Girl's Frontline: Field Agent

by Johnny Wycliffe

Sometimes, life comes at you like an explosion through the storefront. A young man, Hadwin Galanis, finds this out the hard way as his life is turned upside-down by a PMC and Paradeus, forced to pick up a gun and fight in a war fought by machines.

20. Chapter 20: Actions and Consequences

A/N: Turns out, the FFN app deletes "Ampersand K" from my works while it can still be read on browsers. Keep in mind any instances of random "G"s in my story are actually supposed to be "G and K."

Or typos. Hopefully not typos.

Since it's been a while, I decided to provide a timeline of sorts to provide a better sense of what's happening.

Tuesday, March 16th: KXD explodes. Hadwin is introduced to G and K.

Wednesday, March 17th: G and K base is attacked, Hadwin and 404 destroy Paradeus' control node. 404 and Hadwin go back to the control node and recover data pertaining to Paradeus as well as a prisoner. Day ends with building collapse during Paradeus' attempt to recover Panagos.

Thursday, March 18th: Gas station explosion, Hadiwn and Co enter Sector 3. 404 and Hadwin leave for the warehouse this evening.

Friday, March 19th: Warehouse explosion, Hadwin goes on "dates". In the evening, he heads outside the walls and is betrayed by 404.

Saturday, March 20th: Panagos' speech, Paradeus' assault on the Sector 3 leadership, and Hadwin's going away party.

Sunday, March 21st: Hadwin leaves Sector 3, and fights with 404. He ends up being captured at the wrecked Helo.

Monday, March 22nd: Hadwin is forced by Architect to go to an 'abandoned' Paradeus base in the early morning. After that debacle, Hadwin and the Sangvis forces assault a KCCO base. 404 shows up to kidnap Hadwin back.

Tuesday, March 23rd: 404 and Hadwin escapes from Sangvis, then the KCCO, then ELIDs.

Wednesday, March 24th: Hadwin wakes up at the end of the day, UMP 45 breaks his rib when he responds poorly to her words.

Thursday, March 25th: Mission prep for mansion mission. Dancing with 404, picking teams and clothes.

Friday, March 26th: Mansion job. Goes… 'poorly'.

Saturday, March 27th: Day starts peacefully, Hadwin gets a new hand made by Sop. He also gets dating advice from Gentaine.

Sunday, March 28th: Training exercise on level 2 ends with RO winning. RO and Hadwin go on a date. Day ends with the assault on the KCCO outpost.

Monday, March 29th: P90's death is official. Hadwin goes on a brief bender to work things out mentally, and gets talked to by all sorts of people.

Monday is coming to a close as this chapter starts.

---

Monday, 2201.

I make it to the command center just as Commander Gentaine is shutting the door. She lets me in and locks the door behind me. G36 beside her examines my face briefly with her harsh eyes before nodding and turning to the rest of the building.

In the security room that I'm starting to dread being inside, the commanders, adjutant dolls, UMP 45, M4, and RO are present. Looks like this meeting is even less open than the one earlier.

For the first time, the screens on the walls of the room are lit up in addition to the table, displaying the status of four Echelons. 4, 6, 8, and 9, all green and ready for combat. The rest of the dolls are likely preparing for combat as well, but are not available yet.

I glance at the other commanders, but they're all busy scanning the board for… something.

As Commander Gentaine follows me into the room, I turn to her. "What's going on?"

"Looks like the KCCO aren't going to take our night raid last night lying down." She reports grimly. "They're marching towards our position as we speak."

My eyes narrow at the report. "Okay, so we're going to crush them."

Commander Gentaine gives me a look, but ultimately nods. "We're going to coordinate together here and make sure nothing happens to our base." She walks up to the table and places her hands on the surface. "Report."

Commander Kylie speaks up first. "Looks like they've split into three groups for this assault." She points out three sections on the map and her adjutant highlights those areas. "We had a recon drone flying, which was our first warning of this attack. The drone was able to mark most of the forces."

I watch as a force breakdown comes up, and…

To the east, and west, nothing of particular note. In the center, on course to bash right through the main gate, is a Hydra. "Do we have pictures from this drone?" I ask.

Before anyone can respond, a picture of the Hydra flashes up on screen. It has burn marks all along it's side. From this photo, one other thing is visible: The unit number.

И1704.

"Are we going to be able to use the HOCs?" Commander Ricardo asks calmly.

"AT4 and 2B14 are positioning themselves as we speak." Commander Gentaine points to two locations on the map. "AT4 will be positioned nearer to the frontlines and 2B14 will be positioned in the rear to shell from a distance."

"This time we'll take it down." Commander Kylie's eyes narrow. "Let's make sure they don't have enough units to try a second time."

Commander Mikhail taps the screen rhythmically. "So we're going to turtle in and hope we can withstand the onslaught?"

"We're going to have to try." Commander Gentaine eyes the Hydra. "What I wouldn't give for a Jupiter Cannon right about now."

In the dark behind Gentiane, M4's eyes blink once. I don't think anyone else noticed though.

"So, here's the plan, currently dubbed 'Operation Unicorn'." Commander Gentaine nods to G36 and the table shifts to a map of the area with a bunch of colored lines pointing this way and that to denote echelon movements and predicted locations for the KCCO forces to arrive at. "At least, as much of a plan as we can formulate with how limited our information right now. I have some of the dolls erecting a sandbag barrier along the side path in, which is where the KCCO are currently headed. All of the buildings in that area have been evacuated and critical items removed from them. Should the KCCO breach our defenses, we'll use the buildings as backup cover. Given the natural shape of the land, they're not going to be able to swing around to either side as much."

"Are we flying the helos?" Commander Kylie asks.

"Too dangerous, until we get that Hydra out of the area." Commander Gentaine shakes her head. "Helicopters aren't cheap enough to risk one."

"Not to mention we'd likely need a new pilot." Commander Ricardo mutters. "So, a ground slog?"

"Affirmative. I've told the echelons to grab as many dummies as they can handle and arm themselves for a protracted battle."

"Uh…" I raise my hand. "Who's in the echelons?"

Commander Gentaine glances at UMP 45. "Show him the team makeup in that corner of the screen." She gestures to the corner near me, and almost as soon as the words are out of her mouth, a portion of the screen starts displaying five dolls under the banner 'Echelon 4'.

45 Steps up next to me and starts poking the screen. "Hadwin, here's Echelon 4. It's an Assault rifle slash SMG based squad. Echelon 6 is also an AR/SMG based squad."

"I see."

"AR/SMGs tend to be good at cleaning up the stragglers and are some of the most mobile groups, but as you've no doubt found out by now they suck at dealing with armor."

"What do you mean?"

She gestures to herself. "Both Anti-Rain and 404 are AR/SMG teams. We've relied on rifles to provide our armor piercing before."

That makes sense. Back in Sector 3 I had to have the rifles take care of the armor, not to mention last night… "Okay, how about Echelon 8?"

"Echelon 8 is a rifle and handgun squad. Think Echelon 2." The image on the screen flips to Echelon 8. "Nowhere near as mobile, but given the target is slow and bulky they will be able to take it out."

"And Echelon 9?"

"Machine guns and shotguns. Good for anything that moves, provided you can keep their weapons fed." She shrugs. "Swarms tend to overrun them too, but in general…"

"Huh." I scratch my chin. "That's… AEK and M500, right?"

"Bestätigend. Along with them, we have M37, HMG21, and DP28."

"Alright. Can you go back to the others?"

She brings up Echelon 4 once more and I pay more attention to the dolls' names. IDW, 9A-91, AS-VAL, Fr FAMAS, and Gr MP5. I've met 9A-91 before, I've heard IDW mentioned a time or two… I think the weapon I grabbed off a policeman back in Sector 3 was an MP5. I scratch my head, realizing I have no way of judging if this group is any good in combat. "Okay, next please."

"Echelon 6. MP40's the leader and the rest of the group is as follows: OTs-12, OTs-14, AK-47 and Type 79." She gestures and the table switches back to Echelon 8. "And here we have Mk 23, SVD, Lee Enfield, M950A, and G17."

M950A is Calico, the singer from AEK's band. AK-47's an acquaintance. I've talked with Lee Enfield a few times… "Not a lot of dolls I know this time."

"Don't worry." M4 steps up and points to Gentiane. "She's very capable of forming Echelons."

RO also steps closer. "If you're done with the troop inspection, we're moving onto troop formations."

I glance over to see what the rest of the table's occupants are looking at. Looks like Echelon 8 is being posted on top of the garage for optimum sniping angle, Echelon 4 and 6 are flanking into the thicker forests on either side of the road to hopefully catch the KCCO unaware. Lastly, Echelon 9 is posting up right in the middle, hunkering down behind the sandbags that had been set out.

A live camera feed pops up, showing the front of the facility. Well, supposedly showing the front of the facility. It's too dark to actually see much, though when I squint I can make out the gate. I recognize that it's not the main gate, but the one leading to the dead city AEK had taken me through earlier in the day.

Commander Ricardo leans over the table. "All Echelons, sound off."

"Echelon 4, in position." No clue who that is.

"Echelon 6, thirty seconds out from position." I recognize MP-40's voice.

"Echelon 8, in position." Lee Enfield's soft voice floats through the room.

"Echelon 9, locked and loaded." AEK's brash personality comes through the speakers. "Those KCCO bastards are gonna be scrap!"

"Keep comments off of the channel." Commander Gentiane rubs her forehead. "Echelon 6, what's the hold up?"

"The ground along our path is very unstable. We were sinking into the ground and had to pick our path carefully." MP-40 responds calmly.

"Roger. Continue to the rally point, ETA is five minutes."

Commander Kylie and Mikhail start poking the map along Echelon 6's path labeling it as a hazard.

Unconsciously, I start drumming my fingers on the table.

Being in here…

I don't belong in here. I should be out there, preparing to fight alongside the others.

I glance over the entire map again, but I don't think I'll be able to provide any input into this.

M4 steps over to one side of me, pointing her gloved finger at the table. "Echelon 4, you are at the wrong coordinates. Please move, bearing 305 for thirty meters."

"Eh? We are?" The spokesperson for Echelon 4 seems confused. "Hey VAL, check our coordinates again."

"U-um, Commander, I'm sending some coordinates over." A timid voice comes through.

Seconds later, Commander Gentiane clicks her tongue. "Those are wrong. Head to-"

I'm distracted from Gentaine's words by 45's eye narrowing, her cold gaze sweeping around the room.

Oh. Right.

My lips draw into a thin line as I realize why we're all in here. Every suspect is currently in the room leading to a situation where causing problems is going to be much harder.

I glance around at the other commanders as well, before sparing a glance at 45.

Yes, all of the suspects are here…

"Enemy located." MP-40's voice comes through the speakers in the room. "Looks like an advance party."

The table lights up with relative coordinates. Looks like this advance party is about 200 meters ahead of the main force.

"Do not engage." Commander Kylie barks. "Don't reveal yourselves until the main force passes by."

"Acknowledged."

A minute passes, with almost no noise in the room. I watch the icon representing the advance party getting closer and closer to the gate and try to catch a glimpse of the forces on the camera pointed in their direction.

"Standby to initiate contact." Commander Gentaine says suddenly.

The room becomes even more tense as all eyes glue to the table.

Gentiane nods to Kylie, who gently nudges her adjutant doll. "Engage."

The camera feed goes completely white as flood lights switch on, bathing the advance party in light with the purpose of both blinding them and giving our dolls a better sight picture.

A view from one of the dolls is suddenly brought on screen, AEK's view by the text in the bottom corner. She's lying on her stomach, weapon set on a sandbag as she takes aim at the first of the advance party, and she lets her weapon rip.

On other parts of the screen, I can see views from other dolls appear, and the map switches to separate areas of combat.

I'm quickly overwhelmed trying to keep up with the switching battles, each Commander simultaneously monitoring all of the battles and ordering dolls in one group on another. It's all I can do to glance back and forth and get the general gist of things.

The advance party, caught unaware by Echelon 9's assault, are quickly ripped to shreds. Before I know it, AEK and the others are swapping out belts of ammo, already preparing for the next wave of KCCO.

Echelon 4 and 6 leap out of the edges of the forest, guns blazing, taking down the back line of the KCCO. From the limited information I can decipher from the video feeds, it appears the KCCO were not expecting us to be on our guard. They panic to get into a defensive position, the units with stronger armor turning to face the two echelons.

Then the rifles engage.

Here and there, holes open in the enemy's formation, the rifles expertly picking off targets that Echelon 4 and 6 are able to exploit.

Though, even I can see after less than thirty seconds that the KCCO is preparing their response.

"4, 6, retreat!" Commander Kylie snaps. "Come back to the base but stay out of sight."

"Echelon 8, continue firing. Keep them on the defensive." Commander Ricardo rubs his chin. "Echelon 9, are you finished reloading?"

"Yep!"

"Hydra is on the move." MP-40 reports. "ETA-"

The ground shakes as a thunderous BOOM rocks the speakers. I swear I heard it through the walls too, not just through the speakers, but I can't be sure.

"Status report!"

"Hydra fired it's main gun, the garage's roof is caving in!" Calico's voice sounds tinged with panic. "We're gonna fall if we stay up here!"

Commander Kylie curses. "Pull back."

Commander Mikhail suddenly stabs his finger into his ear. "Is 2B in position?"

"Da!" Comes the response.

"Fire at these coordinates." He taps the screen and Welrod transmits the location. "Echelon 9, danger close."

"Aw shit." AEK's voice gets a bite to it. "Ladies, we are moving!"

Echelon 9 disperses, taking shelter behind the barriers erected for defense.

2B14's mortar round lands off to the side, as confirmed by the multiple T-doll views. Still, it launches debris into the enemy ranks and they once more shift formation, spreading out slightly.

All the while, И1704 proceeds to stomp towards the base, undeterred by the mortar strike.

I finger the radio in my pocket. I had grabbed it by habit on my way out, though I suppose the Linker is probably going to render the smaller device useless. I debate putting the Linker on, but I'm not sure what good it would do. So, I just keep watching the battle.

Beside me, M4 keys her own comms for the first time in this battle. "Echelon 9, regroup behind the Garages and prepare to hold the main corridor."

"Roger that!"

"Echelon 8, can you get into position to cover them?" Commander Ricardo asks.

"Affirmative." Lee Enfield's voice is strained. "Though, Mk 23 is down. She was unable to get off the roof before it collapsed."

I can feel myself bristle. Mk 23 is 'down', huh?

45 places a hand on my arm without looking in my direction and mutters quietly. "Not the time, Hadwin."

She's right, but I can't help but bite my lip.

Commander Gentiane clears her throat. "Echelons 4 and 6, are you at the recovery points?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Ja."

"Wait for them to get within striking distance of the gate, and then-"

A sudden squelching screams inside the chamber and all of the humans rip out their earpieces. The data on the table freezes in place, and the T-dolls all shift around.

The adjutant dolls immediately switch the majority of the space on the table to camera views, showing the KCCO forces pressing into the base.

45 grimances. "We're being jammed on level 2."

Commander Gentaine slams her fist on the table. "Why now?!"

Nobody says it, but in the silence of the next second or so, I swear we all think it. 'It's because there's someone in here working against us.'

Then, the Hydra's canon fires again, and it's no longer time to be frustrated.

I stand up out of my chair. I'm not going to sit here and wait for them all to be slaughtered-

45 and M4 both place a hand on either of my shoulders and force me back into my seat.

"45-"

"I'm not letting you go out there to be turned into mincemeat, scheissekopf." She snarls. "What would you even do out there?"

"I don't know! Something!" I turn to her. "We don't know what's going on out there!"

"Nobody's leaving this room." Commander Gentaine intones and I look back to see her eyes are steeled.

Reluctantly, I sit back down in my seat, shifting uncomfortably as the radio in my pocket jabs into my hip.

Wait.

I turn to M4. "Hey M4, where is the rest of Anti-Rain?"

"In the barracks, on reserve." She replies, a questioning look on her face.

I whip out the radio and set it to a frequency I've only used a few times. "Hey, 15?"

"Hadwin?" 15's voice comes in through the radio. "What's going on?"

"Is that Haddy?" Sop's voice intrudes in the background. "Tell him we can't access Level 2 and- ouch!"

I ignore Sop and focus on the situation at hand. "15, we've lost all contact with the outside since the KCCO started jamming us. I need you to get RO and head to the battlefield."

"Understood."

RO's voice comes in through the radio immediately after 15. "Commander, are the rest of the Commanders near you?"

I hesitate before 45 rips the radio from my hands, glances at the frequency, and tosses it onto the table. She then pulls a panel off of the table and starts pulling wires.

"What are you do-" Commander Ricardo steps as if to stop her, but Commander Gentiane places a hand on his shoulder.

45 strips two wires with her teeth and grabs a wire from her arm, pinching the connection together.

RO's voice once more fills the room, this time coming from the speakers. "Commander?"

"RO? Can you hear me?" Commander Gentiane asks.

"Ah, good." RO sounds relieved. "Loud and clear."

"UMP 45's patching your audio to all of us. We still have cameras, so we're going to relay orders through you."

"...Understood." I can hear guns racking over the link.

"Hey, RO." I bite my lip.

"Yes?"

"Can you determine the location of the jammer? If we get that down, we can get our feedback."

"Haddy, I can do it!" Sop's voice once more resounds through the chamber. "I know what direction it's coming from since it's stronger that way, so I can run a bit in that direction-"

RO cuts her sister off. "Sop's on it. 15, go with Sop. I'll head to the main battle to provide command authority."

Commander Mikhail turns to me. "Good thinking. Though, I have to question you having a radio on hand."

"Force of habit." I grunt.

"I'm wondering why AR-15 has one." Commander Kylie frowns.

"Later." Commander Gentaine cuts through the chatter. "RO, tell me when you're in position."

"I can see the battle now, looks like-" An explosion cuts her words off. After a second, she continues. "Looks like echelon 6 is currently drawing fire while 9 retreats further into base."

"Prepare to relay orders." Gentiane orders.

A brief squelch announces RO turning on her megaphone. "Ready."

"We're down to verbally broadcasting our orders." Commander Mikhail shakes his head.

The commanders quickly take back control of the situation. I close my eyes, trying to envision the struggle in my mind. It's all moving so fast, I can't actually picture anything that's going on.

M4's hand clamps down on my shoulder. "Good job."

I glance up. "I didn't do anything."

She smiles a sad smile my way, but further inquiry is cut as Kylie suddenly exclaims "Oh, shite! We've got a bunch of Cerynitis planted down on the border!"

"RO-" Commander Ricardo veins, but is cut off.

The Hydra's weapon fires once again, shaking the entire base.

"It took out the Garage! Everyone, get away from the garage!" RO shouts through her megaphone. "Regroup on me!"

I stare at the map as the adjutant dolls work to update it from the sporadic reports we can hear through the single radio and the camera feeds scattered around the battlefield. 45 seems to be doing a lot of the work, her own data processing capabilities seeming to outclass the other adjutants.

My eyes fix on a screen that perfectly frames the Hydra, unit И1704, as it aims it's weapons this way and that, trying to get a fix on the dolls. Every few seconds, it's main cannon fires, tearing holes through buildings, boiling metal supports, and absolutely destroying the roads.

As I watch, it crosses the perimeter into our base.

My eyes flick to the HOC designated as AT4. I'd fired one of those before, and I know it can't take out an entire Hydra by itself, but it can certainly cripple it. What we need is...

I turn to Commander Gentiane. "Can we have AT4 fire on the Hydra?"

"We can." She frowns. "But AT4 doesn't have enough spare rockets right now to keep it at bay for long."

"Better than losing all of our own forces." Ricardo shakes his head. "I'd say do it."

Seconds later, I watch a rocket lance forwards on a camera view, the Hydra taking two steps back in a vain attempt to get out of the way, only for the rocket to take out it's main gun.

A low, mechanical growl reverberates through the battlefield, sending chills down my spine.

A second rocket heads out only a few seconds later, and the Hydra predictably steps out of sight behind the remains of the garage.

Kylie and Ricardo quickly take advantage of the KCCO suddenly losing their main cannon, ordering Echelon 8 and 9 to start pounding the smaller forces.

"AT4, fire on that Hydra if it pokes out. Keep it contained." RO repeats Commander Gentiane's orders.

We don't hear any acknowledgement, but we'll have to hope.

Now, I just need to figure out how to deal with it permanently. "Okay, now we need to tell 2B14-"

"No can do." Mikhail shakes his head. "2B14 is a mortar. We can't fire anything this close to the base, or we risk taking out our own troops."

"But then…" I trail off as Mikhail goes back to ordering the echelons around.

I feel my stomach drop as the dolls on the battlefield start dropping, one by one, as the KCCO forces find their targets. Reinforcements arrive, but in the chaos of having all orders routed through RO, it looks like we're being pushed back even without the Hydra's active involvement.

I spot something on one of the feeds facing outwards from the base. There's a fire out in the distance, one I don't remember seeing earlier. It's kind of far out for any of the combat we've done.

"Hey M4, was that there before?" I point out the fire.

"No." She frowns. "Miss 45, can you rewind that feed?"

45 clicks her tongue, but the feed rewinds, a timestamp appearing in the bottom corner.

Sure enough, an explosion happened only a minute back.

"What went on out there?" I wonder aloud.

"...Sop." M4 taps her gloved fingers on the screen. "That's probably the location of the jammer."

I focus on that fire. The jamming isn't gone, so… I turn to 45. "Can you contact 2B14?"

She gives me a look. "No. Level 2's down. I'm talking to RO through my integrated SDR."

"They're too far from RO to hear commands as well." M4 shakes her head.

"Can RO do the same thing you're doing?" I ask 45.

"If she can't, she's not much of a hacker." 45 mutters.

"M4, is there any way to get Sop and 15 out of that area?"

"I… I suppose. We have an emergency retreat signal-"

"Okay, I have a plan." I quickly relay the details to the two, and they both nod, though 45 snarks at me about being used as a glorified data hub. I then turn to Commander Gentiane. "We need to send M4 out there to help RO."

"Nobody leaves." She repeats through grit teeth. "I already told-"

"I can give her my radio, and we'll have two units out there giving orders." I stare directly at her.

Commander Gentiane narrows her eyes and turns to the other commanders. They all nod, though reluctantly.

M4 grabs my radio, checks it briefly, before nodding to me and leaving the room, letting the door lock behind her.

Now I just have to wait. M4 knows what to do-

"Flare!"

"Flare?!"

All of the video feeds are tinted red as the bright red signal launches upwards in an arc and hangs above the battlefield.

"Who fired it?" Commander Kylie asks.

"Not sure. It looks like it was from our side though." Commander Ricardo frowns. "Who has access to flares?"

"We'll figure that out later." Commander Gentaine snaps. "Focus."

"Commanders, I'm in position." M4's quiet voice is contrasted by the gunfire in the background.

"Excellent." Commander Gentiane looks up at Commander Mikhail. "Get M4 in charge of the east side."

RO squawks all of a sudden. "Mortar! Scatter!"

"No! Hold-" M4's voice cuts her teammate off, only for a distant explosion to go off.

I curse as I watch it impact too far to the north. Yeah, Mortars aren't the most accurate, but you can hone them in through multiple strikes.

I realize a slight flaw in my plan, as I don't have any way of communicating trajectory corrections to 2B14.

45 seems to notice my panic and shakes her head, mouthing 'I've got it.'

"Where was that fired from?!" Commander Mikhail demands.

"2B14?" Kylie posits.

"No, they're on standby…" Commander Gentaiane looks at me, and I try to put on my most innocent look.

Another mortal shell can be heard shrieking through the sky, and this one smashes down just barely to the south east of the fire.

Commander Gentaine goes back to her feed. "It's way too far out to be a KCCO strike though…"

A third Mortar strike whines through the air, and this one… this one is smack on target.

The explosion is evident on the camera, a clear direct hit. All of our systems come back online. Immediately, the table lights up like a Christmas tree, T-doll statuses updating in real time. The other commanders start relaying orders separately and 45 unplugs the wires from her arm.

She's panting heavily, heat boiling from her frame in a manner I've not seen since…

I, after a moment's hesitation, gently move my arm around her shoulders and give her a slight squeeze. She glances in my direction, but I refuse to look her way. I'm still not comfortable with 45 completely and she's still a suspect in this whole debacle… but she deserves some acknowledgement of her work.

After a second or two, she leans her head on my arm and closes her eyes, the faint yellow glow no longer reflecting off any of the metallic surfaces in the room.

Now, to take out И1704.

"AT4, how many rockets do you have available?"

I don't know what the HOC's are made of, though I assume from the younger female voice on the other end that they're some sort of T-doll. "Only three!"

The other commanders glance at me with something in between curiosity and panic.

"It'll do. 2B14-"

"Hadwin, we can't fire the HOCs inside the base!" Commander Kylie turns to me. "Mortars aren't precise enough-"

"Fire at the following coordinates." I finish, staring at Kylie.

"It's… It's heading straight for the garage! All units, danger close!"

"Mortar away!"

"Hadwin, what are you doing?!" Ricardo looks at me with sickened curiosity.

I ignore them. "AT4, line up a shot through the garage. Fire…"

The mortar strike impacts the garage, bringing down even more of the wall, exposing the top of the Hydra.

"...now."

"Rocket rocket rocket!"

AEK whoops a seconds later as the Hydra, surprised by the sudden mortar strike revealing its position, is too slow to react to the new threat that impacts it squarely on the side.

The explosion lights up the night and И1704 once again bellows a deep mechanical roar.

"Of all of the crazy..." Commander Kylie shakes her head, but I ignore her comments.

"2B14, fire on this set of-"

"Hadwin." Commander Gentiane cuts me off. "Do not fire at the base, or I will shoot you here and now."

I glare her direction, but back down almost immediately. She's right, we have dolls down. I can't just shell them.

"Huh?" Commander Mikhail blinks. "They're retreating?"

"Looks like it." Commander Gentaine sighs. "All units chase to the edge of the base perimeter, but no farther. Cease fire if they stop firing on us."

"2B14." I state, and plow through Commander Gentaine's incredulous look in my direction. "In thirty seconds, fire several rounds onto the road and forest to the south of the road. Don't stop until you run out of shells."

"Hadwin, what are-" Commander Ricardo gives me a perplexed look.

"Acknowledged." 2B14's radio operator confirms.

"AT4, move u-"

"2B14, belay that." Commander Kylie says, turning to me. "If you do that, they're going to get trapped in here with us!"

"Are you sure about that?" I ask, not really looking for an answer. "AT4, prepare another rocket."

"Yeah, yeah." The voice on the other side sounds strained. "We're gonna need to move up though."

"AT4, remain where you are." Commander Mikhail states.

Once more, no acknowledgement.

And then, fire starts to rain from the sky.

The dull thumps as the mortars impact the route the KCCO are traversing start coming with barely a pause, camera feeds showing the impacts as the road quickly becomes completely unusable. The KCCO units break formation, the Hydra particularly quickly skittering off the road to the north where the rain of death isn't.

Right into the marshy area Echelon 6 had noted earlier.

"Holy shit, the Hydra is stuck!"

"AT4." I say, and a second later, a rocket lances out, blasting off one of the Hydra's back legs.

"All units." Commander Gentaine raises her voice. "Cease fire. As of now, Field Agent Hadwin has had all command authority stripped, continuing to follow his orders will result in disciplinary action."

I freeze in place, not daring to look to the side.

After a few seconds, the mortars stop. The Hydra, unit И1704, is no longer under fire and takes the opportunity to start it's retreat, along with the vestiges of the KCCO forces.

I watch, anger boiling in my chest, as the Hydra once more retreats to fight another day.

We had it. We fucking had it, the unit that killed P90.

And now we're just letting it go.

"Status." Commander Ricardo demands, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

Reports from various T-dolls start flooding in, and I sink back into my chair. I didn't even realize I had stood up.

"Field Agent Hadwin Galanis." Commander Gentaine uses my full name and title and it sends a shiver down my spine. "Come with me."

45 gets up to follow as I slowly extract myself from my chair, but Commander Gentaine plants a hand on 45's shoulder.

I'm sure 45 could break Gentaine's grip with ease, but this time, she backs down.

I follow the commander to the next room, where she directs me to sit down after locking the door.

"Explain yourself."

I stare at the blank command table, the lights of the room reflecting off of the surface as I formulate my thoughts. "Explain what?"

"Oh, come on." She rolls her eyes and her tone grows more icy. "You ordered a mortar strike within the walls of our base. You continued ordering Mortar strikes despite orders not to. Explain."

"I needed to kill the Hydra." I look away.

"Well, yes. I can see that you thought that. What I want to know is, why do you think you're allowed to contramand my orders?"

I shiver again, but I manage to make eye contact. "I didn't."

"Oh? How do you figure that?" She crosses her arms.

"You said not to fire at the base. I fired outside the base."

"I told you to stop firing, period."

"That's not how I remember it." I grumble, but speak up slightly for the next bit. "I… well, I apologize."

"For…?" She prompts.

"For disobeying your orders." I bite out.

She leans down to my eye level. "Good. Next time you disobey my orders, I'll cut you loose. If I'm feeling charitable, I maye even drop you off somewhere you might be able to survive. Understand?"

"Understood."

"Great." Suddenly, all the tension leaves the room and she collapses in her chair. "Now that that's out of the way-"

I blink, her overwhelming demeanor gone as suddenly as flipping a light switch.

"Hadwin, what do you think of the other Commander's performance?"

I narrow my eyes. "What do you mean?"

She glares at me and I shrink back into my seat again. "Did you see anything in that room that would make you think one of the other Commanders was the traitor?"

I have a hard time switching from the previous conversation to this new one, as evidenced by the words currently streaming out of my mouth. "If I had to say, the only one who's probably suspicious right now is me."

She sighs. "Damn right you are. Still, I'd like your input for now."

I drum my metal fingers on the glass of the table, making sharp tak-tak-tak sounds. "I think that whoever the traitor is, they didn't have a hand in this event."

Commander Gentaine doesn't react to my statement other than to gesture for me to continue.

"The KCCO weren't ready for an ambush. Yeah, they brought their jammer, but they would have brought that to any engagement. It's kinda stupid to fight us in a fair fight with our HOCs ready, so I guess they didn't know."

"Hmm." She stands back up. "Okay, dismissed. I have a lot of other work to do, including figuring out why two of my most advanced units decided to disobey direct orders. Since you increased my workload yet again, I'm assigning you the task of making sure all of the dolls are successfully recovered. Start with the battlefield and then head to the repair bay. You don't get to sleep until every doll is accounted for."

I stand up as well, throw her a salute, and exit the building in a hurry.

---

Fortunately, there weren't that many combat casualties. I confirmed several mangled doll corpses, retrieved the intact cores, and entered the repair facility.

There, I found Vance working tirelessly, copying each and every doll's backup to an external hard drive. When he notices me, he gestures to it and says simply, "It won't happen again."

Vance put me to work verifying the backups, which basically meant checking that the cores contain data that is largely identical to the real time backups. Several of them were off by a few minutes, and Vance told me that it was probably when Level 2 went down.

The clock ticks over to past midnight and further as we carefully restore each of the dolls to backup frames. It's not as simple as just loading the core and flicking a switch. T-dolls are complicated devices, and with the personalities installed, you have to be very careful as you initiate to not have the doll damage themselves further. Sometimes, the hardware modules don't sync up properly either which makes it even harder to initialize.

Still, by the time 0300 rolled around, we had successfully recovered most of the dolls. M500 had been one of the dolls that had needed to use her backup, and she had hung around while Vance and I restored the last doll, Mk 23.

"...And that's when I found myself on the wrong end of a Cerynitis cannon." M500 says cheerily, like she hadn't been describing her own death. "By the way, Haddy, did you see if my gun was still intact?"

I swallow back the bile threatening to escape my throat. "I… I wasn't looking for that. Sorry."

She shrugs. "No matter. I'll go look for it later."

I glance back down at the empty doll frame in front of me. It's already dressed in a brief dress, white stockings with hearts cut in the fabric and, somewhat disturbingly, a collar with a bell. It took me a bit to realize the frame is supposed to have a 'cat girl' theme, as the hair ornaments also appear to be similar to cat ears, and there's a tail disappearing up into her dress.

I glance up at M500's ears, and she gives me a questioning look. "What's up?"

"Just… ah, just wondering about your ears." I shrug, once more returning to look at the monitor that's showing the neural cloud is currently ninety percent done uploading into the frame.

"Oh?" M500 grins. "They're real handy. I can hear a mouse moving through a warehouse at the front door."

"Impressive." I reply, not really paying that much attention.

"They're kinda annoying to wash though." She frowns. "The soap always flows into my ear canals and it's such a pain to get it all out."

"Sounds annoying."

"It is! I considered not taking showers, but everyone tells me I start to smell like a dog."

I glance back at her once again, incredulous, but she's got a serious look on her face.

"Despite my complaints though, I really like my ears." Her ears flick back and forth once. "Persica told me that they made me look cute."

"...I can see that." I acknowledge, but turn back to the readout.

Hey, it's almost done, she should be waking up any time now-

Something soft starts rubbing my ankle and I almost jump out of my chair.

Looking down, I find that there's a black fur covered appendage wrapped around my ankle, and I trace back up to see Mk 23 awake, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Good morning." I deadpan, Vance and M500 snickering at how hard I startled.

"Good morning, Darling." She says, batting her eyes. Her eyes, I notice, are two different colors. One is a brilliant ruby, and the other a deep blue. Her tail continues to flick back and forth, wrapping one of my legs before switching to the other.

...I don't think I'm ever going to get used to T-dolls. They're all crazy.

"Can you please start a self-diagnosis? I'd like to make sure you're entirely back."

"Of course, darling." She winks like I had just asked her to meet me in my hotel room later.

Vance leans over. "I can take it from here, Hadwin. Go get some rest."

"Uh, but Commander Gentaine said-"

"I'll tell her you stayed until every doll was up. You were, after all." He grins. "These last self tests shouldn't take more than a few minutes anyway."

I hesitate. "If you're sure."

"Go on." He shoos me away. "Oh, M500, can you tell me what-"

I tune them out as I trudge back to my room.

There, curled up outside the door, is AR-15. She looks like she's sleeping, but as I approach her pink eyes open and start searching for mine.

"Hey, Star."

"Comm- Hadwin." She corrects herself. "Done for the night?"

"Yeah. Whatever's left of it." I yawn. "Is there something you need?"

"No." She shakes her head. "I just… wanted to talk for a while."

"Alright." I open the door to my room with my card key and check inside. No 45 tonight. "Well then, come in."

I help her off the floor and she follows me inside.

She looks around before grabbing my desk chair to sit in. "Here's your radio."

I turn around to see she's offering up the radio I had sent along with M4. "Oh. Thanks, I had forgotten about that."

"I figured. I had to go retrieve it from 2B14. Commander Gentaine was giving them a chewing out I haven't heard in a while."

I take the radio and check the battery level before plugging it in to charge. "Well… I kinda told them to fire when I shouldn't, and they didn't stop firing when told to stop firing." I sigh. "I should probably apologize for getting them into trouble."

"I don't think you need to." 15 shrugs. "I think the AT4 girls want to meet you though."

"...I'll see what I can do." I take off the Linker, pulling it over my head. After I set it up to charge, I yank Aleah's core and plug it into the charge station. It appears to work properly, but she doesn't say anything. "I've never met a HOC of any sort before."

"They're kinda weird." She shrugs. "You got used to us pretty quickly though, so there shouldn't be any issues."

"You know, I just had a doll dressed up as a cat girl wrap her tail around my leg." I sigh. "I think my capacity for weirdness is a little too lenient these days."

"Maybe." She chuckles slightly. "Hey, it's Tuesday."

"Yep."

"In nine hours, you'll have been with us for two weeks."

I stop midway through pulling a t-shirt out of my bag to sleep in. "Seriously? It feels like it's been a month."

"Two weeks." She confirms, a soft smile on her face.

15's certainly a lot different towards me now than she was when I first met her. She was the one sneering at me the first day. Well, her and 404. Now though… I suddenly realize she's not wearing her armored jacket, just her dress.

I gulp and go back to grabbing some sleep clothes.

"Everyone made it back safe, right?" She asks after a few seconds.

"Yeah. No casualties." I grunt. "We lost ten frames though."

"As long as they're not dead, right?"

I nod hesitantly. "I don't like watching any of them die though. I'd much rather have lost none of them."

"I don't think there's anyone who'd disagree with you. Still, since everyone's okay, we can treat this as a victory."

"Yeah." I concede. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, 15's looking at P90's core, seemingly lost in thought. I take her distraction as an opportunity to quickly change my pants. "Good job out there, by the way."

"Hmm?"

"If you hadn't set it on fire, we wouldn't have been able to locate the jammer."

"Oh. Yeah, that was all Sop." She sighs.

"Ah. Well, I'm sure you protected her or something worthy of praise." A wry smile crosses my face. "I didn't really know exactly what you were doing, since I was being jammed."

She snorts. "I suppose so." There's a significant pause. "Hadwin, what do you want to do?"

"About what?"

"Anything. Continuing with Griffin, going home, whatever."

I pause in unbuttoning my shirt and think. "I suppose I just want to learn how to protect those close to me." I resume unbuttoning, but at a much slower pace as I contemplate, my mood getting darker with the thoughts forming in my head. "And, getting revenge for those already hurt." I growl.

"Yeah, I get you." She stands up for the chair and stretches. "Revenge is a powerful motivator, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I flick my eyes over to 15. "How about you?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you want to do?"

She opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out for a few seconds. "I suppose I want to make sure M4 survives and that I get to survive to the day I can quit."

"What a coincidence. Our goals align." I laugh quietly.

"For now, yeah." She sounds remarkably defeated. "Listen, I told you I was infected before, right? With Parapluie?"

"You did." I shrug off my button down work shirt and shrug on my t-shirt. "What about it?"

"I don't think I'm actually going to survive." She sits back down, this time on the edge of the bed. "Even if I make it to the end, they're more than likely going to dissect me to see how my neural cloud was affected."

I snort. "If I let them."

"Do you really think you can stop Persica if she really wants to do something?"

"I don't know, but I do know that if you want to survive, I'm not gonna stand there and do nothing."

She chuckles slightly and flops down on my bed, sprawled out. "It feels good."

"Hmm?"

"Knowing someone cares."

I scratch my head.

Her cheeks color as she glances in my direction. "Er… I know this might be a lot to ask…"

I sit on the edge of the bed myself so I'm closer to her level. "What's up?"

"Can I… sleep here tonight?"

"..." I tap my fingers on my leg. "I suppose it can't hurt anything." I say cautiously.

Her flush deepens. "O-okay. Let me freshen up." She gets up and goes into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Hmm?

But she's clearly already showered since the battle. What is there-

My brain short circuits, trying to go places I keep telling it not to go.

By the time 15 comes back out of the bathroom, her hair loose around her shoulders and her blush now a darker red than her hair, I've started to sweat slightly with nerves.

I silently trade places with her, taking the time to brush my teeth as she settles on the bed.

The me in the mirror looks like death decided to smack me in the face a few times. The past two weeks have been exceedingly tiring.

Maybe I can allow myself to enjoy the little things?

I finish brushing my teeth and head back into the room, kill the lights and head back to bed.

As soon as the lights go off, two pink orbs track my movement. I use those to make sure I don't end up lying down on top of her.

"Hadwin?"

"Yeah?" I finally settle down onto the bed.

"Thank you for being there."

"Anytime." I yawn. "Thank you for being so reliable."

"Mmm."

I glance over and my eyes meet hers, the soft pink glow, I realize, is comforting. No longer 'oddly comforting', but just flat out comforting.

"What is it?"

"Just… thinking your eyes are pretty." I feel myself blushing and I turn away to lay down to hide my expression. "G-goodnight."

She doesn't respond, but I can feel one of her hands reach out and pull on the fabric of my shirt a little.

Like this, I fall asleep hoping that the night could last just a little longer.

---

Tuesday, 0749.

My bleary eyes open to find the sun had already peeked over the horizon.

I had flipped onto my back during the night and my bedmate had taken advantage of that fact to pull me into a hug, head resting on my chest.

I almost decided then and there to just go back to sleep.

Then again, I have stealth training, whatever that is, in 10 minutes. Gentaine's already pissed at me, so I think it would be really bad if I decided to just skip it.

With the arm not currently wrapped in 15's embrace, I gently shake her shoulder.

Her eyes snap open, and she takes in our current positions.

"...Hadwin, you're going to be late." She eventually says.

"Well, if you don't let me up soon, yeah." I rub my free hand through my hair. "So…"

She reluctantly lets go.

"Thanks, Star." I climb out of bed, grabbing a wrinkled set of uniform dress and shuffling into the bathroom to quickly clean myself up. No time to fix the beard problem. I just toss on my clothes, though I leave the jacket for later since I'll probably need my tac vest…

I grab the tac vest and Linker, at the last minute realizing I need to grab Aleah's core. I don't quite get it seated in the Linker when a knock on the door makes me jump.

"Haddy!" 9's voice comes through the door. "Are you showing up to practice or not?"

"I still have three minutes!" I holler back, tossing my vest onto my shoulders and slapping the pockets to make sure everything's still there, then sliding on the coat.

"It takes five minutes to walk to the warehouse." The lock beeps and the handle on the door turns. I glance at 15, who's face drains of color. "So if you don't want to be late-"

9 peers into the room, cutting herself off. "Uh, Haddy? You should really learn to clean up after yourself."

I have to grit my teeth to keep my face neutral. "Yeah well… maybe if I get some time to do it later."

In truth, 15 had just dumped my clothes out of my bag and draped the bag over herself to hide herself from view. If she was human, her breathing would have revealed her, but as it is…

"Okay… um, let's go." She glances back at the clothes strewn about, and both of us watch a sock lose its battle with gravity and slide to the floor.

"Yeah." I push past her and shut the door. There's really nothing stopping her from re-opening it, but she turns and follows me instead.

"I heard from 45-nee that you got quite a chewing out last night. I'd think you'd be more punctual given that." 9 probes, her usual smile coming out in full force.

"Well, I was working until 0300, so I suppose that might have something to do with it." I yawn. "And I find myself disappointed that I'm no longer surprised you already know the contents of a secret meeting."

9 shrugs. "We have bugs everywhere."

"I know. Still doesn't make it better." I gripe. "Anyway, yeah. Even when not under direct threat of death, I'm still not allowed to get any sleep."

"You should just become a T-doll. We don't need sleep."

I don't have the energy to make over the top reactions, so I just sigh. "Then why do you all sleep?" I had one sleeping in my bed just a few minutes ago too.

"Just to conserve power." 9 holds up a finger. "We can put ourselves into a sleep state to reduce power consumption. Sometimes, we also sort through memories and experiences to clear out garbage data. You know, maintenance time."

"Huh."

"And, some dolls will sleep to mimic a human partner."

Once again, my tiredness suppresses my reaction. Was she implying something? "Like G11 on the bus?"

"Eh… G11's a special case. But generally like that, yeah."

We've arrived at the warehouse and I note that it now has some holes in the siding that weren't there yesterday. The bubbling around the edges indicates it was probably the Hydra that had created those holes…

My jaw clenches at the mere thought of И1704.

9 pushes inside regardless of my inner turmoil, announcing our arrival with "I found him!"

Eight dolls and a human all look in my direction.

Commander Mikhail is expected, as is his adjutant Welrod and the rest of 404.

I didn't expect the four others. RO is fiddling with her hair, Sop's eyes light up as she spots me, AK-12 nods in my direction, and AN-94 just stands there resolutely.

"So you did intend to join us." Commander Mikhail smiles. "I was beginning to doubt you wanted to show up."

"Sorry." I scratch the back of my head. "Had to do some late work last night."

"I see. Well, I hope you've had your morning coffee then, since I've decided what would be best to work on first."

I lament my lack of caffeine supply internally. "Yeah?"

"According to Miss 45, you've proven to be a quick study in the field, but there's one area you have negligible experience with and I feel we should be correcting that first."

45 gives me a nod.

"Alright, what's the plan?" I note that a lot of very high spec dolls are in the room, and I start to really hope it's not combat.

"We're going to be doing Level 2 hacking drills." Commander Mikhail beams.

"Eh?"

"Really?!" Sop leaps from her spot and lands next to me, facing the Commander. "Do I get to participate?"

RO glares at her teammate. "Why else would I insist you bring that wretched thing?" She points to the yellow Dinergate in Sop's arms.

"I wouldn't have invited you here if you hadn't. In fact, all of you have been invited here to assist with the training. Most of those here have electronic warfare modules installed, or are at least familiar with the process." When AK-12 and AN-94 exchange a look, Commander Mikhail smiles. "Yes, even you two."

"I knew Ange let us participate too easily." AN-94 sighs.

"In any case, Hadwin, do you have your Linker?"

"Yeah, right here." I tap the device around my neck. I'm not sure what else it could be mistaken for, but Mikhail seems satisfied with this response.

"Very good. I have set up a private Level 2 network accessible from this room. All of you that are participating, please connect up to the jacks on the wall to begin.

Of the assembled dolls, only 416 and G11 remain where they are. I give 416 a questioning look even as I move towards an empty seat myself.

She lifts the sleeping G11 into the air by the smaller girl's collar. "We're not suited to electronic warfare." She states simply. "Do not worry, I will stand guard until you wake."

"Thanks, 416." I sit down into my chair, noting that Welrod is setting up some complicated connection between herself and Mikhail's Linker. I suppose if they're going to be running the exercise, they might need extra processing power or something. In any case, I plug the cable into my Linker and flip the on switch.

Immediately, my head is assaulted with a wall of static, the light jabbing into my brain like a thousand red hot needles. I reach for the off switch, but due to the sudden unexpected pain, it takes me a few attempts to locate the switch.

As I struggle through the pain, a small part of my brain realizes that the environment is actually something that can be called an environment. The wall of spiky light is actually a wall, just horribly mangled through electronic noise. It's still incredibly painful.

I finally find the off switch and flip it, releasing me from the torment of my own doing. I pull the Linker off of my head and realize that I had never properly seated Aleah's core.

"Commander?" 416's eyes narrow, obviously noticing my pain.

"It's nothing." I give her a small smile and carefully plug in Aleah's core before tentatively powering on the device once again, going into Level 2.

This time, there's no spikes of pain, but just a plain room that S.A.T. had helped me customize.

Aleah steps into sight, the faceless mannequin avatar of hers asserting its presence before we step out of the room and into the main section of the simulation.

The scenery is of a slightly overgrown garden with a water fountain in the center, like you might imagine attached to the side of an abandoned mansion. Though, looking around, there appears to be nothing but forest on all sides. In the clearing, all of the dolls and Commander Mikhail stand around, turning to see me as I materialize out of thin air. What throws me the most, however...

"...Why are there rainbows?" I find myself asking.

"Why not?" I turn to see Commander Mikhail looking around at the world. "If we're going to be in here all day, it might as well be nice to look at."

"I suppose." I glance at Welrod beside him, who just nods in my direction.

I look down at my hands and realize that my left is still my mechanical hand Sop made me. In fact, looking around, everyone looks identical to how they do outside. Most notably, 45 still has one eye closed and her arm duct-taped whereas last time we were on level 2 together…

The mannequin of Aleah turns to me, and if it had eyes, I swear it would be staring straight through my soul. I suddenly remember that she's basically able to read my thoughts. So, she knows all about-

"Alright, no point wasting time." Commander Mikhail claps his hands together to get everyone's attention. "I'm sure you're all aware of why you're here."

Sop raises a hand. "Um, I don't."

RO sighs heavily, but Commander Mikhail just smiles at the doll with the sharp teeth. "We need to teach Hadwin how to both defend himself in Level 2 and also attack another system."

"Ohhh!" Sop's eyes light up. "You're gonna teach us to be cyberhackers!"

I can see Mikhail's eye twitch at the label, but he doesn't lose his patient smile. "Indeed. Welrod?"

Welrod steps forwards and gestures, ripping a hole in reality. A doorway filled with black smoke appears out of thin air and she nods to Commander Mikhail.

"We're going to send Hadwin in there with two of you at a time. There's three separate scenarios we've prepared, so there's no real benefit to going in any particular order. I'll leave you all to figure it out between yourselves who goes first." He turns to me as the dolls start looking back and forth between each other. "Hadwin, have you had any experience with penetrating computer systems?"

"...I cleaned a virus off of my computer once."

He sighs. "Well, we're definitely going to have to change that."

45 pops off of the wall she had been sitting on, dusting invisible dust off of her skirt. "I think 9 and I will go last."

9 turns to her sister. "Eh?"

"In that case, I'm going first!" Sop cheers.

"We'll take the middle round then." AK-12 shrugs.

RO turns to Mikhail. "Commander, what about her?" She points to Aleah.

"Hmm… I forgot that Hadwin would be bringing along one extra." He ponders for a moment or two. "Excuse me, I don't know your name."

"Aleah."

"Aleah then. Would you like to accompany Hadwin?"

"It will not be necessary. As I am interpreting for Hadwin, I will be able to see everything he does."

"That's kinda creepy." 9 states.

"It's fine." I cut into the conversation. "Without her, all I can see is static."

"Still. She should probably be present to observe, so it's less… creepy." AN-94 looks away. "I don't like having someone watch me that I can't see."

"Well, it'll make communication that much easier." Commander Mikhail shrugs. "Go ahead and join him."

Aleah nods and steps up behind me, posture perfectly straight.

45 narrows her eye, but doesn't comment.

Sop grabs my arm. "Let's go, Haddy!"

"Yeah, yeah." I pat her head with my other hand and RO steps up to my other side.

"Okay." I turn to Commander Mikhail. "So, just go in through that?" I jerk my chin at the door of doom.

"That's correct. If you get stuck, rely on those at your side. Don't let them do all the work though." His expression is suddenly predatory. "If you do, you might just find yourself on the wrong end of some nasty surprises."

I gulp, resisting the urge to shudder, and walk towards the hole in space.

The smoke roils, but I can feel neither the heat of smoke or the chill of mist, just the softest sensation of something on my hand. Taking a deep breath (away from the smoke), I push through the doorway.

Immediately, the world looks like an entirely different place. Rather than rainbows, the sky is full of ominous rain clouds. Behind me, the doorway disappears leaving a perfectly flat landscape behind me, featureless. In front of me is a wall spanning from as far as the eye can see in either direction.

Sop runs up to the wall, her yellow Dinergate following her as she starts poking at the bricks.

RO turns to me. "Were you serious about never having done anything like this before?"

"I only learned how to access level 2 last week." I point out. "And I'm not really much of a computer person." I hear what could possibly be a snort, but when I look behind me, all I see is Aleah. "Er… Anyway, I have no idea what I'm doing. In fact, why's there a brick wall here?"

"..." RO gathers her thoughts. "Alright. First of all, none of this is real."

"...Duh?"

She rolls her eyes. "What I mean is that your brain is probably not able to handle hacking by itself. The Linker and Aleah are converting what would essentially be a massive torrent of data into a form you can comprehend." She points to the brick wall. "That is the weakest firewall in existence, clearly made to give you an idea of what to do."

I glance back at the 4 meter tall, seemingly endless wall where Sop and Banana are poking at random bricks. "That's weak?"

"Obviously. First of all, you can tell it's there. A good firewall would have to be found first. If you know what you're attacking, it makes it a lot easier. Second, there's no active security features, no watchdogs to try to catch you before you can break in. Third-" She steps towards the wall, finger tracing the grout. "There's obvious points of attack. No self respecting server would have attack vectors just available like this."

"Unless it's a trap!" Sop says, once more tapping a brick. Nothing of note happens.

"All that is to say, this is the equivalent of us handing you a pistol that has bullets that home in on the target. It's hard to fail."

I turn towards the wall fully. Hard to fail, she says.

Sop runs back to us. "So, when do I get to open up the wall?"

RO shakes her head. "Hadwin has to figure it out."

"Aw, but I found the entry point a while ago!"

"If you hadn't when you had that with you, I'd wonder if you were blind." RO glares at Banana.

I step up to the wall, ignoring the T-dolls. The bricks appear to be completely normal bricks, and the grout between them perfectly normal grout. I run my fingers along a few of them, but…

It's just a wall.

Well, Sop found it, so it has to be around here, right?

I start to poke at the bricks, sometimes with my shoes, sometimes with my hands, trying to find anything that doesn't seem right.

After ten minutes of this, I feel Sop's hand on my shoulder. "Um, Haddy?"

"What's up?"

"...Can you really not see what you need to do?" She asks, tilting her head in worry.

I resist the urge to glare at her, but then she continues.

"I mean, I'm pretty bad at this whole hacking thing. RO's got the Electronic Warfare module, but I have to use the EW module inside of Banana or I'm completely useless. Even then, I found the hole pretty much instantly."

"...Okay then, enlighten me."

"Wellll…" She looks over her shoulder. "I'm not really supposed to say."

"Can you at least give me a hint?"

She purses her lips and glares at the wall. "Try… not poking at the wall?"

I run the bridge of my nose. "Thanks, Sop." I turn and walk back to RO, who's currently staring at Aleah. Aleah's standing perfectly still, like a mannequin should. "Hey RO?"

"Yes?"

"Am I supposed to see something other than a wall?" I ask, a hint of desperation creeping into my voice. "It's going to take me literal years to figure it out if I just go around poking the wall."

"Indeed you will. At the speed you process things, a brute force attack would take approximately two millennia to complete."

"Encouraging." I glance back at the wall. A literal brick wall in my way. "Maybe I can just climb over?"

"I'll tell you now that that's not going to work. It's not actually a wall, it's a chunk of code denying you access." RO steps up to me. "Okay, fine, follow me for a second."

She leads me right up to a section of the wall that could have been any random section of wall. "Here. It's around here."

I once more examine the bricks. After a few minutes of careful scrutiny, I determine that one of the ones near the bottom is maybe a slightly darker shade of brick red than the others. I lean down and poke it, but it seems cemented in place. Then I try to prise it out, but again, it's held in pretty firmly.

"Nope." I sit down and cross my arms. "I don't get it."

RO studies me. "Giving up?"

"What do you want me to do?" I ask, a note of desperation in my voice. "All I see is a big wall!"

"Have you tried looking down?"

I immediately look at the ground around me. At first glance, it's just a bunch of pavers set into a geometric grid, but on closer inspection-

I stand up to get a better view. Yeah… some of the pavers are darker, and they form rings around one particular paver. I walk over to it and poke it.

It moves slightly.

I prise up the paver after a few seconds of scrabbling with my fingers to reveal a small button. I jam my palm down on it and, with a horrible grating noise, the brick wall starts to move, shifting to reveal an opening.

"But…" I mutter to myself. "That's not even part of the wall."

"Again, this is just a representation." RO places a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, the next part awaits."

"..." Right, this wouldn't be over after one challenge. "This is going to take forever."

---

Thankfully, it didn't take forever.

Just four-ish hours.

Back in reality, I gratefully accepted a cup of coffee 416 had grabbed for me. Sop and RO had been called away by Commander Gentaine, leaving 404 and DEFY behind for the rest of my lesson.

"Towards the end there you started to grasp the idea." Commander Mikhail says. "You just need to figure out what's wrong, what's different."

I massage my temples with my free hand, the Level 2 headache showing up despite Aleah's assistance. "Sure, let's go with that. I'm pretty sure I'm no good at this hacking thing."

"It's too soon to give up after only half an hour." 45 admonishes me.

"Huh?" I glance at my phone. 0841. "What the-"

"Time moves slower out here than in there. You should know this." AK-12 steps up to me.

"I… I suppose." I grimace, the headache threatening to get worse at the mere thought of going back in there for… how many more hours?

"In any case, it's our turn." AK-12 grips both of my shoulders. "Let's hop back into it."

"...I guess it's best to get it over with." I drain my coffee and set the empty cup down.

"Great!" Commander Mikhail rubs his hands together. "Now, we're going to switch gears and see how well you can fend off attacks."

I reluctantly sit back in my seat and activate the Linker once again.

When I finally appear next to the fountain, all of the others are already waiting for me.

Commander Mikhail coughs into his fist once. "I was going to put you through two more courses like that one, but in light of your… lack of experience, we'll leave it there for now. Instead, as I mentioned, we'll be working on your own mental defenses."

I nod.

"AK-12 and AN-94 will be assisting you for this portion. AK-12, AN-94, if you would."

They step up to me, and for the briefest of moments, AK-12 opens one of her eyes just a little.

I'm starting to get cold feet again.

"AN." AK-12 turns to her subordinate. "You first."

"Me?" AN-94 blinks.

AK-12 nods.

I brace as AN-94 turns to me. I don't know what form this attack will come in, but I'll be prepa-

For a fraction of a second, it feels like I pressed my hands on my eyes, my vision distorting and sparks appearing over everything.

The next thing I'm aware of, the world is sideways, with Aleah standing over me facing towards AN-94 and AK-12. 12's eyes are open and AN-94's expression is full of concern.

"Wh-" I try to stand up, but my arms refuse to follow my commands and I flop back down to the floor.

"Hadwin, are you okay?" AN-94 steps forwards, only to be blocked by Aleah.

"Ah dun noh wha…" My tongue refuses to work, feeling thick in my mouth.

Commander Mikhail rushes over to me. "AN-94, what did you do?"

"I… I just sent a probe! I didn't realize he had no defenses at all!" She's clearly starting to panic.

"Hadwin!" Commander Mikhail rolls me onto my back and I find myself staring at the ceiling. "Can you hear me?"

"Uh-huh."

"Is there anything that feels weird?"

"Ah…" I swallow. "I think I'm okay." Oh good, my tongue is working again.

He turns to the Mannequin. "Aleah?"

"Neural output seems nominal."

With what feels like a monumental amount of effort, I force myself to sit up, ignoring how the world spins around my head for a few seconds, before coming back into focus. "Hey, I have a dumb idea. How about we do some theory so I'm not getting my brain poked constantly?"

"Theory doesn't work with level 2." Commander Mikhail stares off into space for a second. "Humas have to feel an attack to be able to figure out where to defend from."

"Okay then." I massage my temples again. "I figured out that a probe smashes my eyeballs in and melts my brain temporarily. How do I stop it doing that?"

Commander Mikhail bites his lip, before turning to AN-94. "AN-94, can you please probe me? I'd like to evaluate the strength of this probe."

AN-94 hesitates, but when AK-12 pushes her forwards a little, she steps up to Commander Mikhail.

A second later, a small ball of light appears in front of Mikhail. The two remain staring at each other for a few seconds before Mikhail turns to Welrod. "Anything?"

"Nothing particularly aggressive." Welrod shakes her head. "Hadwin's natural response must be fairly weak."

Ugh. Now that the sudden disorientation is gone, the headache is coming back in full force.

AK-12 steps past Aleah and squats down next to me. Her eyes had closed since the last time I had been looking in her direction. "Hadwin, may I try?"

"...Why?"

"I'm just curious. Don't worry, I'll do my best to be gentle."

In the background, 9 snickers.

"Nnnno… I think I'll pass." I close my eyes. "That felt like someone reached into my head and squeezed."

"What if I promise to help you practice your defenses?" AK-12 raises an eyebrow.

"It's what you two were already supposed to do, I think."

"You're not going to do anything to Hadwin." 45 says firmly. I glance back to see she had decided to stand right behind me, arms crossed. "Aleah, wasn't part of your duty to shield him from attacks?"

"It would be disingenuous to protect him during practice. I am unable to provide defenses at all times, so he must learn to provide his own."

"...She has a point." Commander Mikhail reluctantly admits. "Hadwin, are you sure you don't want to continue?"

"I'm sure." I sigh before shaking my head. "But I'm also sure I need to learn this."

AK-12 perks up slightly. "So-!"

"Try it." I hear 45 mutter under her breath, as her hand clamps down on my shoulder.

"It's okay, 45." I assure her, before facing AK-12 again. "Okay, you can try, but seriously, do it slowly or something."

"Uh, 45-nee?" 9's voice is unsteady. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

I ignore the twins as AK-12 sits down in front of me, crossing her legs and her arms. "Okay then, I will begin momentarily. Please be prepared."

I brace myself only for a wave of pressure to hit me a fraction of a second later. It feels like opening an oven, but instead of heat it's a blast of wind. Unlike a normal blast of wind though, it's fairly constant pressure, but it swirls around my head.

I mentally push back against the pressure, trying to force it to stop buffeting me.

As quickly as the pressure had arrived, it vanishes. AK-12 holds her face in her hand for a second, contemplating me. Then, her eyes open, and I'm looking into twin pink-red orbs. I feel the pressure and I again try to push against it.

This repeats, AK-12 probing and me pushing against it, for a while. It gets to the point where I can almost barely stop it from pushing me when she finally closes her eyes again.

"Interesting." She turns to Commander Mikhail. "For whatever reason, his Linker is accepting data in all forms as fast as it can be provided."

"Why?"

AK-12 shrugs. "Not my expertise. He has, however, constructed the most rudimentary of mental barriers. AN, if you would?"

AN-94 glances at me nervously. "But what if I hurt him again?"

I take a deep breath and once more get ready to mentally push outwards. "Go for it."

"Okay." She blinks. "Starting my probe in three, two, one-"

Compared with AK-12's prodding, this feels like a truck coming out of nowhere. I have to close my eyes and grit my teeth to withstand the attack.

No, not attack. This is just a probe.

After what feels like a few minutes, the pressure releases and I can relax.

"Hadwin, are you okay?" AN-94 crouches down in front of me.

"Yes, thank you." I give her a wry smile. "Man, I'm pretty weak though if a regular probe feels like that."

45 leans on my shoulders again and I glance up at her. Her face is decidedly smiley, which normally means 'run away as fast as possible'. "Are you two done?"

"Well, it depends." AK-12's eyes open a crack.

"Now now." Commander Mikhail steps in between the two. "AN-94, how was it this time?"

"There was at least some resistance this time!" Her face splits into a frankly adorable smile. "He's improving by orders of magnitude!"

Huh? I don't feel like I'm improving.

My confusion must have shown on my face because 9 leans in and stage whispers to me. "Orders of magnitude over nothing is still pretty weak."

"I know that." I roll my eyes. "But at least I'm learning."

45's face suddenly goes blank, like she's left her body for a few seconds, only to return to her senses and glare at Commander Mikhail.

"Well then." Commander Mikhail once again claps his hands. "With that, I think we should be done for today. Hadwin." Commander Mikhail draws my undivided attention. "Given your performance today, I would highly recommend you don't access any public networks, or possibly any unsupervised networks like the base's main network until you're able to guard against attacks."

"Yeah." I have a massive headache that's still growing to drive the point home. "I understand."

"Now, in the meantime-"

45 steps around me and leans down. "We're going to be practicing this later."

I just groan.

In the corner of my eye I can see 9's eyes narrow and AK-12 turn towards us slightly.

"-so, everyone log out and I'll shut down the server." Commander Mikhail finishes his statement, which I had almost entirely missed due to 45.

I nod to Aleah and the world in front of me starts to dissipate.

The sight of the mostly empty warehouse is welcome, though the headache isn't. I sag back into my chair, not bothering to turn off the headset. If Aleah wants to read my thoughts, she can. Just don't put me back into Level 2.

"Commander?" I glance up to see 416 is standing very close to me, her hands clasping her weapon so tightly, I can hear the leather of her gloves creaking. "What went on in there?"

"As it turns out, I suck at electronic warfare."

"You looked like you were having a heart attack." She informs me.

"I really suck at electronic warfare."

Next to me, 9 and 45 wake up, followed closely by AK-12 and AN-94. Commander Mikhail and Welrod take slightly longer still.

I glance at my watch as the Commander disentangles himself from his setup.

0950.

I had been in there far longer than I thought. Maybe I just didn't notice when trying to defend from those attacks.

"Well… that went poorly." Commander Mikhail cracks his neck. "I see why Miss 45 was concerned."

I just nod.

"I was planning on spending all of our allotted time in Level 2, but since we're done with that for today, I think it's best if we move on to practical things."

"Practical things?" I echo.

"Yes." He walks over to a storage locker and pulls out a bag. "I'm not really that good at electronic warfare myself. I rely on Welrod for that." He rests his free hand on her head and she puffs her chest out with a slight blush. "My area of expertise is physical stealth. Since we're not doing any of her specialty, might as well move over to mine."

I rub my temples again and wonder what I did to deserve this.

---

Lunch was brief, with an odd assortment of foods including sandwiches provided by Springfield and a small cake Sop had brought back with her after she was done with Gentaine's work. RO was still busy until almost 1600, when we finally wrapped up for the day.

As soon as Commander Mikhail told us we were dismissed, I feel 416 grab my hand and pull me away from the rest of the group.

I almost try to break her grip in surprise, but I remember at the last second that I had promised her we would go to the shooting range together.

Before we even get halfway there, my stomach protests no breakfast and a light lunch as loudly as it can.

416 stops after hearing my stomach. "Hungry?"

"A little." I admit.

"We'll grab dinner first." She changes directions without letting go of me, once more dragging me with determination.

Predictably, we end up inside Springfield's cafe.

There, the rest of 404 waves us down and 416, after a moment of indecision, pulls me towards them.

"So here's our lovebird duo." 9 snarks.

"No shooting range?" 45's eyebrow shoots up.

"Hadwin's hungry." 416 states simply. "We'll go to the range afterwards."

G11 glances from her plate to where I sit across the table. She almost stands up, presumably to try to climb into my lap, but 416 glares at her. G11 sits back down.

Springfield shows up at the table, glances at me and 416 questioningly as she drops off three meals for 9, 45, and G11.

I order a sandwich and turn back to the table.

"So, Hadwin." 9 rests her elbows on the table and puts her chin in her hands. "I have some questions for you."

I can't resist sighing. "Why now?"

"No time like the present." She sips her drink. "I've had a hard time pinning you down recently."

"You could just stop by my room in the middle of the night like everyone else." I grumble.

This puts three of the four dolls at my table on pause.

"What do you mean?" G11 asks, tilting her head.

"I mean, dolls keep showing up outside my room." I deadpan.

"Is that why AR-15 was hiding in your room earlier?" 9's eyes flick around to 45 before returning to look at me.

"...Yes." I suppose hiding in a duffel bag wasn't the best hiding spot. Sorry, 15. "How did you…?"

"She's one of the few dolls I can't sense, and if it wasn't her, it would have to be a human, and unless you somehow convinced Kalina of all people to sleep with you, it would have to be someone else small enough to fit into that space."

"Kalina isn't that small. Depending on where you look..." G11 mutters, but everyone else ignores the grumpy doll.

"Well, I suppose that answers one of my questions." 9 muses, fork stirring her food. "What's up with you and 45-nee?"

"...She and I are discussing, uh, delicate matters." I glance around to see if anyone's eavesdropping. "You know, the whole…"

45 turns to her 'twin'. "Iago."

"Ahhhh." 9 sags into her seat. "That. I forgot about that. I thought you and 45-nee were dating with how close you've been, but if it's about that…"

"Of course they're not." 416 speaks up from beside me. "I'm dating him."

"Oh? It was you who kissed him at the party?"

416's gaze turns hostile.

"Calm down, both of you." 45 says from around a bite of her food. "Hadwin, do you remember what we went over today?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Make sure you practice those real life stealth skills in your spare time." A wicked grin spreads across her face. "If what I'm hearing from the Commander is accurate, you'll need those skills."

I gulp, but nod.

Springfield brings 416 and my dishes to the table, and I happily dig in.

The rest of the meal goes quickly, small talk relegated to the training from earlier.

Once done, 416 grabs my arm and pulls me out of the cafe before I can even pay. I have to pray Springfield just puts it on my tab and doesn't try to track me down or anything.

Before long, I find myself at the firing range. I still had my Walther PPQ on me from earlier, but I realized I didn't have a replacement for my actual assault rifle.

When I go to rent one from the doll manning the counter, 416 gives me a look.

"...What?"

"Nothing."

"It's clearly not nothing." I take the weapon handed to me, a few boxes of ammo, and put the headphones on. These headphones are supposed to allow me to talk normally but preserve my hearing. I've been firing enough guns without them that I suspect I'll be deaf soon regardless, but I'll comply with their rules.

"I just hate M16s." She looks away.

"...Because of the M16?"

She nods. "She's the reason I have to live on the run."

"Really?" I push open the door. There's nobody else at the range for the moment, so I pick a random lane.

"I was part of her team, once." She grit her teeth, staring at the gun in my hands. "She kicked me out in the middle of an important mission, and when it went belly up, all of the dolls associated with the mission were purged. I narrowly escaped, and somehow, M16 did too."

"Ah." I glance at the M16. "Er, do you need me to get a different weapon?"

"Nein." She sighs. "It's an M16A4, ja? The M16 is an M16A1. It's an entirely different weapon."

"I guess." I don't see the difference personally, but whatever.

She lays her namesake on the counter of the firing line next to mine, seeming to hesitate in her next words. "I used to be in a squad with M16. Not with Griffin."

I decide not to interrupt her, but instead start loading the magazines with the purchased rounds.

"I had a different designation then. You see, my weapon is modeled off of the M4 platform, which is the family of weapons that everyone in Anti-rain uses. Same magazine, same bullets. I was designed to be an elite doll unit, to stand above even them. Then, M16 ruined my life."

"I see."

"This is why, someday, I will kill her." She picks up her gun, sets a target with the console beside her, and slides a magazine in. "This is my motivation for living."

"Thank you for telling me." I say softly.

She nods.

We spent the next two hours firing our respective weapons downrange. 416 gave me plenty of tips, and after the first hour, she had me turn the Linker back on- not to Level 2, thankfully, but just to act as a HUD. With Aleah's help, I managed to wield my weapon less as a mild deterrent and more as a lethal weapon of war as intended.

Something I had eventually noticed is that 416 really doesn't like to talk much. She'll say what she needs to, but otherwise just pushes forwards with whatever she's currently doing. Like, right now, where she's walking back to my room with me. She never asked, but I guess I never told her she couldn't.

I'm glad that, as I approach my door, there's nobody there to intercept 416 and I. I hope nobody's in my room either, but before I can fish out my access card, 416 clears her throat.

"Comm- Hadwin." She uses my first name, and her cheeks start to turn red. "Thank you for coming on this date with me."

"No problem." I finish pulling my card out of my pocket. "Anytime. Well, Anytime I'm not busy, or have other obligations…"

She nods. "Of course." She hesitates again. "M-may I ask you for something?"

"If I can do it." I nod. "After all, you've been… Well, you've been someone I can count on." I scratch my cheek awkwardly. "What do you want?"

"...Can I have a kiss, then?" Her bright green eyes glow even brighter in the dark hallway leading to my room.

I do my best to keep my face neutral as my tired, aching brain shifts into overdrive.

If I kiss her, then I'll be admitting that I like her.

I mean, I do.

Just… not sure how much I do.

Then again, she's clearly been enamoured by me for some time. If I'm completely honest with myself, I enjoy her quiet confidence and how she's always right there.

But…

I mentally throw my hands up in defeat. I can't figure this out right now.

I make up my mind and turned back to 416.

She closes her eyes expectantly.

I place my hands on her shoulders, preparing myself. I mean… I'm really committing to this, aren't I?

Just… just kiss her. It's not hard is it?

I lean in, drawing her closer and closer.

An idle thought strays through my head, that I can just kiss her on the cheek.

Without really putting conscious thought into it, I lean over ever so slightly and my lips land on her cheek, right below the teardrop marking under her eye.

Her eyes fly open in surprise and her hand moves to caress the place where my lips had made contact. Is… is that disappointment in her eyes?

Sorry, I'm not…

I push myself away, but my arms are still on her shoulders. "W-well-"

She cuts me off, grabbing my shirt, pulling me in and planting a kiss right on my lips.

She holds us together for a few seconds before letting go. "Das ist es, was ich wollte."

"Uh..."

She turns on her heel and walks away, her steps abnormally springy.

I just stare after her until she's out of sight.

"...I really need to learn German."

In any case, I open my room to find it empty. My duffel bag is repacked, 15 apparently cleaning it up after I had left.

I shed my dirty uniform, take a quick shower and crash into my bed.

...I'm sure kissing 416 is going to have consequences. I'm not sure what they are.

But do I regret it?

No, I don't think I do.

Checking my clock, it's only 2100. I'm tired, but I'm not sure if I'm tired enough to fall asleep immediately.

Actually…

I grab my Linker and pull it onto my head, turning it on.

"Hadwin?" Aleah's voice asks me inquisitively.

"Hey, I wanted to know if you'd be willing to do me a favor."

"Of course. What is it?"

"Can we practice mental defences on level 2?" I think through the link between us. "I want to get better at it as soon as possible."

"...I suppose." She seems unusually hesitant and she immediately realizes I notice this. "To be honest, you may not need that much help."

"That's not what Mikhail said."

"Yes, but in fact, your rate of growth is exponentially faster than could be expected of most humans. Aside from some anomalies due to 45's interference-"

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"Yes. I figured you would be aware. 45 modified your Linker in a way that denies me access to anything more than what you are focusing on at any given moment. It also seems to be hiding my attempts to provide a shield for you. I fear that in time, I may not be able to provide any meaningful assistance to you."

"Dammit, 45." I heard a note of regret in her voice, and decide to address it. "Well, if it comes to that, we'll get you a doll frame. I'll let you pick out one you like."

"...Very well. I will start looking at available options."

"For what it's worth, you've been really helpful to me, and I'm grateful. If you decide to stop helping me tomorrow, there's no hard feelings."

"...Thank you."

"Alright, so about that training?"

"We can try, but I may become unable to assist you faster." She warns.

"Better that than I get my brains fried." I twist my mouth into a wry smile. "Let's do this."

---

Author's note: I do not condone these echelon formations. Especially since most of them don't have HGs for a night battle…
I also provided cake, a rainbow and a unicorn as promised. Kinda.

Beta Note: Why need HGs when all you need is the PEQ-16A attachment? Totally won't ruin their day.
Also, Hadwin actually kissing a T-doll of his own volition? Impossible!