"Miss Kalina…"

"Kalina, what are your orders?"

"What do we do, miss Kalina!?"

"Miss Kalina-"

"Kalina-"

"I don't… I don't know…" Kalina weakly sobbed. She needed air, needed space, needed to… to not be here, surrounded by what felt like every single doll on base, all asking different things of her. Cornered in the armory, all she wanted to do was close the shutter and lock up.

And cry.

"Miss Kalina…" Her assistant doll, SASS whispered quietly to her, but it wasn't because she too expected something from the quartermaster. Empathetic, soothing, whispered with a gentleness that spoke of how good her programming was on emotional awareness. Came with a soft hug too- the best kind of deal where you get something you needed for free. A brief shelter from the voices, temporary and fleeting as SASS stood and began pushing back against the crowd of dolls trying to get into the backroom.

"Out! All of you out! You are not authorized to be back here!" The school-girl simulacrum yelled, adjusting her volume as high as that normally sweet and cute voice could go. Bought Kalina enough time to slump down onto the floor and pull her knees up to her chest. No sobs yet, but there was still some time for the news to really sink in.

"Sig Five-ten reporting, command room is still under lock-down seal, no evidence of break-in." The intercom above her head crackled, and Kalina reflexively reached up to click for the button-

"A-Affirmative, Sig. Kalina out."

Her voice sounded dazed, even to herself. When SASS returned to behind the counter she was doing her best to obscure the dolls that crowded around the safety-cage turning to shoot Kalina a confident smile that didn't exactly inspire confidence that she had the situation handled.

"Alright alright! Break it up!" A doll yells over the din with the bang of authority, forcing the gathering to scatter. A blond doll saunters her way up to the freshly vacated space, leaning one elbow on the counter as she peered into the supply room.

"I'll take uh… a box of fifty cal, a spare tin of rations, and a cola." M2HB grinned, holding the joke even when her eyes passed over the mess that Kalina felt like.

"Ma…" Kalina managed to croak, pulling herself up as best as she could manage with her wobbling knees. The machine gun doll's smile shifted to one a little softer, a little more sympathetic, and as synthetic as it was, it felt real enough to give Kalina the strength to stand fully once more.

"Miss Kalina?" SASS softly called, moving to help her in case she were to stumble again.

"Th-thanks, Sass. I'm… I'm okay." She wasn't, and both Ma and Sass knew that, but what mattered was that she was okay enough. "What's the report? She asked, propping her hollow confidence up with a deep voice.

"Auntie is finishing the outer sweeps, expect her to call in soon." M2HB started, listing off just what the other dolls were all doing while she was sitting on the floor being a useless lump of flesh. Zas was leading mop-up operations inside, Springfield was organizing cleanup and scrapping, 36c the recovery of lost dolls from their reserves…

And the commander hadn't ordered them to; he couldn't. All the other dolls were still armed, still waiting for orders. Dolls that she needed to get back to work.

"Use the intercom and call for a general stand-down." Ma suggested, as if reading into Kalina's frustrations. Was she that easy to analyze?

"...How do you know that?" Kalina hiccups, wiping the sudden tears from her eyes. A soft gasp when she attempts to take a deep breath. Ma-deuce fished through one of her jacket pockets, flashing Kalina a booklet… A G&K operations field manual. She slid it through the cage's opening, grinning all the while.

"The Commander made me read it. Here, look…"

Ma-deuce flipped the thing open before stopping and pointing to a section labeled "Doll operation commands." How… how had Kalina forgotten them?

"We're all on 'Alert' status right now, and given our current protocols, you are the next in our chain of command." Ma-deuce spoke slowly, softly, aware of just how that thought triggered spikes of anxiety in Kalina.

But she was right, Kalina had to do something. She grabbed the booklet and rushed over to the intercom. Switched it over to base-wide emergency frequency, took a deep breath, and leaned in.

"This is um… identification UAS-zero-seven-two; all non-assigned dolls stand down from alert orders. Repeating, this is identification UAS-zero-seven-two. All non-assigned dolls stand down from alert orders."

M2HB, SASS, and several of the dolls that still hung around the armory shuddered slightly… and instantly relaxed. Ma-deuce smiled, and immediately bent down to heft a load of ammo tins onto the counter.

"Well would you look at that! I'm the first in line to drop my ammo off!" The blonde-bombshell said, the false surprise practically dripping from her wily grin. It only grew wider when she saw Kalina's shock slowly melt into something far more relieved. A soft giggle, treated like a student by a doll never felt so refreshing.

"Thanks, Ma." Kalina said, taking that deep breath she needed to gather herself up.

"Of course! You're the boss now until the commander's all fixed up!"

Until the commander is all fixed up… the thought that almost makes that hard fought morale flee Kalina's body again, but she manages to grasp its tail, pull it in close.

"Mhm! We… we need to make sure this place is sparkling like new!" Her words are puffed by pure hope, but what else could she really do right now besides that? The commander was still in serious condition, but his situation… oh God, Command still didn't know, did they!?

Kalina rushed to the command center without another second spared worrying and fretting. Sig 510 was holding security there, her current order not overturned by the stand-down command.

"Miss Kalina!" 510 belted out, snapping to attention by clacking her heels together and whipping her arm into a salute. Kalina didn't like it, not one damn bit, but she threw a sloppy half-hearted return gesture as she frantically jammed in the override code to the door. The thing couldn't hiss open fast enough for her, and the moment there was a sliver of an opening, she squeezed through. Everything exactly as how the commander had left it just before the lock-down.

Except for the blinking direct-line to G&K Command. The outside communications must have cleared, the jamming signal had been from the Ringleader unit herself. She approached the console, clicking the call-in to Helianathus directly.

And only one ring.

"Base S-zero-eight, what is your status!?" A familiar voice barked at her, frantic and piercing.

"...Uh… oh uh… this is Kalina. Our base was… attacked." Still caught in the shock of the last hour and completely overwhelmed by Helian's urgency, Kalina's brain was just... stupified.

"Kalina! Kalina what is the status? You've been out of contact for hours!" Helianathus' concern was subtle, completely overrun by her shouting and perceived frustrations, but it was certainly not because of anything Kalina did. Helian… Helian always had cared.

'Deep breaths, Kalina!'

"We are still clearing our perimeter of lone SF units. They were lead by a Ringleader-"

"-And the Commander?"

There was the question that punched Kalina in the gut, and without the air to form words her jaw hung open. Thank God this wasn't a video-call.

"H-He's incapacitated. His condition is serious- multiple injuries, we don't… have the means to stabilize him."

Helian swore. Helian swore. Kalina had only heard Helianthus swear once before, and that was when she had learned that the Commander was going to be under her supervision.

"I'm sending a medical evacuation but the closest hospital is… Kazan. Assign him a bodyguard element, put Thirty-six in command of them-"

"A-ah… Thirty-six was… destroyed in the defense. We're working on reuploading her into a dummy but… her recent specs aren't matching." Kalina wrung her hands together, squeezing as hard as she could trying to match a pain that her news held, "She… might need to be rolled back." Kalina felt herself being dragged back into that dark place once more, a creeping sense of overwhelming hopelessness that was pressing in on all sides. The moment that G3 had come back with a parade of shot-up dolls, Kalina held firm. When BAR gently placed G36's shrouded body down by the rest of the dolls waiting by the repair bay, she was confident that they'd have her up and running in an hour or two...

When Zas and 36c carted the commander past on their way to the infirmary, that was the casualty that caused the panic, the spiral downward, programs and plans breaking down. The dolls crowded into the armory then, all screaming and crying and asking Kalina what they were to do next…

"Kalina," Helian called out softly, having finally calmed herself when she realized that no matter how anxious she felt, it must be nothing compared to Kalina, "Kalina, listen carefully."

"Mm…"

"We are going to airlift the commander to Kazan, and I need you to assign dolls who you think can best serve as subtle protection. Can you do that?"

"I… I will."

"Kalina."

"Y-yes, miss Helian?"

"You are in command of the S-zero-eight base now."

Those were the words that Kalina dreaded. She wasn't… she didn't have the experience, the clout, the…

"Kalina-" Helian interrupted those thoughts before Kalina could really start into that tailspin of anxiety again. "The dolls on your base trust you. Your commander trusts you. I trust you, and know that you will be able to keep things together."

Helian spoke with such heart-felt confidence that… that it couldn't possibly be a lie, and that made Kalina choke up slightly. The doting was a bit overwhelming when it came from someone as stern as Helianathus, but Kalina appreciated it nonetheless.

"Damage assessments as soon as you've tallied them. Your orders will be pending once all of your combat echelons have returned." Helain spoke firmly, but not with that same sharpness she'd use with the Commander.

"Yes, ma'am."

"AR team will still be based in S-zero-eight. Do not be afraid to call on their expertise to help ease your transition into commanding."

"Yes, ma'am."

"That concludes the call, Commander Kalina-"

"Miss Helian?" Kalina interrupted, trying her damndest to muster some strength to her words. "Why me? Aren't there other field commanders?"

There is a pause, an entirely too short and pained pause.

"Your base was hit the hardest, but there was a series of offensives all across G&K controlled yellow zone. Mister Kryueger's base as well. We don't have the spare personnel." Helian paused again, the words not really sinking into Kalina's head at that time. "That, and Mister Kryeuger holds faith in you as well, Kalina."

That was the shot of adenaline that invigorated Kalina, but also firmly placed her feet back on the uneven grounds of reality. This wasn't what she had ever expected to happen, the idea of someone as poor and wretched as she… a commander? Perhaps it was for the best that it was only of dolls- couldn't stomach the idea of being the one to send humans into battle…

But then again, knowing the friends she'd made so far, it'd still hurt, even if they were expendable. God above, she had hoped to understand the Commander a little bit more, but not like this.

Certainly not like this.

She wandered over to his chair, still caught in a daze as she collapsed back into it. Well, sinking into it would be more apt, feeling how the thing just felt too uncomfortably big for her tiny frame. His desk too, too wide, too cluttered with mission plans and a near-endless stack of intelligence reports. Made her wish for her old … no, scratch that, nothing could ever make her wish for that particular hell ever again. At least there was a little bit of solace in the fact that if she were commanding now, she wouldn't have to convert all that data.

Her first mission, what was she even supposed to do for the paperwork? Well, the first thing was to actually do what Helian asked.

"Tiss, Nina, report to the command room. Urgent task." She said into the intercom, still unsure of if she should use the commander's terminal. Technically she wasn't supposed to know the password- but just how many times had she and G36 removed his sticky-notes with it written on them? It wasn't like she needed it yet; she knew most of the dolls the base had in their armory, and barring any of the combat echelon members, 9A-91 and OTs-12 were certainly devoted in their programmed service. 9A-91… "Nina" as other dolls dubbed her, was certainly more enthusiastic than normal, but it was that kind of close eye that the Commander would needed.

And the pair arrived faster than expected, but then again every doll on the base seemed to be running double-time knowing how grave everything was right now. The two night-battle dolls snapped quick salutes to Kalina- something they had never done before. Had permissions been updated that quickly?

"Tiss, Nina, you two will be accompanying the commander on the medivac. You are to serve as his bodyguards until we can reorganize our uh… operations." Kalina instructed, doing her best to try and remember how the Commander would talk with his dolls. Something must have worked though, because the two lit up with visible excitement at receiving such, well, undetailed orders. 9A-91 was always eager to be near the commander, and having an excuse to always be at his side was perfect for her. OTs-12 too, ever eager to prove her worth, she'd jump at a chance for a special assignment like this.

"Dress as civilians though, keep your weapons concealed as often as you can. You're not to attract too much attention to the commander." Kalina's gaze shifted to 9A-91 in particular, her choice of uniform was certainly eye-catching, for lack of a more polite term.

"Ma'am, is this a covert operation?" OTs-12 asked, and the affirming nod from Kalina seemed to put a bit of a buzz into the normally taciturn doll.

"Understood!" Both dolls barked in unison, snapping a synchronized salute before taking off to ready themselves. They wouldn't see how Kalina sank back into the seat, nor would they hear her thump her head against the desk and sigh.

"Commander, just what do I do?" Kalina… well she wouldn't exactly say tat she whined, but she was certainly pleading to the image of the man whose shoes she'd have to fill. Well she supposed the first thing to do was finish cleaning up, but after that, she'd have to figure out how to break some pretty terrible news to the girls coming back.

"That is what you are wearing?" OTs-12 asked, transmitting as much incredulousness through her voice modulation as she could. Her partner, 9A-91 had just emerged from the dorm room with a duffel-bag slung over her shoulder and, well, OTs-12 had to concede that the order to disguise as "civilians" was a broad one. Broad enough that "Nina" had taken liberties with her choices. Bare legs, an oversized dark-gray sweatshirt that hung from her demure frame… and not much else. She looked ready to simply laze in bed, not walk the streets of a city as a bodyguard.

"At least put some pants on." Tiss sighed, making 9A-91 puff her cheeks in a pout.

"I'm wearing shorts!" Nina said with a smile, lifting her sweatshirt to show that she, indeed, was wearing a tiny pair of spandex-looking spats.

"Nina, why-"

"Because it looks cuter-"

"No, why?" Tiss stressed, sending the signal that she really did not understand Nina right now.

"Well, I wanted to look cute… like I'm disguising as the Commander's g-g-girlfriend."

Tiss groaned, rolling her eyes at her friend's strange ideas. Of all the dolls, Miss Kalina probably picked 9A-91 because she thought the small assault-rifle doll would take the Commander's safety seriously. His life would depend on them.

"How will you even conceal your weapon like that?" Tiss frowned, showing herself off as an example. She personally had picked out a winter coat she had extrapolated from scanning street pictures taken from Kazan, opening it up to reveal a nice fitting, but still loose-enough blouse. Even had a nice skirt to match, legging beneath to shield from the cold… not too dissimilar from her original uniform, minus all the more distinct markings…

But most importantly, her weapon could hang from her shoulder beneath the bulk, inner pockets big enough for a spare magazine or two without drawing attention. Nina frowned slightly before vanishing back into their dorm while yelling back, "You'll see!"

Tiss sighed again, the spark of annoyance tickling that behavior impulse constantly. A check of the watch… the medivac's ETA was in ten minutes, they should have been at the Commander's bedside by now, ready to help move him to the chopper, and instead Nina was playing around in their dresser. All she cared about was looking "cute"? Well, the thought of dressing up did cross Tiss' digimind too, but when faced with her primary directive, faced with an order given, she knew her value didn't lie in how she looked, but in her duty!

"Look! See!" 9A-91 emerged again, this time in a pair of snug jeans… but that same oversized sweatshirt! Had her chest somehow grown too though? It made the front of the sweatshirt hang more loosely, though she looked a little… lumpy.

"See! I can hide my weapon too!" Nina lifted her sweatshirt… revealing that she, in fact, could hide her weapon. It dangled from a single-point sling, stockless and suppressorless, just beneath her clearly padded chest. Tiss resisted the urge to complain, but it was growing harder and harder to clamp down on her emotion module considering just how much processing was being eaten away by her mounting frustration. What was it the Commander had told her? Always take the battles she knew she could win?

"Fine! Hurry up, we need to be at the Commander's side!"

It was a phrase Tiss knew would spark Nina into action, her partner galvanized into rushing forward with duffle bag clinking and clanking as she bounced. She'd roll her eyes, but she knew from their similar digimind framework that Nina would fix her kit, secure it all when the operation started in earnest. Still, Tiss ran mock-up reactions of how a civilian on the street would react to seeing a small, lithe woman like Nina bounding about with a big bundled duffle like that… and it certainly raised some alarms. Tiss at least dragged a wheeled suitcase behind her, at least made sure her spare kit didn't rattle around, at least did some basic research into where they were heading.

Kazan was on the border of the Yellow Zone, still had an active quarantine wall, military presence, and largely over-active police force. The time it'd take for G&K to get the necessary paperwork to operate armed dolls in the city would certainly take much longer than getting a life-flight to a hospital there.

"They're already moving him to the landing pad!" 9A-91 chimed, quickly pivoting direction and picking up speed, forcing Tiss to run after her. When it came to being tapped in on the Commander's status… Tiss also had to admit she didn't hold a candle to Nina. She extrapolated just why they had been chosen, and well, she couldn't cast judgment upon Miss Kalina as a doll, but Tiss thought that perhaps the quartermaster had an uncanny knack for picking dolls that complimented a task. Maybe that was why the Commander let her assemble the logistics teams?

Miss Kalina -Commander Kalina now- said nothing about Nina's state of dress when they arrived. A shame, Tiss was hoping she'd speak up, but all of them were a bit… off seeing the Commander strapped to a gurney, hooked with all manner of devices that beeped and booped. Tiss had no medical programs, nor had the space nor time to download any, but the general sense was it was all there to keep him alive. Nina was at the Commander's side at once, her digimind clearly accelerating into a heightened state as her hand rested near his.

"Tiss, Nina, at least one of you needs to stay by the Commander's side at all time-"

"I will handle this duty!" Nina belted out, snapping a tight salute as she interrupted Kalina's orders.

"W-Well, I meant like you trade off watches…" Kalina stumbled, but how could she be surprised by the outburst given 9A-91's affinity for the Commander? Tiss sent a warning pulse to Nina, trying to get her to ease off a moment as she stepped up; Nina hadn't sensed the immense distress in Commander Kalina because she was so fixated on the wounded man.

"Of course, Commander Kalina. No harm will come to him!" Tiss saluted as well, but her empathy program was still picking up reservation and fear in Kalina's body movements, how her internal temperature just kept on rising whenever she glanced down at the Commander.

They had been briefed on just why he needed security. Bits of his files, information on his past life and the enemies he had made. Even if his crimes had been absolved, they had certainly not been forgiven, nor forgotten by those that knew them.

But hopefully those kinds of people were few and far between, and not in Kazan. If they were, certainly the fact that the Commander was to be laid up in a hospital instead of walking the streets would help shield them more. Maybe Tiss would run the numbers during the flight, might help ease her own heightened tension.

The chopper thundered in, quicker than G&K's lumbering transports could, and Tiss could clearly analyze it's nimbleness- it was much smaller. One could describe it as "cramped", barely enough room for the Commander, the paramedics, and his two bodyguards… but at least dolls were used to being stuffed away in tight storage. There, jammed up against the window, Tiss watched the outline of Kalina, the golden blonde of her hair settling in the wind of the fading prop-blast, standing alone on the helipad until she slowly faded into a distant speck.

And she began to run the predictive numbers as Nina tightly gripped the Commander's hand.