As her Orbital Insertion Pod slams into the ground, Ruby is instantly yanking on the hatch release, and is highly annoyed to discover that it's not working.
"Looks like you'll need to open it the hard way," Rosewind tells her.
"Situation normal: All Fucked Up," Ruby quips the ages old SNAFU joke as she gets a grip on the "panic bar" over her head, and curls up around it, before unloading a double dropkick on the hatch, caving it in before the seals give and it goes flying.
"Okay, I've got our location," Rosewind tells her, overlaying a selection of navpoints on her HUD. "It looks like we got scattered a bit more than anticipated, but we seem to be closest to this cluster of ordinance pods," she explains as she causes that nav point to turn blue. "These are unknown Candidates," she continues as the multitude of green points flash. "And this is the telemetry of your sisters pod," she finishes as another green point turns gold. "What do you want to do?"
"We make for the weapons," Ruby tells her. Opening a com channel, Ruby calls, "This is Rose, I have a solid lock on some ordinance pods, and am moving to secure. Anyone close by, home in on my signal." Breaking into what is for her an easy jog, but for most would be a ground devouring sprint, Ruby orders, "Repeat the message in two minute intervals, until we secure the pods, then I'll make another live transmission."
She smiles when Rosewind doesn't bother to respond, and just simply starts the loop cycle.
"-Anyone close by, home in on my signal."
"I love you squirt," Yang grins as Zhue displays Ruby's nav point, and plots an intercept course.
Unnoticed by Yang, a completely black garbed Spartan makes note of her heading and urgency, their purple visor flashing as they follow after, sticking to the massive trees as much as possible.
"It looks like we have around a dozen heading our way," Rosewind reports.
"Never thought I'd ever get to see a Halo ring world, let alone end up playing scout on a combat drop onto one," Ruby snorts. Breaking through the underbrush into a clearing, she finds a Covenant Elite (authors note: i'll use proper racial names for friendly's, badguys get the old names) that opens fire on her with duel plasma rifles.
The alien can't match her agility though, as she rapidly closes the distance, skidding in under his aim, and unloading a single magnum round into his chin, blowing his head off.
"We got any more?" Ruby demands, as she attempts to look everywhere at once.
"Not with the sensors I have access to," Rosewind returns.
Only to be startled by a flurry of gunshots and the thud of a heavy body landing behind her.
Looking down at the Elite that had nearly backstabbed her, Ruby turns in the direction of the shots origin as a white garbed Spartan dashes up.
"Dumbass shut down his Active Cammo before getting ready to stab you," White tells her, kicking the body over.
"Trade you his sword for those plasma rifles," Ruby smirks at her.
"Deal," she nods, quickly arming herself with the compact weapons, but keeping her magnum in hand.
"Crack open the pods, let's find out what we've got," Ruby tells her, following her own instructions. As she opens the first pod, she opens the comm. again and sends, "This is Rose, pod's are secure. Get a move on kids, the candy store is open."
"You any good with a sniper?" the White Spartan asks, after looking into the second pod.
"My primary, as a rule," Ruby grins under her helmet. "You any good with the big stuff?"
"Not great, but I can handle a rocket pod well enough," White answers. "Weiss by the way."
"Ruby," she returns. "Rifles, SMGs, and Shotguns," she reports opening pod three.
"Covenant stuff, lots of up close and some range," Weiss reports with number four.
A burst of static precedes the transmission, "CONTACT! Look like Black and red Promo's!
"Rally here!" Ruby calls back, setting the sword opposite her magnum, as she attaches the Active Cammo pod to the back of her waist. "We can cover you, so MOVE!" then she grabs a pair of Sniper rifles. "Can you link both?" she asks Rosewind.
"Integrating now," the Semblance returns, a smug tone in her voice.
"Got the pod," Weiss lets her know she's on the same page.
"Then let's get ready to roll out the red hot lead carpet," Ruby grins, as Rosewind uses the armors linkage system to remotely activate the Cloaking Device.
"Damnit, I knew I should have kept his gear," Weiss mutters.
"Here they come," Ruby warns as the pips on her HUD get closer.
"Move your asses!" Weiss yells at the rest as they break the tree line.
A rapid fire volley of shots take out the first of the Grimm to enter the clearing, with a salvo from the rocket pod cleaning up the rest.
"That's going to draw more trouble," Ruby warns as she reappears. "So load up and let's get this show on the road!"
"Who put you in charge?" the black and neon blue Spartan from the ship demands.
"The fact that she found us some weapons, and just saved our collective asses?" Yang snarls at him.
"Just checking," he chuckles good naturedly. "Gimme a sword, shield and railgun if we have them."
"Help yourself," Weiss jerks her thumb at the pods.
"Weiss, give Yang the pod," Ruby orders. "Who else is good with a sniper?"
"Me," a Black with Green Spartan raises her hand.
"Which one is more accurate, Rosewind?" Ruby asks.
"Your left is the more accurate of the two," the Semblance returns.
"Here," Ruby tells the other sniper as she hands over the better gun. "I'm already compensated for the other one."
"Appreciated," she nods, checking the weapon over.
"So what about me?" Weiss demands as Yang appropriates the heavy weapons pod, and a backup shotgun.
"Your aim is pretty good, so grab a DMR," Ruby answers. "You've got the plasma rifles if you need rapid fire."
"OOooo, a Gravity Hammer! And a Brute Shot! MINE!" the member of their group with the pink armor chirps.
"Dibs on that other hammer," another calls as she appropriates a Hydra Launcher.
"Everyone geared up?" a black armored trooper with a purple visor demands as she slaps a pair of SMGs into place on her legs before grabbing a battle rifle.
"Squad up," the Red and Gold member of their group instructs.
"Black and White with us," Yang orders, pointing at the pair as she steps up next to Ruby.
"Who's Black?" Weiss asks.
"She saved my tail with a warning earlier," Yang answers.
"Weiss took out an Elite before he could backstab me," Ruby supplies for her new partner.
"Thanks for watching out for her," Yang tells her.
"I'm Blake," she tells them.
"Let's move. Rosewind, do we have a heading?" Ruby demands.
"Yes. This is our best option in my opinion. There where vehicles located at this firebase that I noticed on our trip down," the Semblance answers. "If we crowd a few, we should be able to get everyone mounted up in one go."
"Sounds like a workable plan," Weiss nods. "Final destination is the base designated as The Lodge, correct?"
"Yes. Once there we can rally with the rest, and take the fight back to these things," Rosewind nods to her.
"We'll need to clear the crashed ship, just to make sure there isn't anything left there waiting to bite us in the tail," Yang growls.
"Well, if you didn't have so much tail, it wouldn't be such a big concern for you," Blake quips, getting the rest to chuckle, including Yang.
"Okay, everyone set with the plan?" Ruby asks.
"Yeah, we can work with this," the neon blue armored Spartan nods. "And for the record, I'm Cole, Black and Green there is Antonia, Blue on Blue is Tasha, and Red and Grey is Talia.
"Okay, Fire Team CATT," Ruby smirks under her helmet.
"I'm Jaune, Red and Gold is Pyrrha, Pinky is Nora, and Green and Grey is Ren," the White over Blue Spartan informs them.
"...Okay, I'll need a bit longer to work that into a name," Ruby mutters.
"JNPR, pronounced Juniper," Weiss's Semblance states as she appears from between two glowing snowflake shapes. "Just as your team's name is the same as your own, simply spelled a bit differently, RWBY."
"Thank you Ice Queen," Weiss smirks as her Semblance vanishes.
"CATT, take the left, JNPR the right. We've got the middle," Ruby directs as she puts the sniper on her back, and draws the energy sword, snapping it to life with a hiss. "Let's move Spartans!"
"Those little ones are a joke...a lame one," Cole remarks over the net as they enter the firebase. "Even a single SMG round is enough to shatter them."
"They are probably designed to horde their targets, taking them down with sheer numbers rather than power," Weiss remarks. "Or as recon drones. Either way, we need to get the hell out of here before bigger, more dangerous ones show up."
"You just had to say something, didn't you!" Yang snarls as a huge shadow passes over them.
"What the hell was that!" Talia demands.
"According to the files, that was a very large Nevermore," her semblance, Troublemaker, answers. "According to this, when they are that large, they are nearly impervious to our level of Firepower, and are able to fire "feather blades" off at ground targets.
"Don't you have any good news?" Talia demands.
"I do," Ruby grins as she climbs aboard as Scorpion tank. "We've got guns big enough to ruin its day."
"Glad I grabbed this thing," Cole smirks as he swaps out his Railgun for a Spartan Laser. "Anti-vehicle, so big and ugly up there should feel it, even if I can't bring it down.
"Saddle up! It's turkey season!" Nora crows, jumping into the turret of the nearest Scorpion.
"You heard her, that things coming around again!" Blake yells, diving into the drivers hatch of another as Ruby claims the turret.
"I've got cover fire," Yang announces as she positions herself behind Blake atop the tank, while Weiss clings to the side.
"Ice Queen, see if you can detect a pattern that the gunner can use against it," Weiss orders, sighting in on the monsters glowing red eyes.
"Working on it," the Semblance growls back, having been trying to discern just that since it's first flyover.
"Open Fire!" Pyrrha yells as it comes in at them, snapping both wings forward and unleashing a flurry of feather blades at them.
And getting a face full of high explosive armor piercing cannon ammunition.
As the now decapitated monster crashes behind them, the group turns their tanks as one to follow the planned route. "Never underestimate the power of aimed fire!" Antonia crows as they roll out.
"Well, it also helps that it was dumb," Weiss points out, grabbing a Warthog with a missile battery turret. "Hey Yang! I need a gunner!" she calls as she drives up next to Ruby's tank.
"Not any more you don't," Yang grins as she lightly hops over, stowing the missile pod in the bed, as she grabs a hold of the targeting controls and slips into the passenger seat.
"Everyone got a ride?" Cole asks, having appropriated a Mongoose ATV for himself.
"Yes," Ren answers, having done the same.
"Oh look, they want to try their luck," Yang grins when they spot a horde of wolf type monsters flooding down the road toward them.
"Yang! Tenderize 'em!" Ruby orders. "Don't slow down, we flatten them, and if they want to follow, we scrape them off our backs with the tank cannons!"
"Say good bye, losers," Yang grins viciously as she triggers the missile rack, the projectiles arcing over the tanks to smash into the front of the charging monsters.
"Floor it!" Ruby orders, as the tanks crash into the new front ranks, crushing an unknown number under their treads.
"Lotus, help me steer," Ren orders as he turns to face behind them, blasting one of the surviving monsters in the face with a burst of SMG fire.
"As you will," the feline voice of his own Semblance purrs in his ear as she helps guide the hand he still has on the controls, thanks to linked visuals from the rest of the group.
Things remain quiet for some time, before a huge black shape smashes free of the forest ahead to block their path, bringing the convoy to an abrupt halt.
"Identification," Weiss barks.
"This one is called a Death Stalker," Ice Queen returns. "Be warned, it's reported to have much heavier protection than the Nevermore could boast."
"It's one big Scorpion, we're a bunch of smaller ones," Yang snorts.
"And we can sting from here. OPEN FIRE!" Cole yells, kicking things off by burning several of the monsters eyes out with his laser.
The rest don't wait for a second opinion, the hail of heavy ordinance blasting the monster into chunks that they simply smash out of their way in passing.
"Marshal, we've got movement!" one of the techs calls, bringing Goodwitches' attention to his station.
"Talk to me," she orders, her tails lashing as she looks over the woman's shoulder.
"We got a momentary signal from Firebase Epsilon," she explains, pointing at her map. "But is wasn't enough to get a read on one way or another. This on the other hand, we couldn't really miss," she grins as she calls up security cam footage of an armored group tearing up the roads toward them.
"Nice work," Goodwitch compliments her. "I'm going to meet them, keep me posted," she orders, before pulling her helmet back on.
Goodwitch is waiting when the three teams arrive, arms crossed, and an amused tone in her voice as she says, "Congratulations. Not only are you the first to arrive, you are the most well equipped bunch I've ever had roll in."
"Fire Teams CATT, RWBY, and JNPR reporting," Cole announces as he dismounts from his Mongoose, the rest of the teams falling out as well.
"Already set as teams eh?" she chuckles. "Well, so much the better. We need more effective help down here, so you are all going to Starforge to get properly outfitted. Report to the Launch Bay, there will be a Specter ready to go by the time you get there."
"Sir!" they all salute.
"Leave the vehicles, we'll put them to good use. Take your personal gear through, just in case," she adds as an afterthought.
"Yes, Ma'am," Yang answers for the lot of them, as she turns back to grab the Rocket Pod out of the Warthog.
"Greyfox, download the information they will need to their Semblances," Goodwitch orders. "I want them to have their new kit assembled and issued ASAP."
"Transferring all pertinent files as we speak," her own Semblance returns.
"Let's go folks, we've got a bird to catch!" Ruby calls to the rest as she takes off, surprising even the genetically enhanced among their number with her speed.
"Jeez, what the hell did they do, dump bottled lightning into her Spartan juice?" Talia huffs as the rest break into a sprint in an attempt to catch up.
"What the heck is Spartan Juice?" Jaune demands as he scrambles to keep up.
"The chemical mixture that they use to strengthen our muscles during the Spartan Conversion Process," Tasha supplies for him. "My sister tends to nickname things."
"There's the bay," Pyrrha reports as they round a corner at a dead run, Ruby already entering the bay.
"Showoff," Yang smirks as she dumps her helmet and drops into the seat next to Ruby, with Blake and Weiss doing the same across from them.
"Do you guys believe this stuff?" Ruby asks, ignoring the comment to focus on what she sees as more important.
"Arkanium is hardly that big a secret," Weiss sniffs. "It's made my family quiet affluent after all."
"Not that," Ruby huffs at what she sees as her teammate missing her point. "This!" she points as Rosewind expands the hologram that she had been viewing so that the rest can see what the fuss is all about.
"Completely customized Weapons and Armor?" Yang says, surprised herself. "I figured we would just be getting the standard stuff but reforged with the new metal to make us more effective...and maybe fit a little better for us."
"This is going to be AWESOME!" Ruby gushes, surprising the non-family members of her team.
"Is she going to be okay?" Blake deadpans.
"Ignore her fangirling, she's a weapons nut," Yang waves off the concern.
"But if we will be getting gear customized to each of us...what do we have for options?" Blake asks, her expression going from concerned to thoughtful.
"I'm going to get something with extreme range and stopping power, and something special for melee," Ruby states.
"Why not two in one?" Ice Queen Counters as the other semblances appear in miniature form near their respective hosts. "The data indicates that they have been developing the Promethean weapons tech into a sort of "folding frame" transformation that allows for weapons to have multiple configurations."
"...Okay, I know what I want," Ruby tells them with a goofy grin and a touch of drool forming at the corner of her mouth.
"I want to see if they can integrate that directly into our armor itself," Yang adds, thinking out loud. "I'd much rather punch things than stand back and take potshots at them."
"That is an incredibly short sighted approach," Weiss sniffs. "But as you seem to have put all your eggs in the "enhanced strength" basket, hardly a surprising one."
"An egg remark, coming from the one who got herself spliced with a bird...oh, the irony," Blake smirks cattily, her tail lashing in amusement.
"Well what of you?" Weiss demands, irritated all out of proportion for the comment.
"Well, for starters, I want to maximize my stealth abilities," she sighs, as if that much should be obvious. "But as I'm primarily in the role of Scout, I'll likely be looking for something that will help me mobility wise...maybe an integrated grappling hook?" she muses.
"Well, I plan to maximize my protection," Weiss declares. "I can't help you all with my brains if I'm taken out first because I'm less sturdily built than you three."
"We're all Spartans, none of us are pushovers," Jaune declares from farther down the line as the ship lifts.
"I think she means that out of the four of us, her chosen splice didn't improve her build before the Augmentation process," Blake returns.
"Indeed, I chose as I did to improve my spacial awareness, and ability to track multiple objects. Not to make myself a physical powerhouse," Weiss nods.
"So does that mean you're all reflexes and angle plotting? Are you a qualified Pilot?" Ruby asks, proving that she is still paying attention.
"Indeed, as well as a certified technical genius," Weiss grins smugly.
"Let's not forget modest," Yang deadpans, making Weiss scowl, while Ruby giggles.
"Regardless, we should all put our utmost into designing the best "build" of armor weapons and equipment to suit us," Pyrrha states, before turning her attention back to the holo her own Semblance is displaying.
"She's right," Ruby nods at the wisdom. "Starforge Station isn't a very long hop, since it's in the center of the Halo."
"You've all had time to review the equipment lists, and make preliminary armor selections, yes?" is the first thing they hear as they troop down the ramp.
"Indeed we have," Pyrrha answers.
"Sir. I outrank the lot of you," the older man smirks, before waving them to follow.
"Sir, Yes Sir," she corrects, snapping a salute, which the rest mimic.
"I'm Forgemaster Phillips, I run this dump," he continues as the three teams follow after him. "Now then, the first order of business should already have been handled by your Semblance Programs."
They all pipe up to report that they have indeed transmitted their hosts' selections to the stations Primary A.I.
"Hephaestus," the Forgemaster orders. "Begin preliminary fabrication. We'll be down to the momentarily for detail scans on the splicers."
"As ordered," a gruff voice returns.
"Don't mind him, he's not very chatty," the Forgemasters' smirks as he leads the way to the cargo sized elevator. "Next stop, the Armor Forge and Fabrication Looms."
"Sir, I understand that there is a Reaction between Arkanium and the Grimm, that results in a distinct kind of crystalline residue when they are destroyed," Weiss says as the elevator moves them to the new area. "But I've also found references to using this "Dust" as a power source. Can you explain that?"
"Dust, super charges our tech," he says simply. "And it's the main power source for Energy type projectile weapons that we construct here for you Hunters. Because when a Dust powered weapons blast hits a Grimm, it has the same effect as if you had stabbed the bastard with an Arkanium blade, causing it to destruct and leave behind more Dust."
"Are all the weapons one shot one kill?" Ruby asks.
"I wish," he snorts. "Some of you are more suited to SMGs and the like for weaponry, and that's all well and good. But the fact remains that it will take more shots to break though the defenses on some Grimm than it will on others. Even with Dust, you will be little more than an annoyance. Of course, the same could be said of most of you when the big ones show up."
"Big ones?" Jaune asks, his voice steady but feeling like his stomach had just gone into freefall.
"Like the Bird type we killed with the tanks, or the Scorpion," Yang smirks under her helm.
"Already found a giant Nevermore, and an oversized Death Stalker eh? Well good job on taking them down, but without Arkanium or Dust, you didn't take them out. They will either recover, or will break down and infect anything they can, mutating it into a new Grimm body to continue the cycle. Damn things are almost as bad as the Flood," the Forgemaster tells them.
"What do you know about the Flood? Didn't that crap get wiped out centuries ago?" Antonia asks.
"I read Files when I'm not showing disrespectful newbies around my base," he snorts. "And what I've read, tells me that it is a very good thing that they ARE gone, because if we had to fight a multiple front war with the Grimm AND them, we'd be wiped out in short order, especially given how much damage the Grimm have done to us by themselves."
"How do the Grimm spread?" Tasha asks from the rear of the group.
"As you saw below, some yahoo will let an infected on to the ship or something, and once they lift, the damn thing goes to town converting the crew and taking over, crashing the ship into the destination point and scattering the new Grimm to continue the disaster," he answers. "Now if you're asking how they infect and transform people and animals into new Grimm, i don't know. I just build things to kill them. And here at Starforge, we are very good at that job."
Having arrived at the area known as the looms, he orders, "Each team to a Scan chamber. Once your scans are done, you can start suiting up in your new kit."
"Okay, now strip," the semblances say once the armored sections are removed from each member.
"What?" Weiss demands.
"They need detailed full body scans," Ice Queen informs her.
"And once they have those, they can quickly generate new body suits, followed by the customized armored parts," Shadowcat informs Blake, anticipating her.
"You heard them girls, Strip," Yang smirks, opening her body suit and allowing her assets to decompress.
"Good grief, you're even bigger than we thought," Blake deadpans, even her semblance looking shocked.
"How do you fit them into the suit?" Shadowcat asks, dumbfounded.
"Practice," Yang grins, noting out of the corner of her eye that Ruby has likewise disrobed. "Better get a move on kitten, or you'll be holding us up," she adds to Blake as she notices Weiss working the suit free of her legs.
"Right," she sighs, freeing her own not inconsiderable charms from their confinement. Once she is as bare as the rest, she asks, "So what now?"
"You step into the scan boxes, and put your hands flat against the sides, and stand on the footprints," Rosewind chimes in for everyone.
"You heard her," Ruby tells the others, as she follows the directions, which triggers the scanners.
Within the stations network, the four semblances convene a meeting while their charges are occupied in real time with the scans.
"Is everyone familiar with the codes of conduct, and the unofficial rules governing down time activities?" Ice Queen asks of the others.
While the other two nod, Rosewind tells her, "Not as yet. Ruby was fast tracked, and that has yet to have come up."
"Are YOU at least aware of them, so she can be properly informed?" the white avatar demands, doing an excellent imitation of being highly irritated.
"Certainly, and as soon as we have enough time for me to explain it all to her, i will, but priorities thus far have been combat and preparation for combat, not fucking around with each other," Rosewind snorts, making it clear she's not going to take any shit from the other program.
"Fine. I assume that of the four of them, Weiss is the physically weakest?" Ice Queen states, allowing the others to see all of her charges stats, and compare them to those of their own charges.
"Like there was going to be any doubt of Yangs' standing in this," Zhue smirks at the confirmation that her charge dwarfs the rest in pure physical power.
"That's surprising," Shadowcat remarks. "Blake is only marginally stronger than Weiss. She has greater endurance ratings though."
"So she will only need to have her claws reigned in, rather than more direct restraint of physical prowess," Ice Queen allows.
"Ruby is probably going to be rather uncooperative with what you have in mind," Rosewind deadpans. "She's a runner, being confined doesn't sit well with her at all."
"I see what you mean," Ice Queen admits, noting that Ruby can easily outpace the rest of the team without even trying. "Hmm... her strength, while greater than Blakes', isn't nearly as extreme as Yangs'. But she has claws like most of the mammalian splices...how about this configuration?" the white avatar asks, flipping an image over to her red counterpart.
"Less likely to start a fight, especially if i tell her while she's coming off her suppressors," Rosewind admits.
"When was her last dose?" Zhue asks, so she can remind Yang if it's an issue.
"With her last meal. Yang saw to it, even if Ruby wasn't aware," Rosewind tells the golden dragon morph avatar.
"Should we see to them all being dosed again during the outfitting?" Shadowcat asks.
"Probably," Ice Queen admits. "We don't know how long the operation back at the Lodge will take, and while we can suppress their urges to a degree, the chemicals do it better, and for longer."
"Adding in the requirement for the conclusion of the scan cycle," Rosewind informs them.
"Confirmed," the rest chorus.
"So do either of you have issues with how things will be played?" Ice Queen asks Zhue and Shadowcat.
"Blake will likely be irritated, but she does accept that her splice makes her more dangerous in such situations," Shadowcat answers.
"Yang's used to having to go through a lot of grief to keep her partners safe from her power," Zhue smirks. "Although i don't think she's quite prepared for the level of kinky you and Weiss have in mind. Should be entertaining."
"Fair enough," Ice Queen says gracing them with the first smile since meeting them. "For now, it appears that the scan is just finishing up, so we should get back to dealing with them as they dress."
"Well that wasn't so bad," Ruby remarks, before a cuff snaps closed around her wrist, with the hiss of air as she is injected with something. It releases her and retracts back into the wall, faster than even she can react to.
"Easy Ruby, that was just a quick shot of some medical stuff," Yang warns her sister before she can start on the demands of WTF.
"It's normal for us splices when they don't know how long an operation will take," Blake adds.
"Let me guess, you have no clue, do you," Weiss smirks as she absently rubs her wrist after the shot.
"I'll fill her in about it later," Rosewind tells them as she appears. "But for now, the lot of you need to suit up. They need you back on the ground."
"Right," Ruby nods, leading the way back out of the scanner booth.
Near the Armor Loom they find their new body suits have been processed, and delivered.
"Orange?" Weiss asks, as she begins pulling on her white suit.
"Goes better with the yellow armor," Yang tells her.
"You sure we got the right ones?" Ruby asks Blake since they both have black ones.
"Yes, mine fits, and I'm taller than you," Blake smirks, as she seals it up with a small bounce as her assets are contained.
"Right," Ruby smirks back, following suit.
"You first kiddo," Yang says gesturing Ruby into the Armoring Loom.
"Right," she nods, stepping forward, and allowing the machine to assemble her armor around her, with her helmet being lowered on a hook for her to put on herself.
"Where's the rest of it, Rosewind?" she asks as she steps free, helmet still in hand.
"Arriving now," the hologram reports, as a small hatch opens and a square of folded cloth is presented.
"Good," Ruby grins, putting her helmet on as she moves over to it, the fabric shifting colors to match her armor as she touches it, and shaking it out before pulling it around her shoulders, special plates mag locking it in place.
"So what do you guys think?" Ruby asks as she pulls the hood up over her helmet, and turns around.
"Crimson Death," Weiss deadpans, surprised that the visor of Ruby's helmet appears to be showing a skull.
"Not so Little Red Reaping Hood," Blake smirks.
"I know you liked those things as a kid Ruby, but why now?" Yang asks.
"To break up my shape and help me blend in as a sniper," she retorts. "Besides, I can do this now," she grins as she crouches and pulls the cloak around herself. It changes colors as she moves, and when she is still, resembles a generic rock found on most any planet.
"That's...actually very good camouflage for a sniper," Weiss is forced to admit, her expression shifting from irked to thoughtful.
"Exactly," they can just hear the grin in Ruby's voice. "But what was with the "grim reaper" jokes?"
"Your visor has a skull in it," Blake deadpans.
"It does? Cool!" Ruby blurts out. "Rosewind, armor enhancement checks, if you please."
"Directional shield," Rosewind says, as Ruby brings up her arm as if to block and a pale blue energy shield appears before her.
"Confirmed functional," Ruby reports.
"Chameleon camouflage," Rosewind continues.
"That works," Yang confirms for her as Ruby's colors wash out to blend in with the wall behind her.
"Speed Booster," is next on the checklist.
"Not here," all of them answer.
"We save that one for when we actually have the space to check it," Ruby orders.
"Healing unit...appears to be functioning normally," Rosewind answers that one herself. "Looks like you just need your load out," she reports.
"My turn," Weiss smirks as she moves into the Loom with Ruby clearing space for her.
"Huh, i figured you would get a more...Distinctive helmet design," Yang remarks as Weiss steps free of the armatures, now fully armored.
"Being overly distinctive draws fire," Weiss retorts, using one of the many sayings passed on to her during her training.
"Very true," Blake agrees with a smirk.
"Equipment check," Weiss orders.
"Directional shields," Ice Queen responds.
Holding both hands forward, a pair of shields like Ruby has appear before her. Nodding in satisfaction, she shuts them down and orders, "Next."
"Bubble shield," the Semblance responds, causing Weiss to throw her arms wide, the omnidirectional shield appearing around her with barely enough space to not crowd the others of the Loom.
"Hey, that one looks big enough you can use it to protect other people," Yang observes.
"Next," Weiss instructs, shutting down the shield.
"Speed Booster...on Standby," Ice Queen continues down the checklist, already making note of the previous call regarding that piece of equipment. "Jet pack...was not supplied."
"I'll get one from a Specter," Weiss tells her.
" Healing unit..functional. That only leaves Glyph," the Semblance reports.
"I'll collect her when we return to the Fleet," Weiss nods, moving clear so that Blake can take her place.
"What's a Glyph?" Ruby asks.
"I've been customizing and partially repurposing a Promethean Watcher as a recon drone," Weiss explains. "She's currently half assembled back in my workshop area on the Beacon."
"Shadowcat?" Blake asks as she steps clear of the Loom.
"Speed Booster on standby," the dark purple hologram says as she flashes into existence. "Healing Unit...online. Active Camouflage," she trails off waiting for Blake to activate the system.
"Looks good," Yang says with a thumbs up as Blake becomes invisible, the slight distortion of her outline vanishing as she stops moving.
"Holo decoy system," Shadowcat says for the next system.
"Holo clones, nice!" Ruby enthuses as a pair of duplicates appear on either side of Blake.
"And grapple launcher," the Semblance finishes her rundown, as Blake pulls the pistol looking tool from the small of her back, and test fires it across the room.
"Good to go," Blake says, the purple glowing slits that are her visor seeming to brighten for an instant before she steps away.
"And now for the Big Guns," Yang grins as she steps up, allowing the Loom to assemble her armor around her.
"Zhue, how we lookin'?"Yang asks as she steps free.
"Tail Mace," the Semblance begins.
"Present and ready to smash skulls," Yang says, purposefully bringing the added armor on her tail down on the deck to punctuate her comment.
"Healing unit...good to go. Directional Shields?" Zhue continues.
"Online," Yang answers as she brings up both hands in a boxers guard pose and the shields appear before her.
"Strength booster?" Zhue asks.
"It works," Yang smirks as she grabs both Ruby and Weiss by the back of their armor and lift them both as if they weighed nothing.
"And lastly we have the Kinetic Redirection and Storage Amplification System," Zhue tells her as she releases the others.
"Gimme your best shots," Yang tells the rest as she opens her arms wide, receiving three powerful blows almost at once. "Jeeze, you didn't need to be so eager about it," she mutters as she absently rubs at her chest plate where Ruby had kicked her.
"Absorption and storage functional," Zhue reports. "The rest will need to wait till you can cut loose."
"Along with my jetpack," Yang nods, the visor/eyes of her more animalistic looking helmet flashing red.
"Now that you are all outfitted," Rosewind breaks in, "You are receiving new orders to report to the Forge area itself for your new weapons."
"Let's go," Ruby nods, quickly followed by the rest as they file out of the chamber.
