It is a beautiful spring day outside. The weather is gorgeous, the birds are chirping, and a light breeze dances through the trees and sends flyaway leaves on their merry way. It is one of those days that should bring happiness to both young and old alike, as this is the first after many days of overcast skies and on-and-off rainstorms. For certain others, it is not.

The mood inside the office is anything but cheery, as a middle-aged man with a salt-and-pepper beard sits across from a woman with graying hair and a stern expression. Both wear similar uniforms: scarlet red greatcoats with white dress shirts and black neckties.

"Mr. Kryuger, are you sure this is the best idea?"

The woman pushes her monocle up on her nose and sighs. "In all of the history of this establishment, nothing like this has ever been tried, and the risks aren't just worth it for me."

"This is our best shot, Helianthus," Kryuger replies. "Did you even read the file I sent you? This young lady is not like any of our other commanders. In fact, I took the step of reaching out to her first and offering her this position. That's not something I do for anyone, really."

Helian shakes her head.

"I'm still not certain this is a good idea."

Kryuger hands Helian a Manila envelope.

"Something tells me you didn't give that file a proper reading. I expected as much, so I have a hard copy for you to look at."

Helian opens the Manila envelope and removes several sheets of paper.

"This is the profile for the soon-to-be new hire, I assume."

"She is already hired."

Kryuger laces his fingers together and leans back in his chair. "You would have known that if you had read it when I first sent it to you."

Suppressing a sigh, Helian shifts her gaze to the paper on top - a profile of the new commander with a photograph paper clipped to the top. The face of a young woman in her mid-twenties smiles back at Helian, jet-black hair standing out against light brown skin and almond-shaped eyes.

"Valerie Xiu Ryzen," Helian muses aloud. "Or should I say Dr. Ryzen, with a doctorate degree in computational chemistry from Gehenna College of Science and Mathematics. Consultant for 16LAB..."

Helian looks up at Kryuger, not quite sure what to say next.

"Now do you understand why I called for her?" Kryuger's tone is emphatic, but not hostile. "Dr. Ryzen could be a valuable asset to this organization, as she was directly involved in the creation of the fire control core for IOP dolls, as well as some other things concerning AR Team."

"But as a tactical commander?" The doubt in Helian's voice is unmistakable.

"Mr. Kruger, you just can't send a rookie into the field like this, especially not in the assignment you're going to throw Dr. Ryzen into. You're proposing that we embed a human into Anti Rain Team, which is already unprecedented for starters. I think you're asking far too much of this young lady, given that she has no tactical experience-"

Kryuger holds his hand up. "Helian, now would be a great time to take a look at the rest of that file."

The second paper is filled with spreadsheets and columns of data. "These are... stats from competitive shooting matches?" Helian muses. "And she's on top of every single one of these rows. Simply incredible for a civilian."

"There is one more thing about Dr. Ryzen that I must tell you about. She was in the pipeline to join Statesec as an agent with the Sixth Division. She got all the way through to the conditional offer stage, where she ultimately turned down the job. Even the KCCO - the military, of all things - wanted her to join their ranks, but thankfully I got to her first."

Helian takes one more look at the image of Dr. Ryzen and sighs.

"I still think your idea isn't a good solution to the issue at hand at all. But I will give her a chance and do my best to supply her with what she needs to succeed in this position."

Kryuger nods in satisfaction.

"You know how dire the situation is, and you know quite well of the growing threat that Sangvis Ferri poses to our dolls and the civilians we are tasked with protecting. We have lost over five echelons in Sector 11 and nearly lost Sectors 8 and 9 over the past three weeks or so alone. Anti Rain is still missing, and we need to make changes to our operating plans to ensure that they never go through that again. We must constantly adapt and be vigilant against this ever imposing threat."

Helian pushes the file aside.

"When is Dr. Ryzen coming in, and what are the... arrangements for her to meet with a team that's still MIA?"

"She will be checking in here within the week, and once she has gone through orientation and been briefed on her assignment, she will join the efforts to recover AR Team. As soon as any member of Anti Rain is recovered, Dr. Ryzen will be covertly dispatched with that member or members and will continue with the objective of recovering the others until the team is fully reunited."

"...Understood."

Kryuger nods again. "Thank you, Helian. I know this seems like a shot in the dark to you, but trust me when I say this will work out for our benefit in the end. And remember, you are not to mention this to anyone, at least for the time being."

Helian stands up, offers Kryuger a salute, and leaves without another word.

"For your sake, Dr. Ryzen," Kryuger murmurs as he watches Helian go, "you must not disappoint. Not only for me and Helian, but for the future of this entire organization and humanity at large."