"You better realize my ability, the old soldier of the Empire era!" Nagant and her dummy links peeked out from behind the trees they were using as cover and nailed two Prowlers in their optics.
"Keep their attention on us, remember!" StG44 said while reloading her rifle. Over the past week, Sangvis's movement in the sector had spiked which meant StG44 and her echelon were always busy. Currently, they were pinning down a group of Sangivs that was at the remains of a vehicle convoy which appeared to be blown off the side of one of the many dirt roads that snaked through the forest. "AA-12, what's your status?"
"Uuugh," came the response through the echelon link. "We're here." While StG44, Nagant, and Galil kept the attention on them, AA-12 and M2HB were ordered to sneak across the road to pincer the enemies. "Honestly, the Commander keeps splitting us up into these groups when we're supposed to be a single echelon."
"Oh come now~," M2HB said as she and her dummy links set up in the dirt. "We make quite the team."
"Tch," AA-12 clicked her tongue in annoyance as she stood up. "Just make sure you don't shoot me, or I'll never let you live it down."
"Yes, yes~." As M2HB finished setting up, AA-12 and her dummy link charged out from the brush they were using to hide behind. A Vespid saw the approaching t-doll and went to attack, but was mulched by light machinegun fire. "You're not running away~!"
"...And people say I have a circuit loose," AA-12 quietly remarked to herself as she and her dummy deployed their shields and charged into the rear of Sangvis' line. At this range, her shotgun easily tore through the Vespids that M2HB hadn't shredded yet.
"Behind you!" As AA-12 advanced further into Sangvis' line, StG44's voice came over the echelon link causing AA-12 to spin around and raise her shield just in time to have it be slammed against by a large piece of metal.
"Eh?" Forcing her shield arms to extend, AA-12 leaped back and saw that a group of four Guards had been hiding inside an SBA-60K2 Bulat that she was currently next to. "You're supposed to be my equivalent, twin-tails?" AA-12 grit her teeth in annoyance. "Now I'm getting serious." The Guards formed a shield wall and began firing their pistols at AA-12 who rushed towards them with her own shields raised. The shields clashed causing the heels of the Guards to dig into the dirt, but they didn't budge.
"Attack prepared!" Galil activated her skill causing her and her three dummy link's to pour their power into their optics and recoil compensators for momentary pinpoint accuracy. Two Guards fell to well-placed headshots while the other two backed off behind the Bulat.
"Where are you going?!" AA-12 wasn't about to let these 'shield' dolls off the hook and rushed after them. Using their shield arms, AA-12 and her dummy forced the two remaining Guards up against the Bulat. "Just disappear!" With their shields preoccupied, AA-12 reached around, put her shotgun to the Guard's head, and blew it to pieces. Her dummy link quickly followed her example and the lifeless bodies of the Guards fell to the ground. "Hmph," AA-12 brushed off some metal bits that had flown onto her coat, "Victory is one of my few specialties."
"Well done, everyone, all Sangvis signals are gone," StG44 said as she, Nagant, and Galil crossed the road to reform their echelon. "Now then, let's move on to phase two."
***
"This is the fourth abandoned convoy fight this week." Zeldri stared at the monitors that displayed the optic views of his t-dolls. "Now, I'm positive in my theory."
"You're theory?" Annika asked as she stood next to him starring at the screens.
"Sangvis is looking for something." He thought Annika would ask another question, but instead, she seemed to understand his train of thought.
"That would explain why we always find their patrols at either abandoned vehicles or military checkpoints." Annika was nodding her head as she thought about it more. "Their recent patrol patterns are also weird if you take into account standard Sangvis tactics, but if you consider it as them searching for something..." Honestly speaking, Zeldri was a bit amused watching Annika figure things out. He chuckled to himself at how clever his logistics officer was as he reached for the button to send a message to the t-dolls. But, Annika hit it first. "StG44, have your squad check the bodies of the fallen Sangvis units. After that, check the-...!" Her voice suddenly stopped as she realized what she was doing, and that Zeldri was staring at her. The command room grew quiet except for the hum of computers. "Commander, I-"
"StG44." Zeldri cut Annika off. "Continue with Annika's orders, then search the vehicles for anything with information on it. I don't care if it's an old laptop or a crumpled piece of paper; collect everything that looks important."
***
"Yes, Commander!" StG44 replied before turning to give the orders to her squad. "Spread out and search the bodies and vehicles for anything of value."
"What are we, corpse pickers?" AA-12 bemoaned but still complied. The t-dolls searched the area as the afternoon sun loomed overhead. There wasn't anything of note on the bodies of the Sangvis units, so the echelon started combing through the vehicles that were part of this abandoned convoy.
"...Say," Galil's curiosity was getting the better of her, "Why do you think these convoys are out here, anyway?"
"Hmm?" M2HB looked up from checking under the seats of one of the Bulats.
"I mean, sure some of these vehicles are shot up, but a lot of them look fine." There was a second Bulat, the one M2HB was in, that looked barely scratched. "This seems super wasteful."
"That's how humans are," AA-12 replied as she lazily checked the bed of a Ural transport truck. "They use what they want until they don't want it anymore, then throw it away. I read on the forums about what other sectors are like and you'd be surprised at how much stuff is seemingly just out here abandoned."
"I guess," Galil said as she checked the back of the Bulat that the Guards came out of, "It still seems-... Huh?"
"What is it?" StG44 came over and peered into the APC.
"This...seems familiar." Galil was holding a clipboard with some papers on it she'd picked up from the floor. "It was kicked under the seat. And, looking at it reminds me of the stuff we found while searching the base."
"..." StG44 looked at the papers. The handwriting on it, and the way it was written seemed similar to some of the handwritten documents that they'd found in the Mountain. "...I'll hold onto it and bring it back with us." She wasn't completely sure, but her gut was telling her this was important. She turned to address her squad, "Keep an eye out for any other kinds of documents like these." As the others went back to searching, StG44's gaze went back to the clipboard. She started flipping through the papers until some information that was listed on it caught her eye; codes. Codes that StG44 recognized at least one of them as being a door code to the command room back at base. Her gaze fell to the destroyed Guards that had been in the Bulat the clipboard was in. "...I have a bad feeling about this."
***
"..." Annika stood silently and clutched her tablet with slightly trembling hands.
"...Walk with me," Zeldri finally said and started walking out of the command room. While he didn't mind the stares from the staff, he figured Annika did so he decided to change locations before continuing. Silently, Annika followed suit. A hushed apprehension overtook the room as the other staff watched out of the corners of their eyes. After leaving the command room, Zeldri led Annika down to the second sub-level, and to the café. Not a word was said as they walked. The café was currently empty as its running wasn't a priority which gave them some privacy. "Sit." His tone wasn't forceful, or rude, but rather neutral as he went behind the bar and took out some vodka from the mini-fridge. The café may not be operational, but it most certainly was stocked.
"..." Annika sat at one of the bar stools and watched as Zeldri took out two shot glasses.
"So," he began as he leaned his crutch against the bar and poured two shots, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"...I don't see much choice, at this point," Annika softly said as she accepted the glass.
"You can always walk away, the door's over there. This isn't an order or anything like that." Zeldri downed the shot like it was nothing and poured another. "But, while it doesn't bother me too much, it certainly seems to be bothering you to the point you lose yourself in something."
"..." Annika gently fiddled with the glass in her hands as she stared at the clear liquid sloshing around inside. "...It's in my file."
"So?" That response got a raised eyebrow from Annika as Zeldri downed the second shot. "There's a lot of stuff in files. I'm not asking about an outsider's perspective, I'm asking you what's wrong." While these kinds of emotional 'games' weren't Zeldri's favorite to play, he knew that having a healthy relationship with those under you was important; especially with someone as vital as the logistics officer. This was no longer something that could be brushed aside with how much it was obviously affecting Annika. "Is it about the previous commander you worked with?"
"Partially," Annika admitted as she finally drank her shot. "Though, I know it wasn't his fault. I was the one out of line trying to be something I no longer get to be."
"...?" Zeldri poured her another shot and silently waited for her to elaborate.
"It's..." Annika hesitated. She licked her lips in apprehension as she debated on continuing. Then, after a heavy sigh, she downed the second shot and continued, "I didn't start out with Griffin as a logistics officer. I was originally enrolled in the commanders academy and was on my way to becoming a full-fledged commander."
"That would explain your ease of commanding dolls," Zeldri idly said as he poured her another shot. "You seem fairly competent at it. What happened?"
"My own stupidity did me in," she sullenly said as she stared at her glass. "There was another commander, a bit shorter than you, who was enrolled along with me. He was smart. He had money. His command over t-dolls was rather good. And, he had an ego the size of this base. Проклятый мудак (Damned asshole)."
"You two have a falling out over something?"
"...Stars."
"Stars?" Zeldri raised an eyebrow as he wasn't sure where astronomy played into this.
"There's a method of t-doll rankings some commanders subscribe to called the 'star' system that ranks t-dolls into levels. The more stars a doll has the better it is; is how it goes... Я ненавидел это (I hated it)." She downed the third shot, and Zeldri refilled the glass. "It devalues dolls while lifting others on a pedestal even though all t-dolls can be useful if commanded properly! And, sure," the fourth shot was downed and Annika's face was turning a bit red, "Some t-dolls aren't as skilled as others, but that doesn't make them useless. That just means you haven't found the best way, as a commander, to use them!" Zeldri downed his own drink and poured another round. "He would go on, and on, and on about the superiority of his high star dolls that he got after paying a premium! Этот никчемный придурок не заткнется (That worthless asshole wouldn't shut up)! I was so fed up that I challenged him to an echelon dual where the loser's echelon gets scrapped! Yeah, it was childish and not really something that was allowed, but I was so fed up with him and I was confident I'd wipe that smirk off his fucking face!" She took another shot and slammed her fist on the bar so hard that Zeldri's shot glass spilled.
"..."
"...And, I lost." Her rising anger completely deflated into defeatism. From her waist, Annika drew her sidearm. While some staff on base carried sidearms, theirs were fairly common weapons like the Makarov or PSM pistols. Annika, however, carried a Mauser C96. Zeldri watched as she gently held the gun as if it could break at any moment and be lost forever. Her reflection stared back at her from the spilled vodka on the bar as her thoughts drifted away to a bygone time. She could still hear their voice.
***
"You're my Commander, aren't you?" The small t-doll was bursting with energy as it came up to Annika. "I'm C96! Come on! Come on! Come on! Let's get the others and go! It's my turn, right? Yeah!"
...
...
...
"Ů̴͇n̴͒ͅ.̸̱͌.̸̨̀.̷͍̀ ̷̪͐ḇ̷́ë̴̗́l̶̥͋i̶̗͒è̷͔v̵̗̕a̶̱̚b̷̼̀l̴̡̾e̴̦͝.̵̤̀.̸̠̓.̶̹̽"
***
"Я подвел их (I failed them)." While still holding the gun, Annika's hands dropped to the bar counter and her head was hung low. "After that, he kept rubbing it in. How I failed them. Even this is something he gave me. 'Said he found it in the scrap queue." She reached for another shot, but Zeldri didn't refill it, so she just absently held the empty glass. "I lost focus, and my performance plummeted to the point I flunked out. That spread around the forums for a while and I've become a 'black sheep' of the academy."
"Is that why the staff here are so warry of whenever you do something while I'm around?"
"Yeah. Despite my failures, I made a lot of friends along the way that I still am thankful for." Annika set down the shot glass and gave a defeated sigh. "My instructor took pity on me and had me transferred to the logistics core. I spent a long time getting up to speed on how to be a logistics officer instead of a commander, but..." She lifted her head and some tears were forming in her eyes as this was the first time she'd ever spilled the whole story to someone like this. "I've already been fired once, so I'm not even good at that, it seems."
"...You're doing fine, Annika."
"You're just saying that to be nice, Commander, but I appre-"
"I'm not gonna bullshit you," Zeldri said as he set the bottle of vodka down hard on the counter which startled Annika and somewhat sobered her up. "For a 'failure', you're doing quite a lot of things right. You were able to help me, a complete fish out of water, get situated here. You've assisted me in keeping this oddball of a base running, despite the challenges. Every staff member I've met on this base is on your side. You've done everything you could to help me. So what if you sometimes command the dolls? Your orders are in line with my own, so all you're doing is helping me." Zeldri took a swig from the bottle before re-capping it. "Stop selling yourself short, Annika."
"..." A small smile played on Annika's lips as she wiped the forming tears from her eyes.
"Here," Zeldri said as he poured a glass of water and took out a bag of pretzels, "I know you had a light breakfast and skipped lunch, so you'll thank me later." After he put down the glass and bag, Zeldri grabbed his crutch and got out from behind the bar. "I can't have my trusty logistics officer down and out drunk today, and tomorrow from a hangover."
"Pfft," Annika couldn't help but chuckle, "Of course. Where would you be without me, Commander?" Zeldri smiled and gave her a pat on the shoulder as he left. Softly, barely a whisper, Annika said one final thing as she watched her commander leave. "...Thank you, Zeldri."
***
The stairwell that connected the levels of the Mountain was a cold and concrete one with lights that only seemed to make an oppressive atmosphere even more so. "ебать (Fuckin damn)," Zeldri cussed as he leaned against the wall of the stairwell. He didn't want to go all the way to the freight elevator and use it just to go up a single floor, but going up and down stairs was doing a number on his leg. "...Can't even go up a flight of stairs without a break..." Annika would still be at the café for a while longer, and the other staff probably wouldn't come by, so Zeldri decided to take a break while no one would see. He could put up with a lot, but Zeldri's pride still didn't let him show how much his leg actually bothered him. How much the dull pain gnawed away at him. "...These stupid thoughts." Forcing himself up, Zeldri stopped leaning against the wall and continued up the stairs.
"Commander Zeldri!?" Just in time, too, it would seem as a staff member was rushing out sub-level one's door into the stairwell. He seemed rather panicked about something.
"What's wrong?"
"It's StG44, sir. She just reported her findings." Zeldri didn't take his tablet with him when he went to the café, so the staff member had brought it and handed it to Zeldri.
"What's so ba-..." As Zeldri looked at the tablet, his voice caught in his throat. StG44 had sent image files of their findings, and Zeldri felt a chill run down his back. "Gather the high-ranking personnel and have them report to the briefing room."
"Yes, Commander!" The man rushed off to relay the orders while Zeldri contacted his echelon.
"StG44, respond."
"This is StG44, I read you, Commander." Her voice seemed controlled but a little worried.
"Finish your gathering and return to base as soon as possible."
"Of course, Commander!" The transmission was cut and Zeldri was once more alone in the silence of the stairwell. The creeping silence. The gnawing pain in his leg.
"...Дерьмо (Shit)!" He cursed again as he finished climbing the stairs and headed for the briefing room.