(26/7/2056 | 06:24)

M4A1 stood before the Commander's door, nervous.

She'd been told to never disturb the man while he was asleep. As a courtesy by G36, and as a warning by everyone else. Commander Hsu was a late riser, and had a reputation of scaring off anyone who tried to rouse him up before nine o'clock. Both M14 and PPK had learned that the hard way, and their shell shocked expressions were a cautionary tale to all others.

However, with this new information, M4 knew she had to take the risk. So again, she knocked. Harder, with more desperation behind the strikes. Her other hand clutched a communications device in a vice grip, something that until this morning had seen no use since her siblings had split apart.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the door hissed open. The older Asian-Canadian officer stood before her with a foreboding expression. Eyes nearly closed from sleepiness, his white shirt and red boxer shorts still crumpled from having rolled out of bed. His hair splayed out here and there, but his stance remained solid. Ready to throttle something, or someone.

He didn't want to be awake, and if he wasn't given a good reason very soon, M4 was going to wish she wasn't either.

With an audible gulp, the Spec-Ops leader showed him the communication device and replayed the conversation she'd had only fifteen minutes later. ST AR-15 and M4 SOPMOD's voices ringing clearly, divulging their location before the elder of the two sisters had demanded that the junior run for her life.

Suddenly, sleep was no longer an option.


(08:24)

"Run to us, quickly!"

Two dolls belonging to Echelon Three ran as fast as they could under the Sangvis fire, the team having slammed headlong into an advancing enemy column. Technically, they had the advantage. They'd even caught most of the murderous robots off guard, cutting into their lines rather cleanly. But eventually, reinforcements arrived. And then more. And then even more.

Drawing their attention had been the plan. But now it was working too well.

As S.A.T.8 and Type 100 ran for their lives down the main road of a long forgotten town, IWS gave what covering fire she could while AUG spotted the oncoming masses. A wave of steel that made IWS panic and even seemed to make her sullen companion emotional.

The Sniper's weapon was built for slow, methodical, targeted fire. Not Mongol hordes.

The IWS-2000 was a rifle made to bust tanks. It didn't have a magazine, only a round in the chamber. Even though she was taking out three or four vespids in one shot, she couldn't keep the rate of fire up to deal with them all. Especially as they got closer.

Besides, they had bigger problems.

AUG spun around as the wooden door to their room was rammed. A gaping hole in the wood revealed two rippers attempting to break in, before they were both cut down by the spotter. More movement could be heard in the hallway, inhuman whirs and clunks as more Sangvis tried to flush them out.

"We need to reposition!" AUG insisted, putting another burst into the frame of a dinergate that hopped through the hole in the wall.

"Stick to the plan! Buy them time!" IWS insisted, firing another SABOT round as the two fleeing friendlies made their way closer to the building.

AUG bit back a scathing remark, wanting to drag her friend out of the room. But she knew her place and complied, switching to a fresh magazine and going for the door. She gave the dinergate's corpse a punt back into the hallway, baiting some shots from where the hostiles were pouring in from.

Seeing an opportunity, she ran for the other window and climbed up to the roof. IWS paid no mind, trusting her lieutenant while calling for K11 to 'start the truck'. Meanwhile, AUG scaled the wall to the right, shimmying on the ledge until she was two rooms further down.

The Austrian then quietly opened the window to the new room, slipping inside and making sure that her suppressor was fixed on tightly. Once the sound of stampeding Sangvis passed her, she quietly pushed the door open to see them preparing to properly breach the room she'd just departed.

She lifted a hand to her ear, activating her radio.

"Door." AUG whispered.

A second later, right as the androids began to push inside, a SABOT round punched through what was left of the wood. Two of the vespids were torn in half immediately, four stumbling due to the overpressure with the prowlers being tipped over onto their side. The walls were instantly caked in oil and scorch marks, with a massive new hole in the building's wall on the other side.

AUG pied the corner, moving down the hall and plugging each of the still functional Sangvis with a round to the head. She kept moving further down, clearing the rest of the hallway before returning to the room she had made her initial escape from.

"You have a pistol, you know." She chastised, taking a knee next to her Captain once again.

"I didn't have time! No one lives here anyway!" IWS answered, trying to not show how worried she had been of bringing the roof down on the entire floor.

Over comms, S.A.T announced that she and Type 100 had finally made it inside. She also asked what that explosion was all about, but there wasn't time to really explain.

The remnants of the Sangvis force, roughly a platoon's worth, were now outside the building, firing into the windows with reckless abandon. Soon enough, all four Griffin dolls grouped up on the second floor, and IWS activated her comm link.

"Eleven, now!"

The roar of a loud motor could be heard outside, but the Sangvis didn't pay any mind. Their focus remained on the 'threat' within, though now cautious after their flanking team had been abruptly killed. It seemed that their ringleader had decided to wait it out, blocking off the main entrance and exit.

A minute later, the team poked their head up to watch what came next.

A modified HMMWV, dozer blade welded to the front to help push dirt on base, tore into the crowd at over a hundred kilometers an hour. A full wave of Sangvis dolls flew absolutely everywhere, slamming into the nearby buildings or being thrown all the way down the road. Purple oil splattered too and fro, some even coming up and splashing Type 100 right across the eyes.

The car grinded to a halt, mangled metal limbs now implanted on the construction device. The windshield was now covered in splatter, and the two front tires deflated after they discharged all of their air. Seconds after, a stunned and concussed K11 stumbled out, before she began laughing maniacally at the damage she'd just wreaked.

"I. Am. AWESOME!" She announced to the world, hooting and hollering as if she wasn't standing in the middle of a warzone. S.A.T watched the doll in absolute shock, not having expected the chemist to remain conscious. Type 100 silently wiped her eyes clean with her sleeve, while AUG returned to looking for any more oncoming enemies.

IWS released a sigh of relief, sliding on the ground before activating her long range radio.

"Objective complete, Commander."


(09:38)

Roughly two kilometers ahead, Echelon Two pressed on towards their objective.

As G36 remained on base to help coordinate, that left StG44 at the helm and M4A1 filling the gap. They advanced in tandem with Echelon One, both groups able to move at a rapid pace as a great deal of the Sangvis forces continued to run off to meet their distraction team in direct combat. Though some resistance was still an issue, nothing was strong enough to withstand two fully capable Griffin teams. Having seen StG44 in combat during the operation that had led to this whole debacle, M4 had thought she would be able to adapt ahead of time.

What she hadn't gathered during StG44's delaying action, was that the elder German led from the front to the point of recklessness.

Each fight, she'd thrown herself headlong into the thick of things right alongside the shotgunner and submachine gunner. She was the first in, the last out, and always seemed to come out of the scrape with more kills than the other dolls combined. Somehow, she did it all without dirtying that outfit of hers.

As M4 continued to drive the group's transport, the wheels rolled over yet another squad of bullet-ridden Sangvis. The other four marched along ahead, two on each side of the road to ensure nothing else was waiting for them ahead.

Then, in the far distance, a series of small explosions could be heard, followed by frantic gunfire.

StG44 held a finger to her ear. "Liberator, this is Festung. Have you engaged more hostiles?"

"Was just about to ask you that question." Thompson replied. "Doesn't sound too far away. Link up closer to the source."

"Ja, ja. Wilco." StG confirmed, before turning on her heel and calling out to the rest of her team. "Driver, keep fifty-meter distance behind us! Rest of you, on me! Raus!"

M4A1 did as she was told, releasing the gas pedal and letting the small transport coast along the road as the others broke into a sprint. She pulled her rifle out from between the seats, getting ready in case of any surprise stragglers.

Meanwhile, after a few minutes of hard running the rest of Echelon Two spotted Echelon One at the cusp of dirt large mound overlooking a massive bomb crater. As Springfield watched their group's rear, the Thompson and Garand girls watched what was going on within the blast scar. M14 sat in their vehicle, leaving the engine idle at the bottom.

StG44 motioned for the others to move along the cusp of the crater to the far side, meanwhile she clawed her way up the filth with utter disgust. After all the effort she'd done to avoid the muck and gore of this impromptu operation, her gloves and knees now became tinged with a dark brown that made her want to retch.

Still, when she made it to the top of the mound, she looked down to see what had the others so enthralled.

Down in the depths of the crater, a single tactical doll could be seen in close combat with a large group of Sangvis androids. She moved like a banshee, a trail of pink following her every move as she ripped through the enemy androids. From what the others could tell, she wasn't even using a firearm, opting to tear off heads, limbs and whatever she could get a hand on, before jumping to her next target. The Sangvis numbers dwindled, half of their shots hitting their own in the violent melee. Which only seemed to goad the pink demon into getting more and more violent.

All the while laughing like an absolute psychopath.

StG44 looked down with both awe and fear, before glancing at her comrades. "So… should we help?"

Thompson shook her head. "No… this is much more fun like this."

"Kinda wanna see how this ends." Garand said, right as the pink and black doll punted a ripper's head into another ripper's chest.

"We have an objective, remember?" StG44 insisted.

"I'm… mesmerized." Garand observed, paying the kraut no mind.

"It's like seeing a unicorn that's been pulled inside out." Thompson agreed.

Garand nodded vaguely, before looking up to see the rest of Echelon Two parked on the far side of the crater. Zooming in, she could see the three dolls were now doing exactly as they were.

"Check across the way." Garand said, pointing towards the other team and waving.

StG44 looked, seeing her subordinates wave back as she growled. "Wunderbar, damned slackers. Now they're doing the same thing we are?"

"We're both equally fascinated, is all." Thompson deducted.

"Watching a bunch of enemies get massacred while not doing our jobs." StG44 insisted as yet another ripper was disemboweled. "You're all so adamant, watching this nonsense!"

"Shh, shh shh." Thompson said, lifting a finger to her mouth.

"Don't shush me!" The German demanded, all the while the sound of her team's vehicle pulling up at the base of the mound filled her ears.

The fight itself was already winding down, the absolute inhuman rampage leaving bits and pieces of poor, dead Sangvis littered across the combat zone. The mystery doll was now the last one standing, laughing to herself as she picked at parts of the corpses and looked them over. Some she dropped back on the ground, others she slipped into her carrying sack for God knows what reason.

Eventually, M4A1 made her way up the hill and with the trio, before spotting who exactly was going leg shopping.

"SOP!" The AR team leader called out, causing the doll in question's head to perk up like a beagle puppy being called by its owner. As she turned to confirm who exactly was yelling her name, SOPMOD then darted up the hill at an even faster speed than she'd been running at during the fight.

M4A1 was then promptly tackled off the top of the mound, both girls rolling down the dirt until they came to a stop at the very bottom. SOPMOD straddled atop her sister, giggling happily and saying her name over and over again.

Despite the blatant assault, M4 was happy as well. Elated, even, finally being able to hug one of her sisters again after being separated for the longest time. She didn't even bat an eye when SOPMOD began showing her the 'souvenirs' she had collected on her way here.

Thompson pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up before activating her radio.

"We got the kid, Commander. Be back soon."


(10:50)

The Commander and G36 met the returning convoy at the gate of Sector 09's base.

Beyond the fence, the surrounding area had been transformed in a week's time. Thanks to Khan's sapper skills, several outlying rings of defenses now surrounded the core of Griffin's territory. Dozens of newly activated sentry guns were online, surveying their fields of fire 24/7. Hesco walls, trenches, proper mine-fields and scout holes made the whole area look like it was ready for World War 3 to kick off all over again.

As the transports rolled to a halt, SOPMOD hopped out and looked at the base with unfettered awe. Like her sister, she'd spent limited time behind friendly lines. Being able to see a functioning, fully staffed Griffin base was a rarity. Being around so many other dolls at all had never truly happened before.

But then, she remembered what was about to happen. As she turned, the berserker doll saw M4A1 chatting with the man in red and his plus one. She tore across the dirt, running until she came to a screeching halt next to her sibling.

Having expected this reaction, M4 began the introduction as if SOPMOD had been standing there the entire time.

"Commander, this is another member of Anti-Rain." She said, gesturing to the black and red doll to her right. "M-Four Sopmod-"

"Sopmod Two!" The doll in question interjected, before taking her claw-like hand and grabbing Hsu's arm at the elbow. She began to drag the man back towards the convoy, much to the distress of both her sister and the man's adjutant.

"What in heaven's name are you doing?! Unhand him immediately!" G36 demanded.

"There's no time to explain! We need to get in the car!" SOPMOD insisted, while Hsu didn't even bother to resist. The grip on his arm was so tight, one wrong move would just dislocate his shoulder all over again.

"Sop, stop!" M4 demanded, raising her voice for the first time in… ever, as far as SOPMOD was concerned. The doll did as she was told, releasing the Commander and turning back to face the other two dolls.

"Star said that Sangvis is going to attack this outpost soon!" SOPMOD said in a flurry. "We can't hold them off on our own! We need to keep going!"

"We're not on our own!" M4 assured, pointing to the other teams as they began their march back to the armory. "There's other T-Dolls here! They're going to help us!"

SOPMOD was stunned, trying to process this information. The AR tended to operate isolated from other elements. Which meant support from other Griffin dolls was almost never an option, let alone a guarantee. And yet, the dolls she'd ridden with weren't leaving the area. They weren't getting on a helicopter to disappear, or driving off into the sunset like any other allied echelons she'd worked with when all was said and done.

They were staying. They had backup.

"You mean…" SOPMOD said, her eyes beginning to sparkle with childish delight as the realization came to fruition. "We finally have friends?"

M4A1 nodded, looking between her sister and the Commander. Hsu remained obscure, rubbing his nearly bruised arm before looking over to his adjutant.

"Get her resupplied, then have everyone gather in the briefing room." He instructed. G36 clicked her heels, walking over to SOPMOD before explaining to her that she was going to bring her to the armory. The idea of more ammunition and explosives piqued the psycho's interest, and she soon followed G36's trail like a puppy being taken to the park.

But not before SOPMOD called back to him about showing off her 'Sangvis souvenirs' once she was done. Hsu rubbed his arm, absolutely dumbstruck with how the dolls in Griffin seemed to only get crazier.

As some of the base's logistics personnel began to drive the transports back to the depot, M4 came closer to the Commander.

"Thank you, Mister Hsu." She said, genuinely grateful that the man had acted so quickly. The young doll felt a happiness that seemed almost unnatural, having been able to hug one of her siblings again. And soon, maybe, AR-15 would be with them as well.

"My job is to keep you and your team in one piece. I've been slacking on that front." Hsu answered honestly. He'd been so focused on building up the sector, finding the other AR dolls had almost become a secondary objective. In truth, he'd half expected them to turn up in a whole other sector.

"I'm grateful all the same. You came to their aid as soon as I warned you." M4 insisted. "I… I hope we can do the same with Star?"

"After we get a hold of the situation." Hsu assured, having no intention of leaving the lost android in the wind longer than necessary. "But if they're coming here, it's going to be a fight."

"Sopmod and I can help hold the line. We won't let this place be overrun." The elite doll promised, a new resolve in her eyes. This base had become the closest thing to a home she'd ever known, outside of 16Lab's walls. She wasn't going to lose it so easily.

Hsu grimaced, thinking back to the intelligence logs. He wasn't sure how much time they had, but he knew that whatever was coming would be the biggest fight he'd seen since coming here. No more small skirmishes, no more raids. A full blown battle, two organized forces.

It was his element. He just hoped he hadn't lost his edge.


(11:41)

Almost an hour after returning from their mission, the echelon leaders all sat in the briefing room. Together, they mulled over the information that had been passed down from the Commander. G36 stood in the center of the room, projecting the map that had been provided to them by their leader. The others gathered around, watching with mixed emotions.

One thing was very clear. By tomorrow, Sangvis would have created a wall of enemies between the outpost and the eastern half of Sector 09.

The less experienced Captains, like G36 and IWS, wore their emotions on their sleeves. Fear, worry, the inklings of panic even cracking through the maid's usual professional demeanor. She'd been forced to stand and fight once before, but it was an experience that had left its mark. Now it was going to happen all over again.

Meanwhile the war veterans, Thompson and Bren, took the information in with a passive acceptance. To them it was yet another hopeless situation after being thrown into an endless series of them in their past life. They'd both been taken offline in the past, and they'd both grown used to the sensation of impending threats.

M4A1 seemed to be stuck in the middle, both thinking of plans as well as experiencing a mounting dread.

"Our base will be at risk of being totally overwhelmed. The relief force is a week out, at best. We're outnumbered five to one, conservatively. Two of our objectives are still in the wind and need evacuation." G36 summarized, taking the lead of the discussion given her position on base. "Any other information?"

"Someone's going to be scrap by the end of the week." Thompson deducted, making IWS squeak.

"Any other information that's positive?" The maid requested.

"We're close enough to the base that when we die, we won't lose our memory files." Bren rationalized.

G36 facepalmed. "Mein Gott…"

"What? We can all be rebuilt. We're artificial intelligences, we can't really 'die'." The machine gunner insisted, taking the whole situation in stride far more than the two civilian leaders.

Meanwhile, M4A1 grew visibly uncomfortable. Something that no one but G36 seemed to notice.

"I don't want anyone to die." IWS told the group, seeming on the edge of tears with such an idea. "We've all done so much. We can win! Right?"

"W-we'll win." M4A1 assured, trying to assuage her new friend's fear. "I… I know we'll win. If we all work together, we can do this."

"Kill evil with the power of friendship. What is this, a cartoon?" Bren asked.

Thompson chuckled at the declaration, giving M4A1 a side-eye. "Look who's finally gettin' some meat on her bones."

The five went back and forth, coming up with plans to coordinate and assist in the coming defense. But it all came down to one simple fact. Eventually, when the order came down from the Commander, they would have to face the enemy.

This time in the fight for not only their lives, but their home.

Soon enough, they dispersed. Each leaving to bring these revelations to their teams so they could prepare for the coming storm. That was until only G36 remained, still staring at the map. Like a prophecy that had been handed down by a divine oracle.

She tried desperately to apply what Hsu had taught her. She took note of the various defenses put in place, clearly designed to funnel enemies into killzones. She observed the changes in elevation, devising what points of ambush she could conjure up in her imagination.

And yet try as she might, she still couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. That this was where she'd truly come to understand what it meant to be a Tactical Doll.

A series of knocks could be heard at the door. G36 checked the clock on her internal display, seeing that it had been almost an hour since the others had left. Shutting the holographic projection off, she stood up and straightened out her outfit.

"It's unlocked." She announced expecting that one of the other Captains had come back for her. Instead, StG44 walked through the door. The older German glanced over her shoulder, checking the hallway before shutting the door closed behind her.

G36 blinked, surprised at the arrival of her lieutenant. But she felt more relief than anything, anxiety falling from her shoulders as she allowed herself to relax.

"The others are looking for me, aren't zhey?" She guessed.

"Looking? Nein. Concerned? Ja." StG corrected. She stood before the woman, pulling her gloves back on tighter. "The Commander told me you weren't with him, so I began my search."

G36 scowled. Whenever she was on the outpost's grounds, her exact position was tracked by the central computer. That was the case for each Griffin doll here, which meant that Hsu could have easily figured out where she was.

Though, the fact that he hadn't said anything to StG44 gave her a few theories as to why.

Both assault rifle wielders stood across from one another, awkwardness growing. Over the past few weeks, ever since the moment they'd shared at M1897's reactivation, things had been… muddled. Not aided by their avoidance of the topic whenever possible.

But now, the adjutant's back was almost literally against a wall. Even she knew they couldn't keep dancing around this topic forever.

"We need to go into zhis with clear heads." StG44 asserted.

"Agreed."

"Which means we need to figure out where we stand with one another." She elaborated.

"An astute assessment." The Captain said, long having perfected the art of saying nothing at all.

Again, the awkward gap rose between them. Neither of them seemed to understand who, or how, to even broach the topic.

"...Are you going to start?" G36 asked.

"I thought you were going to start." StG replied.

G36's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who brought it up."

"I brought it up because you were thinking about it!"

"So were you! You've been thinking about it since it happened!"

"And you haven't?!"

G36 pinched the bridge of her nose, hot air steaming out the nostrils as her chassis began to react to her digimind's emotional state. It was times like this, she wondered what it would have been like if humans hadn't programmed them with 'feelings'.

Though if they hadn't, none of this would have happened to begin with.

Taking matters into her own hands, G36 grabbed the grenadier's arm. StG squeaked, chafing beneath the physical contact, but did little to resist as the maid dragged her over to the first row of chairs.

G36 then released her grip, sitting down and beckoning for the other doll with a finger. StG44 did as she was asked, producing a rag and wiping the seat down before sitting herself.

"You and I are teammates." G36 began, laying out the facts clear as she could. "I am your Captain, you are my second. I am also ze base adjutant, and have authority over everyone. As such, I must remain fair and unbiased."

"Is someone accusing you of abusing your authority?" StG44 questioned, some fire lighting in her eyes. As if the very insinuation was insulting to the both of them.

G36 shook her head. If anything, the opposite had happened. People seemed to think she was physically incapable of being corrupt, even if she tried. StG44 grumbled. She removed her hat from her head, running a thumb over the crease before speaking again.

"I've tried to pretend that nothing happened. It doesn't work." She admitted, shifting her green eyes back over to the object of her affections. "I meant every word of what I said. You really are beautiful."

A smile crept up on G36, bashfully recalling what was said.

"Well, maybe… I can abuse my authority a little bit." She pondered, leaning ever so closer to the other doll. "But I might go a little overboard…"

StG44 blinked, confused at the strangely uncharacteristic words coming out of her leader's mouth. Though she quickly realized who's mind likely came up with such utter drivel.

"Did you get that line from PPK?" StG44 asked the maid.

G36 reeled back, cheeks flushing as she was found out so quickly. "O-of course not! What would make you think something so absurd?!"

StG44 chortled, covering her mouth as she grew more and more amused. Which only made the Captain fidget more from the slipup.

"She said it would work!"

"I don't think it would have worked on me drunk." StG pointed out, which only seemed to make her company want to die from shame even more. So StG kept on laughing, schadenfreude encompassing her entire being while G36 continued to fume in embarrassed shock.

But eventually, as her discomfort began to ease, G36 felt a hand wrap around hers. The worry left as quickly as it came.

Before either doll could think, G36 leaned over and kissed the other German. StG44 went wide-eyed, stiffening thoroughly at the intimate contact. The older doll's neural cloud promptly seized up, attempting to process this new information as the code that made up her artificial intelligence almost stalled.

During this sequence of numbers, G36 pulled back, touching her lips as she realized that she had well and truly jumped the shark.

"I… I shouldn't have done zhat." She muttered. Suddenly her own brain was going a mile a minute. She'd told herself she was going to be careful and measured in this response. She said that under no circumstances would she push things further than necessary. The point of this was to clear the air, not make things even more confusing.

Those last words, 'careful and measured', were the last ones going through her brain before StG grabbed her necktie and pulled her back in.


(12:22)

As the latest images were sent in by the Soviet government, the human leaders of Sector 09 were made aware of what they were dealing with.

A large mass of Sangvis was grouping within the sector, readily in a position to make an advance on the outpost itself. Formations of infantry and quad-pedal androids, models that Hsu had never seen in his time in the Army. The sensors that they'd put up showed movement all across the eastern portion of the area on a scale not yet seen since the Sector was established.

They weren't advancing yet. But by dawn tomorrow, they'd be at the edge of the base's defenses.

"They're overextending themselves." Helian observed, looking at a map of the region. There was a clear, large gap between the oncoming Sangvis force and where the hostiles had their forward outposts. "And this force is still far smaller than I'd initially feared."

"All those raids paid off. Cut their numbers advantage by a lot." Hsu rationalized, looking to the Chief Engineer from the corner of his eye. "Everything's finished? All of our people are back within the core walls?"

"Yes and yes." Khan assured, unfurling a map which had every defense that he'd had built and prepared. "The turrets are online and outfitted. Trenches dug, hesco walls built, minefields laid, watch-towers erected… I do think I've outdone myself."

"Impressive work as always, Assad." Helian complimented. "Suppose you always were a better Sapper than anything else."

The engineer graciously bowed at the hip, making a show of the gesture. "My dear Miss Helian, I am a man of many talents."

Santiago rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair while the pilot put on the most insulting Cockney accent she could muster. "Look at me. I'm Assad, I have a Doctorate in Robotics. I was a 'Paratrooper.' I shot Field Marshal Smirnov in Vienna."

"No idea what you're on about." The engineer deflected, not grabbing onto the bait provided by the pilot.

As the two began their back and forth, Hsu hovered over to Helian. Both of the former Battalion officers looked over the data before them, trying to form a consensus of what was to be expected.

"I'd put our odds at three out of four, in our favor." Hsu inferred, narrowing his gaze at the map. "There's no way they'll be able to reinforce or resupply with this much space between their outposts and their assault."

"Agreed. But, this force is still formidable." Helian reminded, taking a breath. "Looks like we won't be getting that new team in time after all."

"The plans that Khan and I came up with were made with our current strength in mind." The Commander assured, scratching his chin as he began to think. "Still… there's no way we're going to hold without casualties."

"...By my predictions, we can sustain up to eight losses before defenses are invariably compromised." His superior calculated, before switching the screen to show all four echelons' rosters. Their repair status, ammo count and energy levels all holding at full. For now.

Hsu hummed in agreement. He had faith in his forces, and trusted the people around him to do their job. But that didn't negate the fact that this was going to be a hard fight, and losing too many people would cripple them in the long term.

"I'll help Kalina and Santiago with aerial plans. Khan can finish up on the technical side of things." Helian informed, before pointing outside. "Make sure this plan of yours is airtight. It's all or nothing, come tomorrow morning."

The Commander nodded his head, taking the invitation to leave as Khan and Santiago's bickering reached a near fever pitch. Helian's voice suddenly joined the fray, dragging the two's bickering to a screeching halt. He grabbed a tablet and stepped outside the command room, pulling up G36's link as he prepared to call her up.

Just as a pink and black blur slammed into him from the side.

Hsu was immediately on the floor, his hat and glasses getting knocked off his head. But as his vision settled, he found the new AR team doll straddling his torso. She looked down at him with giddy, manic, and frankly homicidal glee. Not unlike an unhinged slasher from a horror film.

"Com-Man-DER!" SOPMOD announced, a wicked smile spread from ear to ear. "I found you~! Now you have to come see my souvenirs!"

Hsu had to physically stop himself from drawing his sidearm, having initially taken the base's latest arrival for a hostile. But no hostile would talk his ear off this much, gleefully discussing the various arms and legs that she'd poached from her last battle with the enemy.

Soon, however, another blur appeared behind SOPMOD.

"Kommandant! Are you alright?" He heard, clocking the voice in instantly as G36's. SOPMOD seemed to turn around, hopping off of her captured prey to turn and see the raving and angry maid.

The German maid then began to belittle the doll with a harsh intensity, giving him enough time to grab his glasses and mount them back on his face. SOPMOD stood, confused, listening as this angry maid seemed to be yelling at her for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

Eventually, something else caught the mangler's interest. Without any warning, she zipped off in pursuit of a new object of interest.

"I didn't say you could leave, Dummkopf!" G36 yelled at the fleeing felon, but it had no effect. With a dejected sigh, she went to help the dazed man back up. Hsu's world continued to spin, having been slammed by two-hundred pounds of metal and violence.

"This place is gonna kill me…" He muttered, the world finally lining up as she got a good look at his adjutant. Though she seemed just as disheveled as him. Her tie was undone, hanging around her neck. The bonnet on her head was also askew, and her bodice had a few straps hanging loose.

"Did she tackle you too?" He asked, earning some confusion from the doll. G36 then looked down, blushing before she began to quickly straighten out her outfit. She'd been in such a rush to make it here, she hadn't properly fixed herself after the past twenty minutes of snogging.

Luckily for her, the Commander was unaware. Or at least, he seemed so, having reverted back to his usual emotionless gaze. Still, she certainly wasn't going to press her luck.

"The others have been briefed. All teams are ready to move to assigned stations." She reported, restoring what air of professionalism she could. "We're ready for your orders, Sir."

Hsu nodded along, motioning for the doll to follow behind him. By this time tomorrow, they'd all be neck deep in it.