Day 7: July 12, 2062 | 2359 Hours | Base S09 Dining Hall

It was a late night in the dining hall with only a small number of T-Dolls remaining inside. Springfield was cleaning up the place with a few of the waitresses, M16 and Thompsons were still at the bar drinking away since M4's restriction on her older sister was finally lifted, and a couple of the Junior Model T-Dolls were by the vending machines grabbing a bunch of late-night snacks.

Juno sat at one of the booths finishing up the rest of the paperwork for Base S09. For the past week, the base has been getting more T-Dolls, bumping up the initial 32 dolls to 58. However, it was still a small number for such a large base, and Juno planned to send requests for more T-Dolls to expand her capabilities. At the moment, she only had four combat echelons and three logistics echelons. Despite the shortage of T-Dolls, having AR Team eased up some of the pressure on her, but she didn't want to rely so much on an Elite T-Doll squad.

Kalina stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. "It's getting pretty late, Commander."

Juno's eyes were stuck to the paper she was writing on. "We still got a couple of forms to fill out, Miss Kalina."

"Can't we do them tomorrow?" Kalina asked. "We have two days before Helian hands in our orders."

"I prefer to send out these requests tomorrow morning so we can go more T-Dolls as soon as possible," Juno said. "Besides, if we finish the paperwork tonight, you can take the next two days off."

"But I need my beauty rest." Kalina pointed at the faint bags under Juno's eyes. "You need it too."

"I don't think I need to be beautiful for my job." Juno told her. "But if you want to head out you can. I won't stop you."

"Really?" Kalina raised a suspicious eyebrow. "This ain't some sort of test, right?"

Juno shook her head and put down her pen. "If you need your rest, I won't keep it from you."

"Ok then!" Kalina shot up the moment Juno confirmed she wasn't pulling her leg. "I'm gonna grab something from my desk in my office."

Juno returned to filling out the forms. "Don't forget to lock the door."

"Aye, aye, Commander!" Kalina dashed towards the door but turned around once she reached it. "You have a good night!"

Juno waved back. "You too, Miss Kalina."

…

0142 Hours | The Commander's Office

Juno's footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as she walked over to her office. Her eyes were heavy and barely able to keep open. When it was this late at night, the commander center was nearly empty with only a handful of T-Dolls serving as overnight sentries. Perhaps when Base S09 receives more personnel, the command center would have some life at night, but right now it was an empty and cold building with only Juno inside. The vacant halls and lack of noise created an eerie atmosphere, and while Juno has certainly seen worse in her life, it still made her feel uneasy to be this alone.

Arriving at the door to her office, Juno noticed that the door was slightly slid open. Sometimes I wonder how you're my adjutant, Kalina. She entered the room and flipped the lights on, but nothing lit up keeping the room shrouded in darkness. Of course, the lights aren't working.

Juno carefully made her way through the dark office before her foot touched the front of her desk. She placed the folders she was carrying on it but then heard the door slide shut behind her She turned around to see if anyone was in there, but as far as she knew, Juno was the only person in the room.

"Anyone there?" Juno called out but was met with silence. She took out her revolver and squinted her eyes to see better in the dark, but it did little to help. "If anyone is in here, I suggest you say something to avoid getting hurt."

"I don't think you would stand much of a chance against someone that can see in the dark." A mischievous voice came from Kalina's desk, and a pair of faintly glowing yellow eyes could now be seen. "But I admire the attempt."

Juno aimed at the mysterious visitor. "Forgive me for trying."

The lights turned on to reveal a yellow-eyed doll sitting with a gun on her lap and wearing a smile that was too wide for Juno's comfort. She wore a black jacket with dark yellow accents and an armband of the same color on her left arm. Her long hair was a light shade of brown and tied into a side tail on the left side of her head. However, the thing that caught Juno's attention as the single straight scar that went over her left eye.

"So, you're the commander I've been hearing so much about." The doll kicked up her feet onto Kalina's desk and ignored the fact that Juno had a gun aimed at her. "You're certainly not what I expected."

"Who are you?" Juno cut straight to the chase.

"Oh, you're no fun, Commander." The T-Doll stood up and grabbed her weapon. Now that it was in full view, Juno recognized it was an UMP45.

Juno examined her visitor from head to toe. "Are you a new T-Doll?"

"Afraid not, Commander." The doll walked around the desk and stood face-to-face with Juno. "My name is UMP45. It is an honor to meet you."

While UMP45 was showing no signs of hostility and even being friendly, Juno couldn't figure out whether it was sincere or if UMP45 was simply pretending.

Deciding to trust her instinct, Juno put her revolver back in her holster but kept a careful eye on here. "You must be a pretty good infiltrator to get past all the sentries, Miss UMP45."

"It wasn't that difficult." UMP45's smile turned into a smug one.

"I'm also impressed that you managed to get past the security lock of the door."

UMP45 chuckled. "While I do posses quite the skillset when it comes to hacking, I'm afraid the door was left open when I arrived."

Juno pinched the bridge of her nose. "And here I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, Miss Kalina."

"Anyhoo, Commander. I was on a job in your sector and stumbled across some information that may prove vital to your future efforts against SF."

"Really?" Juno looked at the T-Doll intrigued by what she had to offer. "Well then what is it?"

UMP45 wagged her finger. "Ah ah ah, information like this doesn't come for free, Commander."

"You don't work for Griffin?"

"Working for Griffin does seem like quite a nice and comfortable job, but freelance work is far more profitable."

"How much is it going to cost me?"

UMP45 walked past Juno and rubbed her chin before pivoting around to face Juno. "Well, since I've taken a liking to you, I'll be willing to give it for the generous low cost of a single favor."

Juno looked at the smiling T-Doll. While she didn't fully trust UMP45, Juno couldn't ignore information that could provide an edge against SF, and owing a favor was certainly cheaper than paying her. "What kind of favor?"

"I don't know, but I do think having another Griffin commander in my pocket would come in handy some time down the line." UMP45 answered honestly.

Juno deliberated on the offer for another moment before nodding. "You got a deal."

UMP45's smile grew even wider. "I was listening to the radio recently. Our Sangvis friends are expecting some rain on the plain. If I were you, I'd be looking for an umbrella."

"Rain on the plain? Umbrella?" The T-Doll's words confused Juno. "What does that have to do with SF?"

UMP45 shrugged as if she was clueless, but it was clear she was holding back information. "Maybe you'll figure it out before it rains."

The T-Doll dug into her jacket pocket and handed Juno a communication device that had three numbers printed on it: 4-0-4.

"If you ever want to owe more favors, feel free to call." UMP45 headed towards the door. "Oh, and if you could, don't mention our little encounter here with anyone."

"It'll cost you."

UMP45 stopped at the door and turned her head back with a sly smile. "Heh, I'll call in that favor then. You have a good night, Commander."

The doll went through the door, and it slid shut behind her. Juno looked down at the device that she was given, rubbed the numbers on it, and repeated the cryptic message UMP45 had given her.

"What could she mean?"