Be advised dear readers, I have completely rewritten the first two chapters, and, with the help of a beta, (read as: he did 99% of the work) have edited the entire story. If you haven't, would you kindly go back and at least read the first two chapters.
On with the show
- Outpost 17 -
G11 stumbled into the room that had her favorite bed. With a yawn, she sat down on said bed, rifle clutched to her chest, and let out a bigger yawn. She wondered where HK416 was, she could really use a body pillow. A ping came from across the desk across the room, "Hm?"
She looked over to see what had caused the noise and was pleasantly surprised to see a laptop sitting on the desk. It wasn't the best laptop out there, but it had a USB port, and that's all she needed. She dug through her jacket pocket and pulled out a small USB stick labeled 'TFD' and stuck it in the slot. The old laptop whirred to life and the monitor blinked on to show a login screen. She frowned, unplugged the laptop, yawned, and took the laptop out of the room.
HK416, UMP 45, and UMP 9 were outside in front of a partially collapsed building discussing their next mission. G11 sat down next to HK416 and handed her the laptop. HK416 took it without realizing that she had done so until she had already opened it up.
She turned to G11, "What the hell is this?"
G11 yawned, "I found this in the room I was staying in, I want to watch The Flying Dead but it's encrypted. Unlock it for me."
UMP45 and UMP9 shared a look, "Weren't you in the Outpost Commander's room?" 9 asked, to which G11 just shrugged.
"No idea. It has a nice bed though."
UMP 9 was about to say something else when she noticed 45 smirk, it wasn't her normal, 'I'm about to fuck with HK416' smirk, no, it was her 'I have an idea, but I'm not sure it will work, but fuck it, let's see what happens,' smirk.
"Sis...whatcha thinking about?" 9 asked.
45 turned to 9, "Hm? Oh nothing," then she turned to HK416, "I'm surprised such an elite doll can't unlock a simple Griffin laptop."
Ah, 9 thought, there's the HK416 smile.
HK416 glared at 45 before she tossed the laptop at 45's head.
"Careful!" G11 cried out, fully awake now, "The Flying Dead is still in there!"
45 easily caught the laptop one handed, a smile still on her face. She opened the laptop, pecked at the keys for a few seconds, before she stood and handed it back to G11.
"Thanks 45," she turned to HK416, "want to watch with me?"
"As if." HK416 said in a clipped tone, eyes locked with 45's.
"Come on," G11 insisted, "It's been forever since we've been able to hang out and watch something together."
HK416's tone softened just a bit but her gaze held firm, "I'll come in when I'm done here."
G11 nodded, yawned, and wandered back into her claimed room. HK416 continued her stare down, "You know as well as I do that a Commander's computer will send a message to their tac pad as soon as someone puts in a wrong password, or tries to tamper with it."
UMP 45's grin widened, "Ja, and?"
HK416's eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare, "And that means said Commander will come here to investigate."
45 waved a dismissive hand, "Come on 416, you've heard the rumors about the commander of this place. He's a cold hearted bastard who mistreats dolls and makes backdoor deals."
HK416 gave a single solemn nod, "Ja, I've also heard that he has no problem making troublesome Dolls disappear, only to be found later with a hole where their core should be."
45 let out a yawn and stretched out to look at the stars "If that's the case, we'll just capture him, tie him up, and leave him to rot somewhere, maybe in the Dead City since we're going there anyway."
HK416 let out a disapproving cluck of her tongue, stood and walked off.
"Good night HK416, don't let the zombies bite!' UMP 9 called after her cheerily before she turned to 45, "Hey sis, this place looks like it got hit hard recently, what if that Commander got killed off?"
45 looked up at 9, "Then we'll make it our new slightly more permanent home."
9 brought a finger to her lip, "Hmmm, and what if a new Commander runs this place?"
45 gave a sly grin, "Then I guess we'll see what kind of Commander they are, and if we can use them."
- Forest Outside S09 -
Owen sat atop the SA-19 and puffed absently on a cigarette he pilfered from one of the dead crew members. With his new super eyes, he stared at a set of American dog tags in his hand. A check of the other bodies found passports and ID's from England and France respectively. The interior of the SA-19 was filled with Cyrillic lettering, and the pack of Kents he got off the dead American had a warning label written in Romanian. It was a very diverse crew. He looked over to Freya who was standing near him, eyes scanning the trees for any threats. He smoked the Kent down to the filter and flicked the butt away.
"Hey Freya, do you have an up to date military roster stored in your brain pan?" Owen asked as he hopped down onto the grass.
She turned to him, "I do not have a brain pan," she said, "but I do have a U.S. military roster to assist with the identification of casualties in combat operations."
Owen tossed the tags at her, "Awesome, tell me about this guy."
She snatched the tags out of the air and gave them a brief glance, "Corporal Jesse Perez, United States Army, honorably discharged..."
Owen waved a hand to cut her off again, then gestured to one of the dead men in the grass, "Is this him?"
Freya briefly studied the man's face, "Yes, it is."
Owen nodded, "Thought so."
He saw something move in the corner of his eye, and turned to see Colette step out of the back of the Hind and couldn't help but notice that the zipper on her flight suit was very, very low. She flashed him a dangerous smile, flipped him off, then walked slowly to the cockpit and climbed in.
"She ordered me to kill you." Freya informed him.
He turned to her, "Did she say why?"
"She informed me you were a heartless brute, she also said you were having an illicit affair with a member of an enemy faction."
Owen nodded, it was good to see that Colette handled rejection well. Freya stared at him a moment longer before she continued her silent scan of the area.
"Freya," he asked, "Do you think I am having an illicit affair with a member of an enemy faction?"
Her head paused mid turn, she turned to look at him, "Are you having an affair with Soviet military personnel?"
Owen laughed, "Not that I know of, at least, not recently."
Freya turned her full attention on him, "I am required to..."
Owen rolled his eyes and looked out at the tree line, "I hate to tell ya Freya, but the war's over, and I'm pretty sure we lost. Besides, I'm not in the military anymore. Technically, I have to return you to the Navy after this is over."
Freya frowned, "But..." She went quiet, and for the first time, her face showed emotion.
After a few moments of silence, Owen glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Freya made no notice of his scrutiny, just resumed her scan.
Owen was about to say something when Colette called from the cockpit, "Hey Owen, come here a second."
Owen gave Freya one final look, then turned away and walked over the wrecked Hind just as Colette turned off the cockpit radio. He would not look down at her chest, he wouldn't. He was disciplined, he was a former Delta. He was like a fucking stone. The very picture of...he looked.
Colette laughed, "I knew you were interested."
Owner let a frustrated groan, "Of course I looked, I've been in ice for years, was this why you called me over, to flaunt your goods and torture me?"
"Nope, that's just a bonus. I actually wanted to let you know that Gentiane is sending a helo to pick us up."
Owen gave her a thumbs up, "Cool, thanks for the update."
"I'm happy to keep you 'abreast' of our situation." She said as she pushed her cleavage together.
Owen let out another groan, "Combat gets you going, doesn't it?"
"Yup!"
"Awesome."
Colette winked at him, then looked around the cockpit and her face fell. She flipped the master power switch off and let out a sigh, "I don't think I can fix her." She said as she petted the instruments in front of her.
Owen stepped back and looked at the wrecked helo, "We have an area at the Outpost where you can work on her."
Colette ignored Owen as she hopped out, stood next to him and began pointing at things, "Rotors are trashed, the engine and transmission are going to be wrecked after the blades struck the ground." She moved to the back, "I'm going to have to X-ray the frame and I can pretty much guarantee that's going to be fucked all to hell."
She ran a hand through her hair as the frustration finally took hold, "The fucking nose gun is gone, one of the wings sheared off..." She spun around to where the SA-19 sat and let out a snarl, "All because of that piece of fucking shit!"
Freya, who was standing by the SA-19 gave them a quizzical look, Owen shook his head to show Colette wasn't talking about her. Freya resumed her vigil.
"It was an amateur move, Owen, I was too busy following that Black Hawk and the crew had it powered down. I should have avoided the clearing, I should have fell back and observed from a distance." Tears were in her eyes as she turned to look at him, "I'm a better pilot than this, now my baby is trashed."
Owen moved in to comfort her, he sucked at comforting, but it was the thought that counts, right? How can a tactical doll show this much emotion anyway?
"We'll get it moved back to the Outpost, and... I'll help you get it put back together." Wait, no.
She spun and looked at him, he could see the absolute joy in her eyes "You will?"
No, absolutely not. You don't know the first thing about aircraft, she'll use it as an excuse to get you alone again, tell her no!
"Oh yeah," he heard himself say, "Whatever it takes, we'll get her flying again."
Fuck.
She leaped forward and wrapped him in a tight hug, tears in her eyes, "Thank you Owen, I'm so glad you're not dead, you're the best, I mean it."
Double fuck.
"Helicopter approaching, it's friendly." Freya called out.
"Thanks Freya."
Colette stood on her tiptoes and whispered in Owen's ear, "How about when we get back, I thank you properly?"
Owen suppressed the shiver that ran up his spine, "How about I dunk you in an ice bath."
Colette just laughed, "Perfect, then I can use you to warm me back up."
A Griffin UH-60 flew into the clearing, flared and landed. The door slid open to reveal Nines with another doll the Owen hadn't met before. Nines hopped down and began running towards them.
Owen felt a fresh chill when he saw Colette's face when she watched Nines approach.
The evil grin from earlier returned "Oh, this is going to be so much fun." She purred.
Nines slowed to a walk as she got close and saw Colette wrapped around his arm. Colette gave his arm a squeeze and leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. She then let go and walked passed Nines, "He's all yours." She said brightly as she made her way to the Black Hawk. Nines glared daggers into Colette's back as she hopped into the helicopter. Nines turned back to Owen and the anger on her face melted into a look of worry as she took in Owen's battered frame.
She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug, "They told me you were captured, and taken away..." She trailed off and Owen patted her head.
"It turns out I'm an annoying bastard and let me go instead of dealing with me." He joked.
Nines said nothing, instead she squeezed him tighter, she only let go as someone politely cleared their throat behind her. Owen looked up to see a Doll holding an M4 shifting from one foot to another. Owen unwrapped himself from Nines' grasp and gave her an apologetic smile.
"Are you Commander Owen?" She asked.
"That's me, what can I do for you?"
The Doll stood a little straighter, "I'm Tactical Doll M4, Commander Gentiane sent me to retrieve you and bring you back to base."
Owen rolled his neck and shoulders, his earlier antics had finally started to catch up to him, "That's good to hear, I need to check on my team, make sure they're ok."
It was M4's turn to give an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry Commander Owen, but Commander Gentiane told me specifically to escort you to the Command Center as soon as we got back."
Owen rolled his eyes and said, "It's like she doesn't trust me or something," then gave Nines a knowing wink, to which Nines replied with an equally knowing scowl.
M4 stepped to Owen's side and gestured to the waiting Black Hawk, Freya noticed this and moved towards the newcomer. Nines stepped to Owen's other side and wrapped his arm through hers. In an instant, Freya was in front of the trio, her hands gripping the shotgun, her eyes darting from M4 to Nines. Nines tensed and her free hand went to her weapon slung by her side.
"Um, may we get by?" M4 asked politely, a confused look on her face.
"Your orders Sergeant?" She asked Owen.
"Go easy Freya, we're all friends here." Owen said.
Freya stepped aside, but kept her eyes on the two dolls. Nines looked at her then to Owen, and he saw she wanted to question him on the newcomer, but kept silent. M4 just seemed confused by the underlying tension. Owen let himself be escorted to the waiting helicopter. He sat across from Colette, who winked at him after he sat down, with Nines on one side, and Freya on the other. M4 sat next to Colette and occasionally glanced between the four other passengers, but said nothing on the trip.
- Sector 09 Airfield -
The UH-60 landed on the ramp near the wreckage of the base's gunship as the sun started to peak on the horizon. After the helo shutdown Owen asked the pilot about the flight crew. He was informed that the crew had been pulled from the wreckage and evac'd to a nearby hospital and both pilots were in critical condition. Owen nodded as he watched a black SUV pull up next to his group. The door opened and Kryuger's hulking form stepped out from the back. He looked exactly how Owen remembered from the hospital. The only notable difference was the body armor he wore over his Griffin uniform.
He walked over to Owen and shook his hand, "Commander Owen, good to see you in one piece."
Owen gave Kryuger a respectful nod, "Thank you sir, what brings you here?"
Kryuger motioned to a team of Tactical Dolls on a patrol nearby, "I came as soon as I heard about the assault, but it looks like we were a little late."
Owen nodded, "Any sign of a follow up attack?"
Kryuger gave a shake of his head, "Not that we can tell, but I have nearby Commanders bringing teams to help shore up defenses until Commander Gentiane can get back on her feet."
Owen winced at the mention of Gentiane's name as he imagined the ass chewing he would get from her.
Oh well, he'd burn that bridge when he got to it.
Kryuger mistook the gesture and placed a reassuring hand on Owen's shoulder, "It's good to see you concerned about your fellow commander, she's ok, but she's going to have a lot on her plate in the foreseeable future."
Owen gave another nod and didn't bother to correct the mistake. Kryuger turned to the Dolls that had gathered around Owen, "Now then, if you ladies don't mind, I want to have a private chat with your Commander."
M4 cleared her throat, "I'm sorry sir, but Miss Gentiane has requested to see him at once."
"I'm aware," Kryuger said with a reassuring look and motion to his SUV, "I'll escort him over myself."
"Understood, I'll help with cleanup then if you need me sir." With that M4 turned smartly on her heel and walked off.
Colette had already wandered off which left Nines and Freya standing behind Owen.
"Nines go find our team and make sure they're taken care of," he paused, "and find out what MP-40's condition is."
Nines nodded and, with a skeptical look at both Freya and Kryuger, left. Owen looked at Freya, trying to figure out what to do about her. She met his gaze. He didn't want Kryuger to know she was still technically US military property, mainly because he was trying to figure out a way to keep her. Having a doll that could wipe the floor with Lilly would be handy. He wondered if the whole, 'gear adrift is gear a gift' rule worked in a situation like this. After a second of their impromptu staring contest she spoke.
"Do you have orders for me Sergeant?"
"Sergeant?" Kryuger said in confusion.
Shit.
Owen turned back to Kryuger who was studying him.
"Poor thing is delusional."
"My cognitive abilities are functioning without issue."
"Poor thing has no idea what she's saying."
Kryuger held up a hand, "Why don't we continue this in the vehicle."
They piled into the vehicle and were off. During the brief trip, Owen laid out everything he knew about Freya. Which, admittedly, wasn't much. Kryuger listened quietly and Freya stared out the window. Owen swore he thought she looked bored. When Owen was done talking, Kryuger nodded and said, "We have to give her back."
Owen raised an eyebrow, "That's a good idea, but if I may present a second option," He motioned to Freya, "We don't."
Freya looked away from the window and studied Owen. To his credit, Kryuger seemed to expect this, replying with only a single word. "Explain."
"She went toe to toe with what I believe to be a Sangvis ringleader, or at least a Doll with comparable strength to one, and she kicked that Doll's ass." Owen used a hand to gesture around Freya's head, "This right here, is one hell of an asset, and I don't think it's right to let her just sit in a government warehouse waiting for the US to get their shit together."
Freya calmly grabbed the waving hand and gently shoved it away, Kryuger turned to her and saw her staring at him intently.
The vehicle came to a stop outside the Command Building, "I'll see what I can do, Commander." He replied as they exited the vehicle, "But for now, I have another matter I want to discuss with both you and Commander Gentiane."
"Ah."
Kryuger led Owen and Freya through the building and Owen saw the full extent of what happened inside while his team and he had tried, and failed, to get to the armory. Blood, bullet holes, and scorch marks were everywhere. Makeshift barriers marked where defenders had hastily made defensible positions and Owen judged by the amount of spent brass on the ground, they did a damn good job defending those positions.
"As you can see," Kryuger said grimly, "We have a long road ahead before this Sector will be at full strength."
Owen nodded but said nothing as they made their way to the large set of double doors that marked the entry to the Command and Control. Kryuger opened the doors and chaos met them. Dolls and technicians scrambled from one task to the other, Kalina was sitting at a desk covered in empty coffee cups and energy drink cans, typing furiously at her computer, before turning to her tablet, then back to her computer.
Kalina turned to see who the newcomers were, gave the trio a brief wave, then went back to her work. Gentiane was helping at her desk pouring over the reports that were coming in. She looked exhausted, her adjutant, G36, was next to her still in her full combat loadout, glaring at anyone who got too close.
Kryuger cleared his throat as he approached, Gentiane held up a finger as she finished reading a report, G36 stood even straighter than before, which Owen thought was impossible. Gentiane's bleary eyes stared at them unfocused, until they landed on Owen.
"You!" She snapped.
Owen grinned and raised a hand in greeting, "Hey Gentiane, what's up?"
She stood up, made her way around the desk, and stopped in front of Owen. Before Freya could move, Owen moved his hand in front of her and held it there. Like it or not, he had earned this, and he couldn't have his new bodyguard kill a fellow commander in front of his employer. He should probably sit Freya down and explain that she can't kill everyone who was annoyed with him.
Gentiane shoved a finger in his face, "Where in the fuck where you Owen!? I told your ass to come here multiple times, but you ignored me! Then what happened," She smacked the front of Owen's armor, "Your dumbass gets fucking kidnapped and dropped out of a fucking helicopter!"
Owen raised his hands in a submissive gesture, "I didn't think you'd be so worried abou-"
She shoved the finger into his chest again, "Worried? I wasn't fucking worried you moron! MY ENTIRE GODDAMN BASE WAS BEING OVERRUN!"
The entire Command Center went quiet. Kalina looked over with a grin and gave Owen a thumbs up behind Gentiane's back. Owen looked over to Kryuger, who just shrugged. Owen thought he saw a look of amusement on Kryuger's face.
Owen rubbed his neck, "I'm not really a comman-"
"YOU HAVE COMBAT EXPERIENCE YOU DUMB FUCK!"
Gentiane took a breath before she continued, "Practical combat experience that would have helped figure out the enemy's movements and goals." The finger poked his chest rig again, "and like it or not, you ARE a commander now. You are a loss we can't afford to have right now. Especially for something as stupid as trying to go toe to toe with a fucking ringleader."
"As much as I hate to interrupt," Kryuger said, "I need to speak with both of you, privately."
Gentiane glared at him briefly before she regained her composure, "We can use my office."
Owen let out a sigh of relief as she walked away. As G36 passed by them to follow her Commander, he noticed that she was glaring at Freya. He turned to say something to Freya but stopped as he noticed that she was silently glaring at Gentiane's back with a cold fury. Owen gave her a light shove on the shoulder.
"For an ATS doll with no emotion, you sure do have anger issues." Owen joked before he followed the rest of the group out of the Command and Control.
- Gentiane's Office -
Kryuger, Owen, and Gentiane sat around a table in Gentiane's office/bedroom sipping water, while G36 and Freya had a silent staring contest from the side of their respective Commanders.
"I know you have a lot to do," Kryuger began with a gesture to Gentianne, "So I'll make this as brief as I can."
"In the past few months we've had an outpost completely overrun and the commander of said outpost has disappeared, and we've had a fully staff base assaulted and almost overrun. Neither of these attacks were made by Sangvis as far as we can tell. These attacks were well organized and executed by soldiers that were well trained and able to work in teams with dolls mixed in, something uncommon since the end of the war. They were also well informed."
Kryuger paused for a moment to take a drink of water.
"I was able to look at some of the videos of the attack while waiting for Commander Owen to return. The attack began at the antenna farm when pre-placed explosives were detonated which was timed perfectly with the mortar barrage. They knew where to go once they were inside the perimeter and countered Gentiane's defender teams perfectly. They also breached the perimeter wherever the roving sentries were farthest from."
"You think they've got an informant." Gentiane said.
Kryuger nodded.
"Zhenka?" Gentiane asked.
"It's a possibility we're looking into, whoever orchestrated this knows how we operate." He replied.
"Who?" Owen asked.
"Ex-Commander Ramazanov Zhenka," Gentiane answered coldly, "he was the bastard in charge of Outpost 17 before you came along."
"Oh, that guy. Yeah, fuck that guy." Owen said with a scowl.
Owen leaned back in his seat and took a drink of water, "You had another problem too."
Gentaine and Kryuger looked at him, "That ringleader I fought," Freya cleared her throat quietly, "We fought, had been here for at least a day." He nodded to Gentiane, "She passed me in the hall when you and Kalina were giving me my paperwork, and she had a snazzy red commander's coat too."
Both Kryuger and Gentiane went silent. Gentiane tapped her finger against her cup while she thought.
"I'll have my people go through our camera feeds, see if we can pin down when she first infiltrated the base." She said.
Kryuger shook his head, "I'll have my team do it remotely," Gentiane shot him a look, he held up a hand, "just to be safe."
"It's the reason I wanted to talk to the two of you in private as well," Kryuger continued and motioned to the two commanders, "I know neither of you were involved in any capacity for obvious reasons, and right now, you are the only two people I can say that about."
"That's all well and good," Owen said, "but why did you want to talk to me?"
"Because of your former," Kryuger paused, "employment."
Owen raised an eyebrow as the faintest ghost of a smile ticked up at the edge of Kryuger's mouth, "I was briefly an officer's aide during the war. I had been injured and was not yet cleared to active duty. He was a battalion commander during the push into France. I remember him ranting and raving because, somehow, every move he made was met with fierce resistance from opposing forces, and sabotage would be rampat in every unit he tried to maneuver." Kryuger glanced at Owen, eyes alight with amusement that did not reach his face, "It wasn't until a month later, when two Spetsnaz airborne units tried, and failed, to capture a local factory that was being used for wartime production, that he figured out it was one of your 'Delta Teams'."
Owen said nothing and waited for him to continue. Kryuger grunted in satisfaction.
"I want you to do that now," he said, then pointed to Gentiane, "and I want you to support him."
Gentiane nodded in agreement, "Actually, I had a proposal already written up before the attack," she turned to Owen, "Especially now, I don't have much in the way of manpower," she winced as she said this, "but what I do have, supplies."
"Vehicles, fuel, rations, repair facilities, weapons and ammo." She tapped a finger as she listed each item, "I have plenty to spare, we can have weekly supply runs to your Outpost starting as early as tomorrow."
She tapped on her tacpad and handed it over to Kryuger who gave an appreciative nod while he scrolled through its contents. "I'm impressed you have the logistics already worked out."
"After seeing how he handled himself with small teams, I thought it would be the best way to utilize his skill until he can be trained into an actual commander." Gentiane informed Kryuger.
"Technically," Owen pointed out, "I am an actual commander."
Gentiane snorted, "No, you're not. An actual commander would have gone to the Command Center to command their forces." She pointed an accusatory finger at him, "You are a soldier."
She stared at him for a second, "And as much as I hate to admit it, you're not a half bad soldier."
'Holy shit,' Owen thought, 'was that almost a compliment?'
"Then it's settled." Kryuger announced, "Commander Owen, you will be in charge of quick response and support teams. I want you to fill the gaps left by Commander Gentiane's depleted forces, I also want you to support other Griffin personnel, whether they're fellow commanders, front line reconnaissance teams, or agents in the field." He looked Owen in the eye, "If you have the ability to give aid, you do it son."
Owen nodded, "Consider it done."
Just then the door swung open and Nines and AK-47 ran in waving a tac-pad around frantically. Owen was up and moving towards them before anyone else had time to react, "What's wrong," he asked, "Is it MP-40? Is she…" He trailed off as Nines shook her head frantically.
"She's fine," Nines said quickly before she shoved the tac-pad into Owen's chest, "Someone is trying to hack into your computer!"
Owen was confused as he looked at his tac-pad, "How can you tell?"
Just then the pad chimed and a message popped informing him that his personal laptop registered to Outpost 17 had an unauthorized login and was currently in use. He knew exactly who it was.
"Fucking Al...amateurs." Owen grabbed three sticky notes and a pen off of Gentiane's desk and began scribbling on them, "It would appear I have guests." Owen informed the group as he handed the three notes to AK-47, "If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow a helicopter and some vehicles. I'll scout ahead while the rest of my team drives to the Outpost."
Gentiane looked at Owen like he had grown an extra head.
"Good idea." Kryuger said, "I'm sure Commander Gentiane will be more than willing to assist."
Gentiane let out a frustrated growl, "As long as you don't wreck anything."
"Thanks, come on you two, AK, follow those directions to the letter." With that, the group sprinted out the door.
Gentiane motioned to the empty doorway, "See what I mean?" She said to Kryuger, "It's all 'direct action' with him. Combat experience is good, but he should have sent his team, not gone himself."
She paused in thought, "Why would someone hack a laptop, then sit there and use it at the same place they found it?"
Kryuger said nothing and took a drink..
Owen laid out the plan as they ran through the halls.
"We'll get the pilot to go low and fast and land in the center of the courtyard. As soon as tires touch grass we're out and moving towards my room."
"Why would they be in your room?" Nines asked.
"Because it's something she would do." Owen spat as he jumped over a discarded barrier.
"Who?"
Owen swore before answering, "Alchemist."
Nines stopped and stared at Owen like he was crazy.
Owen and Freya stopped as well, Owen making a 'let's go' gesture with his hand.
Nines glared at Owen, "Why are we taking on a Sangvis ringleader with just the three of us?"
"Well…" Owen thought of how to word his next sentence, "She's not exactly a threat."
"Explain."
Owen rubbed the back of his neck, "She uh...well….shehasathingforme." he mumbled.
"She...you...what?" Nines looked to Freya for help.
Freya said nothing to Nines, instead she turned to Owen, "Alchemist went the other way with Lillith, it's unlikely she's at your outpost."
Owen shook his head and held up a finger, "First of all, whenever anything bad happens to me now, she's involved, always. Second," He held up a second finger, "She said herself that there's about half a million clones of her running around."
"Why does the ringleader, whose mouth you shoved a grenade into, have a thing for you?" Nines asked angrily.
Owen gave a weak grin, "Apparently she's a bit of a freak."
He saw Nines' eye twitch, he took that as a sign it was time to keep moving.
The trio burst outside and Owen saw that Kryuger's SUV was still parked out front. The driver was having a smoke and leaning against the rear bumper. Owen motioned for the girls to get in, and jumped into the driver seat. Kryuger's driver yelled something to them as Owen went to start the vehicle.
"Ah hell." He said when he realized the keys weren't in the ignition.
The driver came to the door and tried to pull Owen out. Owen clamped down on his arm and held the man in place. With his free hand, Owen awkwardly frisked the man until he found the keys in one of his uniform pockets. Keys in hand he let the driver go, unfortunately, the driver took offense to having his vehicle stolen and tried to drag Owen out of the seat. Owen sent an elbow to the driver's face, which caused him to stumble backward. Owen slammed the door closed, started the SUV, and slammed the gas.
He looked in the rearview and saw that Freya and Nines were both staring at him.
"What?"
"Wasn't he an ally?" Nines asked him, concerned.
"Yes, he was, but he was also in my way." Owen said.
"We could have just asked him for a ride." Nines told him.
"We could have, yes." Owen replied.
"Why didn't we?" Nines asked.
"Well, I didn't think of that." Owen admitted.
"Are we allowed to assault designated friendlies to accomplish an objective?" Freya asked.
Owen sighed, "No, you're not."
"You did." Nines deadpanned.
"Do as I say, not as I do." Owen told her.
"That sounds awfully hypocritical." Nines informed him.
"Don't make me pull this car over, young lady."
"You're not my real dad." Nines joked, it was almost a whisper, but it was a joke.
Owen grinned as he brought the SUV to a stop next to the helipad. A Blackhawk was already spinning up by the time they got out of the vehicle.
'Fuck, my rifle.' Owen thought and looked around. By some miraculous twist of fate, a pile of weapons was only twenty yards away from the helipad, next to a pile of bodies that Owen assumed were the owners of the weapons, he did a quick glance to make sure they weren't friendly bodies. They weren't, which meant Owen didn't have to answer any awkward questions like, 'why are you robbing my dead friend of his ammo.' Blessing his most fortuitous luck, he sprinted over, grabbed a rifle, looked like an AN-94, and scavenged the pile of bodies for a chest rig loaded with magazines.
One of the nearby workers looked at him in disgust. Owen looked at the body he had just freed the chest rig from in concern, then back to the worker.
"Hey man," Owen asked, holding up the gear for the worker to see, "Do you think he'll mind if I borrow this if I promise to bring it back?" The worker shook his head and stalked off.
Owen suppressed a grin and jogged back towards the helicopter. He wondered if he was always this fucked in the head or if it had something to do with whatever wiring that weird chick stuck in his brain. Great, now he was second guessing his own brain.
'It probably would have been easier to stay dead.' Owen mused to himself as he stepped into the Blackhawk and put on one of the headsets to tell the pilot it was time to go.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite Commander." Colette's voice rang through his ears.
Owen pulled the microphone away from his mouth and sighed, he then brought it back, "Colette, where's the pilot?"
"Indisposed." She replied.
"Where. Is. The pilot?".
"Don't worry, he's just a little...tied up." Colette said with a suggestive giggle.
Owen shook his head, "You didn't kill him did you?"
"No Owen, I didn't kill him."
"Thank fucking god, let me know when we're close."
"You got it boss!"
Owen leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Colette's voice came through the headset as soon as he did.
"Hey Owen, look alive, we're five minutes out."
Owen shook his head, looked at his watch, and realized he had actually fallen asleep, "Ok, I'm alive." He said, and looked over to see Nines and Freya both staring at him.
That's not creepy at all.
He gave them a thumbs up.
"Want me to circle the outpost?" Colette asked.
"Nope, set it down and cut the power." Owen replied.
"Uh...ok?"
Owen felt his stomach lurch as the Blackhawk descended. Once it was on the ground, Colette killed the engine and Owen stepped out, rifle in hand. Nines and Freya followed suit, Nines looked confused, Freya looked indifferent. Once the blades slowed to a stop and the engine was completely shut down, Owen looked around annoyed. There was no sign of life, artificial or otherwise.
He turned to Freya and Nines and put a finger to his lips, then motioned for them to follow. With Owen in the lead, they moved silently across the grass and entered the living quarters. They didn't take long in clearing the small building. Owen led them back outside and found Colette sitting in front of the Griffin Blackhawk, reading a magazine, and looking bored.
Owen led them through the armory, and still found nothing. He was about to lead them outside when Freya stopped midstep.
"Someone is attempting to gain access to my systems." She informed them.
Owen frowned, "Can you stop them?"
Freya almost looked annoyed, "Of course, I've already locked them out and am trying to trace the signal ba-" she paused, "The signal was cut off at the source, trace unsuccessful."
Owen looked to Nines, "How about you, anyone trying to probe you?"
Nines gave him a look he couldn't place before she answered with a curt, "No."
Owen was felt his irritation grow, "Ok, let's end this fucking charade."
He stepped out of the armory into the night, "Alchemist, get the fuck out here! I don't have time to play these games, woman!"
"Well this is interesting." A voice drifted towards them after a brief silence, "What's a Griffin commander doing at a Griffin outpost, calling out to a Sangvis ringleader like they're old friends?"
Owen spun around to the sound of the voice rifle up, but saw no one.
'Alright, this might not have been the best idea.' he thought, but kept silent.
"Hey Owen?" Colette called from the Blackhawk.
"What?" Owen snapped.
"Can you come here for a sec?"
"Now's really not the best time for your combat induced nymphomania." Owen said in an annoyed voice as he sent a series of hand gestures to Freya and Nines. The two dolls nodded and Owen slowly approached the helicopter. As they approached the tail, Owen split to the right side while Freya and Nines went left. As they converged at the front, Owen saw three figures, twins holding submachine guns, and a taller woman dressed in purple, standing around Colette, who was still sitting on the ground. She was glaring at one of the twins, who held a UMP-45 point blank at her face.
Owen aimed his rifle at the one holding the UMP-45. He in turn had an HK416 and UMP-9 aimed at his head.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." The woman in front of Colette informed him with a voice full of false cheer, "No human wants to die for a doll."
"You shoot my pilot, and I will put you in the dirt." Owen told her casually from behind the sights of his rifle.
"And if you shoot my sister, they will never find your body." The twin holding the UMP-9 told him happily.
"If you touch him, I will beat you to death with your own gun." Nines spat as she and Freya made their move from the other side of the Blackhawk.
"Scheisse!" The woman with the HK416 swore as she spun to face the new threat.
"Orders?" Freya asked, her Winchester aimed at the woman with the HK416.
"Well miss, looks like we got ourselves a Mexican standoff." Owen told the twin with the UMP-45.
She gave him a predatory grin, "Do we?"
Rounds impacted the dirt in between them, followed by the sound of-
"Was that a fucking G11?" Owen asked, "Where the hell did you find one of those?"
The woman's grin turned down right malicious, "Why, want to add to your collection?"
"I mean, yeah. Who wouldn't?"
"Your orders, Sergeant Owen." Freya repeated a little more urgently.
"Slow your roll Freya, we need to find out if I can actually buy a G11."
"Actually, you can shoot me if you want," Colette piped up, "Or him, I don't actually care anymore." With that she went back to her magazine.
"I'm ok with you killing the slu- I mean pilot." Nines whispered.
"Wait, why did she call you Sergeant?" The woman with the HK416 asked confused.
Owen sighed, "I'm not explaining this again."
The woman with the UMP-9 lowered her gun, a confused look on her face, "But we've never met, have we?"
The two women turned to the one holding the UMP-45 who shook her head before muttering, "What the hell is going on?"
"I want the G11, or, a G11." Owen informed her.
"You can't have her." Lady with the HK416 snapped as she tightened her grip on her rifle.
Owen frowned, "I don't care about the shooter, I want the gun itself, I'll give you a different one," He held up his newly acquired rifle, "hell I'll give you this one if you want."
UMP 45 lowered her weapon and gave him a look, "You want the actual weapon?"
"What, like her gun?" UMP-9 asked, confused.
Owen nodded, annoyed, "Yes, I actually want the actual gun."
"So you don't want the doll?"
"The wha-" Owen lowered his rifle, "Oh god dammit, you're dolls."
The three girls shared a look.
"Can...can you not tell?" HK416 asked in shock.
Colette looked up from her magazine, "Yeah, he's not faking, he really can't tell" She licked her thumb, "trust me, I know."
UMP 45, UMP 9, and HK416 looked at Colette, then at Owen, back at Colette, then back at Owen, "No way." Ump 9 said with a smile on her face, "how can you not tell?"
"He's a fucking moron if you ask me." Colette muttered under her breath as she turned a page.
"I can hear you asshole." Owen snapped.
"Fine," Colette said as she stood in a huff, "Then you're a sexy fucking moron, asshole." With that Colette shoved past the three dolls and headed towards the barn.
"What a bitch." HK416 muttered under her breath.
A short form shuffled out of the darkness, one arm clutching a G11, the other, Owen's laptop.
Owen pointed at the girl, "Hey, that's my laptop. Oh, and my new gun!"
G11 looked at Owen, then scurried behind HK416, "He's scary."
UMP 45 blinked several times, trying to make sense of what was going on, "Wait, you're not the commander of this outpost...are you?"
"Yes I am, and you're trespassing, so if you're not here to sell me a new gun," Owen gestured to G11, "give me back my laptop and go back to your own base."
"We don't have a base." G11 murmured sleepily, "If I give you back your laptop can we sleep here tonight?"
"Y'all are homeless? Did your commander kick you out or something?" Owen asked.
UMP 45 stared hard at Owen for several seconds before she spoke, "I'm UMP 45," she gestured to her team, "that's UMP 9, HK416, and G11. We're 404 an-"
Owen snorted, "That's a cute name."
UMP 45 glared at Owen through her one good eye, "We're a freelance team, and we happen to be for hire."
Owen scratched his head, "Wait, so you're a team for hire," UMP 45 nodded, "and you do jobs for a private military contractor?"
"Provided you can actually pay our rates, yes."
"So does that make you a PMC's...PMC?"
UMP 9 giggled.
HK416 muttered something under her breath.
UMP 45 just stared at him for a moment before turning to her team, "Come on ladies, let's find someone who can afford us."
Owen held up his hand, "Now hold on a sec," he pointed to G11, "is what she said true?"
"About what?"
"Yall not having a place to stay."
UMP 45 cocked her head to the side, "I told you, we're not affiliated with Griffin, so no."
Owen nodded, "Alright, stay here for the rest of the night," UMP 45 gave him a look, "You're already here, consider it payment for," he paused, "guarding my outpost while I was away."
G11 immediately started shuffling away, "Thanks." She murmured through a yawn and disappeared.
The other three didn't look so convinced, Owen started to the temporary quarters building and waved his arm to follow, "Follow me, I want to talk to you anyway."
UMP 9 and HK416 looked to UMP 45 who stared at Owen's retreating back.
"If you're worried you can keep your guns and shoot me if you don't trust me." He called without breaking his stride.
UMP 45 shrugged her shoulders and began walking, "What's the worst that can happen?"
"He could kill us." HK416 said coldly.
"He could use us in all sorts of unseemly ways before he sold us to the black market." UMP 9 told her.
"Then let's take his advice shall we?" UMP 45 said with a malicious grin, "If I don't like what he says, we kill him."
Owen made it to the entrance of the building before he turned back around and almost collided with most of 404.
"Uh, little space?" He said as he stepped around them to yell at Nines and Freya, "By the way, the rest of our group is on their way with supplies, anything AK-47 has on her vehicle goes directly into the barn, got it!?"
"Got it!" Nines yelled back.
Owen turned back to 404, "Ladies, if you'll please follow me."
"He's such a gentleman." UMP 9 stage whispered, but no one responded.
Owen led them to his office/living-quarters combo and turned on the light, only to find G11 sprawled on his bed. Owen looked at her in confusion for half a second before remembering who she saw. He then motioned to the others, "Y'all can sit there, I guess."
Only UMP 9 took the offer, HK416 stood by the door, weapon held tight, and UMP 45 did a lap around the room while Owen propped his rifle against the wall and heaved himself into the chair at his desk and spun it around to face the group.
"So," he began.
"So," HK416 repeated, "so what, why bring us here?"
Owen looked around, "Uh, I was about to get to that."
"What 416 is trying to say is," UMP 45 said, "Why are you not upset about random dolls running around your outpost."
Owen shrugged, "I left it unsecured, that's on me."
Owen leaned forward in his chair and stared at the floor then looked at the group, "I have an offer for you, you can say no at any time and I'll drop it, no questions asked."
UMP 45 said nothing, instead she motioned for him to continue.
"While you're in the area, you can consider this as a safe house of sorts, I'll have emergency supplies, spare parts, and ammo for all of you," he motioned to G11 who was starting snore softly, "even miss caseless wonder over there."
Owen continued, "Come and go as you please, tell me you're here or not, I don't care. I'll do a daily check of the supplies to see if you used them, if not," he shrugged, "Oh well."
HK416 snorted in disbelief, "Yeah right."
UMP 9 looked thoughtful, "It would be nice to have a dedicated resupply every now and then."
UMP 45 stared at Owen, but said nothing. Owen looked at UMP 9 who just grinned and shrugged.
"What's the catch?" UMP 45 finally asked.
"No catch, no strings attached. I'm not saying you have to live here, I'm saying that you have a place to rest and rearm between, or during, jobs." Owen said.
"I get that," UMP 45 said, shaking her head, "but why are you doing it, what do you get?"
Owen sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, he didn't want to play twenty questions, he wanted to sleep. He looked at the closet where his old army dress uniform was, and looked back at UMP 45.
"While I don't know exactly what you guys do, I can take a pretty good guess, and I know how it feels to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing but what you've rucked in." Owen shrugged, "Like I said before, I'm not saying you have to live here, but you lack logistics," he grinned, "and I lack proper adult supervision, so if a certain team of guns for hire decided to crash here once every blue moon, literally no one would notice but me and the team."
"We'll stay the night and be gone tomorrow." UMP 45 said, then walked out of the room.
"Also, thanks," UMP 9 said, "You're not bad for a Griffin commander."
Owen grinned, "I've recently been informed that I'm not actually a commander."
UMP 9 snickered, "It shows."
HK416 said nothing as she scooped up G11, she then turned to Owen, gave him a single nod, and left. UMP 9 gave him a wave and followed close behind. Owen stood, and closed his door.
"Thank fucking god." Owen said as he threw himself on his bed, kicked off his boots, and passed out.
Author Notes: So, good news, I'm not dead. Also, I gots me a shiny new beta reader.
"Whiskey, you devilishly handsome yet illiterate bastard, how did you get a beta reader?"
An excellent question dear reader and here's how, I went to the nearest crossroads, kept summoning demons until I found one who didn't know about the blackened dead thing called my soul, asked for a beta reader, told said demon "no takebacks" and wham, bam, thank you ma'am, I got an email the next day from my beta reader who told me I was illiterate and needed help. He even wanted to say hi. See below:
Beta Reader Notes: Well, yes, but actually no
To quote off a certain Payday character after helping him rewrite the whole story… "AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH I NEED A MEDIC BAG!"
Also, enjoy the re-written story in all it's grammar mistake-free state.
Also also: NotaSingleChance, it was indeed a Nier reference. Now go get him~
MY GOD HE'S EDITING MY NOTES