April 14th, 2063
On board light passenger cargo aircraft enroute to Odessa
Critical Personnel: Commander Marian Harper
Deviation Index: 0.7%, Rising
Commander Marian Harper fidgeted as she watched the landscape flying past underneath her through the window of the transport aircraft flying the short hop from St. Petersburg to Odessa, where a G&K staging base for the Balkan expeditionary bases was set up. In the plane's passenger area near where Marian was seated, eight Dolls from Central were chatting amongst themselves while checking weapons and equipment or looking out at the landscape in amazement, likely only ever having traveled by truck or helicopter, not in a light cargo/passenger aircraft.
"And as you can see, viewers, we have now crossed the border into Ukraine, one of the few places in Eastern Europe that avoided major contamination!" Marian watched as MDR played travel guide, the streamer Doll's camera drone flitting from window to window to get the best shots of the terrain, "Ah! Look chat! We're passing over Chernobyl!"
Marian looked out the window to see the Zone Of Alienation passing underneath, source of numerous World War Three myths about entire companies vanishing inside, never to be seen again, along with Post-War stories about how Pripyat was a secret research site for Relics where the military and researchers became cultists and cannibals, but looking out the peaceful terrain Marian could only see an untouched landscape, one that had come through Collapse and World War unscathed.
"Commander," Marian turned to see Makarov standing near her with a can held out, "We've been in the air for over an hour, it's time for refreshments."
Marian smiled as she accepted the can, "Thanks Makarov. Is there any word regarding our new arrival, and the other stuff?"
"The...additional forces are waiting at the airfield, and the new Doll from 16Lab will arrive shortly after we land." Makarov replied, "According to the briefing packet, we will make the rest of the journey to the provided airbase by helicopter, where we will meet with a representative of the Moldovan government to go over our areas of responsibility." She looked at Marian, "Commander, I've heard about your...hobby."
'That's a polite way to put things.' Marian mused internally as she cracked the can open. She had heard about Makarov being something of a stickler for rules along with the joking nickname of Commissar, and apparently she was formerly part of a special operations squad. Still, she shouldn't be completely unreasonable about this.
"Here to keep me on target, Makarov?" Marian asked with a smile, "Don't worry, I know my priorities."
"This might not be Russia, Commander Harper," Makarov's tone held a warning, "But that only means the FSB won't be involved, it will be GRU, and they won't be satisfied with a month in solitary confinement with a broken arm." She nodded at Marian's flinch, "Be careful, Tovarisch, distance means nothing to the State these days."
"Is that experience talking?" Marian questioned, her voice low to keep the others from overhearing.
"I was not always with Griffin, but I was always involved in enforcing the rules." Makarov replied, eyes hard but glittering with sympathy before she spoke up in a louder voice, "In any case, as long as our contract is maintained to the client's satisfaction, I can be convinced to ignore any diversions you engage in, Commander."
There was a flash along with the click of an analog camera, "Wunderbar! The first scoop! The Commissar and The Conspiracist agreeing to a treaty!" MP41 crowed as she held up her camera, "Commissar! Commander! Can we have a photo of you shaking hands?" The submachine gunner's smile was electric while Makarov's expression was thunderous, her hair seemingly puffing up in time with her cheeks as the small handgunner prepared to clearly deliver a tongue-lashing when MDR butted in, camera drone flitting about.
"And here's our new Commander, chat! Marian Harper, graduated with top marks from the Accelerated Training Program in all areas from Tactics to Doll Rights! A regular genius talent who is also famous on the Grifchan boards for her twelve part lecture on how governments across the world are actually in technological stagnation because of UN moratoriums and mandates concerning Collapse Technology!"
Marian groaned. She had forgotten about that; she had gotten done on a major run of research and had divided it into twelve parts with a fairly standard cipher for basic security but in her rush to get everything uploaded to her personal folder had selected a public drop box that was used by the Grifchan subnet.
She later found out that her research had sparked massive debates concerning new Doll generations, cost increases and drops, even how human labor markets would likely be affected by this apparent stagnation that Marian had pointed out.
That had resulted in her being read the riot act on proper usage of the Griffin network, and her fellow trainees hadn't let her forget it.
"Just wait MDR," She smiled confidently, "I've got a few more projects in the works, and a really big investigation coming up."
Makarov frowned as MDR cooed, MP41 grinning widely as she took another photograph, while MDR spoke, "Ooh, any interesting hints you can give? Perhaps something to do with our mystery reinforcements?"
Marian smiled, seeing the other Dolls looking over and listening, and knowing MDR was streaming live, she gave the camera drone a 'v' sign, "Sorry, no spoilers, only that it's gonna be huge. The exposè of a lifetime!"
"Was?! A scoop? An exposè? Yes!" MP41 crowed, the other Dolls in the plane looking either amused as the aircraft continued south over Kyiv, the Dolls momentarily distracted by the sight of the city with MDR once again playing travel guide while Marian finished her tea and looked out her own window, watching the city passing underneath.
But her mind was more concerned with other issues, returning to a conversation she had with Persica, the founder and head resesrcher of 16Lab.
"Commander Harper, a pleasure." Persica's voice was lazy, almost distracted as she stared at Harper over the videocall.
"A pleasure as well, Professor," Harper replied, "I'm about to head off so-"
"I know. That's why I'm calling." Persica interrupted, "This is a secure, encrypted call, so no one will be listening. I need to know something important. Did Kryuger tell you what will be involved in using the Doll I am sending you?"
"I was briefed that the Doll was a Command Unit for the additional Dolls I would be commanding in securing S07." Marian frowned, "Is there something I wasn't informed about?"
"Many things, including the full extent of the forces at your command, Commander Harper." Persica sipped her coffee, "Kryuger likely felt that you needed some time to settle in but I disagree. I'm going to send an information packet to your personal command pad that has a full briefing on the exact capabilities of the Doll I'm sending you, VAPR-XKG. I've read your file, Commander, seen your work both in regards to Griffin operations as well as your private affairs."
Marian felt a chill run down her back as Persica fixed her gaze squarely on her, "VAPR will help you find the truth, if you know how to use her, and I intend to give you a head start." She sipped her coffee before waving the mug lazily, "That's all. Read the briefing packet and do not distribute it, Marian Harper, a lot is riding on your effective command. Good luck."
With that cryptic statement, Persica had hung up and now Marian had a file she was thumbing through on her datapad for the duration of the flight, noting down the pertinent details mentally while MDR pestered Makarov about doing streams of engaging the bandits, citing the fact that they didn't have network access as an advantage.
"C'mon Makarov!" The streamer pleaded, "It'll be awesome! We go in, kick ass, and show the rookie Dolls our good sides!"
"Our rookies," Makarov replied evenly, "have only been prepared and trained to shoot at Sangvis Ferri and perhaps reprogrammed and hastily-armed dolls used as security by traffickers. Shooting humans is a messy, noisy affair." She shook her head, "There are exactly three Dolls in this plane who have shot and killed humans in combat. I know you aren't one of them."
"It can't be that bad." MDR replied weakly, flinching at Makarov's glare.
"You know the mess that had me sent back to Central?" M870 asked from where she was draped over her seat, "Shot a man with my gun during a rescue of kidnapped kids." Her expression shifted, "Hit him in the chest but he went down screaming. Had to put another one in him to finish the job, so don't expect them to drop dead like SF, a human only does that if you hit him hard. Any other time they'll keep fighting or lie there screaming or swearing at you until they pass out."
The other Dolls looked ill at hearing that except, Marian noted, 4-Shiki who nodded sagely at Makarov and M870's words before remembering that 4-Shiki had listed herself as an ex-security Doll but her brief read on the rifle's file had a few suspicious gaps.
Marian clapped her hands, "All right, that's enough." The Dolls looked over at her as Marian made to tell them to get ready for landing, when the pilot's voice cut in over the intercom.
"Attention all passengers, we are coming in to land at Griffin Field, Odessa International Airport. Please buckle in for landing." While the dolls strapped themselves back into their seats, Marian brought up the image of the new Tactical Doll she would be receiving.
"VAPR-XKG" She muttered, "Just how are you going to help me?"
Closing the pad and packing it back into its hardcase, Marian straightened her seat and watched as the ground came steadily closer, the aircraft rumbling as it drew closer before with a firm thump the wheels hit the ground and the engines whined as the reverse thrusters engaged, the Dolls chattering nervously while the plane slowed until it was now moving at a much more sedate pace along the runway, turning to head towards a series of hangers that were a hive of activity with a doll pointing out the way for the plane with a pair of light sticks.
"Everyone make sure to check your gear before we disembark," Marian commanded as the plane came to a halt, the pilot giving permission to unbuckle their seat belts, "This aircraft is heading back to Central with execs and security personnel, so if you lose any lucky items or favourite toys, tough shit." She pulled out her carry-on bag from the luggage rack as the Dolls made sure to check that nothing was left behind, before turning to face them, "All right, listen up."
As everyone turned to look at her, Marian gave them her best serious stare, "I know what sort of reputation I have. I know what my obssessions are and what they can cost me if I go too far. But that doesn't mean I am planning on haring off to uncover the truth behind the Butterfly Incident, or dig up a conspiracy that will turn humanity into zombie slaves. I joined Griffin because I believe in its message of helping people, and right now we are going into a country whose citizens must rely on airdrops becase traveling anywhere will get you robbed, enslaved and killed by thieves with military training, many of whom are former New Red Army conscripts from World War 3 and whoever they pressganged into service."
She looked each of them in the eyes, "While there will be investigations and perhaps a covert operation for MDR to stream and for MP41 to take photos of," She ignored the fistbump the two muckrackers shared, "Our first order of business is to get Moldova to a state that can be called secure, followed by establishing and protecting our logistics lines that will pass through Moldova into Romania. After that, with hopefully the majority of bandits rendered ineffective, we can look into investigating Base Zero for any clues."
As the Dolls nodded their agreement, Marian smiled, "Now let's go meet the new girl and then kick some ass." With a motley cheer the group proceeded to disembark from the plane into the cool air of Ukraine, Griffin support staff moving about while a large number of helicopters were waiting further away, and near the helicopters were a number of black-clad soldiers checking weapons and equipment while the aircraft crews conducted checks.
"Woah. So MDR was right," M870 whistled as the group started casually walking towards the soldiers, "They really are being deployed."
"EHHH?! You doubted me?" MDR pouted with an offended harrumph, "I'll have you know that my sources and data gathering are top-notch! There's no-one in Griffin who can pull data off nets as easily as I can!"
"Grizzly hid her drugged Cola side business for nearly a year until SAA locked up from drinking a bad batch." M200 retorted quietly, "It was MP41 who broke the story."
"Still don't know how she avoided disciplinary action. Figured our little Commissar would be the first in line to reformat her." MP41 shrugged her shoulders.
"Grizzly never lets herself get caught for this sort of thing," Makarov grumbled, "She dumped the evidence on the black market and it vanished in less than an hour before editing her backups and then wiping her memory." The smaller Doll sighed, "Standard legal nonsense. Tabula Rasa defense, with no recoverable memory of her activities, she was technically innocent."
"Running her business outside Griffin property also helped." AK-Alfa noted as she looked at the cloudy sky, "When the story broke, there was a spate of arsons."
"But why would she run that kind of business?" 4-Shiki asked as she she did stretches, "Griffin pays well!"
"I heard..." M870 glanced at Marian who simply turned her head away but didn't move any further apart, a message that M870 understood implicitly, "I heard that Grizzly was cultivating contacts in the Vory, the Russian mafia, to investigate some rumors."
"Rumors?" Marian asked, still looking away as the group got closer to the soldiers, who noticed them approach, a few shifting rifles into easy reach but they continued mingling amongst themselves.
"Weird shit involving human trafficking. Kids taken from orphanages, loads of Infected, piles of hobos, weird shit." M870 replied, "All moot now. Trails are cold, and the Vory are hard to find even if you know who to ask."
"Another time then," Marian replied, before focusing her attention on the soldiers, waving to them, "Excuse me! Is this Alpha Section, Shadow Company?"
The soldiers looked at each other before stepped forward, pulling her mask up to reveal a female face but Marian could pick out the subtle details of a high-performance Doll, "Torus Actual. You're the G&K Commander we were told to wait for?"
"Commander Marian Harper," She replied in answer, holding out a hand which was shook firmly and quickly, "We just need to wait for your Command Unit to arrive. Did the rest move on to the base as planned?"
Torus Actual nodded, "Trucks left two days ago. Last update has them in the base perimeter but they have been observed from multiple parties."
Marian nodded, "No surprises or squatters?"
Torus shook her head, "Crude IED-based security cordon, thirty-plus foot-mobile Uniforms. All terminated and disposed of."
M870 whistled, "You killed them all?"
Torus glanced at the Shotgunner, "This is our job." She returned her focus to Marian, "Black Eagle should arrive in the next few minutes, so we shouldn't have to-"
"Contact!" Another Doll shouted, "Command Signal detected and in visual!" The group turned in the direction of the Doll who pointed in another direction, and as she turned to look, Marian spotted a civilian helicopter approaching the Griffin section of the airport, the aircraft soon passing overhead before coming to a hovering stop, the side door opening to let a T-Doll jump out and land heavily on the ground while the helicopter immediately headed off, likely back to 16Lab.
Rising to her full height, the Doll started casually walking over to them, letting Marian get a good look at the Doll.
In terms of height she was about average, maybe a little taller than the average human male, and judging from the way the dress shirt and slacks bunched up the Doll was probably on the upper end on strength, perhaps on par with Svarog physical trainer Dolls. Silver eyes peeked out from under dark green hair worn long and down to her hips, and combined with the shirt, slacks, heavy boots and gloves, the Doll looked like someone on a business trip, the effect marred by the plate carrier worn over the shirt holding ammo and a tac-radio connected to a throat-mic while a handgun and knife were holstered at her belt, an uncommon addition but Marian knew that high-performance T-Dolls could operate a secondary weapon alongside their imprint.
The Doll nodded at Marian, her voice smoothly-light for such a heavily-built body, "Be with you in a minute, Commander." She stopped in front of Torus Actual and her posture straightened, "Delta, Five, Nine, Five, Seven, Two, Three, Three. Read back."
"Echo, Six, Eight, Eight, Two, Four, Zero, Nine. Authenticate."
"Prophet."
Torus stiffened, "Engage handshake." There was a brief moment of silence from the two Dolls before Torus Actual relaxed and saluted, the rest of the Dolls briefly twitching before they too moved to stand and salute, "Confirm successful handshake with Red Horseman. Shadow Company, ready for operations. Its an honor, ma'am."
"Begin final checks for departure, warm those birds up." The Doll ordered before turning to face Marian and the rest of the Dolls, saluting with a smile, "VAPR-XKG, reporting for operations."
Marian saluted back, "Commander Marian Harper, good to have you aboard Vapor."
The new girl was clearly built for action, M870 mused as she shook hands with VAPR and introduced the rest of the partial echelon to her, "Name's Remington 870 or 870 in the field. I'm your Echelon Captain for the duration." She waved over the others, "Before MDR and MP41 crowd you, lemme introduce the others. This is MG3," she waved at a heavyset blond with her long hair done in a braid under her beret, machinegun slung at her side.
"Guten Tag," MG3 greeted nervously, "I hope I don't slow you down in the field." She shook VAPR's hand while the Assault Rifle Doll laughed.
"I should say the same thing, being the rookie here." VAPR smiled widely, "Always good to have an MG at my back."
"Yosh!" 870 watched 4-Shiki step up and greet VAPR with a raised hand, "Type Four Self Loading Rifle! Welcome to Griffin, our new comrade!"
"A pleasure." VAPR shook the smaller Doll's hand, before looking around, "Is this everyone?"
"Yup." 870 replied, tail wagging lazily, "Major rumblings in S09. It would've been the three of us meeting you but-"
"Hello!" The shouted greeting came right next to VAPR's ear and the reaction was immediate as VAPR'S elbow came up in a textbook counter but met air as the owner of the voice dodged, "Wah!" VAPR didn't pause, spinning with her momentum as the rifle came up in her off-hand while her main hand yanked a blade as black as tar and as long as the T-Doll's forearm out of a sheath, sweeping up to lock it in place and brace the rifle to fix the suppressor-clad muzzle square between the eyes of MDR, who stared up at her with wide eyes.
Milliseconds later, the muzzle came up and MDR scrambled to her feet, "That...was...AWESOME! OMG, I can't believe my drone caught all that! Chat's going wild!"
VAPR blinked, "You're streaming?"
MDR nodded, "Just until we finally get settled into our new base. Just about every Doll in Griffin wants to see you so I'm not stopping!" She hopped in place, "And those moves were so badass! If I hadn't dodged you would have shattered my nose!"
870 chuckled as the Shadow Company Dolls went through checks and packed equipment, "MDR might look like a complete brainlet," she ignored MDR's offended 'oi!' with practiced ease, "But she's actually pretty damn good in the field, and is a decent hacker."
The word made VAPR blink, and she turned to a nearby Shadow Company Doll, "Soldier!"
The Doll paused in her work, "Ma'am?"
"Any COMSEC units to spare?"
The Doll shook her head, "They went with Bravo, Charlie and Delta Sections to Lotnisko Avdarma!"
VAPR nodded, "Carry on."
"Ma'am!" The Doll rushed off as VAPR shook her head, attention returning to the others, "Sorry, thought there might spares I could give out," she tapped the radio-looking device on her chest rig, pushing a data packet out for explanation, "So you're the second Echelon, MDR?"
"Yup! And you are looking at the premier purveyor of gossip and rumor in Griffin!" MDR puffed up her chest, "If there's any rumours you want dug up, I'm your girl!"
"And we're your best bet for photo recon." A smiling blond holding a camera with her gun slung at her side approached with a light, nearly grey-haired companion with a massive sniper rifle slung over her shoulder as the blond continued, "MP41, photographer and professional journalist."
The grey-haired Doll with the sniper rifle waved languidly, "M200. Also a photographer."
"I wouldn't believe a word MP41 says about journalism," A White-haired Doll approached, "AK-Alfa. I make sure her stories don't go off the rails." She smiled politely, "I look forward to working with you."
"Same to you," VAPR replied.
"And I am Makarov," the petite Doll, again with white hair, that had spoken up stepped forward to look up at VAPR, "I will be responsible for ensuring a measure of discipline on base, please do not add to my workload."
VAPR nodded, "Of course," she replied professionally, "I'll try to keep out of your hair."
"Ma'am." The call of a Shadow Company Doll drew everyone's attention, the black-clad Doll saluting, "Final checks are complete, we are ready to depart."
870 smiled, "Well MDR, we better get ready to head out."
MDR nodded, her expression turning more professional, "We'll ride with Commander Harper, what about you?"
"We'll hitch a lift with the new girl's troops," 870 jerked her thumb towards VAPR who watched impassively, "Who knows, maybe we'll see some action before you."
"Make sure you get recordings!" MDR yelled as her Echelon ran to where Commander Harper was waiting near a Blackhawk with G&K markings in contrast to the dark, unmarked helicopters that the Shadow Company Dolls were loading themselves into, the largest numbers boarding the massive V-22 Osprey at the center of the formation of Blackhawks.
VAPR waved a hand, "This way." Walking over to a Blackhawk, VAPR stepped on board before offering a hand out, MG3 and 4-Shiki accepting while 870 easily climbed on even with her massive shield. Once the Dolls were settled into seats they received a connection link request.
"I'm going to pull you into the Company comm-net, same with MDR's echelon." VAPR explained over Zener, "It'll help with coordination. I'll assign command authorisations subordinate to me as well."
"You're giving us command authority?" MG3 asked, flabbergasted, "But we don't have command modules!"
"Don't need them," VAPR replied easily, "You're sending me requests and I allocate Company operators to you to do the job. Just tell them what you need and I'll handle the tactics."
"Pretty confident about that." 870 commented.
"I should be." VAPR's voice took on an odd tone over Zener, "It's the reason I exist."
With a sharp wave of VAPR's hand, the helicopters took off, and as the Blackhawks took up formation, a small group of MH-6's buzzed ahead with sniper Dolls on board those that didn't have rockets and miniguns.
But what caught everyone's eyes in the Griffin Blackhawk, and on the ground, was the distinct if not legendary shape of four Apache Gunships appearing from where they had been concealed to take up formation.
Another set of hand motions, and the formation began to move forward, and as M870 looked over at the Griffin helicopter, she could see MDR all but howling in jealous amazement as the formation lead the way.
Chuckling, she prodded the rest of her team to accept the request, before accepting herself.
And immediately she entered into a whole new world.
Marian Harper didn't have anyway to access Zener beyond the neural link chip that used the systems of the base for briefings, so she had to rely on her pad being plugged into MDR with wireless headphones to hear any communications inside the 'Shadow Network' used by the mystery Doll and her troops.
'Is this what a real military is like?' Marian wondered as she listened to terse reports, a background buzz of jargon-laden conversation as Shadow Company Dolls in both the air formation and the forces getting the airbase operational traded reports and updates, while VAPR-XKG snapped orders at seemingly random intervals.
Despite the dry nature of the information flowing around, it was strangely soothing, like watching ants at work before a sharp tone rang out.
"Black Eagle, this is Oxide Actual! Priority Traffic!" The Doll sounded urgent but they were still calm, not panicked like how a Griffin Doll might be."
"Oxide, Black Eagle. Send traffic." VAPR's voice didn't shift.
"Ten Uniforms in the treeline on your approach vector. MANPAD, I say again, MANPAD."
Marian felt her hands go clammy, before she clamped down on the fear, "VAPR, can your troops clear the treeline?"
She was in command, that meant she needed to give orders, not wait for VAPR to give them. That could wait until a more appropriate situation.
"Fox Two, do you have Thermals?" VAPR continued as if Marian hadn't spoken.
"Confirm. Fifty's are ready."
"Clear those MANPADs." VAPR ordered, "All Alpha Air, divert course. Hunter One, support Fox."
"Copy." An Apache peeled away from the formation as two of the Little Birds sped ahead as the formation diverted course.
"VAPR, this is Harper." Marian spoke into her comms to get the Doll's attention.
"Commander."
"VAPR, I want your remaining scouts and Apaches to sweep the airbase perimeter. One MANPAD team means ten more."
"Copy. I'll organise ground-" A streak of white smoke zipped past, luckily missing the helicopters as VAPR swore, "FUCKING SHIT!"
"Black Eagle, Fox One! RPG teams coming out of concealment!"
"Hunter Three, Four! Escort the Commander's helicopter out of the ambush! Now!"
Harper pushed the shock down, using her pad to pull up the drone feeds while speaking like she was trained to, keeping the panic out of her voice as she ran a mnemonic in her head to calm down, "Eight-Seventy, I want your echelon on the ground. VAPR, do as you see fit, just clean out my fucking property."
"Rules Of Engagement?" 870's voice was calm while Harper could hear panic in 4-Shiki and MG3's voices as their helicopter swept down, a truck with a machinegun screaming into view only to get torn apart by an Apache's autocannon, the drone of miniguns starting to fill the air as Marian watched door gunners go to work.
"Lethal force. Send a message." Rockets struck the treeline where the MANPAD team had been sighted, the sniper teams firing as their helicopters maneuvered while Apache swept in behind them, chaingun barking.
She saw 870 and her Reduced Echelon landing, door gunners laying down suppressive fire as more bandits revealed themselves and started firing back, only for miniguns to rip into them as Blackhawks swept over them, before she started to lose sight of the combat, the escorting Apaches sweeping forward to hit trucks and bandit troops coming out of hiding.
Unplugging her pad from MDR who had a deathgrip on her weapon, Harper slapped Makarov's shoulder, drawing scarlet eyes to her as Harper began giving direction, "I'm going to contact the airbase for help, help the others!"
Makarov nodded as she went to each of her Echelon-mates, slapping them back to reality as Marian connected to the airbase.
"S07 Base, this Marian Harper, Black Eagle's commanding officer! I need a sitrep!"
"Confirmed, Commander Harper. This is CIC, callsign Disciple. Base is currently under siege by one-hundred-plus hostile foot-mobiles with light vehicles and mortars."
"Disciple, I'm coming in with two escort Apaches. Deploy them to deal with those mortars and send out QRF immediately! I want my command console ready to go when I land!" Marian barked.
"Roger, reassigning Hunters Three and Four now." The Apaches peeled away to hunt down the mortars as the airbase came into view, an explosion flashing into a plume of black smoke, "Be advised Commander, your LZ is hot."
"I'll take my chances." Marian grabbed MDR who was staring wide-eyed at the carnage, Shadow Company Dolls firing from barricades and hasty trenches while human bodies, some still moving littered the ground. A Fastback IFV rolled forward, autocannon thumping as it sent rounds into a cluster of bandits and Marian saw the airburst rounds tear them apart, bodyparts flying from bodies turned into gore-laden mist.
"Look at me!" Marian ordered, the helicopter circling as the pilot frantically spoke with the Shadow Company Air Traffic Controller, "This isn't Sangvis Ferri! If you can't do this, I won't force you! Any of you! Killing another machine is one thing, but killing a person is another thing!" She looked at the rest of the Echelon, "That goes for the rest of you! If you can't do this, get to the command building and take shelter!"
"What about you Commander?" MP41 asked.
Marian grimaced, the helicopter finally touching down, "I'm going to finish this."
With that, she pulled open the door and jumped out, taking off towards the Command Building while the Dolls looked at each other, and in the space of nanoseconds made their decision, jumping out of the helicopter.
And running towards the action.
Looking behind her to see MDR's echelon dive into a trench, Marian smiled sadly before pushing open the doors, Shadow Company Dolls immediately waving her past a barricade, one of them moving alongside her, "Black Eagle just ordered Ukranian Air Force jets to start bombing runs under Red Horseman, ETA is 4 mikes."
"The Ukranians didn't protest?" Marian asked despite herself.
"Only if they want to be replaced." The Doll answered, the pair heading up a set of stairs, "We think this is an opportunistic raid. This much hardware moving into the country, Disciple thinks they expected us to be less prepared than we are."
"Are we at risk of being overrun?" Marian asked as the pair reached a room marked 'CIC'.
"No, once we break this attack, we'll have broken the back of the nearest bandit clans."
Pushing open the doors, Marian entered a converted conference room, her Command Table and an array of screens joined by Dolls operating consoles while one with cables running to the base of her neck turned.
"Commander." The Doll saluted, "CIC callsign Disciple. Everything's set up for you."
"ETA on the airstrikes?" Marian asked as she logged in, bring up a view of MDR's echelon firing on incoming bandits alongside Shadow Company Dolls. Switching to another drone, she could see that 870 and her group were okay, VAPR menacing what appeared to be an apparent leader and a young boy with the bayonet of her rifle, serving to drive home the briefing packet's warning of child soldiers, children of bandits who would raid with their parents, and often just as if not more ruthless due to their upbringing.
Marian's throat caught as VAPR casually sliced off the boy's hand, savagely kicking the now-screaming child in the head before pointing the blade at the man, prompting her to pull up the audio from VAPR directly.
"-just like that. Confidence breaks so quickly when you lose a hand. Now, unless you want me to keep cutting him apart, you are going to tell me who leaked our arrival."
"And I told you bitch, no-one did!"
"I can read your micro-expressions you know. And you actually want me to believe that you just so happened to be watching Odessa as a coincidence after you saw the convoy arrive. That you coincidentally decided to setup ambushes along our direct route. That you were just hanging out with rival clan forces for a bit of fun and raiding."
Jets screamed overhead, but the boy's screaming was louder as VAPR's bayonet sliced off a foot.
"Well? Still plenty of bits left on him if you want to keep trying your luck." The blade hovered dangerously-close to an arm as the captured bandit grit his teeth, staring at the boy who kept screaming.
"All right. All right! It was Voiculet! He leaked the info to keep you from disrupting our business arrangements! It was him! He ordered this!"
The jets dropped their payloads, napalm sweeping over pinned pockets of bandits and breaking their will, many running for the hills as those who surrendered were simply shot dead.
VAPR 'tsked', "Voiculet, the head of the Special Police Force. How fucking predictable." She raised her rifle and fired; three shots destroying the screaming boy's head before three shots were put into the bandit's chest, followed by two to the head, VAPR reloading as she looked up at the Drone.
"These people are animals, Commander. Human or Doll, we do not want to be taken alive by them."
"We can't go around torturing people for information." Harper swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I know. I will accept any action you choose to take."
"Will this happen again?"
"No Ma'am, it will not."
Marian nodded, "Brig. Two weeks, you will be expected to continue your command responsibilities for the duration of your confinement."
"Understood."
"Eight-Seventy," Marian switched to the Shotgunner's channel, "Confiscate VAPR's weapon and return to base."
She didn't listen to the acknowledgement, switching the view back to the airbase surrounds, watching as Shadow Company Dolls walked amongst the bodies, brief flashes of gunfire as they fired bursts into bodies to make sure no-one was playing dead before kicking the corpse over and searching the body.
Elsewhere, teams were starting work on repairs, while others pulled down barricades. In the trench they had jumped in, a battered echelon traded tired high-fives with Shadow Company before simply staring at the field of death in front of them.
Not even a day had passed, and their base had been sieged, she had nearly been killed, while a prominent official had been fingered as a possible culprit on flimsy pretexts.
"Is it too late to transfer to the Sangvis Front?"
Only grim laughter came from the CIC Dolls in response as the helicopters began to arrive.