some money leftover from the last job, and she had some shopping to do.
Ashley knew with great certainty what she was going to buy first…
