They filed into the big briefing room and quietly took their seats around the middle. SASS had never seen the auditorium so full before, with nearly every seat filled by a doll watching the front of the auditorium or talking to her neighbor or staring straight ahead as she looked at something in her Digimind. Even had their presence not been mandatory, SASS suspected that the attendance would be the same: nobody wished to miss what was about to happen.
Commander Kerr was to address the base.
SASS had not personally spoken to Kerr ever since she actually arrived in S17, and even that had been an exchange of few words. Type 81 really was the public face of the aged woman, a mild-mannered, uniformed servant who was somehow the one chosen to execute Kerr's will as commander.
That was a bit dramatic, SASS allowed, but she was nonetheless surprised that Kerr would appear in person and speak to the base.
"This anxiety is killing me!" Ingram was slouched in her seat, staring sullenly up at the podium. "Why can't we just get to the fight…"
RFB was of the same mind. "It's like one of those unskippable cutscenes in a game. Really boring, you know?"
From the row behind them, M60 leaned forward, placing her arms on the back of Ingram and SASS's chairs. She was one of the more senior dolls on base, so SASS was surprised when she spoke in agreement. "The Commander better not waste our time on this. We're getting awful close to C-Day and I'm not interested in speeches or whatever."
"Yeah, well, you're just going in with the cordon team," RFB replied. "We're on the damn escort mission."
"You sound unhappy," SASS commented.
"Yeah! What's that about? You don't want to kill as many Sangvis?"
RFB held her hands up to Ingram. "No, no…"
"Which sector are you covering?" Grizzly asked M60.
"Epsilon, we're directing the cordon. It shouldn't be too bad, unless you guys really end up stirring the nest."
"Well, who knows what Sangvis has stowed away down there."
"Just leave some for us, yeah?" M60 patted Ingram on the shoulder and turned back to her own echelon.
SASS glanced at Grizzly, who was sitting with her arms crossed, exchanging the occasional word with M590 as they watched and waited. Despite the multitude of conversations in the auditorium, there was a distinct sense of apprehension: what would the Commander say? It was in the same vein as RFB's excitement at a new videogame coming out, except tempered by the dark storm clouds of combat. Operation Hammerhead was the codename chosen for the immense battle they were soon to embark on.
Conversations quieted as Type 81 peeked out from behind one of the doors, then stepped out and held it open. All talk ceased when the Commander stepped out. She had donned the long red overcoat that was part of the Griffin uniform and her hair was neatly arranged, in every way she looked the part of an officer. Every doll's face was turned up to the stage, watching Kerr approach the podium, waiting. SASS was close enough that she could pick out features on her face: the slight downturn on her mouth, her eyes moving back and forth around the auditorium, her eyebrows bending in just a little.
She paused, letting the silence swell, before she began.
"In just a few days, we will embark on one of the greatest operations that Griffin has ever planned. Many of you are surely apprehensive at this coming battle; I would not blame you. It is only natural. Some have lost friends, some worry for their friends, same worry for themselves. I know that it has not been easy. I know that some don't want to fight Sangvis again. Well, let me offer you this information: This operation is not being done for the good of a select group of individuals, or for money, or because we were ordered to by some higher power. It's being done because it has to be. It's being done to prevent anything more happening to the dolls here.
"We are setting out to fight the same enemy we've fought many times before. You know Sangvis. You know what they might do if we were to ever fail in our task of containment. Humans might die, dolls might die. Permanently. None of you have had any concept of real death until now. It is a horrible thing that ought to be prevented, whatever the cost. This is greater than any one of you. Dolls here have come from all parts of Griffin, from all sorts of backgrounds, but now you all share one bond: that of duty to your fellows. Look around you; know the faces of the dolls you sit beside. Know them well. For in this coming battle, you are all one and the same, chosen arbiters of every doll's will to see this Sangvis scourge gone from the sector and the neural backups back in our grasp. If you will not do it for money, do it out of duty to Griffin. If you will not do it out of duty, do it for your comrades. If you will not do it for them–"
Kerr halted. "Then do it for yourself.
"I won't delude you with false words: this will not be an easy task. But no task that has ever meant something in history has been anything but difficult. The adversity you will face is merely a sign of the significance of this engagement: that it is more than just bullets and grenades and spilt coolant and plasma, that it falls upon your shoulders to save those who cannot save themselves. Those dolls who are dead, or have a chance of dying. The humans you were designed to protect. That is your duty, and I trust that every one of you will follow it until you perish, or are otherwise incapacitated.
"I am asking much of you, I know. But no more than you would ask of yourselves. I don't pretend to be a great person, or even a good one. I only do what I believe to be right. I expect the same from every one of you. There are many in the greater world that think little of your kind, of androids. They would say that you are puppets, that I am the only one with merit in this scenario. Some might write off your own accomplishments entirely. It is an old way of thought, but a common one. Those who believe in it lie to themselves. They lie when they say that you can accomplish nothing. They lie when they say that I am the most skilled here. Of all of the people in this base, it is you who are the most important. You who sacrifice yourselves in battle, risk everything, offer yourselves up to my command, and see every mission through to the end. I could not ask for a finer unit of soldiers. Even if history fails to make note of what we do here, even if Griffin downplays this operation, I and everyone present will remember what happened. As you go forth into battle, know that you are not seen as just a pawn or tool, but as my equal, in this battlefield or another.
"As we look forwards, toward the coming battle, never fail to think of what it means. Great figures in history spoke of trials and tests of courage. Let this be your trial. You will win not because Sangvis is weak, but because you are strong. Your weapons. Your training. But most of all, your bond with those that you fight alongside. In all my years in the military and as a commander, I find that the link with your other soldiers is the deciding factor in a great many engagements. You will fight with valour and courage not because of an order that I give but for the dolls to your left and right. I know that it can be hard to get along. None of us are exactly the same. But in this time, set your dislikes aside, for the enemy you are soon to face will merely use them to its advantage. That Ringleader, Gestalt, it has nothing on the camaraderie you share as soldiers! Sangvis dolls are just puppets, but you are more. Never forget that.
"Ultimately, this battle is part of something bigger. For years now, we have been waging this war of containment against Sangvis, sometimes at great cost. Thus, our task here is not just to win the battle – though that is of great importance – but to win the war. Only then will Sangvis no longer construct Gestalts to take away your friends. Only then will we all be released from this conflict. But that is the future. The operation is now. Now is the time to strike with what fury and hatred you may have. Destroy Sangvis now, so we might have an easier time of it later.
The Commander stopped speaking again, merely turning her head to watch the crowd. SASS felt the tension in everyone as they waited for her next words – even Ingram and RFB were watching carefully.
"This is the struggle. In this time of calamity, of emergency, none of us must hesitate to give every ounce of ourselves to the fight, for we know that salaries or physical comfort are nothing compared to the fight for others, be they doll or human. Know that even if you do not care for yourself, I do, as well as everyone who serves with you. If ever you find yourself unmotivated – remember your comrades. They are who this fight is for, dead or alive. Do it for them.
"I have no reason to doubt that you can do this. We will win. And I trust that my confidence is not misplaced. Thank you, and good luck."
Then she bowed and walked off the stage.
