The Mobile Task Force - Chapter 3: First Contact

About twenty minutes have passed since Kia decided to proceed with the attack on Griffin positions, the dolls of the Mobile Task Force have repositioned themselves in preparation for the upcoming advance. After some further deliberation, it was decided that the Sangvis forces would be split into three groups that would maneuver in sequence, with one group advancing at a time while the other two groups provided supporting fire. Groups A, B, and C would be led by Kia, Castle, and Katana 2-Charlie, respectively.

Katana 2-Charlie crouched by a windowsill out of view from Griffin forces, performing a last-minute check on her equipment before the assault began. Fortunately, Maddie managed to repair many of the damaged fodder units, sending them over to bolster the trio's forces. Katana 2-Charlie watched as a Ripper walked by into formation, the synthetic tissue on its right arm burnt clean off, revealing a metal crowbar welded to its shattered "bone." Katana 2-Charlie cringed a bit from the gruesome sight; she tried to push the sight out of her mind.

"Okay, group A to groups B and C, report in," Kia announced over the radio. As she visualised the positions of key enemy positions using her map and internal compass, Kia loaded a smoke grenade into her M203 underbarrel grenade launcher.

"All set here," Castle calmly reported, flicking her hair back as she waited against the corner of a building. Group B—her group—was tasked with attacking the Griffin positions head-on, while the other two groups would move in as pincers.

"I'm ready, lets go!" Katana 2-Charlie answered, tightly gripping her rifle in anticipation. Having passed her marksmanship trials with flying colours, her group was tasked with sweeping the southern periphery of the village, culminating in a position where she would have lines-of-fire to a large swathe of Griffin territory. It would be a tough battle indeed, and that was just what Katana 2-Charlie wanted.

"Alright then!" Kia declared over the radio as a popping sound appeared from her position. A smoke grenade flew through the air, landing in front of an intersection and obscuring it with smoke. "Everyone, let's move!"

Suddenly, the village erupted into intense gunfire as the Sangvis dolls emerged from their cover and began suppressing known and suspected Griffin positions. Tracers filled the air as groups A and C did their best to force the Griffin dolls off their defensive spots. Another smoke grenade bloomed on the far side of the street as Castle's fodder units began a charge across the intersection. A high-powered rifle bullet instantly struck the lead Ripper unit in the head, incapacitating it immediately. Equally as quickly, a vespid locked onto the Griffin doll's position and returned fire, the bullet flying through a window a hundred metres away and smashing through the Griffin doll's left shoulder.

Katana 2-Charlie's vision flitted from building to building, searching for any signs of the enemy. Out of the corner of her vision, she noticed a small object flying across the sky above the Griffin lines. She focused her vision on the object; it was a Griffin drone—a tactical fairy. With practiced ease, Katana 2-Charlie swung her rifle barrel up towards the drone, following its motion through the sky for a good second before squeezing the trigger to her ACR once. A tracer bullet arced through the sky, perfectly intercepting the tiny Griffin drone and causing it to plummet into the ground below.

"Holy shit!" Kia exclaimed over the radio, "What the hell was that?"

"Griffin drone," Katana 2-Charlie calmly replied, firing a burst into a distant window.

"That thing must've been like, 400 metres away," Kia noted, "How did-"

"470 metres," Katana 2-Charlie corrected.

"Kia, we're in position!" Castle called out over the radio amidst intense gunfire, "Katana 2-Charlie, time to show us what you're made of!"

"With pleasure!" Katana 2-Charlie eagerly replied, signalling for her forces to advance. Kia already deployed two more smoke grenades to cover their advance, allowing them to focus their attention on less positions. Katana 2-Charlie's fodder units rose from their positions and began swiftly moving towards the other side of the street. Despite the smokescreen, scattered shots rained down on the group as they moved in the open. Katana 2-Charlie followed her dolls forward, eventually making her way to a wooden fence on the other side. As she pressed her back against the fence, a stream of machine gun bullets sliced through the fence several metres away from her, cutting down a Vespid who was also taking cover. Without hesitation, Katana 2-Charlie unlatched a grenade from her belt and flinging it over the fence. An explosion erupted on the other side; the gunfire stopped.

"Katana 2-Charlie, SITREP!" Castle shouted over the radio.

"We're at the wall, almost there!" the purple-haired doll replied, reloading her rifle as a Ripper beside her threw a grenade into an adjacent doorway. A loud bang and a cloud of dust emerged from the doorway as several Sangvis dolls poured into the building. The room erupted into mayhem as automatic fire filled the cramped interior. The first Ripper through the door was immediately riddled with bullets from two directions and crumpled to the floor. A second Ripper following closely behind returned fire on a SMG-wielding Griffin doll down the hallway before also taking several bullets to the chest, putting it out of action.

Having heard the sources of the gunfire within the room, Katana 2-Charlie deftly swing into the doorway, her rifle already trained on the doll down the hallway. Katana 2-Charlie instantly squeezed the trigger, the 6.8mm SPC bullets striking the unprepared doll in the face and instantly killing her. Hearing a subtle but distinct click from within the room, she immediately swung into the room, coming face-to-face with a Griffin doll holding an empty rifle in one hand, and a magazine in another. The Griffin doll's mouth opened in surprise as she watched the impassive Sangvis doll lower her gun from her side. Katana 2-Charlie's bullets traced a line up the helpless Griffin doll's torso, the kinetic energy from the bullets thrusting her body into the wall.

"All units, this is Katana 2-Charlie. Objective 2 secured," the purple-haired doll announced over the radio after her team successfully cleared the building and the area within the fence.

"Good job!" Kia exclaimed, "Alright, cover me, I'm moving out!"

"God damn it!" JS 9 muttered underneath her breath as she lost connection to one of her dummy links; the Sangvis counterattack had caught the Griffin forces completely by surprise. As the acting commander in the village, JS 9 believed that Sangvis Ferri would be forced into a defensive posture after the mortar strike, allowing her time to move her reinforcements from the hill into the village for a final push. Instead, the Griffin frontline was being comprehensively pushed back by a highly coordinated assault—not something Sangvis Ferri is known for.

"Everyone, this is MG5!" a voice called out over the radio, "We just lost control of the clinic, we're falling back to the next street! G28, watch your flank!"

"K5 to JS 9, report!" another voice interrupted, "Sangvis forces are advancing on our position, please acknowledge!"

"I hear you, K5!" JS 9 responded, "Stay alive, fall back if you need to!"

"What the hell is going on?!" MG5 questioned, "I thought Sangvis Ferri were supposed to all be stupid or some shit! Do they have a ringleader somewhere in the village?"

"No, I don't think so," JS 9 replied, "But we're not facing off against rank-and-file Sangvis fodder here, I think."

"I knew it, it's the Mobile Task Force!" Sten Mk. II exclaimed, "I've seen C8's posts about them on Grifchan, they're no laughing matter!"

"What?" MG5 questioned, "I thought they didn't operate in this sector. What the hell are they doing here?"

"Everyone calm down!" JS 9 ordered, "It doesn't matter who they are, we have superior numbers and firepower. We just need to keep a level head, and we'll be fine! I want everyone to fall back to the second defensive line; I don't care how smart they are, let's see if they can outsmart a wall of lead!"