1520, said her wristwatch. SASS looked up and out of the window. The land was a blur beneath her, all stone grey and washed-out green, with patches of white from the last snowfall. From the air, the mountain terrain looked pretty rather than dangerous, but SASS was aware of the perilous nature of the mountain passes. Many a T-doll had found themselves scrabbling for a foothold on a rocky slope after a wrong step, and SASS had seen firsthand in the repair bay the torn-up bodies of dolls that ended up at the bottom of a chasm or broken on fall. Worse yet were the claims that Kerr had ordered the abandonment of rescue efforts for certain dolls in preference for remote deactivation, in the interest of saving time and effort… though she suspected that such claims were merely rumors: Kerr was shrewd, sure, but not cruel.
"There's the peak," Grizzly said from the opposite seat. SASS craned her neck to see the mountaintop as they passed by. Though Griffin usually left its territory unmarked, the Commander had claimed the mountain peak for a radio tower years ago, before Sangvis was a real problem. It had reportedly been an expensive endeavor, costing a great deal of money and using a lot of equipment and dolls. Some had even had their bodies destroyed during the construction process and needed to be restored from backups, something SASS thought was probably exaggeration.
"Ugly thing," M590 grunted. "It scars the landscape."
"It's useful," Grizzly said.
"That may be so, but it just looks… wrong. Doesn't sit right with me."
"Do you like the mountains?" SASS asked M590.
"Aye," the doll replied. "Collapse fluid ruined everything else. The mountains are kind of beautiful, you know?"
"Maybe you have matching personalities," Grizzly quipped. "Stubborn as a rock."
You'd be the one with a matching personality, SASS thought. Grizzly chuckled and SASS smiled, but the rest of the cabin was quiet. Ingram was going through her typical pre-battle stress, biting at her nails and tapping her foot, while RFB stared off at the floor in boredom. SASS reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair tie, setting her rifle in her lap and pulling her hair behind her to tie it back. Long hair was troublesome, especially when it was as windy as it was in S17.
"Approaching the riverbed," reported the copilot, Evgeny, and Grizzly sat forward in her seat at the words.
"Any visuals on Sangvis from up there, Lieutenant?"
"Not that I can see, miss." Evgeny was a nice guy, friendly, but his talkative attitude made him better suited to be a copilot so his partner Grigori could focus on flying. "No sign of a convoy."
"Alright. Let me know if you see anything." Grizzly sat back, looking a bit worried. SASS had learned to read her better, but Grizzly was old enough that she didn't display the same behavioral tics many newer dolls had. New, like me.
The helicopter was leaving the mountains now, and the ground changed to gentler hills. SASS went over what NTW-20 had told her about fighting in more open areas. Sangvis troops would be forced to move in the open for the first five or so while they got into position, so she could dictate the terms. Disrupt shield-bearing units before they set up cover, then take out the skirmishers to prevent them from flushing SASS out. Next would be the Jäger dolls, and then SASS would be free to fire on who she wanted to. That was easy enough to remember.
Grizzly had laid out the plan clearly enough. Small-size charges would be hidden in the riverbed, then all five dolls would secret themselves in the area and wait for the Sangvis convoy. The lead vehicle would be destroyed by Grizzly, who had the detonator, then Ingram and RFB would both plant explosive charges on the rearmost vehicle and detonate them to stop Sangvis from retreating that way. With SASS providing cover, the four dolls would then search the rest of the convoy for the Sangvis intelligence that Kerr wanted. Grizzly said that it was possible that Sangvis had wired a self-destruct, so they would need to work fast before the command could be activated.
The helicopter bucked as Grigori set it down in a clearing. Grizzly pulled the door open, and the five dolls spilled out onto the grass. Around them, two other helicopters were landing, these ones carrying the dummy link containers holding the four clones each T-doll had. It took only a minute for the dummies to emerge and establish the link, and soon after the three helicopters had taken off and were headed back towards the base.
"SASS, take position at the edge of that forest up there," Grizzly ordered. "M590, with me. RFB, Ingram, head down the riverbed, I'll radio you when I've determined where I want you to be."
A set of explosives were strapped to a bandolier Grizzly had thrown over her shoulders, and she pulled one free as she spoke. "I want this quick and clean. Let's move out."
SASS found a good spot under a few low-hanging branches. Her dummies had been ordered to disperse along the rest of the tree line, far away from each other, the better to avoid detection. RFB and Ingram had moved far down the riverbed, and Grizzly had gotten into it entirely, walking along and crouching down periodically to plant the explosives. M590 stood sentinel on a rock. SASS swung her sights around and followed the riverbed until it disappeared behind a wooded hill, looking for anything of interest. Aside from a few boulders and fallen trees in front of the distant forest across the riverbed clearing, there was nothing.
"Surveillance says that the convoy is due within ten minutes," Grizzly said over the radio. "Ingram, RFB, take up parallel positions 200 meters down from where I am. M590, behind that protrusion. I'll be over that trunk. SASS, what's it look like, over?"
"All clear," the sniper reported. "No sight of the Sangvis convoy."
"Roger."
As the four dolls below went about their business, SASS went over what she needed to do once again. Break shield-units' formation. Eliminate skirmisher units. Destroy enemy snipers. She had five guns to do it with, and unlike her last battle, this was on her terms. What worried SASS was how many Sangvis dolls would be there. The convoy was not small, she knew that, but Grizzly had said that it would likely be no more than five or six vehicles. SASS had never actually seen Sangvis transport vehicles, so she wasn't sure of their capacity, or if the vehicles themselves were armed.
"SASS, anything new?" Grizzly asked.
"No, ma'am."
By now, the dolls had all secreted themselves behind cover, waiting for the convoy. SASS decided to pass the time by connecting to the Griffin database and accessing the index of T-doll formations currently deployed in S17. Hunter Squadron, she thought. After a few seconds of buffering, the result displayed across her vision. The integrated HUD lacked color, so NTW-20's hair was turned a dull blue, but the big doll was certainly recognizable. SASS knew Tokarev and StG44, the assault rifle that NTW-20 had chastised for interrupting her, but FAMAS and Type 79 were two faces that she had never seen in person. They all looked quite serious in their photos, contrary to how SASS knew Tokarev and NTW-20. But then again, how well did she know them? If what Grizzly had said was true, then everyone in the squad could be someone who believed killing a company of dolls was worth the completion of an objective. SASS was uncomfortable with that idea. Killing Sangvis was one thing, Griffin dolls was another. She did not much relish the concept.
In her training, SASS had been informed that because it was the sole duty of Griffin dolls and their commanders to ensure the containment and extermination of the Sangvis threat, that nearly any means were authorized to be used by commanders or commanding dolls to complete that duty. SASS assumed – hoped – that that was what compelled Hunter Squadron to do what they did. It was certainly what made Kerr command her dolls the way she did, but Kerr had not been the commander in S16.
SASS caught sight of a dust plume along the riverbed and dismissed the HUD instantly. "Sangvis convoy incoming," she warned over the radio.
"RFB, Ingram, get ready," Grizzly ordered. SASS could hear the convoy now, engines thundering. She saw it come out from behind the wooded hill, and focused on the lead vehicle. It was a truck, raised high off the ground and thickly armored. Behind it was a Sangvis troop transport, then another armored truck, ending with two more troop transports. Every vehicle was modified with purple-black plating, Sangvis's signature look. SASS reported the composition over the radio.
"Nail everything coming out of the second transport," Grizzly ordered SASS. "M590 and I will skip right to the second truck."
SASS furrowed her brow. That wasn't exactly what NTW-20 had advised, but everything was mission-dependant. She began to follow the transport Grizzly referred to with her sights, watching the doors. The convoy was moving along at a fast clip, and she wondered if Grizzly would be able to detonate the explosives at the right time. But her team leader was experienced and capable much more than she was, so SASS believed that it could be done.
The convoy came closer. SASS felt her anxiety grow with the size of the dust plume.
"Standby," said Grizzly. "Just fifteen more seconds."
By now, SASS could pick out the lettering on the side of the Sangvis vehicles with her bare eyes. Its harsh, geometric logo was blazoned in a bright magenta on the side of the transports, characters glossy in the sunlight.
"Detonating," Grizzly said, and the riverbed exploded. Grizzly had planted not one, but five different explosives, meaning a much better chance of successfully disabling a vehicle moving at high speed. Indeed, the leading Sangvis armored car was thrown forward by the force of the detonation, hitting the ground and sliding forward a few feet before it started smoking. "Move!"
The four dolls on the ground below sprung into action. Ingram and RFB pulled out explosive devices and sprinted toward the armored car at the rear of the convoy, which had come to a quick halt along with the rest of the convoy. M590 and Grizzly were running towards the second armored vehicle near the center.
"Sangvis emerging!" M590 shouted, and SASS turned her scope to look. The troops crawling out of the armored cars were Ripper models, easy enough to handle. It was the heavier androids spilling through the doors of the immense transport vehicles that would be the problem. The riverbed was deep enough that its shores partially obscured the Sangvis troops, but they were not close enough to the banks of the riverbed to be safe. SASS sighted on a squad of shield units clambering over rocks into position. They had not yet set up their shields – an easy target. SASS squeezed the trigger and felt the stock press into her shoulder as the rifle cracked, and the Sangvis unit collapsed. She ordered her dummies to fire at will, following the order of targets that she had reviewed. Shields – skirmishers – snipers.
The riverbed exploded again as RFB and Ingram detonated their explosives, and the back of the convoy went up in a ball of flame. Sangvis troops still came from the transports like termites from rotten wood, flooding into the riverbed like the water that had once run there. Grizzly and M590 had breached the doors on the armored car and entered, muzzle flashes coming from within. The troop transport was still disgorging troops, and SASS was hard pressed to stem the flow.
"Taking fire from Sangvis heavy guns!" RFB said. SASS looked to where the assault rifle was. A unit of Sangvis Striker dolls had formed up on the edge of the riverbed, pelting the line of boulders RFB and her dummies had taken cover behind with fire.
"I see it," SASS said, lining up her sights on the dummies. Aim for the nervous system, NTW-20 had said. Sangvis dolls don't have as comprehensive a physiology as we do. It's the only thing that'll put them out of action for good. SASS did that now, setting her sights on the head. Another pull of the trigger, and the doll fell to the ground. The others ignored their compatriot's death and kept firing, so SASS was able to drop the rest of them without much incident. Sangvis had taken notice of her position, however, and the doll backed up a little to better avoid the random shots coming over her head.
"That's good," RFB said in astonishment. SASS blushed, but before she could accept the compliment, Grizzly cut in.
"SASS, we're taking fire and this truck won't mean anything if Sangvis get close enough to reclaim it. Show me what you learned."
The sniper tightened her jaw. She was glad to be needed, but Grizzly's tone was condescending. Of course.
Sangvis Vespids had taken up position behind the tree trunk that Grizzly herself had used for cover before the attack. There were a lot of them, over fifteen, and a contingent of Ripper dolls were moving up behind them, ready to advance on the armored car Grizzly and M590 were in.
"Sangvis troops are starting to organize," RFB said before SASS could fire on the Vespids. "Mounted units on the far side of the convoy!"
Skirmishers, thought SASS. Jäger units were there too, scrambling for cover. SASS knew that if they reached it in time, they would be exorbitantly more difficult to kill.
"You'll need to handle it yourself!" SASS told Grizzly as she ordered her dummies to change their aim to the Jägers. A single shot was enough to bring them down, but there were a great deal of them swarming away from the riverbed. The Dragoon skirmishers seemed to have taken note of where she was and were sprinting in her direction
"Obey my order!" Grizzly thundered. Her and M590's dummies had taken up positions surrounding the car, but they were being pelted with high volumes of fire from the Sangvis dolls.
"Just a minute!" SASS said. Already, the Sangvis skirmishers were dashing across the ground towards her. SASS pulled the trigger and heard the other four dolls do the same. Five Sangvis collapsed, but ten more still came. Fire again, she thought, and she did, another five Dragoons down. SASS pulled the trigger again, but only four bullets hit the enemy. She was empty. A nervous knot formed in her digimind as she dropped the empty magazine and reached for a fresh one – the Sangvis was too close.
SASS had barely gotten to her feet when the Dragoon let loose with its cannons, raking the ground in front of her fire. The Griffin doll nearly tripped as she scrambled to retreat into the forest, hoping to lose the skirmisher in the thick foliage – only for the Dragoon to crash through the treeline, branches tangled around the legs of its assault walker. SASS was frozen for a moment, watching the Sangvis doll, towering nearly eight foot on the walker, scan the area for SASS
"SASS, suppressive, now!" yelled Grizzly.
"Working on it!" SASS raised her rifle and popped off a few shots at the Sangvis, then ordered her remaining dummy links to continue supporting Grizzly. The Dragoon started towards her again, and SASS turned and ran. The untended forest was full of fallen trees and hanging vegetation that she was forced to jump over and duck under, often just before the Dragoon opened fire. The walker was having a harder time navigating the forest, but it was well capable of simply crushing obstacles underfoot in its pursuit.
SASS finally managed to yank a fresh magazine out from its pouch and shove it into the magwell. The Sangvis wasn't giving up – its gun thundered and a stream of bullets hit the tree immediately to SASS's left. She realized that, when there was no more forest to run through, there would not be a solution waiting for her. The Griffin doll looked about her – there, ahead of her, a fallen trunk leaning against a tree, dark with rot. It was sufficiently thick that the Dragoon could not crash through it, and if she was smart about it, it might even knock the Sangvis off the walker. SASS looked for a way for her to get over the trunk while still leading the Sangvis – there, a low-hanging bough. She could swing up and over the branch while the Sangvis went straight ahead.
Another spray of bullets reminded her she needed to be ready. The fallen trunk was closer, and the Dragoon was close behind her. SASS slung her rifle over her shoulder and picked up her pace, sprinting as fast as she could. Soon, soon, now! She altered her course left and leapt, hand outstretched for the hanging branch. It was there, it was there, it was in her hand, and rough bark scraped at her palms as she held on for dear life. Her momentum transferred and she swung, hard and fast, but slower than she had been running. The Dragoon passed her, and just as she saw the hip joints on its mount begin to swivel, it ran into the trunk. Propelled by inertia, the mounted Sangvis doll was thrown over the trunk, and the walker collapsed in a heap of metal. SASS felt lighter as she swung up on the branch and turned to see where the Sangvis had landed. The mottled wood of the fallen trunk met her eyes instead.
SASS fell to the ground, head afire with pain. Struggling to focus, she dimmed the pain simulators as she placed a hand to her face, feeling a broken nose, her own red coolant dripping down her face and onto to her uniform. Her rifle was digging into her back from where she had landed on it, and SASS rolled over so she could pull it out from underneath her – and then she saw the Sangvis doll, getting to its feet and stumbling towards the fallen walker, making slow progress thanks to a broken leg.
"SASS, get back here!" Grizzly said over Zener. "Where are you?!"
There was a pinch in her neck – her dummies were getting shot at. SASS told herself to focus: focus on getting up, on keeping herself alive, before she even addressed Grizzly. The Sangvis doll had reached its walker and wrested a pistol free of a compartment. The sight of gunmetal made SASS jump into action, setting her hands on the ground, getting to her feet, and steeling herself for the fight. She had to ignore the pain for now.
The Sangvis pulled the trigger, and SASS felt the bullet fly past her to lodge itself in a tree trunk. She reached behind her and swung her rifle about, chancing a hipfire so she could return fire quicker. Her shots missed too, going far wide. SASS put her rifle up to her shoulder as the Sangvis shot once, twice, thrice, the third bullet flying clean through SASS's leg. She looked through the sights, found the Sangvis, and before it could fire again, she squeezed the trigger and a neat hole appeared in the Dragoon's abdomen before her crosshairs were torn away by the recoil. Before SASS could get another aimed shot in, the Sangvis had fired, missing, and then thrown the empty pistol at SASS, charging right after. The doll raised her hands to block the projectile, and before she knew it, the Dragoon had bulled into her.
They both went to the ground, SASS's rifle torn away from her in the tumble. The Dragoon was heavy and surprisingly powerful, managing to pin SASS underneath it while its hands went for her neck. SASS pushed back, but the Dragoon knocked aside her arms and wrapped its own cold hands around her throat, squeezing. SASS could go without air, but if the Dragoon snapped the spinal cord, it would cut off the pathway for most commands from her Digimind. Her hand flew to her belt as the Sangvis pushed harder, leaning down with its beady eyes fixed on hers. SASS found what she was looking for and wrapped her hands around it, pulling the okapi free from its sheath. She could feel the pressure building in her neck. SASS reversed her grip on the knife, brought it up to her chest, and pushed forward with all her might, right between two of the Dragoon's artificial ribs. The knife blade hit something hard, purple coolant started to gush, and the Dragoon's grip suddenly loosened. That was just what SASS needed, and she wrenched the knife to the side, pushing the Sangvis off her as it grasped at her arms desperately. SASS pulled the blade out, reoriented it on the Sangvis's throat, and thrust again, the point burying itself right in the middle of the doll's spinal cord. The Dragoon seized up for a moment, then went limp.
SASS resisted the urge to fall down next to it. Her core was virtually vibrating with anxiety, and as the overdrive – adrenaline simulation – protocol wound down, she once again became aware of her broken nose and the bullet hole in her left leg. SASS sat there for a moment longer before pulling off one of the Dragoon's long black stockings, tying it around her leg as a makeshift bandage. She couldn't help but notice how dirty her hands were as she worked, stained with a mix of red and purple coolant from herself and the Sangvis.
Wound seen to, SASS got to her feet, gradually becoming aware of the conversation occurring over the Zener network.
"Jägers have us pinned," Grizzly was saying. "RFB, see if you can't keep their heads down. Ingram, throw smoke grenades on that line of boulders."
"That's quite the throw," Ingram said. "How many?"
"One or two."
"Grizzly-chan, that's a lot of Sangvis to distract," RFB complained.
"Get it done," Grizzly said before RFB could continue. "M590, let's see if we can't press those Vespids and break their line."
SASS wiped her hands somewhat clean on the Sangvis's clothes and bent down to pick her rifle up, inspecting it for damage. "Grizzly, it's SASS. Sorry for being gone, I was… well, what's the situation?"
"We've secured the Sangvis intelligence," Grizzly said. "They've organized their remaining dolls and are pushing us hard. We need sniper cover and you aren't providing it, over."
"I was stormed by skirmisher units and lost dummies to sniper fire," SASS said. "I'm getting back into position now."
"Roger." Grizzly sounded displeased, though she was courteous enough to keep it off of Zener. "Once you get back, assist in M590 and I's push toward the Sangvis to the northeast."
"Wilco." SASS pulled the knife out of the Sangvis throat with a spurt of coolant.
The run through the forest was much easier when not being chased, despite the limp from her injured leg. SASS made good time back to where she had originally been sniping, though the area had been trashed when the Sangvis trampled through it. Dummies, she remembered, and checked her links. Two were left, awaiting instruction. SASS ordered one to pick off Jäger units in RFB's area and slaved the other to her aim. She knelt down behind a tree and sighted on where Grizzly was.
The area had become a good deal more wrecked during her time fighting the Sangvis dragoon. Nearly all of the Sangvis vehicles had been turned to burnt metal husks during the battle, and a good deal of bodies lay across the ground. Most were Sangvis, but a few of Ingram's and M590's dummies had been shot as well. Grizzly and M590 were moving forward under the cover of the shotgun doll's body shields, pushing toward a formation of Sangvis Vespids laying down a hail of fire on the Griffin dolls. SASS took aim on the Sangvis doll closest to the front. A body in the front would trip up the others and impede their movement forward, NTW-20 had said.
With another magazine, the Sangvis formation was broken, Grizzly and M590 firing at will to finish off the Vespids. RFB and Ingram had flushed out the Jägers from hiding, gunning (or, in Ingram's case, stabbing) them down.
"Everyone, form up. SASS too," Grizzly said over Zener, holstering her pistol. SASS rose from her kneeling position and made her way out of the forest and to the other four.
"Piece of cake," Ingram said, grinning wickedly. RFB hugged her rifle to her chest.
"That was so much fun!" she cheered, smiling wide. SASS couldn't help but smile too, though Grizzly and M590 were not the same.
"Where's our ride out of here?" M590 asked, hand still on the grip.
"On its way," Grizzly said, and turned her gaze to SASS. "What happened back there? That's quite the bloody nose."
"I told you that I was charged by Sangvis skirmishers," SASS defended. Unlike humans, her voice box allowed her to speak normally despite a broken nose. "I finished as quickly as I could, given the circumstances."
"Huh," Grizzly said. "Well, better luck next time."
The team leader smiled at SASS forgivingly, and the sniper felt a bit better about herself.
"So, this intelligence," Ingram said, leering at Grizzly. "Good stuff?"
"Why are you saying it like that?" Grizzly said, contorting her face in disgust.
"Well, Kerr threw us into the mission with two hours of prep time, so it seemed really urgent," Ingram said. M590 nodded in agreement.
"An awful lot of effort was expended to retrieve this information. Type 81 did say that it would be vital to the Griffin war effort in this region," the white-haired doll said.
"Well, it was worth it just for the fight," RFB said. "I killed lots of Sangvis this time around!"
"Ayy," Ingram said in casual agreement, holding out her hand for a high five. "Gimme five." RFB threw her entire body weight into the slap. "Come on, you can hit it harder."
"Don't you know it," RFB said, hitting Ingram's hand again. Ingram laughed.
"Again!"
RFB grunted as she fairly leapt at Ingram's hand, the slap piercing the air like a gunshot. The doll stumbled forward, holding her hand and grimacing in silent pain.
"That's what I'm talking about," Ingram said, fists on her hips.
"Knock it off, you two," Grizzly said. "Keep it quiet, we need to listen for the Griffin carrier."
"We don't have to," Ingram said. "Hell, wouldn't it be better to stay? Then there'll be more Sangvis to kill!"
"And points to earn!" RFB said right after Ingram.
"You two are terrors," M590 chided. "Don't you know when to be quiet?"
"Hardly," Grizzly answered for them.
"Don't be so patronizing," RFB pouted. "You're barely ol–"
"Shut up," Grizzly said, and now her tone was properly serious. "Listen."
SASS heard the sound clearly enough. "That's our ride," M590 said.
"No," said Grizzly. "It's not coming from the direction of the base."
All of them turned in the direction of where the noise seemed to be coming from. It certainly wasn't Griffin, SASS could tell that much. She took her rifle in her hand at the same time Grizzly pulled her pistol free of her holster.
"Better radio the Griffin carrier," Grizzly said to M590, who nodded. "I'll get everyone ready."
M590 turned away and put a hand to her ear as Grizzly stepped forward. "SASS, back to the woods for sniper cover. Ingram, RFB. Disperse into the wreckages and stay hidden, I'll do the same. Sangvis will find us sooner or later, so we should try and catch them by surprise in the meantime."
"Turn back," M590 said, communicating with the Griffin helicopter. "There's Sangvis troops inbound, the LZ'll be too hot to land by the time you get here."
"How obliging of SF to give us another battle so soon," Ingram said.
"Now's not the time," said Grizzly. SASS could tell that she was barely restraining herself from shouting, and understood why. Ingram was more than content to be killed in the process of fighting Sangvis, but for M590 and Grizzly it was a matter of pride in survival. M590 had claimed that Grizzly wanted to set an example for SASS, but now she doubted the truth of that statement more than ever. The purple-eyed doll seemed more concerned with protecting her pride. "What're you waiting for? Move!"
SASS turned away and started running back towards the treeline as ordered. Behind her, the noise grew louder, a loud whine akin to a rush of air.
"Grizzly-chan," RFB started.
"Can it," said Grizzly. "Get into position."
"Just listen!" RFB persisted. "That's not a carrier."
"She's right," grunted M590. SASS momentarily focused on the whine as she ran. It was from an engine, no doubt, but as she listened it became all too clear that it was something else, growing louder every second.
"Maybe it's a Sangvis carrier," Grizzly said stubbornly. SASS glanced over her shoulder, but nothing Sangvis was in sight.
"No, that's not it…" M590 narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the Sangvis. "It's something–"
SASS felt the ground tremble as the riverbed was engulfed in explosion, flashes of light smothered by geysers of dirt. Moments after, the deafening rip of a rotary cannon thundered through the air, and the whine and rush of air resolved itself into the roar of a jet engine. A black-armored jet soared overheard, nearly too fast for the eye to follow as it climbed back up into the sky. SASS stumbled from the concussion wave and tremors, but kept her footing.
"Grizzly!" she shouted. "Grizzly! M590! Are you okay?!"
The radio buzzed with white noise, so SASS ran back towards the riverbed, now covered in a cloud of dust and smoke. She searched the sky for where the jet had gone, but saw nothing except for the three Sangvis carriers, setting down uncomfortably close. Then she was in the smoke and couldn't see anything that was more than five feet ahead.
"RFB, Ingram!" SASS screamed, barely managing to keep herself upright. Her ears were ringing from the blast of the jet's cannon and her eyes stung from the smoke. There was another rumble, this one lower and more steady – likely Sangvis ground transports. SASS broke into a run toward the riverbed, desperate to reach the others."Grizzly!"
The doll swerved around a boulder, only for her next step to fall on nothing. SASS fell into the riverbed face-first, tumbling down to the rocky bottom. Her broken nose sent a dull wave of pain through her, but SASS clambered to her feet and kept moving. The dust cloud was settling in the riverbed, making it denser and harder to see through, so SASS clung to the bank as she ran, passing the hulks of empty Sangvis vehicles.
"M590?"
"Here!" shouted the doll, but SASS had to take a few more steps before the doll became visible in the smoke. She was supporting herself on the bank, working at an immense piece of shrapnel stuck into her leg. SASS ran to her side.
"Have you seen the others?"
"No," coughed M590. "Bit busy with this chunk of metal."
"Sorry," said SASS, suddenly awkward..
"I haven't seen any sign of them. Maybe dead." M590 frowned. "Sangvis is trying to destroy the intel if they can't take it back. And where the hell did they get a plane?"
"We can't let that happen." I don't want to die again.
"Easier said than done."
"You can say that again," Grizzly said. SASS whipped her gaze backwards to see Grizzly leaning against the busted front of one of the Sangvis transports, clutching her side. "You going to be out of it?" she asked M590.
"I can walk," said the other doll, grinning inexplicably. SASS saw her and Grizzly's shared look for a moment. "What's our plan? Where're the other two?"
"They're watching for Sangvis. We need to get out of here." Grizzly held up a data storage unit. "Any Sangvis intel is flagged high priority."
"Going on foot is too slow. Got another option?"
"I passed that armored car on my way here," SASS put in. "It's still functional. We can drive it back to friendly territory."
"Is Griffin sending a carrier?" M590 asked. Grizzly shrugged.
"Radio was busted from the concussion, so I can't make contact. They've got to have noticed the Sangvis attack."
"Or they're too spooked to waste a carrier on us."
"They better not be," said Grizzly, growing angry. "We've got to get this intel back to Kerr."
"Agreed. Who can drive?"
Grizzly grinned. "Me. Get in the truck, I'll go tell RFB and Ingram to get back here.
The armored car was clearly Sangvis modified, but originally meant for humans. SASS pulled the back doors open before she returned to M590, grabbing the doll by the armpits and pulling her over to the vehicle.
"A little gentler," M590 grimaced.
"Sorry," said SASS, keeping her fast pace. It was a chore to get M590 up into the back of the truck – her armor made her the heaviest doll SASS had ever known – but she did it, trailing coolant from the injured leg all the way. SASS climbed in after her. The inside of the Sangvis car was completely empty save for a single strongbox, its door open and empty, and two Sangvis corpses. SASS pushed them out the back to make room for when RFB and Ingram joined them. She then returned to continue moving M590 to the front of the car.
"SASS," M590 said.
"Yes?"
"You're shotgun on this one. I'll watch the back with the other two."
SASS stopped pulling M590. "Shouldn't you be up with Grizzly?"
"No, I should stay back here with Laurel and Retardy. Just handle it for this mission, okay?"
"Aye aye," SASS said, and let M590 lay. She got into the cab and took a seat just as Grizzly pulled the door open on her side and climbed into the driver's seat. Sangvis had stripped the furnishing, so everything was metal and quite uncomfortable. SASS sat up and placed the edge of her rifle on the dash, ready to shoot through the windshield if she had to.
"M590 in?" she asked. SASS nodded. She could hear RFB and Ingram getting into the back, and the doors slammed shut moments after.
"What about our dummies?" she asked.
"You're the only one with any left," Grizzly said. "That Sangvis gun run destroyed us." The doll reached under the steering wheel and ripped off a service plate, fiddling about with wires inside the console.
"What're you doing?"
"Hotwiring," Grizzly explained. "Sangvis vehicles don't have protection against it because no one ever tries it."
The engine started up, and Grizzly placed both her hands on the steering wheel. SASS reached behind her for a seatbelt, finding none.
"Everyone ready?" Grizzly asked.
"Punch it," M590 said from the back. Grizzly reached down to shift it into drive, and SASS noticed that she was smiling wide for the first time in a while.
"All right. Everyone, hold on, and keep an eye out for that Sangvis jet."
Before SASS knew it, the car was moving. Grizzly had stepped on the accelerator as hard as she could, and the car shot forward. The seats were without cushions, hard to the body, and SASS felt each and every edge dig into her skin as Grizzly drove forward. The cloud of dust from the airstrike had faded to the point that she could see the burnt wreckage of the first armored car directly ahead.
"Grizzly," SASS said, starting to panic as they drew closer.
"I've got it!"
Grizzly aimed the nose of the car to the edge of the blockage ahead. With a crash and screech of metal-on-metal, she rammed into the car and shoved it aside, continuing to rocket down the riverbed and leaving the battlefield behind.
"Sangvis mounted behind!" RFB reported. SASS looked back to see the doll peering out one of the small rear windows
"We can outrun infantry," Grizzly said. "We're safe, so long as that jet doesn't come back."
"How far will this riverbed take us?" SASS asked. "It doesn't run straight up to the gatehouse."
"We'll have to find a spot to get out," Grizzly said. SASS turned to scanning the terrain ahead for a bank low enough to drive over. Everything was passing by in brown-green blur, difficult to track.
The car bounced as it rolled over a boulder, and SASS looked over to Grizzly. The doll was intently focused on the road, frowning or grinning with each jostle as she adjusted the steering wheel. SASS had never seen her drive, even though Grizzly talked about it whenever she could. She always spoke of it with a big grin, but she seemed more serious than ever now, utterly focused on driving.
"They're going overhead," M590 updated, and SASS soon saw a Sangvis carrier through the windshield as it sped ahead of the car, quickly putting distance between them.
"They're gonna set up an ambush," Grizzly said tersely as she quickly spun the wheel to turn a bend in the riverbed.
"If we don't get out of this riverbed, we'll probably run right into it!" SASS gasped. There would be no way out of that ambush, with Sangvis on both sides and the banks impossible to drive over.
"SASS, the car still has a radio unit in it. See if you can contact Griffin."
SASS fumbled for the handset on the console, nearly missing when the car shook as Grizzly drove over a pit in the ground. She keyed in the Griffin frequency – they would have to risk an open channel – and began speaking.
"Throne, this is Thistle Team. We are being pursued and potentially ambushed by Sangvis elements in the Cheremosh riverbed. Currently moving in a southerly direction in a commandeered Sangvis vehicle. SF close-air elements are in the region and have already engaged once. Requesting assistance, over."
Throne was the callsign used by the command center. It was also technically Commander Kerr's callsign, though the commander rarely found a use for the radio.
"Grizzly, this is Throne," the radio replied after a few seconds. The quality was low and it was hard to hear over the rumble of the car engine and the rattle of driving over rough terrain, but SASS could still sort out the words clearly enough. "We are working on tracking your position and locating a suitable place for pickup. We are unable to sortie craft for air support at this time–"
The car lurched forward and SASS's hearing went again as another explosion came from behind them, pelting the back of the car with shrapnel and sending more straight past them.
"Mortars!" M590 shouted from the back. Grizzly swore and sped up, if that was possible, moving at an even more breakneck pace.
"– direction, over," Griffin control finished, nearly unintelligible over the noise.
"Uh, say again all after 'air support', over," SASS said into the radio.
"I say again, we are unable to sortie craft for air support at this time. Gerbera Team is on station to assist, however, five kilometers east-northeast. If you make your way to that area they will be able to provide supporting fire in your direction."
"Roger. Thistle out." SASS set the radio back on its hook.
"What'd they say?" Grizzly asked.
"They've got a support team five klicks from here, so if we can get out of the bed and head in that direction we're good to go."
Grizzly raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'll see what I can do."
SASS summoned a mental map of the region in her head. They were far off from their new destination, though in the car the travel time would be significantly shorter. What they needed to do was find a good route out of the riverbed.
"Another mortar launch," M590 said. "Coming in any second!"
The ground trembled as Sangvis shells fell down around them. Thankfully, their speed made the enemy mortar units far more inaccurate, but great clods of dirt and stone were still being thrown at the car from nearby impacts. A shell was bound to hit too close sooner or later.
"SASS, how close are we to where the Sangvis carries landed?"
"Too close," SASS said, calling the memory to mind. As they spoke, the Sangvis transport lifted back into the air and immediately began climbing. "We'll be coming up on it in the next five minutes, if not less."
"I'm getting out of the riverbed now," said Grizzly, and SASS looked ahead to see a dip in the riverbank, low enough for the car to drive over. "Everyone, hold on!"
SASS turned to look through to the back. There was nothing to hold onto, so Ingram and RFB were bracing themselves against the walls and each other as they helped M590 hold herself still. She turned back around, and the riverbank rushed towards the windshield. With a jolt and shaking of her vision, the car made it over the bank, nearly coming to a stop before starting to pick up speed again.
"Suck it," Grizzly said under her breath as the car continued to roll forward, regaining speed lost from the sudden jump. "Any Sangvis?"
"Looks clear," M590 said. "We probably just dodged the ambush."
"We'll make it to the support squad," Grizzly said, and SASS could tell that she had loosened up a bit once the immediate threat of ambush was gone.
"Grizzly," M590 said. "That Sangvis carrier is still circling. It's pretty high up."
That seemed to make Grizzly uneasy. "Keep an eye on it. Maybe–"
A line of fire was stitched in front of the car, and the engine exploded as 30mm shells shot through the hood and into the engine block. Grizzly swore as smoke billowed out from beneath the canopy, numerous holes perforating the hood. She braked and turned the wheel, robbing the car of as much momentum as she could. "Everyone out!" she shouted, and SASS pushed open the door and leapt out.
From the outside, the situation looked as bad as she had supposed it would. The Sangvis jet was receding into the distance, a trench's worth of dirt and stone thrown up by the gun run. It appeared that the gun had hit the car at an angle, such that it only hit the engine and not the crew compartment, thankfully for the other three.
"Can you walk?" Grizzly asked M590 as soon as they were all gathered, and she immediately went for the doll, putting a hand on her shoulder and supporting her as she limped.
"I'll manage," M590 said. "How much farther to the support squad?"
"Only half a klick," SASS said quickly. "We can make it. I'll radio Griffin–"
"Don't waste the time," Grizzly said. "They're probably tracking us via a drone by now, no need to inform them." The doll was still helping M590 as she spoke.
"We need to move if we want to get there before the Sangvis jet gets back," Ingram said. "Sangvis will be hot on our location by now, what with the smoke from the engine."
"Glad to have you with us, Captain Obvious," Grizzly muttered. "Ingram, you're helping M590 move. SASS, RFB, with me. Let's go."
The wrecked car was soon behind them as they made their way in the direction Throne had told them to go. It was much slower than driving, but it was moving nonetheless. The Sangvis jet had disappeared again, though the carriers had descended again and were just now picking up off the ground. RFB said that they were likely picking up the Sangvis elements that had been preparing to ambush them, though nobody had bothered to make conversation out of it.
They were nearly to support squad Pavel when the treeline to their left exploded in a flurry of splintery wood and pine needles as another round of mortar shells impacted.
"It'll be us next," RFB said gloomily. "Sangvis knows our position. They just need to improve their aim."
"Shut up," Grizzly said, voice terse. "Pick up the pace. We're nearly there!"
SASS looked back to Ingram and M590. The former looked freakily anxious, body twitching at every breeze. Ingram clearly sensed another fight nearing, and SASS suspected that she would drop M590 the instant it came. For her part, the shotgun doll was getting along just fine, despite the coolant oozing out around the shrapnel wound in her leg.
"Movement!" RFB said, and the doll threw her rifle up to her shoulder an instant before a hail of fire flew out from the forest to their right.
"Yes!" Ingram cried.
"They shelled the other forest to trick us," Grizzly growled. The doll brought her pistol to bear and fired off several rounds into the incoming fire before running to M590. Sangvis fire whipped past SASS's head as she took position next to RFB, returning fire.
"There's no cover," she heard M590 say.
"Ingram, use your last smoke grenade on your treeline," said Grizzly. "M590, let's go. I'll carry you. SASS, RFB! Keep me covered while I move M590."
"Aye aye," SASS said, and she and RFB started moving towards the other two. Ingram chucked her smoke grenade, and the forest edge that Sangvis was using for cover was quickly covered in a cloud of smoke, the fire from the enemy lessening.
Grizzly and M590 had put an arm around each other, making good time despite the injury.
"Sangvis coming through the smoke!" RFB said. SF androids had begun appearing like ghosts from within the cloud , weapons raised. It was easy enough to nail the first of them, isolated as they were, but soon more and more began coming out in pairs and trios. Ingram laughed then, and SASS suddenly felt much less confident in their chances.
"SUCKERS!" cackled the doll as she squeezed off bursts from her weapon. SASS was shocked at how adept the doll was at dodging enemy fire, and in spite of the existing scars on her skin Ingram went untouched.
"More!" RFB pointed towards the far end of the smoke, where an organized formation of Vespids had emerged. Ingram bolted at the sight of them, running into the Sangvis fire, to Grizzly's chagrin.
"GET BACK HERE!" she shouted, voice becoming hoarse. "INGRAM!"
"She can disrupt their formation," M590 said. "Keep going. She'll link back up."
"There's the point that Pavel is stationed at." SASS pointed to a short, rocky hill ahead, its base ringed by trees. It looked like an old, man-made fortification, a heap of rocks shored up to form a rocky, near-vertical slope on one side and a gentle slope on the other. SASS could not see anyone on the top, but dearly hoped they were there regardless. She could not imagine anywhere else support squad Pavel could be.
"EAT LEAD!" Ingram screeched from amidst the Sangvis troops. They had stopped advancing towards the other four and turned their weapons inward, trying to fire at the diminutive doll darting about. SASS rarely saw Ingram fight, so it was a shock to see how quickly she did it, using Sangvis dolls for cover as she fired off salvos at the slow-to-react androids.
"She'll burn herself out eventually," Grizzly insisted, but SASS doubted the statement. If it happened, it wouldn't be soon; if there was anything Ingram didn't lack, it was energy in combat.
"More Sangvis coming out of the treeline," RFB said, starting to fire her rifle again. This time, it was mounted units, skirting around Ingram's engagement and making a beeline for M590 and her escort. "Grizzly-chan, we can't take those by ourselves!"
"I know," said Grizzly. She continued helping M590 towards the rocky hill while raising her pistol. "Let's just hope that Griffin echelon is there." She pulled the trigger and sent a shot that ricocheted off one of the rocks at the top of the hill.
"They're gaining," RFB said. SASS glanced back to see that the skirmishers were drawing closer with alarming speed, and her hand dropped down to the sheathed knife.
"Hey, who the hell's shooting at us?!" cried a voice from the hilltop. "Damn newbie echelons, trying for some target practice out on patrol. Name yourselves!" A blonde head peeked out over the rocks, peering down at the four below. "Grizzly!"
"Get off your ass and on your gun!" Grizzly bellowed. "We're going to DIE!"
"Oh! Sangvis!" said the blonde girl. "Aye aye!"
SASS glanced back to see a large gun on a tripod – she identified it as an M2 – hefted onto a rock, and the blonde girl climbed up behind it. Her clones soon did the same, and another doll with a similar weapon did the same.
"Fire at will!" shouted the doll. The blonde girl's M2 thundered as it spat out rounds, immense cracking sounds splitting the air between her and the Sangvis. SASS placed her hands over her ears as she watched the Sangvis formation cut down in a hail of bullets. When the next wave of Sangvis emerged from the forest, they had no time to form up before the machine gun fire put an end to their lives.
"That's enough!" shouted a voice from the hilltop. "Quit it!"
The barrage stopped, leaving a field of Sangvis corpses, and SASS's ears ringing. A cheer went up from the top of the hill, and SASS looked back to see the two machine gun dolls pumping their fists in the air. Another doll had joined them, a rather large black top hat perched on her head. She had her hands on her hips as she looked to M2 and the other doll. SASS recognized the latter as M1919A4, but the top-hatted doll she could not place.
"You good down there?" she asked.
"We're fine," Grizzly yelled back
"Movement from the corpses!" M1919A4 shouted, lifting the barrel of her gun back up. SASS twisted around to see the Sangvis carrion shifting aside.
"It's one of ours," Grizzly said, and Ingram popped up from underneath the Sangvis, soaked in purple coolant.
"SUCK IT!" she yelled, raising both fists with a knife in her hand.
"Christ," Grizzly muttered under her breath. "Get over here!"
As Ingram made for the group, SASS saw a doll emerge from the forest. "Grizzly," she said. Grizzly turned around to look, but it was M590 who spoke.
"M500," she said, and the doll smiled cheerily.
"That's me! Spitfire said I should guide you up to our position in case of another Sangvis attack."
"That would be prudent," said Grizzly. M500 nodded, and SASS noticed the dog ears on top of her for the first time as they twitched.
"Just follow me through the forest, then."
On the top of the hill were all the dolls of Gerbera Team. M1919A4 and M2 stood on the edges, watching for more Sangvis, but two more sat and stood around the supply crates piled together. The black-hatted doll was one of them, but another blue-uniformed doll stood attending her.
"Grizzly," the black-hatted one acknowledged as they approached, rising from her seat on an ammunition crate. Grizzly grunted an unintelligible response as she helped M590 to the pile and sat her down.
"Spitfire," she said, holding her hand out to black-hat. They shook and then separated, Spitfire's hands going back to her hips.
"So, where's that car Throne mentioned?"
"Ditched it when Sangvis close air nailed the engine," Grizzly said, crossing her arms. "What're we still doing here? Now that you've engaged, Sangvis probably has this position figured out."
"Command said that they sortied drones to drive off Sangvis air elements, and we can deal with land attacks from where we are now. Though I don't think Sangvis is likely to try another assault anytime soon."
"We'll see," Grizzly said. "What's the deal with exfil?"
"They've sent carriers, they'll be here soon."
"Spitfire!" M2 shouted from her position on the edge of the hill. "How much longer? I want to get back to base!"
"Just a few minutes," Spitfire said, but that apparently wasn't enough. M2 left her dummies behind and climbed down off her rock, joined by M1919A4. Both approached Spitfire and the others.
"We've been here for hours," M1919A4 complained.
"You literally just shot at Sangvis," Spitfire replied. "Can't you sit still for just a minute?"
"It's been more than a minute."
Grizzly caught SASS's eye and grinned, eyes flickering over to RFB and Ingram. "They might get along," she murmured to SASS. For their part, RFB was busy being chased by Ingram, who was intent on "sharing the glory" with the assault rifle by smearing Sangvis coolant on her. Ingram was fairly dripping with the stuff, having evidently performed a great deal of work with her knife.
"Just hold on," Spitfire insisted. M1919A4 rolled her eyes and brushed past her to stand in front of SASS. She was short, shorter than SASS, though she made up for it with her energy.
"SASS!" she said. "I've heard about you from Thompson!"
"Oh?" SASS replied, dragged out of her own thoughts by the diminutive gunner. M1919A4 nodded.
"Yeah. I mean, all she said was that you were good at killing Sangvis. I think she was a bit mad at M9 and wanted to show her up, actually."
"Good to know," SASS said, exasperated. M9 seemed to be the thorn in Thompson's side, always slowing her down with her incessant complaining. And she always uses us to make her feel bad.
"Kind of messy though, huh?"
"Hm?" SASS looked at the other doll in askance before turning her gaze downwards. Her clothes were stained in Sangvis coolant, and the bandage around her injured leg had become soaked in her own "blood". Forest debris clung to the sticky substance, as well fine grey dust from the riverbed. She tasted coolant in her mouth and reached up to her nose.
"You know, I wish I could do that sort of stuff that you did with the convoy. It sounds so much more action-packed." M1919A4 was saying, setting her tiny fists on her hips. SASS felt her nose start to throb as the adrenaline – well, core overdrive protocol – wore off. The car ride was full of action, that was for sure, but M19191A4 seemed to lack a sense of fear.
Grizzly tapped SASS on the shoulder. "There's our ride. Let's get ready to go."
There wasn't much to get ready. SASS slung her rifle over her shoulder and watched as the carrier set down at the bottom of the hill. Grizzly helped M590 back to her feet, and Spitfire started collecting her charges, urging them down the hill. For all her energy when shooting, M2 was a slow mover, though the rest were quick enough.
"Want us to take some?" Grizzly asked.
"We can all fit in the other chopper," Spitfire said. "We've got enough room for the dummies. And I'm sure you want space for your friend."
"That I do." Grizzly wasted no time in taking Spitfire up on her offer. SASS waited until she had passed by M590 before turning around to follow the others, bringing up the rear.
"SASS!" she heard M1919A4 shout from behind her. The short doll was taking the lead as Spitfire's team progressed down the hill. "Since we saved you from those Sangvis, you should come see my show!"
"Your show?" SASS asked. M1919A4 grinned smugly.
"Yup! M2 and I play in a band. Well, Spitfire sings sometimes, but she doesn't like to talk about it."
"I heard that!" Spitfire yelled from the hilltop, and she looked about ready to huck the ammunition crate in her hands down on top of M1919A4. The doll continued speaking to SASS without pause.
"I play drums, and M2 plays the clarinet sometimes. We're not playing until next week, but you should totally come."
SASS raised an eyebrow. T-doll bands were not unheard of, to be sure, but it was a surprise that Kerr had approved anything of the sort. Though maybe she didn't. "I'd be happy to come, if I have the time."
M1919A4 scoffed at that. "Right? Kerr's been heaping so much work on us we may need to cancel the show. Well, BAR-san says she can handle it, so I guess I can't let her show me up."
BAR? SASS wondered what M1918 was doing in a band, given her age. Perhaps M1919A4 was talking about something else.
"SASS, let's go!" Grizzly shouted from the bottom of the hill, barely intelligible over the helicopter engine. SASS waved to M1919A4 before hurrying down the hill and joining the others in the helicopter. "What was that about?"
"Asking me to see her performance," SASS said as the helicopter began to pick up off the ground. Grizzly made an expression of ponderousness at that.
"Well, I dunno what she performs in. Hopefully it's good, for your sake. I heard about this band from another sector that made awful music."
"You just think that because it was modern stuff," M590 laughed from her seat, leg stretched over the one next to her. Grizzly folded her arms across her chest.
"It's fair criticism. And AEK-999 was in it, I just can't stand her attitude."
M590 laughed out loud. SASS looked out the window to her left to see Spitfire and her team boarding the second carrier, and the winding path of the dried-up riverbed far below.