So I feel like a bastard for asking for this, but I gotta do it anyway. I've started up a account just to gain a few extra bucks while writing, considering I'm gonna be in my final year of high school soon enough and may need money... So, yeah, if you could please go over and... I dunno, if you guys and gals want to donate or not, but I figured I'd ask anyways...
pa t reon com jj121341h
(Complete it with the necessary dots and such)
Aboard Unmanned Transport Aircraft...
Seated in her chair, looking over supply manifestos with a calm grin on her face. In her mechanical hand resided a tablet and seated beside her was a squadron of Shadow Doctrine's most elite soldiers. They were delivering a new shipment of toys for their staging ground, as provided by an Atlesian Robotics Industry baron that was aligned with their views. She hunched over, looking toward the crate in the far back and said "Well, boys... I've just read what the hell we're delivering."
Some of the Troopers looked to each-other, than to their CO. She smirked and said "It's the latest model of Unmanned All-Terain Vehicle. The UGV-16 'Reaper'. Nasty 30mm rotary cannon loaded with hardened Fire Dust cartridges. Can punch through a wall of reinforced concrete and still kill whatever poor fucker's on the other side... And by Command's orders, we'll have access to some of these mean bastards in our next mission!"
"Hooah!" The soldiers cheered.
"Speaking of our next mission, Command has just briefed me. We'll be working with that Vacuoan Mercenary, as well as Lilac and that downer of a shapeshifting fuck next to her. Our objectives are as follows:Make our way into Vale, secure ourselves an FOB in what used to be White Fang territory and start causing trouble." The woman had a more vile grin as she continued "Command also provided us with a very dangerous chemical weapon... XM-13 Gas." and she saw some of them freeze on the spot... XM-13 was a powerful chemical that caused burns both on the inside and, when inhaled or ingested, on the inside, effectively turning whoever it touched into a blackened husk within the span of seconds... Rumors had it it was also fucking painful all the while.
"Don't worry, boys." She leaned back into her seat "It's in airtight containers with three safeties, meaning we'll need a high-ranking officer to release it..." before her grin was complimented by what sent chills up the soldiers' spines. She spoke softly "So don't piss me off, m'kay? Unless you want to become a Guinea Pig for the gas yourselves." before watching the UTA's computer start up changing directions. She stood up, slung what looked to be a revolver into a holster on her hip, then said "C'mon. Asses in gear. We're landing."
The Unmanned Aircraft, resembling of a silver arrowhead, spun about to touch down. It had a pair of wing-mounted propeller-based engines that kept it aloft, providing VTOL Capabilities. Behind it were a pair of heavy-duty Jet engines whose roar began to fade. The propellers angled, allowing the triangular vehicle to touch down on three skids in the center of town. The soldiers carted the boxes of equipment out of the back of the vehicle, with Kuro coming out last and sniffing... She sighed in a relaxed manner, grinning, then said sarcastically "Aaah. I missed the rancid air of this shithole." before looking down and noticing Dewitt there.
"Well, howdy, part'ner." She quipped, stepping off and scanning the town of houses made of sheet metal, plaster and rotting wood. She also noticed some dirty kids playing in the background while unmarked construction vehicles worked to build three things:A functioning road, an irrigation system for the dying crops and, finally, a well to supply both the town and that irrigation system. "See you're still doing the good samaritan shit."
"Have to." Dewitt shrugged "Not a fan of shooting Civvies in the face to get what I want."
The woman, bearing her grin still, said "Well, my guy, that's where we're oh so different. I don't mind shooting anyone in the face as long as it both gets me what I want and my point across." before looking to her men as they unpacked the Reaper Tank... The damn thing had four legs for All-Terrain movement, with tracks on the inner part that allowed them to move faster and not sink in muddy terrain. The 30mm Gatling Gun was housed in a turret with multiple aiming systems. And it was fully autonomous... As were most Rotte Robotics vehicles. Except the ones meant for Shadow Doctrine had a difference. They weren't linked to the CCTS System and internet like most Atlas Drones. They had their own system...
She watched the vehicle's Gatling Gun emerge from the rounded turret and spool up. Its feet extended and allowed it to stand about a meter taller than her. Smaller defensive systems in the form of an Automated Machine Gun appeared from the top, with its own sensor suite. It identified Shadow Doctrine troops via laser scan of the dog tags in their armor. She looked over to the tablet and tapped in a few lines, linking to it, before inserting the commands not to target unarmed organisms... For now.
She looked to Dewitt and said "I'll play along... But if the Civvies start fucking with us, command's gonna pin your ass for wasting XM-13 on some ass-end village." in a warning tone, before stepping off to a simple glare from Dewitt. He watched her soldier pack follow her out toward the Barracks set up in the center of town, before rolling his eyes and walking toward the construction crews. Kuro was a bitch, but she was the Colonel's favorite Military Officer...
Annoying, but okay...
Beacon FOB.
"No..."
John stepped away from the Armory, helmet slung under his arm as Cortana tailed him.
"C'mon, John! It's just a little break from your job. Would it hurt you to join?" Cortana sighed... The immediate response was another calm, cold negative from the Spartan as he walked off. Cortana understood that the whole situation with the Shadow Doctrine had become increasingly more dangerous than he or she had originally expected, so the whole ordeal was riding on them figuring out what the Doctrine was planning(and how they knew his ID Number) before anything else... But a little R&R wouldn't have hurt him.
"It's just a party, John. Seriously..." The woman crossed her arms and glared at him. "Would help you ease up a bit... You've been tense ever since Shadow Doctrine first showed up on our sensors."
The Chief sighed deeply, then turned to her and said "On that point, it's also time wasted by not searching for Shadow Doctrine. They just made a couple of major moves and one of our Operatives discovered that they're working with high-ranking Atlesians and stocking weapons within Vale's borders. It's the Insurgency under some new form, Cortana. And you know every Spartan will be trying to extinguish it before it becomes a problem..."
"John..." Cortana eyed him... She knew him well enough to know he'd have the drive to end whatever the Doctrine's plans were for Remnant, but for now, she needed him to understand a few things, among which being the fact that the Chain Of Command now didn't go anywhere above him and Captain Cutter and that, if he wanted to, he could take a rest. They had Operatives working on Shadow Doctrine...
He sighed, turning to meet her stern gaze with his own. She spoke again, her expression softening "John... You've been at war for the better part of almost 30 to 40 years of your life. Now, whatever Forerunner Force shipped us over to Remnant decided to give you your childhood back, kept me in working order and transferred almost a thousand of the UNSC's unsung heroes to rebuild their lives here. You've gone through the Covenant, the Flood and even the Forerunners and the echoes of ancient humanity that are the damned Prometheans..." And she approached him, placing a hand on his chest and looking up at him. Softly, she said "Please... Just this once, this Sunday... Take a break and enjoy some time off with friends you haven't seen in decades... With me."
... The Spartan paused, looking at the woman before him. Despite only knowing her for as little as 7 years, compared to the decades he's known the Spartans, she'd become his anchor and his closest friend. Sighing deeply, the Spartan nodded, defeated, and said "Is it formal or informal wear? Because... I'm considering a little surprise from me and the boys." and he gave her a smile... Cortana's entire face lit up... And without a second thought, the AI turned human hugged her close friend, wrapping her arms 'round his waist and nuzzling her face into his shoulder... John, slightly taken aback by his companion's sudden behavior, sighed again. He wanted to hug her back...
"HEY, CHIEF!" Daisy's cheerful yell made Cortana jump back, eyes wide... The woman appeared in the door, a grin on her face and her arms crossed. John finally got a good look at the prosthetic limbs attached to her and held back a wince. Cortana pursed her lips, a bit worried... But Daisy seemed to be taking it in stride. She smirked, then said "Why the long faces? There's a party coming! Our first actual Party! And I hope both of you are coming, 'cuz Yang said it's in dedication to SWORD and our work!"
... Ah, yes, the reason for Yang hosting a party at a rather large and well-known club in Vale. The girl had pinged everyone's scrolls about wanting to host it at Junior's Club for SWORD, to celebrate the organization and the people within it. A sort of 'thank you' from the blonde, for some reason or other. The rest of team RWBY also wanted to assist with that and it would seem they succeeded... And some rumors surfaced that Doctor Halsey was part of the Party's planning staff, but it wasn't confirmed.
The Blonde chuckled "I and Cal are being dragged by Weiss to get ourselves costumes, since, I quote 'Ladies should not wear dress uniforms to parties'. And she told me to drag your ass along too, Cortana... So, c'mon." before walking up to and grabbing her by the hand. She looked over to the Chief, then said "Sorry to take her like this, Chief, but Weiss is pretty damn insistent on it."
"Got it..." Chief nodded. He waved to Cortana as they walked away and she waved back, smiling... Chief chuckled, putting his armor away. He walked out of the Armory, before taking a turn for Beacon itself and noticing Evelyn. He gave the bunny gal a nod, which she returned with a mock salute, before saying "'Sup, Chief!" with her usual Jovial tone. "Haven't seen ya in a while."
"Been busy, as you can probably tell..." John sighed. "How's everyone?"
"Well, let's see... Jack and Yang are visiting team JNPR, Penny's with Ruby and I'm just here..." The bunny girl smirked. "How're ya doing?"
"Aside from a new enemy showing up? I'm okay." He said, arranging his Beacon uniform... He hadn't been out of his armor for a while. This felt even weirder...
"Heard about'em... Oz recommended I join the ONI Gang hunting for info." Evelyn noted, walking beside him. John raised a brow... And she smirked "And I may do that after the party. Yer coming along, right?" to which John nodded simply. The Bunny Gal's smirk grew into a grin as she said "Well, hope you'll enjoy it. Jack's also tagging along... It's been a while since we did anything as a team."
... John felt an actual pang of guilt at that. He enjoyed the girls' company and hadn't spent so much time with them and he was supposed to be Team Lead there as well...
He was growing softer...
"Sorry about that... We'll figure something out to where we can all tag along together aside from the party." John said almost as if in promise... He did intend to get both his Spartans and his friends from Beacon together, now that he thought about it... It may help cohesion between the UNSC and the Huntsmen and Huntresses. The two paused upon seeing a Spartan in the Gardens... In one hand, she wielded an Energy Sword. In another, her Bowie. And facing her, the Arbiter. A harmonious dance of Energy Swords between the girl and the Elite came into full view. Six parried and maintained a good moving defense, while the Arbiter, in his own gracious manner, held his firm offense, trying to find a way to sneak an attack in.
Chief and Evelyn looked to each-other and the bunny grinned, before they walked(more like ran for Evelyn) over to the dueling combatants. Chief also noticed Rtas "Vadum and NOBLE Team in a corner, watching as the Hyper-Lethal Vector and the Elite Blademaster exchanged non-lethal blows. The two circled past the duelists and joined the spectators, before Chief turned to Rtas and spoke "What's going on?"
"Noble Six wished to test the Arbiter's prowess in a spar... So far, I am not impressed." Rtas spoke calmly.
"She's doing fine." Kat rolled her eyes.
"The Arbiter is... As you humans say 'pulling punches'. The duel would've been over in an instant if he wasn't." Rtas returned.
"Calling bullshit." Evelyn hummed, grinning "Six is a pretty tough cookie. Far as I heard, she killed a lot of your kind in close quarters."
"On Reach, when she was wounded, nonetheless." Chief added, crossing his arms. He and Evelyn only got a sideways glance from Rtas... They turned their attention toward the Fight. Thel swung his blade left, but Six dropped to a knee, dodging and bringing her Knife upward. The Sangheilli managed to catch it with his free right hand. The Spartan pounced jauntily to her feet, headbutting the Elite in the jaw.
Thel staggered, then shook his head, before dodging a downward swipe from Six's Energy Sword. The girl quickly doubled over and tried to bring the blunt end of her knife to the Elite's face, but he parried with his Energy Sword, sending sparks flying from the blade making contact with the Titanium blade. He cocked back his fist and gave Alice a mock grin, before delivering a punch to the side of her chest. She doubled over and recovered just in time to receive a hoofed foot into the chest. All the air left her lungs as she slammed against the trunk of a tree in the gardens.
She growled, crossing her arms and surging forward toward the Elite. Thel tracked her movement... Before she vanished behind some bushes. He scanned the surrounding bushes and, when he saw a figure appear, he tried to react, but was swiftly forced to enter the defensive as Alice's fist(and blunt knife) made contact with the Arbiter's hand. He caught them and found himself in need to block an Energy Sword strike directed at his 'chest'...
Only to realize it was a feint as Six's armored foot made contact with his chest, followed by the second foot. The Arbiter stumbled back as the Spartan female pressed the advantage, swiping and slicing with both weapons... Rtas seemed almost surprised, while NOBLE Team and Evelyn grinned... John simply gave Alice an approving nod which she caught, but continued to press the advantage nonetheless. Their blades clashed, sparks of energy flying off of them.
A grin crept onto Six's face as she maintained pressure, making sure not to leave herself exposed. Whereas she started on the defensive, now she'd caught the Elite on the back foot. She spun into a roundhouse, which the Elite barely managed to block. The kick hit his left hand, nearly making him drop the Energy sword, but he managed to regain his composure and stop a second strike from hitting by grabbing the Spartan by the leg and pushing her back, before charging forward and attempting to grab her by the helmet...
The two's energy swords wound up mere inches from the other's throat... A Tie...
Thel nodded and complimented "Impressive speed, Spartan."
"Not so bad yourself, Arbiter." Six said, standing up. The two sheathed their weapons, before shaking hands. Chief looked over to Rtas, who respectfully hummed, bowing his head in approval. Perhaps he had misjudged Alice. She moved pretty well, for a human. Chief approached the Arbiter, who turned to greet him with a light, friendly nod. The two shook hands.
"Impressive display from both of you." He said.
"Noble Six's Hyper-Lethal rating is well-earned." The Arbiter said, before looking at John "If you care, we can go for a similar spar some time later, Spartan."
"We'll see." John gave a nod. "Glad to know you're enjoying yourself at least, Arbiter."
"Willing fighters are always a welcome sight." Rtas returned. "It allows combatants to maintain their edge, so to speak. How are things with this 'Shadow Doctrine' going, Spartan? We've heard much." And he walked up to them. Six twirled her knife between her fingers and looked to John too, before taking off her helmet. John looked over the entire group present, Noble included...
"Shadow Doctrine are something we don't know much about yet." He spoke calmly. "And we need all the help we can get to take them down... But for now, let's stow this discussion. I'm meant to be quote-unquote 'relaxing' and socializing." He sighed, before arranging his uniform. "There's a party coming which I'm also supposed to go to, I hear Ruby is working on a new armament set for some of us and for herself and that Doctor Halsey's in the party's organizer committee... A lot of weird things are abound here..."
... Yeah, a lot of them...
