The Untold Story of Texas and Lappland (Arknights)

Part 1: It Starts With Recruitment

Doctor [Y/N] was sifting through some recruitment documents up in the control room while the Operators were off doing their duties. The hooded figure was hunched over one particular form, rubbing their chin thoughtfully. Texas felt at home up in the control room, lounging in one of the soft cushy chairs facing a lit up monitor screen. Today she was handling communications. A squad was out scavenging for items the medical team from Rhine lab needed for one reason or another. She had hardly been to the Med Bay herself as many of the people receiving treatment down there were infected.

Sitting in the chair adjacent to her was SilverAsh, who looked to be doing more sleep then he was observing the goings on of the building. Project Red paced around at the far side of the room, like she was on patrol. Out of all the operators working in Rhodes Island, the other Lupus freaked her out the most. It had nothing to do with her personality —Red was actually quite pleasant to talk to— but something about her aura put Texas off.

So the large room had been silent aside from the whirring monitors and the flicking of pages up until the point Amiya came striding into the room. Dr. Kal'tsit was following behind her like a silent shadow. They were dressed as they normally were: one a palette of blue and the other a springtime mix of white and green. The pair stopped once they reached the Doctor's desk.

"Doctor [Y/N], do you have the recruitment selection ready yet? Orchid is waiting for it downstairs in the office." Kal'tsit was business as usual with her words, getting right to the point. Amiya offered the Doctor a friendly wave, long ears twitching on top of her head.

"Yes, yes, they should be right here. Though I am unsure on something." Doctor [Y/N] produced three forms. There was nothing special about the papers, likely just photographed with possible recruits. Texas would've stopped eavesdropping if the name, that NAME hadn't been dropped in so suddenly.

"What are you unsure on? Perhaps I can help," Amiya said, far too eager to please. Some days, Texas wondered if she was Dr. [Y/N]'s adopted daughter. Their relationship certainly pointed to something closely similar.

Dr. Kal'tsit was less friendly, snatching the papers out of the other Doctor's hands. Green eyes scanned over the forms quickly. "So you're deciding between Magellan, Zima, Executor, Frank's and Lappland."

Texas tensed up immediately, going so rigid she felt like she could almost hear her very spine crack. The ears at the top of her head were even more geared toward the conversation now, the tail resting on her lap moments before slipping away to hang towards the ground.

"Handle coms for me."

She shoved the microphone and headset into SilverAsh's lax grip, startling the taller operator into the waking world once more. She would've felt bad for waking him up —the dark circles under his eyes were still there from when Cliffheart had been injured in the last mission— but she did not dare turn back, lest she psych herself out.

"Wha—?"

SilverAsh's sleepy voice could hardly be heard as her pulse quickened in her veins with every step she got closer to the Doctor's desk. Each of her movements felt stiff. Frankly, she was surprised to have made it to the desk at all with how her limbs were so unwilling to move.

"Franka would be a great choice Doctor! I know Jessica and Liksarm would be happy to have another member of Blacksteel here." Amiya was saying as she was almost there.

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing, but really all of them are so viable. Especially" Doctor [Y/N]'s hooded face must've spotted Texas at some point, because their whole body was turning to face her. The amnesiac was possibly the most mysterious person in all of Rhodes Island. And that hood certainly doesn't help, I can't even tell if it's a guy or a girl underneath there. Though Texas would admit the Doctor's skills in commanding them were top notch, she wished she knew at least a little more about them. "Texas? What are you doing here?"