AN:
I wanted to say before we begin, thank you for the reviews. Your comments and suggestions have been helpful to me in writing this chapter and the next. That being said I was expecting more along the lines of: "You need to organize your conversations better." or "You need to present fighting scenes in a way I can follow." but everything you've said was still helpful.
Also at the end of the chapter, I will be responding to some questions and comments.
That being said, there's no reason to delay this any longer.
I do not own anything in this story. Girls Frontline is a product of Mica Team and RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth.
Chapter 2
9:26 pm Local Time, Township of St. Vith around 2000 km southwest of the city of Vale
Robert Grey was sitting with his head on the table in the lobby of a local Inn within the limits of the township. The town itself is relatively large compared to other towns so close to the edge of the kingdom limits, running a population no more than 500 people. Grey and several other huntsmen were passing through the town earlier in the day to help with a job. They were in the process of transporting a delivery of dust from a mine just outside the limits of kingdom to Vale, only intending to pass through.
Of course that was the plan in the late morning. When they entered town, they found the place in a state of unease, so they stopped and asked what was going on. According to the townsfolk, the signal that connects them with nearby towns and the kingdom as a whole was down, leaving them cut off from the rest of the world. Grey has been to this town many times in the past, he knows that the town always got spotty signal reception due to the town's proximity to the mountains to their north, but never completely down. Just standing in the street, he could feel the fear in the air, and that means one thing…
Grimm
So, they decided to stay and help the town defend itself, as well as reconnect them to the rest of the world. First they inspected the outer defenses, a low cobblestone wall only about waist high at its tallest around much of the town with a watchtower at each of the entrances. The other huntsmen with him and a few brave townsfolk began to watch the ways into town, with them working in shifts. They also sent out a team to check on the nearby relay tower to see if it was damaged in any way, however after waiting for several hours and not hearing back from them, something may have happened to them. A search party was going to be sent to find them, but with them losing daylight at the time of the planning, everyone reluctantly decided to wait until the next morning to begin their search.
As he was thinking about this, a hand began to shake him slightly.
"Hey, you awake?" a feminine voice said. Grey looked up and saw the face of one of the huntresses who came with him.
"Yes I'm awake." He rubbed his right eye as he got up, obviously tired from the days work. "Aren't you supposed to be on watch right now?"
She gave him a smile as a quick chuckle, "I was, until Carmine came by to let me know that my shift was over. Then I went to see where you were."
"You know Poppy, there are things that you can do in your free time that don't involve me."
"I know," Poppy said "but things are more interesting when you're around."
Grey rolled his eyes. He had been working with her for many years now, and she has not changed one bit. They both met after they graduated from their respective schools, him from Beacon and her from Shade. They were helping some nomads passing through on their way to a village and they needed help due to a sighting of a pack of beowolves wandering nearby. After the job was done, Grey went on his way, she followed him, and as they say the rest is history.
He looked back her way, "So, as long as you're here, do you mind updating me on what's going on?"
"Well I have good news and bad news. I'll tell ya, but only if you get me a drink first." she responded.
"You know, we are supposed to be at our best. With communications down and the threat of an imminent Grimm attack, we have no idea what to expect for the rest of the night." Grey explained.
"Come on, how is one drink going to hurt?"
"Poppy." he said with a stern look at her.
She sighed "Alright fine." She took a chair and took a seat at the table next to him. "The good news is that we haven't seen anything pass by since we started setting up. The bad news is, we still haven't heard back from the group that was sent to the relay tower."
"What are we going to do? There's already the smell of fear in the air, a group of their own sent out never came back, and all we can do right now is sit and wait."
Grey felt a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry," Poppy said "We're going to do everything that we can to help. That's what we signed up for when we became huntsmen." Grey looked at her and smiled. She hadn't changed one bit.
All of a sudden someone came rushing in. "Mister Grey." He was one of the militia townspeople that was helping on the wall. "Sir, I was sent to find you. You are needed at the west tower."
Grey and Poppy both sprang up from their seats. "What's going on? Are the Grimm attacking?" He asked.
"You need to come look for yourself." the militia man said to them.
They both looked at each other, then they began to make their way to the western edge of town. On their way they passed by the local shops, general store and craftsmen shops. After about a minute run they reach the wall on the western edge of town. The wall was reinforced with some makeshift barricades and manned by several volunteers to watch the outside, and a wooden watchtower about 3 stories tall stood on the right just off of the road.
Grey approaches the tower. "What's going on out there Carmine?" he yells up there.
A voice responds to his question, "Come take a look for yourself."
Grey and Poppy climbed up the ladder to the observation level where they met up with one of the other huntsman that came with them in the convoy. They see that Carmine is looking through a pair of binoculars out at the treeline.
As Grey approaches, Carmine hands him the binoculars. "Take a look. Treeline, over by that large rock, tell me what you see."
Grey does as he was instructed and starts looking in that direction. When he finds the spot that his friend was talking about, he could see why he was called here. He saw movement of what looks like somebody with a ponytail wearing a large cloak on her. Next thing he knew, he saw other figures in the treeline.
"I see something moving out there. It looks like there's people out there?" Grey asked.
Carmine nodded "I noticed them a little while ago. At first I thought they might be our missing group, but as I watched them, they made no attempt to approach."
"They don't look like anyone from the town. In addition they look to be wearing camouflage maybe? Are they waiting for something?"
Poppy makes a comment "Do you think they could be from the Atlas base nearby?"
"Maybe," Carmine said. "But they could also be a group of bandits that are positioning themselves for an attack."
"Well the bandit theory would explain the loss of communications and our missing group." Grey said. "However they seem to be more organized than your average group of marauders."
As they are talking, a lone figure begins to make their way to their line. They can see that this person is small in stature, with long white hair in twin tails. She is wearing a short black dress with what looks to be…
"Are those grenade launchers she's wearing!?" Poppy asked.
"It sure looks like it." Grey said.
"What do you think she wants?"
"I think we're going to find out here in a minute."
The young girl walks about 150 yards from the treeline before she begins to speak. "Lowly humans, you are now in the territory of Sangvis Ferri. Surrender yourselves now or face prompt and utter destruction."
The huntsmen collectively looked at each other, unsure on how to respond. Then someone in the wall below them shouted out a question. "Are you serious?"
"Yes I'm serious!" she says in an annoyed tone. "I am Destroyer, and my gracious leader has given you all the chance to live, so you all must bow before me as your new lord of this land."
Grey looks at his teammates, silently asking what to do next. The others just shrugged their shoulders, unsure what to do. Grey considers his options for a moment before he turns and tries to speak with the person.
"Miss Destroyer," he starts "I appreciate your proposal for our surrender, but I'm afraid we will have to decline your offer."
She takes a stance trying to imitate confidence and begins to speak. "I'll have you know that if you value your lives, you are making a terrible mistake. This offer is one time only and will not be given again under any circumstances."
All of a sudden, they hear someone shout from below them, "Maybe they should have sent someone a little more mature, or at least a little taller!" This comment started a round of laughter among the militia.
Poppy goes up to Grey, "Well at least morale has been given a boost."
Grey chuckles to himself, "I guess."
Destroyer begins to tense up and takes a stance of anger before shouting, "How dare you! I am a ringleader of Sangvis Ferri, and I should not be treated like this! Especially from lowly humans like you!"
"That's enough Destroyer." a voice over the radio says in a calm manner.
Carmine confused, looks over to Grey, "Another one? Did they hack our radios?"
Grey looks at the radio. "I don't know" he says, "Let's find out what this one wants." He goes over to the radio and begins to speak into it. "May I ask who I'm speaking to now?"
The voice comes over the radio in response, "I am Elite Defense Doll, Model SPACA, but you can call me Dreamer."
"Okay… Dreamer, what is it you want?" Grey asked.
"Firstly, I would like to apologize for the behavior of my subordinate. She can be a little… childish, sometimes."
The hear a shout in the distance "Hey!"
"However to answer your question, it's quite simple. Like my subordinate said before, you are now under the jurisdiction of Sangvis Ferri, and as such you are to bow before us and comply with any and all demands that we make."
"And if we refuse?" Carmine asked.
"I believe the alternative you were given was…" she seems to trail off for a minute. "Ah yes, prompt and utter destruction."
"Give us a minute to talk this over." Grey said.
"I'm sorry, but no. We are a little short on time and require an immediate answer."
Grey sighed "If that's the case, then I'm afraid that we will have to decline. These people have spent generations building their lives here, and they won't abandon it so soon. At least not without a fight."
There was a moment of silence before the radio cracked to life. "If that is what you want, then I will not deny you that." She says, the radio cuts out, and an eerie silence washes over the area. Everyone sat where they were, waiting for whatever came next. The figure by the name of Destroyer stood still, as if she was waiting for something as well.
Just then, the huntsmen heard what sounded like thumps coming from the off in the distance, followed by a whistle moving across the sky, coming towards them. As the whistling grew nearer, it dawned on Grey just what was coming for them. In a quick dash, he ran to the edge of the tower and shouted to the militia below.
"Get down!"
The moment he said this, a series of explosions hit the people stationed at the wall. Mortar shells began to hit the various positions set up by townspeople. One after another the mortars rained down on the towns defenders, devolving the well organized defense into a chaotic mess. Poppy and Carmine rushed over to witness the carnage unfolding.
"How are targeting the wall so effectively?" Poppy asked.
"They must have been scouting us out and took note of our defenses while those leaders of theirs were distracting us." Carmine said.
Grey grabbed his weapon and began to load it. "However they did it doesn't matter. The only thing we need to worry about right now is to help fend off the attack."
Both Poppy and Carmine looked at Grey before nodding in agreement. As they finished, the mortar barrage stopped. The group looked out at the tree line and saw a wave of soldiers with machine robots filling in parts of their ranks begin to march toward the town. When the soldiers got to Destroyer, she joined the march leading the incoming army.
Grey turned to his teammates "Poppy, go down to the townsfolk and help evacuate the injured to somewhere safe."
"Right, I'm on it." she says. She then rushes to the back of the tower, with her staff in hand and makes a jump to the ground, sprinting to the remaining defenders that survived the round of mortar fire.
"Carmine, I want you to provide sniper support from this tower."
"You got it boss," he says. Carmine brings out his railgun rifle and sets up a field of fire. After that Grey went down to the now destroyed line and set up his crossbow, ready for the fight coming his way.
Meanwhile in an open field at the center of a large clearing in a forest some distance away from the battle, a group of T-Dolls' holds another at gunpoint.
"Hands where I can see them!" Shouted Spas-12. The offending doll, facing away with her back towards the group, does what she is instructed to do.
Srs, still holding her weapon at the ready commands the doll further. "Turn around, slowly."
The doll does as she is instructed again, turning around, hands still in the air, to face the group. Once she finished turning, the Dolls of Echelon 5 finally got a good look at their target. The doll had long pinkish hair with a single magenta streak on her right side. She wore a short white dress, a dark blue jacket and a single thigh high legging on her left leg with the letters SPR. She had a suppressed, scoped rifle by her side.
Srs approached the doll, "ST AR-15, you are hereby under arrest for defection and disobeying the orders of your commanding officer. You are going to be transported to the nearest Griffin outpost where you will be processed accordingly."
Grizzly opens her communication channel. "Commander this is Grizzly, we have AR-15 in custody and are returning to base."
They are met with silence.
"Command, do you copy?" There still was no answer. "Srs, I can't get in contact with command. I think there may be a Sangvis jamming signal nearby."
Srs thought for a moment, "Okay Grizzly and Ribeyrolles, I want you to scout ahead and find out where exactly we are. Then I want you to…" She turns to Ribeyrolles who appears to be staring at the sky. "Ribeyrolles, are you listening?"
Still staring up at the sky, she asks "Has the moon always looked like that?"
Confused everyone makes a glance upward. They see the starry night sky, undisturbed by any light pollution. As they turn their gaze to the moon, all they could do is look at it in astonishment. What they saw was the moon, broken, almost shattered, sitting in the night sky. So many questions began to flood their minds, but not one of them spoke, until the silence was broken by their new prisoner.
"Staring won't fix it." she says.
Srs turned her gaze to the doll, "Did I give you permission to speak?" she asked.
"No," AR-15 replied, "But someone had to break the silence and move us along."
Srs squinted her eyes and began to slowly approach the doll. "What do you know about this place? Where are we?" she asked.
AR-15 stared back, hands still in the air. "Not much, and I don't know." The other dolls seem to break the trance that they were in and began to stare at AR-15. "All I know is Sangvi Ferri found something and I was sent to investigate."
Grizzly looked at the doll, "By who?" she asked. AR-15 remained silent. The silence was only broken by the sound of explosions off in the distance. The dolls readied their weapons, preparing for a fight.
"I would advise against that." AR-15 said.
"Why is that?" Srs asked.
"Because, you are battered, behind enemy lines with no support coming anytime soon and most importantly, heavily outmatched."
Srs looks at her team, she can see what she was talking about. The fight through the facility had caused the destruction of all of their Dummy units and drained much of their ammo. Even if these problems weren't there, they are behind enemy lines with only enough rations for a short hit-and-run engagement, not a long drawn out expedition to a new world.
'New world?' Srs thought. The concept seemed so alien to her, like it came out of one of those pre-disaster Sci-fi comic books. However given the situation that they were in, it almost made sense.
"Miss Srs,"
She looked down and saw Ribeyrolles standing next to her with worry in her eyes. "What are we supposed to do?"
She thought for a moment before saying, "Well, the last order we had was to capture AR-15 and bring her back to base. So that's what we are going to do."
"How are we going to do that?" Spas asked.
Srs looked around. She knew that they came through a portal to get here. If they could find it, then they can all get home. However as she scanned the area around her, she saw no such portal.
"It's not here." AR-15 said. Srs turned to face her and asked, "What do you mean?"
"The portal, It's not here, at least not anymore." The dolls raised their weapons at her expecting some kind of answer. "What I mean is, the tear you saw can only open from the facilities' side. With it now closed, there is no way that any of you can return home."
"How do you know so much about this 'Tear'?" M2HB asked
"I only know as much as was able to read in the reports that Sangvis had made." She answered. "The reports say, that while not impossible to open it from this side, one would need to set up the right equipment to open it. Sangvis on the other hand had no need for this."
"What do you mean?" asked Spas.
Grizzly answered the question instead. "I think she means that Sangvis had no intention of returning and thus planned for this to be a one way trip. Am I correct?"
"From what I can tell, yes." AR-15 said.
"Okay," said M2, "so all we need to do is wait here for them to reopen the portal and we can all go home."
Srs looked at M2, "I don't think that's a good idea." She said
"Why not?"
"We are in an exposed position and low on supplies with no way of knowing how long we are going to be here, not to mention that Sangvis is nearby. This place is not safe for us."
"Even if it's not, where do we go?" Grizzly asked.
Srs turns to AR-15, "Was there anything in those reports that said something about human settlements?" She asked.
AR-15 looked at her, "It talks about a military outpost over the mountains, but from the sounds of the explosions, it looks like Sangvis is making a beeline for it. However it also talks about heavy radio traffic coming from the northeast. My best guess is to head that way."
Srs thought about it. Radio traffic from the northeast would mean civilization, but the question is, 'how far away?' She knew that Ar-15 was right about Sangvis, they could circle back around and eliminate them at any moment. She considered her options carefully, before turning to AR-15.
"Listen," she says to AR-15, "our orders are to bring you in alive, so we won't let you out of our sight. But considering the situation we are in, and seeing that you may have a plan, I was wondering if you would allow us to follow you to the nearest human settlement for us to resupply."
AR-15 sighed as she lowered her hands down to her side and proceeded to grab her rifle. "Alright," she said "but understand that until we get to a settlement, I highly recommend that you follow any and all advice I give. Is that clear?"
"Crystal."
"Okay then." She turns and begins to walk into the forest.
Srs turns to Grizzly "Grizzly, do you mind setting up a marked recording of where we are going?"
Grizzly nods her head. "Of course." She takes out a small audio recorder and makes note of the date and time, then begins to record about their current situation, as well as their plan to head to the northeast and find a human settlement to resupply. After the recording was made, she took a stick and tied the recorder to it with a piece of spare cloth.
After this was done, they headed off to follow AR-15 to destinations unknown, unsure what may be in store for them along the way.
Destroyer walked through the ruins of what was once a human settlement. What buildings that were not on fire, were nothing more than piles of rubble on the ground. The burnt and mangled corpses of the human defenders lay scattered all around her. She will admit that they put up a pretty good fight, especially the leaders of the defense, but in the end they were no match for the might of Sangvis Ferri.
Though this attack did delay their advance towards the military outpost that their scouts had discovered. How inconvenient. As she walks through the town, she gets a call for her so called 'leader'.
"Ah Destroyer, taking a leisurely stroll through the town are we?" Dreamer asks in a teasing tone.
"I'm just making sure that I got all of them." Destroyer says back. "We can't let even one human to leave alive to warn the surrounding settlements of our presence."
"Don't worry about it too much, if there were any survivors that made it out of town, they won't last long in the wilderness."
"And if they do?" Destroyer asked.
"It wouldn't matter. With their relay tower down, all communication in the area is out as well. Even if there was still some kind of connection to make, our signal jammers would drown them out anyway." Dreamer explained.
"I suggest not to be so arrogant Dreamer." A voice said over the radio.
"Miss Agent!" Destroyer said, surprised to hear her over the radio. "How long have you been listening?"
"Long enough." she said "But to get to my point, if there is one thing humans are, it's tenacious. They are like cockroaches, if even one escapes from our grasp, they will spread whatever they know and have seen to others, and return with a vengeance."
"Ha!" exclaimed Destroyer, "Let them come, I will lay waste to every single…" in the middle of her statement, she was interrupted.
"Need I remind you 'little one' that we currently lack the popper supplies for prolong engagements, or have no means of repairing our equipment in an orderly manner, nor established a central base of operations yet?" Agent asked. Destroyer thought for a moment, before slumping down in silence. "Dreamer, what is your current status?"
Dreamer comes onto the radio, "We just finished the fight in the town and are moving to the rendezvous point. We should be in position within a couple of hours. We also have a shipment of energy crystals that the humans were using in tow."
"Good." Agent said "Have Destroyer send out a forward unit and clear the main force a path. In addition, I want you to keep a few squads in the town to mop up any survivors. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Ma'am"
"Then get it done." The radio falls silent for a moment before Dreamer comes back on.
"You heard her 'Little One', get going. We don't want to disappoint the boss."
Destroyer pouts to herself and mumbles, "Lets see who's the little one once I get my upgrades." She begins to make her way in the direction that she was ordered to go, leaving behind two squads of rippers to comb the town for any stragglers.
05:13 Local Time, 404 Temporary Headquarters within [SECTOR NOT FOUND]
UMP 45 woke up and stretched her arms. Afterwards she unplugged herself from the makeshift charging port that they had put together. She looked over to her alert system and saw that there was a contract that was waiting for their acceptance. She put her feet on the floor and began to walk around, looking for where her teammates were.
The place that they were at was an abandoned factory from before the war. It once manufactured automobiles in its heyday, but now it was a shell of its former self. The main structure was decayed to nothing more than a steel skeleton with at least three fully intact walls a roof with only a few holes in it. All of the glass in the windows has long since been shattered, letting the interior be subjected to the elements. What few machines remain show signs of extreme rust, no that they can get them up and running anyway. They managed to get a few solar panels on the roof working to allow some power to come in.
45 looked and saw one member of her team in the charging port next to hers. The doll looked almost similar to her with only the hair color being different at first glance. UMP 9 had decided to sleep next to her sister. This brought a small smirk to 45's face.
This was interrupted by several gunshots that rang out within the base. 45 simplified rolled her eyes, activated the charger's automatic wake up sequence, and proceeded to the source of the noise. She headed through the factory's administration offices to the balcony overlooking the main floor. She saw two other members of her team down there, one wrapped up in a sleeping bag put up against a wall, and the other shooting her rifle at some empty ration cans.
45 spoke, "You may be a crack shot, but what you need to really work on is your hand-to-hand combat."
The doll fires a round into the last can she had set up before turning to 45. "Unless you are willing to be my punching bag for a few minutes, I think I'll stick with target practice." the doll says.
The doll's name was HK-416. She wore her usual dark blue and black military jacket and skirt. Attached to her belt harness was extra ammunition pouches as well as a medium sized bag that she wore by her hip. On top of her long silver hair, she had on a military beret with a special forces type emblem on the front.
"May I ask why I'm being interrupted during my target practice?" she asked.
45 smirked, "Just enjoying the show." she said, "Well in reality I wanted to get everyone together because we have a new job coming in. So get your stuff ready and get to the meeting room." She turned to head back but stopped to say one more thing. "Oh, and make sure that she is present for the meeting, okay?" 45 points to the other doll sleeping on the wall. After that, she made her exit.
416 grabbed up her things and walked over to the sleeping doll. "Come on, get up." she said while shaking the doll with her foot. "The boss wants everyone in the meeting room."
The doll responds in a tired tone, "I don't wanna get up. Too tired."
"G11, don't make me carry you to the meeting, because I will drag you across the ground and have you hit your head on every stair on the way up."
The doll begins to stir from her sleep, "Fine, I'm getting up." She starts to wiggle her way out of the sleeping bag and stand at her feet. Rubbing her eye, she begins to make her way upstairs to see what they are needed for.
After about 5 minutes, the group assembles in the meeting room, an old executive's meeting room with a couple of monitors that still worked. The dolls sat around the worn down table as 45 opened up the communication with their contract giver. A young woman with braided white hair appeared on screen.
"Ah, UMP 45. You must be calling about the contract that I sent you, right?" she asked
45 nodded her head, "That's right Sier. May I ask who this contract is from?"
Sier looked down at her notes. "It seems to be from Miss Helian from Griffin. Allow me to put you through to her." The screen momentarily goes black before the image of an older woman comes up.
"Good, you answered." she said. "And I can see that everyone is already here."
416 crossed her arms, "What is this mission about?" she asked.
"Down to business as usual I see." Helian adds several images to the screen. "What you are currently seeing is a Sangvis research facility that has been working on some sort of teleportation technology."
"Is this tech operational?" UMP 9 asked.
"Normally I would say no, but then again, normally I don't need to call you for a job."
"So this stuff is operational." 45 said.
"The equipment is, and Sangvis used it. Where they went, we aren't quite sure."
"What do you mean?"
Helian tapped on her tablet and brought up a collection of files. "These are reconnaissance reports that Sangvis had collected from their ventures, and from what you can read, the place that they went seems to be a little off."
416 raised an eyebrow, "Off?"
"The reports seem normal enough. Forests, mountains in the distance, human settlements, the whole nine yards. However as they make deeper reconnaissance, they come across things that seem…" She pauses for a second, "Out of this world."
The group began to look at each other in confusion before 45 spoke. "What do you mean by 'Out of this world'?"
She brings up an image of a research station with what looks to be a couple of colored crystals on them. "What you are looking at is some samples that their recon teams brought back. The team took note that these crystals have some sort of, energetic abilities to them. These 'Energy Crystals' seem to have different abilities depending on their color, such as fire for red, or ice for light blue."
Several images popped on screen showing Sangvis units in a forest using these crystals. 9 and G11 looked in astonishment at the images, it was like they were using some kind of technology akin to almost magic.
Helian continued "They brought these crystals back to test them in laboratory settings, however their notes state that upon being brought back, the crystals were rendered inert."
"So they're just as useless to them as other gemstones, unless they are within the world that the crystals formed." 416 stated.
"That is correct, but given the actions they have taken, Sangvis seems very eager to integrate this new discovery with their tech."
"But the crystals only work in the other world." UMP 9 said.
"Well, that won't be a problem if you up and move your entire operations." 45 said. "Am I correct Miss Helian?"
She nodded, "That does appear to be the case. We will be sending in a task force within the next couple of days to pursue them. They will also be tasked with contacting the local settlements and begin to gather information about this world."
"So you're sending us with the task force?" 416 asked.
"Yes and no. You will be with the task force up until you enter the area, after which you will break off and conduct a deep level of reconnaissance within this world."
"What kind of reconnaissance?" 45 asked.
"Other than the files that we managed to get a hold of, this place is a complete unknown to us. You're tasked with gathering information that the task force may not be pervy to during their contact."
"So, we go undercover and take any and all information that we see fit to better inform Griffin operations. Are we looking for anything specific?" 45 asked.
"Like I said, anything that they might be keeping secret from us."
416 raised her hand before speaking. "What about casualties?"
"You will be permitted to use lethal force if the situation calls for it, granted it's not used against Griffin personal or equipment. However I will say that any and all messes that you create must be done quietly and cleaned up before anyone notices." Helian crosses her arms and looks at the team, "Any more questions?"
The room was silent for a couple seconds before 45 spoke, "If this is a new world and we'll be operating in this world for an extended period of time, how would maintenance and payment work?"
"Good question," Helian said. "As you will need to have a level of covertness, any and all repairs must be made 'In the field' so to speak. As for payment, it will be safe to assume that any people over there won't accept our currency. But if history has taught us something, is that there is a safe method of obtaining a foreign currency."
"Gold?" 416 asked.
She nodded "Yes gold. You will be sent over there with a bag containing four unmarked 1 kg, 24 carat bars that will be exchanged for their local currency. What you do with the money afterwards is up to your discretion, but I do hope that you will spend that money on covering expenses for maintaining your cover. Any additional funds that you would require will need to be raised by yourselves."
The group turns towards 45, waiting for a response. She thinks about it for a moment before giving her answer.
"We'll do it." she says "When are we being sent out?"
"You will be sent out with the task force in a couple of days, I will send you the location of the facility."
"If that's everything, then we would like some time to get ready for our deployment." 45 says.
"That is understandable." Helian said "However I want no word of a rogue T-Doll unit running around in the area, understood?"
45 raises her hands, "Miss Helian, don't you know?" She leans forward slightly, giving a small smirk. "We are the ones who don't exist."
Helian looked at them, "Of course you are." she says before ending the call.
45 turns to the other members sitting at her table. "9, I want you to start packing our electronics equipment. 416, you're in charge of ammunition and rations. G11, contact Seir and let her know what's going on, then help 416 with whatever she needs."
"Right." said the group before getting up from the table and proceeding off to do their duties. Preparing for a quite unusual mission.
08:15 Local time, Sector S05 temporary headquarters code-named "Charon"
Commander Gentaine walked through the halls of the former Sangvis research facility. She saw the scars of the battle that took place here between them and Echelon 5, their damaged and destroyed dummy units littering parts of the hallway. It had been close to 36 hours since they had lost contact with Echelon 5, and everyone was on edge. No one knows what happened to the group, nor what has happened since, and it's safe to say that many of their friends are concerned if they are okay. All she does know is that everyone is waiting for the green light to go through the portal.
As she was thinking about this, Kalina came up to her with her tablet in hand.
"Commander," she said "I got together the reports you wanted, and they are waiting for you in your office."
"Thank you." the commander said.
Kalina continued, "The list of all available Echelon teams are sitting on your desk. I also put together a list of things that Miss Helian wants us to accomplish while we are deployed on the other side."
"That's good, I'll take a look at them shortly."
"In addition, the replacement member for AR-Team had arrived at the base a few minutes ago."
"Of course." the commander said. The replacement, the T-doll that they now have to call their teammate. The loss of one of their own must still be fresh in their minds, and yet they are being sent out on a possible lead that their friend may still be alive. That's not something that she was envious about.
"Anything else I should know about?" the commander asked.
"Yes, one last thing, the chopper carrying AR-Team will be arriving shortly."
The commander stopped for a moment. She processed this information in her mind, before she began to walk towards the landing pad.
"Then it's only fair that we greet them when they land." she said.
Meanwhile, the members of AR-Team sat in a helicopter as they approached their landing sight. M4 looked around the cabin and saw the anxious faces of her teammates. Though she had seen those faces every time they were deployed, this time seemed different in a way. Rather than the faces of imminent battle, she sees the faces of hurt and potential loss, or worse, the thought of hope in the front of the mind but the thought of more loss in the back. She can't blame them for thinking this way, not after what they've been through.
Beside them were several other T-dolls used as an armed escort for them. Their team was composed of dolls with british made weapons: Bren, L85A1, and Welrod. Their team leader told them before they entered the chopper that they're there to ensure that AR-Team doesn't try anything while they are being transferred. M4 thought this was unnecessary, even if they were to steal the chopper, they would still end up at the same place anyway.
The pilot came over the intercom, "We are approaching the landing sight now."
The side doors opened up and they saw the nearby set of buildings. The buildings don't seem impressive in anyway, just a simple complex with a few lines of makeshift trenches surrounding it and a makeshift landing pad. As the helicopter began to make its descent, they could see that there were several people already waiting for them. As they got closer, they could see that standing there was the commander, Kalina, and a T-doll that they don't recognize. When their transport finally landed, Sop-2 jumped out of the craft and ran up to the commander, proceeding to give her a massive hug.
"Oh, it's so good to see you commander!" she said, slamming into her with enough force to almost knock her to the ground.
The commander, after recovering from the sudden greeting, a small smile formed on her face and she began to pat the head of the doll. "It's good to see you too Sop-2."
The moment quickly ended with one of the escorts pointing their gun at Sop-Mod 2 and the commander. "Hands off the commander and step away slowly!" Bren ordered.
The commander got up, Sop-2 still hanging on, and looked at the dolls. "Stand down Bren, this is perfectly fine. She has no intention to hurt me." she said.
"But commander…" Bren started
"Are you disobeying a direct order for your commander?"
Bren looked uneasy before Welrod put her hand on the gun and lowered it for her.
"Our apologies commander. We were ordered to escort AR-Team and ensure that they don't do anything that may harm Griffin's personal and/or property." Welrod explained.
"I understand," the commander said, "however it's safe to say that they won't harm anyone right now." She turns to Sop-2, "Isn't that right?"
SopMod 2 nods her head in agreement. The commander then motioned for the other two members to move forward. When that got to within a few feet from her, the commander spoke.
"So, how have you all been?" She asked.
"We're fine," M16 said "nothing that we couldn't handle."
SopMod 2 spoke, "It was awful, they hooked us up to large machines that poked and prodded us at every hour of the day! They wouldn't let us outside or even a good meal! All they would serve to us was cinnamon rolls!"
The commander raised an eyebrow, "Cinnamon rolls?" She asked.
"Yes." She said with a small tear in her eye.
"Well I'm sorry that you were all treated that way." A doll next to the group said. "I can put in a requisition for better food for the detention center in the future."
AR-Team looked at the doll standing next to everyone.
"Who are you?" M16 asked.
"Her name is RO635, she will be the new member of your team." The commander said.
RO did a small bow to greet them. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to working with you in the future. " She said.
The rest of them looked at their new member. The group seemed to have mixed reactions to the news. RO walked up to M4 and put out her hand to shake.
"It's good to finally meet you M4A1." She said, M4 looked at the hand, before turning to the commander. "Where will we be staying during our time here?" M4 asked.
Kalina spoke up. "Well if you will follow me, I will show you." M4 followed her inside the facility.
The commander looked at M16. "Is she okay?" She asked.
M16 shrugged her shoulders. "She'll be okay, she just needs some time to adjust to things." M16 turns to RO, "No offense to you."
"None taken." RO said.
The Commander looked at her watch, she then ushered Sop-2 off of her. "Okay, that's enough Sop-2. I have business to attend to, I'm afraid."
SopMod 2 got off of her and stepped back to M16.
"That being said, there is a briefing in 30 minutes about the current mission. I will expect all of you to be in attendance." She says, "Yes Ma'am." They all said back to her.
The commander nodded, "Aright, then you are all dismissed." After saying this, she walked away leaving the Dolls on the landing pad to make their way into the facility on their own.
Some time later, AR-Team meets back up with M4. She seems to be by herself, sitting on one of the cots in the room. M16 looks to SopMod 2 and RO who are both talking to one another.
"Hey," M16 says. "You two start heading to the briefing room. I want to talk with M4 for a minute alone."
"Ya sure thing." Sop 2 said. They both left down the hall out of sight, then M16 entered the room.
"Hey." She said to M4, she doesn't respond. "Hey M4." She says leader. This caught her attention. "Hey, how are you doing? Spacing out there for a minute?"
"Ya," M4 says "but I'm fine now."
M16 looks down at her team leader with concern. "You don't look alright to me." M4 turns her head away. "You know, you hurt RO635's feelings when you didn't greet her back. She seemed so eager to meet you, only for you to give her the cold shoulder."
"I'm sorry" M4 said softly.
"Don't apologize to me, it's RO you have to apologize to." She looks down at M4, slumping down in sorrow. "M4, look at me." She turns her face to M16, "Tell me what's going on. What's going through your head right now?"
M4 thought for a moment, "Everything almost seems back to normal, almost like nothing bad happened, almost like…"
"AR-15 is still here." M16 finished for her.
"Ya." M4 said softly "Like I'm sitting here and at any moment she is going to walk through that door and say that she is okay. That I'm going to wake up and she'll be there and tell me that all of this was a bad dream."
"Well, she would more likely say that dreams are irrelevant and to get out of bed so you can get to your duties." M16 said.
This brought a small chuckle out of M4. M16 crouched down and spoke to M4.
"Listen," M16 started "we have been given a grand opportunity. We have spent this last week or two not knowing what happened to AR-15 and why. Now we may get that chance."
"You're just trying to make me feel better." M4 says. M16 raised an eyebrow before M4 continued. "I know what I saw the last time I was with AR-15. I know for a fact that she couldn't have survived that explosion. There is no way that was her in the video."
M16 got up and looked down at M4. "That may be true," she put out her hand towards M4, "but there is still a chance that she did survive." M4 looked up at her teammate. "But either way, there is only one way to find out for sure."
M4 looks at the hand being presented to her, then she takes hold of it and M16 lifts her to her feet.
"Aright," M4 says, "what's the plan?"
"The commander is having a briefing on the situation here in a few minutes. She wants everyone in attendance."
M4 smiles, "You lead the way." The two exit the room and begin to make their way to the briefing room.
08:50 Local time, Sector S05 temporary headquarters code-named "Charon"
The T-Dolls from all over the base that were not needed elsewhere began to file into the makeshift briefing room. It was hastily put together conglomeration of monitors, many tables and chairs, and a map of the local area. The dolls all went around and made groups with friends and teammates, conversing about the upcoming mission.
M4A1 and M16A1 both walked into the room, looking around to see if they could find their other teammates. Just then, there was a tug on M4's sleeve. She looked to her right and saw a small doll in a brown and white dress looking at her.
"Excuse me," she said "are you Miss M4A1?"
"Yes I am." M4 replied. The small doll seemed afraid, well less afraid of M4 and more shy to speak to her.
"My name is FN FNC and.." she trailed off for a second, trying to compose together a sentence. "I… I wanted to say…. Thank you."
"Thank you?" M4 asked
"Yes, for saving us during the Sangvis raid on Griffin's main base. I never got to thank you for that."
"It's okay. I was only doing my job."
FNC's voice became louder, "No. If it wasn't for you and your team, my friends and I wouldn't be standing here today." She began to go through her pocket. "And as a token of my appreciation, I want to give you this." As she said this, FNC produced an unopened chocolate bar and presented it to M4. She looked at the bar.
"You're giving this to me?" She asked.
"Of course, it's all I have to give you, but I'm sure in time I can get you an even better present."
M4 smiled, "No, you don't have to. This gift is more than enough." She takes the chocolate bar out of FNC's hand and looks down at her. "Thank you."
FNC smiles back. Just then another doll comes up to the duo, this one wearing a small white dress and a small black jacket.
"FNC, what are you doing?" she asks. The doll then turns towards M4, "I'm sorry, is she bothering you? I can take her away if she is."
"No, it's no trouble at all. She actually wanted to say thank you for helping her and her friends."
"Is that so?" she asked. Turning to FNC she says, "Why don't you go off and find Five-Seven. I'm sure she's around here somewhere."
FNC gives a little salute, "I'm on it Miss Fal." Then she walks off into the crowd.
M16 walks up, "So you're the leader of FN squadron, aren't you."
Fal smiles, "That's me, the doll with the best fashion sense out of everyone in Griffin." she looks at the two dolls, "That being said, your attire is a little lacking. If you ever have the time, come seek me out and I can give you some tips."
M4 smiles, "Thank you for the offer, but right now we have to find our teammates."
"Ah, I understand. FNC and I were in the process of doing the same. Please, don't let me hold you up, I'm sure we can talk again at another time." After saying this, Fal turns around and heads off to see where FNC ran off to next.
After that conversation was over, they found that Sop-2 and RO had already found a table and were talking with some other dolls at it. The two made their way there and just as they approached them, the commander came up to the stand.
"Everyone, can I please have your attention." she said. All of the dolls in the room quieted down and took their seats. Once everyone was seated, the commander continued.
"I just wanted to start by saying just how proud I am of all of the hard work you've put in these last few days. It wasn't easy, but we managed to make this base operational in record time." Everyone clapped at this. "But before celebrations can begin, we are given a new assignment."
The monitors come to life, showing the battle that ensued not even a couple of days ago. What appears on screen is security footage of Echelon 5 fighting their way through the facility.
"As we all know, a T-Doll echelon was sent inside the facility during the initial assault and we have since lost contact with them. The last known images of them are of the team entering the portal before it closed. What lies on the other side is currently unknown, though it is safe to assume that there will be a high Sangvis presence in the area."
One of the dolls raises her hand. "How unknown are we talking?" she asks.
The commander looks at her, "The only information we have on the place is that the gravity is similar to Earth and that the place has forests like Earth. However take all of this with a grain of salt as all the data collected was from Sangvis recon teams."
Another doll raises her hand, "What do you mean by 'like Earth'?" she asks. "It almost sounds like you're implying that this place is another world."
The commander thought for a moment, trying to find a way to phase her answer. "As you all know, T-Dolls can upload tactical data directly to central command via satellite networks, no matter where in the world they are."
"Granted there isn't a Sangvis jammer blocking the signal." The doll remarks.
"Of course, Sangvis Ferri's units work in a similar manner from what we can assume. However from their reports, it mentions that all contact with the recon teams are lost once the portal closes. This implies that wherever they went, it was outside the range of satellite communications."
The other dolls in the room began to whisper to each other once they heard this information. The fact that they may be dealing with the possibility of this being an alien world sent an air of fear and uncertainty though the room.
"That being said," the commander started, "M4A1, can you please come to the front."
M4 began to make her way to the front. She could feel the eyes of the whole room watching her as she stood up front at attention.
"Since there will be a lack of connection to command, I will be putting M4A1 in charge of the operation until a reliable communication connection can be established, or until I make my way to the other side." The commander looked around the room, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Ma'am." everyone said.
The commander then directed M4 to take her seat back where she was
Another doll raised their hand, "What about Echelon 5?"
The room went silent. Everyone was thinking about it, but no one wanted to ask it. No one wanted to put the thought of what may have happened, or what is happening, to their friends trapped on the other side.
The commander sighed, "To put it bluntly, I don't know. I have faith that they are okay, and are doing well." The room remained silent. "That being said, your mission is to enter the portal and secure a foothold on the other side. Once that is completed, you are then to proceed to send out recon teams to scout the surrounding area. If you come across evidence of Echelon 5's whereabouts, then you are to report it and investigate."
The commander then put images on the monitors that looked like human build settlements. "In addition, we believe that there are human residents in the area, and as such command wishes you to make contact with them and establish friendly relations."
One doll raised her hand, "What if they don't want to be friends?"
The commander sighed, she knew that this question was going to pop up eventually, and she dreaded the answer. "If they prove, without a doubt, hostile to you or your fellow teammates, you have my permission to use lethal force against them."
It would be an understatement to say that a wave of shock went through the room. They have known that military units,as well as police units within the cities could be given that order, but they never thought that they would be given that order. Many of the smaller, more childlike dolls, and many who were converted civilian dolls, could never even imagine a situation where they may have to raise their weapon against a human. The fact that this order came from the commander, showed just how serious the situation was.
The commander seeing the faces of the dolls quickly clarified what she meant. "I want you to all understand, that this order should only go into effect if all attempts to deescalate the situation have failed. I also want you to all know that you do indeed have the right to defend yourselves if necessary."
Many of the dolls in the crowd began to calm down a little, but some still had a face of fear on them.
"If there are no more questions, then I want you all to get ready. You will be deploying in one hour. Dismissed." The commander walked down from the stage and began to make her exit. As she did, the dolls in the room began to make their exit as well, preparing for a mission they never expected to get.
09:53 Local time, Sector S05 temporary headquarters code-named "Charon"
The dolls of the First Recon Strike Force, as they are to be called, begin to assemble in front of the "Gateway Machine" as it's being called. Some dolls were nervous, others were excited, but everyone agreed, this was a world changing event. The opportunity to step foot on a brand new world, and experience everything it has to offer, it was truly a gift to them. Too bad it was Sangvis Ferri that made the first steps. Some of the older dolls knew that if Sangvis attacked any settlements on the other side, it would make their job to establish good relations that much harder.
But to the members of AR-Team, this was something else entirely. There was clear evidence that one of their members, believed to be dead, is still alive. What they want to know is how and why. This thought was eating away at M4, until something hit her shoulder.
"Hey, you okay?" M16 asked.
M4 nods her head, "Ya, I'm fine. Just a little nervous is all."
"I don't blame you, you've been given quite the task leading everyone until the commander can make her way over to the other side."
It felt like a massive weight has been put on M4's shoulders. 'Am I really to command so many?' she thought. 'Am I to guide all of these dolls out of whatever gets thrown at them?'
"Hey!" M16 bumped her shoulder again, "Don't go spacing out on me again."
"I'm sorry, I just..." she thought for a moment. "I just never commanded so many before. What if I mess up? What if I give them an order they don't follow? What if..." Before she could continue, she felt a slap come across her face. She looked to her side and saw that slap came from M16.
"Don't." she simply said. "Don't overthink the situation. Don't underestimate the resolve of those below you. Don't lose your composer in the heat of the moment." She then took M4's hand, "You are a natural born leader, who can command thousands if you were in that position. They will follow you." M16 then puts on a smile, "Besides, you're only in command until the commander moves over, so it's not like this is what you are going to do forever."
M4 thought about this for a minute, and she knew that M16 had a point. It's okay to be a little stressed, but it's another to completely overthink a situation. So M4 looked into M16's face, and smiled.
"Okay," she says, "I'll do it."
All of a sudden, a large slap on her back nearly knocked her over. "That's the spirit!" shouted M16. She then began to laugh, and M4 chuckled with her.
"5 minutes!" they heard someone shout.
"Well, that seems to be our cue." M16 said. "Time to get ready."
M4 nodded. She began to walk around to a circle of team leaders that formed to discuss the plan of attack. They all stopped talking when they saw M4 approach.
One of the dolls spoke, "So Miss M4, what's the plan?"
She thought about it for a moment before she spoke. "From what the files say about the area, the portal seems to be in the middle of a large grassy clearing within a forest, and it is possible that Sangvis forces may still be in the area. Our job is to quickly secure defensive positions within the grounds surrounding the portal and dig in for a possible counter attack. After we have declared the area clear of hostiles, we will begin sending recon units to scout the areas beyond to make contact with local human settlements. We have also been given the materials and blueprints to begin the process of building another gateway on the other side."
A doll in the group asks, "What about Echelon 5?"
M4 had to think of something. The chances of them still operational after all of this time is slim, but not impossible. Especially if they manage to get to one of the settlements. "If during our initial sweep of the combat area we don't find their remains, once we begin to send out recon teams they will be given orders to also search for any and all evidence of the missing team, and conduct a rescue attempt."
This answer seemed to satisfy the group.
"2 minutes!" the person shouted again.
"If there are no more questions, then I want you all to get your teams ready." They all nodded before walking in different directions.
The teams began to assemble, readying themselves for the coming fight. M4 can see that the rest of her team is together, along with their newest member. She walks up to them.
"Hey uh, RO is it?" M4 asks.
"Yes it is." she answers.
"I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I wasn't thinking straight at the time and I didn't mean to offend you."
RO smiled, "It's quite alright, no need to worry about me, I was just glad I got to finally meet you. But if it makes you feel better, your apology is accepted."
"60 seconds!" They shouted again.
As the person shouted this, all of the exit doors were covered by large metal sheeting, and all but the emergency lights were shut off. Next they heard the whirling of an engine start up, followed by several sparks coming off of the Gateway Machine. They then saw the sparks begin to arc from the top to the bottom. This arcing became so intense that it looked like a continuous stream of electricity was pouring down the middle. Then they saw the stream of electricity begin to split, and though that hole, they saw an open grassy landscape with a forest at the edge of it. The dolls readied their weapons, preparing for the word to rush forward. Once the portal stopped expanding, They heard the voice one last time.
"Green light! Go! Go! Go!"
On cue, all of the dolls on the strike team rushed forward, ready to face anything that was thrown their way.
A/N:
So, on to the questions.
Game2002: I know what you mean. What I meant to say was that the crossover won't happen in the first chapter. I wanted to use the first chapter to establish how the connection to Remnant was made and who created it. I didn't mean to delay things longer than that, but thank you for the suggestion.
Student: Like I said, I don't know how long this is going to be. Now before you say anything, I do have a plan for where this is going and I have an ending in mind, the question is how many chapters until then. I understand the challenge I have presented myself with, and I accept that challenge. If it doesn't click right away that's fine, this is my first time writing a story and that's why I asked for criticism, so that I can improve and make better stories. Also about the monthly thing, that is less for the story and more for me. I want to write stories more often and the monthly thing is for me to get into a routine so I don't forget about my stories like other authors.
Zadred212: Okay understand something, all of the information that I have gathered for this story is from the official wiki, the confidential files, and Reddit posts when I have specific questions. After I read your post, I went back to see if I got something wrong and reread all related information. From what I read, you are right and that saying the world's militaries were in shambles was wrong, however this statement is not without merit. In the files, it says that the military was unwilling or unable to help people living in the yellow and red contamination zones, which lead to the rise of PMC's like Griffin. In addition the fact that the world is a state of post-apocalypse and there was a third world war, it was safe to assume that the militaries were at least in a state of reorganization for a time. Also about the gun thing, I will admit, that may have been a bit of an oversight on my part. Sorry for that.
D.O.F: As I said before, I don't know how many chapters I'm going to make this. I kind of have a thing were I begin to type up a scene (I type this up in Google docs so I can keep track of it better) and before I know it, I'm 15 pages and 4,000 words in and I'm only half way done. I had an entire fight scene typed up and I just had to cut it out due to it being so long. So to answer your question, I did plan this to be on the shorter side, I just typed it up in novel length. Also about Yegor and Carter, the most you'll see of them right now is maybe a cameo appearance. Beyond that I don't have any plans for them in the story thus far.
Thank you all so much for your support, I really appreciate it. I'll see you in the next chapter.