The Mobile Task Force - Chapter 8: A Second Chance
Acre watched Castle leave. Turning around, she looked at Dagger 2-Delta already operating on Kia. There's nothing left for me to do here, Acre thought as she also headed for the exit. Emerging outside, Acre found Castle staring off into the distance, arms crossed in front of her. She didn't know what to say to Castle after all they'd been through, so she simply stood beside her.
Finally, Acre worked up the courage to speak. "Um, Castle..." she began, "About what happened earlier..."
Castle turned towards Acre. Surprisingly, Acre no longer felt any traces of animosity coming from her. "It's not your fault," Castle simply stated.
Acre was a bit taken aback at Castle's reply. "But..." she began, "If only I didn't suggest the attack... If only I didn't break down during-"
"No," Castle responded, looking back at the horizon, "it was our fault for thinking you were ready for the battlefield, and that's not a slight to you either. It's like what Kia said, 'war seems sweet, until one tastes it. Known, it takes the heart and wastes it.'"
Acre was once at a loss for words. She had been so excited to begin her first operation just hours before, now she wanted nothing but to go home.
"But at least we have each other" Castle encourages as she looked back at Acre, who was staring at the ground in front of her with a dejected expression. In front of her, Castle saw not a soldier, but a naïve, confused child who was forced into a situation no being should ever deserve find themselves in. Yet this was how millions of humans and dolls alike live their lives every day around the world, and Castle was one of them too. She knew that fear could lead one down a dark path, and what Acre needed the most right now is guidance and someone to lean upon. Castle would have to become that guiding figure.
Just then, a figure emerged from the command post. It was the T-doll Acre saw when she first came to after the mortar strike. Her left leg had been crudely replaced with a ripper's leg from her mid-thigh down. It didn't fit perfectly and it looked rather grotesque, but it was functional at the very least. Acre finally got a good look at the doll. She seemed to be in her mid-teens, and Acre would've never had guessed she was a tactical doll had it not been for her combat rigging and leg. Having dusted herself off, Acre could now clearly see her neck-long, vibrant purple hair. Her red-rimmed glasses were crudely bent back into shape and now sat in front of her gleaming purple eyes. Beneath her combat harness, the girl wore a grey t-shirt underneath robust blue overalls with the pant legs cut slightly above the knees. In her right hand was her weapon, a tan and black KRISS Vector submachine gun. Over her left shoulder, the girl carried a duffel bag packed with equipment.
"Ah, Sophie," Castle nodded, acknowledging the girl.
"Maddie said I could rejoin the fight," the girl explained, flashing the two a polite smile as she walked over. "Any word on the reinforcements, Castle?"
"They'll be here tomorrow morning," Castle sighed, "Apparently, Archangel's gonna head the detachment herself. We just gotta survive the night... Somehow."
"Great!" Sophie cheerily proclaimed. She extended a hand towards Acre, "I am Dagger 3-Charlie, but you can call me Sophie. Nice to meet you!"
"Yeah, nice to meet you too. I'm Katana 2-Charlie, and uh, you can call me Acre," Acre responded as she shook the little girl's hand. Although Acre was half a head taller than Sophie, Acre got the feeling that she could probably learn a lot from her.
"Right, guess we should get moving then," said Castle, "I have a plan. We're gonna set up a defense-in-depth. Our line will be thin, but we'll be able to trade space for time. No more heroics from any of us, alright? We just need to hold on now."
And with that, the three girls turned and began walking back towards the frontline. The setting sun illuminated their faces with a golden light, each one of them immersed in their own thoughts as they advanced towards the battlefield. Danger lurked in the night that awaited them, but with nightfall came the hope for daybreak, and along with it the possibility of survival.