A.N.: Chapter Eight.
Hello again! Sorry for the somewhat long wait, but I had some personal issues to work throu. My graduation is coming up and with it the exams, but my school is closed due to Covid-19, so I have to learn at home.
Not easy with All these distractions.
On to the chapter.
Sector S09, abandoned Sangvis outpost.
Team 404 arrived at the designated meeting point just as the sun started to set. The point the Griffin commander gave is an old outpost that used to belong to Sangvis and was captured by Griffin after the area was handed over to the new commander.
They set up camp outside the outpost in a small abandoned shack, using a cloaking device that Spark provided to hide from any notice by either SF or Griffin until the start of the meeting. Currently, they are discussing the way they should confront the meeting parties, so that they would lend their aid.
"For the last time 9, we are not going to just teleport in the middle of the meeting!"
... A very unproductive discussion.
"But whyyyyy, it would be really cool and they would believe us more if we showed them some of the alien tech that Mr. Spark got!"
"I am with 416 on this one, 9. We can't just pop up unannounced in there, chances are that they would shoot at us on sight. They are expecting to be followed after all."
"45-nee! Not you too!"
"*Sigh* ok, how about we leave the decision to Mr. Spark, ok? He is the client after all."
Spark, not expecting for the conversation to shift to him so suddenly, was caught a bit of guard as the present Dolls all looked at him, one with pleading puppy dog eyes, one with a all too innocent smile and one with a scowl that dared him to indulge the energetic SMG doll.
G11 was sitting in one corner of the room, acting as the lookout at one of the windows, she would rather leave the planning to those with more capabilities in tactics.
After a moment of awkward silence on Spark's part, he came up with a solution, one that would, hopefully, settle the debate for everyone.
"How about this. We can compromise, I will contact them by hacking into their frequency and assure them that we mean no harm, then, one of us is going to use the Vex teleporter I have to teleport to their location as a way to make them believe us easier. My Guardian would do something like that all the time, he calls it a 'Hunters Entrance'. He loves to make dramatic appearances."
Looks like this appeased all the arguing parties to some extend, but one question remained.
"Who is going to accompany you Mr. Spark?" The one to ask was 45, she had a very interested look in her eyes, no doubt wanting to use the teleporter herself.
"Oh! oh! Me! Me!" her sister was apparently even more exited to do something like that. She was practically jumping in her seat with stars in her eyes.
"No, sending you would just paint a bad image of us. You are not professional enough for such a meeting." came the reply from 416, her face set in an expression of superiority with her back straight. "Don't worry, Mr. Spark, all you would need for this mission would be me. I will be able to protect you in case the negotiations fail!"
... It appears that she is still somewhat looking for a confrontation with those Griffin T-dolls.
"Ummmm..." Spark was at a loss. He really did not want to take 9 or 416 with him, one was too excitable and the other too confrontational. 45 was also out of the question because he did not want her to have something to brag about to her teammate.
Then, he got an idea. There was one Doll that hasn't shown any sign of interest yet.
"I think G11 should accompany me!" he said in a desperate tone. The ones who showed visible interest were caught so off guard by his choice that they weren't even able to react.
"What?" The chosen one herself on the other hand was able to exclaim her surprise in her usual tired tone.
"Hear me out for a moment! 45 is the leader and she should stay safe in case of a confrontation. 9 and 416 should secure the perimeter, I will even equip you with some of the gear I have with me! G11 is someone, from what I saw so far, that won't loose her composure so easily and her general lazy appearance should keep the Griffin dolls and their commander in the believe that she is no threat. "
He finished his explanation hastily, he knew his reason Was not all that sound, but he just wanted to avoid a prolonged discussion.
The T-dolls seemed to accept his reasoning, 9 and 416 mostly because, in 9's words, they got to 'play' with some of Spark's stuff.
Just as he was about to celebrate this small victory, the tired voice of the sleepy T-dolls came from the window she Was stationed at.
"Can I get some extra gear for this?"
And like that, another discussion was started about the equipment he would provide them with.
Why does he always get the troublesome ones?
The next day.
Spark and the Team were ready for their little mission. They were able to negotiate the arrangements for the equipment after some time of discussing, but were satisfied with the results.
G11 got the most of it, she is going to be the one under the most risk after all. She is equiped with one of the suits of protective gear, minus the cloak, from Hunter's arsenal, the old armor that he earned in the Crucible as a token of Shaxx's respect. She also got a sidearm in the form of one of Hunter's favorite SMGs, Riskrunner.
That doesn't mean that the other members of 404 worse equipment.
45 was given the Mida Mini Tool as a sidearm and the Optimacy armor set that he got as a present from Calus, the Cabal Emperor.
9 is equipped with the Exodus Down armor set they were able to salvage from the Exodus Black while doing some missions for Failsafe, the armor itself being named so by the AI in question. Her new secondary weapon is the Mountain Top grenade launcher, in case they need to get rid of some armored enemies.
416 is wearing the Woodland armor that Spark and his Guardian got as a present from Devrim after they defeated Ghaul, as an apology for doubting their chances of survival against the delusional Cabal leader. Something he handily forgot to say to them at the time. 416 Was going to act as their sniper for this one, so she was given D. A. R. C. I., a sniper rifle with an artificial intelligence that Hunter used as his primary weapon for ranged extermination. Ranged meaning that he would use it in distances over one kilometer, because that Was his maximum precision range with Ace.
Spark also had to give the three Dolls that would give ranged support one small cloaking device each so they would not be discovered.
Good that Hunter is a hoarder.
Spark had to adjust the different armor sets as well, so they would fit the dolls. Thought 45 seemed to be a bit agitated that he only needed to shrink her armor while he had to increase the chest space for the others. Something that 416 promptly mocked her with.
Now the time for the meeting has come. 416 stationed herself on top of one of the watchtowers in the area, while 9 hid inside the outpost itself. 45 Was inside the shack with G11 and spark, waiting for everything to start.
That is when 416 contacted them over the communication devices that Spark gave them, small practical things that fit perfectly in your ear.
"I can see the two Griffin dolls approaching from the north, they should arrive at the outpost in a few minutes."
"Understood. Hold your position and look out for the Griffin rescue Team." 45 was completely serious. This was something they can't mess up. If they don't get Hunter's last message and where it was found, then they had to start from zero with no clue where he could have gone.
Failure was not an option.
" Ok, I will look for a good moment to contact them during the meeting and will calibrate the teleporter to bring us to their location using the tracker 9 carries as a reference. 9 has smoke grenades loaded into Mountain Top and some high explosives in case of an attack, so we should be fine if we need to escape." 45 gave a nod and a smile at Spark's assessment. She did not need to be concerned for her sister because of her new, if temporary, equipment and the fact that she has actually the least dangerous task of them. Simply to make an opening for Spark and G11 to escape in case of an emergency.
Her thoughts were interrupted by another announcement from 416.
"Helicopter approaching from the east. It's the Griffin pickup team, judging by the appearance." Was her message, her tone laced with anticipation.
And true to her words, the sound of a helicopter approaching was rapidly getting louder. 45 looked at G11 and Spark and gave them a firm nod.
" It's showtime."
A.N.:
There you have it. Took a bit to get this started.
So the confrontation between Team 404 and Spark with three members of the AR Team and the Griffin Team is going to be next chapter.
I hope I don't mess this up.
Problem is that I don't yet know which T-dolls will be on the Griffin Team. So I will just ask you for suggestions.
Who knows, maybe your favorite Doll will become a recurring member of the cast!
Until next time.
