Welcome to Chapter 7! At this point, I have decided on doing a second Intermission chapter, which will introduce Springfield and our new T-Doll to the story.
In terms of the new T-Doll, as much as I want to introduce my first 5-star, I've already got a plan for her later down the road. Anyways, Sector 09 does need T-Dolls that aren't German or Russian.
Thank you for reading!
Sector 09 Base
Neo-Soviet Union
July 4, 2062
Commander Ian Becker
Ian awoke to the sight of G36 picking up his dirty laundry from the last two days, her face stoic as always.
"Good morning, G36." he said, getting out of his bed.
"Wha- oh, guten tag, Kommandant." the maid said offhandedly, putting his old coat in the basket she had. "Why is it so hard for you to pick up your laundry?"
"I was really tired when I dropped all that off. I'll make sure to put it in a basket from now on. Either way, I need to get ready for work." Ian told her, walking over to the dresser in the corner, only to stop. "Wait, there wasn't a dresser here when I was here yesterday."
"I know. I had some of the service personnel put it here."
"Thank you, then."
He opened the dresser's top drawer to find a collection of neatly folded white button-up shirts in it. Pulling one out, he set it down on his bed and opened the second drawer, finding black pants in it. Like with the shirt, he grabbed a pair and set it on the bed with his shirt. After grabbing underwear and socks, he took his new clothing with him to the bathroom (that he missed on the first day as well) and shut the door to take a shower.
Leaving the shower and putting his clothes on, Ian found a clean uniform coat on his bed, along with a plate with sausage, scrambled eggs, and biscuits on it.
"Thank you, G36." he said, taking the plate and the accompanying fork and digging in. Like with her stew the previous evening, it was delicious, and he ate it very quickly, almost to the point where he didn't know he ate it all. Where the plate was, a note now sat. He grabbed it and read it.
"I would have stuck around, but Miss Springfield returned from her mission, and she wanted to see me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the breakfast, sir, and I'll see you later. - G36."
Picking up the coat, he put it on and secured the belt, then he placed his beret on his head and left the room, slipping his gloves on in the process.
Tactical Doll M1903 Springfield
Springfield expected to have a welcoming committee when she returned, but what she didn't expect was for the entirety of Sector 09's staff to be there for her. Standing up front was Kalina, who had a very bright smile on her face, along with G36, who smiled as well, but not as warmly. Behind the women were the members of Echelon 1, who had a new member from the looks of it, and the human service personnel, who were just as delighted as Kalina and the T-Dolls were to see her again.
"Welcome back, Springfield!" they all yelled at her, with M1911 and MP5 running up to her.
"You have no idea how delighted I am to see you all again." Springfield replied warmly as she hugged M1911, then MP5.
"Same for us. You've been gone for a whole week!" M1911 told her.
"And G36 couldn't look after you lot? Looks like someone's been slacking." the Rifle directed at the maid.
"That statement is incorrect, Miss Springfield." she shot back. "Either way, the Commander would like to speak with you."
"Oh, that's right. I spoke with him yesterday evening. He sounded rather friendly,"
"That notion is not wrong. Miss 1911 took a great liking to him."
"Excuse me, coming through!" a masculine voice shouted as a young man in a Griffin Commander's uniform broke through the crowd and stopped in front of her. He had dark brown hair that seemed a bit messy, a roundish face with a nasty scar on the right side, luminous green eyes like her own, and paleish skin. A quick scan revealed that he was rather thin under his coat. She would definitely cook something hearty for him later.
"I take it that you're Miss Springfield?" he asked.
"Yes, although just Springfield will do." she replied.
"I'm Commander Ian Becker. Nice to meet you."
The new Commander held his hand out for a handshake, which Springfield accepted, shaking his gloved hand. As they did so, the new T-Doll made herself known and approached the Rifle, smiling earnestly.
"Hello, Miss Springfield! I'm Sten Mark II, and I'm happy to make your acquaintance!"
"Nice to meet you, Miss Sten."
The Commander cleared his throat, getting the senior Rifle's attention.
"Do you need any repairs, Springfield?" he asked.
"No, why?"
"Because you look like you've seen better days."
Looking down at herself, the Rifle noted that she had indeed seen better days. Her favorite dress and coat were burnt and torn up beyond repair, while plasma burns from grazes marred her otherwise perfect skin. Her hair was slightly singed and the blue tie she used to keep some of her hair out of her face had fallen out. Her weapon was fine, but its bayonet had been dulled severely and was stained with purpleish black oils.
"Yes, I have seen better days."
"Yup. Let's get back to work, people!" the Commander yelled towards his subordinates and service personnel, who began to head back to their posts at a steady pace. "Why was literally everyone outside to greet you? Are you really that popular around here?"
"Obviously."
"Anyways, you need new clothes, and I need to see if HQ called again."
Commander Ian Becker, a half-hour later...
Ian walked into his office, his right hand reaching for the holographic projector on his desk and turning it on. To his relief, he wasn't called by Helian again, but a notification for the new T-Doll's arrival had appeared.
"A few hours from now? That's plenty of time for us to prepare." he said, dismissing the notification as someone knocked on his door.
"Go ahead."
The door opened to reveal Springfield, dressed in a barista's uniform and carrying a plate of steaming food. Her long light brown hair was up in a ponytail, unlike when he first saw her.
"I noticed that you were a bit thin when we first met, so I cooked something that will certainly put some meat on your bones."
The Rifle T-Doll placed the plate on Ian's desk, revealing its contents to him: a well-cooked seasoned steak, along with sliced potatoes, some carrots, and a fork and a knife. The smell was mouth-watering, and Ian's stomach grumbled in response.
"Thank you, Springfield." he said, picking up the silverware to cut a piece of meat off to eat.
"You're welcome, Commander." Springfield said politely as the Commander ate the steak bit he cut off.
The delicious flavor of the steak flooded his tongue, causing him to hum in approval as he ate it. After swallowing, he gave the Rifle a thumbs-up and told her exactly what he thought of her cooking.
"I have never tasted a steak this good. Not even my old man could cook like this."
"Why, thank you~."
"You're welcome. Wait, do you know what happened to M1895 and P38?"
"We were sent on different missions, so I unfortunately don't know."
"Damn. Anyways, I'm sorry that the base is such a mess, Springfield. I just got here three days ago." Ian apologized.
"It's fine. Now that you're here, we can get the place back the way it was. Before Sangvis attacked us, that is." she added.
"Right. Oh, we're expecting a new T-Doll in a few hours, and I was gonna get the base cleaned up before she got here, because I'd like to have a clean base for everyone."
"Would you like for me to spread the word?"
"No. I'll do it myself." Ian pressed the button to the base's loudspeakers and spoke through it. "Cleaning crews and T-Dolls, our new T-Doll will be here in a few hours, and with how bad things have gotten, the base has become a pigsty. Your orders for today are simple: clean the base up to the best of your ability so we don't have to worry about pissing off a potential clean freak."
Finishing his food, the Commander stood up and wiped his mouth off with a napkin, then he opened the office door and left his office.
Tactical Doll G36
G36 smiled as MP5 and Sten worked together to clean up the messy second dorm room, a room that hadn't been lived in for a whole week. It had been nine days since its inhabitants were sent on a mission, and not a word was heard from the Echelon's two HGs for those days. As a result, the maid was exceptionally worried about them.
She herself was cleaning up the area outside the dorms, as the mixed internal fluids of dead Griffin and Sangvis T-Dolls had stained its floors, as well as the walls.
"What's up with this microphone?" G36 heard Sten ask her teammate.
"P38 was a singer before joining Griffin. Her songs are really good!" MP5 replied. "Speaking of, she could perform for the Commander when she gets back!"
The maid smiled at the thought of the German HG singing her heart out in front of the Commander. If only she'd make contact with the base.
Tactical Doll M1911
M1911 and AK-47 were currently in the entrance hall, cleaning the place out while their teammates cleaned up the dorms. While they weren't cleaning or maid type Dolls in the past like G36 had been, the two were doing pretty well with the room (although human workers aided them throughout.)
"Who do you think will be coming here, AK?" M1911 asked, sweeping up a particularly dusty part of the floor.
"I dunno. I hope it's another A-91 or an SKS." AK-47 replied, mopping up after her leader.
"Why, so you can have a drinking buddy?"
"That would be nice, comrade. What about you?"
"Another American would be nice. There's too many German and Russian T-Dolls here." the HG told her friend.
"You are the only one of us who was built in the West. Unless Springfield is a Western-manufactured Doll as well..."
"Last I checked, she was."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot."
"AK-47, stop drinking. I'm serious."
"Or what?"
"Vodka bottles make great targets, you know."
Safe to say, the HG got an earful of angry Russian curses and a faceful of mop for that.
Kalina
Kalina walked through the storage room with her tablet in hand, checking on the base's inventory before she checked on the cleaning crews and T-Dolls. As Sector 09's logistics officer, it naturally fell to her to keep an eye on resource usage of any kind. Construction, culinary... and ammunition.
Speaking of, the base's 30.06 and 9x19 Parabellum rounds were dangerously low, and they were nearly out of 5.56x45 rounds for G36 and the Commander's preferred weapon (an M4A1 Carbine, according to M1911.)
"I ought to request more ammo..." the ginger told herself, marking it down on her tablet as she passed by the stored rations and on her tablet, the gas supply.
"Hmmm... looks like we're good on food, but we're severely lacking in gasoline, though." she muttered. "We're gonna need a lot more gas now that we have a Commander again. Speaking of..."
Kalina called the Commander, patiently waiting for him to respond. After a few seconds, his face filled her tablet's screen.
"On, hey there, Kalina." he said. "You already checked our inventory?"
"Yup. We need 30.06, 5.56mm, and 9mm ammo. Our food supply is fine, but we're in desperate need of gas."
"Where does 5.56 come into it?"
"You have an M4, according to Miss 1911, not to mention G36."
"Oh, yeah. I'll make some calls. Head upstairs and oversee the cleaning." the Commander told her. "Commander out."
"Understood, sir."
He hung up, and Kalina's display returned to normal. Casting one final glance at the supplies, the ginger turned around and left the room.
Commander Ian Becker
A few hours later...
The work Ian's subordinates put into cleaning the base was phenominal, a fact best shown in the entrance hall. What was once a dusty room full of random metal parts was now a shining hall that was fitting for what the base once was. Griffin's shield was embossed on the reflective floor, something that was hidden by all the dust that was caked on the floor, and the few workstations in the room were immaculately cleaned.
Kalina stood beside him, but unlike before, her shirt was properly buttoned this time, likely because of the chance that their new T-Doll might be a strickler of ettiquette.
"Now this was what the base should have looked like when you came here." she commented. "It's so much easier to breathe now."
"Everyone did a great job here." Ian told her. "At least we'll dodge the "this base it fit only for peasants" bullet."
"Da. I hope they're not a strickler on the dress code, because this thing's collar's really tight fully buttoned up." For emphasis, Kalina tugged on her collar to loosen it slightly.
"And you couldn't put a T-shirt on under it?"
"It's July!"
Ian's phone buzzed, causing him to pull it out and check on it.
"Looks like our T-Doll's about to get here. You wanna come with me to greet them?"
"Of course! T-Dolls are hella cute, you know?" Kalina replied, and given how adorable (or attractive) the base's T-Dolls were, the Commander couldn't disagree.
Stepping outside, Ian saw that the sun had just started to set, casting the base in an orangeish light. Off in the distance, a gray truck approached the base, marked with IOP's logo.
"There she is."
The truck skidded to a stop at the gate, awaiting authorization for its entry. Ian signaled for the gate to open, and after it opened, the vehicle entered the base's perimeter, stopping at the entrance in front of Ian and Kalina. The door opened and a well-dressed T-Doll with the body of a young woman, long chestnut brown hair, and green eyes stepped out of the vehicle. She wore a sleeveless black and red shirt with a white collar, a white skirt with a longer red and gold sash in the back, dark stockings, and red heels. A cute little hat sat on her head, and she carried an FN-49 self-loading rifle.
"Okay, let's go say hi."
As two men in IOP uniforms pulled crates out of the truck, the Commander and Kalina approached the T-Doll, who thanked her driver before setting out towards the base.
"Hello, there." Ian said to the brunette, who jolted in startled surprise and, after seeing his uniform, stood straight up.
"U-um, you're the C-Commander, I-I presume?" she asked timidly, her light French accent immediately noted.
"I am. The name's Ian Becker."
"And I'm Kalina! Nice to meet you!"
"FN-49. P-P-P-Pleased to make y-your acquaintance..." the T-Doll spluttered, holding her slightly shaking hand out.
"Nice to neet you." Ian said, calmly taking her hand and shaking it.
It was obvious to him that FN-49 was shy, and her shy behavior could be problematic down the road, but he felt that she was capable of great things, and he resolved to helping her gain social aptitude for later.
"So... would you like to come inside? I'm sure you need some rest after that long ride." he offered.
"U-um, sure..." FN-49 replied, blushing demurely as Ian led her inside.
"Kalina, go tell everyone that our new Doll's here." he directed at Kalina.
"Yes, sir!"
After giving FN-49 a general tour of the base, the Commander saw fit to introduce her to his other T-Dolls, as she (hopefully) would have a better time socializing with other T-Dolls.
Standing outside of Echelon 1's dorm, Ian watched FN-49 murmur to herself nervously, trying to find the best way to introduce herself.
"You ready, 49?" he asked.
"I-I guess..."
Noticing the nervous quivering in her voice, Ian placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and spoke softly.
"I understand that you're nervous, but you can't really socialize with anyone if you don't try. Besides, the others would love to have you here."
"I guess so..." FN-49 mumbled, still unsure about his statement.
Ian offered her another smile and opened the door, revealing Echelon 1's four members on the other side. They all turned to see their Commander and FN-49 standing in the door, with the latter giving off a demure aura.
"Ladies, this is FN-49, our newest T-Doll." he told the four. "FN-49, this is M1911, AK-47, MP5, and Sten Mark II. They'll be your new teammates for the time being."
"H-Hello." FN-49 greeted shyly.
"Nice to meet you, 49!" M1911 greeted happily, approaching the timid Rifle and offering her white-gloved hand to her. Taking it, the latter gently shook it and went to the resident drunk.
"Welcome to Echelon 1, comrade." she said, shaking FN-49's hand with a lot more vigor than M1911 had (since said HG was trying to be gentler with her.)
MP5 and Sten greeted the Rifle at the same time, welcoming her into the team just like the others. As much as the Commander wanted to watch the Dolls make friends with each other, he had to check on his office to see if Helian called. And to deal with FN-49's enrollment papers.
"I've got to go, ladies. Take care." Ian said, heading to the office and leaving Echelon 1 to their devices.
Back in his office, Ian found FN-49's enrollment papers on his desk, along with a pen and a note.
"That's the second note I've gotten today." he said to himself, sitting down at his desk and picking the note up.
'Miss Helian called while you were away, so I told her you were getting a new T-Doll assigned to an Echelon. She's waiting for you to call her back right now. - Kalina :)'
Shit, Helian called?
Reaching for the projector, he pressed the call node and dialed Helian. After a few moments of waiting, Helian's projection materialized over the plate-sized device.
"Hello again, Commander." the senior officer greeted.
"Good to see you, too, Helian. I've been waiting for you to call since yesterday, so sorry for missing your call earlier."
"It's fine. Now, to business. Our ingelligence indicates a group of damaged T-Dolls are stranded on the frontline. They are in possession of vital information that is crucial to the war effort, so we need you to aid them in safely returning to Griffin territory."
"I understand, Helian."
"Good. All the relevant information pertaining to this mission has been uploaded to your systems."
A ping punctuated this, telling him that he recieved new files.
"I got it. When does the mission start?"
"Right now."
Eh, this wasn't my best chapter, but I needed to finish this so I could write another combat chapter. I decided on FN-49 as the second new T-Doll because she's a common T-Doll and more Rifles were needed in the cast. Anyways, I have started a new RWBY/Halo project on this account. So far, it's only got a database page explaining basic stuff in it, but I want to make it succeed where other RWBY/Halo projects failed.
See you at Search and Destroy II!