The night hung over the facility like a shroud, yet the light of the aurorae above cut through the shadows and cast bright colors onto the tarmac. Soldiers patrolled silently, and several Paladin-290s lifted heavy equipment and shipping containers with the Schnee Dust Company logo emblazoned on them into open hangars. The base, the largest Atlas had on the northern coast outside the Mantle, filled a large valley surrounded by tall hills. Since it was in the tundra in late autumn, it was constantly buffeted by wind and snow from the north.
Katze nudged her half-asleep companion and handed him a pair of binoculars.
"Tell me what you see."
Her companion wore solid black and a mask that hid his features. "Lots of soldiers, a couple Paladins, a whole bunch of fighters on the runway.. Looks like there's a frigate coming in to land, too, escorted by a whole wing of Bullheads."
"How would you attack this base?"
"Call for reinforcements while the frigate lands, bring up a cluster of spider droids, maybe six or seven Paladins, and a pair of bullheads. Use the stolen ID codes to get the Bullheads in close, then plant a superthermal dust charge on the hull of the frigate. Detonate it, even if it means the loss of the bullheads, and then send in the ground troops while the humans flounder. And boom, we've got a whole base under our control." Katze's ears twitched at that.
"Not bad. But you still have a lot to learn." Katze turned back to watching the frigate set down on the pad that it had been directed to.
"Are we just here for recon again, or are we actually attacking this place this time?"
"Patience, brother, patience." He huffed angrily at his partner's reply.
"I know you're burning to take your vengeance. We all are. But you have to wait, otherwise your fight will be for nothing and they'll just gun you down and nobody will remember who you are or what you fought for."
Her partner simply turned away from her and went back to sleep.
"Captain Leonhard. Report." ordered the stern Major as he glared at the officer on the other side of his desk.
"Yes, sir! The frigate has arrived as scheduled, and the troops coming back from Vale are disembarking as we speak. Patrols haven't found or seen anything all night. Everybody's tired and ready for their watch to be over."
"I see. There'll be an inspection tomorrow morning, but don't tell anybody, you know I like to keep it a surprise."
"Yes sir."
The Major looked him over for a moment. "Dismissed." Captain Leonhard turned to leave, but glanced over his shoulder and stopped at the door.
"What is it, Captain? You've clearly got something on your mind, so spit it out."
Captain Leonhard rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I dunno, sir, I just get the feeling that we're next, y'know? And I don't think we're ready. The men are tired from long watches and short rests, and while it might be good to keep our eyes open, if we push them too hard they might break under pressure from the White Fang."
The Major leaned in. "You're saying that you don't have confidence in our men?"
"Not at all, sir, quite the opposite. But I've got a bad feeling."
The Major abruptly stood up, and walked over to the Captain. "A soldier should always trust his gut." He put his hand on Leonhard's shoulder. "Give the men the rest they need."
As Leonhard walked out, the Major called out, "There'll still be an inspection tomorrow!"
Katze nudged her companion awake again.
"Ugh, what time is it?" he groaned as he sat up. They were still on the distant hill from where they had been watching the Atlesian base for several hours every night for over a week.
"Almost four-thirty."
He grunted by way of reply. "What do you need now?"
"All the troops have disembarked from the frigate. They're all in their barracks now. The patrols have thinned out, too. Our attacks elsewhere have kept them on edge all week. And now they're finally cracking."
Her companion suddenly became much more lively. "Are we finally going to attack?"
"Yes."
"But how?"
"Well, we've got those spider droids that we hacked, five bullheads loaded with our best soldiers, four transports each with two Paladins, and eight fighters. Oh, and a our surprise for our human friends, of course."
"And this is enough to seize a whole base's worth of Paladins and dust? Is this even worth it? We can't exactly overpower them on their home turf."
Katze scoffed. "Who said anything about Paladins and dust?"
"Then what?"
Katze spread her arms out, gesturing at the base. "We're stealing the frigate, you fool, and everything on board."
"Oh." was all her companion had to say.
After the last patrol under his command checked in with him, Captain Leonhard couldn't sleep. Instead, he sat out on the rear deck of the mess hall, smoking an old-fashioned cigar, drinking black coffee, and reading on his scroll.
"Damn, why would you go into the haunted mansion? Not a good plan." he mumbled to himself as he read.
Suddenly, he heard a noise not unlike thunder behind him, but before he could turn he and everything around him were turned into ash.
"All right, we are go, I repeat, we are go!" Katze exclaimed into her earpiece as her black-clad companion set down the detonator. The formerly dark night sky was now lit by the rising fireball of the superthermal charge that they had set near the barracks.
Katze stood up, and her companion follow suit. "Now what?"
"We wait for the Bullhead to pick us up, we land in the hangar of the frigate, and use the cluster of spider droids to hold the base off while we secure the ship and get off the ground."
"What about the anti-air defenses? Surely they can bring down a ship, even if it's as big as a frigate."
"Oh, they certainly can, but I have a way to take care of them." As she finished her sentence, the quiet night air was filled with the roar of engines as their not-insignificant air fleet arrived. One Bullhead dipped down, and opened it's right side, revealing a full detachment of White Fang elites and Mercury Black, all armed to the teeth with the finest weapons Atlas could build.
"Well, well, kiddies, it's time to get this party started!" he shouted, as they climbed on board. They grabbed onto the handles on the top of the compartment, and the pilot gunned the engine, whisking them towards the frigate and the burning base.
Following the others, the Bullhead set down inside the frigate's primary hanger. Faunus soldiers poured out of the gunships and immediately began storming the control room and gunning down any humans they saw. Mercury gestured to Katze and her partner. "You guys are with me."
Firing his gunboots, he launched himself to the other side of the hangar. Katze pulled her katars out of her belt and fired them at the ground, propelling herself after him, and as she soared across the room she could hear her partner follow suit. As they landed, she saw Mercury start bolting towards something.
The blast doors separating the hangar from the rest of the ship were slowly closing. Two Atlesian soldiers stood on the side opposite them, one with rifle drawn and the other at the control pad, frantically trying to get them to close faster.
"Come on, man, can't you make it go faster?!"
"I'm trying! I'm trying!"
"Hurry, hurry - Aggghhh!" At the sound of two shotgun blasts and a very ominous thud, the soldier trying to shut the door turned to see his friend stuck into a wall, his blood dripping down the white surface in maroon streaks, and a man in grey with a very cocky grin facing him down.
"Cry for help. Do it."
"H-Help..!" the soldier cried weakly.
"LOUDER!"
"HEEELLLLPPPP!" A shotgun blast followed his scream for help, and the man in grey turned to face the direction of the blast.
"Let him die with dignity, Black."
"Hmph. Whatever. Come on, we have to get to the bridge." As the trio walked past, the last one, the one with a mask on, shoved a blade into the soldier's gut and twisted, finishing him off.
The trio flew through the hallways of the ship, easily killing any soldiers that stood in the hallways, but when they reached the door to the bridge they found it shut and barred by a blast door.
"Great. Alright, Prodigy, do your thing." Mercury ordered.
"As you say," replied the masked companion, who placed his hand on the control pad. The doors immediately opened at his touch.
"I knew you were good for something." Mercury praised, while Katze simply grunted in acknowledgement. Suddenly a familiar voice called out to them from inside the bridge.
"Well, if it isn't Mercury Black! Howya doin, kid?"