Chapter 29 – Subtle Differences

The base was buzzing with activity. Sangvis activity had increased by an exponential amount in the last week or so. If Ursula was superstitious, she'd have believed Bryant was at the center of all the chaos. It was him or the Spec Ops dolls they were 'hunting' for. Anywhere that team went, trouble was sure to follow. Strangely, that was not the only source of the confusion in the base. It had to do with the new doll that the team had picked up.

"USP, did you run those scans of Area 22?" Ursula asked.

"Commander? But…I thought you put me in charge of Area 05?"

"Oh…must have been the other one…" Ursula mumbled quietly. "Sorry USP. I'll take the report of 05, however." The doll sent the data over to Ursula and walked away to continue her job. Ursula wandered the base looking for the other USP and the proper report. Ursula continued to mix the two up, and it felt like she was the only one. She had mixed them up for combat drills, dormitory assignment, echelon assignment, and now what job she had given them.

She made her way to her office to sulk. Bryant was typing away at his computer. Or, trying to. She could hear his teeth grinding in frustration from across the room. Both USPs entered the room and cornered the commanders. One of them spoke up.

"Commander Ursula, Commander Bryant: the humans can't tell us apart!"

"It's very disheartening."

Ursula pulled at her collar. "Look, I'm just under a lot of stress. I haven't mixed you up that much…"

"Thirty-five times today alone, Commander Ursula." The two dolls got closer to their Commanders. "And it's not just you. Miss Kalin, too.

"And the Technicians have been mixing up our parts and updates."

"And Springfiend had to check my IFF because the lunch lady thought I had already eaten!" Ursula looked away and stuttered a bit. Bryant, pushed his keyboard away in frustration and got up.

"Sounds rough. I'm sorry about that." He got up and put a hand on one of the USP's. "Just give them time, newbie. Humans need a lot of time to adjust." Both dolls looked up at Bryant with pleasant surprise. The new doll put her hand over top Bryant's.

"How did you do that, Commander?" She asked.

"I could always tell my adorable subordinates apart. Each one of you is unique." He said with a devilish grin. The new doll gave a warm smile, but the older doll was skeptical.

"I think it was more of a lucky guess." Bryant raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes, I believe that." The older doll said with a smirk. "If you could do it, some of the other humans would have been able to as well. Blind luck." Bryant made a face and shrugged.

"Are you willing to prove it? If I mix the two of you up, you both get three weeks paid vacation, redeemable whenever." Ursula winced. It was obviously a trap: the reward was too good to be true. But both dolls fell for his trap. It was almost comical, but Ursula felt a little bad for the dolls.

"Yes!" They both cried in unison.

"Alrighty then. You have until we find the M4A1's friends. Once we get a location on them, it's over. Deal?" The two dolls exchanged a look and nodded.

"Deal!"

"Wondeful. You can start trying tomorrow." The dolls left the room discussing plots and plans to earn that sweet vacation deal. Ursula watched in shock. Once the doors closed, Bryant turned to her with a smile. Her jaw hung open for a few moments.

"How…?"

"You probably guessed, but yes: I am cheating." He said with a wink. "If you figure it out, I'll give you FNC's confiscated sweets stash."

"I'll pass." She said without hesitation. Bryant shrugged. He sat down at his desk and got back to his work, like a spider waiting to catch his prey.

And catch them he did. Over and over. The two dolls tried everything to get him tripped up. They ambushed him during meals, during intelligence reports, and sometimes in the dead of night. They switched uniforms, wore masks, synced their personalities and voice. Nothing could mix him up. He would be able to tell which one was which. Even from a distance, even in security feeds and photos.

On the last day, one of them came sprinting into the communications room dressed in a ridiculous attempt to hide her identity. She handed Ursula the report and grabbed Bryant's empty sleeve. Bryant lowered his tablet slightly and made eye contact. "Well?" the doll asked, her voice distorted. He raised an eyebrow and turned back to his tablet.

"Yulia, please stop using Zerner to alter the newbie's settings. Come out from wherever you're hiding." There was a slight stomp from the hallway as the older doll came into the room. The newer doll stared at Bryant with admiration again.

"Wow…I don't believe it." USP muttered. She grabbed Bryant's sleeve again. "How did you do it?" Bryant chuckled and looked to Ursula.

"What does the report say?" He asked.

"We got 'em. I'll tell M4 and we'll start the operation."

"Good. Good." The two USP dolls looked at him expectantly. "I guess you want to know how I did it, huh?" They nodded in unison.

"Alright." He gently tapped the two of them on the head. "New girl: you wear your hat perfectly on center, but you never worry about it. You speak with an odd cadence. Your eyes are a shade darker than Yulia's, you are rigid and stiff when you move, and your hair is a good inch shorter." He turned to the older doll.

"You, on the other hand, adjust your hat six to seven times an hour but it is always slightly off-center. You are quieter and your vocal inflection is more natural. Other than that, you two are nearly identical." Bryant put his tablet down and rummaged in his pocket. "Which is why I asked Miss Kalin for these." He pulled out two strands of ribbon.

"For us?"

"Yup." He gave an exaggerated wince. "You wouldn't believe how much these cost me." Each doll took one. "Just tie it up in a visible spot." He smiled softly. "And, to avoid confusion on-base, I'm going to let everyone know that Yulia is wearing the green ribbon." The doll blushed and covered her face with her hat. He turned to the other doll. "You'll just be 'USP'. Fair?" She nodded and clutched her ribbon.

"Yes, Commander." The two of them wandered off, much more quietly than they had entered.

"Ya know, Bryant, I'm impressed. You managed to pick up on those little differences. It was kinda cute."

"Hm? Oh? Yeah. It was tough at first, but it became easier over time."

"…what?"

"I synced my tablet to Yulia's IFF after she mentioned the cafeteria thing. Set it vibrate every so often while she was nearby." Ursula was stunned for a second. "I told you I cheated."

"That's…that's awful! Those poor girls didn't stand a chance!" Ursula hissed. Bryant laughed.

"No, no they didn't. Anyway, we have to find M4's team." He reached for his tablet and tried to type something on it. Ursula paused for a second and sighed. She was very glad she didn't take his bet. She never would have guessed he was that underhanded.