Chapter 9 – Ursula

After a few days of rigorous training, Shield team was ready for combat operations. Not that they could go out on them anyway, because Bryant did not have the authorization. He and Kalina worked together to send the girls on logistics missions: escort jobs, manual labor, odd-jobs, anything to get their name out there. Finally, the day arrived. The new commander was going to arrive at base.

The small helicopter landed and two women stepped out. The one wore a simple blue and black one-piece, and large glasses with a blue frame. Her brown hair was cut just above her shoulders. She carried a heavily modified rifle, Bryant recognized it as the experimental SAR-21. An Elite T-Doll of this level was a surprise to him.

The other woman wore the bright red Griffon jacket. Her blonde hair was cut short, almost shorter than Bryant's. It gave him a good look at her green eyes bright with youthful optimism. A small tattoo ran down from her ear to the collar of her shirt. She extended her hand to Bryant. He took it. "Hiya! Name's Ursula McRoy. I'll be working with you from now on."

"Bryant. I'm looking forward to working with you as well." Ursula paused, and her face seemed to flush. He felt her grip weaken slightly.

"Bryant…as in, Zachary Bryant?"

"That's me." Bryant said. He felt something uneasy coming. Based on her reaction, it was probably a good think that she knew him.

"Wow…I never thought – I mean, you see – But you're a legend!" She put both her hands on his and shook it again.

"Thanks? That doesn't sound good."

"It was mostly good. Well, except for the incident involving Miss Helianthus."

"Oh…that. That's a part of my past I'd rather not visit." Just as he said that, Kalina perked up. She hurried up behind Bryant and took Ursula's hand.

"Wait, I want to hear this story!" Kalina held out a wad of cash. "I'll make it worth your effort." Ursula looked confused and attempted to turn down the offer. The doll next to her coughed and looked up. SAR-21 spoke for the first time.

"I believe we should get to work, Ms Ursula." The two women nodded and Kalina reluctantly backed down. She locked eyes with Bryant and shot him a gaze that told him she was going to find out his secrets. Bryant sighed and began preparing himself for the inevitable.

The commanders walked through the base towards the communication room. Ursula took off her coat and draped it gently over a chair. She picked up her tablet and looked at the screen. "What's available today?" Bryant lifted his own tablet and cast some information.

"Lots of logistics. The support teams are on their way back now."

"Support Teams?" Ursula asked as she took a closer look at the logistics missions. "I wasn't aware we had any."

"They are technically my teams. However, I am your lieutenant. Their primary goal is to support whatever operations you take part in. If there is no active assignment, I will deploy them as I see fit." Ursula laughed.

"Yeah, that's what I was told too. 'Your primary objective is to work with your staff to support official G&K operations in Sector 9'. Bunch a' bull if you ask me." She selected a mission and smiled. "Here's a good one." Bryant looked at the screen and paled.

'Limited Bounty: Ringleader Gager', a high difficulty combat operation. "How about this? We'll see some action." Bryant slowly nodded.

"You're insane." His voice cracked as he looked at the enemy details. "Completely insane." He pulled up the information of Shield Team. He then pulled up the information on the free dolls around base. Once all the information was displayed, he took a slow breath and talked again. "Let's pick something easier, at least to start."

Ursula frowned. She went back to the mission list, muttering something Bryant couldn't hear. Kalina shot him a strange look. "All of these are boring logistic missions. Nothing interesting; just routine."

"Routine is nice, Commander Ursula. Routine doesn't hurt our dolls."

"Geez. You're such a kill-joy. What do you think we should do then?" She turned to him in annoyance. Bryant grit his teeth and tightened his empty hand.

"Nothing. You want to try your luck; I'll follow your lead." Kalina made a hasty retreat from the room, feeling Bryant's anger and annoyance reaching a peak. "But I swear to you now: If anything happens to USP…or any of our dolls, it'll be on your head." The two commanders locked eyes and exchanged glares.

Ursula's expression softened slightly and she began to gently chew on her cheek. She lowered her head slightly and sighed. "I'm sorry, Bryant." The tension in the air hung for a few seconds before Bryant let out a strained sigh.

"What game are you playing, Ms McRoy?" Bryant said as he crossed his arms. SAR walked up next to Ursula and cleared her throat.

"Ms Ursula studied the commanders of Sector 9. She wanted to see one of the veterans in action, but they are too busy to train a rookie."

"That doesn't explain the arrogant bullheadedness."

"Well, Ms Ursula tends to act without thinking." Ursual gently pushed SAR.

"Stop talking about me like that! I'm not that bad, am I?" Bryant put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. The new commander and her adjutant argued for a bit longer before Bryant came to a compromise.

"Listen. Between the four teams we have, only Shield One is able to be remotely useful in the Limited Bounty. Perhaps we can find another mission that our teams can work on together?" Ursula nodded slightly.

"Of course, Commander." The two turned back to the screen. After bickering and trying to compromise for an hour, Kalina found the courage to enter the room again.

"Commanders, Ms Helianthus would like to speak with you. Voice lines only. Should I establish the connection?" Bryant turned to Ursula. She looked back at him, expecting Bryant to take the lead. He made a motion to Kalina. Ursula blushed and turned to Kalina.

"Um, yes please. Patch her through now." Kalina pushed a few buttons on her tablet and took a seat near the door. Helian's Photo appeared on one of the monitors.

"Commanders Ursula and Bryant, we have an urgent mission for you to accept." Bryant and Ursula looked to each other.

"Very well, Ms Helianthus. Bryant and I are awaiting orders." Ursula said quickly, but not confidently.

"Good. I'll send Miss Kalina the details shortly. This operation will be a joint effort with about twenty Commanders from various sectors. I myself will be leading a combat team, and we've even hired some…less reputable mercenaries."

"Damn, Helian. What the hell happened?" Ursula and SAR went pale as they looked at Bryant.

"Commander! You can't talk to her like that! She's your boss." Ursula hissed. Bryant just shrugged as Helian continued.

"Bryant…We'll have a private talk about your decorum. As to your question: I cannot tell you what happened. I don't even have all the information. What I do know, is that we have a damaged doll carrying mission critical information being pursued deep behind enemy lines. We've sent all active commanders to the last known coordinates. Your teams will be needed on standby for the assault teams, but we'll also need a team to scout out additional combat areas and make strategic strikes."

Byrant noded and made a note on his tablet. "Understood. We'll be ready to mobilize within the hour."

"Excellent. You'll have a transport chopper on base by 2300 hours. Good luck, to both of you." Helian ended the call, leaving the commanders in silence.

"SAR, go join first echelon. I'll go and prepare the others for duty."

"Yes ma'am." She said with a salute and hurried out of the room.

USP hurried into the communications room to get Bryant. "Commander, the teams are ready and the transport will be here any minute." He nodded absently, once again searching for some unknown person or doll. "Commander?"

"She's gone…it's like…she's a different doll. I can't find her, anywhere." He muttered. USP stood next to him and watched as all of tonight's leads vanished one by one. Once the screen was empty, Bryant put the ring back in his pocket and leaned against the computers. "And now I have this mission, where I'm certain you all will be in danger…and I've been grounded." He muttered again.

It had been decided that Bryant would stay behind and walk Ursula through the operation from the base. That, and Kalina would have been lonely with the short-staff. Still, USP could see the frustration and annoyance in his face as he realized that his one chance at a lead would be wasted. USP mustered all of her courage and looked at Bryant. "Um…let me help."

"…what?"

"When we finish this mission, let me help you find this doll. This Ringleader." He still looked at her blankly, almost as if he was processing what she was telling him. "We'll hunt her…together." She held out her hand.

"….yeah." Bryant managed, and gently took her hand. The two shook hands, finalizing their agreement. Bryant followed USP out, to see the combat teams off. USP and Bryant walked side by side towards the awaiting helicopter. The teams were loaded, the briefing finished, and Operation Lancet commenced.