Safely returning to G&K HQ, the T-Dolls unit was immediately transferred to the lab for repairs. Eagle then stayed behind with the car while Tiger went to hear what their 'client' wants from them, exactly.
Entering the building, he headed for the reception desk to ask for Kryuger's current whereabouts, but that proved to be unnecessary for the man himself had found him first. The head of the company coming down to meet someone personally, such rare event instantly got the attention of all the staff in the longue, both human and T-Dolls alike.
"It's been a while, Tiger. Or should I call you 'Streiter' just like the old time?" Kryuger greeted, but Tiger said nothing and simply threw the data disk at him, which he easily caught.
"Next time, you want something you say the word instead of being all secrecy."
"Whether I did or did not, you two would have done it still."
"That's exactly what gets on my nerve about you. Now if this contract is just an excuse for a pointless conversation then I'll take my leave."
"Not here, we'll discuss said matter in my room."
The trio then took the elevator to the top floor. It took a while for the elevator to go all the way up, and during said period neither side said anything to each other. The atmosphere was tense and heavy, to the point even Helian who was already used being under pressure felt like suffocating.
The entire top floor is reserved exclusively for the company's head, so Kryuger had everything renovated to his taste. The first thing that came into sight when they exited the elevator was his workplace, a large office desk and a tea table for the sofa set when there's guest. On the left was the kitchen and personal living quarter, and on the other side was the workout longue, completed with a shooting range.
"So, what is it that you wanted to discuss?" Tiger was getting so impatient that he decided to stand instead of taking a seat.
"First, let's take a look at the data you've gathered, because if it's exactly what I think it is, then it will have everything to do with our discussion." The tea table in the middle then flipped over, turning into a holographic projector. Kryuger inserted the disk from his desk as the data inside was displayed.
"This is…" Helian had her mouth agape.
"Do you know what this is?" Kryuger directed his question at Tiger.
"Why wouldn't I. This damn thing was a Level 0 classified project. Jupiter Cannon, Germany's response to World War 3. But with the rise in popularity of T-Dolls in the army and their cheaper operation cost, development was stopped halfway, the only prototype was scrapped and the project was sealed forever. But never did I expect SF to get their hand on the data. What, they wanted to kick-start another World War with this thing?"
"Possibly. We know that SF is bent on dominating the world with AI and getting rid of mankind, we just don't know if they have the necessary resources and power to pull it off yet. And this data certainly suggest they do, or at least very close to."
"To counter this threat is G&K PMC's first and foremost mission. However, we lack the manpower to effectively combat them. District S09 is one such case. Now, we cut to the chase."
"A long-term contract. I want your unit to serve as adjutant and combat advisor for District S09, which is currently lacking a Commander."
"Rest assured, your unit will retain its unaffiliated status and will not be placed under G&K's High Command. Outside of providing assistance during operation, you're free to move and act as you deem fit."
"It sounds like you just had everything, even this whole conversation, planned from the start. Oh wait, it's you so never mind." Standing there quietly, listening to everything up till now, Tiger scratched the back of his head for he felt frustrated and angry at himself. The sudden contract, the data disk, even taking into account the way they work, everything was such an obvious set-up for this, and he fell right into it even after realizing what it was.
"However, right now we have a more pressing matter at hand so until everything is sorted out, you can think it over carefully. Payment will be sent to your account and we will notify you of your next mission once the is done recuperating."
"Oh, now I'm just your water boy, aren't I?"
"The contract did state to bring back the T-Dolls unit, and the missing T-Doll is indeed a part of this unit so I don't see anything wrong here."
"Whatever, can it." Grunting one last time, Tiger spun on his heel and walked straight to the elevator. With only the two of them left in the room, Kryuger leaned back on his chair and muttered something.
"The flame inside you still burn very strongly, Streiter. All it needs is a little something to set everything ablaze."
"You're back, Chief. And…guess the talking didn't end well if your expression is of any indication." Returning to the car, Eagle who just finished his second cigarette asked.
"The worst possible." Tiger then relayed everything during their talk to Eagle, with a few cursing thrown in-between. From the data disk, to the offer of being adjutant and combat advisor.
"Combat advisor, huh? Not like we've never taken contract like this before, and most time they all ended satisfactorily, if I may add. But that was what, 7, 8 years ago? After that one time, everything was but a sour taste in our mouth." Said Eagle, reminiscing about the days long, long ago.
"That has nothing to do with any of this. We've tied all the loose ends, we've picked all the bones needed picking, we've finished the mess that we started." Tiger replied, slamming his fist lightly on the car.
"Yet after all is said and done, a single thorn remained and till this very day, it's still a pain." The two became dumbfounded by their own words and dazed out of reality for a brief moment. Tiger was the one to snap back first as he got into the car and closed the door. Feeling that this is one such moment when the guy need some peace and quiet for himself, Eagle also hopped back onto the driver seat and their conversation ended there. He too needs to recollect his thought.
The two returned to their base, grabbed some rations for breakfast and spent the day just doing their own things. The underground base which was usually quiet, that day felt even quieter than usual. Then when afternoon came, so did their new mission.
District S10, Sector 4.
"We meet again, Mr Tiger. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Helianthus, a senior representative of G&K. For this mission, I'll be filling you in on the mission-essential information. Now, I'll explain the mission details so please pay attention."
"Yeah, that sounds dandy and all, but how about you explain to me first why are they here?" with a really disturbed expression which Helian could not see for they walk conversing through radio, Tiger asked about why the T-Dolls they rescued are here with them.
"It was both Mr Kryuger's suggestion and their wish to partake in this mission. But there's a plausible reason behind it."
"Which is?"
"We have a currently MIA T-Doll, VZ-61 Skorpion, who we suspect might have fallen into enemy hands. Her last known location is where you are right now, Sector 4 of District S10. According to Ingram, she might have left some clues behind for us before going dark."
"Your mission is to assist Ingram's unit in tracking down Skorpion, since they're her comrades they will know what kind of clue to look for."
"Why complicate things even more? Just like before, we work faster with just the two of us and even if we don't know who the missing T-Doll is or the kind of clues she left, it wouldn't make that much of a difference whether they came with us or not." He asked, glancing over his shoulder to see Eagle exchanging bow and greeting with them, didn't seem particularly mind about their presence.
"Mr Kryuger probably has some deeper goal in agreeing to their request, but if I were to choose off the top of my head, it'd be because they wanted to get to their comrade as fast as possible, or they wanted vengeance."
"Anyway, I've wasted enough of your time. Your first objective would be to gather any valuable intel and the best placed to start would be the SF outpost in the area. Good luck, Mr Tiger." Helian then hung up.
"Vengeance, huh. What a big word, with such shallow concept and meaning behind it."
Turning back to the rest, Tiger then urged them all to get into the car and on the way to the SF outpost, he explained the plan to take it on.
His unit will approach the outpost from the front and once they have started a commotion to draw out the enemy, Ingram's unit will move in from the back door to form a pincer attack. Because both units have little to no knowledge on each other nor experience in joint-operation, so a joint-offensive would most definitely result in getting in each other way. In such case, the better strategy would be a pincer attack where both units can act independently without having to worry about their synergy.
"W-wait a minute! Although Ms Helian said to assist us, doesn't mean you should be throwing yourself in danger for us!" The girl with blonde hair, StG-44 protested.
"What, you're trying to be hero for us? Remember, you two are still human so unlike us T-Dolls, there's no backing up data to the main server or repair for you once you've taken critical damage." Ingram sneered.
"This world is always in need of a hero, no matter what age. But it is not our place to become one. We are soldiers, and we carry out our mission the most effective and efficient way possible." His tone made clear that he had made up his mind and nothing else could make him change his mind. The girls were slightly taken aback until Eagle spoke up.
"It's better you ladies listen to him. He's the one making the call around here, and a very stubborn fellow." Feeling that further attempt at persuasion would be useless, they had no other choice but to agree to this plan.
The outpost of this area was a Sangvis Ferri-built from the ground up, so the enemy has the home turf and number advantage over them, not only that the element of surprise won't be of much use here for they cannot set up an ambush like in the human settlement where covers and approach routes are aplenty.
As per the plan, the girls were dropped off in the forest about 100 meters away from the outpost and will wait until the commotion start before initiating combat. Seeing the uneasiness showing on their face, Eagle poked his head out of the window to reassure them.
"We're mercenaries, we come and go as we please and we know how dance with Death. Instead of worrying about us, what you ladies need to do right now is to rescue your friend, and only that."
Sangivs Ferri outpost, front gate.
Even in the dark of the night, the entirety of the outpost was lit up like a midsummer day by the searchlights. In the courtyard, large groups of Prowlers, Rippers and Vespids could be seen, with at least two Jaegers or so positioned on each watchtower. Their number alone could warrant being called a battalion with the strength to mow down an entire army. But that's their only strong point, strength in number.
Without the alpha leading the pack, the rest could only put up so much resistance before falling apart.
The battle started off with the two Jaegers on the east watchtower being picked off with a single sniper shot. Noticing enemy's activity, the other watchtowers immediately heightened their senses as the base went into red alert. The ground troops quickly got into battle station as the Prowler units were sent out first to intercept possible enemy's infantry. But by the time they got up on their four limbs, from the sky multiple mortar strikes had hailed down on them.
One of those mortar shells must have struck on the base's power unit, evident in the searchlights going offline all at once. With most of the Prowlers reduced into nothing but metal scraps, the ground troops had taken heavy damage and their formation was in shamble. And even with their sensor working at max capacity, the Jaeger unit still couldn't get a lock on to the enemy sniper. All they could do was helplessly getting picked off, one by one.
The situation was a complete chaos, to say the least. This was one of the flaws of mass-produced T-Dolls. Without a commander unit, their reactive ability and communication between each individual is very limited.
Then in the dark of the night, a shadow could be seen by his six red glowing eyes, approaching and taking down any surviving enemy. The Ripper units and the few surviving Prowlers quickly regrouped and opened fire simultaneously toward the direction of those six glowing eyes. It was a literal bullet hell.
After dumping their entire mag, the Prowler then pointed their flashlight on the one on the receiving end of said bullet hell, and the scene that appeared under the light caused them speechless, or their emotionless mechanical equivalent of speechless.
The ground was of course riddled with bullet holes, but in the center of all that was a giant shield, with not a single scratch on that flat metal surface. The shield then bolted forward without any forewarning and bashed the Prowlers along with their flashlight away. Once again, everything was covered in pitch black with the only visible thing being the muzzle flash.
Instead of a fight, it'd be more fitting to call this a one-sided massacre. The SF T-Dolls and machines could not even lay a finger on their opponent, all their attempts to retaliate only make it clear just how futile their resistance is.
On the other side of the outpost.
With every single stationed T-Dolls mobilized to the front to intercept the enemy, Ingram's unit infiltration from the back was even easier than a walk in the park. The most they had to do was taking out the cameras and destroying the armory. Taking out a few stragglers in Mission Command, they hacked into the main terminal and looked for any records related to Skorpion. And they hit the jackpot.
Skorpion is being held right in this very outpost. The base's schematics showed there are two more levels underground so without any time to lose, they headed for the elevator.
"Three enemies. I'll take the one on the left." Hiding behind the wall, StG-44 said with a hand gesture.
"Then I'll take the one on the right. Ingram, you take the on in the middle-" Pah-Pah-sha replied but Ingram completely ignored them and pulled the pin of her grenade.
"How about we just get straight to the killing!" Her grenade exploded into a smokescreen rendering the Prowlers' ocular sensor useless. Through that smokescreen, Ingram charged forward with abandon, driving her knife right into its eye and dumped an entire mag into its frame. Although slightly taken aback by her sudden impulse, StG and Pah-Pah-sha managed to follow her lead and took care of the other two Prowlers before they have the chance to switch on motion tracker.
"Geez, Ingram! Next time at least give us a warning!" Pah-Pah-sha shouted.
"Didn't I already?" Ingram replied while loading a new mag. She then approached the door of the cell and blasted it open, again not showing any consideration to anyone around her.
Inside the cell, lying on the floor was a girl with blonde hair done in twintails. Hearing the loud noise, she tried to open her eye, her entire body screamed in pain with even the smallest movement.
"Pa…Pah-Pah-sha?"
"It's me, Skorpion. We're here to rescue you."
"Pah-Pah-sha…you're still alive? Am I dreaming?"
"You idiot, do we even dream? Don't worry, it's alright now. C'mon, let's get you out of here." Pah-Pah-sha and StG then helped Skorpion stand up as they moved her to the elevator. Because they were two levels underground, the commotion going on above couldn't quite reach them after they've entered the elevator. And when they've returned to the surface, everything was an eerie silence.
"It's too quiet…Don't tell me…" feeling something was off, Ingram quickly ran to check on the situation in the courtyard. What she saw, was completely beyond the processing capability of her CPU.
"Oy oy, you've gotta be kidding me. Are these two even human?"
With the only source of light being the flame and spark emitting from destroyed machine, what Ingram saw was an entire courtyard filled with T-Doll's corpses and machine's wreck. Each and every single one, down to the last SF troop was completely eliminated. And standing amidst that field of corpses and wreckage, was a single man.
"See? Told you this was the most effective plan given the circumstances." Cladded in his full-armor exosuit with two mechanical arms sprouting out from his back, Tiger turned toward Ingram after noticing her gaze. Then from one of the watchtower, Eagle deactivated his cloaking and appeared out of thin air.
"So you've rescued your friend. Alright, I'll bring the car over and we'll take her back to G&K." he said calmly, as if this scene of carnage is just another commonplace to him. Oh, but it is.
An independent unit, unaffiliated with any PMC, move only in accordance to their own creed and principle, just like beast on the hunt.
And the name they stood by, the name known only to a few, was…
Chapter 2: Predator Unit (Part 2)