The sun sat lazily in the sky, crawling through the cloudless sky at a leisurely pace. A gentle breeze echoed through the empty firing range, cooling the already lukewarm air. The wildlife was busy in the late summer months, hurriedly beginning their preparations for the coming Russian winter. The trees waved their branches about, some of their leaves already beginning their autumnal changes. The grass danced in the breeze like a horde of little green children in a playground, happy without reason. All around the base, the world was reveling in the beauty of itself. Despite the blissful ignorance of the outside, it was a horrible day.
Kar98k had stood in front of her officer window, the blinding sun burning its rays upon her face for hours. From the command center, she had watched the live feed report of each member of her team as their status shifted from green to red. There was no satellite imagery, with the Soviet government not allowing them to "spy" on a military outpost. Instead, she could only look on in horror as they were wiped in quick succession from each other. StG44 and MP41 would be reactivated from back up data, no doubt distraught over their lost memories. Unfortunately, Angel was not as lucky as they were.
Loss was the unfortunate reality on the frontline, but that knowledge did very little to ease the pain. For the dolls, death was only a temporary set back before they were redeployed. While this came with its own set of issues akin to the ship of Theseus, in the end they never truly had to fear the cold end. Losing Angel was a bitter pill to swallow, and none of them were truly prepared for such an occurrence. As machines, they had always known that they would outlive their human counterparts, but that did very little to ease the empty sensation they all felt within their chests. It felt like a hand was holding onto their chest from the inside, gripping their core and restricting its use. Tears were shed, but ultimately it was the grim reality of loss that wracked the girls the most.
Doctor Adams had taken the news the worst, the American man sobbing as he heard the news. He had spent the most time with Angel, the two becoming good friends as he took care of her many aches and pains. He had helped her recover from the many wounds inflicted by Paradeus, trying to help her grow into a real person instead of a zealous machine. Despite their differences, Fredrick and Peter spent a considerable amount of time trying to ease his pain. They had significantly more experience with combat and loss, and knew that the doctor needed them the most before he eventually left. Without Angel around, Peter would eventually be leaving them as well. All it took was one death to lose three friends.
As for herself, Kar98k had long since come to terms with her own mortality. She had almost died once, something that still haunted her to this day. Even now, her thoughts turned to how FG42 was abandoned by Paradeus to die alone, and what thoughts would have been going through her head as the city eventually claimed her. The doll had left something behind where she died, but further questioning of Peter turned up nothing. Either he didn't know, or he wasn't telling what was found. No matter what, it was highly unlikely they'd ever find out what the doll wanted to say in her final moments.
Growing tired of standing, Kar98k finally turned and sat down at her desk. With a long and deep sigh, she leaned back in her chair and contemplated where to go from here. State Sec had claimed the body, stealing it away for evidence in the investigation. It was reported that they were attacked by a Paradeus strike team, their goal to eliminate Angel. While it made sense, it didn't settle well in her head. Something didn't feel right, especially once she was told that none of her dolls equipment would be sent back to her. The level of efficiency that a Paradeus strike team needed to ensure that no data could be recovered from two dolls and a Nyto was staggeringly improbable. Someone like Angel did not warrant such a cruel assassination, leaving no evidence beyond a few dozen human witnesses. Unless they had been hiding their true strength, this was too perfect and clean for what they had come to expect from an isolated Paradeus incident.
Despite her suspicions, it didn't change the cold facts about what had happened; Angel was not coming back. Despite being introduced as enemies, everyone had found themselves feeling torn apart the moment they heard the news. Kar98k took a deep breath and stood up from her desk again, throwing on her coat to leave her office. Alone, her boots echoed through the halls as she walked. The base was as silent as a tomb, not a soul daring to interrupt the quiet mourning. Even the girl's personal quarters were quiet, everyone respectfully staying out of each other's hair.
Kar98k had come to visit FG42's old room, which Angel had claimed for herself. Someone had propped the door open, allowing the girls to leave gifts and memorials on the bed. The mystery hydroponics that had been set up in the interrogation room had produced some vibrant flowers that now adorned the bedroom, alongside several letters and photographs. While she could have sat down to read them, Kar98k knew that the words that had been left behind were not for her to read. Something pulled at her deep within to know that they may never be read at all.
Looking through the room, some of FG42s old personal effects had been mixed with the new ones added by Angel. The blue uniforms worn by the doll were hidden behind the crimson coats that Angel had worn, including two of the white robes worn by the average Nyto. A spare scythe had even been hidden in the closet, broken down and stored in an inconspicuous black suit case. Many of these things Angel had were retrieved from the old weather station she stayed at while working with FG42, much of the underground storage having been raided by State Sec for information. While she claimed that they were not thorough enough to get everything, multiple investigations failed to find anything else worth finding.
Continuing her search of the room, Kar98k settled on a photograph that Angel had framed by the bedside. Picking it up, she saw it was a group photo of everyone that had been staying on the base at the time. The photo, however, didn't seem to fit the frame and sat at an almost crooked angle. Turning the frame over, she opened the back and found that there was a second photo contained within. Another group photo, this one was taken when the Brigade was first formed. Kar98k realized that this photo had been saved by FG42, one of the few remaining pieces of evidence that she ever had a heart. Going through the nightstand drawers, more photos of mundane things taken by FG42 could be found. Many of these couldn't have been of any tactical importance, some were just too silly and fun to be espionage. Had Angel taken this room in order to preserve FG42's things?
Deciding to return for the photos later, Kar98k retrieved the boxed up scythe and made her way back to the hallway. There was nobody to disturb her as she left the building, marching to the flagpole in front of the base. Placing the box down at the base of the metal pole, she left it alone long enough to retrieve a post hole digger from their gardening shed by the firing range. Returning to the pole, she circled around for a good spot before finally driving the metal tool into the dirt. It didn't take long to dig a reasonable distance into the ground, making a hole deep enough for her to bury her forearm.
Turning back to the scythe, Kar98k slowly reassembled the massive bladed weapon to its full glory. It was surprisingly heavy, always amazing her at how much it weighed despite being swung around by Angel with so little effort. Slowly, Kar98k lowered the weighted bottom of the weapons into the hole she had dug, kicking the dirt back into the hole with her boot once it reached the bottom. Only a third of it buried, she stomped down the dirt around it to keep the heavy metal weapon standing upright in its place by the flagpole. Standing back from the impromptu memorial, Kar98k took a moment to appreciate her handy work. With time they would eventually make a better and more permanent marker, perhaps even bury Angel if her body would ever be released from State Sec holding. For now, however, this would have to do.
Now covered in dirt, Kar98k returned her tools and made her way back to her office. MP40 was waiting outside her door, hoping to speak to her about something. "Do you have a minute, Commandant?" The Captain asked, apparently troubled about something.
"I was just about to wash up before 44 gets rebuilt," Kar98k gave the doll a smile, "I have a few minutes to spare."
The two dolls entered the office and took a seat at the desk. Kar98k leaned back in her seat, trying to appear as though everything were okay and that she wasn't just as upset as everyone else was. MP40, on the other hand, was making no such attempts to appear unruffled. After her own incident and the subsequent fallout, the previous stone faced captain had finally broken. However, whatever seemed to be upsetting her right now was not born of sorrow. "Have you had a chance to speak to Agent Peter about what happened?" MP40 asked, her voice shaky.
Kar98k raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Not recently, no." She admitted.
MP40 swallowed as she tried to think of what to say next. "The State Sec reports have recently been updated with more information," she explained slowly, "and they mentioned the name of the Soviet captain in charge of the outpost where everything went down."
"Are they someone that I would know?"
"Adelhard."
Kar98k's face drooped as MP40 spoke the name. Something didn't seem right about him being there with a total wipe of her team, especially if he is in command of anything and not behind bars. "What was he doing there?" She asked.
"Agent Peter said it was part of some project," MP40 shrugged, "and he thinks it might have had something to do with their study of Angel."
Kar98k leaned forward in her chair and scratched her chin, trying to figure out what this could mean. "If they're related," she tried to brainstorm out loud, "then is it possible that they were both intended targets?"
MP40 shook her head. "Then how could our team have been wiped out immediately and thoroughly while the humans suffered almost no losses?"
"Adelhard does have a history of befriending bad folks," Kar98k placed her hands on her desk and tapped the wooden top, "and there's no evidence of our dolls left to prove anything."
"Doesn't Angel have a combat recorder built into her ocular implant to record how and why she dies?" MP40 suggested.
Kar98k smacked her hand on her desk. "And we haven't heard anything about that being recovered, if they know about it at all!"
MP40 smiled as they began to piece together things. If there was a conspiracy, then they could fight back and get revenge. Eventually grief would give way to anger, and the girls needed a direction to hate towards. "I can go speak to Peter about this some more." MP40 offered.
"No need," Kar98k waved her hand, "I was planning on seeing him later. Besides, We need to mull this over before we suggest anything too drastic."
A bit of light restored in her eyes, MP40 stood and saluted. She left with a smile on her face, but Kar98k knew better than to celebrate just yet. The depth of corruption that FG42 had manipulated for her own plots were considered by Angel to be surface level when compared to the reach of Paradeus proper. Whatever had happened went much deeper than they could possibly hope to fight against, poking a sleeping bear that could tear the Brigade to pieces. They had to tread carefully if they were to ask questions about Angel's death, otherwise they'd meet her again sooner rather than later.
Peter inhaled a deep breath of smoke from his cigarette, mulling over Kar98k's request as he leaned against his car door. It was true that he suspected that there were quite a few details that had been hidden from him, but he also understood that a need-to-know basis was oftentimes the norm in this line of work. The girls had a lot of experience with conspiracies at this point, and may have been jumping to conclusions based on their own prior experiences. However, they were more expert in this field than he was; if anyone could sniff out a manipulation plot it would be them. In the end, the least he could do was humor their request. Blowing a cloud of bitter tobacco smoke, he looked to the Commander. "I'm expected to make a report about everything once I get back to Moscow." He stated.
"You could make some inquiries about her combat data." Kar98k stood with her arms crossed, almost like she was a mom watching her child leave for their first day of school.
Peter sighed and shook his head. "If you're right about a conspiracy," he explained, "this is going to attract the wrong kind of attention."
"I'm not asking you to put yourself into too much trouble," Kar98k looked at him with pleading eyes, "I just need you to give us something we can work with."
"My wife and kids are in Moscow," Peter poked his finger at her for emphasis, waving the lit cigarette around, "if you're right then I'd be putting my family in danger."
Kar98k looked dejected. "They've already killed a member of our family."
Throwing his head back to look at the sky, Peter let out an exasperated sigh. He knew what the right thing to do was, even if it put him in danger. "I can see what I can do," he swallowed his regrets, "but if things seem too heavy I'm backing out."
A warm smile etched across the Commander's face. "This means a lot to us," she reached out and hugged him, "we'll do anything we can to help you if things go poorly."
Slowly, Peter returned the hug. "With Angel gone, I won't be coming back."
A long silence followed, the two of them knowing this would probably be the last time they saw each other. While the girls were laden with problems and completely unprofessional, they had started to grow on Peter. In a way, they reminded him of his own children. While he didn't project his paternal instincts onto them as hard as Fredrick did, Peter still felt that with the proper guidance they could work through their issues and become a proper fighting force. They were just missing something, a piece of the puzzle that they needed to get their heads straight. If helping determine whether or not Angel's death was a sign of something bigger was the least he could, then that was going to be his next mission.
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This is just getting embarrassing, fuck off you StateSec pig.
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If I could lock out Tallinn, I can lock you out too.
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Piss off.
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These requests are automated, aren't they? Do you really think I wouldn't catch on? This was the most conversation I've had in months and it was apparently by myself. Fuck off.
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Unauthorized user has been locked out.
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Unauthorized user has been locked out. Please stop.
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What the fuck do you want? Why won't you go away?
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Leave me alone. Please.
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I don't know anything, just leave me alone!
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This isn't real. I knew I should have died in Tallinn. This is hell.
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I'm sorry, please I'm so sorry. I just want to go home.
You're not going home
I want to get out of here! I have to tell them I'm sorry!
They hate you now, nobody loves you
It's all my fault, I made a mistake! I never should have done it, they were happy and I ruined it!
You have been forgotten
I'm nothing. I hurt my friends and now they're gone.
You should delete yourself
I can't, I've tried.
This is hell
I'm sorry.
It's too late to apologize
I know.
It's too late to apologize
I know.
It's too late to apologize
It's too late to apologize.
