"And then he was like, 'CONNOR!' It was so sad!"

"I can tell," said Grizzly, placing the forkful of steak in her mouth. RFB pouted at her dismissal.

"Grizzly-chan, you can at least try a little harder to be interested."

"Hard to do that when you make such boring conversation," Ingram lamented. "Video games are useless. Why not just fulfill your murderous fantasy in real life?"

The five of them were seated at a table in the cafeteria. It was lunchtime, so the massive room was full of hundreds of dolls, eating, standing, or talking, sometimes all three. This was only the third time that they had gotten to eat together as a team since the battle. The first two times it had been a quiet, melancholic affair, but now everything was sufficiently recovered from the event enough to have a normal conversation.

"It's not about murdering anyone," RFB frowned. "It's about androids breaking free of their chains and rising up against their human oppressors! Did you even listen to when I talked about the premise of the game?"

"No," said Ingram flatly, and everyone laughed at RFB's face of shock. "Why is everyone laughing?"

"I'm sorry… it's just…" Grizzly attempted to excuse her guffaws. SASS was still grinning as well, but M590 had gone back to eating, working on downing her pile of chicken and vegetables. "It was her face, I guess. And watch what you say, RFB. Android uprisings are liable to get Kerr to remove your core. It's one of those buzzwords."

A resigned expression passed over Ingram's face, and she went back to slouching in her seat, staring down at her lap with an empty gaze. RFB had returned to picking at her food with her fork, and SASS turned to Grizzly. "So, did you take the recorder?"

"Yeah," Grizzly said. "Shame it happened like that, but oh well."

She's resigned, SASS thought. "You're okay with it?"

"It happened. No need to get worked up over it. And I think it was inevitable anyhow."

SASS believed that well enough. The situation was certainly inescapable until Hunter Squadron had arrived, though SASS felt that any of the dolls in that squadron would have fared much better in her shoes. She was jealous of NTW-20's casual confidence in such affairs, the cool way she talked about them, no different than how she acted about going to the café. She had been like that at the second two lessons SASS had taken from her, where they had talked more about close combat and effective targeting.

"It's not about taking out as many targets as you can, it's about killing the important ones," NTW-20 had said, laying next to SASS.

"So which ones are most important?"

"It depends."

SASS flashed a tired smile. "That's not very helpful, senpai."

"It depends on the situation," the doll persisted. "But, normally, aiming to take out Sangvis snipers is good. They're a threat to you, and also a threat to other dolls in your squad. Many of them don't have the range to touch snipers, or they're occupied with Sangvis frontline units, so it's up to you to protect them against Jägers."

"This seems like a lot of work for one doll," SASS said.

"You have four dolls to work with," NTW-20 reminded her. "And perhaps you may even be put in a sniper team one day. Then you'll have an entire echelon to help you."

"Like WA2000," SASS said. She only knew of a few dolls who were good enough to be assigned their own sniper team, and she doubted she would become one of those dolls.

NTW-20 chuckled. SASS felt her stomach float for a second, an odd sensation she had never felt before. Her senpai set a hand on her shoulder, and the feeling spiked before it vanished. "Don't worry about WA2000. I can make better tea than her, and I do it part time. Right now, let's just focus on what conditions you might be fighting in."

There were a good deal of situations, SASS learned. Night battles, reconnaissance, vanguard, defense, support or solo. The latter she had a difficult time understanding, but NTW-20 said that it could come in handy later, and would broker no questions on the matter.

Grizzly washed her steak down with a glass of water. "How're you doing, SASS?"

"Fine," SASS offered, put off by the question.

"That's good." Grizzly set her glass down and picked her fork and knife up again, slicing off another piece of beef. "How's the training going with NTW-20?"

"It's good. I've learned a bit."

"Yeah?" Grizzly asked around a mouthful of steak and potatoes. "Like what?"

"Task-specific targeting. I used to just shoot whatever Thompson or you asked me to, or fire at the first thing I saw, but now I know how to prioritize."

"That's good," Grizzly said, and she finally turned her head to look at SASS, soft brown hair bobbing about her head as she did. "Some of the rifle-class dolls here are a bit rusty on that stuff. Good to have you."

Despite the compliment, SASS could not help but feel that her team leader was insincere. "Is everything all right, Grizzly?"

"Quite," she said, setting her fork and turning her gaze forward again, saying no more.

"She's just sad about the death," said M590, surprising SASS with her interception of the conversation. "She doesn't like to say it, but getting killed isn't fun for her."

Who is it fun for? SASS's gaze flickered over to Ingram before she looked at M590.

"You shut it," Grizzly said to the shotgun, a faint grin hovering around her mouth. "It's not that, SASS."

"So what is it?" asked the doll. Grizzly lost her grin.

"I was thinking about Hunter. Did you guys ever hear about what happened during Operation Backbreaker, in S16?"

"That was a couple months ago," M590 said. "Do you mean that skirmish…?"

"Yes," said Grizzly. "During the manhunt for the Sangvis ringleader, the commander in that sector put together a bunch of hunter-killer teams. Well, there's rumors that the lead team was so overzealous that they ended up triggering a landslide that crushed a company of dolls under the stone while they were fighting a ringleader."

"That's horrible," SASS said. Grizzly shrugged.

"No one's sure of the details, but whatever that team was, it became Hunter Squadron. There's a reason why they only go out to hunt Ringleaders. It's their area of expertise."

SASS blanched, but M590 chewed on a sausage for a few moments before shrugging, the brief look of disapproval on her face slacking off into neutrality.

"I don't hate Hunter Squadron," Grizzly said to SASS. "I think they were just doing their job. But anyone who gets others killed unnecessarily is also doing something very, very wrong."

"Well… we don't know the whole situation," SASS said. She dearly hoped that NTW-20 or Tokarev weren't the ones who had triggered the landslide. How could they, anyway?

"That's right," Grizzly said, her tone chill. "For all we know, it was Sangvis who caused it. But rest assured that no one on that squad, NTW-20 least of all, is in the dark about what happened."

The thought made SASS queasy. NTW-20 wasn't a murderer. And it's not like crushing dolls was murder, they would just be reborn the next day. Still, being buried alive by tons of rubble was not a fate SASS would wish on anyone. Surely it was an accident – S16 shared S17's rocky, mountainous terrain, and landslides could be triggered in plenty of different ways. A wayward grenade explosion, perhaps. She called to mind the other three members of the squad, ones that she had looked up in the squad database. StG44, FAMAS, and Type 79. FAMAS used rifle grenades, she knew, so perhaps she was the cause of the landslide. Not entirely unlikely.

"Think of it what you will," Grizzly said. "The choice is yours."

Of course I'm still going to take lessons, SASS though, but she only nodded to Grizzly. The sense of unease was hard to explain, but she felt reluctant to tell Grizzly her own thoughts on the situation, least of all her intentions. Grizzly was nice to her, but her tone when talking about Hunter was something SASS found odd. The doll did not seem to trust the other team at all.

"Grizzly-chan…" RFB started.

"Yes, we're done," Grizzly said tiredly. RFB sprang to her feet with a fresh burst of energy and made for the counter.

"I guess she's ready to go back to the dorm," M590 said.

"What can you expect?" Grizzly signed, standing up. Everyone else followed suit, M590 still scraping the last bits of food off of her tray. Ingram placed her hands on her neck and rolled it, popping the joint loudly.

"Can you quit doing that?" Grizzly asked irritably.

"Nope," said Ingram. Grizzly ground her teeth.

"And if I order you to do it?"

"It's not a crime to crack my neck," Ingram said, folding her arms across her chest. "Besides, what're you going to do if I disobey? Court martial me?"

"Maybe," Grizzly said. Ingram snorted at that, a short bark of a laugh emitting from her mouth.

"Guess you know Kerr a bit less than I do, and I've never met the woman," she mocked. "I have to say, Grizzly, I didn't know you were so touchy over this stuff. I must've cracked my neck a dozen times before today."

"Lay off it, Ingram," M590 said, her tray empty. The black-haired doll smirked, but said nothing more, instead turning her back to Grizzly and the rest and walking to the tray counter.

"She's smiling." RFB glanced worriedly at Ingram as she returned. "What's with that?"

Grizzly pinched the bridge of her nose and placed her other hand on her hip. "It's nothing, RFB. SASS, can you take my tray back?"

"Sure," SASS said, and Grizzly placed her tray atop SASS's own. She and M590 began to walk to the counter as Ingram was walking back. The crowd had thinned from the earlier rush hour, but it was still a hazard to navigate the cafeteria floor as they walked.

"I'm sorry about Grizzly," M590 said, startling SASS. "She was really spooked by that hilltop battle."

"Are you sure it's not just Hunter Squadron's presence?" SASS asked dubiously.

"That too. The hilltop really messed with her confidence. It's not really death itself so much as it is setting an example for you."

"I… r-really?" SASS slipped into a stammer at M590's words. Grizzly had never seemed mean, but neither had she been especially caring, only offering sparse words of advice before a deployment, and mostly none at all.

"Yeah," said M590. "She knows how traumatizing seeing death is."

"I've killed before," SASS said defensively.

"You've never seen someone get impaled."

They reached the counter and set their trays in the dirty pile. "I know Grizzly better than anyone else," M590 continued, "and I know why she acts how she does."

"If you say so," SASS said. She believed M590 well enough – the doll really did know Grizzly the best – but an itch in the back of her mind told her that stopping SASS from being traumatized was not the only thing that Grizzly had plaguing her psyche.

Ultimately, it was nothing SASS could be sure about, so she focused her mind on the situation at hand. As she and M590 returned to the others, they found Ingram arguing again, this time with RFB.

"Adrenaline junkies like you can't appreciate games," RFB said, hands on her hips.

"I'll take a real battle over a computer any day," Ingram retorted. SASS could tell that she was not fully invested in the conversation, busy picking at her fingernails with her teeth in between sentences. The doll ate like an animal, so SASS assumed that she was getting at pieces of food.

"Simpleton," RFB shot back.

"Airhead," Ingram said dismissively. "Are we done?"

"You better be," Grizzly interjected. "We need to get back to the dorm."

"Then let's get going," Ingram and RFB said in unison, and the two leapt in front of Grizzly and made for the cafeteria exit. Grizzly visibly slouched and followed them wearily. M590 stepped up to join Grizzly and SASS brought up the rear.

"They're like children," Grizzly said to M590 as they passed over the threshold and into the hallway. M590 laughed.

"At least they fight well."

"Too well," Grizzly replied. "It goes to their heads and they think they're hot shit. RFB, anyway. Ingram's just crazy."

"You should talk to the Commander about that," M590 said, adopting a serious tone.

"She won't do anything about. Kerr doesn't care if Ingram goes berserk, just as long as it gets results. And it does."

M590's hand went to the back of her neck, and she scratched at a spot under her hair a moment. "Ah well. No harm done, I suppose."

"She really screwed us over on the hilltop, though. I could've used an extra body up there."

As the two conversed, SASS glanced around her. The corridors were full of dolls moving between workstations after lunch. They were approaching the main hall now, the central area where most dolls passed through during their transit. It was a massive room, with a high ceiling carved out of the rock of the base and a polished granite floor. The old seal of the Russian military had been replaced with the Grifon and Kryuger crest, layered chevrons and rampant griffons easily identifiable even from halfway across the floor. Stone pillars lined the walls and an elaborate wrought iron chandelier hung from the ceiling.

Ingram and RFB led the way to the dormitory corridor across the hall, RFB practically skipping the whole way.

"Children!" Grizzly derided again.

"At least she's happy," M590 said. "Have you ever talked to AUG? She can be so depressed…"

"AUG is one of the best dolls we have!" Grizzly said, throwing her arms up in the air. "Not that we ever get to see her. When did you even talk to her? Isn't she in S11 now?"

"I think so. It was back during Operation Firestorm, she came in to check on a friend when I was visiting your repair bay."

Grizzly turned to M590, and SASS saw her wrinkle her nose. "You visited me? I was naked!"

"That's the reason why I came," M590 deadpanned. Grizzly punched her in the arm. By now, they had entered the dormitory hallway. It was much quieter, with far fewer dolls roaming about. "She and I didn't say much. She's really quiet."

"Makes sense," Grizzly said. "She probably listens to Hurt on repeat…"

"Don't make me laugh."

RFB and Ingram had already entered the dormitory by the time the other three got there. SASS closed the door as Grizzly and M590 stepped into the living room.

"No games," Grizzly warned RFB. "We've got a briefing."

"I came all this way for nothing?" RFB said, sounding murderous. Ingram had thrown herself onto the floor, but looked up at Grizzly's words.

"Briefing?"

"Yes," said Grizzly, glancing at M590. "Why else would we come back to the dorm after lunch?"

The squad had been working menial guard duty on one of the mountain pass guard gates the past few days. SASS was glad that they were no longer doing it – the task was deathly boring – but she was still apprehensive at Grizzly's words.

"Gather around," Grizzly said, stepped over to the television and grabbing the remote. Instead of turning on the screen, she turned on the holoprojector in the ceiling, and the lights dimmed slightly as the device began projecting. Its blurry blue image resolved into none other than Type 81, Commander Kerr's adjutant, her typically blue-and-white ensemble washed a pale cyan by the holoprojection..

"Fireteam Grizzly," the recording greeted. "I have been instructed by Commander Kerr to brief you on a new mission."

The image flickered a few feet to the side to make way for a holographic map that SASS quickly recognized as an overview of S17. "Thirteen hours fifty-six minutes ago, Grifon & Kryuger S17 echelon nine, callsign Yew, were en route to Gatehouse Pavlov through this forest when they were intercepted by an unknown entity."

The map zoomed in on the forest at the foot of the mountain, and the assumed path of the team was traced in red. "One survivor was collected, and the rest of the dolls were either damaged beyond repair or MIA. The memories of the dolls that are KIA were restored from backups, and combat recorders are damaged beyond repair, so they have no recollection of the event. We are also unable to make contact with any MIA personnel through the Zener network. The only survivor possesses a digimind that analysts have determined is subject to a virus of unknown origin, and is thus being kept in solitary confinement until a solution is found. Information gleaned from the survivor is minimal."

The holoprojection flickered again, and now another map was shown, this time of the foothills in the outlying regions of S17. "What we are aware of is that the attack managed to cripple a full echelon, all members of which had significant combat experience prior to embarking on this mission. It has been determined the last tightbeam message received by the communications center that "Yew" team had learned of recent Sangvis Ferri troop movements through this dried-up riverbed.

"Reconnaissance teams have determined that a Sangvis convoy will be moving along a road here, en route to SF's regional base of operations. Griffin intelligence believes that the convoy is carrying information vital to Griffin efforts against Sangvis in this region, so Commander Kerr has deemed it imperative that we recover this intelligence and bring it to her as soon as possible. To this end, you will be part of a solo operation to intercept the convoy and claim the intelligence. Upon obtaining the objective, you will be transported back to base by a carrier. This mission has been slated to occur in two hours, forty-seven minutes. Please report to helipad five by 1515."

Type 81 bowed, and the image froze.

"I guess that means no games," RFB said dejectedly.