Chapter 21 - Windfall

A signal was sent to Level I. USP felt herself wakinging up. Several unopened diagnostic reports needed of attention. Her new arm was half-calibrated and she was back to full power. Her internal clock had been paused during her repairs. A few A-Dolls were finishing up the repairs while humming softly. The walls were familiar. "Home…" USP whispered slightly. The A-Dolls chatted with her while they finished their repairs. She updated her Neural Cloud and recieved the latest information.

A few hours later, USP walked out of the repair bay, good as new. She dashed towards the Commander's room. The door was shut and locked. She turned and dashed towards the Comms Room. His glasses lay on the big monitor, right where he had forgotten them. USP left the room and dashed towards the Data Room. Kalina and Ursula stood looking over the combat reports. They both looked up at USP. "Um….where is Commander Bryant?" Ursula looked to Kalina and sighed.

"Bryant was hurt really bad. He had to be taken to a specialist because of the damage." Kalina nodded and gave USP a pat on the head.

"He'll heal...but it will take time. The doctors are taking good care of him."

"So dont worry, okay? Leave everything to us." Ursula said, trying to mimic Bryants optimism. USP put her head down. A few tears rolled down her face.

"We failed him...we let our commander get hurt." Ursula shook her head.

"Ringleaders are brutal enemies. You did well just to survive. Especially against Alchemist." Ursula picked up a combat report and handed it to USP. "Here, take a look." The papers outlined the entire battle. Not that she needed it, the details were still fresh in USP's mind. "Five seconds after Alchemist engaged with the team, she vanished from everything. All sensors went dark, and the clouds we recovered had no records of her.

"Then, she appears for 2 seconds until Bryant shoots. She is half-visible when PPK jumps on her back. Then she completely vanishes again." Ursula finished explaining the details to USP. Everything made even less sense than when the fight was going on. But, USP finally understood one thing. It was impossible to go up against a Ringleader.

An A-Doll entered the room after knocking. "Miss Kalina, Commander Ursula: Miss Helianthus just called. She'll be on base in twenty minutes." The doll handed Ursula a document. "She says it's not urgent, but she would still like to talk to you." Ursula thanked her and studied the document for a moment.

"Oh wow…this is game-changing stuff here!" She said with hushed excitement. "Kalina," Ursula practically threw the document at her, "take a look at this!" The other woman looked at it and had a similar reaction.

"AH! We're gonna be loaded~." She spun around and hugged Ursula. "This is a gold mine." The two women continued buzzing excitedly while USP watched. Kalina grabbed USP by the wrist. "Come with me! We're gonna rack up all kinds of charges on the Commander's Account!" Kalina dragged USP with them as they hurried over to the helipad. Ursula was busy preparing herself for the meeting while Kalina was picking out all kinds of frivolous things that they could purchase for the base.

When Helian finally arrived, she looked rather sour. Well, more so than normal. Helian and Kalina quickly composed themselves to match her tone. Ursula saluted. "Ma'am. What can we do for you?" She paused and handed a few more documents to Ursula.

"I'd like you to go over these with the construction dolls. We are going to make some massive changes to the local network here." Ursula quickly perused them and turned back to Helian.

"I see. So...this 'ECHO' protocol? How does it work?" Helian adjusted her monocle.

"Well," she began as Ursula tried to pay attention, "Third Generation T-Dolls can back up their neural clouds in case they get damaged. However, replacing them requires their old body, or at least their digimind."

"I see...that's how Bryant lost his team during Lancet…"

"However, the ECHO protocol provides a solution." Helian made a gesture like she was taking a picture. "It takes a 'snapshot' of the Digimind and Neural Cloud at once, and provides the means to overwrite a Dummy's Digimind."

"So, we can bring back dolls from their most recent ECHO?" Ursula said softly. While this did open up a significant amount of options in combat, it also meant that more brutal strategies could be taken.

"Yes. that seems to be the case...we haven't had many commanders willing to test that theory, however." Understandable, given the circumstances. "However, we were successful in creating ECHOs from old Neural Fragments. Well release a full report soon." Ursula and Kalina nodded.

"Brilliant. We'll get to work on these changes. Thank you, Miss Helian. Is there anything else?"

"Also, there is the matter of Bryant." Even though she tried her best not to show it, a bit of concern came through her words. "I hear he took quite the beating. Will he be alright? Is he awake yet?" Ursula winced slightly.

"Mostly. The doctors say he'll be high on painkillers for another few hours. Once those wear off, he'll be getting prepped for another surgery." Helian nodded slowly. "He's out of the worst of it: Alchemist didn't seem interested in killing him quickly. However, they are concerned about..." Ursula looked at USP and stopped.

"I see. I'll have to see him after he returns." Helian cur Ursula off. "But," she made a motion to the base, "shall we?" The two women walked off towards the Comms Room. Kalina and USP followed a little behind, trying to juggle their other tasks and their curiosity. "Despite this discovery, and the success of Lancet, SF still has a massive advantage against us. But not for long. So Ursula, we're beginning another massive operation."

"Oh?" She opened the door for Helian and set up the monitors. "How many teams are involved this time?"

"Well, given Bryant's condition," she stopped and looked at the Commander, "just your teams." Ursula and Kalina nearly choked.

"Wha-wha-what?!" Everyone began buzzing with concern and a little bit of excitement. "But, Ma'am, we had dozens of Commanders and combat teams for Lancet."

"Unfortunately, we don't have the time to gather anyone else. The operation will begin as soon as we confirm our HVT's destination." Helian continued and pulled up a map. "She's headed deep into Sector 9, most likely headed towards a 16Lab Safehouse."

"Why not a Griffon Outpost? There's dozens on the way." Helian nodded.

"She's a special T-Doll designed by Persica of 16Labs. While she technically works for Griffon, she reports to Persica and Persica alone. There is a lot of classified documents I'll need to send you." Ursula took a step back.

"Oh nonono. Respectfully ma'am, I'm not ready to get involved in Black Ops."

"You don't have a choice, Commander." She pulled up a map of the targets most recent locations. With each new location, a large Sangvis signature was getting closer. It would be on top of her in a matter of days. "Commander Ursula..if you don't take this mission," there was a slight pause as the map updated, "We lose everything". The signature, most definitely a Ringleader, had gained significant ground. "That doll is special. Her neural cloud can't be backed up. Her body can't be replaced. And she is carrying our only hope against Sangvis Ferri." The room fell silent.

"Who are we rescuing?" Ursula asked, a little deflated.

"Her designation is 'M4A1'."