Annika and two other staff members were the last to file into the conference room that Zeldri had summoned them all to. Those who knew why they were there were already nervous which started spreading to the others.
"Everyone's here?" Zeldri looked around the room and did a quick headcount. "Good, now we can begin." There was a large monitor behind Zeldri that he linked his tablet to and displayed the image StG44 had sent back. "About fifteen minutes ago, our t-doll team engaged and eliminated a Sangvis Ferri patrol that was searching the wreckage of a convoy. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the Sangvis Ferri units were after physical copies of documents that some of you will likely recognize contain codes to this base."
"...!" The nervous atmosphere turned anxious as soft whispers started circulating amongst the staff.
"In response to this," Zeldri approached the large, rectangular table that sat in the middle of the room and tapped at his tablet. "We will be planning and implementing emergency procedures in case of a Sangvis Ferri breach." The top of the table lit up in a blue glow and a holographic display of the base was displayed floating in the air. "This model was constructed using the map data of our dolls as they scouted the base and will be used to designate muster stations for each level." He stopped and looked around the room. "Are there any questions or concerns before we continue?" Just blindly talking at them would only do so much and might not cover something that someone might find concerning. This was a delicate situation and Zeldri wanted to make sure he did things right.
"If I may, Commander?" A woman dressed in dirty overalls spoke up. "Can we not just change the door codes?"
"A valid point," Zeldri nodded to her, "Unfortunately, we are still missing the codes to allow us administrator access to the Mountain's systems. Changing the codes is, currently, not an option as we also haven't been able to hack into it, yet. Though, I've assigned a team to keep at it and immediately report to me when they've made headway."
"We need more t-dolls!" A man from the maintenance wing declared. "We staff only have small sidearms, at best, and our current main fighting echelon is out trying to deal with Sangvis in the field. We're practically defenseless if they were to come with codes in hand." While StG44's echelon weren't the only t-dolls on base, there wasn't a lot of them and they weren't organized into echelons.
"I agree with that sentiment," Zeldri said, "After this meeting, I'll be contacting I.O.P. about sending more dolls. We've accrued a decent amount of resources, so Annika and I will be taking care of that later." Zeldri glanced at Annika who returned his gaze with a confident nod. "Anything else?" He waited for a few seconds, but when no one spoke up he continued, "Very well. First and foremost, once we have more t-dolls, our first line of defense will be the primary tunnel on the main level. It's the only entrance into the base and will make an ideal chokepoint if we can get some light machinegun t-dolls. Dmitry, check the warehouse for any barricades or something we can use as an equivalent. I want to create a checkpoint at the exit of the main tunnel where it enters the garage so our t-dolls can entrench themselves."
"Yes, Commander!" Dmitry saluted and started furiously scrolling through his tablet.
"Should that fail, the first three sub-levels all have three entrances; the personnel stairwell, the main tunnel that snakes around connecting the sub-levels, and the freight elevator. Taking that into consideration, I've marked these areas as potential muster stations as they're furthest from these areas." Red blips appeared on the hologram of the base. The staff studied the locations and started making mental notes.
"Commander," the woman in dirty overalls spoke again, "Could I make a suggestion on sub-level two's station?"
"Go ahead."
"I believe we could create a better line here, that way..." The meeting continued for another hour and a half as plans were drawn, areas were designated and concerns were addressed. Once everything was finished, and the staff had all filed out except for Annika, Zeldri gave a heavy sigh.
"Are you alright, Commander?" Annika asked as she studied his tired face.
"Just the usual stress from something like this," he responded and headed to the door, "It's nothing to be concerned with. Let's go."
"Yes, Commander!" Annika quickly followed Zeldri and the two made their way back to the command room. StG44 was waiting for them inside.
"Commander! And, Miss Annika!" She gave a salute as they entered.
"At ease," Zeldri said, and StG44 lowered her salute. "You have it?"
"Yes, right here, Commander." StG44 took out the papers with the codes on them and handed them to Zeldri. "I only sent the one file as evidence of our findings. I didn't send the others in case Sangvis managed to intercept them and we hand them our codes."
"Mmm, a sound decision." Zeldri's eyes went from the papers to StG44. A normal military doll would have scanned and sent all the files at once, but StG44 showed caution and foresight in her decision to send only one. It was a very humanlike decision.
"...Commander?" StG44 slightly tilted her head to the side as she noticed Zeldri staring at her.
"It's nothing," Zeldri brushed the thought aside, "Make sure your echelon is fully supplied and ready at any time. You'll be dispatched at the first sign of Sangvis movement to counter their intelligence gathering."
"Natürlich, Kommandant (Of course, Commander)!" StG44 gave another salute before leaving the room to check on her squad.
"Annika," Zeldri approached the large monitor on the wall they used for calls, "See if I.O.P. responds and let them know we bring business."
"Can do, Commander," Annika replied as she typed away at the terminal on a table. After a few seconds, the large monitor flickered to life and displayed an image that caught Zeldri off guard. He was so caught off guard that he accidentally said the first thing that came to his mind.
"...Cat ears?"
"Fur Hood?" the woman displayed on the monitor replied. She was wearing a messy lab coat and had cat ears poking out of her head. Zeldri glanced over at Annika with a confused look.
"Ah, Miss Persicaria!" Annika stood next to Zeldri as she addressed Persica. "I didn't realize we'd get you, directly."
"Annika," Persica gave a warm smile, "I take it Fur Hood's your commander?"
"...Yes, I am Commander Zeldri. I apologize if my earlier remark offended you, Miss Persicaria."
"Ah, don't sweat it." Persica seemed extremely laid back as she sipped a cup of coffee.
"Oh, right!" Annika motioned towards the monitor. "Miss Persicaria here is the founder of 16Lab which I.O.P. uses to construct and distribute our t-dolls, Commander."
"I see. I wasn't expecting to get someone so important just for ordering t-dolls."
"Annika," Persica butted in, "I'd prefer it if you called me 'Persica' like usual. Hearing you call me by my full name sounds too stuffy. As for you, Commander Zeldri." Her gaze shifted over to Zeldri and she looked him up and down. "You'd normally get someone else, but I like getting at least somewhat acquainted with Griffin & Kryuger's commanders since you're the ones who will be commanding my t-dolls."
"I see..." Zeldri couldn't stop his gaze from constantly drifting back to Persica's cat ears. He swore he saw one twitch.
"...I'll let you touch them if you buy me coffee."
"Persica!" Annika's face flushed red and Persica laughed. Zeldri was confused.
"Partial jokes aside," Persica continued despite Annika glaring at her, "I hear you have business, Commander?"
"...Yes," Zeldri wished to move on, "We'd like to place some orders for t-dolls."
"About time, honestly," Persica leaned back in her chair as she took another sip of coffee. "It's been over a week, and this is the first time you're ordering t-dolls. Every commander I've met before you have ordered something before the end of their first day." While her smile was friendly, Zeldri noticed Persica's eyes were a bit cold as they analyzed his every move. "You aren't looking for replacements after overworking your dolls to the brink, are you, Commander Zeldri?"
"No." Persica seemed to be looking for something, so Zeldri decided the best thing to do would be to give an honest answer. "My current echelon has been more than enough to deal with the Sangvis threat in the sector and I am quite satisfied with their performance. However, the safety of my base and staff may have been recently compromised, so I want additional combat units to sure up my defenses and put further pressure on Sangvis."
"..." Persica took a long sip of her coffee as she listened to Zeldri and mulled over his words. She then looked at Annika. "He's a keeper, I'd say."
"Persica!" Annika's face became a whole new shade of red and Zeldri shifted uncomfortably.
"I tease. I tease," Persica chuckled. "Apologies that you have to put up with my jokes, Commander Zeldri, it's just that I took a liking to your logistics officer here when she first joined Kryuger. She's got a refreshing way of thinking when it comes to t-dolls."
"...Right."
"Also, you military types need to loosen up a bit."
"You know I'm ex-military?" Zeldri raised an eyebrow as Persica set down her coffee cup.
"Of course, I read your file when you didn't contact me your first day as I wanted to know what kind of person Kryuger had hired this time." Her gaze softened and an almost motherly smile came over her face. "I'm glad to see my initial assumption of you was wrong." Zeldri figured she initially saw him as someone that would use their t-dolls like pure tools and nothing more; it was how many back in the military saw their combat doll units. And, while he did view his dolls as weapons of war, he couldn't deny that having them be so humanlike wasn't affecting his judgment. "We'll need resources to complete this transaction, Commander Zeldri. I trust you don't come empty-handed?"
"Of course not." Zeldri tapped at his tablet and sent Persica the budget he had.
"..." Persica stared at the numbers for a few seconds before turning back to Zeldri. "And, you're sure you haven't been neglecting your dolls?"
"While I am still new at running a base, I do have prior leadership experience for running multiple combat-ready units that include both dolls and humans. My echelon is always supplied and deployed so that losses are minimal and we can receive the most out of our payments."
"I see..." Persica picked up and sipped her coffee, again. "Seems like you'll be one to watch, Commander Zeldri." There was a playfulness in her voice that Zeldri wasn't completely sure how to take. "In any case, these resources are more than enough to procure you some new t-dolls. I'll let you know when they're on their way."
"Much appreciated, Miss Persicaria. And, is there any way to-"
"No." Persica cut him off. "You and every commander before you ask the same question; no, you can't pick what t-dolls you get. We get so many orders it's an almost first come first serve basis for our dolls. Only in extremely rare cases would you be allowed to custom pick a t-doll. Also, before you ask; no, we don't do custom t-dolls. If we took custom orders like that we'd never get done with our normal productions."
"...I see. I figured I'd ask, but if that's how things are then there's no helping it."
"I'm glad you're more understanding than most, Commander Zeldri." Zeldri and Persica exchanged a knowing nod and the feed was cut. Zeldri let the silence hang for a while before he turned to Annika.
"...Annika?"
"Yes?"
"Could you handle things here, for a while?"
"..." Despite the poor lighting in the room, Annika could see the fatigue on Zeldri's face. It had been a long day. "Of course, Commander."
"Thank you." Zeldri gave a tired smile and left the command room. While he was certainly tired, Zeldri wasn't going to bed. He was going for a walk. To get away from the bustle, he decided to do a once over of all the still locked rooms in the base now that StG44 had brought some more codes. He wasn't expecting much, but it would kill some time and let his mind rest as he slowly made his way through the halls of the Mountain. This was also an excuse to get more exercise and get himself used to going up and down the many stairs of his base. And, much to no one's surprise, his initial pass of most doors didn't reveal much of anything aside from some empty rooms on the sub-levels already opened. Level one remained locked, much to Zeldri's chagrin as it had the most stairs to get to which meant he couldn't even justify the trip. After many flights of stairs and breaks later, Zeldri arrived at sub-level four. "...Another dud." He gave a heavy sigh as the door rejected all the codes. After checking his watch, Zeldri saw that it was getting late, but wanted to check the last door before he called it a night. Sub-level five. However, as he turned to go down the last few stairs, Zeldri stopped as someone was waiting for him.
"Good evening, Commander," the woman in the black robe said as she leaned against the wall next to the door.
"..." Zeldri still didn't feel like talking to her, so he continued with his original purpose and approached the keypad to the door. And, after going through a few of the codes, the keypad chirped and turned from red to green. "...!" The door to sub-level five unlocked and slowly swung open for him.
"Finally," the black-cloaked woman whispered to herself. Deciding to ignore her for now, Zeldri entered sub-level five. The stairwell's door was connected to a large tunnel that could fit vehicles like the main tunnel on the upper levels, but Zeldri noted that it was only connected to two large doors. The sign above one said Грузовой лифт (Freight Elevator) while the other door didn't have a sign. Those two doors were the only things on the sub-level.
"..." Zeldri approached the terminal next to the mystery door and started entering codes from the list he'd compiled. Much to his relief, he found a code that worked and it wasn't one of the ones StG44 had recovered so it was possible that Sangvis didn't have this one. The terminal chirped a few times as it accepted the code allowing the massive bulkhead door to start opening. There were so many locks on the door that the opening sequence took a full minute before the door even started to slide open. Zeldri didn't like this level of security as he watched the door that was at least two meters thick slowly slide into the wall to reveal a room shrouded in darkness.
"Go on," the black-cloaked woman egged Zeldri on, "It won't bite you."
"...?" Her words didn't make sense, which put Zeldri on edge. Once he stepped into the room, motion-activated lights began to illuminate and bathe the room in their almost sickly, pale glow. The room was massive and appeared to have its walls, ceiling, and floor reinforced with some kind of metal and concrete. However, despite its size, the room only contained a single thing inside it. And, Zeldri froze in place as he felt his heart stop. It dangled from chains that ran into the ceiling where there was a ceiling access door that would allow it to be hoisted up into sub-level four. Its form was both elegant and industrial. Both a glorious icon and a grave sin. From its chains hung the Heart of the Mountain.
"Beautiful, isn't it, Commander?" The black-cloaked woman stayed a few feet behind Zeldri and didn't appear to want to get closer.
"..." Feeling his heart start to beat again, Zeldri slowly approached the Heart. On the floor beneath it, papers were scattered as if they had fluttered there. They were probably dropped from the door above leading to sub-level four. The Heart didn't appear to be at risk of falling, so Zeldri started to collect the papers to see what they were. Then, as he picked up and looked at a page with a strange header on it, Zeldri's entire body convulsed.
.̷͎̬̓̐̀̑̉̑.̷̖̮̒̈̂͝.̶̪̓͒̓̈N̷̔̓͑͘ͅo̶͍̯͖̳͐̒͐́̓̕v̷̧͖͚͕̞̈́̂͝ͅe̸̞͚̾̅͠ṃ̷̡̠̟͖͉̓̎̊̈́͠ḅ̷̣̀e̷̻͖̬̼̤̽̉̓͝r̵͎̮̩͐̓̏́͝.̶̧͔̠̩̬̰̍̽͆́.̷̜͚̽͗̊̇.̷̣̼̫̱̟̍̃͛̑Z̶̧̨̧̳̬̞̓͊̅͆ě̶͕̯r̸̗̰̙͆͒̃̎̔ô̴̺͚̂̀̓.̵̢̡̗̘̽͌̕͝.̷̡̮͋̎̔̆.̷̪̞͌F̸̙̞̱͔̱͛͂͝͠ì̶̲̈́̽͠v̴̨͍͓̯͓͖̂͝ė̶̗͖̀͠.̴͔͕̞͉̇.̵̺̞̟̠͔̩͂̌̌͘.̸̖̻͔̣̻͈́̊͘Ǎ̴͈̙̰͐l̷̢̘͉͑̏͑̀͒p̷̤̞̞͍͎͍̀͊͆̇̎h̶̝̩̐͆͘a̵̧̾.̷̦̖̪̟̱̠̏͐̿̏.̷̯̥̻͠.̷̨̭͗͗͑̂͜
Zeldri dropped the papers and clutched his head as a voice echoed around him. It was male and sounded like it was speaking through an old radio as it continued to assault his mind with its words. The lights in the room seemed to get harsher and started to strobe. There was a slight tremor in the Earth.
.̴̳̈́̀̌̈.̸͈͚̰̲̦̀̊̅̒.̷̙͇͊Y̴͖̓a̵͇̘̕n̸̛̖̣͎͌̃͋̀k̶̨͔̬̀̋̋̚͘̚ẽ̵̛͚̟͇͉̬͉̽͋͐̚e̷̪͕͔̳͉̓̓͐.̵̬͔͔̃̀̓͛̇̽.̸͓̪̳̩̔́̽̕.̵̡͇̠̔̊̓͂̆͘A̴͇͓͈̱̘͒͌̎l̸̞͚̑̊̑͛̈́͘p̶̧͈̩̯̋h̶̘̻̮̊͋à̵͖̭̩͊̀͐͋.̷̗̙͉̦͇͛.̶̣̺͓̹̯͉̀͆̈́.̷͔͌Ẑ̶̨̘̟̪̘̲̄̊̈u̷̍́͐̀͜l̷̢̦̬͚̤̄͌̐̇̉͜ư̵̳͍͒̈̍.̷̡̭̥͓̮͌̕.̵̺̪̬͝.̵͇̯̱̄͌͊͒͆Ṫ̶̨̳͉̣̥͆͗h̴̫̙̭̗͐̏̔̋̊̈ṙ̷̫̩̤̲͐͜͝e̷̮̼̟̿͘ę̵̩̟̝̞̅͛̓̄.̷̧̳̟̹͗̌̅.̸͎̩͖̰̃̈́̽͒̑̊͜.̷̝͔͚͎͆̔̄͌̕͝
Pulses started emanating from the Heart as it loomed over him that hit Zeldri causing him to collapse to his knees. Why was it using the NATO alphabet?
"Commander!" The black-cloaked woman started to approach seemingly unaffected by the Heart, but her words were anxious. "What do you hear?"
"...?!" Zeldri tried to turn to look at her but found his gaze locked to the Heart as it continued to scream and pulse. Could she not hear it?
.̸̣̰͈̖̞̯̅͐͌͗.̴̝͓̜͓̱̈́̄̊͌̾͛.̴̧̛̞̬̮̽̃̋Ḿ̴̡̛̀̅͌ḯ̵̡̘͕̯̘̭̄̋̚͠k̸̘͗è̷̤͍̻̠͋͋͊̑̚.̵̗̬̆̋̓̌̍̋.̷̪͑͌ͅ.̵̘͈̪̜̀̕ͅO̵͎̲̦͔̩̊͗̅͘̕ṅ̶̬̓̽̋̀ë̴̢̝̤̪̜̏̅͝.̵͇̘̯̇̚̚.̶̡̪͎̗̓͜.̴̳̳͋̾Y̶̛̩̟̩̺͉͇̿͛a̴͚͈̥͍̓̈́͌͝n̴̲͗͛̈́͝k̵̨̝̝̥̘̜̋̆̍̎͘e̶̯̬̣̹͙̓e̷̹͐̒͌͊̅.̷̛͔͎̀̂̐̃̆.̸̨̛̲͌̈͒̽͘.̶͍͂̈́͂̈́͠͝A̷̦̜̺̳̩̟̅l̷̘̀̇͆̂̓̕͜ͅp̶̹̂ḧ̷̭̦̫̠̣͙ą̷͈̺͖͕̔̏̌̾͠.̶̢̖͈̅̔ͅ.̵̜̠͎̜͙̃̑͊̇͑̕.̵̖̄͗̋̌
"You need to focus, Commander. Let it out and everything will be fine. What. Do. You. Hear?" She was standing directly behind him. How could she not hear it with how loud it was being? Would it stop if he repeated what it was saying out loud? Zeldri opened his mouth to speak, but as he did an explosion down the tunnel rocked the room and cut him off. "Tch. So, this is too much?" The woman sounded rather annoyed as she looked back down the tunnel at the smoke cloud from the explosion. Five figures emerged from the cloud and rushed towards them. "Hmm, let's leave it here, for now."
"!?!?" Zeldri felt the woman kneel down and lean against him. She placed her hands over his eyes and delicately whispered into his ears over the roar of the Heart.
.̶̭͉͉͚̺̏̋̉̒́.̶̜̙̮̋̀́͑͘.̷͕̲͓̘͖͌̏N̵̢̰̜͐ọ̴͇̪͔̈́̿̎͋v̸̺̻̉́͝ͅe̸͕̓̚m̵̳̩̃͒b̷̊̓̆̆͜ȩ̶̣̬̼̻͉̌̎r̷̜͙̪̠̲͒̇.̴̛̙̦̱̯̙̒͋̿.̴͙̍.̸̝̬̾Z̷̝̓̈̎̓e̵̯̫̙̙͘r̷̬͖̭̀̑ó̸͇̹͊.̴̖̹̺̒̅̔͠͝.̷̫̙̦̘̱̲̈͑̿͠.̵̛̲̫̥̭͕̔̌̎͂ͅF̶̼̥͙̗̭̹͒͗̀̐͋̕í̶̬̗̉v̶̡͈̟̭̒ë̷͈́̾̅.̴̬̱͉̠͈̈̾̉͘.̷͎͔̩̽̉.̴͕̣̼͔̫̳̈́̊́̚A̶̲̞̘͔͚͂̀͊͠ͅl̷͔̪̜̉p̶̳̱̐͒̈́͒ĥ̶̨̳̮̳̱̗̏̈́̉͂͝ả̸̞̲́.̷̼͖̘͛̄̀͝ͅ.̵̢̬̈́̈̀̆.̵̧̘͎̯̽̐͠͝
"Wake up, Commander, you're screaming again."