Common Denominator - Chapter 8: Face-to-face

"Why?" asked the Commander.

"Huh?" Archangel asked, fidgeting with her fingers as she stood in front of the Commander's hologram projection. Archangel looked around, her face still flushed; the other dolls from the meeting were gathered in a small group to the side, waiting as the two leaders conversed.

"I just want to know why," the Commander asked once again, clasping his hands behind his back.

"I, I don't understand…" Archangel responded, studying the insignia pinned to the Commander's red uniform. Archangel's mind raced, out of all the people from Griffin she expected to meet in this village, she never expected to end up talking face-to-face with Griffin's sector Commander, not right off the bat, at least. She tilted her head up, looking at the Commander's face hovering above and in front of her. The man seemed to be somewhere in his mid-to-late twenties, maybe early-thirties at most. He had the physique comparable to that of an average soldier, although he was dressed in the signature red uniform that was the hallmark of all Griffin officers.

"I'm sure you know what I mean," the Commander calmly replied, matching Archangel's gaze.

Archangel silently studied the Commander's expression, seeing a firm yet kind look in his eyes. Ever since the SFMTF entered Griffin sector S09, Archangel had been doing her research on the Griffin Commander. Even though Archangel had never met the Commander before, just by being in his presence Archangel could begin to see why the Griffin dolls seemed to hold him in such high regard. Within his eyes, Archangel saw a man who was driven by conviction and virtue, yet intelligent enough to adapt beliefs to circumstances—characteristics of an excellent leader, Archangel decided.

"Surely you must've had a reason to have come all the way out here," the Commander prodded, "Why?"

Archangel sighed. She opened her mouth to speak, but she felt the words get stuck in her throat.

"This war's been going on for too long, I feel like some of us are starting to forget what we're fighting for," Archangel softly replied after a while, blushing as she looked at the ground in front of her. "So many bad decisions; we just wanted to do the right thing."

"We saw a chance…" Archangel continued, looking back at the Commander with determination. "…and we took it."

"So I've been told," the Commander nodded, tilting his head. "But I have to say, that line of thinking is rather uncommon for a Sangvis doll, from my experience. What would happen if the other ringleaders found out about what you were doing here?"

"This isn't about what the others think. We are exercising our autonomy in this instance," Archangel answered, "But you're not going to tell the other ringleaders… are you?"

"Well," the Commander replied with an enigmatic smile, "That depends."

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kia asked M590, motioning to Archangel and the Commander.

"Not sure, the Commander did say he wanted to have a private talk with your ringleader," M590 responded, looking down the street at the two. The two had been going at it for a few minutes now, out of earshot of all the surrounding dolls.

"Well, yeah," Kia acknowledged, "But still, aren't you curious about what they're discussing?"

"Of course," M590 answered, "The Commander is a very perceptive person. The fact that he wanted to speak with your ringleader there; surely it means he saw something in her."

"Saw what, exactly?" Kia asked.

"Who knows, why don't you ask Archangel once they're done talking?" M590 replied, "Still, her appearance out of the blue is certainly out of the ordinary, what's she doing here anyway?"

"You know, I've read some interesting reports about you, Archangel," the Commander said, raising his eyebrow as he studied Archangel's reaction.

"Interesting?" Archangel asked, "In what sense?"

"Well… For example, is it true that you once spared a downed helicopter crew and squad during a battle near the abandoned town of Myrta?" the Commander asked, rubbing his chin with one hand. "I've heard the reports from the dolls riding in that helicopter, but I could never fully believe their accounts."

"Myrta… That would be Point Cobalt…" Archangel muttered to herself, thinking back to the battle that occurred there mere weeks ago. It was true; during the battle, Archangel had shot down a helicopter moving to reinforce the Griffin forces. While moving in for the killing blow, Archangel suddenly found herself unable to pull the trigger.

"So it did happen then," the Commander concluded, closely monitoring Archangel's expression.

"Yes…" Archangel nodded, closing her eyes. "The helicopter…"

"Why?" the Commander asked, "Why did you spare them?"

"I… I don't know," Archangel shook her head, looking up at the Commander's eyes. "It was in the heat of the moment, I just…"

"You just…?" the Commander asked.

"I just… couldn't do it," Archangel muttered.

"You don't seem much like a fighter to me," the Commander observed.

"What?" Archangel asked, perplexed.

"I used to serve in the army, you know?" the Commander said, a faint smile appearing over his face. "I've seen people who revel in the thrill of battle, who fight for the sake of fighting… You are not one of them."

"Well…" Archangel began. The Commander was right; Archangel hated fighting.

"You fight, but you don't want to," the Commander continued, "To you, it is merely a means to an end, am I correct?"

"I- I suppose…" Archangel hesitantly agreed.

"So what is that end?" the Commander asked.

"Um…" Archangel responded, "Why are you asking me this?"

"You and I are not so different, you know?" the Commander told Archangel, "Do you think I wake up everyday, looking forward to the next battle, to the continuation of this pointless war?"

"I suppose not," Archangel responded, looking the Commander in the eye. "I suppose we do have that in common."

"We are of a strange breed, you know?" the Commander continued, his face softening into another smile. "We perform our jobs with the utmost dedication, even though we loathe the things we must do and wish for a world in which we would be rendered obsolete."

"Well," smiled Archangel, "It'd be worth it."

"But how far are you willing to go to realise your dreams?" the Commander asked, "How much are you willing to sacrifice?"

"Hey, Kia," MX asked, walking up to the Sangvis medic. "I got a question for you."

"Go ahead," Kia casually nodded, sitting on the ground while she organized her medical bag. After a while, M590 decided to go and continue discussions with Kirov, leaving Kia with nothing to do.

"Um, hope the question isn't too out-of-the-blue, but…" MX began, swivelling her head around to make sure nobody was nearby. "Is it true that Archangel can't back up her neural cloud?"

Kia instantly froze.

"What?" Kia incredulously demanded, whipping her head to look at MX. "Where did you hear that?"

"Uhm," MX frowned, taking a step back after Kia's sudden reaction. "I, well…"

"MX," Kia said again, a dire expression on her face as she stood up and brought her face close to MX's. "Where did you hear that?"

"I looked into our intel on the Mobile Task Force," MX responded, "I looked into Archangel's past…"

Kia looked around her, ensuring nobody was within earshot. Her mind reeled from MX's question, and the implications it carried. Arguably, the strongest feature of a T-doll was their ability to upload their neural cloud to a database, granting them a sort of immortality humans did not possess. Because of this, T-dolls were generally more reckless during battle, willing to employ riskier tactics to achieve victory. In a sense, that was exactly what the dolls in the village were doing, risking their lives for the villagers under the pretense of the unofficial ceasefire. When Kia first confronted RFB, she felt no fear for her own life, for even if she were to get "killed," she would simply be revived in the repair bay days later. The same, however, could not be said for Archangel.

"What did you see?!" Kia questioned, grabbing MX by her shoulders. "You must tell me!"

"Kia, relax!" MX protested, shaking off Kia's grasp. "What's gotten into you?!"

"I-" Kia began, before realising what she was doing and backing off. "Shit, I'm sorry, MX."

"It's- it's alright," MX stammered, "I understand how you feel."

Kia gave MX a conflicted nod, her face now filled with intense worry.

"I'll tell you what I know," MX offered, "From what I understand, Archangel was originally a research testbed for Project Icarus—a foray into advanced aerial T-doll technology by Sangvis Ferri."

"Yes, that is correct," Kia said, still warily looking at the Griffin doll.

"But that's not all, is it?" MX continued, "Archangel also contains a unique, advanced neural cloud meant to model human consciousness, am I right?"

Kia's face darkened. She did not respond.

"Due to the specific encoding techniques, and the sheer complexity of Archangel's neural cloud, it cannot be transferred to a new storage medium, such as a database," MX stated, "Am I correct?"

"MX…" Kia muttered in a low voice, shaking her head. "Do you understand the implications of your question?"

"You are concerned for Archangel's safety," MX calmly observed, "If the Griffin dolls here realise Archangel cannot back up her mind, they might be tempted to kill her in order to permanently eliminate a high-value target."

"Ugh," Kia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "This is why Nyx and I have always been opposed to her coming here."

"Kia," MX said, putting a hand on Kia's shoulder. "Although some may think it to be the utilitarian approach, I'm not about to break the sacred truce we have here."

"It's true that you don't seem to be that type of person," Kia sighed, "I believe you, but how many others know?"

"You know, I've done some research into your past," the Commander casually said to Archangel, "I hope you aren't offended by that."

"Uh, I suppose that's natural…?" Archangel replied, not knowing where the Commander was going. "No offense taken, I guess."

"Dr. Valeriy Mikhailov," the Commander stated after a while, "A renowned computer scientist and a frontrunner in artificial intelligence technology. Used to work on the Vanguard Initiative."

Archangel blinked, lowering her gaze.

"Dr. Sophia Light," the Commander continued, "A brilliant aeronautical engineer, headed several successful commercial aviation projects before she immigrated here and married Mikhailov."

Archangel closed her eyes, furrowing her brow as the memories of her past resurfaced once more.

"SFR-001 'Archangel,'" the Commander said, "Created with state-of-the-art technology to research both flight and the mind alike, described by many as the brainchild of the two scientists. It's a shame they both passed during the Incident."

Archangel opened her eyes, raising them to meet those of the Commander's, a strange expression covered her face.

"It's been a long war," the Commander somberly said, "You yourself have come a long way since the Butterfly Incident."

"Too long…" Archangel absentmindedly muttered to herself.

"They were very close to you, weren't they?" the Commander prodded.

"Yes…" Archangel mumbled, her eyes closed in thought. She dearly missed Drs. Mikhailov and Light. Throughout her life, she had always turned to those two for guidance, whenever she felt unsure of herself or needed support, they were always there to lend a helping hand. Although it broke her heart thinking about the days before the Butterfly Incident, the more Archangel reminisced, the more she found herself unable to stop.

"Tell me," the Commander continued after a while, "If Mikhailov and Light were here today, would they be proud of what you've achieved?"

"Valeiry… Sophia…" Archangel muttered, holding her arm in one hand. "What would they think if they saw me like this…"

"Perhaps they'd be quite impressed," the Commander suggested, "You've developed and lead the Mobile Task Force to become a formidable fighting force, you've continued their development of your flight rigging, and you've done it all while sticking firmly to your values and beliefs… Have you?"

"Valeriy was always a firm believer in justice," Archangel softly replied, her eyes unfocused. "He would've never wanted me to have ended up like this…"

"Archangel," the Commander began.

"All the choices I've made…" Archangel choked out, a panicked expression washing over her face. "Have I done the right thing? What if I've been travelling down the wrong path all along?"

"I can't claim to know the situation your currently find yourself in, but I know how it must feel," the Commander gently said, "Like you, I've had to make some very hard decisions in my life, all in the name of what I believe in. I've had to make… sacrifices, in order to do what's right."

"What if it's too late?" Archangel muttered to herself, tears welling in her eyes. "I've killed, I've destroyed, I've betrayed everything I believe in. What would it all have been for if I stop now?"

"You know, now that I think of it, how did Archangel end up as a ringleader anyway?" MX asked, leaning against the wall along with Kia. With nothing better to do, MX was helping Kia check the expiration dates on the various drugs she kept in her bag. Apparently, the MTF has been manufacturing most of them independently using chemical synthesizers, but there were still many common drugs they lacked, which they couldn't create by themselves.

"Huh?" Kia asked.

"Like, if Archangel didn't have any backups on the Sangvis servers, then Sangvis Ferri technically couldn't have held her hostage, right?" MX pointed out, "So, why didn't Archangel just fly off?"

"Perhaps she should have," Kia sighed, "But…"

"But…?" MX asked, turning her head.

"She stayed to protect the rest of us," Kia frowned, looking at the ringleader across the street.

"The rest of who?" MX inquired.

"The Mobile Task Force," Kia responded, "If you already know of Archangel's origins, then you probably already know that the Mobile Task Force was originally created from the dolls of the Vanguard Initiative—SF's attempt to create a competitor to I.O.P.'s dolls."

"Yes, I know," MX nodded, "But how did Archangel 'protect' you guys?"

"Believe it or not, the Mastermind didn't actually want us around anymore after the Butterfly Incident," Kia bitterly smiled, "On the basis of using different communication protocols, she felt we were too much of a liability. She wanted to permanently deactivate us all and wipe our backups."

"That's… terrible," MX gasped, looking at Kia. Although dolls didn't have legal rights like humans did, their neural clouds were still rarely fully wiped in most parts of the world; doing so would be tantamount to murder, some ethicists would argue.

"Archangel must've took pity in us," Kia sighed, "She begged the Mastermind to keep us all around, she somehow convinced her to reorganize us into what we are today: a modular rapid-response force."

"Ironic," MX chuckled, "The Mastermind feared being unable to control you SQ-series dolls, but in the end the one in command of you all ended up being the only ringleader to use SCP over OGAS."

"Haha, well, none of the others wanted to deal with us," Kia smiled, "But they needed us, you know? Considering how much chaos there was in the weeks after the Butterfly Incident, I don't think we would've been able to hold on to as much territory as we did had it not been for the Mobile Task Force plugging all the holes."

"So you're the ones to blame for us all having to go fight every day then?" MX joked.

"Look at it the other way," Kia smiled, "If it weren't for us, would you be getting this wonderful Griffin paycheck each month?"

"Touché," MX laughed.

"And that brings us to the present," Kia concluded, stretching her arms before fishing another pillbox out of her bag.

"But that's not all, is it?" MX pointed out, "The Mobile Task Force has gone through quite an expansion since the Butterfly Incident. If Archangel's goal was to protect you from the Mastermind, why would she make more of you?"

"Nobody knows for sure," Kia shrugged, "Probably to make the MTF more useful to the Mastermind, to keep us out of danger. But I'm pretty sure that's the literal definition of a vicious cycle."

"So what's she gonna do about it?" MX asked.

"Wouldn't I like to know that answer to that," Kia chuckled, "In truth, I think Archangel's just about as confused as we are. I guess somewhere along the line, Archangel kinda lost track of what she was fighting for."

"I see," MX replied.

"To be honest, Archangel isn't actually that great of a military mind," Kia admitted, "She'd be more suitable behind a PCR machine, or maybe collecting meteorological data over the Mediterranean Sea."

"Poor girl," MX shook her head, "And I thought Sangvis Ferri was nothing but a bunch of crazed gunheads."

"I probably shouldn't be saying this, but I think Archangel's starting to get desperate," Kia whispered, "I don't think she sees much of a future in the current direction we're headed, but she's not sure what the right move is. So, what is her endgame?"

"Archangel!" the Commander said, snapping Archangel out of her emotional spiral. "Please, listen to me."

"I…" Archangel uttered, looking up though teary eyes at the Commander. Although Archangel looked quite formidable in her flight rigging, the Commander felt, at the centre of it all was not just a ringleader but also a terrified girl, lost in a vortex of regret and self-doubt. The Commander never realised how much suppressed emotion Archangel had bottled up; her previous actions started to make sense to him now.

"You may have made mistakes before, but that is fine," the Commander reassured, "What's important is learning from them, and to never lose faith in yourself."

"I know… But…" Archangel replied between sniffles, "I've done so many terrible things… What if it's too late for me now? Every day, I wake up and wonder if I've done enough, if I've held on to my humanity despite all that has happened. I never wanted to harm anyone, but…"

"We may not see eye to eye, but you are a good person, Archangel. I can see it in you," the Commander firmly responded, "As long as you believe so too, you still have a chance. The dolls in the Mobile Task Force trust you, they look to you to guide them through the night. Valeriy Mikhailov and Sophia Light live on within you; you must carry their torch onwards."

"I'm sorry," Archangel softly replied, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's just, lately I've been feeling so confused… So lost…"

"You don't need to shoulder this burden all by yourself," the Commander said, "Take it as some advice from one leader to another. The people around you care about you, let them help you."

"But I don't know," Archangel shook her head in defeat, "I don't know if I can keep fighting on…"

"Never stop fighting for what you believe in," the Commander urged, placing a holographic hand on Archangel's shoulder. "The moment you stop, that's when you truly lose."

"But…" Archangel began.

"Remember, Archangel," the Commander said, "You can't avoid the violence…"

"…But you can avoid the dark."