"M4A1. Good to see you alive and in one piece."

M4 stops dead in her tracks as soon as she sees who is addressing her.

"Ms. Helian? What brings you out here to this God-forsaken battlefield?"

Helian gestures in M4's direction from where she is sitting in the helicopter.

"Get in the bird, M4. There's something I need to explain to you."

Pushing her hair out of the way, M4A1 adjusts the positioning of her rifle sling and steps into the chopper, seatbelting herself in as the bird lifts off.

"Is something wrong? I've never seen you come out all this way just to welcome one doll back to base."

Helian shakes her head. "I'll get to that in a minute. What happened back there?"

"I got separated from the rest of my team."

"Back at Safe House 3?"

"Yes." M4A1 runs her hand over her weapon. "They - I mean the others - sent me back alone, to retrieve Griffin reinforcements. We need to go back for them."

"It was Agent, wasn't it?"

"Yes. She launched an attack on the safe house and almost killed us all. The only reason I'm alive is because M16A1 and the others split up to divert the attention of the Sangvis troops. I'm not even sure if they're still alive..."

"According to our intelligence analysts, there was no sign of any conflict in the surrounding areas when I left base to come get you, so I think your teammates will be fine for now. In the meantime, there's someone waiting for you back at base."

"Is it one of my sisters?" M4A1's eyes widened.

Helian shakes her head. "I'm sorry. It's not. But it's someone who will be able to assist in helping you find the rest of AR Team."

"And - and who might that be?" M4A1 leans forward.

"Her name's Val. Long story short, you're going to want to get well acquainted with her, because you two will be working together for a very long time in the future."

M4A1 pauses for a moment, as if deep in thought.

"Val? Is she a new commander?"

Helian rubs the side of her forehead. "Well yes, and no... You know what, let's just wait until we get back. I will explain everything to you then."

"Of course. I understand. Thank you."

Who could this Val person be? M4A1 wonders as the base comes into sight, a dark speck on the horizon.

She can help me find my sisters? I would rather be out looking for M16A1 and the others at the moment, but if this Val can truly help me find them as Helian claims, then I'll gladly wait.