Aboard the Spirit of Fire.
... It was almost breathtaking...
Most of the old UNSC Technology aboard the ship remained relatively intact. The Corridors had live electrical wires sparking onto the floor, however. Severed wires. There was minor denting and rusting across the walls, cobwebs and dust and even missing pieces of grating. The ship in itself was intact to a respectable degree, though Halsey knew very well she wouldn't fly again. Not without a CRADLE Ship repairing every inch of it.
Six took point, AR at the ready and flashlight on. Following her was Kat and, in the middle, Halsey and Cortana, with Carter taking up fourth, Emile fifth, Jun sixth and Jorge covering the rear approach. The girl raised a balled fist, showing them to halt. With loud clicks, multiple lights flickered on ahead. Six took a knee, shouldering her rifle, then showed everyone to scatter into cover.
"Incoming... Motion Tracker detects UNSC IFFs." Six told everyone. They lowered their weapons.
One of the Bulkheads ahead cracked open as its side console flickered. It slid apart and a squad of 12 Marines raised Battle Rifles, MA5s and even a rocket launcher toward them. The Squad Lead showed them to hold their fire, before standing up and nodding the Spartan Fireteam forward. The six Spartans, Cortana and their Doctor walked forward, weapons lowered or slung on their backs...
"Holy shit, sir... Spartans." A female Marine spoke, leaning her rifle on her shoulder and cracking a grin.
"I see that, Trooper." The LT noted, lowering his rifle and standing up. He walked to the soldier with the highest rank, that being Carter, and saluted, before saying "Lieutenant Miller. UNSC Spirit of Fire's Marine contingent. Good to see friendly faces around, Commander." before looking at the rest of the Spartan team and asking "Say... You guys and gals haven't seen Red Team, have you?"
"They're with us, Lieutenant." Carter noted. "Currently working with Blue Team on an issue... Can we get to the bridge?"
"We've got some info your Captain may want." Cortana spoke, crossing her arms. The Marines gave a nod and showed them to follow. The team wanted to stop and stare as more Marines and the crew itself started marching on-deck, moving out for repairs and to check up on the status of the ship itself. They'd walked in through a maintenance corridor. And now that activity started to resume aboard the ship, they could see the hallways were large enough for them all.
Cortana looked at Marines as they simply balked at them. As did Crew, in fact... Halsey hummed, awed by the sights herself, but not showing it... "I'd say around five thousand years... Cortana?"
"I agree." The girl hummed. "Though I did get a Handshake from the AI... Weirdly enough. And the ship still has plenty of power."
"Well... Are we gonna rule out these events as impossible, what with our own...?" Halsey shrugged. Cortana chuckled. Doc had a fair point in that. As they walked, the team found themselves entering areas under maintenance, but signs pointed this way to the bridge. As they walked into the bridge itself, they saw an old man clad in a Captain's uniform looking at a hologram table on which resided a blue woman in casual clothes and with long hair.
"... As far as data tells me, we've been crashed for at least ten millennia..." The AI spoke, watching her Captain's reactions of surprise and sorrow. "And yet, here we are. Young and beautiful as ever..." She gazed over to Cortana and saw them "Ah... The guests are here, Captain. I'll let you talk to them..." She smirked "And probably pester the good doctor some more. Good day." And with that, the AI flickered off.
Six hummed "... I like her."
The Captain swiveled about, revealing his age at around 40 or so years. Even though he probably should've been much older. "So, it looks as though we've found ourselves in a predicament." He noted, nodding to Doctor Halsey and the Spartan escort. "I'm Captain Cutter, UNSC Spirit of Fire. And... I do believe some explanations are in order. If you don't mind that."
"Not at all." Halsey nodded.
"Oh, no..." A woman's voice spoke... And Halsey swiveled about, a glare in her eyes that could kill tanks. A woman with Asian features stood before her, arms crossed. "Doctor Halsey..." The woman scowled... And Halsey sighed deeply. She'd heard that Ellen Anders had been sent over to the Spirit. Never did she think she'd meet her again. Six looked between the two Doctors, a hint confused, as did the other Spartans.
"You two have a history, Doctor?" The Captain asked, raising a brow.
"Yes." Both of them answered.
"Long story short, Captain, I taught miss Anders everything she knows." Halsey hummed.
"And then basically had me kidnapped by ONI." Anders shot back.
"'Hired', dear Ellen." Halsey quipped. "Gave you a job opportunity. You're welcome, by the way."
Anders rolled her eyes, then stepped onto the bridge and said "I only came here to get a datapad I've forgotten, sir..." to the Captain. She stepped off the bridge after picking up her files. Six found herself in the need to hold back a bout of laughter. She looked forward, toward the front of the bridge, to see rock... But it wasn't close to the windows. No, it was farther back...
"Seems the Spirit hit a second set of caverns." Halsey observed.
"Upon our crash, yes. Serina says we crash-landed on a cliff and were unlucky enough for whatever happened to cover our entire ship." Cutter said, tapping a few commands onto the holodeck of the bridge, pulling up data. "Ten thousand years, Doctor. And we're all younger, our ship is powered and almost irreparably damaged. I want to ask you about how it happened."
"I have all my research files about the events that have brought us forth onto this planet, known simply as Remnant, on my tablet." Halsey raised her standard-issue UNSC appliance. "I can give it to your AI to analyze and determine if I've lied, even a bit... Cortana, if you don't mind, could you also help the Shipboard AI decipher the data?" to which Cortana smirked.
"Ma'am, I'm on it." the girl said, then walked and took a seat next to the holodeck and put her hand on it... Serina flashed up onto it and Cortana smirked "Hello there."
"Hello to you as well." Serina nodded. "Nice gynoid features."
"Thanks." The girl noted, kneeling in front. "Listen, Serina, right? We may need a lot of help within the coming few hours. How many Pelicans and vehicles do you still have? Dropships? Other assorted vehicles?"
"I've got 75% of all Vehicles active and ready to go. And the Foundries to build and maintain them." Serina said. "What's the big threat?"
... An hour later, all explanations had come to a close. With evidence presented and everyone aboard the ship brought up to speed thanks to the Captain's intervention, Halsey moved with the Spartans of NOBLE toward the Hangars, to see if they could find any sort of exit. Much to their joy, however, the UNSC Ground Teams and the SeaBees of the Spirit of Fire had begun work on tunnels for launching aircraft and landing them. The top deck, untouched by rock, was soon to be freed up by a set of detonations. Despite the ship's extensive engine damage, the UNSC crews were preparing to bring her to light once more.
"Looks like the Sea Bees are going at it. Hard." Alice pointed from the hangar toward one of the many tunnels being dug and reinforced by the heavy machinery of the UNSC. Cyclops Combat/Construction Mechs moved in to help with the digging and the UNSC Ships were being armed and prepped... Jorge swiveled about as he heard the raucous roar of pilots and saw a massive aircraft hovering overhead, with two twin-linked gatling cannons on the front and an arseload of missiles as its spinal weapon. Following it were Hornet Scout Craft and what appeared to be the Hornets' more aerodynamic cousin. The Vulture, Hornet and Sparrowhawk flew together...
Pelicans were already being loaded up with UNSC Troops and tanks locked themselves into place. The larger Dropships were being loaded up with Warthogs and even more tanks... Every little vehicle of the 2530s UNSC Arsenal was being assembled for the upcoming issue. If Halsey's calculations were correct, Vale's underground tunnels would be the target for that train. And if the White Fang was smart, they'd have it manned and primed to blow...
"Looks like they're ready and waiting." Carter noted. "Ma'am, we'll take a Pelican to the City, ping others in Com and warn them about the attack if we can. If not, we'll be dropping first."
Halsey looked to the Spartans, then gave them nods "Take care of yourselves, Noble. I'll be going to assist in providing new equipment for the troopers here." and she saw at least 5 Vulture Gunships head out with an escort of 25 Hornets and around 10 Hawks. Halsey looked over to where the SeaBees and Cyclops were working and saw that they managed to break through... Thin walls of rock, eh? And the tunnels were just wide enough for the aircraft to head out...
"This is Squadron Alpha-Eight to Spirit mission control. Requesting permission to begin ascent and deploy to target area, how copy, over?"
"Copy you loud and clear, Alpha Eight. Green light. Give'em hell."
... Well...
Back aboard the Train.
Kelly dodged the blunt end of the parasol wielded by Neo with quite the ease. She grabbed the 'weapon' by the center, twisted Neo's hand with it and punched the girl away, but found no grip on the thing itself again as the girl staggered. Yang struck Neo from behind with a concussive blast from Ember Celica, sending the girl staggering... Kelly grinned, drawing her own Shotgun and shouldering it, before saying in a full-blown Scottish accent "Ya ain't got another foot to take, lass!" and taking a moment "Where'd that accent come from?"
She gasped as she dodged a stab from the rapier form of the weapon, before parrying another with the Shotgun and blasting the girl point-blank with magnetically-accelerated pellets. The girl growled as she moved back, then struck Yang over the head, making the girl double over. Kelly soon responded to the attacks with another round of pellets, slam-firing the Shotgun rapidly at the girl and forcing her to take 'cover' behind the Parasol.
Kelly, having run out of ammo, grabbed the Parasol before its blade extended, spun it and kicked Neo in the chest, with said ice cream queen flying into a wall of steel. Kelly helped Yang up and the blondie shook her head, then complimented "Nice shooting, Kells... Jeez, this girl hits like a train..." And she rearranged her jaw. It did still hurt, but at least now it was straight.
"Thanks, Yang." The girl nodded, reloading the Shotgun. Little two-face Ice Cream got up, glaring daggers at them, her eyes white as bone. She had the Parasol in hand again and readied it, its steel tip jutting out of the top like a spearhead. So, the blonde brawler cocked her shotgun gauntlets and readied them in readiness for battle.
Kelly drew her knife, then holstered her shotgun and said "Let's kick her ass..."
The two girls surged forward. Kelly took left and Yang took right, while Neo was unsure of who to strike first. Kelly bet on the fact that Neo would be too confused and gave a nod to Yang... The two girls cocked their fists back, with Kelly first feinting a stab toward Neo's gut that the girl barely had time to parry before the fastest Spartan delivered a jaw-breaking punch to Neo's face and Yang hit her clear in the back with a concussive blast.
To say that Kelly heard teeth shatter would be an understatement. Neo's Aura was weakened when the strike came, but still strong enough to dissipate most damage. Most of it. She did lose several teeth and her head was nearly caved in by the joint strike. In fact, Kelly was pretty sure Neo would be KO for now. She watched the girl fall to the floor and she gave a nod to Yang, before activating Com "Jerome. Can you send Red Alice back here to pick up a lil' POW?" and triggering a snicker from Yang.
"... Did you really have to...?" Jerome sighed in exasperation over com "She's on her way. Red Actual, out."
Alice appeared, AR aimed up, then sighed "Did you seriously, Kelly...?"
"Hey, we have to Alices now. Not my fault." Kelly shrugged. "How're the others doing?"
"Belladonna and Sam just captured Torchwick... But we can't stop the train. And we've got a Grimm horde tailing us with big ones coming in fast..." Alice sighed, lowering her rifle as she grabbed Neo and cuffed the girl. Kelly shook her head, then said "We bracing for Impact, then?" to which the girl nodded. They rendezvoused back with team RWBY, RED and Blue and Chief looked around. He primed up a Hardlight Shield Grenade, then showed everyone to form up around him... As the vehicle fast-approached impact point, they braced.
"Hey, guys?" Yang looked to the Spartans as they cluttered around them and mr. Oobleck.
"Yes?" Kelly asked.
"Why are you-"
"Our armors can lock, providing extra layering between you and the outside... Once the impact comes and the shield goes, you'll be relying on us and Aura alone to survive the blast..." John said. "So, just hang on tight." before tightening his grip and locking the MJOLNIR set. The other Spartans did so too as the Hardlight 'Nade popped and powered up the bubble around them... And as the door to Vale itself came... The crash burst apart the doors and sent the people inside tumbling out... The Vale City Center was occupied. And as the first hordes of Grimm appeared, the Spartans unlocked armors and cocked weapons...
John was first out, his Rifle bursting through an Ursa Major at highest power setting. He tapped his com and said "BEACON FOB, this is Spartan-117, requesting immediate backup grounside. Watch your flight vectors and deploy at least one half click away from my current position. Grimm numbers are too high, over." Before he knelt and called out "SPARTANS! ENGAGE!"
The squadron jumped to their feet, weapons loaded and ready to kill. Fred's DMR barked, with Creeps and Wolves falling to direct, well-aimed Headshots. Kelly's own shotgun blasted apart a squad of harassing Creeps and then got shoved down the throat of an Ursa. She blasted its head open without a second thought, then swiveled about and punched one into a wall.
Linda's sniper barked from a distance, but that didn't mean she was afraid to get in close. Her twin pistols continuously barked, with no shots wasted by the professional Sniper. Following her in was team JNPR, now deployed via Bullhead into the square... Linda caught wind on Comms as another team, CFVY, Deployed... "Chief, this is Johnson. We're coming in... And we've got a helluva lot of backup! Courtesy of Forge and Co, as well as Ironwood's men!"
Team JPDE's other 3 teammates came aboard the first Pelican... The First. Of around 30...
30 Pelican Gunships' 30mm Guns spooled and belched fiery hot Uranium and Lead. A deafening cacophony that lasted for all of 3 seconds. The streets ahead, filled with Grimm, burned a bright scarlet as the high-caliber Armor Piercing Explosive Rounds punched through their horrid occupants, kicking up dust, debris and Grimm Essence from the vanishing monstrosities. Marines of the Spirit of Fire rappelled and joined the teams on the ground and Hornets swept in, their 7,62 Guns screaming, lock-on rockets aimed for the Grimm Flyers.
Tracers streamed in and beams of Laser gutted an advancing herd of Grimm Ursae coming down main boulevard. Sparrowhawk Gunships flew in low and fast, their 7,62 Gatling Cannons crackling and their nose-mounted Laser Cannons glaring scarlet death at the enemy creatures. Atlas Military units deployed fast and joined up with the Marines of the UNSC and their assisting vehicles, just as Vulture Gunships, the massive air vehicles that they were, swept in with a short missile barrage...
"Good Gods..." Weiss' eyes went wide, looking above at the Gunships as their guns barked and barked again. Blake fell to her knees, with Sam tending to her... The Faunus Cat smiled as she saw the Reinforcements streaming in.
Ruby was inches short of nerding out at the sight of UNSC vehicles... What pushed her over and made her knock herself out screaming and cheering was two Pelicans deploying a pair of tanks with heavy armor and two cannons. Jerome grinned, leaning his rifle on his shoulder as he saw the Grizzly Main Battle Tanks of the Spirit moving in, with Forge's Marines following. Johnson, rifle leaning on his shoulder, smirked and said "Well, Chief. Looks like Backup's here." to John. The Chief gave a nod, taking his helmet off and revealing, for the first time in his life, a smile.
Vale Citizens regarded the Marines and greeted them with Cheers as they marched down the streets. Same happened with the Armored Vehicles and assault aircraft that now occupied Vale Airspace. The Hawks flew in low on a parade display as they cleared out the last of their Grimm with precision Laser shots. Marine Medics deployed to check on the Civilians...
"Woohoo!" Yang raised a fist into the sky "GIVE'EM HELL, BOYS!"
... And she noticed a pair of Female Marines, grinning at her...
"And girls!" Yang chuckled.
Atlas Bots and Army Troopers welcomed the Marines with handshakes and some Marines even hugged them. NOBLE Team had deployed too, to clear out another group of Grimm due east of the Square that the others were in. The girls and boys of teams RWBY and JNPR found themselves sitting down as Spartans hauled Neo and Torchwick aboard a UNSC Transport and took them to a FOB where they could be kept...
"Well... Today was eventful..." Yang mused, smirking.
"Tell us about it..." Jack said as she approached them. "You girls ready for Vytal?"
... oh... Right...
That...
AN:Sooo... I got an announcement to make, folks!
Come next chapter, this will be the end of Spartan Assault...
...
...
VOLUME 1! Hehe. Gotcha. Anyways, case in point, Chapter 35 should be the end of Volume 1 of this story, while I allow myself to figure out what else to do and where to go with Volume 2(RWBY's 3) and how to further change it up. Though, don't worry, Ch. 35 will be an absolute banger of a chapter. I've got special plans for ending Vol. 1 on a high note, so hang on to yer pants!
Well, 'till next time!