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

A/N: English is not my native language, so feedback is appreciated. The dialogues of the commanders may be a bit off (or more off than usual for the story), but that's just their way of speaking (neither human commander is a native speaker of the language the characters use, be it English or Russian).

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Chapter 2
New Soldiers, Old Officer
Sten MkII

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Six days before the battle of the city...

"You called, Commander?"

Sten MkII closed the door behind her, walking to the centre of the command room. The place was a mess as usual, with the cans making several organized messes of aluminium left and right and several empty cups of tea dispersed by the different furniture in the room. Secretly she wondered how the two humans in charge of the base cleaned the room, or even if they did it at all. Yes, they usually dismissed the issue alleging time shortages, but she wasn't buying it after several months of hearing the same excuse.

It was a no brainer why G36 was allowed to enter the command room once every few days, even with all the love for secrecy the two commanders had. It simply got too messy for it to be serviceable, and her commanders were for sure not changing locations inside the base anytime soon (not that they would like to, either. They were very fond of their command room and individual offices attached for that).

"Yes, Sten. Please come in." Commander Schmidt hadn't risen her sight from the papers in front of her, so Sten couldn't really blame her for not noticing she was, in fact, already in the middle of the room, halfway through crossing the distance between them. She could, however, blame her for not noticing the sound of the door closing or that of her shoes, things that meant she was already inside. Schmidt finally rose her face, allowing Sten to see the all-too-familiar sight of her sleep-deprived face, marked by her eyebags and tired factions. "Is anyone else from Team 1 coming?"

"Sorry. They all had something to do, so I came alone."

"It's alright, I guess."

Schmidt shrugged, letting her tired unfocused blue eyes wander around the room. Sten tilted her head, a frown appearing on her face: while she was used to her commander's antics, that didn't mean she didn't worry about her health.

"Where's Commander Hausser?"

"Don't know. Getting food, maybe."

Sten expected as much. She didn't know Hausser as much as she knew Schmidt, but she still had quite the deal of insight about him, given the time she already spent under his command, how he interacted with her, the rest of Team 1 and Schmidt, and the latter's comments about him.

"Why did you call me here, Commander?"

Schmidt stopped looking around, but still didn't face Sten.

"W-we've been through this, Sten. We're alone with no one around... y-you can be friendly without fear of grounding my career for some, huh... stupid bureaucratic reason or something..."

She wasn't all that convincing when she struggled to say the words, but Sten knew what she meant regardless. This time she actually had to suppress a giggle at her commander's awkwardness.

"Sorry, Miss Alice. It's been a while since we last spoke face-to-face without bullets or other T-Dolls around, it just takes a while to settle back to normal conversation."

"Y-yeah, it has been..."

Schmidt raised from her seat behind her desk and walked lazily (and stumbling) to the kettle on top of a small coffee table at one corner of the room.

"Tea?"

"No thanks. I had some before coming here."

"Hmm."

She started to boil some water, with Sten patiently waiting while sit at one of the couches in the side-lines.

"So, Miss Alice, why did you call me here? Is there a new mission?" The commander's eyes again wandered around the room while avoiding an answer, likely looking for an excuse. "You called me because you wanted to see me, right?" Sten couldn't help to ask with an amused tone. She wasn't one to tease, but her commander left it very easy to not take advantage of it (in a playful way, of course). Schmidt sighed in defeat before nodding, taking the now boiled water and pouring it with a teabag in a mug that, as far as Sten knew, had been used nonstop without any kind of washing for at least three days. Well, at least it was only for tea, and the hot water should be able to kill most things that got humans sick in the first place...

...right?

She was never that good with human biology. She never really needed it anyway.

"Partly right... I think that's how it's spelled...?" The human in the room muttered to herself for a moment, getting her hand to her chin and then releasing an "eeeekkk!" when noticing, rather late unfortunately, that she was still carrying a mug full of steamy tea. She wiped the liquid of her face with a napkin and got back to her desk, acting like her blushing cheeks were not lighting her face up like a Christmas tree. "E-e-eith *ehem*, either way, that's not the only reason why I called you here, Sten. I have two news for you."

"Two news...?" Sten tilted her head to the other side, curious.

"Yes." She attempted to take a large sip of her tea, but apparently it was still too hot, as she retracted her lips from the mug with a betrayed look at the liquid. She kept speaking not deviating her gaze from the tea, this time looking annoyed. "First, another mission. Government VIP visiting settlements, peaceful zone but with Sangvis patrols increasing. VIP moves with few people plus escort; we are QRF on this one. Code name: Operation Ruins. I think you know where I'm going."

Sten nodded, even if her superior had just spoken some loose lines of details. Based on enough practice she could understand more or less the full picture.

Surely most of the T-Dolls that would, or may, take part on the operation would be addressed in a day or two by their team leaders, who themselves would have a meeting with one of the commanders (most probably Hausser, as he was the most versed of the two in speaking with crowds and not making a mess out of himself like Schmidt tended to do) later that same day. That didn't apply to Team 1 though, mainly because of its status and role.

"You want me to get the team ready?" She asked, just to confirm. Schmidt nodded.

"Hausser suggested to deploy at least two recons team to keep watch of the VIP and to have dolls ready to go right after the first QRF sets off. But there's always the case of the plan going to shit with something going wrong and needing some more... direct control." Schmidt tried again to take a sip of her tea, this time successfully, albeit a short one. She sighted right after, probably to cool of her mouth. "Team 1 is the only one currently assigned to Task Force Light, so you will be kept in emergency reserve in case shit hits the robotic fan. Team 30 has overwatch duty this time. Operation begins in two to three days, according to weather and how soon Sangvis Ferry moves this time. It'll last a week or so."

"I see. Good to hear it."

Sten did not like overwatch duty, and for good reason: with her commanders, it was almost like having a gun pointed at her fellow T-Dolls' necks for the whole mission (which wasn't far from the truth in more than a couple of occasions). Others enjoyed it, especially some human teams that took advantage of the T-Dolls programming to commit abuses, but it was not of her liking at all (and part of the reason why human overwatch teams were not employed after a certain incident she didn't like to think around).

"Oh yeah, talking about teams." Schmidt took another sip of her tea, this one longer, getting a frown on her face with a wry smile and walking back towards the coffee table on the corner. "You are getting a new member on your team today." She got to the table and took out the sugar. As she sweetened her drink Sten tilted her head again, this time with an eyebrow raised.

"A new teammate? So soon before the operation?" She was confused. Her commanders, or at least Alice, weren't of the type to just throw T-Dolls into new teams all of sudden, specially just before an operation dealing with humans where PR issues were bound to happen.

"Worry not, you know her. Remember SIG 510?" Sten nodded. 510 was a doll whose team was still in repairs given how heavy their damages were and the lack of spare parts, so the assault rifle had ben jumping from team to team, filling spots left clear due to a variety of reasons. She had worked with Team 1 a couple times before, but only in low-level missions that usually involved routine patrols and small Sangvis Ferri skirmishes. "She passed the clearance tests, so she will be officially joining to Team 1 during this mission. Since you are deploying either way, she'll join the team today."

"I see..." So that was why they were getting a new member just before the operation. Sten shrugged: no way to argue with her commanders at this point. "Do you need anything else, Miss Alice?"

Schmidt looked awkward for a few seconds, again quickly scanning the corners of the room, before sighing and speaking on a low voice. If she were a human Sten wouldn't have caught it, but since she was a T-Doll, she had no problem adjusting her audio receiving modules to listen.

"...some of those things you bake would be nice..."

Sten had to suppress another giggle. Her commander's jump from socially dysfunctional commanding officer to a spoiled girl were too amusingly cute for her.

"Right away, Miss Alice. Give me a few minutes to get them, I just made a few. I'm sure you will love them."

Alice only nodded, not noticed by the doll that had already left the office.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sten was halfway through to her team's dorm room when she found Commander Hausser in one of the hallways. He was discussing something with Grizzly MkV, who left shortly after coming into view. Hausser nodded to the retreating handgun doll before turning to face the incoming Sten.

"Sten," was the greeting. She waved her hand with a smile to return the gesture.

"Morning, commander."

"What are you doing here? This is quite away from your dorm."

Sten had always a bad time deciding whether Hausser's comments were originating from rudeness or genuine curiosity, something stemmed from weeks of seeing his different approaches to the same matter depending on the time and context (especially on who was listening). She chose the curiosity option for this one, mostly helped by the context.

"I'm coming back from the Command Room, commander," she informed, eyeing her surroundings. No other T-Dolls were in hearing distance, at least regarding regular audio modules protocols. Hausser raised an eyebrow at her answer, prompting her to elaborate further. "Commander Schmidt called me there to tell me about the incoming operation."

"Ah, I see." He nodded, most probably to himself, before looking to the side for a couple seconds, pondering something, and then back to her. "Are you going back to your dorm?"

"I'm just going for some things commander Schmidt asked me for."

"O-kay. Did she inform you of the new team member?"

"Yes, she did."

"Gut. She should be arriving to the dorm in the next hour or so. I'll take my leave then. If anybody asks, I'll be on the cafeteria."

"Understood, commander."

"See ya."

As the male commander of the base walked away, Sten couldn't help but think that he would, most probably, visit quite a few places before finally going to his stated destination. If past experiences were anything to go by, he would do a few rounds around the base's common areas and check the status of the other human personnel on site on the way, before humming an approval tone and heading for a bitter mid-morning coffee. He had always been a creature of habit, and this instance wasn't one that prevented those. She shrugged and went her way to her dorm, keen on getting the sweets baked not half an hour ago for her commander.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Sten arrived at her dorm, she was surprised to find the door open. It wasn't something common, and for once it didn't have to do with her commanders' love of secrecy: simply put, the team members weren't fond of having their privacy breached by others, and their dorm was a central part of said privacy. Of course, they could always have left the door open the get something inside and then leave quickly but considering that at the current time 416 was on the firing range (from where she wasn't leaving for a long while), M1 Garand was supervising the teams performing logistics missions (especially the ones in charge of munitions, for some reason) and M9 was... doing something outside the main base (she hadn't told them where she was going, only that she would be away for the whole morning), chances were it was someone from outside the team.

Arriving to said conclusion, Sten calculated her moves. She wasn't armed, but there was a handgun inside next to the door hidden by a fake wall. If the intruder was hostile, she could react quickly, and surely a couple shots would attract the security teams of the base (Grizzly had only recently left the area, and her team was bound to be nearby). Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and came into the dorm. Inside, she found a singular, unarmed doll checking her surroundings, a bag on her back and a curious face at the furniture. At the sound of the door closing, she turned around immediately, a frightened glance shot towards Sten.

"W-who are- oh, is you Sten MkII."

Sten took herself a couple seconds to recognized who was talking to her. Memories of the conversation she had earlier with Commander Schmidt came to her mind immediately:

"A new teammate? So soon before the operation?"

"Worry not, you know her."

Well, Schmidt could've certainly told her that her new teammate was already on the way to the team's dorm. Though, considering who she was talking about, it probably flew under her radar (or she forgot about it. Both were equally possible).

"Is nice to see you again, Miss SIG 510." Sten closed the dorm door and did a small bow to greet the newcomer, slightly lifting her skirt with one hand. "I hope you are in a good state."

"My systems are running well, thank you very much." SIG looked around the room a bit, slightly embarrassed. "A-also, you don't need to bow to me. Save it for the humans... or some doll that deserves it."

Sten contained a small giggle, correcting her posture.

"Sure, Miss SIG 510. So, you were scheduled to arrive to the dorm today?"

"I am, though perhaps at a later time? I kind of rushed here early, since my dorm was empty anyway... well, this one too, as I see now."

"This is your dorm now too, Miss 510. It is indeed empty, though largely because is mid-morning. I'm afraid you chose the busiest part of the day to move dorms."

"Yes, that's probably the reason." SIG 510 left her bag on the sofa at the living room of the dorm, her gaze analysing the doors the separated the five individual rooms of the common area. "Now that I see it, this place isn't that different from my previous dorm."

"Dorms don't vary too much, even for the top teams. Most changes are in the space available and the technology inside them, but even then, is barely enough to make a difference." Sten walked to the kitchen area, humming an old English march. "By the way, the free room is the third door. Feel free to occupy it, since it will be yours anyway."

"...why is the third the one empty? Shouldn't it be the last or something like that?" SIG's comment didn't prevent her grabbing her bag and making way to the aforementioned door, though her brow was slightly raised.

"Well, Miss Garand and Miss 416 said that they wanted to stay 'the farthest possible' from Miss M9's room, given the noise made by her... antics, so they chose the last ones and made M9 pick the second door. I was already occupying the first and offered to change it with her, but Miss M9 refused. And so, the third door became available."

"I see..."

SIG 510 opened the door and went inside, setting her things. Sten, meanwhile, took her chance to get to the pantry and get some of the baked fairy cakes she made earlier, putting them in a small basket prepared for the task beforehand (knowing Commander Alice, it paid well to be prepared beforehand). She had just finished putting everything back in its place when SIG 510 walked back in, her bag nowhere to be seen. She was, however, still carrying her namesake weapon on a sling over her shoulder.

"Is there anything you need, Miss 510?"

"Yeah... where do I put my gun? There's no weapon's racket at the entrance, so..."

"Oh, your weapon. You can keep it in your room."

"I-in my room? But according to the base's standard regulations-"

"You can think of it as a perk of being in Team 1. We are exempt of some regulations such as a secured weapons racket, but everything is for a reason."

"What reason could you have to not secure your weapons when not used?"

"Urgency would be the more pressing one. A lot of times we have just a handful of minutes to get from whatever we are doing to the helicopter, and we can't always wait for the team leader to unlock a racket. Is faster if whoever's here grabs all of them and hands them on the way." Sten pondered her thoughts for a minute, thinking if she was forgetting something. "Oh, but we are still not allowed to carry munitions, except one magazine or clip per doll."

"And why are you allowed to carry a magazine?"

"Because of a certain incident... and we'll leave it at that. You can ask our commanders for details later."

SIG 510 visibly shuddered at the thought, but Sten chose to ignore it. The card of "ask the commanders yourself" was kind of a dirty trick, since many T-Dolls in the base were not keen on fazing their commanders in a face-to-face talk while under their... what was the word used? "Unnerving"? Yeah, that was it. And so, every time a conversation got into a dangerous topic, she would deflect it by using that phrase.

A phrase that she was practically immune to, largely thanks to her longer time under Alice's command. And speaking on her...

"Miss SIG 510."

"Yes?"

"I'll be going to the Command Room, but please feel free to explore the dorm and get used to it. Just don't enter the others' rooms without permission. The rest should arrive after lunch. Oh, also, don't be shy of grabbing a snack or some tea from the kitchen. I always make sure to prepare enough for everyone."

"Oh, in that case I will. Thanks, Sten MkII."

"See you later, Miss 510."

And so, Sten left her dorm once more headed towards the Command Room. She went smiling the whole way: the mental image of her commander failing to dissimulate her happiness at eating the still warm cakes was an amusing sight, and she was more than happy to feed her.

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Commander Alice happily hummed the old song playing on her earphones, drinking of her mug of tea while shaking her head to the rhythm of the music. Sten smiled at the sight but then looked back at the main screen of the command room, her synthetic eyes scanning the figure of Commander Hausser speaking to several team leaders on the nearby briefing room. While the number of assisting T-Dolls wasn't clear, Sten could make at least ten of them. Which was quite a lot, truth to be told, as each one of them represented a single team.

"Hey, Miss Alice." The commander didn't answer, too busy spinning around in her office chair while keeping her tea inside the mug. Sten sighed and walked towards her, stopping her movement with one hand while retrieving the hot liquid's recipient with the other, preventing it from overflowing its container and spilling over its owner (as far as Sten was concerned, it wouldn't be the first time. Far from it, in fact). After Schmidt noticed she had stopped spinning (and that there was an absence of a certain hot liquid on her clothes because of it), she took of her earphones and frowned towards Sten, clearly annoyed.

Except, that her face was adorable for Sten, who did everything in her power to supress the giggle forming up and put up a stern face.

"What was that for, Sten?"

"I was calling you, Miss Alice. Did you not notice?"

Schmidt's face went from annoyed to nervous in a matter of seconds, even sporting that small smile she often did when caught red-handed trying to get some of Sten's cooking on her own.

"R-really? N-no, hum, I didn't notice... what was it, Sten?"

Sten sighed heavily, though not annoyed by one bit. "It's about Commander Hausser's speech. I was hoping you could brief me in some details of what he's saying."

"I thought he would be pretty clear, though?"

"Will you help me or not?"

"Aaahhh... yes, sure. Can I have my tea back, please?"

"Sure~"

Alice accommodated her seat and took a more normal position, her hands clasping the mug of tea in her lap while waiting for Sten, sitting at the other side of the strangely classical desk (was "classical" the right word? Well, the furniture in question did stand out given its wood structure compared to the metallic and plastic material of the rest of the command room), to begin the questions.

"What do you wish to know?"

"I was counting the team leaders for this mission. They number at least ten."

"Yeah, they probably do. Hausser never told me the final number."

"Why do we need so many teams for this operation? Even if we are the back-up of the escort, this many dolls..."

"Only a couple teams are QRF, that's true, and other two are recon. Given recent Sangvis sightings in the area, Hausser and I thought it would be better to have a large force ready to deploy and fight in case SF launches a big offensive. If it comes to the worst, we'll deploy all the dolls ready to fight to hold the Sangvis and buy us time to withdraw the VIP from danger."

"Wouldn't it be safer to simply intercept any Sangvis Ferri movement before it reaches the surroundings of the VIP?"

"Two problems with that. First, the VIP will be moving through all the inhabited towns in the area. They're not that many to begin with, but the sole fact complicates things. It'll also attract Sangvis patrols near the frontlines." Schmidt took a long sip from her mug, relishing in the hot drink's flavour. "Second, PR issues. Central HQ ordered to not initiate fights with SF around the government official, if possible, to make it seem like the area is being pacified to the press. While this means we can engage them at some distance from the retinue, the distance also means that we have little way to identify regular patrols from hunting parties. Eliminating every scout near the VIP also won't work, since it would alert the Sangvis that there's something irregular going on. Supplies aren't that abundant either for us to send the entire base into firefights against regular Sangvis patrols to mask it as an offensive, an offensive whose noise would also alert authorities and go back to the beginning of the issue."

"Then, we just have to wait for the Sangivs Ferri to clearly come and try to get the VIP to act?"

"Mostly. Some long-range teams will be operating in the area, taking out some patrols from the distance, but we'll only be able to actively intercept them if a large group is sighted or they get too close to the VIP." Alice sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a tired face. "I hate politics."

Sten said nothing, her mind making simulations akin to how she thought human thoughts worked, corroborating her commander's words. It seemed that a passive overwatch role was indeed the best action, though did little in the way of calming her uneasiness with the method. Alice appeared to notice this, since she sent a warm smile at her robotic companion.

A noise attracted their attention, both casting their gazes to the screen where Hausser was returning a salute from the attending T-Dolls before dismissing them. With the meeting adjourned, there was little more to do that brief the respective teams later and gear up for the upcoming operation, one which Sten strongly hoped wouldn't turn into an open, pitched battle.

How she hated when things didn't turn her way.

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XXXXXXXXXX

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Four days after the end of Operation Ruins...

Sten stared at the t-doll leaving the command room, worry slipping through the neutral face she made herself wear for these occasions. The two T-Dolls on guard duty made no movement to the retreating SIG 510 but nodded at Sten moving in and entering the command room right after, when SIG 510 had left visual range.

"Excuse me, commanders."

"Hm?" Hausser raised an eyebrow, but nodded, nonetheless. "Ah, Sten. Come in."

The user of the british submachinegun closed the door behind her and advanced to the centre of the internally divided room. Both sides were mostly identical, and a modern table with a command module and tactical display occupied the centre. Hausser's side was the right: a modern desk in the middle with a laptop, a walled screen slightly behind it on the side, with some small windows between the desk and the door. The male commander was currently in front of the main screen of his side of the room, behind the desk, and from what Sten saw he was reviewing the combat footage of the previous operation.

The left side was of Schmidt: the wooden desk was farther back than Hausser's, though it shared the laptop and the walled screen behind it. In the wall between the desk and the entrance were smaller screen and stacks of papers and folders, with some small shelves in between. Said girl was currently sitting lazily behind her desk staring at the ceiling, earphones plugged, some papers on her left hand and a can of coke on the other, mumbling something that, after a brief adjusting of her hearing modules, turned out to be the lyrics of an old song.

Finally, the back of the room had two small pieces of furniture with things to drink or eat, mostly coffee, tea, sugar, mugs and the like, together with a couple of kettles in a couple small tables, all surrounding a big screen with the spinning logo of Griffin&Kryuger, the main element of the command room. And it was all a mess. Sten had to hold a sigh at the sight. Deciding against interrupting the female officer, Sten turned to Hausser with a frown on her face.

"Commander Hausser, did SIG 510..."

"Ask for a transfer to another base? Yes, she did." Hausser did not shift his gaze from the screen, his eyes fixed in the loop of a building receiving artillery fire. Sten recognized it as the building where they rescued the VIP. "We settled for her to transfer to another base while keeping her memories if she joined the reserves."

"She agreed?"

"Yes. Technicians should do their magic tonight, I guess. She'll go to maintenance today and wake up with silence protocols enabled."

That was... kinder than the usual destiny after leaving Team 1, Sten analysed.

"Why not erase her neural cloud and transfer her to another team, as usual? I though we were low on manpower?"

"We are low on manpower, but also on budget. Since her previous team's casualties are irrecoverable at this point, it's been scratched from the record and disbanded. As for the neural cloud part..." Hausser pushed his office chair with his legs and turned around midway to face Schmidt, lightly taping her own chair with his boot. "Hey, your sweetheart's calling you."

Schmidt blinked a few times, likely remembering where she was currently, before lowering her gaze to stare annoyedly at her peer, who pointed at Sten. Schmidt's sour mood disappeared in a flash at the sight of her annoyed "favourite doll", quickly correcting her posture and putting a friendly mask on her face.

"Yes, Sten?"

Sten sighed. How Schmidt managed to survive in the decrepit world left after WW3 on her own was still a mystery to her.

"Commander Schmidt, why did you leave SIG 510's neural cloud intact instead of erasing her memories? Surely you know of the risk of a security breach if somehow her data is compromised."

"Huh? Is there any danger though?" Schmidt tried to take a sip from her can, resulting in the discovery that it was empty. She tossed it to a nearby bin full of cans and spent bags of tea with a frown and slid back to the kettle on the nearest corner, grabbing a teabag and some sugar. "She does have silence protocols enabled, and data is programmed to self-destroy if forced open."

"Yes, but still..."

"Why the concern?" Hausser interrupted, still looking at the recording of the battle. The scene seemed to have shifted though, now showing part of the evacuation of the frontlines by the regular combat teams.

"Is just that... well, this is not your regular course of action, and I thought that leaving Miss SIG 510 with her memories intact may place an unnecessary burden on her, forced to keep a secret and all."

"She only must not speak about her time here. What's so hard about it?"

"Is just... nothing." Sten fell into an attention position, taking her open hand to her forehead by the side imitating a british army salute. "I just wanted to confirm Miss SIG 510's destiny. If you'll excuse me..."

Hausser nodded, while Schmidt lazily returned the salute. Sten spun on her heels and abandoned the command room, her face locked in a neutral stare. The two T-Doll guards saluted her as she left the place, both Super SASS and ACR not muttering a single word but speaking with their eyes, while Sten nodded at them and made her way to her dorm. T-Dolls on guard duty had several restrictions, and she didn't want to risk triggering one of them.

On her dorm she found SIG 510, quietly packing her things. Sten couldn't help but to feel bad for her: not even two weeks had passed since she arrived, and now, she was leaving. It was the usual routine, but it made it feel better.

"Do you need help?"

"Sten MkII?" SIG 510 turned around, raising an eyebrow. While she tried to keep her gaze neutral, she was failing at it. "N-no, I'm almost done. I don't have that many things to being with..."

"I see... do you want me to cook you something? We still have some ingredients here if I'm not mistaken."

"That would be appreciated."

Sten put herself to work after picking an apron, slowly humming a song to mask the noise of SIG working. After a while she put a plate of warm food in the table, the assault rifle user taking a seat and slowly eating in silence. It was awful, and Sten tried to make amends for it.

"You are not a failure, Miss SIG."

SIG 510 stopped eating, but didn't look at Sten.

"I never said that-"

"You are thinking that, right?"

SIG didn't answer immediately, but Sten knew she had hit the nail in the head.

"How did you know?"

"You are not the first to leave this team, Miss SIG, although you may be the replacement that lasted the longest. You are also one of the few who will retain her memories of her time here. That alone means that our commanders value your skills a lot." Sten sat in front of SIG, offering a warm smile. "I'll say it again: you are not a failure. This is simply not meant for you, that's all."

SIG did not speak for a while, likely digesting Sten's words (another expression used by the humans) before opening her mouth again.

"Are you and the rest used to do this kind of things?"

"What things? You have to be more specific. High intensity missions?"

"No, what I mean..." SIG appeared conflicted, covering her face with both hands before speaking. "Is just that, during the operation, I... I'm not accusing them of treason or anything, but didn't our commanders just... sentence those civilians to death?"

Sten narrowed her eyes. She didn't like where this conversation was heading.

"Why do you ask that? You saw the Sangvis artillery hitting the building from the helicopter. There wasn't much we could've done if we were there."

"I know, but... well, shortly before leaving, 416 said the commander ordered her to do something inside the building. I didn't think much of it, but when we were leaving, he gave another order to 416, and shortly after Sangvis artillery started falling on the building, and soon after we left too. The timing was good for him to convince the VIP that coming back was impossible, so..."

"You are overthinking." Sten walked over and patted SIG's head, sitting next to her. "Out commanders have no way of controlling Sangvis units. If they could, this war would be over already." She passed SIG a cup of coffee, which she drank slowly.

"Yeah, I guess you are right..." SIG sighed, rubbing her face slowly. "Maybe I'm just too stressed by this. Leaving Team 2 behind was just... a bit too much, if you understand me?"

Sten nodded. Leaving FAL and her team behind was a price to pay for completing the mission. A sacrifice of sorts her commanders made in the spur of the moment without hesitation. FAL was probably not expecting it, and as such, believed Hausser's words about a rescue that was becoming increasingly difficult by the moment. But her fate was sealed even before that: as soon as he requested the combat data of Team 2, to be precise.

Not that she wanted SIG to understand that, of course. She had enough on her plate already.

Sten later escorted SIG 510 to the maintenance bay, where the engineers would install her silence protocols and leave her ready for transfer the next day. With a final goodbye, Sten gave a short salute and turned on her heels, leaving the place with a sour taste on her mouth.

Her commanders should stop making their lack of worry over sacrificing troops so easily traceable. Covering her steps (and the mental tool it took on her calming the scarred people because of it) was becoming increasingly tiresome every time it happened. Through her digimind passed that time when they sacrificed a group of humans...

Sten shook her head, making her way to Alice's room. Her dorm was not a pleasant place currently, and she could always go tease her commander for a while to pass time lightly.

It was a good way of forgetting everything, if at least for a few hours.