(01/12/56 | 08:46)
"Order eighty-six!" Sten called out from over the counter, shoving a plate of steaming fresh scones out the kitchen porthole.
Another morning before the daily contracts started up, which meant the girls of Sector 09 were once again going through their morning routines. A common nexus point had become Springfield's Cafe, with many dolls opting to have their breakfasts there instead of at the base's mess hall.
On the surface, it seemed like a silly idea. Food from the mess hall was free. G36, though she refused to allow any kind of custom orders, still made sure there was enough variety that something in the buffet would interest all who went, but going to Springfield's cafe meant they could have Springfield's coffee, which had dug its claws into every man and woman on base. On top of that, Sten had joined the crew, which meant that the cafe had a professional baking doll pumping out made-to-order pastries, muffins, donuts, breads, anything anyone would ask for in the morning.
Throw in the fact that the mess hall was closed today due to G36's absence, it meant everyone was now here.
Ordering. Waiting. Bribing their way further ahead in the line.
Said line was so long, it reached the baggage claim floor below them.
BAR shuffled over to the counter, grabbing the tray from Springfield herself as she passed it on. She then scuttled out of the way, moving over to a table where M1 Garand was waiting. The younger blonde was trying to work through a crossword puzzle on her tablet.
"Anyone ever tell you that you've got the same hobbies as an old lady?" BAR commented, setting the tray down in the center of their table before reclaiming her seat.
"Coming from an actual old lady, I'll take that as a compliment." Garand clapped back, smirking as she saw BAR fume at the dig at her age. Garand grabbed her coffee off of the tray, before offering the tablet to her teammate across the table. "Ever give it a shot? They're a fun way to pass the time."
BAR rolled her eyes, snatching the tablet and reading the last clue that Garand had been working on. "'Thirteen letter word that can also mean free?' Why don't you just google the answer with your neural cloud?"
"That ruins the entire point of the game!" Garand protested.
"I'm just sayin', we can search the internet with our brains. May as well take advantage." BAR said, pointing out the obvious. She placed the tablet back in the center of the table. "You know what I think? I think you do this so people don't think you're Blonde."
Garand cocked a brow at her teammate. "We both have blonde hair? What?"
"Yeah, but I look normal. You look like an expensive stripper with those two basketballs strapped to your chest." BAR fired back, going right for Garand's throat. "So to compensate for that, you act all brainy because you don't want people to think you've got fewer brain cells than knockers."
"...Anyone ever told you that you're a bitch, Jill?" Garand asked, soundly gobsmacked by the slander.
"Don't call me old." BAR demanded before pouring syrup onto her waffles.
Garand huffed in defeat, taking her tablet back and checking the screen. "The answer's 'Complimentary', by the way."
"Greaaaat." BAR said, slicing up her breakfast before she began to chow down. Both dolls enjoyed their food and drinks, earning hungry gazes from those who were still confined to the line waiting for their food. One of those lost souls popped their head out, making their way over to the two Americans' table.
"Yo, Genny!" K11 called as she came over, stealing a donut off of the sharpshooter's plate. "You got the memo from Khan?"
"Yeah, yeah. We're all set for the annual deep maintenance cycles." Garand assured, looking up from her tablet and over to K11. "You gave Sopmod the rundown, right?"
K11 nodded as she scarfed down the donut, wiping her mouth clean with the sleeve of her messy shirt. "You sure letting her be an assistant at the bay's a good idea?"
Garand shrugged. "Assad's fine with it, and she's a pretty amazing engineer."
"Also completely batshit insane…"
Garand scoffed, turning back to toy with her crossword puzzle once again. "Not sure if the lady who tried to make a zombie dinergate army's got anything to say."
"Hey, hey! That was science." K11 protested indignantly, slipping around the corner so she stood between Garand and BAR. "I wouldn't try any experiments on one of our dolls!"
"And you think Sop would?"
"I've seen the stuff she's done to her own chassis!" K11 said, knowing how often the AR team's grenadier would make new body parts out of salvaged Sangvis scrap.
"Yeah, her's, not anyone else's." Garand pointed out, never having seen SOPMOD try to force her 'quirks' on anyone but herself. "She's a good person, Grace. Just… eccentric."
K11 grumbled, visibly unconvinced despite Garand's vote of confidence. "Fine, fine, fine. But if she tries to do any of that weird body-mod stuff to me, I'm gonna shoot her with my grenade launcher."
"No weapons in the bay. Especially after the Napalm incident." Garand ordered, wagging her tablet's stylus at the chemist.
K11 groaned at the blonde, annoyed at how much of a killjoy the American was. Even if she was Khan's right hand woman, it was bafflingly annoying how seriously Garand took her on-base duties. She was a one-woman OSHA crew and lorded over everyone to make sure they never did anything 'unsafe' or 'out of protocol'.
As she looked back over the table, however, K11 noticed a passiveness that overtook BAR. The machine gunner continued to play with her food, pushing her scrambled eggs back and forth across the pieces of toast they rested upon.
"Uh, you good Bar?" K11 finally asked.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah-." BAR asked, flicking her gaze up and quickly nodding. "Hey, I just remembered that Thompson asked me to do some prep work before we left for our contract today."
"We've got a contract today?" Garand asked, having sworn that her team was being kept in reserve for the next three days as she and M14 were needed in the engineering bay alongside K11 and SOPMOD.
"It's a small job that Annie and I are gonna knock out in the city. Just gonna guard one of the malls for a few hours." BAR assured as she stood up from her seat.
Garand remained confused, not having remembered that Thompson had asked for help on that job. But before she could ask more questions, BAR stood up and disappeared out the cafe door. Her breakfast platter remained on the table, mostly untouched.
Seeing the other American abandon her platter, K11 swooped in from the other side and claimed the meal for her own. She speared a chunk of waffles with a fork and tossed it into her mouth.
"Sho, sheesh in ah weird mud." K11 said, mouth full of her stolen goods.
"Could you say that without being totally disgusting?" Garand asked.
K11 shrugged, snatching BAR's coffee before washing the food down. "I said, she's in a weird mood. Any idea what's goin' on?"
Garand tapped a finger on the table, having the ghost of an idea why, but it wasn't something she was going to spread around base like some kind of gossip girl. So instead of answering, she stood up as well, gathering her food before going around the table and grabbing K11 by the arm.
"Come on, we need to go help with the D-Day setup." Garand reminded, dragging the chemist off.
"Hey, hey, at least let me finish!" K11 pleaded, grabbing hold of strategically acquired goods as she was yoinked off of her seat and over to the cafe exit. A few people waiting in line watched the two mismatched dolls make their exit, Garand begging their pardon as she guided them both through the still extremely long line.
Contract or not, there was work to do.
(Kyiv City Center | 09:21)
Along the banks of the Dnieper, Kyiv's historic Pechersky District stood in the shadow of the new age skyscrapers.
The city had faced rebuilding many times in its long history, from the end of the October Revolution in the 1900s to the Ukrainian Civil War that had precluded its reannexation into the reborn Soviet Union. Though in each cycle of reconstruction, the core of the Kyiv white zone was left as close as it could be. The buildings here were a reflection of a bygone era the age before. Before dolls, before collapse radiation, before the fall and resurrection of the Iron Curtain.
There stood the old Ukrainian Rada building, having been repurposed as the new headquarters for the Ukrainian Neo-Soviet Republic. Hundreds of Government workers milled in and out daily, carrying out the banal tasks that kept a country going.
Banal. Boring. Utterly mind numbing. That was how Hsu would describe his current predicament. Yet again, the Commander found himself in the Rada. Yet again, he sat at a table having to present himself to another hearing.
Yet again, Hsu wanted to shoot himself.
After the catastrophe of Sector 11's last contract, the local Government had been kicked into another frenzy. Another assignment had gone sideways, so soon after the Minister of Agriculture had been kidnapped by tactical dolls who weren't even supposed to be operating in the country. So of course, the rest of the cabinet wanted answers.
At least this time, he wasn't alone.
Vice Director Helian sat next to Hsu, looking just as tuned out and miserable as her subordinate. Between the rising violence in the sector and the threat to Griffin's contract, she'd made a trip down to the city to try and assuage the local government's fears, but before she could do that, she had to sit through these hearings. Hearings that were usually reserved for politicians to throw punches their way with limited chance to retort.
And the cabinet wasn't pulling any of those punches.
"Millions of rubles of equipment, gone. Several Svarog transports, damaged or destroyed. The only thing recovered was surplus rifles and ammunition." A balding, middle aged man rattled off. "Mister Hsu, you've yet to provide ample reason to this committee as to why you refused to reclaim the rest of the lost shipment."
"I made my reasons clear, Minister Laputina." Hsu responded in a droning voice, pulling the microphone closer to him so he knew these retirees could hear him. "The rest of the shipment had been moved into downtown Pripyat. I would've been sending my teams into urban warfare with no recon, no intel and a rifle probably waiting in every window."
"You use doll infantry, Mister Hsu. Any losses can be regained in a week." The Minister shot back.
Hsu grimaced as he felt another migraine come on, still in disbelief that G36 forced him to stay sober for this. "Destroyed assets cannot recover stolen goods, Sir."
"So you're saying your company is incapable of completing contracts?"
"I'm saying we're not miracle workers." Hsu cautiously corrected, knowing that the slimy old coot was trying to bait him into a trap. "Even if I had every Griffin doll in Ukraine available at that moment, we'd still be fighting a battle with well armed bandits of unknown strength with two platoons worth of light infantry. That's not something that can be done without extensive preparation."
"I didn't know we paid mercenaries for excuses now." The balding man jeered, but Hsu didn't continue the back and forth. Instead he glanced over at Helian, pleading for the woman to tap in and spare him from this.
Helian pulled her microphone over, reactivating the device. "Griffin was contracted in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic with the understanding that we would be working in tandem with the local Government for high risk contracts. In accordance with Soviet and International law, our company lacks any kind of artillery, armour or any explosives beyond grenades. We cannot carry out the same tasks as a conventional military."
"Which again, would not be required if the shipment had not been intercepted while in your company's care!" The politician continued to press.
Helian, ever unimpressed, pulled a piece of paper out of her dossier. She then slid it to the right, placing it under a scanning lamp which sent a projection onto each of the Ministers' desks.
"That is the intelligence report provided by the Sevastopol Reconstruction Authority. In that report, they did not only assure that the path that Commander Orlov took was secure, they demanded its use." Helian told the overseeing group. "This was also done while ignoring Commander Hsu's standing protocol to not carry out any contracts or operations in Yellow or Red zones without his direct oversight. A protocol that has been made known to this Counsel since we renegotiated Griffin's terms in leasing the airfield on the outskirts of Kyiv."
The previously raving Minister took pause, reading over the projection with a furrowed brow. He then looked down the line to his flank, glaring at a man with darker complexion and a full brown mustache. "Minister Chubarov, did your settlement send these documents?"
The middle aged Tartar looked puzzled. Surprised, even. He flipped through each of the pages, reading each one. He then pulled out a tablet, checking the registration number on the files within his own Ministry's archives.
"I suppose they must have." The man admitted, looking over to the Governor in particular. "However I do not remember authorizing these directives. My office only hired Griffin to guard the transport. There was no required path."
"Are you telling me your own Ministry is giving mercenaries orders without you knowing?" The original balding man asked, face going red as he jumped to his feet and screeched at his colleague. "Are you an idiot?!"
"Enough." The Governor said, the bearded man sitting in the center of all the presiding cabinet members. He adjusted his microphone, staring down both Hsu and Helian. The Governor then reactivated his mic, a pitched whine echoing through the chamber before he spoke once more. "I feel it's time to take a break. My decision will be announced once we return at the turn of the hour."
Given permission, both Hsu and Helian rose to their feet. The two Griffin officers made their way out of the chambers and into the neighboring hallway. Hsu winced as his migraine grew in strength, pain flashing like an elephant's trunk trying to squeeze his head.
Outside, G36 and Bren awaited both. The pair were sitting on a bench idly chatting about something or other. Bren in particular was telling some long story from her time in the Army when she caught both of their charges approaching.
G36 followed her friend's gaze, then rose to her feet. She then bowed before both of the humans as they came to a halt before them. "Lady Helian, Commander Hsu. I hope the hearing has progressed in our favor?"
"Think we might've reached a turning point." Hsu observed, slipping a hand into a pocket of his great coat as he turned to Helian. "Did you know they didn't know about the file?"
"Well, when Orlov and I tried to get in contact with the official who sent that report, we were told he was 'unavailable.' That was enough of a red flag." Helian explained, removing her monocle and taking a rag out to polish the glass. "Truthfully I thought they were trying to lay the whole affair at your feet. Turns out they're just incompetent."
Bren scoffed. "From what I've heard, that incompetence includes some from our side of the barrister."
"Bren, please…" G36 lectured, not wanting to speak ill of the young Commander in question.
"No, she's right." Hsu interjected, before focusing on Helian once more. "Did Personnel get my disciplinary report?"
"They did. She'll be reassigned to a sector in Anatolia." Helian confirmed, slipping her eyewear on. "Surprised you only requested a transfer, most Territorial Commanders would have called for her termination."
Hsu shrugged, before gesturing to G36. "I was split on the choice. Gretel convinced me to just have her transferred."
"Really?" Helian asked, her focus changing over to the Bavarian maid. "Now why did you do that, dear?"
"Everyone deserves a chance to right their errors." G36 said, never really a fan of 'final' punishments.
The point of corrective action was to correct, not only to punish.
Bren scoffed, not believing such stupidity deserves second chances, but Helian herself seemed to find herself in agreement, smirking at G36. "Well, it helps that she had high marks in her tactical training. And that her father is the current Chairman for Gazprom."
"You're getting ideas, aren't you milady?" Bren said, dread coloring her tone.
"There's no such thing as too many friends." Helian assured, turning around to watch some of the court clerks start to file out of the hearing's chamber. "Speaking of which, any Ministers you know who'd be interested in a quick parlay?"
"I only ever speak to the Governor. Kalina handles the talking heads." Hsu informed.
Helian turned back around, looking at her subordinate with bated disbelief. "God's bones… Matthew, you're Territorial Commander now. We expect you to liaise with local persons of importance. Is it really too much to ask for you to be a wee bit social?"
Hsu said nothing, just keeping his usual deadpanned stare down at his boss. Bren took G36 by the arm, pulling her a few feet back as she got both of them out of the impending blast radius. As she tugged the maid away, Helian pressed a pointed finger against the center of Hsu's chest.
"You're daft, you know that?" Helian told the man, pushing against him harder as he opened his mouth to speak. "No, don't talk. I winnae listen to you to give me excuses. You're an eejit and that's final."
"What's that say about the person who put me in this position?" Hsu shot back, annoyed at Helian's slander. Such was his second mistake, with Helian's hand then shooting up and grabbing the knot of his necktie. She then dragged the man down so that they were both eye-level with one another, keeping a strong hold on the tie so he couldn't budge without straining himself.
"Come again? I don't think I heard yae properly."
"N-nothing, ma'am." Hsu said, trying to backpedal out of the incoming dressing down. Sadly for him, it didn't work. The Scotswoman began raving like a banshee, calling him a social recluse in every insulting way she knew possible.
G36 smiled at first, but then grew more and more disconcerted as Helian's wraith only seemed to compound as her ranting continued to devolve further and further into an irate string of consciousness. "Should I intercede?"
Bren chuckled darkly, knowing there was no saving the man now. "Would you believe me if I told you this is how she acts when she cares about someone's well being?"
"I'd say that only makes me worry more." G36 answered.
Bren shrugged, still visibly enjoying the show. "Well, now you know why she never gets more than one date."
G36 adjusted her gaze as she saw a few of the Ministers file out of the hearing chamber, followed by the Governor himself. The old, bearded man made his way over to where the dolls stood, very willingly ignoring the two Griffin officer's 'discussion'.
The maid turned to face the new arrival, curtsying for him as she snapped into business mode. "Governor Mazepa, hello. Do you wish to speak with the Commander?"
"If he would be so kind." The Governor said, flashing his yellowed smoker teeth as he smiled. He took one of G36's hands in both of his own. "But, before I forget. My wife is still waiting on those cooking lessons you promised."
G36 smiled back at the man, ever grateful by how friendly he seemed to treat dolls compared to his contemporaries. "A good maid's work is never done, Sir, but if Herr Hsu would permit it, I would be happy to assist her tomorrow."
"The sooner the better, child. Christmas is next month, after all!" The Governor said with a jolly chuckle. G36 graciously retracted her hand, bowing her head in agreement before the older man went over to the still ongoing Battle of the Commonwealth. "Commander Hsu! Vice Director Cameron! May I interfere?"
Both Griffin employees turned their heads, promptly decoupling as if they'd been caught in the middle of a rendezvous. Hsu fixed up his necktie, before focusing up on the newcomer.
"Should we head to your office, Sir?" Hsu asked the man, cheeks still flush from embarrassment.
"That would be best, yes. We have much to discuss." The Governor requested, gesturing down the hall. He didn't pry into what he'd just seen, something Hsu was grateful for as he quickly retreated alongside the older man. G36 followed him, bidding a rushed farewell to both Helian and Bren.
Helian kept glaring at the man until he rounded the corner, waiting until he was finally out of sight to break character.
"That man is going to turn me into a nutter." Helian said with a sigh, before pointing at Bren "Don't. You. Dare."
"But of course milady." Bren said innocently, knowing she didn't have to.
Helian groaned, turning around and marching off in the direction of the Ministers. "Come on, let's find out what that idiot from Sevastopol knows."
(Sector 09 Engineering Building | 09:32)
Back at the Sector's engineering bay, prepwork for the day's long schedule was finally wrapping up.
During the first days of each month, the Tactical Dolls were subject to routine maintenance. Chassis testing, basic digimind scans, uploading neural cloud backups, and so on. Generally a quick check to make sure everything was up to code, and to schedule further servicing if something was found that needed immediate remedy.
But not today. Today was the first of December.
Digimind Day.
Once every year, across the Company, every doll went through this process. Each would lie down on a service bed, then be placed into stasis before entering a deep sleep. From there, engineers would examine their neural clouds from top to bottom. Assessing its integrity, applying software updates and patches, repairing memory leaks and compiling a list of any and all ailments that each individual doll experienced or was at risk of experiencing.
One could think of it similarly to an annual physical performed by a human doctor. Except these would take hours at the minimum, and would find everything going right and wrong for each doll. It was the most important day of the year for the bay. Where the health and wellness of all of their coworkers would be tested, treated and improved.
Which only served to make K11 even less happy about the new… 'intern.'
SOPMOD was currently running back and forth around the shop, carrying different pieces of equipment and bringing them over to the engineers as they completed some last minute repairs on the backup server. The AR doll had been giddy since she got here, treating the bay like an amusement park as she hopped from station to station getting instruction from the human engineers. All these new devices she'd never seen in the bay before, especially with how she'd only come here before for welding equipment.
K11, meanwhile, sulked behind a laptop as she tried to ignore SOP's yelling. This wasn't supposed to be 'fun' or 'entertaining', it was a serious day that could have big implications for many of the girls. They'd be placing their memories in their hands, along with the very nature of their digiminds.
I mean, sure, K11 tended to goof off plenty herself, but there was a method to her madness. She was a genius! A scientific artist, using chemistry and software to create new inventions that would help lead doll-kind into a golden age! She wasn't some over hyper brat with attention issues who tried to… always… be in the spotlight…
Oh God, is this how AUG felt every day?
As K11 began to slip into an identity crisis, Garand and M14 sat in Khan's office as they spoke with the man. His new abode was just as much of a trash-heap as the old Sector 09 outpost, with food wrappers and disposables littering the floor and ground. He'd moved yet another cot into the office, ensuring that he'd spend more nights sleeping in here than an actual bed. Springfield had continued to try and get Garand and M14 to change his mind, but the man seemed to enjoy 'living' like this.
"Thanks, Kalina. Good luck with the budget reports." Khan said, ending a call with the base's Chief of Logistics before letting the phone fall down onto a utility knife cutting mat. "Bar's still scheduled for her Digimind procedures today. Kalina gave Thompson and Springfield the job, not her."
Garand sunk in her chair, her fears confirmed despite wanting to hear otherwise. M14 was perplexed, unsure as to why Garand seemed so distraught.
"So… what do we do? Should we reschedule?" M14 asked.
Khan shook his head firmly. "We've already booked up the week, everyone has to come in for their procedures when they're assigned."
"Maybe she can just skip this one? Auntie Bar seems to be as sharp as ever." M14 said, not finding the situation to be urgent. Most dolls loathed maintenance days.
Both Khan and Garand shared a guilty glance, both of them realizing that M14 wasn't aware of BAR's recent milestone.
"Fourteen…" Garand said, sitting back up and looking her cousin dead in the eye. "September was BAR's twentieth anniversary of being assembled."
"Oh!" M14 said, lighting up like a christmas tree before she slouched again. "Uhhhh, I don't get it. We already knew that Auntie was really old."
Khan reached across his desk, pulling out a binder of files labeled 'DIGIMIND SCANS'. He began to flick through it errantly, going to the latest maintenance period BAR had undergone before today. Meanwhile, Garand began to explain what the situation meant to M14.
"Right, so, you know how an Autonomous Doll's service life is about twenty years, right?" Garand began slowly, tone resembling a grade school teacher's.
M14 rapidly nodded. "Yeah, of course! But that's because most doll owners can't afford to maintain us."
Garand smiled, leaning over to ruffle M14's hair. "Someone's been reading her homework. Good job."
M14 giggled at her cousin's affection, but her attention snapped back to the situation at hand. "So… we're supposed to last longer than normal dolls. Why is twenty years still a problem?"
That was when Khan found what he was looking for, pulling out three pictures. He kept two flipped over, but one on the far left faced the dolls. It was a large purple circle in the center of the page, with lighter rings echoing out from the core. The object was fuzzy, as if it was radiating heat. Like a lavender sun against a dark blue backdrop.
"This is a scan of the digimind belonging to one of our T-Dolls. Particularly, a post war doll who's had very comprehensive maintenance during her life cycle." Khan explained, tapping the center of the picture. "Notice how the scan looks stable, yeah? No real irregularities, not noticeable damage."
Khan then flipped over the page in the middle, revealing a second digimind scan. This circle seemed far more blurry, the circle's edge having several divots and diggs around its circumference.
"This belongs to a doll who's about fifteen years old. No catastrophic damage before joining Griffin, but she had a five year period without any maintenance done beyond her chassis." He explained, before running his finger along the outside of the circle. "You can see the outer rim of her digimind showing signs of decay. Nothing she can feel, yet. Now that she's with us, we can slow the decay and ensure she remains online beyond her projected lifespan."
Finally, Khan's hand went to flip the page on the right. This final scan showed the most clear damage, with even larger divots being dug into the edge of the sphere. The rings within the digimind were distorted so much that they appeared like zigzags, the whole picture seeming almost three-dimensional with how textured it appeared..
"This… is a doll who was conscripted into the War. Five recorded instances of catastrophic damage, with two of those cases requiring installation into a new body. Twenty one years since being shipped from the factory." Khan explained with a sigh, glancing at his assistant. "I don't think I need to tell you who this is."
"SVD…" Garand muttered, pulling the final scan over so she could analyze it further. She thought back to when the old doll was here last, hooked up to the recompiling server as her neural cloud was treated and stabilized. Garand felt guilt lash at her heart, regretting how she'd spoken to the woman while she was in their care.
"So. How bad is Bar's?" Garand asked, passing the piece of paper over to M14. Khan immediately shook his head.
"Bad enough that you two need to get her here sharpish." Khan said, an uncharacteristic sense of urgency in his town. "K-Eleven and Sop can help us with the first group today, but I need Bar in one of those chairs before dusk. Can I count on you both?"
"Of course you can!" M14 said immediately, shooting out of her chair. "Even if Auntie's an annoying old stick in the mud, she's still our friend! We have to help her!"
Garand rose as well, though slower than M14. A plan was beginning to form in her digimind. "Have IWS hail Thompson and Springfield. They've probably already left for their job, but we could use their advice."
"What? Why would we need advice? We know Bar!"
"We've only known her for a year, Fourteen. They've known her for a decade." Garand pointed out.
"Smart idea. I'll tell'er to expect you right away." Khan assured, grabbing his phone and punching in the routing number for the base's Command Center.
Garand and M14 scurried out, not wanting to waste a moment.
(Kyiv City Center | 09:45)
Hsu groaned from exertion as he settled into his seat.
The Governor's office had become a familiar sight to him over the past few months. Time and time again he'd come here, or to the man's personal estate in the depths of the white zone, reporting to him on the progress of different operations in Ukraine. Every other week it felt like, since his promotion and his sector's transfer to the city.
The office itself was less for work and more of a place to treat guests, regardless. Old world luxury leather seats, large windows which faced the river, clean cut woodwork lining the walls. A few statues of various Soviet leaders, and an obscenely large ornate cabinet filled to the brim with top shelf booze.
This was, by far, Hsu's favorite room in this entire building. Peace, quiet, and good whiskey. All of which he needed, given the ever growing migraine.
Governor Mazepa did just that, fixing his guest a drink and passing it over to him. The old native then pulled out a half empty bottle of Horilka, filling up his own glass and dropping an ice cube in before sitting across from the Commander.
"That Helian has quite a way with words. One quick thrust and she manages to drive the entire cabinet into a feeding frenzy." The Governor jabbed. "I imagine she is not an easy woman to work for."
Hsu sighed, swirling this glass of liquor as he hesitated to partake. He knew the situation was grim, and he knew that the man sitting in front of him was the best chance to survive it. Even if he'd told Khan he was going to avoid doing the Government's errands, it looked like he didn't have a choice, unless he never wanted to see one of their contracts again.
"Orlov followed the instructions given to her by the Reconstruction Authority. They told her the path was clear." Hsu pointed out, drumming his fingers against the crystalline glass. "They're using her as a scapegoat."
"They expected her to live up to the standard that your detachment has set, Commander." The Governor reminded, wagging a finger. "Griffin's division in Ukraine has done very well, up until the past few weeks."
Hsu grimaced, before finally giving into his urges as he knocked back the whole glass. The numbing sensation of the liquor hit him slowly, the headache becoming background noise. Still there, still prodding. But pushed to the side, enough for him to ignore it.
"So they're angry about this, they're angry about Minister Kulakov being abducted by those unknown mercs." Hsu recalled, trying to decipher the grievances that the politicians had against him and Griffin. "Both cases we did what we were told, and worked with what we had. I'm starting to think they're looking for excuses to make us look like idiots."
"You're closer to the truth than you think." The Governor admitted, rising to his feet as he went over to the window. The rising morning sun dawned through the glass, casting a long shadow that reached to the far side of the room. Long enough that it dwarfed the Commander, Hsu slouching forwards in his seat.
"They don't trust you for many reasons, Commander. You, a former Allied officer working for a Private Military Company that is owned by one of the Soviet Union's greatest heroes from the Second Great Patriotic War." The Governor told him, face shrouded in darkness as the beams of light wrapped around him. "They look at you and they ask, 'what is he doing here? What is he fighting for? What is he loyal too?'"
"I'm here for a job, I fight for a living, and I work for whichever check clears that won't put me in a gulag." Hsu said, repeating the line he'd come to live by.
"Spoken like a true mercenary!" The Governor said with a chuckle, indulging in his own drink. "Tell me, what do you know about the factions within the government here?"
"I try to avoid politics."
"Which is the reason why you have no allies, and little trust." The Governor chastised. "You are a wild card, Commander. You and your company are loyal to nothing but coin, which means everyone in that room sees you as… unreliable."
Hsu said nothing. Merely remaining slouched over, elbows resting on his knees as he kept his gaze aimed at the darkened face of his host.
"The factions in this city are quick to ignore civility." The Governor informed as he paced back to the seats. "Just like the Agricultural Minister, his replacement is conveniently from a rival clique."
"Are you implying something, Sir?" Hsu asked cautiously.
"Only that I know that it would not be the first time a faction crossed that particular line." The Governor said, not expanding beyond that vague reference to a past event. Yet again, it left the Commander with more questions than answers, but he also had little reason to doubt the statesman. Between the kidnapping, the civilian airport shootout, and the heavy presence of organized crime within the city limits, politicians being behind some of the chaos was logical.
But that didn't mean the PMC had to be involved. That didn't mean he had to be involved.
"With respect, Hetman. Griffin serves at the behest of the Ministry of Defense. As long as the work is above board, I'll take it from any faction." Hsu stated, clear and firm.
The Governor hovered by his chair for a moment, not yet sitting down. His wrinkled face looked down at his younger counterpart, his expression giving away conflict. He wanted to say more, but felt that he couldn't. Disappointment, impatience, and anticipation all wrapped together.
With a sigh, the Governor sat down. The craftwork chair creaked under his weight, still not used to carrying a man who ate as well as him.
"You may see this as me trying to sway you towards my side, Matthew, but believe me when I say this, neutrality does not survive long in this city, one way or another." The Governor forewarned, almost reading the Commander's mind.
Hsu didn't have an answer for that. Mostly because in the pit of his stomach, he could sense that the man was telling him the honest truth. So instead he looked at his empty glass, willing it to fill again so he could keep his neverending migraines down in the dirt. He felt the urge to drink now more than ever, and hopefully wake up tomorrow in his bed where all of this could be dismissed as a bad dream.
So, he stood up and gave his glass a little shake.
"Mind if I go for seconds?"
(Sector 09 Command Center) | 10:00
Garand and M14 made their way over to Command and Control, where they found Kalina and AUG waiting for them. AUG had been tasked with helping Kalina out for the day while the rest of her Echelon was out on patrol beyond the purification wall, which left Kalina in charge of the Command Center for the day.
Kalina got to work quickly, establishing a commlink over Thompson and Springfield while AUG quietly wrote up reports on a computer in the corner. The two Americans out in the field were then brought up to speed, with Garand explaining the severity of the situation.
"Dunno why she told you guys she wanted to come with us. She asked for today off a few days ago." Thompson said, her projection leaning up against some brickwork. "I don't get it. Why would she try to bail on somethin' like this?"
"So she hasn't said anything to you at all? This just… came out of nowhere?" Garand asked.
Thompson shrugged. "I didn't even know why she wanted the personal day. You know I don't stick my nose in you guys' business outside of work."
Garand grumbled, at a loss at the whole affair. Sure, BAR had been in a sour mood for the past few weeks, but she'd chalked that up to her being her usual grumpy self. The team's Lieutenant was always reminiscing about her golden years before the War.
It was like a mythical time period for her.
Then again, she'd stopped doing that too. Ever since she came back from that scouting job with Springfield.
"What about you, Springfield? Do you have any idea what's going on?" M14 asked, panic growing as they seemed no closer to an answer.
Springfield's projection sat on a bench, one leg crossed over another. Unlike Thompson, she seemed more visibly worried. She bit down on her finger nail harshly, a snap echoing through the transponder.
"Goodness!" Springfield exclaimed, shocking herself out of her thoughts. Garand, M14, and Kalina all shared looks. AUG stole a glance from her seat, then went back to whatever she was doing.
"Savannah. You know what's wrong, don't you?" Garand said.
"I may, but I'm not certain." Springfield murmured, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "...If Thompson doesn't mind, I could return to base and speak with Bar. Maybe it would make her feel more comfortable."
Garand and M14 then shared an uneasy look between one another, with M14 shaking her head at the idea.
"Is something wrong?" Springfield asked, catching her teammates' dodgy glances through the call.
M14 grimaced, twiddling with her thumb as she focused back on Garand. "Should you tell her?"
"You should tell her." Garand assured, not wanting any of that smoke.
"Tell me what?" Springfield asked again.
"Bar won't listen to you because… well…" M14 exhaled, blinking hard as she before she turned to Garand again. "Uh… Genny?"
"Are you serious…?" Garand asked in exasperation, but decided to tap in regardless. "Fine. Bar won't listen to you because she thinks you can't relate."
"Excuse me?" Springfield asked, her confusion only growing at such an absurd idea. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm one of the only other girls on the base who's been online for more than twenty years."
"And you haven't shown even a single sign of digimind degradation." Garand emphasized, M14 rapidly nodding along to back her cousin up. "Plus, you deal with every problem so well that her listening to you might just seem like you're lecturing her."
"That's absurd." Springfield decried, looking over to Thompson for assurance. "Annette, that's absurd, right?"
"No, it's not." Thompson disagreed with a shrug. "I'm sorry Savannah but, they've got a point. You're too perfect. Even back when we was all in the same platoon, we never saw you go down. Bar and me got scrapped a lot."
"Wait, wait, back up." Garand interjected. "You were in the infantry and never suffered catastrophic damage once?"
"I was a First Lieutenant, I didn't get into firefights often." Springfield dismissed sharply.
"That's a lie. She stacked more bodies than half the Company." Thompson clarified.
"I did no such thing!" Springfield protested.
Thompson rolled her eyes. "You cleared a trench on your own with a handgun, grenades and a knife outside of Hanover. Twice."
Springfield's next words caught in her throat, until she settled back down on the bench. The older sharpshooter looked down at the ground, shaking her head as she scowled at the floor beneath her. In fact, she seemed to be absolutely offended.
"Too perfect… nonsense." Springfield repeated, mostly to herself. "Absolute nonsense."
"Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay." Thompson said, clapping her hands together. "I'll come back, then. Figure out what's got her head on wrong."
"That would be…" Garand began, glancing over at M14 again,
"-Also a bad idea." M14 promptly agreed.
Now Thompson took her turn at being totally confused, pushing herself off of her perch. "Huh? Now hold on, what's the problem with me?"
The three rifle dolls all shared a glance, with Springfield still glowering on her bench.
"You're a jerk." M14 started.
"An absolute ass." Garand followed up.
"I'm frankly surprised Erika is the only person who's tried to stab you." Springfield bluntly spat, causing Kalina to howl with laughter from the sidelines.
"Wow." Thompson said, pointing over to Springfield. "First of all, that's cold blooded."
"You're not even gonna say she's wrong?" Garand inquired, dumbfounded by her Captain's priorities.
Thompson shrugged. "People've always wanted to stab me. Price that you pay when you're on top."
"That…" Garand ran a hand down her face, trying not to get sidetracked by Thompson's ever ballooning ego.
"Okay, look." Garand said, trying to put a pin on this powwow. "I'll talk to her, I'm already here. I'm the best person who can explain how much of a health concern this is."
"The hell you are." Thompson immediately denied.
"Oh, please. What's the worst that could happen?" Garand dismissed.
"You do what you usually do." Thompson pressed. "Y'don't listen, boss people around, and start a yellin' match with the person you're trying to help."
"What? I don't do that. When do I do that?!" Garand demanded.
"All the time." Thompson insisted.
"Constantly." Springfield added.
"You yelled at me last week for putting extra chocolate chips in my pancakes!" M14 said with a pout.
"We've been over this, too much sugar can decalibrate your sensors!" Garand parried.
"Genevive, dear." Springfield spoke up, trying to calm her cousin down. "We know you care about people greatly, but you are horribly stubborn once you set your mind to something."
"I'm not-! I mean-! I don't-!" Garand stammered. "I'm not THAT pushy!"
Springfield glared at her junior, thoroughly unamused. "Really? Do I need to remind you when you threatened to drench AR-Fifteen and A-Five-Four-Five's magazines in chicken grease?"
Defeated, Garand threw her hands up into the air and knocked her beret off. "Fine. Fine! We're all awful at this!"
"Then maybe we should work together?" M14 asked, drawing all eyes over to her. The youngest doll fiddled with one of her hair extensions, growing ever more nervous as she was put center stage. It was unknown to her, and about as uncomfortable as being pulled underwater by the suction of a sinking ship.
Despite that, she had to speak up. Even if she and BAR rarely got along, they were still friends. She cared about the old doll. Just as she cared for every member of her team.
"We all want Auntie to be OK. Each of us knows different… stuff, and if we mix all of our stuff together, maybe we can get her to listen to us." M14 tried to rationalize, letting her extension fall as she tried to stand up straight and puff up her chest. "Of course she'll listen to us! We all know her best, and we'll knock some sense into her until she stops being goofy! Right?!"
The other three members of Echelon 1 shared a glance, with Thompson's cock sure grin returning first.
"Look at that. Fourteen has an actually good idea." The Captain said with her pearly whites flashing the now pouting M14. "Alright, I'm in. All four of us sit her down and figure this out. Sound good?"
"I'm in full support!" Springfield said, her usual chipperness coming back. "Though… if we both leave, our contractor won't be pleased."
"I'll handle that!" Kalina called, stepping in from the sidelines. "There's a few dolls who just came back from overnight jobs, they won't mind the overtime!"
Springfield bowed her head gratefully, a small trail of blue pixels being left behind by her projection. "We're in your debt, Miss Kalina."
"I'll hold you to that~!" Kalina mischievously promised. A chill going up Springfield's spine as her digimind processed whatever get rich quick scheme the Logistics Chief was going to rope them into. Likely something involving her coffee, Kalina had been trying to get the rights to her recipes for months now.
Thompson snickered, thinking the same thing as her partner in the field. "We'll go tell the owner we're doin' a shift change and leave right after. We'll be back in… thirty mikes?"
"We'll wait for you at the gate." Garand told her team leader, cementing their plan before the call's connection was terminated. Kalina hopped to work, checking the roster of available dolls to see who she was sending to fill the gap.
M14 shuffled over to stand by Garand, sheepishly looking over to her teammate. "Did I do good, Genny?"
Garand scoffed, her ego still bruised after the three woman firing line she had just been hit by. But of the two people she couldn't stay mad at in this world, M14 was certainly one of them.
She wrapped an arm around her teammate, bringing her in for a hug while ruffling her still unkempt hair. "You did great, Connie. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you're not clever, hear me?"
M14 giggled yet again, happily accepting Garand's praise. Though as she was being smothered by her friend, her eyes eventually hovered over to the corner. She then noticed a prominent absence, the room feeling notability emptier than when they'd arrived.
"Uh… where's Aug?"
(Sector 09 Dormitories) | 10:20
"Everything is filthy." StG44 complained as they rode up the elevator, flanked once again by the eternally smug Kar98k. The two marched down a hallway, both dolls sans their coats and hats. As soon as they had returned from the mission, StG44 had gathered all of Echelon 2's clothing and swiftly delivered it to the laundromat. Three separate washers, each using specific detergents and cocktails to 'get all of the grime out.'
"Some would say that worn gear is a sign of a job done thoroughly." Kar said, enjoying her chance to poke and prod at her friend's cleanliness compulsion.
"Cleanliness is paramount to efficiency and pride in your work." StG countered firmly. "And is impossible to maintain when you keep volunteering us for seek and destroy missions."
"Sangvis is still a threat. Besides, the children need to be put through their paces." Kar said dismissively, leveling her mischievous grin over at her partner. "Don't tell me you've lost your taste for a good firefight."
"That implies I ever had one." StG grumbled, checking the door as their lift opened up. The two stepped off, entering the hallway as they chatted back and forth about finding ways to improve their teammates' performance. PPSh-41's speed and reflexes, M1897's passiveness, XM8's accuracy and attitude. All projects to be worked on.
They spoke about it until they reached the end of the hall, which was when StG44 noticed where they were. "...We passed your dorm five doors back."
"Yes, but I need to speak with SVD." Kar lied easily, before rapping the back of her hand against the dorm's wooden door. "'Allo? We've arrived!"
A few footsteps were heard shuffling towards the door, before it opened up to reveal a half-dressed SVD. Her jacket and shoulder cape were missing, leaving her in a white collared shirt, black skirt and matching stockings.
"I cannot believe it took you that long to kill one platoon of Sangvis." SVD admonished, crossing her arms and leaning against her door frame.
"We had to track them first." Kar said, unsurprised that the braggart would take the opportunity to mock their inefficiency. As if hunting down a force of jaegers was an easy feat to accomplish.
"Fah." SVD dismissed, not accepting her fellow captain's excuses. "A true elite should be able to complete such a simple task before sunrise."
"If we weren't babysitting, then we would've finished before sundown." StG44 muttered, having had to pull all three of the younger members of their echelon out of the mud several times. As much as she cared for the girls, even XM8, having to constantly watch over them was exhausting. Especially now that G36 wasn't in the field anymore, though Kar did her best to take care of them in her own way.
SVD chortled, amused enough that she didn't offer any more snide remarks and let both Germans enter her abode.
Like every other echelon captain, SVD had been assigned a room that had been a suite back when this building had been a hotel. As such her dorm better resembled an apartment, with a full kitchen and living room along with a separate door that led into the bedroom. The space itself looked well lived in, with Kyiv's hockey team banner hung over the couch and a sink that was half full of dirty dishes.
In the living room, BAR sat on top of a dark blue footrest. The blonde looked absolutely frazzled, missing her green coat and tie as she looked at the doorway from the corner of her eye.
StG44 stopped in her tracks, about to head back outside the door before Kar slammed it shut with a hand.
"Ah, ah, ah~." Kar taunted her friend.
"What are you scheming now?!" StG demanded.
"To settle this petty feud between our teams once and for all." Kar told her teammate, placing herself between StG and the doorway. "Bar came to me, asking to talk. SVD was kind enough to let us use her quarters as neutral ground."
"And you didn't tell me this, why?" StG asked, still fuming over the deception.
"Who doesn't love a good surprise?" Kar asked gleefully, eating up StG's indignant rage as she spun the grenadier around and pushed her towards the living room by the shoulders. At least, until SVD lifted her arm and blocked both of their advances.
"Knife first." SVD demanded, pressing on as StG began to deny her request. "Don't think I didn't hear about the poker game. You aren't getting blood on my furniture."
"She made me hand mine over too, for what it's worth." BAR offered, pulling a white cardboard up from next to her chair and setting it onto the coffee table.
StG44 visibly twitched, both from the forced physical contact from two dolls and being compelled to hand over her personal defense weapon. She was being treated like a child. Or worse, she was being treated like a senile old woman!
But on the far side of the room, she could see BAR's own blade resting in a tall glass. A trench knife with a knuckle-duster handguard that looked just as worn as her own dagger.
Accepting that the American wasn't here to assail her, StG relented. She bent over, undoing the straps for her knife's sheath and then passing it onto SVD. The Soviet doll looked the blade over, removing from the leather to inspect the blade. Unimpressed, she slotted it back inside and walked over to the glass, plopping it next to the other seized weapon.
With both of the conversants disarmed and defanged, Kar then began to push StG over to the table. StG continued to fidget, ever discomforted by being touched, but Kar didn't relinquish her grip until her friend was placed on a seat directly across from BAR.
BAR then leaned forwards, pushing the box further into the middle. "Here. Olive branch. It's strawberry shortcake."
"Weeks of slandering me and a cake you bought from a store is the best you can do?" StG said with a scowl.
BAR rolled her eyes, pulling the lid of the box back to reveal the pre-sliced dessert. A fresh aroma burst out, the sickly sweet fruit scent spreading itself in the room and making itself at home.
"I got Sten to make it. That English baker girl who just transferred here?" BAR said, plates clinking as SVD came around and set a fork and knife in front of each seat.
"If you don't eat it, I will." SVD told StG, poaching a slice from the box and sitting down cross-legged on one end of the table. "Consider it payment for hosting this little Yalta Conference."
"Don't mind if I do~." Kar said, grabbing her own plate of the goods. "Frau Sten's already made quite a reputation for herself. Many are saying she's the best baker they've ever seen."
"Springfield's gonna be getting really competitive soon, then." BAR joked, refraining from taking any food. She remained slouched over on the footstool, leaning forward and resting her head in her hands as she waited for StG to take a piece as well.
StG did nothing of the sort, keeping her gaze locked onto her rival. "What is it exactly you want from me?"
BAR exhaled, tensing her shoulders before she sat herself back up. "I wanna know why Thirty-Six didn't want to rescue us from the camp."
StG scoffed. "Hasn't your mechanic friend already told everyone?"
"I wanted to hear from the other side of the fence." BAR replied.
"Me. Why not Gretel? She's the one you and your ilk turned half the dolls against." StG bitterly reminded.
"She won't talk to me. She won't talk to anyone." BAR insisted.
StG pursed her lips, unsurprised. Ever since G36 was taken out of combat duties, she'd mostly shut herself down. It was like when M1897 had passed on all over again, though this time it was less somber and more driven. Trying to work herself back into the base's good graces by fixing everything from the shadows.
If she wasn't going to speak for herself, then StG was the next best option.
"Thirty-Six was convinced that we would not be able to rescue you before Intruder was able to find out where the airfield was." StG told the group, holding up a hand to deny a plate of sweets that Kar tried to pass over. "She believed that if we did not fall back to mount a defense, that Sangvis would use the opening to attack the airbase."
"But you didn't agree with her." BAR inferred.
StG shook her head. "I believed that we could attempt a rescue with our reinforcements and resupply. Negev and her team have a penchant for…"
"Killing everything that moves." SVD offered.
Kar nodded along in agreement. "She's very good at that, ja."
StG scoffed, ever put off by Negev's berserker personality. "Either way, we fought. I told her that we had the strength to at least attempt a rescue, she didn't believe it. She insisted that if we did not retreat to the airfield, that the humans would be easy targets."
SVD said something, muffled through a mouthful of cake before she swallowed and spoke again. "She was not wrong, either. Intruder could have easily sent part of her remaining forces while still guarding her hostages."
StG rubbed one of her eyes, finally taking a slice of the sweets that Kar had been trying to pawn off onto her. "...I do not recall you voting, Natasha."
"Thankfully, Ro ended the meeting." SVD quipped, standing back up and wandering over to her dorm's kitchenette. "I did not have to speak my mind, I don't think Mosin would have liked what I wanted to say."
"That sounds like you were gonna vote to retreat." BAR joked, watching as SVD fished out a bottle of amber horilka from her fridge. The sniper shrugged, setting up a row of shot glasses.
"...Wait, seriously?" BAR asked.
SVD clicked her tongue, downing a shot of the liquor and shuddering before she began to defend herself. "We had too many injured, even not counting our walking wounded. If we were going to rescue anyone, we would have had to leave Thirty-Six, Papasha and MCX at the bunker to fend for themselves. Plus between the turrets, the walls and the manticores. It would have been suicide."
"We did not know about the secondary fort during the vote." StG protested.
"But I knew Intruder would not detain so many dolls unless it was a very defensible position." SVD parried. "Besides that, the airfield was under defended. Not to mention Corporate had ordered us to evacuate Anti-Rain."
"They really like protecting their precious little experimental squad." BAR grumbled, the Americans usual grouchiness coming back.
"For what it's worth, from what Erika has told me, I would have protested against a rescue operation as well." Kar chipped in.
StG beamed over at her Captain, almost spilling her food onto her lap. "Seriously, you too?!"
"You said the entire forest was on fire and they had Manticores. Griffin does not have rocket launchers!" Kar fervently protested.
"We had three dolls with anti-material rifles and a machine gunner who could have used armor piercing rounds!" StG insisted with the same infuriated tempo.
SVD fired a whistle off, drawing the attention of the three other girls. "No fighting. I let you use my dorm, that means you act civilized. Understand?"
StG and Kar promptly cooled off, realizing the absurd irony of them coming to blows when it was BAR whom StG was supposed to hold issue with.
SVD made her way back around the table, setting down shots for each of her visitors before retaking her own seat. At the rate this was going, each of them was going to spend all day going back and forth about the details. What if they had done this, or that, or whatever. Talking in circles and driving one another mad.
It was time to put a pin in this, the best way she could.
"We are all older dolls. We all had to survive life during the war, regardless of where we came from." SVD said, noticing BAR's jump in tension at the mention of age. "At the end of the War, the military had myself and the dolls that had lasted as long as we had become warrant officers. We were made advisors, trying to help the commanders and tacticians win the battle once and for all."
SVD leaned back, elevating herself above her guests. "Do you know what I saw in those planning rooms? This. Human officers, going back and forth, justifying their choices. It didn't matter if they used math, or logic, or deduction, or their own morality. They went back and forth, talking about their choices. They constantly kept trying to find a right answer that often did not exist."
"What's your point here, Nat?" BAR asked their host.
"My point is that we were lucky. If the KCCO had not come, or we were unable to regain communications with the airfield, or if our reinforcements had not made it to the bunker, it would have been a disaster." SVD insisted. "We all had our reasons to believe what we believed, but we all wanted the same thing. To save who we could."
With that final point, the rest of the girls had little else to say. No matter their angle, or their beliefs, everyone involved in this catastrophe had been on the same side. Even if each of the team captains had a different perspective, it all came back to the same question. 'What was the right choice?'
But the answer was inconclusive. None of them knew what would have happened in the Military hadn't come. If any grand plan would have worked or not.
They truly had gotten lucky.
"Bar." StG44 started up once again, staring dead ahead at the woman she'd gone out of her way to ignore for weeks on end. "You have my word. If Thirty-Six believed she could have rescued you and our comrades, she would not have hesitated."
BAR said nothing, grabbing the shot that SVD had placed in front of her and swirled it around. It all felt so pointless now, considering what was coming. Even if they'd all been taken offline by Intruder, it wouldn't change the situation she was in. How her digimind was, now that she was nearing her expiration date.
"...Tell her I forgive her." BAR said. "I just wish none of this had happened."
"To that, I will happily drink." Kar said, knocking back her shot before wincing. "Mein Gott, this is awful! It's like Bitters mixed with chili powder!"
SVD laughed out loud, happily taking both StG and BAR's shot glasses as the two placed their drinks back onto the table. As SVD downed the rest of the round, a knock came out from the dormitory's door.
"I'll get it." BAR said, hoping to avoid some kind of drinking challenge now that strong liquor had been broken out. As Kar and SVD began to go back and forth over the merits of spiced vodka, BAR approached the door and popped it open.
AUG stood outside, her perpetually disappointed gaze boring right through BAR and shattering her composure.
"Come with me." The Austrian dictated.
"Uh… if I want to live?" BAR innocently joked, but AUG's stoney expression remained as steadfast as ever.
Realizing why AUG was here, BAR accepted that her number was up. She looked over her shoulder, calling over to the other dolls. "I'll be back later, guys. Save some of the cake for me!"
"No promises~!" Kar said, gladly poaching another slice. BAR shot a dirty look at the diva, but quietly slipped out the door and closed it behind her. She then turned around, looking over at AUG.
The two dolls made their way back towards the elevator, AUG holding vigil over the evading doll. BAR couldn't tell if she was being taken prisoner or merely being kept company. No one could ever tell with AUG, the doll always looked perpetually peeved about something or someone. Like she was ready to shove you in front of a runaway train if you breathed wrong.
As the elevator door opened, both dolls stepped inside. Once they shut and they began their descent, BAR spoke up once more.
"How much trouble am I in?" She asked.
"None." AUG assured, eyes still staring at the doors in front of her. "Your friends are concerned about you."
"Great." BAR said sarcastically, sighing out at the problems she caused. Her attempts to mend bridgers seemed to only cause a whole other tire fire of problems.
The American's eyes hovered down to the silver rosary that hung from her warden's wrist. "You actually believe in that stuff?"
"Yes. I do." AUG droned, ready for the usual barrage of questions.
"...Would it be too much to ask for a prayer?" BAR asked, readying herself to finally face her mortality.
AUG glanced at the blonde to her right, giving the vulnerable doll the small shake of her head.
"No. It would not."
(Kyiv City Center | 10:42)
Outside on the steps of the parliament building, Helian and G36 waited for the other two members of their party to make their way over to them. Hsu had sent a text his meeting with the Governor was wrapping up, and Bren had gone off to retrieve their car from a parking lot a few blocks down the way.
In the aftermath of the hearing, Helian had spent most of her time hunting down and speaking with various members of the committee. It was the part of the job she enjoyed the least, smiling and acting 'gracious' for officials who felt they had too little power so they swung it around whenever they could. Almost all of them had tried to set up some kind of quid pro quo, 'requests' for Griffin's detachment in this region to do for them or their political allies to curry favor.
At least she'd gotten enough information to understand the political situation down here. The differing factions were too busy fighting amongst themselves to even mount an effort to sideline Griffin. If anything, each of them wanted to bring the PMC under their wing so they could do their bidding. It felt like she was standing in the middle of a brewing mob war.
G36, meanwhile, had just finished a surprise phone call with her better half. StG44 had been happy to report that at least one of the dolls who was furious with her seemed ready to start making amends. Small relief to the ocean of grief she still felt in the aftermath of the battle against the intruder, but a sign that things might start getting better after so many weeks of tension.
"You alright, deary?" Helian asked the maid, having watched the normally stoic maid flash through a dozen emotions during the call.
"Hm?" G36 asked, gathering herself. "Oh, yes. Just sorting something out at the base."
"Spare me the mystery, Gretel." Helian said, nipping the girl's defenses in the bud. "Matthew told me what happened."
G36 grit her teeth, wondering why she was surprised by such information. Helian and her Commander spoke with one another often, and it was no secret they mentioned events relevant to their work. Hsu pulling her from combat duties was certainly relevant, as well as the divide that had formed between some of the dolls. Try as she might, G36 couldn't escape the aftermath of her choice.
Seeing how the doll had gone mum, Helian spoke up once again. "You're not in trouble. I'm merely concerned. You look like there's quite a lot on your mind."
"It's that obvious?" G36 asked, to which Helian nodded. "Master Hsu has made sure to limit what damage was done. He's tried to help me as well, but…"
"Like most men, he has the sensitivity of a doorknob." Helian deduced, very familiar with her subordinate's lack of tact.
G36 giggled, nodding along. She thought about talking to the woman, perhaps she could offer another perspective. Unlike Hsu or the other dolls on base, she wasn't directly involved. Plus she had her own experiences, having led troops into battle herself.
Yes. Another perspective would be nice.
"I still feel awful about what I said." G36 admitted. "I was ready to abandon so many dolls. Dolls I am friends with. I still cannot look any of them in the eye."
"Do you think you were wrong?" Helian asked the doll.
"I… don't know anymore." G36 said, fiddling with her snow white gloves.
Sensing the girl's stress, Helian came over and took her by the shoulders. She guided them both down, sitting on the cold stone steps. Helian then reached over, taking both of G36's hands in her own. She clenched them firmly, anchoring the maid in place to help steady her through the turbulence.
"This is the brutal reality of being an officer in combat arms." Helian told the doll, voice low and soft. "We have to make choices, and those choices affect the lives of those who follow us. Even for dolls like you, being able to come back from death doesn't mean what happens doesn't matter."
"...I hated it. I hated being in that position." G36 admitted, bitterness seeping from every word.
"Then it might be time for you to ask what you want to do in this company." Helian said carefully. "There's no shame in not wanting to be a combat officer. That doesn't make you a coward, and it certainly doesn't mean you're not capable."
"But I am a tactical doll." G36 insisted.
"You are more than your programming." Helian swore. "You can do plenty for this sector beyond simply leading other dolls into battle."
"Yet I'm only in this position because I could not do just that."
Helian stopped, looking at G36 once again. She could see the shame in every move the maid made, for more than just an operational failure. Something had been shaken at the core of this doll, something that was making her question her very nature.
G36 looked up and over to Helian, knowing that she wore her own anxiety on her sleeve. Weeks of putting up a brave front had come to this, her bearing her heart out to a person she barely even knew. But if nothing else, G36 knew that her Commander trusted this woman. That meant something. It meant she could trust her too.
"I feel like I failed him. All of this trouble because I wasn't able to find another way to protect the airbase and save the prisoners." G36 told Helian, her bionic hands going unnaturally still as she readied for whatever judgment came. "Now I can't even clean up this mess I've made, I have to rely on Kar and Sturmgehwer to fight my own battles."
Helian solemnly nodded, understanding the severity now. How dolls tended to bond with their owners, perceived or literal. How failing them was seen like failing a loved one. In G36's case, her mentor. A man that had become the older brother she'd never had.
"Kar helped you because despite her flair for the dramatic, she's a fine person. STG did so because she's your Lieutenant. As for Hsu…" Helian paused, taking her hands up and cupping G36's face. She brought the doll's gaze up, making sure she heard her loud and clear. "The only thing that man cares about is helping you get back on your feet. He adores you, dear. In the time he's spent under my employ, you are the one person he is the most proud of. You are the doll he holds above all others. There is no world where he's embarrassed by you."
G36 smiled, hoping that those words were true. She never thought she would find another person who would treat her as well as Hsu did again. For a doll, finding one good home was already a longshot. Finding a replacement was… nigh impossible.
The maid took Helian's hands again, pulling them away from her own cheeks and clasping them together. "You and him have grown very close these past few months. What do you think of my Master, Frau Helian? Truly?"
Helian scoffed, not knowing how she felt. In the time she'd known Matthew Hsu, he'd caused her plenty of grief and stress. But for a long time now, ever since they began regularly speaking and sharing drinks over holograms, the man… mattered to her now.
More than anything, she felt like he was the only man who understood it all in the same way she did.
"I think he's a good man who's convinced himself that he's a bad one. Someone who wants to leave this world in a better state than when he came, and isn't nearly as jaded as he likes to pretend he is." Helian affirmed. "He has an innate ability in finding what people are best at. Which I am sure is why he's kept you as his adjutant. Because he knows that even if you may not be a tactician, you're still an asset."
G36 exhaled, taking the words to heart. It felt good to hear someone speak of her Master like that, especially Helian. This woman mattered to Hsu, even if he didn't realize why yet.
"You're just like him. Gruff and rough in appearance but you care deeply for others." G36 said with a smile. "I can see why he likes you."
"E-excuse me?" Helian stammered, reeling back as G36 broke into another fit of giggles. Seeing that the doll was using her for a laugh, Helian brought herself back. As she reset herself, G36's phone buzzed from a pouch on her belt.
The maid produced her phone, reading a text from Bren. "So that is what's taking her so long. They're refusing to let Bren take the car back without the ticket."
"Tick… oh." Helian said, pulling a slip of paper from her coat's pocket. "Well, I feel foolish."
"I'll go take this to her." G36 said, wanting to show her gratitude. She took a step back, bowing at her waist for the Vice Director. "Thank you, Frau Helian."
"It's my pleasure." Helian assured, watching G36 trot off over towards the parking lot. She still felt sorry for the girl, but she also knew that there was a light at the end of this tunnel. Soon enough, everyone would be able to break bread about this whole affair.
"Where's Thirty-Six and Bren?" A voice announced from up the stairs. Helian turned around to see a rosy cheeked Commander Hsu making his way down the steps, narrowly dodging a sharply dressed man with a briefcase.
"Pulling the car around." Helian told him, sniffing the air as he got close. "You've been drinking again?!"
Hsu held up both hands, surrendering to the woman's mercy. "The Governor offered, I was being polite. Only had two, swear on my Nanna."
Helian sighed, questioning if this man was going to make it past forty. With how much he abused his liver it was a miracle it hadn't developed a mind of its own and tried to escape his body out of self preservation.
"Before we head back to the Sector, there's a situation I need to brief you on." Helian said, snapping back into business mode. "You remember that mass of Sangvis that was spotted via satellite during the last operation?"
"The ones we thought might come to reinforce Intruder, but never showed?" Hsu recalled.
"Yes. We thought that they had dissipated, but instead they marched north. Through a yellow zone where the collapse radiation was able to mask their presence." Helian further explained, looking to her left and right to see if there were any evesdroppers that could hear them over the sound of the busy roadway. "They've been marching north along the Volga river, we made contact with them ten days ago."
"And?"
"They won the initial battle. Griffin forces have been carrying out fighting retreats for the past week." She continued. "Matthew, the Volgograd Metropolitan Zone is one the most populated cities left on the planet. Almost a hundred million people live within the contamination wall."
Hsu nodded along, having been snapped out of his buzzed state by the report. "How long until the military gets involved?"
"They're already fortifying the outskirts, but the Government is demanding we stop this." Helian assured. "Be ready. If we haven't stopped them by week's end, then we'll be activating the next wave of reinforcements."
"The next wave? How many Sectors are already involved in the operation."
"Ten, as of now. The Territorial Commander believes he has the manpower to pull off a decisive victory at this time, but I'm preparing for the worst."
Ten sectors. That was the most Hsu had ever heard of being involved in a single mission. Likely fifty echelons at least, with dummies and support from their air assets. Griffin committing so many resources to a single front seemed severe, but considering the circumstances it also sounded completely necessary.
He made a mental note to inform Kalina once he made it back to the base. Get extra ammunition and supplies shipped overnight to their airfield in case they got tapped in.
For now though, and especially after getting the Governor's assurance that their contract would remain intact, he felt like rewarding himself for a job well done.
"You're flying back to Saint Petersburg, then?" Hsu asked his superior.
"Tomorrow, yes." Helian replied, looking from the corner of her eye to see Hsu produce four strips of paper with some blue logos. "Are those football tickets?"
"Soccer." Hsu corrected.
"Call it that again and I'll smack ya a second time." Helian threatened with deadly honesty.
"Socc- OW!" Hsu said, testing his luck and getting a palm to the back of his head. His grip on the tickets slipped, but Helian was able to snatch them before they fell to the ground.
"You bought four?" She asked, checking the seat numbers.
Hsu nodded, rubbing the freshly forming lump behind his right ear. "Didn't want to make Gretel and Beatrice wait in the car."
Helian huffed, seeing that the tickets he'd managed to grab didn't seem cheap. From the corner of her eye, she could also see the black sedan she'd rented roll down the street towards them. Bren and G36 both sitting in the front.
She took the man's arm, tugging him over towards their ride. "Come on, you lump. Let's see if the locals know how to score a goal."
A/N: Guess who's back
Back again
Next update'll be a combat heavy chapter.
o/