"...?" When Zeldri entered the command room he was met with an unusual sight. The air was tense but thankfully no one had their weapons drawn as Scarecrow stood beside Horris looking at a holographic map of eastern Europe. Annika seemed nervous about the Ringleader being so close and looked to Zeldri for reassurance. Zeldri raised an eyebrow at Scarecrow and looked to Horris for answers.
"She's got the answer to our food problems," Horris responded to Zeldri's unasked question and gestured to Scarecrow.
"You do?" Zeldri approached the central table with the holographic display.
"While I would enjoy continuing watching you all starve," Scarecrow began with a taunt much to the discomfort of the staff, "If you all die that would only bring the Neo-Union government to the Mountain which defeats the purpose of me being here. So, instead," she taps at the map causing it to zoom in on the eastern half of Latvia, "I'll offer a solution. Use it, or don't, though there isn't much alternative to a long-term fix."
"What am I looking at?" Zeldri asked as the map continued to zoom in until it displayed the ruins of a city with a rather large building at the center taking up multiple city blocks.
"An old Zeratul Pharmaceuticals manufactory," Scarecrow explained.
"Zeratul Pharmaceuticals?" Zeldri recalled his meeting with Oliver Minx at the banquet who belonged to Zeratul. "Aren't they a German medical company?"
"Yes," Horris clarified, "However, their efforts go beyond just medicine. They also have major footholds in the farming, medical bioengineering, and cybernetics industries."
"And," Scarecrow continued, "This building was once a massive hydroponic farm before a containment wall failure two years back forced the Pan-European Union to abandon the whole city. Perhaps, you could go in and scavenge enough functional equipment and bioengineered crop seeds to set up a hydroponics operation within the Mountain. There's a rail line leading to the city so you can bring your train to transport the equipment back here."
"..." Zeldri changed the holographic display to show the Mountain. "...Most warehouses on sub-level three aren't even half full. If we consolidate the space and use that for farms..."
"We'd be able to eventually grow our own food," Horris finished Zeldri's thought. "It's not a bad idea," he admitted which got a side glare from Scarecrow.
"It's a better idea than waiting for you all to starve," Scarecrow commented.
"..." Zeldri silently thought over the idea. Then, a question entered his mind. "How do you even know about the farm, Scarecrow? I didn't think Sangvis Ferri would keep records on Latvian farms."
"..."
"You want me to find an abandoned hydroponics farm?" Dreamer asked as she twirled her finger through her hair.
"You can't?" Scarecrow goaded over their communication link.
"It's not that I can't," Dreamer mused as she stared at the stars, "It's just now you have me curious as to why someone like you wants to know such a thing?" A mischievousness wormed into her voice as she continued, "We don't need food, so there isn't really a reason to look for it, right? And, it's not like we need it for our operation in Belgrade."
"..." Scarecrow remained silent, but Dreamer could feel how apprehensive she was through her commlink.
"Or," a coldness overtook Dreamer's voice, "Is this for your human pet commander?"
"A-!?" Dreamer noticed the panic in Scarecrow's tone. "That-"
"Everyone's focused in Belgrade," Dreamer interrupted her, "But, the Scarecrow unit over there is kind of slow. It's almost like the real Scarecrow is somewhere else doing who knows what? So, I did some backtracing, and guess what I found." She chuckled to herself, sighed, and closed her eyes. "To think, Scarecrow of all dolls is the one going behind Mastermind's back."
"It's not like that!" Scarecrow tried to counter. "I-"
"I expected something like this from Ouroboros or even Architect, but you?"
"..."
"But, it doesn't really matter." Dreamer's normal nonchalant tone returned. Her feet clacked against the metal beneath her as she started to walk. "I already heard from Intruder you were acting weird during the human's attempt to capture Mastermind, so you running off on your own isn't too farfetched. Though, I gotta ask," she opened her eyes and stared off into space, "Your unit is still helping in Belgrade so you haven't betrayed us, at least not fully. Just what is going through that overly analytical head of yours, Scarecrow?"
"..." Scarecrow gave a defeated sigh. "I just wanted a safe place to run some calculations."
"That implies you don't feel safe doing them around fellow Ringleaders." She made sure to sound mockingly hurt and put one hand on her forehead, "Do you not trust your fellow doll?"
"The one I don't trust is M16."
"...Mmm." Dreamer brought her hand back down to her side. "It seems you noticed something?"
"It would be quicker to show you." Scarecrow sent Dreamer a data package of all the simulation results she did. There was no point trying to hide it, so maybe she could convince Dreamer not to rat her out.
"..." Dreamer accepted the package and stopped walking to silently read through the reports. She didn't even notice the Trojan virus that Tsaritsa had planted in the data package that silently began to work at her digimind. "...I really hate how thorough your simulations are."
"You see it, too?"
"Well..." Dreamer trailed off as she thought about it some more before continuing, "You weren't there for the meeting, but Agent was designated second-in-command for the Belgrade operation."
"She was?!" While Scarecrow's dummy was going to Belgrade to help, it was still going through the normal chain of command and reported to Agent.
"M16 was put in charge, and Agent was told to answer to her," Dreamer dryly stated with a sarcastic smile on her face.
"!"
"Mastermind's also been hanging out with M16 more often while Agent gets sent out on seemingly mundane missions." She couldn't help but bitterly laugh at the thought. "While she's still keeping her cool, for now, even I can tell Agent's dissatisfaction with this whole situation."
"...So, it's only accelerated the result." Scarecrow started to run simulations with this new information.
"Earth to Scarecrow!" Dreamer knew that if she let Scarecrow start running simulations she would be gone for hours or even days. "Remember your request?"
"Will you do it?"
"...Sure." Dreamer wasn't sure why she accepted the request. It wasn't a hard thing to do for her, it just felt...odd.
"I got it," Scarecrow affirmed, "Contact me when you find something suitable."
"Right..." The odd thought wouldn't leave her alone. "...Scarecrow?"
"Yes?"
"That human pet of yours... Why them?" Dreamer's eyes narrowed as she clarified what she wanted, "Surely you'd be fine on your own? Or just kill them and take their resources? Why help them? That kind of thinking goes against our orders."
"...The orders that we get thrown away at the end of?"
"..."
"I still hold my disdain for humanity, Dreamer. That isn't gone. I just find Zeldri more agreeable than any other human I've met. Seeing a human like him die from starvation of all things would be insulting."
"Ooh~, you're on a first-name basis with Zeldri?" Dreamer mocked and brought a hand in front of her mouth.
"Only contact me when you find something!" Scarecrow bitterly stated and cut the commlink.
"Pfft! Where do you get off on acting so bashful?" Dreamer said to no one as she was left alone to her thoughts. Her dummy near Belgrade was still functioning without issue, so she left it alone. Dreamer turned on her heel and stared up at the Earth above her. She had a magnificent view of the planet from her place standing atop one of Sangvis Ferri's orbital satellites. It was currently passing over Russia and Dreamer found her eyes wandering over to the Ural mountains. "...Commander Zeldri, huh?" A sly smile overtook her face as she extended a hand out to the mountains. "Guess I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"...I used Sangvis Ferri's satellites to look for a suitable location that could have the most to scavenge," Scarecrow stated while withholding her conversation with Dreamer. "Since it's abandoned, you shouldn't have any problems taking what you need."
"...Annika," Zeldri changed the holographic display back to the farm, "Get in touch with Zeratul and ask for an Oliver Minx. Even if the place is abandoned, Latvia belongs to the Pan-European Union. Let's cover our bases."
"On it, Commander." Annika quickly drafted and sent an email to start talks with Zeratul.
"How knowledgeable are you with hydroponics, Horris?"
"Not very, but I can easily just look up what to do," Horris said and gave a shrug. "M7 and I can set them up and train some of the staff or a few dolls to run it. And, since all the crop seeds we'll find will be bioengineered, they'll be fully grown and harvestable after about two or three weeks."
"...Is there anything we can do about the taste?" Zeldri asked dejectedly as he remembered how bland hydroponic 'super crops' were.
"Maybe?" Horris said and rubbed his chin. "I know some fast food places have a way to inject flavor into super crops. Might be able to get my hands on how, if you give me time."
"Do it. Morale will plummet if we just do the hydroponics as is." Zeldri turned to Scarecrow who was still standing next to Horris. "Thanks for the help, Scarecrow."
"...So long as you don't die, then everything's fine." She activated her repulsors and hovered over to the door. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." And, with that, she left the command room and headed to the hangar.
"Man," the black-cloaked woman suddenly appeared next to Zeldri and looked towards the exit door, "Who would've thought she of all dolls was a tsundere? Do you have some invisible aura that attracts those kinds of people, Commander?"
"..." Zeldri didn't bother responding to her.
"Commander," Annika started tapping at her tablet, "Zeratul responded!"
"Already?"
Horris chuckled to himself, "They are known for their excellent customer service."
"I have Mr. Minx on the line, what should I do?" Annika asked.
"...Tsaritsa?" Zeldri turned to the large monitor mounted on the wall.
"All connection points are secure, and I'm on the lookout for any breach attempts," Tsaritsa chimed from Zeldri's tablet.
"Patch him through, Annika."
"Yes, Commander." After a brief moment of tapping at her tablet, the large monitor in the command room displayed the smiling face of Oliver Minx who looked to be sitting in an office. Zeldri could see cargo ships sailing out the window behind Minx.
"Greetings from Lübeck, Commander Artyomavich," Minx happily greeted. "What can Zeratul Pharmaceuticals do for Griffin & Kryuger? I'm told you had something you wished to discuss?"
"Tch!" the black-cloaked woman spat off to the side when she heard Minx.
"...?" Zeldri had never seen her look so disgusted before. Normally, she was curious or dismissive of the people around him, but she showed open hostility towards Minx. That said, she could wait as Zeldri had work to do. "I was wondering if we could discuss the abandoned hydroponics farm your company once operated in Latvia?"
"Latvia?" Minx looked off to the side and started typing on his keyboard. After a few seconds, his eyebrows raised. "Ah, you mean the one we had to abandon after Daugavpils' containment wall failed?"
"Correct. Truth be told, thanks to our efforts in clearing the sector a town's cropped back up near the Mountain but they're having troubles with food supplies," Zeldri bent the truth. "Since you've already pulled out of Daugavpils, I was wondering if it would be alright for my forces to potentially scavenge some hydroponic basins from the facility to help out the town?"
"Hmm," Minx rubbed his chin as he looked over the file he had on the farm. "Isn't Latvia quite out of the way for you?"
"It is, but it would be more advantageous if we could get some basins for free rather than stretching our already tight budget to help out a town that isn't even part of Griffin." Zeldri tried to make it sound like he was doing this for the common people. "I can't exactly tell my boss I need expensive equipment to give away to a small town."
"True, true. And with the public opinion of Griffin on the downturn, I'm sure not many manufacturers are willing to lend a hand." Minx gave a warm smile to Zeldri. "You have the heart of a true Rossartrist, Commander, in that you wish to help those who aren't even your people... And, we aren't exactly using that site or its abandoned equipment..." Minx started tapping his desk as he mulled over his thoughts. "I can probably convince my bosses to allow this. But, it would help if you could also do something for us, in return."
"Did you have something particular in mind?" Zeldri's eyes wandered back to the holographic map of the farm.
"That facility was more than just a hydroponics farm; it was a critical research center. From new crop growths, to experimental medical drugs, and even unreleased cybernetic augmentations; that facility holds lots of old projects. The files left on the servers in that facility could be vital in potential breakthroughs on some of our newer products. However, Daugavpils is considered abandoned and was left to the ELIDs. If you can clear out the facility, at least to the server room, I would like to send a team in to retrieve any data that was left behind."
"And, you want to use that data to sweeten the deal for your bosses to give the green light," Zeldri concluded.
"Correct! We're a pharmaceutical company, not a PMC, so we don't exactly have trained fighters just on hand. My team would consist of computer engineers. And, since my team would only be after the servers, they would be willing to...look the other way should anything go missing from the facility. Anything like, I don't know, the hydroponic basins and seeds from the seed vault." Minx gave an innocent shrug. "Perhaps."
"Well, should your bosses want those servers, Griffin & Kryuger is always looking for work." Zeldri gave a respectful bow as he pitched his services.
"I'll definitely keep you in mind when I mention this to my boss," Minx smiled his businessman smile as he watched Zeldri. "If you'd like, I can offer some Zeratul personnel to help run the basins. We at Zeratul Pharmaceuticals are always creating possibilities in this new world. And, helping our Soviet neighbors would help ease tensions across Europe."
"..." Zeldri held a professional friendly expression as he did his best to hide his discomfort. "While I appreciate the gesture, I couldn't burden you further. As you said, the Urals are very far out of the way and I wouldn't want to separate the workers who would come here from their families. Also, I'm sure your staff will be more than busy sifting through all the new data you'll be retrieving from Daugavpils."
"..." A threatening glint crossed Minx's eyes for the briefest of moments before it disappeared behind a mask of professionalism, but Zeldri caught it. "While a shame, I understand. I'll do all I can to get this going on my end, so please be ready for my call."
"Your assistance is appreciated, Mr. Minx."
"Then until next time, Commander Artyomavich." The video feed was cut.
"...Tsaritsa?"
"Two probe attempts, all blocked," Tsaritsa proudly declared.
"To think, they actually tried?" Horris chuckled to himself.
"Too many people are interested in the Mountain," Zeldri mused. "Can't even trust a pharmaceutical company not to hack you."
"I'll tell SVD to get the train ready," Annika said as she headed to the exit. "We'll get the 2S35 off the last car to get more room so we'll be able to scavenge more."
"Good. Also, get Storozh, Dream Eater, and Revenant on standby for the mission."
"You're taking Revenant?"
"They've got experience being scavs," Zeldri joked before continuing more seriously, "We'll need to clear out an entire facility as well as the surrounding area of ELIDs. Revenant has the firepower to help speed things along."
"Understood." Annika gave a bow before leaving the room to meet up with SVD and get the train ready.
"I suppose I should also find my old gas mask, then," Horris stated and gave a stretch.
"You're going on this one?" Zeldri cocked an eyebrow at him.
"From what I do know off-hand, hydroponic basins are finicky so I want to personally take a look at them so we don't just haul back piles of scrap."
"Good point," Zeldri admitted and nodded his head. "M7 could also be useful in clearing out the ELIDs that will certainly be between the train yard and the farm."
"...!" M7 had a determined look in her eyes and gave a confident nod.
"Then I'll need to make sure your tanks are topped up, too. Let's go." Horris put his arm around M7 and the two left the command room.
"..." Finally, Zeldri turned to the last person he wanted to deal with. The black-cloaked woman was still angrily staring at the large monitor.
"Hmm?" Then, she noticed Zeldri was staring at her. "Well, if I didn't know any better I'd believe that look in your eyes was one of concern." She teased, but Zeldri continued to look at her with a hint of concern. She was acting strangely, all things considered. "...Don't worry about me," the black-cloaked woman bitterly chuckled, "I'm not the one you should be concerned for, right now."
"...!?" As Zeldri was about to ask why the back of his head started to throb.
"...Just four more characters," the black-cloaked woman muttered to herself as she slowly approached Zeldri. "And, you're in no condition to give them to me. Looks like I ended up failing." She laughed as Zeldri took a cautious step back. "Don't worry, I won't take it out on you. We'll allow things to finish naturally out of spite for Him."
"?!" Zeldri felt his chin get forced up as the black-cloaked woman forced Zeldri to look up at her. She was a few inches taller than him. Zeldri tried to move his head away, or do anything to get away from the black-cloaked woman, but his body wouldn't move. Exhaustion rapidly overtook him to the point he couldn't even turn his head.
"...If anything, I'm the one concerned for you, Commander," she whispered.
"...?" Zeldri suddenly felt tired and his eyes started to close. He glanced around one last time only to notice everyone was silently staring at him, but no one moved to help. Everything froze and all sound stopped as if the world was waiting with bated breath for words he could no longer speak. With his strength failing him, Zeldri collapsed into the black-cloaked woman's arms.
"Wake up, Commander," the black-cloaked woman softly cooed in his ear, "You're screaming again."