"Do excuse the mess," Gentiane said as she walked through the door to the command center, motioning for us to follow after her. " It will take us a while to recover from the attack."

With a cursory scan, I can see that the center has a few documents strewing on the floor while the ceiling has a crack running to a corner of the wall. A layer of dust covers the digital instruments, probably from the said crack that occurred due to a bombardment.

Kalina, my logistical officer, over there, is the one responsible for our procurements. I have a feeling you will have to talk with her a lot later so may as well introduce you all."

Being called out by Gentiane, Kalina slings her AK on her back, excitedly taking our hands and shaking them. "Welcome to Sector 09! I saw your work back there and you two rocked them Sangvis good! Thanks for the save, you two!" Her cheery attitude put smiles on our faces. "And please, call me Kalina or Kalin!

"It was no trouble at all, Kalina, we only did what's required of us. But of course, it would be a lie if we say we wouldn't be expecting any return." I said, prompting her to nod. "Well, as long as it's possible in our budget, I doubt Commander Gentiane and our boss lady will be stingy with your reward. You did just save a crucial sector from falling into enemy hands."

Nodding along, Gentiane adds. "Kalin is corrected. Even if we're just a PMC, we value our morals code pretty seriously. While we can't give you anything right now, the least we can do is offer a place for you to settle down for a short while. Fortunately, the dorms weren't hit by anything major."

"We will take you on that offer then, preferably a shared room with good soundproofing if you can." I added a minor request, to which Gentiane turned to Kalina who then gave us a thumbs up. I then turn to Aria. "Any additional request, dear?"

Hearing that question, Aria replies. "Perhaps an additional change of clothes or two. We didn't pack anything of that sort due to Yggdra's sudden tasking, remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" I completely missed that. "It will be quite annoying to wear this flight dress all the time."

Gentiane helpfully adds. "Due to the... uniqueness of our T-Dolls, we have clothes of various shapes and sizes. Kalina can lead you to pick out a few that are suitable for you two, and maybe daily necessities too. If there's none there then the nearby town should offer a few more selections."

A town, she said, perhaps it will be a good place for a tour later.

Aria thanks Gentiane for the suggestion. "That would be great, thank you, Commander."

Smiling, Gentiane replies. "No problem." She then turns to Kalina. "Say, do we have an ETA on the reinforcement that was sent out earlier?"

Aria and I perk up at that. It's understandable that they would have requested support when shit hit the fan. I am curious about the reaction of that supposed reinforcement when we had already hogged all the glory, however.

Kalina turns to take a look at her pocket watch. "They should be ten minutes to fifteen minutes out. Though boss Helian will be annoyed that she will be late for the party."

Gentiane and Kalina both flinch at the namedrop. "Yeah... And I would have to be the one that talk her down. Fun..."

Aria and I share a look before I address Gentiane. "Say, did we land you in trouble?"

Gentiane wryly smiles. "Nah, it's just that Boss Helian is a bit strict. Though the moment she heard our SOS, she prepped her personal elite Echelon on a Black Hawk to come and help us out. Yet, we would have already fallen by the time they touch down. Fortunately, you intervened, if not Helian would be arriving with body bags."

"I see, I think I have an idea of how to deal with her type. Don't worry, Gentiane, Kalina, we won't implicate you or anything of the sort. So far, you have been a great host." I smiled in a comforting way, earning a sigh of relief from Gentiane.

"Thanks, Morgan. May I suggest we wait until Helian arrives? That way, you won't be needing to explain anything for the second time." Gentiane suggested.

I shrug at that. "Fine by us. Though a bit of advice, it will be great if you can keep an open mind for what's about to come."

Hearing that, Kalina grows confused, turning to look at Gentiane. The Commander though, just smirks. "Don't look at me, I only have guesses but nothing concrete."

It's at this moment that Team FN files into the command center, followed by a maid that's pushing a beverage tray and slinging a G36 on her back. The most excitable of Echelon 1, P90, strides up to us and says. "Did we miss anything?"

"Nothing too important, Boss Helian will be arriving in ten though." Kalina answered, earning a grudging nod from the SMG Doll. "Yikes, I hope she won't be running us against her Echelon again."

SCAR-H, who is now folding her rifle and putting it in a case, adds. "What's the score again?"

"Tied at 7, I think." HiPer answered softly.

P90 scoffs. "If it wasn't for that suicide, speaker blast by Spitfire that disoriented me, I would have won us our last engagement."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Just remember not to underestimate their resourcefulness next time." SCAR-L chimed in with a piece of advice. "Like us, they're veterans from the last war."

Nodding repeatedly, SCAR-SC swears. "I promise that next time, I won't be falling into another trap they make!"

The Echelon then descends into a bout of fervent discussion, ignoring the weird looks that Aria, Gentiane, Kalina, and I are giving them. Turning around to Gentiane, I can't help but ask. "Are they, to be more specific, all T-Dolls, are this active after a life-or-death battle?"

Gentiane deadpans. "You have no idea."

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Upright and calm, Helian is methodical and a little stubborn, but she has a good temper and takes good care of the people around her, though she's highly particular about her principles. Her stern and efficient way of doing things, along with her absolute loyalty to Griffin, has won her Berezovich Kryuger's complete trust. Yet, the Helian right now is in a bit of a stump for she truly has no idea how to treat the two ladies in front of her.

On one hand, G&K is in debt for the saving of Sector 09 by these two ladies. On the other hand, such an act is highly suspicious due to the timely wait they arrived. However, with a cursory scan, the girls in front of her don't fit any outfit whatsoever. And from the look of it, their aircraft betrays nothing about their origin. In fact, Helian is anxious that she, being a former intelligence officer, couldn't even recognize any of the markings on both the aircraft and their pilots. The best she can come up with is that they're both Europeans and are veterans with the subtle aura they have. Subtly glancing at her adjutant, Bren, who shakes her head lightly. Helian sighs, knowing that a facial scan also fails to come up with anything.

Although from what she can infer, the foreign pilots aren't holding any ill intent, at least not yet. If they had any then Gentiane and her Echelon 1 wouldn't have welcomed them warmly. They're good at many things and being able to judge a person's character is one of them. With that said, should any trouble arise in the future, that's the job of the Helian of then, not now.

Scanning the female pilots once again, Helian still can't get over their otherwordly beauty. And from the look of it, the subtle way the taller of the pilots seem to hover around the shorter one literally screams out that they're in a relationship. Helian thought that there is a joke somewhere about being both a wingman in the air and in bed. It's just that she can't quite put a finger on what the joke is to be exact. For now, both parties seem to be content with conversing among themselves. That is until Gentiane returns with Kalina in tow. Team FN is also presented for their standing duty has been filled in by members of Helian's elite echelon. It's a good time as any for them to have some downtime, Helian thought to herself. Besides, Gentiane's first echelon was the one to act as a forward observer for the 8492nd Squadron in front of her. Their input about how things were handled could be useful. Before that though, comes the formal talk.

"My apology for the tardiness, Chief Helianthus." Gentiane said before she and Kalina laid a few documents and tablets on the meeting room table.

Helian nods at that, accepting the apology for she knows quite well the effort one has to put in to handle a battlefield clean-up. "You need not feel sorry about a bit of a delay right now. I understand your task as it's my own for some time."

"Thank you, Chief." Gentiane smiled a bit brighter at that before moving straight to the main topic, knowing that Helian isn't one to beat around the bush. "Now that everyone's here, a short introduction is in order."

Turning around to meet Morgan's and Aria's gazes, Gentiane performs a snappy salute, fluttering her gray and pink-tipped hair, saying. "I'm Commander Gentiane Camus, a member of the Griffin & Kryuger PMC, and is in charge of Forward Operating Base 794 of Sector 9, which is where we're currently. A pleasure to make you acquaintance, once again." Ending it with a light smile, Gentiane is pleased when Morgan and Aria accepted her official introduction with respect. The young commander then goes on to gesture a hand at Helian. "This is Chief Helianthus, she's the second-in-command of G&K and is my go-to boss. It's with her help that I was able to request additional firepower before I arrived here, having learned that this FOB is crucial for the entire sector but a bit lacking in its defense."

Morgan nods at that, saying with a grin. "So it's her that we would have to give our thanks to, for if it weren't for her signing off that request, this base would have fallen long ago and we would have no place to land. Much appreciated, Chief Helianthus. It would have been annoying to find a better host than G&K is right now." The sudden sincerity Morgan showed was enough to catch Helian by surprise.

Fixing her monocle, Helian replies. "You have given me too much credit, Miss..." The faded black-hair lady of 'significant' age is not sure how to address them just yet.

Morgan smiles, gesturing to Aria while saying. "Please, you can just me Morgan, and this, right here, is Aria. Our apologies but we still haven't found a good reason to reveal our real names, yet. I also understand that the tan lady over there has looked up our identities and come up short of anything you haven't seen. You have good subtlety just like the agents under me, I'll give you that much. But I have dealt with objectively better spooks than you."

Bren, Helian's trusted adjutant, tenses up at the sudden inclusion to the talk. Helian is quick to dismiss her concern, reaffirming to herself that this Morgan in front of her is not just a normal pilot. "Pardon me for the cloak and dagger play, you must understand that for a person in my seat, I must make sure just what sort of thing my company is running into. I'll also take that as a compliment, knowing that while I am rusty, I still managed to impress you." Helian decided to go along with Morgan, jotting another bit of knowledge about the pilots in her mental notebook.

Morgan chuckles, nodding at Helian's words. "I reckon that back in your heyday, you must be a menace at your job for calling what you did earlier, rusty."

"That aside," Morgan then leans back on her office chair, a hand supporting her chin. "I see no further reason to continue the polite discussion. Perhaps Gentiane, Kalina, and team FN can give you their reports first? Only with those will you know how to start the Q&A session, am I correct to assume that?"

Thinking over it for a few seconds, Helian finds herself agreeing with Morgan's assessment. A short conversation over a battered tarmac wasn't enough to get her up to speed, only by gaining firsthand intelligence can Helian work out the matter with them. Hence, it doesn't surprise anyone when Helian nods, saying. "You're correct with your assumption, Miss Morgan. If you don't mind them giving their reports to me, that will be much appreciated. After all, it can take a bit of time."

Morgan smiles, waving off her concern. "That's perfectly fine with us. Rather, we will also use this chance to learn more about the matters before our intervention and your views on the things after that. It's a good way to ascertain our position in this world so we should be thanking you."

Helian nods, letting out a small smile and appreciating their honest intention. She does, however, jot down another line of notes. After all, needing to ascertain their position in this world, is a peculiar reason to have. In a way, that sentence serves only to boost their otherworldliness, Helian thought to herself.