November 3rd, 2062
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0930
"Hey, 23, wake up, we're here." Hyena puts a hand of KS-23's shoulder and gently shakes her.
"Mmmhmhm," KS-23 grumbles shifting in her seat, laying sideways.
Hyena grabs her cheeks with both hands and starts to stretch them in opposite directions. "I said, wake up."
23 lets out a yelp as her cheeks are stretched, revealing her sharpened teeth. She finally opens her eyes and is greeted by a crack of sunlight through the windows of the heli. She puts her hands on Hyena's arms in a futile attempt to make him stop. Hyena lets go of her and put his hands on his hips.
"I thought you would stay up for the flight." Hyena puts a hand to his bare face. "That's the primary reason I gave you my walkman."
23 rubs her reddened cheeks. "I didn't expect the music to be so calming, Comrade."
Hyena removes his hand from his face and scratches the back of his head. "Guess I can't blame you then. The music the Commander gave me is supposed to catch me up to this generation's music tastes."
"Do you want it back, Comrade?"
"No, you hang onto it. Honestly, you'll probably get more use out of it than me."
23 holds the walkman close to her chest and smiles. "Understood."
Hyena cracks a grin. "Ready to meet the new Commander?"
23 nods. Hyena opens the sliding doors of the heli only to be greeted by the morning sun. It shines brightly into the heli, lighting up the interior. The sun is too bright for 23, who shields her eyes from the sun.
Hyena is the first to leave the heli, followed by KS-23 and Sierra. They step onto a well-maintained helipad and can view the base in its entirety. Unlike their previous base, this one has a singular main building, unlike the two from their last base. The main building is slightly built into the mountain that surrounds the base. To the far north of the base lies a concrete wall with what looks to be an entrance. The walls are topped with automated turrets that slowly rotate, searching for prey.
"A far cry from our base," Hyena says offhandedly.
Unlike their base, this one has multiple helipads. Three of the pads have space for a large-sized helicopter. The fourth one has space for something bigger.
The group steps off the helipad and onto the ground below. Unlike the hard snow at their previous base, the ground here is a mixture of slush and dirt. It is also noticeably warmer here compared to the near arctic conditions of the other base. So warm that a gentle rain falls over the base.
Hyena sticks out a hand and lets the rain fall gently on his hand. "Huh, we must have gone south."
23 looks at him quizzically and sticks out her hand, hesitantly imitating Hyena. Sierra does the same.
"Enjoying the rain?" A high pitched voice interrupts the group.
They all turn in the direction of the voice. The origin of the voice is what looks to be a girl. Her hair is white and curls delicately at the ends. Her skin is sun-kissed, which elicits the thought that she has access to a tanning bed. Her chest is flat, and her body lacks any body fat to speak of. She wears a white trenchcoat with a fur mantle with a white shirt with a red tie underneath. For her lower portions, she wears blue jean shorts that hug her thighs. Her legs are covered by black stocking, and she wears winter boots on her feet. She smiles at Hyena.
"You must be the mercenary I was sent?" She says happily extending her hand.
Hyena looks cautiously at the female in front of him. He quickly scans her up and down. "You must be…."
"Commander!" Another voice shouts out.
Hyena looks to the new voice to see a young woman running from behind the mysterious female. The woman runs at top speed carrying a strange device in one hand. She quickly closes the distance between the group and herself and keels over, breathing heavily. Her skin is white, and her hair is a light orange color and is quite long. She wears black aviator sunglasses on her head and wears an open brown jacket with the G&K logo on the shoulder. Underneath, she wears a white shirt with an elongated red bowtie. Her shirt is open, revealing her cleavage and her black bra, which is visible for all to see. On her lower portion, she wears a black miniskirt complemented by black stockings. She wears brown leather boots on her feet.
"Ah, Kalina. Great of you to join us." The girl says sarcastically.
"Sorry….I'm late, Commander….Combat reports…." Kalina says through labored breaths.
The girl puts a hand on Kalina's back. "Don't worry, you haven't missed much. They just arrived." She looks at Hyena. "Where were we?"
Hyena looks at the two females. "I believe you were going to tell me who you are."
"Ah, yes." The girl giggles. "Sorry, we don't get many guests here. At least the ones willing to talk." The girl puts up a salute. "Commander Alexei of Echo Base."
Hyena looks at Alexei, confused. "That's a guy's name."
"Yes, it is," Alexei responds, smiling.
Hyena narrows his eyes. "I see." He gives a formal salute back. "Hyena of Alpha Base." Hyena turns his attention to the orange-haired woman.
"Oh, that's Kalina, my adjutant." Alexei starts. "She'll be taking care of your combat reports." Alexei looks behind Hyena. "Oh, that must be a KS-23 model t-doll."
KS-23 puts up a salute. "Yes, Commandant. KS-23 of Echelon 1."
"Echelon 1?" Alexei looks at Hyena slyly. "We have to reassign you immediately." Alexei looks at Kalina, who has finally regained her breath.
"Kalina, what empty dormitories do we have?"
"I believe dormitory 10 is empty at the moment, Commander."
"Alright. Hyena." Alexei looks at Hyena. "As long as you stay here, you will be assigned to dormitory 10 echelon 10. Is that understood?"
"As you say, Commander," Hyena responds.
Alexei puts a hand on Hyena's shoulder. "Please. Call me, Alexei."
"Understood."
Alexei smiles. "Now, then, let's get you introduced to the base shall we." Alexei turns around and heads towards the main building.
Hyena moves to follow Alexei, but something pulls his jacket. He turns around to see Sierra giving him her signature deadpan look. She extends a hand to him. Hyena lets out a sigh and takes the pack of cigs from his front pocket. He places the pack in Sierra's hand.
"Leave some for me," Hyena says with a commanding tone pointing a finger at her.
Sierra shrugs and walks back to the helicopter and disappears into it. Hyena lets out another sigh.
"What am I going to do with her?" He whispers to himself, scratching the back of his head.
Hyena turns towards the main building and runs towards it catching up with the group. They all enter the building. From a quick scan, Hyena can see that the building is of simple construction made from concrete. The interior only has one room which serves as a sort of waiting room complete with chairs and a secretaries desk. At the back of the room are two elevator doors, which serve as the only way of traveling to the lower levels.
Alexei presses the button calling the elevator. Kalina taps away at her tablet while Hyena and KS-23 stand like statues waiting for the elevator.
"I'm going to show you to your dormitory first, then the rest of the base." Alexei starts.
"Understood," Hyena responds. "The base is underground, right?"
"Yes. We built it this way as a precaution." Alexei says. "This isn't my first base…."
The elevator arrives with a loud ding noise. The metal doors open, and the group enters the empty elevator.
"Kalina, can you please press 10."
Kalina, without looking up from her tablet, presses the button.
"Thank you," Alexei says. He turns to Hyena. "As I was saying. Our previous base was further north than this one."
"What happened to it," Hyena asks curiously.
"Have you heard of a Jupiter Cannon?"
"Can't say I have."
Alexei puts a hand to his chin. "Hmmm." He thinks to himself for a bit. "I guess you could compare it to a howitzer. Its a long-range artillery piece used by SF."
"I see."
"They pounded the base mercilessly day and night until they made us come out." Alexei looks distant. "Of course they wanted that, and they were prepared….."
A deathly silence overcomes Alexei as he stares emptily into the back of Kalina. Hyena can feel his chest tighten as he looks at Alexei's blank face.
"So is Hyena a nickname, or is that your actual name?" Kalina chirps, breaking the atmosphere.
Hyena lets out a breath. "Its the name assigned to me by my previous Boss. All MSF personnel are given animal codenames."
"MSF?" Kalina says curiously. "I swear I've heard of that from somewhere….."
Before she can continue, the elevator lets out its signature ding noise indicating it reached its destination. The group steps out of the elevator and into a long, brightly lit hallway. They walk down the hall until they reach two doors, one on the left and the other on the right.
Alexei points to the right door. "This is your echelon's armory. I was sent a list of equipment to requisition from your previous Commander." He then points to the left door. "This is your dormitory."
Alexei opens the door to the dormitory, and the group funnels in one by one. The inside of the dorm stands in stark contrast to the one at Alpha Base. The walls are bare with the square-based wall design still visible. The only furniture to speak of in the room are two cardboard boxes long enough to be used as beds.
KS-23 leans towards Hyena. "This is a far cry from what we're used to." She whispers.
"Sorry for the lack of furniture…" Alexei starts. "We usually use this level as storage rather than an actual dorm. I assure you that there will be proper furnishings after you complete your first mission."
Hyena turns his head towards Alexei at breakneck speeds. "New mission?"
Alexei is caught aback by how fast Hyena turns around. "U-uh, yes." He quickly regains his composure. "I'll brief you on the details later. Let's go to the armory, shall we?"
Hyena nods in agreement, and the group leaves the dormitory and enters back into the hallway. They cross the hall and enter into the armory. Inside the armory is pretty much the same as the dorm. Bare walls combined with cardboard furniture. There's a lone gun locker to the left of the door and a closet to the right. In the middle of the room is a cardboard table to use as a place to sortie equipment. On the table are two packages.
"Are those for us?" Hyena asks, pointing to the packages.
"Yes. I packaged the equipment that your previous Commander requisitioned for you." Alexei says. "It should all be there." He points to the gun locker. "You'll find your weapons in there. You're free to all of them; they are all surplus that we had on base."
KS-23 peeks over Hyena's shoulder. "Is my weapon here as well?"
Alexei smiles. "Yes, I assure you we got everything down here. I should know we have a KS-23 model on staff as well."
"Commander." Kalina interrupts.
"Yes, Kalina?"
"Echelon 5 has just arrived from their mission and are requesting your presence."
Alexei looks at Hyena and shrugs. "Never a quiet day." He smiles. "I'll leave you to get acquainted with this floor. When your ready, meet me in an hour on floor 5, and we'll discuss the mission."
Hyena salutes. "Understood, Alexei."
Alexei and Kalina leave the armory and disappear into the hallway, leaving 23 and Hyena alone in the room. Hyena looks at KS-23.
"Do all young men dress like that in this day and age?" Hyena asks 23.
"I'm not sure, Hyena." She clasps her hands and rubs her legs. "Your the only man I've met other than the commander."
"I see." Hyena walks over to the cardboard table, followed by 23.
They both stand in front of their respective packages and give each other a look. Hyena is the first to cautiously rip open the cardboard box that serves as the container to his equipment. 23 looks on curiously as he pulls out the contents. He lies each item neatly on the ground behind him and empties the box. He kneels in front of the equipment and carefully examines them.
Hyena puts a hand to his chin. "What the hell am I looking at?"
"Do you need help identifying your equipment, Hyena?" KS-23 says smugly
"I don't like that tone, but yes."
23 kneels next to Hyena. She points to the primary set of equipment that consists of trousers and a jacket. "That's a Gorka 4, I believe. It looks like it has camouflage meant for mountainous environments." She picks up the belt system. "This looks to be a Smersh in the….AK variant, I think." She looks at the last big item. "And that's a viper hood."
"New age new equipment, huh?" Hyena rubs his chin.
"Yup." 23 respond cheerfully. "Looks like you got combat boots and what looks to be a…"
"An Idroid?" Hyena says, picking up the device. "Haven't seen one of these since the incident."
KS-23 leans over towards Hyena to get a better look at the device. "What does it do?" She asks.
"What doesn't it do," Hyena says, letting out a chuckle. "Maps, navigation, music, information finding, marking objectives, calling in aerial support. The Idroid does everything." He flicks the switch of the Idroid, turning it on. "Looks like it's still in version 1.02."
"You seem to have some attachment to this device."
"Heh yeah. These babies made infiltration extremely easy compared to not having one. You could mark enemies, and they'd always show up on your map until you killed them." Hyena explains. "You can't believe how helpful of a function that is. Knowing where every enemy is at all times and tracking their movements. An infiltrator's dream. However, there's one problem."
"What's wrong?" 23 asks
"This device was created during my time, and judging by your lack of knowledge of it, you don't seem to have something like this in your time." Hyena scratches his chin. "I wonder how it got here…." He shakes his head. "Doesn't matter now. What did you get?"
23 gets up from her position just enough so that she can reach her box on the table. She brings it down to where they are and opens it. She starts taking out the contents and lays them out on the floor. Unlike Hyena's box, hers contain an exact copy of what she is currently wearing with no differences.
"Still no professional clothing, huh," Hyena says slightly annoyed.
"These are my professional clothes." 23 retorts.
Hyena picks up her short shorts from off the ground. "THESE are not professional. They can barely qualify as clothing."
23 smiles smugly at him. "Do they...distract you?" She rubs up against Hyena's arm, making sure that her breasts touch his arm.
"No, they don't." He places a hand on her head. "I worry that you won't have any protection on the battlefield." He faces forward, examining his equipment. "Your too cute to lose."
KS-23's face turns red, and she instantly lets go of Hyena's arm and places her face in her hands. Hyena grins mischievously and gets up from his kneeling position and heads to the gun locker. He opens the locker to see a shotgun placed neatly in the rack.
"Guess that's KS-23's." Hyena thinks to himself. He looks next to the shotgun to see another package, albeit a bit smaller than the previous one. "Must be mine." He picks up the box and brings it over to where KS-23 is sitting.
"Another package, Comrade?" 23 asks curiously.
"Yeah, from the looks of it." Hyena lets out a sigh. "Wish he'd just lay things out bare instead of packaging everything."
Hyena opens the package and takes out the contents. Inside the box is a Colt M1911A1 and a strange knife that Hyena can't identify. The knife has a curved blade, and that's about 16 inches long. It has a tactical grip, and the blade is made of fine steel with patterns indented into it. The G&K logo is imprinted on the handle.
"You know what type of knife this is 23?" Hyena asks, taking the knife by its handle and examining it.
"I believe that's a kukri. Strange that Commander Alexei would give that to you."
"I guess he knows that I'm a CQC based soldier, but this…." Hyena slashes the blade a couple of times to get a feeling for it. "This is more a sword than a knife."
Hyena stands up. He slashes the air with weighty swings. He flips the kukri so that it holds backward in his hand and continues to cut the air. He mixes slashes with punches then flips the kukri back forward. He finishes with a slight shoulder bash.
"Hmm." Hyena puts the knife back in its sheathe. "It'll take some getting used to." He looks at 23 with a straight expression. "I'm going to get changed."
"Understood." 23 says, gathering her clothes from off the ground. She makes her way to the gun locker and grabs her shotgun with her free hand. "I'll be in the dorm."
Hyena nods as she leaves the armory. Hyena undresses and puts on the Gorka. The suit fits well, surprisingly. He straps on the belt system and slips on the viper hood. He lowers the hood and moves to his old clothes. He searches his pockets for his balaclava, but can't find it.
"Must've left it in the heli," Hyena says to himself somewhat disappointed.
He attaches the kukri to his chest straps and takes the Colt and holsters it on his right leg. He exits the armory and heads to the elevator. He presses the button and waits for the elevator to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, the signature ding of the lift goes off, and the doors open.
Inside the elevator is a short girl. She wears a black coat with a white shirt underneath combined with a black tie. From the small slit between the coat, Hyena can spot a white skirt. She wears black boots and has a red armband attached to her left arm. A vintage camera hangs from her neck, and she carries a messenger bag full of an assortment of documents.
Hyena enters the elevator and takes a place next to the girl. He gives her a curious side glance only to find her directly looking at him with a smug expression. Hyena lets out a sigh and presses the five-button on the elevators pad. The elevator doors close, and it begins its ascent. Hyena folds his hand in front of him and does another side glance only to find the girl still looking at him with her smug expression.
"What?" Hyena asks, annoyed.
"Gutentag!" The girl says ecstatically.
Hyena is taken aback by her enthusiasm. "G-Gutentag."
"Are you the new mercenary from Alpha base?" The girl asks
"Yes."
"Wunderbar!" She takes hold of her camera. "Can I take a picture of you?"
"Do what you must."
She holds up the camera to her face and takes a picture of Hyena. The flash from her camera makes Hyena's eyes tear up. He wipes his face and looks at her. She looks at the image with a big smile on her face.
"So, what's your name?" The girl asks excitedly.
"Hyena."
"MP41." The girl says, extending a hand towards Hyena.
"Nice to meet you, MP41," Hyena says, clasping her hand and shaking it.
The elevator lets out a ding, and the doors open. Hyena checks the sign, which has the number "5" emblazoned on it.
"This is my stop 41," Hyena says, exiting the elevator.
"Auf Wiedersehen Hyena. I hope that we meet again." 41 says gleefully.
The doors to the elevator close and Hyena is left alone in the hallway. He turns around and heads down the walkway until he reaches a double door. He knocks on the door.
"Come in." The familiar voice of Alexei is heard.
Hyena opens the door and enters the room. The room is quite extravagant compared to Hyena's previous Commander. There are flags of multiple nations hanging from the ceiling, many of which Hyena does not recognize. The walls are lined with bookshelves and posters from various aspects of life, ranging from movies to adverts. In the middle of the room is a table with a projection of the entire base, and to its sides are chairs. Alexei stands at the back of the room, fiddling with what looks to be a ship in a bottle.
Alexei turns around from his ship and faces Hyena. "You came quite quickly. If you had given me more time, I would have put coffee on the pot."
"It's fine. I don't really like most coffees, and I doubt that you have my type here," Hyena says. "I'm here about the new mission."
"Are you always so straight to the point?"
"I try to be." Hyena takes a seat in one of the chairs. "I'm not very good at small talk."
"Ah, I see." Alexei smiles. "We shall work on that while you are here, yes?" Alexei moves to the projection table and puts his hands on a console next to the table. "Well, let's get straight to it then."
Alexei pushes a few buttons on the console changing the projection to a map of a forested region with a compound in the middle. Hyena stands up from his chair to get a better look at the projection.
"I need you to scout the old base designation "Hotel."" Alexei starts. "I recently received word of SF activity in the area, and we need eyes into what they are doing."
"Wouldn't it be better to scout with satellites?"
Alexei sighs. "We tried that, but whenever we get close to the base, our satellites encounter interference, and we aren't able to get good imaging of the area." Alexei takes a seat in one of the chairs. "The only reason we have this projection is that this was taken when we left the base. It's severely outdated."
"I see, so you need me and 23 to scout the area manually and destroy whatever is causing the interference?"
"Precisely." Alexei gets up again. "At least that's your primary objective. Your secondary objective…..By the way, did you receive that device in the package?"
"Uh yes, I did," Hyena says, taking out the Idroid.
"Ah, perfect." Alexei moves over to Hyena and takes the Idroid from his hands. He plugs the Idroid into the table. "I'll give you all the data you'll need for the mission, so you don't forget."
"I appreciate it."
"Yes. Now then onto the secondary objective." Alexei hands the Idroid back to Hyena and leans against the table. "An echelon from a neighboring base has gone missing in the area near Hotel Base."
"Missing?" Hyena asks.
"Yes, it's as strange as you think." Alexei frowns. "We lost contact with them about two days ago, but we haven't received any indication of casualties."
"Strange." Hyena folds his arms.
"Very much so." Alexei moves back to his side of the table. "I want you to find this "lost" echelon and bring them back in whatever condition they are in."
"Wouldn't it just be easier to replace them?"
"No, not this time. Are you familiar with the star system?"
"I can't say that I am."
"Well, this system not only determines the rarity of a T-doll but its production cost as well." Alexei starts. "These T-Dolls all rank in the 5-3 star range, which means that significant resources have been allocated to their creation." Alexei sighs. "We can't afford to lose such valuable assets."
"I understand," Hyena says. "So bring them back no matter what."
"Exactly."
"Is that all?" Hyena asks.
"While we are on the subject of T-Dolls, have you heard of the affection system?" Alexei says curiously.
"Can't say I have."
"Well, to put it simply, the more you interact with T-Dolls, the higher their bond towards you."
"I don't really understand, but go on." Hyena places a hand to his chin.
Alexei lets out a breath. "Didn't Boris ever give you the rundown of how this all works?"
"Boris?"
"Your previous Commander." Alexei looks at Hyena, confused. "Did you not know your Commanders name?!"
"I just called him Boss," Hyena says, scratching his head. "That seemed to work just fine."
"Well, that won't fly here," Alexei says, waving a finger. "Anyway, the higher the bond with your T-Dolls, the better they fight."
"And how can I keep track of this "affection"?" Hyena asks, unsure of the words coming out of his mouth.
"I'll upload it to your Idroid," Alexei says with a deadpan expression. "Really, what is Boris doing over there…." Alexei takes the Idroid from Hyena and inputs it into the table. He hands it back to Hyena, who proceeds to look at it. "I made sure to include KS-23 into its interface since she's your only squad member."
"What do the numbers mean?"
"They keep track of your current affection. The max is 100."
"Alright. She's at 35. Is that….good?" Hyena asks.
Alexei lets out a heavy breath. "Yes, that's fine, but not great." Alexei thinks to himself for a bit. "Have you been outside?"
"Well, yes, obviously."
"No, I mean outside of G&K compounds," Alexei says, slightly annoyed.
"Well, no." Hyena thinks to himself. "I rather stay on base as long as possible. The civilian life was never for me."
Alexei moves to the other side of the table. "Well, while you are under my command, that is going to change." He starts to fiddle with the console to the table. "When you get back from your mission, you are taking a break from missions, and I'm ordering you to go to a city and have fun."
"Why? I'm a soldier. My only purpose is to serve."
Alexei looks at Hyena with an eyebrow raised. "No, it's not. At least not here, it isn't." Alexei walks back over to Hyena and places a hand on his shoulder. "Boris told me about your situation. Think of this as a way to expand your horizons and understanding of this time."
Hyena sighs. "Very well."
"Good. Now that it's settled, you should make ready to depart."
Hyena puts up a salute. "Understood."
Alexei responds with a half salute and a smile. Hyena lowers his salute and exits the room and enters back into the hallway. He walks to the elevator and calls it. The elevator arrives and the doors open to reveal that it's empty. Hyena lets out a sigh of relief. He enters the empty elevator and presses the ten button. The elevator descends. Upon reaching the tenth-floor, Hyena exits the elevator and heads straight to the dorm. Without hesitation, he opens the door.
Upon entering the room, Hyena is greeted by the sight of KS-23 changing. Her pants are completely down, revealing her black panties, and her hood is down, exposing her long orange hair. She turns to Hyena with a face entirely overwhelmed by the color red.
"Huh, black," Hyena utters while scratching his chin. "To be honest, knowing what I know about you, I thought you would just be going commando."
KS-23 quickly tries to pull up her pants, but she is going to fast and ends up tripping on herself falling down on her butt. Hyena puts a hand to his mouth in an attempt to hide his big smile.
"You should've knocked!" KS-23 shouts defensively.
Hyena can't hold it in anymore. The sight of KS-23 on the ground with her pants around her ankles and her face, a hilarious shade of red, is too much for him to handle. He lets out a loud laugh that sounds like a Hyena's cackle. He laughs so hard he has to wipe the tears from his eyes and needs to take a knee to prevent himself from falling.
"It's not funny!" KS-23 shouts.
Hyena tries to regain his usual calm demeanor. "Sorry, Sorry." He lets out a deep breath. "This isn't funny…" He tries to say seriously while stifling another laugh. "Let me help you up."
"No, don't bother. I can get up myself," KS-23 says seriously, getting up from off the ground. "Geez, you should really learn how to knock." She says, pulling up her pants.
Hyena gets off the ground himself. "Sorry, I'm still not used to the idea that you're a female. I'm more used to changing with a bunch of men." He takes his hand and rubs his face. "How can I make this up to you? Anything you want."
KS-23 looks at him with surprise. "Anything?"
"Yeah, anything. Of course, it has to be within my power."
23 thinks for a bit. "Take me out for lunch." She says with a smile. "That'll make up for your intrusion."
"That works perfectly, actually," Hyena says.
"And hows that?" 23 questions.
"The Commander wanted me to get away from this whole military thing after we complete the next mission. I'll put in a word to have you come with me." Hyena puts his hands in his pockets.
"W-wait, I meant just going to the cafeteria on-site." 23 says embarrassedly.
"What don't you want to go on a date with me?" Hyena says with a smug expression.
23's face reddens. "W-well, I'm not opposed to it…."
Hyena lets out a chuckle. "Get ready. We are leaving in 20." He opens the dorm's door and steps into the hallway.
"Wait, were you teasing me?" 23 accuses Hyena through the open door
"I dunno, was I?" Hyena responds with a lighthearted tone.
The door closes behind him, leaving 23 alone in the room. Hyena steps into the hallway and leans up against the metal wall. He takes out the Idroid and turns it on. He navigates through its menus until he reaches the affection tab. He opens it and hovers over a picture of KS-23. The affection bar is half full.
"Looks like I'm doing something right," Hyena says to himself.
He switches from the affection tab to the objective tab. The interface lists the objectives of Scouting and rescuing Echelon 5. Upon hitting the rescue tab, a bunch of pictures appears on the interface with labels underneath.
"PKP, PTRD, Mk48, PPK, MAC-10." Hyena recites the names. "Looks like that's who I'm rescuing." He looks closer at the pictures. "Looks like a bunch of crazies."
The door next to him opens and KS-23 steps into the hallway. She looks at Hyena, who is currently preoccupied with the Idroid.
"Are you ready?" 23 asks.
Hyena puts the Idroid back into his pocket. "Yeah, let's do this."
They both walk towards the elevator and get into it. The elevator ascends to the first floor, and they exit into the small lobby. The duo exits the main building and goes outside. The rain has long since stopped, and the sun shines overhead. The ground has dried somewhat but still remains slightly damp.
Hyena walks over to the helipad with KS-23 lagging somewhat behind. He spots Sierra smoking a cig while leaning against the heli. She gives a solemn wave to which Hyena responds in kind.
"Sierra," Hyena says, extending his empty hand towards her.
Sierra looks at his empty hand then looks at him in the eyes. She rolls her eyes and takes out the pack of cigarettes from her front pocket and puts it in Hyena's hand. Hyena does a slight smirk and opens the pack revealing a single cigarette. He looks up at Sierra, who turns away from him.
Hyena lets out a sigh. "I didn't want to smoke anyway." He puts a hand on Sierra's head. "Let's get this show on the road, yeah?"
Sierra removes Hyena's hand gently and enters into the heli. Within a few seconds, the rotors of the helicopter come to life. Hyena jumps into the heli, followed by KS-23. 23 takes her place in the passenger area and lays her shotgun on her lap. Hyena makes his way to the co-pilot seat and takes a seat.
"You know where to go?" Hyena asks Sierra.
She nods as she flicks switches. She puts her hand in one of her pockets and takes out an earpiece and hands it to Hyena. Hyena takes the earpiece and puts it in his ear. He attaches the input cord into the Idroid.
The helicopter hovers above the helipad then ascends into the evening sun.
November 3rd, 2062
2 miles from Hotel Base
20:06
"Come in, Hyena." The voice of Alexei calls through Hyena's earpiece.
"Reading you, Alexei," Hyena responds.
"You are approaching Hotel Base. I fear that communications might cut out, and you'll be left alone out there."
"You have nothing to fear, Commander. Even without communications, I'll see that the mission is completed."
"That's good to hear. There is something that I forgot to mention."
"What would that be?"
"It's about the lost T-Dolls…. If they turn out to be hostile, the best way to capture them is to break their necks. It'll leave the core operable while knocking them out of action."
"Understood."
"And another thing-"
Alexei is cutout by static, which causes Hyena to wince in pain to the point where he has to remove the earpiece from his ear. Hyena turns to Sierra.
"This should be close enough. Find a suitable landing spot." Hyena says to Sierra.
Sierra gives a nod and begins the helicopter's descent. The heli finds a nice secluded spot in a forest of evergreens. Hyena and KS-23 leave the helicopter, and as soon as their boots hit the ground, Sierra begins her ascent.
"You ready for this?" Hyena asks KS-23 taking out his Colt.
"Ready as always, Comrade," KS responds, racking a slug in her shotgun.
"Operation….Begin."