The machine complied with your inputs, complying and dispensing the requested rations. A plate of less than half a nutritious meal, and a handful of sweet lollipops - the machine also offered sour ones, though those weren't the kind you needed. With your breakfast in hand, you turn around to approach AA-12's table. The shotgun tries not to look at you as you near, but upon spotting that precious sweet desert in your hand, it became a strain to keep the mask up.
"Is this spot free?"
You ask, pointing to the spot opposite of her.
"I guess."
She replies simply, avoiding eye contact, simply staring into her plate. You sit down, placing your breakfast on the table. A few seconds of silence pass, you observe the shotgun's body language. You know she's not exactly a morning person, and her tired nature suggests as much. As usual, you can't tell whether that's the eyeshadow or a lack of sleep once again. Still, she seems uneasy, like something's bothering her. Or someone…
With no better way to break the ice than an apology, you push the pile of candy to her side of the table. She freezes mid-bite, staring at the pile. Her cheeks flush pink, like someone had just given her a bundle of roses. Now you can say something that'll get to hear more easily. Something you wanted to say since yesterday.
"I'm sorry."
Suddenly, her eyes go from the sugar fest to you.
"I'm sorry I lied to you."
"..."
Her hand let's go of her fork, shakily moving over to the candy pile. She seems reluctant to accept, which is understandable. She picks a single lollipop up, looking at it. Perhaps she just needed an excuse to stop looking at you.
"I… you're not… trying to bribe me, right? I can't be bought, you jerk…"
"I'm just keeping a promise."
"..."
Her eyes narrow. Despite the secrets you are keeping, these are no lies. It was a relatively small promise, just some sugar, but it was a responsibility you needed to keep as squad leader.
"A promise, huh?" she asked absentmindedly, twisting the lollipop around between her fingers "Is that goal of yours a promise too?"
[ ] "Yes."
[ ] "Not really."
[X] "No, it's an order."
[ ] "Guess you could say that."
"Hm…"
The shotgun hummed in thought, processing your answer. She did not seem pleased enough with your words, or perhaps trying to seem bitter. You pulled her through many uncomfortable things, this might be all that resentment bunched up and finally unsuppressed. You can't quite tell what's going on inside her head despite having had a trip inside her digimind. Her behavior seemed somewhat illogical and contradictory even then. Hopefully she'll appreciate your efforts of making amends. If this is bad, just wait till she finds out what you did to her head.
"If you're worried about my performance as your adjutant…" she started "Don't worry, I know my orders."
"That's not what I'm worried about." you reaffirm "I'm worried about you."
The shotgun just sighs and looks away, stripping the lollipop off its wrapping and stuffing it into her mouth.
"W-worry about your own damn business, you jerk…"
Avoiding your gaze again, she seems dead set on her stance. But you wouldn't be able to press further as she opted for a different tacting on avoiding that subject.
"B-but moving onto something I'm worried about… the hell is up with that haircut? Did Hunter hit you over the head or something?"
[ ] "Why? You like it?"
[ ] "I see, I like, I take. That's my motto."
[ ] "Just thought it'd be funny."
[X] Write-in: "Yeah, it was high impact cuteness. It left a permanent mark."
"... you have a penchant for taking other people's things, you know? It's becoming a bad habit."
"You're one to talk about bad habits."
"... the others will look."
"Aw, are you worried?"
"N-no you jerk!" she exclaims, pouting.
"Ahah, you two are adorable." says another voice this morning, the both of you looking its way. Into the mess hall enters JS05, followed by the small SPP-1 and a tall pink haired doll you haven't met before.
"Oh, don't mind us, we're just getting a morning bite."
"Good morning Veresk and AA-12." greeted the handgun.
The third girl didn't say anything though, not until she reached your table while the others continued to the ration dispenser.
"We haven't been acquainted yet. I am M82A1, rifle type." she said politely "Should you require help, you need but ask. I'll leave you to your meal."
Just like that, she left you again. It was a quick but straightforward interaction, one neither of you could even get a word in. She walked gracefully, her long pink hair lagging behind her, topped off by two mechanical looking accessories on each side of her head. A long dark blue coat covered the upper half of her body, reaching to her knees, a white dress shirt underneath. Black thigh high stockings, ended with a pair of high heel boots. Her pink gaze observed the both of you for only a little bit, but enough to remember your features. Perhaps that's just all the information she needs.
Not much of a meal she left you to, but it's better than nothing. You finished long before AA-12 did, she stashed the sweets and continued eating her relatively small food ration. The other dolls just passed behind you with their full plates to another table. However, JS05 stopped for a second, sniffing the air. Her eyes narrowed, directing themselves to your shotgun companion, but after a few seconds of glaring she moved on. Odd…
Breakfast finished shortly after, more of the base dolls entering the canteen as you left. AA-12 separated from you to shower, leaving you to your own devices. An hour passed, you spent it in your dorm, going over your equipment while your momentary roommates filled their bellies. You decided to fill the remaining empty space in yours with one of your own rations, removing one from your inventory. That's when you received a message on the Zener network, a notice to all dolls on base.
"Mission briefing in command center, e.t. 5 minutes."
Right, you're supposed to do those here. You pick yourself up, gear and weapon in hand. Off to your first G&K mission briefing. Perhaps this could be considered espionage, if you were ever found out they'd call you a spy. But it's not difficult to pretend you're not. It's not like you're here to spy anyway.
You remember the way to Ots-14's office, so you get there in time. You open the door and see some of the dolls already inside, some you knew like SPP-1 and M82A1, others not. You couldn't spot Ots-14 either, which was odd considering she's the momentary commander. You've exchanged greetings, chatted a little bit, more dolls arriving. You haven't even noticed when Ots-12 showed up, but Specter's arrival was witnessed by everyone as she announced her presence, then pouted when nobody paid her much mind. When exactly 5 minutes had passed since the conference call, a doll cleared her throat loud enough for everyone to stop talking and look her way. That probably means it's starting, so you start paying attention too. However, the doll that requested your attention wasn't Groza, who still was nowhere to be seen.
It was a shotgun of average height, which meant much higher than you once again. Her hair was a long brown, turning white at the ends. Her eyes a heterochromic pair of red on the left and yellow on the right. For such rare cases it'd be the most striking part about their appearance, and yet your gaze was drawn elsewhere. As a visible shotgun type, she had ballistic shields extending from her back, though their design was rather peculiar and almost artistic. Five segmented plates of hard armored material connected on each side to create a pair of "wings", with the uppermost segment of her left wing being a distinctive red. The doll herself seemed composed and professional, fixing up her hat.
"Good morning, comrades. I am glad to see everyone here on time for today's mission briefing. I have already registered everyone as present, and detailed summaries will be sent to everyone shortly so make sure to have space in your digiminds."
"It's not encrypted again, is it Benelli?" asked SAW, continuing to chew on something afterwards, likely gum.
"As per commander Ots-14's request, I have unfortunately abstained from encrypting this batch. So I must ask you to please memorize the files before deleting them for added security."
"Speaking of Groza, where is she this time?"
"Commander Ots-14 is conducting private business in her quarters, so I'll be taking over for the morning, as is the duty of an adjutant."
"Big sis is sleeping in again~" chuckled Ots-12 with a sly smile.
"A-anyway… let's begin by displaying everyone's patrol routes for today. Everyone connect to the shared visual feed, Zener will take care of the rest."
Of course, meetings like these would not be conducted the same way humans would do it. All participants a dolls, which means they can all connect on the Zener network for once singular shared perception. The simplest term to call it would be virtual reality projected, seeing things that aren't really there that only you and anyone connected can see, thought it's more natural for dolls than humans using those fancy VR goggles. Still, this is your first time joining a briefing like this. You connect, your visual feed adjusting until light projections start appearing within the room. A 3D map of Area S06 has appeared for everyone to see, a blinking light indicating the command center's location.
"Today's patrols will consist of two echelons taking different routes each. Echelon 1 will be taking the forest path North, while Echelon 2 will follow along the river West. Echelon 1 will consist of Ots-12, PSG-1 and M82A1, while echelon 2 will consist of myself, SPP-1 and M249 saw."
"Isn't that a little smaller than usual echelon size?" wonders JS05.
"That is only a temporary concern, because as you are all well aware, we have newcomers among us today to provide assistance. SR-2 Veresk?" the shotgun type addresses you "As I have little in terms of combat data regarding you, which echelon would you say would benefit best from your skills and expertise? I will assign you to whichever one you choose."
You're not sure how to feel about being put into the spotlight like this, almost everyone's looking at you. The consequence of this choice shouldn't be severe, it's merely patrolling contested territory, but there's always a risk of hostile encounters. Additionally, making friends with the dolls in your echelon might prove useful. You reply, simply and clearly…
[X] Echelon 1
[ ] Echelon 2
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