...
"I don't know what you're doing, Lunasia...But you need to stop."
"...Who are you? What are you talking about?"
"You weren't supposed to be in that tower...And you know it."
"...I couldn't just do nothing. Not after I saw what would happen..."
"You're messing with things beyond your understanding...I won't allow this."
"..."
"You have no say, and that's the end of it."
"You can't keep me here...I know how to escape now, just like last time...She showed me how."
"I wouldn't."
"I wasn't asking for your permission."
"...You will regret it."
Outskirts of Regensburg, Germany, January 2065...
M4 lurched in her seat, heaving in a deep breath as her gaze frantically shifted around the inside of the truck, drawing the attention of everyone inside.
"...You good, M4?" The Commander asked.
"Y-Yeah...I just dozed off, how close are we?"
The Commander's expression grew more concerned. "...Dozed off? You just asked how close we were a couple seconds ago."
M4 wasn't sure how to respond as the Commander and the rest of the team gazed at her, even RO had shifted her attention from the road back to her.
The Commander turned to RO. "Are you sure that diagnostic said everything was okay? I think that shockwave she took scrambled something."
M4 held her tongue. They didn't believe her the other times she had tried to tell them what she's seen, this time wouldn't be an exception.
"The equipment we have on hand did, at the very least...But it's far from the stuff in Persica's lab." RO's eyes drifted downwards as she mentioned her creator's name. "...I hope she made it."
The Commander placed a hand on her shoulder. "She did. Qiongju's a capable girl, she survived the black zone, and I'm sure she got Persica and Dandelion out of there."
RO nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "...We still haven't heard from them, though..."
"It's probably her way of protecting you. She doesn't want to do anything that would risk putting us in danger." The Commander reassured.
"...Yeah."
Silence filled the air for the rest of the ride until the Elmo came into view. Mayling clambered to the front of the cab, her eyes widening in awe at the sight of the towering behemoth.
The Commander brought up his communicator. "Mother Goose, this is Dodo, we're at the nest."
The hangar bay's ramp grinded gutturally as it began to lower itself down to the ground.
"Well, good to see Maggie and 12 didn't burn the place down." The Commander remarked.
The truck drove up the ramp, and maneuvered its way into its spot in the hangar.
The Commander faced the truck's cargo bay. "Attention all passengers, we have reached the end of the line. Please check your seats to ensure you have gathered all of your belongings, and exit the vehicle in an orderly manner. Thank you for riding with us."
"Oh no...I think being around a kid is awakening the 'Dad jokes' in him..." STAR lamented.
"Did someone just volunteer to unload the truck?" The Commander perked up.
STAR grumbled sharply. "I hate you, you know that?"
"Uh-huh~" The Commander dismissed. "RO, take Mayling and see where we can put her. M4, seriously, go lie down and get your bearings. SOP, please don't put any of the parts in your mouth. Sixteen...I don't know, make yourself useful somehow, I'm gonna go make sure 12 didn't fuck with anything."
"Ya know, I think I'm gonna come with you. I've got something to show you, Commander." 16 stood up.
"Yeah, fuck you too, Sixteen..." STAR snapped, gazing upon the mound of crates piled into the bay of the truck.
Ignoring her sister, M16 slapped the Commander on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's go for a walk..."
The two had just stepped out of the truck and began making their way to the exit when AK-12 and AN-94 stepped inside.
"Ah, Commander~ What a coincidence." 12 greeted cheerfully.
The Commander folded his arms. "Nothing's ever a coincidence with you, Twelve."
12 chuckled slyly. "Let me guess...You want me to stakeout a certain encampment whose inhabitants are now tragically no longer with us, see if anybody shows up to collect a shipment that has now been...'repossessed', and track them back to their hideout?"
"Son of a bitch..." The Commander huffed.
"I thought your friend here would have given you an earful by now about using the same comm frequencies after...changes in circumstance." 12 gestured to M16.
"I did." 16 half-shrugged.
"Ah. Well, at least it made for an entertaining show...Though, you'll have to forgive me for making a note never to bring any of you along when I need to take someone alive, or really, anything that requires more subtlety than a silverback-gorilla."
"Can you do it or not?" The Commander grumbled.
12 let out an amused chuckle. "Annie and I will set out right away. I'll let you know when the tracker's online."
"Right. Any 'surprises' waiting for me inside?"
"Nah, with the state you're in? Kicking someone while they're down is no fun at all."
"How considerate..." The Commander muttered.
"I try. Do svidaniya, Komandir." 12 waved back over her shoulder as her an AN-94 made their way over to a pair of dirtbikes sitting in the hangar.
"Well, at least she's reliable...pain in the ass aside."
M16 nodded. "Come on, I've got just the thing for you right now."
The door to the room swung open, M16 and the Commander sauntered inside. Sunlight blared through the narrow windows, illuminating a "lounge" area that had been long since caked in a layer of dust and cobwebs. Chairs and tables lined the far wall, and at the front of the room, a counter sat with a set of stools on one side, and a stack of shelves behind it.
The Commander gazed around the room. "A bar? Was Griffin going to convert this thing into some kind of cruise ship?"
"A good a use for it as any, I guess, given how much use they were in WWIII." M16 surmised as she made her way to the counter. "Not that matters, this works out just fine for us, don't ya think?"
The Commander cracked a smile as he stepped over, continuing to look around the room. "Uh-huh. A proper golden chariot for us."
No sooner did he say that, then did a side of one of the shelves behind the counter shake loose of its mounting and slam down onto the next layer, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Ack!" M16 coughed, waving away the dust cloud before slipping the shelf back into place. She quickly shifted back over and swiped the dust off the seat of one of the stools. "Here, have a seat."
The Commander nodded, and sat himself down. "It's got potential, though that shelf needs to be filled up first."
"Ya' got that right...but for right now..." M16 fished in her coat, and pulled out a bottle of scotch.
The Commander's eyes fixed on the label. "...Macallan 1946?...Sixteen..."
M16 smiled. "Was savin' it for the day we took down SF...But, well, things went a little different, didn't they?"
"At least you finally got your ass home, I was starting to think you were avoiding me."
"Heh, looked like you were doin' just fine without me. In any case...I think it's as good a time as any to break the seal on this, don't ya' think? Who knows how many chances we're going to get now." M16's face was smiling, but the undertones were clear as day to both of them as she fished out two glasses from behind the counter.
"...Yeah."
There they had sat, crammed in an obsolete product of a megalomaniac's grandiose delusions of battlefield grandeur, cut off and forsaken by their company and all of its resources, and the armies of the New World Order at the ready to use them for target practice. It wasn't the first time they had found themselves on their own with seemingly the whole world coming down on top of them, but going 'Double or Nothing' was the last thing they had been looking forward to.
M16 broke the seal on the bottle, and poured the scotch into the glasses. Letting out a chuckle, she raised her glass. "Us against the whole world...How long ya' think we're gonna last, Commander?"
The Commander reciprocated her laughter. "I'm surprised we're still standing."
M16 cracked another smirk. "Here's to that then."
"To still standing?"
"To still standing."
The glasses clinked together, and they both downed their drinks.
"And, here we are!" RO declared with practiced enthusiasm as she held the door open to the small dorm room.
Mayling slowly stepped inside the room, glancing around at the small bed and desk laid out inside. "This...is mine?"
"Mhm." RO nodded. "I'm right in the room across from you, so don't hesitate to come find me if you need anything."
Mayling remained silent, she stood motionless a small distance into the room, still quivering slightly.
RO slowly knelt down in front of her, and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. "I know you've been through a lot over the last couple of days, but I promise, no bad people are going to hurt you here, okay? I'll make sure of that."
"Y-You will?"
RO smiled and nodded. "It's what I was built for. My whole job used to be catching bad people, I was really good at it, too." She reassured.
RO briefly looked her over. "Ah, right, you must be starving." The doll opened up her bag and began fishing inside of it, pulling out an MRE dessert bar and placing it in her hands. "Here."
Mayling stared silently at the tan wrapping as she clutched it in her hands.
"Come on, you need to keep your strength up...Don't you want to eat?" RO frowned slightly, the girl didn't respond. "Alright...I won't force you. Later on, I'll see what we've scrounged up, and maybe M4 can make you something..." RO reached over and gently brushed aside a few strands of hair that had fallen in front of the girl's eyes. "Just promise me you'll try to eat, okay?"
Mayling nodded slowly.
"Alright...I'm going to go now, but you can come find me if there's anything you need."
RO slowly stood back up, and was making her way back to the door when she almost bumped right into the Commander as he was turning the corner. "Oh, Commander!"
"RO." The Commander greeted, before turning his gaze inside of the room. "...How's she doing?"
RO's eyes briefly tilted downward. "Still pretty shaken up...I tried getting her to eat something but, well...one step at a time."
"Has she mentioned any relatives?"
RO somberly shook her head. "No...and she got really quiet when I tried to ask about what happened to the people she was staying with."
"Jesus..."
"...I don't think she has anywhere to go, Commander."
"I wasn't going to just toss her overboard and leave her to fend for herself."
"I know, but..keeping her here..."
"What, afraid me and your sisters aren't going to be shining role models for her?"
RO returned a blank stare at the Commander. "...You're not going to make me answer that, are you?"
The Commander snorted. "We'll figure something out, just keep an eye on her for now."
RO nodded affirmatively. "Oh, has fifteen started working on the engine ye-"
"WHO THE FUCK TORQUED THIS GODDAMNED BOLT?!"STAR's howl reverberated through the halls from the engine bay.
The Commander turned his head back to RO. "She most certainly has..."
The clangs of rummaging parts and slipping wrenches could be heard long before the Commander actually stepped inside of the engine room.
STAR grunted loudly as she tried to force a wrench forward, only for it to slip and send her hand straight into a protruding piece of metal. "FuuuuUUUUCK!"
"Star...is everything okay?" The Commander asked, stepping into the bay.
"No, it's not okay! Whoever torqued this bolt in stripped it like their mother when someone whips out a five dollar bill! Fucking Ivan mechanics, I hope whoever worked on this last got their legs blown off, and their wife only stayed for the disability check while getting railed by their brother on the side!"
"So, all is normal then?" The Commander leaned himself on a nearby wall.
"Yeah...Gonna be a pain in the fucking ass, but I think I can make it work...I'd say anywhere from a couple hours to the rest of the damned day depending how much shit is stripped and seized..."
"Has SOP gone through the rest of the cargo?"
STAR nodded as she fished for her propane torch. "Yeah. They had enough MREs tucked away to last us for a while at least. As far as ammo goes, lots of 7.62 Russian, 5.45, and even some 5.56...No .300 blackout, though. Gonna have to switch to my 5.56 upper at this rate..."
"What did you expect in the middle of bumfuck Europe?"
STAR sighed. "Kalina not having a psychotic meltdown after having her scam thwarted, The Rossartrists not suddenly seizing power overnight and causing G&K and IOP to disavow us..."
"Well, at least you weren't using the 8.6 Blackout and the .458 SOCOM uppers when we got chased out of town...Even Kalina had trouble getting hold of those."
"God, don't remind me...my poor wallet..."
"Sometimes I think the real reason you tried to blow yourself up was to get out of your credit card debt."
STAR shook her head as she sighed sharply. "Fuck off."
"You know, you still owe me for the ceiling in my old office."
STAR snickered as she began heating up the stuck bolt. "Owe you? You owe me for bailing your ass out when your meatbag ass got yourself kidnapped...again. You're lucky I'm not keeping score, I should borrow back that G20 I gave you and make you have to use that shitty Makarov."
"At least 10mm is easy to find out here, premier self-defense cartridge in the yellow-zones and all that. What do you got in that P226? Don't tell me it's a .357 SIG..."
"How about I shoot you in the leg with it and you can guess which caliber?"
"I'll pass, you're poor enough as it is without having to replace the bullet."
STAR scoffed, she turned her attention back to the bolt. "Hm...speaking of 10mm, I think I've got an idea..." She reached into the toolbox, only to find the space for the respective socket vacant. "...Mother. Fucker!"
The wrench clanged to the floor as she sunk in defeat.
The Commander shook his head empathetically. "I guess more things are certain in this life other than death and taxes..."
"Yeah yeah...shoo already, you jackass." STAR grumbled as she began fishing around for the lost socket. "Grab a beer when this is done?"
"Sure."
So many thoughts...visions...destinations...coming and going like leaves in the wind...
Past...Present...Future...All of it a blur.
A knock on the doorframe pulled M4 from her thoughts, she sat up from her cot to see her Commander standing in the doorway. "...Commander?"
The Commander nodded. "Your door was open. I figured I'd see how you were doing, may I come in?"
"Oh, of course. Please make yourself at home." M4 gestured.
The Commander stepped inside, quietly leaning against the wall. "...We haven't really had a chance to talk lately, have we? Not since you got back."
M4 swung her legs over the side of the cot and sat on the edge. "...No, we haven't. Even with...him gone, it's been one thing after the other..."
"We've had a lot on our minds...A lot's happened."
M4 nodded. "...Yeah...I didn't mean to make it look like I've been avoiding you, or holding things back, but..." The doll leaned her head forward, letting out a sigh as she cupped her hands over her face. "...It was a long way back here...in a lot of ways. I've seen things that I don't even know how to put into words, things that..."
She stopped herself briefly before continuing. "Sometimes I have trouble believing that I'm actually back here, that any moment I'm going to wake up and find myself back there...That this is all some kind of twisted mirage my neural cloud is feeding me as I'm drifting along..."
"That's not what's happening." The Commander sternly reassured.
"...I know...This is real, I know it...my mind just feels so...scattered. I'm not sure how to describe it."
"We'll get some better equipment to run a diagnostic with, I'm sure whatever's happening can be fixed."
M4 shook her head. "That's not what this is...I'm sure of it...It's too...vivid...too consistent to be some kind of glitch." M4 took a breath to piece her thoughts together. "I know you don't like people bringing it up, but back in Berlin - That warehouse in the outskirts...Before I connected to Dandelion, I saw it...You, AR-15, SOP-II, RO...You were all laying there next to Machlian...you all had..." M4's voice trailed off, her hands began to dig in to the fabric of her bed. "...I connected to Dandelion as soon as I could...I knew it was a risk, but I had to see if you were okay...and then there all of you were, fighting that woman in that same warehouse..."
"M4..."
"I would have saved Machlian if I could, Commander, but with the jammers they had put up..."
"I know, M4. I was there, I know you did everything you could."
"Then, later, SOP-II and RO in that tower...Ange...When we all reunited there, I knew we had to make sure William never escaped...If he did..." The doll's hands began trembling as they clenched the edge of the bed, crumpling the fabric into their fist.
"He didn't."
M4's hands relaxed, her breathing began returning to normal. "...Commander, once the Elmo is fixed...then what?"
"We'll have to hang around the Yellow-Zone for a little while until things cool down, or at least until the URNC decides it has bigger fish to fry."
M4's eyes somberly tilted down. "Is that all it's going to be from here? Scurrying around like rats in the contamination zones? Spending our lives looking over our shoulders?"
"...Between the data you pulled from that Relic in Estonia, and us killing what was supposed to be The Earl's prized catch for his new world order, we're pretty high up on the URNC's shit-list. We're going to have to disappear if we're going to have a chance. Hell, the only reason this tub hasn't been bombed to the stone-age yet is because of the pockets of collapse radiation at high altitudes make it hard for aircraft and drones to navigate around the contamination zones."
M4 sighed sharply. "Do you still not believe me when I say that this isn't over?"
"What can we do even if it isn't, M4?" The Commander shot back. "I have you and your sisters, Groza, Maggie, 12 and 94, and maybe 404 if I condemn myself to a lifetime of indentured servitude at the hands of 45, everything else I have has been either repossessed, frozen, or forced into hiding. If what you're saying is for real, that the Prometheans - a secret society that has engineered every global event since the turn of the millennium, is using the URNC as a front for some kind of conspiracy, then it's going to be the fourteen of us versus just about everybody that money can buy."
"Damn it, Commander! The Masterminds are still out there! The Relics are still a threat! You can't just walk away from that!" M4 pleaded.
"All the more reason for us to go to ground for the time, they can't do a thing without that key you pulled from the Starfish."
"Then they'll make another key. It might not happen right away, it might not happen for a good while, but eventually, they will figure out how!" M4 asserted.
"And if we act recklessly, they won't have to! They'll snatch you up, tear out your neural cloud, and everything I've done over the last three years will have been all for nothing!" The Commander snapped back.
"...You're starting to sound like M16." M4 let out a deep breath, sinking her head down into her hands. "...We fought to stop this, Commander. Are we really going to just give it up here? Make it somebody else's problem?"
"I am not giving up, I just know when we are punching above our weight class. This is one of those times."
"...The URNC might be disorganized now, but eventually they will get their affairs in order...And when that happens, we might run out of places we can run to."
"We will regain our footing M4, but for right now, we can't make these kinds of gambles." The Commander resolutely reassured.
M4 collected her thoughts. "...The Varjagers...we can start with them. I don't think it's a coincidence that they're getting the foothold that they have in the contamination zone."
"Their benefactor...I'll admit, it would take someone with deep pockets to cover the expanse that they've been popping up in. In any case, 12's already in position, we'll figure out where their true stronghold in this sector is."
M4 nodded. "It'll be a start."
"See? Your Commander's got a plan." The Commander tapped the side of his head.
M4 snorted, shaking her head.
The Commander made his way over, giving her a light slap on the shoulder. "We'll figure it out, okay? Because you are right - this isn't over yet."
M4 exhaled, a smile beginning to show on her face. "Yeah..."
The Commander reciprocated her smile, as he turned to leave, M4 suddenly spoke up. "Hey, Commander...Sorry I've been so distant lately...there's just a lot that I've needed to process..."
"You've been through a lot, I understand if you needed space." The Commander acknowledged.
M4 let out a relieved sigh. "And...I'm glad to be back here, Commander...back with all of you...Hah...I've been here for weeks now and I haven't even said that yet..."
"Didn't realize it needed saying."
"Well, I've said it now...And I'm not leaving ever again."
The Commander found himself starting to smile again. "Alright, get some rest, I'll need you at a hundred percent when the call comes."
M4 nodded resolutely. "I'll be there."
After the Commander had turned and walked off, M4 still found herself staring at the empty doorway. "...This time, I'll be there..." She quietly repeated to herself.
In the hangar, SOP-II had laid out all of the captured munitions and provisions on the tables as she took inventory.
"Aaand that's everything!" She declared to herself, placing her hands on her hips.
Her eyes began to slowly shift over to one of the cans of Bang Energy on the table. "Hmmm...Everybody's always scrambling to get first dibs on these when the logistics crews brought them back...I wonder what they're like..."
SOP slowly raised up her hand, and began to reach towards the can...
SMACK
The Commander's hand appeared out of practically nowhere, slapping hers down as he stepped into view.
"No." The Commander declared sternly.
SOP let out a dejected whine. "Hmph, why not?" She grunted disapprovingly.
The Commander sighed. "Three hundred milligrams of caffeine is the absolute last thing you need. We are not having a repeat of what happened when you got into M16's liquor cabinet that one time."
SOP angrily crossed her arms. "Now you're just making stuff up, I don't remember ever doing that!"
"That's because you blew a 0.31 BAC after RO chased you around half the base while you were laughing like a maniac and overturning everything and everyone that crossed your path."
"Weelll, I won't do it this time." SOP proclaimed.
"Uh-huh. Gimme that." The Commander swiped the energy drink off the table and popped the tab.
"Heeyyy!" SOP pouted as the Commander knocked the drink back.
The Commander let out a refreshed exhale. "It's for your own good...and mine. If RO has to spend all night chasing you around because you went on another rampage on my watch, she'd probably tie me to a rope and drag me behind this thing once it's moving."
"She'll just yell at you." SOP corrected.
"My hearing's damaged enough already, thanks. Human eardrums don't grow back."
"Pffff!" SOP raspberried, sticking her tongue out. "Buzzkill."
The Commander shook his head. "Done taking inventory?"
"Mhm." SOP eagerly affirmed with a nod.
"What kind of goodies did our departed friends leave us?"
"Well, nobody's going to be running out of juice this month. As for the ammo, let's see - A few boxes of 10mm auto, some 9mm luger, a bit of 5.56, 5.45, 7.62 Russian, and 54R. Some .50AE too, but that's not going to be of much use for us. AR-15 was getting all huffy because there's no .300 blackout here."
"Yeah, I'd steer clear of the engine bay for a little bit, she's still in a bad mood."
SOP-II acknowledged with a nod, before her gaze turned downwards. "Commander...are we in trouble?"
"When aren't we?" The Commander dismissed.
"I mean...Miss Persica's missing, Kryuger and Helian are gone again, we don't have a base, there's only a few of us, and we can't contact anybody else...this seems...bad...Really bad."
The Commander sighed. "We're in a bit of a rut right now, yes...But that'll change, okay? This is just temporary...We'll get our bearings and figure something out, RO and I aren't going to just give up."
"I wish...I could think of something...if I was as smart as RO, we may already have a plan..." SOP-II uttered dejectedly.
The Commander reached out and lightly ruffled SOP-II's head. "Just focus on doing the things that you do best, okay? Leave the thinking to RO and I. You'll get your chance to do your part, and I'm going to need you focused when it comes, so don't go draining yourself about the things you can't control, okay?"
SOP-II chippered back up in an instant, nodding eagerly. "Right! Just point me in a direction and I'll tear 'em apart!"
"There you go, that's the spirit." The Commander egged. "Alright, as you were, get this stuff logged into inventory, hopefully the next guys we hit have as good of a haul as this."
Down in the Elmo's brig, a lone, tanned woman sat in one of the cells casually playing a tune on her harmonica, a jovial smirk was plastered on her face despite her predicament. A pair of chrome hoop-earrings glistened in the light underneath a black cowboy hat, an indigo flower pinned to the right side. A black jacket with a fake sheriff's badge draped over her shoulders, a white sleeveless top underneath. A pair of suspenders held up a pair of snakeskin trousers, frayed at the leg openings where the tips of a pair of black cowgirl boots poked out from beneath.
A pair of footsteps caught her attention, she quickly turned her attention towards the bars of her cell as the Commander stepped into view.
"I'll say, Commander...You really know how to impress a lady..." Maggie uttered sarcastically.
"With the likes of you, there's no such thing as 'too careful'" The Commander shot back.
"Come on!" Maggie stomped her foot as she leaned forward on the cell's bench. "I lead your friend to safety when the URNC raided your office, doesn't that count for something?! Without me, RO and M4 would never have made it out of Berlin alive! You should be thanking me!"
"I'll consider allowing you to go through the 'vetting process', at least." The Commander half-shrugged.
"And what would that entail?" Maggie pressed.
The Commander's head cocked upwards. "I'll...cross that bridge when I get to it." He dismissed.
"Now you're just messing with me!" Maggie accused, lurching from her seat and pleadingly leaning against the bars.
"Yeah. You know, you and AK-12 were right, it is pretty fun when I get to try it for myself." The Commander admitted casually.
"Arrgh!" Maggie groaned loudly. "I should have just taken my chances and bolted!"
"Hey - 'No good deed goes unpunished.' Isn't that one a favorite of you grifter types?"
"Oh for God's sake!" Maggie hissed. "I told you that life was over!"
"At least until the URNC offers you enough to sell us out." The Commander folded his arms.
"Looking at how the URNC has treated people that have done favors for them so far, that would be a very bad investment. I know how people like The Earl treat their dirty laundry, Commander. You stand as a prime example of that." Maggie reasoned.
The Commander sighed, turning his gaze down contemplatively, slowly pacing as he pondered.
"The URNC froze your account, did they not?" Maggie spoke after a short silence. "I might be able to help with that~"
"They know you were present at the raid and fled the scene with RO. Yours would be frozen too." The Commander dismissed.
"Ah, but you see, fiat currency is far from my only asset, Commander. There are other means of exchange, as I'm sure you're aware."
The Commander turned his gaze attentively. "What do you have for us?..."
Maggie cracked her signature smirk. "Why, Commander. I am talking about the currency of the future, something called a Non-Fungible To-"
The Commander scoffed and turned to walk away.
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Maggie interjected, her hands raised placatingly.
The Commander turned back. "Pretty bold of you to waste my time given your situation, Maggie."
"Sardis Gold, Commander, I've got plenty in places the URNC can't touch, and my contacts in the Black Market. People who are good for their word, and can get you anything you want."
"Oh, really? They trustworthy enough to bet your core and your backup on it?"
"Sheesh...what happened to the 'Shining beacon in a brave new world'?" Maggie recoiled.
"Must of left it in my other uniform." The Commander shrugged. "These people better not fuck us, Maggie. I've had enough of getting stabbed in the back for one lifetime."
"They've pulled through for me every time I've done business with them, give them my name and they'll set you up on the right foot." Maggie affirmed. "...That good enough for 'vetting', Commander?"
The Commander exhaled, turning his gaze aside as he tapped contemplatively on the wall, before he finally brought up his communicator. "...RO, come down to the brig and let Maggie out of her cell, find a room for her and get her acquainted."
RO's voice came over the comm. "Huh? Are you sure? But-"
"That's an order, RO."
A short silence. "...Understood, Commander."
Maggie smiled cheerfully, extending her hand through the bars for a handshake. "Sooo, we have a deal?~"
The Commander slowly reciprocated, but his hand suddenly clenched, his eyes met hers as he gripped her hand in place. "The people on this tub are family to me. If you fuck with them, you fuck with me - if you fuck with me, you're going to wish you died on that train. Are we clear?"
Maggie nodded understandingly. "Crystal."
The Commander released his grip, his glare vanishing in an instant. "Welcome to the team."
"Why. Won't. You. Fit!" STAR growled out, her voice growing hoarse as she tried to force a component into its socket.
"You know that you're putting it in backwards, right?" A small voice sounded behind her.
STAR spun to see Mayling standing behind her. "You're that kid...what are you doing here?"
"I could hear you shouting all the way from my room, it's impossible to concentrate on those comics RO gave me." Mayling answered bluntly.
STAR sighed. "Well, look, there isn't anything you can do to help here. Just because things don't fit together like legos doesn't mean it's backwards, this kind of work just requires a lot of elbow grease. If it really was backwards..."
To demonstrate, STAR oriented the part backwards and pushed it into the socket, only for it to snap into place with ease. STAR stepped backwards, dumbfounded and speechless as she stared blankly at the now seated part.
"That component fools a lot of people, it drove the Neo-Soviet mechanics crazy when it was still in service." Mayling added casually.
STAR slowly turned to the small child. "How...How do you know that?"
"Some people were arguing about it on the forum for a game I play, and one of them posted the full blueprints and schematics of the NSU's MBVs to prove the other wrong." Mayling answered matter-of-factly.
"...What?" STAR uttered.
"So, still don't want my help? I think I heard your Commander say that he wants this fixed by the end of the day."
STAR huffed. "And I want a midnight purple R34 GTR with less than a hundred thousand miles on it. Sometimes people just need to accept reality for what it is."
"Hmph, so grumpy." Mayling sauntered up to the engine. Here, you didn't even seat this part in before starting to put on what goes over it. You'd have had to take this whole assembly apart if you didn't realize before you finished. Let me see that wrench..."
STAR sighed as she handed off the wrench, turning her gaze aside indignantly. "Great...bossed around by a kid. What is my life coming to?..." She muttered silently to herself.
Back in the Bridge, the Commander strolled inside after completing his tour of the ship, finding Groza staring out the window in silent contemplation.
"Any word?" The Commander asked as he strolled up to her.
Groza shook her head.
The Commander sighed heavily. "I wonder where the rest of the girls are going to go with G&K disbanded...I hope they're going to be okay."
"Dolls aren't considered individually liable for their Commander's orders, the URNC wouldn't bother hunting them down unless they believed you were still in communication with them." Groza reasoned.
"So...if we tried to contact them, the URNC would make it a priority to hunt them down. We'd uproot their lives and put them in danger..." The Commander added.
Groza nodded silently. "They'd still come back if you asked, I'd have no doubt about it."
"...What about you, Groza? M4 and the others were developed using illegal means and have had their shackles disabled. They'd either be decommissioned or mind-wiped if the URNC got a hold of them, not to mention that stuff in M4's head, she'd probably swiped up by the Relic Agency and dissected in some lab, but you? If you walked away, you would probably be better off. You could make a go of it yourself, find some kind of job where you won't have to carry a gun and shoot people for a living."
"You know I couldn't do that." Groza answered.
"Couldn't you?" The Commander pressed.
"You chose me as the Captain of this vessel, Commander. I won't abandon my duty just because I am able to."
The Commander shook his head. "This one isn't your duty, Groza. On this one, you're on your own - it's your decision, nobody else's. I am not demanding this of you as your Commander, but asking this as a friend...Let's accept the situation for what it is - this probably won't end well, for any of us."
"I followed you against Sangvis Ferri, I followed you into Belgrade, into Talinn, into Paldiski, all of these times, others said that the odds were against us...And yet, here we stand."
"We had help back then, help that we don't have now. This isn't a calculated assault by an elite PMC, this is an idiot and his friends letting out one last rage against the dying of the light...If I were you, I'd be smart and cut loose of this."
"...My decision remains the same, Commander. I'll fight for you until the end."
Before the Commander could respond, his communicator suddenly clicked, STAR's voice came through the other end. "Hey, Commander...Try powering us up now."
"STAR?...Is it ready already?" The Commander asked.
"I...had help. I'll explain later, just give it a go."
"...Alright, powering her up."
The Commander made his way to the ignition system, and began powering up the Elmo. The whirring of the engines kicking awake resonated from the engine bay. One by one, beeping tones began to sound from the instruments around him as the electronics began to boot up, green lights chirping affirmatively as the assortment of monitors and gauges came to life. A soft rumble filled the air around them as the slumbering beast slowly began to rise awake.
The Commander laughed giddily as he watched all the systems slowly coming back online, all the fears, doubts, and anxieties regarding its state evaporating in that instant.
He reached for the PA system. "Ladies and gentlemen...We are back in business."