Filling Out the Frontline Chapter 7: Freshly Baked (Patreon)

“No, no, no. You are holding it wrong. It will never activate that way. Look at your posture!”

“S-sorry AK-47!”

“Do not apologize, do it right! Fix yourself!”

Downrange, the small girl in her little red and black dress looked down at her legs. She moved from side to side, dancing on her ruby red shoes to adjust her stance. She licked her lips nervously, blue eyes glancing up to the other side of the barricade.

“I-I think I’m ready!” she waved.

A hammer fell upon a large red button, buzzing an alarm and coloring the training floor red. “Пиздец!” 47 cursed. “MP5! If you remove your hands from your weapon again, we will not wait to open fire!!!”

MP5 screamed and nearly completely dropped her submachine gun, fumbling for the grip and then double checking her stance.

At the center point of the raised rampart, M1919A4 leaned on her massive LMG. The weapon tilted upward, away from the tiny blonde girl, while A4 groaned with dismay. This was going to be her replacement? Even if it was just exploration duties, MP5 acted as if she hadn’t held her weapon in months, despite what her papers claimed. 

It was their duty to make sure she was in fighting shape, even on this free day. If the team were ambushed out in the wild, they would be relying on her for decisive action. A4 wouldn’t be there to cover their retreat.

AK47 aimed down her rifle, pointing it squarely at MP5’s pale-blue eyes. “Commander Alexeev said you were training with an elite command unit. I do not believe him! Show us, MP5!”

The small girl gulped. 

“Ugggh, 47, can I please be excused?” came another voice from the floor. An exceptionally wavy mane of fluffy blonde hair lifted up from behind a tiny bunker, followed by a black and yellow uniform. S.A.T.8 held her shotgun across her waist without any sense of discipline, looking as if she’d just woken up from a nap. “Alto needs to go for his morning walk. You know how he is when the snow starts, he’s been excited all month!”

“You know we need you here, Sat.”

The blonde lioness groaned, flopping onto her back. Long, long, long pale legs kicked in the air. “He’s going to pee on my bed again if we don’t go soon!”

“Your mechanical dinergate pet will not pee on your bed! It can wait until we leave on mission!” 

“It’s not faaaaaiiiir!! We haven’t even had breakfast!”

“They’re not serving it yet, Sat! We have another fifteen minutes at least.”

This did not stop the high-pitched whine while the legs sank back down.

“S-sorry…” MP5 frowned. “I think I’m ready.” Her fingers flexed over the grip, and a tiny green glow sprang forth from her fingers. 

A4 corrected her sights, centering her crosshair over MP5’s chest. She charged the lever twice, ensuring the first round was chambered to fire.

“Sat!” 47 called out. 

The long shotgun was lifted from behind Sat’s barrier. Hands clamped down onto the activation areas, and the others could see the change begin. Sat’s hands merged with her weapon, gloves tucking in as the forend and grip accepted her unique touch. The frontend of the tube magazine underneath the barrel popped open, loosing an almost imperceptible haze of gray. It first covered her, causing a brilliant ripple of blue light to cascade down her body, before the haze swam around the smaller T-doll and she too began to glow.

“Now, MP5!”

“Force… Shield!” Her fingers tightened on the grip, and A4 could see the ports opening to receive her. MP5’s wrists clicked open. A spark jumped from one to the next, and the rippling glowed stronger, coloring her body almost a solid blue. 

“Fire!”

The training hall exploded into a cacophony of noise as A4 depressed the trigger of her mounted LMG. The gun barked a continuous stream of automatic fire, spitting .30 caliber cartridges from its woven ammo belt. A4 could feel the heavy pack attached to her hip spinning as eight rounds were sent every second.

Her neural system counted down the three second zone perfectly, releasing the trigger.

She felt a sharp smile tug up at the edge when the powder cleared and there stood MP5, wincing in fear but holding her ground, surrounded by impact marks but completely unscathed. 

The sudden silence on the range was oppressively loud before it was broken when MP5 saw that she was still standing and broken into a screaming whoop of excited cheers. “I did it!!!” she bounced up and down. “I did it, I did it! I used my skill right this time!!”

“Alright, that’s enough, MP5!” 

Her celebration was suddenly cut to an abrupt halt as the girl remembered herself while mid-leap, nearly tumbling to the ground and now blushing ferociously. 

47 glanced over to A4, giving her a sharp smile. “What do you think, did she do it?” she asked loudly.

A4 sniggered. “I’m not sure, boss! I think I just missed every shot.”

“W-what? N-no! I did it, it worked!”

“Give me another chance, team leader. I’ll use my own skill!”

MP5’s blue eyes narrowed. The whites looked huge with overflowing fear.

“That sounds like a great idea, A4!” 47 bolstered. “MP5, retake your position. We’re going again. Sat?”

“No no wait wait I did it!” MP5 complained as Sat lifted her shotgun. Again, Sat flexed into the weapon, releasing her swarm of nanite emitters that hurriedly covered every friendly doll within range with a kinetic barrier. MP5 looked down to her wrists in alarm as the flickering shield covered them again.

“A4, prep!”

A4 pulled the lever as hard as she could, loudly chambering the next round.

MP5 panicked, stumbling into her stance. She closed her eyes and yelped, “F-f-force shield!!!” The spark between her wrists crackled louder, more violently, desperate to generate her defensive field.

Knowing MP5 could see every moment, A4 felt her mouth pull impossibly wide, her scarlet eyes adding maliciousness to her vampiric grin. She wrapped her hand around the stock, prepped her finger over her weapon’s special activation trigger. Already it was reading her touch, sensing its master.

“Fire!”

She felt her fingers flex, felt the weapon scan throughout her entire system with a bolt of electric energy. She could feel her heart pumping, the blood rushing, every sense suddenly heightened as receivers on the machine gun stabbed into her fingers. All of her systems rushed, running now at their peak, her neural network flowing into overdrive. Her eyes glowing with the sparkling flow of power, A4 threw her head back and screamed as loud as she could, “Hunting impulse!!!!”

The roar from her weapon was supreme, thunderclaps with user and firearm merged into one. This was the power of the T-Doll, the power Griffin had blessed them with. Master and tool combined into the most powerful weapon ever divined by humanity. This was what A4 lived for, the reason for her existence!! She began to laugh, losing herself to the beat.

A4’s internal clock slowly counted backward, three seconds from the moment MP5 had activated her shield. She prepared to cease.

“Keep firing!” 47 hollered over the noise.

Unquestioning and without thought, A4 obeyed. 

A full five seconds passed before 47 ordered, “Cease fire!”

Only then did A4 realize what she had done. She dropped her weapon and took two steps back before rounding on 47. “Why did you-” she cut of, blinking as her control returned. “Why did you make me do that?!” A4 demanded. “Her skill has a max duration of three seconds!”

47 wasn’t looking at her. The slim blonde Russian was looking at the dust pile that hung around where MP5 had been as it slowly cleared. She was smiling dangerously, like a predator watching wounded prey. 

“MP5!” A4 called to the smoke. “Are you okay?!”

Layer after layer of decimated dust lifted into the air, and very slowly, a silhouette appeared. A4 felt confusion wash over her. The shadow was far too tall for MP5, with a huge upper body of scraggily-

“Uuuuuuuaaaaghhh,” the shadow raised her arms, letting out an immense yawn as the dust lifted. Sat waved the smoke away from her face, clearing it from her glimmering blue body. Behind her, MP5 was pressed to Sat’s back, ducking under her waist and whining with fear. “Are we done yet?” Sat asked, lacing a finger through the Italian striped bow over her chest.

“That was quick action on your part,” 47 commended.

“Scusi?” Sat glanced down at MP5. “Oh, this? I hadn’t realized you were still practicing. Did I get in the way?”

47 smirked. It could have been a snarl. “Are you damaged?”

“What, by your pepper sprayer? I’m fine. Do you not see the fortification?” Sat gestured to her shimmering skin before it faded. Her gloved hand fell on MP5’s head, ruffling her hair. The small girl hugged her tighter. “Even this little one could have shrugged off your sneeze.”

MP5 opened her eyes, looking up into Sat’s soft smile and then, confused, down at herself. She let go of Sat’s top.

“See? Perfection,” Sat tapped her on the shoulder before turning back to the others. “Now, I’m going for Alto, and for breakfast. Stay here if you wish, but I’m bringing our new friend!”

Her cheerful smile was pleasant, clashing against 47’s rough and daring expression. But even A4 saw that there was no room for argument as Sat’s hand came behind MP5’s back to guide her away.

“Come along, Bambina. You must split a Frittata with me and tell me about the training you received at Moscow Command.”

47 chuckled, shaking her head. She turned around before the expression turned down at A4’s scowl. “What?” she asked gruffly.

“She wasn’t ready for that!” A4 complained. “We could have hurt her!”

47 rolled her eyes, tapping a button on her command console that signaled for cleanup and repair to training field. “She was fine. She has a force shield that stops all damage, and Sat’s Theory of Fortification as a reinforcer on top.”

Nothing swayed the disapproving frown from A4’s face. “Sat doesn’t even have her ballistic shields! If I’d been using armor piercing-”

“You’re not.”

“B-but if I had been.”

“But you are not!” 47 shot back. “All you are doing is leaving. You’re lucky to have been allowed to test her at all, and now you wish to complain?” she looked away, back to the field. “Go to your new home already and tell that Сука Блять Mosin-Nagant to go and fuck herself.”

A4 stepped back in surprise. “W-what?” she shook her head. “Wait, no, that’s not… you said that Mosin is an Alpha squad leader?”

“She is.” 47 glared. “What you and Kalina discussed is beyond my knowledge, but she has transferred you. We leave after breakfast to traipse through the snow, and you will report to the Сволочь Winters.” Her blue eyes narrowed with distaste, then, seeing the hurt look on A4’s face, she shook her head and rubbed at her nose. “I do not…” she sighed. “I am sorry, little Медовик. I was not expecting this news today.”

A4 stammered, not used to seeing her leader like this. ““I-it’s okay! I…” she paused, realizing she didn’t know what to say.

An even deeper sigh escaped her superior, and 47 folded her arms beneath her chest. “You’ve never served in an active combat squad, yes? This will be your first?”

“No, I was, uhhh, I was part of a defense unit for the G&K outpost in Nort-”

“No, Медовик. This is more than a defense. A girl as skinny as you are now…” 47 shook her head.

A4 looked down at her scrawny waist and slight legs, feeling her self-conscious demeanor return as the adrenaline faded. She felt almost as if she’d shrank a few inches, hunching her shoulders and tugging on her poofy tan coat.

“Ahh, it’s alright,” 47 tapped her on the arm. “It likely won’t last. You will surely bulk up. Combat teams are the first line, and Alpha echelons are above even this. They are increasing responsibility on you every day, as the teams are only growing. Remember, I was under Commander Winters during the last freeze. I led 707 Delta echelon during the successful arctic event.”

A4 nodded rapidly, remembering the heroic story where all of G&K united to storm a Sangvis stronghold and rescue a group of downed T-dolls. She’d heard many girls had gotten promoted after that event and wished she could have been there to fight alongside them.

“In truth, I expect this is because our excursion teams are moving slowly. Your weapon is heavy, and when your legs become damaged…” 47 shrugged. “Maybe Winters will use you as a fortifier, or maybe you will charge towards the Sangvis lines to annihilate them with overwhelming firepower.” 47 placed a hand on A4’s shoulder, giving the novice doll butterflies with the ferocity of her grin. “Whatever you do, I know you will succeed.”

A4 took a deep breath before nodding. She fixed her tan garrison cap over her hair, adjusted her jacket over her shoulders. “Yeah, buddy,” she repeated the familiar phrase, trying to psych herself up.

It only partially worked, and she looked up to 47 for that extra bit of support. 

“C-can we still get breakfast together?”

47 smirked and thumped her on the shoulder. “Of course.”

******************************************************************************

After a last breakfast with her former exploration squad, M1919A4 walked them out to the forward operations area. They were joined by Sat’s completely unauthorized pet dinergate, Alto.

Dinergates were small, black and white, non-combat droids that had been designed to be used almost exclusively for recon. Four flipper-like legs attached to a central chassis that held a single receptive camera and an impressively large neural memory bank. It was supposed to rush through any terrain and gather details of enemy ranks, fortifications, and all other notation before traipsing back home.

But the T-dolls had formed an exceptional relationship with these machines. As time went on, the single-purpose droids began to change, almost evolve, as the T-dolls relied on them more and more. Some dolls could even tell the uniform droids apart, believing the units they had fought alongside in the past were ‘lucky’ or ‘more experienced.’ And, somewhere inside their neural cloud, some of the droids began to change as well.

Alto scampered through the fresh snow, twisting about on his little legs and looking up at the clouds with his glowing mono-eye. He’d been painted a black and orange, looking almost like a rectangular pumpkin, save for Sat’s childish scribbles of a lion on his right flank and a pizza on his left. He turned to the group, waggling his bottom half before emitting a joyful “Aarf!” from a jerry-rigged loudspeaker.

“Yes, be patient Alto!” Sat chimed. “We’re coming!”

He leapt off the path, joining several T-dolls that were playing in the field outside. “Apparently, the snow’s going to get worse,” 47 said. “The forecast claims the wind will be picking up soon.”

Sat shrugged. “Maybe I should invest in those tokens. Kalina has shown me a new skin she’s developed, it’s a lovely giallo dress.”

47 kicked a booted foot into a nearby pile, sending powder flinging through the air.

Everyone else was enjoying the free morning, with numerous Dolls running around outside. As they made their way from the main building, they spotted G41 and Type63 making snow angels in the patch just outside the front door, while the pure white-haired Ribeyrolles was trying to compact a ball into a little snowman, giggling as Alto traipsed over to her and petting his chassis.

Construction was failing, but Ribeyrolles looked like she was having fun in one of her rare moments outside of medical. A4 watched the blood bag attached to her hip. The IV drain was currently poked into her thigh. She wanted to warn her to be careful, but didn’t want to put off the sickly doll’s smile.

“The dolls at Kemerovo look like they have so much fun,” MP5 sounded delighted.

Sat giggled, “Oh? Did they not let you out at the Moscow branch?”

“Not at all!” MP5 exclaimed. “I spent so much time training, I almost forgot what snow was! When I got here, all of my joints were so stiff, it was like I had just been constructed again!”

“You better get used to it. With the exploration echelon, we spend a majority of time in the tundra. A4’s legs would break under the pressure of carrying her weapon.”

“Oh, my…”

A4 waved her off. “It wasn’t that bad! I got new legs every time, you know? And you won’t be carrying nearly as much as I was! You’ll do great!”

“T-thank you!” MP5 paused for a moment. “Do you really have to bring that everywhere, Miss A4?”

“Eh? Oh,” she noticed MP5’s eyes on her back and shrugged. The Browning Machine Gun clinked, the rounds in her waist-pouch sliding over one another like broken glass. “Well, it’s just like your weapon. I can’t go anywhere without it, except the dorms I guess.”

MP5 lifted her SMG. “Yeah, but mine is only five pounds! How much is yours?”

A4 tried to keep her smile up. She was failing. “Oh… you know… thirty.”

“And that’s without the ammo pouch,” 47 tapped the metal container.

“Uggh…”

A brief silence followed, the girls watching Alto leaping through the snow.

“I wish I could see Miss Grizzly again. I haven’t seen her since last winter. Do you remember, Miss 47?”

“That’s right,” 47 snapped. “I’d forgotten! You were in 707 Bravo, weren’t you?”

“Yup!!” MP5 sang. “I stormed one of the Jupiter canons all by myself! They gave me a special commendation, and said they’d never seen an SMG move so fast!”

“Wow, we’ve got a real veteran with us, then. But it has been quite some time. We’ll begin your fairy training, next. Our squad is being assigned an artillery unit to watch over us.”

MP5 tittered like a tiny schoolgirl, a strong blush coloring both of her cheeks.

They reached the forward operations building and stopped at the entrance, turning to A4. Each girl hugged her tight. 

“You got this!” Sat cheered. “The Alpha work can’t be that hard!”

Alto barked up in agreement.

47 squeezed her shoulders. “I’m proud of you, little Медовик. Do not forget this, and enjoy your promotion, Да?”

When she got to MP5, she felt a little tug downward. “Don’t worry,” the little doll whispered. “Commander Winters is really nice. He and Grizzly took care of me and sent me stuff when I was away.” She stepped away, smiling brightly and swaying on her bright red shoes. “Can you please tell them I said hi? When you can?”

“Of course,” A4 promised. She waved to them as they headed into the center before affixing her coat and heading back towards the main building. She needed to stop by Kalina’s to pick up any additional paperwork before heading up to office 707, and her new life.

******************************************************************************

“Get the hell out of my office!”

A4 froze, her hand half-raised to knock on Kalina’s steel door. The hair on her neck was standing up on its edge. She leaped as the doorknob snapped downward, nearly falling onto her back when her LMG dragged her off balance.

She faced the back of a uniformed Griffin Commander. The man looked like a blonde mammoth, nearly as large as the door frame as he bowed down and backed outward. 

“I am only suggesting-” he spoke in a thick accent but was silenced by a chocolate doughnut that was flung though the entryway. He dodged it, chuckling merrily.

“I’ll eat whatever the fuck I want, Alex!” Kalina roared.

“Consider potassium! It is better for you!” he responded, sounding more than a little happy with her anger. 

Another doughnut was hurled through the tiny space before he snapped the door shut.

Commander Alexeev was chuckling cheerfully until he turned around. “Oh! Hello, I apologize for not… Ohh, M1919A4, yes? Are you here for your transfer?”

A4 swallowed nervously. “Y-yes, Commander.”

“Ahh, I see. Miss Kalina was giving me quite an earful about your assignment to the expedition squad. The whole team is being given a break to play security for the event this weekend. But you’ll be with Commander Winters from now, Да?”

“I-I guess so. That’s what AK47 told me.”

He grinned. “Yes, her little Медовик. She was almost worse than Kalina, and she’s only half her size!” He tossed his head back with a deep chuckle before adding, “For all it is worth, I apologize for your…” his blue eyes fell to her thin legs. “Difficulties. I’d been unaware you’ve needed so much work done. Not exactly cost efficient, yes?”

The brunette shuffled uncomfortably like a wilting violet beneath his heavy eyes. “It’s okay… I couldn’t really feel anything, so…”

And then, Commander Alexeev’s grin was replaced by something a little more speculative. “How much did you feel, A4?”

“Well,” she shouldered her weapon. “When it got really cold, I could feel the joints locking up. That was usually the first sign that they were about to break. I tried taking it easier, but sometimes we were just too far, and I’d just fall over.”

“Any pain at all?”

“N-not a whole lot,” she truthfully replied.

“But some passed through?”

Her lips pursed. What had felt like a chance meeting had practically devolved into an interview. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Something about talking was making her thighs feel itchy. 

But she didn’t have a choice. A Griffin Commander was expressly asking her direct questions, so she reached down, scratched her thigh, and kept talking.

“Some, yeah…”

“And… the legs that broke, what happened to them?”

“Well, umm, if we were lucky, I’d still be able to walk, and we could bring it back to Technician Nika, and he could fix those.” 

She shuffled uncomfortably as the itching traveled down her legs, and she felt a slight poke around her left knee.

“Umm… a couple of times though, they’d just break, and I’d need to be carried back by 47 and Sat.”

“And your legs?”

“Well, since they were pretty ruined, we left them behind. Even when we’d get back, Mister Nika would replace from my thighs down.”

The speculation turned into… something else. A look that was further away. “M1919A4, do you ever still feel your old legs?”

“W-what?”

The look faded and something else settled on his shoulders. “It is… nothing,” he looked back down to her. “I shall speak with Technician Nika to learn more. Again, I express my sorrow.” There was no grin.

A4 felt even more panicked. “I-it’s okay!! Really! Like I, uhh, I mean, it wasn’t so bad! It was sore for a few days but I got used to them!”

He nodded, then shook his head, then stared at something unseen. “Tell me… little Медовик. This soreness, this pain, it affected your hunger?”

A4 felt her eyes fluttering, and a deep, unsettling spike suddenly stabbed from her belly. She felt the coldness in her knees, the tightness of her joints. Her neural cloud felt foggy, and she almost felt as her consciousness strike something inside. “W-what do you mean?” she asked.

“Did this pain make you… uncomfortable? As if you were being squeezed beneath a layer of glass?”

“Hi there!!” a bright new voice shattered into their claustrophobic conversation. “Oh, are you Commander Alexeev? Commander Winters asked me to pass on a message if I saw you down here!”

A4 turned, feeling her scarlet eyes stare into a red mirror. A pale doll with wavy white hair and a tight red and black dress grinned at her from ear to ear.

“Hello, M1919A4. My name is Spas-12! I’m so excited for you to be joining our team!!”

A sudden wave of information passed over A4 as her systems slowly righted themselves. Her heart rate was exceptionally elevated for some reason, and while her internals tried to bring her back down, she nearly missed what Spas was saying to Commander Alexeev.

“Commander Winters wanted me to tell you he’s looking forward to seeing you this weekend. He and Commander Bellows offer to save you a seat at their table.”

The pain was fading. The pain had faded. The pain was gone. A4 felt like she had a headache. 

“Ahh, it is… hmm. You are a dummy of Spas-12, are you not?”

Spas giggled brightly, hopping on her curvaceous thighs. The T-doll wasn’t exactly fat, but she was certainly past the standard for weight. Her breasts bobbed inside of her tight dress above the red clasp of her body harness, holding her shotgun across her waist. “Hehehe, you’ve got me!” she exclaimed. “I’m also having breakfast right now! Commander Winters authorized the dummy link, so I can be prepared for the weekend!”

“Why would Winters need you to be dummy linked? Even the security dolls aren’t authorized for that.”

Spas swayed. “Awe, Commander! You know I can’t question stuff like that! A dummy like me just follows orders!” she said brightly.

Alexeev chuckled, placing his hand on his hip. “I see, because you are- yes, that is very clever.”

Spas twisted cheerfully, eyes closed and smile wide. “Thank you.”

The nearby office door was abruptly pulled wide. “Crapcrapcr- oh… uh… hi.” Kalina greeted them, sliding a tech-pad behind her back. Her mouth was flecked with chocolate frosting, and she wore an outfit that clearly did not fit anymore. 

A red jacket over a horizontally striped black and white top only accentuated her softer look, though with how it framed her chest it might not be all together bad… until the eyes found her doughy center, where a muffin top belly hung over a brown leather belt set to the very last clasp. The outline of her bellybutton showed through the tight top, and her black skirt left little of her soft, touching thighs unseen.

“Hello A4, hello Spas.”

Then her bright blue eyes narrowed. 

“Why are you still here? It’s your day off too, isn’t it?”

“You summoned me here about A4’s switch and then to throw doughnuts at me,” Commander Alexeev smirked, looking down at the wasted pastries. “But now that that’s finished, I believe I should be checking in on the technician department.”

“Ooo, you ordered doughnuts today?!”

“I got doughnuts for you people,” Kalina hissed, ducking her body behind the door. “Now get in here, and you get out of here!”

“I am leaving, I already…” Commander Alexeev rolled his gorilla-like neck. “I shall see you tomorrow. And all the doughnuts you’ve added to your waistline.”

“Mynnnah!” Kalina stuck her tongue out at him and he walked away while Spas guided A4 into the office. The door smacked shut and Kalina locked it, rounding on the albino doll. “You could have warned me you were coming!!!” she took the pad from behind her back, shoving it into Spas’s face.

Two blue dots pulsed on the display. They were labeled ‘Spas-12’ and ‘M1919A4’.

“Your IFF code doesn’t say if you’re a dummy unit! You tell Winters I’m gonna get him back for the heart attack you just gave me!”

Spas was silent for a moment, her body going entirely still. Then she reanimated. “He says you’re welcome to join us for pancakes instead,” Spas grinned. “We’ve got all the desks moved aside already. Commander Bellows says he’ll be arriving soon with the truck.”

“Ugh, that’s right…” Kalina went to her desk. Her chair was laying down on its back. She lifted it back up before plopping into it and typing something on her console. “Let him know I’ve sent orders to the guardhouse. He’ll be permitted to drive right in, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh lord, do not call me that. Spas, I’m not even twenty-five!”

“Yes, Miss Kalina!”

Kalina shook her head, her wavy orange and blonde hair fluttering wildly about on her shoulders. “I can’t believe you’ve got me here today, too. It’s supposed to be a free day! Do you have any idea how hung over I was after your party?”

“No,” Spas chirped.

“A lot! Stupid Bellows got me drunk on that… yummy, black cherry drink.” She rested her hand on top of her pooched tummy. Then, for the first time, Kalina seemed to remember A4. “Oh, uhh, hell. Sorry, can you forget you heard that?”

A4 looked from her to Spas, puckering her lips and feeling remarkably out of place. “Umm… I’ll try, I guess.”

Kalina tilted back in her chair, making the sound of a dying badger and putting her face in her hands before suddenly sitting upright. “Alright! So, transfer paperwork!” she tapped several times on her screen. “M1919A4, Command ID 20052016. Please recognize.”

“Identification authorized,” she automatically responded. With the robotic response came a sort of familiar calm. Even the memory of the pain was fading now, as was the conversation in the hall. She was here to be transferred to her new squad, a squad that would need her in tip top fighting shape. She brought herself down, took another breath, and nodded to the waiting Kalina.

“Alright. Good. M1919A4, I’ll be sending you, along with Spas-12, up to Office 707 on a Delivery Mission. Understood?”

“Delivery mission acknowledged.”

Kalina sighed, her tummy pushing tight against her belt. “Good, yes. I’ve just sent the transfer papers up to Commander Winters. Once you’re there, you’ll sit down, have a doughnut, and sign your papers. Then you will be serving beneath him, and under section leader Mosin-Nagant. Understood?”

“Yes, Miss Kalina.”

Kalina rubbed her hands over her eyes. “Am I forgetting anything?” she asked herself. Then she turned to Spas. “Am I forg- HEY! Get away from there!”

A4 glanced to see Spas frozen near the stacked boxes of doughnuts. A4 felt herself narrowing in confusion, counting six boxes along with another that Spas currently had propped open. The alarmed albino held a pastry in either hand, her wide eyes and puckered lips looking like a child caught elbow deep in the cookie jar.

“They don’t even do anything for you, idiot! Your dummy has no sense of taste, it’s just a linked model!”

“…Oh.” A pause. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure!!” Kalina groaned, turning to A4. “Would you like a doughnut, M1919A4?”

She waggled her head. “No, Miss Kalina. I’ve already had breakfast.”

“What about second breakfast?” Spas asked brightly, coming to A4’s side. She extended both doughnuts.

Wanting to not be rude, A4 took them. One chocolate with vanilla stripes, the other vanilla with chocolate stripes. “U-umm… no, only normal breakfast.”

“Well that’s not right then, is it?” Spas smiled. “When you get up here, we can share second breakfast!”

A4 looked at the doughnuts, her lips pursed in confusion. Nobody had ever told her about second breakfast. A glance back at the seven boxes had her wondering if there was a third…

Kalina came to her rescue, taking both doughnuts from her and immediately chomping on one. She gulped down the bite in a flash, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “Alright, you two, move along,” she instructed, getting up from her desk. “I’ve a lot of very important things to do today.”

“Come on, A4!” Spas sang, hurrying to the boxes and taking the larger portion. “Our first team bonding exercise! Isn’t this exciting?!”

A4 watched Kalina flop onto her couch and turn on the TV. She laid on her back, one doughnut perched on top of her chest while she munched on the other, idly flipping through channels. Her tummy was peeking out from beneath her tight top.

“Uhh… y-yeah,” A4 swallowed.

******************************************************************************

“Controlling the dummy makes going up and down stairs so much easier!” Sabrina exclaimed. “Commander, can’t we always do this?” 

“I’m afraid not, Spas. As you’ve already found out, a well-trained eye can catch when you’re using a dummy.” 

“Unless you’re perfectly practiced like some of us~” Marshmallow sang, stealing a piece of fatty bacon off of his plate. 

Winters had procured several extra wide chairs for the extra wide women. Marshmallow, Kelly, Grizz and Sabrina were all filling out the sides while the Commander sat at the head of the table. Syrup stained plates decorated the surface. The remains of first breakfast’s massacre, and a sign of things to come.

“Would you just pay attention to where you are with those doughnuts? I haven’t had nearly enough,” Grizz complained. 

“Errrrmm... Miss Spas?”

“Eh?” It took Sabrina a moment to realize she hadn’t heard the question with her own ears. Her divided consciousness was causing her head to swim, but she tried to focus most of her attention on her dummy. “Oh! shoot!” she spun around on the stairs, looking down into A4’s big scarlet eyes. “Sorry! I was eating... I am eating,” she said as her normal body scooped up the last bite of sugar-soaked sweetness. “This is so weird.” 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Grizz ordered.

Spas tried to shoot her a pout before swallowing. She felt more than heard the quaking gurgle in her tummy as the final bite settled on top of her pudgy pooch. “It’s way harder to focus on two different things than just mimicking me in combat...” 

Multiple receivers were talking to her neural system at the same time. Spas shook her head, cutting off Grizzly and focusing on A4. The young girl was chuckling bitterly. She bobbed up and down, adjusting the huge machine gun strapped to her back and tightening her grip on her doughnuts. “I know what you mean. I’ve had some problems with the dummy system before. If we’re not all together, it messes a lot with my accuracy. Like aiming at five different spots all at once.” 

“Yeah, exactly! It’s a good thing we have a lot of ammo,” Spas giggled. 

A4 grinned, and a spark of light entered her red eyes. “Yeah, buddy! I can’t wait to get out in the field with you. They say that shotgun and LMG specialists are made for each other!” 

Sabrina froze. She looked away from A4’s gaze. “Oh... uh....” She broke contact with her dummy, making sure her receiver was off. She was greeted by the sight of Kelly licking the syrup off of her plate. She looked away from the table and spotted the Commander making his way to the bar. “Commander! A4 thinks we’re a combat echelon!”

His eyebrow lifted speculatively. “She does?” 

“Ohoho, that’s gonna be a rude awakening,” Grizz chuckled. 

“Awe, would you leave her alone?” Kelly countered. “I saw her yesterday, in Kalina’s office. That exploration duty was working her so hard, they said it was breaking her legs. Imagine how much stress she’s internalized, no wonder she’s so skinny.” 

“... Well, how skinny is she?” 

“Almost as skinny as you, ya big bully.” Kelly stuck out her tongue. 

“Well, Spas, you can inform her that almost all Alpha echelons are non-combat roles. They serve as adjutants and management units to their Commander.” 

Spas paused for a moment before asking, “C-could you tell her?” 

He looked at her flatly. 

It took her jutting out her lip to make him relent. 

“Alright, fine. Just get her up here.” 

“Yes, Commander!” Sabrina chose to obey. She turned her divided consciousness back to the stairwell. “Come on!” she said excitedly. “It’s right up this way!”

“Umm, Miss Spas? I was wondering… doesn’t seven boxes of donuts seem like a bit much?”

“Eh? No way, that means we can each have our own, and still have leftovers!”

“That’s what I meant…” A4 muttered.

Spas didn’t hear her, focused on the hunger in her tummy at the prospect of yummy frosting. She used her dummy’s butt to push open the door to the seventh floor, leading A4 down the empty navy-blue hall. The G&K posters looked different to Sabrina now, spinning unsettling thoughts about if the photographed girls were even T-dolls or if they were designed for the shoot.

“It’s so quiet up here…” A4 whispered, as if she were trying not to disturb the peace.

Sabrina hummed. “Yup yup, we’re the only occupied office on the seventh floor.”

“Why is that?”

A pause. “I… I don’t know,” it occurred to the girl. “I never asked.”

Out of the corner of her sub-conscious eye, she saw Grizz and Kelly exchange an uncomfortable look over towards the bar. Sabrina could only guess what it meant.

“A-anyways!” she hopped in her seat and out it the hall, the stack of doughnuts shuffling in her arms as she came up alongside the marked steel door. “We’re here! Welcome to office 707!”

“Is our bet still on?” Grizzly asked, getting up from her seat and checking her shirt.

“Of course,” RFB replied, pulling her dress to cover as much of her hips as it could, which, to be fair to the fabric, wasn’t a lot. “You’re such a pessimist, I love seeing it rubbed in your face.”

“I’m a realist!” Grizzly counted, picking a crumb of pancake fluff out of her top. There wasn’t much she could do about the syrup stains. 

“Well?” her dummy grinned at the nervous A4. “Are you gonna come in?”

At the last second, Spas remembered that she should be checking her own uniform. The clasps would no longer seal over her tummy and her skirt was only held up by the gratuitous width of her pudgy hips. She hadn’t shredded her old clothing yet, but it was getting closer with every calorie.

A4’s weapon smacked against her own back as she affixed herself, moving the stack to one arm. She knocked three times on the door. Spas had the exceptionally odd reception of hearing her from both sides of the wall. “T-dolls M1919A4 and Spas-12 here for delivery and reassignment!”

In perfect unison, Spas and her dummy called, “Come in!”

A4 reached for the door handle and pushed.

Spas cut the feed to her dummy. She got to see A4’s jaw drop open, her scarlet eyes become the size of blood moons with pupils shrinking to pins. It made her giggle brightly, resting a hand on top of her exposed tummy. “Hiya, A4. It’s nice to meet you in person!”

The stack of doughnuts began to list forward. Spas hurried forward to protect the golden sweets, catching doughy treats in her doughy arms.

“I got it!” she called, taking the stack back and beaming. “Don’t worry, I nearly dropped mine when I got here too!”

Behind A4, the dummy spoke up. “But I was carrying those all on my own, and not this many!”

A4 leapt over the doorstep as the dummy came up behind her. Spas felt the chilling experience of seeing the much thinner version of herself moving along, then had a weirder sensation as she passed herself the stack.

“Thank you,” she told herself. 

“No problem!”

“I told you she’d catch them,” RFB said. “Looks like you’ve gotta go get the ice cream tonight.”

Spas turned. The stack was so large that she had to lean around the side just to grin at her comrades.

“Good job Spas,” she heard Winters praise. “Now, let her come in.”

“Oh! Right!” she bounced, turning back to A4. “Don’t just stand there, come meet everyone!”

Scarlet eyes seemed to be spinning, unable to meet Spas’ gaze. “Is that… are you really Spas?”

The albino girl danced around on her thick thighs, waggling cheerfully. “Of course it’s me. Who else would I be?”

“B-but you’re so… your belly… and your clothes…”

Spas could feel the air change as her comrades moved around her. A4’s eyes weren’t able to grow much larger, but they desperately tried as Mosin-Nagant, RFB, and Grizzly waddled up to her sides. Almost two-thousand pounds arranged in a line before a small girl who looked as if she were maybe a hundred and ten.

“Hello, M1919A4,” Mosin greeted with her husky voice. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

707 Alpha did their best to bow.

“Welcome to your new home.”

Spas felt a little bad. A4’s neural network looked completely overloaded. It was beyond surprise, a descent into denial. She knew what she was feeling, she’d felt it herself. But she knew what came next would be more than enough to comfort that shock.

“M1919A4.”

Griffin’s programming worked. A4 tightened up, wound like a doll about to spring into a march. She turned to see the Commander standing at the bar, wearing his full-dress uniform without the beret.

“I am Commander Winters,” he nodded, extending his hand to the same chair Spas had sat in when she’d first arrived. It was too small for the high top, but they didn’t have the bar stools yet, and A4 would need to be prepped before reaching the inner office.

A4 walked over to him automatically before Spas realized. “Oh! Here,” she tapped A4 on the shoulder. “I’ll take that.” She lifted the strap that was set over the doll’s shoulder. “Oh holy crap,” she nearly dropped the full weight of the LMG back down, but managed to lift it over A4’s head. The brunette’s scarlet eyes were locked in a faraway stare on the Commander.

It made her purse her lips and she watched her go ahead to the chair. She couldn’t help but look at her thin legs, and the swell of empathetic discomfort that put in her own. Even her dummy had thicker thighs than A4 had. 

She wondered how much was because the exploration echelon, and how much was just the doll’s natural state. After all, not every doll that broke the suppression was exactly fat. Well… maybe by normal girl standards, but you’d have a hard time calling a tubby hipped Welrod as fat as the husky Marshmallow-Nougat.

Spas felt a hand plant into her hair, ruffling the fluffy white waves. “You did a great job,” Grizz whispered to her.

“Yeah, really good, Spas. Just like you said, I bet she’ll be really happy here.”

“I hope so…” Sabrina replied sincerely. They watched for a moment as Winters began the interview before Grizzly’s belly rumbled and she poked Spas in the side. 

“Alright, hand ‘em over,” she instructed, reaching for the stack.

Spas relinquished them while RFB broke in. “You ate like six pancakes! You can wait a bit longer!”

“Are you kidding? You had like nine, how is that fair?”

“I have seniority! I am your superior!”

“The only thing you have over me is a wider waistline,” Grizzly shot back, setting the doughnuts up on the table. 

RFB scowled, puckering her lips over her fatty soft chin. “I don’t hear you complaining when you want someone to cuddle.”

“That’s cause you’re twice as soft as my bed is, fatty… hey!” Grizzly tucked her fists into her hips. “There’s some missing!”

“Oh!” Spas hopped up. “Miss Kalina took a few. She said she was really busy today.”

“Really busy stuffing her face… Kalina better be careful, or else she’s gonna end up fat.”

Each of the girls began laughing at that.

After a quick check of the precious cargo, RFB managed to keep the hungry little bear away from the doughnuts. She led both her and Spas to their ‘bedroom,’ the area in the back of the office behind a newly erected paper screen, to give the Commander and A4 some space. 

While the couches and television had yet to be moved from the interior office, they were able to use a small wooden stand and prop up RFB’s mobile game console. The girls began playing a platform game together, where each one controlled a small animal and raced for a checkered white flag.

A few rounds passed with Spas nervously looking towards the shadows that moved through the paper curtain, until Grizzly leaned on her shoulder. 

“You’re nervous, eh?”

Spas felt herself unconsciously melding into her much larger companion. There was something about each of the girls in 707, such an extreme softness that just put Spas exactly at ease. She nuzzled back against Grizzly’s hair, smelled the T-dolls flowery shampoo. “Mhmmm… you smell nice.”

“That’s not answering my question. You’ve jumped off the building 3 times in a row.”

“Can I borrow your shampoo later? Mine smells like lemons and it’s starting to be icky.”

Spas yelped as a bite of pain spiked in her tummy. Grizzly was pinching her fatty waist between her thick fingers. “Oi, just admit that you’re nervous!”

“Of course I’m nervous!” Spas slapped at Grizzly’s offending hand. “I’m feel like I’m about to explode!”

“You can’t be that hungry,” the girl returned a sharp grin.

Spas’ white eyebrows tugged down with a scarlet pout.

“Alright, alright,” Grizzly backed off, poking Spas with a flabby hip. “I mean, come on Spas. It’s not exactly easy for each of us. Some girls need more time to understand. I mean, did you even know abou-”

She was quieted by a thunder thigh gently kicking her calf. They both turned to RFB, who was looking towards the paper divider and standing up quickly. They rose along with her as a very nervous looking A4 and Mosin came around the side.

“This’ll be your sleeping quarters,” Mosin gestured to the far bed. “It’s a bit comfier than back in the dorms, and you’ll be allowed to bring your own personal possessions. The windows,” Mosin nodded, “are going to be fitted with black out drapes, so that if someone wants to take a nap then they’re more then welcome.”

A4 nodded but said nothing.

“You’re welcome to play with my games any time, too!” RFB chimed in. “And we’ve been having movie night every few days! Last night, Miss Kalina and I were talking about maybe doing another tonight!”

“Ummm… are they, like, combat videos?” A4 asked.

There was a moment of discomfort that passed through the air. 

“Not quite,” Mosin patted her on the back. “Movie nights are for squad bonding and entertainment. Commander Winters says it helps with our morale.”

A4’s eyes glinted for half a second, giving Spas the uncomfortable sensation that the girl had just unconsciously made a note of a G&K infraction. “Oh, okay.”

“What movies did Miss Kalina talk about with you, RFB?”

“Well, she mentioned some old genre called ‘Monster Movies.’ Apparently, she really likes to watch those in her office, and she was offering to bring some up here.”

“M-monsters…?”

The girls turned to A4 and saw something different. Something amazing to see. The tension in her shoulders was slowly leaving, her hands at her sides began to unclamp, and her eyes stopped looking so far away.

“Like, vampires?” she asked.

“Mhmm! Would you like to watch one tonight?”

A4 swallowed and then she was nodding, looking almost excited. “I… um, Miss Mosin? I’ve some books back in the dorm, should I…?”

“Are they vampire books?”

A4 blushed.

“Ooo, can you read one to us?” Spas asked. “I’ve never actually read any books before.”

“All T-dolls are required to read the Griffin & Kryuger training and ethics manual,” Marshmallow winked.

“Yeah, but that stuff’s boring!! I wanna hear Sister A4’s stories.”

The blush redoubled in A4’s cheeks, but a smile accompanied it now. She nodded up and down, her bright hair waggling. “S-sure!” she exclaimed. “Umm, I’ve never read to anyone, but it sounds fun!”

Spas clapped cheerfully while Mosin instructed, “We’ll have someone stop by the dorms to gather your personal items. Is there anything else you have there?”

“Umm… well,” A4 glanced around the room. “It’s technically not my bookshelf, but…”

“Say no more,” Mosin held up a hand. “The Alpha echelons of Griffin have the highest priority of care. We’ll make sure you get your bookshelf.”

It was such a little thing, but it seemed to matter so much to A4. She breathed a bit easier, her posture settling further. “Okay,” she nodded.

Mosin turned to the others. “Now that that’s settled… Girls? What do you say we begin our first bonding exercise?”

“Eh? What do you mean?” A4 asked.

Her question was nearly drowned out by the rumbling sound of doughnut-craving bellies.