Reclamation of S09

Chapter 4

0200. I had sent a team to the north-eastern edge of subsector 2. I expect to hear from them before noon-time. Their task is to survey the mountain passes connecting the highlands of subsector 4 to this plateau-strewn valley. Pinpoint every weak point on the cliff-faces, any which could easily collapse and bury the passes below.

This should cut off the Sangvis reinforcements trickling into this subsector. Buy us more time to locate M4A1.

The Sangvis may move against us as soon as the passes are buried. I will give our defenses another look-over, just in case.

Other than the Sangvis presence in Hevhj, the same presence we had eliminated, there are no further actions taken against us. I had watched them from the command tablet and the tactical map. They are keeping their distance from this base and the listening posts.

This contradicts what I had seen of Agent. That Ringleader is the type to prioritise decapitating the snake. Perhaps a different Ringleader is in charge of this search?

…

Now there is the matter of locating M4A1. An echelon is kept in this base around the clock as a QRF in case the Sangvis show any sign of having pinpointed her position.

I prefer to be more proactive but we have neither the fuel for a thorough sweep nor the manpower to observe every village or town in this subsector. For now I have to rely on the listening posts. See if they could pick up any radio communique which may lead us to M4A1.

…

|Glass clatter|

|Metallic uncorking|

|Pouring|

A toast to our scouts. Suleiman, Ahmed, Celik, Erkan, Hasan, Fahri. We wouldn’t have survived for as long as we did without you.

|Sound of drinking|

…

You know, Captain. I envied our scouts. Still envied our scouts. They were free. Free to move without oversight, free to pick their fights, free to explore the city. Fleet-footed djinns, all of them. You had seen them. How they ran the obstacle course in the courtyard. How they navigated the sewers.

I envied their mobility, their adventurous spirit, their shrewdness, their boldness, their courage...so much to envy about.

|Sound of drinking|

...

I used to write about their adventures, you know. Wrote it in this blank leather-bound book. You know the one. Yellow pages, brown leather, with a clasp. First dozens or so pages were covered in chicken scrawl. I had to rewrite those tales.

The story of that chase in the bazaar, the blending in with the Khorasani, the uncovering of these storehouses loaded with heavy ordnance…

…

Knowing what Istanbul’s like, that book’s probably ashes. Burned with the rest by our myriad adversaries. Bury us, bury our memory.

…

I’m the only one left, aren’t I? The last of us. Our living memory. Once I am gone, nobody will be left to remember us.

…

Is this why you ordered me to live, Captain?

…

|Sound of drinking|

|Metallic corking and clatter|

I should get back to work.

0707

“Behold your God!” The cat nun T-Doll’s voice echoed. Her arms were outstretched, eagle-spread. Her right motioned towards the cross behind her.

“His arm is with authority! Behold! His reward is with Him! His work is before Him!”

P7 swept her arms about like a dramatist on a stage.

“He will feed His flock! Like a shepherd!” She clasped her hands and placed them close to her chest. “He gathers the lambs with His arm! He will comfort those with young!”

“Yeah! You go, God!” Ingram thrust her fist upwards, towards the sunlight streaming down from the gap in the ceiling. “Protect those lambs!”

“Oi, Cetin!” The long table shook. Its surface dented under the force of my nemesis’ incessant tapping. “Are you listening to me? Hey!”

Creamy soup spilled onto the plastic tray. My nemesis’ face was red, her cheeks puffed. Noting that she had caught my attention, she deflated her cheek, leaned back, folded her arms and started, “As I was saying! You need to stop wandering around by yourself and sleeping wherever you please!”

“Morning, Fox. Skorpy,” greeted Lev as he set his tray beside Skorpion’s.

“Oi! Lev!” Skorpion planted her right elbow on the table. She leaned towards the Dayshifter captain. “What’s the bright idea, huh?”

“What bright idea?” he replied as he slipped onto the bench.  He took one sip of his soup, then smiled blissfully.

The table shook. More soup on the tray. “What bright idea?” she snapped. “You know what bright idea! You left Cetin at the Northern Cliffside!”

“Oh, that.” He stifled a yawn. “I thought I told Griga to go look for Fox before I got on the helo.” He then took another sip from his bowl.

The T-Doll shot up from her seat and faced towards the kitchen counter, north side of the Hall. She then waved both her arms. “Oi! Griga! Oi!”

P7 stopped and frowned. Skorpion's voice had overpowered her own.

“Awww,” Ingram whined. “No more?”

Grigori’s expression darkened, his torso deflated. Springfield, wearing a plastic smile, nudged towards our direction. He shrugged his shoulders, straightened himself and walked towards us. He then sat to my left.

“What, Skorpy?” he asked with a grunt.

“Don’t give me that tone!” said Skorpion as she sank on the bench. Looking at her posture, she must had rested her right ankle on her left thigh. She rested her cheek on her palm and glared at the Nightshifter Captain. “Lev said he told you to go look for Cetin before he left!”

Grigori sighed. “Dimas and I did find him.”

“At almost midnight!” Even more soup on the tray.

“I was there, I was!” Nagant Revolver yelled from the table behind me. “Found him at the Northern Cliffside! Made them Borscht, I did!”

“You heard her!” Skorpion cried furiously. “So what? What were you doing, taking so long? Sightseeing?”

“Sightseeing?” Grigori scoffed. “We had to walk. Ask Lev. He took the keys to the Jeep.”

Lev stopped scooping his soup. “Ooops.” He wore an embarrassed smile.

“Aaargh!!” Skorpion held the side of her head, rocked back and forth. “I can't believe the both of you!” She shot me a glare. “Cetin! I am staying here around the clock! I insist!”

My spoon clattered against the tray. “Am I a child needing supervision?”

Just as Skorpion was about to utter her retort, the radio beeped aloud. “Damn it!” she swore. “Language!” I reprimanded as I picked up the device. It emitted FNC’s voice. “Commander! Commander!” she cried urgently. “There’s a strange T-Doll near here!”

The command tablet’s screen lit up. Close to the left edge of the display, by the river, laid Hevhj. Four listening posts, each a kilometer away from town, formed its perimeter. FNC and FN49’s blips were close to the third listening post, counting clockwise.

“Where is she now?”

“Already gone from sight! Ran south-east! Sixty degrees! ”

Two swipes, a village on a hill by a forest came into view.

“QRF! Sortie!” My order echoed through the hall.

0740

Siskin 2's blip rapidly crossed the forest.

A sigh into the mic. Ingram had called again. "Ingram to Command. Permission to engage?”

“Command to Ingram. Follow HK416’s orders,” I enunciated clearly.

The manic T-Doll grumbled. “If I listen to her orders I’ll be sitting in here all day being bored out of my mind,” she said. “Come oooon! Give me the order to engage! I want some carnage!”

“HK416 to Ingram. Stop bothering the Commander,” interjected the aforementioned T-Doll.

Some rude mutterings were heard before the comms was cut.

HK416 and Ingram, along with G11 and their dummies, were holding positions inside and around a stone house at the top of the slope on the south-eastern edge of the village. They were trading fire with the Vespids which were holding position in two houses to their south-east and south-west.

IDW and her dummies zig-zagged up the slope towards the south-western house. Three distinct energy shots were fired at them. One dummy took a glancing hit, another was struck in the right abdomen. Another intercepted the shot meant for the mainframe.

Five muzzle flashes from behind the IDWs. All shots directed at the T-Doll and her dummies ceased. The fire directed at HK416, G11 and Ingram lost intensity. Five more muzzle flashes. An IDW intercepted a single retaliatory shot.

Two IDWs crashed through the window. Another circled around, kicked down the back door and entered.

A meteor, followed by an explosion.

“Ingram! Go!” shouted HK416. With a cackle, the Ingrams leapt out of their covers and charged towards the smoke-shrouded gap in the wall of the south-eastern house.

A minute later, all hostilities ceased.

“HK416 to Command. Moving towards the village square.”

“Siskin 2 to Command. Dropping Team Skorpion at village square. I’m seeing Scouts and Prowlers closing in from our four o’clock. ETA 2 minutes.”

“Command to Team HK416. HK416, G11 and M14, take positions in the village square. Ingram, split your dummies and position them inside the houses flanking the street. IDW, tie the enemy down. HK416, fire your grenade the moment they form critical mass. Ingram, you handle mop-up.”

“Mop up? Commander! Are you seriously ordering me to execute some boring mop up? Let me have some fun, you boring piece of…”

“Shut it, Ingram. Team HK416 to Command. Moving according to plan.”

“Cetin! What about us?”

“Command to Team Skorpion, begin your search for M4A1.”

0817

The Sangvis were testing the defenses of the village square. Vespids and Rippers pinned by G11s and HK416s at the south-west, IDWs and Ingrams tying up Prowlers at the south-east. M14s covered both approaches from the top of the roof of the southernmost house with ceaseless volleys.

Five Vespids shimmied along the eastern cliff’s edge, heading northwards. One of them snapped back before falling onto the undergrowth below. The other four increased their pace.

“Siskin 2 to Command. Supplies dropped at village square. Returning to Camp Hevhj now.”

Micro-drone feed clear despite the rising dust and hanging cobwebs. Skorpion had ripped open a yellowing wardrobe door. FNC was leaning over a window-sill. They were on the second floor of the manor.

Five loud bangs from the upper floor, reports of Springfields’ rifles. Vespid blips along the cliff’s edge winked out.

“This room’s clear!” Skorpion shouted. “Hey! Babushka! MP40! How about your side?”

“Nothing but mouldy pots, Skorpy,” reported Nagant. “Moving to the cellar.”

“Roger!”

Skorpion hurried out of the door. FNC motioned to follow. She stopped at the threshold, then spun around towards a yellowing dresser. She swiftly picked up what looked like a hand mirror before hurriedly exiting the room.

A sip from the thermos-cap. Still unsure as to how Springfield makes her coffee. Flavour...a mix of bitter and sour with a hint of...something.

Twenty-one red blips entered the AO from the south-east.

“Springfield to Command,” her voice emitted. “Twenty-one Sangvis have entered the AO, fast approaching, ETA ten minutes. There’s a Sangvis Ringleader with them.”

UAV feed centred on the Sangvis echelon. Zoom in. A horned woman. Swollen right arm, covered in obsidian plates. She wielded a long jet-black sword.

“It’s Executioner. Commander, your orders?”

Feed scanning the rest of the echelon. Fifteen Vespids and five...Jaegers.

Chest tightened. Sharp pain in my right limbs.

Moonless night. Cold sea behind, cold sand below. Ringing in the air. The pouring tracer flashes had ceased. Khadem lifted his head. A loud crack. Sickening crunch. Warm fluids and bone chunks splattered onto my back. Blood soaked the sand.

“Commander?”

Blood on my lips.

The Ringleader is a melee combatant. She should be disadvantaged if she fought on the open field. She must be aware of this, yet she was leading her echelon from the front.

Agent’s shield came to mind.

Whistles of mortar shells. Had to get up and run. Sand in my boots. Crack of thunder. Hot blood on my left cheek and shoulder, both mine and Hassan’s.

Tongue tasted iron.

Washed it off. Sipped on the coffee. Had to focus.

Had to concentrate fire on Executioner. Yet, can’t ignore the Jaegers. Had to cut Executioner’s minions down.

Hassan crumpled onto the bloodied sand. Half his face was gone.

Can’t allow the Jaegers to pick off my people while they busy themselves with the Ringleader.

“Command to Team HK416. Hold position. Lure Executioner in.”

“Ja, Commander.”

“Command to Team Skorpion. Springfield, hold your position in the manor. Rest, exit the village through the north-west. Circle towards the south-eastern road through the forest. Flank them once they funnel towards the village square.”

“Team Skorpion to Command! Roger!” A pause. “...Cetin...you okay over there?”

“I’m fine. Command to all Teams. Snipers, prioritise the Jaegers, then the Vespids.”

“Ingram to Command! Executioner will cut us down if we focus on her minions.”

Another look-through the map. Narrow alleys between stone houses. Cluttered rooms and narrow corridors in Team Skorpion’s micro-drone feed. Not enough time to set up in the manor. The alleys will have to do.

“Ingram, lure Executioner into the alleys. Hold her attention for as long as you can. Once her minions are cleared, draw her to the village square.”

A cold cackle. “Finally!”

“Command to Siskin 2. Stand by for emergency extraction.”

“HK416 to Command. Executioner has stopped at the end of the road. She’s hailing us.”

“Command to Team HK416. Hold fire.”

“Team Skorpion to Command. We are in position, ready to attack on your mark.”

“Hold for now. Command to Team HK416. What does she want?”

“Team HK416 to Command. She’s asking if we had seen a T-Doll with black hair, skull bandana and looks like an airhead.”

“Team Skorpion to Team HK416. That could be anyone! What weapon is she using? An M4A1?”

“...Yes. An M4A1. Team HK416 to Command. Orders?”

“FNC here! I think I saw some broken branches on the tree outside the window. And depressions in the weeds. Going to the cliff heading down into the forest. Think that’s M4A1?”

“Skorpion to FNC. What?? Why didn’t you tell us earlier?!”

“Commander said to look for M4A1! I wasn’t sure that’s her!”

Humidity trapped between my face and my palms. “Command to Team HK416. Tell her we didn’t find a T-Doll matching her description.”

“But Commander!” FNC interjected. “I did see a T-Doll who looks just like her…”

“F.N.C.” said Springfield gently, stretching each syllable slightly. Her tone carried a hint of menace.  

Sensing the veiled threat, FNC yelped. “I’m sorry!” she said.

HK416 sighed. “That Dummkopf...Team HK416 to Command. Complying.”

A minute later, the red blips departed from the village.

0927

I was made aware of the chill soaking into my palm when the third incessant beeping disturbed the silence of the grave. I lifted my flask and gave it a shake. Maybe ten millilitres of Smirnoff left inside. Soft clinks distracted from the beeps. The chair creaked. Brushed the dust off the fatigues. Pressed the button. Answered the call.

It wasn’t the boss lady projected from the communicator.

The eerie blue glow accentuated the displeasure veiled behind Kalina’s strained smile. The terminal on the holographic communicator displayed two missed calls, both from the FOB in subsector 1.

“How goes your morning, Commander?” she asked. Her smile was genial, but it did not match her veiny blue eyes. The chirpiness was feigned. She then emitted a false laugh. “Miss Helian has some urgent business, so I’m taking over for her.”

That explained the absence of missed calls from HQ.

“Training regimen again?”

“Yep! I will be grading your papers today.” Another feigned chuckle. “I may not be Helian but I’m not going to cut you any slack.”

Skorpion’s stamping announced her arrival. “Cetin!” she cried the moment she cleared the iron gate. Her smile and gesture were that of genuine jubilance. “We’ve returned safe and sound!”

“Skorpion!” Kalina folded her arms. “You are late! You are supposed to give him the training material by nine a.m.!”

The T-Doll pouted at the hologram. “I just got back from a mission, Kalin. Anyway!” She raised her left fist towards me, “I did well, didn’t I?”

“No fist bumps. You didn’t find M4A1.”

“Awww….” she deflated.

“What’s that about a mission?” Kalina asked. Her head was tilted slightly to her right. Her left brow arched upwards.

“FNC reported having seen M4, so we pursued her to a village to our south-east. Didn’t find her but guess who turned up instead!”

“Alot of Sangvis?”

“No!” Skorpion exclaimed. “I mean ‘Yes’! But that’s not what I meant! Executioner’s there too!”

“Executioner!?” A loud slam emitted from the communicator. “Did you say Executioner? Are you alright? How're the other dolls?”

“We are fine, Kalin! We are fine! All she did was ask whether we had seen M4. We said ‘no’. Then she left.”

“She left, just like that?”

“Yep!”

“What about Hunter? Have you seen Hunter?”

“No! Didn’t see her! No idea where she’s at!”

Kalina leaned back. She held her chin. “So that’s why you didn’t answer my calls. Still…two Ringleaders in just four days?”

I scoffed and stated, “We are bound to run into another Ringleader as we search for M4A1.”

“Don’t you find this whole thing strange?” she noted. “It’s almost a year since anyone’s encountered a Ringleader and, well, here we are. Two Ringleaders in under four days!” The logistics officer then frowned, “I mean, the Sangvis were pretty content staying put where they were for the past year and...”

“Hey, hey,” Skorpion grumbled. “Kalin, do you have the memory of a goldfish? We already discussed this in the mess hall two days ago. This whole thing started after M4 took something from safehouse 3, remember?”

“Still...another Ringleader, and it’s Executioner. Without Hunter. This is very, very strange.”

I allowed the silence to linger for a moment before stating my request.

“Kalina.”

Kalina blinked. Her fake smile crept onto her face again. “Yes, Commander?”

“Send me any intel Grifon has on both these Ringleaders. Executioner and Hunter.”

“Right,” Kalina nodded. “Anyway, Cetin.” She dropped her smile. Her cheerful tone faded. “Don’t rush, okay? We don’t need to provoke the Sangvis even more than we already did.”

“You know that is beyond our control. All we can do is shore up the bulwarks against the encroaching dunes.”

“Oi, Cetin,” Skorpion interjected. She was giving me a critical look. “‘Shore up the bulwarks against the encroaching dunes’? That phrase is uncool! Really uncool!”

Kalina cracked a grin. “He’s from the desert, Skorpy. He doesn’t know cool even when he’s experiencing hypothermia.”

Skorpion showed me that unmistakable look of pity.

“I know what ‘cool’ is,” I murmured.

“Anyway!” Kalina tilted her head slightly. “I’ll be back after lunch. Just for today, I’m letting you off with tardiness. Just submit your exam papers before dinner. I’ll cover the rest.”

Before I could inquire about the 'exam papers’, the hologram winked out.

“Give me a fist bump,” Skorpion requested again.

I sighed. “No fist bumps. You didn’t find M4A1.”

I showed her my palm. The T-Doll cocked her head slightly. “What’s this? Want a five?”

“No. Kalina said you are supposed to give me the training material. Where is it? You should have given it to me first thing in the morning.”

Skorpion grinned in embarrassment. “Ooops.”

“Where is the disc, Skorpion?” my voice rose slightly.

The T-Doll averted her eyes and rubbed the back of her head. She let out an uncomfortable guffaw, then replied, “I misplaced it.”

“...You are a terrible liar.”

“I’m not lying.” Skorpion looked aside. Her shoulders shook with a nervous giggle.

“You are a T-Doll. You don’t just forget things. Your memory is saved data.”

“I didn’t forget the disc, I misplaced it…” Skorpion squeezed her index fingers together. “I mean, I heard from Nagant what happened last night and got so incensed so I just got off the helo and didn’t bring the disc with me and…”

She glanced at me, looked at her fidgeting feet, then back at me again. “It’s not like you actually need the training regimen...I mean, you aren’t actually a rookie, right?”

“You are changing the topic.”

“So what if I am?” Skorpion grumbled. “Cetin, I had been meaning to ask for a while. Why are you hurting yourself this way?”

“I’m not hurting myself.”

She tensed up  “Liar!” She then pointed towards my face.  “You are hurt! You are bleeding from your lower lip!”

“Skorpion!” I raised my tone. “The disc. Please.”

The T-Doll puffed her reddening cheeks. “No! I am not getting you the disc! You want the disc, you leave this hole and come to the helo with me!”

I opened my mouth to retort. Only silence came out.

The T-Dolls in the hall. They must be celebrating their safe return. Even dragged the auxiliary guardsmen into their tomfoolery.

Tightening in my chest. I could just hear their voices from here. The stories they would share, the laughs and jeers, the praises and barbs…

My eyes were false. Why do they burn?

Skorpion’s pigtails seemed to droop. She said softly, “Hey. Promise you will join us for lunch.”

“What if I don’t?”

“Then!” Her pigtails seemed to perk up, “You go get the disc yourself!”

A heavy sigh. “...Fine. I promise.”

Skorpion grinned toothily again. “Yay!” She pointed at me and exclaimed, “You better turn up! You promised!”

“I gave my word, didn’t I?” I replied with a frown. “Get me my disc.”

“Oh! Right! Back in five minutes!”

Her fading footfalls announced her departure, her return to the light. I sank on the chair and listened to the voices engraved in the walls.

Breakfast was interrupted when FNC and FN49 reported sightings of a strange T-Doll which I assumed to be M4A1. Scrambled the QRF, tracked the T-Doll’s movement to a village to the south-east...It’s more accurate to say I predicted she went there, I think. As for why she fled from us, if she is M4A1, I have yet to produce a hypothesis.

It should be noted the Sangvis were already waiting for us in that village. From what I could see, they moved towards the village the moment I sortied the QRF. They had likely monitored our activities. Through their own UAVs, perhaps?

Their Ringleader also made her appearance. Executioner, they called her. Wielded a sword. A jet-black blade as long as a man is tall. An unusual opponent. Kalina mentioned she is usually accompanied by another Ringleader, dubbed Hunter. Just hearing these names, I suspected their usual tactic involved Hunter pursuing her prey into Executioner’s blade.

I will know for sure once Kalina returns with intel.

…

A Ringleader specialising in melee combat confidently striding through an open field. Perhaps she has the same bulwark of light as Agent?

…

She had asked about M4A1’s whereabouts, whether we had seen her. FNC picked the worst possible timing to blab about having seen signs of M4A1’s presence. An infuriating mistake, one I wouldn’t tolerate in our men, was made by a machine. Imagine that.

I question the sanity of the one programming the T-Dolls.

…

Regardless, Executioner bought the lie of not having seen any signs of M4A1. That, or she didn’t care about the signs and was only concerned about the T-Doll actually being present. I had expected her to attack us regardless but...instead...she just withdrew her forces. She had no reason to worry about irrecoverable losses at this time and yet she chose to withdraw.

...

Perhaps her accepting our lie was less because she bought it and more because she is only concerned about M4A1 being present, in person. Maybe some arrogance was present as well?

She did seem to carry herself with arrogance. Agent certainly is arrogant.

...

I suppose emotions aren’t exclusive to Grifon T-Dolls. Are all the T-Dolls in this country like this?

...

Was arrogance why she hadn’t brought along Hunter? Or was that part of another strategy?

…

I do not understand.

…

Skorpion hasn’t returned. I will ruminate on the Sangvis for the time being.