[2023-05-13: Rewrite for Part 1 done. You don't have to re-read it, as there aren't much fundamental changes. But I think the quality is at least a bit better now...]

"War seems sweet until one tastes it; Known, it takes the heart and wastes it."
– Pindar
'For the Thebans' (Fragment 110)

11:37 a.m. (GMT+3)—April 2, 2063—Near Point Cobalt

The Mobile Task Force - Chapter 1: Into Fire

Two helicopters cut across the sky above a quiet forest in Sangvis Ferri territory. The year was 2063, Sangvis Ferri was locked into an ever-escalating conflict with Griffin and Kryuger PMC. As waves of mass-produced Sangvis dolls led by powerful ringleaders swept across the countryside of the Carpathian foothills, the dolls and humans of G&K desperately fought to stem the ever-flowing tide.

However, it was not just ringleaders and mindless fodder that filled the Sangvis ranks. Flying in tandem, the two helicopters bore a different insignia on their sides, one that belonged to a group known as the Sangvis Ferri Mobile Task Force—colloquially known as the SFMTF. Existing with limited independence from the rest of Sangvis Ferri, they were a modular rapid-response force composed of T-dolls born from a previously scrapped business venture by Sangvis Ferri—the SQ-series of T-dolls. Originally created as competitors to the I.O.P.'s line of T-dolls, each member of the Mobile Task Force was a unique individual with their own personalities, interests, and abilities.

However, perhaps the most important difference between the dolls of the Mobile Task Force and Griffin—and indeed the rest of Sangvis Ferri—was their command and communications protocol. Whereas Griffin used the decentralized Zener network and Sangvis Ferri used the tree-like OGAS, the Mobile Task Force dolls were all loaded with another proprietary system named SCP—the Secure Communications Protocol. SCP was a decentralized network designed to provide improved resistance electronic attacks compared to Zener, a reaction from a period when a new hacking method threatened to cripple contemporary T-dolls. However, the threat of the new method proved to be greatly overexaggerated, and the SQ-series failed to gain traction due to the greatly limited network bandwidth imposed by SCP.

After the Butterfly incident, the SQ-series dolls were deemed an unknown variable by Elisa as the SCP framework prevented her from exerting complete control over them. They were labelled as threats and destined for decommissioning when another doll—SFR-001 "Archangel"—stepped in and advocated for the formation of a "Mobile Task Force." Archangel herself was an outsider of sorts too, being the technical testbed for the Sangvis Ferri doll aeronautics research team; perhaps she saw a bit of herself within the SQ-series dolls. Fortunately for them, the newly rebelling Sangvis Ferri faced a knee-jerk invasion from the military, and the ringleaders could not protect the scattered holdings of Sangvis Ferri all by themselves. In a move of desperation, Elisa authorized the creation of the Sangvis Ferri Mobile Task Force with Archangel at its helm. Even now, however, there is an air of distrust between the Mobile Task Force and the rest of Sangvis Ferri, with the MTF's continued existence predicated by their continued utility to the Mastermind.

One could argue that the nature of the Mobile Task Force was actually closer to that of Griffin than Sangvis Ferri, at least in terms of their tactics. Each member of the Mobile Task Force was trained to be able to command small groups of mass-produced fodder units. As their conflict with Griffin raged on, the Mobile Task Force found their areas of operation changing. The Mobile Task Force now found themselves stepping foot into a hotly contested region near the Carpathian Mountains, a region better known to those in Griffin as Sector S09.

"Dagger 2-Delta, this is Pegasus 4 and 3," a voice crackled over the radio against the noise of spinning rotor blades, "Be advised, we are approaching Point Cobalt, ETA 4 minutes."

"Understood, Pegasus 4!" a voice replied, the sound of a firefight interspersed in the background. "Stick to the plan! Keep away from the hill!"

Katana 2-Charlie listened to the conversation over the radio as she sat within one of the helicopter's passenger bays. Beside her sat eight or so mass-produced T-dolls, mostly Vespids and Ripper units, their faces emotionless and unchanging as they awaited the beginning of another battle they would neither remember or cognise. The identical-looking dolls formed the backbone of the Sangvis Ferri war machine, embodying the rogue manufacturer's perception as a cold and cruel threat to society.

In contrast to the dolls around her, Katana 2-Charlie stood out like a sore thumb. She wore an oversized, faded-green jacket over a grey undershirt, a combat harness hugging her thick jacket close to her body. A tan-coloured light ballistic skirt composed of sliding sheets of bullet-resistant polymer ran down to her knees, covering her black heavy-duty leggings while also carrying her equipment. Between a pair of sand-coloured knee-high combat boots and kneepads leaned an unloaded Remington ACR assault rifle. Her loose dark-purple hair ran halfway down her back, its bangs parted to reveal pale skin and a pair of bright yellow eyes. With a height of about 160 cm and a rather attractive physique, one wouldn't be remiss to have mistakenly identified her as a Griffin doll. However, she was anything but; she was the newest member of the Sangvis Ferri Mobile Task Force.

"Katana 2-Charlie, this is Castle speaking," a voice appeared over Katana 2-Charlie's comms channel, "Just checking in here, you doing alright?"

"Yes, I am fine, Katana 1-Bravo," Katana 2-Charlie replied, looking through the window on the far side at the other helicopter. Having been pulled from standby, Katana 2-Charlie was sent directly onto her helicopter, having even now never met Castle or Kia in-person yet.

"Uh huh, that's good," Castle continued, "So I heard that this is your first mission?"

"That is correct," Katana 2-Charlie affirmed, "If you're worried about me, don't be."

"Huh?" Castle asked.

"I know what you're thinking," Katana 2-Charlie curtly explained, "You two think that because I'm new, I'm going to end up dragging this operation down."

"What do you mean? I never-" Castle began.

"It's fine, I understand," Katana 2-Charlie sighed, "I'll prove to you that I'm capable… I'll prove it to everyone."

"Katana 2-Charlie, what are you on about?" Castle asked, confused at the new doll's behaviour. "I've seen your combat sim scores, none of us are doubting your technical capabilities. I just wanted to check in to see how you were feeling!"

"I'm feeling fine," Katana 2-Charlie sternly responded, "Besides, why does that matter anyway?"

"Because- Ugh, whatever," Castle dismissed, "Anyway…"

"Ow!" a third voice suddenly shouted over the channel, "Castle! What was that for?!"

"You were asleep, Kia," Castle snorted.

"Was not!" Kia pouted, "I was busy conducting the final batch of sim planning!"

"Yeah, well, whatever," Castle rolled her eyes, "Wanna share with us the details?"

"Okay, right, let's go through the situation one more time," Kia agreed, "So-"

"Two minutes!" the pilot of Pegasus 4 interrupted.

"So, as we all know, we are currently headed towards Point Cobalt—an abandoned village near the border with Griffin territory," Kia stated while she transmitted the new annotated tactical map to Castle and Katana 2-Charlie's neural clouds, "It's a key position in the frontline, and provides a jumping point for raids into either side's logistics routes. Suffice to say, it's a crucial position in the region. A Griffin force is currently laying siege to Cobalt, which is being defended by Mobile Detachment Epsilon-9, aka Maddie—err, Dagger 2-Delta's—team. They've taken heavy casualties and are unable to repel the onslaught, so we're going to step in and help them out."

"Sixty seconds!" shouted the pilot as Katana 2-Charlie peered through one of the helicopter's windows. As the helicopter slowly began decelerating, she could see the village come into view in the distance. A wide rocky hill overlooking most of the settlement jut upwards from behind the village, breaking the flat outline of the forest and fields around it.

"Griffin forces have taken a position on the hill," continued Kia, "We have reports of an HMG up there which poses a serious threat to us. Unfortunately, we can't really approach it as the sections of the village surrounding the hill are occupied by Griffin forces. We estimate approximately two squads' worth of enemy dolls, one on the hill and one in the village."

"Sounds like a cakewalk," Katana 2-Charlie confidently noted, "Those Griffin scum won't stand a chance."

"Kia, we see you!" Dagger 2-Delta—Maddie—'s voice appeared through the channel. "Thank god you're here!"

"Maddie, what's the situation down there?" asked Kia, looking out the side window.

"Uh, not too good, but the situation is fluid!" came the reply, "Once you're here, we can finally kick these Griffin dolls outta the village and start pressuring that MG!"

"Hang in there!" responded Kia before she returned to the briefing. "Anyway, we're gonna link up with the rest of Epsilon-9 near this makeshift command post besides LZ Sydney, beyond the range of the HMG," Kia explained as she traced over a basketball field on the east side of the village using the shared map in their neural clouds.

"Any questions?" Kia asked.

"Ten seconds!" shouted the pilot as the doors to the passenger bay began to open. Katana 2-Charlie felt the early spring wind blast through the cabin as the helicopter rotated sideways to slow down. She could see the village around her now, composed of dilapidated houses riddled with bullet craters from past battles. The bright afternoon sun hung high over the hill in the cloudless sky, its rays of warmth hitting her face as her purple hair fluttered across her face. In front of her, Castle and Kia's helicopter was also touching down. A sudden stream of bullets erupted from one of the helicopter's door gunners, tracing a lethal red arc towards the base of the hill.

"Alright, Katana 2-Charlie, here we go!" Kia's voice appeared over the howling wind, "Meet you on the other side!"

As the helicopter landed on the basketball field, the fodder units jumped out of the open doors and quickly formed a perimeter around the landing zone. Katana 2-Charlie followed them, her eyes quickly adjusting to the brightness outside. As her feet hit the ground, she suddenly felt her training kick in.

"There!" Kia exclaimed over the deafening roar of helicopter blades as she pinged a building across the street. The digital marker was automatically superimposed across the vision of the other dolls, marking a small two-story shop approximately 100 metres away. "There's the command post!"

"Katana 1-Alpha, this is Pegasus 4-Alpha, we're taking off now," the helicopter pilot reported. "Three's gonna do a flyby over the Griffin lines, see what they can see, how copy?"

"Understood, much appreciated!" answered Kia as she watched the two helicopters slowly lift off the ground, squinting from the rotor wash as another lethal stream of bullets erupted from one of the door gunners.

Katana 2-Charlie maneuvered herself and her fodder in formation with Castle and Kia's group. Suddenly, a loud crack rang through the air as a small cloud of dust erupted next to a Jaeger unit. "Sniper!" Castle yelled as everyone scrambled for cover. Another loud crack rang through the air as the now-stricken Jaeger fell to the ground. By then, the others had identified the position of the Griffin sniper and returned a volley of suppressive fire towards it. Just as Katana 2-Charlie began to think the engagement was over, a loud whistling noise suddenly appeared overhead. Before she had time to react, an explosion erupted behind her near the far side of the basketball field, the shockwave slamming her against the wall.

"Mortars!" Katana 2-Charlie heard someone shout as another explosion rang out behind a nearby house, causing a plume of dirt to shoot up from the ground and showering everyone near it with debris.

Katana 2-Charlie's mind kicked into high gear. She had gone over countless simulations for such situations, there was no room for error now. Seek hard cover, move between explosions, maintain spacing, she remembered as her body sprang into motion. In concert with Castle and Kia's group, Katana 2-Charlie directed her group out of the open, seeking shelter from the buildings and walls of the residential area. Of course, she knew that the nature of an artillery bombardment meant that even if she did everything right, one lucky shell in the wrong place can end everything.

That was the last thought Katana 2-Charlie could remember.

A/N: This is my first time publishing a story I wrote. I've had this story in my head for years, but now I'm finally putting it to paper (keyboard?). Of course, there will probably be many issues in the writing, which I will hopefully fix with editing over time. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, be it about grammar, plot, style, or anything else. Thanks, and remember... MICA, GFL × ArmA when?