The Mobile Task Force - Chapter 7: Welcome to the Mobile Task Force

After a while, Katana 2-Charlie followed Castle outside and inquired about the current situation. According to Castle, the Mobile Task Force's assault had been completely defeated and they would have to fall back to a more defensible position. Katana 2-Charlie grimaced; after all this fighting, they've ended back onto square one, except in even worse shape.

"There's one thing I need to do before that, though," Castle suddenly said, interrupting the rookie's thoughts. "I'm going to go back for Kia."

Katana 2-Charlie looked at Castle. Beneath the veteran doll's calm and calculating exterior, she could notice a tinge of guilt, a sliver of weakness beneath the hardened, dirtied face. Turning her head to judge Katana 2-Charlie's reaction, Castle gave the doll a choice.

"It's not gonna be easy…" Castle began "…and it's not the smart move, so I'm not gonna force you to come with me. But-"

"I'm coming," Katana 2-Charlie responded without hesitation, intently returning Castle's gaze.

"You sure?" Castle muttered, still eyeing the purple-haired doll.

"I made this mess," Katana 2-Charlie said with a look of renewed determination, "I'm going to fix it. I have to."

A tired smile appeared over Castle's face as she turned to look at the hill. Castle's eyes, moments ago filled with such intense emotion, now seemed dull and muted, almost tired.

"Alright then, let's go bring our friend home."

After a brief firefight, the two Sangvis dolls found themselves beside the place Kia was shot. Griffin forces, worn down from the fighting, seemed to have retreated from the area to reinforce other positions. Castle eyed Kia lying motionlessly in the open about 25 metres away from her. Just then, an all-too-familiar torrent of lead rained down on the two's position. Katana 2-Charlie flinched as a scattered burst of .50 BMJ rounds impacted the wall protecting the two, but the sheer thickness of the concrete prevented the bullets from cutting through. The purple-haired doll's face turned pale, memories of the prior carnage she experienced flashing through her mind. But as she felt she was seizing up once more, Katana 2-Charlie felt Castle rest her hand on her shoulder, a firm yet reassuring gesture that seemed to dispel the rookie's rising panic.

"Do you notice the difference in the MG's firing pattern compared to last time?" asked Castle, looking back at her subordinate. Seeing a blank expression, she continued, "The bursts are more sporadic, the cadence is different... The weapon is running out of ammo."

"How can you make that connection?" Katana 2-Charlie inquired. Now that Castle mentioned it, she did notice a change in the MG's firing pattern, though she would've never made the inference all by herself.

"Experience," Castle simply replied, "This is one of their tendencies, this is the stuff they don't teach you in the sims."

"Why not?" the rookie asked.

"It's not official, and there really isn't any evidence to validate the claim," Castle dismissed, "But it's real, you just need a bit of intuition."

Looking at Castle, Katana 2-Charlie asked her what to do next.

"We can't wait it out, unfortunately," Castle admitted, "I'm gonna time the bursts to run out there and grab Kia. I'm not gonna make it back before it opens up on me, so let's just hope I don't get hit."

Katana 2-Charlie frowned, "You're gonna run out there in the open?"

"What a hypocrite, I know." Castle dryly responded, "But I'm not leaving Kia out there to die like that."

"We could always just reboot her back at base," Katana 2-Charlie pointed out, "How can you even be sure she's still alive?"

"It's not the same," Castle sighed, "That's another thing you can't learn from a VTF session: the value of life, even for dolls."

"I…" Katana 2-Charlie muttered.

"You'll figure that out in due time," Castle smiled, "For now, let's just hope I don't end up joining Kia lying on the road there."

"Alright," Acre agreed.

"Alternatively, shoot the damn gunner before she shoots me," Castle joked, "After all, weren't you the crazy doll who broke the record score on the F3 marksmanship drill a few days ago?"

As the hilltop HMG finished another volley of bullets, Castle dashed out from cover towards Kia. Katana 2-Charlie, fighting her instincts, also forced her shoulder around the corner and aimed her rifle towards the hilltop. Through her scope, she could just about make out the weapon beside a rocky outcropping. Fighting the urge to duck back in cover, she rapidly quantified the situation and began calculating the firing solution required to land a hit. Range, height, atmospherics… Katana 2-Charlie thought as she looked at the HMG's barrel through her scope; it looked like the HMG was pointing right between her eyes.

On the hilltop, M2HB squinted at the road. She could barely believe her eyes; another SF doll had run out into the open. She remembered Welrod saying something about a new type of SF doll present in the village, but if they were supposed to be some sort of upgrade over the conventional fodder, they certainly weren't acting the part. She lowered her head to aim through the sights on her Browning heavy machine gun, trying to get a clear sight picture despite the optical distortions produced by the gun's overheating barrel. Today had been a good day for her; it seemed like MP446 really did know how to pick firing positions after all. And although she was running low on ammunition, the sound of a Griffin helicopter approaching behind her reassured her that she would have plenty of bullets for the upcoming assault.

Right as M2HB was about to pull the trigger, she noticed a small red orb appear from the corner of a building. She didn't even have time to be surprised as the red orb quickly grew at an exponential rate, followed by a resounding crack as sparks flew off her gun. As she stumbled back, another crack rang through the air as she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Perhaps today wasn't her lucky day after all.

Katana 2-Charlie lowered her rifle and ducked back into cover. All it took were two surgically precise shots to take the HMG out of action. The machine gun was almost 700 metres away at a higher elevation, the edge of the effective range of Acre's rifle. However, her cutting-edge specifications and extensive virtual training made landing the shots feel like second nature. It only I had done this sooner, she frowned. Right about then, Castle rushed back into cover with Kia over her shoulder. As she turned to look at Kia's body lying on the ground, what Katana 2-Charlie saw next horrified her.

During the virtual simulations, Katana 2-Charlie never really paid attention to the virtual dolls that were killed in combat. Besides, the Virtual Training Framework didn't do a very good job at simulating bullet wounds. Because of this, nothing could've prepared Katana 2-Charlie for what she saw in front of her. Kia's right knee joint was completely shattered, and her right leg was resting at an impossible angle. A cavernous hole stretched from one side of her lower torso to the other, the heavy .50 BMG bullet smashing straight through her body. The faint smell of smoke lingered in the air, and mechanical fluid stained her clothes. Finally, Katana 2-Charlie flinched as she saw Kia's head, or rather what was left of it after the fragments from the Ripper's grenade detonation shredded the top-left half of her face. Pale smooth skin and brown hair gave way to grey electrical components and red machine fluid. Even more terrifyingly, Katana 2-Charlie could discern faint signals emanating from Kia's communications channel—the mangled doll was still alive and conscious.

"Don't worry, Kia," Castle uttered weakly, desperately trying to comfort her dying partner, "You're gonna be alright, I'm going to bring you back."

A bullet zipped past the three. Although neither Castle or Kia reacted, Katana 2-Charlie swiftly turned her body and returned fire, planting three quick bullets into the body of an adversary. Having regained her composure, Katana 2-Charlie no longer felt any hesitation. After all, she could no longer afford to do so.

"Holy shit," Dagger 2-Delta said as the three finally made their way back to the temporary command post. She eyed Kia's body in horror. "What the hell happened out there?"

"What do you think?" Castle sighed as she watched Dagger 2-Delta connect a cable to Kia's clavicle port to run a diagnostic test.

"M-Maddie..." Kia whispered towards Dagger 2-Delta as she floated to and from consciousness. She looked up through faint vision; she was no longer on the battlefield anymore, but rather in a small room surrounded by teammates. Faint gunshots rang off in the distance, and Kia turned her head towards Castle and Acre, both with distraught expressions on their faces.

"Kia- I-…" Dagger 2-Delta began before trailing off.

"Sorry guys," Kia whispered with a bit of a cheeky smile, "Guess I'm gonna have to sit the rest of this one out."

"Don't- don't worry about it," Castle muttered as she tried to force a smile, "This one's on us."

As Kia drifted to and from consciousness, Dagger 2-Delta disconnected the cable from Kia. "Her power supply is shot," she explained quietly to Castle and Katana 2-Charlie, "She's not gonna make it back on her own legs."

"Is there nothing you can do?" pleaded Castle.

Dagger 2-Delta cast her eyes down at Kia. Of course she hated the idea of giving up on Kia, especially considering how much Kia was both a friend and mentor to her.

"I can salvage her core..." Dagger 2-Delta murmured, "I'm afraid that's the extent of it."

"Kia, I-" Katana 2-Charlie stammered, kneeling down beside her team leader as she stirred on the ground. "I'm so sorry about what happened today, I-"

"Stop…" Kia smiled as she weakly raised a hand up to brush Katana 2-Charlie's cheek, "It's not your fault."

"But, I- I shouldn't have been so… stupid, so arrogant…" Katana 2-Charlie shook her head, "I don't know how I got so carried away like that, I don't know what happened…"

"That's normal," Kia consoled the doll, "Nobody's ever truly ready for their first battle, trust me."

"I know, but it's just…" Katana 2-Charlie muttered as tears returned to her eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I should say, I-"

"Katana 2-Charlie," Kia firmly ordered, her expression remaining gentle despite everything that has happened. "It's okay to feel lost. There are so many things you don't understand yet about the world you are now a part of. You are naïve, but like a child you will grow and learn about everything you need to in due time."

"Kia…" Katana 2-Charlie sobbed.

"Katana 2-Charlie," Kia continued through a strained voice, "Whatever others may try to tell you, we are a family here in the Mobile Task Force. You are more than a tactical doll; don't be afraid to show weakness and ask for help. We are all here for you."

"Kia…?" Katana 2-Charlie asked, confused. "What does that mean?"

"When I was young, I was like you too," Kia weakly smiled, "We all were, even Archangel herself."

Katana 2 remained silent.

"Struggling to find our place in the world… Struggling to prove ourselves…" Kia slowly continued, "We're not like humans; we never really had a family, nor a chance to grow up and discover ourselves. And ever since the Butterfly Incident, we became alone against the rest of the world."

"I know, but-" the troubled doll stammered, "What does this have to do with anything?"

"We were created with human emotions," Kia answered, "They may be emulations of neuropsychological processes, but they're as good as real to us, so who's to say they aren't?"

Katana 2-Charlie held Kia's hand tightly. Kia was right—ever since she was first awakened, she had been constantly bombarded with a stream of feelings and emotions that she couldn't understand the purpose of. She had long tried to suppress and ignore them, drowning herself with training to avoid having to face them head-on. She thought that if she could excel as a tactical doll, nothing else would matter. But now, having stared down the barrel of death and defeat, she felt a gaping emptiness where her pride once stood, a void which was now filled by turbulent affect.

"I know there are many things you are trying to understand right now, and I know you may feel overwhelmed," Kia continued, "But you are not alone. We are all here for you, and in turn, we hope you will also be here for us."

"I- I'll try!" the purple-haired doll desperately promised.

"Katana 2-Charlie…" Kia weakly muttered, "Katana 2-Charlie…"

"W-what?" the purple-haired doll desperately asked.

"There's not much time left for me," Kia weakly uttered, "But before I go, I want you to promise me one thing."

"Anything!" Katana 2-Charlie replied.

"Please, come up with a shorter name for yourself," Kia weakly joked, "It's getting tiring calling you by your designation every time."

"I- what?" Katana 2-Charlie muttered.

Kia smiled, but she could tell Kia was serious. Katana 2-Charlie desperately tried to come up with an answer to Kia's question, but her mind came up completely blank.

"Tell me…" Kia's voice trailed off, "…When you have the answer…"

"No, wait!" Katana 2-Charlie pleaded. She desperately glanced around, her eyes falling onto the ACR beside her.

"A-Acre!" Katana 2-Charlie suddenly blurted out, "Acre! Is that alright?

Kia did not respond.

"K-Kia?" Katana 2-Charlie prodded, "I- I picked Acre, like you said, it's a short name, so- so…"

But her voice fell upon deaf ears. Kia's leaking battery had finally failed her, and the room plunged into an oppressive silence.

"So that's that, huh," Castle muttered, shaking her head.

"Kia's dead…" Katana 2-Charlie murmured, still trying to accept what just happened.

"And we will be too, if we can't hold the village," Castle sighed, "Looks like Kia didn't get to hear your answer after all, so you'll just have to live to tell her once we get back."

"Yeah…" Katana 2-Charlie agreed.

"Come on then," Castle said as she turned to leave, "Let's do this for her together… Acre."