(07/10/2056 | 10:00)
Over the next two months, the new order of Griffin's Black Sea operations established itself.
Soon after Sector 09's shift in location, the new Commanders and their newly created sectors came. Each of them were fresh from training, none of them had prior military experience, and one of them had barely gotten out of college before they'd signed their contract with the company. They were just as discombobulated, unsure and untested as anyone could be.
As such, the first month was tough going. Re-establishing Soviet control over the land east of the Dnieper, smashing pockets of Sangvis resistance, securing the settlements that had previously been overrun by genocidal robots. If it had been only a single sector's mission, it would have been impossible.
The situation was stable now, at the very least. Sangvis still had more land than they had before their advance, but not nearly as much as they'd had at their peak. The same was reported up and down across Griffin's front, each of the Territorial Commanders confirming progress, but none coming close to outright victory.
Therefore, business had returned to its usual cycle. Commanders took other contracts, handled other jobs and were on their way to getting Griffin's coffers filled back up.
Normalcy. Nice, peaceful, normalcy.
…Unless you were G36, in which case peace was never an option. Time after time again she'd tell her Commander the same thing; wake up at ten, or she'd wake him up at ten. Especially when he had a meeting scheduled with a Federal official this morning! It was starting to feel like he didn't take her seriously.
Oh well, he took the bucket of water seriously enough.
The two walked down the hallway after he'd dried off, late morning sun beams soaking in through the windows as they grew closer to the Commander's office.
"All sectors are reporting that their weekly contracts have been completed. Sector Ten lost one of their teams, however." G36 reported, filing through the physical papers that she'd printed out for the report.
"Sangvis?" Hsu asked.
"Car crash. The doll driving lost control and drove straight into the river." G36 clarified, flipping to the next page on the clipboard. "Most IOP dolls cannot be fully submerged for longer than a few minutes, the water starts to short out our internals."
Hsu sighed. "How much is it going to cost for the new bodies?"
"All of the money they made in the week."
"Great. Any other news?"
G36 nodded her head, turning the page to the next report. The maid didn't speak immediately, reading over the words twice before relaying them.
"The Governor filed a complaint with Sector Twelve." She said carefully, still verifying that her eyes weren't playing tricks. "Apparently one of their dolls destroyed his wife's rose garden while they were guarding a speech at his manor."
This made the Commander groan. "How? Why?"
"The report mentions something about a runaway lawnmower and 'demonic squirrels.' It's… rather fascinating."
Hsu's eye twitched at the absurd description, wanting to get to the liquor cabinet in his office as fast as possible now. "At this rate I should send Sturmgewher out there to be a drill instructor."
G36 pursed her lips, slipping the clipboard under her arm. "Please do not subject my girlfriend to that torture."
This brought some light back into the Commander's step, sensing a chance to tease his adjutant. "So you're finally calling her your girlfriend?"
G36 looked up at the man, growing distrustful as she clocked his intentions. "We've been on multiple dates, why deny reality?"
"I still remember a certain someone getting red in the face when I brought it up in the past." Hsu recalled, a smarmy smirk poking itself out. "That reminds me, you two get past second yet?"
Hsu laughed at his own joke, ignoring the scowl on G36's face. He couldn't ignore the elbow she put in his ribs, but he just laughed through the pain.
"Arseloch." G36 insulted, before the sounds of yelling tumbled through the hallways. Both the Commander and the maid took notice, recognizing the voices as they adjusted their trajectory to head towards the squabbling.
As they entered a new hallway, the two happened upon Saiga-12 and XM8 wrestling with one another on the carpet. The Soviet doll was trying to grab something from XM8's arms, which the small grenadier was doing her best to shield from her hands. Both continued to curse, yell and kick, not noticing the Commander or the base adjutant's arrival.
Not wanting to waste time, Hsu whistled at the combatants. Both looked up, scrambling off each other before they stood. XM8 looked almost comically small next to the tall shotgunner, her hands wrapping around what looked to be a book.
The Commander went forwards, holding his hand out for the novel. XM8 handed it over, letting him inspect the cover.
"...You two were fighting over manga?" He asked.
"It's not manga, it's manhwa! Manga's Japanese, that's Korean!" XM8 corrected with a pout.
Hsu didn't really care where the comic was from, instead flipping it open to see its… very adult images within. His expression soured, before he looked back at the two. "Who's is it?"
"Mine." Saiga said, giving the supposed thief the side-eye. "She raided my room after I told her she was too young to read it."
"We're androids! We don't have real ages!" XM8 protested, though it garnered no sympathy from any of the present parties.
Hsu looked over his shoulder to G36. "How old is she programmed to be?"
"Seventeen." G36 readily answered, leveling a smoldering glare at her youngest sister. XM8 quickly silenced herself, sensing that her life was now in danger.
Having been told enough, the Commander returned the book to it's rightful owner. G36 shot off a quick apology for her sibling's actions, which Saiga accepted without any fuss before she marched off back in the direction of her dormitory. Hsu then pulled his sleeve up, checking his watch.
"I need to file the monthly report. Do you mind dealing with this?" He asked his maid.
"Not. At. All." G36 answered, going over and grabbing XM8 by the ear. The smaller doll yelped in pain, beginning to thrash about as G36 dragged her off to face whatever was cooking up in her neural cloud.
This day was going to be a headache, he could already tell.
(12:00)
By noon, all of the dolls had already swarmed the mess hall.
Lunchtime was always chaotic for the sector. It was one of the few times where all five times could be in the same place at once. Either having returned from a job, getting ready to leave for a job, or simply passing time on a day where there was no assignment. It meant that dolls could interact outside of their echelons, which led to some unexpected table groups.
Close to the back wall was one of those groups. M16, SVD, Saiga and MCX sat in a booth, speaking about the missions that their teams had completed earlier in the day. Or at least, three of them spoke. Saiga was keeping her nose in a book, only occasionally throwing her piece in.
PPSh eventually ran up, the small doll carrying a tray of food that she pushed into the center of the group before she scurried back towards the kitchen. M16 was the first to grab her food, dragging a sandwich close to her as she picked up where she left off.
"-So anyway, then Sop gets it in her head that she wants to ride on these guys' truck." M16 explained, pulling her food in halves. "So while the rest of us are trying to scout the base, she sneaks inside. Then she busts a window and steals a pickup. It turns over and starts, blows all of our cover."
"Didn't think she knew what sneaking even was." MCX said, shuffling a deck of cards in her hands.
"When she sets her mind to something, you're not stopping her." M16 assured. "Anyway, they obviously hear this. Bandits light the front of the truck up with gunfire, it's totaled in seconds. So guess what she does next!"
"Charge in like a lunatic?" Saiga chirped, meanwhile SVD pulled her own plate of dumplings closer.
"Engine was broken, but the fuel tank was not." The Soviet team leader inferred, causing Saiga to question what her superior was getting at.
M16 nodded, biting into her food before continuing the story. "You got it. She runs to the back, rips out the ethanol cell and chucks it at the nearest building. The whole camp goes up in smoke! Bandits are running everywhere. We had to run in and drag her out before she burned the whole place down!"
"And how did you spin this to the Commander?" SVD queried, taking one of the pierogi and tossing it into her mouth.
"M-Four'll handle it. She's in charge of our outfit anyway." M16 assured with little care in the matter. SVD laughed, continuing to dine while MCX set her deck onto the table.
"Y'know, I expected your Special Ops lot to be way more…." The Brit began.
"Like a bunch of jackasses?" M16 finished for her.
"Aye."
M16 shrugged, popping the cap on a bottle she'd gotten from her dorm. "Well the Russians got us filled up on that quota, so we get to kick back." She observed, waving a hand at the two Easterners before knocking back some of her whisky.
Saiga looked over the top of her novel, while SVD scoffed at the one-eyed riflewoman's assertion. "Saiga and I are not Russian."
"Right…" M16 said, going to finish off some more of the bottle before she set it down. She thought to herself for a few moments, before pointing a finger at SVD.
"You're a local, you know too much about the city." She deducted, before swiveling her attention onto Saiga. "And I've heard her speak something that sounds more… Turk. So she's probably from the Stans."
Both the Soviet dolls looked at one another, then back to the alcoholic. "Did not expect an American to know geography." Saiga said, having expected her to fire off a series of bad Russian jokes.
Those words made M16 think, scratching her nose as she considered Saiga's words. "I dunno if we count as American dolls. Then again we use American rifles. Plus during the Big One, Persica ended up loaning me out to'em for some stuff."
SVD laughed, leaning over to pluck the half-full bottle from M16's hands. "Cute, maybe we shot at each other. Then again, I don't miss, so I doubt you'd be around if that was true."
She managed to pull it over the top of the table, but M16 kept her grip on her precious golden icor. The Anti-Rain doll's demeanor hardened, though she didn't seem to become malicious. "That a challenge, wedge cap?"
SVD was about to answer, until she saw another doll approaching from the corner of her eye. The sniper released the bottle, settling back as she glared at none other than A-545 standing in between the booth.
"Do you need something?" SVD asked pointedly as her subordinate made her presence known. Saiga simply ducked behind her novel once again, seeing what was about to come.
A-545 focused on her team leader, turning her back to both M16 and MCX. "I would recommend finding a new table, Kapitan."
SVD rolled her eyes, not wanting to have this conversation. As she'd warned the Commander, A-545 took Soviet Nationalism to the extreme. The KCCO loaned doll had refused to even associate with any android from the other side of the DMZ or the Pacific ocean. She'd even snubbed a good deal of the human staff if she found out they were from western Europe.
It was annoying. If SVD wanted to deal with political officers, she would've never left the Internal Troops.
"They're good enough company for me. Besides, Mosin is still hung over from that doll club she dragged Seven-Four to." The sniper replied pointing her fork at her subordinate. "It would do you well to build cross-team relations."
A-545 remained professional, though she had to admit that SVD's leadership style was beginning to grate on her. The military doll had been attached to Griffin for half a year now, and though she was certainly seeing more action than she had prior, the lax environment did not suit her.
She gave the westerners a side-eye, having seen their antics since her arrival. The one with the eyepatch was a lush, stumbling through the halls and always three sheets to the wind. The other one was a serial troublemaker, playing 'pranks' on everyone in base.
"With all due respect, ma'am, associating with these degenerates will look poorly upon our echelon." A-545 said.
M16 chuckled as she kept drinking. "That's a bit rude, Candy."
"Do I look like a 'Candy' to you, cowboy?" A-545 asked, confused.
M16 shrugged, holding her bottle by the neck before she pointed up and down at the Russian's skintight outfit. "I dunno, between the bad make up and the push-up bra, I'd say it fits."
MCX snickered at the jab, but the insulted party was far less amused. "You're clearly drunk. Unsurprisingly, your tolerance is as weak as your army."
The Anti-Rain doll immediately stopped laughing, the retort landing far too close to home as she stood up from the booth. MCX stood as well, the ex-cop putting herself between the two before they came to blows.
Which was when a fun idea came to mind.
"Actually, I have an idea." She announced, getting all four girls to focus on her.
"How about… a drinking contest?" MCX offered, mischief dancing across her eyes.
A-545 huffed, turning a nose at the bottle of Jack in M16's hand. "I do not drink water."
"And I don't drink potato juice!" M16 protested, growing defensive of her preferred beverage. MCX, meanwhile, extended both her arms. She'd been in this position a dozen times, but the people she had tried to stop from fighting were always humans. Dolls were… different, but they provided different opportunities.
"I'll get the drinks! Something that'll get both of you sloshed, I promise." She told them both. The two assault-rifle dolls gave one another one final glare, before they broke off and muttered some level of agreement.
Oh, this was too easy.
(12:20)
"No delays on the flight, I hope?" Hsu said as he looked between his laptop and the hologram. A projection of Bren stood in front of his desk, the machine-gunner having been returned to her duties as secretary for the Sub-Director.
"His flight should be landing at about twenty-hundred hours." Bren answered, looking at her datapad to confirm the information. "We have the route planned, and all of the rooms on his floor of the hotel have been rented out. You received the information, yes?"
"Looking at it now." The Commander assured.
Tonight was probably going to be the biggest payday Hsu had seen since joining Griffin. The CEO of a big agricultural company was flying in to negotiate contracts with local officials, and his company had been looking for extra security. Eventually, Griffin caught their eye, and the brass had sent this babysitting job down to him.
Still, the Commander found a trace of humor in the situation. "It's funny, this is the first bodyguard job I've done since I came to Griffin. But I didn't think we'd need this much to protect the CEO of an Indian tractor company."
"Life is more queer than fiction, I suppose." The doll replied with a shrug. "Mahindra sells the most tractors in the world. They have money behind their actions, which draws the ire of criminals and unhappy ultranationalists."
Hsu nodded along, looking at the list of unwanted guests that might make themselves known. It was long, longer than he would have liked. Black market types who would see the VIP as an easy ransom, some local Communist hardliners who didn't like the idea of a bigwig money runner showing up on their front doorstep, and more than a few Soviet hardliners who were against this on the grounds of 'foreign influence'.
"This threat report's worrying me." He admitted. Bren made a 'tut-tut' sound, though the reception made it rather crackly.
"Headquarters has confidence in your sector's abilities. Though, having been there myself, I understand your hesitation."
The Commander hoped that they were right. He leaned back, rubbing his eyes as he knew that the day wasn't even close to finished. "Surprised the Soviets are even willing to buy a contract from a private company based in another country."
"India avoided the worst of the war. Their industrial capabilities are still mostly intact." Bren clarified. "Seeing as the Soviet Union and the European Federation are still half rubble, they can sense opportunity. Though I'd love to see the buggers try and haggle with these dimwits."
Hsu let himself smile. "How about you come back down, then? Shoot some robots for me like the good old days."
"Much as I'd love to escape this office, my place is at Lady Helian's side." Bren lamented, her displeasure visible and vocal. "Though she seems to miss the front as much as I do, seeing as how she's been avoiding the usual lobbyists like the plague."
The Commander chuckled, amused at the doll's demeanor. He'd come around to Bren after some time, despite his initial displeasure at her brutish attitude. "Well, door's open to both of you. Anything else I should be worried about?"
"General warning order, Headquarters wants you to organize a decapitation strike on Sangvis by month's end." Bren informed, some pep returning to her step. "That 'Intruder' tart is still out there. Do me a favor and blow her bloody head off for me, yeah?"
Hsu nodded once. "I'll be sure to do that. Take care, Bren."
The doll held her arms at her waist, bowing at the hip before her projector disappeared in a flurry of pixels. Meanwhile, the Commander pulled out his radio and hailed the cafeteria.
"Gretel, you mind sending Ninety-Seven up here with my lunch?"
"In a moment, mein Herr." The maid replied. "There's a small event I'm keeping an eye on."
"Do I need to head down there?" Hsu asked, already assuming the worst.
"Not yet. I'll bring your meal personally once this has settled." His adjutant assured, the line going dead right after. Hsu grimaced, wondering what could possibly be going on that would be enough for G36 to bring it up.
He hoped that they didn't do anything stupid, all hands were on deck for this job. And he didn't want to have to spend more money on repairs
(12:35)
"Gather round, gather round! We're about to start!" MCX shouted as the contestants sat down at the round table. The audience was sizable, half the tactical dolls on the base present to watch what was about to come.
Four dolls sat at the table. The two initial rivals sat across from one another, along with two more that MCX had managed to sweet-talk into. Type 100 on one end, with K11 and S.A.T at her flanks as a cheerleading squad. AUG sat on the other, looking bored as ever while IWS stood watch.
MCX came forward, parting the sea of dolls before turning to face the eager and confused onlookers.
"Ladies! I would like to welcome you all to the first annual Griffin International Drinking Contest!" She announced, gesturing to the table. "We've got dolls here representing all corners of the Company! Europe, the Soviet Union, the Americas and even the Far East!"
Some light applause came from the crowd, with a few girls further in the back trading bills as the bets were already being placed. G36 watched close to the edge
"The rules are simple! No chugging, no deactivating your intoxication simulators, and no trying to rinse anyone! Anyone who tries something stupid…" MCX explained, before pulling out a black and yellow taser from her duty belt. "-Gets to ride the lightning."
AR-15 rolled her eyes as she stood behind her sister's chair. "As if that thing'll even tickle."
MCX simply smiled, taking the declaration as a challenge before aiming the device at the overconfident elite doll. Before AR-15 could react, the electric dart landed square in her arm and sent a quick jolt through her whole body.
The marksman squeaked and stumbled, getting most of the audience to bust out laughing. Even M16 seemed to join in, giving her a playful nudge as she helped steady her zapped sibling.
Pleased with the result, MCX connected with the contestants' interface via Zener. After reloading her preventative measure, she circled the table and placed a tall green bottle in front of each girl.
"Last woman standing wings bragging rights." MCX declared, before backing away. "Have fun…! I know I will."
M16 and A-545 gave one another one more glare before uncorking the bottle. IWS passed a wine glass to her lieutenant, which AUG filled up halfway before giving the drink a whiff.
"...This is absinthe." The Austrian observed, before looking up to MCX. MCX said nothing, simply winking at the priestess.
AUG looked at Type 100, shaking her head at her team member while the other two blindly drank from their bottles. Both the American and the Soviet then began to wretch, the putrid taste of the Swedish liquor violently thrashing their tongues. The slew tasted as if someone had taken a pickle, boiled it in vinegar and then fermented it in gasoline.
IWS winced at the scene, watching as Type 100 got up from her chair as her two friends broke down laughing all over again at the 'elite' dolls' poor showing. AR-15 practically died of embarrassment, watching in shock as someone who drank whisky like it was water seemed to be choking on the stuff.
"I think we've seen enough of this circus." G36 said, stepping up next to MCX.
"I'm not done!" M16 insisted, grabbing the bottle and chugging a few more gulps of the liquor. Right as she swallowed, her face turned green, the veteran clutching her gut before she collapsed in a heap next to the table.
"That's why you weren't supposed to chug." MCX said, noticing AK-74M come up and help her now completely unconscious teammate. A-545's bottle sat at half full, just as M16's did.
All the while, AUG sat in her chair with her legs crossed, calmly sipping her drink and having IWS refill once she had emptied it. She continued this, over and over again until her bottle was completely empty.
Seeing as the rest of the competition had either withdrawn, was writing on the ground or completely out of it, MCX rounded the table and lifted the Austrian's arm, declaring her the winner and 'International Champion.'
The losers were dragged off back to their dormitories, hoping to sleep their failure off before the night's operation began.
(13:11)
"So how long until they're ready for the mission?" Hsu asked as G36 put a covered plate on his desk.
"Khan says an hour. 'A simple reset of their sensory programs', though the memory should scare both of them for a good while." His adjutant reported, laying out the silverware and going to grab a glass from her pushcart.
Hsu shook his head, standing out by the window as he looked down at what seemed to be Echelon 5 practicing bounding drills along the airstrip. "Can't believe Aug won a drinking contest against the two biggest binge drinkers on base."
G36 scoffed, twisting open a bottle of ginger ale. "How many glasses of Crown Royal have you had today?"
Hsu kept his view outside, but lifted a finger. "Unlike either of them, I haven't gone through a whole bottle and then some."
"Unlike either of them, you're at an ever increasing risk of liver failure." The maid reminded, pouring out the soft drink as she put the finishing touches on the man's meal.
"So now you're my mother?" Hsu asked, recalling when she'd accused him of being her parent.
"Don't give me reasons to baby you, and I won't." She said, before removing the lid from the plate and backing away to present the food.
Hsu chuckled, turning around to finally see what the doll had made. He sat down to see a plate of sauce covered golden brown beef sitting on a bed of vegetables. The man grabbed a fork, skewering a piece of meat and beginning to eat.
"I decided to try something that would be more familiar to you." The maid spoke, standing upright at the desk as she watched to see if her superior enjoyed what had been whipped up. "I believe they call this 'ginger beef' in Canada?"
The Commander nodded in confirmation, wiping his mouth after he finished half the plate. "Holy crap, Gretel. This is great! And you've never made this before?"
"Do you even know who you're speaking too?" The maid boasted, going to sit down on the opposite side of the desk. "There is not a dish on this earth that I cannot prepare."
"So what you're saying, is I should pit you and Springfield against each other for the job of my personal chef."
"Please. I will, how do Americans put it. 'Cook her under ze table?'"
Hsu laughed, finishing off the rest of the food. "You seem feisty today."
"Things have been going good for us. No injuries, no incidents. I'm allowed to simply clean and help my team, then go spend time with Sturmgewher or my sister.." G36 said, sitting prim and proper compared to the commander's slouched posture. "I never thought I'd find a place that would make me almost as happy as my first home."
"From what you told me before, that's high praise." He said, recalling how wistful the doll had looked when she told him of her past life. "What lead you to Griffin, anyway? Going from maid to tactical doll is one helluva jump."
G36 mulled the question over, hesitation holding in her throat. She didn't particularly like speaking about her life before Griffin. She hadn't done it with anyone, not even her newfound confidants. But Hsu was… different. He was her friend. Her best friend, now.
She could trust him. She already trusted him with everything else.
"When the manor was bombed, and the rescue workers pulled me from the wreckage, I was emancipated by my old Master's will." She began, checking to see that she had the Commander's full attention. "He left me some money, enough to live on my own until I found work. But… the work I found was never good."
"You didn't have to do anything under the table, did you?"
"I am not Annette." She retorted sharply, but rolled her eyes as she caught Hsu's smug grin. "No. I drifted from employer to employer. Most of the city had become too poor to afford a personal maid, and those who could afford it had my model in spades already. So I worked in restaurants, as a cook and as a waitress."
Any semblance of jest had left the room. Hsu sat still, letting the doll continue.
"It was not terrible. But I still felt… empty. Purposeless. As if I had failed my family."
"You couldn't have stopped the house from getting bombed." The Commander interjected.
"But maybe I could have saved one of them. My master, or his wife, or one of his daughters." She reflected, still haunted by some traces of that guilt. Of all the residents to survive, only the doll did. "He used to tell me that I looked much like his eldest, but… she had died a decade before my time due to illness."
G36 paused, thinking over her next words carefully. "I think that is why I joined this company. So that I could save others from experiencing such tragedies."
Hsu nodded in understanding. It was as good a reason as any to sign on. That, stable pay, a warm bed and safety from the elements. Just like many other dolls in the company had done.
"...I don't thank you enough for what you do for this place." The Commander said after a few beats of quiet.
G36 rolled her eyes at the man's sentimentality, despite her own showing. "Yes, yes. I am well aware you would be absolutely lost without me."
Hsu flashed the doll an obscene hand gesture. G36 took her spray bottle from her belt, aiming it menacingly until the man backed down.
Then, a question came to mind. One she'd been wondering about for a long time.
"If I may, Master… could I ask you what it was like on the frontlines during the war?"
"It depended on the year." Hsu said, trying to deflect the question.
"Earlier." She specified.
The Commander grumbled, not liking this particular topic of discussion himself. He could easily just tell the doll that he didn't want to speak on the matter. She'd respect it, he knew she would. But after she'd been willing to tell him her story of struggle, it would've been in poor taste to deny her something similar in return.
So he pointed to the ginger ale bottle, and once she passed it over and he took a long drink followed by a short burp, he began.
"Canada and Britain have always been close. When the War started, we joined their side immediately. Loyalty to the Commonwealth and all that." He began, swirling the soda that remained as he organized the words in his head into something resembling a sentence. "But the Government didn't want to mobilize the reserves. They were worried that the Soviets might try something over the Bering Strait. So at the start, we only sent in the Regular Force. I stayed in Ottawa, doing my job at the CBC. My unit was based out in Montreal, so I'd drive out for drills."
The man took another swig, focusing back on the window behind him and letting the ginger burn his throat before he continued. "There was a plebiscite six months later. The vote was if we were going to go all in. Reserves, draft, increased volunteer cap…"
"Did you vote yes?"
"Of course I voted yes. I might not've been the most elite officer out there but I wanted to do my bit." Hsu said, almost offended that she'd believe otherwise. "Vote passed, ninety-six percent in favor. A month later, my Brigade landed in Malmo and we headed north to try and stop the Soviets from taking Stockholm."
G36 nodded, leaning forwards as the story began to pick up. "What happened?"
Hsu growled. A cloud began to form over the man as he thought back to the campaign. How miserable it had been from start to finish, and how they'd managed to accomplish nothing at all in four whole months of fighting.
"We lost. High Command called a full retreat in early February." He recalled, rapping his knuckles against the tabletop in a slow beat. "After the Northern Lights incident, the environment outside of the city was barren. The weather was worse. The snow never stopped, and we had to march all the way back south in Mopp gear."
His hand stopped, the old soldier drinking the last of the bottle until it was totally dry. "...Only thirty people in my company died from enemy action. Seventy died because of frostbite, starvation, or getting sick. It was one of the worst times of my life."
Hsu finally turned to looked to see G36, and her expression was what he'd expected. Sadness, as sad as the maid would allow herself to seem. Her eyes were downcast, concern flowing out for her friend. Her hands had clenched together tightly, likely to stop them from fiddling idley.
The Commander sighed in defeat, hating that the girl looked like this after she'd been so happy only a few minutes before.
"This is why I don't tell people about what I saw in the War. They all give me that exact look you're giving now. They're terrified…" He said, shaking his head. "I don't blame you. I was terrified too."
"I'm sorry." G36 told him, fearing that she'd done something wrong.
"Don't." He quickly said. "You're… you're the first person I've spoken to about what happened to us."
This drew the maid's tentative curiosity, distracting her ever so slightly from her emotions. "You don't even speak about it with other soldiers?"
"War stories aren't for everyone. Lot of veterans don't like to think about that stuff." He said, feeling the energy drain from him. "I just… I want to move on with my life."
G36 got up, rounding the table. She hoisted the Commander onto his feet, pulling him into a hug. Again he could feel the doll's strangely off temperature, showing that she wasn't quite human. It still bothered him to an extent, but that feeling had gotten smaller and smaller over time.
"You have moved on. We both have." She promised, before stepping back and looking up at him.
Hsu chuckled, both surprised and somewhat grateful that he'd found someone who was willing to drag him out of a funk kicking and screaming. "I guess we have. But if we don't do this week's job right, we'll probably be unemployed."
That news brought G36 back to her usual temperament when she was around him, her eyes sparking up as business was back on the table.
"Well then, I best make sure your plan is not as shoddy as usual if my career is on the line."
A/N: This took too long to get out.
Either way, I ended up splitting the chapter in half again. Next time, the bodyguard mission. I hope you guys like Terminal from MW2.
o/
