Welcome to Chapter Twelve! While waiting for the base's construction materials to arrive, M1911 reacquaints P38 to the base and Ian listens to one of his predecessor's audio tapes, then accepts what we know as 1-4.

The general idea of this chapter's a bit of a mess, mostly because I can't think of one thing to do, although this'll only be around 2k words overall.

The "T-Dolls get their brains fried if they attack humans" rule seems pretty dumb to me, given that Dolls may encounter human bandits during operations, so I decided to have Ian set it to where his Dolls can attack humans that attack them first (in a lethal manner) as it made more sense to me.

On top of that, thanks to my incapabity of naming characters, I ended up naming the previous Commander after a mentioned fictional character in Burn Notice (Colonel Prokhorov, the one with the drinking problem.) I hope you don't mind.

Enjoy!

Station 794, Sector 09

Neo-Soviet Union

July 5, 2062

Commander Ian Becker

The ride to base was not too long, and the extraction didn't encounter any trouble on the way. However, the occupants in the Humvee were immensely worried for P38 (who was likely traumatized) and M1895 (who was currently dead and awaiting a new body.)

Still, the human staff were happy to see them, sighing in relief as they lowered their rifles. They had certainly seen better days, their uniforms stained with purple oils and soot, small cuts across their faces and limbs. Laying around them were numerous dead Sangvis Dolls, some of which had been blown apart.

"What happened?!" Ian asked as he opened the door to talk to the human employees.

"A small Sangvis force attacked us, but we fought the bastards off without losing anyone." a serviceman said proudly. "They stood no chance!"

The numerous Sangvis bodies laid outside the base's grounds pointed to a larger force, but the fact remained: they were dead, and his forces were not.

"You did, huh?"

"Yup! After the first attack, we started running drills for human staff members so we'd all be prepared for any future attacks."

"I see." the Commander said, pride swelling within him. If even his mechanics and janitors could fight well, then he felt that even Sangvis would have a very hard time stopping them. "Where are the T-Dolls and Kalina?"

"They're inside. The Dolls went in to see if everything was okay and Kalina's in the storeroom, chalking down how much ammo was used."

Seems that ammo shipment came just in time...

"Got it. Get yourselves patched up. I need to talk to P38." Ian then shut the Humvee door.

Without a word, the serviceman went back inside to get their minor wounds tended to, allowing Ian and the T-Dolls accompanying him to get to the base without interruption, their ride stopping right in front of the door.

Getting out of the Humvee at last, Ian sent everyone but M1911 away, bringing her with him to the storeroom. As he went down the stairs, he caught bits of conversation on the other side of the door, and when he opened the door, he saw why.

P38 sat on one of the ammo crates, her torn uniform jacket gone and a bar of chocolate in her small hands (how FNC didn't eat it already, he didn't know.) Surprisingly enough, she wasn't damaged too badly, but her Digimind could have told a different story.

Sitting beside her was Kalina, who was holding her tablet as usual and listening to the German recall her time away, an AK-74M leaned on the box beside her.

"...I don't want to tell you what those men did to us..." she said softly, "but it was horrible, absolutely horrible. We were very lucky to have escaped..."

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Kalina placed her hand on her shoulder. "I wish I could have helped you."

"It's okay..."

After a moment, Kalina finally noticed her Commander, placing her index finger over her lips.

"Shhh, don't be too loud, sir." she told him as M1911 approached P38, taking the spot to her left. "And try not to touch her. I think those bandits were a little too harsh with her."

He knew this already, as the one guy he interrogated revealed that, but he nodded anyways.

"H-hello, Kommandant..."

His attention was drawn to P38, who had been given M1911's navy blue jacket to keep her warm in the somewhat frigid storeroom. The blonde herself didn't mind, despite her lithe arms being bared and exposed to the cold air.

"Hello, P38." he greeted softly. "Welcome back to Station 794. Is there anything you need?"

"N-no, not really... Thank you for saving me, though... I never thought I'd live to return to the base..."

"You're welcome. I wish I could have saved M1895, though."

P38 looked down at her knees, sniffling at the mention of her dead friend. She didn't say anything or make any other noises, but Ian most certainly didn't miss a tear hit her thigh, the liquid soaked up by her knee-high sock.

Ah, shit.

M1911 gently hugged her fellow HG, uttering words of reassurance to her. Leaving the Dolls alone, his attention was returned to Kalina, who was now checking that AK-74M she had for damage.

"Kalina," he started, "why didn't you tell me the base got attacked while I was gone?"

She didn't speak for a moment, but after that moment, she replied.

"Sorry, sir. Sangvis had a comms jammer hooked up to a Prowler, and we couldn't call for help. By the time we found it, the rest of the attack force was already destroyed. Even then, I was too concerned with making sure nobody was hurt and I forgot to call you."

"I... guess that makes sense."

Kalina and Ian looked back to the two HGs, seeing M1911 let P38 use her lap as a pillow.

"How cute." the latter commented. "I think we should leave them alone for now. You still need to see how much ammo you guys used in defense of the base?"

"Nah, I already did that. Do you still want to listen to the old Commander's audio tapes?"

"Yeah. Let's leave 'em to it."

Before they left, Ian was sure to pull a phone out of his pocket and take a picture of the two Dolls.

Now in his office, Ian fished out an audio player while Kalina looked through the audio tapes and sorted them out, pulling the first one out for use.

While they prepared the player, Ian reviewed his earlier picture. Despite his normally-terrible photography skills, he had actually taken a good one, the lack of blur in the photo perfectly showcasing P38's relaxed expression as she rested her head on her friend's lap. However, as he looked at the blonde's lap, a question popped into his head.

"Hey, Kalina."

"Yes, sir?"

"Is it me, or does 1911 have really nice thighs?" he asked.

"The latter. Anyways, we were gonna listen to those tapes, remember?"

"Yeah."

The ginger loaded the tape drive up, then she hit play, and moment after a Russian-accented voice filled the room.

"To anyone who listens to this, my name is Alexei Prokhorov, and I am the Tactical Commander of Griffin Base 794. When one of my subordinates first suggested that I make audio recordings to pass information to my successor, I was against it. I felt that doing such a thing would certainly lead to disaster, as it was entirely possible for someone without noble intentions to find these, but a few months later, here I am."

"As you likely know, Base 794 is a frontline base placed on the Ukiraine/Russia border in Sector 09, a territory primarily in the nation of Ukraine. It is practically on the doorstep of the conflict between Griffin and Sangvis Ferri, as well as a favorite place for bandits to stake out due to the frequency of Dolls passing through the territory. Thanks to these factors, Griffin saw fit to create three bases to control the territoty: 794, 737, and 601."

"I guess this one's the introductory tape..." Ian mused as the tape played and revealed basic knowledge, most of which he already knew.

"Yeah. Oh, shit. I forgot to tell Helian that you got back."

"Great. I'll call her."

Turning the audio recording off, the Commander made to call Helianthus while Kalina put the recording back.

Three rings later, and the Senior Officer materialized on his projector.

"Oh, you're back, Commander?" she asked. "How did your sortie go?"

"It went fine, ma'am. I got those Dolls home."

"Good. I just confirmed that intel, and I have another assignment for you."

"Another one? I'm listening."

"A friendly T-Doll designated vz. 61 Skorpion has gone missing and is suspected to have fallen into enemy hands. We believe she is currently possessing vital intelligence, so she must be recovered at once."

"What's my job?"

"Scour the Sangvis outpost near her last known position for valuable operation records and locate Skorpion. From there, we'll handle the actual rescue. Two more things, Commander. One, these Sangvis units will actively seek out and destroy intruders in their territory, and two, I had Commander Kamalov from Station 737 lend you one of his Echelons, so you'll have help with this."

The coordinates for the outpost were sent to the projector.

"Got it. Consider it done."

"Good. Call me when you're done."

Helianthus' hologram dissipated, but not before leaving a note.

"And please don't go out onto the field yourself. You don't need to get killed on your third day at work."

"Fuck. Whelp, time to rally the troops."

Tactical Doll M1911

M1911 couldn't help but giggle at the cute expression her fellow HG was making in her sleep, and after a moment, she gently stroked her hair in a comforting fashion, smilingly gently.

A little groan escaped the German's lips as she awoke, her dark hair tickling the blonde's lap as her lead lifted from it.

"How was the nap?" she asked softly.

"I-it was nice..."

"Uh-huh."

"A-anyways, thank you for coming for me..." P38 told her, her voice still a little weak.

"You're welcome, P38." M1911 said, letting her sit up.

"Say... is the current Kommandant a good one?"

"Yup~ He's pretty cool, and he's always nice, even if it makes him look a little dorky at times. Sucks I didn't think to disarm myself when I first went to recruit him, though, 'cus he almost shot me in the face then."

"He did...?"

"He was a soldier from another army stuck in hostile territory, so he was pretty paranoid." the blonde explained.

"Oh."

"We're cool now."

P38 exhaled in relief.

"That's good to hear, Frau 1911."

"I can tell that you and him'll get on real fine."

"Echelons One and Two, report to the command room at once."

"Oh, looks like we got a mission. You up for it?"

"N-nein. I'm not ready to return to battle just yet."

"It's fine. He'll understand."

Now at the Command Room, Echelon One and Two (which only had FNC and Springfield in it due to staffing issues) awaited their briefing.

"Is P38 not coming?" the Commander asked when he didn't see the idol.

"I don't think she's in the right frame of mind yet, sir." M1911 explained.

"Ah. It's fine. Anyways, everyone else here?"

The Dolls all nodded at him.

"Good. The mission's simple: HQ wants us to find a Doll named vz. 61 Skorpion, who was last spotted in this area."

A forested area appeared on the holotable, along with a medium-sized Sangvis outpost.

"Sir, did you say Skorpion?" Sten asked.

"I sure did, and I have a feeling it might be your Skorpion. Anyways, the Sangvis Dolls guarding the area are much more aggressive, and they'll actively seek intruders out and kill them."

"Crap." M1911 muttered.

"If possible, don't get spotted and sneak in like the last search rescue mission, but if fighting is inevitable, conserve ammo and don't shoot until you're absolutely sure you'll hit your target. Fortunately, HQ saw fit to lend us some extra troops, so it'll be a little easier to do."

"That's good."

"Anyways, I'm sorry about you getting such a short break, but this is a high-priority mission."

"Eh, it's fine. FNC needs some action, anyways." AK-47 said.

"Yeah!" the chocolate lover agreed.

"One last thing: HQ forbade me from coming along this time, thanks to these Sangvis' more agressive nature and heavier contamination."

Aw, man. It was fun with you around.

"Understood, sir."

"Alright, you're all dismissed. Get to it."

"Yes, sir!" the Dolls all yelled in unison.

Once again, I'm sorry this is short, but I'll make the next chapter longer, I promise.

On top of that, I need to practice my Hurt/Comfort scenes since there's gonna be plenty of that in the coming chapters.

And for the next chapter, hell will rain down on the ears of Station 794, as well as major fish shortages.

See you then~!