Cover Image by: Hayarob

Commander Aster glared at Aleksandr, S09's chief technician and the latest harbinger of his doom.

"Can't you change it back?" He hissed at the frantic Russian, trying to hide behind one of the consoles. It wouldn't do much, but he wasn't exactly getting shot at, he was just trying to hide.

"Believe me, sir, I'm trying," Aleksandr whispered, desperately working on his computer, "This isn't just affecting you, sir."

"Well, it's going to affect my damn pelvis!" The commander said with a hint of fear in his eyes, "Why do T-Dolls even have a setting for affection?"

"Ask Persica! She's the one who designed them!" Aleksandr hissed back, "At least you only have to survive until the end of the day, plus I gave you that exoskeleton didn't I?."

Before Commander Aster could respond, the two men then froze as they heard footsteps. Aleksandr quickly gestured for Commander Aster to duck behind the console, which he promptly did.

If Aleksandr didn't know better, he'd say a cheerful, but slightly concerned S.A.T.8 walked into the repair bay. But he did know better. Behind her vibrant, emerald eyes was a newfound madness caused by IDW of all things!

She looked around the room before focusing on a nervous Aleksandr.

"Good evening, Aleksandr." S.A.T.8 said with her usual genial smile as she adjusted her necktie. Despite this, Aleksandr couldn't help but shiver under her gaze.

"Good evening to you, S.A.T.8," Aleksandr said with a strained smile, "I assume you're here to look for the Commander?"

S.A.T.8 nodded.

"You're not the first," Aleksandr said as he typed on his console, "Or the last…"

At his words, S.A.T.8's eyes hardened, "Oh? Who?"

Aleksandr kept working.

"Too many to count and no, I don't know where he is," Aleksander murmured.

S.A.T.8's smile became more eerie, "I see~. Well, I suppose I should find him first then." She tilted her head, "But I hope you'll let me search around here."

Aleksandr froze for a moment before resuming his frantic typing, "Ah, well. It is quite messy in here and… I don't think you–"

S.A.T.8 ignored his words and was already prowling around the repair bay, searching for the Commander, her glowing eyes roaming every nook and cranny that someone could hide in. The heavy footsteps and squeaks of her sneakers echoed throughout the room. Aleksandr could do nothing but whisper a prayer to anything, whether it be God or Cthulu, for the commander's safety.

And for his poor pelvis, because damn T-Dolls didn't exactly have stamina problems.

Or so he was told. He definitely didn't watch porn on company time.

S.A.T.8 slowly encroached on the console the commander was hiding behind. She peered over it to find nothing behind it. She let out a soft sigh.

"Aleksandr."

"D-da?"

She had a polite smile on her face as her eyes continued to survey the repair bay, "If you see the commander, could you tell him that dinner is ready? I'll be waiting for him–"

"In the mess hall." Springfield's cafe was no longer neutral territory. All T-Dolls were affected and Springfield was one of the biggest threats to the rest of the base's T-Doll population. And to the commander. "Da." Aleksandr nodded, but his eyes were frantically searching his own repair bay. After all, how the hell did Commander Aster disappear into thin air?

S.A.T.8 nodded and swiftly left the room to continue her search.

Once she was completely out of sight, Aleksandr's head snapped to the commander's previous hiding place.

"K-komandir?" He whispered softly.

"H-here." Commander Aster stepped out from one of the many cramped lockers.

"How the hell did you fit in there and how did you get in there without us noticing?"

"Desperation and sheer will–"

S.A.T.8 immediately appeared back in the doorway with a bright smile, her emerald eyes focused on him and him alone, "Commander! There you are~"

Aster immediately leaped out of an open window.

One desperate chase later, he was in the data room, affectionately nicknamed by the base's personnel as 'Kalina's Resting Place'.

Kalina crossed her arms, "Commander, you do know that it'll cost you extra for this."

"I know." The commander panted as he leaned on the wall, bereft of his usual red coat, "But so long as you keep your end of the bargain. I don't care."

Kalina smirked, "Heh." She handed the commander a small map of the base, tracing a small path for him to follow with a pen. "I'll send you a digital copy. So long as you follow this route and you get there sometime this week, Hawkins can drop you off far away from the T-Dolls wanting to jump your bones."

"But~ If you don't get there before the T-Dolls get to him, you'll be on your own," Kalina said with a casual shrug, "It's only a matter of time before they realize where you're heading to and try to intercept you or Hawkins."

Kalina leaned forward with her hands on hips, "I have Pater, Iguazu, and Volta on interception duty while Red and Swinburne are doing distraction duty."

"Why did we let four-thirds of our helicopter pilots on break again?" Commander Aster bemoaned.

"Flying around Sangvis-controlled territory is not conclusive to mental health. And most of them are T-Dolls anyway, except for Hawkins and Wu Huahai." Kalina said cheerfully.

Aster took a deep breath, "Alright." He took a few moments to calm himself. His eyes gained a determined glint and his glasses shined as the voices of a few T-Dolls echoed throughout the nearby hallway. Nagant Revolver, AK-47, and StG44 judging by the voices. What a strange combination. "Time to run. Thanks for the help, Kalin. Take care of my coat for me."

Kalina simply waved him off, "Just remember! You're paying me double for this!"

Aster chuckled as he prepared to leap out of another window.

A loud bang came from the door of the Data Room as one of the T-Dolls tried to break in. Kalina gave him a cheeky thumbs up as she blocked the door with her body, "Got it reinforced after that Sangvis attack a few weeks ago. Run commander!"

"I won't forget this sacrifice." The commander wiped a tear from his eye. Then with one last exhale, he jumped onto the pavement below, landing with a soft thud as his reinforced boots hit the ground.

A few T-Dolls quickly spotted him, namely the rifles, and attempted to give chase. Normally, they'd be able to easily catch up with the average human, but the exoskeleton that Aleksandr gave him allowed him to even the odds a bit.

The higher-end T-Dolls, the four and five stars, could still catch up with him, but with his head start, he had a chance.

But that didn't mean he could take it easy. He can still hear the cries of the T-Dolls chasing after him.

And they were rapidly approaching.

The commander checked the map Kalina gave him. The first 'checkpoint' was one of the dorm rooms. An empty one. While they were for the T-Dolls, according to the map, Pater was on overwatch nearby and was ready to intercept.

"Where are you going, commander!" One of the many T-Dolls— Holy shit, was that Mk48?

Sure enough. There was an intimidating, even moreso than usual, Mk48 running after him.

The commander booked it. Regular T-Dolls turned obsessive was bad enough, but a yandere Mk48? He'd get murdered!

Or thrown into her BDSM dungeon!

Then hope arrived, one brave soul, darted out from around the corner and tackled the green-haired menace.

"Gotcha!" Red said victoriously, attempting to wrestle the sadistic T-Doll to the ground, much to no avail. Mk48 quickly retaliated by gripping his shoulders and dislocating it.

Red let out a muffled cry of pain, but he fought against it and continued to desperately slow Mk48 down, "You aren't getting away that easily!" Red said with grit teeth, giving the commander a slight nod.

Commander Aster was forced to leave him behind, lest he get caught by the rest of the T-Dolls. With a heavy heart and a two-fingered salute, he kept running.

"Sorry, Red," Aster muttered quietly, dashing into the dorm building. Several T-Dolls were in his way, but his sudden appearance threw them off just enough to buy some time to run right past them.

Aster cursed as the other T-Dolls realized who he was and joined the chase. While most were fine with simply following his trail, a few didn't appreciate the competition, and the sounds of gunfire and angry hissing echoed throughout the hallway.

He barely managed to spot Iguazu frantically gesturing for him to enter the reinforced dorm room and with a practiced movement, he slid through the open doorway and into the dorm room. The reinforced door slammed shut right behind him.

Iguazu crossed his arms with an annoyed expression on his face as he faced the commander.

"The hell happened? Kalina only told me the plan without any context." Iguazu sneered, leaning against the door, "And then I see you getting chased by a dozen T-Dolls."

Aster looked equally as annoyed, "Well… It's a long story."

"Tell me while you rest up." Iguazu gestured to the supplies around them, the empty dorm room having been essentially turned into a doomsday bunker.

"Kalin works fast." Commander Aster murmured, grabbing an MRE.

Iguazu snorted, "Whenever she's paid double the amount it would've taken." He looked outside of one of the tinted windows. It was bulletproof, of course, but that didn't stop Aster from shivering at the thought of one of the T-Dolls breaking in through it.

"Volta is at the next 'checkpoint' and Pater is protecting Hawkins," Iguazu said suddenly, "When you're ready to leave, I'll throw a flashbang out the door and you book it while I hold off that damn horde… Understand?" At the commander's nod, he continued, "Now. Are you going to tell me or what?" Iguazu said, looking Aster right in the eyes.

Aster sighed, gesturing for Iguazu to sit, "It'll take a while."