A cold chill blew through the forest as the afternoon sun hid behind the clouds. It was already past noon, but the forest refused to stir as it knew better than to interrupt those who battled within. Cracks of gunfire sporadically echoed against the sky as StG44, Nagant, and Galil sprinted through the trees looking back only to send a short volley of fire back at their pursuers. "Wait for me! I'm not good at running!" Nagant cried as she and her damaged dummy link desperately tried to keep up with her team as they wove through trees and leaped over ditches and fallen logs.

"Just a little more," StG44 reassured her. "We're almost to the riv-! Scheisse (Shit)!" A plasma round whizzed past her head. She quickly returned fire along with her dummy before resuming her sprint. The bullets hit their mark and the Ripper's corpse tumbled forwards into the dirt. The other Rippers and Dinergates, however, didn't falter and continued their pursuit.

"Can't they at least pretend to care?" Galil bemoaned as she and her dummy took out two Dinergates that were getting too close.

"Just keep going," StG44 commanded, "I can see the riverbank, ahead!" While they called it a 'river', the actual body of water was only around thirteen centimeters deep but was twenty meters to the other side. Twenty meters of completely open terrain. The t-dolls rushed into the water, their feet splashing as they continued their stride, and didn't stop until they reached the other bank. Dinergates were the first to catch up and they splashed ahead with the Rippers not far behind. "Now!"

"Welcome to the kill zone~!" Set up on a nearby downed tree, M2HB along with her two dummy links had full vision along the river. "Commencing clean up!" She cried as .50 caliber rounds poured out of the three machine guns. The Dinergates tasted the lead first as they were torn to shreds. The Rippers didn't fare any better as M2HB adjusted her sights to them once the Dinergates were mostly gone with StG44, Galil, and Nagant cleaning up the rest. One Ripper tried to get behind a tree but fell just short before they were mulched by the stream of bullets. As the last Sangvis unit fell, M2HB's guns fell silent and peace returned to the forest. The river turned black as it was polluted by the destroyed machines.

"HAH! They fell for it hook line and sinker!" Nagant proudly declared as she holstered her revolver. "The Commander's strategy really pai-!" As she tried to speak, Nagant's dummy shoved her down into the water. "Wha-?!" Nagant turned to look at her dummy only to see it get torn in half by heavy plasma fire.

"Dragoons!" StG44 cried as she grabbed Nagant by her coat collar and quickly dragged her up the river bank and dove behind a tree. Two Dragoons burst out of the trees on the opposite side of the river and strode into the water to close the gap.

"Whether it's aircraft, artillery, or walkers, I'll destroy them all~!" M2HB reopened fire on the encroaching walkers. Her bullets sent water splashing into the air as they danced around their targets. One of the Dragoons returned fire on M2HB's position, causing her to duck down, while the other continued to advance upon the rest of the group.

"Feuer! Feuer! (Fire! Fire!)" StG44 loaded her Gewehrgranatgerät (Rifle grenade device) and sent two grenades towards the closest Dragoon's feet. The explosions blew off the legs of the walker causing the pilot to fall forwards off her mech where Galil made quick work of her. "One left!"

"...!" Seeing that it was now alone, the last Dragoon charged M2HB's position while keeping her pinned with its cannon. The three t-dolls tried to down it, but the Dragoon was moving too quickly.

"Shoot!" M2HB's cover was getting destroyed by the cannon so she couldn't find an opening to return fire. Then, a loud wooden crunching noise came from next to her. The Dragoon was standing on top of her cover looking down at her with its cannon. "...Shit." It blew away one of her dummy links with the cannon and raised its foot to crush the t-doll.

"I need plenty of sugar intake before going into battle." As the foot came down, it was blocked by a metal shield as AA-12 got between the Dragoon and M2HB. Her knees almost buckled under the force, but she held firm. "And, you're interrupting my snack time." Her shield arms sharply moved to the side causing the Dragoon to lose balance and completely expose the pilot. "Gross! Just disappear already!" AA-12 unloaded her shotgun point-blank into the Dragoon's main body turning it into nothing more than a pile of scrap.

"...That was easy," M2HB said as she came out of her daze. She looked up at AA-12, "Thanks for the save."

"Next time, don't need it. Unlike you, I don't have any dummy links." AA-12 let her shield arms relax as she kicked the remains of the Dragoon's head into the water. "Was that the last of them? I want to get back to the dorm."

"Yes," StG44 said as she walked over to them, "Let's return to the LZ and head to town to collect our payment, then we can return to base."

"And, get a new change of clothes," Nagant bemoaned as she squeezed the ends of her coat to try and get all the water out of her soaked clothing. The echelon grabbed their gear and went to the open clearing where they were picked up by their Black Hawk. Their destination wasn't too far away, about a ten-minute fly, and was the town Zeldri originally saw on his way to the Mountain. Standing on the edge of town, just outside his home, was a man in his late forties along with a group of about six men and a pickup truck parked nearby that had its bed covered with a tarp. The men near the truck had Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders. The first man watched the helicopter land with an annoyed expression that turned into disdain once the dolls exited.

"Your owner already called." He motioned to the pickup. "Take the supplies and fuck off."

"Of course." StG44 kept a neutral tone to not agitate the man further.

"Жуткие куклы (Creepy dolls)," the man muttered under his breath as he watched the t-dolls go over to the truck. The men around the truck kept their eyes on the dolls as if daring them to start something.

"Honestly," AA-12 complained into her echelon link, "Could they make their hate of us any clearer?"

"Just put up with it a little longer, AA-12" StG44 responded. "This is our first mission for them, so let's make a good impression." She could feel AA-12's eyes roll through the link at that. Everyone, while directing disdain at them, wasn't making any moves. However, once Nagant pulled the tarp covering the truck's bed away, a thick tension came into the air.

"They're shorting us," Nagant commented as she counted the supplies. There was only about sixty percent of what was promised.

"Will the rest be coming, soon?" As StG44 asked her question, the men around them slowly unslung their rifles.

"That's what you get," the first man, their leader, responded. "If you don't like it, then fuck off back to your owner."

"..." The t-dolls were on edge. They didn't have authorizations to detain humans as this was supposed to just be a Sangvis patrol clean-up op. StG44 prioritized her team over getting the supplies, so went to comply with the demands. "...Loa-"

"StG44." A voice came over comms to stop her.

"Commander?" StG44 was a bit startled to hear Zeldri's voice. At the mention of their 'Commander' the men grew antsy.

"Activate your holo-display. I will speak to them." Zeldri's voice held no emotion for StG44 to read into, so she silently followed orders.

"Our commander wishes to speak with you," she said as she took out and activated a small metal disk that displayed a blue holographic image of Zeldri over it. His expression was unreadable.

"What's going on, Kiril?" Zeldri didn't waste any time with pleasantries and skipped right to the point. "I'm watching the live feed through my doll's optics and even I can tell you're not paying what you said you would."

"What I'm doing?" Kiril angrily retorted, "You come here with your dolls and demand our supplies for the 'safety' you'll provide?" He waved his hand dismissively at the t-dolls. "Our troubles started because of dolls, Commander. Be lucky we don't scrape yours here and now for their weapons." The men around the truck all seemed eager for that outcome which further put the t-dolls on edge.

"...So," Zeldri began after he took a few moments to ponder his words, "What you're saying is that you want us gone?"

"All dolls do is bring trouble! Yes, get out of our homes!"

"Very well."

"Commander!" StG44 couldn't believe what she was hearing, nor could the others of her echelon. AA-12 gave a defeated sigh.

"...Really?" Kiril wasn't entirely expecting this outcome. He'd thought Zeldri would've put up more of a fuss over being told to pack up and leave.

"Really," Zeldri nodded and turned his head to look at StG44, "Return to base. I'll start getting in contact with the military to take control of this sector. Then-"

"WHAT!?" Kiril shouted in a mix of anger and disbelief and the men around the truck froze. "The military!?"

"Of course." Zeldri turned back towards Kiril. "This sector is still considered Sangvis Ferri controlled. The reason Griffin & Kryuger is here is to liberate the sector from their control. However, since you've made it clear that you don't want us here, we will have to have the military take over this sector to pick up our slack."

"..." Kiril gritted his teeth in frustration. "Fine! At least they'll send humans to defend us."

"Indeed they will," Zeldri agreed, "I'm sure they'll be more than pleased with your son."

"..." The air froze and the world went silent. No one, doll or human, knew what to say. Standing on the porch of the house behind Kiril, after coming out to see what the commotion was about, was a man who looked to be about nineteen years old. And, he was standing in just the right spot for Zeldri to see him in StG44's optic feed. When Kiril found his voice, it was almost a whisper, "...What did you just say?"

"Exactly what you wanted." Zeldri's voice was firm as he spoke, "Since you don't want any doll units, the military will need to send human soldiers. However, in our country's current state, that would be a logistical impossibility as there are far more important places human soldiers are needed. So, I will be suggesting to my contacts that they send a few trained soldiers along with instructors to take and train any able-bodied man in this town to act as the frontline of defense." Zeldri's gaze shifted to the son. "He looks like a nice kid. Looks like he's got some muscles on his arms. He'll make a fine soldier in no time who will lay down his life defending this town."

"ВЫ СМЕЕТЕ (YOU DARE)!?" Kiril exploded at Zeldri. The mother, who came out upon hearing Kiril's rage, quickly brought her son back inside and closed the blinds on the windows.

"Перестань плакать как сука (Stop crying like a bitch)," Zeldri's tone shifted and became harsher. "That's the price of 'no dolls', Kiril. So, give my dolls the rest of the supplies you promised, or I'll be making a call to my contacts and make sure your son is stationed at the front when Sangvis Ferri comes crashing down on you and your town! Stop wasting their time!" Everyone was stunned by Zeldri's words, especially AA-12. She knew all Zeldri had to do was leave it with the threat of training the son to get Kiril to back down. But, the anger in Zeldri's voice and threatening to put the son on the frontline? She thought her Commander wasn't the type to get angry especially after how flippant she's been to him during their brief interactions; especially since she was a doll. Was he being nice to her?

"...!" Kiril's face was bright red and his fists were clenched so tightly that blood trickled down his fingers. The other six men around the truck all looked at each other in confusion and concern. Would their sons also be sent to the front? Would they? Kiril had lost, and he knew it. "...Fine! Lev!" He pointed at one of the six men. "Take Kliment and get the rest of the supplies on the sheet." Lev and Kliment gave hurried nods and both ran off to get another truck with more supplies. The tension in the air dissipated as the situation seemed to be resolved. Kiril turned back to Zeldri. "Satisfied?"

"Very," Zeldri gave a nod and turned to StG44, "Load up what's here and wait for the rest. Once you have everything, let Annika know you're on your way back so she can get ready for the supplies to arrive. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, Commander!" StG44 was in a bit of a daze after what happened but snapped out of it when Zeldri addressed her. Zeldri gave a nod and cut the link to the holo-display.


"Ugh," Zeldri rubbed his temples now that the display was off. He was getting flashbacks to dealing with scavs during his patrols and the stupid logic they would throw at him and his men whenever they were caught. After sufficiently rubbing his eyes, Zeldri turned his attention back to the other people in the room. "Was that too much?"

"A bit," Helian responded from her display on the wall-mounted monitor. Zeldri was in the middle of a call with Helian about t-doll requisitions, the power plant, and other issues when he noticed what was going on and abruptly got involved. "I don't like you threatening to pull Griffin & Kryuger support from a sector without authorization, but since it turned out beneficially I'll let you off with a warning, this time."

"I appreciate your understanding, Miss Helianthus." Zeldri turned to Annika, who was also in the room with him. "Have the crews get some jeeps ready to transport the supplies to the warehouse when you get the call from StG44. Also, have maintenance prepare replacement dummies for Nagant and M2HB."

"Of course, Commander," Annika said and started tapping away on her tablet.

"Also," Helian spoke up, "I must say, I never thought I would see you get so upset at a contact like that, Commander."

"I've met people like him before. If you don't take a hard approach then they'll just keep pushing back. Besides," Zeldri looked at his tablet at the damage reports his t-dolls had sustained, "He spat in the face of their efforts."

"You mean your t-dolls?" Helian asked. "They can always be repaired and replaced, Commander."

"They're also the ones getting shot," Zeldri countered, "Even while serving in the military, I made sure my combat dolls got the proper maintenance and upkeep they deserved. Every bullet they take is a bullet not taking a human life."

"..."

"Also," Zeldri added as he closed the window on his tablet, "Even though their emotions are simulated, I don't want to see my troops disheartened for doing their job properly. That's absurd."

"I see," Helian said as a telling smile momentarily made its way onto her face before her professional mask covered it up. Annika was also grinning as she listened in while continuing her own assignment. She also made sure that Zeldri's quote would circle around the Griffin forums posted by an 'anonymous' user.

"Now that that interruption is dealt with," Zeldri changed topics, "I believe we were moving onto the topic of the power plant?"

"Yes," Helian refocused and scrolled down on her tablet as she spoke, "We were able to get in contact with RusHydro and they've agreed to send some people from one of their subsidiaries out to you on the condition they can connect the plant up to their grid. They're already under a strict confidentiality contract that should prevent any leaks on what their employees might see or hear that is unrelated to the power plant."

"Good, that'll be one less thing to worry about. Could we also..."


There was a large hill that was covered in trees that overlooked the small human settlement. From atop this hill, a new threat silently watched. "Hmm," the doll hummed to herself as she watched the Griffin echelon load up their supplies and fly away on the Black Hawk. She had taken all proper precautions so that she wouldn't be detected this close and could stand freely where she chose.

"Scarecrow, report in," Agent's voice came in over their communication link.

"I've arrived in the sector," Scarecrow responded as she watched the helicopter disappear from view. "It appears that Griffin has sent one of their dogs here after all. And, they seem to have quite the bark." Before the Griffin echelon's arrival, Scarecrow had hidden some Dinergates throughout the town as a way of spying on what was going on. She had seen and heard everything that transpired.

"Executioner and Hunter are currently on another task so you're on your own. I trust you can handle this, Scarecrow?"

"Of course," Scarecrow was completely confident in her answer. She'd seen how pitiful of a force this Griffin commander wielded and had no reason to doubt herself. "He will die as all do who oppose us."

"And, your secondary task?"

"I will scour the forests for it." While Scarecrow was here to eliminate Griffin from the sector, this particular sector had something that seemed to have piqued Mastermind's interest. However, what she sought was lost somewhere hidden in the thick forests and would need to be found.

"Then, that is all. See your mission completed." With that order, Agent cut the communication leaving Scarecrow alone on the hill.

"...Now then," Slowly, Scarecrow raised her arms and held her conductor's baton high. She felt her connection to each of her units as they awaited their orders. With a swift flick of her wrists, every Sangvis Ferri unit under her command spread out and started combing the forest. "Let us commence with your eradication, Commander of Griffin."