Kalina
“So, you have a basic understanding now, right?” asked Miss Helian in a cold tone.
I heard Miss Helian voice through the ice cold metal-armoured vehicle and over the bumpy ride. Miss Helian was at the wheel. It was quite nostalgic to see her, a female, drive the metal monster. That said, I realised that I’d see a lot more scenes I hadn’t seen in a while very soon. For instance, there would be a group of modified combatant young girls armed with weapons.
I shut the documents and placed them aside. I finished reading the thick documents for the most part on the way from the hospital to my new work station. The document educated me on everything from the era of ruin to the war to the moment I sat in the armoured vehicle produced in the new era, including lots of photos that were gotten rid of sixty seconds after viewing.
Thanks to my background, I needed to shove into my mind all the requirements of jobs in the few minutes I was in a chopper. Today was no exception. To put it simply, the Sangvis Ferri robots in charge of manufacturing military arms suddenly opened fire on humans for an unknown reason. Griffon’s current mission was to protect humanity’s residential areas while the various governments were bruised and battered…
While I did hear about them in the past, the robots weren’t so much of a threat back in the day. They shouldn’t have been able to defeat my small team… However, I needed to fear the modified robots at this point. I understood my mission was to lead the young combat girls at Griffon and help them overcome the Sangvis Ferri team’s attacks as the commander of Griffon. The end goal was to win back humanity’s lands. Yeah, that was about it.
With regards to other matters, I wouldn’t make any mentions to the outside world, as they were secrets. As an excellent soldier, I knew what needed a lid.
“I understand the basic picture. My job is to lead the combat girls in their battles.”
“Uhm, correct.”
Our conversation was simple and complete. I didn’t have a chance to speak the last time we met. When I could finally speak, our conversation remained just as simple. Helian stopped the vehicle. Tone serious, she said, “Don’t underestimate the T-Dolls. Surely you understand how formidable they are after your last encounter. They aren’t humans, so they don’t need to be shown empathy. Just consider them a consumable. But nonetheless, I suggest you do your best to protect them. Puppet T-Dolls can be replaced if they’re damaged or lost, but if T-Dolls are destroyed, it’ll cost a lot of time and money to produce another. As such, out of consideration for the company’s benefits and losses, tactical retreats are nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Understood,” I replied, nodding before getting off.
After living in a shabby camp in the desert for so long, I was struck by surprise. The camp with one-metre thick sandbags around the perimeter looked quite resplendent. The command centre was situated at the rear of a small mound. It wasn’t a simple tent, but a small building. There were no signs and appeared somewhat empty. Empty chests were thoughtlessly littered the ground. The straw inside swayed with the wind. I could also see traces where weapons used to be, as well.
“Are you… our commander?”
I suddenly saw a… a… uhh… an orange cat? Wait, no, her orange hair made sounds when it moved. I assumed she was a human. She was standing behind a sand bag and desperately trying to get her head out from behind. I cautiously walked over and swiped in with my access card. The automatic machine gun turret slipped back down. The girl with orange hair raced over to me. Frightened, I almost pulled out a handgun and put one in her head as an instinctive reaction.
“You are our commander, right?!! You must be the T-Dolls’ commander, right?!! You have finally arrived at Griffon. I am so glad to see you here. I am glad to see you! Please allow me introduce myself. I am Kalina, your future logistics officer. You can just call me Kalina. Let us work together to run Strategic Area S09.”
Judging from her bright smile, she evidently didn’t realise that her rash behaviour almost got her killed. I spent most of my days lying prone on rocks and rarely met with others outside of the team. Hence, her passionate reception left me at a loss. I awkwardly forced a smile – I did my best to smile politely, by the way. The young girl extended a hand out to me, but I wasn’t too accustomed to it. Normally, I saluted people instead of shaking hands. Nevertheless, I was no longer a soldier, so I had to change my habits.
“My name is Li Wuan. According to your system, I should be Wuan Li, but you can refer to me as you see fit. Mm… this is my first time acting as a commander for Griffon. I have no experience, so I hope we can learn and improve alongside each other.”
My speech was very formal and generic, but the girl seemed to be fine with it. She grabbed my virgin hand, almost leading to me pulling my gun again. She cheerfully dragged me along as she ran to a small two-floor building that didn’t stand out. Eyes forward, she exclaimed, “Come, come, Commander. Hurry and meet the T-Dolls. Everybody is looking forward to meeting you, as you are everyone’s hero!”
Colour me surprised. I never expected to be called a hero. If anything, I considered myself a mere new commander, and nothing fancy. I was even mentally prepared to be looked down on by the girls. Anyway, she dragged me to the small building that resembled an improvised concrete building. I smiled helplessly and replied, “I’m not a hero by any means. I assume you’re all aware I lost a small team in the last operation and was defeated by a group of young girls.”
“You should not think that way, Commander. Rest assured. Griffon has a reputation for being strict with their selections,” responded Kalina, finally turning around. She solemnly looked at me and stood akimbo: “The girls you faced were far from ordinary young girls. You, presumably, already know that they are highly-successful killing machines created by modern technology. They are robots designed for combat that a military employs. They are armed with the most developed AI and fire control system. To have dismantled their exterior defences as a human, including defeating the “agent” who fired the bullet to your face was perceived as an impossible feat by everyone before you did it. You were able to perform the impossible and live to tell the tale. That in itself has made you a legend. That is the reason it is natural for us to worship you, Commander! All T-Dolls worship you!”
“Ah… I feel embarrassed to hear you say that.”
If I was being honest, I never expected people to view me in that light. Receiving a paragraph-worth of praise out of the blue made me shy. I dryly chuckled and touched my head. I suddenly recalled M4A1: “Oh, by the way, the girl I rescued, umm… the one you refer to as M4A1, I think? How is she doing?”
“Mm, M4A1 has not returned from her previous mission. She is Lab 16’s special T-Doll, however. I doubt she would be demoted to our group. That being said, our T-Dolls are elites! Miss WA2000 has been looking forward to meeting you all this time. You must meet her!”
“Huh? Oh, sure, sure, I-I can dress, like this, right?’
“Yes! You look very handsome in your uniform! Let us go in now.”
Glossary
*Li Wuan VS Wuan Li – the former is the going by the Chinese language system. The latter is the western system.
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