Chapter 32 – Silence

Chaos ruled the battlefield. The only hope for the Griffin team was the chaos itself. It meant that the plan was working, for better or worse. From the minute the helicopters touched down, the fighting started. M4s team pushed south towards the city center, while the rest of the dolls creating mini-crises that SF had to respond to. Bryant cracked the slightest smile. The scene was something out of his most twisted, war-fueled fever dreams. Screams and gunfire provided the soundtrack for the firefights and discarded pieces that littered the ground. It was like watching the tides. Squads broke against each other in fierce gunfights, then broke off to regroup and reorganize, before rolling back towards the enemy.

The radio clicked. "Bryant, report in." He forced himself to look away from the tapestry of war.

"Drone picture coming in clear. Got a good view of the battlefield." He pushed a few buttons to cycle through the feeds. Wish we had more drones. And screens. And Dolls… "You getting the feed?"

"Mostly. Can't see FNC's team or overwatch."

"I'm working on that…" He managed the drones for a bit. "Drone Twelve has a broken lens. Stray shot, maybe? Thirteen is down, status unknown." A lie, but a necessary one. "Redirecting Three and Seven. Stand by…" The drones veered off course, giving a cinematic view of the battlefield. The scene was brutal, but entrancing. Bryant switched on the radio. "STEN, have your team switch with STG. Any word from FNC?" A small window popped up over one of the battle maps. STENs profile popped up with squad status and other important bits of information. Info on STG and her team popped up shortly afterwards.

"Negative, Commander."

"I see...take a break and resupply."

"Will do!" STG connected.

"Commander, a request." The doll said tenderly.

"Ah, yes, of course."

"The enemy is attacking much more fiercely." She said. "Is it possible, Commander, to give us some reinforcements? I don't think we can handle this alone."

"I'll see what I can do." He said as he connected Yulia to the call. "Did you get that, overwatch?"

"Yup, loud and clear." Yulia answered. He heard DSR 50 mumble something in the background. STG and STEN disconnected, leaving them alone.

"How do things look?" He asked as the drones settled into position. FNC's team had strayed off course, but they were fighting well.

"DSR 50 keeps complaining about engagement distances. And, … many other things." He heard an embarrassed squeak. "SF Jaegers are pinning us down from outside our range. Can we advance?"

"Yes. Stay at maximum engagement distance."

"But Commander!" USP tried to protest. The communication was briefly interrupted by sniper fire.

"I agree with the small one, Commander." DSR's voice lacked the usual teasing tone. "I can't perform under this much pressure."

"You have your orders, DSR 50." He murmured. "How is the drone?"

"Fine. I'm almost finished with the IFF. It should be ready to launch in a few minutes…if we can get rid of the snipers. Commander…I don't-"

"Get it done in sixty seconds and I'll buy you all the cake you can eat when we get back." The line was quiet. Bryant raised an eyebrow at the screen.

"…consider it done." Yulia said with renewed energy.

"Good. You two need to take some pressure off of STG and STEN." Bryant heard DSR give a dejected sigh.

"Of course, Commander. I will serve, as always." She said. Bryant rolled his eyes.

"DSR, have you ever seen the Command Room?"

"Of course not. Only adjutans are allowed in there." Her words were filled with sadness and anger. Bryant shrugged to no one.

"I have to get back to M4. But, if you-"

"A moment, Commander." DSR interrupted. The line went completely dead. The loud, garbled blast of a gunshot echoed from his headset. USP confirmed the kill a second later. "You were saying?"

"Get me 29 more, DSR." He smirked and switched lines before she could react. He focused all the screens onto M4's team. Warning messages flashed on the screen: Enemy Ringleader detected. He took a slow breath. Well, it's up to ST AR 15 now. Bryant dismissed the warning and returned his eyes to the screen. The showdown was about to begin.

ST AR 15 breathed rapidly. She was exhausted, but SF kept coming. Sniper fire tore through her cover. She forced herself to her feet and returned fire while looking for anything to hide behind. Not much was left. She cursed herself for getting backed into a corner. A stupid, fatal error.

Another warning tone buzzed in her ear. She grunted and sprinted from what was left of her cover. An explosion rocked the desolate buildings and decimated the spot where ST AR had been. Hunter had deployed Jaguars: mechanized missile launchers. These things harassed Griffin dolls at the farthest reaches of the battlefield. At least she could move out of the way, but that kept her constantly in the open and an easy target for the snipers.

She took a few steps and was struck by small arms fire. Hunter and her infantry had flanked her. But there were less of them now. Still too many to make a move. The Ringleader advanced. "Already out of steam, Griffin? Is this all my prey can muster?" AR15 didn't have the energy to argue. Her energy was better put to use trying to think through the haze and exhaustion. She moved to avoid another missile.

She ran as hard as she could. No sniper fire this time. It was clear that Hunter was having trouble with the rescue team. "Looks like you're bleeding troops, Sangvis. Is this all a Ringleader can muster?" ST AR said. Hunter roared through clenched teeth. she pointed to the north.

"Turn them into scrap. I'll deal with this one alone." The missile warnings ceased as the Jaguars repositioned. ST AR let out a long sigh. This was perfect, a chance to strike. She peeked out from cover and took the shot. Hunter stumbled forward and turned. "It's over!" The Ringleader drew both her guns and started attacking. The bullets tore through the cover separating the two. ST AR kept her distance and attacked when she could.

There was a gap in the fire. She popped up and saw Hunter standing still. As she lined up the shot, Hunter's eyes lit up and she pivoted with blinding speed. ST AR gasped and tried to dodge. A storm of gunfire shredded everything that Hunter's guns were aimed at. She kept shooting with a cold glare. Damage warnings flashed everywhere ST AR looked. The storm kept coming, pushing her to the limit. The gunfire slowed back to its normal rate.

ST AR grimaced as she checked her wounds. Major damage, but she could move and she could shoot. The most pressing was her power output. She was rapidly losing power. She had maybe a few more minutes before she had to turn off her combat software to keep her core online. The gunfire stopped again. ST AR ran as Hunter's volley started again. Hunter followed her as she ran. Several close calls later, and the two dolls were separated by a concrete pillar.

Hunter and ST AR were both exhausted and overheated. There was nowhere else for them to run or hide. The gunfire stopped again. ST AR turned and fired at Hunter's leg. The bullet tore through the limb and Hunter dropped. ST AR caught her breath and kept shooting. She crippled limb after limb until Hunter was unable to fight back.

"There... now it's over…" She said with a casual tone. Hunter grunted and struggled to her hands and knees. "Any last words?" She reached for one of her guns, but ST AR kicked her hand away, forcing her back to the ground. "I suppose not." Hunter looked up with a damaged face and a spiteful smile.

"...whatever. I did my job."

ST AR 15 pulled the trigger.