"Ow." I pull the Linker off my head for the fourth time, setting them down on the table in Springfield's recently reopened cafe and rubbing my eyes.

"No good?" S.A.T. asks.

I shake my head. "It's all just a jumble of colors." I reach for the glass of water Tokarev has been silently guarding for me and she hands it to me gracefully. "I can't make out anything."

"It's an acquired skill." SV-98 says from across the table. "Commander Gentiane said it'll take you a few days to get used to it."

"If you'd allow us to help…" P90 fiddles with her gas mask as if she's bored. Probably because she is.

"I keep telling you, no." I turn to the grumpy doll. "I can't rely on a doll being able to spare processing power in combat."

"This is why most Commanders have a T-doll adjutant." S.A.T. muses. "Zener networks weren't designed with humans in mind, and having an adjutant helps with the mental load."

"Hmm." I glare at the goggles. "Do Commanders have to worry their adjutant is going to get shot right beside them?"

"Not usually." SV-98 responds with a wince.

I pick up the device once more and hold it in front of me. After some instruction by Echelon 11, I was able to use it to give me battlefield intelligence, by which I mean a heads up display showing the status of allies, last known positions of enemies, and a real time map generated as I walk through an environment. Very useful, and SV insisted it's just like the data feed they get, but I have my doubts.

The problems only came once I tried accessing the T-doll zener network. Humans don't think as fast as T-dolls natively, so there's some sort of tech in the box in the back of the headset that helps translate nerve impulses to actions in the device. I think I watched a show about something similar and it ended poorly, but…

Well, I want to see the world as a T-doll sees it.

"Okay, once more." I wince as I pull the headset closer, already dreading the pain.

"Hey, Commander." P90 interrupts me putting the headset on, hand on top of the lenses. "You know, we don't really access level 2 in battle."

"Da." Tokarev nods. "Only the hacker dolls do so regularly."

"What they're saying is, let us help you." S.A.T. says gently.

I stare at the device for another second before acquiescing. "...Fine." I glance around. "How would you be helping, exactly?"

"Boosting the calculation space of the device." SV nods happily. "Since we can do many more calculations per second, it's like plugging the Linker into a supercomputer."

...Wouldn't that mean the dolls are supercomputers? I let the topic drop and turn to S.A.T. "Alright, let's give this a shot."

She blinks. "Me?"

"...You don't want to?"

"I don't mind." She shrugs. "Just surprised." She reaches for the goggles and starts fiddling with them.

I turn back to the table at large to see two unsatisfied faces. "What?"

"Of course he'd pick S.A.T." P90 grumbles.

"I wanted to go to level 2 with the Commander." SV-98 whines to herself.

Tokarev seems unconcerned, fiddling with my glass of water, finger tracing the smudge left by my mouth on the glass. Which I probably need to ask her to stop doing, it's a bit weird-

"Ready." S.A.T. holds out the Linker.

I take it, noticing that there's a wire heading out from the side of the headset around S.A.T.'s neck. I figure that's how she'll boost it and don't question it. I glance back to the other dolls as I slip on the headset. "I'll give you all a turn if you want it that badly."

P90 grins. "Look forward to it."

S.A.T. places her hand on my shoulder. "On your command."

I take a deep breath and brace for the pain. "Let's go."

Once, more colors surround me and I have to fight the urge to rip the headset off. Not that it would do much good with the nerve impulses intercepted by the device near the base of my skull.

However, even as the spiking pain starts jabbing into my skull, the environment clears up and the pain immediately starts to die down.

After a few more seconds, S.A.T. appears beside me. "Commander?"

"Well, it's a lot less painful, so it looks like you're helping." I look around the area I find myself in, a small building sparsely furnished and immaculately clean. It's got the look of a new home ready to be bought. "Uh, where are we?"

"Inside your Linker." S.A.T. says. "Since you haven't set anything up, it's all default at the moment. Your avatar is still just a generic Commander's avatar."

She gestures and a mirror shows up out of nowhere. I see a red G&K uniform in the Commander crimson, shiny boots, and… "Why is my head the letters 'SKK'?"

"It stands for Shikikan, which is 'Commander' in Japanese." S.A.T. responds.

"Why Japanese?"

She shrugs. "I think Persica likes Japanese. All IOP dolls can speak it from the factory."

"Okay." I stare at the mirror. "So, how do I change my avatar?"

S.A.T. proceeds to guide me through changing my avatar, setting up my virtual room, and then connecting to the network. Once we get to the last step before starting the connection, S.A.T. pauses. "Are you ready?"

The way she says it makes me a bit uneasy. "I think so."

"Okay, I'll link you to the base's network now."

Suddenly, I'm not in the cozy little room I set up for myself, but into a cartoonishly bright plaza.

Immediately, three familiar faces turn my way. SV, Tokarev, and P90.

P90 stood up off the bench she had been sitting on. "Heya, Haddy!"

"Hey P90." I look around, taking in the sights. This is like those crazy VR games I tried out once, but better. "Wow, this place is crazy."

"Yep!" SV steps up to me. "It's a popular place to hang out between missions."

"Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?" P90 asks, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"...Not particularly." I say cautiously. "I don't really know what's available to do."

She gets a great big grin. "Well, follow me then!"

I glance at S.A.T., who shrugs. "Sure, lead the way."

P90 takes the lead, painting out destinations along the way. It's kinda like a MMO in that you have to spend time going to shops for certain things. Still, it's kinda fun to walk along like I'm just out for a stroll.

Several T-dolls recognize me, despite my avatar, and chat with me for a brief moment. I make sure not to get too entrenched in conversation since P90 starts to look antsy the longer I take, but I do make time for those I recognize like M500 and AK-47.

Eventually we get to our destination. P90 gestures to the building, set up like a courthouse or library, and states "Here we are!"

Behind me, SV groans.

"Er, P90, I don't think he needs to see this right now." S.A.T. starts subtlety pulling me away from the building, but P90 swoops up to me and grabs my arm.

"Nonsense! He even told us he wanted to see this himself!"

"Uh, where is here?" I ask the excited doll.

"Griffchan! It's an anonymous place to post about stuff going on in G&K!"

"I see." I perk up slightly. "Sure, let's go."

S.A.T. sighs behind me, but she follows the rest of us in.

As I enter the room, the rest of the dolls present disappear as the room goes pitch black and suddenly I'm all alone with a text box hovering in the air in front of me.

"ENTER USERNAME:"

A keyboard floats up from the floor.

Hmm… P90 said it's anonymous…

I type in some text and hit confirm, then it asks me to pick an avatar. I scroll through a few generic models before just hitting the random button. The blackness melts away as soon as I press the button and light floods my vision.

My avatar I spent the last fifteen minutes customizing disappears to be replaced by a gray fox avatar. I decide not to question it as I notice some other people sitting around a table in the library that I find myself in. The light heralds the return of the headache as well and I brace myself against a scowl.

I approach them, though once I get within comfortable talking distance, I realize that these might not be my group. I glance at their usernames…

Squirrel, танцор, S.A.T. and 5n!p3r.

I turn to S.A.T., whose avatar is a bland looking businessman. "I don't think you get the whole anonymous thing." My voice is kinda pitched weird, sounding nothing like I usually do.

"I did it so you'd be able to find me." S.A.T. shrugs, her voice gone and replaced by a very boring drone of a tired, middle aged man.

Squirrel steps up, with an avatar of a squirrel, but human height. "So, let me give you the tour."

I take a second to examine her and decide that with the hooded assassin "5n!p3r" probably being SV and the Russian characters over the ballerina being Tokarev, this is probably P90.

She does look kinda like a squirrel with her hair in those small pigtails, doesn't she?

"Alright, where too?" I gesture for P90 to lead.

"First, let's go see the news." P90 turns and points up the stairs leading to the second floor.

As we walk, I turn to the ballerina. "So, what does your name say? I can't read Russian."

"It says 'dancer' and is pronounced 'Tantsor'." She responds in… a remarkably similar voice to her normal one.

"It suits you."

"Spasiba."

SV leans over, her male avatar's face hidden from sight despite the ample lighting. "We're supposed to be disguising ourselves, you know?" Her voice is deep, with heavy electronic distortion applied over it.

I give her a look. "You're 'Sniper'. I could have picked you out of a crowd of a hundred avatars."

"Well… fine." She crosses her arms.

"Yours isn't exactly subtle either, Commander." S.A.T. glances at me.

"What's wrong with 'Explosion bait'?" I ask indignantly.

"We're here." P90 points to a room. "Just head in there and try not to give away who you are."

"Got it." I take a breath and step into the room.

A fairy flies up to me immediately. "Hey! A new face."

I glance at the fairy. "Hello."

"Didja hear the news yet?"

I let the irritation from the headache seep into my voice. "No, or else why would I be here?"

"Sheesh, you don't have to bite my head off." The fairy gripes. "It's just, the new Field Agent is going to be forming a team for a top secret mission!"

Eh? Top secret? "Really?" I try to respond like I had no idea.

"Yeah! We're all discussing who's likely to go. Rumor is that it's a stealth mission."

"I see. Maybe I should volunteer." I scratch my elongated chin, which feels… very weird. "Where do I sign up?"

"According to those two-" The fairy points to two wolves perched in the center of the room. "-You have to get Hadwin to select you personally, so we're developing strategies."

I glance at the fairy's username, which is 'Candyfloss'. "And which strategies are winning?"

"Well, group A over there says they're going to find him and ask him straight up, but group B over there says that they have to do something sneaky to prove they're stealthy." She points to two loose collections of avatars.

"Huh." I cross my arms. "Nobody's planning on sneaking along?"

"Oh, there are, but I think most of those people are trying to get in legitimately first. After all, if you get onto the guest list, you get to wear a nice dress and maybe dance with Hadwin!"

I try to keep my face neutral. "What are you aiming for?"

"Oh, I'm not suited for fancy parties." Candyfloss waves her hand dismissively. "I'm having a lot more fun seeing what everyone else is doing. Speaking of which-" She whips a notebook out of literally nowhere and poises a pencil like a reporter preparing to take down notes. "What camp are you in?"

"Eh…" I try to put myself into a T-dolls shoes, but I don't really care about putting on a dress or dancing with myself… "Maybe I'll go with being on the serving staff."

She gives me a curious look. "Serving staff?"

"Yeah. There's five spots for guests and five for serving staff positions."

"Huh." She turns to everyone in the room. "Hey! This person says there's five more positions open!"

"Really?" An avatar of a punk rock looking dude steps up. "First I'm hearing of it."

"I as well." I turn to the most recent voice with trepidation. A light, lilting voice belonging to a red-eyed wolf. With her piercing glare, I assume this has to be AK-12, but her username is 'Snow'. "My handler told me there was five spots for infiltration open."

Candyfloss looks between us, a glint to her eye that tells me she's enjoying this immensely.

The punk rocker cracks his knuckles. "Yo, 'fess up. How'd you get this info?"

"The Commander told me." I respond calmly.

"He did, did he?" Snow's eyes narrow dangerously. "Hmm."

I meant Commander Gentiane, but that works. "Yes." I allow a smirk over the fox avatar's face. "Seeing as he actually trusts me with information."

I don't really remember the next few seconds. It's all a really, really painful jumble and the next thing I manage to focus on is a glass of water being held before my eyes. I'm back in Springfield's cafe, in the real world once again.

And now I have a massive headache, a lot worse than it was earlier.

"Commander, are you okay?" SV-98 asks, worriedly grabbing my shoulder.

"What... happened?" I mumble, gratefully accepting the glass of water Tokarev is holding out.

"Snow tried to probe your neural cloud." P90's even present smile is gone. "Sorry, I forgot to warn you about that."

"He doesn't even have a neural cloud though." SV tilts her head. "Was it feedback from the Linker?"

"Bleh." I down the glass of water, pulling off the headset with my free hand. "Is there a way to stop that from happening?"

"I mean, Snow's out of line. You don't just do that." SV crosses her arms. "Though, even a doll like Uzi would do better at defending herself from a light poke like that."

"I guess we need to train Haddy on cyber warfare…" P90 looks up like the answers might be written on the ceiling. "Who to ask…"

I think to 404 and my failure in making up with 45. I have an idea of how to apologize that I thought of during my therapy session, if I can get her to listen to me. Maybe, if she's not super pissed at me forever, she'll help me in the cyber warfare department.

Or maybe she'll fry my brain.

"Well, it's probably time to head out." I announce. "I have to head to the supply depot to grab some stuff."

"But you didn't even get your food yet." S.A.T. tilts her head. "We've only been here for ten minutes."

"Oh come on, we were in that for like an hour." I gesture to the Linker on the table.

Tokarev touches my shoulder lightly, drawing my attention. "Your thoughts are accelerated to doll thinking speeds inside of the Linker." She says quietly. "Look at the clock."

She's right. "...That's crazy." I hold the Linker up. "It's getting scarier by the minute."

Springfield stops by, dropping off a few slices of cake and two small white pills next to a glass of water. She sets the pills and water in front of me. "For the headache."

"Thank you." I briefly considered the pills which look like aspirin… Whatever, I toss them in my mouth and follow it with a generous gulp of water. Actually, who told her I had a headache?

"So…" P90's smile returns somewhat. "Ten dolls for your squad, huh?"

"Yeah." I frown. "I have AK-12 and AN-94… who both want to be on the guest side of things by appearances." I scratch my head. "Do any of you want to go?"

Tokarev nods, but the other three hesitate.

"Wouldn't you rather work with other dolls?" S.A.T. asks. "There's more of us to choose from now that we're in a more secure position."

"Yeah." SV scratches her face. "There's a lot of dolls that would like to participate, just judging by the newsroom."

I shrug. "Well, I know you four. It'd make me feel better if you were along for the ride."

SV's face falls. "I don't think I'll be of much use though. I get too focused on details. It would be kinda fun though…"

"I'm not really suited to parties." S.A.T. murmurs. "I guess I could go in as part of the wait staff, I enjoy cooking for people."

"If you want me there, I'll go." P90 shrugs. "Though, I might wear a suit instead of a dress. You can wear my dress instead!"

I smirk through the throbbing headache. "But I didn't shave my legs this morning."

"That's your objection?" I turn to see Commander Gentaine standing with a cup of coffee held in her hands, the steam caressing her face. "At least acknowledge you're not supposed to stick out."

I turn back to P90. "I don't think a dress designed for you would keep me modest."

"Maybe… Hey, come over to the dorms later and we'll see!" She responds, grin growing wider.

Commander Gentiane groans and SV-98 strangely starts leaking coolant from her nose.

"Hadwin, we're moving the schedule up a bit." Gentiane says after a second to recover. "We need the wait staff team sooner so we can get them inserted in time to blend in. They're hiring temp workers for this event and I want to get the echelon in by the end of the day."

"Well, I have one so far." I point to S.A.T., who nods politely.

"Pick four more by 1300 and send me an email with your selection." She sips her coffee. "S.A.T., is your new chassis working well?"

"One hundred percent, Commander!" S.A.T. grins.

Oh yeah. She needed to get put into a new body. I need to apologize for that.

"Good. Glad to have you on the team." She starts walking past us, but turns back. "Oh, yeah, I need you to talk with RO and M4 when you have the chance."

I blink at her. "Sure. Why?"

"Now that you can use your Linker, I have some equipment I want you to learn to use, I asked RO to set it up for you." She sighs. "I think Sop may have gotten to it though."

"Riiiiiight." I glance at my phone. "I'll do that after picking more dolls for waitress duty."

"Maybe miss 36?" SV muses aloud.

"Nah, she's busy being Commander Gentiane's adjutant." P90 shoots down SV's suggestion. "Hey Haddy, when are you going to pick an adjutant?"

"Field Agent's don't get adjutants." Commander Gentaine sips her coffee. "Though, if you're fine doing that in addition to your other orders…"

"I'll… think about it." I hold my head in my hands. "I hope the headache pills set in soon."

"Ta-da!" Sop rips the green cloth covering off the vaguely humanoid form, revealing… a hollow metal frame in the shape of a person.

I had finished selecting a few dolls who had applied for the waitress echelon and then reported to the area Commander Gentiane told me RO was working on… whatever. She was right about Sop being there though.

I stare at the metal frame for a few seconds. Maybe it's just the last remnants of the headache from the Linker, but I fail to see what Sop's so excited about. "Okay...?"

Beside me, 15 rolls her eyes. "It's an exo suit, Commander."

"Yep!" Sop taps it proudly. "RO and I fixed it right up, so now you're less likely to die in combat, especially since I can't go with you this time."

"I see."

RO steps up beside it. "I was talking with Commander Gentiane, she told me you have a Linker now?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Plug it into the exo suit and step back into it." She instructs.

Sure enough, when I plug the Linker into the exo suit, it opens up to accept me stepping into it. Using the Linker in head's up display mode is a lot less stressful and as I plug in the power cable it jumps to life with readouts about the state of the exo suit. It flies past me too fast for me to see and I end up ignoring it in favor of the doll in front of me.

"Now-" RO helps adjust the suit as it snaps to my arms and legs. "-we're going to have to calibrate it to your movements. Start out slow-"

"Screw that!" Sop's hand pushes me from behind, forcing me to step forwards or fall flat on my face.

As I step forwards, the exo suit swings my leg forwards harder than I expected, almost hyperextending my leg. The sudden shift in weight throws me off balance and I step forwards twice more, each step dangerously close to sending me over before I lose the battle against gravity and careen into a desk covered in small metal bits.

"Owwww."

"Sop!" RO snaps at her teammate.

"Wh-OUCH!"

15 steps up to me. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." My chest still hurts from the cracked rib, but that's nothing new.

She offers me a hand up and I gratefully accept it, though once she pulls me to my feet I almost go straight back down to the floor. The exo-suit is forcing me to overcorrect back and forth.

RO stops admonishing Sop and glances my direction. "Make sure to limit yourself to small movements. The suit is reading your nerves and amplifying your strength, so you don't need to walk as hard."

"O-okay." I try to take a few steps, only to have 15 catch me as I stumble into her.

We spend the next half an hour just trying to get me used to the device, but at the end of it, all I have to show is some new sore joints.

M4 had joined up at some point while I was busy flailing around, and by the time I pulled myself out of the suit she and RO were chatting quietly about something.

I leave the open exo standing upright and collapse onto the floor, deciding that the cool concrete wasn't so bad after all.

15 sits down next to me. "It takes practice, you don't have to worry about getting it right immediately."

"Yeah?" I grumble. "It's probably the only thing I don't have to worry about then."

"Oh?"

"Let's see. I still have to pick three dolls for a fancy party and I can't pick you because Commander Gentiane said no. I need to plan a heist for said party with a bunch of dolls, led by one that currently hates me for sticking my foot in my mouth. I need to learn how to use the exo suit, figure out how to use my new gun, replace all the supplies I used or lost…" I sigh. "And figure out how to access level 2 without giving myself an aneurysm."

"I see." She rests her chin in her hand as she looks down at me. "Sounds like you need an adjutant."

"Commander Gentiane already said no to that too." I wave her comment away half-heartedly. "Besides, I don't know who would be comfortable hanging out in my headspace for so long."

"I don't know…"

M4 steps up, RO right behind her. "Hadwin."

"Yes, that's me." I sit up, muscles complaining the entire way.

"We may have a solution to some of those issues." She continues once she has my attention. "Commander Kylie and I spent some time investigating this." She holds out a doll core.

I accept it, noting that it's active, light pulsing slowly along one side. "Who is it?"

"This is the doll you rescued from the warehouse in Sector 3." RO says. "She expressed an interest in working with you, but didn't want to be put into any of our spare doll frames, or even a dummy."

Dummy?

M4 continues before I can ask them to elaborate. "With your permission, we'll plug her into your Linker and she'll provide aid in accessing level 2, in addition to aiding you in the use of the exo suit. She's been given access to the G&K servers to help you catch up to speed as well."

"Really? That sounds really helpful." I frown. "But, is she alright with that? I mean, I don't even know her name."

"She said she'll tell you her name herself." M4 states. "And she wants to return the favor for rescuing her."

"...Okay." I shrug. "If she doesn't mind, I'll give it a try."

M4 reaches out a hand for the Linker and I hand it to her. She opens a panel on the back of the box that sits on the neck and presses the cube into it. "Try it now."

"Sure." I slide the headset on, then turn it on.

The data readouts show up the same way they did the last few times I turned it on.

I glance around the data streams for a few seconds. Nothing's changed… "Hello?"

"Greetings, Hadwin Galanis." A cool, neutral voice greets me. "Online and ready to assist."

"Glad to hear it." I hesitate. "You're the doll that was trafficked into sector 3, right?"

"That is correct. I would like to thank you for rescuing me."

"That's more UMP 45…" I trail off. "Well, glad to have you in any case. Have a name?"

"My previous designation was Aleah."

"Aleah, then." I walk over to the exo suit and strap myself into it as M4 had instructed me. "Ready?"

"Yes sir."

I plug the headset into the frame and wait as it initializes once more. "Alright, taking a step." I take a step forward… and it's a normal step. Rather, it's unaided, the exo suit basically still off. "Huh? Did something disconnect?" I reach for the cable and lightly tug it to see if it's still connected properly.

"With a dedicated AI, you can spend some time training it on how you walk around." RO states. "If you wear the exo suit for a while, it can slowly start assisting you without having you suddenly fall over."

"So I have to wear this for a while?" I frown. "I guess that will work. Aleah, looks like you'll be stuck with me for a little while."

"Of course, sir."

"With that-" M4 speaks up. "-we're needed for our mission."

Sopmod turns around. "Aw, but Haddy hasn't even started to use his power armor yet! I was waiting for him to get used to it so I can add some stuff!"

"Next time, Sop." RO sighs.

15 steps up to me. "Be safe, Hadwin."

I lower my voice so only she'll be able to hear it. "You too, Star."

She smiles and follows her sisters out of the room.

"The pink haired doll is called Star?" The cool voice asks, tone neutral.

"Ah. Forgot you were there already." I shake my head. "No, she's AR-15."

"I see. Updating definitions."

"...So, I guess it's onto the next task, hmm?" I pull out my cell phone to pull up my list of tasks, only for the task list to appear in the goggles.

"M4 SOPMOD II provided me with the access credentials to your phone so that I may integrate that information cleanly."

"..."

"I see you are unhappy about this. I can delete the data and connection credentials."

"No, that's fine." I sigh. "You're supposed to be helping me, so I should make your job easier if I can, right?"

"There is no need to defer to my wishes, sir."

Oh, this is going to be a treat.

I check the next item on the list and read it aloud. "'Resupply.' Right, I need more rations and stuff." A map appears in the corner of my vision, leading me right to the indicated warehouse.

...This is going to be interesting. Without taking off the exo suit, I leave the doll repair facility. I get some odd looks, but nobody stops me. It's a quick trip into the warehouse indicated and I quickly grab the supplies, careful to mark down what I have requisitioned.

Then I returned to my room with the items and packed everything back into the backpack so it'd be ready, adjusting the straps of the pack to fit over the exo suit.

Once everything's all squared away, I focus my eyes on text floating in the air and contemplate my list.

The next real task I have written down is to attend a meeting with Commander Gentaine and Commander Mikhail about the upcoming operation. That's later, around 1600. It's only 1400 right now, so I have two hours to find the rest of my team for the operation.

I have the two from DEFY with me as guests and the five for the wait staff picked out leaving me with three remaining slots. Anti-Rain's off the table, 404's already on the mission… Most of echelon 11 seemed unenthusiastic.

"Who does that leave?" I mutter out loud. "Maybe some of the people from Echelon 2…"

"Would you like me to provide a list of available assets?" Aleah asks.

"Mmmm… sure."

Instantly, my vision is flooded with hundreds of little windows, each displaying the face of a T-doll. I recognize a few here and there, and as soon as I register them as familiar, Aleah puts them aside into a group labeled 'Known entities'. All of the others are sorted by some categorization I'm not immediately able to follow. When the files stop shifting around, I finally read all of the labels. There's 'Known entities' as mentioned earlier, as well as 'Poor', 'Neutral', 'Stealth', 'Infiltration', 'Best suited' and 'Unavailable'.

Unsurprisingly, most dolls fall into the 'Poor' category. More than I would have thought went into 'Neutral', but my eyes are drawn to the other few categories. Under 'Stealth', there's mostly Rifles and Assault Rifles. Aleah helpfully mentions that this category is more for if I wanted them to work with 404.

'Infiltration' is where things start to get interesting. The profiles include some extra information about clothing habits, general demeanor, and how well they can act. Not every doll has this info, and I wonder how they determine it. The only doll I recognize after a second look through is the silver-haired one with the pink and blue eyes, 'MDR' the tag says. There's a note that she's a prankster and I immediately decide not to let her come along.

In 'Best suited', the majority of the options are rifles, with the odd SMG and AR thrown in.

Aleah throws the dolls I had recognized earlier into their respective categories and there's a few in 'Best' that surprise me.

Namely, 9A-91 and P90.

Upon further reading, the soft spoken doll that almost ripped my arm out of its socket is actually one of the more proficient dolls during night missions. She's got an impressive record and used to work with humans as an escort, which somewhat explains her choice of attire. She apparently has a very nice collection of clothes she uses for formal events and knows how to interact with people easily.

P90, well, P90 apparently has a full vocal disguise module. She has complete control of her voice, unlike most dolls that have a preset tone, and she can apply a hologram to herself for longer periods of time if she's not busy with combat. Basically, she can be anyone at any time.

...I need to ask her if she's really not interested in going, she seemed kind of non-commital.

"If I may, I can suggest a few candidates based on your familiarity and general skill." Aleah comments.

"You're very handy to have around." I flick my eyes around, realizing just how long it's going to take to sort through these. "Sure, show me what you think would be a good group."

Three cards enlarge to consume the majority of my vision. To my surprise, M200 is on the list, along with P90 and a doll I've never met, OTs-14.

"M200 is familiar with you, is known to dress nicely, and she's able to bring her rifle on premises with her guitar case, providing much needed firepower in an emergency." Aleah starts reading the assessment to me. "She's well versed with working with humans, especially musically. She might be able to perform an impromptu concert to aid in a distraction."

"Good. I already know P90 so I'll ask her about this in a bit. Meanwhile, what's the deal with OTs-14?"

"OTs-14, nicknamed 'Groza' or 'The Night Queen' is an assault rifle particularly suited to night-time operations. She's skilled with interacting with humans and has participated in infiltration type missions previously. She's probably the best suited doll for this operation."

"I see." I lick my lips. "I'll have to ask her if she wants to join."

"Would you like to enter level 2?"

"I can't do that without…" I blink. "Oh, right, you can help me with that. Are some of those dolls in level 2 right now?"

"Both OTs-14 and P90 are currently inside the Zener network. I can help you locate them if you'd like."

"Please." I lie down on my bed and close my eyes before Aleah initiates the entrance into level 2. A burst of colors assaults my eyes, but it rapidly transforms into something I can process visually.

I'm back in the Griffchan building, once more disguised as a random creature, this time as a gargoyle. Next to me, a porcupine that comes up to my waist tugs on my hawaiian shirt to get my attention before pointing to the door out.

I decide not to question why the gargoyle is wearing a hawaiian shirt and follow the porcupine out.

Once out the door, I return to my normal avatar, and the porcupine turns into a mannequin.

"P90 is located in the game section and OTs-14 is currently in the library. Which one would you like to go after first?" Aleah's voice in here is perfectly flat, matching her blank avatar.

"...Let's go with OTs-14 first." I decide. "I'm fairly certain I can talk to P90 outside of the Zener network if I need to, but I wouldn't know where to even start looking for OTs-14."

The mannequin gestures for me to follow it and I obligingly fall in line.

As we walk, I realize I can't read her username, the characters unfamiliar to me. I briefly puzzle over them before deciding not to pry.

"It's Arabic." She responds to my unspoken question. "عليّة is just 'Aleah' in my native script."

"I see." I laugh nervously. "Sorry about that, I keep forgetting you can basically read my mind right now, what with the Linker hooked directly to you."

"Do not worry, I can't read everything, just surface thoughts. I also do not mind answering some questions, though I do ask you to respect my privacy in others."

"Of course. If I think anything stupid, feel free to ignore me." I give the mannequin a wan smile.

"Yes sir."

We make it to the library quickly and Aleah steps aside, gesturing for me to head in ahead of her. I comply, opening up the doors to find a small computer screen and a door on the other side.

I was expecting something closer to what the Griffchan building was and this threw me for a loop. The terminal asks what topic I want to read about, then instructs me to enter the door to head to that section of the library.

In other words, an overcomplicated search function.

"I wonder where OTs-14 is." I muse.

"The spaces inside of here are not linked." Aleah informs me. "Even if we attempted to access the same section of the library, we would not be put in a space we could mutually converse. Instead, I suggest we contact her and have her come to us."

"...Yes, let's do that." I sigh. "I want a T-doll user manual so I can stop learning this stuff on the fly."

My rhetorical request is answered by the terminal in the center of the room lighting up and I suddenly have a book floating in front of me. The title reads, "IOP A-doll operation and service manual."

I grab the book and a download bar starts in the corner of my vision. I guess I'll have some reading for later. If I ever get the time.

"Shall I initiate a conversation with OTs-14?" Aleah asks after a few more seconds of me staring at the cover of the book.

"Hmm? Oh, yes." I straighten myself up. "Please and thanks."

A few seconds pass before a face with blond hair and yellow eyes appears in the air beside me. "Hello?"

"Ah, OTs-14, correct?"

"That is me. Who is inquiring?"

"I'm Field Agent Hadwin Galanis." I nod politely. "I'm sorry to interrupt your reading, but I would like to ask you a few things. Would you mind coming out of the library so I can talk to you face to face?"

"I wouldn't mind in the slightest. I will be right out."

The connection closes and I sigh. "Well, that's promising."

"Yes." Aleah moves to the wall and stands stock still, her mannequin form making her look like an out of place decoration.

Before long, OTs-14 walks through the door, notices me, and steps over. "Field Agent?"

I nod. "Thank you for meeting with me." I open my mouth to continue, only to realize- I've been so focused on finding candidates, I never really thought about what to tell them. "Er… I have a mission tomorrow night, an infiltration mission, and your name came up when I was looking for candidates."

"I see."

"S-so I figured I'd ask if you were interested in joining. It's a party, so you'll have to wear a nice dress, but we're there to provide cover for an infiltration by 404. We're stealing a diamond or something, but if all goes well we'll probably just be standing around doing nothing for an evening." I realize I'm starting to babble, but she's pointing her cool gaze at me as if to reproach me for daring to speak to her. "If you don't want to-"

"If you'll have me, I would like to go." She nods once. "It sounds like a lovely time."

"...Really?"

"Of course. I am not one to make jokes. Though, I do have to check with Commander Gentiane, as I may be needed elsewhere."

"Understandable." I say, relief creeping into my voice. "If you can make it, we have a meeting in that meeting building at 1600, if you can't, please send me a message so I can look for other candidates."

"I understand, Field Agent. May I go back to my reading?"

"Feel free. I appreciate you meeting with me."

She nods and turns back to enter the door of the library, passing through, leaving Aleah and I alone in the entrance.

"That went easier than I expected it to." I mumble.

"P90 next?"

"Yeah." I scratch my head. "Gotta talk to her and see if she's game."

"Mmmm… Nah, I'll sit this one out."

I stare at the Squirrel who is currently sitting next to me in a seat overlooking a stadium. Down below, people are holding duels where they battle with large pads on sticks that resemble cotton swabs, attempting to knock each other off of the platform they stand on. When a contestant is knocked off, they disappear and the winner faces the next challenger.

The one currently winning, having already taken down four opponents and working on her fifth, is the avatar of a famous female fighter from an old arcade game. Her latest opponent is a hulking brute of cancerous flesh that just screams 'biohazardous'. The crowd cheers as he swings his weapon and the female fighter is forced to take a step closer to the edge.

"Seriously?" I ask P90. "I looked at your file, and to be honest you're pretty much perfect for this."

She sighs, an odd look for a four foot tall squirrel. "I don't really want to." She shrugs, another weird movement, before continuing. "I will if you command me too, though."

"Eh…" I don't want to force her to do it. "No, if you really don't want to, I'll find someone else." I puff out my lips and turn to the mannequin. "Who's next on the list if P90's out?"

"That would be 9A-91." Aleah informs me.

"Is she available to talk?"

"Uh…" P90 taps my shoulder. "Isn't that the doll that almost ripped your arm off and almost choked you with some food?"

"Yeah." I had forgotten about the food incident. I turn back to Aleah. "Is she in level 2 right now?"

Aleah shakes her head. "She's currently in her dorm room."

"You're giving up already?" P90 asks.

I turn back to her, confused. "You said no."

"Yeah, but… you're allowed to command me to do things. You're my superior."

"I guess." I blink. "Buuuuut you said you didn't want to go. I'll see who else wants to go first and only if I can't get anyone else I'll circle back to you since you're one of the best candidates."

"...Huh." She frowns. "I'm a good candidate?"

"You can disguise yourself at will, impersonate other people, and you're one of my best friends in G&K." I shrug. "Seems obvious to me."

She contemplates this for a minute. "Okay then, I'll do it on one condition."

I blink at her. "If you don't want to-"

She stands up on her seat to lean over me slightly, paws balled in excitement. "Come on, it's not anything hard to do."

If it wasn't hard, you'd just tell me what it was. "I don't know…"

"Please? I promise you won't regret it."

"I've never had anyone say that to me and not regretted it." I snark back at her.

The squirrel's face contorts into a grin. "Well, you'll just have to see then."

I hesitate, considering my options. On one hand, a squirrel that's intentionally being cryptic, and on the other, an exhibitionist that almost ripped my arm out of its socket and choked me-

"Fine, you're on." She grins and I quickly try to cover my bases. "It can't be anything that ties me up for too long, there's a lot of work I need to get done before the mission."

"Oh, just come to my room right before bed." She stands up. "I'll get everything ready and be available for the meeting at 1600."

"Uh-"

"And if you don't cooperate, you're gonna have to order me to come with. Better be prepared." I'm unable to react before she takes off, disappearing as she disconnects from the Zener network.

"I… I might be screwed."

"In more ways than one." Aleah comments in a deadpan.

I glare at her, but stand up as well. Nice to know Aleah has a sense of humor somewhere in there. "Let's go talk to M200. If we have everyone picked out sooner rather than later, I might get to relax for five minutes."

"M200 is currently residing in her dorm. Calling her."

"I- thanks." She's not being commanding, she can just read my mind. This is kind of hard to get used to.

After what feels like a minute or two, M200's face appears in the air. "Commander?"

"Hey M200, have some time to chat?"

She tilts her head. "I guess? I was just practicing my guitar."

"Perfect. I actually wanted to ask you about that." I say. "Do you mind if I come over, or we can meet somewhere else if you'd rather."

"No, here's fine." She hesitates. "Do you know where the Doll dorms are?"

"Yes I do. Give me some time and I'll be there."

"Okay, see you soon."

The connection cuts.

I glance back down at the fighting pit, only to see the blue fighter has gotten her advantage back and managed to knock the hulking biomass into the pit, only for another challenger to show up.

Good luck, miss fighter.

I turn away from the fight and head out of the arena already thinking about what to say to M200, only to be interrupted by an avatar I don't recognize walking up to me.

It's a human woman in form, with dark skin, purple hair, and yellow cat-like eyes. "Commander!" she calls, drawing my attention back out of my thoughts almost as soon as I entered them.

"Can I help you?" I ask the new arrival. I glance upwards and note her nametag reads 'Yoru'.

"Maybe. I wanted to know if there's any spots left in your mission. I heard there's gonna be a party and wanted to join in."

I shake my head. "Not right now… though, both of my candidates I've talked to so far are maybes. I can put you down as a candidate if someone drops out."

"Sounds good to me!" She grins.

"Okay." I pull up the menu and prepare to send a message to myself for later. "Er, I'm not familiar with your avatar, so if you could tell me your name?"

"You agreed without knowing who I am?" She doubles over in a fit of laughter. "Holy crap, you're great!"

I glance at Aleah by my side, and she shrugs.

The woman straightens up, still grinning. "I'm AEK-999. We met before."

"Ah!" I remember her introduction from my first day. "Well, I'll certainly contact you if I have a spot open."

"Thanks, Commander!" She waves and heads into the arena.

"AEK-999 was not assessed favorably in comparison to most other dolls in infiltration skills. It's likely she will be more of a nuisance than a help during the operation." Aleah comments from beside me. "She's more of a heavy combat type."

"I see." My eye twitches. "Then I guess I better be convincing to M200."

We return to my home area, log out, and as the real world sets in I find myself staring at my ceiling. This time there's no crushing headache after leaving the Linker, but I wasn't forcefully ejected this time either. The old headache is still there, but it's no worse for my time in level 2.

Almost as soon as I am aware, a map appears in the corner of my vision, instructing me of my destination. Once again, Aleah's a step ahead of me.

I sit up, smoothing out my jacket as much as I can underneath the exoskeleton. I don't really feel the weight of the metal anymore, but I'm not sure if it's just because I got used to the suit or if Aleah's assisting.

In any case, I need to get moving. I push out the door, glancing at the other people walking around. I quickly realize that I don't know most of them, and that's probably because most of them are human. I haven't spent too much time with the human element which looks like it might even be larger than the T-doll presence here.

Sector 3 is a big city compared to most places nowadays, but there's not really that many places to go. Live there for 20 years and you recognize someone everywhere you go. By contrast, I know none of these people. A few of them glance in my direction as I walk past, but they all look away quickly. I don't know if it's the Exo suit or what, but they don't really seem to be willing to have eye contact.

I should probably try talking to some humans now and then. Maybe get Ricardo to introduce me to some of them. He's pretty friendly with the people here. Or maybe Kalina.

In any case, I approach the T-doll dorms to find some unfamiliar… well, I'll assume they're all dolls for now, but I'll keep an open mind in case any of them are human, Kalina's earlier admonition still fresh in my mind. In any case, the girls are clogging the staircase into the building.

I recognize AEK-999 though. She waves a hand at me lazily as I approach. "Hey, Commander."

"Hi, AEK-999. Left Level 2 already?"

"Just call me AEK." She ignores my question and gestures to the four women around her. "This is my squad."

The girl with the green twin-tails sighs. "We perform together. We're not a squad."

"We're not?" The silver blue haired one turns to the green haired one, eyes watering.

"We are." A doll dressed up like a robot cat responds. Fairly sure she's a doll with the moving tail and that getup. "Even if we're in different Echelons, we're a squad."

"Now now." The last doll attempts to calm the others down. "No need to fight over semantics."

I stare at AEK, who's grin just gets all the wilder in the chaos. "My squad." She repeats.

"I see." I point to the door that they're blocking. "Can I get past?"

"Nah."

I stare at the grinning doll. "Why not?"

"I was doing some thinking and I realized that I kinda really want to go to that party. Seems like it'd be fun." She stands up casually. "Soooo… I figured we'd have a contest for that spot!"

I continue to stare at her blankly. "...No?"

"Aw, come on!" She wheedles. "It'll be fun!"

"I already told you I'll let you on if someone else says no." I remind her.

"Well, yeah, but I want in for sure!"

I glance at her teammates, but the green haired one just shakes her head. "She's impossible to dissuade."

"I see." I eye AEK. "So, you're not going to get out of my way?"

"Nope." She grins. "Hey, it's not like I'm forcing you to add me to the mission, I just want to have a contest so I can prove my skills."

I glance at the metal building that is my objective before looking back at her. "Let's pretend I'm considering it. What would this contest be?"

She claps her hands together excitedly. "Well obviously a music battle!"

A music battle. "Are you telling me you want to compete with music?"

"Yeah! You gather a band, I already have mine, and we decide if I get to go or not with rock!" She gets really excited, almost vibrating in place with energy.

"I don't play any instruments." I grimace. "And I only know one doll that can play music."

"Well, I'll give you some time to get a team together." She provides gracefully. "So what do you say?"

"...Sure." I accede. "Give me a few days to form a band, and I'll have a competition with you."

She reaches out and grabs my hand, shaking it to seal the deal, only once she has that she stops in place. "Wait, if you spend a few days forming a band-"

"Oh darn, I guess it'll be after the mission. Shame. We'll have to have the bet be about something else. Now, if you would-" I let the full hurt of my headache drive an angry expression. "Let me pass."

All five dolls simultaneously step out of the way.

I pass them all by, noticing how they remain stock still until I'm halfway through the door.

"We're still gonna have that rock contest!" AEK yells unnecessarily loudly. "And when I win, I'm gonna make a demand of you, and you better not refuse!"

"Yeah, yeah." I wave at her over my shoulder, not bothering to look back.

"Commander?"

I glance to the side to see M200 poking her head out of a door.

"Hey M200. Sorry, I got held up."

"I saw." She fiddles with her hands. "What would you like to talk with me about?"

"I wanted to know if you would like to come with me on the mission tomorrow night."

A bunch more doors open and subtly glowing eyes glare at me from all angles.

"Um, come inside." M200 opens the door wider and I retreat from the swarm of eyes.

Inside, the dorm looks surprisingly nice. It looks like the dolls made an effort to make it feel like a home of sorts. There's decorations hanging here and there, including a big road sign hanging on one wall.

Also in the room is P7, Type 92, and NZ95. I guess the dolls share dorms with their echelons, though that makes me wonder what happens if they're not in an echelon…

M200 points towards one corner, which has a bed and a desk, with a guitar and case sitting on the bed. She sits on the edge of the bed, gesturing for me to sit on her desk chair, which I accept.

"Hey! HEY!" P7 runs up to me. "Are you really going on a spy mission?!"

I eye the mischievous doll. "Sorry, but I'm no spy. I don't think I could handle a mission that important."

"Then, what do you want to talk to M200 about?" NZ75 squints at me.

I hesitate. "Well… I need her skills for my mission."

"But you said-" P7 starts to whine, but I cut her off.

"I said it wasn't a spy mission." I turn back to M200, staring at her mystified expression for a second or two. "Uh, maybe this place is too public."

"No, we will leave." Type 92 says shortly, before grabbing a protesting P7 by her habit and nodding to NZ75.

For her part, NZ75 gives me a vaguely threatening look. "Hey, M. If he does anything sketchy, yell for us and we'll come running."

"Okay." M200 says quietly.

NZ75 backs away a few steps before leaving the room herself.

"Sorry about them." M200 says as soon as the door closes. "I wasn't sure what you wanted and I think I gave them the impression you were trying to force me to go out with you."

"...Well, that explains the sudden hostility." I grumble. "No, I just wanted to ask you if you'd like to come with me on this mission."

"I get a choice?" She looks truely mystified.

"...Yes. It's a high society party that we're infiltrating. You'd be expected to wear a dress and bring your rifle with you in case of emergencies. Also, if we need a non-violent distraction, we might need you to play some music."

"I see." She tilts her head. "Is… that all?"

"I guess? You might need to talk with people and we're technically there to support 404 in stealing a gem." I sigh. "It's a whole thing, Commander Gentiane hasn't fully explained it to me yet either. We're going to have a meeting before dinner and I guess you'd learn the rest then."

"I thought you were going to give me a very risky mission, with how you gave me a choice." She relaxes visibly and I realize she's been pretty tense since I arrived. "If it's just a party and some security duty, that should be a piece of cake."

"So, that's a yes?" I confirm.

"Yes." She nods, a small smile gracing her features. "I look forward to it."

"Great. 1600, meeting building. Look for the room with… a whole lot of people." I sigh once again. "Sometimes I wish I had more concrete instructions."

"Before you go…" She hesitates. "Can you help me pick out a dress?"

"I'm not sure I'm qualified to do that." I scratch my still bearded face. "But if you really want me to, I can try."

She nods, standing up and pulling open a nearby trunk. Out comes three dresses, which she carefully lays out on the bed. "I don't know what you're wearing, but it's probably best if everyone coordinates what we wear."

"I'm gonna be wearing a suit."

She gives me a look. It looks kind of funny on her innocent face.

I hastily added to my statement. "It's a dark maroon, almost black. The undershirt is white, and a black tie. It also has a black cufflinks and shoes."

She looks back at her choices. "I guess the blue one is out. Black or red?" She holds the two selections up for me to get a good look at them.

The red one has a lot of frills, layered and flaring out like some kind of flower. It doesn't appear to have a back and I can imagine a cartoon princess wearing it. By contrast, the black dress is a lot more subtle and a lot shorter. This one has shoulder straps and a belt right around the stomach. On further inspection, it has a second, slightly longer and transparent layer underneath.

Honestly, they're both nice, so it shouldn't matter. I default to what I did when my mom or my sister asked my opinion on their earrings or shoes or whatever. I pick one at random. "I think the black one looks better."

"Really?" She looks at the black dress. "I thought it was a bit plain."

"Er, it's… more practical. You know, shorter, easier to run in… Uh, and simple looks better. Lots of frills get in the way…"

She glares at me as I fumble through my cobbled together explanation. "Those have nothing to do with how it looks, just how practical it is in combat."

"Sorry."

"Do this seriously."

"I will." I stare at the two dresses again. Leaving aside practicality… I mean, the black dress is pretty cute. The red dress seems more like something Sop or P90 would wear, loud and gaudy rather than quiet, like M200. "I'll still pick the black dress. I think it suits your personality. At least, from what I've learned about you from our brief interactions."

"I see." She lays the red dress down on the bed. "Would you like me to try it on?"

"I… If you want to?" I come up blank on reasons why. "Do you need help checking the fit?"

"No, I've worn it before. I just want you to see me in it and see if you really want me to wear it." She says.

"Alright." I shrug.

She takes off her jacket and tosses it on the bed, already loosening her tie. "Okay, can you turn away for a second?"

"Wait, wait, wait, what are you doing?!" I leap to my feet. "Wait for me to leave the room first!"

"I'm a doll." She tilts her head. "There's nothing to be concerned about."

"Nnnnno, I'm leaving." I quickly pass by her as she continues to strip and make it out the door without seeing anything. As I shut the door behind me and rest against it, I notice three pairs of eyes on me.

P7, Type 92, and NZ75. The last of the three's eyes narrow. "What did you do?"

"Huh?"

"You came bolting out of there pretty fast." P7 says, poking my ribs, reminding me that I'm not exactly healed up. "Suspicious."

Through the new pain, I hiss back at the nun. "She decided to start stripping! I had to leave before-"

"I knew you couldn't be trusted." NZ75 sighs heavily, drawing her golden namesake. "M200's a precious member of Echelon 2 and we're not going to let you hurt her."

"Wait!" I throw my hands up. "It was her idea! She wanted to show me the dress for tomorrow's mission and then she started to undress!"

"..." The dolls look between each other.

"That does sound like something she'd do." Type 92 says, finally breaking the silence.

"He might've coerced her." NZ75 leans forwards into my face. "So, what do you have to say for yourself?"

I don't get a chance to respond as the door opens into the dorm room. I was leaning against it, so as it opens, I fall backwards and crash onto the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"Commander?" M200 looks down at me with a faint blush on her cheeks.

I look up at her, only to realize with my angle that's not a good idea, and turn my head to the side. "Hi. Nice dress."

"He was looking up her skirt."

"He was."

"I'm going to tell Commander Ricardo."

I sigh heavily.

M200 shifts away slightly, before squatting down in a way that doesn't flash her undergarments at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, for the moment." I sit up and glare at the three handgun dolls in the hallway. "As long as I don't get reported by these three…"

I barely managed to convince the trio of handguns with M200's help. I have to say, she's really level headed, if slightly unconfident in herself. I can see why Aleah recommended her for the mission.

I barely managed to step out of the T-doll barracks before I was accosted by a recently familiar figure. OTs-14. She strides up to me and stops right in front of me. "Field Agent Hadwin?"

I nod. Up close, I can see that she's one of the fancier dolls and she's also a bit shorter than I expected, but holds herself in a rigid pose like she's posing for a photo that would make her appear taller.

"I'm afraid I may not be able to accompany you on the mission." She reports, head gracefully swinging from side to side. "I have other obligations, and cannot guarantee my availability."

"Ah." I sag my shoulders. "Well, it was short notice."

"I do apologize. A party would be a welcome change of pace, but unless I am cleared from my duties…" She trails off rather than repeat herself.

"Can't be helped." I glance around. "I guess I'll just have to go tell AEK she's up."

OTs-14 freezes up. "AEK? Surely you don't mean AEK-999?"

"Yeah… I stupidly agreed to let her on the mission if anyone else dropped out." I shrug. "I know she's not really a good fit-"

"She is worse than 'not a good fit'. She's a walking calamity." OTs-14's biting words are thankfully kept low enough to not carry. "I suppose if we find a good replacement, I can participate." She mutters.

"What duty do you have?" I ask.

"I'm scheduled for a logistics mission tomorrow and I might not be back in time." She ponders something internally. "Maybe if I trade a favor with 9A-91…"

"Hmm." I pause for a few seconds. "What's a logistics mission?"

"Oh, that's right, you're new. It's missions like protecting VIPs, supply trucks, or just aiding in relief efforts by being extra sets of hands."

"I see."

"Tomorrow, I'm scheduled to assist in guarding a caravan as it passes through this area. There's a significant ELID presence in the outskirts of this area and the traders are expecting an escort."

"Could we send SV-98?" I ask. "She's diligent and I'm sure she'd be willing to do me a favor. I'll make sure to make it up to her too." That last part is more of a mental note to myself.

"I suppose." OTs-14 frowns. "Should we go ask?"

"Yeah, let me call her-"

Aleah's on the ball, and SV-98's face appears in my field of vision before I have the sentence out of my mouth.

"Commander! Do you need something?" SV asks cheerily, and almost expectantly.

"Er… I'm sorry to ask this of you, but are you willing to do something really annoying for me? I'll owe you a favor of course. It's… not the infiltration mission, sorry."

Her enthusiasm does die down a bit, but she hasn't completely lost her smile. "Well… if it'll help you out, Commander, I'll do what I can."

"I swear, when the mission's over, I'll do something for you." I say. "Whatever you want, as long as I can do it."

"I already agreed." She tilts her head. "So, of course."

"I just wanted you to know what you're getting in return, as vague as it is." I run my hand through my hair. "So… I would appreciate it if you could take OTs-14's slot in tomorrow's logistics mission."

"Oh! Sure!" She perks up. "Much better than sitting around base all day waiting for you to get back."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." I smile at her. "I'll make sure to make it up to you."

"I'll look forward to it."

She cuts the connection and I turn to OTs-14. "Well, there's that."

"Are you sure you should be promising so much to a doll?" She asks.

I shrug. "I owe her a lot at this point."

"I see." She frowns at me for a few seconds. "You certainly do live up to your reputation."

"I have a reputation?" I laugh nervously. "I hope it's not a bad one."

"Do not worry." She delicately places a hand on my shoulder. "It's mostly positive."

"...Mostly." I sigh. "Well, meeting's at 1600 as I mentioned, just… find the confused group of people looking for a room, and once Commander Gentiane tells me where we're meeting, I'll give you an update."

"I understand." She curtseys slightly as she moves away. "I look forward to working with you, Commander."

"You too."

She walks into the dorms, and now… well… what else do I have to do before the meeting?

"Maybe talk to P90 about whatever she wants me to do?" I shiver, cold sweat breaking out. "I'd feel better if she was committed, but…"

"Calling P90."

"Huh? Wait, no-"

"Haddy?" P90's voice comes through the connection, her face giving me a curious look. "What's up?"

"...I wanted to make sure you're willing to do this mission." I say, deciding I might as well come clean about it. "I have an hour if you'd like to, uh, do whatever it is you wanted to do."

"Oh, don't worry about that." She grins. "We can do that later tonight. I'll be ready."

"...Great. So what was that we're doing again?"

"I'll tell you later. Bye now!"

She cuts the connection.

...Well then.

"Hey, Aleah, what's next on the list?"

"You have one hour until the meeting." She informs me. "Before that, you have nothing scheduled."

"Thank you." look around at everyone else busily running around doing things. "I… guess I'll head back to my room for a bit." An arrow appears in the air and I follow it back to my room. "Oh, and Aleah?"

"Yes?"

"Please do me a favor and ask before calling people, or wait for confirmation or something?"

"Of course."

"It looks like everyone's here."

I turn around to see an interesting combination of a rabbit and a bat flying at eye level.

Normally, this would be grounds to get me excused from duty on grounds of insanity, but since this meeting is being held on level 2, I'd come to expect a certain level of absurdity. Thankfully, Commander Gentiane had sent out the zener network location for the meeting beforehand.

Still, flying bat-rabbits is a new one. And with a hip flask to boot.

One of the rabbit's eye twitches. "Have a problem, Field Agent?"

"Uh, no ma'am." I back away as I realize exactly who this avatar belongs to: Commander Gentiane. It's expression is perfectly neutral, which suits her, but… bat-rabbit.

At least most everyone else looks like something I've seen before.

I sit down among my current squad, M200 (who looks like some classical composer) and P90 (who looks like a squirrel) on either side, OTs-14 (who appears to be royalty) in the row behind mine, and the two from DEFY a few seats over to be next to Angelia, once again in wolf form. Angelia herself looks like a ninja.

Behind OTs-14, the infiltration team has sent S.A.T. who looks like a cartoon lion into level 2 as their representative for this meeting. Beside her is a mannequin of Aleah, who's here to assist my participation in the meeting.

On the other side of the seating area, maybe fifteen figures I can't even begin to recognize are sitting around waiting for the meeting to start.

In the back corner, arriving right before Commander Gentaine, are four figures I presume to be 404. It's the first time I've seen them since this morning. Two foxes that have 9' and 45's hair colors, a walking pillow, and a small black cat. By process of elimination, that last one is 416, but-

"Alright, I'm not really qualified to do stealth missions-" Someone in the audience chuckles loud enough to cut Gentiane off and she shoots a glare at the offender. In her current form, the glare's effect is significantly reduced however. "-so I have left the planning to Commander Mikhail. As far as this mission goes, we're all under his command. Am I clear?"

All of the dolls nod and watch as someone steps up to stand on the stage next to Commander Gentiane. He looks like a spy from my dad's ancient movies. "Hello all. For those unaware, I am Commander Mikhail Lebedev. I will be in charge of the following operation." He waves his hand and the wall behind him and the words "Operation Shining Glory" appears in big letters.

Beside me, the squirrel snorts before whispering to me. "That's a weird name."

I match her volume. "Operation Scrambush."

"Hey, that one's clever."

I let it drop as Commander Mikhail continues. "This mission has two parts. The first part, carried out by Echelon's 4 and 6, is protection duty. We will have Madam Helian in attendance, as she's been invited as a guest of honor of the venerable Mister Havier."

The way he says 'venerable' suggests that he's being as sarcastic as possible.

"They, along with Commander Gentiane, will be among the guests of the party." Commander Mikhail brings up an overhead view of a mansion surrounded by dense forest with only one path leading up to it. "I would like Echelon 6 to be patrolling this sector here and Echelon 4 to be patrolling this area here. We need to counter external threats mostly, as our second operation will likely be able to assist with any threats originating from inside the mansion."

I straighten up as he turns to my group. "The second part is the theft of the diamond. The man hosting this party, Myroslav Rud, has a rival named Artur Tytarenko. Tytarenko is our client for this second matter and he has hired us to recover a diamond in Rud's vault. The diamond has classically been held by the most important member of the local diet and our client wishes to have it in his possession."

The map changes to show the layout of the mansion, splitting into four floors, one of which is the basement. "Here's the location of the vault, in the basement, only accessible from a guarded entrance on the first floor. We've contracted out Squad 404 for doing the actual theft, but we're also placing two full echelons and our new field agent into the crowd to be able to assist. We currently have one of these teams attempting to infiltrate the wait staff."

S.A.T. stands up, drawing attention her way. "We've been hired successfully. Mister Havier introduced us as his personal wait staff and we haven't been questioned. I expect our insertion to be flawless."

"Great to hear." Commander Mikhail says. "Our second echelon will be infiltrating as guests, along with our Field Agent." He nods in our direction. "Unlike Commander Gentiane and Madam Helian, you six are not going in under G&K's banner. You're not to carry identifying items with you, just in case."

I nod slowly. "We're not supposed to be there?"

"No. Currently, Mister Havier is modifying the guest lists, but we have no idea how long those will hold up to scrutiny. We're actually counting on them being slightly obvious should something go wrong during the party, or afterwards once they discover the diamond is missing. Basically, you're the anomaly to explain things going wrong."

Despite myself, a wry grin crosses my face. Decoy duty again.

"To allow 404 access to the vault, we're going to have to cause a distraction of sorts." Commander Mikhail waves the wall changes once again. "I propose that we use the dancing portion of the event to disguise their entrance, the noise will help conceal their actions, and if we have something impressive, the eyes will all be pointed inwards. We'll have the wait staff distract the guards and let them down into the vault area."

I glance over my shoulder to 404, who all seem to be paying attention. Hard to tell with G11's pillow body though.

"Once they're done, they'll signal Field Agent Galanis and he'll perform a second distraction, which I will discuss with him, and we'll extract everyone participating in part 2 of the operation."

I nod to myself. It's not super complicated, so it's likely to work. I have faith that 404 can handle whatever gets thrown their way as far as security goes, so this shouldn't be too hard.

...You know, every time I've thought 'this is easy' everything's gone wrong? Maybe I should be looking for some serious, gaping flaws that I haven't spotted yet.

"We'll be arriving in three vehicles, all nice cars we've scrounged from around this area and cleaned up. These will also be our extraction method. 404 will be utilizing one of our buggies to get to and back out of the AO."

He looks down the other side of the room. "Questions?"

A small orange cat steps forwards. "Yes, what assets aside from the vehicles are required for the mission?" The cat's voice, along with the sunglasses and ribbon across her chest, leads me to believe this is Kalina.

"404 has provided you with an equipment list, I am told. Aside from that, possibly some clothes for the infiltrating echelon. Everything else should be fairly standard loadouts."

"Got it." The cat heads back to her seat, hopping up and sitting at attention.

"I already have a dress." OTs-14 raises her hand slightly. "You don't have to bother procuring one for me."

"Same here." AK-12 nods. "AN-94's also set."

M200 nods her head.

P90 scratches her face. "Uh… I'm not sure I have anything."

"There's always one." Kalina sighs. "Field Agent, do you need anything?"

"I don't think so. The suit in my room seems pretty well put together."

Kalina turns to P90. "Talk to me after the meeting, I'll find you something."

"Got it."

Commander Gentiane speaks up next. "We're also going to need some slim short range radios. The lower the profile the better, we need them to be practically invisible."

Kalina pauses for a second, mentally combing through the inventory. "I think we have a few."

"Thank you."

Commander Mikhail looks around once more. "Any further questions?"

After a few seconds of silence, he nods. "Alright, thank you all for coming. Be ready to head out at 1600 tomorrow."

Exactly one day left to prepare then. I stand up, turn on my heel and start striding for 404. I need to talk to 45-

A hand claps on my shoulder and I turn around to see Commander Mikhail.

"Field Agent, we have some stuff we need to practice beforehand to make sure you can pull off pretending to be a guest."

"Er, okay, but I need to talk to…" I turn to point at 404, but they're already gone. "...Nevermind."

"Meet me in the gym in twenty minutes." He lets go of my shoulder and I turn to look at where 404 had been.

"Dammit."

"Don't worry." Commander Mikhail says. "You'll have another chance soon."

Turns out that some of what I'm expected to learn is dancing.

I can safely say I've never really been the best on my feet, and now trying to remain in lockstep with someone else is kind of hard to pull off effectively. I had to ditch the exo suit, obviously, and I hadn't realized how much stronger it was making me until I disengaged it and I felt like my muscles were melting off my bones with the effort of just standing up, like I've been sitting in a bed for a few days.

The heckling also doesn't help my concentration.

416 puts her foot forwards and I barely get my own leg out of the way to avoid crashing to the ground.

Again.

"Aw, no more collisions?" UMP 9 calls from the sidelines. "Come on, it's not funny if you're not falling down."

"We're trying to dance here." 416 snipes. "The commander just isn't used to it yet. Once he is, I'm sure he'll be-"

"Yeah, yeah." 9 waves her hand dismissively. "Maybe it's because he's trying to dance with a gorilla?"

416 whirls around, dragging me around with her and sending me careening off to one side, hopping on one foot to keep my balance. "I am not a gorilla!" She yells.

9 hops off the bleachers and walks over to me as I catch my balance. "Look, just watch."

She grabs my hand, pulls my other arm to her waist, and looks at the amused Commander Mikhail. "Hit the music."

Commander Mikhail resumes the music from where he had cut it when 416 started arguing with 9. She immediately starts moving, tugging me this way and that, and I struggle to get my feet to keep up with her pace.

After no more than twenty seconds, I lose the battle and fall flat on my face as 9 and I twirl to one side.

I contemplate sitting up, but the floor is cool and I'm kinda tired.

"Uh, are you okay?" 9 asks after a second.

416 crouches down next to me. "Do you need a hand?"

I roll over onto my back, then sit up. "Nah, I've got it."

"You're improving." Mikhail steps up to our little group. "Little by little, but you'll be competent by tomorrow at least." He looks at his watch. "Let's work for another fifteen minutes before we take a break for the night."

I haul myself to my feet. "Okay."

He heads back over to his little music player and waits for me to set up with one of the dolls.

Both 416 and 9 ready themselves to start, just waiting for me to move in. I briefly consider my options before I feel a tug on my G&K uniform. G11's woken up and is trying to get my attention.

"Yes, G11?" I crouch down slightly so she's closer to eye level.

"Can I try dancing?"

"Sure." I say.

Behind me, 9 turns to 416. "You lost to a little girl."

"Shut up, dummkopf. So did you."

I ignore those two and gingerly put my hand on G11's shoulder. She's a lot shorter than me, so she's standing what feels like way too close, but I think it's mostly perspective from how I'm looking down.

Commander Mikhail cues the music and I step slowly to the side, trying not to step so far as to throw G11's stride off.

I'm so focused on not tripping up the young looking doll that I don't realize the music had ended until G11 steps away and curtseys with a short giggle.

"Wow, looks like you can get a handle on it." Commander Mikhail praises me. "Thank you for the assistance, G11."

"Wait, I did it?" I look around. "I was so focused on not stepping too far out and dragging G11 along, I wasn't paying attention."

"Yes, let your body do it, not your brain." Commander Mikhail instructs. "Just let yourself move with the music."

G11 beams up at me. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thank you." I pat her head and she hugs my waist, burying her face in my jacket.

"So, let's try it again with 416." Commander Mikhail instructs. "You're likely to have to dance with a few different people or dolls, so let's see if you can keep that feeling going."

G11 lets go of me reluctantly, 9 grabbing her shoulder and pulling her away so 416 and I can try once more.

The music starts and I try not to focus so hard with my feet once I have the pattern going, instead focusing on 416 in front of me. She's got a serious look on her face, eyes almost closed as she listens to the beat, moving with almost mechanical precision, each step perfectly on beat.

I try to mimic her focus, and before I know it the song is over once more.

"See? There you go." Commander Mikhail praises me. "You're getting the hang of it."

"Yeah, maybe." I smile to myself.

"Again." 416 orders.

We dance a few more times before 9 comes back over and butts in. This time, I managed to hold myself upright the entire time dancing with her, and I started to realize how easy the pattern is. Just move your feet and don't step on anyone…

G11 wants a second turn, and by that time I'm confident enough to be able to enjoy dancing a little. G11's surprisingly good at this, and I'm pretty sure she's guiding me as she dances, but I'm not sure how to explain it.

In any case, after three more rounds where I swap partners each time, I feel like I might be able to work with another doll if I need to when dancing.

When 9 and I finish this last set, I head to the nearest stool and sit myself down into it. I'm surprisingly tired, given the past week I've been sprinting around quite a bit, I felt I had more stamina then my body is currently willing to provide to me.

"Alright, we're way over time." Commander Mikhail claps his hands. "One last try and then we really need to break for the night. Tomorrow, we'll work on less intensive stuff so you can be fresh for the event later in the afternoon."

"Okay."

"Well, it's obvious who needs to go next." 9 turns around to the bleachers, cupping hands around her mouth to shout. "Hey, 45-nee! It's your turn!"

UMP 45, who had been present, but had ignored all attempts to interact with her and instead focused on a magazine she had found lying around, finally looks away from said magazine. "Excuse me?"

"It's your turn to dance." The excitable twin repeats. "Come on!"

UMP 45 snorts. "Dancing is for idiots. It's a useless skill."

Ah. This isn't going to go well, is it?

"45-nee…" 9 pouts. "But, it's important to be able to blend in on infiltration missions."

"I have a broken arm and a broken optical sensor." UMP 45 responds with ice in her tone. "I'm not blending in no matter what."

"We can try to get you a replacement arm." Commander Mikhail says slowly. "And, for what it's worth, Angelia is going to be there on security detail upon Gentiane's request, so you're not going to be that odd in comparison."

"That's so comforting." She drops the magazine to the floor. "And if I really need to dance for whatever stupid reason, I can just download the instruction set when I need it." She stands up.

"Hey, um, UMP 45-"

She cuts me off. "404, let's go. We have to prepare for tomorrow."

"But-" 9 starts to object, but UMP 45 cuts her off.

"We've already wasted enough time here for one night." She turns to Commander Mikhail, who's grimacing. "Next time that commander over there needs a hand, ask some other team."

"...I understand." He responds.

"Uh, Haddy, I'll talk with you later, I guess." 9 scratches her head as her sister walks over.

"Commander, see you tomorrow." 416 pats my shoulder and walks out.

G11 tugs at my sleeve and I give her a few head pats before she too joins the rest of 404 in heading out of the gym.

I watch them go, mind still trying to figure out how to react to 404's attitudes.

"I guess we should be going too, ey Field Agent?" Mikhail asks me.

"Sure."

We make it outside, closing and locking the door, before Mikhail puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me wandering away.

"Looks like you really pissed her off." Mikhail comments, referring to UMP 45.

"Yeah…"

"I understand she's not the easiest to get along with, but what's the deal?"

"I'm a little dense, especially if I've just woken up at midnight and someone threatens me with a knife." I deadpan. "So maybe I reacted to a weird confession wrongly and maybe she took it poorly."

"I see." He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one up, the faint glow illuminating his face for a brief glow. "T-dolls are crazy."

"You're telling me." I grumble.

"Well, do your best to make up with her. I thought maybe doing a group activity would help, but…" He shrugs. "In any case, make sure to keep everything you learned today in your head if you can. It'll be useful on the mission tomorrow."

I nod. "I'll work on a fake backstory for everyone tonight, practice dancing if I can, and I'll do my best to hold my posture better."

"There's a good paren." He beams at me, Russian features creasing. "Well, have a good rest. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day."

"Thanks, you too."

He heads off towards the human dorms and I watch him go with a small bit of envy. He's done for the night. My body complains and I really just want to take a nice shower and head straight to bed, but I still have something to do tonight.

Under my breath, I mutter to myself. "I hope P90's not going to force me to do anything exhausting."

I half expect Aleah to chime in with "Would you like me to call her?" but I'm not wearing the Linker right now. Should I go back and grab the Linker? I glance at my phone. It's already 2300… and I have a busy day tomorrow. I'm not gonna waste time with that. I'll just head over to the dorms and ask someone to go get her.

The front door is open and a few of the dolls are in the main entrance as I walk in, eyeing me as I enter. I recognize NZ75 sitting on a couch reading a book and I reluctantly head over.

"Hey, NZ, can you do me a quick favor?"

"Depends." She lowers the book enough to make eye contact.

"Yeah, I just need someone to get P90 for me." I clap my hands together. "Please?"

"Sure." She stares off into the distance for a second, before returning her gaze to my face. "She's been notified."

"Thank you."

"No problem." She goes back to reading.

That was easier than I expected it to be.

Seconds later, P90 skids to a stop, having run down the stairs and down the hallway, only slowing down once she saw me. "There you are! I tried calling you through your Linker, but-"

"I took it off for training." A wave of tiredness washes over me and I fail to suppress a yawn. "Sorry about that. In any case, I'm here for whatever your crazy request ends up being."

"Okay! Follow me." She turns and leads me up two flights of stairs and into her dorm room.

Two other dolls I'm unfamiliar with look up as I enter the room, along with someone I've met once before.

The first is a girl dressed in black and white, with a black ribbon poking up like rabbit ears. The second has a big blue ribbon on one side of her head, a black jacket and white dress. The final occupant of the room is the girl I met on my second day, the one who really likes chocolate.

P90 stands to the side and splays out her hands as if presenting me. "And here he is!"

"Hi Commander!" the chocolate girl waves from her spot.

"So this is the new Field Agent." Black ribbon's eyes narrow.

Blue ribbon leans forward in her seat. "Are you sure you have the right man, P90?"

"Yes, I'm sure." P90's expression doesn't change from her crafty smile. "He may not look like much, but he can get the job done."

"I see." Black ribbon stands up gracefully, then gives a little curtsey. "I'm Five-seveN."

"I'm FAL." Blue ribbon nods from her seat. "Over there is FNC."

"I met him earlier." FNC says happily. "Why are you here, Commander?"

"I made a deal with P90 that I'd… uh, do her a favor if she'd come along with us on a mission."

"I would've gone anyway, but I figured I could get something extra out of him." P90 tells the younger looking doll.

"Wha- HEY!"

Five-seveN snickers to herself. "Oui, oui. So, what is this favor?"

"Yeah, what is it?" FNC asks P90.

I also glance back at the grinning doll.

"Remember how I said earlier that if I went on the mission, I'd wear a suit and you could wear my dress?" She holds up a finger.

"Uh…"

"Well, I got my dress from Kalina, so I figured I'd let you try it on real quick."

Silence.

At least, for a few seconds before FAL falls out of her seat laughing behind me.

After watching her to make sure she's not hurt for a second, I turn back to P90. "Are you serious?"

"Yep!" She beams. "I'd ask to wear your suit, but you didn't bring it along."

"Shame." I inject as much sarcasm into my voice as I can, but she takes it in stride.

"Here, come here." She gestures me into a very sparse section of the room compared with the other sections, only a bed, desk, trunk and a small ammo can halfway under the bed. "Let me pull it out."

She opens the trunk and pulls the most garishly cyan dress I've ever seen. It's got a ruffle from the top left shoulder down the hip and it looks like it's pretty narrow at the bottom... I thought Kalina was going to help her pick out something that wasn't so… bright. I can understand why P90 wouldn't want to wear something like this.

"That."

"Yep. This."

"P90, if you wanted a dress for a party, maybe you should have asked for our advice first." Five-seveN says in a nice tone, but it's clear what she thinks of it.

"Oh, don't worry about it." P90 turns back to me for a second. "We're gonna give you some privacy, since I know humans are weird about that, and we'll be back in a few." She pushes the dress into my hands, then walks out the door, collecting the other three dolls on her way out.

I watch the door close, still kind of stunned, then look down at the dress in my hands.

Well… I told her I'd do it.

I move the fabric around and find a small zipper on the back from about waist level to the neck. There's no other fasteners that I can find, so I take off my G&K uniform, fold it neatly on P90's bed, and hold the dress up in front of me.

...Am I supposed to pull it on over my head, or step into it like a pair of pants? After a moment of thought, dragging it around on the floor would get it dirty, so I carefully tried pulling it over my head.

P90's probably around 150 or 160 cm tall, and I'm closer to 170, so understandably the dress is a tight fit. I can feel the stitches straining in places, and I keep my breathing shallow. The waist is a good few centimeters too high once I have it situated on my shoulders and I'm thankful that this is a long dress. As it is, it only comes down to my knees, instead of the calves like I think it's supposed to.

Still, I can't get the back zipper, the arms binding across the shoulders as I try to reach back and tug on the small metal zip.

"Hey, Haddy?" P90's muffled voice comes through the door. "We're gonna go grab something from the cafe downstairs, do you want anything?"

"..."

"Haddy?"

"No thanks."

"Alright, we'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." I hear some laughter on the other side of the door, getting fainter as the dolls move away.

"...Am I being bullied?" I wonder out loud. "I guess technically I could just order them to stop, so that's not right. I guess it's fine as long as they're having fun." I sigh. Now, to fix this stupid zipper-

Rrrriiiiiiiiip

I freeze in place, staring at the shoulder of the dress and the seams that are currently coming undone.

Oh, shit.

I very carefully relax my shoulders, being careful not to rip it further, and then shrug off the top half so I can inspect the damage.

It's really fine machine stitches, but I might be able to sew it back up if I can locate the right kind of needle and thread-

The door opens and a doll I don't recognize stands in the doorway. She's got long blond hair topped with a beret style hat, a red and black skirt and top combo that exposes her midriff, and sharp blue eyes.

We stare at each other for a few seconds before she casually sets down her bag and brings her rifle to bear. "Excuse me, but can you please tell me why you're in here wearing my colleague's dress?"

"...I swear there's a reason for this." I sigh. "Can you contact P90?"

I wait a second, then I hear a shout from downstairs. Then, a lot of clamoring up the stairs and finally P90, Five-seveN, FAL, and FNC appear in the doorway.

"..." Silence falls and I can tell they're currently trying not to laugh, or are laughing over a private channel or something. Eventually, P90 speaks up. "Uh, you're supposed to put it all the way on."

"I tried." I point to the shoulder. "But it started to rip and I didn't want to ruin your dress."

"P90, why is this man in our room?" The new arrival turns to the grinning doll. "And furthermore, why is he wearing your dress?"

"Don't worry about it. Haddy, this is F2000. F2000, Haddy's the new field agent."

"...I see." F2000 looks at me with thinly disguised disgust.

"I would like to put it out there that the dress wasn't my idea." I grumble.

"Yes, I realize how my cousins are." F2000 responds. "I… I think I'm going to go do something else for a few minutes."

"By the way, Haddy." P90 steps out of the way as F2000 leaves the room in a hurry. "You don't have to worry about damaging the dress. I asked Kalina to get me a spare one for this prank, I have a different one I'll be wearing tomorrow."

"I..." I look around at the four faces in the doorway. "Can I please take it off?"

"Not until we get some pictures." P90 steps up to me. "Here, I'll help you with the zipper."

P90, FAL, and Five-seveN proceed to pose me around and take pictures with a phone. All the while, I can feel threads giving way in various places on the garment as I try to move the way they want me too. After a while, they let me change back into my uniform, but insisted I continue to talk to them for a while.

About clothes.

I have a little bit to contribute since I know how to sew and repair clothes a little, but most of the time they're talking about things way above my head. I don't know clothing terms, I just know how to backstitch.

Some words from when I was back at home drift back into my consciousness. 'If you want fasionistsa, talk to the French group.' Maybe if someone had told me that P90 was one of them, I'd have had an easier time avoiding them. That said, they're remarkably friendly and chatty, if you like that kind of thing.

In any case, by the time everyone got bored and I extracted promises not to share the pictures with anyone, and F2000 had gotten over her initial disgust, it was already tomorrow, Friday.

I walk out of the dorm under the night sky, looking up at the stars, so much brighter than at home.

Today's gonna be a really long day, isn't it?

I quickly make it to my room, strip off the uniform and lay it out for proper cleaning later, and collapse into bed.

...Dammit.

I still haven't shaved.