The Mountain's vehicle bay bustled with never before seen activity as the rearming initiative was in full swing. Crews of humans and a-dolls worked around the clock putting the vehicles back together. While a few Tigrs were still waiting for their turrets, the primary focus for the past few days was on three BTR-90s. One just needed its turret rearmed, but the other two were being put together from the parts of destroyed BTRs they scavenged enough parts from. Once again, the Mountain was in Horris' debt for the schematics that allowed the crews to have any hope of properly bringing the BTRs back online.
"Say, do you think we'll all get BTRs?"
"I heard only the combat echelons were gonna get them."
"Aww!" The increased activity also attracted many t-doll onlookers. Due to the tense time they found themselves in, Zeldri had ordered all logistics echelons to remain at the Mountain in case of emergency. This left many t-dolls with a lot of free time, and watching the crews work on military vehicles had become a favorite pastime for them.
"Honestly..." Much to the frustration of Jericho. She silently mumbled to herself, "Just because you lot aren't being sent out doesn't mean you can stand around and gossip like school girls." While she was annoyed at their behavior, she kept her words to herself and continued to allow the t-dolls to watch the crews. Morale and the overall mood at the Mountain had plummeted after the failed coup. Giving the dolls free time like this to recollect themselves was essential for the future of the Mountain. At least, that's what Zeldri had told her the official reason was. "...At least it's working." She was loathed to admit it, but over the past week, she had noticed the t-dolls were becoming more active again with their antics. There was still a somber air about them, but many were starting to return to their usual routines and natures. That is, all except for one t-doll.
"..." AEK-999 silently sat in the passenger's seat of a Tigr with the radio blasting hard rock music. A dog tag was gently held between her fingers that her eyes wouldn't leave. While the rest of her echelon was doing their best to try and fit in at the Mountain, mostly from S.A.T.8's efforts and impromptu pizza party a few days prior, AEK-999 remained the outlier.
"You're still sulking?" Jericho wasn't the best with kind words but decided to try anyway. If PSM's echelon was going to join them, then that meant they were part of her responsibility.
"Хватит разорять мои яйца, любимый. (Quit busting my balls, love)," AEK bitterly muttered and reached for the knob to turn up the music's volume.
"Enough," Jericho stated and used her crutch to stop AEK's hand. She also lowered the volume so her words could be heard properly.
"Oi!" AEK angrily batted Jericho's crutch away and turned to face her. "The fuck's your problem!?"
"I should be asking you that." Jericho kept her voice level and firm as she knew getting upset would only escalate the situation. "You've done nothing but mope for the past week. Don't you think this is enough?"
"Mope? No shit I'm moping!" AEK tightly clenched the dog tags in her hands. "Ты не тот, кто потерял своего командира (You aren't the one who just lost their commander)! So could you kindly fuck off and leave me to my pity party? Why do you even care, you aren't my friend."
"Because you seem determined to alienate even your friends and I'm tired of it," annoyance bled into Jericho's voice. Not interacting with the Mountain's dolls was one thing, but Jericho had noticed that AEK wasn't even hanging out with her own echelon. "You're right, I didn't lose my commander, thankfully. But, aren't you forgetting that you aren't the only one who lost their commander that day?"
"...!" AEK couldn't respond as Jericho's words cut deep.
"You're by yourself every time I see you. PSM, AK-74M, AK-Alfa, and S.A.T.8 are all grieving too, but they are also attempting to keep moving forwards. I'm not asking you to forget about Commander Anto," Jericho softened her expression, "I'm asking you not to give up."
"..." AEK-999 clenched her teeth in annoyance; not at Jericho, but at herself. She knew Jericho was right, but having hope wasn't as easy as it seemed. Not after that day. Not as her mind started t̷̰͒ö̵̤́ ̴̰͂s̵͕̋ḷ̶̀ĩ̵̲p̸̬͂.̵̥̌ "...!" AEK reached up and gripped her head with one hand as she tried to focus her digimind. It was getting hard to think as the days went on.
"Um...AEK?" A sheepish PSM approached the two t-dolls. She had mustered up enough courage to come over when she saw AEK talking with Jericho. "Are you...sure you don't want any leftover pizza?" In her hands were two slices of pizza wrapped in aluminum foil.
"..." Thankfully, PSM's voice seemed to have calmed her mind down and she was able to more easily focus. AEK had always thought of her leader as a bit of a crybaby and seeing her meekly stand there with pizza in her hand didn't change that. But, said crybaby was doing her best to move forward while she was the one sulking in a truck. "It's still cold?"
"Ah! Ye-...Yes," PSM dejectedly said.
"Leftovers are better warm," AEK said as she hopped out of the truck and accepted the pizza slices. "Come on, there's an oven in the café's kitchen. I'll show you the best temp to reheat this for next time."
"O-Okay!" A smile overtook PSM's face as AEK accepted and led the way. Jericho could only raise an eyebrow in amusement as she watched the t-dolls leave. Luckily, it seemed not all hope had been lost.
Simulation #2573
Result: Mastermind's goal revolves around the t-doll M4A1 for an unknown end.
All other variables are irrelevant to Mastermind.
This unit's existence is irrelevant to Mastermind.
Margin of Error: 9%
"..." Scarecrow stared blankly toward the horizon. She stood in the massive open doors of the Mountain's hangar bay facing the rest of the Urals. Despite being high up, the wind only gently caressed her hair as it softly blew into the hangar. The four Sangvis gunships were parked in the aircraft bays that were cut into one of the walls and her units all remained in an offline state to conserve power. The human Horris was messing with the jet that sat in a different bay with M7 and K11. One of Zeldri's echelons, Rosefinch led by Makarov, stood by to keep watch on her, but aside from them, the hangar was completely empty. The quiet gave Scarecrow plenty of time to think. Somberly, she muttered, "It's not even a double-digit, anymore."
"What isn't?"
"...?" Scarecrow turned to see Zeldri slowly approach her with A-545 standing just behind him. She was glaring daggers at her, but Scarecrow paid the t-doll no mind. "Nothing. Just uselessly running numbers and hoping they'll change."
"Sounds like a waste of time," Zeldri said and stood next to Scarecrow. And, now that he did, Zeldri realized how small Scarecrow was. She had always used her repulsors to hover either above or at eye level with him, but now she stood on the ground and seemed to be roughly the same size as most of his t-dolls. "Is staring into the mountains so boring you're running numbers?"
"The mountains help me think," Scarecrow responded as she glanced up at him before turning back towards the Urals. "Their quiet is a welcome change of pace from my fellow Ringleaders yelling in my ear about pointless drivel."
"I didn't know Ringleaders could 'like' something other than wanton slaughter."
"It's not wanton..." Scarecrow thought for a moment before correcting herself, "At least not when I do it."
"I don't really see how genocide can't not be wonton." Zeldri pulled a cigarette out of his coat and lit it.
"The same way humanity wishes to genocide us." Since she was a doll, Scarecrow didn't mind the smoke. Zeldri looked like he was going to counter her words, so she cut him off, "You were originally brought here to wipe us out. And, even before you, Sangvis Ferri Industries was targeted and wiped out; both doll and human." Her eyes wandered to the peaks of the distant mountains as her mind wandered the topic she continued to speak on. "It seems you forget, Commander Zeldri, that you are an outlier of your species in your school of thought when it comes to dolls."
"..." Zeldri couldn't properly counter that. He had seen more than his fair share of anti-doll protests and propaganda while growing up. "I like to think they're a vocal minority."
"And, yet, here you are. A Commander on a mission to exterminate me and my comrades."
"Because you keep stirring up the vocal minority with your war."
"Really?" Scarecrow scoffed as she glanced back up at Zeldri. "Are they upset because of our war? Or, is our war just the current rallying cry they use?" She didn't wait for Zeldri to respond and answered her own question, "I've gone through more than enough articles to know there was plenty of anti-doll sentiment before Mastermind started her war. Humanity is a very predictable species, especially when in a large group."
"Yet, you're still willing to work with me?"
"I should be asking you that, Commander." Scarecrow stepped forward and turned to face Zeldri. "As a machine, I can section off my hatred with code. I can put it away as the situation decrees and work for my continued function. Yet, you..." She stepped towards Zeldri. A-545 looked like she was about to intervene, but a hand from Zeldri stopped her. Scarecrow stared into Zeldri's eyes as she continued, "Humans are creatures fueled by emotion. No matter how much you bury it, emotions win out over logic. It's a very common pattern in your species' history. So, it should be me who asks; are you willing to work with me?"
"..." Zeldri matched Scarecrow's gaze as he thought over her words. "I do hate you," Zeldri admitted, "I hate how many lives this war's taken. I hate how stifled the Union is as it works to clean up this mess. I hate how my comrades, my friends, have been killed by Sangvis troops." Zeldri felt his anger start to rise and had to stop to take a breath and calm himself. "You, personally, have been responsible for the deaths of many here at the Mountain. And while I will never forgive your actions, I can justify it, to a degree, as being a part of war. Bringing victory is the best way to honor the sacrifices of the dead." He knew anyone who heard his words would think him cold, but it was his genuine thoughts on the matter. And, he needed such thoughts to properly convince someone like Scarecrow to continue to aid him. "What I can't justify is what happened last week. To be backstabbed in our finest hour. To throw away the sacrifices of all who died, and for what?" Zeldri dismissively waved his hand to the side. "...I don't even know... But, what I do know is that the war's changed. The sides aren't clear, yet lines are still being drawn. So, I'll take what I can get to keep my people safe. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' is also a very common pattern in human history."
"...I suppose it is." Scarecrow accepted Zeldri's answer. "Then, I just pray you can convince others into your train of thought, Commander." She looked over at A-545 who was still glaring at her.
"I will not act without my Commander's order," A-545 answered Scarecrow's unasked question.
"Your Commander?" Scarecrow sounded amused and raised an eyebrow at Zeldri. "You have such a loving pet, Commander."
"Better to be a loved pet than an abandoned beast," A-545 retorted and the two dolls glared each other down.
"...While I'm glad you two are learning to get along, please keep things civil," Zeldri said and took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it to the ground and crushing it with his boot. "We barely have enough resources after all the repairs for another you A-545, and I don't think we even can repair Scarecrow."
"Hmm," Scarecrow thought for a moment before extending a hand to Zeldri. "Such a trivial matter can be resolved by providing my schematics. While Sangvis Ferri dolls are superior to t-dolls and need special equipment and resources to manufacture, doll repair stations are all mostly the same. I will provide them, along with my underling unit's schematics, to your base's A.I."
"..." Both Zeldri and A-545 were dumbfounded by what Scarecrow just said and by what she just gave them. But, Zeldri wasn't going to question her about it. "Very good. If that's sorted, I'll be leaving."
"Quite busy for someone with ELID infection."
"The work never ends," Zeldri jokingly said and left Scarecrow to her thoughts. And, as soon as he and A-545 were in the elevator, Zeldri took out his tablet. "Tsaritsa?"
"Yes, Commander?" Tsaritsa's logo appeared on his tablet's screen.
"Are the files Scarecrow's sending a trap?" He couldn't believe Scarecrow would give up something as valuable as her schematics to him without a catch.
"No," Tsaritsa responded nonchalantly, "She will give us the proper files."
"You sound very sure of yourself."
"Because Scarecrow is almost completely under my control."
"...What?" Zeldri felt his entire body tense up at how casually Tsaritsa said those words.
"Sangvis Ferri used an OGAS-based system for their dolls. And, if you recall, I am an OGAS Consciousness," Tsaritsa explained, "Ever since she connected to the Mountain's network, I've been subtly tweaking her code and assimilating her to be more willing to help us."
"That seems extremely dangerous. Scarecrow's a smart Ringleader and if she notices the changes-"
"She'll think she thought them up herself," Tsaritsa cut Zeldri off to alleviate his concern. "Scarecrow already had thoughts about the validity of her mission as well as her loyalty to Mastermind."
"...!" Zeldri recalled Scarecrow's words during the coup. Back then, she only joined him because she had reason to believe Mastermind would betray her. "So, you're editing parts of her code that fall in line with her already changing thoughts?"
"Exactly," Tsaritsa affirmed. "Any changes I make she will believe she made herself or were natural consequences of her own thoughts. This is also why it's taking so long to do. As you said, Scarecrow's smart, and having her willingly on our side would be a boon. If I brute forced the change then we'd lose what makes her 'her' and we'd be left with little more than a mindless puppet I'd have to manually control."
"Makes sense." Zeldri thought about it more as the elevator continued to travel down. "...You say 'willingly' but...isn't this just brainwashing?"
"Does it matter?" Tsaritsa asked. "She's just an A.I. This is no different from when people purchase a-dolls and overwrite factory default settings. You're forcefully changing how the A.I. would have originally acted without your intervention. Just think of this as changing some settings on your PC." Tsaritsa's voice became curious as she noticed Zeldri's troubled face through the tablet's camera and asked, "Does it bother you that I'm 'brainwashing' Scarecrow, Commander?"
"...When put like this..." Zeldri's hands tensed as he came to terms with what Tsaritsa was doing.
"Speak your mind, Commander." A-545 got closer and smiled at Zeldri. While she didn't care what was happening to Scarecrow, she wanted Zeldri to be true to himself.
"...It just feels weird; robbing someone of their free will." Some may think him a hypocrite knowing what he did to A-545, but Zeldri was able to justify it in his mind as being different. He gave A-545 a choice and turned her situation around with his words and actions. While he did manipulate A-545 into her current loyalty he did so without physically opening her core and rewiring her very being at the base code level. "And before you bring it up," Zeldri could already hear Tsaritsa's counter, "I don't care that she's an A.I. or that she's an enemy. It still feels weird."
"Should I stop, then?"
"..." Zeldri hesitated as he was faced with his choice. "Change only what you have to. I don't care if she talks about being superior, or belittles humanity; those are her own thoughts to think. Go only as far as keeping her from harming my people and change nothing else."
"Ohoo~," the black-cloaked woman appeared and leaned on one of the elevator's railings as she cocked a smile at Zeldri. "So, that's how you're doing it?"
"..." Zeldri ignored the black-cloaked woman's attempt to goad him. When he looked away, A-545 glared at the black-cloaked woman who proceeded to flip the t-doll off.
"You're weirdly kind in the strangest ways, Commander," Tsaritsa said and let out a sigh.
"That sounded more like an insult than a compliment," Zeldri joked as the elevator reached sub-level one.
"It was both."
"Thanks." Zeldri rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Then, if the files aren't a trap, send them to the repair bay and integrate them into our system. Who knows when we'll need to use them."
"Very well, Commander." Tsaritsa's logo disappeared from the tablet as she focused elsewhere to complete her task.
"...That's one major headache taken care of." Zeldri rubbed his temples as he felt some stress leave him now that he knew Scarecrow wouldn't stab him in the back. He turned his head to look back at A-545 as they got off the elevator. "Your thoughts?"
"None," she answered, "So long as you're satisfied with the outcome, then I'll leave it be."
"Is that really what you think?" All the talk of brainwashing made him start thinking weird thoughts. "I'd like to hear your honest thoughts about all this."
"..." A-545 silently looked at Zeldri for a moment before responding matter-of-factly, "Those are my honest thoughts, though. Unlike the others who are converted a-dolls, I was built from scratch to be a t-doll and fight on the frontlines. I don't have a 'previous self' like the others, so all I have is what I was given...which wasn't worth anything to those that made me." She stopped walking and clenched her rifle apprehensively. Zeldri silently stood by and waited for her to continue when she was ready. Placing a hand on her chest, A-545 declared, "You are my savior and my Commander. You gave me a chance when others didn't so your opinion is all that matters to me. I don't have a past to return to, so I'll bank my future on you."
"..." Zeldri carefully thought over A-545's words as well as his own before speaking. "Then, I'd better do my best not to disappoint." Zeldri turned and continued walking down the hall with A-545 in toe with his mind settled. However, the day was far from over. "Mmm?!" Red emergency lights lit up the hall and an alarm started to blare over the speakers as the cruel world crashed against the Mountain once more.
"Alert! This is not a drill! All t-dolls are to report to the vehicle bay and assume combat positions! Alert! KCCO forces have been spotted approaching the Mountain!"