(26/6/2056 | 12:01)
StG44 had been stuck in this cell for two days, and she already regretted every choice she made in life leading up to this point.
She'd expected punishment to come for her actions. Attacking another doll, even if that doll was a two-faced cheating rat, was completely unacceptable. The fact that she'd been so enraged that the others had to bind her against a chair for their safety was beyond embarrassing. Sure, she'd always had a bit of a temper. But there was something about Thompson that seemed to bring out the worst in her.
The whole incident had brought out the worst in Hsu, too.
Once he'd been informed of what had happened, both of the dolls had been locked in an empty room with the Commander. For two hours he'd screamed until both of their audio receptors almost broke, tearing them down piece by piece. Even the normally blithe Thompson seemed terrified of the wrath they'd managed to invoke, like a sleeping giant that had been poked in the eye and forced to exit his cave.
Needless to say, neither of the women wanted to experience it again. But he wasn't going to finish with a simple dressing down.
The Commander then had PPK and PPsH-41 bring both of them into the lower level of the base, and thrown in the dirtiest cell possible. He called it 'Forty-Eight hours in the hole' along with docking a month's pay from each of them.
At least they'd be out of here today. Right now she was curled up on top of the bed, doing her best to avoid touching any of the muck on the walls or the floor. A stack of empty trays lay between her and Thompson, their meals for the detainment.
Thompson had been quiet the entire time. From the moment they'd been confined, she'd simply sat down in a corner. She didn't try to make conversation, and she only moved when PPK came down with their meals.
It was starting to feel like an eternity. Stuck in this filthy hole with a filthy doll on a filthy base in a filthy sector. It was driving her completely ins-
The door creaked open on the far side of the room. Her head instantly perked up, her visual nodes being graced by the sight of G36 entering. With what seemed to be a ring of keys in her hand, the same one PPK had used to lock them down here.
The Adjutant presented herself before the two. StG44 looked as if she was about to break into joyful tears, meanwhile Thompson continued to state with disinterest at the wall. The only sign that she was even awake was that she'd tilted her head ever so slightly, locking onto G36 from the corner of her eye.
"The Commander's decided to let you both out early. However, you're still confined to base." She informed them both, unlocking the cell door and holding it open for them to exit. StG made a mad dash for the door, as if the answer to why life was on earth lay behind.
Thompson, meanwhile, slowly got up and sauntered out, standing next to her fellow Captain and releasing a pent up sigh.
"Can't believe I'm losin' a month's pay." The gangster grumbled, dusting off her fedora. "Ten thousand euros, gone. I had plans for that money."
"Perhaps next time, you should not stab people." The maid advised in a stern deadpan.
"And maybe next time, you shouldn't get in between a knife fight." Thompson replied, without a hint of irony or remorse.
G36 cocked a brow, gazing upon the American with impressed disbelief. "...Are you seriously going to blame the person you stabbed for getting stabbed?"
"Mmhm." Thompson answered bluntly, placing her hat back on her head. "Wasn't aiming for you anyway, I was aimin' for the psycho."
"She is not a psycho." G36 sharply defended, feeling compelled to come to her subordinate's defense.
Now it was Thompson's turn to deadpan at her fellow leader, though her expression seemed to be blocking a wave of pent up frustration. "Gretel, she tried to kill me over a card game. And apparently she said something about feeding me my own control core? How does that even work?"
G36 rolled her eyes, going towards the exit herself. "Let's be glad we did not need to find out. The whole affair sounds quite uncouth."
Thompson grumbled, but followed the maid without any more resistance.
(12:30)
"Everyone, please settle down!" G36 called out into the cafe, trying to garner her audience's attention.
All of the combat dolls on base had been rallied in the room, sitting in their own little cliques and chattering amongst one another. Springfield was zipping from table to table, trying to fill each of the orders that the girls kept demanding. It was the usual chaos of the lunchtime rush, though normally they didn't also have the Commander call a meeting as well.
As G36 sighed in defeat, Hsu entered the room with little fanfare. She shot her Commander a pleading look, not knowing how to reign in the scene before her.
Hsu looked at the oblivious crowd, then dug into his coat as he went to stand next to his adjutant. A few moments later, he produced a compact air horn, thumb hovering over the button. He waited, giving G36 enough time to brace herself.
Then, he pressed down, a blaring loudness echoing through the entire room.
Each of the dolls stopped what they were doing, turning their gaze squarely on the person who'd oh so rudely interrupted their social period. Hsu watched on, his uncaring stoicness remaining constant as he handed G36 the airhorn and swapped it for a tablet.
"Let's get right into it." He began, pressing a few buttons to turn on the room's projector and dim the lights. A map beamed onto the far wall, showing a satellite image of the entirety of Sector Nine.
"Now that we've got three active teams, the Sub-Director's permitted our outpost to start taking more private contracts with the locals." He explained, droning like a bored high school teacher. "What that means, is that from here on out, we're going to have new jobs we're doing every day. No more missions once every few weeks."
"I'm sure that means we're gonna be getting extra compensation, right Chief?" BAR queried from the back of the room, M14 snickering next to her as she drank from a glass of chocolate milk.
"Still not getting that motorcycle, Bar. Not sorry." The Command responded, earning a wave of chuckles as the machine gunner grumbled and slouched further into her chair. On the projected map, a red dot began to pulse over a sizable grouping of buildings and houses.
"First mission of the day, Echelon Three!" Hsu announced, IWS' head popping up as she quickly wiped away pasty crumbs and powdered sugar from the corner of her mouth.
"You'll be providing security for a supply convoy heading to the Sevastopol Ruins." The Commander began to explain, a long yellow dotted line appearing between Griffin's base of operations and their destination far to the south. "It's the largest settlement in the area, and with all the refugees, it's only getting bigger. They need food, turrets, and ammo. Should be about sixteen hours, getting there and coming back."
"It will be done, Kommandant!" IWS assured, hopping up to her feet with enthusiasm. "Rest assured, not a single item will have so much as a scratch while in our care!"
"So long as K-Eleven isn't driving, at least." S.A.T.8 slipped in, earning a sideways glare from the team grenadier. The rest of the room laughed once again, meanwhile the Italian went back to her fettuccine.
"Base logistics will drive." Hsu assured, before bringing up the convoy manifest for all to see. About six tons of dried food, seeds and animal feed. Another two-dozen automated turrets, and then several boxes of surplus ammunition for each, along with a truckload of old AK-101s.
"I doubt Sangvis is going to interfere, but the Bandits are another story. They will not get their hands on anything in these trucks." Hsu commanded, eyes sweeping over each member of IWS' team. "Try to avoid a firefight if you can, but if they threaten the convoy or our human staff, don't hesitate."
IWS gulped audibly, growing visibly uncomfortable at the thought of fighting human combatants. AUG remained neutrally aloof as always, not even looking up from her book as she turned a fresh page. Type 100, S.A.T.8 and K11 all began to murmur to each other again, but didn't ask any questions.
Hsu, meanwhile, sent the rest of the briefing to IWS' neural cloud and moved on. With a few more prompts, the map morphed once again. A series of blue dots appeared, some filled out, while most remained a hollow outline. Each seemed to be equidistant apart, covering almost all of the eastern and central part of the sector.
"Next, Echelon One." The Commander began, both Thompson and BAR shuffling in their seats to focus on the projection.
"The Governor wants us to keep putting up survey beacons so we can track illicit transit in the sector." He explained, a diagram of the pylons that G36's team had been setting up before the Scarecrow Incident had occurred. "Today, focus on getting the highlighted ones set up. If you make good time, we'll move on to another batch. Questions?"
"What's our rules of engagement, Sir?" Springfield said, holding a now empty serving tray at her waist.
"Do not fire unless you cannot evade." Hsu clarified, before activating what appeared to be a series of dark red lines crossing over the sector. "These are the main roads in that area. Avoid them, and any large compounds that you come across. This is strictly a scouting mission, we're not looking for a fight."
"Are we moving on foot, with a transport, or by helicopter?" Garand questioned.
"Kravchenko's flying you in, he'll be on comms in case you need evac." Hsu explained further, before looking up at BAR. "Also, because Thompson is still confined to base for being a complete idiot, Bar's taking charge this time."
Thompson groaned loudly, earning a consoling pat on the shoulder from Springfield while BAR readily enjoyed the schadenfreude. M14 partook as well, pointing and laughing at their still condemned comrade.
"So... we're going in a doll down?" Garand asked again, ignoring Thompson as she began to verbally lash out at M14 for her mockery. "That why you want us to stay quiet?"
"You're not going in a doll down. The new girl's coming along." The Commander informed, shutting the whole echelon up as they heard that tidbit. 'New girl' almost certainly meant M4A1.
"Both missions are commencing at Fourteen-hundred." Hsu finished saying. He looked back down to his tablet, either not noticing their reaction or not giving a damn.
"Next on the list, base announcements." Hsu transitioned, deactivating the projector and letting the lights return to their usual brightness. "Sturmgewher and Thompson will be reporting to Kalina for logistics duties. Failure to report will lead to another month's pay being docked, as well as another twenty-four hours in the hole with PPK."
PPK turned to face StG44 in particular, grinning evilly as she leaned closer to the older German. The seamstress scuttered away, sliding her chair to the far side of her table and dragging her food along for the ride.
"A new team of dolls will arriving at fifteen-hundred hours. They will be under the Sub-Director's personal command, so do not do anything stupid when you come back." He rattled off, looking at the list of dolls that were coming in. L85A1, TAC-50, NTW-20 and SAR-21. Two assault rifles, two anti-material rifles. Each of them seemed rather experienced, though he thought it was peculiar that a Two-Star doll would be working for Helian personally.
"Echelon two…" He said, before looking over to the table where PPK, PPsH-41 and StG44 sat. "Good news. Ninety-Seven's new body and core are arriving today, so I'm gonna give you all the day off to get her reacquainted."
PPsH immediately jumped into the air, yelling out in joy that her friend was finally returning to them. Her other teammates weren't as animated, but they both seemed visibly happy at the news. Even PPK wore a friendly smile, something that was almost as creepy as her normal one.
Hsu gave G36 a side glance, catching the slightest bit of a smirk coming across the maid.
"Finally… after talking with Miss Helian, I've made an addendum to our standard operating procedures." The Commander said. "Once Echelon Four is integrated, a new unified command structure is coming. No details yet, but keep that in mind."
With that, the man returned his tablet to his assistant. "That's all. You've got a little over an hour to get ready. Dismissed."
As the Commander gave the final word, each of the girls collapsed into their cliques. BAR, Garand and M14 all huddled together, discussing how to handle their ride-along. IWS began to panically prod AUG for ideas, while StG44 and Thompson both got up and dragged themselves to go meet with Kalina.
Satisfied, Hsu exit stage right with G36 following behind him. The maid kept a quick gait, pulling out a traditional pen and notepad as she read off her notes to the base's leader.
"Miss Helian says she needs to have a word in the Command center." She began. "I informed her that you would make your way once the briefing had finished."
"Any idea what she wants to talk about?"
"Nein, but she did not seem upset." G36 informed, before moving on. "Assad also needs to speak with you about some information he pulled from our special guest's diagnostic."
"Oh, joy. I get to listen to technobabble." Hsu grumbled.
"I could always prepare a booklet about the functions of the average autonomous doll and our digim-"
"Pass." Hsu said, shutting down the maid immediately as she pouted. "Next."
"Santiago's demanding she be allowed leave earlier than previously requested."
"Reason?"
"She's claiming traumatic stress and an unhealthy work environment."
Hsu scoffed, irritation mounting. "Should just cut out the middle man and can her. This is a paramilitary logistics depot, not the Post."
G36 made no comment on the idea of their being armed mailmen, but pulled the reigns on her Commander's displeasure. "She's the best pilot we have and getting someone else of her caliber could take months."
"Fine. She's not getting leave, though. And tell her to come to me if she cares so much." He instructed, side stepping around a pair of engineers as they gave the man a salute. "Anything else?"
"...No, nothing I cannot handle myself." She assured, a statement that instantly drew Hsu's ire. The man had been watching the woman ever since they had recovered M4A1, and she had been spiraling. Working day in and day out, taking on every duty she could and training when she couldn't.
When they reached the door to the command center, the Commander stopped in his tracks. He looked down, beaming at the woman.
"For the rest of the day, you're off duty." He ordered, holding up a hand as G36 immediately attempted to protest. "I'm not asking, Gretel. The other girls have told me they've found you passed out from overheating three times. Khan told me that only happens when you don't give your chassis a break."
"If this body breaks, he can fix it." She told him, railing against the order.
"And if it breaks down completely, you'll have to wait weeks for a new frame to get shipped in. Your repairs cost more than almost every doll on base." He quickly countered, hands slipping into his pockets. His Adjutant continued to stare back at him, resenting that he was forcing her to the sidelines.
But Hsu was still the most stubborn person on base. Only Helian could challenge that title.
"Go rest. When Ninety-Seven arrives, I'll get everyone." He demanded, narrowing his eyes further as G36 seemed to try and resist his order despite the physical strain he could see it was taking on her digimind.
"Now." He commanded. And with that directive, the android had no choice but to leave.
Hsu watched as the maid marched off, knowing that she'd be furious for forcing her to act against her wishes. But as he went to open the Command room door, it didn't matter to him.
All he cared about was that she'd stop blaming herself.
(13:30)
"Pack light, ladies! We don't need too much ammo, and I want to keep us fast!"
BAR continued to give commands to her team as they stood in the armory, each member of Echelon One taking their weapons from each locker and pulling rounds out of the assorted ammo crates that laid about.
More lockers had been moved in, both for IWS' team and the new echelon coming in that day. But for the most part, their little corner remained untouched. A few stickers slapped all over the doors, with a new sign clearly saying 'PISS OFF' hanging at the entrance in Thompson's handwriting.
Most of the team keyed in as BAR once again went over the briefing, pointing out the path they would take. The goal was speed and efficiency, moving from point to point as each girl carried a pylon on their back. Once they were finished, they would call for the helicopter to move them to the next zone. There, they'd plant another five pylons. Then they'd go through the cycle a third time before finally returning to base.
It was a simple plan, but this wasn't rocket science. The kind of job BAR liked, where she could spend most of it kicking back and relaxing.
M4, on the other hand, was mulling over a holographic map of the area. However, her's didn't show the markings for the pylons. Instead, a grid appeared, with various markings of her own doing scratching the surface.
She was searching. For something, or some one.
"Hey, greenhorn!" Someone called behind her. In a flash, M4 pocketed the map and turned to find Garand walking over with a box of ammunition. The blonde mechanic set it down next to her, along with a brand new suppressor sitting inside.
"Compliments from the quartermaster." She said with a smirk, pulling one of the 5.56 rounds and showing off the uniquely black-tipped cartridge. "Armor piercing, tungsten core. Rips through Sangvis like nobody's business."
M4 looked on, hesitating. But before she could say her thank you, Garand sat down and began loading stripper clips of the rounds into her magazines. Garand smiled at the girl, patting the place next to her. "Come on, siddown. I don't bite."
Still taken aback by how forward Garand had been, it took a few more seconds for her invitation to register. Carefully, M4 sat down, keeping the box of ammunition between them. The shy girl twiddled her thumbs, letting Garand do her task without any comment.
"Gotta say, you're lucky the Commander uses five-five-six. Means we had enough in stock for all of you new girls." Garand commented, pushing a set of rounds in and letting the empty clip fall to the ground. "No offense, but I prefer old-fashioned rounds. Has a lot more 'oompf', y'know?"
M4 nodded along, but said nothing. Garand could sense the awkwardness growing, so she moved onto her next plan of attack.
"Seen the new 'Saving Private Ryan' remake yet?" The blonde queried, her smile shrinking as M4 shook her head. "How about another movie, then? BAR's got a ton of stuff on her account we can watch. Been a while since I sat down and saw 'Dunkirk'."
"I… haven't seen many films." M4A1 admitted in a soft voice, eyes downcast as she readied herself for Garand's inevitable disappointment. The blonde laughed nervously, putting the magazines she'd filled up between them.
"Well… do you wanna change that?" She asked, sensing M4 freeze up at the offer. But soon enough, her head nodded once again.
"Then that's what we're doing when we get back." Garand promised. "I'll make a huge bag of popcorn too, we'll share!"
"Garand, newbie!" BAR called, spurring both women to turn around as the old doll waved for them both to follow her. "Come on, we've gotta get to the helipad!"
"Oh, shit!" Garand cursed, going to her feet and sprinting back to her locker. In a hurry, she grabbed her bandoleer and threw it over her shoulder, then took her rifle and sprinted out of the room to catch up with the rest of the echelon.
M4 sighed, calmly collecting her weapon and ammo as she was left behind yet again.
(14:04)
"Didn't know you fought with a museum piece, ma'am."
Helian scoffed at the quip as she continued to polish her revolver, a full cleaning kit resting on the command center's main table. Hsu was once again looking over the monitors, watching as both teams took their leave from base.
Echelon One was leaving the usual way, BAR's voice being undercut by how loud the rotors were. She seemed to be taking being put back in charge rather seriously, but Hsu could tell she wasn't happy about it. As he'd already deducted, the machine-gunner simply wasn't comfortable leading.
Echelon Three, meanwhile, sat in the flatbed of a truck closer to the front of the convoy. Each of the dolls was already enraptured in conversation, while both IWS and AUG watched the territory around them like hawks. The Captain was already on her feet, using the scope of her rifle to identify anything and everything.
He, surprisingly, had a good feeling about the day's sorties. If things went as planned, the base would be out of the red and actually be well on it's way to accumulating a surplus. Thanks in no small part to Helian funneling more funds to their little backwater.
The Commander turned to once again look at Helian, though his focus remained on her 'museum piece'. A reproduction Webley MkVI, it's steel sheen and grip black as night. It looked as mean as it probably felt to shoot. A series of .445 cartridges sat on the table next to the weapon as she continued to service it.
"It was a gift from my father. Had it made when I graduated from Sandhurst." She mused, plucking one of the cartridges from the table. One by one, she slipped them each into the revolver's cylinder..
"One round from this can bury a Sangvis dafty with ease." The woman assured, snapping the revolver closed with a grin. "More useful for the wars we fight now than the Glock they gave me in the Army."
Hsu bristled at the mention of the military, but opted to make nothing of it. That being said, his motions didn't go unnoticed by the Executive. As she holstered her weapon and finished up packing the cleaning kit, she continued to probe at the man.
"I'd like to thank you again for allowing me to use your room." She began. "Hopefully sleeping with the androids hasn't upset your sensibilities."
"Well they don't snore. It's honestly like sleeping in a tool shed." Hsu replied hazily. "Once we get the money, I'm gonna see about getting a proper dormitory building fabricated."
"Good to see their well-being is interesting you now."
"Good officers take care of their troops. Even if their troops are a bunch of androids that act like twenty-something girls." He assured, before turning to look at his superior. "Seriously, why doesn't Griffin have any male dolls?"
Helian rolled her eyes, having had to give this explanation time and time again. "A multitude of factors. The ones pertinent to you is that most dolls manufactured are female and the influence of a Professor Persicaria Kurjak."
Hsu could sense there was some history between this woman and whomever 'Persicaria' was. He also had a feeling he'd find out more about her soon enough, whether he wanted to or not. So instead of asking more questions, he pivoted the topic away.
"I wouldn't gain anything from treating them poorly. Gretel's been… a very good help."
"Could I ask you about your relationship with her?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hsu interrogated, not liking the implication.
"In this line of work, the kind of doll that a Commander chooses as their adjutant means something." Helian explained, unfazed as ever by Hsu's attitude. "Some use it to cover their weaknesses. Some use them to do everything they don't want to. I've even met a handful who do it because they get… intimate."
"Pretty sure Thirty-Six would delete her own neural cloud before sleeping with me." Hsu grumbled, thankful for that fact. The last thing he needed was a woman, human or android, interested in tearing his clothes off. "How do you even have sex with a doll?"
"Aftermarket parts. Some of the girls who we hire have them installed, including one under your command I believe."
Hsu rolled his eyes, instantly clocking onto the most likely suspect. "...Let me guess. Thompson."
"Got it in one." Helian answered, much to Hsu's chagrin. The Commander returned to watching the screens, having lost his appetite for the conversation as a whole. But unfortunately, he wasn't going to be let off so easily.
"Beatrice-, well, 'Bren', was a reconnaissance android for the Royal Armoured Corps." She explained. "We met while both of our units were besieging Danzig. Though things were different back then, I could sense… a fighting spirit in her. One that felt strangely human for an AI in a combat chassis."
The Commanded sighed, flicking the screens off as he realized there was no getting out of this. Helian smirked, glad that she had the man's full attention before continuing.
"When the war was over, I tracked her down and had her core put into an autonomous doll." Helian went on to tell, smiling at the memory. "At first, she didn't know how to handle it. Being in a body that closely resembles a human after spending all of her existence in a combat chassis. But… I helped her. We helped one another leave the War behind. And when I left Britain for Griffin, she came with me."
"You both sound close." He observed.
"At this point, she's as much of a sister to me as my real siblings were." She admitted, surprising both herself and Hsu. The man craned his head over, a renewed interest coming from the mention of brothers and sisters.
Sadly, Helian grew coy, not having taken her eye off of the prize. "That, Commander, is a story for another time. Perhaps after you answer the question that started this rambling."
Again, the Commander sighed, but thought the question over. What was his relationship with G36? She was his subordinate, his assistant, and his personal maid. All of which he had never truly asked for, but she offered to him gladly.
Day in and day out, issues big and small, he could always count her to be there. Helping discipline the other dolls, deal with the mountains of paperwork, controlling Kalina's money grubbing tendencies, everything. She was there, all the time. This Bavarian maid had become such a bedrock to his daily life, and he hadn't even noticed.
But was that it? Was she really just a necessary tool?
She'd asked him to teach her how to be a leader. He'd done so to the best of his ability, taking her out for short patrols and putting her through command drills. But through that, he'd begun to appreciate her. The quirks that made her 'Gretel', not just another Butler-36 model from 'Universal Anything'.
How she had to squint her eyes whenever reading, or walk in the center of a hallway to avoid bumping into anything. How she readily spoke her mind, but also took great concern for how she spoke. There was a kindness to her diligence. One that felt unique, even if he knew she was simply a mass-produced android.
The Commander shook his head, not believing he'd let himself slip so far down the rabbit hole that he'd begun to genuinely confuse robots for people.
"...She's my adjutant. I trust her, she trusts me. It's that simple." "I didn't come to Griffin expecting to put down roots."
"And yet?"
"...These girls are my responsibility. This Sector is my responsibility. I'm not letting anyone else die if I can help it." He promised, giving the woman a small smile. "You said it yourself. If we had better officers, the world wouldn't be in this mess."
The Brit sat there, taking in what she had heard. Moreso, she couldn't believe her eyes, this grouchy man from across the Atlantic was actually smiling at her. Something she found herself… enjoying, rather greatly.
Still, Helian sighed in relief. The last of her doubts about this veteran finally being put to rest. Despite Khan's early warnings, he seemed to be shaping up to be everything they needed in a Tactical Commander. And with what was coming, the last thing the Sub-Director needed were genuine doubts about her subordinates' capacity.
The woman checked her watch, noting how the arrival of her forces was drawing very near. She hummed as she stood to her feet, before gesturing to the door.
"I'd like you to escort me to the airfield." She requested. "Bren is likely waiting for us, and I'd prefer to brief the incoming team in person."
The Commander complied, shutting down the command center and clipping a radio to his belt. He then went to the door, holding it open for his superior to walk through.
"Ladies first, ma'am." He said, earning an eye roll from Helian.
"How chivalrous, Commander. Keep this up, I may start believing there's a gentleman buried underneath that melted welly of yours."
Hsu cocked a brow as the woman marched past him, mouthing the words 'melted welly' to himself as he tried to discern the meaning.
Alas, he gave up rather quickly. Translating Scottish wasn't something he was paid to do.
A/N: Hope you all had a good 4th, everyone. July's winding down, but the heat certainly isn't.
Feels weird that this fic is a year old now. Doesn't really feel that way, to be honest. But maybe that's showing how much COVID messed up my sense of time. Or maybe it's proof of how much fun I'm having writing this.
Either way, expect another two chapters by the end of August. And as always, reviews are appreciated and taken into account.
o/
