If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.
-Mahatma Gandhi
"girls don't get too distracted, we might miss the plane." I lean around the corner of the airport's souvenir shop only to be greeted by the sight of RFB and OTs-14 fighting over a newly released lineup of fur jackets by Salariat, the current most well-known Russian fashion company. "how much are those jackets anyway?" I ask as I step towards them.
RFB and OTs-14 look at each other briefly before picking up the tags of their jackets, only to change their expressions from surprised to faces of extreme terror.
"what is it" I ask as I walk towards them opening up my wallet to take out my newly acquired company card, which holds all of my credits. "co-commander…um…I'm not sure If I want this anymore." Says OTs-14 as she whimpers away from the jacket rack. I pick up the tag and bring it up to my eyes for closer inspection.
…
…
…
"commander?" asks RFB from behind me, tugging at my uniform to get my attention. "600 credits? For this?" I whisper to myself softly as the world begins to crumble around me.
13 minutes later
There I sat, a broken man. A broken man with 1200 credits less to his name. the sudden buzz of the airport's announcement system awoke me from my thoughts.
[Flight A24 has arrived in terminal 13, please make way for the new arrivals.]
"I hear there's a Grifon Engineer aboard the flight that just arrived. Do you think he's here on business?" asks an old woman beside her. Her face half-covered by a scarf to protect her face from the cold. "I'm not entirely sure ma'am, sadly I'm not affiliated with Grifon."
"is that right?" she asks as she inspects me up and down with her eyes. "who do you work for then? I'm guessing those women beside you are those T-DOLLs everyone is always talking about?"
I nod and bow at the old lady before pointing at my ID card. "Commander Zero, I work for ARTEMIS. These are my Companions, RFB and OTs-14" the girls beside me take this as their cue to step forward and take a deep bow before giving the old lady a sincere smile. "that is correct ma'am, we are T-DOLLs."
As my companions begin to chat with the old lady about the weather I decide to look over at the sudden flood of people from the terminal doors. Among them I spot a person wearing a Grifon hoodie, its bright orange hue completely separating him from everyone else. On both his sides are a AK-47 model DOLL and a Springfield Model DOLL. "2 dolls too huh? Quite the coincidence." I think to myself as I watch him leave the terminal area and head towards the main hall towards the exit. The man stops for a second to check his pockets and turns back towards me. We meet gazes for a second before nodding at each other in respect. He turns back shortly after and exits out of the main hall into the Cold streets.
[there have been reports of a hailstorm nearing the airport, all flights have been postponed until further notice]
I sigh as the announcer finishes his message and sink back into my seat. "great, now we are going to have to ride out a hail storm." My companions take notice of my disappointment and sit on either side of me, taking both of my arms into theirs. "at least you don't have to wait it out alone right?" asks RFB as she pokes at my forehead playfully. OTs-14 takes notice of this and pulls me towards her. I can't help but laugh as the two DOLLs commence a tug-of-war over my attention.
2 hours later.
"commander, the storm has passed." OTs-14 softly shakes me to wake me from my slumber. I groan and stretch as my vision begins to focus once again. "how long was I asleep for?" I ask as I fix my hair to make it presentable. "around 2 hours Commander." Answers OTs-14 as she helps with straightening out my uniform. "thank you for waking me up" I respond as OTs-14 smiles and moves back to give me space to sit up. I look back in surprise as I find myself being unable to stand up, only to see RFB sleeping beside me, her arms latched around my left arm. I sigh and sit back on the chair in defeat.
"I'm going to give you names." I declare as I pull out my smartphone to check the time. OTs-14 tilts her head to the side in confusion before scooting closer to me. "what do we need names for? Are our assigned names not enough?" asks OTs-14.
"I just don't think calling you by the names of your weapons is right, don't you want to be seen as more than just your guns?" I turn and face OTs-14 who places her index finger on her lips. "hmm, I guess I never really thought about it that way. That's fine with me, what will our new names be?" she quizzes as she leans closer. RFB tugs on my sleeve apparently completely awake now. "I want to know too"
"please give me your ID's" I command as I put out my left hand in front of them. They look at each other before removing their digital name tags from their chests and place them on my hand. "thank you, now give me a minute." I turn around and connect the ID tags to my smartphone and replace the names on the tags quickly, once I'm done I turn around and face them once again. "you first OTs-14, here you go." She nods and steps forward, taking back her nametag from my hand. "Alice" she repeats as she reads off the name in the nametag "that's my name?" she asks as she hugs the nametag close to her chest.
I nod and pet her head before turning to the overly anxious RFB, her face basically screaming that she couldn't wait for her turn. "and here's yours" I say as I bend down to give her the nametag. "Joy?" she asks as she looks up at me. "my name is Joy?"
"yes" I reply as I bend down to her level.
"why did you name me with the name of the emotion for happiness?" she asks in confusion. Her emerald green eyes staring into mine.
"because that's what you two make me feel, Joy. It sucked being alone for 7 years you know?" I reply, trying my best to hide the embarrassment on my face.
Both dolls look at each other before their faces turn into a deep shade of crimson. "I'm going to overheat at this rate…" whispers RFB as she hides her face in her shirt. OTs-14 simply turns around and squeaks into her sleeve, trying to hide her scream of joy.
RING RING
I turn my attention to my phone once I notice the ringing.
[ARTEMIS alert system: Tselinoyarsk has been issued a code 3 alert.]
"what?..." I whisper to myself as continue scrolling down the message.
[multiple Sangvis Ferri squads have been sighted on the Tselinoyarsk mountains and its respective railways, all troops are to remain on alert.]
I turn off my phone and stand up as quickly as my body allows me to. "we need to go. Load your weapons, we might need to protect this place soon." I say as I turn to face my companions. OTs-14 and RFB stand up immediately and pick up their weapons.
"is something wrong?" asks RFB as she turns off the safety of her rifle, OTs-14 loads a new magazine into hers and loads the first round into the chamber.
I look down at my shaking hands and clench my fists as hard as I can until my knuckles pop. "very wrong, and things will get very ugly."
Tselinoyarsk guard facility A-334/ approximately 43 miles away from the railway station
"this suck, it's been 4 weeks since I was posted here and all I've seen is wolves and damn bears. No Sangvis Ferri anywhere. What are the old farts up in EON even worried about? There ain't shit here but bears and more bears." Yells out a soldier to another as they stare off into the distant snowy tree-line of the tselinoyarsk mountain side.
"Leviski how many times do I need to tell you that nobody gives a damn about your opinion? I would much rather get paid to stare at bears than to try to take down a whole squad of Rippers." Answers the soldier beside him as he sets his binoculars down into the wooden rail of the watchtower. "plus, I barely get any sleep when you bring up stupid shit like that, nobody ever even comes to tselinoyarsk! So, if we got attacked who the hell would help us? The damn academy is full of nothing but students and commanders in training. The closest Grifon base is all the way down by Moscow, it would take hours for them to reach this place."
Leviski takes off his helmet and sits down on the ground staring off into the distance. "I don't know man, I'm just trying to ground myself into the reality of our jobs, we're literally sitting ducks up here."
"are you both okay up there Nya?" asks a voice from beneath the steps of the watchtower. Levinksi and his fellow soldier sigh and turn around to face the source of the sound. "yes IDW, we're fine its just a bit chilly up here" responds Leviski.
"are you sure Nya? I can bring you guys some coffee if that would help, I think we still have a few bags of tea left If you would prefer that instead Nya." Asks the IDW DOLL as she pats off some snow from her uniform.
"Leviski, I would like some tea, let her know ill take her up on that offer." Responds the soldier beside Levinksi as he continues scanning the horizon with his binoculars.
"we'll take some tea, thanks IDW!" yells out Laviski from the side of the watchtower so IDW can see him from below.
"понимать Nya! Ill be back shortly with your order straight away Nya!" yells back the IDW model in response.
"remind me why our post only has an IDW type DOLL again?" asks Leviski as he puts his bulletproof helmet on once again.
"because it was either her or an AK-47 model." Responds the fellow soldier as he shivers from the thought. "and I sure as hell don't want our vodka stash gone in a day."
"правда" declares Leviski as he loads a fresh magazine into his SVD-63 sniper rifle.
14 minutes later
"your refreshments are ready Nya! Please come down while they're still hot Nya" yells out the IDW DOLL as she sets down a set of cups filled with freshly made tea into a table beside her. She then smiles as the two soldiers carefully descend from their watchtower stations.
"its getting colder Nya, are you sure you don't want me to take over for the night Nya?" she continues as the soldiers take a seat on the bench where their cups are waiting for them.
"negative, stay down here" responds Leviski as he pets the DOLL on the head, causing her to purr slightly. "how are those blankets we got you working out?" he continues as he offers a sip of the tea to the DOLL.
"they're very comfy Nya! I'm almost done decorating my room too Nya!" responds IDW with her hands in the air, emphasizing her excitement.
"I'm glad" responds the soldier beside Leviski as he takes a lengthy chug of warm tea.
"isn't that lovely" speaks out a voice from within the snowy plains.
"what the hell!? Who is there! Reveal yourself!" yell out the soldiers as they raise their weapons into their shooting positions. "this is a restricted area! Leave immediately" continues Leviski as he takes a warning shot into the air.
"I think me coming out is the last thing you want hehe…but if you insist." Responds the unknown voice before moving closer to the group.
What followed could only be considered a blur, Leviski watched as the soldier beside him exploded into a cloud of crimson, his intestines painting the cement walls of their station red. in an act of instinct Leviski grabbed IDW by the shoulders and shoved her into a nearby closet before lifting his index finger up to his lips in a 'hush' motion. "no matter what you hear, no matter what happens. Don't. make. A. sound." He whispered before petting the IDW one last time and locking the closet door for good.
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
— William Blake, Auguries of Innocence