Earlier In Lab 16

Ms. Helian met with Dr. Persica in her lab to discuss about the AR team that had just returned from their most recent sortie. Ms. Helian observed the four pods with some interest. ST-AR15, SOPMOD II, M16A1, and their team leader, M4. The girls had only minor injuries, relatively speaking, but the real reason Dr. Persica had them in their standby mode was to make some "adjustments".

"Dr. Persica, how soon until your 'adjustments' are completed? We have another urgent mission for them to handle." Ms. Helian turned away from the girls and back to Dr. Persica who sat on her station chair, with her right leg crossing over her left. Her left leg stood perpendicular to her other which made it seem as if she wasn't planning on moving anytime soon.

The doctor kept her eyes glued to the overhead monitors at her station as she brought her cup to her lips. She had lost count how many cups she's had since the moment she woke up that day but regardless, there was never enough to give her quite the kick she needed. After determining she would need more coffee soon, she answered, "Soon."

"That isn't exactly a helpful answer, Doctor."

"Hmmm?" The doctor asked as she took another sip from her cup. There. That was the last drop. She looked down to see such a sad sight and her ears drooped slightly. Ms. Helian frowned and quickly turned away letting out a small cough to cover her actual reaction to the doctor's pitiful sight. "In any case doctor, will your 'adjustments' have any hindering effect on their mission performance and capabilities?"

As Dr. Persica poured her special brew coffee into her cup, she asked thoughtfully, "Have they ever?"

Ms. Helian declined to answer. Instead, she returned to continue her cold calculating look on the AR Team before her. When Ms. Helian was ready, she moved over to Dr. Persica, and said "Please do your best doctor, this maybe their hardest mission they'll face yet."

A toothy grin grew on the Doctor's face, "Then you better let me work, shouldn't you, Ms. Helian?"

Again, Ms. Helian declined to answer as she watched with a mix of disgust and question as she watched the doctor drink her coffee straight from the coffee pot through a straw. She decided not to question it, turned on her heels and left out the door. Not before petting one of the Doctor's pets as she left.

~-.-~

The Commander forced open one of his eyes. His vision blurred as expected. He stared at the ceiling for a moment then closed his eye shut. The worst part of waking up, was doing exactly that. He removed his hands from under his armpits and pressed his thumbs against his eyes, rubbing the gunk that had accrued from his tear ducts as he slept. He blinked several times after that allowing the floaties in his eyes to settle and imagined his brain as a generator that needed a bit of convincing to get it running. He looked at the chair and his shoulder holster still in the spot he left them. His pants also where he had left them. He sighed mighty heavily as he swung his legs over the side of his cot.

He rubbed the right side of his still tired face with his hand and groaned slightly when it felt the stubble had turned into something pricklier. He threw his cargo pants on, ensured the knife was still clasped to the small of his back position with a left handed draw, laced his boots and threw on his shoulder holster all with his eyes closed. It was not a difficult feat in the slightest, he was just stalling every moment until he could wake up.

He bumped his right hip to the corner of his desk and bent over slightly, grabbing his injured body part and finally opened one of his eyes. The dim glow from the hall way filled his vision until his eye could readjust to the new intake of light. He stopped leaning on his desk for support and hobbled over to the restroom and leaned his weight on the sink in stead. The light over the mirror flickered to life and blinded him for a moment. He flinched slightly and flinched again looking at the mirror seeing his own hideous reflection. He reached for where he would normally have his hygienic utensils only to find an empty space.

He hung his head even lower in frustration thinking of what time would be wasted hobbling over to his locker, digging through his bag for them and coming back. He turned the faucet on and the water rushed out immediately. He transferred his weight from his hands to his forearms as he leaned even closer to the sink letting his hands cup and collect the water. He swore his fingers were going numb from how cold it was. He splashed the frigid, near Antarctic temperature-like water on his face and gasped from the shock.

Now that he was awake. He splashed the water on his face a couple more times because he so loved to torture himself. Once that was done he reached to the towel bar where at least there was a towel there and pressed his face on it. He shivered slightly and hung the towel over his shoulder and fetched his razor, shaving gel, toothbrush and paste from his bag. He snatched his PAD off his desk as he went back to the sink and finished hygiene routine. He tapped a few commands on his PAD and projected the daily news reports both local and global on to the mirror as he brushed.

England was facing another round of riots. America still in repair economically but slowly building momentum with what land was available. France was under a cold spell. Spain and Portugal still insanely hot but the local markets seemed to continue to thrive. Africa. No one talks about Africa. Russia still going on like everything's fine. And some other European countries are enjoying their lives as they can.

Once he was satisfied that his teeth were squeaky clean, he lathered his face with the shaving gel which doubled in size as it quickly foamed up. He placed the blade halfway down his neck, the edge angled upwards and... bsed up all his muscles and his hand shook dangerously with the blade holding him hostage from moving. When he relaxed, he gradually moved his neck away from the blade and turned a curious eye to the mirror to see who was behind him.

It was Gwendolyn, standing in full maiden attire as if she came straight off the production line. She stood hands clasped together in front of her apron was standing just inside the office doorway. The Commander relaxed a little bit more and examined his neck, not a nick on him. Yet. Through his foam covered mouth he said carefully, "Gwen! Good to see you, please. Come in!" He waved with his other hand for her to enter and went back to shaving. Alright. Start from the bottom...work to the-

"I apologize, Commander, if this is an inconvenient time..." Gwen began to say as she continued standing by the doorway.

The Commander shook his head slightly letting some of the foam fall into the sink. "Not at all! C'mon in! You'll have to..." The Commander finished another stroke up his neck and off the jawline "...forgive my current appearances. I'm not quite ready as you are. Yet!"

He finished another stroke and paused to examine his work. His skin from the jawline down was now clean shaven and acceptable to his standards. He nodded, then turned to see Gwen who now stood by his restroom door letting the light show her entire uniform. Clean press and not a spec of dust. Maybe something on her knee but hardly anything noteworthy. The Commander grinned approvingly and said, "Good morning to you too. You look great by the way." Then he went back to his sink and mirror and worked on his cheek.

Gwendolyn breathed in sharply at the compliment then remembered, "Ah. Yes. Good morning Commander. And...thank you."

"Sure! So, what can this Commander do for you at the early crack of dawn?" The Commander asked as he shaved down the shadow line from the bottom of his sideburn to the bottom of his jaw.

"Forgive me for the timing Commander, but I came to return your credit chip that you gave to me yesterday." Gwen fished out the chip out of her uniform pocket and held it within the Commander's mirrored view over his shoulder. The Commander's eyebrow shot up in recognition but the rest of his face remained motionless as he continued shaving above his lip. His speech slightly awkwardly pronounced from his position, "Ahw, grea'! Awlmost phorgah' 'bout 'at! Mmhmm!" He rinsed the blade under the hot water then wiped it clean on the towel over his other shoulder.

"How was dinner by the way? The mess hall have anything good to eat?"

"It was acceptable, Commander. Sustaining at the least."

"Hah!" The Commander barked in the middle of shaving his chin area. "Sounds about right. Mess hall food only fills you but it never really fulfills you. What a shame."

"PP-Excuse me, Penny," Gwen corrected herself, "Seemed to think otherwise, she has quite the...appetite."

"Hmph. Does she now?" The Commander asked absentmindedly.

"Yes, it's...almost concerning." Gwen's face showed subtle signs of fear, astonishment and disgust when she closed her eyes remembering the horror. She shivered slightly and returned her self to a more proper posture.

"Well," the Commander finished his shaving, inspected his work, and fixed two spots on the corners of his jaw just before the ears where the jaw and neck met. He then dampened his towel and began rubbing his face with it vigorously and then around his neck, "I'll be sure to remember to order for three in her case next time!" The Commander said jokingly.

"As you say, Commander." Gwen bowed politely.

"Oh c'mon Gwen, relax! You're not on the clock! Don't need all the formalities!" He said as he placed the shaving straight edge on the shelf below the mirror. "Here, how do I look? Did I miss a spot?" He asked continuing his jokes.

"Your shaving seems adequate Commander."

"Ah. So I meet the great Gwendolyna's approval then!" He said as he turned towards her.

"My approval isn't necessa-"

"Oh!" The Commander exclaimed suddenly.

"Commander?" Gwen asked accordingly.

"We've got a busy day ahead of us!" The Commander replied excitedly He approached Gwen, plucked the chip from her fingers and tucked it in his pock. He turned Gwen around and hurried her out the office door and continued saying, "I'm going to take a quick shower, but if you could have the girls up and ready by 0730, that'd be great! Gonna need everyone's help with a few things! Got it? Great! Bye!" He said as he entered his office and the restroom door closed. Gwen was left staring through the office door but standing in front of the dorm room.

Gwen shook her head slightly trying to return herself to reality, accepting that the Commander's behavior was just something she would have to become accustomed to. She fixed her rifle's sling on her shoulder to a more comfortable and secure position and was about to enter the dorm room when the sound of a doorbell echoed from down the hall towards the living quarter's entrance.

The Commander sounded like he was fully committed to his shower when some of his music tastes came echoing out his office. The others, from what she saw earlier, were still sound asleep. The bell rang once more. She fixed her rifle's position once more then strode quickly over to the main entrance. Walking through the hallway and hearing another ring of the bell Gwen announced, "One moment please!" She huffed as she wondered if this was going to be a regular occurrence.

When she opened the door she was met by a 1st generation doll, and a...child? She looked at them critically before seeing the two boxes that the child was seated on. The child was wearing a shirt obviously much too large for her making her seem nothing more than a head with a floating shirt and hands just barely poking through the sleeves. Her working cap also seemed it would fall straight down and cover her eyes if it were not for the braided ponytail that tucked through the back. And not to mention the mismatched rain boots she wore. One with a black background and flowery decorations with a red brim, the other a pale blue background with birds and an assortment of plants.

The critical look washed away like a leaf in a gentle stream. Gwen couldn't help but let out a fond sigh as she watched the girl swing her boots back and forth and fix her hat over her head. Gwen then looked to the main carrier of the packages who stepped away from the girl and the dolly to address her. "Ah! Good morning Miss G36!"

"Good morning!" Gwen greeted the carrier, she stretched out her gloved hand and said, "Please, my new designation is Gwen!"

"Oh!" Exclaimed the carrier, "You were given a designation! That's wonderful! A pleasure to meet you Ms. Gwen!" the handshake was much more enthusiastic than what Gwen believed was called for but thought nothing more of it.

"The pleasure is mine Miss...?" Gwen waited for the T-Doll to trade her designation. "Ah! How rude of me! I'm Carrier Model 1370 Alpha! I suppose you could call me Alphie! At least she does anyway." Thumbing to the child behind her.

"Alphie? An apt designation!" Gwen nodded approvingly. She then looked over Alphie's shoulder and eyed the child that was now hiding behind the crated packages. "And who's the little one that I can't seem to find now?" She asked politely.

"Hmm?" Alphie turned and looked at the crates. "Ah! Come on out here! You know hiding is rude!" She quickly stepped around the crates and gently held the child's shoulder and guided her to meet Gwen.

Gwen knelt down on both knees to meet the child at eye level but was unable to successfully meet her eyes fully when she ran behind Alphie's legs, clutching at her jacket and jeans. "Please excuse her Ms. Gwen, she's rather shy." Alphie said apologetically. She reached around tried to coax the child out of hiding.

"No apologies needed. She'll come when she's ready." Gwen said patiently. She continued to wait for the child and directed a gentle question to her, "Hello, my name is Gwen! I would really like to meet you! Won't you come out?"

The child eyed her her cautiously, her face half hidden behind Alphie's legs. She received two gentle encouraging pats on the back from Alphie to come out of hiding. The child slowly turned her head away from Gwen and up to Alphie who was nodding and smiling and pointing to Gwen. Alphie bent down and stood to the side between Gwen and the child saying, "It's okay! Ms. Gwen is a real nice lady! She want's to meet you!"

Gwen nodded along and said, "I really do want to meet you! I think your hair is amazing!"

Alphie gave the child a poke to the belly, "See? Told you she's nice! Now go on and tell her your name!"

Ms. Gwen held out her hand, palm face open, inviting the child to come to her. The child looked apprehensively to the hand, then to Gwen, then back at Alphie. Alphie, still smiling, snatched the hat off the child's head with a quick and smooth motion then gave her a gentle shove toward's Ms. Gwen's direction. The child tried to reach for the hat and found herself completely exposed as she looked at Ms. Gwen two steps closer now.

"Hello," Gwen said softly, "My name is Gwen. What's your name?" She waited, her hand still outstretched. Then. She took it. The child dashed and slapped down on her hand with one rapid motion before retreating behind Alphie again, clutching her shoulder. She was about to disappear again but not before saying, "Krissy."

Alphie's eyes lit up and was filled with so much joy. Overwhelmed with emotion she hugged the shy little girl and squeezed her tight. Krissy, feeling the pressure of Alphie's death-like embrace managed to wiggle out her tiny arm and tried to create some space between Alphie and herself. Gwen smiled all the more, sharing in Alphie's delight and said, "Wow! What a wonderful name Ms. Krissy. It is my absolute delight to meet you!"

Alphie, still hugging the child tightly, stood up to get a better hold of the squirmy child. She made all sorts of cooing and praises which was quickly rewarded by slaps to the face. She didn't seem to mind as the motor skills of this child had not grown to wear they were painful yet.

Gwen stood up, fixed her dress slightly, then gave Krissy an exaggerated curtsy. Alphie stared in genuine amazement while keeping a gentle grip on Krissy's hand to avoid further slaps to the face. When Gwen looked up from her curtsy, she noticed she had both the attention and wonder of both of her audience. Krissy seemed to shy away, but this time not out of distrust, rather, this display bashfulness was more out of the attention she was being given.

"Wow! Look at that Krissy! A real proper lady! Curtsied and everything! What do you think about that?"

Krissy looked shyly at Gwen who had recovered from her curtsy and now folded her hands on top of each other in front of her apron. She curled her index finger and brought it to her face and chewed on it for a moment before saying quietly, "Pretty!" Then she shied away once more, burying her face into her handler's neck.

"No wait, Krissy," Alphie said as the child continued to lay her head on her shoulder, "We got to make the delivery! You remember how to make the delivery right?" Alphie reminded enthusiastically. The child pushed off from Alphie's shoulder and looked into her eyes as if it held all the answers. Alphie lifted her eyebrows suggestively and directed her gaze in a tell-all way to the tablet on top of the crates. Krissy took a moment to catch on but she turned around to follow Alphie's gaze then she looked back and nodded vigorously.

Krissy squirmed for a moment trying to get back down but Alphie turned her around so that she could she could reach for the tablet herself. It took her a few tries but once the child successfully had a firm grasp of the tablet she demanded to be put down. Gwen watched as her little boots swung in the air like a marathon runner without traction until they found the ground. Once Alphie finally put her down, she glared defiantly at her handler who threw up her hands as if to say 'you're the boss, boss'.

Krissy fixed her shirt, straightened her cap, which did not seem to want to cooperate so she decided to work through it. She waddled her way over to where she had thought she saw Ms. Gwen. Each step of her boots made a discernible squeak she had her head tilted as far back as she could without falling, trying to see from under the brim of her hat. She stretched out her the tablet in her hands and said with a muffled voice, "Please sign to reprieeve-"

"Receive." Alphie corrected

"ree-ceive your delivery!" Krissy finished. Gwen masked her slight chuckles with a few polite coughs instead, which also drew Krissy's attention. Krissy's head, or rather, her hat, tilted to one side as she noticed that Ms. Gwen's coughing was a few paces to her right. Krissy used the the tablet to push the hat back so she could finally see and noticed her ears were correct. She had somehow managed to wander off course and walked a few paces past the pretty lady.

She bounced in shock then altered her course, she was thrown off balance with her large boots trying to navigate the course but was able to recover quickly and waddled faster to the pretty lady for her signing. This time, with determination, she presented that tablet to her intended person of interest and said boldly,"Here! Sign!" She huffed out a big breath as the tablet was lifted from her hands. "Krissy!" Alphie chided her, sharing Gwen's amusement.

Krissy looked to her handler then bounced again when she remembered to say, "Please!"

"Why of course. Anything for you my dear Miss Krissy!" The two adults shared a laughter for some joke that was lost to the child as she stood waiting for the tablet to be returned. With a fluid stroke of the pen on the screen, the signage was complete as was the transfer. Gwen then handed the tablet back to Krissy and thanked her for her patience. With a nod and huff, Krissy was off back to the comfortable and inviting arms of her caretaker, Alphie.

Before Alphie would lift her up, she pointed back at Ms. Gwen's direction and said, "Aren't you forgetting something? Hmmm?"

Another excited bounce and a spin on her heel and Krissy threw a hasty salute with the wrong hand, easily corrected by Alphie's physical guidance, and exclaimed "Thank you for your s-sir-vice-"

"Service-"

"service and your p-patients!"

"Patience." Alphie finished with a fond yet tired sigh. Gwen returned the salute and nodded her head in thanks. Krissy spun around again looking towards Miss Alphie for her approval bouncing and asking, "Did I do good? I did good?"

"Aww Krissy you did amazing! It was so good!"

As Krissy was being picked up by her caretaker, a slow, soft clapping in the form of an applause came from the side. Krissy thought it was Ms. Gwen and turned to her smiling but when she saw that the pretty lady had stopped smiling, Krissy too, stopped smiling. She turned her head gradually following the source of the sound and saw who it was coming from. Another man in gray with a funny red hat. The scars on his face wasn't pretty like the other lady with the dress and it scared her.

Krissy immediately buried her face and squeezed her arms around Ms. Alphie's neck and whispered, "Scary." And squeezed even harder. Ms. Alphie gave her a reassuring rub on her back as she exclaimed, "Commander! We didn't notice you were there! Please, excuse us!"

"No, no! Not at all!" The Commander said with a friendly tone, one hand in his pocket and the other waving off her apology. "You and that little lady there did an amazing job delivering these crates over here! I bet you carried them all by yourself!" He directed his compliments to the duo. As he walked through the door he nodded towards Gwen both in recognition and greeting. Gwen relaxed her posture a bit after the greeting and stood behind her Commander as he stood in front of Alphie and Krissy.

"C'mon Krissy, be nice! This is Ms. Gwen's Commander! He's really important! And! He's really nice too! Look!" Alphie poked and prodded trying to coax her out of hiding. Krissy reacted to the poking wherever it tickled and was forcibly turned around by her caretaker. When the tickling had stopped and she saw the smiling face of the strange man with the scars, her lips formed in the shape of an "oh..." and stared with a look of debate. Then, she leaned into Alphie's ear and whispered, rather loudly, "He looks weird when he smiles."

And as if on cue, the Commander staggered back a step and a half surprising Ms. Gwen as she exclaimed, "Commander!"

The strange man in gray and the funny red hat was clutching his chest, his face contorted and twisted in mock pain as he cried out, leaning on his subordinate, "She said I look weird! Say it ain't so! Say it ain't, so!" Gwen was struggling to support the sudden weight of the Commander who half fell and half leaned on her with a hand on the crates. He looked pitifully at Gwen then flashed a mischievous grin and winked. Gwen stared blankly back at the Commander's face. Then smiled sweetly...as she let him fall.

The mix of genuine shock, surprise, and questioning of this sudden but inevitable betrayal as he went falling felt ever so satisfying right down to Gwen's core. The Commander continued his exaggerated act as he reached up to Gwen as she took a step back, "But Gwen! Why? Not you too!"

"Well, perhaps if you acted more appropriately, the young miss wouldn't be so...disturbed...by you."

"Eh? Disturbed? Who's disturbed?" The Commander asked curiously. There was a fit of light giggling coming from Krissy's direction as she stared at the man with the funny hat. The Commander looked at Krissy, smiled, and picked himself off the floor. He reached down for his Beret and brushed the dirt off the top as he said to Gwen, "I don't see anyone disturbed here, except maybe...you?"

Gwen refused to even acknowledge the Commander and further declined to answer his...childish teasing. The Commander held the Beret in his left and offered out his right to the 1st Generation delivery T-Doll. "Commander Sevs, reporting in! And you are?"

"Carrier Model 1370 Alpha, designation 'Alphie', sir!" She said after she put Krissy down to free up her hands. She wiped her hand on her jeans and shook the firm grip of the Commander.

"A pleasure! Thanks for the delivery!" He finished with a toothy grin.

"Pleasure's all mine Commander!" Alphie replied with a bright and brilliant smile. It was rare that Carrier models get to spend time let alone get greeted so warmly by Commanders.

After that, the Commander squat down to match the child's height and asked, "And who do I have the pleasure of meeting here?" A curious eye brow arched to comical heights, then after a moment of no response, he wiggled both eyebrows to illicit a reaction.

The child giggled some but concentrated on the funny hat that he was holding. The moment the Commander noticed that all her focus was on the Beret, he waved it around his face and watched as her eyes tracked it like a laser on its target. "You like the hat?"

The girl shrugged. Not as helpful but he played along with it.

"Y'know what. Why don't we trade hats, I'll be the worker and you get to play as the big strong Commander!" The Commander puffed up his chest and deepened his voice mocking his own position. The girl smiled a little wider behind her lip-biting. She shuffled her boots side to side and shrugged again.

"Well! Your boots seem big enough! Almost as big as mine!" He lifted his pant leg slightly to show the size of his boots. They were in no way compatible in size but that wasn't the point, "Here," he slowly reached for the child's hat, taking care to follow the length of her braid during the removal through the adjustable back strap, then replaced it for his Beret. He placed her hat on his knee and did some minor adjustments to the Beret to ensure the G&K insignia was facing the front.

The Beret was still to large for her but he tucked the length of the braid in the back of the Beret forcing the front to hug around her forehead. Her eyes widened a bit more as she felt the material of the Beret both above and below. It was so much more comfortable than she thought originally. Her moment of wonder was replaced by surprise and questions as she found her self being lifted off the ground by her armpits by the strange man. She kicked around in her boots while she was being suspended until she found herself being seated on the crates.

The Commander stepped back and joined the middle position in the line between Alphie to her left, and Gwen to her right. This time, the man looked less scary wearing her bright "Trainee" hat with his prickly hair poking out the breathable mesh from the back. She bounced in surprise but watched in delight as the Commander, with a serious face announced, "Atteeeen-huah! Commander on deck! Preee-sent! Arms!" And in near perfect unison, all three adults before her preformed the best salute they possibly could. They waited silently for a moment for the next cue, Krissy looked to Alphie who winked back at her and eyed in the direction of her saluting hand. Krissy caught on and gave her own version of a salute and watched as three arms fell to their sides.

The Commander then took one step forward and asked much more gently, "Your orders, ma'am?"

Krissy stopped swinging her legs to think on his question. She knew what orders were, she remembered her mother giving those out all the time from her room, sometimes very loudly at night from her office. She didn't want to be loud and scary, she didn't want to scare Ms. Alphie and Ms. Gwen. So she tilted her head and thought for a few moments longer before bouncing in her seat with the perfect answer, "Do good!"

And just like that, three adult hearts, instantaneously turned to a helpless mush.

The two T-Dolls stepped up proudly and all three cried with pride, "Ma'am yes Ma'am!" They did one final salute and broke formation. The Commander was the first to approach and offer a high-five. Krissy bestowed upon him his gift of a returned high-five. Gwen approached and performed a more elegant curtsy. Krissy clapped in excitement and was overwhelmed to offer such a pretty lady a hug. Gwen looked surprised at first then stole a side ways glance to the Commander who was talking to Alphie about something.

Gwen decided to give in to her emotions and hugged the child. Krissy felt the soft brush of Gwen's hair on her cheeks, tickling as it went then hugged tighter as she noticed her perfume. This child was full of surprises it seemed, Gwen thought as she continued the hug. When she let go, Krissy complimented her with, "You smell really pretty!"

"Why thank you very much Ms. Krissy!"

"Welcome!" That precious smile was a picture that Ms. Gwen could take with her but her memory bank would have to do for now.

As Gwen stepped aside, Alphie rushed in making all sorts of caring cooing and singing all sorts of praises while tickling the little girl. Krissy, try as she might, was failing at fending off the sudden rush of the tickles. Alphie picked up her 'Little Commander' and hugged her very tightly to the point she was deserving of a few more child-sized slaps to the face. While they were enjoying their moment, the Commander thought to ask, "Say, Alphie, I don't recall having families stationed on base, where did this little lady come from?"

Still stuck in the land of praises for the child Alphie answered absentmindedly, "Why this little bunch of honey and sunshine belongs to Ms. Heli-" in the middle of one of Krissy's slaps, one landed right on her mouth just in time for her mind to realize what she almost let out. Alphie suddenly became flustered with herself and snatched the pad and sorted the screen to bring up the next order, "Wellwouldyoulookatthetime! SorryCommander! Sorryfortakingupsomuchtime, gotdeliveriestorunandthingstodo, gottogonowbye!"

And without so much as another breath, she snatched Krissy and the Tablet and fled off into the distance. Gwen and the Commander could only watch in confusion as they took off. Krissy, thrown over Alphie's shoulder struggled to keep the Beret on her head at the speed Alphie was dashing away but managed to wave before disappearing behind a turn.

The Commander and Gwen shared a sigh, one of tiredness, and another of fondness. Then looked at each other in their shared moment. The Commander gave Gwen a rather dry, tired, almost worn out grin and said unexpectedly, "Kids these days, always in a hurry."

Gwen found the statement ironic if anything due to the fact that Alphie was a T-Doll and could run, lift, and perform slightly better than the average human of the same age group. And the given fact of the Commander's own age seemed to be the very definition of irony. What intrigued her even more...was the hat. She cleared her throat lightly, stared at his head and pointed to her own. The Commander's face scrunched together from all points in confusion, then Gwen watched as his eyes crossed at the bridge of his nose, then slowly tracked up to his head.

"Ah. Well. I suppose I'm a 'Trainee' today." His eyes returned downward to focus on Gwen. Another one of those joking grins returning to his face, "At least until the real Commander comes back."

"Commander...please." She said with her eyes on the door, wishing desperately to escape.

"Alright, alright!" The Commander said as he threw up his hands in surrender, "While you're there," he said as he moved his way behind the pile of crates and tilted the hand-truck, "Would you be so kind as to grab the door."

Gwen nodded, thankful for a sensible order finally, she nodded respectfully and replied, "Of course."

The entrance door slid open and revealed the dawn of morning just cracking through the windows. The Commander looked outside to the disheveled garden and hummed a little tune as he waited for Gwen. She found that the melody itself wasn't unpleasant to her surprise as she passed by. She made a mental note to research the tune when she had the chance. Halfway through the windowed corridor, the Commander asked, "Say, Gwen,"

"Commander?"

He hesitated a moment before continuing, "Do you know how to garden? You got that program tucked away somewhere in your coding?"

As they reached the door Gwen considered the Commander's question and replied earnestly, "I know the concept of it, I know the general basics of it, however I lack the personal knowledge and experience of actual garden-work. Is that something you would like me to be assigned to?"

The Commander peeked from the side of his load and answered, "No, not yet at least! Just wanted to see what you knew! Thanks!"

Such a curious man, Gwen wondered to herself. Asking questions with no intention on ordering it to be performed. But something else occupied her thoughts as she stood in front of the access pad. She decided she would take this moment while they still had their privacy.

"Commander..."

"Yes Gwen?"

"Will we...do you believe we'll see them again?"

The Commander set down the load of crates on his hand-truck and hummed thoughtfully as he rested on the handle. Gwen turned around to face the Commander for his answer. When she met the Commander's eyes, the grin came back, but there was a different look in his eyes. This one wasn't one full of half-meaningful jokes, not one of sarcasm, or foolishness, but of fondness...it could almost be mistaken for...affection.

"Yeah. Yeah I know we will." He picked up the load on the hand-truck with some effort before saying a little louder, "besides, hint-hint, we are their first stop every morning at around 0700 hours. Sometimes earlier, like today."

Gwen smiled to herself as she turned and entered the access code. The door slid open, Commander Sevs said his thanks and continued to sing the little tune he carried on through the corridor. As he passed by, Gwen picked up the words "Here comes the sun and I say, it's alright..." then whistled the rest of the way through the door.

And for a moment, as she looked into the windowed corridor, and thought that perhaps there was some wisdom in those lyrics. For the first day with her Commander, things seemed alright.

~-.-~

The Commander set the hand-truck and its load down just a few feet from the entrance and huffed loudly as if he were out of energy, his sarcasm was apparent as he said, "Whew! Man am I beat! Say, Gwen, won't you rub these tired shoulders of mine for all my hard work?"

"Would the Commander care for an actual beating instead?" Gwen offered as politely as she could manage through the growing pain in her head.

"Me thinks the lady doth not like mine shenanigans!" The Commander said mockingly as he circled around to the front of the crates hoping it would put some distance between him and the maid threatening violence against his body.

"Commander..." Gwen grounded through her teeth as she gripped the sling and the but of her rifle with both hands.

"The Lady doth protest! Alright! Okay! I got it! No massages!" The Commander ducked behind the crates keeping them between him and the angry maid now promising to do bodily harm. He took off the 'Trainee' hat, and turned it to face him, keeping Gwen in his peripheral at all times. He shrugged and worked on bending the bill of the hat while instructing Gwen, "Well, while I get to cracking these open. Why don't you see if the girls are up and ready? We still got some time but the sooner the better. No rushing them! Just, let them know that it's time to be up and about would you?"

"I will gladly see that they are ready to sortie, Commander." She said as she bowed slightly and turned to return to her dormitory.

"Ouch. That actually hurt, Gwen!" The Commander laughed out to her as he took out his knife and went about prying open the panels to the crates.

Ignoring the Commander's ridiculous behavior for so early in the morning, she fixed the bonnet on her head, straightened out and brushed off the dust on her apron, and opened the door to her dorm. When she stepped inside, the room was already lit, Sigil and Spring were wide awake and tending to their grooming. They were both wearing their identical fatigues, gray top, black cargos and boots.

Sigil opted to use a mirror she had found and hung it in the locker to comb through her still damp hair. Spring was doing the the same thing with a towel stretched over her lap, leaning her head sideways to help with her own combing of loose strands. Gwen smiled, she reached for her bag in the locker space next to Sigil's and dug around until she found the objects she needed. To brushes of different sizes. As Sigil's turned out to be much more in volume, she gave her the brush with the rounded tips and wider spacing. The opposite could be said of Spring's delicate silk-like hair and was given an almost needle thin-tipped brush with many pins and little spacing. They both nodded their thanks and began chatting with Gwen as their readied mediator.

Sigil was the first to ask, "Are we expecting another sortie today?"

Gwen stood behind Sigil and decided to assist with the stubborn knots and took over brushing duty. She then replied, "Not to my knowledge. The Commander does have something planned but nothing as active as a sortie I should think."

Sigil remained silent and still as Gwen continued to brush her hair. Her stare gradually drifted to the scar on her face. She thought back at how she requested as soon as she was lifted into the pod that her eye be repaired, but to leave the scar. Such personal requests weren't unheard of but it was rather unorthodox and unnecessary for a T-Doll to keep such superficial things such as scars. Especially with the technological capabilities to repair a gravely injured T-Doll to near factory-line condition, such things were normally seen as useless.

But this was personal for her. She had seen her entire squad ripped to shreds one by one in hopes that she alone would be able to complete the mission. The mission was a failure from the very start.

~-.-~

"What do you mean the radio is broken!" Hissed her commanding T-Doll, a Specter M4 Model. Fresh out the simulation room. The radio operator, a Sten MII model, had suffered some minor scratches but nothing too severe. Her mental state wasn't the best however as she was on the verge of breaking down, "I'm sorry! I was busy running, I felt something push and-and-and I guess the enemy shot at it! It could have been me!"

"Well it should have been because now we can't request extraction from HQ!"

"I'm sorry!" Sten wailed as she buried her face into her hands. Sigil went over to console her disheartened team mate. These two were both very new. Specter was given too big a task to handle, and Sten was normally given support in a bigger task force.

To be honest, it was Sigil's first time too. She had done reconnaissance alone up until this point and was supposed to direct this squad to complete the mission. With the Radio out, there was no way to report their findings. The Sangs must have seen their helicopter fly in when they made their landing. They were dropped off on the hillside a few hundred meters North East of Rute back in Switzerland. They thought it was safe to infiltrate the town the way they came in, nothing moved, there wasn't a single trace of a Sang patrol. They were too confident.

And it was their downfall. She should have known better. Maybe if she had said something...

~-.-~

"There all done!" Gwen said proudly. Sigil snapped back to reality and noticed her hair was brushed and patted down to a tamable appearance. Sigil smiled appreciatively in the mirror at Gwen who continued to stroke her hair. Gwen did not let the silence she was left with go unnoticed.

"Is-Everything alright, Sigil?" Concern was drawn all over Gwen's face. A comforting hand rested on Sigil's shoulder as the other hand smoothed the hair from her bangs working backwards.

Sigil smiled a little wider to hide her troubled thoughts and said, "I'm fine! Just, waking up! Thank you very much for your brush! I hope it wasn't too much trouble!"

Gwen picked up the cue and said, "No trouble at all Sigil! Please, keep the brush-"

"Oh no but I couldn't! It's yours!"

"Please Sigil, have it! I insist! Think of it as a...'Welcome Home' gift." Gwen gave a natural smile then turned her head toward's Spring's direction and said, "That goes for you too, Miss Spring!"

It seemed Sigil wasn't the only one lost in her own thoughts. Spring perked up from her brushing and her face read that she would need the statement repeated. Gwen sighed again, she noticed she has done that far more often than not in the past hour, and said to Spring, "The brush is now yours to keep. Think of it as a 'Welcome Home' gift. The both of you!" She said to them. Sigil turned around and gave Gwen an unexpected hug, Gwen stood there for a moment in her surprise but returned the hug.

No words were needed but the pressure from their brief embrace said much more than words ever could. Sigil needed someone to just care. This was more than explaining to the Commander their worries when he had the rest of the world to care about. This was something shared...between sisters. Spring had already gotten up from her bed and ensured all the bed sheets were tucked and orderly before their departure, left the brush on the bed, neatly plucked of any strands of hair, and waited by the door.

Sigil hung the brush on the locker wall next to the mirror and thanked Spring for waiting for them. Spring gave a look of sagely understanding, not one of pity, not one of regret, but of understanding. Was this what it felt like to be...

And to interrupt such a wonderful mood was a commotion heard outside in the hallway. While the two veteran T-Dolls wore expressions of confusion and concern, Gwen could only imagine who it was and what it was about...her face could only twitch as an all too soon of a familiar headache resurfaced. Spring immediately slid the door open followed by Spring and Gwen to rush down the hall where the Commander and the PPK model, Penny, were...playing some form of tag. Or so it seemed. If Gwen had to be thankful for one thing, it was that at least she was dressed. For now.

"Commander!" Penny moaned all too loudly as she chased after him. A shiver shot up and down everyone's spine, and just like that chill, everyone shared the same feeling. Disgust. All except Penny, of course. "No! 'No' means no Penny!"

"Why not!" She whined in protest. She smiled "I can be a good girl like Gwen if you want me too!"

Spring and Sigil stole a sideways glance at their sister beside them and Gwen felt the blood rush straight to her cheeks before the heat rushed to the top of her head. "I only went to pick up the packages!" She yelled in unnecessary defense of herself. Her vocal tone peaked and cracked near the end which didn't help to her defense. Gwen continued storming down the hall spouting out some story of ringing, and early morning program...Spring and Sigil shared a 'let's go along with it' shrug and chased after her.

"Like she said-Penny! Stop! She was only. Picking. Up. Packages!"

In his hands were now to crate panels that he used together to form a makeshift barrier. All of the nails were removed so it was safe for him to face them in Penny's direction to ward off her...overbearing...love for him. Penny continued to tease him chasing him just out of her reach around the crates. At first Gwen seemed to have Sigil was going to intervene, but Gwen restrained her, holding a firm hand on her shoulder with a dark look on her face.

"No. Leave him. This one…I'll allow for now."

Sigil looked towards Spring for guidance but found none as she simply stood there patiently, waiting for the whole charade to end. Her head did tilt ever so slightly, was she…also…enjoying this? Sigil relaxed and stood helplessly as their poor Commander continued to be harassed by this 5'4" short T-Doll, dressed, as a maid. Or what barely passed to be a maid by Gwen's standard.

Then, something interesting happened. Penny backed off. She seemed tired at first, then hurt. The Commander peered over his make-shift barricade and narrowed his eyes in severe distrust. Penny stood simply stood there, her head hung low, her arms at her side drawing closer to her chest, as if to hold herself. Her shoulders began to shake. The Commander felt an instant pang of regret but kept his guard up. There's no way she would give up and cry this easily…right?

Penny sounded like she was still sobbing as she continued to hold herself with one arm, and held her face in the other. The commander was torn between believing such genuine-like sobbing or believing it was all just a twisted and cruel ruse to let him lower his guard. The Sobbing continued...The other girls in the back were still watching, varying levels of judgmental stares thrown in his direction. This was looking really bad. When did I become the bad guy? Sevs asked himself as he continued to assess the situation.

The Commander tensed his shoulders and scrunched his face several times before coming to a decision. He released the tension in his shoulders and dropped his arms to his sides. He put the panels down to let them rest on the crates he had opened. He scratched the back of head and approached Penny with remorse.

"Look, Penny I-" The Commander started to say. But just as he took two steps towards her, he heard the door open behind him. He turned around to see another strawberry blonde girl leaning on one arm in the doorway, breathing heavily with an occasional cough in between. In her hand was a very familiar jacket.

"Co-*cough!*-mmander!" the poor girl managed to say in between her fits.

"Officer Kalina?" The Commander questioned as he stepped to see how he could assist the sudden appearance of the HQ's Logistical Officer.

As the Commander looked on at this newcomer with curiosity, it was with a drop of his heartbeat that he then realized...

"Gotcha, Commander!" whispered an all too greedy voice.

"Penny!" The Commander exclaimed, he turned his head just in time to see her running at him with arms outstretched and a face that he was sure would haunt his nights for a while. Then back at the doorway.

"Commander!" Kalina raged as she shook the Commander's jacket in the air.

When you're stuck between a rock and a hard place...Throw the rock. Sevs dropped to one knee, reached his hands back and facing up and waited. As soon as his fingertips felt the fabrics of Penny's corset, he grabbed firmly her body firmly, ignoring the details of his hand placement and the disturbingly pleasured response she let out, he threw her at Kalina who had never seen a T-Doll fly before. Until now. Kalina dropped the jacket and waved her arms in the face of the T-Doll missile to no avail as they both collided and went crashing down together. Quite...spectacularly

He pushed off his knee backing up quickly as possible, grabbing the crate panels in both hands and spread his arms as wide as he could. What happened next could only be described as an accident. A very intimate...adult...accident. He was able to cover both Sigil and Gwen's eyes from the sight but misjudged Spring's height and instead covered just her nose down. Spring watched with moderate interest, not understanding why she felt the need to blush all the same. The Commander looked on painfully knowing that this was the best outcome, for him in any case. His voice seemed to peaked at a ridiculously childish range as he let out a "Wow!". The moment seemed to have lasted much longer than either Sevs, Spring, or Kalina for that matter, thought was 'necessary'. The Commander then dropped his arms as Penny was roughly shoved off to the side by a very shocked and, most likely, scarred Logistics Officer now trying to catch her breath...for the second time.

Penny propped herself off the floor but remained there in the helpless damsel pose as she covered her mouth with one hand saying, "Oh no! You took my first time that was meant for the Commander!" She casted a pained look down to the ground. Kalina slowly looked at the T-Doll who gave her a sly sideways glance and said, "But...if it'll help me get better for the Commander. I don't mind the pract-!" She saw something fly in her direction and wisely rolled away then bounced to her feet. She looked at the direction from where it came from and giggled all the more as she said, "Oh my! Did I make someone a bit...jealous?"

Gwen. Was absolutely fuming at this point. She had snatched the crate panel out of the Commander's hand and launched it directly at Penny's head. Having missed, the panel splintered into several pieces forcing Kalina to also roll tucking her head between her arms as the splinters showered over her and the Commander's jacket. Commander Sevs thought it best to let the drama play out between the dolls while he went to assist the fallen and disgraced Logistics Officer. As he walked, he could hear the vehement curses in both english and german directed towards Penny who now flirted dangerously close with Death. The only thing standing between them and a bunch of broken parts was Sigil who was struggling to abate Gwen's rage. Unseen to the Commander was Spring holding back Gwen by her own rifle sling using it as a sort of strung leash.

The Commander brushed off the splinters off the Logistics Officer and offered a hand to her. She removed her arms away and her cowering turned into cautious curiosity, which quickly turned into a pout. She nonetheless took the hand and was hefted up quickly by Sevs who brushed the rest of the splinters and dust off of her leather jacket. He then picked up his jacket that had fallen next to her and whipped it twice to allow the debris to also fly off of it. When he turned around, Sigil was now having to mediate between Gwen who continued to bark orders and insults at the...over passionate T-Doll. Spring looked rather bored with it all and stared at the Commander hoping for new orders. Having none, he gave an apologetic smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"C-Commander...What...is all this?!" Kalina managed to whisper as she slowly wiped her lips with her forearm. She did so vigorously after the reality of having smooched a flying T-Doll came back to her. Whether she was asking about the mess on the floor, the drama unfolding, or the whole of everything that just happened, it was beyond the Commander's ability to discern. The Commander threw his jacket over a shoulder and held it there watching with great amusement of the entire scene. He then replied with unapologetic pride in his voice, "This? Why, I know just what to call this! This, is Misfit Company!"

The Commander turned his head and at Kalina and smiled so proudly at the name he came up with. Kalina looked at the Commander blankly then smiled sweetly and covered her mouth. She laughed a little bit, the Commander shared a chuckle with her. She then wiggled a finger for him to bend down as if to tell him something in private. The Commander bend sideways, not wanting to miss the view of his T-Dolls enjoying themselves, and waited for the message. A polite cough from Kalina sounded like she was asking for a more direct attention which the Commander responded by throwing up a curious eyebrow but still grinning like a fool. He turned to face Kalina who was still smiling but this time her arms raised over her shoulders.

You smile when you stre-oh no. Was the last thought to run through the Commander's mind before his face was introduced to a certain Logistics Officer's tablet.

*SLAP*

The Commander caught himself on the hand truck still in front of him with only one crate as his counterweight. He stayed there motionless, stunned, in pain. He could feel all eyes in the room was now glued on him. He shook his head and cupped the injured area and turned around, eyes burning from suppressing a tear as he turned around to ask plainly, "BUT WHYYYYYYY!"