Toy Soldiers

by ClearlyInvsible

2056, six years after the end of World War III. A planet depopulated and devastated, with the remnants of humanity trying to scrape together what's left of society. From criminals to rogue robots, conspiracies to conflict. The humans and androids of Sector 09 stand ready. Whenever they aren't driving each other up the wall.

44. Shadow of Pripyat (Mission Log)

(23/13/2056 | 14:37)

Before the empty helipads, RO635 and what remained of her team stood waiting at the base's helipads for an arriving helicopter.

Though she hadn't expected it so soon, the Commander had done as he'd promised. He'd managed to fill out the rest of her echelon. It was surprisingly quick, given that many dolls seemed to be getting pulled from their current assignments to the new Alaskan sector. But he had told her next week, and next week it was.

RO was as nervous as she was excited. This would be the first time since joining Griffin that she would be leading new tactical dolls. Palette had often operated in seclusion, which meant that she'd interacted with few outside of her four friends. Adapting to these newcomers would be a challenge, but it was a challenge she'd asked for.

Makarov stood to her left, the dour Russian occasionally checking a pocket watch and scowling at it as the minutes passed. Being stuck outside in the Ukrainian winter, even if the snow had paused, was beyond annoying. It reminded her of Moscow's insufferable cold, and it also reminded her how much she wished to be in a warmer part of the Soviet Union.

Sten was on the right, holding a basket of freshly baked custard tarts. Of the three dolls present, she was easily the most chipper. After the farewell get-together the five members of Palette had earlier in the week, she was ready to meet her new comrades in arms. Both AAT-52 and Type 92 had urged her to try and make the best of her new situation, and she intended to do so.

Makarov snapped her pocket watch closed, glancing at RO and the file that her Captain held in her hand. "Are you sure it isn't too late to ask for different reinforcements?"

"I don't think we can make the helicopter turn around now." RO replied, flipping her file back open as she reminded herself of the dolls' portraits. "Besides, this was the best the Commander could do on short notice."

Makarov grumbled, looking up at the gray sky with disappointed dread. "I almost wish he had left us understrength."

Sten jutted herself ahead, doing her best to look directly at Makarov as she tried to cheer her friend up. "It'll be fine, Makarov! Even if they're… 'different', so was Palette when we were all put together!"

Makarov was about to release another biting remark, but swallowed her sneer for the sake of Sten's excitement. Even if she had her misgivings, there was no desire to ruin her friend's good mood.

RO focused once more on the file, some snow crunching under her feet as she adjusted her stance. The two dolls they'd been assigned were, mechanically, both capable. Both were rated at a full five stars, with each using a weapon type that hadn't been part of their team previously. But both had personalities that were red flags, with multiple citations all revolving around each of the new girls' quirks.

The first file belonged to a tall rifle doll with burgundy colored hair and eyes, pictured in a sleek black and yellow suit with a blood red tie that went down the middle. Her accuracy rating was off the charts, better than any sniper RO'd ever seen before. But at the same time, she was a loner. Ever since she'd joined Griffin, she'd been bounced from sector to sector. The longest time she'd spent in one assignment had been Special Operations, and that was because she had been on her own. RO couldn't help but imagine some kind of 'lone wolf' type of girl, the kind who spoke even less than Makarov and refused to work with anyone.

The second file belonged to a bleached blonde shotgunner who wore a white and purple hoodie over a black tank top with a myriad of pins along the bottom hem. While her combat record was nothing impressive, she was a certified combat mechanic. Something that Palette had always lacked, and had left their team quite fragile if they had ever sustained any damage on an operation,. Bbut in this girl's case, she'd developed a record of being incredibly lazy. It was nigh impossible to get her to do much of anything, and seemed to only act if directly prodded or bribed into action.

Maybe Makarov was right. Misfits were one thing, but these two came off as full blown pariahs.

Though as that final doubt crossed her mind, the sound of an approaching helicopter brought RO back to the real world. Within minutes, a Griffin Blackhawk touched down on the helipad before them. Human service crews advanced forwards with fueling tubes and maintenance kits, getting ready to start the usual post-landing checks once the rotors died down and the occupants dismounted.

Which was when a scream pierced through all of their ears from within the helicopter.

Jumping into action, RO kicked off and sprinted over to the idling transport. Makarov and Sten rushed in after her, the dolls able to make it onto the helipad in seconds. Makarov checked on the cockpit first, seeing if the pilot had been the distressed party. RO and Sten went to the helicopter doors, both grabbing on and pulling with all their strength to force the black steel open.

When the door parted, inside they could see the source of the scream. The sniper from the file was on her knees next to the now spasming shotgunner, babbling in panic as she tried to help the doll who was now foaming at the mouth. RO and Sten jumped to assist, meanwhile Makarov slid around to the cockpit door and yelled at the pilot to go find an engineer.

As the pilot hopped out of the helicopter and ran to get help, everyone else tried to get the situation under control. The aircraft crew soon piled in as well, a doll engineer among them going over to figure out what was wrong with the catatonic doll.
"D-did they get attacked?" Sten asked, the panic now having fully transferred from the sniper to her.

"Nah, nah." The engineer assured, a Kiwi accent front and center. "I've seen this before, her bioreactor tried t'convert somethin' toxic into electricity."

"Her what did what?!" Sten asked, not understanding what the engineer meant at all.

"She has food poisoning?" RO asked in sheer disbelief.

"That'd be it." The engineer confirmed, pulling a datastick from his belt. He then undid a panel under the shotgunner's shirt, slipping the stick into the slot as the doll spasmed one more time. Her eyes then went a blank white, body still before her irises and pupils returned in full definition.

"Su… gar…" Was the first word she uttered, drooling slightly as she remained laying down on the metal.

The engineer then went to his feet, motioning at some of the crew members to help him as he scooped his arms under the doll's armpits. With assistance, he carried her off of the helicopter and down the staircase, resting her on top of a trolly before rolling her away.

RO watched as her new teammate disappeared from view, befuddled at the amount of information that she'd been smacked with. So instead she focused on what remained, the other new doll who awkwardly stood in front of some of the blackhawk's chairs. Her expression was… not what RO expected. Her file had led her to believe that she was going to be dealing with a brutish loner. What stood before her now was a girl who looked ready to die from shame and nerves. Wringing her wrists with her face redder than a tomato.
It made RO feel awful for her.

"You're Wa-Two-Thousand, right?" RO asked, prompting the sniper to yelp as she fixed her eyes back onto her new leader. RO slowly held her hand out, giving her new sharpshooter a kind smile. "I'm Ro. It's nice to finally meet you."

WA's eyes flipped back and forth between RO's face and her hand, clearly not sure what to do next. Though eventually, she carefully took it and gave it a small shake.
"...Thanks, I guess." WA muttered, eyes flicking away from Ro as she tried to look back out to the airstrip.

Makarov hissed, taking the words in the worst way possible. "Ungrateful suka."

The curse made WA2000 squeak again, pulling her hand back as she fired a smoldering glare at Makarov. "And who are you, you… gremlin!"
"Your Lieutenant." Makarov deadpanned back, words that made WA promptly gag as panic returned.

Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, Sten stepped in to assist RO's valiant attempt to salvage the situation. She held up her basket full of sweets, offering it to WA gladly.

"Welcome to the squadron! We whipped these up for you! Please, take one!" Sten gushed, making WA stumble at how unbelievably friendly this girl was.

She looked down at the bundle of tarts, thinking that this had to be some kind of prank. But one more look at Sten's earnest smile got her to shelf her usual skepticism. Gingerly, she slipped a hand inside, pulling out one of the pastries before taking a bite. Immediately, her eyes lit up, falling in love with the flavor.

"Is it good?" Sten asked expectantly.

"It's amaz-!" WA2000 began to rave, before she pulled herself back. The sniper wiped a few crumbs away from her mouth, grumbling. "It's… OK, I guess."

Sten happily took the muted compliment, passing the basket over to her new teammate and insisting that she help herself to as many as she'd like. As WA became flustered, RO stayed back and smiled at the whole scene.

"You seem relieved." Makarov shot over to RO via Zener Protocol, silently parlaying with her Captain. RO glanced down at Makarov, chuckling as she continued to watch the amusing back and forth between the baker and the sniper.

"She's not a jerk. She's just shy." RO observed. "We can work with that."

"She also clearly has an ego." Makarov warned. "It is unwise to associate with those who cannot work well with others."

"Present company included?" RO chimed, giving Makarov a silent smug smirk.

Makarov huffed, but offered no rebuttal. "Touche."

As the two leaders' quick back and forth came to an end, Sten's focus had instead fallen upon an open tupperware container of what looked like homemade bonbons. Curious, she reached down, plucking the container and pulling one of the confections out.

"Oh! Did you make this?" Sten asked, giving the chocolate in her hand a sniff. It was dark, really dark. Pitch black, which made her believe that it must have been some kind of very dark chocolate.

WA looked up from the pastry basket, seeing what was in Sten's hand. The sniper then immediately began to panic, dropping the basket of tarts as she tried to take the confection out of Sten's hand.

Too little, too late however. Sten tossed the bonbon into her mouth, chewing for a bit before swallowing. Immediately, her face twisted. A sickeningly sour taste assaulted her senses, followed by a bitter aftertaste that made it seem like she'd eaten a lemon covered in coffee grounds. Despite that, she tried to keep a straight face, not wanting to offend her new colleague.

Until the candy hit her bioreactor.

The Englishwoman fell to her knees, clutching her stomach as she began to cough. RO rushed to try and help the girl, while Makarov hopped back out of the helicopter and began yelling at the support personnel to go get the engineer back over to them quickly. Sten hit the deck, her neural cloud replicating AA-12's reaction almost to the letter.

WA stood by, horrified, doing the first thing that came to her mind.

She screamed, even louder than she had before.

---

(16:06)

Hours later, Hsu sat in his office as he read over the engineering bay reports.

Both Sten and AA-12 were able to be reset and repaired despite the toxins they ingested. Both had to have their bioreactor tanks flushed after the fact, and had only just been released from the bay. Reading the cause of damage still befuddled Hsu, unable to comprehend how dolls could be rendered inoperable by eating something. Still, he made a mental note to avoid anything the new girl ever offered him that wasn't obviously store bought.

"You got word back from Echelon Three?" Hsu called over to G36, who was busy talking over the communicator. The maid held a finger up, keeping the phone pinned between her cheek and shoulder while she continued to put the finishing touches on her master's meal.

Hsu set the report aside, pulling over a new set of paperwork he had yet to file. A return to normal operations meant a return to normal routines, and that meant doing the job that every officer had to do. Filling out forms, balancing spreadsheets, creating reports to send up the chain, reviewing reports that came from down the chain. Greenlighting requests, rejecting others.

Office work, mind numbing office work.

But it was mind numbing office work that he was being paid close to half a million annually to do, so he sure as hell wasn't going to complain.

"Ja, ja. I'll inform him immediately, IWS." G36 promised, ending the call and setting the device down onto the food cart. She then finished pouring the glass of water, throwing a pair of dissolvable caffeine tablets inside.

"They are happy to report that the detail has been completed, and they have already called for evacuation." G36 informed the man, hovering before the desk as she moved the man's computer monitor to the side.

"Good. Check in with Santiago so we know who got assigned to the flight." Hsu reported, sniffing the air as he looked up to see what G36 was holding. The Commander grumbled, narrowing his eyes at his maid. "I told you I wasn't that hungry, Gretel."

"And I told you that if you skipped breakfast again, you would be eating a larger lunch." She insisted, before setting the plate in front of him. "Besides, Theresa was in charge of the kitchen today. When I told her that you had not eaten since yesterday, she made this explicitly for you."

Hsu sighed, looking down at the panzerotti as his stomach grumbled. Knowing S.A.T.8, she'd probably slaved over the food to make sure it fit his exact tastes. A few months ago he'd come to the conclusion that the Italian shotgunner was, in fact, his favorite cook on base. A revelation he'd shared with her, and one they had agreed to keep quiet from the other dolls lest a culinary battle of egos kick off.

He could smell the mozzarella inside, something that made him drool involuntarily. So he started to dig in, ignoring his inhibitions.

G36 frowned at the sight, never having seen the man go at her cooking with such ferocity. She made a mental note to corner S.A.T.8 later. Figure out what was so special about this fried turnover.

Either way, she got the man to eat. Which meant that she could focus on straightening out the rest of this office. It amazed her how much of a mess the Commander could create over the course of a single workday. Misplaced forms, lost datasticks, what have you found themselves in the strangest nooks and crannies. Though of course, his liquor cabinet remained perfectly organized. Nothing was more valuable than his whiskey, after all.

The urge to pour out all of these bottles grew by the day, even if she knew her friend would go berzerk if she ever followed through with it.

After a quick bout of cleaning, the office holo-communicator began to chime. Hsu looked over at the caller ID, seeing that it was the Tactical Commander from Sector Eleven. A call he hadn't expected today.

"Send that through." Hsu told G36, grabbing a napkin and wiping his face clean. He rose to his feet before the projector as his adjutant accepted the call, the stream of pixels coming out to show a panicking Commander Orlov. The blonde Russian looked like she was falling apart at the seams, her normally perfectly styled hair now having stray locks droop down her face. Her usual posh style now better resembled an overworked school teacher.

"Commander Hsu! I need assistance immediately, something has gone horribly wrong!" The young woman pleaded loudly. "I cannot make contact with my echelons! They have not checked in at all!"

Brought to full alarm, Hsu put himself before his subordinate's projection. "Send us their last known coordinates. We'll get a SAR group ready."

Pavlov nodded quickly, barking orders in Russian to the support staff that were in her war room. Soon after, the data was sent over. G36 went over to Hsu's terminal, sending it over to their own Operations room.

"Go help Kalina form a task force." Hsu ordered over his shoulder, to which G36 promptly complied. She spliced the information into her digimind and ran off while starting up a call with the base's logistics officer. Hsu then took a step back, turning his monitor around to see where exactly the last known location of Orlov's team was.

"...This is in the Chernobyl exclusion zone." Hsu observed, turning around to have his eyes bore into the still panicking rookie. "I told you not to operate in Yellow Zones, Orlov!"

"W-we didn't have a choice! This was the route that was requested by the Interior Guard!" Orlov said, trying in vain to defend herself after violating her superior's directive.

Hsu could feel a vein popping out from the side of his head, but knew better than to keep laying into the girl. She had screwed the pooch, majorly, but right now he needed to focus on damage control.

"You did the right thing, coming to me." Hsu assured, some relief finding its way to Orlov's still strained expression. "I need you to tell me what the job was."

The Russian gulped, taking a deep breath as she snapped her fingers at someone offscreen. A man then scurried over, handing the junior Commander a dataslate which she used to help inform her superior.

"We were contracted by the Sevastopol Resettlement Zone to guard a shipment of goods from Minsk." Orlov's projection relayed, the hologram fizzling and popping before it stabilized yet again. "We left the Svarog factory, then moved south, The plan was to do a layover in Kiev, then we were to continue to the Crimean peninsula and terminate operations in Sevastopol itself."

"Do you have a manifest of the goods being transported?" Hsu interrogated further.

"Firearms… ammunition… electronics…" Orlov responded, swiping right to try and find further details. "Nothing that seemed too valuable. Standard requisition to defend a settlement."

"How many trucks were in the convoy?" Hsu pressed.

"Three total. One for firearms and ammunition, the others were for the electronics."

A red flag, having two trucks loaded with vague 'electronics' made little sense. Whatever manifest they had provided for Orlov, it seemed to be skimping on the details.

"And all three of your echelons were on this job?" Hsu asked again, to which Orlov quickly nodded. "Alright. Keep trying to get into contact with them, we'll head out to the position you marked."

"Commander, I-." Orlov began, catching herself before she forced herself to finish speaking. "I'm sorry. I thought we had enough security."

Yet again, Hsu found himself holding back any particularly harsh criticism. Situations like this were exactly why he warned them to not go into areas with heavy concentrations of Collapse Radiation. Between the high population of ELIDs, to the interference to communications caused by the radiation, to the degradation it could cause to T-Dolls who stayed there for long periods of time. Griffin, as a company, had too many reasons to avoid going into these zones without ample preparation.

But despite all that, he knew nothing good would come of tearing Orlov down now. He could deal with her later, after he pulled her ass out of this fire.

"Just do what I told you." The man ordered, staring her down as Orlov realized it was the best she was going to get. The woman went to her computer, transferring all the remaining mission data from her terminal to Hsu's before ending the call.

Hsu ran a hand down his face, knowing how touch and go this was all about to be. Deployments into a hazard zone were always sketchy, and it wasn't as if he had a team of specialists who were familiar with such work. Of all the people present on base, only three had experience operating in a Collapse dense environment. Two of them were human. One of them was him.

Which meant he didn't really have a choice.

He rounded back to his desk, pulling up his communicator, he typed in a pair of numbers which forced a conference call. The holoprojector soon kicked back up, establishing a land connection quickly that projected exactly who he wanted to speak to.

The first was SVD, sitting cross legged on her dorm's bed. She was still in her relaxed wear, a pair of black running shorts paired with an olive drab tank top. The old doll was tuning a beat up acoustic guitar, adjusting the strings before strumming them in a stroke of her thumb.

The second was Khan, sitting slouched over his desk as he went at what looked to be an old digital watch with a screwdriver and soldering iron. Though his focus went from his small project to the projection of his boss standing before him, reaching to his side to kill the power to his tool.

"It's rude to barge in on a woman unannounced, Kommandir." SVD said, paying the man no mind as she played a chord. "But I'll forgive you, if you buy me a new set of strings."

"I doubt this is a social call." Khan deducted, rising from his feet as he stood up from his desk and moved to the forefront of his projection. "What's this about, Matt? You look like a ghost's come and gotcha."

Hsu shook his head as SVD looked up, hearing Khan's voice through her speaking as well. Realizing the situation was serious, she set her instrument down and put her full attention on her Commander.

Having both sets of eyes on him, Hsu spoke up.

"Get your shit and pack heavy, both of you. We're going beyond the wire."

---

(16:30)

On the far side of the base, G36 and StG44 marched at a brisk pace through the interior hallways.

The teams selected for the emergency deployment were already rallying, with Echelon 2 being among them. As the helicopters were being refueled and the teams' equipment was being loaded up, everyone was making last minute preparations before they went to get loaded onto the helipad. G36 was doing her rounds, gathering all of the team leaders for the shotgun briefing that the Commander had prepared.

She had already found Grizzly and RO635, both of them now waiting in the Operations Center with Kalina as they scrambled to put a plan together. All that was left was Kar98k, the woman who'd just replaced her.

G36 couldn't deny that she felt displaced. This new doll, unknown to her, would now lead her team into combat. Hsu, all the while, refused to let her deploy at all. She was to remain here, assisting Kalina in providing support from the base. Despite her protests, the man had been obstinate. She was barred from deploying into combat, not unless she absolutely had to. It was an infuriating situation. She was being punished for fulfilling her primary directive; protecting human life. Replaced, relegated and made a pariah.

But even she knew this was the only option. All of the dolls who'd been taken prisoner by Intruder wouldn't look her in the eye. Several girls actively avoided her, and she was well aware that StG44 was now suffering by association.

She had to mend bridges before the others could trust her again. But that still left her in the lurch.

"I assure you, dear. Lorelei is a good friend, she'll keep the girls safe." StG44 promised as they rounded the corner, trying to calm her partner's nerves as they walked to the common room.

"Her reputation speaks for itself, but I am more worried if she can handle Xayah's rebellious attitude." G36 pondered aloud, knowing that her youngest sibling had a tendency to drive even the most even tempered to irrationality. Though she had lessened her antics while under G36's supervision, XM8's ego still knew no bounds. Which meant she knew nothing of most other dolls' boundaries.

Opening the door to their destination, however, they found the woman they were looking for. Kar, sipping a cup of Springfield's espresso from a set of fine china. While she sat on a lounge chair, her feet were propped up on none other than XM8's back. The girl looked totally defeated as she was propped up on her knees and elbows.

StG44 almost swallowed her tongue, both out of surprise and amusement. Though she quickly overcame both feelings.

"Kar… why are you using her as a footstool?" StG44 asked, fearing the answer.

"Good question." Kar replied brightly, leaning to her right to catch the side of XM8's head. "Why am I, frauline?"

XM8 groaned, looking down in abject shame at her complete humiliation before even more of her colleagues. "I tried to… replace her sugar packets with chili powder."

StG snorted, her schadenfreude overcoming her shock. However one look to her flank revealed that G36 was far less impressed. At least, she thought so, as it looked like her girlfriend's neural cloud had crashed on the spot at such a sight. Though one look down could see that G36's hands were clenched tightly, balled into fists that were ready to fly.

"Kar."

"Ja?"

"Please let her go before our adjutant strangles you with her bonnet."

Kar sighed. "Fine, fine…"

The sniper pulled her legs back, allowing XM8 to scurry up and behind her sister's frame. Kar then polished off the last of her beverage, setting the cup and saucer down before rising on her feet.

"I suppose the briefing is starting soon?" Kar asked.

"We came to collect you, yes." StG44 confirmed. Kar smirked, coming over before her two peers. XM8 blew a raspberry over at the sniper, though it seemed to have no effect.

No, instead Kar's gaze fell on G36. She took measure of the maid, the two had yet to speak at length about the circumstances. Even barred from combat duties, G36's schedule as the base's primary housekeeper kept her busier than most.

"Sturmgewehr, please take XM-Eight to the helipads. Make sure our equipment is ready." Kar requested, putting on a winning smile for the Commander's secretary. "Frau Thirty-Six and I will head to the briefing."

StG44 nodded, giving G36's hand a quick squeeze before she turned around and motioned for XM8 to follow her. XM8 complied, scurrying out the door before flashing a middle finger right as she turned the corner.

Kar98k chuckled in amusement, before glancing back at the woman she replaced. "Your sister has a great deal of potential. Teaching her will be entertaining enough."

"You'll teach her by using her as furniture?" G36 asked, voice high and tight as she fought to keep her sense of professionalism.

"I've never been one to suffer foolishness lighty." Kar told the adjutant, before gesturing at the door so they could be on their way.

G36 was still unimpressed, but they were on a schedule. XM8 hadn't been hurt physically, so it was an issue they could come back to after the mission had completed. So she relented, moving for the doorway and stepping out.

The two Germans walked down the hallway at equal pace, side by side as they marched through the maze of corridors. Kar98k was yet to familiarize herself with much of the main terminal, only the places that Springfield had shown her. So she stuck close to G36, picking up the conversation.

"Erika has told me a great deal about her echelon. From what I understand, they all seem to hold you in high regard." Kar observed.

"It was an honor to lead them. I look forward to doing so again." G36 said, laying out her intentions plainly.

Kar huffed, but said nothing more. StG44 had warned her that G36 wouldn't take kindly to her being here, but being rebuffed by the maid irked her greatly, circumstances be damned. It was G36's own fault she had been relegated, Kar had done nothing wrong but fill the void she'd formed.

She was going to show this cleaning doll how a real mercenary fought, and she was going to have fun while she did it.

---

(17:20)

The mission was underway quickly after that.

A task force had been put together of teams that had stayed on base. Echelons 2, 5, and 6 were kitted out and loaded into individual blackhawks.

Now there were two helicopters speeding behind a convoy of four trucks driving through the snow-covered zone. Three troop carriers, with one steel long hauler second from the rear. They kept their distance and merely kept pace with the vehicles, far enough away that they could avoid any incoming fire. But the dolls that were on board each bird knew that they were about to get into the thick of things.

Grizzly sat in her transport, doing a final check on her equipment. The Commander had told them all to pack heavily, and they'd done so. Each of them was wearing webbing and carrying as much ammunition as they could carry. Both she and M590 had loaded up on stun grenades, MCX brought along an extra set of medical supplies, and MP-448 was hefting a radio backpack to break through the interference caused by the yellow zone's radiation.

The briefing had been quick and a bit light on the details, but the plan was clear. Her team and RO's would focus on recovering this half of the shipment. Kar's echelon would be investigating a point of interest to see if the bandits had set up there. A fourth team, headed by the Commander, was checking even deeper into the exclusion zone for where their opponents might be waiting.

Grizzly stood up, looking out of the blackhawk's side and at the convoy. They had followed a signal from Sector 11's dolls to this row of trucks, which meant that at least one of the dolls was inside. Hostage rescue was something her team had plenty of professional experience in, but she had never had to save someone from a speeding vehicle before.

"Palette for Marshal, how copy?" RO said over the radio.

Grizzly reached down to the microphone clipped to her shoulder. "Go for Marshal."

"Visual confirmed, second to last truck matches the mission logs that Sector Eleven sent us." RO told her fellow captain. "It's the only one, though. All the other trucks weren't part of the original transport mission."

Grizzly muttered, not happy that there were two more trucks still in the wind. "Let's focus on this group for now. Readings still say there's Griffin signatures in this group."

"Agreed. Miss Kalina's already given us the go ahead to interdict."

"What's the plan, then?"

"We could stop on the path ahead, try to ambush them. But we don't have anything to disable the vehicles."

Grizzly weighed the odds of that plan, quickly deciding against it. It was too predictable, the convoy would likely stop and change direction regardless. No one with half a brain would drive into an ambush if they knew it was waiting for them.

She then began to cook up an idea, going over to the cockpit of her transport. "Hey! Get us in front of the convoy, about forty yards!"

The pilot gave her a thumbs up, adjusting their flightpath onto an intercept course with the trucks. Grizzly walked back out, standing at the edge again as she grabbed some nylon rope off of the floor.

"Get ready to land, we're gonna hard-stop the convoy." Grizzly spoke into the radio.

"If you think you can, go for it. My team'll be ready." RO promised, the radio going dead after that.

It was then that M590 stood up, catching the last of Grizzly's conversation with the other team. M590 looked at the remaining rope, then down below at the speeding trucks. After putting two and two together in her head, especially as Grizzly wrapped the nylon around her waist.

"No. No. Absolutely not!" M590 refused.

"Just hold onto the rope!" Grizzly instructed

"The hell you mean, 'just hold onto the rope'?!" M590 questioned, looking at her Captain like she was a crazy woman.

"Just hold onto the rope! I've done this before!" Grizzly said as she got ready to leap.

"That is cap and you-." M590 started off again, just as Grizzly jumped out the open door. Panicking, M590 lunged to grab the nylon before their leader.

"GOD DAMN IT!" M590 yelled, digging her feet in and pressing against the side of the Blackhawk to leverage it against the metal's edge. MCX, VSK, and MP-448 all rushed to their feet. Each looking outside to see their leader as she fell down to the ground below.

Grizzly was in a short freefall, wrapping one of her legs in the cord before it tightened. The doll was then whipped upside down, dangling in front of the row of canvas covered trucks. She could see the first transport's driver staring at her, the bandit unable to process what the hell was unfolding before his eyes.

Grizzly reached for her drop-leg holster, pulling out her handgun and checking it before taking aim. She hadn't lied, she had done this in the past. But that had been with a 416 and an actual optic.

But she was still a crack shot. As the driver slammed the break to try and juke the dangling shooter, she fired a barrage of .50AE through the windshield. Several shots struck home, taking out the driver and having him slump over the steering wheel. The truck directly behind couldn't stop fast enough on the snow covered road, slamming into the back while the others came to a screeching halt.

Grizzly stayed where she was, dangling, the helicopter making a sharp turn as it went to position itself behind the now stopped convoy.

"Told you!" Grizzly yelled through the radio.

"You're gonna give me a fucking heart attack, you know that?!" M590 complained over Grizzly's euphoric laughter.

Their helicopter made a grand curve, swinging back behind the convoy. From her hanging position, Grizzly could see people begin to pile out of each truck. Each one toting a weapon, frantically taking up defensive positions along their vehicles as they prepared to repulse the oncoming dolls.

Grizzly undid the knot around her waist as the helicopter slowed down, falling into the snow before she scrambled up to her feet. On the far side, she could see the other helicopter begin to lay down suppressive fire on the bandits. It gave enough time for Grizzly's blackhawk to lower itself above her, with each of her teammates jumping out before it took off yet again.

"Keep shooting! We need to buy time for Pallette to land!" Grizzly ordered, the rest of her team setting up around her as they kept firing at the convoy.

The second blackhawk went for its landing next, on the opposite side of the road as it unloaded the other doll echelon. Both Grizzly and MP-448 continued to designate targets for VSK and MCX, meanwhile M590 expanded the ballistic shields rigged to her hips to give her squad ample cover.

The bandits continued to scramble, one after the other being picked off thanks to the positioning of the dolls. Any concealment they had was minimized, the renegade humans being forced to hide in the back of the trucks yet again or taking cover under the cabs themselves.

RO's team eventually made landfall, sprinting for the rearmost truck with all due speed. Seeing this, Grizzly motioned for her own echelon to stand.

"VSK, stay here and keep picking off the big targets!" Grizzly instructed, before pointing to her left. "MCX, Four-Four-Eight, take the first truck! Me and Five-Ninety got the second!"

VSK-94 complied immediately, going back down on a knee as she continued to suppress and eliminate the bandits that seemed to be more potent threats. Machineguners, grenadiers and the like. The other four ran for the convoy line, sprinting as fast as their chassis could maintain to get out of the free-fire zone and at their opponents.

Due to her superior frame, MCX took an easy lead over MP-448 as she made her way over to the front-most truck. A few bandits remained, some in the troop bay and some underneath the steel. They popped shots between the large tires as the blue, white, and pink bolt that honed in on them.

MCX brought her rifle forwards, slowing her pace to stabilize her aim before she returned fire. A flurry of rounds flying out of her rifle and through the tires' rubber, perforating the prone bandits killing both near instantly.

As her magazine went dry and her bolt locked open, MCX let her rifle fall as she kicked off and blitzed the remaining bandits in the truck. A few rounds punched through her chassis as they continued to fire at her with their weapons, but not enough to stop her from getting aboard the back of the hijacked troop transport.

She shoulder-checked the bandit at the front, sending him flying backwards as he smashed into the back of the truck cab with a harsh 'THUMP'.

The next tried to lunge at her, grabbing for her empty rifle in an attempt to turn it back on her. She let him take it, drawing her taser out and firing the prongs into his chest. The man yelled out in pain before tumbling down onto the steel floor, while the last bandit ran up and started to grapple her by her head and neck.

The doll reached for her waistband, grabbing a black handle and whipping out a telescoping baton. She then started to whip it violently over her shoulder, smashing it into the man's head with force that split his cheek open. She then threw an elbow into the gut of her final opponent, reaching back to wrap her arm and elbow around his neck. MCX then pivoted on her feet, turning to face the truck's rear before throwing the thug over her shoulder and out the back and into the windshield of the second ural that had been stopped behind them.

As the glass shattered, she then looked down to see the first bandit, the one she'd rammed straight into the far end, back on his feet. Now, however, he had a knife in his grasp, huffing and puffing as a stream of blood poured down his cut up face.

"Please tell me you're not this stupid." MCX asked, knowing that the local probably didn't understand a lick of english. But sadly for them both, he was that stupid, trying to run her down with the bladed weapon.

Once he reached her, brought the knife down in a plunging strike. MCX let go of her taser and shot up, grabbing the blade with her gloved hand. The doll then put her unnatural strength on display, bending the blade sideways as she kept her eyes locked on the last bandit standing. The man looked up at his knife, then back at MCX, realizing just how badly he had screwed up.

She threw one more strike of her baton at his nether regions, letting him crumple to the ground next to his still electrocuted partner. Both groaned in pain as MCX collapsed her baton and stuffed it back into her belt.

"Oh, quit wingin'. I could've killed you lot." MCX told the two, turning to see MP-448 pulling herself up into the truck bay. "And look who decided to show up!"

"I can't… run as fast as-... Iisus Khristos." MP-448 muttered, doubling over as she tried to suck in some oxygen to cool herself down.

"Try eatin' less of Springfield's rhubarb pie."

"We can't… gain weight… you ass."

MCX snickered at her partner's misfortune, ears perking up as the gunfire came to a halt. She grabbed at the radio microphone hanging off of her coat, speaking up. "Grizz, you two alright?"

"Yeah, we've cleaned up. Head to the front, check if these trucks can still drive." Grizzly instructed.

"Wilco." MCX replied, going down on a knee as she slipped out some handcuffs. She restrained both of the still conscious bandits, attaching them both to the benches' chains before hopping back out. MP-448 groaned, scurrying behind the British doll as she felt her servos curse her out for moving once again.

Meanwhile, Grizzly and M590 stood with RO635 and Makarov at the door of Sector Eleven's truck. The inside was deathly quiet, no movement or voices. Makarov did another scan, confirming that there were over a dozen individual Griffin signatures inside.

M590 stepped forwards, bringing her shotgun up and blasting the lock off. Grizzly grabbed the doors, pulling them both apart to reveal what lay inside.

All fifteen of Orlov's dolls lay on the floor, each one having been terminated. Some showed signs of battle damage, having likely been killed defending the convoy initially. Others showed single gunshot wounds to their heads, giving away that they'd been finished off after the fact. The whole canopy smelled sweet and warm, coolant having leaked into the metal.

"What the hell…" Grizzly muttered, pulling herself up and into the truck. RO followed suit, with both of their lieutenants opting to stay outside and keep watch.

"This is… barbaric." RO declared, looking up both rows of dolls before spotting the towers of crates in the back. She squinted her eyes, digging out a flashlight to shine onto the crates. Labels of ammunition cases flashed back at her, '5.45x39' and '7.62x54R.'

Grizzly grit her teeth, looking away as she turned her radio back on. "Kalina, can you hear me?"

"Barely! This connection is awful!" The logistics officer reported, her voice crackling and jumping up and down in clarity. "Did you find the girls?"

Grizzly sighed, watching as RO stepped forwards and began to check each body to see if their AI cores still had power. "They got wiped out. We found their chassis loaded up with the lost ammunition."

"Oh no…" Kalina said, voice sullen at the horrible news. "Let's… try to recover their AI cores. We might be able to salvage their memories, at least."

"We will." Grizzly assured. "Just so you know, all we've got here is the ammo. The rest of the shipment's missing."

"Crap." Kalina cursed. "I'll tell the Commander. Stay put, I'll divert the cargo helicopter to come help load what's there."

"Ten-Four. We'll hold the fort." Grizzly confirmed before ending the radio call. She looked back at the bodies once again as RO continued to triage, the younger doll slowly going from body to body as she scanned each individual core.

---

(17:45)

Further into the zone, the advance team had come to a rest in an abandoned supermarket.

M4A1 walked between the rusted, dilapidated aisles slowly. She looked around to see the remains of boxes and groceries with morose curiosity. Her boots crunching against the concrete surface that had once been covered in ceramic tiles. The others were doing their own tasks, which left her to this.

Her own thoughts and observations.

Once upon a time, long before dolls had even been prototyped, Pripyat was a closed city. It was given the resources that made it one of the finest places to live in the old Soviet Union, shelves that were stocked with the latest goods and produce that the motherland birthed from her farms and factories.

Now here she stood, 70 years later among what remained. It was as unnerving as one would expect. Even if she was an exceptionally young doll, she could respect the history of where she stood. One of the first places where collapse radiation had left a scar on the planet, before it spread out and about to touch the rest of the world.

This toxin only seemed to spread. Before she'd come here, Anti-Rain seemed to spend more and more time in polluted areas. It felt like the disease was constantly creeping up on the edges of civilization, driving settlements further and further back as humanity continued to scrape and fight for any scraps they could.

M4A1 picked up a frozen box of cereal. That was when she felt the inside shake, and a white rat slipped out of a hole in the bottom. She squeaked in surprise, dropping the box as the rodent flopped down onto the ice covered tile. Both she and the animal then engaged in a terrified staring contest, neither one quite sure who was afraid of the other.

"M-Four?" A voice called from an aisle over. Soon after, AK-74M made her presence known. She jogged over to her fellow doll, rifle at the low ready as she expected a fight. She then saw the scene, both M4 and the snowrat petrified at one another's presence.

AK-74M lowered her rifle, traipsing over slowly. First she glanced at M4, her expression stony at the girl's panic. Then she looked down to the rat, watching as its blood red eyes stared back up at her. 74M dug into a pouch, pulling out a small piece of bread she held between two fingers.

She crouched down, offering the food to the animal. The rat promptly chomped down on the bread, before scurrying off into the dark corners of the market.

Meanwhile, at the doorway leading into the staff area of the market, AR-15 scoffed. She stepped back, making her way over to the staircase and moving back up to the rooftop.

To this day, M4A1's skittishness and fear of everything astounded her. Out of all the AR dolls, she couldn't understand why Persica couldn't have programmed her with something resembling a spine. Especially with how often her indecisiveness and caution got her, the rest of their team, and other Griffin dolls in terrible situations.

Why Persica had M4 in charge instead of her or M16, she'd never understand. But she wasn't one to question orders either.

AR-15 returned to the roof, the vision of the sky blotted out by putrid green smog that gave a sickly reflection off of the snow around them. Khan stood in the middle, diligently operating a radio antenna as he continued to communicate between the other echelons and the helicopter that remained behind to scout out the area of operations.

Hsu, meanwhile, stood closer to the front side of the building clad in a red Griffin radiation suit. He had one of his holoprojectors active, a live-map of the area open as he marked and moved different digital markers. Khan occasionally called over, passing on information that their sources fed and giving him an ever-clearing picture of the skirmish their sector had been dragged into.

Curious, AR-15 trickled over and observed the man at his work. Hsu's eyes moved up to acknowledge her presence, seemingly giving her a chance to speak. After she made it clear she had nothing to say, they returned to the map.

It was a wide area, encompassing from where the Griffin convoy was lost all the way to where it was recovered, and then several kilometers spread out in all directions beyond that. There was a list on the side that kept track of various statistics, and a few buildings that had been marked. One in particular was being watched by Echelon 2, the team's marker holding a distance away.

"Why's Echelon Two that deep in the city?" AR-15 asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Santiago thinks the main bandit stronghold is right in the middle of Old Chernobyl. About a twenty minute hike from where we are." Hsu explained, involuntarily moving to tighten the filter on his gasmask. "Plenty of buildings, plus the leftovers from when the old Ukrainian Government tried to resettle this place."

The last bit of information perplexed AR-15. "If humans can live here, why're you and Khan in rad suits?"

"Because the War ruptured the power plant even more, which recontaminated the area." The commander said, gesturing at the target area. "Still, these buildings were built in case of new fallout. You can live inside, but you can only stay outside for short periods of time. Plus you have to decontaminate either way."

"Mandatory showers for everyone when we get back, got it." AR-15 inferred. "When are they going to attack?"

"Once the Blackhawks come back and pick up the supplies we recaptured, we're all gonna pull out anyway. I'm not fighting in a radioactive city with no plan and no intel."

AR-15 felt a scowl come on once Hsu made it clear he intended to avoid going into combat. Another opportunity to prove herself missed again by someone's caution.

Her shift in demeanor wasn't missed by the Commander, but he frankly didn't care. These dolls might be able to walk off a bunch of bullet wounds, but he and Khan certainly couldn't. The only reason they were even out here was because the dolls needed an experienced guide, and he was the most experienced one available. Plus with the high radiation, communication back with the Sector and Kalina was exceptionally spotty.

"You seem bored." AR-15 prodded, deciding to move on from the subject.

"Standin' out in the irradiated snow's awful, but it's a work hazard."

"From what Sixteen tells me, you don't seem to have many other hobbies. Other than drinking."

"I watch old movies. Black and whites, early color." Hsu told the doll, shrugging as he kept focus on the map. "Cheesy as hell, but charming. They don't take themselves as seriously as the stuff you see these days."

"Are you trying to make everyone think you're ancient, Commander?" AR-15 asked, disapproving of the older man's choice in entertainment.

"What do you do for fun, then?" Hsu asked, flicking his eyes up to AR-15. "Other than train."

AR-15 looked at the man, visibly going back and forth with herself on what to say. Hsu returned his gaze to the map, watching as a new Point of Interest marker got through the lag from Kalina to him. Eventually, AR-15 muttered something, but it was far too quiet for Hsu to hear through his protective gear.

"What was that?" Hsu asked.

AR-15 groaned, doing a double-take to make sure that no one else was around them. "I do a radio show, alright?"

"A… radio show." Hsu repeated, looking up to make sure that the girl hadn't misspoke.

"Don't you dare tell anyone. Especially M-Sixteen!" AR-15 demanded.

Hsu lifted his fingers from around his rifle, pantomiming a 'surrender' to the doll. "I'm just surprised. Never took you for someone who'd want to talk a lot."

"I don't." AR-15 swiftly corrected, not wanting to be taken for some fame-hungry airhead. "A few weeks before we attacked Intruder, Miss Kalina told me that Griffin had a radio station they were setting up. Said I could pick whatever topic I want, I could use a fake name, everything. She basically wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Sounds like Kalina." Hsu agreed, watching AR-15 visibly relax as the man accepted her explanation. He'd heard about the initiative a while back as well, part of Griffin's plans to 'diversify their holdings'. Though everything in that plan basically sounded like they were creating a multimedia company to help fund the PMC side of the business.

All he could hope for is they never tried to turn his operations into reality television.

"So what's it about?" The Commander asked.

"Music. I talk about news and play some of the songs I like." AR-15 told the man. "Some dolls from other sectors chose stuff like cooking or gossip shows… bleh."

Hsu couldn't help but smile behind his gasmask. The idea of a doll becoming an entertainment journalist seemed alien to him still. His days in the newsroom was purely filled with other humans. Simple AI helped them research and organize, but to have a full blown doll on staff would've been neigh unacceptable within the CBC.

But now, after all he'd been through with these girls, it made him feel… better. That they had things they wanted to do beyond fighting wars.

"If you need help researching, talk to me." Hsu told the girl. "I'll give the show a listen one of these days."

"Oh. Uh… Thank you." AR-15 awkwardly responded, not expecting the man to be so dryly accepting. "You seem to be pretty curious about me."

"I'll admit, it's nice being the one asking personal questions instead of gettin' asked them." The Commander observed, enjoying the role-swap. Meant he didn't have to come up with new and creative ways to say things weren't people's business.

"You give the rest of my team this much attention?" AR-15 asked.

"I see M-Four at least once a week for her tactics classes, M-Sixteen pops by my office to share a drink often enough, and Sop always wants me to 'grade her sculptures' whenever she comes back with a new set of scrap from each mission." Hsu casually rattled off, his run-ins with the other Anti-Ran dolls having become routine at this point. "Only one who I don't deal with on the regular is you."

"I'm busy." AR-15 answered

"Burning through your ammunition allowance, yup."

AR-15 shrugged, watching as a large mutated boar walked across in front of them. "Takes more than programming to be as good of a shot as I am."

"You're fourth on the leaderboard, and you're at the range more than all the others put together." Hsu said, taking a potshot at the girl's ego.

The doll grumbled, grinding her teeth together. "Who's above me?"

"Springfield, SVD, and Mosin." Hsu informed, before he recalled the files he'd read earlier today. "Kar and Wa are probably gonna bump you even further down."

"...I need to buy more ammo." AR-15 decided, not sure if she was going to use practice her aim or vent this newfound frustration.

Hsu scoffed, knowing damn well that AR-15 had blown her last check on ammo and equipment already. "Good luck gettin' Kalina to give you an advance. Think you'd have a better chance of squeezing blood from a rock."

AR-15 glowered again, her eyes dropping back down to look at the map.

Hopefully they'd actually fight something today. She needed to vent this new frustration into something worthwhile.

---

(18:15)

MP-448 sat in the back of one of the seized trucks, tuning her team's radio-pack.

As the other nine dolls worked on readying the loads for transport, salvaging the fallen Griffin dolls' AI cores, or holding a perimeter around the halted convoy, she'd been told to act as the connection between them and everyone else. Acting as an information relay between all the teams in the field, while also keeping Kalina in the loop. The headset on her head would switch back and forth from no sound at all to staticy, barely understandable transmissions. Even with a proper radio backpack, the radiation caused by the collapse fallout made communication a struggle.

Occasionally, her eyes would flick up, watching to see Makarov standing off in the distance to the east. The other handgunner stood perfectly still, hands held behind her back as she kept surveilling the distance.

"Boo." MCX said, her head popping out from around the corner of the truck. MP-448 stammered, almost fumbling her telephone receiver in the snow.

Luckily for her, MCX's hand shot out, catching the device before it hit the snow. She offered it back to her teammate, who snarled as she snatched it back.

"Now what do you want? The Captain told you to prepare the AI cores." MP-448 scolded.

"They're all gettin' recharged, all I need to do is go check on'em in a tick."

"You should be monitoring them to ensure nothing goes wrong."

"Sure, sure. Stare at a bunch of glowin' cubes for an hour while they're sittin' on power racks." MCX sarcastically agreed, pulling herself up to sit down next to her teammate. "Nah, I think I'll stay here and bug you."

MP-448 rolled her eyes, but made no further effort to get MCX to leave. The radio had gone quiet either way, and the Blackhawks wouldn't return to transport them back to the Sector anytime soon. So the Brit continued to ramble on about something or the other, but it went in one of MP-448's ears and out the other. Her gaze once again drifted back towards Makarov, a pit forming at the bottom of her bioreactor.

In the weeks since her elder sibling had come here, both of them had made a point of avoiding one another. Neither had said a word, up until a little over a week ago when she spilled the boiling hot brine all over Makarov's head. Such an event seemed to galvanize them to take ever greater strides in staying out of each other's lives, today being the first time she'd even laid eyes on Makarov in a week.

The only thing that bothered her more was that this bothered her at all. She'd sworn to write off the miserable woman as a lost cause when she cut ties with her.

MCX nudged MP-448, knocking her out of her stupor and back into reality. "You know you can go talk to her, right?"

MP-448 scoffed, "I want nothing to do with her."

"Y'know, seeing as you're a cop, you think you'd know better than to lie to a cop." MCX pointed out, leaning back as she rested on the palm of her hands against the truck bed. "Not that it's my business-."

"It isn't." MP-448 pointed out.

MCX ignored that, continuing on like the nosey Englishwoman she was "-but I can tell when a problem is gonna fester into a whole mess. Besides, this isn't good for you."

"Our problems can't be fixed with a single conversation." MP-448 insisted.

"They won't be fixed with you glarin' a hole in her back either." MCX followed up. "Besides, you can always walk away if she won't chat. From what you've told me, it wouldn't be the first time you dumped'er."

"Were it so easy." MP-448 grumbled, looking over to MCX at last. "I'm surprised you're concerned."

"Yeah, well… you've been gutted ever since she showed her ugly mug." MCX explained. "It's driving me barmy, and I don't much care for bein' worried about my mates. So do me a favor and go have a chat with the arsehole."

Hearing someone call Makarov an 'arsehole' was quite pleasing. Something she felt the urge to say herself, at least once. After everything that had happened between them, MP-448 found it oddly cathartic to have a chance at chewing out the doll who raised her. Though that desire was then countered by a strong sense of… shame? Guilt? Perhaps only confusion.

Maybe it was time to test the waters. It had been fifteen months since they'd truly spoken, anyway. At least she would be able to decide once and for all what they were going forward.

"Thank you, MCX." MP-448 said, locking eyes with her teammate.

MCX smirked, before swapping her eyes over to look to their right. "No fuss, no muss. Just don't look at me like that, people'll think you fancy me."

"Um… what?" MP-448 asked, not understanding how anyone could think MCX was 'fancy.'

"Go talk to her!" MCX insisted, hopping off of the truck bed and pulling MP-448 down with her.

"OK, OK!" The handgunner promised, getting pulled out towards the snow before being given a shove off in the direction of Makarov. She looked out in the direction of her goal, grateful that the woman didn't seem to react to the noise.

She then took a breath, and trudged her way over.

Makarov was still a statue, her head occasionally turning to glance at something or other on the horizon. Standing on top of a fire trench, ever the dutiful sentry. MP-448 stopped once she hopped into the trench, annoyed that the woman still wasn't reacting to her presence. Half of her mind wanted to storm back over to the convoy.

But this wasn't something she could keep running from. Either of them, really. So she sucked it up, crossed the trench, and pulled herself up to stand next to her sister model. Dusting off her uniform and fixing up her hat, trying to look as professional as possible.

"Darya." MP-448 began, keeping her gaze locked onto the world ahead of them.

"Maxym." Makarov answered, doing the same as her sibling. "Your friend convinced you, then."

MP-448's expression twisted in shock, before an annoyed exhale left her. "Of course, you have your reconnaissance module active."

"It helps during sentry duty. I am not standing out here to scare away the crows." Makarov said dryly.

MP-448 clenched her teeth, not wanting to experience another one of Makarov's condescending lectures. Though she took note of how Makarov also said no more, instead of dressing her down for not watching the perimeter as well.

Maybe… she was trying. Maybe MP-448 hadn't been the only sibling who had been hyper-aware of the other's presence.

"...Have you been eating?" MP-448 asked, broaching the most basic topic as she also activated her reconnaissance module.

"I have kept my power levels optimal, yes." Makarov promised, calm and collected. "Have you been doing your drills?"

"I have yet to fail an examination since my arrival."

"Acceptable." Makarov assessed. The closest thing to a compliment the woman seemed to be able to give.

MP-448 knew that she should take what she could get, but her frustration was mounting further and further. "Seeing you not in command of an echelon is unexpected."

"Something that you find great joy in, I am sure." Makarov shot back, her own annoyance revealing itself. MP-448 twitched, insulted by what the woman was implying.

"You're blaming me for your demotion?!" MP-448 interrogated, turning to face her elder as she bit back. "Oh, of course. It couldn't possibly have to do with you going behind the Commander's back a dozen times. Or strongarming all of the other Captains into going along with your hairbrained schemes."

Makarov began to scowl, but MP-448 didn't let off the gas, continuing to lay into the woman. "Do you realize how often I had to defend your actions with the rest of our echelon? How about with the rest of the Sector?! Everyone wanted you gone because of how much of a terror you were! But no, Commander Krinkov let you do whatever you wanted! Even though every single doll and engineer hated you!

"You made your opinion of me quite clear when you demanded a transfer." Makarov assured, jaw clenched.

"You made yours clear when you didn't try to stop me! Not a word!" MP-448 spat, firing another salvo of vitriol. "You were not even there when I left the base! You had my replacement arrive the day before I left!"

Still, Makarov didn't sway or falter. What anger the older doll had been buried deep before it could find the surface. Now she stood as she was, hands still clenched behind her back as she took the abuse. No more words in her defense, no more errant quips. She seemed content to let MP-448 have her way.

All it did was enrage MP-448 further.

"Why… do you… not care?!" MP-448 pleaded, desperation leaking in. "What happened to you!? You weren't like this before you left for Griffin! You used to… to…!"

'THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.'

A dense, hollow sound filled both of their ears. Each of their scouting modules pointed the origin of the sound coming from the northwest, across the clearing and out of sight. Then the sound of something flying through the air, cutting clear across as it got further, then closer.

Makarov knew what it was in an instant. Mortars.

She fired off an alert to the other dolls, highlighting the disturbances in the air. She then shot her hands over to the left, grabbing MP-448 by the cape and dragging her backwards into the fire trench.

MP-448 yelled as she was dragged over the side of the defilade by Makarov, the mortar shells making impact around them as everyone ducked for cover. MP-448 made herself small, curling up into a ball as the shells fell down around them. Each quake made her flinch, pulling her shako tighter over her head as she clenched her eyes shut harder and harder.

Makarov remained upright, kneeling down next to her sister with her right hand gripping her weapon and her left keeping MP-448 pinned to the ground beneath her. She kept her head just below the cusp of the incline as flecks of grass and dirt pelted her face. Her digimind was running rampant, estimating landing areas and splash zones to the best of its ability. Despite how terrifying the explosions were, they were inaccurate. Likely meaning their opponents lacked a competent forward observer or a targeting computer.

The barrage kept going, regardless. Scarring the deformed earth further and further, kicking up snow in each blast and blocking any and all sight. Luckily, each of the shells fell well short of the convoy. Inside the trucks, Makarov could barely make out the sound of their bandit captives screaming for dear life.

Both continued to stay put until the earth finally stopped shaking. It was only then, when she was sure that death had spared them, that MP-448 opened one of her eyes. Only then did she see who'd saved her life, and only then did she register that the older girl had shielded her from the shrapnel with her own chassis.

Makarov rose to look over the edge. Her neural cloud finished the calculations, tracing back to where the mortars had been set up.

"Stay here. Wait for your team." Makarov ordered, pulling herself over the berm as she sent the information over to the rest of her own echelon.

"Wait, I can-!" MP-448 said, trying to follow her elder. She was greeted by Makarov's foot in her face, pushing her back down into the defilade with a 'FWUMP.'

"You are not a fighter. Stay down." Makarov repeated, before turning on her feet and dashing off in the direction of the artillery.

Behind her, she could hear MP-448 cursing her name, yelling out with indigent anger at how Makarov was leaving her behind yet again. But if she had the energy to yell, then she had the energy to hide. She had the ability to not have harm brought upon her.

That was the only thing that Makarov cared about.

Now and always.

---

(18:30)

"Ineffective fire so far, Sir. No one's been injured and the recovered neural clouds are unharmed." Khan said, the two men gathering around their radio equipment as the echelons at the convoy reported their status.

They were the only people left on the roof. SVD had returned, gathering the other dolls and taking them to check something she'd come across in the city. It left both of them without guards, but it was unlikely that someone would stumble across them. If that happened, they could hide or hold off until the dolls stormed back.

The Commander looked down at the map he'd brought over, updating it yet again with the new information. RO had given an estimated location of the shells, and using the data obtained by the handgunners' recon modules, believed that they were lighter munitions. Likely stolen surplus 81mm tubes. She and her team were already moving to engage and clear out the crews, while Grizzly stayed back to protect the convoy, cores and prisoners.

The fact that the bandits weren't able to hit a large, stationary target showed their incompetence. But the fact that they were running around with artillery helped explain why they were able to beat three Griffin teams. The mortars, a coordinated ambush and the open space of the Exclusion Zone, basically made anyone who wandered through here unaware of an easy target.

Khan turned up the volume of the radio, listening to the chatter coming back from SVD's reconnaissance team. "Should we pull our detachment back and support the convoy group?"

Hsu shook his head. "If they needed help, they would've asked for it. Better to have Santiago in the air and checking if more bandits are converging on'em instead of hauling our asses down."

"Right." Khan said, turning to squat down next to the map. Hsu took in the engineer's demeanor, terse and tense.

"You think something's up, Assad?" Hsu asked him.

"Aye…" The man admitted, rubbing his hands together as the thick radiation reflecting gloves grinded together. "You said that the shipment was from Svarog, right? One of their plants up in Minsk?"

Hsu nodded in confirmation. "That's what Orlov told me. Far as she knew it was an arms shipment. They even told her what route to take."

Khan grumbled, pushing himself back up and out of his squat. "She fucked this up bad, Matt."

"What do you expect from a twenty two year old who grew up in an Oligarch mansion surrounded by butlers and maids?" Hsu asked the man, both of them aware that most of Griffin's Tactical Commanders were young and naive. "She's not stupid, but she's sheltered. Probably never had someone lie or deceive her in her life."

Khan shook his head. He agreed with the Commander's assessment, but he still couldn't believe how trusting the young woman had been. "What're you gonna do?"

"Request a replacement. Whether Headquarters terminates her or sends her to a Logistics Sector, I dunno. But she's not staying here." Hsu told the man.

Khan grumbled, agreeing with the decision. Yet more still ate at him.

"Svarog is a very particular consortium. They build military infrastructure, but they don't usually sell small arms. If the people in Sevastopol bought something from them…" He said, thinking aloud to his peer. "Why would anyone buy guns and ammunition from an industrial conglomerate?"

"Why would they have Orlov go through a Yellow Zone? Why would they contact her when there's a different Griffin sector around Minsk?" Hsu followed up, shrugging at the Englishman. "It all smells like shit, man."

"That's not the only thing that smells." Khan insisted. "That mess with the Minister is still bothering me. Other mercs in Ukraine? In our turf? It's like the Mercenary Wars all over again."

Hsu chewed on the inside of his cheek, knowing that the man was right. Years before either of them joined Griffin, the various PMCs in the company used to attack one another over contracts and business dealings. It hadn't happened for a while, but all of this felt eerily familiar to those stories he'd heard while in Griffin's training school.

"There's one more thing." Hsu said, focusing on the ruins of some landing strips that were in Chernobyl. "You remember that airport attack a while back, right? When Echelon Four, Five, and Anti-Rain dealt with those rogue dolls."

Khan nodded, remembering having to put M590 back together that night. "That was a mess, but we pulled out of it… why? Does it have something to do with this?"

"I've got a feeling." Hsu told the man. "I was watching the footage again, after the Minister was abducted. Those dolls Saiga fought. At first I thought they were ignoring her, but…"

"...Maybe they couldn't understand her." Khan agreed, putting two and two together.

Hsu sighed, shaking his head. The past few weeks had been filled with more red flags than a Soviet Army parade. But digging deeper, if he even could figure out what was going on, sounded even more riskier. Likely ending with G36 finding him in his office chair with a bullet in the base of his skull.

Matthew wanted to get to the bottom of this. But, his desire to live far outweighed his curiosity.

"No need to stay longer than we have too. We've recovered half the shipment, and our destroyed dolls. Once the Blackhawks come back, we're done." Hsu confirmed.

Khan snickered, though his mask muffled it into sounding like a cough. "Another catastrophe we're kicking over to the local Government, that'll probably kick it back to us."

"We're not cleaning up any more of the Government's messes. We've ignored Sangvis for too long anyway." Hsu ensured, putting his foot down.

"Good." Khan said, happy to be done with all this dodgy nonsense. "Be nice to go back to fighting wars instead of fighting corrupt pillocks."

Hsu chuckled along, sharing the sentiment. Compared to all of this, War seemed easy.

---

(18:37)

Echelon Six continued their advance on the mortar position, regrouping on the move and getting ready for another shootout.

RO and Sten found Makarov the quickest, slowing their pace for AA-12 to eventually catch up. The shotgunner had her shields active and up, holding them above her head like some kind of shrapnel umbrella. WA was still lagging behind, having to take a roundabout route to avoid the mortars' field of fire.

Frustrated as they ran through the snow, RO activated her radio.

"I need an ETA, Wa! When can you reach us?!" She yelled into the speaker.

"I'm TRYING OK?!" WA screeched back, audibly annoyed at the pestering. "You try to run through this much snow in platform boots!"

"Maybe wear something sensible into combat…" RO muttered to herself.

"What was that?!" WA demanded.

RO groaned out loud, Sten giving her Captain a nervous laugh. "Nothing! Just get to the position I marked!"

She terminated the call after that, motioning for the others to follow her as she picked up the pace. The four dolls continued to sprint, following the path Makarov marked on their HUD to the suspected launchpoint of the explosives.

Eventually, they found it. A row of four mortar tubes, with a large group of bandits milling about by the artillery and a truck that they seemed to be keeping the shells in. The group was very clearly getting ready to make their own push, splitting off into smaller squads as they made ready to attack what they believed was a softened target.

Of course, they didn't seem to know that they had missed. Basically confirming Makarov's suspicions that they were going off of old coordinates, not an active forward observer.

The four Griffin dolls took a knee behind some rotted vegetation, RO slapping together a plan as she took note of their surroundings. There was a treeline to the left that led out to the mortar pit's far flank, perfect for getting around and hitting the group from the side. But with so many hostels in a single place, they needed to split their attention. Someone needed to provide ample distraction.

"OK, here's the plan." RO said, getting everyone's attention. "Makarov, you and Sten are gonna start cutting left through that brush. Once you get close to the pit, radio in. AA-Twelve and I'll distract them up here."

"Huh?!" AA-12 yelped, realizing that the plan meant they would be willingly shot at.

RO ignored her, continuing her explanation. "While they're trying to shoot us, you and Sten push up. Chuck a grenade at the mortar tubes so they get demolished."

"Um…" Sten murmured, mustering the courage to speak aloud. "Won't that… kill them, though?"

RO pursed her lips, knowing that Sten had a problem with harming humans. She wasn't like Makarov, who'd had her limiters removed by the military. She wasn't like RO, a doll who'd never had such restrictions at all. Before Griffin, she'd been a baker. Like all other Autonomous Dolls in regular society, she'd been hardwired to never harm a human. Not even if it meant saving herself.

"It's just like the dossier, Sten. Sometimes, we have to hurt people." RO told her friend matter-of-factly. None of them were A-Dolls anymore, they couldn't afford to act like it. "Get going. We'll wait here for Wa and have her give us cover before we all move in."

"Understood. Come, Sten." Makarov quickly rattled. Sten gave RO one last concerned look, before she slipped off to follow their lieutenant.

"Uh… I don't gotta blow anyone up, right?" AA-12 asked. "Explosions're pretty uncivilized."

RO just stared at the girl, a loss for words at how that was her complaint. AA-12 shirked under the yellow doll's cold glare, deciding to keep her comments and concerns to herself as she turned to look back out towards the dugout.

The two sat still, with RO occasionally checking her HUD to see if WA2000 was nearly there or not. The sniper was still taking her time, being one of the slowest runners on the team even in good weather. It was frustrating, but RO would've preferred that WA got here safe than having to dodge the mortar shells and risk getting hurt.

RO's eyes then focused back on the mortars, her gaze narrowing as she saw the teams reading another salvo.

"Shit." RO cursed, activating her radio. "Makarov, they're getting set up to fire again. Are you ready?"

"Not quite. These bushes are thick, we had to go further around." Makarov reported.

RO cursed again, this time at the expense of the Collapse polluted wildlife. The rotten trees, shrubs and roots were good cover, but horrible to navigate.

Seeing the new set of mortar shells getting brought up, RO rose to her feet.

"What're you doing?!" AA-12 asked.

"Making sure they can't bomb Grizzly's squad." RO told the candy addict. "Wait for Wa. I'm gonna buy us time."

"Buh-. Hey, wait! Don't be an idiot!" AA-12 pleaded, to no avail. Despite herself, she stood up and jogged after her leader.

RO kicked off into the open, SMG slung as her left hand grabbed her bullhorn. She jogged out into the open field, a few of the bandits noticing her figure on approach. Many of them scrambled to their defenses, rifles ready as they started to scream and shout at her. No one opened fire, they all just seemed… confused. Demanding an answer.

They then brought their rifles up and opened fire.

AA-12 rushed up and her shields into the ground, letting the four of them link together as she took a knee in the dirt. RO soon joined her, flinching from the rounds that smacked against the new cover. The mortars' crews all had seemed to take up smaller arms against them, and they were both now the center of their attention.

"Thanks for the save!" RO yelled, pressing her back against the metal plates as she readied her bullhorn.

AA-12 hummed, opening up the medical bag that hung behind her back. She made sure that it hadn't been perforated, checking that all her supplies and her sweets remained intact. "You know, when they said Sangvis had pulled out of here, I thought it was gonna be quiet!"

"If it makes you feel better, it's quieter than when I first got here!" RO assured, trying to peek around the side with another round whizzed past her head.

AA-12 grumbled, when a thought came to her head. She then sat down next to RO, curling her feet closer to her chest. She flicked her gaze over to RO, then back up and over to the cloudless sky.

RO, meanwhile, decided to keep up the act. She turned her bullhorn on, turning it up to high volume before yelling out at the bandits.

"Attention! You are all in violation of Soviet Federal Code, Section Seven-hundred and forty six, subsection A through F!" RO barked through the bullhorn, the soundwave blast echoing over the bandits. A few of them winced, covering their ears as they were barraged by the sonic weapon.

"As contracted employees of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic, I am ordering you to drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!" RO continued to belt, watching on her map as Makarov and Sten's IFFs got closer to the flank. In spite of that, the bandits were beginning to recover. They continued to lay into the shields, battering the metal with bullet after bullet.

"Fine, brain damage it is." RO promised, twisting the dial on her bullhorn all the way to the right, past the store maximum and onto a custom setting she'd had installed before joining Griffin.

She took a deep breath, getting ready to scream as loud as she could.

"I. Said. HANDS!" RO screeched out, the snow infront of her rattling as the soundwaves punched out of her device. The force was like a miniature LRAD, 160 decibels of pain flying out and walloping the bandits. Most fell to the ground, clutching their ears and yelling out in agony. Those who were wearing headphones kept shooting, though with notably less accuracy.

RO then looked up at AA-12, smiling like a dork as she spun her megaphone like a pistol. AA-12 rolled her eyes, not believing that this was her new boss of all people. But that grumpiness fell aside, accepting that RO's plan was… technically working.

"Hey, uh… I never really got to introduce myself." AA-12 began.

"...Really? Now?" RO said as bullets continued to ping off their cover.

AA-12 groaned, sinking deeper into the dirt. "Hey, I'm trying here! It's not easy for me to talk to people!"

"Who tries to have a conversation during a firefight?!" RO asked, glaring at the shotgunner.

"Who has an argument during a firefight, huh?!" AA-12 tried to counter.

"I'm not arguing with you, I'm telling you that-!" RO began to say, when she noticed that their world had gone strangely quiet. "...Wait, they stopped shooting?"

Both dolls turned around, poking their heads over the shields like a pair of groundhogs. Five bandits were now slumped over the sandbags. One fresh hole in each of their heads, streams of red dripping down into the snow.

"If you're both done chatting, we can get back to work." WA2000 said over the radio, the sound of her weapon's bolt slamming shut filling their ears. "You're welcome, by the way. Jeez."

RO lifted a hand over in the direction of WA's IFF, giving her a thumbs up before grabbing her radio. "Makarov, Sten? Where are we on the grenades?!"

"We're approaching the truck now. Sten, toss the bomb inside." Makarov said over comms.

"I… um…" Sten nervously replied.

"Well?" Makarov asked.

"I don't know if I can toss it from here."

"Oh for goodness' sake-. Give it here!"

"Wait!" Sten said, a quick scuffle heard over the radio as Makarov took the explosives for herself. "M-makarov! Not that many!"

"What's going on over there?!" RO demanded, keeping low in case more of the bandits scraped themselves off the ground and started shooting despite WA's cover.

AA-12 opted to poke her head up instead, baggy eyes looking over the top of her shields to see Makarov running up from behind. Instead of a single grenade, the handgunner seemed to have mugged Sten for her entire belt. Six grenades dangling, one of which Makarov kept her finger around the pin.

But she didn't throw the grenade into the mortar pit.

Instead, she went for the more destructive route. Going over to the trunk carrying the mortar shells. She then ripped the pin loose, before tossing the entire belt of bombs into the back and sprinting like hell away from the truck.

"Uh… Ro? We should run!" AA-12 decided, figuring that her shields wouldn't be enough to stop the incoming shockwave.

RO saw AA-12's expression, instantly putting two and two together as she jumped up and grabbed AA-12.

"Go, go go!" She yelled, using her body's speed to try and drag AA-12 along and out of danger Everyone scattered, using all the energy they could to avoid the massive explosion that was soon to come.

Then it came. The deafening, earthquaking 'BOOM' made what seemed like the whole world rattle.

---

(18:50)

SVD looked behind her as a loud bang went off in the horizon, followed by a large white puff flying into the air. M4A1, AR-15, and AK-74M each did the same, taken off guard by such a monumental explosion.

They all stayed quiet, hunkering in place. Whatever the hell that was, they had bigger problems coming.

Half an hour earlier, Santiago reported that what looked to be about a platoon's worth of bandits were marching south in the direction of the stopped convoy. Their intents were obvious; To reclaim the goods they had rightfully stolen. With the mortar support they had brought up ahead of time, they probably thought it was an ace in the hole.

SVD turned back in the direction the bandits were marching from, smiling to herself. These poor, dumb bastards.

Hsu had told them what was coming, ordering the four dolls into this position so they would be able to intercept them as they walked through the snow-laden field. It was going to be a lopsided fight, four against forty. But they had the element of surprise, and not having to be covered in protective gear to be able to fight in this much radiation.

M4A1 stayed low in the brush, worry etched into her expression. SVD took note, offering a nurturing smile to the doll. "Relax, child. We'll make quick work of these marauders."

AR-15 scoffed, annoyed at M4's visible weakness and SVD's bravado. "I'm sure that outdated rifle of yours is gonna do great."

"It is the woman, not the weapon." SVD told Anti-Rain's boisterous sharpshooter, before shushing the girl as their targets came into view.

It was a mob of adversaries, all marching in an unorganized horde. Their patchwork, pilfered radiation suits reflecting an ugly contrast against the bleak silver snow. Each one of them carried different weapons, from rifles to SMGs to shotguns to even a few rocket launchers. These bandits had been here for quite some time, and they'd become well equipped. Likely raiding convoys and armories across the region, before retreating into the security of the exclusion zone where few would pursue.

SVD watched them walk, picking out specific targets. The bandits who walked with a purpose, yelling at the others and domineering with their presence. The leadership was clear and obvious, both through their attitude and the fact that they seemed to hoard the nicer equipment for themselves. Whereas most of the other raiders clutched onto weapons from the Cold War, or even World War 2, a special handful toted modern firearms.

"We are very lucky that they are so fucking stupid." SVD mused, taking aim with her rifle. The others did the same, but the oldest among them lifted her hand. "No. Not until I tell you too."

"You're going to eliminate all of them?" AR-15 asked in disbelief, thinking SVD had gone senile.

"We won't need too." SVD assured. Each of the younger girls looked at the sniper, confused. They complied with her order, weapons lowering once again as SVD made ready.

Then, she opened fire.

A man up front holding an AK-12's head burst open, red splattering onto the snow as his body fell over limp. Next, she put a hole in the chest of a man holding a PKP. Then another 'brave' bandit who began to take aim with an RPG, the rocket launcher firing as he took the hit. The backblast tore into two people behind him, burning them through their radiation suits as they also fell and rolled on the ground.

Realizing what was happening, the bandits began to duck for cover. Hiding behind rocks, berms and brush as they tried to figure out where SVD was hiding. AR-15 brought her weapon up once more, but yet again SVD lifted a hand to stop the doll. SVD then grabbed her radio, speaking into it.

"Chorno for Kaiserin, are you in position?" SVD called out.

"That we are, Frauline." Kar responded in a chipper tone. "Did you eliminate the headmen?"

"Not all of them. Do you see the two in the back, with the Scar rifles?"

"Hm… yes! One moment." Kar confirmed.

SVD brought her weapon up, peering through her scope to see the final two senior bandits hiding behind a rock. One was barely poking his head up, trying to figure out where the hell they were being shot from.

A round then punched through the back of his head, causing him to slump over against the stone. The final remaining bandit stood up, trying to run like hell. Another 8mm round cracked off, catching him in the brain as well before his body slammed into the snow.

"Done. Sturmgewher, if you would?" Kar asked her Lieutenant, as if requesting a TV remote.

"At once." StG44 assured.

Seconds after, a series of explosions began to dot the field. Kicking up snow and dirt, blinding the bandits who remained alive. They still outnumbered the Griffin dolls heavily, even with both teams working with one another.

But they didn't need to know that.

Seeing the opportunity, SVD called out to the rest of her detachment. "Open fire!"

Jarred into action, the assault rifle dolls complied. Each brought their weapon out, firing into the field through the snow and muck. Their vision was also impaired, most of their rounds missing the surviving bandits. But that didn't seem to be the point.

As SVD had said, they didn't need to eliminate them.

The bandits began to panic, breaking out of cover and running for their lives back the way they came. A few fired wild shots in every direction, trying in vain to defend themselves as Griffin rounds snapped over their heads and past their bodies. The horde had broken into a full route, only a few coming back for the wounded before they too sprinted away.

SVD grabbed her radio, calling out again. "Cease fire! Cease fire. They've had enough."

The shooting died down with that call, M4 watching as the bandit's terrified forms disappeared over the horizon. There were still dozens of them, holding their weapons. Many had likely not fired a shot, or even seen where they were being shot from. When she looked out over the killzone, there were less than ten bodies still laying under the setting sun. The snow around them grew redder and redder as they bled out.

"A trick I learned in the war. One that Kar and Seventy-Four are likely aware of as well." SVD told her juniors, reloading her rifle and setting her empty magazine in her pouch. "Officers. Then the Sergeants. Then the Corporals. Then after that, you kill whoever is stupid enough not to run."

"...We could've helped." AR-15 begrudgingly said, rising to her feet.

SVD watched the girl stand up, unimpressed by her attitude.

"You'll thank me later."

---

(19:10)

Back at the convoy, the Blackhawks had finally returned and made their landing.

Grizzly's team jumped into action, not wanting to waste the window that the other dolls had opened for them. They began to offload the weapons and ammunition from the trucks, transferring them over to be airlifted away. Next, the bandits they had taken prisoner, dragging each one over and strapping them to the chairs with handcuffs locked onto their wrists. After that, they waited, guarding the helicopters as they kept watch for the return of RO's group.

MP-448 stood where Makarov had before, her scout sensor active as she scanned for Griffin IFFs. Her fury from being kicked in the face had subsided once the artillery stopped. It went away entirely when that white mushroom cloud punched into the sickly colored sky. Grizzly had tried to hail RO's team several times, but all they'd gotten back was static.

But eventually, their IFFs appeared in the distance. All five of them.

Each doll came into view, marching side by side with their weapons slung. RO and AA-12 looked absolutely shellshocked, their hair a complete mess with cuts across their clothing and faces. Sten looked a little better, though her beret was notably burnt and her face was covered in soot. WA2000 was the only one who looked untouched, though she was helping a damaged Makarov walk. The handgunner was missing a leg, only being able to move thanks to the sniper's support.

"They're here!" MP-448 shouted behind her, before running out towards the returning echelon. Grizzly and MCX followed after her, seeing the absolute state that each of them was in. RO lost her step, but Grizzly moved to catch her and guide her over to the transports. MCX took Sten under wing, coaxing the deafened girl over so she could be assessed. AA-12 followed behind Sten, smelling caramels in the English girl's pocket.

MP-448 went over to WA, bowing her head.

"I'll help her." She told the sniper. "Thank you. Please head aboard."

WA's eyes bounced between Makarov and MP-448, not sure if letting the handgunner take Makarov was the right choice. MP-448 decided to make the choice for her, slipping herself between the two and taking Makarov's arm over her shoulders. WA took the hint, pulling her rifle back out and moving to guard the landing zone.

MP-448 grunted, straining as she got used to the added weight. She then started carefully walking towards the helicopters, making sure not to cause anymore harm onto the injured girl.

Makaro groaned, looking to her side. "...Maxi…?"

"I'm here. I'm… I'm here." MP-448 assured. "Let me do the work. Keep your balance on your good leg."

Makarov murmured something, but did as she was told. Drips of coolant fell out of the blown off leg, wires and torn metal where her left ankle had been.

"...I wanted to stop you from leaving." Makarov insisted, saying what she had wanted to say before the mortar attack. MP-448 scoffed, not believing it. Her sister must be delusional, it was the only way to explain why she would say such things.

"Then why didn't you?" MP-448 asked her, bitter as ever.

Makarov's digimind worked in overdrive, trying to function through all of the damage alerts. All of the pain her sensors pulsed through her neural cloud, reminding her again and again that she had suffered critical damage.

"You deserved… better." Makarov admitted. MP-448 stopped, looking down at her older sister. She examined her face, trying to find any proof in her expression that Makarov was lying, but she couldn't find anything. All that looked back at her was an old, tired, damaged doll.

"...Do they make you happy?" Makarov asked her.

MP-448 gulped, looking out and over to the rest of her team. Each was busy with their tasks, helping out where they could. Only MCX looked back over, halfway through applying sealant to a hole in Sten's neck. The tattooed girl smirked, seeing that the two siblings seemed to finally be willingly next to each other.

MP-448 smiled back, lifting her free hand and giving the girl a small wave. "...Yes. Yes, they do."

Makarov closed her eyes as she felt herself slipping into recovery mode. Her core was intact. Her memories would be intact. Everything, up to and including this moment. Something she'd resigned herself to never being able to say out loud. The sound of the helicopter rotors was too much, now.

They made her want to go to sleep.

Before she powered down entirely, she could feel herself smile. Despite the pain, the strain and the looming darkness, she finally felt… satisfied. For the first time in years.

MP-448 brought the now sleeping handgunner onto the helicopter, strapping her now sleeping chassis down into a chair. It was then that MP-448 saw something she hadn't seen in years, since the days when she and Makarov had lived in Moscow. Before Makarov left the FSB, before she signed on for Griffin.

Her older sister, at peace with herself.

---

A/N: New near, new chapter. Nothing much to say this time, see you all next month.

o/