Inspired by "Crowdfunded" by Sergeant Major Mike Burke and Major Nicholas Nethery, winner of the 2020 CIMSEC Fiction Week Contest, and by "Faded Glory" by Musing Soul (aka soulmuse).
Germany, 2064
KSG ducked into a small closet as several Strelets opened down the hallway. She braced herself against the wall and moved one of her shields in front of her, waiting as the sounds of gunshots moved closer to her. Eventually, the enemy stopped firing and she could hear them move towards her hiding spot. She crouched down and readied and prepared to jump.
As the first Strelet came around the corner, KSG leaped forward, bashing the armored figure with it. As they hit the opposite wall, KSG brought her other shield in front of her and began to fire over it with her shotgun.
*BANG* *BANG*
Two blasts shred the Strelets, knocking two down and sending the last one stumbling back. As it tried to move to the cover of a doorway, a spray of automatic rifle fire caught it from behind. AK-Alfa had reached the opposite end of the hallway.
"You're welcome." Alfa grinned as she walked over to the shotgunner.
KSG opted not to respond, instead turning her shotgun on the Strelet pinned underneath her shield. The blast blew its head clean off and the body slumped to the floor. KSG then looked back towards Alfa.
"Those were the last ones on this floor. Let's go check on the others." KSG turned around and walked back towards the stairs. Alfa followed behind her.
The robots and humans of Sector 9 had come a long way from Ukraine. After the clusterfuck that was the joint operation to eliminate Sangvis Ferri, the discovery of a secret death cult that worshiped M4, and the big showdown at the sub base, all they wanted was a break from the constant combat. It was probably the only thing the diverse collection of troops that made up the sector could agree on.
Alas, Germany had to ruin everything. Apparently it was Paradeus' main base of operations, and as much as KSG wanted some leave, letting them continue whatever sick experiments they were doing wasn't exactly a good option. So here she found herself in Berlin, fighting zombie soldiers and giant robot mechs.
How exactly Paradeus had managed to sneak said mechs into the capital without causing mass panic and a military response was a question that had yet to be answered.
KSG and Alfa stumbled as an explosion rocked the building.
"Shit, do these guys ever let up?" Alfa sat up and began jogging faster down the stairwell. KSG's hot-headed lieutenant was always one to speak her mind. While that did provide a useful springboard to bounce ideas off of, it also meant that she often got into trouble with the other base members. "Where the fuck do they get all these troops?"
KSG once again decided not to respond. She needed to check on the other echelons. She keyed up her Zener connection.
"Artemis and Lightning, this is Wolf. SITREP, over."
"Wolf, Lightning. They are flanking us with Rodeleros again. SV-98 is injured, but we are holding, over." Grozas's voice provided the reason for the explosion. She seemed calm, so the wound couldn't be that bad.
"Roger, get SV over to Gsh." KSG made a note to swing by the medic's station just in case.
"Already done, out."
"Wolf, this is Artemis." FAL seemed a bit more on edge. "The resistance to the front is dying down, but we are running low on ammo. Any chance for a resupply?"
"The Commander is sending some Fairies with supplies. The rest of Wolf is retrieving them, over."
"Roger, we'll wai-hold on, you sent Honey Badger to handle the Fairies?" FAL was alarmed now, and KSG couldn't really blame her. Fairies were known for their mischievousness, and Honey Badger was known to indulge them in their games before. In fact, G3 had explicitly banned Badger from the Fairy Chamber after the incident.
"Affirmative, Artemis. Don't worry, MG4 and SRS are with her. It will be fine, over."
"If you say so. Just know that if I get covered in fruitcake again, I'm blaming you. Artemis out."
By this point, KSG and Alfa had reached the bottom of the stairs. In a janitor closet just off to the side. Gsh was tending to an increasingly irate SV-98. KSG sighed, relieved that she would be fine.
"Hey Gsh, could you hurry up with that sealing foam? There's a Paradeus bastard out there I need to introduce to a bullet."
"Don't worry, there's still plenty of them to shoot. I'm sure you'll have plenty of stories to share with your dear Mr. Boring." That comment from Gsh was followed by a string of Russian expletives that were both creative and not appropriate to print here.
Yeah, she would be fine.
"KSG, this is MG4. Supplies have been delivered to Artemis. We are ready to continue the assault, over."
"This is Artemis. Enemy resistance to the front has ceased. We can push to the next building, over."
KSG moved to a nearby window and looked out across the courtyard. The area seemed to be clear and, other than the bodies of Strelets, was wide open. Perfect for an ambush. KSG glanced to the right, seeing another building. It had a large covered patio with pillars facing the street, supporting the next floor.
"Roger. Artemis, move to the next building but keep behind those pillars to the right. Wolf, cover them and watch for ambushers."
FAL's echelon moved out the front door, moving to the right side of the courtyard. KSG glanced over to the right, seeing Alfa with her weapon up, covering the Belgians. Satisfied, KSG turned back to the window. Just in time to see Five-Seven disappear in a massive explosion. A large boom echoed across the courtyard, sending FAL's squad scrambling for cover.
All hell broke loose. The roar of MG4s weapon roared from above as Strelets appeared from the left side, followed quickly by SRS. Another explosion hit a pillar causing the building that was Artemis' cover to sag.
"HOLY SHIT," Alfa called out between bursts, "THE FUCK IS THAT!?"
KSG reacted more calmly, reaching out on the network.
"Anyone see what's hitting Artemis?"
"SRS here, it's a Patroller. It came with reinforcements from a parking structure to the left." KSG's eyes widened as the mech in question came into view. It towered on three legs over the battlefield, with a large cannon extending from its cockpit on top.
"Geez, overcompensate much?" Alfa continued to let rip with her weapon, aiming toward the large robot. The rounds bounced harmlessly off a forcefield. "Shit, KSG, we need a bigger gun."
"My thoughts as well, calling in HOCs now."
As KSG contacted the Commander, Alfa heard several more explosions from the rear, followed by calls of "Contact!" from Groza's squad.
KSG soon sat up, and in a rare event, swore. Alfa felt a bolt of fear run through her. If KSG was in such a foul mood, things had gone from bad to worse.
"No go on the HOCs, they are busy supporting the AR team." KSG went back to the window and began shooting out into the courtyard.
"Are you shitting me?" Alfa was furious. "Fucking prima donna squad, think they are soooooooo~ special just because their ex-leader had a mind-parasite. She's not even HERE! She's fucked off to who knows where with her Benedict-Arnold-wannabe sister to be the goddess of toasters or some shit, leaving us high and dry to deal with THIS load of crap! There's literally no way this could be wors-"
"HELLO!" Honey Badger popped up behind Alfa.
"FUCKING HELL!" Alfa jumped in fright. After she saw who it was, she went back to being furious. "Oh god, it's you."
"What are you doing here, Badger?" KSG somehow managed to remain collected. "Get back up to MG4."
"But we need to defeat the Patroller right? I have an idea of how to beat it."
This time KSG couldn't keep the surprise from her face. Alfa was even less enthusiastic.
"Badger, running at it is not a solution, it will just get you killed."
"It doesn't involve running. We don't even have to leave the building!"
KSG sighed, thought for a moment, then decided that she had no better options.
"What is it?"
Honey Badger's face lit up, but before she could continue Alfa cut in.
"No no no, hold on." Alfa turned to KSG. "KSG, this is Honey Badger."
"Yes?"
"The doll who thinks a BIKINI is appropriate to wear around anytime she isn't on a mission."
"So?"
"KSG!" Alfa could barely avoid screaming at this point. "The last time she had an idea the damn base nearly burned down. Worse, Groza and FAL got mad."
"I know, Alfa," KSG sighed, "but if she can somehow pull that off, maybe her plan is worth listening to."
Alfa facepalmed.
"That time she had the help of the Fairies…"
"You mean like me?" A small drone popped up from behind Badger. It projected a small cartoon character out of its top. "Don't worry, I'm here to help."
"Shiiiiiit~" Alfa's face fell, realizing there was no way out of this. KSG subtly tightened her grip on her shotgun.
"Go ahead, Badger." KSG fired off a few more rounds as she spoke.
"Okay, here, we go." Badger cleared her throat and struck a triumphant pose. "We call in an airstrike."
KSG dropped her head and Alfa facepalmed again. Alfa responded first.
"Badger, we don't have air support. HOW THE FUCK ARE WE GONNA CALL AN AIRSTRIKE?"
"Simple, we hire it done." Honey Badger's grin somehow grew bigger.
"What do you mean HIRE it?" Alfa looked at Badger as if she grew a second head.
"We can hire it off the internet," explained the Fairy.
At this point, KSG couldn't keep her eyes on the fight outside. She turned back, looking to see how Alfa would respond after she recovered from getting flashbanged by words.
"Y-you can't just buy a drone strike off of E-Bay, " Alfa muttered once she recovered.
"On the contrary, Samuel Hayden, you actually can." Honey Badger sent KSG and Alfa a website link over Zener.
The link led to a website for a company called "Baltic Sea Contracting". And sure enough, the page allowed one to purchase a drone strike. All they had to do was send cash, coordinates, and an overhead photo of the target.
"This is a PMC." KSG said.
"Uh, yeah. We are too." Badger turned to KSG. "They provide armed overwatched for convoys through yellow zones and merchant shipping. They have UAV overhead right now."
There was a moment of silence as another explosion went off. KSG then spoke up.
"How much for a Hellfire?"
"Wait, you're considering this?!" Alfa turned to KSG in shock. "KSG, this is a fucking missile. This is going to cost thousands! Tens of thousands!" Alfa threw up her hands to emphasize the point.
"80 grand to be exact," Badger interjected, "but I think I can negotiate that down."
"Of course, because you of all people have negotiation skills." Alfa didn't even try to hide the sarcasm.
"She has a point, Badger. How are we gonna pay?"
"Well, I was gonna post about it on Grifchan and MDR's stream, and raise the money that way. The Fairy has already set up a crowdfunding campaign-"
"THE FUCK YOU MEAN YOU SET UP CROWDFUNDING?" Alfa grabbed Honey Badger by the collar and looked ready to choke her out. "WHEN BLACKWOOD FINDS OUT HE'LL HAVE US OVER A BARREL."
"Alfa, put her down." KSG did not want her lieutenant to injure a friendly. Again. After Alfa complied, KSG took a moment to think things over, then sighed. "Let me get this straight Badger, you want to destroy the Patroller by hiring an airstrike from another PMC off the internet, and you plan to use a GoFundMe page to pay for it?"
"Well, I prefer Kickstarter, but yeah."
Another moment of silence before KSG responded.
"Do it."
"YAY!" Honey Badger turned to her Fairy friend to work out the details. KSG rolled her eyes and turned back to the fighting.
"You're really going along with this?" Alfa asked. Her expression had turned from shock to horror. "You know we're gonna have to explain this to the Commander."
"Dealing with the Commander comes after not dying. I don't really see any other options right now."
"How about any other option? That plan is batshit insane."
"Batshit enough to be thought up by jarheads?" Alfa started, looking at KSG in confusion. The echelon leader was, in a rare show of emotion, smirking.
"Holy shit, did you just tell a joke?
"Is there a rule saying I can't?"
"Yes, because that makes me the voice of reason right now, which is more scary than that Patroller." The mech in question let off another cannon blast. The building Artemis was using for cover wouldn't hold up much longer. Honey Badger chose that moment to come back to the pair with a question.
"Should we add any stretch goals?" Both of the other Dolls stared back, not able or willing to understand the question. Alfa was able to find her voice first.
"What?"
"You know, stretch goals. Incentives to donate more money and get us to our goal faster, you know. We could offer combat footage, Sector 9 t-shirts, photos of us in swimsuit-"
"No swimsuits." KSG immediately shut down the idea. "We're not that desperate."
"Blackwood is definitely gonna kill us." Alfa muttered to herself.
"Hey, if you can't handle this, go help Lightning hold the back."
"Fine." Alfa sighed. Shooting things would at least take her mind of the impending doom that awaited them back at base. She left KSG and Honey Badger to work out the details of…whatever this was.
Alfa ran deeper into the building towards Groza's last known position. Another explosion went off, although this time the sound came from in front of Alfa instead of back near the Patroller.
"Groza, it's Alfa, I'm coming to support you."
"Thanks, we could use the help. Paradeus is using Rodeleros to-"
*CRACK*
The ground in front of Alfa erupted as a red beam shot through the concrete. Alfa fell backward, losing her grip on her rifle as she hit the ground. Groaning, Alfa slowly opened her eyes to see what had just knocked the wind out of her.
Cold, dead eyes stared back at her from a pale face. A figure towered over her, easily twice Alfa's height. This was largely thanks to two imposing stilts they used as legs. Like all Paradeus soldiers, it was clad in white armor. Over its shoulder, Alfa could see a large laser cannon mounted on the thing's back.
It was a Rodelero.
The Rodelero leaped on top of Alfa, pinning her to the ground. It pointed the laser cannon right at Alfa's head, the tip glowing red as the white enemy charged its weapon.
Confronted with her imminent demise, Alfa merely frowned, then headbutted the Rodelero in the face. The cyborg staggered back, freeing Alfa's arms. In one smooth motion, she pulled out her sidearm, an M1911, and emptied the mag into the Rodelero's face.
The cyborg fell over dead. As Alfa sat up, she spat on the corpse, leaving only one remark.
"Fuck you."
Alfa stood up and turned around, only to realize that she probably should have stayed quiet. 5 Strelets stood pointing their weapons at her. They had come out of the same hole the Rodelero had made.
Alfa quickly lunged for a nearby doorway, but what ended up saving her was a few short bursts of gunfire from behind the Strelets. All 5 quickly crumpled to the ground. From behind them walked a girl in a military uniform with a red beret and long blond hair. Alfa smirked.
"Thanks, 74M."
AK-74M stayed silent for a moment as she took in the scene. Her violet eyes eventually landed on Alfa's sidearm.
"You know, if you carried a 9mm you would've had more ammo to-"
"Oh shut up. 45 ACP is the superior caliber."
74M went quiet, choosing not to respond.
Alfa reloaded her sidearm, then grabbed her gun. She started running down the hallway.
"Your teammates are this way, right?"
"Yes. They've been ambushing us from blasting through the floor. We think they are using the sewers."
"Sneaky bastards, aren't they?"
"Indeed."
Alfa and 74M sprinted deeper into the building. As they ran, Alfa began to hear gunfire coming from a room up ahead. The pair stopped outside a closed door. After a nod from 74M, Alfa kicked the door open.
Inside, the three other members of Lightning were engaged with a group of Rodeleros and Strelets. It was two close for rifles, so sidearms, knives, and fists dominated the fight. However, the fire support from 74M and Alfa helped turn the tide. Soon, the 5 dolls stood victorious over the corpses of their attackers.
Groza, head of echelon Lightning, nodded to Alfa.
"Thanks for the help."
"No problem," replied Alfa, "any more of these guys?"
"We think that's the last of them. We should probably link up with KSG. I heard we had a Patroller problem, ri-"
*BOOOOOOOM* *BOOOOOOM*
The building shook as two large explosions went off. Echelon Lightning looked at each other nervously.
"What was that," 74M asked, "Alfa, does Paradeus have more Patrollers?"
74M turned to Alfa, only to be greeted with a stunned expression from the AR-user.
"...Fucking hell, she actually did it."
Lightning, Wolf, and Artemis all met in the now destroyed courtyard. Alfa walked up to a stoic KSG and an extremely happy Honey Badger.
"Okay, are either of you gonna explain how the fuck we managed to afford two strikes?"
"I decided that using JDAMs was better, and Honey Badger actually managed to get us a deal on the price. Apparently, the PMC we hired wants to expand their Germany operations."
Alfa let out a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.
"Oh really? And how did we meet our goal so fast."
"Oh, they REALLY wanted our stretch goal." Honey Badger grinned.
Alfa stopped laughing.
"What?"
"We offered a reward for the top donor," Honey Badger explained, oblivious to the danger. "The winner gets a date to the annual Griffin Ball." Alfa's jaw dropped.
"WHAT? A fucking DATE? How in the hell did KSG agree with this?"
"Oh, I'm not taking them. You are."
Alfa stopped. After a moment, she turned her head 180 degrees back towards KSG, almost like a scene from a certain horror movie.
"Huh?"
"Congratulations Alfa, you just got yourself a date with MDR. Thanks for taking one for the team." KSG gave another rare smirk.
…..
"MOTHER FUC-"
AN: Hello again, reader.
I took a break from 404 Christmas to write this spoiler-free comedy one-shot based on soulmuse's "Faded Glory" here on FFN. It's a great story and I highly recommend checking it out. Thanks, soul, for permission to upload this.
As mentioned at the top, this story was also inspired by a story from CIMSEC Fiction Week. If you are at all interested in the near future and sci-fi military fiction, check them out too. You can find them by searching "CIMSEC Fiction Week" on Google.
Next up, I plan to finish 404 Christmas. After that, I am planning out a longfic of a Project Wingman x GFL crossover!
As always, thank you Branded for beta-ing, and you, the reader, for taking time for reading this story.
You can come to chat with me and other GFL fanfiction authors on our Discord: discord . gg / MbZ8ryVa (Remove spaces)
See you later!