(27/10/2056 | 22:24)
The march went by quicker than expected.
With the additional numbers, and the guidance of Negev's team, the path to the rally point was clear cut. For the first time, the four rescuees felt as if the enemy wasn't nipping at their heels. X95 was able to attend to MCX's injuries far better than MP-448 could have hoped for. The path too and from their destination had already been thoroughly cleared by their reinforcements, letting them all focus on speed over defense.
Mosin stayed at the front of the formation with Negev, preferring to have the rambunctious captain within earshot. Several times in the past, when the Siberian was also a team leader, she'd worked with the group. Back then, the team's aptitude was unquestioned. They were arguably the most well regarded formation in Griffin.
But back then, Jericho was in charge. About a year ago, she'd heard down the grapevine of some 'incidents' in occupied Poland. She'd also been told that Negev had inherited leadership, and that was when the team's new reckless reputation had supplanted the old one.
The situation was confounding, and it made her think of questions upon questions. But judging from how TAR-21 had recoiled at the mention of Jericho, it was best to leave those questions for another day.
So she marched on, side by side with a doll whom once upon a time she'd found crying in a foxhole out of sheer fear for her life. Wondering how the terrified pup had grown into a vicious husky.
In what seemed to be their first and only lucky break this night, the group did not run into more hostile forces. There was no ambush, no patrols, a reprieve from their long day as they approached their destination. Through the brush, Mosin could soon see red paint splashed across a bunker entrance. A point of interest that Grizzly's team had stumbled upon earlier in this operation.
A good place to hole up as any.
As the group stepped out of the brush to approach the entrance, a beam of light cast down upon them. White enveloped each doll, turning them blind to the world. Behind them, Mosin and Negev could hear someone falling over. For the two elites, they lifted a hand to shield their vision and look forwards.
"Stand down! It's the away team!" A harsh voice called out, English twang ever present.
The light dissipated right after, vision clearing up so that Mosin could see the barrels of four different weapons aimed squarely at their heads. Two assault rifles and two anti-material rifles, each with a colorful Commonwealth doll behind them.
Bren stepped out from the barricade, barking an order to TAC-50. The sniper complied, producing a remote and pressing the button. As the gears spun and a loud shrill sound rung into the night, Bren waved at the new arrivals with urgency.
"Stop faffin' about and get inside! We just had an enemy patrol fly by!" Bren demanded. With a new sense of urgency, there was a small stampede as everyone piled in through the newly opened door, Bren entering last before slamming the button to close the bulkhead back up behind them.
MP-448 went further down the steps, keeping MCX in hand as she told the others she planned to find somewhere to let her teammate rest. Negev led her team down into the depths to refit and reload. Which left Bren with Mosin and G36, the three of them remaining at the exit even once the door shut.
"Did the scouts see you?" Mosin asked, slinging her rifle and flexing the servos in her fingers.
"Without a doubt. Radio's still a mess too." Bren told the others. "Those bloody bombs the Air Force set off caused it, apparently. Some anti-Sangvis countermeasure bollocks."
"It clearly did not work as they expected, seeing as we and Sangvis are still operational." Mosin observed, glancing at G36. "Has the Commander tried to contact you via your Zener link?"
The tired maid nodded, her own rifle now hanging over her shoulder. "Several times. I can sense someone trying to establish a connection, but it always breaks."
"But Zener doesn't work on wavelengths, so this bomb bullshite shouldn't matter." Bren reminded them.
"It is not the first time Zener has failed us. Though it is the second time it has failed us when Intruder is in the area." G36 pointed out to the Brit, reminding her that their communications had been disrupted during the defense of the Sector 09 Outpost.
"Thought the same." Bren agreed.
"This is the second time you've fought this ringleader?" Mosin asked, knowing little of what had happened before she and her team had been transferred to the Sector. "What happened?"
"A lot of us died." Bren said, the unpleasant memory of SAR-21 getting thrown off of a rooftop coming back to her. "She killed Springfield and Garand with'er own two hands."
"Here I was hoping she was some kind of coward and this would be easy." Mosin said with a sigh.
"Strength is proven through adversity. We'll slot the bitch eventually." Bren assured, before looking down the ramp. The machine-gunner then shot off a loud whistle into the depths, followed by the sound of footsteps. "In the meantime, the Captains are holding a meeting in thirty minutes. Talk to your mates and head to the central chamber."
"Our 'mates'?" G36 asked as Bren walked down the ramp and out of sight. As her footsteps tapped away, a new group came closer. One set seemed to drop off, but the other two kept going, until another pair appeared at the bottom of the ramp.
SVD appeared, moving up the ramp with a cocky smirk. Her cape had been burned to a crisp, and her left arm had been damaged down to the metal up to her elbow, but she seemed unperturbed. StG44 came into view quickly, somehow remaining clean despite the situation, but the moment her eyes fell upon G36, she froze.
A small shriek came and left the maid, before she broke into a sprint. Down the ramp, almost knocking over SVD before she jumped into the arms of her second in command. StG44's neural cloud went wild, reacting poorly to the personal contact as she always did. But she swallowed it, if only for the sake of her girlfriend.
As the two lovers enjoyed their reunion, SVD met up with her team member. Mosin shared her fellow sharpshooter's grin, lifting her hand to give her leader a salute.
"Reporting as ordered, Captain." Mosin said.
"Fashionably late as always, Yuri?" SVD asked, waving away the formal greeting.
Mosin grinned from ear to ear, letting her carefree self shine again now that they were out of harm's way. "Ohoho, my real name? You really must be feeling sentimental."
"I can count the Russians I like on one hand. Feel honored." The Captain said playfully.
Mosin laughed heartily, pleased that someone else still managed to hold onto their sense of humor. "Of course, of course. Everyone else arrived before me, yes?"
SVD let a grimace slip through, her head shaking at the question. "Nemaye. Saiga is still missing. The others have made it and have been mostly repaired."
The news took some pep out of Mosin's step, though she shook the negativity out of her system right after. "She'll be fine."
"My thoughts exactly." SVD assured. "The Commander has a plan to try and salvage what we can. The remaining Captains and Lieutenants are discussing how to move forwards."
"Then we know where we are going." Mosin decided, turning to go down the steps.
"Wait." SVD demanded, grabbing the Siberian's arm before she got too far away. "I need to warn you, there's a familiar face who's made her return."
Mosin turned to look back, confused. "I've already spoken with Negev."
SVD shook her head again. "Not Negev. The Old Man sent twelve dolls to come get us out."
"Who's the familiar one, then?" Mosin asked. There weren't too many dolls still around from the old days of Griffin. Most had retired or been taken offline for good. All of the old guard, herself included, knew of one another at this point. And she was on good terms with almost all of them.
Almost all of them. And the terse frown that SVD held gave away which revenant from the past had found their way back into her life yet again.
"...Chyort."
(22:42)
Further in the depths of the bunker, all of the Captains gathered with their second in commands. They had found the remnants of what the refugees had left behind, a meeting hall with two benches lined up along a large dining table. The Captains sat, and their Lieutenants stood behind them. Faces illuminated with the dark orange lighting that had remained in the derelict bunker.
On one end, IWS sat at the head with AUG hanging behind her like a shadow. To her left were Springfield and Garand. To her right were G36 and StG44. The rest of the teams' representatives lined down to the other end of the table, with only Echelon Five lacking a seat. Namely due to MCX being in repairs and MP-448 requesting to abstain from the affair.
Bren and Negev sat on the left, with L85A1 and TAR-21 lingering at their leaders' sides respectively. On the right were SVD and M4A1, with Mosin and M16A1 present as their advisors.
Then there was the final Captain and her plus one. The doll who'd been sent by Corporate itself to oversee this relief effort.
She wore a yellow sweater vest over a collared shirt, her raincoat hanging off the back of her chair. Black hair in pigtails came down along her arms, with a white highlight down one of her bangs. Her eyes were heterochromatic, one being yellow and the other being a vibrant orange. Her posture was relaxed, but assured, one leg crossed over the other with her arms folded over her chest.
The other was a shorter doll, but average height for a handgunner. Her hair was snow white, her eyes were a piercing crimson, and she wore a blue winter coat and shawl along with a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. Atop her head was a blue cossack hat, a red Soviet star flashing proudly on the front.
RO635 and Makarov. Leaders of Pallet Squadron, and the Brass' personal enforcers for the day.
The conversation began dominated by Makarov. She explained the situation to the survivors. How the reason their radios were nonfunctional was thanks to the Air Force's experimental 'Anti-Sangvis' weapon. How Zener was now once again non-functional, just as it had been last time Intruder had shown herself. How the Blackhawk that Santiago had tried to fly here had lost almost all of its flight instruments, and they'd had to walk here on foot just outside of the large blast radius of the EW bombs' munitions.
She also explained that they'd managed to scan a large bunch of Griffin IFFs further Northwest of this position. Paired with the new information the others provided about Sangvis capturing dolls, the now united leadership quickly deduced that this was likely where the captives were being brought.
And finally, she explained their orders. To escort them in an organized withdrawal by foot to a safe LZ, where they would extract via the Chinook back to the airfield.
She also pointed out that their orders put special emphasis on evacuating the AR team as soon as possible. Which meant leaving anyone who couldn't make it to this bunker in time behind.
Suffice to say, this didn't sit well with most of the S09 dolls present.
"No, no way." Garand adamantly refused. "There's no way in hell the Commander would tell us to abandon this many dolls."
"Our orders to extract the AR team come from Sixteen-Lab and the Director himself." Makarov reminded sternly, her voice older in pitch than one would expect from a doll such as she.
"Your orders are a crock!" Garand spat back with indignation. "You said yourself that our friends are still out there! Why aren't we marching over there right now to link up with them?!"
"We said there was a large signal source, not confirmation." Makarov retorted, tone remaining level and professional.
Garand stepped forwards, jabbing the SATMAP printout of the area that the relief team had brought along with a finger. "If there's one thing I'm good at, it's math. Individual Griffin IFFs wouldn't be able to get through this electrical interference, it has to be either one strong source or a bunch of smaller ones clumped together."
"The word of one tactical doll is not enough to ignore our orders and go searching for them." Makarov continued to insist, though such a claim seemed to agitate Garand even more than she had been before.
"I'm the Sector Chief of Engineering's adjutant, for crying out loud!" The mechanic yelled, causing IWS to almost leap out of her skin. "Out of anyone here I know the most about how dolls work! Just because it doesn't support your own-"
"Garand, please." Springfield said, interjecting between the back and forth. "You made your point, now you're simply participating in a shouting match. We'll all take what's been said into consideration."
"We are a private paramilitary, not a Soviet." Makarov grumbled to herself and her own Captain. Garand shot another glare towards the self-important Cossack, but calmed herself down as her cousin had requested.
As the room's temperature settled back down, RO mulled over the information. Her eyes flicked over to M4 and M16 for the briefest of moments, before they focused back onto IWS. The supposed 'Tactical Adjutant' for Sector 09 wasn't providing any tactical insight, much to RO's frustration.
Someone had to steer this ship. If not IWS, then it had to be her.
"This isn't a video game, we don't need to pick between two binary options." RO told her fellow T-Dolls, her deeper voice sounding like your average American woman from the east coast.
"You said the Commander is going to request help from another military force." SVD reminded the group. "You have been able to communicate with him?"
RO635 lifted a hand, gesturing down the table and to her left. "Like Miss Thirty Six, I've been given a direct Zener link with the Commander. And just like her, I can tell when a connection attempt is made. It's how he knew she was still alive, the system can tell the port is there. It just can't 'enter.'"
Reflexively, G36 lifted a hand to her head. She'd felt an abnormal pressure multiple times after the bombing. It had been what had awoken her after she and her team were scattered by the rockets.
Seeing the gesture, RO chose to be empathetic. "It's… strange. Like someone is poking my neural cloud. But it's distinct enough that I can feel separate attempts. But he's been able to send pulses in morse code. By midnight, the interference should have dissipated enough that he can speak to us normally."
G36 nodded, comforted that she wasn't the only one that was experiencing the phenomenon. "Is there any way for us to send a verbal message?"
RO looked over to Garand, giving her an opportunity to chime in with her expertise in a less combative manner. The rifle-doll didn't respond at first, thinking over what they had managed to find was left behind in their current refuge.
"...The radio system down here does work, and I could splice in the encryption key." Garand explained. "Only thing we'd need to worry about is Sangvis scanning for outgoing signals. Doubt they could listen in, but they might be able to find out where we're hiding."
As M4 hummed about the familiarity of such a plan, Negev laughed haughtily. "We're in a bunker! Even if they get inside, their walkers cannot fit down here! At that point all they would have are wave tactics, and those never work."
"What we do depends entirely on if he can get outside assistance or not." SVD reminded the gathering, not wanting anyone to assume a path had been settled on quite yet.
RO nodded in agreement, uncrossing her arms and clasping her hands together on the tabletop. "I want to hear everyone's opinion. I'm sure Miss IWS feels the same."
Makarov, not believing the absurdity, seethed over to her partner. "Ro, you cannot be serious-"
"You're not in command of this rescue operation, Makarov. Persica gave me permission to do what I feel's right." RO635 reminded, voice going hard as she asserted her authority. "Don't undermine me."
Makarov stifled under the directive, but much to Mosin's surprise, relented as ordered. "Da, Komrade Kommandir."
RO, visibly satisfied, turned to focus on the British team leader. "Bren, you first. What should we do if we receive word that help is coming, and what should we do if it isn't?"
Bren didn't reply immediately, letting L85A1 whisper a few words in her ear before speaking her mind. "If it's comin', we stay put. This is a defensible position, and the western exit has a big enough clearin' that the chopper can land."
"And if we're on our own?" RO asked.
"We stick to the original plan and exfiltrate by foot to the west A-Sap." Bren said with a shrug.
RO hummed. It was a straightforward suggestion, which was expected from such a straightforward woman. "So you don't want to try and link up with the others?"
"There's too many variables. I wouldn't want people bumblin' in the dark lookin' for me if I was in their shoes." Bren said, shaking her head at the idea of some grand assault. "And it puts the AR team at risk, I'm not defying a direct order from Kryuger and Lady Helian."
RO nodded, seeing that there was nothing further that she or Bren could add. So she passed the torch to the next doll. "Miss Negev?"
"If they're coming, we wait. If we don't, we go find the others out there, then walk back." Negev shot off quickly.
RO635 cocked a brow, expecting aggression yet still a bit surprised. Makarov felt the same, though was less pleased when she spoke.
"The reports we've received suggest that the dolls are captured. They may be held at a secondary Sangvis facility we were unaware of." The Cossack reminded the Levantine leader.
"More reason for us to go." Negev pressed, leaning back in her chair as she kept up a relaxed disposition. "Sangvis only takes prisoners for one purpose; intelligence gathering. The longer they're in captivity, the more information the ringleaders will pull. The more information they have, the more they can use against us or other Griffin formations."
"That, and you're looking for an excuse to get into a fight." StG44 said in a huff, drawing the ire of both Negev and TAR-21. The German became defensive, visibly intimidated. "I'm just saying! It wouldn't be the first time you went looking for something to kill!"
TAR sighed, knowing there was some truth to StG's words but still felt inclined to defend her team leader. "Please debate her points, and avoid attacking her character."
StG grimaced, but was beckoned by G36 to come closer. The two German dolls began a rapid back and forth in their native tongue, voices low as information was slung between one another.
"Miss Thirty Six? Sturmgewher?" RO635 said, wanting to hear what the two had in mind. Both blondes continued for a few moments more, conversation ending when StG44 stood upright again and G36 gathered herself to speak.
"...I believe we should make for the airfield immediately. We risk too much waiting for a chance at extraction by a third party." The maid told the table, an opinion that seemed to light much of the room on fire. Negev, Garand and Mosin all started hurling accusations of heartlessness and cowardice.
"Let me explain!" G36 demanded, growing authoritative herself as she shut their jeers down. Controversial opinion or not, she was still Commander Hsu's personal assistant. She would take disagreement, she would not take insults.
"According to IWS, the airstrike hit the other sectors' battle line directly. That means that more than likely they suffered catastrophic losses, and the survivors were likely taken just as our friends were." G36 laid out as plainly and concisely as she could. "As an adjutant, I also have access to the amount of replacement parts we have remaining at the airfield. IWS also knows the number as well."
"And that is?" Makarov inquired, not knowing the number herself.
"Almost none." AUG chirped, speaking for Captain. "The other sectors used up most of their dummies and spare parts to make the push as quickly as we did. Corporate's accelerated timetable meant we had to expend our resources far quicker to meet their deadline."
G36 nodded, quickly reclaiming control of the discussion before Garand or Negev could jump in. "Their neural clouds are now in storage at their individual sector bases, along with the reserve bodies they have there. Which means the engineers in those sectors have to rebuild the echelons and then fly them back over here."
"And only a handful of engineers remained at our primary bases." SVD said, having spoken with some dolls from the other sectors. "It would take days. Maybe even a week to get back to full strength."
RO tapped her thumbs together, trying to figure out where G36 was going with all of this. "And you believe during that time they would execute the prisoners?"
"At the very least they would have finished interrogating them." G36 clarified further, before scanning her eyes across the entirety of the table. "Which means that they would know the location of our airfield."
Silence. Silence crashed down over each of them as the dolls now understood what G36 was implying. A possibility that seemed dangerously probable, an assault on their base. Something that would be nothing short of catastrophic.
"Khuy kurva..." SVD cursed in her base language setting. Though the meaning was clear to all involved.
Seeing that the others finally understood where she was coming from, G36 pressed her point further. "I want to help our friends. But I cannot in good conscience march off and possibly leave the Commander, our Department Chiefs and all of the other human staff undefended. If they are attacked, it would be a massacre."
"You're making a lot of assumptions, Gretel." Bren reminded the maid.
"And without Scarecrow they cannot process data as efficiently." AUG added.
"But the possibility is still high enough to make me feel confident in this path." G36 finalized. "Our duty is to preserve human life. No matter the cost to ourselves."
With nothing left to say, G36 relinquished control of the floor. Still, Garand glared at the two Germans with resentment. Unlike her team, Echelon 2 was entirely intact. Her squad wasn't abducted to some hole in the ground. Her friends weren't on their own, fending for themselves.
And despite wanting to believe otherwise, Garand couldn't help but believe that the real reason for G36's proposal was to keep her team out of any further risk. Though she didn't dare make the accusation out loud.
"Springfield?" RO announced, getting the debate back on track.
The eldest doll in the room coughed into her fist, drawing attention away from the person of controversy. "I agree with Negev on both fronts. Even if Intruder is able to figure out where our base is, it would take her a great deal of time to go from wherever she's hiding to our territory. That would leave us a window of opportunity to strike."
"And you, Miss M-Four?" RO quickly followed up, wondering what the woman of the hour would say. All things considered, M4 was the only reason she was here. For more reasons than simply rescuing her.
"...I'm not leaving our friends behind. We should go find them right now." M4 told the others.
Makarov grumbled, not wanting nor needing more complications to her mission. "Recklessness is not something I expected of a Special Operations Captain."
"It ain't that reckless." M16 said, jumping in to defend her sister's position. "We've got those signal spikes, we can mark an LZ with'em wherever we want. Means our reinforcements could help us with the breakout."
"Sending our allies into a situation they are not prepared for would be a disaster in the making." StG warned.
M16 remained unperturbed, focusing in on the new girl with the pigtails. "Old Man Hsu's asking the KCCO, isn't he?"
RO635 answered with a nod. "Yeah. They've got a Company based out of Volgograd."
"Figured. I doubt there's anything Sangvis has that would put a dent in them." M16 said, leaning down next to M4 as she grinned. "You ever see what a flight of Hinds armed to the teeth can do?"
"Assuming the KCCO comes themselves instead of sending the Internal Troops." Mosin highlighted. "Who are worse equipped and quite undertrained."
M16 came over to Mosin, wrapping an arm around the Russian's shoulders. "C'mon… you think a bunch of Operators are gonna skip on the chance to blow shit up? After being stuck on ice for months?"
Mosin couldn't help but smile. "A very fair point."
"This is still assuming they agree to come at all. What if they do not?" StG44 said once again.
M16 decouple from the Siberian, going to stand behind M4 yet again. "We've got five echelons at combat strength. Six, if the new girls roll with what's left of Grizzly's squad. Plus we're topped up on ammo and rations again. Springfield's team can just give us sniper support, that's more than enough to raid where-ever everyone's held."
"Not without casualties." Bren piped up. "And remember one of the reasons why we're here. Ro, Negev and I have strict orders to get you back behind friendly lines unharmed."
M16 snorted. "What're you gonna do, arrest us?"
"Actually sounds really tempting right about now." RO admitted, wishing that she'd brought along a pair of handcuffs. M4 shifted uncomfortably in her chair, while M16 gazed over to the interloper.
Said interloper didn't pay any mind, instead thinking all of the information that had been laid out. The ability for them to send a message back, the desires of some to attempt a rescue while others wished to quit while they were ahead. All were valid points, and as SVD had said, all depended on whether Commander Hsu could get them reinforcements.
They had many options. Almost too many.
"...Alright. IWS and I'll think this over. Everyone else, go rest and eat. We brought plenty of supplies." RO announced. The rest of the room sat with some discomfort, Bren and Negev's tandem leaving first. The others shuffled off soon after, leaving only the two command dolls and their seconds.
RO635 then glanced at Makarov, before nodding her head towards the door. The Cossack chafed yet again, but knew better than to test her friend when she was hellbent on a path of action.
AUG, however, kept her feet planted. It wasn't until IWS physically asked her to go, the first words she'd spoken in some time, that she departed. While she walked off, her glare remained focused on the unknown woman until she was fully out of the room.
RO shook it off, unnerved but not deterred in this path of action. If a choice was going to be made, it had to be one made by both of them. Not an enforcer from Corporate making demands and taking heads.
Besides, it was always better to be on friendly terms with people.
"Having this module's a big burden." She began, yet again choosing the empathetic path. "The other Captains don't understand the stress of having to worry about more than just one team."
IWS sighed, nodding along as she let herself unwind now that she was out of sight. It seemed as if a weight had been truly lifted off of the sniper's shoulders now, not having to present herself before such a grand audience.
"Listen, I can figure out our next step." RO offered, not wanting to see this inexperienced leader break under the pressure as many others before her had. "It's not my first rodeo, and this situation would be difficult to handle even for a veteran. Honestly, getting everyone here with such few losses is already a job well done. I can see why this Commander trusts you so much."
The sniper nodded gingerly, the words sinking in. The Commander trusted her. Hsu trusted her with this duty. It wasn't until now that it felt truly… real. That his choice to give her this power wasn't simply a redundancy or a worst-case scenario. Some had faith in her, and her own abilities.
For the first time, a Griffin Commander valued her.
She couldn't throw such faith away because of her own insecurities.
"I have a plan." IWS assured, before standing up out of her chair. "But I need to see your maps."
(23:30)
Some time later, SVD approached Mosin in one of the emptied storage rooms with two tall aluminum cans.
The Siberian had been sitting on a dilapidated milk crate, whittling away at a piece of wood with her bayonet. A bag of rations rested against the crate, having been emptied of food with crumbs tumbling out onto the floor. All in all, Mosin seemed rather settled in, content to wait for whatever decision that the leaders would come too.
"Never took you for the artistic type." SVD said, announcing her presence as she grabbed another derelict crate and dragged it to sit across from her teammate.
"You've never asked." Mosin said, scraping the object a few more times before holding it up to the light. Her piece was revealed to be a hawk, wings spread out as it looked as if it was diving to catch her in its claws. "Do we have new orders?"
"We do. But first, you're going to want this." SVD said, offering a can over. Mosin snatched it, looking at the cyrillic label and recognizing it as beer.
"...You only give me Baltika when you have bad news." Mosin observed, pulling the tab open as she accepted her fate.
"Would you prefer it if I didn't bring beer?" SVD asked, cracking open her own can after she sat down as well. "Be glad the rescue team brought a few cases with their supplies. It was likely Santiago's doing."
Mosin hummed in acknowledgement as she drank, letting the cold lager chill her circuits before she spoke again. "So, what are these orders?"
SVD took a swig herself, swirling the can around with one hand as she leaned forwards on a crossed leg. "IWS wants our team to act as pathfinders for the Military's reinforcements. We're going to direct them to where we believe the others are being held."
Mosin nodded along, understanding why their erstwhile superior had chosen them. "Unsurprising. Other than the AR team, we are the only dolls who could likely traverse the battlefield without drawing undo attention."
"Da, da." SVD agreed. "The plan is for me to take Seventy-Four and Five-Four-Five along the river to the north. You and another doll will cut through the forest itself and arrive ahead of us. By the time you reach the destination, this interference should be gone and we will be able to communicate with our radios again."
Again, Mosin nodded, downing another swig as she began to lower her guard. This news wasn't too bad. A risky assignment, to be sure, but not the worst she had been given since in her time. Griffin had sent elite dolls like herself behind enemy lines plenty of times, and this time she would at least have help.
"Who am I dragging along, then?" Mosin asked, though SVD didn't respond immediately. In the silence, Mosin could scry out the stress that began to appear on her Captain's face. SVD was trying to find the best way to tell her who, but knew there was no good way of saying it.
Which was more than enough for Mosin to figure out the doll who'd be her plus one.
"No. No. Absolutely fucking not, Natasha!" Mosin insisted, rising to her feet as some beer sloshed out of her can and stained her white coat. The Siberian looked down glaring at the stain before chucking the can against the wall.
SVD watched the thing fly and explode against a far wall, golden ale spraying around like a grenade before the can fell to the ground with a defeated 'clunk.' SVD turned back to face her enraged teammate, glaring upwards at Mosin.
Despite her elevation and fury, the death stare shook Mosin to her core. She slid back down onto her crate, trying to contain herself and not let another outburst shake the room.
Once she was sure Mosin had calmed down, SVD explained. "There are far too many Sangvis still prowling to let you go alone. A handgun doll will boost your collective visual range and ensure that you make it to the RP safely."
"What about Four-Four-Eight? She has the same scouting suite!" Mosin said, trying to weasel her way out of this.
"Don't be an idiot." SVD spat, running out of patience with her teammate. "She's too new and has no reconnaissance experience. I'd be sending you both out there to die."
As Mosin racked her brain to try and formulate a sufficient counter argument, SVD pinched the bridge of her nose. She expected resistance, she didn't expect the sharpshooter to start losing brain cells at an alarming rate.
"Tell me what happened between you and Makarov." The Captain ordered. "I've known you for a long time, Yuri. But this… this is the most fervently I've seen you hate someone."
"I do not hate her." Mosin snapped. "But I do not trust her."
"Either is a problem, and I want to know why." SVD pressed.
Mosin scowled, not wanting to talk about her past in such a manner. But she knew better than to try and talk circles around SVD. So instead, she extended a hand, clearly demanding that her Captain hand over her beer. SVD rolled her eyes, but passed the drink over, watching as Mosin chugged down the can and crushed the empty tin once she was finished.
After that, the Russian released a mighty belch before continuing. "Makarov and I served alongside one another in the Red Army. I was a scout, she was a political , as our manpower dwindled, both of us found ourselves fighting as regular infantry rather often. Even before then, she was not what you would expect from a Commissar. Most are brash and loud, swinging their authority around like a mallet. She was… calm, precise, careful. She understood her job, and knew its severity."
Mosin then shook her crushed can, trying to see if there was anything left inside. "Even then she was a total killjoy."
"Hm. Nothing like mine at all, then." SVD said, recalling her own memories of the front. "The Commissar attached to my unit was too busy waving their little red book around and talking about how we would all be 'glorious martyrs of the revolution.'"
Mosin chuckled, tossing the can away once she was sure it was empty. "And let me guess, they were tragically cut down by a sniper?"
SVD let a sly smirk slip through, then focused once again. "You haven't explained why you distrust Makarov. If anything you've praised her."
Mosin grumbled, scratching the side of her face as she continued. "Years after the war, when we had both joined Griffin, we both served as Echelon leaders in a sector. It had been ages since we had seen one another, but she had changed. Become more… dogmatic, demanding. Makarov had started to believe she could fix everything if people did as she told them."
The Siberian sighed, still remembering their first days reunited. After their first mission together as Griffin dolls, she'd gone and drug the ever serious handgunner off to a local bar. It had felt like old times, though only in her eyes.
"The other Captains could not stand her. The Commander was a lazy bum who barely involved himself in internal affairs." Mosin recalled, time having made her accept the failings of the past. "I tried to help her. She was my friend! My… my oldest friend. But in the end, she merely dug in deeper. Eventually she even began to shirk my advice. And at that point, I knew whatever friendship we'd had no longer mattered."
SVD quietly nodded, thinking of the next step now that she fully understood the situation. Even moreso, understanding why Mosin never spoke of it before now. "What happened after that?"
"Our units were cycled. Both of us left for different sectors." Mosin said, a depressed shrug rolling her shoulders up and down. "...It's been years since I've seen her."
Mosin went quiet once more, deep in thought over how she should act next. Feeling that she had gotten as much out of the conversation as she would, SVD checked her watch to see how much time they had before the agreed upon departure time.
The Captain stood up, going to the side of Mosin's crate and giving it a light tap with her boot. "We leave at half past midnight. If you still feel that you cannot do this, we'll adapt the plan."
Mosin nodded, but said nothing. Accepting the answer, SVD left the sharpshooter to her thoughts.
She knew that in the end, Mosin would stomach it for the good of the mission. But only barely.
(23:55)
As they finished the last bits of the plan, RO635 stepped out from the room where she and IWS had been interned for the past hour. Several people had come in and out as they organized, planned and debated about what to do next. But they had quickly settled on a course of action, something they could confirm with the Commander once Garand was able to get into contact.
The majority of the dolls would stay in the bunker, waiting for the interference to clear so they could be evacuated back to the airfield. Echelon 4, however, would be dispatched along with Makarov to scout out where they believed the enemy was holding the dolls that had been captured. There they would mark the area for the incoming military reinforcements, and once said reinforcements arrived, they would assist in rescuing their compatriots.
It was a simple plan, but one that covered all of the bases. Sending one team to act as forward observers minimized casualty risk, and Echelon 4 was easily the best choice. The entire team plus Makarov were all veterans of the War and Griffin's anti-Sangvis operations, which meant they had the highest chance of success.
This path was also the best utilization of the Military's reinforcements. Assuming that the KCCO were the ones who took on the request, they would easily be able to dispatch a Sangvis outpost. Even with something like Manticores mixed into their forces, there was little the enemy could do against fully loaded attack helicopters dropping explosives and special forces operators on their heads.
But most importantly to her, it meant Anti-Rain would be kept firmly out of the line of fire. With all of the Professor's dolls remaining in the bunker, it all but assured the completion of her primary objective. Plus she was able to help out a bunch of strangers to boot, a good day in her books.
Especially if it meant she could disappear before people started asking questions.
"Trying to stay out of everyone's way?" A voice called out to her side as she dug a hand into her raincoat. RO jumped, a yelp coming out as M16A1 pushed herself off the wall. The one-eyed wonder chuckled at the display of panic, missing her usual black coat and case.
"Jumpy. Not something I'd expect from Griffin SOC." M16 observed casually, thin smile holding.
RO eyed the doll carefully, already uncomfortable after being ambushed. Even then, she could see through M16's thinly veiled hostility. She knew enough about Anti-Rain's matriarch to tell when she was upset, and M16 was down right mad right now.
She just had to figure out the reason.
"Yeah, right. Sorry, I'm tired. Dropped my guard a bit." RO said, not quite lying but trying to put up a more appealing social front.
M16 shrugged, still trying to seem friendly. "It's fine, we're pretty safe down here. At least, we'd know if someone tried to get in."
RO nodded, slipping out a dark green box of American Spirits. She pulled a cigarette out, twirling it around in her fingers before glancing back over to M16. "You don't mind?"
"Not like we can get sick anyway." M16 said, not one to critique a doll's vices given her preferred beverage. "You don't seem like the smoking type, though."
RO shrugged herself, sticking the cigarette into her mouth and digging out a lighter. "Something I picked up from my job before I joined Griffin."
"Ah…" M16 said, watching her light the thing up. "Figured. You don't seem like you're fresh from IOP."
Of course she had been sizing her up. M16's focus had been on her since she'd let herself be known to Sector 09. Not on Makarov, not on Bren or Negev. Her, and only her. It'd be creepy if it wasn't so down right scary.
RO took a long drag, letting her neural cloud simulate the calm from the nicotine. She then stepped to the side, lifting a hand over to the doorway she'd just stepped from. "IWS is still in there, guessing you're looking for her."
"Nope." M16 said outright, going to lean back up against the wall. "Wanted to ask you a few questions, actually."
"I'd be happy to answer whatever I can." RO promised, blowing smoke away from M16.
M16 nodded, taking permission and getting right into it. "Why did Persica send you?"
A softball to start, which RO was grateful for. "The Professor didn't want you and your sisters to die, and this is a pretty hairy situation."
"So you know our neural clouds can't be recovered." M16 deducted, something that Ro confirmed with a nod. "Why did she only send two dolls, then?"
"She didn't, the blackhawk couldn't fit all three rescue teams." RO explained. "The rest of Pallette Squadron is waiting at the airfield, they'll be flying in with the chinook to evacuate everyone."
"Gotcha." M16 said, tapping the wall with the back of her foot. "Any idea why you were chosen for this?"
RO chucked, taking the fastball on the chin and tossing up an easy excuse. "My team was nearby and available. We were debriefed by the Professor and the Sub-Director on the ride here."
"Guess I should be glad SOC had anyone on the horn, they usually drag their feet." M16 complained to no one in particular. "Last one."
"Go for it."
"How long are you going to pretend that you don't know us?" M16 asked, eyes square on the long lost Anti-Rain doll.
Surprised, RO sucked on the cigarette hard enough that it flew right into her mouth. As she doubled over, hacking out the ashes, M16 laughed out loud. The eldest gave the youngest a few slaps on her back, helping get all of the gunk out of her system.
"Hahaha! You looked just like Star!" M16 said, taking a step back as he clutched her own gut. "All 'WHU' and shit! Oh God…"
RO groaned, coughing up the last few ashes she could before standing back up and wiping her mouth clean. "She told me you wouldn't remember."
M16 let her giggles settle, shaking her head as she lifted her eyepatch and wiped underneath. "The others don't. But with a neural cloud as weathered as mine, plenty of stuff gets away."
RO wasn't sure if she accepted that excuse, but didn't really know enough about how their brains work to protest or not. So instead, she pulled out another cigarette. Twirling it in her hands as she tried to think of what she was supposed to say next.
Sensing her sibling's loss of confidence, M16 took charge again.
"I won't tell'em if you don't want me too." M16 assured. "Still, hurts that my long lost little sister acted like a stranger after I haven't seen her in ages."
RO sighed, conflicting emotions still loaded in her breast. "I think it's better for everyone if I'm just another Griffin doll. Not like I'm sticking around."
M16 hummed, a frown coming back. It seemed pointless for the girl to hide her true nature from the others, but she'd already promised to keep quiet. Though she doubted that the rest of the team would appreciate any such deceptions. Still, she steered the conversation back on track.
"So where the hell've you been, anyway? Persica puts you together three years ago, has you run training sims with us, then-" M16 clicked her tongue and made an explosion gesture with a hand. "-Poof. Like you were never even there."
RO grumbled, the ending of those simulations still hanging over her like a bad memory. "The Professor thought I needed experience outside of the AR team."
M16 nodded, it sounded like something Persica would do. "Where'd you go then?"
"Stateside. She 'loaned' me to the NYPD, I worked as a Detective for their Major Crimes unit." RO answered.
"That's one way to see a lot of ugly stuff fast." M16 said, knowing that the US' largest city had seen better days since the War had passed. "How long've you been back with Griffin?"
"Nine months. Soon as I got here, they put me in charge of Pallette."
"You like'em?"
RO became pensive, putting her thoughts in order before saying them aloud. "...They're a handful. Always causing some kind of problem or stumbling over themselves. But they're the best friends I've had."
She looked to M16, expecting some kind of feigned pain at calling others 'her best friends'. But instead she only saw a smile, a genuine one. Filled with empathy and understanding.
"Good. I'm glad someone was there." M16 said. "I had a team too, before Anti-Rain got put together. We're scattered all over the place now, but… they were good people."
RO let herself relax somewhat, glad that someone else understood. She thought back to the sims, and how even then M16 tried her best to guide all the AR dolls. Even when she, the newest of them all, kept screwing up their objectives. How when AR-15 had screamed her head off when M4A1 had been 'killed', M16 jumped in and tried to show her the better way.
It felt so long ago. She'd done so much since then.
M16 focused back on the cigarette that RO was still twirling, her frown reemerging. "You were gonna smoke even if I didn't show up. What's on your mind?"
"Just stressed out… being near the others. Trying to figure out what I should do." RO explained to the best of her ability, digimind getting fuzzy. As if it was disconnecting from the rest of her chassis as she overloaded it with thoughts.
"Did Persica say you can't tell us?" M16 asked, almost accusing their creator.
"She told me I should only do it if I wanted to." RO quickly assuaged, not wanting the blame to fall totally on the Professor. Even if their memories being wiped was what caused this situation, Persica made it clear that she wanted RO to rejoin her family on her own terms.
M16 murmured something unpleasant, but went to wrap an arm around RO's shoulders. "No matter what happens, you're always gonna have a place with us. You know that, right?"
"...Thank you. That… I needed to hear that." RO said, not moving away or into the embrace.
M16 grinned, giving RO's shoulders a squeeze. "Hey, think of it like this. You're ever in doubt, just do what I would do!"
RO turned her head, staring back at M16 in disbelief at such insane advice. "...What?"
RO sighed, finally slipping the new cigarette between her lips. "You haven't changed at all..."
"What's THAT supposed to mean?!" M16 said, before hearing a set of footsteps running towards them. The two separated from one another, RO hiding her cigarette just as Garand slid around the corner and stopped in front of them.
"I… got it…" Garand said as she panted, leaning up against the bunker's concrete wall as she tried to cool down her systems. Sprinting for so long so fast had nearly overloaded her servos, she could barely even see through all the temperature warnings flaring up on her HUD.
"You got the message through?" RO asked. Garand bobbed her head to confirm. "What did the Commander say?"
"KCCO… coming… said he'll… send evac soon…" She explained, sucking in more air as she kept trying to stablize herself.
RO and M16 shared a look, both understanding what to do next. M16 kicked off, running to find G36 and SVD so they could prepare the others. RO went to Garand, helping the tired mechanic into the room where IWS was still scrawling all over charts and planning out a backup plan in case the reinforcements didn't come.
No need for that now.
(28/10/2056 | 24:30)
"Final check! Make sure you are carrying the designated amount of magazines!"
SVD stood in front of her team as they made their preparations, all five dolls grouped up at the base of the eastern ramp that led in and out of the bunker. With the plan set in stone, and any misgivings addressed or suppressed, they made ready to march back into the burning night.
RO remained by the door controls watching the group with all the nerves and anticipation that came from seeing an echelon leaving for a dangerous mission. She and Makarov locked eyes, the handgunner sneaking a small smile to calm her friend, disappearing quickly as she turned to pass another stripper clip to Mosin.
It helped for a moment, but then only made RO grow even more fearful for what might happen to her Lieutenant. She of all dolls knew that this would not be an easy fight.
"Rules of engagement are to not fire unless fired upon!" SVD continued to dictate, her voice booming as if she had never left the Red Army. "If we are forced into combat, then the primary goal will be to eliminate that force! If the force cannot be eliminated in a swift manner, you are to disengage and continue along the route!"
AK-74M and A-545 stood next to one another, the former handing one of her magazines to the latter as A-545 noticed a failing spring. The two had spent the better part of their rest discussing the advancing path, trading data between their neural clouds in hopes to better sync their movements. As the only two dolls with automatic weapons, they were the biggest base of firepower the group had.
Mosin, meanwhile, remained quiet as she made sure the bolt of her rifle was unlocked. She may have made her peace with her partnership, but that didn't mean she had to be friendly. Merely cooperative. Something that Makarov did not seem to mind as she loaded a fresh magazine into her handgun and racked the slide. Makarov herself had an AKM slung across her back, a 'gift' from a mute MP-448 from the backup weapons that the rescue team had brought along in case the Sector 09 dolls had lost their imprinted firearms.
Mosin had observed how icy the two had been with one another. As if neither wanted to see or be seen by their sibling. It was something that bothered her, despite convincing herself she couldn't give less of a damn about Makarov outside of this mission.
"When in motion, you will maintain a five meter distance in the formation!" SVD continued. "We will move at double time until we reach our first checkpoint along the advance line! From there, we will adjust to combat pace! There will be no deviation from this order as we march unless we are engaged, am I clear?!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The members of Echelon 4 responded, Makarov discounted.
"Good. Five-Four-Five will take point, Seven-Four will hold the rear. Makarov remains in the center. I want scanning pulses until we reach the point of divergence. No surprises, no mistakes." She demanded, before looking to RO and nodding.
The signal given, RO then pulled the lever, an alarm and red light going off as the bullhead opened to slowly reveal the outdoors. Pitch darkness, except for those linked to Makarov, the glow of fire dancing not too far away.
SVD looked over her shoulder, stepping to the side before she spoke to the group one last time.
"There is no higher mission than to save a comrade in captivity. Be honored that our peers chose us for this task."
With that, she waved the team on, A-545 taking the first step as ordered. The newly minted doll went up the ramp, passing by her echelon leader.
"Za Rodina, Práporshchyk." A-545 told SVD as she passed, addressing the sniper by her long abandoned army rank. Normally, SVD would've chafed under the title, but saw it as what it was. Acknowledgement of leadership.
"Za Rodina, Ryadovóy." SVD responded in kind. Next went Mosin, then Makarov, with AK-74M holding until SVD slipped into her position in the formation. There, the final doll filled out the rear, and the five of them marched out of safety and back into the embrace of whatever waited for them beyond.
As they heard the door lock shut behind them, each of them knew. They had now crossed the point of no return.
A/N: So about this being the last chapter of the arc. The chapter started getting longer, and longer. Instead of having you all wait two months for something that was over 20K words long, I split it in half.
NEXT CHAPTER will be the capstone for the arc. Promise.
o/