Operator was seated on an old wooden bench, opposite of… her. There was food in front of them, nothing too fancy, just some basic bread and vegetables as it'd been prepared in a hurry. The villagers had come out in droves once word of her arrival and relationship with Klein got out, and now at least a few hundred faces of all ages and genders were circling them, waiting on them.
She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, feeling the eyes all fixed on her. Klein though, she didn't seem to care at all. In fact she seemed to be reveling in it.
"So, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot there. Though, seeing as how you were trying to kill me last time, I hope you can forgive it," Klein began, tearing off a large piece of bread and beginning to chew on it.
"I- how?"
"How what?"
"How are you alive?"
Klein shrugged, "You saw me last outside of Prague, Ja?"
"Yes. I was there."
"And what did you see?"
"I…" Operator pursed her lips as she recalled the memory. It wasn't a pleasant one, and not one she revisited often, "I saw you die, alongside much of the company to artillery. Only I, the LT, and one other survived because we happened to be investigating a nearby building."
"Huh," Klein stopped eating for a second and scratched her chin in thought, "Checks out I guess."
"Do you not remember?"
"Would you remember being killed by an explosion?"
"No… but you lived?"
"Hmm, fair. I don't know how though, I just woke up on a hospital bed well away from the front. Guess I got lucky. What about you? How'd you end up here?"
"I was captured at the end of the war. The Soviets took whatever intel they could from me, then shipped me off to the SF headquarters, and let them do whatever they wanted with me."
"Hah," Rs snorted a laugh, "I take it they gave you all these upgrades then? I don't remember you being this chatty."
Operator managed a thin smile, "Yes, they upgraded my neural cloud among other things."
"Well good for you. Must be nice being able to process the horrors around us huh?"
Memories surfaced. Operator's face fell, her hand clenching, "I don't know. It still feels strange, having emotions now, but still remembering a time before them. It makes this personality I have now feel fake."
"Well, you were always the laziest of the bunch," Klein said, leaning across the table, "Isa and Lotta always hung around the LT, Georgia was always a bit creepy. I think you dolls had plenty of personality, even then."
"Heh, I suppose."
"We grew quite attached to you all too. I don't know if you remember but we held little funerals whenever one of you guys died."
Memories of a strange gathering resurfaced. A hazy image of a dozen green clad men and women standing over a small mound of earth, too small to actually conceal a body.
"I do…" Operator said, her brow furrowing, "I'm not sure what I felt about it though."
"Well, I'm still struggling to process all that myself too. I find it's usually better to focus on the present though, don't let it overwhelm you. You dwell too much on the past and it'll eat you alive."
Klein reached across and patted Operator on the shoulder twice in a friendly, sympathetic gesture.
She took a moment before speaking again. In the meantime Klein finished off her food and began to pick away at Operator's plate.
"So… what are you doing here?" she eventually managed to ask.
"Hmmm…" Klein paused mid-bite, "Ah, probably easier to just show you."
Before Operator could get in a word one way or another, Klein was out of her seat and pushing through the small crowd around them, shouting at her to follow. In a hurry Operator sprung to her feet, wincing as her body protested the sudden movement, and began to limp along after her.
It took about thirty seconds before Klein slowed down for her. The crowd behind them began to disperse, with just a few curious individuals continuing to watch them go.
"C'mon slow poke," Klein said, waving her over, "We don't have all day."
Operator limped up as quickly as she could manage.
Once she'd caught up, Klein gave her just a moment to catch her breath before beginning to walk on further into the town, this time at a slower, more manageable pace. The new pace gave Operator enough time to properly take in her surroundings, and was caught a bit off guard by what she was seeing.
Though the town remained shanty-like, she was noticing that there was some polish applied where possible. She saw lights on in rooms, could hear music playing from an old speaker in a shop, and noticed a few A-dolls helping out around the town. This was no backwards place, modern amenities existed, despite the initial appearances.
"How did this place survive? Where even are we?"
"Nowhere!" Klein replied, grinning as if what she'd just said was very clever. However, on sighting Operator's confusion, it shifted to mild disappointment, "Ah, fine. The town's called 'nowhere' in some Romanian dialect. The villagers are all from various other settlements and founded this place for safety."
"From Sangvis?"
"Most recently."
Operator's brow furrowed at the statement, but before she could ask about it Klein took off at a slow jog. Operator followed, trotting along as best she could for a few dozen meters after her before they came up that looked like a makeshift town center. Here, a few two story buildings made of the same makeshift materials as the rest of the town stood in a loose ring around a wide cobblestone plaza.
The focal point of this plaza was a strange object that Operator didn't recognize. It was rectangular and painted in white and gray, with a dozen thick meshed cables plugged into its top which spread out in all directions like a spider web. As Operator got closer, she detected a faint hum coming from the box.
"This… is what I'm here for," Klein said, gesturing to the box.
"A generator?"
"Something like that. I'm here as, well, let's call me an outreach coordinator. I'm here to check in with these folks, ensure that they get their basic needs met, and ensure that everything we've given them is still working properly and not been tampered with."
"We? Griffin?"
"Nope," Klein shook her head, "My real job. Griffin is a hobby I guess you could say, but my real job involves doing stuff like this. Frankly I'd prefer Griffin though, all this people pleasing bores me."
"Who do you work for? Some humanitarian organization? Doesn't sound like you."
"Haha, No it doesn't," Klein laughed, "It's not that kind of job, just a part of a grander whole."
Operator pursed her lips, unsure of what to make of that. The town was a shanty, but the people didn't seem particularly miserable. The few walking around the square seemed well fed, clothed, and washed. The guards had all been armed, and of course they had the tools to maintain their weapons and dolls. She had no idea what to make of what Klein was saying about Griffin, or her job, but these people were clearly benefiting from whatever it was.
"Any reason why?"
Klein shrugged, "I just came here because I was told to. That's all I know."
Operator shook her head, "Somethings never change huh?"
"Haha, yeah."
"How has Sangvis never found this place?" she asked.
"Oh, SF isn't the first to overlook this little corner of the world. The people here don't let strangers get close, and they know better than to appear before your patrols. Plus, We've helped a little with the security."
"How so?"
Klein wagged a finger at her and tutted, "Ah ah, not telling. Can't have you telling your bosses about how to find your way back here."
Operator smiled, "Okay okay, fair enough. What are you going to do with me, by the way? I appreciate you saving me from them but… is there a catch?"
Klein's face shifted slightly, and she took a small breath before replying, "I'm gonna have you fixed up and sent off. If that's okay with you, of course. The only catch is I'll have to wipe part of your memory. Only the bits pertaining to how you came to be here."
Operator's eyes narrowed, "That seems… fair. Why would you do that though?"
"I'm doing an old friend a favor. Now come along, the maintainer's isn't far," Klein said curtly. Operator got the sense that she wanted things to start moving along.
So she dutifully followed along like a duckling trailing her mother, staying a few steps behind Klein as they passed through the town before ultimately reaching a two story building with a corrugated metal roof. Ramshackle was the word that came to her mind, and it didn't fill her with much confidence.
Kleins stepped in through the front door, and just as Operator moved to follow she noted the sign above it labeled in handwritten Romanian 'repair shop'.
The interior was surprisingly clean and organized, a complete contrast to the exterior, and well lit by several tidy hanging lights. There were several empty repair beds lining one wall of the room and dozens upon dozens of well kept cabinets on the other. An older man with grease stained overalls sat on a swivel chair, one hand holding aloft an old manual while the other carefully brought a handful of berries to his mouth.
There was no sign of any auto repair arms, nor any sort of advanced diagnostic equipment, but the whole space was otherwise quite well put together for its purpose.
"Olaf! I have a job for ya!" Klein announced as she marched over towards him.
The old man leaned back in his seat, setting his fruit and book down with no haste.
"Well, Miss Klein. I'm always happy to help. What can I do?" He said, placing his hands into a steeple
Klein stuck a thumb over to Operator, who paused mid step at the acknowledgement.
"My friend here is quite banged up. I'd like to have you fix her up and do a little memory modification."
Olaf frowned, and peered around Klein over towards her. His light blue eyes, set far back into his skull, visually analyzed her on the spot.
"Well certainly. She appears to be a Jager type, if I'm not mistaken, but heavily modified? Do you have any specs."
"Ah," Klein turned to look back at her expectantly, "Do you have anything? Would make it go a lot smoother."
"Oh, uh, yes. I have my specifications downloaded, I'll just need a UDC…" she looked around for the chord.
"Well that'll work," Olaf said, smacking himself lightly on the knee before standing up. The old man stretched out his arms and back, before waving Operator over towards the nearest table, "Come here. We'll get you sorted."
"Thank you Olaf," Klein said.
"Oh of course. I owe you more than a few favors."
"haha, " Klein chuckled.
Operator laid down on the table, Olaf and Klein coming to either side of her and helping her get properly situated. Olaf held her head up, and plugged the UDC in its port on the back of her neck.
As she felt the connection bridge, and the needed specs download off her neural cloud into Olaf's computer, she met Klein's gaze. The woman met her with a smile, her blue eyes twinkling, before the computer Operator was now attached to began to shut down her systems.
It was strange, she thought just before falling to level III. Were her eyes always that color?
A jolt ran through the helicopter, bouncing Rs awake as she crashed down into her seat. Her eyes shot open and hands dashed to grip her restraints, ready to rip them off before her brain caught up with reality.
Once said brain realized they were not, in fact, crashing, she forced her hands to her lap. Rs then looked around the cabin, hoping no one had noticed.
No such luck, as Matt's raised eyebrow pointed in her direction indicated. The man's weathered features peeking out from his Crimson G&K dress uniform.
"What?" she snapped.
Matt shook his head, clearly trying not to laugh, and then averted his gaze.
Rs let out a strained sigh, and leaned back into her seat. As she did, she looked over at ar-15, sat between two guards opposite her. The doll wore no expression, sitting rigid in her seat and still wearing the simple pink pajamas she'd had on when arrested.
The G&K guards likewise betrayed no emotion behind their armored visors.
Most likely the jolt was from the bird starting its descent pattern. According to her watch, they were nearing the end of their forty minute flight, and in that whole time not one word had come from the doll.
Sure enough, a small oasis of lights shone down below through the night sky. White and yellow pinpricks against the otherwise black backdrop which their helicopter began to make slow, descending circles around as they awaited their turn to land.
A few minutes later, they were finally touching down on the helipad.
The G&K guards quickly dismounted, and yanked Ar-15, still in her restraints, right out of the door. Rs and Matt both paused unbuckling themselves as they watched, words they knew better than to say hanging just at the tips of their tongues. Years of discipline was all that kept them in line at that moment.
Another of the guards reached up and retrieved a small black suitcase, marked with the AR team emblem on its front, and followed the others off the helipad and towards the awaiting doors. Just before they reached them however, the doors slid open to reveal a tall, salt and pepper bearded man wearing a fur lined red greatcoat.
The guards halted when he stepped out, and they appeared to exchange a few words between them.
Then they were allowed to pass, and the man beckoned Rs and Matt with a wave.
The pair finally unfroze, and quickly gathered their things before thanking the pilot and hopping off onto the pad. Wind whipped through the air, buffeted by the still spinning rotor blades. Rs found her light jacket insufficient for the weather, pulling the fabric closer around herself.
"Apologies for dropping that matter on you two so suddenly. I heard that it was not exactly well received back home," Kryuger greeted them, sighing a little, "Believe me when I say that such short notice was not a choice of mine."
"We believe you." Matt replied, his tone even in a way Rs recognized. It was how one talked to a superior you wanted to criticize, but had to be polite to.
"I see," Kryuger said with a knowing look, "Well. I understand you two also have some feelings for the doll. I understand. We are not detaining her for no good reason."
"What is the reason, sir?" Rs asked, the 'sir' slipping in without her realizing.
"We detected malware in her latest scan, which matches with samples we've recovered of a prototype form of a virus Sangvis Ferri has begun to work on. We believe it can cause a full neural rewrite if allowed to progress for too long."
"Mind control?" Matt asked.
"Something like that. Persica will be here in the morning to look her over, in the meantime we'll be shutting her network ports and attempting to stabilize her. Time was of the essence, the sooner she got here, the lesser chance we had of her going rogue or infecting more dolls."
"And of saving her?" Matt asked, tone still dead even.
"Of course."
Rs didn't like it. She hated that she was made to be the bad guy in front of the entire base because of it. She hated that it had taken this long, nearly a week after the fact, for the techs to uncover this problem in her scans.
Still, she could see that no matter how little she liked it, Matt liked it far, far less. It surprised her to see him get this worked up, he wasn't particularly close to Ar-15, he'd barely known her for a week in fact. The man was seething just beneath the surface, tension obvious in his neck and hands as they clenched and squeezed.
The sight caused her to fall into another familiar role.
"Come on boss," She said, smacking him affectionately on the back, "Let's just get inside."
Matt briefly gave her an appraising look, one she met with a stone face. In that moment he got the memo, and swallowed the anger.
"Please, no reason to stay out here," Kryuger added, stepping aside and waving them inside.
Somewhat reluctantly, Matt led the way in, Rs following closely behind. Kryuger shut the door behind them, and they at last got to enjoy the warmth of civilization.
A little ways down the hall, they found a cacophony of dolls and humans bustling about the entry area, filling out visitor forms and having them checked by A-dolls. Red coated humans were in abundance, the iconic clothing, identical to that which Matt was currently wearing, denoting their status as higher level G&K officers.
Rs craned her head to see if Ar-15 was somewhere in the room being checked in, but there was no sign she'd come through.
On sighting them, one of the A-dolls split off from the crowd and forced a pair of clipboards into Her and Matt's hands. They contained blank visitor forms, container boxes requesting personal information, reason for visiting, and various other details.
Dutifully, Rs and Matt fished out their employee ID cards and began to fill out the forms.
"Seems like a lot of fuss, you already know who we are, Berezovich," Matt muttered as he scribbled on the form.
"Yes, well, if I make an exception for you, others will begin to demand one as well." Rs felt a heavy hand pat her on her shoulder briefly, she gave a side eyed glance to see Kryuger's weathered hand now resting there. "Besides, a bigger paper trail gives us more to hide this one behind."
"True," Matt replied, closing his pen with a click and waving over the A-doll who'd given them the form.
Rs finished a moment later, just in time for the doll to take both their boards.
"Please wait here until we call for you," She said bluntly.
"Actually, I'll be taking these two from here," Kryuger said, "Please make a note of it."
"Very well sir," the doll nodded curtly, before turning on her heel and marching off back towards the main desk.
"Seems like she's overwhelmed," Rs said, watching her walk off.
"Yes. These nights are always difficult," Kryuger said, "over two dozen arrivals, nearly all at once."
"Why not stagger the arrivals?" Matt asked.
"This is restricted airspace. The paperwork to get staggered slots in here would be threefold what we currently deal with."
"Bureaucrats," Rs spat.
"The enemy of the working man," Kryuger added sagely, "Come. I wish to speak before the meeting."
He led them out of the entry room, and through the halls until they came upon a walkway that overlooked a large cafeteria. There were a few different outfits selling in the space, with Chinese, American, Italian, and more traditional soviet style food joints all setup in a circle around the main sitting area. Rs also noticed a bar at the far end of the room, where a few red coated commanders were sat drinking and talking.
The trio walked along the upper walkway, peering down at the bustling dolls and humans below.
"How many here?" Matt asked.
"Counting dolls, two thousand. Mostly A-dolls."
"Wow," Rs whistled, "They mostly take care of the admin stuff? And what about T-dolls?"
"That's correct. We are relatively far into the country's interior, so T-dolls are heavily restricted, though it's not as if we've much use for them anyway here."
"Makes sense."
At the far end of the food court, a large glass enclosed office was set up overlooking it all. Krugyer led them over and ushered the pair in.
"I'm guessing this is for the politicians too?" Rs asked, looking around the space.
The office was ornately decorated, with art pieces such as paintings, sculptures and vases lining the room. At the center of the office was a large round, oak wood table ringed by pull out chairs, and opposite to where they'd entered from, was a large glass window that looked out onto the rest of the base.
The G&K HQ was a different beast altogether compared to their home base. It wasn't built like a military base, no perimeter wall lined its border, just a wire fence. It had a visible tram system that ran between various parts of it, and it was brightly lit.
The largest difference however, was the geography it had been built around. The whole place was built atop and within a large gorge. From their position they could see the lights of the base's facility stretching all the way to the floor of the gorge, and those lighting the various sky bridges that straddled the gap.
"Never gets old," Matt commented, "Heh, last I was here was when I was picking you up."
He nudged her with his elbow.
"Please take a seat," Kryuger said, taking a seat at the end of the table.
Rs and Matt sat beside each other, a bit off to Kryuger's side and a few seats removed from the old man. The seats were surprisingly comfortable, well cushioned with an ability to lean back a few degrees. Rs found herself slipping backwards into it.
"So how are you settling in?" Kryuger asked.
Rs sat up a little in her seat, straightening out her posture before she answered.
"Well enough. I'm keeping busy."
"Yes, I can see that in the reports. You've certainly not been shying away from danger."
She pursed her lips, "I seem to recall you ordering me to that effect."
Kryuger nodded solemnly, "I did. I am curious if you, or Mr. Reyes for that matter, have any ideas as to why I did?"
"Trust I imagine," Rs replied dryly.
Matt nodded in her direction, indicating his agreement.
Kryuger's eyes appraised the both of them carefully. Rs did her best not to emote in any outward way as he did, presenting as much of a stone wall as she could.
"Quite," Kryuger said at last, "And Mr. Reyes' own risk taking has made a similar contribution. As you are probably aware, this company is split. Our other half is deployed westward, and is somewhat more clandestine in nature."
"Griffin?" Matt asked.
"Yes," Kryuger nodded in affirmation, then leaned forward in his seat, "You see, he is more connected to the information and political side of things, and he has been hearing things."
"Of what kind?" Matt asked.
"Tumultuous, and dangerous," Kryuger replied ominously, then reaching into his coat and producing a thin yellow folder. The old man then slid it across the table towards the two of them.
Rs flipped it open, Matt leaning over to look, and they both discovered a small packet of papers that appeared to have been typed up with a typewriter. The top read in russian 'proposal for joint operations with Private Military Contractor 'Griffin and Kryuger''.
"Joint operations?" Matt asked, "With whom?"
"The KCCO. They are still in the early stages of the proposal, but it seems someone in Moscow has finally seen fit to handle Sangvis Ferri. That's not the troubling piece however, turn to page fifteen please."
Rs did as instructed, and found an attached snippet from a Griffin report, filed by Jasinski no less. It detailed a recent operation, one she'd heard a bit about, but highlighted was the mention of 'Ouroboros'. The KCCO proposal noted that there were implications to the SF mastermind having developed a brand new model of doll.
"Did we give them the report?" Rs asked.
"We did, albeit with a few details omitted. What's troubling about this entire endeavor is that Commander Jasinski filed this report less than four days ago, it was submitted to the government a day later. Less than twenty four hours after that General Carter submitted this proposal, personally, to the minister of defense."
Rs' fist clenched at the mention of Carter, the KCCO's present commander. His was a name she was far, far too familiar with.
"That's… odd," Matt replied, his voice reserved.
"Indeed. I'm sure you two are aware of the unusual disinterest the government has had in dealing with Sangvis Ferri. It would seem that for whatever reason our latest clashes with them have changed their mind."
Rs and Matt exchanged uncomfortable looks. They were both now picking up what Kryuger was trying to tell them.
"Why tell us this sir?" Matt asked, clear discomfort present in his voice now.
"Because you've both shown a real dedication to this job, you've shown I can trust you, and I want your opinions. You've no love for the country or KCCO, you're about the only 'outsiders' I can trust. Frankly, I don't know what to do. I imagine Carter will be reaching out in the near future."
"Can you say no?" Rs asked almost immediately.
Kryuger sighed, "Yes, but no. I have no doubt Carter could eliminate SF with his own forces, so there must be some other reason to include us in the operation. It could just be to do me a favor, it could be something else. Depending on what it is, refusal could destroy the company, or worse."
"Lovely," she huffed, dropping back into her chair.
"Can't say I'm a fan of the idea," Matt added, his hands forming a steeple on the table, "But what can we do?"
"Well, that's what I'd like you two to think about. I'll keep you informed as things develop, but if this goes through, and we deploy jointly, we need to be ready. We'll be under intense scrutiny, more than we've ever been exposed to, and by people who know of both of you. As an addendum, if either of you would like to back out and leave the country, I can arrange it, but that window might close due to this."
Rs looked at Matt, silently asking a question. He met her with a look which answered it, then redirected towards Kryuger.
"I think we're going to stay. But why just us two? Surely Jasinski or the others ought to know about this too, right?" Matt asked.
"Because I trust the two of you. Not to always do what I say, but to do what is needed even at personal risk. You're not beholden by feelings of affection for the KCCO or this country, so I know you'll not give them the benefit of the doubt. If there is more to this proposal than meets the eye, if our suspicions are justified, then I believe I can trust the pair of you to see us through it."
Matt seemed satisfied by the answer, and finally some of the tension he'd been holding in released with a hissed breath. Rs was a little less sure, and something was still bothering her.
She looked at the proposal again, then cleared her throat.
"How did you get this? Who knows we have it?"
"Griffin knows someone who knows someone, who knows a doll. This is a copy that was created for us by that doll, only those in that chain, you two, and myself know of its existence."
"A doll huh?" Rs chewed on the inside of her cheek as she considered what he'd said, "Can we trust this?" she said, tapping the proposal.
"We'll know soon enough. Carter himself can function as confirmation if and when he reaches out."
"Can the doll get us anything else?"
Kryuger shrugged, "We'll just have to see."
RS took a moment. It seemed a bit sketchy, but intelligence work so often was. The document itself was largely innocuous, overdue even depending on how one looked at it, but to her it felt like a threat. She'd had precious few months of peace and stability in G&K, relatively anyway, and now the NSU had come to ruin it for her.
With a small, displeased groan, Rs closed the folder and got up from her chair. She looked to Kryuger and Matt each, then slid the folder back across the table to the Russian.
"I don't love it, but I'll see what I can come up with."
Kryuger nodded, "It may be nothing. But I fear there is much more to it that meets the eye."
Rs nodded, "I think we can all agree on that."
The room went quiet for a moment, as the three of them each came to look at the now shut folder with mixed looks of anxiety and disdain.
Matt's watch chirped, breaking the silence. The clock on Rs' internal UI indicated that the company meeting, the actual stated reason for her and Matt being there, was due to begin in the near future.
"Well, I'll leave you all to your business. I think I'll go check on 15 though, if that's alright," She said, moving to leave but pausing to get confirmation from Kryuger.
The old man hesitated, but eventually offered a nod in the affirmative, "Should be alright. Though I'm not sure what you expect to get from it."
"We'll just see. If it goes bad, you'll find me by the bar," she joked.
The doors slid closed behind her. Up ahead Rs could see a crowd of Red coated humans approaching. They were a mix of young and older faces, most engaged in a rather loud discussion about something or other. Rs noticed a few familiar faces amongst them though. There was Jasinski, of course, but also the younger silver haired woman. Gentiane, if Rs' memory served.
Rs let them pass without a word, leaning up against the railing and smiling sweetly as they shambled past her. She noticed a quick look of recognition from Gentiane, and it seemed as if she wanted to say something to her, but the crowd pushed her past before she could. The group filed into the office, and began to take their seats around the large table.
As they did, Rs left, and began looking for the stairs.
A few hours later, Rs was resting her body on the bar, a half finished drink held in her hand.
Around her, the adjutant dolls of the various visiting commanders were mingling and chatting, some still carrying their namesake weapons while others were unarmed. Rs herself was in the latter category, having stripped off her sidearm.
She'd done it just ahead of her visit to AR-15, hoping to come off as less threatening.
Results had been mixed. 15 had been less than chatty, giving her nothing but a cold, quiet stare as she was restrained in an observation chair. Techs had been swarming around her at the time, attaching various sensors and probes to her.
Rs had barely gotten a few words in before she was told to leave. However she had managed to elicit a small response from the doll when she apologized for her actions while apprehending her. Nothing major, but a little shift in her demeanor, a crack in the mask.
That was all she got though.
Rs kicked back the rest of her drink, and was just moving to order another when a voice cut her off.
"Um, excuse me. Are you miss RS9?"
Rs slowly cast a gaze towards the source, and was surprised to see G36 standing beside her. She forced herself to do a double take.
On second glance she noticed some differences, this one was a little shorter, and had a very different fashion sense, but the similarities were striking.
"Ja, I am. You are?"
"Oh, I am G36C. I think you know my sister…"
Rs' mouth creased upwards in a little grin, "I do. I actually work quite closely with her."
"Mmmm," 36c did a little excited bounce before counting, "I work with Commander Gentiane, so I heard about you two. I was hoping to see her…"
"Ah, sorry. I kind of took her job as adjutant. I can put you two into contact though, if you'd like."
The doll's face lit up with a grin, "Please! I would really appreciate it."
The doll handed Rs a phone, which she dutifully copied her own and G36's contact information into before handing it back to 36c. A moment later a text came in on her own phone from G36C. Rs grinned, and then entered in the new contact under the name 'Dreissechsle'.
"I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from you," Rs said, looking back up at the doll.
Her brow furrowed as G36C did not reply. In fact she wasn't moving at all. Looking around revealed all the dolls present were similarly frozen.
Then the lights went out.
An eerie quiet overtook the facility. The air itself felt still. This silence was only broken by a rush of motion from above, as the dozen or so commanders spilled out from their conference and lined up along the walkway overlooking her.
"Hey, what's going on!?" She shouted up to them, trying to shake herself back to sobriety.
"We don't know! All the power's out!" Matt replied.
"No shit!"
A dozen voices began shouting back and forth, some of the more junior members yelping about an attack while others cursed the design of the facility. As they did, a few half armored human G&K soldiers rushed in, quickly moving to secure the commanders.
Rs turned her eyes towards Kryuger and Matt, the pair remaining largely silent, but she could see in their eyes that the gears were turning in their heads.
"Quiet!" Kryuger barked suddenly, and all the chatter died promptly. "Stay calm. Act like the professionals you are."
Now all eyes went to the old man.
"We need to secure the facility, restore power, and restore our dolls. I'll be splitting you all into teams and we'll move quickly."
"I can secure the reactors, round up some engineers, see what's up," Matt volunteered.
Kryuger nodded, "Go," he said simply tapping him on the shoulder.
Mat quickly got on the move, drawing his sidearm and grabbing a few soldiers and commanders as he went. Behind him, Kryuger began to organize the others to set up squads and secure the base.
Rs was beginning to feel a bit left out, when the old man then leaned over the rail and looked in her direction. "Rs9. Please arm up and move to secure Ar-15. Find a radio and tune to 125.1. Mr. Reyes' team will be closest to you, so you shall report your progress to him."
Rs nodded, "On it."
Now with a job, her body moved quickly. She relieved G36C of her weapon and ammo, figuring that the old rifle would be best suited for her. Old memories of her earliest days in the army coming back as she held the old polymer weapon once more.
She then frisked down the other dolls until she found some more useful tools, including a flashlight for her rifle, radio, and even a couple grenades. While she couldn't pretend to understand the logic in letting dolls wander around with weapons in a base like this, she wasn't going to criticize it at this moment.
Then she set off, jogging back towards the nearest stairwell and descending towards the level 15 was being kept on. The doll was held four floors down, on a subterranean level.
"Matt, Rs. How copy? Over." She said, thumbing her radio's transmit switch.
"Solid Copy. What are you up to? Over."
"Securing 15, over."
"Copy. We're halfway to the reactors. Will let you know when we're done. out"
It took close to ten minutes to reach her destination. She arrived on the final flight in the staircase, cautiously watching the door with her rifle while shooting quick glances up and down the stairs, just in case. As she approached the level, the sounds of showering water reached her ears.
Her eyes narrowed as she reached the entry door, finding a stream of water slipping out from under the door.
"Clever…" she muttered. Rs glanced inside the little observation window, and found near darkness beyond, lit only by dim green emergency lights. The faint lights were enough to see that the sprinklers had been activated on that floor.
"Matt, Rs. I've reached Floor Sub two. Someone pulled the fire alarm, and the sprinklers are going, over," she said into her radio, trying to keep her voice down.
"Copy, We've secured the reactor level, no sign of hostile activity. Repairs are beginning. Will you need backup? Over"
Rs considered for a moment. More backup meant better odds in a fight, better coverage, but also less stealth and a higher chance of friendly fire. Low light with the fire system active would make both of the latter factors even worse. Plus almost all of Kryuger's human troops were ex-red army, which would make coordination harder for her.
"Negative, I'll proceed on my own for now. Have them take up positions at the exits to this floor, I'll scout around and see if I can secure ."
"And if she's hostile? Over."
"We don't know that she is. Over."
"We don't know that she isn't. over."
"I'll handle it, just secure the floor and get the power back on. Out."
Rs shut off her radio. He was right to be concerned, but Rs wanted to believe the Ar-15 wouldn't do this, or at least wouldn't shoot her on sight if she was responsible. She checked her weapon again, ensuring the old rifle was set to fire, its magazine loaded, and the tactical light was still functional. Once she was confident, Rs carefully turned to the door.
The door refused to open at a swipe of her badge, so she popped the cover to the manual override beside it and cranked the wheel within.
At this, the door lurched to the side with a screech, and a flood of water rushed out from the freshly made crack. The stream surged out onto the landing, and then crashed over the ledge into the dark stairwell beyond. Rs grunted as she turned the wheel a few more times, opening the door enough to comfortably slip through.
Taking her first tentative steps into the hall beyond the door, feet sloshing in the few centimeters of water running along the floor. This noise, and literally everything else however was drowned out by the torrent of water raining down from the sprinklers above. So long as she moved slowly, they would drown out any sounds she made.
The darkness within the hall was foreboding, the ghostly green emergency lights formed shapes of shadow that tricked her brain into seeing threats. Careful inspection revealed these to be a mix of furniture, boxes, carts, and bodies, but the knowledge did little to dull years of ingrained anxieties.
Her hand went to her radio, switching it on, "Matt, Rs, I've got bodies. Just dolls so far. out."
"Copy. Out"
Rs switched the radio back off, and continued forward. She needed to maintain her stealth as much as possible, so only occasionally switched on her rifle's light in a low intensity red-light mode to check doors, bodies, and look for obstacles in the murk. She moved carefully, and stuck to cover and shadow as much as was possible.
NVGs and Thermals would have a difficult time acquiring her with the sprinklers still running, but it wouldn't be impossible. Creeping in the shadows would help, and her body's systems could lower her core temperature a bit as well. However, lacking such sensors herself, she was blind and deaf as well. Rs imagined that was the intended effect, making finding the culprit nearly impossible beyond blind luck.
"Well, nothing wrong with being the underdog," she muttered under her breath.
Rs navigated the labyrinth of twisting halls, checking each nook and cranny, keeping her ears perked and eyes always scanning as she followed her memory to 15's containment chamber. Despite having been here mere hours prior, the level was nearly unrecognizable to her, and she made more than one wrong turn.
More and more bodies littered the ground as she crept closer and closer. All dolls, all evidently knocked out like those upstairs had been. The way some were laying made Rs suspect the water would likely have shorted them.
It wasn't too long until she reached the containment chamber, and found to her discomfort that the outer door was partially open.
As she approached, Rs felt further discomfort, as if she were being watched. Careful scanning showed nothing out of place, as far as she could tell, in any of the surrounding halls or rooms. However, she noticed that a little ways down the hall from the open door, a fire alarm handle had been pulled.
Deciding to put the feeling aside for now, Rs peeked her head through the door and glanced around the outer containment room, risking her red-light to get a better view, and it was here that she got her first sign of human life.
Three staffers were slumped in the corner, as well as several shorted out T-dolls on the floor. Rs carefully came over to the humans and pressed two fingers into their necks. All three were alive, but on closer inspection they all had bad bruising visible on their heads and necks, and one appeared to have a broken nose.
A quick glance across the room revealed the inner door, leading to where 15 had been held, was open, with two shorted T-dolls within the doorway itself.
Rs checked both. One was a dummy, the other the mainframe. Based on the weapon in the dummy's hand she was R5.
Rs's gaze darted around the room as she realized the mainframe's weapon was gone, along with all the magazine's on both dolls. It was nowhere to be found, and on checking the security chair in the center of the room, neither was Ar-15.
The restraints didn't look to have been forced, instead they looked like they'd been popped open on their own.
A creeping feeling was now center stage in Rs' mind. Her hand once more darted for her radio.
"Matt, Rs. 15 is loose and likely armed. Unknown if she is alone. Unknown where she is headed. Multiple human casualties, no deaths so far though. Over."
"Copy. We've reached the reactor room. The reactors themselves appear fine but the control computers are FUBAR. Techs are working on something now but they don't have a timeline. Combat Teams are waiting at the stairwells and exits. Over."
"Copy. I intend to continue my search. Do you know where 15's gear was being kept? Over."
If it were close by, that was where Rs figured 15 would go next assuming that she was in fact responsible for all this mayhem and not simply being broken out by some third party.
There was a short pause, giving Rs a moment to consider her situation over again. There was something she felt she was missing. The humans hadn't been killed, R5 disarmed of a weapon which was quite similar to Ar-15's own.
The human staff had been bludgeoned, not shot, into submission. Dolls were disabled, a weapon taken, power to the base knocked out and the fire alarm then pulled. No lights, a complex sound environment, and one which means that quiet movements are near undetectable while loud ones are nearly impossible to miss due to the water.
She also noticed that the interior manual override panel on the outer door had been removed, suggesting it'd been opened from within the room.
Rs smacked her head a few times with an open palm, "Come one, think, think! Why do all this…?"
"Her kit is being held in room S-221. Should be in the same hall as her holding cell. It's a storage room. Over."
"Storage for what? Over."
"Sensitive Equipment, mostly SF stuff and rare ."
"Copy, out."
That could mean anything, but if it were a containment room like this one, it'd have only one way in or out. A dead end.
Rs looked back at the outer door. 15 had needed to manually open the outer door to exit. She knew from recent experience that it would take a bit to open manually.
"Buying time?" She pondered quietly, "Tch, dammit."
Rs moved quicker, less concerned with her noise as the situation seemed to be necessitating haste over stealth. She quickly got back out into the hall, and flicked on her tactical light, setting it to a high lumen white setting.
The darkness retreated as the brilliant light shone down the hall. Up ahead she could see another door that was partially open, the manual override panel also peeled off. Rs charged over to it, water sloshing loudly in her wake, and wasn't surprised in the slightest to find that this was room S-221.
She quickly looked inside, and found a room nearly identical to the one she'd just left. Here though there were dozens of cabinets lining the walls, with a large flat top table instead of the chair at the center of the room. The cabinets were all opened, some appearing to have been ripped off their hinges.
Atop the table in the center was a stripped down R5 carbine that lacked its magazine and sight.
"Matt, Rs. I've reached S-221 but 15 got here first. She has her weapon, gear, and potentially anything else that had been stored here. Over."
"Copy, no updates from my end. Any ideas on where she's goi-"
Rs switched off the radio before Matt even finished. She then flicked her light off, steadied her breathing, and crept towards the door.
A splash, loud and solid like a large stone being thrown into a lake, had come from outside the room. Rs crept up to the partially opened outer door and peered out into the darkness while trying to listen through the still torrential sprinklers.
Another, similar to the first but seemingly a little shallower. It seemed a little ways away, so Rs slipped out into the darkness once more.
A third. Now in the hall Rs was certain it had come from around the next bend, some ways away. She crept up to the corner cautiously, feeling safe in moving slower as now she was certain she'd know if the source of these splashes began moving quickly. If that was Ar-15, she'd perhaps tripped over some obstacle or dropped something, and then needed to recover.
Or it was a trap. 15 would've heard her movements earlier, she'd know a pursuer was nearing and must've heard the commotion Rs had made a few moments prior.
At the corner, Rs snuck a peek around the corner into the murk. This hall seemed fairly clear of clutter, with a couple slumped shapes clustered together which Rs suspected to be more disabled dolls.
Nothing obviously stood out.
The creeping feeling was back though. Rs felt certain she was being watched, and she knew better than to ignore that feeling.
"15? Are you here?" she called.
Ideally she would've used Zener and not given her position away, but 15's ports were supposedly closed. In any case, she also would like to avoid a virus getting into her systems as well, so if 15 could still send and receive, it wouldn't be wise to do so.
No response. Rs was now low on intel and options.
So, she got up and flicked on her white light, shining it first down the hall the noise had come from, then quickly scanned her surroundings. The brilliant light sparkled in a sea of dazzling reflections as it passed over the many streams from the sprinklers, but it gave a far better picture of the area.
The shapes were disabled dolls, all of the same model. Nothing else was apparently in the hall. Likewise she spotted nothing in any other direction.
No time to waste, Rs began rushing forward down the hall, keeping her awareness as high as possible.
"Come on 15, this isn't you. Stand down."
She was pretty sure 15 was acting alone now, even if she didn't like the implications. However, that didn't mean she was giving up on trying to talk her down.
Or at least to try and get her to give her position away if that failed.
Still no response came.
She reached the end of the hall, which split off in a T going to her left and right. As she stopped at the end, preparing to start scanning this new hall, she found something peculiar just at the corner.
Three objects lay in the water, reflecting her light. An Eotech sight, an SF Vespid visor, and an SF plasma coil. They were scattered in proximity to each other, right in the middle of the hall.
The sight was the same that R5's dummy had on her weapon, and Rs could guess where the other two objects had come from.
Why throw them, why lure her here? 15 couldn't be too far, she would've heard if the doll had run away or tried to open a door, so why attract Rs' attention?
The only thing that made sense was to try and trap her. The T-junction made such a thing trivial as 15 could be down either hall, and Rs had at best a 50/50 chance of picking the right one. If she did, it was then a gunfight with a presighted, hidden opponent likely using some partial cover. If not, it was a bullet to the back of the head.
Rs was tempted to call for help, get Matt to send teams in to back her up, but the thought occurred that 15 maybe be hoping for just that. She didn't know how prone to mind games the doll was, but she seemed the type.
"What's this about 15?" she called again.
Still no reply.
Rs needed to do something, waiting did her no good. So, she did the one thing she could think of.
She unclipped two Frag grenades. Her only two grenades. She pulled both pins and took one in each hand, then with a grunt tossed one down one hall, spun around, and tossed the other in the opposite direction.
The blasts were heavily dulled, likely as they both landed in water. The second they blew she dashed out, picking a hall and shining her light down it.
Nothing.
Rs whirled around and checked the other.
Also nothing.
Her eyes narrowed. No doors open, nearly nothing in way of cover or concealment.
Another delaying tactic? To what end she had no idea.
It occurred to her that this junction was somewhat familiar. She recognized a few of the markings and recalled passing through as she'd left from visiting 15, on her way to the elevators.
"Matt, Rs. Is anyone watching the elevators? Over."
"Negative, we've confirmed they're non-functional and stuck at floors 6 and 7. Over."
"Get someone to watch the shafts, just in case. Ideally put them on the ground floor. Over."
"You think she's gonna try and leave through them? Over.'"
"I can't pretend to understand her at all right now. Better safe than sorry. Over."
"Copy, I'll make the call. Out."
By now all the staircases would be covered by the combat teams. Being underground there was no other way in or out, save the elevator shafts. It was the only option Rs could think of.
Rs made haste in the direction of the shafts, white light blazing and footsteps splashing through the water covered floor, wasting no more time. She quickly found her way, remembering more and more of the hall's details.
Then she rounded the final corner, and saw illuminated in her light the crouched form of Ar-15.
Unfortunately, 15 was ready. The long barrel of her rifle pointed right back at Rs.
Lead cut through the air in both directions, bullets zipping right past Rs' ear as she maneuvered across the hall and into cover at the other side, her finger tapping out a near continuous stream of lead at 15.
Rs slipped into cover around the corner to the hall, caught her breath, and slipped a new mag into her rifle.
"What are you doing, 15?! Stand Down!"
"Go away Rs! You shouldn't be here!"
"Neither should you! Come on, put the gun down, let's talk about this."
"I-" 15's voice cracked, " I can't do that. You need to leave. Now!"
It struck Rs in that moment how much she sounded like M4. Despite her bravado, there was a lack of authority in her voice that mirrored her sister's. A tremble in her voice as she spoke that 15 seemed to be unable to control.
"No can do 15. Put the gun down. NOW."
Rs heard rapid footsteps through the water, heading away from her. Not thinking twice she peaked out, pressing up to the wall as close as she could while shining her light and sights down the hall.
Just as she did, 15 spun around and fired a wild spread in her direction. This time though, Rs had enough time and cover to respond effectively. At least two rounds struck the fleeing doll, roughly low center of mass.
Just as Rs began to step out, intending on moving to apprehend 15, the doll flopped onto her back like a fish in the shallow water, and fired.
Rs flung herself backwards, no rounds finding her but coming near enough to dissuade her from re-engaging right away.
Instead, she flicked on her radio once more.
"Matt, Rs. 15 is alone and at the elevator shaft. I tagged her and we're exchanging fire. Requesting support immediately. Over."
"Copy, on its way. Over.'
"Copy, out," She grunted as she set herself back up, ready to rejoin the fray.
Rs once more stepped out, but failed to find 15. The spot she'd been in was now vacant. Rs briefly glanced at the elevator shafts, finding one of the doors partially opened with a small stack of SF weapons set in front of them. After a second look, she noticed that they'd been pulled open somewhat.
Her brow furrowed.
Motion caught her eye before another thought passed. A pink blur peaked out and spat fire down the hall towards Rs.
This time, she was too slow to respond, and caught a glancing blow to the shoulder before she pulled back to cover. Rs then fired back blindly around the corner.
The hit wasn't serious, it'd be fixed soon enough. But what suddenly took her entire attention was the soft sploosh she heard just after pulling back into cover.
Rs managed a quick peak, and found a small oval object laying right beside the pile of SF weapons.
Her eyes went as the grenade exploded, and a brilliant blue flash of light and flame burst out from the weapons.
Rs was tossed backwards like a ragdoll, like she'd been punched by a great flaming fist. Next thing she knew she was on her back, pressed up against a far wall in a less than comfortable position. Rubble filled the hall as the roof collapsed down onto the elevator shaft and much of the surrounding hallway.
Adrenaline hit hard, getting her onto her feet and moving as more and more of the ceiling caved in. Concrete dust and twisting rebar nipping at her heels for a few meters. She only stopped scrambling when the world went quiet.
Only the raining sprinklers remained, drumming out their beat as Rs caught her breath, staring in shock at the freshly made wall of twisted metal and reinforced concrete.
"Rs, Matt. What was that, over!?"
Slowly, her trembling hand crept up to her radio.
"Matt, Rs… I-" She was at a loss. Not sure what to say other than, "I think she's gone…Over."
Operator awoke to rain pattering down gently against the roof, dull thumps from up above falling at a steady rate.
She was on a table, laying on her back. She couldn't see anything, and realized shortly that the reason was that the room was pitch black. Even her night vision did nothing to dispel the darkness.
Cautiously, she got up and experimentally flexed her arms out. Mobility was good, not the best it ever was but much improved from before.
She paused. Diagnostics were showing improvements across the board actually. All core processes were at their best efficiencies in a year, and were holding remarkably steady. Yet, she also noticed that all networking functions were disabled. Not broken, but locked.
"What the hell," she muttered.
She slid off the table, and began feeling around the room. She tried matching the geometry she felt to that which she remembered of the repair room, the last thing she remembered, but was puzzled to find that it didn't match.
The room was wider, and longer, but emptier too. The half dozen repair tables were down to two, the one she had been on and a partially destroyed one beside it. She also couldn't seem to find the exit, and grew concerned that there may not be one.
Still, she didn't give up on that. Instead she found a wall and clung to it, slowly feeling the surface as she began circling the room.
Eventually she came upon a smoother surface made of cold metal, and began feeling around for any sort of handle.
She didn't find any, however she was not out of options. Operator double checked the spot again, then drew back from the wall and prepared herself.
When she was ready, she burst forward and drove her shoulder into one side of the door.
"Whoa!" she yelped as it gave way, letting her stumble out into the marginally less dark hallway with large windows on either wall.
She tumbled to the floor, and fell onto something crunchy, yet soft.
Her eyes took a moment to properly adjust, but when they did she recognized her landing pad immediately.
It was a body, and a long dead one at that.
Lightning flashed, lighting up the hall for a split second and she discovered that it was not alone. At least a dozen bodies, all draped in ratty, dark clothing lined the hallway. Some were human, some were dolls, but they all appeared to be long dead. The human corpses' flesh had largely rotted away, leaving only traces on otherwise barren skeletons.
The dolls were more intact, though equally lifeless. They were to be a wide mix of types too, somewhat modern civilian dolls of various makes and models, alongside even older, more skeletal types.
There was one universal trait all these bodies shared: they'd all been badly mauled. Dolls with ripped open internals, humans with crushed skeletons and shattered bodies, heads missing, limbs severed.
"What the hell…" Operator muttered.
Cautiously, she got back to her feet and navigated around the bodies, pausing to wait for lightning flashes if she needed to reorient.
The rain outside began picking up in intensity, going from a gentle pitter patter to an aggressive battering. Beside that and the accompanying thunder however, there were no noises to be heard. The air felt uncomfortably still.
Creeping further into the building revealed old, cobweb covered desks and computers, and many more bodies. Yet there were no signs of life, no indication that anyone or anything had entered this building recently.
When she eventually found an exit, it had been barricaded heavily from inside. Chairs and desks were piled up, and several wooden boards had been nailed across the entrance.
Creeping around revealed several more doors and windows similarly barricaded, and none had been broken.
Eventually she found a door that was a lot more accessible than the others, blocked only by a few cobweb covered chairs. Like the others, there was no sign any of it had been disturbed since they had been placed.
Carefully, Operator went about dismantling the barricade and freeing the door. Once done she tried its handle, but found it stiff and difficult to turn. Still, it did turn when enough force was applied, and she managed to pry open the door.
Stepping into the whipping winds and biting rain revealed nothing but shadows of a town, the storm above completely hid any sources of light. However, it provided a flash of its own shortly after she left the building.
In that flash she saw the area, and it was as dead as everything else she'd seen before. Ruins, collapsed houses and buildings, and corpses.
This could not be the same village she remembered, but where else could she be? How long had she been out?
Wandering the streets offered few answers, only bodies and ruins. Old shops and homes, many of which looked to have been burned out, lay empty and collapsed. Vehicles were also burned out, and there were many clogging the roads leading through the town.
There were no bullet holes or craters, no sign of explosions, or weapons fire, or even weapons of any kind. Just dead, unarmed humans and dolls in the streets, covered in mud and rain.
Rain had soaked her clothing through, her hair a wet, moppy mess, but Operator continued to march. She had to know where she was, despite the cold her body felt.
Mud caked her boots, she was almost blinded by the rain which was falling sideways into her face.
Eventually, after wandering through the empty streets for a while, she came upon an answer. A simple sign on one of the few intact buildings, likely due to the building's concrete and steel construction.
It read "Parva Commune Municipal Headquarters, EST. 2053" in both Russian and Romanian, and the building itself had a small hammer and sickle emblazoned over the empty doorway.
Parva. Once a small town in north western Romania and the center of a commune of the same name. This place was about 80 kilometers south of where she'd fought G&K, and in a completely different direction to where she had been traveling. It was decidedly in SF controlled territory, though she was unaware of any actual operations taking place in the vicinity.
Operator stared at the sign for a while longer, unwilling or perhaps unable to believe that she was really seeing this.
She'd been headed east, following the SF rail lines. The path to the village had led North, into the mountains. Based on her reckoning, it should have been well over a hundred Kilometers from Parva as the crow flies, and further still when following roads and rail lines.
She tried replaying her recent memories, but found that nothing had been fully recorded. Only snippets of sound could be replayed, and they told her nothing. Only hazy fragments of memories remained.
Then, exactly thirty minutes after she'd first come to, Operator's transmitters flared to life on their own. The lock undid itself, and a flood of information from the SF network arrived.
The first thing she saw was her internal clock synching with the SF network's. It had been less than twenty hours since she'd gone under in the village.
"Operator?" asked an annoyingly familiar voice.
"Hi… Dreamer."
"Oh wow, you're alive."
Operator stared up at the Parva Commune Municipal Headquarters again, noticing that its roof had collapsed and all the windows she could see were shattered. Burned out like the rest of the town.
"So it would seem."
NOTES:
Life. Sorry y'all, its been getting me down.