Welcome to Chapter Five! M1911's Echelon must now hunt down and destroy scouts from Sangvis Ferri, as well as potentially find more stranded T-Dolls.
Like I said, I'm going to adapt the game's opening into the Recollection, due to the manga/anime ruining the mystery that chapter 00: Seed solves following Emergency 4. Also, I'm kinda pissed that the anime got so much wrong. And why the hell did PPS-43 have an UMP in episode 2?
Note: Italics with normal quotation marks indicates that the Zener Protocol is being used.
Sector 09
Neo-Soviet Union
July 03, 2062
Tactical Doll MP5
The Humvee stopped in an area of the forest that had seen a lot of foot traffic, along with small tire tracks.
MP5 clutched her weapon in a death grip, not wanting to fumble it at a time like this. Looking at her leader as she gathered explosives together to use on the Command Post, the tiny T-Doll saw a bit of worry in those crystal blue orbs of hers, despite her claim of not being worried earlier.
"M1911, is something bothering you?" she asked.
"You remember seeing M1895 and P38 being sent here to scout this region, right?" the American asked.
"Ja. They never came back from that mission, though."
"What if Sangvis killed them? I know that they have data backed up, but I don't like seeing my friends die. Not to mention, Sten's outpost was destroyed, meaning that those T-Dolls lost their backups and don't have any second chances. If they die, then they die for good."
"Oh, no."
"So if we can, we have to save them. And if we can't..." M1911 trailed off, getting out of the vehicle.
"We'll find them, M1911." MP5 said. "I know that our luck isn't the greatest, but we have a Commander again, so we'll be able to find those T-Dolls, and it's because of you, gnädige Frau!"
"He almost shot me when we first met, you know?" the HG confessed.
"Why?"
"He thought I was an assassin working with the Soviets. Of course, it didn't help that I didn't disarm myself before knocking on his door, but he held me at gunpoint and interrogated me about who I was working for, how I found him, and why I was there."
"So your plan to put him at ease failed." AK-47 said.
"That wasn't the plan. I volunteered for it because I wanted to. We needed a new Commander, and HQ was too fed up with the other Sectors to help us out. I know how stupid it was for me to approach a paranoid soldier without so much as a plan, but if it wasn't for me, we'd still be lacking a Commander."
"You did that?"
"Yeah. I even did the scouting. Anyways, those scouts aren't gonna scrap themselves, you know~!"
With that, M1911's cheery demeanor returned, and she began to run towards the objective at her fastest speed, leaving her allies in the dust.
"Hey, wait up, comrade!"
"Miss M1911, wait!"
"Don't leave us here, M1911!"
The rest of the Echelon ran towards the HG as fast as they could, desperate to catch up, all while the Commander watched through their active feeds.
Commander Ian Becker
"So that's how I was selected."
"Miss 1911 was determined to find a replacement for our old Commander." Kalina told him, echoing M1911's earlier statement. "It was a longshot, but she came back from her observation telling me to go through every database we have access to to find you. And when I did find you, she insisted on recruiting you herself."
"Huh. Well, she made the right choice. Oh, who are the other Dolls we have?" Ian asked.
"We have an M1903 Springfield T-Doll, an M1895 T-Doll, and a P38 T-Doll. But if that Sten gets back to base, we'll have her, too." the ginger replied.
"What star rating does everyone have?"
The Star Rating system was a system used by both IOP and Griffin to determine a T-Doll's quality. 2-stars, the "General" class, were basic T-Dolls with average stats, but some 2-stars were exceptional. 3-stars, the "Rare" class, were higher quality than 2-stars, although AK-47 models were considered the worst. 4-stars, the "Epochal" class, were high-quality T-Dolls that had very high combat capabilities and had excellent AI. And finally, 5-stars, the "Legendary" class, were the best that Griffin could produce, wielded high-end weapons, and had the best AI quality. They also produced the most elite T-Dolls.
"Um, Miss 1911, Miss M1895, and Miss P38 are 2-stars, Miss AK and Sten are 3-stars, and Miss Springfield, Miss G36, and Miss MP5 are all 4-stars."
"Good to know."
"We just encountered enemy troops!" M1911 reported. "It's just a pair of Prowlers, though. Nothing too big."
Prowlers were four-legged scout drones with a similar design to the civilian-grade target drones used by Griffin, but black, bearing a squareish head, and carrying a deadly particle cannon under its head. They had simplistic AIs, so their lethality was less than their humanoid cousins.
"Helian told me to destroy any and all Sangvis troops I found, and since it's just Prowlers, you should be able to fool their AI pretty easily, so mislead 'em and scrap 'em."
"Yes, sir."
Tactical Doll M1911
Holding a rock in her gloved hand, M1911 was aiming at the Prowler on the left, which humorously mirrored the training exercise HQ reassigned them from. She was ready to pounce out of the bush she was hiding in the moment she threw the rock in her hand and got their attention, and then her teammates would put the Prowlers down once they targeted her hiding place.
If the plan failed, then she'd at the very least avoid death due to her good evasive maneuvers.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the barrel of AK-47's weapon sticking out from a thick tree she had taken position behind while the SMGs laid prone under a collection of foliage, ready to jump up and ambush their targets like their teammates.
Using the heavily-encrypted Zener Protocol all second-generation IOP T-Dolls used, M1911 signaled her team.
"Three..."
M1911 raised her rock...
"Two..."
...held her arm out a bit to use it as a sight...
"One!"
...and threw the rock straight into the left Prowler's optic, breaking the camera and reducing the quadruped drone's sensory abilities.
The HG jumped out of the bush as four blue lasers seared the bush, then the combined sound of three automatic firearms going off rent the air as her teammates tore through the hostile drones with a hail of gunfire.
Seeing the drones' mangled remains, M1911 cheered in triumph and contacted the Commander again.
"Targets eliminated, Commander." she reported. "We're continuing towards the enemy Command Post."
"Good. It may seem like just Prowlers, but there could be more dangerous Sangvis units out there. Be careful."
"Understood, sir. M1911 out."
The HG cut the line, and instead faced her celebrating teammates.
"As much as I want to celebrate this victory, we haven't even destroyed the Command Post yet, so let's keep going."
"Roger!" her teammates acknowledged in unison.
"Right." The HG turned to the direction of the next Command Post and ran towards it, the SMGs darting ahead of her while AK-47 followed behind her.
Not too long later, the Echelon encountered another set of Prowlers coming back from a patrol. There were four this time, and even though the Commander gave them coordinates to the enemy Command Post, they didn't know exactly where it was, but said Commander was paying attention to the feeds.
"You ought to follow those Prowlers back to the Command Post and go on from there. Be careful, though. There's more of them than last time, so if you get spotted, it'll be more difficult to deal with them."
"We won't be caught."
"Good. Commander Becker out."
"Let's follow these guys back to the Command Post, then zap 'em." M1911 said over the Zener Protocol.
"Good idea, comrade." AK-47 replied.
"Actually, the Commander had that plan, hehe."
Hanging back as instructed, the Griffin T-Dolls tailed the Prowlers along their path as carefully as possible, passing by a destroyed camp along the way, dead scavengers scattered across the forest ground, their old rifles laid beside them, as Sangvis had no use for standard weapons.
These guys stood no chance. Now without proper equipment.
"These people weren't even bandits." MP5 shuddered after seeing the carnage. "None of this equipment was stolen, and the salvage is from scrapped Sangvis bodies."
"Son of a bitch. They're gonna pay for this."
The HG saw two more Prowlers join the four from an old building about a hundred yards away from them. If she was right, then this was the first Command Post.
"Commander, we found the outpost." M1911 reported. "It's small, but they killed off a group of scavengers that set up camp a bit too close to camp."
"HQ said that there was a small number of bandit groups in the Sector, but given how bad SF attacks have gotten, it's unlikely that they can stay alive for too terribly long. Either way, destroy the Command Post with those explosives you brought with you." The Commander said.
"Yes, sir. M1911 out."
A loud thump alerted the Sangvis drones to AK-47, who had somehow reobtained her vodka and was trying to create a Molotov Cocktail, but had dropped it somehow.
"Shit. I think they heard that, comrade." she told M1911.
A hail of plasma bolts tore through the air from the Prowlers, sending the Echelon's T-Dolls running for cover. As the others opened fire, M1911 clutched her explosives to her chest, fearful of them getting hit by a bolt, and beelined towards the Command Post.
Tactical Doll AK-47
A burst of gunfire impacted an offending Prowler and turned it into a scrap heap as Griffin and Sangvis forces clashed.
Despite having fumbled her would-be Molotov and getting her and her friends spotted, AK-47 was having fun. She was honestly sick of all the sneaking around, and she needed to prove her worth to her new Commander.
"Keep them off of me!" M1911 yelled at her team, running towards the hostile Command Post with her explosives in her arms.
"Understood!" the drunk yelled, reloading her weapon. "MP5, Sten, you heard her! Draw their fire!"
"Got it!"
Hopping out of cover, the SMGs fired into the pack of Prowlers, destroying two of them and getting the attention of the rest. Seeing the drones turning away from her team leader, AK-47 pulled a Molotov out and lit its fuse with her bullet-shaped lighter.
"Have a taste of this, pridurki!"
The AR threw her improvised grenade at the three Prowlers, rewarding herself with three burning drones and the perfect opportunity to finish them off.
Taking aim, she fired the full contents of her magazine into them as the SMGs sprayed them with bullets, destroying all three of them. As the last one fell, she heard M1911 activate her Zener link.
"Alright, I got the explosives planted! Are those Sangvis drones gone yet?"
"Da. Are there any prisoners by chance?"
"No. I'm gonna get out of here and blow it."
She saw the HG run out of the building, a detonator in hand as she ran to a safe location.
"Blowing it!"
A few seconds later, the Command Post combusted and blew apart, sending fragments of building and machinery flying away from it as the structure collapsed, fire consuming it from the inside out while AK-47 watched it with a mad grin on her face.
Commander Ian Becker
The first red dot on the tactical map blinked and turned blue as the live feeds showed a dark building combusting from the inside out.
"Enemy Command Post destroyed, Commander!" M1911 reported. "No prisoners, but we found intel on that second Command Post."
"Nice work." Ian said approvingly, checking the automatic reporting system for the results.
Eight targets destroyed, zero T-Dolls lost or damaged, with four kills on AK-47's record, earning her the MVP status. And of course, one Command Post destroyed.
"AK-47 got MVP? I thought she was the worst out of the three."
"She normally is. She still wasted a bit too much ammo, though." G36 noted.
"Yeah."
Helian's hologram materialized on the holotable again, surprising Ian.
"That Command Post just got destroyed, and all hostile units have been destroyed." he reported once he recomposed himself.
Helian nodded and pulled up his results.
"You did quite well for your first combat mission, Commander." The senior officer then pulled the rest of the report up. "No... your performance against Sangvis Ferri has far exceeded my expectations, and an AK-47 model achieved MVP status. You certainly have potential, Commander."
"Those Prowlers weren't exactly the best they had, you know." Ian replied, being modest.
"True, but other Commanders have failed against them or have at least gotten a T-Doll injured."
"You're right. Wait, what is the deal with Sangvis Ferri, anyways? Do you know why their T-Dolls are going rogue?"
"You're not clear on that?"
The rookie nodded.
"True, the academy never told you why it happened, so I'll tell you everything I know about Sangvis."
Helian inhaled, and then began to tell him everything she knew.
"As you know, Sangvis Ferri Manufacturing is a Romanian industrial manufacturer who specializes in Tactical Dolls and robotics. Due to their possession of undisclosed technology and some very talented researchers, T-Dolls created by Sangvis Ferri have extremely high combat efficiency, a fact the United States Army learned the hard way. However, in 2061, their T-Dolls suddenly went rogue and killed off the human employees in their factory, as well as occupying a vast area of human settlements and military-owned outposts. They have been strategically expanding their territory for months."
She stared him down with a sharp intensity.
"Sangvis Ferri is now, without a doubt, an enemy of humanity. When their reach got too close to heavily populated Green and White Zones, the Soviet government hired us to push them back, and as such, we have been searching for suitable candidates to assume Command and coordinate operations to keep Sangvis contained ever since."
So the Russians lost control of their toys and ran to Griffin for help.
"Okay, that helped out a lot, Helian. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Either way, welcome to Griffin and Kryuger, Commander, and I thank you for being here today."
A call request from HQ pinged on Helian's side.
"Excuse me, I have to take this." she said, turning around to accept the call.
"Yes? Those T-Dolls have been found? Thank God." She sighed in relief. "That can be arranged. I have someone who can provide aid. Sure, leave it to me, Mr. Kryuger."
The line cut, and Helian returned her gaze to Ian.
"Sorry about that, but it was an important call from HQ."
"It's fine." Ian assured.
"Understood. I have an important mission for you, but first, I need to confirm the intel. See you in a bit."
Helian phased out again, leaving Ian to process everything she told him.
So the Russians lost control of Sangvis Ferri and need us to help them, and I'm gonna be part of a top-priority mission. Kalina's gonna love this.
The door opened and Kalina returned, carrying a cup of coffee and a contract of sorts.
"Komandir, here's your coffee and a T-Doll Contract." the ginger said, giving him the cup.
"T-Doll Contract?" Ian asked, taking a sip of coffee.
"It's for IOP. The funds have already been alloted to it, so all you need to do is give it to IOP and they'll produce a T-Doll and send her here." Kalina explained.
"Nice. I'll get to it." Turning to the holotable, Ian contacted M1911.
"Alright, ladies. Return to base and wait for a new assignment."
"Yes, sir!"
Cutting the line, the Commander took his beret off and wiped some sweat from his forehead.
"Kalina, I'll be waiting for our T-Dolls outside."
He turned to the door and left the room, heading outside like he said.
Now alone, Kalina looked at the holotable, where a Humvee highlighted in blue approached M1911's chibi form that was standing at a now-blue Command Post node. She then pulled up the results page and read it.
"Not a bad way to start off, Komandir." she said quietly.
I don't know why this mission is called Transporting the Injured when it's just you destroying Sangvis Ferri's Command Post, but I liked how I adapted it. Anyways, the next chapter's gonna adapt the game intro as an intermission between Search and Destroy I and Search and Destroy II, the next chronological chapter.
I truly hope that I don't miss Dual Randomness (as well as the opportunity to get my hands on G36C,) and I also need to see episode 3 of the anime. I wonder how much they got wrong in it.
Seeing as AK's vodka was taken away last chapter, she isn't so drunk she performs badly, but her tendency to waste ammo is gonna be the death of Sector 09's logistics teams.
See you at the next chapter!