Midori stepped off of her shuttle, onto the carrier Eidolon, and had no idea what to do next. She still felt the chill of Atlas in her bones, lingering from two days ago, when she'd planted a flag atop Peak Thirty-Three, taken her oath, and claimed her place in the Special Retinue Service. Now, she was one of The Winter Soldiers. She'd been on a carrier before. She knew better than to wander on the flight deck.
An ensign from the Fleet ran out to meet her, and Midori returned the short girl's salute. She read the ensign's nametag, and shouted to be heard.
"Neopolitan? Nice to meet you. Where do I find Specialist Winter?"
Neopolitan pantomimed something about not hearing. The high winds and thin air weren't conductive to talking, so Midori followed her wave and walked with her down the carrier's side. Vertigo had been a fear she'd overcome on Mount Blue Balls. She clutched the guard railing and descended the stairs on Eidolon's hull to the hangar deck. Through the perforations in the steel steps, she could see Vale waiting to catch her if she fell.
Down in the cargo deck, she spotted Force Specialist Winter Schnee- The Legend- standing beside her personal tiltjet. She looked like a statue, stiff and overbearing. Around her, The Winter soldiers scrambled into their combat gear and checked weapons.
Winter's gaze swept over them as if inspecting presentation. Damn, though, they really did look like professionals. Midori waved a goodbye to ensign Neopolitan and jogged to report for duty.
It seemed a fine time for an introduction. Midori dropped her duffel bag and saluted.
"Good morning, Specialist! Midori, reporting for service."
Winter turned a contemptuous glare to her. Her eyes turned down to Midori's boots, then scanned up, flinching over some flaw on her pants, then skipping up to her eyes. That single failure had concluded the analysis.
Winter turned away, to shout, "Agent!"
Hikari Oni hopped from the craft, combat helmet covering her eyes, and black armor covering the rest of her. She looked Midori over.
"You the Rook?"
"Yes, Agent."
"What are you doing, Recruit?"
"I'm saluting Specialist Schnee, Agent."
"If I catch you saluting a huntsman again, you're out of my unit."
Midori dropped her salute. "Sorry, Ma'am, I-"
"Agent."
"Ma'am?"
"A-gent," Hikari enunciated.
"Sorry, Agent. I thought… Uh…"
Hikari scowled at her hesitation. "You thought what?"
"I thought only the Black Suns refused to salute huntsmen."
"I got my Agency in the Black Suns." Hikari held out a hand. Midori shook it.
Hikari retracted very quickly. "We're deploying. Not you; I'm handing you over to The Wing today. See that plane?"
She pointed down the deck's taxi system. The next craft in line was a Borealis Class sub-orbital strike bomber. Midori felt a high like only a near-death experience could bring. Being this close to such a perfect machine never got old.
Hikari said, "Strap up and find Major Coal on the bridge. You're handling his weapons systems today. You've got your Merlot System certs, right?"
"Yes, Agent." She nodded to Winter. "Specialist."
Winter didn't acknowledge her.
Midori ran to comply. She'd never felt so jilted and so excited at the same time. Her flight suit was in the duffel bag, so she stopped and ran back to grab it. Up on the bridge, she found Major Coal at Flight Control. They had a map table displaying Vale and Mountain Glenn.
Major Coal extended a hand black as anthracite to her. He spoke around an unlit cigar. "Agent Midori? Major Coal."
"Just Midori. Nice to meet you, Major. You wouldn't happen to be related to Flynt Coal in the tournament?"
"Fruit of my loins."
The best thing about the military was the men. She hesitated in the banter, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. No, it was in a ponytail. She didn't need to.
She stuttered, "U-uh, sorry about your Dust business. Getting run out by the Schnees, I mean."
Coal tilted his head, as if pained on her behalf. She felt like an idiot.
The Major smiled. "Flynt was just trash talkin' for the cameras. There's no hard feelings between me and the Schnees. Midori, this is Fleet Commander Gray."
He turned the conversation with a wave.
Gray was a far more serious man, married either to warfare or a woman who demanded stricture. His introduction was the quiet assertion of a handshake.
Then he pointed at the map table. "We have two Swarms closing on Vale. Swarm Rancor has occupied Mountain Glenn, following Goliath Malice's historical path. Before they became Alpha Goliaths, Malice and Rancor were twins spawned from Swarm Fürcht, so this coordination is noteworthy."
Gray gestured the map to the background, and brought a satellite photo from atlas to the foreground.
"This pack used to be swarm Malice. Two weeks ago, the Retinue ambushed them in the Death Straits."
Major Coal waved a question: "Where?"
Midori jumped at the chance to redeem herself: "Twenty klicks west of Mantle. Ley line flows through a canyon there. We use it to practice elastic defenses against Grimm swarms."
Gray continued. "After a thorough decimation, the swarm routed and skipped off the board. At that time, the swarm had no goliaths. And our prediction was that the loss of mass from skipping would put them below spawning threshold. However:"
He gestured the map forward and swiped it to the coastline north of Vale's gulf.
"Three days ago, they walked out of the ocean near a settlement called Patch. At double their normal mass. And now they're moving toward Vale. Behavior has changed completely. They've avoided ten of ten predicted paths."
Coal asked, "How do we know it's the same swarm?"
"Deduction. Nominally, we don't. That's what you're investigating. A local huntsman has eyes on them. He's reporting an alpha goliath, two subordinates, and a monarch. I need you to get out there and reconnoiter the swarm. I want composition, density, agitation, everything you can gather. Any questions?"
Major Coal said, "Just for Midori, Sir."
He turned to her and asked, "I don't know what kind of flying the Retinue has you do, but we'll spend twenty minutes unpowered in space. You've got certs for this kind of equipment, right?"
Gray raised an eyebrow, joining in that questioning. She got these looks a lot from the older generations.
Midori laughed. Now it was she who outclassed him. "Gentlemen, I've got more certs than you two are cleared to know about."
Twenty minutes later, her seat restraint clicked into place, and the canopy of the Borealis closed over her head. The constriction from her seat padding and restraints felt like being swaddled in the heart of a great, mechanical beast. She sealed her helmet. Every breath drew a long hiss from the machine feeding her air.
In the pilot seat her, Major Coal started ignition. Midori's panels lit up as the on-board computer booted. She heard a click in her helmet, and their comms started.
"Can you hear me fine, Midori?"
"Five-by-five, Major."
"Seat comfy?"
"Starting to think it was made for me."
"Don't get too comfortable. My copilot got roped into the Field Day drills on the red team. They stuck him in a gunship and told him to fly like a Nevermore."
"Sounds like The Suck sucked him in."
"The Suck?"
"Infantry slang. You know, like, how everything in the military sucks no matter how cool it is?"
She saw the Major's shoulders jerking in front of her. He was chuckling, too quietly to trigger his microphone.
"Sounds right," he admitted.
His helmet turned Port side, to another large machine in the hangar, draped mysteriously in tarp. Coal stared. Midori smiled.
She asked, "What do you think of it?"
"It looks like a Mark Two Paladin. But… Bigger."
"Close. Paladins have beefy armaments for a mecha, but they're only rated to fight Grimm. In the Retinue, we hunt huntsmen. You're looking at Crusader."
"That's yours, Midori?"
"That's mine."
Major Coal read off the bold serial number on the side.
"V, T, N, T, M, R, K, Thirteen. That's the joint forces R&D group the Merlot's started, right?"
"Yup."
"I recognize those heat sinks. That's the adaptive power-armor system I designed. You know, before the Schnees ran me out. I guess it still works."
"Holy shit, what? That's an understatement, Major! Your invention is indestructible! Well, no. You've been watching the tourney, right?"
"Of course."
"Those duralithium blades Penny's got are from the same lab. She's the only huntsman in Remnant who can scratch the Crusader."
Major Coal sighed. "With duralithium? You're kidding."
"Not when they're unpowered. What she's swinging around on stage are basically sharp clubs. But when they're powered, they're electron blades."
"Uhuh. Let's be real, though: How is she supposed to power six electron blades? She'd need batteries half her weight. Or a small dust reactor. Which… Is feasible. But where's she hiding it? Kids these days don't go long on the skirts. Could a cybernetic-?"
Midori remembered suddenly that she had more clearances.
She interrupted, "We should stop talking about this."
Major Coal stopped. He turned his helmet and glanced back at her, confused. She shook her head, very seriously.
He nodded. "Understood. Alright. We've got a pile-up on the taxi system from all the flight deck activity. Let's get our pre-flight done while we're waiting."
They spent another hour waiting for the catapult. Takeoff went as planned. They flew North until they were clear of civilization, and then Midori's heart truly beat with excitement.
"Alright, Major. Angels thirty. Horizons clear. And that civilian flight is out of range. I'm ready to ignite our stage one."
"I'm green up here, too. Oh, Midori. I'll assume we've both read Primer on Space?"
"Yeah, I'm cleared for Top Secret and Space Program."
"Good. You ever seen The Blob?"
"No."
Major Coal Pointed fore. "It'll be somewhere near our forward horizon on the way there. Keep a look out."
"Will do. Ready to launch, Major?"
"Hit it."
She lifted two hazard-colored switch guards and flicked them to active state. The solid-fuel boosters strapped to the borealis were basically uncut dust crystals burning like a hobo fire in a trash can. They even wiggled relative to the craft as they burned. The G-forces against her chest stopped her from watching them too closely, and the incredible wonder of space kept her from wanting to.
Remnant fell away behind her, as if she was departing it in a dream, and the blue sky parted like a curtain covering nature's modesty. Naked space laid out before her. The heavens, the garden that the gods had laid out for humanity, awaited her conquest. And then every instrument in the craft lost power. Even the solid fuel stopped burning in an instant, then detached and drifted away.
Dust doesn't work in space. The gods hadn't mentioned that in Crusade. It seemed like an important detail to their plan for humanity. Midori thought they could have left a note, like, "By the way, you'll need an alternative fuel for space travel."
The heavens were made off-limits by that failure of the miraculous mineral. Her advance into the stars slowed, the G-forces waned, and she was in free-fall, on a ballistic trajectory back to Remnant, to Patch.
All she heard up here was her organs pumping, and the oxygen flowing into her helmet from a pressure system. The nose of the Borealis lowered, and the great circle of home came into view. The shattered moon drifted past her starboard side, its tail of asteroids following like baby ducklings. Above Remnant's clouds, she saw a blue halo of breathable air. And near the horizon, poking to the extreme of that air, she saw Peak Thirty-Three. She waved.
Then she heard a loud tapping. Major Coal had rapped his knuckle against the canopy. He pointed.
She looked up. And she saw The Blob. The great black mass of tentacles writhing in orbit, only visible where it reached into Remnant's halo, and then retracted as it touched light. The mass of that single Grimm was greater than the whole of Vale. She felt an incredible hatred for it on sight. She imagined how satisfying it would be to tether that beast and drag it down to Remnant's surface. That great shadow was a second barrier to space travel. It was standing between Humanity and Destiny.
She heard wind. The Borealis' nose stopped dropping, and levelled out as the atmosphere thickened and the wings generated lift. A minute later, Major Coal hit his ignition, and the engines powered on. The great circle of Remnant receded beyond their view, and the blue curtain concealed space once again. Her panels flicked to light, and Major Coal spoke.
"Back in action. Alright, Midori, I'll call Eidolon. You try and get our huntsman on the horn. His name's Taiyang Xiao Long."
"Will do, Major."
She switched her comms from Vale CCT to the Radio Relay Network.
"This is Borealis, First Expeditionary, hailing Taiyang Xiao Long. Anyone there?"
A man answered, "Just call me Tai, Borealis. Had time for lunch before you got here."
"So did we. What have you got for us, Huntsman?"
"Just some Grimm. I've got a laser designator on the Goliath."
Midori fiddled with her displays. "Major?"
"Coordinates received. Turning to Two-Two-Null. ETA two minutes."
The craft banked around and the swarm came into view. At this altitude, the skies were clear of weather in every direction. But above the swarm were clouds and lightning and all the bad omens from the fairy tales.
"Thank you, Huntsman. We have the target."
"Any time, Borealis. I've got a second one for you. Tell me when you receive."
"Done. What is it?"
"A cocoon. I think they're spawning a Monarch."
"Alright. We can take it from here, Huntsman. You have a nice day."
"Will do, Borealis. And thanks for the banter. It gets lonely out here. Tai out."
Major Coal turned them down below the weather. Midori switched on the cameras below the Borealis' hull.
"Alright. I've got eyes on the swarm, Major. Keep us level and I'll snap some pictures."
The craft shook, then lurched as the turbulence lashed them.
"Level as I can, Midori. What're we looking at?"
"Mostly Beowolves. None of them have any bones. The whole swarm must be less than a week old. Yeah, that one's still coalescing. I don't see a single Griffon. Some Deathclaws. A tribe of Balefires; Lots of bones. Red spirals all the way down their torsos. I've never seen a Grimm that old. There's the cocoon. He's right, definitely a Monarch. There's a color guard around the Goliath. He's surrounded himself with Boarbatusks. That's not Rancor's style. Low agitation; They're walking in orderly patterns. High uniformity. High dispersion; about a foot of spacing between each Grimm. I don't see any fusing or visual distortions. No spectral wind. Goliath's holding his head too low. Spirals all end in perpendicular cuts. This isn't the Alpha."
She adjusted her scopes. "Spotted the Alpha. He's got a scar in the right ear. Two dents in the right, anterior dorsal bone. Spiral patterns extend past his… Past his shoulders. Wait. This isn't right."
She hesitated too long.
The Major called, "Talk to me, Midori."
"Grimm bones grow over time. Spirals come from experience. This goliath is about thirteen at most, but... The spirals…"
She recognized them from her studies. "Major, these spirals belong to Goliath Malice. What the hell is going on here?"
"You sure?"
"Those spirals are identical. The only way for a Grimm to get them is to go through the same experiences in the same order."
Coal quoted, "Knowledge is for Man. Understanding is for the gods."
Midori knew the Crusade cult was limited to the Retinue. She didn't expect to encounter it from the military. She'd been restraining herself. She smiled at Coal's back. He was getting better by the second. She returned to her scopes. A huntress was walking in the swarm.
She blinked and adjusted her scopes. "What in the name of… Major, get that huntsman back on the horn."
"Tai, you still there?"
"Yes I am, Borealis."
"Midori?"
"Huntsman, do you see a woman walking within the swarm? Reference the Alpha Goliath. Left, front foot."
As she said it, she zoomed her camera in and focused the lens. "Fuck me, that's-"
Tai spotted, "Raven?"
Major Coal guessed, "Branwen? Blackbird?"
The Huntress looked up as Borealis passed over her.
Midori snapped a picture. She smiled as a realization struck. "Major, what's our loadout?"
"You're on weapons, Midori."
She thumbed her multi-function display over the arsenal. "We've got a Nimbus underwing. Payload is enough for ten huntsmen. Oh my gods, Major, we're about to bag the Retinue's most wanted!"
Major Coal banked them wide, to broadside the goliath. "How's your shot?"
Midori's hands shook. Agent Hikari had snubbed her. And it was no secret that Shadowcat was in Vale. The Winter Soldiers were going to kill number four on the hit list, and they were too cool to bring Midori along. Well she was too cool to let them share in the big one.
Her voice shook. "Great angle. No structures. Huntsman is behind us. I've got tone."
She flipped up the trigger guard and announced, "Hawk-Two."
The sound was like their boosters. A white cloud engulfed the starboard wing, and the munition streaked ahead of them at Mach-Five.
Raven smirked, turned, and walked under the goliath to its far side. She'd been in the field too long. Nimbus Aeronautics Mark 3 had obstacle avoidance. Midori's heart thrummed like a hummingbird.
The missile pulled wide to maneuver, dove in under monster, and suddenly detonated against the goliath's aura.
Major Coal choked on his own spit. "Ahk. It- What the hell?"
Midori had forgotten that detail. Malice had an aura. She'd known that, and she'd forgotten. That's why Raven was standing just under it. Midori had just blown her chance at glory. Her face burned. She would never live this moment down.
They passed overhead. Raven stepped out from under the goliath and waved at them.
Coal banked again. "Second try?"
Midori swallowed. Her indicator blinked red. "That's all we've got, Major."
They were quiet while he brought them up to altitude and angled them for the launch home. They had a lot to think about. They were silent, rising above the clouds, watching Remnant become a sphere.
Midori always found solace in other people's problems. She asked, "Why doesn't he move to the city?"
Coal hummed, "Who?"
"He said he's lonely out here. Why doesn't he move?"
"Maybe he's a Crusader."
"Maybe he is. Think he knows about his daughter?"
"Yang? That kid she crippled in the tournament? The whole world knows about that."
"Tough life. Hey, speaking of the tournament, who do you think's getting the matchup tomorrow?"
"I dunno. I'm hoping for that archer kid from mistral to fight that aura-fiend from Vacuo. It's crazy she got this far fighting with her fists. And her semblance? When he knocked the floor out from under her? Levitation is the hottest thing I've ever seen on that stage."
Midori agreed. "Those desert monks are no joke. But I bet Penny Polendina's gonna sweep the tourney. Especially if the Bureau can figure out Pyrrha Nikkos' semblance before the fight."
Major Coal cringed. "That feels like cheating."
"They're just reviewing publicly available videos. Nothing wrong with that."
"The military sure spends a lot on Polendina," Coal noted.
Midori didn't answer.
He realized, "So our secret weapon is sweeping the tourney, huh?"
He sounded like she'd stolen the jam from his toast.
An indicator flicked on. Coal distracted himself with it. "Alright. We're pointed home and up. Boost when you're ready, Midori."
She hit it.
On the ride to the stratosphere, as the globe rounded out, Major Coal spoke through the G-Forces.
He said, "When I'm up here, I think about all those flabby PoGs behind the walls who can't even lift a sword. I'm glad my son's a huntsman. I think those walls give us all a false sense of security, you know? Should've listened to the gods."
They hit space. The boosters cut and fell away.
To the darkness, where no one could hear her, Midori said, "What do the gods know? They left us this mess."
She rested her head back and fantasized about a life of freedom on the high seas.
