A/N: As I said before, I guess, this story never had a huge priority, which kinda answers why it's been more than a year after its last update (to be fair, most of my fanfics had been a little abandoned as of late). Unlike other series I haven't really delve into Girls' Frontline lore or background aside from lazily playing most main storyline events (with a huge gap in the middle), which is part of the reason I'm sticking to a very small scale, unlike my other stories which often portray a large events which affect the whole world.

Disclaimer: Girls' Frontline belongs to MICA Team (I think). I'm just doing this for fun and I get no monetary compensation from it.

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Chapter 3
Large Meeting, Small Talk
M1 Garand

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Several days later...

M1 Garand stared from the sidelines at the room full of people clad in red coats and white shirts, her synthetic eyes scanning the entire area time and time again as her audio modules tried to filter the constant sounds of nails tapping on the wooden table, shoes quickly tapping onto the floor, clothes protesting as their users fidgeted in their seats, and bones cracking as necks, shoulders and fingers moved around, their owners growing increasingly annoyed as time went by. After her 6th scan in the last half hour yielded no new information she focused her attention on the discussion, eyes and ears centring on the figure standing in front of the table, an older woman with a stern face and a monocle.

"... all in all, Operation Vector had a positive balance. Out of the twenty government officials, only two died, another was wounded, and more than 60% of the escort force was still operational. A third of the retinues never even had contact with the Sangvis, which helped a lot with the angry deputies who came demanding explanations for the three casualties they had."

A tired murmur of acceptance swept through the room. M1 Garand noticed that many of the humans present showed signs of fatigue, be it bags under their eyes, shifting attention, much more relaxed postures when compared to the meeting's start, and a general low noise that she couldn't pinpoint from a single source, likely the result of several people taking notes (or pretending to), ripping papers, writing either on paper or in the electronic tablets, and several more similar occurrences.

On clear contrast to their commanders, the T-Dolls around the room stayed mostly still, a few shifting around their position or changing their equilibrium from a foot to the other, but still just a silent overwatch for the most part. Garand doubted many were actively taking notes, at least not without pause through the entire meeting. There was also the fact that, while the central table with the commanders was illuminated weakly by the screens in the wall behind the presenting woman and the projections in the centre, the T-Dolls were on the sidelines, completely covered in darkness. There wasn't any window in the room, but even if there was one, the fact that they were underground erased any possibility of sunlight coming at them.

Was it even daytime already? She consulted her internal clock: barely a few minutes 'till seven, so technically already daytime. For Garand, the time of the meeting probably had a lot to do with how tired the attending people seemed, and while the lady in charge appeared much better, she was still showing signs of exhaustion. With that analysis, she realized that she had once again stop paying attention.

One of the base's employees, another T-Doll, she noticed, approached the woman in question and said something to her ear, prompting her to cough on her fist and attract the attention of everyone present.

"We'll take a break now and meet back here at seven thirty to resume at seven thirty-five. Commanders, there's breakfast served in the lobby." The commanders stood up from their seats almost in unison, the most tired ones taking a few seconds longer to get to their feet. "You are dismissed."

The humans shared a brief military salute, during which Garand noted the different styles used, after which they began to leave the room, the adjutant T-Dolls promptly following them.

"It's too early-o'clock."

"How much time were we there?"

"Like an hour, maybe, perhaps more."

"That's an hour too long, dammit."

"How is Helian able to talk so much this early?"

"Someone please marry her already."

"So, the government lost two guys in a warzone and is annoyed, fucking cry-babies..."

"You remember if Sangivs was moving eastwards or southwards?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"Hey, you were saying something about later...?"

"Screw it, I want coffee..."

"Sangvis could attack right now for all I care."

"Yeah, I just want to sleep."

"Make that two."

The incessant thumping of boots and shoes' heels against the floor flooded the exit, while comments came and went as the commanders made their way towards the trays packed full of coffee, tea, juice, bread, fruit, and other ingredients typical of breakfast. M1 Garand stood to the sidelines until she once again spotted Commander Hausser, taking off from her post near the wall and walking up to him without saying a word, much like most other adjutants in the meeting.

"Talk about a long meeting," were Hausser's words as the two made their way out of the meetings room. "I barely managed to stay awake."

"Did you take note of everything of importance, Commander?"

"What?" Another Griffin commander next to them turned with a raised eyebrow, but Hausser shrugged and shook his head, prompting the former to look away with a tired nod.

"Use the surname here. Too many officers."

"S-sure." M1 fought the change in colours of her cheeks, with mild success.

"But no, I only did for the first half. I swear, making us come here at five in the morning for a meeting is definitely not in my job description..."

Hausser kept rambling about the time as he made his way to the trays, leaving Garand behind. The T-Doll was sure that half of her commander's complains steamed from the fact that his daily routine was altered from the sudden call. If she remembered correctly, Commander Schmidt was far more adept at stepping out of routine, yet she was also quick to panic in public, which is why it was Hausser who was here.

Not that she or Hausser envied Schmidt, for that matter: since most human commanders in the region were called to the meeting, and most bases and outposts only had one commander at its head (exceptions existed, but they were far and few in between), Schmidt was part of the very small group left that was suddenly tasked with overseeing a large swath of the region. Sure, there were human personnel acting as deputy commanders in most major facilities, and most outposts could defend themselves from regular Sangvis patrols, but anything other than basic defensive measures was out of the question until the return of the commanders, even for mid-sized facilities with more humans on board. Only large bases could afford a trained second-in-command, and only the largest could afford two simultaneous commanders.

Garand noticed the large number of yawns in the room, and internally thanked that she lacked the yawning reflex as part of her human imitation programming, her developer choosing to make it a strong, yet resistible urge. She searched for Hausser: already engaged in conversation with other commanders, and from what she could hear after adjusting her audio modules, they were commenting on the topics of the meeting so far.

"It's true, it really looked like pre-war Moscow on the city."

"Yeah, sure. And I had Beijing, and Forbes had New Delhi."

"Sorry mate, but I did have a sizable Sangivs force on my territory. I'm with Hausser on this one."

"Et tu, brute?"

"Shut it, Vásquez."

Garand looked around the group. She spotted a Thompson and a MP 40 T-Dolls nearby, likely the adjutants of commanders Forbes and Vásquez, respectively. She approached them as the three humans exchanged details of their own experiences in the operation.

"Ah, Miss Garand! A pleasure to see you," greeted MP40, a happy smile plastered on her face. Thompson flickered up her hat with her thumb, flashing her ever-so-present smile as she leaned on one of the carts with trays.

"Oi Garand, nice seeing you here."

"Likewise, MP 40, Thompson." Garand returned the greetings with a curt nod. "Everything fine so far?"

"You could say so." MP 40's hand met in her lap, closing her eyes in calm thinking. "Aside from the scheduled time of the meeting, everything has been the usual so far."

"It is, indeed." Garand suppressed a sigh, instead focusing on Thompson. "How about you?"

"Dunno, first time in one of these fancy meetings in HQ," the American submachine gun replied, crossing her arms while supporting her back on a pillar, "Not my thing at all. Still, gotta attend to aid the boss runnin' stuff back at the base, ya know?"

"You weren't the adjutant T-Doll before?"

"'Nother girl came with the boss, but she's been on repairs since the operation. Just patching up here."

Garand nodded again, turning slightly to inspect the three human commanders. Hausser, Forbes, and Vásquez were still talking, each with a coffee at hand, but the topic seemed to shift from the recent operation to more strategic-level considerations.

"The situation in the Eastern Carpathians ain't good, isn't it?" Asked Vásquez, though it seemed more of a statement than a question in Garand's opinion.

"You mean commander Sasaki?" Schmidt's question was answered by a nod. Forbes took the chance to speak next.

"Lad is way too confident on his past experiences. Too bad he's fighting robots now instead of humans." Forbes sighed, shaking his head. "That last charge during the operation? Probably would've worked fine against regular humans, but not against robots without emotions."

"I thought he won?" Asked Vásquez, raising an eyebrow while sipping his coffee.

"He did," informed Schmidt, shrugging, "Just lost way too many dolls for it to matter, jener dumpkoff..."

"El pendejo is being torn a new one by central HQ, right?" Vásquez question was answered by a tired nod from both commanders. "I thought it was odd he wasn't at the meeting."

"You think he's getting replaced? Maybe fired?"

"I don't think so," Forbes replied to Schmidt rolling his eyes. "It's not like we have tons of competent personnel. Sasaki might not be the brightest, but he's still trained former military. I doubt command simply fires him for this, especially since he accomplished the mission of protecting the government's dog in his area. Also, severance packages are a bitch."

"Maybe they'll simply move him to a quieter area then. Still useful, just not that prone to problems."

"Maybe an outpost?" Vásquez ventured, "Still at the front, but without enough resources to be a menace."

"That's probably it, at least if it concerned me. His pride will probably be damaged though."

"You think Helianthus will grind him for wasting resources?"

"Absolutely."

"God, someone please marry her already..."

The three commanders shared a sigh and a sip of coffee. Garand turned back to the two T-Dolls.

"Has the situation been good for you over your sectors, Thompson, MP 40?" She asked, moving over to retrieve some pastries from the trays next to them.

"Overall? I would think so, miss Garand," MP 40 replied. "We had some difficulties with the large number of Sangvis troops trying to overwhelm our positions, but nothing a timely defence couldn't achieve!"

"Oh yeah, you had a strong defense line, I heard all 'bout it," Thompson noted. "Somethin' 'bout using a farmhouse as a stronghold."

"Indeed," confirmed MP 40, nodding. "Commander Vásquez made his headquarters in an abandoned farmhouse in the outskirts of our area, saying he wanted a defensive perimeter ahead of where the government official would be moving."

"Who was accompanying the official?" Garand asked.

"I think it was the base's second in command. Commander Vásquez moved most operations' command to the farmhouse and led it personally. I think we only saw the official once or twice?"

"Lucky ya. Commander Forbes was with the VIP most of the time. Something 'bout him being quite insistent on being accompanied, which in turn meant the commander couldn't enter the operations room freely, being full of sensitive data and all that. Turns out, operations don't go well when the head is removed. "

"I can see that," Garand confirmed, while MP 40 nodded.

"So, what happened?" Asked the German submachine gun.

"Well, fella was quite understanding when Commander Forbes told him to let him go direct the battle and stop babysitting him, or he would let us dolls decide in his stead. This was all after being quite specific about how soldiers used to frag incompetent officers back in 'Nam."

"I though Commander Forbes is British?" Garand question was dismissed by a wave of Thompson's hand.

"He likes his history. Anyway, after that, the VIP was veeery quick to let him go command the battle. Some poor clerk was grabbed to continue the tour, and the commander went and deployed team after team. The Sangvis attack went from Sedan to Bien Diem Phu real~ quick."

"Keeping up with the Vietnam references, I see..." Garand muttered. However, Thompson was not listening to her.

"Yeah, the commander then went and deployed two entire echelons of machine guns. Poor Sangivs didn't stood a chance. He also requested couple HOCs to aid him, mortars and grenade launchers if I remember correctly. It was already a victory. Then he deployed me and the girls to go runnin' after them, pushin' against the barrier of fire. It was a massacre for them."

MP 40 nodded at every phrase uttered by Thompson, but Garand decided to tune it off and record it instead. She would listen to it on the helicopter ride way back to her base and see if anything of importance could be recovered. She knew Hausser would appreciate the gesture, he was always one to learn from others when possible and would undoubtedly cross-reference it with whatever Commander Forbes told him now. Garand also set a reminder to later ask MP 40 for her version of her battles, intending on making the same with Commander Vásquez.

A bell ringed from the side of the room, calling the commanders back to the meeting. Garand saw the three commanders sigh again before downing the rest of their coffees and heading inwards. She stopped the recording, thanked Thompson and MP 40, and quickly made her way to follow Hausser's step.

"Productive break, Commander Hausser?" She asked as she got to one step behind him. Garand aimed to keep that respectful distance and adjusted her pace to do so.

"Somewhat, yes," Hausser replied, finishing his coffee by dumping the rest of the mug in his mouth and gulping everything down. He shuddered. "Exchanged some info, got word of some gossip here and there. It'll serve as payment for Schmidt for leaving her back at the base."

Hausser fetched another cup of coffee from a tray held by an assistant T-Doll next to the door as they re-entered the meetings room, Garand imitating him out of learned-reflex. Lights were turned on softly, barely enough for most to find their spots and prepare everything for the second part of the meeting.

"Will you take notes of the upcoming meeting, commander?"

"Probably. We already got Operation Vector off the programme, so I think we'll talk about other things more... well, minor things, but that still require some input from us."

"Do you require me to take notes as well? Perhaps a transcript?"

Recording a meeting in the central HQ was forbidden for everyone except a handful of dolls, of whom Garand wasn't a part of. However, that still didn't mean she couldn't aid Hausser in other ways.

"Just take notes of graphs and tables. I think I can pull myself through whatever is left to discuss."

"Understood. If you'll excuse me..."

"Go on."

Garand took her spot next to the wall behind Hausser, imitating the other T-Dolls in the room. The mood was much better compared to the first part of the meeting, and it improved even more once Helianthus, the lady in charge of the meeting, started by informing everyone that the report on Operation Vector had already been dispatched to the government of the New Soviet Union, effectively closing that chapter as far as they were concerned. Few times had Garand seen such a large group of G&K commanders happier than then, and Garand took the chance to send a request to MP 40 through the Zenner network to ask her again for her experience in the operation, this time recording it.

The rest of the meeting proceeded with little interruption, discussing themes as varied as recruitment requirements, priority of reinforcements, and follow-up clean-up operations born out of the situation after Operation Vector, and a few hours later most commanders were boarding their helicopters back to their own facilities. Hausser was no exception, downing another coffee before stepping outside to the helipads and making his way to the air vehicle that would take them to their base.

Garand could still not decide if Hausser left the lower end of his uniform's long jacket purposedly unbuttoned for the extra mobility or because he liked the theatrics of walking towards a vehicle or entrance and see the tails flapping around.

It was of no use thinking about it now, so she held down her beret with one hand and her weapon's sling with the other (she had to surrender it as they entered HQ and had just now recovered it) and followed him to the helicopter. The pilot greeted them as they climbed up, a gesture returned with a wave from Hausser as he got a helmet in his head.

"How was the meeting?" Asked the pilot as his copilot closed the door.

"Same as always, Cole, just more tiring." Replied Hausser, resting against the seat.

"Yeah, the hour is a mess. At least we'll have daylight for the trip home this time."

"If you can call a complex half-buried in the mountains a home, that is." Garand saw Cole roll his eyes, going back to the final pre-flight checks. She took a seat in front of Hausser, watching the co-pilot go back to his seat and aid Cole in getting the bird ready to fly.

"I'm sure Commander Schmidt likes it, though." Came said pilot's reply, nodding to someone outside the vehicle.

"She would like any place with internet, screens, and someone serving her so she can stay on said screens."

"Well, it pays my bills, so she can ask me to fly her anywhere she wants as far as I'm concerned."

"And I don't get the same privilege?"

"Last time I checked, she didn't shoot someone in my helicopter. I'd pick my passengers having a panic attack over the amount of people in the tarmac any day of the week."

"Amen to that," added the co-pilot.

"Thanks, Martin."

"Fuck off, both of you."

""Yessir.""

With a chuckle, both pilots went back to their panels. Garand noted Hausser disconnect his helmet and release a huge sigh, massaging his temple. She decided to sit next to him.

"Are you ok, commander?" She asked, raising her voice modules enough for Hausser to hear her over the helicopter blades' noise.

"Hm? Oh, Garand. Yeah, just tired." Hausser shouted, albeit not that loud. She had to adjust her hearing modules to cancel out the vehicle's noise and hear him correctly. "I'll go straight for a coffee as soon as we land back at the base."

"I got information from the adjutant T-Dolls of commanders Forbes and Vásquez. Do you wish to review it with what they told you?"

"Sure, sounds like a nice way to kill time until we land. Do you have a map?"

Garand took out a notebook and a pen. She recalled the operational maps of the areas in which Hausser, Forbes, and Vásquez fought and, with mechanical precision, drew them in three separate pages, not a line out of place even as the helicopter raised in the air, finally being granted clearance for take-off. She finished the last traces as they got into cruise altitude, handing the notebook to her commanding officer.

"Here, commander."

"I really love how you dolls have these facilities. Back in the war, we had to print thousands of copies and at the end of the day still pray we had one on ourselves because God knows they got lost, burnt, destroyed, wet, or whatever the fuck happened." He had enabled again the communicator in his helmet. She reasoned they were past the point of being able to talk just by raising their voices. "Let's get started."

And so, they spent their travel time going over the strategies and movement of Hausser's fellow commanders. It was a productive way of killing time, as Garand was sure Hausser would hit the bed as soon as they landed (at least after getting that aforementioned coffee. He subscribed to the idea of having caffeine just before taking a nap). He would surely get back to work after that.

He had always been like this, as far as M1 Garand had known him. Always doing something, always resting the same number of hours (to varied effect), constantly worried about making something productive with his time, and definitely more uptight than Schmidt ever was.

He had changed little since his enlistment in G&K, but perhaps that was for the best. He had always cared about solving issues, and solving them as quickly and efficiently as possible, with little regard for non-pragmatic variables.

In a way, it reminded her of a machine even more than herself. Which was ironic, considering how she was the T-Doll between the two.

But that also brought up fundamental differences between the two. Besides exceptions, like Sangvis Ferri after their rebellion and certain dolls with special permits, T-Dolls were not allowed to damage humans. Most could never even bring up the idea in the first place. It was an alien concept for them, being programmed to defend humanity (some were even produced specifically for that, to cry out loud!)

Hausser, on the other hand, had none of those limitations. He had seen war against other humans, albeit Garand was only privy to some bits of data from that distant past of her commander, and he had made quite clear that he wasn't really bothered at the idea of scarifying humans if it meant saving more, among other objectives. As Cole had said earlier, he had even shot others in that same helicopter they were riding right now, an "unfortunate accident" caused by bandits "trying to shoot down the vehicle to rob it" as they were securing a VIP from the Yellow Zone.

She grimaced at the memory. It gave him and Schmidt the perfect excuse to ask for more supplies and sweep the entire area clear of bandits and other "undesirable personnel", which coincidentally served to secure their southern flank. They also installed some dispersed anti-air and surveillance outposts while at it and started patrols to keep the area secured. The actions caused conflicts with a large bandit-scavenger organization in the area, which caused a small war in which G&K alleged self-defence.

M1 Garand shuddered. It was one of the few instances of G&K openly going against another human faction, allowing most T-Dolls to shot humans straight for the kill. Many were reset to factory settings after that, not able to stomach the trauma that it meant going against all they stood for.

Garand shook her head. She was getting distracted. Instead, she refocused her visual modules on the map and refocused on the conversation with Hausser, debating movements and explaining decisions made by other commanders (as far as MP 40 and Thompson said them), applying the lessons to their own scenario.

At least this conversation was relaxed enough.

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A/N: Once again, more than a year to update. Honestly, I had most of this chapter written by September or so but couldn't land a final for it. At least I could do it before my end of the year deadline.

If on the first chapter I focused on the T-Dolls in general and on the second I focused on Schmidt, here I focused on Hausser. M1 Garand takes a similar role to Sten Mk.II, being a T-Doll who is close to the commander in question, but the situation itself is different now as we see Hausser more "in his element", which is, being a public face.

Whatever, I'm glad I got this out before my self-imposed deadline. In that regard as well, I'm ending this little GFL experiment here (or maybe prolonged hiatus, but I'm positive it's an ending). I had a couple stuff more planned, but I don't feel like it's worth the effort.

Thanks to anyone who read this, and hopefully see you around on another story. Sincerely,
RedSS.