Immigrant to Atlas:
The air was cold, and the sea below was colder, yet warmth pervaded the ship's decks from bow to stern. It rocked gently from side to side in the Eastern Atlesian sea, the water being, for once, amiably generous to the ships crew. They had not only the following seas, but also fair winds, and they made exceptional headway towards their destination. For an hour the ship moved north, until, finally, it reduced itself to a leisurely speed and came to the coast, which the ship followed westward. The waterborne ship was a cargo hauler, naturally a rather bulky ship, being almost a long rectangle with pointed bow and circular stern. It's cargo was dust, and other, more illegal, items of interest.
The ship turned slightly to starboard to remain parallel to the coast, and then came round a small peninsula that jutted out into the sea. There before the ship was the port to which it was fated to dock and unload. Port Tamsworth was the largest port town on Solatis, and it showed in the large sea walls that guarded its centre, keeping it's precious fishing trawlers safe as they were docked, and ensuring that no waves would batter the houses of it's residents.
To the west of the town centre was the docks for the cargo haulers, it was an assortment of rusted steal beams and docks, as well as large industrial facilities and train yards. Once it had provided energy to all of Solatis, but no longer did it's furnaces burn, and no longer did smoke billow from it's smoke stacks, there was no need of it any longer. This was much to the appreciation of the residents and workers however, as they had all become sick of breathing in toxic smoke.
The ship came to a crawl and glided into position to dock, it's bow and stern coming parallel with the pier. Sailors looped great big ropes to their places on the dock and the ships anchor was dropped into the sea, ensuring it would not be moved in the slightest, by nature or Grimm. From the deck jutted out a ramp, obviously for the unloading of cargo, it was lowered slowly until it finally came to connect with the pier. Another ramp then came out, a smaller one, for the offloading of crew or passengers.
The great roar of her engines then slowed to a whine, before finally sputtering out. The sailors aboard pulled over themselves great big jackets, made expressly for working in the cold. The warmth that once pervaded her decks then receded inwards, occupying only the insides of the ship. The cold air moved in and gained its territory, and suddenly the breaths of the sailors was white mist in the air.
The unloading of the ship then began; passengers moved down the smaller ramp in a long line, carrying bags with them, and making way to a small office at the end of the pier. On the larger ramp came down large cargo containers, which were loaded onto trucks, which then made their way into town and then to their destinations. From the line of passengers, at it's end, six men slipped out and into a gap between the cargo containers. They moved slowly, and as silently as possible, creeping in and out of the gaps between the containers.
Among their number was a particularly young man, atop his head was a flat cap, which tried, yet failed, to contain a mop of blonde hair. He wore worn out gloves, the finger tips gone, as well as a set of worn out runners. He was clad in a set of nylon track suit pants, as well as a nylon track suit jacket over a jumper. He carried only a small backpack, no doubt stuffed with unsuitable clothes and little in the way of lien.
Jaune shuffled closer to the side of a container as the group came closer to the office building. Behind it, and guarding the way into the town was a large fence, barbed wire adorning it's top like a crown. Beyond the fence patrolled the maritime security forces, making rounds across the fence line, determined to stop smuggling operations. Jaune shivered in the cold and rubbed his hands together in hopes of warming himself. The leader of the group brought his fist up to signal to stop, and the group complied, making themselves as small as possible.
A couple dock workers moved by, and the lead man turned to them. He was a small and ratty looking man, with large ears and a crooked smile, he then spoke, just barely above a whisper, in a high pitched voice.
"I'll go ahead, and signal you over the opening, one at a time."
The group's heads nodded their agreement, and he poked his head out, looking both ways, before almost sprinting to the other side. He ducked in close to the container on the other side and eyed the opening, before he then made a gesture, signaling for some one to come to him.
The grouped looked to one another, before finally one of them, a large set man, moved across the opening, keeping himself low to the ground and looking both ways. He made it and went past the ratty man until he was at the end of the container.
The signal was given and another man went over, he was taller than even Jaune, and he was their faster than anyone could see.
The ratty man looked to Jaune and gave the signal. Jaune hesitated for but a moment, lifting slightly from his kneeling position, before returning to it, then lifting fully from the position. He poked his head out and looked from side to side, ascertaining if there was anything there. Keeping low, with his back almost parallel to the ground, Jaune lept forward in a jogging like motion.
Jaune made the full length of the run, and came to a stop besides the ratty man, who, up close, smelled absolutely awful. The ratty man signaled again, and another man came. It was, however, on the next signal that things took a turn for the worst. The next man ran, but tripped, his backpack slamming into the ground before flying into a container. The sound was like a bomb going off in the ears of these men, and certainly in the ears of the dock security.
For a moment time stopped, and Jaune felt dread full his stomach, his jaw clenched together, and he stepped back. Any reluctance to run could not be found within his compatriots, nor in Jaune as soon as he heard the first guard come round the corner. However he did not begin to run until the ratty man pushed him forward and said.
"Follow me, friend, I know where to go. Move quickly and follow me, or I'll leave you here."
Jaune followed, and so did two others. Looking backwards Jaune watched the man who had tripped be tackled by a guard, he then struggled for a bit, before the guard hit him in the head with his baton. The last man ran back the way they had come, disappearing into the maze of cargo containers. He drew his eyes to the front and turned left at the next cargo container, before then turning right, and then left again.
The ratty man stopped, and stopped the group, his chest heaved, for it seemed he wasn't in particularly good shape. The heavy set man came to the Ratty man's side and whispered fiercely to his ear.
"You basterd, yer a dipshit, you promised us safe passage into Atlas, and now two of us have been nabbed and we've got the security on our arses."
The ratty man's face went red, his stance widened, and his chest jutted out. In an explosive movement his back foot twisted inwards, and his fist came up and forwards, itself twisting as it was thrown. For added power the Ratty Man twisted his hips to throw the punch further. It made contact with the heavy set man's throat, who began chocking and collapsed to the ground, as if suddenly his legs had disappeared.
The ratty man wasn't done, no he wished to do more. He launched himself off his back foot and then brought it down on the man's head. The sound of his head being slammed, as well as it cracking, rang through the air. The man no longer chocked, didn't move a muscle in fact, blood was beginning to pool.
Jaune leaned against the container, a hand brought to his mouth, eyes wide in horror as the heavy set man then began to have a sort of seizure. The others too were in states of shock. The ratty man spoke then, in a matter of fact way.
"Stupid bitch, questioning me and my methods, got what was coming for him. Let's move, let the bitches have him." He looked to the group. "Enough standing around."
Another man, a Faunus of some sort, moved to help the man on the ground, but was stopped by the ratty man, who shoved him to the container wall.
"No one helps him."
And so no one did, no one wished to end up as he did, a seizuring mess on the ground. Jaune did, however, place his jacket under the man's head when they had begun moving again.
About half an hour later they came to the fence, in the middle of it was a large gap and another man, who held a bolt cutter. The way through was quite the fit, Jaune got onto his belly and crawled through and was stuck for a moment, before he was able to free himself and come out on the other side.
The cold air then struck him as it had not before, for in crawling through the fence he had waded through the wet and muddy ground, his clothes were now soaked and muddy and produced no protection.
By the time they had managed to get through he had began to shiver violently. Yet no one paid it any mind, and Jaune ignored it as much as he could, they were nearly home free.
They snuck then along the fence line, towards the office building, dropping to the ground as patrols went by, holding their breaths and hoping they were not seen. Eventually they came to the building itself, and inside they saw the other passengers being processed, they saw workers sipping hot cups of coffee. In the pits of Jaune's stomach developed a sense of envy.
Eventually they made it to the end of the building, and to the main exit, where trucks loaded with containers came out. One in particular was their focus, it was a run down truck with a shady driver, who looked as ratty as the ratty man. Speaking of who, the ratty man ran over to the man and made conversation. It was not a long conversation, for only a minute later the man went to the back of his truck and opened its doors, and signalled to the group. Running over they climbed in, with Jaune going last, almost stumbling back out because of his hands being too cold to properly grasp anything, and his legs were weak.
The back of the truck was full with boxes, but there was enough room for the likes of the group, and they squeezed in readily. The violent shivering receded somewhat then for Jaune, for it was warm in the container, and replacements for his cloths could be found in the boxes. Soon he could hands, but now he was tired, so very tired. Before he fell asleep he thought only one thing.
They were on their way, finally, to the centre of the Kingdom, to his new life.