Chapter 60 - Toll of Midnight [Part II]
The darkness finally gave way to light as the sickly waning crescent came into view. 404, the dummies, and SPP-1 made their way over to the location of the hidden jammer all guided by the rather staticy GPS signal. SPP-1 led the way, using her enhanced night vision to weave between foliage and enemy patrols as if she were clairvoyant. UMP 45 still looked calm, but her smile was slowly being replaced by a scowl. A few kilometers from their destination, she stopped the team.
"Commander, how are things looking on your end?" The dolls took up defensive posts. 9 gave a curious glance towards her sister.
"Mostly clear, a bit of residual interference from… shit!" The tactical map of the area cleared up, revealing that the source of the jamming was on the move, headed deeper into the sector. "I'm detecting a massive cluster of signals up ahead - it's probably Executioner." The dolls exchanged looks again and began moving. UMP 45 began the briefing through the Level I connection.
"Executioner is going to be a pain to put down, but we don't need to do too much damage to her."
"What are you planning?" 416 asked as she hoisted G11 to keep up. The smaller doll was content to ride on her back, even if she was treated like spare luggage.
"Ah, but if I told you, you'd get angry~. Just do your job and everything will be peachy. 9 - keep your dummies out of harm's way. G11 and Miss Elite over here will deal with the Ringleader. I…will lay the snare." The dolls nodded, their assignments getting updated on their HUD. The mission was bound to be hard, but that's why they were there. And it helped that they had access to Griffin support. They would need every body and bullet if they were to do this right. The allied forces crested a hill and the battle began.
Executioner was waiting for them, her force primed and ready. Despite the massive distance and poor visibility, Executioner ordered her dolls to strike. A dummy near to G11 exploded as a sniper shot rang out. UMP 45 cursed and changed their course. "Looks like the Ringleader wasn't the only thing upgraded - watch those Jaegers!" As her words sank in, she seemed to vanish into the darkness. UMP 9 hummed a chipper tune as her sister vanished, while G11 began to hyperventilate.
"416, HELP!" She wailed and jumped onto her back. The other doll stumbled from the sudden burden before she managed to find a tree to hide behind. "I'm so scared! How can she see us?! Let's just - "
"Shut up and start shooting." she mumbled, ignoring her whimpers. "Just keep shooting, okay? Because if you don't shoot her, I will shoot you." As if to punctuate her statement, she fired a single clean shot through a Brute that had been attempting to ambush them, causing the enemy to burst into a shower of sparks. 416 stomped on its chest a few times to make sure it was out of commission before continuing to pick off the targets that slipped through the dummy unit's perimeter. G11 gave one last whimper before getting her gun set up and taking aim at the melee-optimized Ringleader.
For what it was worth, Executioner was significantly harder to deal with than Bryant's intelligence had reported. Like Hunter, Executioner had received weapon, armor, and performance upgrades. Unlike Hunter, Executioner had a sword. That truly made all the difference in how the fight was about to unfold. The matte black finish of the blade was in contrast to the pulsating red energy that radiated around the Elite units. The glow from her eyes could be tracked well beyond the visible area, giving the dolls a vague idea of her location. It didn't help much, but it freaked out G11. Her shooting became erratic and inaccurate. She kept shooting until her gun clicked - signaling she had run out of ammo. "H-h-hey, is she getting-"
HK 416 dove and tackled G11 to the ground right before a beam of light tore through the ground that they had been standing on. Executioner's sword glowed a deep orange, illuminating the Ringleader in all her fearsome glory. The blade crackled like a campfire in the cool night air. "Damn rats. Hold still, let me kill you nice and properly!" Small arms fire from behind her caught her attention. UMP 9 peppered her with bullets, although with her upgraded armor she may as well have been throwing pebbles. Executioner raised her gun, only to be shot by 45 from another angle. 416 and G11 took this opportunity to reposition. G11 hastily reloaded, trying to calm down and vent the excess heat to her core. 416, on the other hand, began priming her grenades. The time to counter attack was swiftly approaching.
Another blast of energy ripped through the surrounding area, kicking up a dust cloud that 404 quickly used to cover their repositioning. The Griffin support teams had been reduced to a few dolls barely hanging on from the assault. Any other commander would have called this a rout. Any other team would abandon the mission and retreat. 404 was ready for a kill. It didn't take long for the Ringleader to grow suspicious. She wasn't used to second chances - Sangvis rarely gave them - and she would capitalize on that chance. She jumped back a few meters and quickly scanned the environment. It took her new eyes a few minutes to focus, but she could see everything. Nothing could hide a doll from her gaze: trees, rocks, smokescreens, several feet of dirt, even an emp. Nothing in their old bag of tricks could stop her. But after the scan completed, she only found one set of Griffin signatures from a lone scout hiding behind a fallen tree.
A series of gunshots rang out from the side and Executioner spun. Her blade carved the bullets in two, scattering the shrapnel harmlessly to her side. "Nice try, but-" the dull thump of a grenade launcher barely registered in her auditory systems before the projectile made contact with her arm at the elbow. The explosion knocked her back a few meters, but she somehow remained on her feet. Her sword arm was hanging by a few wires and the exosuit that Ouroboros had rigged up. Warnings began flashing in her eyes. 'Arm Disabled. Warning - Damage Critical. Warning - Sword Overclock Offline. Combat Effectiveness reduced.' "Tsk, dirty trick…but two can play at that game." Executioner quickly located 416 and G11. Both had a bead on her and she needed to leave. Her useless arm hung limply at her side and she dashed for the jamming tower. An obvious move, but a stalemate was a victory for her. She nearly made it to the tower when her leg gave out. How much damage had she sustained during the encounter? There was no way the runts had managed to hit her that frequently.
She assumed it was residual impact from the grenade and nothing more. But that assumption was far from the truth. She reached the perimeter of the jamming tower and only just avoided stepping on a landmine. She froze, the small explosives finally filling her vision. They were everywhere, placed haphazardly. These weren't there originally…and most of them should have been rigged to the tower. The explosives were SF make. She hadn't put them there. The sound of footsteps behind her gave her pause. She turned, eager to face the bold Squad 404 with a smile.
"Gute Nacht, Frau Executioner~!" UMP 9 said with a wave, holding a makeshift detonator in her hand. Despite the situation, neither side made any additional moves until UMP 45 had approached.
"What do you want, 404?" She asked bluntly and cautiously. Her good hand slowly reached towards her own detonator. "You know a blast at this range…"
"Will kill us all, ja." 45 said casually, her smile returning. "We'd like to make a trade."
"Trade? What could you possibly-"
"Hunter." The single name was enough to bring a pause to Executioner's rant. The breeze blew by, rustling the leaves and filling the silence that the standoff had brought. 45 showed no emotion, only her smug smile. Meanwhile, Executioner was in the middle of some heavy simulations. The dolls could only guess, but it was likely scenarios in which she could gain the most benefit for the least amount of risk. But there were now other factors at play. Usually, Ringleaders would work alone and try to undercut the others - Ouroboros was doing just that. But as she had learned - second chances are a rare thing. A rare thing that both Hunter and herself had been given. For the first time since she had begun chasing M4A1, Executioner felt something that the humans would consider 'Fear'. She didn't want her existence to end like this. Not as a stepping stone to her.
"...What do you want?" She muttered, clearly holding onto what little bargaining power she held in this situation. The tension was thick, and almost painful. Even the remaining dummies could feel the anxiety brewing. It was simply suffocating. 45 finally spoke.
"The jammer."
"It's already gone…" The SF Ringleader paused. Another calculation, maybe. Another simulation. One that brought a smile to her face. "You want information, then, don't you? You already know the jammer is gone, you're only out here because of me. Alright, I'll play your game, UMP 45." Executioner pulled out her detonator and held it up slowly. The tension reached a fever pitch and finally died down as she disarmed the explosives surrounding them. She tossed the detonator aside and smiled. "Give me Hunter…the rest is up to you." There was an exchange of information. Silent, as both 45 and Executioner would have preferred. Executioner went one way, 404 went another.
Inside the jammer tower, Squad 404 began stage two of their plan. "The jammer is unfortunately a non-issue. With it on the move, that part of our mission is complete."
"That was the whole mission…but I suspect you're about to give orders, 45." Bryant said in a hushed whisper. "I'm at the location you sent. It looks like an army just went through here. The codes worked and I was able to get in. I found the details of that…that Ringleader that Executioner told us about. More like a monster. She looks pretty intimidating: she seems to have firepower rivaling Dreamer." 45 pulled up the combat specifications on the screen so the other dolls could see. Just from a numbers perspective, she was undeniably strong, possibly the strongest Ringleader in Sangvis Ferri. But she lacked experience. If the fleeing Ringleaders were to be trusted, this was her first field test. Sangvis clearly trusted her enough to set her in charge without a field test.
"Commander Bryant, I'd like you to authorize a Search and Destroy operation on the Ringleader Ouroboros. Disabling her will greatly improve the success rate of any operations in the sector." The Commander was quiet for a long time. It took humans a while to process this sort of thoughts and requests, and the moments of waiting seemed to be an eternity for the dolls.
"I'll authorize it. Begin the briefing."
— — — — —
The explosion rocked the entire sector, causing the briefest flicker of static in Ouroboros' vision. But as the burning wreckage of the jammer came into view, she smiled. That was the end of Executioner. Now she just had to clean up Squad 404. She stepped over the crumpled scrap of her minions towards where a lone Griffin signal was broadcasting. A badly injured UMP 9 crawled along the dirt. One leg was blown clean off, and half her face had been burned by the fire.
Ouroboros sauntered forward and pushed her onto her back with a foot before slamming it down onto her chest. 9 grunted and tried to throw the Ringleader off, but was too weak. One of her hands gave out, and she gave up, staring up at Ouroboros. "Where are your friends?" 9 tried to get away again, only for Ouroboros to put more pressure on her already fragile core.
"I'll never…never tell…" she spoke, her voice warped from the damage sustained. Ouroboros snickered condescendingly and began to dig her heel into the Doll's stomach. The flesh and frame gave way, and her battery ruptured. UMP 9 whimpered, but remained focused.
"You don't need to tell me…I'll just extract it from your core once you -" UMP 9 smiled brightly, and a soft click reached Ouroboros' ear. She punted the Doll away moments before it exploded.
"Almost got her!" The real UMP 9 cheered from atop a nearby boulder. The Ringleader turned, eyes burning with hellfire. "Keep up if you can, little snake~." UMP 9 giggled and darted off into the night. Ouroboros unleashed a vicious assault of explosive shells, reducing the boulder to ash.
"Find her and KILL HER!" She screamed. Another scan revealed dozens…hundreds of signals, all of them belonging to UMP 9. She grit her teeth and began dividing her forces. "Don't let her escape, circle around and -" a burst of gunfire interrupted her. Her armor held, but she turned to let loose another volley.
"You! I killed you."
"You clearly failed." The voice said, a new batch of signals connecting to the network. An entire team of Griffin Elites had approached from the flank, pushing against the invading SF forces. At the head was SPP-1 and her assigned bodyguard - OTs-14. "It's time to end this, Ouroboros." The Griffin forces began shooting, tearing through the enemy.
"Commander?"
"I don't know, she just showed up on my end."
"416, make sure our new friends stay alive. UMP 9, keep scrambling their sensors. G11, keep their flank clear." 45 ended the communication, and the gunfire started.
"All forces, mobilize!" OTs-14 raised her gun and began advancing. The submachine guns and the handguns in her squad pushed forward, carving a path and marking targets for the rest of the Dolls. 416 entered the fray from the flank, covertly joining a team composed of dummies and marking the hard targets that OTs and her team couldn't handle. UMP 9 ran electronic warfare, pushing information updates as quickly as she could.
Ouroboros was having none of it. She howled and turned her weapons skyward, blasting a volley of missiles into the air, then returning to shoot at the approaching Griffin dolls. A shower of rockets pummeled their lines and tore apart any Doll caught out of cover. The teams scattered, causing 416 and OTs to dive into the same trench. "Good evening." The Griffin Doll started while hastily reloading. Her movements were precise and efficient. "A beautiful night for some fireworks."
"Yeah. Sure." The Doll from 404 answered, not caring for the conversation. Another volley of explosives rained down on the Griffin lines. "There is a batch of rocks up ahead, that's a good enough cover for a while. I'll cover you."
"Thank you." The exchange was more than enough for the two of them. With moves like a dancer, OTs-14 launched over the cover and sprinted towards cover while shooting at Ouroboros. At the same time, crossfire from G11, the Griffin teams, and 416 pinned her down. Bullets kept bouncing off her armor, and even their explosives weren't having much of an effect. The Ringleader grabbed a nearby Sangvis Doll and began using it as a shield.
"I will tear you apart! I will reboot your systems a hundred times over until you've suffered enough! I will make your death slow and painful."
"God, does she ever shut up?" HK 416 sighed in exasperation and fired her last grenade. Once the explosive struck the target, she sprinted towards some cover before the next volley of explosives tore up the trench she had been hiding in. She crashed behind the rocks and took a sharp breath.
"Okay, we aren't doing anything to her…ideas?" She asked to anyone who might have been listening. Even with specialized equipment and armor piercing rounds, the amount of damage they had done was negligible. The air was only filled with the sounds of gunfire for a few moments before G11 piped up.
"Uh…we could always just…oh, wait!" She pulled the trigger and Ouroboros stumbled forward. The bullet struck her between the shoulder blades, leaving a small hole. "Hey, look at that - switch to thermal..." Ouroboros turned and shot at G11, careful to protect her weak point. G11 nodded and swapped out her scope. Then she noticed what G11 had seen. Her entire body was armored and covered in high-tech features. But there were gaps in the armor where certain joints and parts had to move. For once, G11 had managed to pick out a good idea.
The information quickly spread through the Dolls, who renewed their assault. Ouroboros screamed and unleashed another wave of explosives. A few Griffin dolls collapsed or were blown apart. "SPP-1: collect their cores. Everyone else, focus fire." 416 moved to another flank and began peppering Ouroboros with distracting fire. A lone target out of cover was a detectable opportunity for her. But the moment she turned to shoot, an armor piercing round struck true and blew through her body. It missed her core and battery, but ripped out a vital piece of targeting hardware.
She cried out and began firing wildly and blindly. Static filled her vision and she couldn't make out which signals were her's and which were Griffin's. Another heavy shot from a sniper dropped her to her knees. She clutched the hole that had been carved out of her side. Hydraulic fluid and coolant covered her hand like blood, dripping out of her and sizzling as it dropped into patches of fire. "Damn you! DAMN YOU ALL!" With a scream she emptied all of her weapons and vented her core forcefully. The resulting explosion kicked up a storm of dust that blinded everything within several meters. Ouroboros cut her losses and ran.
She ran through the night, weaving between trees and stumbling over small rocks. She didn't feel fear or regret. Only anger and hate at her defeat. She found the Command Post and smashed in the door. She staggered up to the communications terminal, her body starting to give out. She called her boss.
"Agent…the jammer is destroyed and 404 are at my doorstep." Agent was silent for a long time. Her gaze was fierce yet disappointed.
"...so we lost against Griffin and Squad 404."
"Come get me…I won't last long out -"
"Ouroboros." She spoke, cutting off her subordinate. Ouroboros sank to her knees, unable to remain standing. "This is your first and will be your last mission."
"You…you're getting rid of…" Ouroboros' words wavered with pain. Not a sorrowful pain, but a hateful pain. "How could you!? I surpassed Hunter and Executioner! I may have failed to protect the jammer, but -"
"The jammer is en-route to HQ. As are the others that were under your command. You failed. Completely and utterly." Ouroboros was silent, glaring up at the screen. But Agent was looking past her. "It appears your time is up, Ouroboros." Ouroboros turned, looking at the two figures approaching her. The call ended, leaving them in silence. The base was in shambles, and so was she. She hardly had enough coolant to remain at a reasonable temperature. She began to tremble with anger.
UMP 45 stepped forward, keeping between the Ringleader and Bryant. "Hello, Ouroboros. I am UMP 45." The Ringleader said nothing. "And this is Commander Bryant of Griffin. He will be taking command of this base."
"Curse you…" UMP and the commander looked at each other. "I'll…I'll escape. I have dummies. Once I -"
"I've disabled your backups, Ouroboros." Bryant said, drawing his gun. The Sangvis Doll let out a shriek and slammed her fist into the floor, shattering the concrete below her. Bryant lifted his gun, aiming it precisely where her battery was. "Surrender." Everyone in the room knew the outcome. Ouroboros looked up at Bryant and took a sharp breath.
"I will remember you, Griffin Commander. And one day, I will kill you." Her eyes filled with a look of defiance, and Bryant pulled the trigger. Her 'death' was not instant, but the loss of power was fatal enough. UMP 45 smirked and gently patted him on the back.
"Great work, Kommandant. I'll collect the others and our pay, then I'll see you around." She smiled and held out her hand. Bryant placed the Sangvis blackbox and a memory drive into her waiting hand before smiling.
"It's been a pleasure."
"Lying doesn't suit you, sir." She said with a giggle.
"Well, you're a bitch. But 416 is pleasant enough to work with."
"Ugh, don't make me gag~." UMP 45 waved softly and melted into the shadows. "I'll see you around. Don't die out there, mkay?"