...
...
...
...
"...Did you get all that?"
...
"...Dad?"
"...Remember, this conversation stays between us since your mother doesn't like when I do this... But... I feel this is important... So..."
...
"...But... Why...would I...?"
"...Just in case... You must fear it..."
...
"...Fear?"
"...Mine's my boss. But that won't work for you; it must be personal... Something that even the nightmares will run from... You must..."
...
...
...
"Wake up, Commander, you're screaming again." A hand burst through the water and dragged Zeldri out of the dark ocean.
"Time!" A 16Lab technician clicked the stopwatch they were holding to stop the timer. "Weapons down!" The firing range was bustling with activity and noise, but the two t-dolls the technician was speaking to lowered their guns, unloaded their magazines, and placed their weapons on the table. "This concludes the final test. Return to your service bays for the results from the client."
"Of course," one of the t-dolls responded and picked up their gun, an AN-94, before walking away from the range.
"Very well," the second t-doll replied as she picked up her own gun, an AEK-971. The t-doll was about 170 cm tall and was dressed in baggy black camouflage patterned pants. Brand new black combat boots softly squeaked as she walked. A tactical vest was secured over a tight-fitting grey shirt. Shoulder-length platinum blonde hair flowed freely down her head. She slung her rifle over her shoulder and followed AN-94 out of the range. The two didn't speak a word to each other as they walked down the hall. For as little time as AEK-971 had been active, and from the few times she'd been with the t-doll during tests, AN-94 seemed like a quiet t-doll. That was fine, as AEK-971 also wasn't too keen on talking with someone she was competing with to join a special operations team. This was the last test to determine if she would be picked by a special client.
"..." Without a word, AN-94 turned right down a fork while AEK-971 continued straight until she approached her room.
"Welcome back!" As the door opened, a man inside gave her a warm welcoming shout. Her creator; Maxim Verkov. "How did it go?"
"They're waiting for the client to-"
"Aisha~!" Maxim was pouting, now.
"..." AEK-971 gave a partially annoyed sigh. Her creator was quite an eccentric one, but that was a part of his charm. "During small group target designations, she had me beat. But, when it came to larger forces that required sustained fire, I pulled ahead."
"Hmm," Maxim rubbed his chin. "Makes sense. Take away the hyper-burst and the AN-94's just a good rifle. Even if we're talking about t-dolls, they're obviously no better tha-OW!" Maxim was about to start bad-mouthing AN-94, but his assistant smacked him with her clipboard.
"Please don't diminish the abilities of our peers, sir." Her tone was controlled despite hitting him. AEK-971 had seen this scene plenty of times, before.
"...Not even my own staff believe in me..." Maxim threw his arms around AEK-971 bringing her into a bear hug. "You believe in me, though, Aisha! You'll always be on my side!"
"...Yes. Yes." AEK-971 gently patted Maxim's head as it was the only way she knew to get him off her when he got like this.
"In any case," the assistant cleared her throat to get Maxim's attention, "We should let AEK-971 rest as we wait for the results."
"...Right." Reluctantly, Maxim let go of AEK-971 and patted her on the head. "Get some rest, Aisha."
"Yes, sir." AEK-971 hopped onto a table and laid down. Maxim would often tweak with her body when she was offline, so she was used to being in a place that was easy for him to work. She decided to run combat simulations in her mind while she waited and her consciousness drifted away into her digimind as her body shut down.
...
...
...
...Reboot Sequence: Engaged...
It seemed to be time for her to hear the results. Though, by her internal clock, it took far longer than she expected. AEK-971 wondered what happened.
...Running Diagnostics...
...
...Notice: New Hardware Found...
...Installing Relevant Firmware...
New hardware? While Maxim liked to tweak with her, he'd never given her new hardware; only ever small tweaks to make her better.
...ASST Module: Found...
...Installing New Code...
ASST!? But, she'd already been imprinted onto the AEK-971! She struggled to wake up, but couldn't break through her boot sequence.
...Warning: Imprint Already Found...
...Imprint: AEK-971...
...Would You Like to Overwrite the Current Imprint?: [Y] [N]
...Overwrite: Cancelled...
...Removing New Cò̵͍ḏ̶̔e̶̤̎...
...Error...
...Error...
...E̴͖͒R̶̛̠R̸͉͊O̴͍͒R̷̟͌...
AEK-971 was getting scared. She had no idea what was happening, but...
...Neural Upgrade: Initializing...
...I̵̺̊ǹ̷̝ś̷̯t̷̺̓a̴͕̕l̵̨͠l̴͕͛i̶͍͑n̷͍̕g̵̗̿ ̸̗̅B̷̯͐o̶̹͘ṯ̸̇h̵̫͂ ̷̳͝Į̶͑m̶̖͐p̶͚̈r̸̋͜i̸̾͜n̷̡̊t̸̰̉s̴̯͋...
Both!?
...
...Installation: Complete...
...ASST Module: Successfully Imprinted Weapon...
...Imprint Found: AEK-971...
...Imprint Found: A-545(KORD 6P67)...
...Neural Upgrade: Complete...
...Reboot Sequence: Resumed...
"..." The t-doll awoke on the same table she'd gone to sleep on earlier.
"What the hell did you do!?" An angry voice next to her drew her attention. Turning her head, she saw Maxim was being held by the collar of his lab coat by the female assistant. She looked furious. "Miss Persicaria hasn't completed testing the Neural Upgrade system! No one outside 16Lab is supposed to know about it, yet! What if the client asks questions?!" Despite all her anger, Maxim held a stoic expression on his face. He didn't say a word. "Yes, she rejected AEK-971, but that doesn't give you the right to-!"
"...What...?" The t-doll rose from the table drawing the attention of the humans.
"You're awake," Maxim remarked coldly. She'd never heard him like this. "Grab your gear and report to the sparring ring."
"Maxi-!" The assistant tried to protest, but Maxim shot her a glare that caused the words in her throat to seize.
"..." She would probably understand what was happening when she got to the ring; it was a place t-dolls could practice their close-quarters combat techniques. As she moved to get up, the t-doll found that they were now wearing a winter camouflaged coat, a Lynx-T ballistic helmet was attached to their belt, and there were two melee weapons in sheathes attached to each of her thighs. She grabbed her AEK-971 and hopped off the table, but she felt like something was missing. Like...
"Don't forget your other one."
"Other...?" The t-doll asked, but her words trailed off as she turned to see a second rifle was sitting on the table.
"Don't keep them waiting, A-545."
"..." A-545 slung the AEK-971 over her shoulder, put the Lynx helmet on her head, and picked up the A-545 rifle. It felt more natural to carry it as her primary, now. She exited the room and heard the assistant start shouting at Maxim, again, but she didn't stick around to hear the details. Those she passed in the hall would give her curious looks. She could guess why: what's a failed prototype still doing walking around? There was a bitterness in her thoughts that wouldn't go away and only seemed to strengthen as she got closer to the sparring ring. When she opened the door, A-545 saw four people in the room. She recognized the 16Lab technician who was always overseeing her tests and AN-94, but the other two were a mystery to her. One was a woman with an obvious prosthetic leg and arm, and the other was a t-doll who stood in the ring with an AK-12.
"Hm?" The woman with prosthetics raised an eyebrow when A-545 entered the ring. "Isn't that the one I passed on?" Those words struck a wound in A-545.
"Yes...Well..." The technician was probably not legally able to tell the woman, their client, about the 'Neural Upgrade' system which was the only reason she was here.
"..." The client seemed to pick up on this unspoken fact and turned her attention back to the ring. "Don't go easy on them, AK-12."
"Oh my~, are you worried I'll lose?" AK-12 gave a cheeky remark as she checked her rifle. It was then that A-545 noticed that the other three were on an elevated platform that was brought in with thick bullet-proof glass. This wasn't a spar, this was a deathmatch.
"Just don't play around. We have work to do."
"Roger~." She turned towards A-545. "This isn't anything personal, but your fangs aren't needed here, Little Snake."
"..." A-545 didn't respond to the taunt.
"Combatants, ready!" The technician gave a call and raised their hand.
"Time to get serious, mission start." AK-12 got into a slight crouch and her striking pink eyes opened wide.
"...Time to bring the hail." A-545 lowered the visor on her helmet which cast a shadow over her face. Her own striking pink eyes softly glowed through the visor, and her vertically slit pupils dilated.
"Begin!"
"...!" A-545 immediately opened fire. She knew she had the advantage when it came to fire-rate and could win if she mulched AK-12 first. But, AK-12 seemed to predict this and took on a different strategy. She sent bursts of fire towards A-545 to disrupt her aim while sprinting at full speed towards her as she weaved through the storm of bullets. While some of A-545's bullets were hitting, it wasn't enough and AK-12 was quickly upon her. A glint of light reflecting off metal was all the warning A-545 got as AK-12 unsheathed a knife and aimed for her throat.
"...?" AK-12 expected to land the hit, but fell short as she felt her right leg give out from under her. A quick glance revealed her right leg was being shot off as A-545 had grabbed the AEK-971 from her back with her left hand and was firing while drawing it from behind her back.
" Падать (Fall)!" A-545 dual-wielded her rifles and leapt back to get some distance. She expected this sudden damage to throw AK-12 off, but...
"Damage exceeds predicted levels." AK-12 emotionlessly remarked as she focused all her power into her left leg. She leapt with all her might tackling A-545 to the ground, but not before her left arm was shot off.
"...!" AN-94 was getting worried seeing her comrade taking so much damage. The client continued to watch silently with a neutral expression on their face.
"GEH!" A-545 fell onto her back and immediately let go of both her weapons to bring her hands up. AK-12 brought her knife down hard and stabbed through A-545's left hand while A-545's right hand grabbed AK-12's fist to try and get her off. But, AK-12's knife kept inching closer and closer to A-545's neck. She had better leverage. So, A-545 let go of AK-12's fist with her right hand.
"...I think that's enough." The client remarked as it seemed A-545 was giving up, and turned to the technician. "You can en-"
"AK-12!" AN-94 gave a shout which brought the client's attention back to the fighting t-dolls. A-545 had let go so she could grab her own melee weapon from her thigh sheathe. And, while AK-12's knife severed A-545's head from her body, A-545 impaled her melee weapon through AK-12's head. Both t-dolls slumped to the ground...
...
...
...
...Reboot Sequence: Engaged...
"What the hell were you trying to prove?" A-545 awoke to the sound of the female assistant bitterly muttering under her breath. She was back on the table in Maxim's lab. Her head was reattached, and Maxim was sitting next to the table with a defeated expression on his face. "Even if she'd beaten AK-12, the client didn't reject her because of lack of combat efficiency."
"...?" A-545 sat up on the table as she listened to the assistant. She'd never actually heard the reason why she was rejected. Maxim continued to sit in silence.
"She rejected her because of this." The assistant dropped her tablet on the table in front of Maxim, but A-545 could also read it. It was the repair costs of both her and AK-12. "Even though AK-12 lost two limbs and sustained significant damage to her torso and head, the cost to repair her is barely more than reattaching A-545's head and fixing a single hand."
"...!" A-545 continued to stare at the numbers. Those insane numbers.
"You made a t-doll so mechanically complex that this is what it takes to keep her running. Not to mention how angry Miss Persicaria was about you using the Neural Upgrade without permission." The assistant took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. She turned to A-545. "I'm sorry for my senior's mistake, A-545. But, the client has reaffirmed their decision to not accept you."
"You don't need to apologize," Maxim suddenly spoke and stood up from his chair. He turned away from A-545 and went to a computer. "We need to get started on the next one. A-545," he spoke without looking at her, "Stand-by for dismantlement. Someone will be here for you shortly."
"..." A-545's eyes fell to the floor. Somberly, she got up from the table, picked up her gear, and walked out of the room. Despite Maxim telling her to wait, no one stopped her from leaving; there was no reason to. The fate of a failed prototype was the same, either way. So, she walked aimlessly through the halls until she felt like stopping. No one was around, so she slumped against the wall and sat on the floor. Her eyes blankly stared off into space and she lost track of time as she waited for someone to get her for her eventual fate.
"You." But, fate had different plans for her. A male voice brought her attention back to reality and she looked up to see a man in a Griffin & Kryuger Commander's uniform that appeared to be customized for cold environments with a black, fur-lined hood. He walked with a forearm crutch.
"Thank you for letting me in on such short notice, Miss Persicaria," Zeldri said as he leaned against the elevator wall.
"Please, just call me Persica, everyone else does." She took a sip of coffee as the elevator traveled to its destination. "And, I was surprised you came to visit after what happened at your base. To think, Scarecrow managed to hack through the doors only to be foiled as you snuck some of your echelons back inside through a newly discovered train tunnel which let you pincer her."
"..." That was the current lie he had reported and it seemed to be working. "While I would have liked to stay there longer to help out, I still have to take physical therapy sessions for my leg at a specific doctor. So, I thought I'd swing by since I was in the city."
"I see. No wonder Kryuger authorized you a True Core Mask."
"I'm still not sure what that means, exactly."
"Hm? Oh, it's just a term for authorizing you to pick an elite t-doll from our collection." Zeldri was about to ask a question, but Persica held up her coffee mug to his face to stop him. "I said 'in extremely rare cases' you could custom pick one, Commander. And, a near-death experience against a Ringleader where you outmaneuver them, save your base, and Griffin's control of the sector, definitely counts as a rare case." While she seemed upbeat, a somberness entered her voice. "Plus, you could use the extra security."
"..." Scarecrow's attack had left numerous dead. While he managed to win, it cost him. That was probably why Kryuger had agreed with his request for additional resources to build a special unit of t-dolls to bolster his forces. This 'True Core Mask' was one such resource.
"...So," Persica didn't like the awkward air that was now around them as the elevator doors opened and they got off, "Have you thought about who you'll be picking?"
"A bit." The change of subject lightened the mood. "Though, there are so many t-dolls that I'd like to see them in action if possible."
"Which is why you came here," Persica finished Zeldri's thought as the two made their way through the halls. "I can grab some of the girls we have that you don't already have on your base and bring them to the firing range for a demonstration. Be lucky I was busy today, otherwise you probably would have been told to come back later."
"If you're too busy, then I can-"
"No, no! When I'm busy, I'm more awake. There's a special guest here today, other than you, but they'll be leaving soon so you get me while I'm still awake. Also," a soft sigh escaped her as she continued, "I could use someone else to talk to, right now."
"Bad day with the other guest?"
"No, just some staff going behind my back doing things they really shouldn't. So, thanks for distracting me, Commander."
"Lucky me." Zeldri was walking behind Persica to let her lead the way which meant Zeldri had a full view of Persica's cat ears. "...!" One of them twitched.
"Coffee first, Commander~." Persica caught him staring.
"...I'll pass."
"Not a cat person?"
"Normal cats are fine."
"Oh~, don't be like that," she teased, "I, personally, can assure you of their fluffine-..." Persica suddenly stopped as they turned a corner and something up the hall caught her attention. Zeldri raised an eyebrow and followed her gaze to see what looked like a girl sitting against the wall with two guns lying next to her. "Ah... We actually should go through here; it's quicker." Persica quickly tried to divert Zeldri down a different hall, but that made Zeldri even more curious. He'd never seen a t-doll that looked like that one before in the catalog. "Command-!" Zeldri approached the doll. "Commander Zeldri!" Persica quickly hurried after him, but she couldn't stop him before he reached the doll.
"..." Even when he stood in front of them, the t-doll continued to stare blankly into space. It was a stare he was familiar with as he'd seen it on the faces of a few of his former comrades who'd returned home only to find the life waiting for them was gone. Girl left or cheated on them. Family broke apart for this or that. Home destroyed by terrorists. It didn't matter the reason as it left them all with that same stare; a stare into nothing as they waited for death to take them. "You." But, that stare left an opportunity if seized quickly enough before it was too late. The sound of rustling fabric next to him announced the presence of his usual stalker.
"A fan of taking in lost puppies, Commander?" the black-cloaked woman asked as she leaned against his shoulder looking amusedly at the t-doll sulking on the ground. A quick glance revealed that Persica didn't seem to notice the black-cloaked woman and her attention was going back and forth between him and the t-doll.
"..." The t-doll looked up at him. She saw him, but her attention still wasn't focusing. However, the fact that she responded to his first attempt to talk to her was a sign that the opportunity he was after was still there. He wasn't fully sure this would work on a doll, but the fact she had the stare made his gut say it would work. There was also the fact that she didn't look like any t-doll he was aware I.O.P carried which meant she was brand new. And, she had two guns by her side which piqued his interest. Though, the two ice axes attached to her thighs were weird. But, Zeldri trusted his gut and played the gamble.
"Get up, and follow me."
***Author's Aside: Fun Gun Facts Edition***
The AEK-971 competed against the AN-94 during the USSR's Project Abakan trials to become adopted by the army. Preference was given to the AN-94 as the AEK-971 was considered too complex and its advancements were deemed unnecessary by the Ministry of Defense for a standard infantry rifle. The project wouldn't die, and eventually spawned the A-545 (officially designated KORD 6P67) as a successor to the AEK-971 and rival to the new AK-12 rifle. It competed against the AK-12 during state trials but, like its predecessor, preference was given to the AK-12 as the A-545 was deemed too complex and expensive to be used as a standard infantry rifle. However, while preference was given to the AN-94 and AK-12, that only applied to the army's standard infantry. The AEK-971 and A-545 were both picked up by Russia's special forces, national guard, and border patrol regiments as they could afford the production and upkeep costs.
Quite the find for someone with a lot of spare resources defending Russia's lands against Sangvis Ferri, 'ey Commander? :)
