Girls' Frontline Fanfiction: Tsar of the Mountain

Who Left the Lights On?

"I mean, I personally don't see anything wrong with this."

"I know, dad, and that's the problem." Zeldri adjusted himself in his seat inside the Black Hawk as he continued to talk with his father on the phone. "You can't just give a PMC an old military base!"

"Why not?" The fact that his father sounded genuinely confused caused Zeldri to facepalm. "The thing's been abandoned for well over three decades. If anything, when I asked, Carter sounded more than happy to get it off his hands since it was just sitting empty for all this time wasting resources to occasionally send someone to check if it was still there. At least now it can be of some use."

"Still..." Zeldri's words trailed off as he looked out the window next to him. As he got closer to the Urals, there was less and less civilization. They were currently flying over what looked to be a small town, so Zeldri made a mental note to check it out since it was the closest piece of humanity to his new base. "I'm guessing the thing's been picked clean by scavs by now?"

"Who knows?"

"Who knows?" Zeldri repeated his father's words in confusion. "You just said they've been sending people to check on it. Did they just fly by the place to see if it still existed?"

"Things got pretty chaotic during the third world war. With so much destruction, things inevitably got lost in the fire. The place was already mothballed, and after the dust settled we were too busy picking up the pieces to bother with some old bunker. Which, if you recall, is also a part of why you're getting it." Zeldri's gaze went to his lap where a folder rested. "The FSB wants a complete inventory of that base and, upon completion, all relevant assets returned to Russia. But, that's more of a formality, so don't feel rushed to do it. I doubt you'll find anything noteworthy, but I had to do something 'official' sounding to get it fully okayed by my boss."

"...Honestly, dad," Zeldri sighed and tossed the folder into the seat next to him. "I thought mom was reigning in your bullshit?"

"And, what she doesn't know she can't get mad at me for. Win-win."

"Pfft!" Zeldri couldn't help but chuckle. He knew his father was just trying to help, even if it was a little much. "Alright, well, I should be getting close so I'm gonna let you go."

"Okay. I love you, Zeldri."

"I love you too, dad," Zeldri smiled as he hung up the phone. He picked up the headset next to him and put it on as he opened the door and entered the cockpit. "How much further?"

"You can see it from here," the pilot replied as he pointed out the front window. Just like he had seen in the picture back at HQ, the Mountain was already living up to its name as it was the tallest peak in the visible range. There was a dirt road they were flying over that wove up to what looked like a large open lot with a tunnel that bore into the mountain's base. The lot was surrounded by a chain-link fence that had holes in it or was completely eroded away in certain areas showing the lack of maintenance over the years. Some vehicles were parked in the lot along with some temporary-looking shelter units. As they drew closer, two people went into a clear part of the lot and one of them held glowing orange batons that they used to start assisting in their landing while the second person stood back. Once the helicopter had landed, and its rotors powered down, Zeldri opened the door and slowly stepped outside.

"Welcome to the Mountain, Commander!" The person who was standing back now stepped forward and pulled down their hood to reveal a woman in her early twenties with striking scarlet red hair that was held in a short ponytail. "I'm Annika, your logistics officer, and liaison to both Griffin and I.O.P." She seemed like an upbeat person, and her speech was casual. This wasn't the military.