Chapter 14 – An Unexpected Call

Bryant and USP returned to their base around the same time that Ursula did. Her part in the operation was finished, she returned with her payment. The funds were meager, but more than enough to make do. Ursula and Kalina 'borrowed' some funds to purchase some fancy supplies. Popular snacks, some decorations, some 'secret' supplies that Kalina needed and more. Bryant was impressed at the sheer volume of things they were able to afford.

After their shopping trip, Ursula was out of commission for a few days. When she did make a public appearance on base it was only to get coffee or snacks, then she crawled back to her quarters to sleep. Her first extended appearance was about a week later, when she joined Bryant for a base inspection. Thankfully, the missions the base received were easily handled. Ursula was thankful for the break.

Bryant, on the other hand, spent most of his time improving the base. He worked on fixing up many of the outdated or broken facilities. The Data Center, Repair Bay, Dormitories, and the communications room were all upgraded and cleaned up. It made working and moving through the base easier and the whole base felt more 'homey'.

When he wasn't working on the base, he was spending time with USP. She needed constant maintenance and a form of therapy. Bryant was constantly defragging and repairing her digimind or fixing discrepancies in her neural cloud. The fixes were long and difficult. Bryant worked with several Griffon Intranet tabs and instruction manuals open on his desk. Each day he made more progress. He figured it would be a month or so before USP was back to 'normal'. Some days he even thought he could get her combat core working again. Although, that was probably a pipe-dream. USP was mostly cooperative. The maintenance was long and uncomfortable. Even if it did help with the pain, sometimes she gave Bryant some difficulty. He didn't mind.

USP was feeling better. The constant upgrades that Bryant put her through were helping her. She was able to move around and multitask without pain. Talking was easier that it had been a week ago. She felt more comfortable in her own body and her digimind. Still, there were times that she experienced strange memories that weren't hers. She kept this to herself. She didn't want to stress Bryant any more. Sometimes, she'd black out and wake up somewhere else on base. Or, she'd have thoughts about dolls and locations she'd never met.

Then, there was a month of nothing. Bryant and Ursula spend nearly all of their free time in the communications room waiting for a job. Well, in reality, it was more like harassing Helian for a job. She was busy preparing scout teams and strike teams for various missions, including a secret project she was adamant about keeping a secret. Bryant sighed and spun in his chair. Helian sighed as she watched a grown adult act like a child.

"Commander Bryant, surely you must have something you can do?"

"Nope, not really ma'am. All the teams are out on partrol…" He made another rotation. "And all the logistics are taken care of." Another rotation. "The only one not busy at the moment is Kalina, but she's helping me debug USP." Helian frowned and looked over at her desk.

"One moment, please." Her call was ended. Bryant stopped spinning and stretched. He picked up his hat and turned.

"I'm going to go check on the simulators. Need anything, Ursula?"

"I'm good." As Bryant turned to walk away, a call came through. It was from Helian. "Well, maybe you should stay for this first." Ursula pushed a button on the panel.

Helian's voice came through, but there was no video. "Ah, Commanders. I'm sorry for the interruption. I'm currently on the line with Glen Georges. He is a very high-profile client, with a unique opportunity for us at Griffon." The newcomer chuckled.

"Your praise is too much, Miss Helianthus. You may call me Glen. I own a rather large resort and a stretch of land on the coast. Lately, we've noticed a few SF patrols nearby. This is probably because we don't have any nearby Griffon base." He paused.

"So, Mr. Georges would like the two of you to go and provide security for his resort for a few days to spook off any SF stragglers while we consider a more permanent solution." Bryant laughed.

"So, you're telling us we get paid to go on a beach vacation for a week? I'm liking this plan, Helian. I should slack off more often." Bryant sighed and straightened his hat. "However, if these patrols are anything dangerous, I don't think my team will be able to handle it effectively. We are short staffed as is."

"Ah, that's where I would come in." Helian said. "I will be coming along as well. Both for added security, and to re-evaluate Commander Bryant as well." Bryant thought about his for a moment.

"Alright. I'm in; Glen. We'll be ready to mobilize within the day."

"Excellent news, Commander. Thank you, so much. I'll pass the word along to my staff. They will have the airport free for your dropships by tomorrow afternoon." Glen said his farewells and ended the call. Ursula and Bryant turned to each other, then back to the screen.

"Miss Helianthus," Ursula started, "That seemed rather sudden and rather odd, honestly. Why so suddenly, and this is a big job."

"Yes, I agree. But this is a job I think you and Bryant will be able to handle this." She cleared her throat. "Now, the three of us will meet at a midway point here;" she sent over a set of coordinates, "and we will go the rest of the way together. Bring as many combat teams as possible." Bryant nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh…and, um…" Helian was quiet for a moment. "Pack some casual clothing." The room went silent.

"What…?"

"I mean, I figure while we are at a beach resort, we should relax a bit." There was more quiet. "Say something, alright?"

"Miss Helianthus, I didn't think- " Bryant interrupted Ursula with a hearty laugh.

"Kryuger told you to take some time off, didn't he? How much sleep did you get this week?"

"N-no! He, he most certainly did not! I wouldn't – " Bryant was crying.

"That's wonderful. Alright, we'll meet you at the rendezvous point." Ursula said and ended the call before punching Bryant in the arm. "Geez, you are such a child. You laughed at that poor girl!" Bryant took a deep breath and wiped his eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry. But," he let out some stray chuckles and took a deep breath, "this isn't the first that happened. Kryuger was constantly giving her 'off time' because she has no work-life balance." He sat down and smiled. "She normally took a day to stop by my base in S9. She still did work, but at least we made sure she ate and slept. I'm just glad the boss is stepping up his game."

Ursula furrowed her brow and shook her head. "That still doesn't explain why she's excited to go…"

"Ah, that. Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough." Bryant stood up. "For now, we have to pack. I'll take care of the tech stuff. Just let Kalina know that we'll be gone for a few days."

Bryant turned to walk away, daydreaming of collecting bits of SF tech off of the local beaches after a skirmish.