10/05/2024
0800 hours
Siberia, Russia
M16 turned the corner and crashed straight into an unsuspecting jaeger, sending the Sangvis unit sprawling onto the floor. Before the jaeger could recover her bearings, the muzzle of M16's rifle was already pointed at the Sangvis Doll's face.
M16 squeezed the trigger twice and the jaeger collapsed, artificial blood spilling out of her skull. However, as was typical for all the Sangvis units they had encountered thus far, the jaeger was traveling with a partner, and the second jaeger immediately raised her rifle and lined up M16 in her sights.
But before the jaeger could pull the trigger, she too was felled by a bullet to the head. Ralph lowered his AK-12 and changed out its mag as M16 gave him a nod.
"For all your talk about how much better T-Dolls are when it comes to marksmanship, you're not too bad yourself," M16 said with a smirk.
"Hah. It's just that the difference isn't as pronounced in close quarters like this. That and close-quarters and interior fighting is one of my areas of specialty anyway," Ralph replied. "To be honest, if we weren't in such a hurry, I'd try and sneak through this base without fighting anyone. It would be far less work."
"But speaking of, we are in a hurry. We should get a move on."
M16 broke out into a run again, forcing Ralph to keep up with her.
"Just make sure you don't run right into another Sangvis again!" Ralph called out after her.
"Yeah, yeah!" M16 waved him off.
However, she then suddenly stopped, almost causing Ralph to run into her instead.
"What?" Ralph asked.
"According to my map, it looks like there's a room up ahead. We probably shouldn't rush in there in case there are enemies," M16 said.
"A room? Is it a barracks or something?" Ralph wondered, preparing himself for the inevitable fight up ahead.
"Hm, probably not. I'm guessing the barracks are the rooms closer to the center of the base because they're all clustered together. This room up ahead is kind of isolated," M16 mused. "Anyway, we've got no choice but to enter. I have a couple flashes left, so I'll use one here. We'll both enter afterwards."
"Got it."
M16 paused at the corner, took a quick peek around it to see if there was a door or any enemies in the way, then tossed her flash grenade off the adjacent wall where it bounced into the room before going off. She then raised her rifle and headed around the corner and into the room, with Ralph following closely behind.
However, when they entered the room, they found it completely empty save for what seemed to be a throne in the center of the room. There was also a panel of windows which provided a view into the snowy tundra outside, but other than that, there was nothing of note.
"It's empty?" Ralph wondered aloud.
"There's this throne-like thing, I guess," M16 said, going up to the large chair. "Oh, wait, it looks like it has a keyboard attached on the armrest here."
M16 tapped on the keyboard, causing a large holographic screen to pop up. The screen asked for a password to enter, which stopped M16's attempt to get any info out of it.
"Maybe this is Architect's personal office or something?" Ralph guessed.
"Quite possible. That would explain this tacky throne," M16 said. "I wonder if we'd be able to take control of the base's defense systems from here?"
"I'd assume this terminal probably has access to important files. But we definitely wouldn't be able to shut Architect down by doing that and would only get rid of the autonomous units like the Jupiter Cannons that can't even fire on us right now. Besides, wouldn't we need UMP45 or 9 to hack into this thing anyway?" Ralph pointed out.
M16 frowned. "We can't be wasting time here regardless. Our first priority should be defeating Architect."
M16 moved onwards, forcing Ralph to follow her. The commander cast a glance at the T-Doll in front of him and noted the troubled look replacing her normally easy-going countenance.
Is the fact that she isn't with the AR Team really bothering her this much? Or is there something else she isn't telling me?
Though Ralph had spent a decent amount of time with M16 back at the main base, there was so much he still didn't know about her. She told him a lot about herself and her life, but at times during their conversations, it was obvious that she was purposely leaving things out.
I guess I can't complain since I did the same thing, Ralph thought. But that only makes me even more curious. If M16 is leaving things out for the same reason I did, then she definitely isn't the kind, big-sister type she makes herself out to be…
For a moment, no one moved. The T-Dolls stood there staring at Architect, who was still wearing a ridiculous grin on her face.
"Well, nice to meet you, Architect," UMP45 spoke up. "May I ask you to consider stepping aside and letting us shut down this fine base of yours?"
"Hah! How about I shut you down instead? Gager asked me to watch over this place until she gets back, so there's no way I'm going to let insects like you just barge in here and do whatever you want," Architect spat.
"Then you've been doing a poor job, because that's exactly what we've been doing so far," UMP45 goaded. "Furthermore, the fact that you let us get within close quarters of you when you only use explosives speaks volumes towards your idiocy. Surrender now and we'll consider not turning you into a pile of scrap."
Architect blinked. "Huh? What does being in close quarters have to do with anything?"
"What? You'll blow yourself up too, you dummkopf," UMP45 told her in disbelief.
Architect shrugged. "I suppose we'll find out."
Before UMP45 could even express her utter shock at the Sangvis ringleader's statement, Architect pointed her black RPG straight at the T-Dolls and fired. The brief hissing of the rocket being fired was followed by a massive explosion, debris, and smoke which threw the entire command room into chaos.
UMP45 herself barely managed to leap to the side before the rocket hit her, but she was still rocked by the explosion and was slammed into the wall of the command room, smashing one of the monitors on her way there. She hit the wall with a thud and then slid down, coughing painfully the whole time.
What the hell! There's no way she just did that! UMP45 thought, bewildered. She could feel the artificial blood pouring out from numerous lacerations on her body, and her gun was nowhere to be found.
Damn it… I can't take much more damage, she realized.
As the smoke cleared a bit, UMP45 managed to get a glimpse of Architect on the far side of the room. The Sangvis ringleader was sprawled out on the ground in a similar state to UMP45, with liquid pouring out of her wounds and staining the steel floor. Architect leaned on her rocket launcher as a crutch, slowly getting to her feet.
UMP45 whirled around to check on her comrades to see how many of them could still fight. M590 was slumped over and face-down on the floor, her shield completely destroyed, and, judging by the amount of blood underneath her, her torso was probably smashed in as well. M4A1 had taken shelter behind M590 and appeared relatively unscathed, though she was covered in soot and bits of debris. AR-15 was nearby and on her knees, coughing up blood but still very much alive. Luckily, it seemed UMP9 and the rest of the T-Dolls were also still alive, though they were scattered and about and still trying to regain their bearings.
A shotgun T-Doll really is useful in situations like this. Makes me wish we had one in 404, UMP45 thought, appreciative of the late M590's efforts at taking the brunt of the explosion.
UMP45 then pulled out her combat knife and locked eyes with M4. She gestured towards the struggling Architect, and M4 nodded.
M4A1 raised her rifle and fired at Architect. However, the ringleader's reflexes allowed her to quickly position her RPG in front of the shots, deflecting them. Unfortunately for her, that prevented her from seeing UMP45 leaping towards her. The SMG T-Doll slammed into Architect, sending them both to the ground. UMP45 landed on top and was ready to plunge her knife into Architect's throat, but the Sangvis Doll managed to grab UMP45's wrist at the last second.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Architect grinned devilishly even as UMP45 used all her body weight to push the knife closer and closer towards Architect's neck.
"You mean kill you? Absolutely. And it will bring me great joy when I do," UMP45 replied through clenched teeth as she continued exerting force down on the knife.
"Fine. Your call," Architect said, unperturbed. "Oh, and by the way, I hope you know that my body is set to self-destruct in a magnificent explosion if I happen to die."
UMP45's eyes widened in surprise at that. Sensing that UMP45 had finally let up on the pressure due to her shock, Architect managed to shove the T-Doll off of her and kicked her into M4A1, sending both T-Dolls stumbling.
M4A1 quickly pushed UMP45 off and raised her assault rifle at Architect, but before she could get a shot off, the Sangvis ringleader sprinted out of the command room and escaped.
"Damn it, she's getting away!" M4 moved to chase after Architect, but was stopped by UMP45.
"Wait! Did you hear what she said?"
"Yes, I heard it. It doesn't matter. If she really is set to self-destruct, then we'll just have to incapacitate her without killing her," M4A1 said, then ran after Architect.
UMP45 groaned in pain as she got to her feet. She didn't even falter… I guess the AR Team leader is the leader for a reason, even if she does seem like a wimp outside of battle.
M4A1 ran out into the corridor where she saw Architect pitifully trying to limp away. Without a moment of hesitation, M4 took aim and shot at Architect's achilles tendon, causing the ringleader to hit the floor with a yelp of pain.
"It looks like your injuries made you slow. It's over now, Sangvis," M4 told her.
Architect only grinned, then pulled out what appeared to be a detonator. "You were an idiot for following me into the hallway. Didn't you learn your lesson the first time? All the corridors leading to the command center have been rigged with explosives. If I press this switch, you're finished, hahaha!"
UMP45 arrived in time to hear that. "So you're okay with dying here too as long as you take us out with you?"
"Hm… Well, I suppose I would be making both Mastermind and Gager mad if I did this, but yes, I am," Architect replied, still wearing that unhinged grin. "Sorry! Explosions are just so much more beautiful when they can kill things too!"
UMP45 glanced at M4 nervously. Come on, M4. You need to shoot that thing out of her hand before that crazy bitch really does blow us all up.
From the intensely focused look on M4's face, UMP45 could tell that the AR Team leader was thinking the same thing. But they both also knew that Architect was watching M4 and would press the button the moment M4's finger moved. Whether or not they would all be blown to pieces would be decided by a splitsecond, and would rely completely on M4's ability to make a tight shot under such extreme pressure.
Shit… She was doing so well! Don't tell me now she's getting nervous, UMP45 bit her lip, glancing at the slight trembling in M4's hands. Without her own weapon, there was nothing she herself could do right now except hope that M4 could do what she needed to. Hurry up! Architect could press that button any second now!
Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past both of them and shot the detonator out of Architect's hand. The Sangvis ringleader blinked in surprise and then tried to leap after the detonator, but UMP45 took that opportunity to jump on top of Architect, this time pinning her down for good.
AR-15 slowly walked into the hallway, her weapon in hand and grimacing from her injuries. "Keep her pinned until we can restrain her permanently, 45."
"Roger that. Nice shot," UMP45 said, silently letting out a breath of relief.
"Awww, I wanted to be the one to shoot her!" SOPMOD complained, following AR-15 into the hallway.
"Shut up, SOP. You probably would have killed her which would have blown us all up. Anyway, Architect was so focused on watching M4's trigger finger that she didn't even notice the muzzle of my weapon poking into the hallway, so it worked out well," AR-15 said.
"Um… I'm sorry, I should have shot her first," M4A1 apologized, reverting back to her normal self.
"It doesn't matter now. Go back into the command center and check on everyone and find something to restrain Architect with," AR-15 told her.
M4A1 nodded and went into the command center, and SOPMOD excitedly ran over to Architect, squatting down next to the ringleader and grinning at her, causing Architect to recoil in fear at the T-Doll's bizarre expression.
"... Do you think she could have made that shot?" UMP45 asked AR-15 once M4 had left.
AR-15 sighed. "I'd rather not find out, honestly. M4 is smart and knows how to come up with a decent plan, but for some reason she seems to crumble under pressure. It's times like this when we really need M16's experience to keep her steady."
"That's pathetic," Architect sneered. "Your own leader is such a - mffghh!"
SOPMOD slammed Architects face into the floor. "Hahaha, scrap metal doesn't speak, so keep quiet!"
UMP45 turned to AR-15. "Anyway, you should let the Commander know that we have successfully defeated Architect."
AR-15 nodded and activated her comms. "Commander. Architect has been neutralized. Objective complete."
"Commander. Architect has been neutralized. Objective complete."
"Already? Nice," Ralph said, surprised. "Any casualties?"
"M590 was killed in action. Everyone else took some damage but can still fight," AR-15 reported.
"I see… Not too bad," Ralph mused. M590 was useful in close quarters such as in this base, but her utility was limited out on the open tundra. "Wait there in the command room for us to arrive. I'm guessing they're already on it, but tell Squad 404 to shut down the remaining defense systems of the base and remove all electronic assistance and GPS capabilities. That should at least weaken Gager's squad in case we run into her later."
"Roger that."
M16 raised an eyebrow. "Did they beat Architect already? That's pretty impressive."
"Yeah. I guess Squad 404 and your team have lived up to their reputations," Ralph agreed.
"Was that M4 you were talking to?" M16 asked.
"It was AR-15. Why?"
"What happened to M4?"
"Nothing, probably. AR-15 said that everyone except for M590 was fine," Ralph told her. "You worried about her or something?"
"Something like that. But yeah, I guess she should be fine," M16 said. "Let's keep going. At least we don't need to rush now."
Ralph followed M16, staring silently at the AR T-Doll's back. She's been acting kind of strange lately.
"If you've got something to say, then say it," M16 spoke up without turning around. "I can feel you staring at me, sir. Let me guess… You're wondering why I'm so fixated on M4?"
"Well, not exactly, unless that's the reason why you've been acting differently. You seem nervous about something," he said.
"Hah, nervous? I guess you could say that. Like I said, it's a bit worrying to leave M4 by herself to lead the AR Team. My entire purpose on the team is to be a guide for her, so if I'm not there, will she really be okay? It seems she was this time, but she also had a ton of other Dolls helping her out. But that won't always be the case."
"Yeah, that's true," Ralph replied half-heartedly, still not fully comprehending why M16 was so worried.
M16 turned to glance at him. "No offense, sir, but you probably wouldn't understand. Aside from your adopted sister, you don't really have any family, do you? You can't really understand how it feels unless you have people in your life like that."
Faint yet vibrant lights flashed through Ralph's mind, a familiar sight which haunted his dreams. He frowned, pushing the image from his mind. "I'll take your word for it, then... Heh, kind of funny to hear a Tactical Doll being more 'human' than an actual person, though."
M16 smirked, then shrugged. "Maybe you'll understand someday."
"Maybe."
The lights flashed through his mind once again.
"Did you really have to chop my legs off too? That hurt like hell!" Architect groaned from where she sat on the floor of the command room. Her arms had been tied behind her back with thick black wiring, and indeed, her legs had been amputated at the knees.
"Awww, but it was so fun!" SOPMOD cheered, holding up one of Architect's legs and waving it around while smiling.
"At least we gave you a proper warning and ample time to kill the pain receptors for those areas," UMP45 said.
"But that doesn't completely stop the pain! It still fucking hurts!" Architect continued to squirm.
"With every word you speak, the urge to put a bullet in your head grows stronger," AR-15 growled.
Architect sighed. "You Grifon Dolls are really humorless. You're even worse than Gager."
UMP9 stepped away from the cracked and smashed consoles in the command room, shaking her head. "It's no use, 45. The explosions damaged these way too much for us to be able to use them."
"Tch. It's all thanks to this idiot," UMP45 scowled, kicking Architect and causing the ringleader to yelp in pain. "Well, whatever. It's disappointing, but we don't necessarily need to have control of all the base's systems right at this moment. What's important is that we captured the ringleader and shut down the front gate's Jupiters. G&K can send a few echelons down later to fully secure the base and take control of its systems now that we've done the heavy lifting."
"Should I let the Commander know that we won't be able to take over the electronics yet?" AR-15 asked.
"The Commander… Oh, that's right, he should've passed by a Sangvis console or something according to the map. We can probably take control of the systems from there, though it'll be a long walk since it's all the way across the base," UMP45 said. "That will be our best option for now… Hey, Sangvis, what was that console anyway? Your personal workstation or something?"
"I use it sometimes. This command center is too cramped for my liking," Architect said. However, the ringleader's vibrant purple eyes then widened as a look of realization spread over her face.
"What's wrong? You forget to delete your internet history or something?" UMP45 asked, noticing Architect's expression.
"Well… I did forget something, that's for sure," Architect grinned cheekily. "It's faster if I just show you. I'll send you a data package. Go ahead and take a look, hahahaha!"
UMP45 received the share request from Architect, and, after scanning the package for viruses, she downloaded it. A map of the base and the surrounding tundra appeared on her interface, but what stood out the most were the numerous blinking red dots that fanned out from the center of the base in a circular fashion, reaching well outside the base and into the tundra beyond.
What the hell are those? UMP45 wondered. Wait… There's no way…!
"Haha! I see you've realized it," Architect laughed. "Yes, those are bombs buried underneath the surface of this base and the surrounding area. I placed them there as a dead man's switch in case this base were ever taken by Grifon. When you guys invaded, I turned on the switch in case you managed to kill me. If I don't check into the base's systems every half hour, then all the bombs are set to go off. Needless to say, that'll turn this base and everything nearby into a complete wasteland, hahaha!"
"What the hell is she talking about?" AR-15 frowned.
UMP45 shared the data pack with the rest of the T-Dolls in the vicinity, and they all wore expressions of shock and disbelief after realizing the implications of this.
AR-15's face twisted into an enraged scowl as she grabbed Architect by the hair. She pulled out her knife and held it to Architect's neck.
"You Sangvis piece of shit. You're going to disable these bombs or we're going to make sure your screams can be heard all the way in Moscow," AR-15 threatened.
"Woah, calm down! I never said I wouldn't disable them!" Architect hurriedly amended. "It's not like I want to die here with you Grifon trash! Even that detonator I pulled out in the hallway was just a bluff! These bombs were only meant to go off in case I was already dead, but since you left me alive, well…"
"Then stop babbling and disable it," UMP45 ordered.
"Are you an idiot? Didn't you yourself just confirm that all the consoles here have been destroyed? How am I supposed to log into the base's systems from here?" Architect pointed out.
"And whose fault is it that the computers are destroyed?!" AR-15 yelled.
"Ow! Stop pulling my hair!" Architect whined.
"We'll just have to disable the bombs using the console the Commander passed by," M4A1 said.
"How many minutes do we have left?" UMP45 asked.
Architect thought for a moment. "Hm… I'd say about ten, I think."
"Ten?! How the hell are we supposed to make it all the way to that console in ten minutes!" UMP45 cried out in disbelief.
"Huh? So after all this, we're just going to be blown up anyway?!" WA2000 cut in. "So much for you elite T-Dolls!"
"Uuu… I want to go home," G11 moaned, exhausted by all the yelling.
"Crying won't get us anywhere. M4, do you have anything else we could try?" RO635 said from G36's back.
M4A1 furrowed her brow in concentration. "I'm sorry… I can't think of anything. But what we can do for now is contact the Commander. Let him know the situation and have him and M16 at least secure the area around the console. They can try their best to activate it while they wait for us, but it will be up to us to make it in time."
UMP45 nodded. "I suppose that's all we can do for now. SOPMOD, take Architect and let's start running! One of you take M590's corpse as well! M4, contact the Commander and M16. Everyone, move out!"
"Hm, a transmission from M4 over the public comms?" Ralph noticed. "Hello, M4? What is it?"
"Sir, we've run into some trouble…"
M4A1 explained the situation to Ralph and M16. Because of the distance, she could not send them the map, but both of them understood the urgency quite well in spite of that.
"We only have ten minutes? There's no fucking way you're making it back here in time!" Ralph shouted as he and M16 started running back to the console they had passed by earlier.
"We're running as fast as we can! That's all we can do for now…" M4 replied, a hint of defeat creeping into her voice.
"Damn it!" Ralph cursed, ending the transmission. "If those bombs go off, not only will we be turned into dust, but Kalina and the Dolls back at our camp will be killed too. This is ridiculous! That stupid bitch Architect was far more insane than I could have ever predicted!"
"It's not over yet, Commander," M16 said, her tone surprisingly calm. "We can still hack into the console ourselves and try to disable the bombs."
"I don't have any hacking experience and you're not an electronic warfare Doll like Squad 404. How could we possibly do that?" Ralph shot back.
"That doesn't mean we can give up."
Ralph merely shook his head as he followed M16 back into the throne room with the singular Sangvis Ferri console. They walked up to the console, and Ralph stared cluelessly at the holographic screen which displayed the SF logo. The first step asked for a password, and Ralph had no idea what it could be.
"So, what, we just keep guessing until we get it right? There's no way we'll have time for this," he said anxiously.
"I'll handle this, sir," M16 said.
Placing her hand on the console, M16 wirelessly tried to connect with it. To Ralph's surprise, moments later the console was unlocked without M16 entering the password.
"H… How did you do that?" Ralph wondered in amazement.
M16 didn't reply, instead silently continuing to shuffle through the console's data. She pulled up the map of the bombs and displayed it on the console, along with the timer, which now read seven minutes.
How is she managing to hack into a Sangvis system? This definitely isn't normal.
"It looks like these bombs have been laid out and rigged in waves," M16 finally spoke. "It's not going to be possible to disable all of them at the same time since they were rigged separately. However, I think I'll be able to disarm the outermost ones first, which should give you all enough time to escape."
"You mean you're going to disable the ones farthest from the base first? Why not just disable the ones that are right under us?" Ralph asked, trying to figure out the layout from looking at the map.
M16 shook her head. "If I do that, I won't have enough time to disable the outermost ones before they explode. Even if I start disabling the bombs right now, I'll still only have enough time to barely disable the outermost layers. Everyone back at our camp should be safe, and if you guys in the base run as fast as you can, you probably will be too as long as you get to the outer circumference."
"But… If you're going to stay behind and disable the bombs, won't you get caught in the explosion?" Ralph pointed out.
M16 shrugged. "My life in exchange for all of yours. It's a good trade, no? Better than all of us dying here, at least."
"Well, if you say so," Ralph replied, frowning. His mind raced as he tried to think of any other possible solution that wouldn't involve M16 sacrificing herself, but he couldn't come up with anything under the pressure of the time crunch.
"What, don't tell me you of all people are getting sentimental now? The Ralph I know would be all too glad to leave me here while he escaped," M16 smirked. "Don't think anymore and just go, sir. Tell the rest of the Dolls to head back to camp as fast as they can, but don't tell them I stayed behind. Just say we'll be right behind them."
"All right, all right, I get it," Ralph conceded, knowing they didn't have much time left to come to a decision. Even so, he couldn't help but hesitate. "... You're sure about this?"
M16 nodded, a determined expression on her face. "This is something I have to do. Take care of M4 for me, sir."
"You sure you want to ask a guy like me that?" Ralph grinned.
"Hey, I'm being serious here," M16 replied, though she couldn't hold back a small smile either. "M4 has always relied on me to be there for her, and because of that, I don't think she's evolved into the leader the AR Team needs her to be… My absence is going to be rough on her, but it's necessary. And I'd like you to help her grow too, even if you need to play the villain at times."
"Now you're talking. Playing the villain is what I do best," Ralph laughed. "Any other last requests? I think I should get going now."
"Pour some Jack in my honor when you get back to base," M16 simply said in conclusion.
"Roger that. See ya."
Turning his back on M16, Ralph started running towards the exit and contacted UMP45 and the rest of the T-Dolls.
"45! Gather everyone and start running for the exit, now! Keep running until you reach the camp! We've figured out a way to delay the bombs, but only for a short period of time! Take M590's body and start moving now!" he ordered.
"I'm not sure how you managed to delay the bombs, but whatever! Orders received!" UMP45 responded.
With that taken care of, Ralph picked up his own pace. We should all be able to make it out in time if what M16 said was true. But still, she's really sacrificing herself?
Then again, he supposed that was their only option for now. Damn, if only I'd been able to come up with a better plan…
He wasn't sure why he was feeling so disappointed in himself. M16 was right; normally, he'd be all too happy to leave someone else behind to take the fall while he escaped.
I thought commanding T-Dolls would be the same as commanding militiamen in the African bush… But maybe I was wrong…
Nevertheless, he didn't have time to worry about that right now. Pushing his lungs and leg muscles to the limit, Ralph ran and ran until the exit to the base finally appeared. Luckily he had not encountered any Sangvis units on the way out, though they were all probably dead or too confused to block his way at this point anyway.
"45, did you all make it out yet?" Ralph asked through the comms between breaths, still continuing to run.
"Yes, we're heading back to camp now," UMP45 responded, sounding quite tired herself. "We brought Architect and M590 with us. Are you and M16 close by?"
Architect? What? "Yes, we're almost there. Keep running! The bombs could go off at any moment!"
As soon as he finished that sentence, an enormous series of explosions went off behind him. He had left the base in the distance and made it into the forest by now, but he was still close enough to feel the heat and pressure of the shockwaves. Ralph was sent flying, and he barely managed to avoid dashing himself against an evergreen tree and instead landed in the soft snow, which was still quite a bit painful.
"Shit…" Ralph groaned as he got up gingerly and collected his weapon.
He glanced back at the burning rubble and craters behind him. The base had pretty much collapsed completely and was on fire.
"Hello? M16, come in," Ralph tried the comms.
Silence was his only reply.
Yeah… There's no way she would have survived that, Ralph thought, disappointed.
Well, we've still got a mission to complete here, he steeled himself. I'm going to see this through and return alive with the nuclear codes. After all, I promised M16 I'd pour a drink out for her.
He took one last look at the collapsed, flaming remnants of the Sangvis Ferri base before walking back in the direction of his own camp.