(07:59 | 31/5/2056)
With the press of a few buttons, and the removal of a few tubes, Garand's systems began to reboot. Fingers twitching, eyes digitizing before projecting human-like irises. A first breath in her new body, before she began to proper herself up and out of the tube she was within.
Unsurprisingly, she was in the repair bay. The large room was lined with four reconstruction pods, though the other ones seemed to be empty.
It was a mechanical space. Every nook served a purpose, no inch left unused. Tables, racks for spare parts, generic doll bodies, dummy cores all had their place. In particular, as she sat up, she saw her old body resting on an empty table. Bullet hole in the head and all.
Wasn't the first time she'd seen the remains of a doll's corpse. But it was the first time she'd seen one of her's. This was the first time she ever needed a full replacement at all.
"Ah, the sleeping beauty finally wakes!" A voice announced to her left, pulling her attention away from her body and towards none other than the chief engineer. Khan strolled over, a smile on his face and a stack of clothes in hand.
Clothes from her closet. At this point Garand looked down and realized she was in her birthday suit, before squealing and diving back into the pod. The British man chuckled at the sight, placing the clothes on the table and turning his back towards the woman.
"Come now, I've seen every lady in this base nude at least once." He added, with no loss of mirth. Poking her head back out and seeing that Khan was attempting to respect her dignity, she slunk out and snatched her clothes, then darted back into the pod.
Having heard the footsteps, Khan turned back around and clapped his hands together. "You gave us quite a fright, young one! A five-fourty-five round to the head is not an injury one should take lightly!"
"I'm sorry. " Garand grumbled, dressing herself with all due speed. Pantyhose and undergarments; shirt, skirt and coat. No tie or beret, sadly, but she could grab those from the wash. "Even if I'd died in the field, my digimind was backed up before we left."
"But you would have lost your memories, child! And memories are what make us who we are." He said, turning around as he heard the girl exit the pod once again. Her hair was a mess without the headband or hat, but she still looked far better than she had when Springfield had carried her in here.
Garand rolled her eyes, letting the shoulders of her coat drag back down. "Is she alright? Is everyone else alright?"
He walked over to the doll, clapping her hands on her shoulders and smiling. "Fine. Had to do some repairs on Bar's arm, but it's fixed now. Also had to give Fourteen half of my soda stash to calm her down."
The blonde sighed, bowing her head in shame. The image of Fourteen crying especially rolled into her heart.
In response, Khan moved his hand and grabbed the girl's chin, tilting it back up so she looked him in the eye once more. His smile was warm and comforting, something she and the other dolls on base had grown used too over their time here.
"It is in the past." He assured, before releasing his grasp and taking a step back. He then pointed to a chair in the corner, with a multitude of cables coming in and out of the headrest. "Now, I need to perform a quick diagnostic before I can release you."
"Do I have to? I feel fine! I can move my hand easy, see?" Garand said, lifting her arm up and clenching it over and over again.
Seeing that Khan wasn't budging on the matter, she grimaced and looked to the monstrous chair with dread and loathing. Every time she'd ever sat in this thing, she wanted to make a break for it just as soon as her rear hit the cushion.
"It will be quick. Just firing a few reaction tests." He assured, going to stand at the computer monitoring the device. As he flicked his systems on, Garand relented and moved to sit in the chair.
She felt a sudden zap when the back of her head made contact, her hands reflexively clenching the arm-rests. Damned electric chair, she felt like a condemned criminal.
"Good. Reaction to outside stimuli remains at nominal levels." Khan noted, before plugging a few more commands into the device. "Now to make sure your neural cloud is properly synced…"
"Oh, sure. Take your time. I'm having a blast here." Garand commented sarcastically, her eyeballs turning pitch black for a split second before resetting themselves. She gasped, then groaned.
Khan chuckled, but continued with his motions. "We all must drink bitter medicine. Though in your case, bitter isn't how I'd describe it."
"Really? Because I'd call this tort-" Garand began to reply, before her mouth sagged open. Her gaze shot down, wishing she could groan through her now disabled voicebox.
"Believe me, we would not be doing this if it was not necessary." Khan assured once more, before giving full motions back to the doll. "Better we find a defect here than in the field, where it could be fatal."
Garand took her jaw in hand, rubbing it as she felt the electric current between her head and the chair finally die off. With a sigh of relief, she sagged back against the device. "I hate this thing."
Khan chuckled, but offered no verbal remark. Instead he grabbed a wheeled stool, sitting down on top of it and rolling so he was before Garand once more.
"I need to speak with you, before I let you leave." Khan requested, earning the attention of the doll once more as she sat upright.
Khan linked his hands together, pausing as he tried to find the right words for what he wanted to say. "What does your team think of this new Commander?"
Garand cocked a brow, leaning forwards and resting her elbows in her lap. She expected him to ask about another issue, maybe a few details from the mission. But asking about their new boss was a bit out of left field.
"Well, Springfield likes him. But Springfield likes everyone." Garand rationalized with a shrug. "Just like how Thompson hates him, but Thompson hates everyone."
"They've already butted heads?" Khan asked, unsurprised considering Hsu's apparent demeanor and Thompson's tendency to buck any and all authority.
"Pretty sure she's called him a dick or an asshole at least five times." Garand recalled, thinking back to the discussions the echelon had while they were waiting at the front gate. "To his face one time, too. But he threw it back at her."
"'I'm not an asshole, I just don't like you.'" Khan quoted, something that made Garand quite perturbed.
"You went rooting around in my data bank." She accused, leveling a glare at the man. An accusation which led to him lifting his hands up in surrender.
"Guilty. But I do that every time someone brings an intact core back to base." Khan clarified, dropping his gesture and looking back to Garand. "I can make a note to exempt you from that check, if you wish."
"That'd be great , thanks." Garand said, putting emphasis on her words. Doll or not, she wasn't going to have people rooting around in her head. Even friends like Khan.
He nodded agreeingly. "What about Bar and Fourteen?"
Again, Garand shrugged. "Bar doesn't care enough to feel anything. Fourteen's just happy that someone new's on base." She informed, sitting back up before looking to the engineer with genuine curiosity. "Why're you asking me this?"
Khan pursed his lips, drumming his hands softly against his thighs. "Well, looking through your memories, I naturally saw your… let's call it 'confrontation' with him."
Garand winced, burying her hands in her face. "I'm in trouble, aren't I? I knew it. I knew I should've just kept my trap shut."
"He doesn't know about this talk, nor will he." Khan affirmed, the engineer adjusting his seating before he continued. "But… he seems to listen to you."
"Me. Listens to me. " Garand repeated, now not sure if Khan had really seen what happened. "Assad, he basically told me to piss off in Military."
"And then called for evacuation when you were injured, against your protests." Khan reminded, earning another scornful glare from the doll. The engineer laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. When an intrusive thought found itself in his mind.
"...I have a plan. Can you hear me out?"
(08:00)
Kalina had looked forward to returning from her leave.
Sure, it was nice to spend a week back in the real world. Being able to walk outside without being greeted by a line of sentry-guns, her wake up call wasn't the sound of black-hawks spooling their rotors. Plenty of shops to peruse, plenty of cafes to spend time in. Warsaw was nice and tranquil.
It was also very, very boring.
Civilian life lacked the spice and spark of being a mercenary. Even with how quiet the sector was, the dolls on-base never ceased to make her time entertaining. Between M14's hyperactivity, PPK's 'tendencies' and M1897's many mishaps, there was never a dull moment with the girls around.
And with the arrival of this new Commander, she was sure that wasn't going to change anytime soon.
Hsu was currently in a verbal sparring match with Helian, her hologram raging about some sort of incident that had happened while she was away. It had been a long, long time since she'd seen the Scotswoman reach this level of fury. For most people, it would be a terrifying sight. For Kalina, it made her wish she had popcorn.
Doubly so, seeing that this man was one of the few people she'd seen stand toe to two with the Sub-Director.
"You've been in the field for one day and have already cost the company half a million Euros in damages!" The silver haired woman roared, her hologram pacing around Hsu's steady form like a lion getting ready to rip a gazelle to pieces. "Do you realize how much a Humvee costs!? Why didn't you call for a recovery team!?"
"Any team we sent in after us would have been at risk of ambush. It was better to cut our losses and deny the enemy any assets." Hsu answered coolly, his gaze remaining forwards as he took the reprimand in stride. Yet through this whole affair, he hadn't given Helian an inch. Countering each of her points with his own logic.
His unflappable demeanor was not settling well with Helian. It was one thing to deal with someone defying her authority, she'd fired plenty of employees who thought it was wise to try and rebel.
It was another to deal with someone playing around with her.
Hsu kept his stone-faced expression, not revealing the abject terror that was crawling beneath the facade. He knew the tricks of being chewed out, he'd done it to many people many a time. He'd been on the receiving end of explicative laced rants and raves. It was a part of being in the military, you built a resistance to it.
But Helian was very close to breaking that resistance.
There was something horrifying about how this Scottish woman was able to carry herself. Like a banshee, floating around and waiting for a chance to suck out his soul. One crack in the armor, and she would descend upon it.
Hsu feared death. But he was already starting to fear his boss more.
"You were never authorized to launch a mission! If anything you were to standby and wait for my directives!" She boomed.
"Ma'am, you never told me I was confined to base." Hsu reminded, then immediately bit his tongue as soon as the words left his mouth.
"We can change that, Major." She reminded him, a very real threat. She was already a few steps off from replacing him entirely. The only thing saving him was the vagueness of his directives.
Hsu had no response. The commander merely stood there, at parade rest. There was no right answer, there was no out. He was completely at this enraged executive's mercy.
Helian paused her strafe, standing before Hsu and taking a long breath.
"This area's security is in flux , Major." Helian explained, slowly and carefully. As if Hsu was a small child. "We're receiving new intelligence every day. Bandits are the least of your worries."
"I'm guessing this has to do with the Sangvis you mentioned yesterday." Hsu deducted, his internal despair doubling. He knew this area was a blind-spot, it was why he'd tried to go scout in the first place. "And why you decided to finally assign a commander to this region after three months."
"...Where did you find that out?" Helian demanded, knowing she hadn't given the new arrival that information.
"The dolls." He said, bluntly. "They're lazy. Out of practice and misused. How did a PMC get their hands on formerly military employed androids?"
"That is far above your paygrade." Helian said, turning her foreboding aura back onto the man. He immediately went quiet again, not wanting to step into a minefield. There was only so much he was willing to push without his survival instinct kicking in.
It was enough to satisfy Helian. Her posture relaxed, seeing as she'd asserted her position on her subordinate.
"You are to stay on-base until further notice." She ordered. "You are to use your echelon for combat drills only. There will be no more 'patrols'. There will be no more engaging hostiles. Not until I give my explicit green-light. Understood?"
"Understood." Hsu droned, not offering any resistance. "...Have the local settlements been warned about the IEDs?"
Helian sucked in a breath, leaning back against the desk in her own office as it materialized into her projection.
"We sent out a notice once I read your report." Helian assured, shaking her head at the thought. "The military refuses to assist, of course. Not worth the resources to end an EOD team down here."
"If I may, ma'am?" Hsu began, not continuing until Helian gave him a wave of the hand to proceed. "We lack the capacity to fight an insurgency. According to our captives, there's a full on bandit-clan in this sector."
"What did I say about engaging hostiles?" Helian said, temper flaring again.
"I have a moral obligation to protect these people." Hsu affirmed, digging his heels. "The only thing stopping me is my tools."
Helian's eyes searched the man, but she didn't slap him down. If anything her expression betrayed a feeling of conflict regarding the situation.
"...We're very well aware. Even with Thirty Six's echelon, you lack the manpower. That's part of the reason we're ordering you to not kick the hornet's nest." She clarifies. "That and your horrid performance so far."
"He did get us intel on the region, Helian." Kalina said, finally speaking up from her corner. Both Helian and Hsu turned to look, surprised at the sudden emergence of the logistics officer. Both of them then mounted a shared glare towards G36, the German doll squeaking in fear as the two figures looked liable to disassemble her.
"Kalin. You've returned from leave." Helian observed with a palpable lack of enthusiasm. One that Kalina was happy to meet with a sunny smile. Hsu was easily able to deduct that these two's relationship was strained, at best. Which more than likely meant trouble for him, if this 'Kalin' decided he was her new toy.
"Who's she?" He asked.
"Your logistics officer. Who will be giving you a briefing on the sector, right away." She informed, pushing herself back up to her feet and giving the Commander one final burning gaze.
"Remember your orders this time." Was her last word, before her hologram dissipated into a flurry of pixels. Hsu breathed in a small sigh of relief, before turning to look at the two remaining intruders to his quarters.
"You. Wait outside." He orders, pointing a finger towards Kalina. The girl frowned, but did as she was told, slipping back through the door and closing it behind her. Hsu then made his way towards the maid, who felt a new wave of fear come over her.
" K-kommandant, I apologize. She requested that I let her pass, and you never said-"
"Is your echelon battle-ready?" Hsu asked, not interested in hearing the maid's rambling excuses. Whether that girl had heard their yelling contest was neither here nor there.
G36 took some pause at the request, blinking in confusion at the man's words. Eventually she nodded, able to drop her glare because of how close he was. "We are on standby..."
"Good. Tell them to kit up and wait for my orders." Hsu ordered, walking past her and out of his quarters. He brushed past Kalina, the logistics officer almost fumbling her clip-board. Both she and the doll followed behind the man, keeping up with his brisk pace.
"Sir, if I may-" G36 started again, stumbling over a bump in the carpeting before continuing her march. "-the Unter-Direktor made it clear she does not want us engaging any outsiders."
"You're not engaging outsiders, you're engaging Bar's team." He said, making both of his trailing companions dig their heels into the ground and stop. As Hsu turned around, he would see both their expressions mired in confusion and concern.
"I have a plan." He promised, then pointed in the direction of the command center. "Ladies first."
(11:11)
Just as yesterday, Bar's team was lazing about the cafe. Each of them locked into their own activities. Springfield was behind the counter as usual, fiddling with the oven and baking a fresh batch of chocolate chip muffins. Garand, Bar and Thompson sat at a round table, playing a game of poker. In the center was a wad of paper bills, with each of the girls having a small stack of money at their side.
M14 watched them play, laying on a chair upside down with her legs curled over the headrest.
"Call." Thompson hummed, throwing a hundred euro bill into the money mosh-pit. Something that made Garand glance at her hand again, then back at the river. An ace of spades, jack of spades, five of clubs and a ten of diamonds.
"I see your call…" Bar starts, before grabbing three of the same notes from her stack. "And raise you two-hundred."
"Uhhhh… how much does that make the pot?" Garand asked, looking back between the two automatic weapon users with panic in her eyes. Usually they didn't play for more than a hundred bucks. Even after payday, they didn't throw this much money in.
"Three grand, even." Thompson said, looking to their leader with moderate distrust. "You're playin' a dangerous game, cuz."
If BAR's expression changed, the others weren't able to tell. Her eyes were hidden behind her tinted aviators, mouth straight and neutral the whole time.
"Maybe. Or maybe I've already won." She offered, leaning back and rolling her neck. Both her cards were pinned under a half-empty shot glass of white rum. She hadn't looked at them once since this hand started.
Thompson huffed, looking to Garand as she nodded her head at BAR. "Get a load-a this one. Cool as a cucumber, she thinks. She wasn't so cool yesterday, was she?"
The doll laughed at her own jab, Garand joining her both nervously and uncomfortably. Meanwhile, BAR continued to watch them both, unfazed and unperturbed.
The sub-machine gunner swiveled back to look at her relative, slimy and sly smile present and in full force. "Come on, cuz. You ain't gonna win! I'm pretty sure Springy's beaten me more than you, and she don't even know how to play!"
"I know very well how to play, Thompson." Springfield interjected, setting her tin of bakery goods fresh from the oven down onto the bar counter. "I merely choose not to partake in such regressive games."
"Oooh, 'regressive'. She's bustin' out the big words now." Thompson replied with no lack of sass. "Gonna preach some more, oh so Saintly Springfield? Thank God you weren't this much of a girl scout durin' the war."
Springfield pursed her lips, but didn't respond. As she continued to remove the muffins and put them on a plate, Thompson looked back over to the table one last time.
"Come on, cuz. Fold." Thompson says, before flicking a finger at Bar's shrinking stack of bills. "You're gonna bankrupt yourself~."
It was then that BAR leaned forward once more, staring at Thompson dead-on. The echelon leader pressed a finger against her aviators, sliding them down her nose so she could look over them.
"Then play until you wring me dry." She dared, voice level and chilled.
The two glared at one another, neither wanting to give any ground. Garand kept looking at them, then the wads of cash, then her own meager stack of funds. Their games always ended up like this, with these two going head to head over something or other.
Though this time, it felt more heated. An underlying tension, both women having an axe to grind with the other.
Either way, Garand did not want to be caught in the middle. She took her cards in hand, then flipped them and slid them to the center of the table. Two tens, three of a kind.
"I fold." She told them, before taking her remaining bills and stuffing them into one of her coat's many pockets.
Seeing the hand, then looking at Bar once more, Thompson contemplated her next move. Then she looked at her own stack, as tall now as it had been when she started.
With that in mind, she threw her hand on top of the river. Two more jacks. "Fine."
Chuckling in victory, BAR leaned forward and swiped all of the bills in the pot. She stacked them up, then took a rubber band and bound them tight. "Pleasure doing buisness with you both."
"Whatever." Thompson dismissed, glaring at the cards still under the shot glass.
"So what was your hand, Bar?" Garand asked, curious herself.
"Hm? Oh, right." BAR said, slipping the wad of cash into her bra before grabbing the glass and downing the last of the liquor. She then took both cards, flipping them over to reveal none other than…
...a pair of twos.
"You've got to be fucking kidding." Thompson said, teeth grating against one another. Garand stared at the pair, slack jawed and taken aback.
She'd tricked them both. Like a pair of suckers.
Springfield giggled, pleased at the showing as she went around the table giving each girl one of her freshly made treats. M14 went at the gift with gusto, munching on it as soon as it graced her hands. Garand nibbled at hers, blushing with shame. Thompson… didn't even notice the plate.
She just kept glaring at BAR, genuine loathing and a murderous intent building in her eyes.
When a new pair of feet made their way into the cafe. A shorter doll, with long strawberry blonde hair and a french maid's outfit. She wore thin black gloves, and had a metal cage poking from her skirt. Both ears were pierced, her left one holding an iron cross and two black rings at the top of the lobe.
"Guten tag~." The android said to the room, smiling brilliantly to the other girls. Springfield was the only one who gave her any response, reflecting the expression back.
"PPK! How lovely of you to join us." She welcomed cheerfully. "Are you finished guarding the prisoners?"
"Oh, yes. I had so much fun 'entertaining' zhem." PPK said, a sadistic glee leaking into her words. M14 very quickly averted her gaze away from the handgun wielder, well aware of her tendencies.
Springfield nodded, going back towards the counter. "Well, as you can see, we've finished up our recreation here. Would you like some help cleaning?"
"Nein, nein. I won't be able to fix zhis room up for some time." The doll said, pacing her way past the group and towards the opposite end of the cafe. It was then that BAR noticed two things. Firstly, the woman was holding what looked to be a small remote in the back of her hand.
Second, she had her weapon. A refurbished Walther PPK, tucked into the waistband of her outfit.
"The Kommandant has given my team new orders." She told the girls, BAR's motions slowling down as she pressed her hand on the table. Seeing the odd gesture, Thompson followed her leader's gaze, before catching a glimpse of the weapon right as PPK turned around. "Such a stern man, don't you think? He was so rude when he saw how well I've treated our guests."
"You call that 'well?'" Garand muttered under her breath, not wanting to draw the ire of the doll. Though now she was also keying into the new tension between her two seniors.
"He certainly is rough around the edges." Springfield hummed in agreement, grabbing the tin of muffins again and spinning about. "But I'm sure he'll soften with time."
"Perhaps, my dear. Perhaps." PPK contemplated, her thumb going over one of the buttons on the remote. "Maybe he'll reward me once we've accomplished our objective."
"Possibly." Springfield said, growing more inquisitive at how coy the handgun doll was acting. She paced about the counter, going towards the fridge. "What is this new mission that you've been given?"
PPK giggled, before flicking the button down. Immediately, the lights within the room dimmed into nothingness. Pitch black surrounded each doll, with M14 squeaking as she darted out of the chair and began to frantically crawl on the ground.
PPK's eyes both ignited brightly, and the sound of a hammer being cocked alerted them all.
"Exercise."
