A note on Freya: She is about 5ft 7in (170cm) tall with a tomboyish build. Her eyes are red with rings in the iris that glow green. She was designed as an infiltration/direct action combat doll for the Western Military during the war using schematics stolen from Sangvis Ferris. Her series was used almost exclusively by Special Forces units for her versatility, durability, and ability to blend into heavily populated areas. Because of the nature of missions this unit was utilized in, doubled with the high casualty rate of Special Forces units, very few units of her series survived the war.
(This description is provided for an individual who has an eye fetish. You know who you are.)
NotaSingleChance: No, do it again. Harder.
Johnny Wycliffe: MP-40 fared a lot better than a certain other SMG in a certain other story that I am in no way bitter about. At all. Youheartlessbastard.
Sagittipotenta: I live in a world devoid of realism. It's warm here.
Ctrlalta: I rewrote the beginning of the story. It's pretty different if you first read it when I first posted the story.
RedSS: I agree with the ending with 404 being rushed. I'll try to work on that in the future.
I feel bad for my beta, but not bad enough to make his job easier. (I kid beta, please don't leave me)
Also, glad you're still hanging around.
Beta Reader: I joked about retiring beta reading in another story I beta read. Whiskey here almost freaked out. Funniest shit I've ever done.
Anyway, on with the show.
Chapter 14: Training Ground
- Sector 09 -
- The Armory -
- 2 Days After Assault on S09 Base -
"But, I don't want it." Owen stated, handing the rifle back to the large Quartermaster.
"I don't give a damn what you want, I saw what you did to the rifle I gave you," Hayes growled, "the magazine well was bent and I couldn't get the mag out without..." he paused, "help."
"I was almost ghosted by an off-brand ringleader." Owen said in his defense, "Most people would have died and got their rifle busted. I just settled for one option."
"Yeah," Hayes said as he shoved the battered M16A4 back to Owen, "the wrong option. Now take this weapon and get the hell out of my armory."
Owen inspected the rifle, "Man, the rifling is shot out and this trigger is ass."
Hayes said nothing, just pointed to the door.
Owen tried to object again, but Hayes cut him off, "Nope. You can try again next week." a grin broke out on the burly man's face, "Maybe I'll feel more charitable by then."
"And maybe rainbows will fly out my ass." Owen muttered as he looked solemnly down at his worn out rifle with a sigh then walked out to find Nines waiting on him.
"What's wrong?" Nines asked, her face showing her concern.
Owen said nothing as he adjusted the sling on the rifle to the length he wanted, then slung it on his back.
He turned to Nines, his jaw working as if he was trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say, his eyes intense, like they bored into her core. She felt her chest tighten as she gazed on his intense features.
"Nines," he began softly, Nines leaned closer, hanging onto his words, "I think I'm fucking cursed."
Nines blinked and shook her head, "I'm sorry?"
Owen moved the shoulder his rifle was slung on, "This is what," he paused counting on his fingers, "my fifth or sixth weapon?"
Nines kept shaking her head, "I don't…"
Owen held up his hand, "Do you know how many weapons I went through during all of my deployments? Two." He wiggled two fingers, "And one of those I lost in a helicopter crash."
He shook his head sadly and walked away from the armory, "I'm telling ya, I'm cursed Nines. Doomed to walk the earth without a good weapon."
- T-Doll Repair Bay -
Nines looked over the remnants of the battle that took place between Owen and Lillith in the repair bay. Owen pointed to where Freya had fast pitched the red headed psycho through the wall, which was covered by a thin plastic sheet that occasionally flapped in the breeze.
Owen nudged Nines, "Man, you missed one helluva party when you took off."
Nines glared at him and said nothing.
Owen ignored the look and wandered around the repair bay until he found an exhausted looking technician wrapping a T-dolls leg in gauze.
"If she needs work done, find an empty bed and have her wait until someone can look her over, if not," The tech said without looking away from her work, "If you're here to drop off a Doll's core, place it on the table and I'll take it from there."
Owen felt Nines bristle beside him.
"Damn." Was all he said.
"You'll have to forgive her," The injured T-Doll told Owen apologetically, "She hasn't had her coffee yet."
Owen held his hands up in a placating gesture, "Actually, I'm here to see if there's been any progress on MP-40?"
The tech stopped and looked at Owen for the first time, "Oh, you're the one who threatened my boss."
Owen thought back to when he had brought MP-40 to the repair bay after the battle, he had a vague memory of pulling his gun when someone told him it would be more efficient to just do a clean slate install of a new core instead of trying to retrieve and transfer the data from the existing core.
Actually, he remembered pointing his pistol at a lot of people.
"You're gonna have to narrow that down a bit." Owen admitted.
The technician let out a tired snort and pointed to a set of doors that led further into the repair bay, "She's through there."
Owen nodded his thanks and left the way the tech pointed.
"She was cheerful." Owen remarked.
Nines grumbled something under her breath but said nothing.
"What's your deal?" Owen asked his companion.
Nines kept her gaze straight ahead, "She kept giving you...looks."
"Looks." Owen repeated, "You mean the tech?"
Nines shook her head, "No, the doll, she gave you the same looks Colette gives you."
"What kind of-" Owen began, but was cut off when he pushed the door open.
"KOMMANDANT OWEN!"
As soon as he stepped through the door, MP-40 sprinted across the bay and launched herself at her unsuspecting prey.
"Oof!" Owen was thrown to the floor as MP-40, clad in nothing but a hospital gown, latched herself to him.
"DANKE DANKE DANKE DANKE DANKE DANKE!" She yelled over and over, planting a kiss on his face every time she spoke.
"You saved me from having my memory wiped! You were sad when you thought I died!" MP-40 told him.
She leaned back, legs straddling his chest and placed his her hand to her chest, pushing the thin medical gown between her...assets, "My core, my heart, is still intact because of you Kommandant," she leaned back down and shoved his head where her core was, "the only reason I am still me is because of you!" She hugged his head tight into her chest.
Owen tried to muffle something to the effect of not being able to breathe.
"Ich liebe dich auch, mein Kommandant." She purred as she tried to pull him through her gown.
MP-40 was going to do something an entire world war could not.
Her chest was going to kill Owen.
"What are you doing, you're naked." Nines growled as she used the stock of her weapon to try and pry the excitable and mostly nude adjutant off of Owen.
"Eh?" MP-40 turned to Nines.
"You're killing him, you idiot." Nines said as she gently knocked MP-40 in the head with her stock.
"Ow."
"You deserved it." Nines said.
MP-40 rubbed her head, tears in her eyes, "I thought we were friends."
Nines felt a pang in her chest as she thought back to the evening MP-40 went out of her way to make Nines feel welcomed, "We are, but I just think…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say.
Owen took advantage of the silence to speak up, "Hey, MP-40?"
MP-40's eyes lit up at her name, "Ja, Kommandant?"
"Want to get off, please?"
MP-40 blushed and buried her hands in her face, "Kommandant Owen, I mean...I had thought about it, but I'm not sure...well...since you asked…"
Owen sighed, "MP-40."
MP-40 peeked at Owen between her fingers, "Ja Kommandant, I am ready."
"I meant get off of me."
MP-40 blushed even harder and stood straight up, giving Owen a full view of everything under her gown. He immediately turned his head to the side and faced the wall.
"Where is your uniform?" Owen asked, still facing the wall.
"I had just woken up a short while ago," MP-40 explained, looking down at Owen, "I haven't had a chance to get my clothes back."
"I see." Owen replied as he studied the scuff marks on the white wall, "Nines, will you please escort MP-40 to an area not directly above me?"
Nines immediately grabbed MP-40's shoulder and guided her away from Owen.
"I'll send you a message when she's decent." Nines called behind her as she led MP-40 away.
Owen noticed that MP-40s' gown had bunched up, leaving her exposed, and Owen's gaze was frozen in place. More out of surprise than anything, MP-40 was surprisingly well rounded.
Good for you, Owen thought as he stood with a groan, rubbing his back where he landed on his rifle.
Stop that, he chastised himself.
She threw herself on me, practically naked.
That doesn't mean you can just stare at her like that.
Why am I talking to myself?
Persica induced schizophrenia.
That made sense.
"Are you okay?" A voice asked, full of concern.
Owen turned to find Miss Hole-in-the-leg staring at him with an equal amount of concern on her face. He wondered if she would be okay with him looking…
Not even a little.
Owen shook his head, "Yeah," He told the doll, "Just have a backache."
The T-doll's face became grave, "Oh dear, it sounds like you need coffee."
Owen nodded slowly as he saw the wisdom in her words, "I think you might be right."
The T-Doll's face lit up, "Excellent, I know the perfect place."
"Lead the way, miss…" He almost said Holy Leg, but thought better of it.
The T-Ddoll giggled, "Such a gentleman, call me Springfield."
Owen held out an arm, "I am the very image of gentlemanly conduct Miss Springfield, and please, call me Owen."
Springfield giggled again, "It seems to me that you're more a ladies man than a gentleman, Owen." she said as she slipped her arm through his and they started walking.
You're more of a manwhore.
MP-40 was not my fault.
Colette was.
That was different.
Nines is.
Owen wished he could get something stronger than coffee to make the voice shut up. He made a mental note to replace the vodka he stole from AK-47 earlier that day before she realized it was gone.
- Outpost 17 -
"WHICH ONE OF YOU MOTHERLESS WHORES STOLE MY STOLICHINAYA!?" AK-47 screamed from the barn.
Colette rubbed her eyes and peered down from the top of one of the vehicles. The Russian doll had pulled the seats out of one of the Russian IFVs and was currently slashing the passenger seat open with her bayonet.
Colette filed this situation under 'not her fucking problem', yawned, and went back to sleep.
- Sector 09 Cafe -
"And that's how I avoided my third marriage before I was 21." Owen finished his story.
Springfield let out a laugh as she carried two steaming cups over to the bar and placed one in front of Owen before sitting next to him with a cup of her own.
"I never understood why so many young men tried to marry..." Springfield paused, looking for the right words.
"Strippers?" Owen asked, a grin on his face.
Springfield nodded and grinned as well, not knowing what else to say.
Owen took a sip of coffee and gave an appreciative sigh before he leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "I can't speak for everyone, but for me, well," he gave a wistful grin as he continued to look up, "The first was Irish and a real nice girl, she really was trying to pay for college."
He sighed as he leaned forward and took another drink, "But she didn't like the idea of following me around duty station to duty station," he paused, "Actually we still chat occasionally." Owen frowned, "Well we did, before my incident."
"The other two were a mix of alcohol, crazy nights, and a desire to use me for my benefits." Owen admitted.
"I didn't know you were such a romantic, Commander Owen." A voice called from behind.
Owen turned to see Gentiane standing behind him with an amused look on her face. She waved a greeting to Springfield and joined them at the bar.
"How long have you been there?" Owen asked.
"Stripper wife number one." She replied.
Springfield tried to cover her laugh again as she stood, "Would you like your usual Commander?"
"If it's not too much trouble Springy, I have another long day ahead of me." Gentiane said as she leaned forward and smacked her forehead on the bar.
With a tired groan she turned head to face Owen, "So, what brings you back to my never ending nightmare?"
"I just need some supplies." Owen told her.
Gentiane gave him the 'are you fucking serious' look, "Like what?"
Owen pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and slid it towards Gentiane. She lifted her head off the bar top and grabbed the paper. Her face went from tired to confused as she went down the list.
"Why do you need all of this, paint rou-" her eyes narrowed, "a fucking helicopter?"
"I got a pilot with no bird and a team with nowhere to train."
Gentiane placed her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples. "I'll see what I can do, but don't expect miracles."
- One month later -
- Dead City Outskirts -
- Misfit Tactical Operations Center -
Owen sat under a ratty milsurp tent in the center of an abandoned courtyard. Various chunks of concrete and rubble were arranged as makeshift furniture. He sat with his legs kicked up on a chunk of concrete rebar. A tac pad in one hand, a canteen cup of instant coffee in the other. His M16A4, with a new chrome lined barrel and trigger group tactically acquired from Hayes' armory, rested at his side. Freya stood next to him, ESG-16 cradled in her arms.
On his tac-pad was the feed from four nano drones, also surplus. Three feeds showed his teams moving into position, one hovered over the TOC. Owen saw movement on the edge of the feed from the TOC drone, then the feed cut out. The others followed one after the other.
Freya looked at Owen who was currently packing a tin of Black Bear chewing tobacco in one hand as he drained his coffee with the other.
"Yeaaah," he sighed, "Looks like we've got company." He told her as he shoved some of the tobacco in his mouth and keyed up the group comm.
"Game time Misfits, we're about to lose comms, so shut up and listen up."
Freya subtly held up four fingers, then made a gesture to say they were surrounding the TOC. He nodded.
"Intel shows the intel we need was abandoned at one of three locations." Owen explained to the teams as they moved into position, "Find it and we get the location of the enemy HQ, then it's game over. The rest of this sector will fold like a house of cards and we can finally go home. Team leaders, execute at your discretion. Good luck, Misfit Actual out."
As soon as he finished speaking, Owen jumped up and grabbed his rifle before he and Freya sprinted off into the night.
- Misfit Team 1 -
- Before Mission Start -
"Good luck, Misfit Actual out."
G3 frowned as she looked at the unlit single story building before her. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. She gave a small shake of her head and turned to her team. With the exception of their eyes scanning for anything out of place, not a single doll moved. She moved forward and tried the door to see if it was unlocked and found that it was. She quickly went over the plan in her head one last time before giving the order.
"Team 1, begin operation."
SKS, Nagant, SIG-510, and Garand followed G3 into the building. Once inside, her team went through each room quickly and efficiently. The entire building was cleared in minutes. G3 took a moment to marvel at how much everyone at Outpost 17 had improved in the last few days.
Not the time for that. She reprimanded herself.
"Target's not here." SIG announced.
G3 nodded, but the feeling was still here, "Set up a defensive perimeter while I contact Kommandant Owen." She said, "Be ready to move, I have a feeling we're going to need to support one of the other teams soon."
"You got it." SIG said and walked away.
G3 took one more look around the building they were in before opening a comm link.
"Misfit Actual this is Misfit 1-1, building is clear, no sign of the Ringleader. We are waiting for further instructions."
Static.
G3 felt a ball form in her stomach, "Misfit Actual, this is Misfit 1-1, do you copy?"
More static, she moved outside and tried again.
No luck.
"Scheiße." She muttered as she closed the link.
"Everyone be on your guard," she announced as she met up with her team. "I'm unable to contact the Kommandant, no doubt thanks to our 'friends' in the area."
"Great," Nagant moaned, "Owen's probably dead, we're stranded behind enemy lines, and I'm going to starve!" She threw her hands up in defeat, "It's Stalingrad all over again!" She cried out.
"Don't even joke like that." SKS snapped, "Owen is going to be fine," she paused, "and you were never at Stalingrad."
"Quiet," SIG barked, "Both of you, set me up a perimeter."
"But-" Nagant began to protest.
"Now!"
SKS immediately complied. Nagant complied as well, but slower, and with more groaning and moaning.
"Since you can't get ahold of Owen," Garand asked, chewing her thumb "What's our play?"
"In the event we lose contact with our command element," G3 explained, "We are to locate the nearest friendly units and do our best to assist them until we can make it back to Outpost 17."
Relief flooded Garand's features, "That's a damn sight better than just shutting down in a hostile area and hoping for the best." She said darkly.
G3 found herself nodding at the statement. She heard Nagant call out to SKS.
"Nearest friendlies are Team 2, they're about a block and a half away." SIG informed them, "And we can get there in no time, if we run." She finished with a knowing look to G3.
G3 frowned, she knew what SIG was saying. It was dark, they were in an urban environment, and they didn't know the area that well. Plenty of places for a ringleader to ambush them.
"Comrades, you should come see this, I found something!" Nagant's voice rang through the night and snapped G3 from her thoughts.
G3, SIG-510, and Garand found SKS and Nagant standing next to a large... thing.
"Nagant," SIG began hesitantly, "What is it?"
"No idea!" Nagant announced proudly as she poked it with the barrel of her revolver, "It was just sitting here in the middle of the street, I thought it was a piece of abandoned equipment, but look at the paint, it's new!"
G3 studied the large round object more closely and noticed that it did have a fresh coat of red and black paint. It also had four mechanical legs, two arms and two lights where eyes should be.
She leaned forward and looked at the things 'face', "What is it?" She wondered aloud.
The two eyes lit up an ominous red and raised itself off the ground. Garand, SIG, and SKS raised their weapons.
"Golyat online," it announced in a high mechanical voice, it's eyes glowing brighter and brighter, "Team leader located, activating self destruct sequence in 3...2...1."
It paused and everyone collectively let out a sigh of reli-
"Have a pleasant day."
"Blyaaat." Nagant groaned before a blinding light enveloped the team.
- Misfit Team 2 -
- Before Mission Start -
"Good luck, Misfit Actual out."
Makarov and her team were already moving past the stone perimeter wall of the abandoned firehouse before Owen was finished speaking. SVT and AK-47 ran ahead of everyone else to one of the roll-up doors. As SVT slung her weapon and raised the door a little, AK laid on her side with her weapon pointed into the vehicle bay.
"Clear." She said and waved Makarov, Spectre, and M3 through. Once they were inside, she rolled under the door into the vehicle bay, rose to one knee, and held the door for SVT to enter before gently closing the garage door. The vehicle bay was illuminated by moonlight from a pair of skylights, one over each truck.
Once inside the team cleared the vehicle bay and moved past the two ZIL firetrucks and into the kitchen area of the station. Once cleared, they moved from the living area, to the weight room, showers, and finally, the sleeping quarters.
Once it was certain that the firehouse was empty, Makarov walked out of the room to report their findings to Owen.
AK-47 let out a frustrated sigh as she plopped down onto one of the steel beds, which creaked and groaned in protest to being used for the first time in years.
"Nothing," she spat, "I was hoping we would be the first ones to bag a ringleader."
SVT placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get our chance."
AK-47 waved her hand dismissively and muttered under her breath.
M3 bounced on the balls of her toes, "I-I'm excited just to be running a mission with you guys," the former adjutant said excitedly, "This new Commander seems a lot nicer than R- t-than the old o-one."
Spectre smiled at the excitable doll, "I'm glad your back, the Outpost hasn't been the same without you."
"Owen's definitely one of the best Commanders we've had," AK added, "Only that crazy svoloch would come with us on a mission in this hell hole."
Makarov walked back in with a frown on her face.
"What happened?" SVT asked grimly.
Makarov shook her head, "Nothing yet, but I was unable to contact Commander Owen."
Before anyone could respond, an explosion was heard not far away. Makarov thought it sounded like…
The wail of a siren from one of the ZIL fire engines pierced the air. The team sprinted back to the vehicle bay to see the blue light on the far vehicle flashing. The team moved towards the vehicle and AK turned it off.
"I thought this place was abandoned?" Spectre asked, "How do these things still have power left in them?"
SVT looked at the lights and frowned as her eyes followed a wire that ran from the lights and siren, to the front of the truck. She walked to the point where the wire ran out of sight and found a Dinergate huddled behind the passenger side tire, shaking in fear, with a bundle of wires hooked into it.
SVT clicked her tongue at the sight and began removing the wires, the task completed, the truck fell silent, and SVT explained to the team what she found, still clutching the scared Dinergate.
"I'm keeping it." She told Makarov in a tone that dared argument.
Makarov snorted gently through her nose, but nodded.
"Fine, but we need to investigate that explosion, it sounded fairly close and…"
She was interrupted by the sounds of feet shuffling outside of the vehicle bay.
"Find cover, quickly." Makarov ordered.
Team 2 spread out through the bay and quickly set all of their weapons on the garage doors. More shuffling and now voices could be heard as their attackers tried to lay an ambush.
The attack came not from the front, but from above. The other attackers they never saw coming. Flashbangs were thrown in through the skylights and did their job against Makarov's team.
Before anyone could react, heavy incoming fire crashed around them. AK rolled on her back and tried to return fire, but was hit first. SVT dropped from the truck she was perched on and tried to roll under it, but no sooner than she hit the floor, the garage doors rolled up and the group they heard earlier joined the firefight.
SVT rolled under the truck, narrowly avoiding a burst aimed her way, and returned fire. She scored three successive hits before she was finally hit. The little Dinergate was hit as well.
M3 went down next. She fired a rapid fire burst at one of AK's attackers, hitting one, but drawing the attention of the other. She finished reloading and opened fire on the second skylight attacker. The second attacker opened fire on her at the exact same time and both parties were hit.
The two remaining Misfits from Team 2 were holding their own and slowly making their way back towards the kitchen area when Makarov and Spectre's guns ran dry at the same time.
The remains of the enemy ground team took advantage of the lull and pushed into the vehicle bay, firing as they went. Spectre saw this and pushed Makarov into the kitchen area and took a burst in her back.
Makarov kicked over a kitchen table, aimed her weapon at the doorway, and waited. The first attacker moved through the door and was immediately dropped from multiple rounds to the chest. Makarov waited for the other, but heard a quiet swish of fabric from behind. She whirled to meet her attacker, but was shot before she finished turning.
The attack on Team Two lasted ninety seconds.
- Misfit Team 3 -
- Before Mission Start -
"Good luck, Misfit Actual out."
Nines looked at the building in front of her, she didn't know why, but this whole operation felt wrong. She shook her doubts from her head and gave the signal.
The team, Nines, M500, K11, Uzi, and MP-40 stacked up at the rear door of the target building.
M500 held her namesake next to the lock on the wooden door and nodded that she was ready, her ears twitched in anticipation. A feeling in Nines' core made her hesitate.
Burying her doubts, she nodded to M500 who started the breach. A shotgun blast and a boot heel later, the door was open and bouncing back as the dolls behind them flowed into the room, guns up and looking for targets. Nothing.
"Finally." A voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"I've been waiting forever for you all to show up~" The voice announced happily, "I've been bored~!"
The rest of the floor was the same. As the team moved up the stairs the feeling in Nines' core was pinging through the roof. They moved quickly to the second floor and Nines was beginning to think their target had slipped through her fingers again.
M500 took point as they moved up the stairs, her ballistic shield ready for an ambush that never came.
"Contact front!"
M500 cried out and sprinted as fast as she could down the hallway. Nines looked and saw nothing except darkness.
"M500 wait!" Nines yelled, but it was too late, M500 was already in the room.
Nines motioned to her team and they moved to cover the shotgunner. As they neared the doorway, M500 was thrown back out into the hallway.
She looked at Nines, joy in her eyes and grin on her face, before she adjusted her grip on her shotgun, moved her back shield into place and sprinted back inside.
Shotgun blasts roared from the room, followed by someone cackling maniacally. Then M500 started laughing too.
Nines faltered a little, and before she could help, K11 shoulder checked her out of the way.
"Let's finish this!" K11 as she tried to launch a grenade into the room.
Nines batted K11's rifle down before she could, "M500 is in there you moron!" Nines hissed through a clenched jaw.
Just then, M500 was thrown back out into the hallway, "Oh no you don't!" She yelled gleefully before Nines grabbed her by the shoulder so she wouldn't run off again.
As M500 tugged and tried to get around Nines, MP-40 and Uzi both covered the doorway. That's when they heard the telltale sound of an M230 being fired and everyone turned to watch as a 40mm grenade soared from the room and landed directly in the middle of them.
"Not again." Nines groaned before it hit the floor and detonated.
- Owen and Freya -
"All three teams are down, no word on our evac." Freya announced in a monotone as rounds impacted their cover.
Owen finished his mag and ducked back down, "Mag out," he announced as he reloaded, "That was fast, all three?"
"Yes, and it is likely that the enemy is converging on our location." She informed him and ignored his question. She glanced to where Owen was shooting, "Miss. Adjust left."
"Thanks." Owen grunted as he made the adjustment, "Fuck yeah, got em."
"It would be easier for me to give you adjustments like that in real time if you would…" Owen cut her off before she could finish.
"Fuck no, I had a migraine for three days after you hijacked my brain, I'm keeping that shit turned off until we can figure out how to use it safely."
Freya turned to regard him, her red eyes studying him intently. If Owen didn't know better, there was amusement on her face, "As you wish."
He spat and ducked back down as someone else started firing at them.
"Well, no sense in continuing this anymore." Owen groaned, "Go nuts Freya, hopefully I'll last long enough for Colette to come get me."
Freya nodded and wordlessly stood up, adjusted her weapon, and stepped off the edge of the roof. The sounds of her ESG-16 firing full auto, followed by shouting and rifle fire drifted up from street level, before fading off into the distance.
"Show off." Owen muttered as he watched a grenade land at his feet.
He lazily kicked it over the edge of the building and heard a yelp of surprise from the ground before it detonated.
The ruins around him fell silent, save for the occasional roar from Freya's weapon. He was glad she had it, but Owen had to admit, he hated that fucking gun. As he thought that, he heard Freya jump onto the roof behind him from the taller building adjacent to his.
"Finished already?" He asked as he scanned the area for more targets.
Freya didn't answer, and he heard her shotgun go off nearby. As in not directly behind him.
He turned and saw what might as well have been the grim reaper.
She stood there, red eyes, blonde hair with a red stripe, black coat, and a weirdly cheerful grin showing fangs. She waved merrily with her clawed left hand, while her firing hand pointed her weapon at him.
"Hiya Owen, I found you~!"
"Looks like it." Owen said, feigning cheerfulness, "You here to help get me out of here?"
Sop's grin widened a little, so did her eyes.
Yep, he thought to himself, I'm dead.
"Actually, Gentiane sent me to eliminate one of your teams," she giggled, "she told me you were an extra bonus!"
Owen fake laughed, "Ahahaha, well ain't that fucking swell."
He snapped his rifle up and fired the instant Sop's off hand moved to the trigger of her M203. Owen dove to the side, the grenade sailing harmlessly over the edge of the roof. As soon as he hit the roof, he kept firing until Sop was forced to move behind a roof vent.
"You're putting up quite the fight!" Sop praised him.
Owen pulled the pin, popped the spoon on a grenade, and lobbed it at her, she just laughed and fast pitched it back.
"Shit!" Owen yelled as he ducked under the ballistic grenade which detonated just behind him.
He checked his back to see if he had been hit, he was good. He turned back to see Sop sprinting towards him. Her eyes fixed on him like a rabid wolf looking at a crippled fawn.
"Hoo boy." He muttered and snapped his rifle back up.
Owen fired as fast as he could, forcing Sop to dart to and from, dodging every round. To Owen's dismay, she darted towards him.
"Fucking stand still!" He yelled in frustration as the bolt locked back on his weapon.
"I will when you're dead!" She laughed in response and dove at him.
Right before she connected, he rolled to his back, jabbed her with the barrel of his rifle, then used her momentum to throw her away.
He jumped up and sprinted to the edge of the roof that was next to an alley. He risked a look over the edge and saw a rusted, old delivery truck parked beneath him, but no enemies.
"Well, that's convenient." He panted, out of breath.
He turned to me look back at Sop who was getting back to her feet, rubbing her stomach as she did.
"Man, Owen, that really hurt, did you ha-" she froze as she saw him near the edge. She held up her clawed hand in a calming gesture. "Wait, Owen, don't jump, just let me shoot you!"
He waited just long enough to flip her off and dove onto the box of the truck. He heard Sop yell as he rolled on the box, misjudged the distance, and continued his roll off of the truck.
He hit the dirt road of the alley on his back and had the wind knocked out of him. He lay there wheezing as he heard Sop jump off the rooftop and start running towards him, yelling frantically.
"Owen just killed himself!"
I think I really did.
A plan quickly formed in his mind on how to escape the hell hound approaching him. It wasn't exactly the nicest plan, but as long as he survived, he could live with it.
Owen, held his breath, kept his eyes open, found a star in the sky, and stared at it unblinking.
"Oh no oh no oh no, please don't be dead, I'm sorry!" Sopmod yelled and started to cry.
Her sobbing face filled his vision and he almost felt sorry for what happened next.
Almost.
As quick as his augmented body would let him, he drew his pistol from it's holster and fired into her chest as soon as she knelt down. She recoiled backwards and Owen used the opportunity to leap to his feet and sprint away like a madman, rifle in his left hand, pistol in his right.
"Sorry!" He yelled as he ran.
Owen holstered the pistol, opened a comm link, and reloaded the rifle.
"Colette, where the fuck are you?" He whisper yelled into his mic.
"Just breakin the new girl in, what's up?" Colette responded casually, he could hear music blaring in the background and M2 singing along.
A round whizzed past Owen's head as he finished reloading. He swore, turned, raised his rifle, and fired at the offending shooter. A long string of cuss words let him know he found his mark.
Jesus, how many dolls did they send after his teams?
"Lock onto my transponder and get me the fuck out of here." He ordered her as he pulled the small transponder out of his cargo pocket and mashed the button.
"Okay, I'm about ten minutes away." She replied as soon as she picked up on the signal.
Owen paused beside what used to be a small coffee shop to catch his breath. He frowned as he thought about what she told him.
"The only way it would take more than five minutes," he thought aloud as he peered around the corner of the abandoned shop, "is if you weren't in your assigned area."
"Oh good, you figured it out on your own," Colette replied without a hint of apology, "saves me the effort of having to explain it."
"Uh, Colette," Owen began, "why the fuck are you so far away?"
"Oh, umm, there were enemy anti-air assets in the area." She reported in an official tone.
"The fuck there was."
"I got lost?"
"The fuck you did!"
"Fuck dude, calm your tits, it's not like you're in real danger."
Owen scanned the abandoned buildings around him before he took a deep breath, and pulled out his tacmap. He quickly moved through the screens and found his location on the map.
"How far are you from the backup LZ?" he asked, forcing the calm into his voice.
"Not far, I can meet you there in five."
"Okay, I'll meet you at the backup, I'll pop blue smoke when I'm there."
"See you soon."
"Yeah yeah." Owen said and killed the connection.
As the first hints of sunlight started to appear above him, Owen took one last look around his surroundings before sprinting down the street as fast as he could. He was unaware of the figure dashing after him.
- Misfit TOC -
- Five minutes later -
At the secondary LZ, a group of T-Dolls laid in wait, ready to take the Misfit Commander's only chance at escape out of the equation.
Owen watched this from the roof of a building overlooking the courtyard of his former makeshift Operations Center, which was a kilometer away from where the smoke was rising. Freya stood next to him, having beaten him to their rendezvous, watching blue smoke drift lazily in the air.
"You were right," she remarked, sounding almost impressed through her usual monotone, "they had our communications tapped."
Owen nodded, but said nothing as he replayed the events of the night through his head.
The distinctive whump whump whump of Colette's 'new' helo could be heard in the distance.
He pulled a smoke canister from a pouch on his vest, and pulled the pin before underhanding it into the courtyard below. It bounced and landed near the milsurp tent they had set up for their short lived TOC.
"Have to admit, I wasn't expecting to see Sop here," Owen remarked as they made their way down to the courtyard.
"Agreed." Freya said once they were on the ground, "It's a shame M4A1 wasn't around. If they had worked together, there was no way you would have survived."
"Who's side are...wait." Owen froze mid step when she said that. He brought his rifle up and started scanning rooftops. The only thing he saw was Colette's new UH-1 circling above.
Satisfied, he lowered his rifle.
"I actually forgot about M4." Owen admitted to Freya as the Huey came in to land in the courtyard, causing smoke to whip wildly through the air.
Freya said something in response, but the helicopter drowned it out.
Owen took one more look around the courtyard and saw movement in a doorway. He immediately brought his rifle up and fired a burst into the doorway. As he did, he felt something punch his chest and knock him on his ass. He grunted in surprise and looked down to see red splattered on his chest.
He'd been hit.
He looked up and saw M4A1 standing in the doorway, red on her chest as well. She walked over to him, an apologetic look on her face. She held out her hand to help him up.
Owen shook his head and swore. Then he started laughing and grabbed M4's hand. M4 looked surprised as she hoisted him to his feet.
A long low tone sounded in his headset.
"All stations, all stations. End exercise. Opfor has been eliminated. Everyone still in the training grounds, report back to base for debrief. Good work ladies, you did good." Gentiane's voice announced.
Owen slapped M4A1's shoulder playfully and gestured to the spot the paint round hit him, " Nice shot."
M4 gave an uneasy smile, "Thank you."
"Is there anyone else from your side around?" Owen asked.
M4 shook her head.
"Come on, we'll give you a ride back to base." Owen said and led her to the Huey where Freya sat waiting.
Once everyone was settled, the Huey started to rise into the air.
Colette switched her frequency to talk to the air controller for S09 Base. "Sector Oh-Nine ATC, this is Valkyrie, climbing to five thousand feet above Dead City and en bound direct from the south east."
"Copy that Valkyrie, heard you guys lost the exercise."
"Yeah, I blame bad leadership." Colette said with a grin.
"Hate to see it, see you on the ground Valkyrie."
She looked back and saw Owen had already passed out. He always did crash out hard when he flew. Colette asked him about that once when they first met, he told her that things were out of his hands once they lifted off. If he died he died.
Colette smiled at the memory. It was a good one, before Owen was put in charge of a team. Before she lost three of her friends.
Before a lot of things.
She sighed and looked down to see a column of vehicles following the long dirt road back to the base.
"Man I'm glad I don't have to ride everywhere in those." She muttered to herself.
- Outpost 17 -
- Two Days Later -
After dropping M4A1 at Gentiane's base, the Misfits went back home. Owen barely recognized it from the night he fought Alchemist.
HESCO barriers formed a perimeter around the Outpost, guard towers were erected, and they even had a vehicle checkpoint. All of which was currently manned by a security team Gentiane had lent them during the training exercise.
Not only had the small main building been rebuilt, but Griffin had also built them permanent lodgings, a cafeteria, and repair/medical facilities. They even converted the barn to a functioning motor pool and added a helipad for Colette's new helicopter. Her old one was deemed unrepairable and now used for training.
"And then the thing said 'have a nice day', the flash charges went off, and we were covered in paint." Nagant was telling Owen excitedly.
The little doll was covered head to toe in a variety of colors, as was all of Team 1. Owen had erupted into laughter when he saw them and made a rude comment involving clowns. It was the first time the Misfits thought of mutiny.
All of the Misfits were gathered around Colette's UH-1, talking about the joint training exercise. Owen had tactically acquired a grill and was cranking out burgers and brats for his team. Sandbags, ammo cans, and tires were arranged as seating. SVT had rigged up a monitor so they could watch everyone's recordings of the training exercise. They sat around for the rest of the day eating, watching the footage, and commenting on what went right and wrong.
Colette was sunbathing, throwing him winks and suggestive looks whenever she caught him sneaking peeks at her side boob. At least until Nines 'accidentally' spilled her drink on Colette's back. M2 choked on her food from laughing so hard at that.
Owen had to admit it, he was having a blast.
"You guys were doing great until the fire truck went off." Owen told Makarov as he took a drink from his beer and flipped some burgers over, "but then, like Team 1, you guys bunched up around the distraction and forgot to post up any kind of security."
Makarov grumbled something about doing better, but Owen waved his beer hand dismissively, "Eh, I wouldn't worry about it. There's a reason why we're doing these alongside the usual level two training."
He belched, "It's the perfect time to fuck up. Next time, remember what you did wrong, and try to avoid it in the future."
The dolls nearby traded knowing looks. They were still getting acclimated to being treated so well. Owen not only accepted their failures, but encouraged them during their training missions.
"It's better than losing in actual combat." He told them earlier as he was scraping the grill clean while they tried to apologize about losing so quickly.
Nines slumped in her chair when they got to the part where Sops' grenade wiped out her entire team, covering them all in red paint. Owen moved next to her and sat down.
"She's a monster." He reassured her, "Trust me."
Then Freya's footage started playing and everyone went quiet right after Owen told her to "go nuts".
The next few minutes of footage was nothing but extreme violence, fleeing T-Dolls, and shotgun blasts. By final count, Freya had taken out twelve t-dolls on her own before meeting back up with Owen ten minutes later. She was the only Misfit on the ground not to die.
Owen paused the footage on SV-98s terrified face just before Freya had covered her in paint. The sniper had been expertly hidden and aiming towards Owen's building.
Owen looked around to Freya, "You are fucking terrifying."
Freya just stared at him unblinking, the green rings shining brightly in her red eyes. Owen shook his head and turned back to the footage.
They finished with Owen's footage. Starting from him and Freya fleeing the TOC, then his rooftop battle with Sop and ending with him firing at M4. He stood and turned off the monitor.
"So what happened here?" K11 asked, "How'd she get you right at the end."
"I got complacent when I shouldn't have." Owen said indifferently, "Until you're airborne, assume someone's trying to kill you."
"Someone is still probably trying to kill you, just because you're in a helicopter doesn't mean you're safe." K11 pointed out.
Owen nodded, "True, but at that point, it's up to the pilot to get you out of there."
M500 raised her hand, ears twitching excitedly.
Owen grimaced a little before pointing to her, "Uh, yeah?"
"How did I do?" She asked with a big grin on her face.
"Well, you slugged it out with Sop, so that was good," Owen began, "But you rushed ahead of your team and forced them to try and save you."
M500's ears dropped a little and let out a sad whimper.
"Ah…" Owen rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, Nines glared at him.
He patted M500s head, "But you did good with your fight!"
She jumped up and gave Owen a hug, "Thank you!"
"Heh, yeah." He squirmed out of her grasp and went over to the grill.
A few hours later, everyone was fed and chatting with each other. Some of the girls had set up a volleyball court and we're trying to get Owen to play when a Humvee ground to a stop near the group. A young guard stumbled out of the vehicle.
"I'm looking for Commander Owen!" He yelled.
Owen stepped forward, "What's up?"
The guard squinted at him for a second before responding, "Commander Gentiane sent me to find you sir. A city's been attacked. You need to get your teams prepped and ready to go."