Alarms blared throughout the dark corridor, red sirens illuminated the trail of lifeless bodies before her. Her white hospital gown was stained with their blood, their eyes stared up at her accusingly as the blood pooled beneath them. The smell of gunpowder in the air, the stench of blood, the feeling of the adrenaline coursing through her veins, the sensation was both familiar and foreign to her. She tightened her grip on her rifle and began to stride forward, knocking aside the empty shell casings littering her feet...
"M4..."
"M4..." The sound M16's voice pulled her out of her trance.
She snapped back to her senses, back to the sight of the of the factory yard before her as she leaned against the wall outside. The rays of the full moon shined from above, castings its soft light amongst the bodies of the bandits strewn about.
"I was wondering where you disappeared off to." Her sister continued as she slowly walked up beside her..
"...Just needed some fresh air. Wanted to get my bearings..." M4 uttered softly, her eyes fixed on the bodies before her.
Following her gaze, M16's eye shifted to the bodies, then back to her sister. "...Hey, they were shooting at us. If you hesitated, it would be you laying there instead of them. It's nothing to feel bad about."
M4 nodded. "I know...It's not them, it's..." M4's eyes closed. She stopped herself.
"What is it, then?" M16 asked.
"...Nothing. Forget about it." M4 dismissed.
M16's brow raised. "...Are you sure? You know I'm here for you if there's something you need, right? I know that after everything...After what happened with SF...I understand you're still upset..."
M4 shook her head. "It's not about that, sis. I know you were doing what you thought you had to, I understand that now...more than ever." M4 went quiet for a moment, she pondered deep in though. "...Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you about that, M16."
"Go on..."
M4 took a deep breath. "Do you...regret anything?"
"Who doesn't?" M16 shrugged casually.
M4 scoffed audibly.
Sensing M4's disapproval for her casual answer, M16 let out an exhale and stared off into the distance. "...From time to time, I do. I think about the things I've done, the way I hurt you, the Commander, the others at Griffin...And, yes, sometimes I do catch myself thinking..."
"What do you do about it?"
"Ain't none of us able to turn back the clock, M4. What's done is done, what's happened, happened. There's no point in beating ourselves up for the things we can't change."
"...Even if we've hurt people? Done things that many would consider bad?"
"It's as I said. We can't change what's done, we can only move forward." M16 repeated decisively. "...And if the things that I've done made it so that you, the others, and the Commander are still here, then I'd do it all over again."
M4 breathed out, nodding understandingly.
"What's this about, M4? You didn't go and get yourself into more trouble, did you?"
"It's nothing, really..." M4 evaded. "...I guess with us being rogue now, it's just got me thinking about...how far we're going to go, you know?"
M16 dropped her hand onto M4's shoulder. "You're not bound to anyone's will but your own, M4. That's something that you decide for yourself."
M4 closed her eyes, turning her head downward as more memories flashed in her mind. "...I'd do anything...and that's what worries me."
M16 let out a dismissive chuckle as she patted her sister on the shoulder forcefully. "I know you, M4. Better than you do. You'll keep your head on straight no matter what happens. Come on, enough of the downer talk, let's head back inside and see what the others found."
As M16 turned and walked back to the door inside, M4 hung back, her eyes turning down to the lower right. "...Not this time, sis...You don't know..." Letting out a deep breath, she made to follow her.
The door to the warehouse's main office swung open. M16 and M4 strolled inside to see RO sitting in front of the computer, ST AR-15 leaned casually against a nearby wall, the sole of one foot propped against it.
"Anything out there?" STAR asked.
M16 shook her head. "Nah, 12 reports nothing moving either. This place is cleared out."
Meanwhile, M4 made her way behind RO, peering over her shoulder.
RO glanced over her shoulder. "Just in time, M4. I've just cracked the password hash..." The numbers 123456 appeared in the password field on the screen, RO shook her head and let out a disappointed sigh. "I could have just brute-forced this..."
"It was the same thing for the keypad to the outbuilding. I know Persica's told us the stories about her assistants, but I always thought she was exaggerating." M4 remarked.
RO shook her head again. "Back at my old job, I've had to get on people's case for this sort of thing too. Some people just only learn things the hard way."
As the login screen granted access, the screen immediately unlocked to display an email inbox. It didn't take much scrolling before they found a message from an LYee MangiSecurity
Subject: DELETE THIS FUCKING EMAIL AS SOON AS YOU READ IT
Mister Recker,
You should be receiving our shipment of cleaning supplies shortly. This equipment should provide an adequate edge over your competitors in the area, now it is time for you to honor your end of the arrangement. A mutual acquaintance will contact you shortly about some individuals near the frontier that seem to believe they are capable of handling their own messes. Give them a complementary service and show our prospective clients that sometimes messes from the yellow-zone can make their way into the green-zones, and that it would be best served having some assistance taking out the trash. There is also another matter that we would like your assistance in resolving - an especially nasty mess that a wealthy client wishes to be taken care of appears to have spilled over onto your backyard, and we would like you to use your resources in the area locate and assess the nature of this little mess. Our mutual friend will provide you with the details."
"Commander, you getting this?" RO asked over Zener.
"Looks like STAR was right, Mangi's definitely had a hand in the Varjagers springing up, but Mangi being dirty is hardly news. These guys had a shady rep even back stateside, it's one of the reasons I took up Kryuger's offer instead." The Commander affirmed.
"What about that last tidbit? They've got to be talking about us." M4 added.
"So people want us dead, we knew that. That doesn't mean there's a connection to some kind of illuminati, M4." The Commander dismissed.
"If I may, Commander, if it's the Rossartrists, them going through Mangi isn't out of the question. Over in the Rossartrist territories out West, they were the one PMC that had exclusive rights to operate out there." RO spoke up. "Not only that, but they're protected from prosecution, several lawsuits of alleged human-rights abuses have been dismissed with prejudice by their governments."
"So, in other words, they're their proxy army..." The Commander surmised.
"The URNC is still organizing their institutions, and it will likely be some time before they can manage to do so. It isn't hard to see them using a PMC to act as their militant arm in the meantime." RO contemplated.
"From what you told me about the way the URNC's own operatives were behaving when they tried to bust you in Berlin, I can't blame them for trying to put someone else on the job."
RO shook her head as she remembered. "Those guys had to be on something...Some kind of experimental stim, maybe? Something that's making them hallucinate and act out like that?"
"In any case, we've got the URNC outsourcing their manhunt to Mangi, who is in turn outsourcing their contract to a group of thugs they can rip off...I'm almost offended..."
"Well, we just took out their 'cleaning crew', this is probably going to move us up a notch on their radar." STAR remarked.
Meanwhile, M4 looked down contemplatively. "...I don't like this. The Earl knows I can access Relics, why are they treating us like a minor inconvenience?"
"Maybe the URNC is being tight-lipped about why they want us gone. These guys are opportunistic, if they realize how valuable you really are, they might try to get a better offer for you." The Commander theorized.
"...Or they're already exploring alternatives...There's got to be more that these guys up to. Once we get back, let me hack into their network and run a tap, see what they're up to."
"M4, do I need to remind you that we barely have half of a platoon at our disposal right now? We're not going to be able to do much against the private army of the New World Order." The Commander laid out.
"I'll listen in for something we can handle then. There has to be a weakness somewhere!" M4 persisted.
"M, we've already had this conversation."
"Yes, we have. We can't run forever, Commander. William and Paradeus might be out of the picture now, but who knows what The Earl has dug up from their remnants. Galatea had labs and offices all over the country, and he's probably pulled research and equipment from every single one of them by now. Mangi's probably gotten hold of some of it by this point."
The Commander let out an indecisive sigh over the communicator.
"...You know what kind of man he is, Commander. Whatever twisted research they were doing, he's going to just pick it up right where they left off." M4 continued.
The Ephyllium trap in Talinn, those girls in the incubation tanks in Paldiski and outside of Berlin, Ange's report about the orphanage, the scratch-marks inside those crates that couldn't fit anybody bigger than a child...The memories began to resurface, memories that no amount of booze, pills, or therapy was ever going to be able to get rid of.
"We'll need more than this." The Commander finally spoke. "It might be time to put some feelers out and track down more of the old crew, probably going to have to source some more equipment too."
"Equipment like what we're sitting on right now?" STAR interjected, looking at the stack of weapons crates near her.
"It's a start, but Mangi's practically an army. We're going to need to get things more in line with how they used to be back at Griffin if we're really going to run interference on them."
"Our accounts have been frozen, though, and everything at the temp-base and our safehouses was repossessed." RO reminded.
"So we make some more. Maggie said she had some contacts, they could probably flip this surplus for us. Sardis Gold goes a long way out in the Yellow-Zones."
"Wait...you're going to sell these guns on the black market?!" RO objected.
"We're fugitives, RO. We can't afford to be picky about how we make our money right now. We're sitting on a gold mine that will get us back on our feet in no time, we'd be fools to pass this up."
"But, still..."
"He's right, RO. We're in no position to be picky." M4 reinforced.
"We can continue this conversation later, RO." The Commander shut down. "12, you listening in?"
"Tch, just when it was about to get good." 12 responded.
"Head back to the truck and bring it over to the loading dock. The rest of you, start grabbing whatever will fit in the truck and take it to the loading bay. Let's try and get you girls out of there before a returning patrol stumbles on this mess."
"Understood, Commander." 12 replied.
"We're on it, Commander." M4 acknowledged.
MBV Elmo, a couple of hours later...
The truck's engine rumbled as it climbed the ramp into the blaring lights of the hangar bay. The truck rolled inside, the darkness of the night sealed off behind them as the ramp retracted upwards.
The doors of the truck swung open, the dolls' gear rattled on their slings as they hopped out. The Commander leaned off the wall and stepped up to greet them. No casualties, no repairs needed, and a decent take of equipment to boot. Things went as well as he could have possibly hoped for, something of a rarity given recent events.
"I take it there was no trouble on the way back?" The Commander asked.
M4 shook her head. "All quiet out there. Nobody followed us."
"And, we have come bearing gifts~" 12 motioned to follow, leading the Commander to the back of the truck, a mound of crates filling the bay.
"Alright..." The Commander clasped his hands together. "Looks like Anti-Rain Enterprises is officially in business."
RO scoffed in the background.
"Should we start unloading?" M16 asked.
The Commander shook his head. "Save it for tomorrow, it's not going anywhere and you all have earned some rest. You're all dismissed for the night."
As the group began to file out, M4 approached RO. "Hey...I know you don't like it, but the Commander has his reasons. He's doing this for us."
"...Yeah." RO sighed out conflictedly.
M16 strolled up and patted RO on the shoulder. "Come on, let's grab a drink and forget about this for the moment, eh? We all pulled this off, we should be celebrating."
RO exhaled again and nodded. "...Right...Right, let's go."
As the AR Team began to leave, AK-12 strolled up to M4. "What, am I not invited to the celebration?"
"Hell with you and whatever prank you have planned, I'll see you tomorrow." M4 dismissed with a scoff.
"Aw, what's that saying you Americans love? 'Don't hate me cause you ain't me'? Maybe if you got rid of that brooding lone-ranger act you've got going on, you'd have more friends besides cyclops over there." 12 smirked teasingly. "Oh, better yet, maybe the Commander will put one of those Oath rings on you if ever stops having RO glued to his side 24/7." 12 turned to walk away, but suddenly turned back and leaned in. "Sistaaa~"
M4 stood dumbfounded as 12 strutted off, her face contorting into a mixture of confusion and anger. "What?!"
12 paid no mind as she continued to stroll off. M4 let out a quiet grumble before spinning and storming off to Anti-Rain's Dorm.
The night passed, the stars spun by overhead. Orange light seeped into the sky from the east as the sun began to rise, the morning sunlight began to beam down on the earth below and blared through the windows of the Elmo.
The door to the Commander's office swung open, RO slowly sauntered inside, her hair a tangled mess, her eyes half-lidded.
"Nnnn..." She groaned out, massaging her temples. "Why did I do this to myself..."
The Commander looked over at his adjutant as he mixed his coffee powder in with a cup of water. "Oh, look at you." He said with a laugh, shaking his head. "16 put you under the table?"
RO grumbled as she fell into her chair. "I told her I was going to have just one drink...but then the glass just kept refilling...and then everything started spinning..."
The Commander chuckled again as he mixed another cup of instant coffee and slid the mug over to her.
"Thank you..." She uttered groggily. She brought the mug up to her lips, taking a slow sip. "Pfff!" Her face suddenly cringed as the taste hit her.
Another amused laugh came from the Commander. "Not quite up to par with the stuff from the café, huh?"
RO nodded, grimacing as she forced the rest of the cup down. "Ackkk...No wonder you've been going for the energy drinks if this is the only coffee we have here."
"MRE coffee, nothing wakes you up quite like it."
RO shuddered, the taste still clinging to her tongue. "I miss Springfield..."
"Well, hopefully we'll be able to afford some better stuff soon."
"...You're seriously going to do this? Sell those guns off to criminals and terrorists?"
"There's no choice, RO. We need fuel, we need food, energy cells, parts for repairs, we can't always count on there being a group of scumbags nobody will miss nearby to plunder, nor us not taking any casualties when we raid them like the last two jobs. If we want to survive out here, we're going to have to deal with the Black Market in some capacity. There's no way around that."
RO exhaled, casting her gaze downwards.
The Commander continued. "Your sisters don't have backups, RO, and I might not even be able to restore you if you go down. I can't keep risking one of you taking a hit just so we can keep our heads above water."
RO sighed again, giving a short nod after a brief silence. "Just...be careful, Commander. Don't forget who you are, okay?"
"That won't happen. I know that because I've got you here with me, right?"
"Yeah...I'm with you, Commander. I just wish things weren't so..."
"I'll do whatever I need to ensure that we live through this, I won't go beyond that...I'll promise that."
RO gave another slow nod before turning her head back to him. "...Okay...I trust you."
"Alright then...Come on, let's head down to the bay, 12 and 94 should be done unloading by now." The Commander rose from his chair. RO followed suit, and they began to head down to the hangar.
Entering the hangar, the Commander found STAR overseeing the unloaded cargo. AK-12 and AN-94 stood nearby, idly chatting as their work had been completed.
"Morning, Star." The Commander greeted as he walked up alongside her from behind.
"Hey, Commander." STAR replied, the two casually bumped fists. She turned to RO. "Hey, RO."
"Morning." RO returned.
"So, what have we got here?" The Commander asked.
"Most of the stuff in the crates were small-arms, as well as lots of ammunition. We won't be having trouble with 5.56 for the foreseeable future. Now, we did also find some M136s and even an M224 mortar launcher." STAR began to lead the Commander through the stacks of boxes. "We grabbed the night-vision goggles off the guys we took out, too. Those will definitely make us some money if Maggie's contact comes through for us. Also..."
The doll made her way to one of the boxes, opening it to pull out a JPC plate-carrier. She opened the underside flap of the vest to pull out the plate, giving it a quick inspection before shoving it back inside, and handing the vest to the Commander. "Here, level IV rated. I think we're long past pretending that you're not going to have any bullets coming your way by now."
"Won't argue with that." The Commander accepted the carrier, throwing it on and checking the adjustment.
An opened weapons crate catching the Commander's eye, he walked over to it. "Now what have we here..." The Commander picked up the rifle and examined it. "KAC...SR-16...How the hell did they find one of these?"
"Even Kalina couldn't source one of these things, whoever's in charge of procurement at Mangi has some serious connections..." STAR remarked.
"Well, was there any .300 blackout in this take?"
STAR shook her head.
"Here, then. Use this instead of that sorry excuse for an 'SPR'. Save the blackouts for the PDW." The Commander shoved the KAC into STAR's arms.
"Tch, not my fault whoever did my imprint didn't know what they were doing." STAR shrugged.
"Well, I'm your quartermaster, now."
As the Commander looked back into the crate, he caught sight of something that appeared to have fallen inside of a crevice. He reached in and fished out a set of fatigues with a "Mangi Security Services" patch stitched onto the shoulder.
"One of their uniforms?..." The Commander uttered as he rolled out the fatigues. "Now that's a hell of a mistake to make..."
"Oh, what have you got there?" AK-12's voice sounded from behind as she walked up alongside. "Thinking of doing a little 'False Flag', are we?" AK-12 asked.
The Commander shook his head. "There's only the one uniform, and it's a male size. How would we manage to damage Mangi's reputation with just this?..."
In a place that is definitely not the stage in the Elmo's lounge...
"Aaaahh! Who is that?!" AN-94 shrieked as AK-12 encroached upon her, walking into the frame of the cellphone video.
"I am an evil kidnapper, coming to snatch you away and ransom you for a ludicrous sum of money from your rich family!" AK-12 declared menacingly.
"Not so fast!" A man's voice yelled from out of the frame. The Commander, dressed in a Mangi Security uniform and cap, jumped in front of AN-94. "This woman is under the protection of Mangi Security Services! No harm shall come to her on my watch!"
"Mangi Security?" AK-12 chuckled. "Everybody knows that you guys are nothing but a bunch of third-rate mall cops! You are no match for even the lowliest of criminals, such as myself!"
"Nonsense! We are protectors of the public! Protectors of the peace! We are the REAL shining beacons of this brave new world, and I shall prove it on this very day!" The Commander unsheathed his nightstick and leveled it at AK-12. "With my sword of justice, I will vanquish the forces of darkness! Have at thee, fie-"
SMACK
12's fist suddenly connected with the Commander's jaw. In an instant, his knees gave out from under him and he thudded to the floor into a crumpled heap.
"Ooohh shit!" The camera jerked as gasps, cheers, and laughs erupted from behind the scenes. "He got knocked out!"
"Aaahh! My knight in shining armor got knocked out by a blind woman who is definitely not a T-Doll! Oh why oh why did I spend so much money hiring a Mangi Security detail?! I've been scammed!" AN-94 cried out.
"Ah-ha-ha! That was the easiest fight ever! Now nothing can stop me from kidnapping you!" AK-12 seized AN-94 by the wrist.
"Noooo!" 94 screamed as she was pulled out of the frame. "I've been kidnapped, and now everybody knows that even a blind person can beat up a Mangi security contractor!"
"Alright, so...we've got 25 views...two likes in the eight hours it's been uploaded..." RO relayed as she sat on the couch looking at the laptop screen, the Commander next to her holding an ice-pack to his head.
"Refresh it again." 12 instructed.
RO clicked refresh. "Still...Oh, we've got a comment now."
"A comment? What does it say?" The Commander asked.
"...'I less-than-three two jizz four-twenty says: Fake and gay.'..." RO read aloud.
"Maybe it needs some more time to get traction?" 12 asked.
RO shook her head. "Even using the 'Most Recent' filter, it's been bumped off the front page. Several videos above us have already gained higher view-counts and views-to-like ratios. Things about content creator drama, celebrity gossip, and...something from KuroGaming...'How I escaped from HELL with NOTHING but an ice cream truck'... "
"Tch, I guess we need to work on our acting skills...was worth a try, I guess." 12 shrugged.
The Commander grumbled. "Well, that was a waste of eight hours. How the fuck did I let myself get talked into this?"
"Should we have even posted this? I mean, if the URNC watches this, won't they realize we're still active and trace our location?" RO asked.
"Relax, chuvak. I had M4 spoof our IP to someone on the Sex Offender Registry. If they try to run a trace, that's where they'll be lead to..."
Somewhere in Southern Germany...
"Target location confirmed, all units move in!"
The SUV's tires squealed as it skidded to a halt in front of the residence. The doors flung open as the URNC kill-team jumped outside, raising their guns as they moved on the house.
"That son of a bitch is in there! I can feel it!" The Sergeant called out.
"Sir, Team 2 is three mikes out, should we wait for backup?" One of the subordinates relayed.
"No...I'm not letting this bastard slip through my fingers! We're going in now!"
"But, sir-"
"THERE'S NO TIME, CORPORAL! THERE'S. NO. TIIIIIIIIIME!"
The squad rapidly approached the front door.
"FOR THE SHINING EDGE! FOR THE BRAVE NEW WORLD! RAAAAHHHHH!" The Squad leader charged the door and threw himself into it.
The deadbolt ripped out of the wall, splinters rained to the floor as the door burst open and the screaming Sergeant charged inside.
"GO GO GO! COVER YOUR SECTORS! CHECK YOUR CORNERS! PREPARE FOR HARD CONTACT, THE HARDEST CONTACT EVEEEERRR!"
Upstairs, an overweight man sat at his computer desk, a squirrel tail was fixed to his back, an oversized pair of bucked teeth were crowned over his front teeth, a pair of squirrel ears were affixed to his head.
Upon hearing the commotion downstairs, the man sprung into a panic as he frantically closed out the photos of creepshots he had taken of women while hiding in trees.
"They have finally come for squirrel-man, have they?! Well, they'll get nothing on me!" The man tore the computer plug out of the wall and ripped off the side-cover before yanking out the hard-drive. He was just about to run to the bathroom to try and flush it down when the door to his room was smashed off its hinges.
"WE GOT YOU NOW, YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST FOR ANTI-ROSSARTIST ACTIVITY! PUT YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR FUCKING HEAD!"
"DON'T MOVE OR I WILL BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!"
"GET ON THE FUCKING FLOOR ASSHOLE!"
It was too late, there was only one thing to do now... "You'll never take squirrel-man alive!" The man proclaims before he grabbed a fistful of acorns behind him. "SQUIRREL BARRAGE ATTACK!"
The shower of acorns flew at the officers, bouncing off their vests and helmets before clattering to the floor.
A short silence filled the room...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The squad screamed at the top of their lungs in unison, and slammed back the triggers of their rifles.
Their guns erupted in a deafening roar, a hailstorm of gunfire rained down on squirrel-man. He screamed in agony as bullets ripped through his torso, plaster chunked off the wall behind him and filled the room with a cloud of dusk, sparks and smoked erupted from behind him as the electronics were eviscerated alongside him.
"AAAAAAAHHH! MOTHERFUCKEEEEEERRRRRR!" The men continued to scream, spent casings rained down to the floor beneath them as they continued to fire into squirrel-man long after he went limp on the floor.
"I'M HIT! I'M HIT!" One of the operative cried out and dove to the floor, rolling around in circles. "EVASIVE MANUEVERS! EVASIVE MANUEVEEERRRS!"
"GET TO COVEEERRR!" Another operative cried out, diving to the side, but he ended up landing inside of a box filled to the brim with acorns. "AAAAHHHH! OH GOD! OH GOD IT BURNS! HEEEELLP! HELP MEEEE!" He screamed out in terror, flailing wildly as the sea of acorns enveloped him.
"RYAAANN!" His fellow operative cried out and rushed towards him, only for another one of them to pull him back.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM! IT'S TOO LATE!"
"NO! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! I CAN'T LEAVE HIM BEHIIIND!"
"HE'S GONE, MAN! HE'S GONE! THERE'S ONLY ONE THING WE CAN DO TO HELP HIM!" The Operative ripped his pistol out of his holster, tears streaming from his eyes trained it on the operative in the box. "I'M SORRY, RYAN! I'M SOOOORRRYYYY!"
Another series of shots rang out as the operative dumped his magazine into Ryan's head, blasting it into an unidentifiable red mess.
Meanwhile, the operative rolling around on the floor continued to scream. "EVASIVE! EVAASIIIIIVVVEEE! FUCK, I'M HIIIT! I'VE LOST BOTH ENGINES! I'M GOING DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN!" With that, the Operative suddenly threw himself through the glass and out the second story window, and directly onto the spiked metal fence outside. The railhead impacted directly into his sternum and impaled him directly through the chest.
Back in the house, the other operative looked over the body of his comrade laying lifeless in the acorn box. "OH GOD, RYAN...THIS...THIS IS TOO MUCH TO BARE! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" The operative then turned his pistol on his own head.
"STEVE! NO! WAIT! YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR! WHO'S GONNA FEED YOUR HAMSTER IF YOU DO THIS?!"
The Operative closed his eyes, tears continuing to stream out. "TAKE CARE...OF MISTER NIBBLES FOR ME!"
BANG
"STEEEEEEEVEE! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The last operative cried out. He frantically got onto his radio. "COMMAND, WE ARE TAKING HEAVY CONTACT! MY WHOLE TEAM IS DOWN, INITIATE OPERATION HAMMER DOWN ON MY POSITION!"
The operative scrambled up into the attic and climbed out onto the roof. It was his turn now, he knew when he signed on that he wouldn't see the final destination on the road he was traveling, but he knew that there would be successors. Others will carry on his memory and carry out his will, he can rest easy knowing that his sacrifice would serve as one of the many stones that would pave the road to the brave new world.
Ripping two flares from his uniform, he gazed at the bomber craft bearing towards him as he ignited them and waved them over his head. "ON MY POSITION, DAMN IT! ON MY POSITION! ALPHA MIKE FOXTROOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"
The payload released from the bomber and slammed onto the house, a powerful shock-wave rocked the neighborhood as the house was engulfed in an infernal storm of fire and smoke.
"The arrest of a high-profile terrorist took a tragic turn today when URNC peace officers were met with overwhelming resistance during a daring raid of his alleged hideout in this inconspicuous suburban neighborhood, and were forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. Left with no other option, the officers bravely called in the release of a 500kg bomb directly onto their position, ending the former Griffin Commander's reign of terror once and for all. While my sources say that all human remains recovered from the scene have been deemed unidentifiable, given the extent of the damage, it is unlikely anybody in the vicinity could have survived. A spokesperson for the URNC has expressed their sincerest sorrow for the lives lost during the explosion, and assured that their sacrifice will be remembered before ordering us out of his office as a group of female escorts arrived inside. I will deliver more updates as they come on this developing story, this is Shadowless coming to you live for DRF news. Back to you."
"Well...that'll get rid of some of the heat, at least..." The Commander remarked as he switched off the TV.
"You're sure they actually think we're dead? They could have just been giving lip-service to the media to cover up their incompetence." RO questioned.
"I'll still follow through on Maggie's Fixer just in case, hopefully we can get some quality fake IDs so we can move about a lot easier. Though, if they actually do think we're dead, it'll be a blessing and a curse if M4's right about the URNC wanting to develop their own key from William's research. Who knows what kind of damage they could cause with access to relics."
"Anybody who refuses to be absorbed will be destroyed, Lyons said as much when we first met him." STAR remarked.
The Commander nodded. "They'll have the whole world in the palm of their hand. They might even get confident enough to try to start shit with the Antarcticians." He let out a sigh. "A world war in the name of 'peace'...What a fucking joke."
"Wasn't M4 going to look for a way to slow them down?"
"She's monitoring their network, trying to find something important-sounding that's within our reach and capabilities."
"Think that's going to happen?" RO asked.
"While she's doing that, we'll try and meet her half-way. The Fixer's IDs will improve our reach and let us move about the green-zones, and whatever profit we rake in from this last take will hopefully be enough to get our strength up. We can get 404 on board, at least, and like I said before, it might be worth seeing if any of the old crew are in the area."
"Springfield?" RO threw out.
"Yeah, it would be good if we could find Springfield before RO here turns into Persica and has to dump a dozen sugar-cubes into her coffee before she considers it drinkable."
"Don't even joke about that!" RO stomped.
"Anyways..." The Commander refocused. "Until Maggie can get things arranged, we're pretty much stalled for the moment."
"'Stand by to stand by?'" STAR asked.
"Pretty much, Star. At any rate, I'm gonna go see if M4's got anything yet."
As the Commander made his way down the corridor, his communicator suddenly rang with an unknown number.
Cautiously, he answered the call. "Bodhi's Pool Repair, whatever your troubles may be, we'll have them in the bag."
"COMMANDER!" A shrill voice yelled from the other end of the line. "What the hell was that video?!"
The Commander placed the voice, the voice he had heard from numerous live-stream clips that had been reported and sent to his desk... "MDR?..."
"Yes, it's me! I can't believe you would post something like that, that was the worst thing I have ever laid eyes on!"
"Hey, look, none of us here are actors or writers, alright? We did the best we could with what we had..." The Commander defended. "I'm fine by way, in case you were watching the news."
"No, I'm not talking about your acting Commander...Your Camerawoman, she...SHE FILMED IT VERTICALLY! VERTICALLY! IN 2065! WHO DOES THAT?!"
The Commander grumbled. "I gotta go. Thanks for getting in touch, I'll be in contact if I have a job for you."
"Wait just a minute! We're not done-"
CLICK
Inside her dorm room, M4A1 sat hunched over her desk. Listening in to the net didn't require her absolute undivided attention, or even very much of it at all given her neural cloud's capacity for multitasking, but she still opted to keep to herself. It wasn't particularly unusual behavior, M4 had always been the most quiet and taciturn of the group, and opted to avoid social gatherings whenever she could.
A knock on the doorframe caught her attention. "You know, it wouldn't hurt to come out of that hidey-hole every once and a while." The Commander's voice sounded.
M4 shook her head. "You know I'm no good in places like that...I'll just ruin the atmosphere."
"Nobody here believes that, M." The Commander reassured.
M4 exhaled. "I know...I just feel like I don't fit, sometimes. I've never really shaken that feeling."
"Well, you're gonna put strain on your back if you keep sitting hunched like that. Come on, the radiation monitors are reading all clear, why don't we go get some fresh air?"
M4 nodded slowly before she began to rise from the chair. "...Yeah, alright."
They made their way up to the roof of the Elmo, walking out of the roof access onto the walkway, into the cool breeze blowing through the air. The evening sun hung low over the horizon, its soft orange light shining through the light haze drifting over the landscape below.
The two reached the walkway running along the starboard side. The Commander leaned against a wall on the inner walkway, while M4 continued forward and leaned over the railing.
"How's the jaw?" M4 asked.
"It's been better."
A short silence followed as M4 quietly took in the scenery before her. "...You know, I don't think I can remember the last time that we've done something like this."
"You and your sisters keep missing every time we get to go on vacation on the company's dime. It's like the forces of fate are preventing you from enjoying a Holiday at this rate."
"Well, if the time we were around for the Halloween party last year is any indication, I think they might have had the right idea..."
"Would you believe me if I told you that wasn't the worst episode that's happened on a Holiday?"
"I'd definitely feel sorry for you." M4 chuckled.
Another silence followed.
"...I haven't really been there for you much, have I?" M4 finally spoke again.
"...Where did that come from?" The Commander asked.
"...Just, it always seemed like I could never be there when it mattered the most...Being locked in that facility after what happened to AR-15, all those months I was out after what Elisa did, us getting separated in Sector 11...In Paldiski..." M4 paused, her grip slightly tightening on the rail.
"None of that was within your control."
M4 shook her head. "I couldn't stop them from firing that shell from the shore gun...I ran off to go after M16 when KCCO had you cornered...and then I disappeared on you again."
"You came back, just like I knew you would, and then we stopped William together."
M4 felt her nails dig into the railing. "...I just wish I could have been there more, stayed by your side like AR-15, RO, and SOP have. It barely feels like I can call myself part of the team anymore."
"M4..."
M4 exhaled, leaning back from the railing. "I know...I'm worrying about nothing again...you're here now...you're alright. I shouldn't be talking like this now, we were supposed to come out here to clear our heads..."
"It's not an easy thing with what's going on, I know..." The Commander moved to the railing alongside her. "And, you were right the other day...We can't let the URNC get their hands on William's research."
M4 nodded. "If they ever manage to figure out how to weaponize the relics..."
"Aggressive expansion, dissident suppression..."
"The Great Antarctic War..." M4 didn't say.
The Commander continued. "People like The Earl, they don't want peace. They want control, that's all that ever mattered to them."
"Yeah..." M4 sighed bitterly. She knew what Lyons was like, what he was capable of...More than the Commander did at this point. "...You know something, Commander? There's something I've been wanting to air out for a while now..." She continued.
"Hm?"
"...I'm sick of being controlled...sick of being used." She lightly shoved herself off the railing. "Everybody's always wanted me to be something I'm not...Some next-generation weapon that's so great everybody needs to throw themselves in front of it, some fearless leader that's going to end a war, some kind of key to some superweapon that some madman wants to end the world, or some reincarnated messiah that's going to serve as an instrument of some prophecy."
She let out another exhale as she slowly paced around. "I don't even know what I am anymore, Commander. There's just been so much that has happened, so much I've seen, I've realized, I've done...Am I 'Lunasia'? Am I that girl that Persica scanned when she made me? Or am I this machine that is just supposed to think like one of them? I don't feel like...any of these things." She braced herself against the railing with another deep breath. "I don't know who I am, Commander. I don't even know if I'm the same person I was when we met...Or if it's all just..."
M4 trailed off, hanging her head down silently as she leaned on the rail.
"Emmy..." The Commander spoke.
"Huh?..." M4 slowly lifted her head.
"Emmy...that's who you are." The Commander repeated. "You're not a thing to be used, you're not a weapon, and you're not made to follow somebody else's life. You're not a tool of a government, a company, of fate, or anybody else...You're you, Emmy."
"Emmy..." M4 echoed quietly.
"That's right. You're not part of Griffin anymore, William's gone, and we're going to destroy the rest of his legacy. Who you are is your decision, now. Nobody else's."
M4 breathed deeply, slowing posturing off the railing.
"...Is the name-"
"No...it's...You can call me that." M4 nodded. "I...think I really needed to hear that..." She turned towards the Commander. "I...am Emmy, and I'm not here because someone told me to be, or because it's part of my programming...I'm here because this is my home, and this is my family...I'm here because I'm fighting to protect it...That is the decision I've made for myself."
The Commander met her gaze. "Then let's go protect it." He lightly patted her on the shoulder before turning off towards the roof access. "Come on, let's get ourselves back inside."
As the Commander moved off back inside, M4 turned back, gazing at the sun setting over the hills.
"My decisions..."
Images came floating back to the forefront of her mind, images she quickly pushed back into the depths with a grimace on her face.
"I've made my decision...there's no looking back now...I won't let it be for nothing."
Shaking her head as if to shake the memories out of her head, she turned back to the door the Commander had left through.
"I'll protect you this time, Commander..."
"I'll do anything."