The droning of the Aircraft's engine died down as the vehicle flew to the landing spot. Into view came the massive school that the young girls before them had called Beacon. A city in and of itself, the academy was situated atop Beacon Cliff and housed several important sites, among which being the dorms, the central construct known as Beacon Tower, a gym and mess hall. John saw them all from flight...
And now that they'd disembarked, the duet of Spartans watched the girls stretch, yawning... The blonde one, Yang, she was called, said "Well, it's getting late, girls... Shouldn't we get to bed?"
"We kinda have to get these guys over to the Headmaster." Ruby shrugged. She gasped, realizing, then turning to them and asking "Oh, sorry! We were a bit caught up with the Grimm and we didn't get to introduce ourselves." Then she gave quick waves "Hi... I'm Ruby Rose and..." and slowly, her face morphed from surprise and embarrassment into what the Chief could only describe as starlit eyes and a wide smile. She vanished and reappeared in the blink of an eye, before calling out from around a surprised Pair of Spartans "ohmygod YOUR ARMOR IS SO COOL! WHAT IS THIS!? WHAT'S IT MADE OUT OF!? Why do I feel static when I hover my hand above it?"
Six caught her just as she dashed toward his left, about to ask another question. He caught the short one by the hood, stopping her mid-dash. And as a blush returned to her face, she chuckled "Sorry."
"My sis is kind of a weapon geek." The blonde noted, arms crossed and a grin on her face and definitely trying not to gawk, unlike their other two compatriots whose jaws were about to dislocate. Blonde Brawler continued, calmly "So seeing your gear probably tickles her fancy. I'm Yang, by the way. Heya."
"Your friends seem surprised." Six noted, tilting his head toward the other two.
Yang scratched her cheek "Who, Weiss and Blake? Yeah, about that... Not a lot of people can catch Ruby while she's using her semblance and then, there's you, catching her mid-flight like she's a ball in a dodgeball game."
Six hummed, then looked to a still-smiling Ruby. He set the girl down gently, then said "Right..." before looking to the Chief. And as the girls watched on, it was like the two were having some sort of telepathic communication. In truth, the two Spartans had turned off their external helmet microphones and were instead communicating via Single-Beam comms.
"With all due respect, I don't trust them." Six said bluntly to the Chief.
"Unknown teenage combatants that can fight those strange mutated animals?" Chief hummed. "I concur, really. Too off..."
"Speaking of things that are off, John... Your voice?"
... Cortana was right. Something was entirely wrong with his voice. The Spartan marched on for now, willing to process this new bit of information at a later date...
Yang looked back at their two new 'arrivals'. They carried themselves with the air of elite military operatives the likes of which you'd see in Docs about the Atlesian Military that Ruby loved to watch. Though the gear they carried did give Atlas vibes, it seemed too... Purely utilitarian. Atlas loved to tickle their own fancy by making their weapons and armor look cool, streamlined. These two resembled more what you'd think of pre-production prototypes of Atlas gear, or maybe something home-brewed, like huntsman kit, but... How long would it've taken them to make this stuff, Yang didn't know.
She turned to Blake, to see her eyeing them more suspiciously than even Weiss, who, mind thee, was sizing them up. The brawler snorted, noticing the height difference as Weiss took a step back to examine the guy in the darker armor. Weiss barely reached the man's elbow. Yang swept her gaze over to Rubes, to see her happily strolling in the lead, humming some sorta old song from a cartoon Yang couldn't really recall right now.
The group of six entered Beacon Tower's lower point through a sliding door, walking past the accountant's desk and toward the elevator that lead up to both the communication room and the headmaster's office. And as they entered it, with the girls leading, they suddenly found themselves pressed up against the wall like sardines in a can... Yang hummed, trying to suck in her gut(and her chest, but that was not working) as to avoid poking the guys in the back. She was Yang, she knew she had abs, not a gut, but that didn't help the fact those two were also shoulder-to-shoulder.
Weiss leaned to the side of the Spartan, curiously gazing upon the armored man's form. She hit the button for-she hoped-the Headmaster's office, before leaning back...
"Well... They're pretty huge." Blake said, her arms and hands glued to the sides of her body thanks to her friends. Her bow twitched...
"That's an understatement..." Weiss murmured, rolling her eyes.
Yang looked to Weiss and whispered "Yo, Ice Queen. You're from up North. Atlas got this kinda armor at their disposal?" as she eyed a nigh-invisible field of energy warping the light around the Spartans' armor. She felt the hairs on her neck stand on-end from the static. Weiss shook her head, but not before shooting a killer glare toward the blonde for the return of that silly nickname.
"If we do, it's either highly-classified, or under testing... Definitely not crash-landing near Vale." She returned snarkly, then asked Yang and Ruby "What about Vale? Any plans of rearmament that involve this kind of technology?"
"No... No major reason to." Ruby answered. "I'd love to see what our gun manufacturers can pull, don't misunderstand, but... I don't think we could make stuff like this... It looks a bit too Sci-Fi for that..." And before long, Ruby took to processing this... Slowly, as a jumble of thoughts put a few clear ideas in her head, she grinned and whispered with excitement "Gods above, girls... Think they're aliens?!"
"Don't be silly, Ruby. Aliens don't exist..." Weiss berated. "Like you said, that's science..." She slowed her speech as she saw both Ruby and Yang smirking smugly at her... "Fiction... Alright, say they're alien..." She admitted defeat, then looked to the two Supersoldiers, scared "What would they be doing on Remnant?"
"Definitely not hearing every single thing you lot are talking about?" Six observed, his voice almost robotic, looking back at them, though his eyes were invisible behind his visor. "We are in an elevator. An enclosed space. Sound reverberates. You wanna speculate about people in the same place as you? Do it after they've left."
... All 4 girls looked away, averting his gaze. Ruby hummed awkwardly, Yang whistled awkwardly, blushing, Weiss tapped her foot and frowned... Awkwardly... And Blake put her hands over her bow to stop it from twitching, suddenly finding her own boots very interesting. Chief gave a very light nod to his fellow Hyper-Lethal vector, to thank him for quieting down the teenager posse, while Cortana simply chuckled... The Elevator's doors slid open, revealing a rather large room. Its floor and roof were made of clear glass and through both, the mechanisms running the tower's massive clock were visible. To the left, were the grinding gears that connected top to bottom... To the right, there was a long table with a chessboard in the middle, behind which resided a set of wooden shelves lined with books.
Sitting behind a desk with cogs and gears turning within, an elderly man, his weary face capped off by a mane of scruffy grey hair, gazed at them through a pair of small spectacles. He smiled, interlaced hands on the table. Gazing to the four girls, he locked onto Ruby, then said "Ah, miss Rose. I see you've found survivors from that crash site."
"Yup! Hey, Headmaster." Rose waved, still awkward. "These are..." She motioned to the two Spartans, then froze "Uh..." And she started shaking, turning to the guys with a half-smile that wordlessly said an 'I'm sorry I didn't ask your names'. The two Spartans looked to Ruby, remaining ramrod straight, whilst Ozpin simply snorted at the little awkward moment between the leader of team RWBY and the duet of unknown Supersoldiers...
"John, Six. Just introduce yourselves by rank." Cortana noted. Chief felt her rummaging through his helmet as she tried to make a wireless connection to something... He hummed, then got the answer to his unasked question "I'm trying to get a link into some kind of local network... A planetwide Intranet. Give me a few moments, answer whatever you feel you should. I'll get us more info."
Chief gave a slight nod to Six, before stepping up and speaking "I'm Master Chief Petty Officer 117."
"Lieutenant Beta-312." Six gave a nod to Ozpin. "Call me Six."
"Eh... You guys don't have names?" Yang raised a brow. "Ya serious?"
"Classified." The two Spartans chorused, then looked to each-other and back to Ozpin.
The Headmaster chuckled, then said "You're free to go, girls. I have much to talk about with the Master Chief and Lieutenant."
"Awh, can't we hang arooooo-" Ruby let out a long, drawn-out yawn, before noting "Yeah... Fair... Gotta get to bed... It was nice meeting ya, guys! And... Oh, shoot! We didn't introduce ourselves either, did we?!"
"We didn't, actually...?" Weiss raised a brow. "Huh... Must've lost that in the heat of the moment."
"Well, I ain't gonna let that one go quick!" Ruby proclaimed, a smile on her face. The little red rose was a bubbling character, full of joy and clearly enthusiasm for... Whatever they were doing. She gave a smart salute to the two soldiers, then spoke with her jovial demeanor still awake and alive "Hey, guys! I'm Ruby Rose, team leader of this wonderful assortment of Huntresses known as Team RWBY!"
"..." Weiss paused, lips and eyes narrowed at Ruby... She sighed, shaking her head, then said "Gentlemen. I'm Weiss Schnee. Ruby's partner. I tend to provide the team with close-in support. A pleasure to meet you both." And she nodded approvingly, maintaining a straight posture. She was a more calm, collected... Almost royal figure, just by her attire and way of acting alone.
"Hello." Blake nodded, part shy, part unsure of what she was looking at when talking to the Spartans. To them, she seemed a mysterious figure, a shadow of sorts. A blade in the darkness in the form of an odd, cute girl "I'm Blake Belladonna. In military terms, I'm kind of the scout of the team, I guess...? Nice to meet you."
"Sup, boys!" Yang smirked, leaning shoulder(and herself) on top of Ruby's head, despite the little Rose hurling protests Yang's way. She gave a mock salute, with a pride undaunted, unkempt blonde mane flowing as she looked at the two. "I'm Yang Xiao-Long. Ruby's older sis and the team's resident close-quarters ass-kicker." her confidence pouring out. She was clearly the hotheaded one of the team... She offered a snug "Pleasure to meet both of ya."
"Good to meet all of you." John offered a curt nod.
"... I mean, they're pretty cute." Cortana mumbled in a totally-not-jealous tone.
"Well..." Yang yawned, stretching upward. "Well be goin' to bed. See you 'round, troopers." And she picked Ruby up by the waist. She smirked "I'll just take my loli and walk away." forcing a snort out of Weiss and a chuckle out of Blake as they walked toward the elevator...
"YAAAAANG! PUT ME DOWN!" Ruby protested, shaking in Yang's grip. "I CAN WALK! C'MOOOON~ YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!"
The blonde responded with a jovial popping "Nope!" as they entered the elevator, finally clearing the room. The Headmaster let an audible sigh, before turning to his two guests and offering "Do you want some coffee?" and only receiving silent shakes of the head from both men. He shrugged, then took a pot full of the black substance and poured it into his mug, which had an emblem on its front. He hummed, watching as the steam wafted out of the mug itself, before taking a sip and setting it down. He spoke "Well, gentlemen, I must say, your entrance caused quite the ruckus... You are lucky I managed to convince the General of the Atlesian Armed Forces to keep away from your crash site..."
Ozpin motioned outward, to the dark sky where what looked like gigantic, block-shaped whales flew. Their bodies lined by white lights and with grey and black hulls, the massive Airships had wings in the far back of the main hull, with what looked like both engines and secondary armaments mounted onto the central attachment point of the wings. Lining the ship were also numerous batteries of weaponry scaled from small Point-Defense to large heavy weapons... Three of these Airships flew above the skyline of a gigantic city in the far distance.
"Huh..." Cortana mused, watching the airships and their escorting VTOL aircraft buzzing above the city "So that's why I found a series of highly-encrypted communiques floating about the local intranet... Atlas Military." And she went back to her search "John, I've nearly got enough basic files to get you and Six a briefing... Just talk to the Headmaster a bit more."
"I've also yet to introduce myself, it would seem." The Headmaster noted. "Forgive me, gentlemen. I'm Headmaster Ozpin, of Beacon Academy and you are currently in the Kingdom of Vale."
The two Spartans exchanged silent looks and Single-Beam chatter once again, before turning to Ozpin. The Headmaster continued "While I'm fairly certain the name of my Academy and moreso the name of the Kingdom are not familiar to neither of you, gentlemen, I must assure you that you've come into 'friendly territory', to speak in military terms. I presume your crash-landing must've made you privy to the foe that we face too, since team RWBY seemed to be missing a few rounds of ammunition. As do you."
The Headmaster gauged their reactions as he spoke. The Spartans maintained silence for now, probably because he hadn't addressed a question to them. He hummed, then continued "For all that it's worth, I'm glad that you seem to be able fighters. Mankind sorely needs those in this day and age. The Grimm are multiplying at a pace I would have never expected, nor wanted."
"The Grimm?" Six voiced his question first. Good... They could talk.
"Indeed. The monsters you faced." Ozpin answered, sipping from his coffee. "But they aren't our biggest problem, currently."
It only made sense... Chief sighed, then asked the question he knew he would probably regret:"What else are you facing?"
"A cabal, Master Chief. Dissidents that wish to sow panic and chaos within the borders of all four Kingdoms." The Headmaster noted. "And they are moving. Fast. Currently, General Ironwood's Air Fleet, as can be seen out of the window, is present here in preparation for the Vytal Festival, a holiday celebrated every two years since the end of a bloody, brutal conflict that brings together all 4 Kingdoms, their cultures, people and the students of their Huntsman Academies to one place. And this cycle, it is meant to be hosted by Vale and, by extension, Beacon. I fear our Enemy Unknown may act then."
What better time to strike than at a festivity meant to represent peace?
To both, the question remained... "Why tell us this? We've got no stakes in it." as it was voiced by Six.
The Headmaster smiled. Chief sighed... He knew where this was going.
"I need... Associates... People I can trust. I have a small group of trustworthy individuals, but I need someone outside of it too... Someone not tied into this group's machinations. Someone to do the Wet Work. And who better for this kind of job than two soldiers with neither previous allegiances, nor ties to the kingdoms or people here?" His wry smile remained. He continued "You will be provided habitation in Beacon's campus and a cover story as students, or perhaps teachers, should you wish to accept the job. I will brief you of everything if you prove you're trustworthy enough."
... John hummed, then looked outward, to the city of Vale, he presumed. They needed to find a way off the planet, to contact the UNSC and maybe hitch a ride back home. Getting caught up in some shadow war would probably not help in that case, but having an ally on the planet, even if by convenience, could prove a boon. The Spartans would run out of ammo at some point and they most certainly needed time to orient themselves to this planet, whatever it was... He hummed, then turned to Six and switched single-beam com back on.
"What do you think, Lieutenant?" He offered his aide a chance to answer.
... Six mulled over the thought for a few moments, before answering "We may need the financial aid and supplies that he can provide until we figure out our way back home... I'd say we take the job for now. If he's up to fighting folks in the shadows, I know my way around doing that. But we can't live in the school. Too many variables. Too many kids. Even those four seem too green for my liking... If he can find us another cover story, I'd take the job."
The Chief agreed, giving a light nod to the Lieutenant, before turning to Ozpin. He watched the man extend his hand and spoke sternly "Two conditions."
Ozpin raised a brow. "I am all ears, Master Chief."
"We don't stay on school grounds. You find us another cover story for this... Another place to stay."
"It can be arranged." Ozpin smiled. "And the second one?"
"Supplies. We'll be working on finding our way back to our people as we cooperate, but until then, we'll need food, ammunition, money and spare parts." The Spartan finished off his list. The Headmaster arranged the emerald scarf around his neck, then nodded, confidence in his eyes. The Spartan gripped his hand carefully, but firmly, then shook. The Headmaster smiled, then tapped a few lines onto a holographic display that just appeared on his desk.
"I have called in a favor." He said, looking to Chief and Six. "You have an apartment in the residential area of Vale. I'll give you your first mission and your covers come tomorrow morning. Until then, you may head on out and take the last Bullhead drop ship to the district. The apartment building shouldn't be too far from the landing area. It's called Nikos Towers."
"Thanks..." The Chief said, pulling away from the handshake. He and Six turned to leave.
"Oh, Master Chief, Lieutenant, one more thing." Ozpin said, walking out from behind his desk, cane in hand. The two Spartans turned to him as he leaned on his cane. He offered another curt smile, adding "Welcome to Remnant. I hope you'll find your way home soon. Farewell and good night." as he walked with them to the elevator. Giving one last nod to the Headmaster, they entered the Elevator and Six pressed the button for bottom floor.
The trek back to the landing pad was quiet, as was the flight over. The two Spartans had taken the time to examine the skyline of Vale, watching as, above, Atlas-built dropships and gunships buzzed around their mother ships. The duo had to wonder how many people exactly lived in Vale and how many soldiers had Atlas brought over for the defense... If the General was part of Ozpin's little inner circle, the Chief wondered how smart the man was to have brought what amounts to an occupation force...
"I got some data you two may wanna parse over." Cortana interrupted the monotony. "Data on about as much as I could gather. Vale, the three other kingdoms, the Grimm... It's gonna be a long night's read... Also, did anyone bother to ask the Headmaster how he was going to contact us tomorrow?"
... Oh, damn, right...
Chief looked over to Six, who lifted a strange device out of his pocket, then went for his own... Both had them. With a press of the golden button in the middle, the devices extended into holographic touch-screen displays... With one message. 'Forgive the little reverse pick-pocket, but I had to make sure I had ways to contact you. These are Scrolls, Remnant's best in personal communications and assistance tech... Enjoy them, on the house.-Ozpin."
"Heh. Sneaky old man, this one." Cortana quipped. "We're coming up on the landing spot. Grab your bags, Spartans."
The Chief stood to his feet, watching as the vehicle came to a drop point, staring at the tall tower ahead of them. Built in the style of ancient Greek structures, with pillars of marble at the entrance and everything, the place seemed oddly familiar to Noble Six... For some reason. The duo of soldiers walked inside, weapons and gear on their backs. And upon entry, an African-American man greeted them warmly "Hello! Welcome to Nikos Towers, gentlemen. You must be Headmaster Ozpin's guests. I'm mister Moresby, the concierge. Any questions you may have, you can dial, for I'm always present on-site, save for holidays. If you would follow me..."
... The Spartans examined the place. The foyer was a wide open room, with wooden panels lining the walls, below marble tiling and beautiful paintings. Pillars of marble held aloft the tall, vaulted ceiling and multiple small stores and restaurants were at this floor alone. The central part was depressed into the ground and surrounded by wood panels and four pillars of white marble. Pieces of art, statues of marble, tables... The floor itself was covered in a velvet-red carpet. They reached a hallway that had multiple elevators... Moresby slid a key into a slot beside the elevator in the center and said with a still-peppy smile "You've been assigned the penthouse by request of the Headmaster. I'm sure you will find the view quite breathtaking."
"Right... Thanks..." John hummed... The trip with the elevator was short. Just 16 stories up... And the apartment wasn't any less opulent either. Black marble tiles, red carpets, two floors, multiple bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and, of course, a gigantic window and balcony to look out of, as well as a holo-vision in the middle of a very comfortable living room area... This wasn't what the Spartans were used to. Moresby handed the Chief a keycard and another to Six, then said "Please, enjoy your stay at Nikos Towers... Farewell, gentlemen."
Six dropped whatever he was carrying on a table at the entrance, then said "This is a bit... Opulent, wouldn't you say?"
"Well..." Chief hummed, putting his rifle against the wall "Guess hiding in plain sight works..." He added, going to check the massive dining room... There was also a chimney there. Yeah, this was a bit too much. He sighed, then took Cortana out of his helmet, watching her materialize, a grin on her face. She tilted her head toward the closest bedroom...
"There's a computer in there on a desk. Slot me in and keep it on. I can get more data off the... Let's call it Rem-Net. Until then, I left basic briefings in your suits' systems." She explained as Six approached. "Read through them... Remnant's gonna be a fun little vacation, to be quite honest. At least I hope so... Now, I'd get either to bed or to doing some digging yourselves... Vale's nightlife is quite interesting."
"I'll go see what I can find out outside, if that's okay." Six hummed. "I hate being stuck in one place."
Chief nodded. "Don't draw too much attention."
"Will do..." Six noted, walking out toward the door and grabbing his Battle Rifle. Chief walked into the bedroom, turned on the holo-computer and sat down on the (surprisingly) metal chair. It groaned under duress, but held nonetheless, as the Spartan moved to the computer's side and slid Cortana's chip into the device, letting her do her thing as he leaned back, taking out his Magnum and starting to fiddle with it as he looked over Cortana's very detailed report on Remnant...
... He'd need a lot more data. Especially about getting home.
But for the time being, duty called...