Girls' Frontline Fanfiction: Tsar of the Mountain

Pulling the Strings of Virtual Hearts

"Chaos in Belgrade. The once peaceful day marking the global summit-"

*Flick*

"-extremist bombings across the city-"

*Flick*

"-Containment wall failure resulting in a complete collapse of-"

*Flick*

"-Chairwoman Ulrich was unharmed, narrowly avoiding a geopolitical disaster."

*Flick*

"..." Despite both German and Neo-Union intelligence doing their best, they couldn't stop news from pouring out of Belgrade. It was to the point both sides stopped trying to bury it and refocused their efforts on damage control.

"Commander, here's the latest supply reports." Annika handed Zeldri a folder despite her eyes being glued to the large display screen in the command room that was showing live reports from Belgrade. While the city burned, the Mountain was peaceful and the sector quiet. Most of the staff were also watching the news whether it was on the large monitor or their phones. It almost didn't seem real.

"Thank you, Annika." Zeldri took the reports and used them to distract himself from what was going on in Belgrade. There was nothing he could do, so it was best to focus on his duties. "...Food's becoming a problem, again." Duties that could not be ignored.

"...Yes," Annika affirmed as she turned her attention to Zeldri, "While the supplies we receive from HQ are usually enough, that number has decreased after the failed coup. I asked some other logistics officers I know and they've all said the same thing; Griffin's losing support." After Kryuger's arrest, public opinion of Griffin took a massive hit which caused some suppliers to pull their support from the PMC. While Helian was doing her best to keep as much support as she could, the effects were being felt the most by the field commanders who were having greater and greater trouble getting supplies. "I've redoubled our logistics echelons' efforts to try and keep up. We're stable, but not by much."

"Блядь (Fuck)," Zeldri cursed under his breath and he continued reading the reports. "Can we get any more from the town?" As Zeldri secured the sector, the people who still lived within started migrating towards the Mountain. The humble village that once tried to short Zeldri supplies when he first started working as a commander had grown into a medium-sized town. Not to mention the influx of infrastructure support that came when RusHydro arrived to oversee the Mountain's geothermal generator. Their workers weren't allowed to live in the Mountain for security reasons, so they ran power lines through and settled in the village. A road was cleared with the help of the t-dolls and some of the Mountain's vehicles making travel between the Mountain and the town only a thirty-minute drive along a forest road. As the population increased, so too did their workforce which allowed the small hydroponic farms the village had used to sustain itself to work overtime.

"Trade with them has already been calculated. They're also just getting by and don't have much to spare for us." A symbiotic relationship was formed between the town and the Mountain that went beyond just accepting logistic contracts. The town was allowed to tap into the Mountain's power output in exchange for a constant supply of food. T-doll patrols would also make sure the town, and the food supply, were safe on a daily basis. There had already been incidents of scavs on multiple occasions who tried to steal the food. They were dealt swift deaths by a team of t-dolls Zeldri allowed to keep their kill authorizations. This increase in trade and protection also had the unintended effect of opening up the hearts of the townspeople to his dolls. Reports of people harassing his dolls had dwindled to near nonexistence. Some of his dolls had also started forming friendships with the farmers who were extremely grateful for the increased protection.