Finally, another update. Sorry it took so long, I've had a lot on my plate and I've been trying to correct all the typos in the story.
At one of the largest military training camps on Mistral, things were in chaos. All of the new recruits and the officers were panicking, as news of the invasion reached them. Some were trying to prepare to fight back against the invaders, while others tried to flee in hopes of saving themselves.
All hope soon left the unfortunate Mistralis, as hostile fighters started strafing the camp and several enemy transports started rapidly closing in. Soon enough the guns of the transports and bombers were tearing people to shreds as they tried to run for what little cover there was.
The transports were able to land safely within the camp, encountering very little resistance. Their doors opened as soon as they touched down, and the elite troops of the Branwen Tribe rushed out to face their terrified enemies. Aboard one of the transports were Eagle and Sol, who quickly joined the rest of the forces on the ground.
A few brave but stupid recruits took up arms against them, but they didn't stand a chance against the tribe. With all of their experience and training, the Tribe's troops were able to drop them before they managed to get a single shot off.
Eagle was quite disappointed with the lack of combat, though it did make her job much easier. "Alright, I want all of them rounded up and brought to me. Any of them run, blow their legs off. Any of them resist, blow their fucking heads off." she told her troops, who immediately followed her orders.
"Are we not just going to kill them all?" Sol asked her, surprised by how merciful she was being given how angry and eager for a fight she was.
"It depends, if they cooperate then no, if they don't, then absolutely. It's kind of disappointing, but this happens sometimes." Eagle explained. Sometimes the Tribe was able to handle things without killing everyone, it was quite rare, but it could be beneficial when it did happen.
Looking around, it seemed to Sol, that anyone who would have been uncooperative was already dead, the survivors all looked too fearful to resist, even the camp's officers. It was honestly extremely impressive that the tribe was able to scare the Mistrali army out of resisting.
As the Tribe's troops rounded up everyone at the base, a few gunshots could be heard, but the majority of the Mistralis surrendered and complied with their captors. With their hands on their heads, they were escorted at gunpoint to where Eagle and Sol were waiting.
"I can't believe how well this is going, I thought they'd put up more of a fight," Sol commented as he watched on in awe. Even though most of the people in the camp were only recruits, they were still military personnel, so it was unbelievable that the tribe had broken them with such little effort.
"Well, they've accepted that they don't stand a chance against us. They understand that if they fight back they'll just end up dying in vain while we take over." Eagle explained to him. She'd already seen the same thing happen with the White Fang, and with Cinder's mercenaries.
"That makes sense, it's just strange seeing the army give up so easily," Sol responded. He'd been under the impression that the army would fight to the last man to defend their home, but obviously, the desire to survive was greater than the desire to resist.
"This is what happens when people lose faith in their leader and their cause. There's no point dying for something you don't believe in. It won't be like this everywhere, but I'm sure most of the army and what's left of the navy will surrender." Yang told him. Most of Lionheart's forces would abandon him now that the Tribe had demonstrated their superiority.
Soon enough, everyone on the base had either been put down or brought to Eagle. The survivors were forced to kneel in front of her with their hands on their heads, as the Tribe's troops guarded the perimeter and kept them under control. With everything now under control, Eagle addressed the captives. "Congratulations, you made the right choice. Now, which one of you is in charge of this place?" she asked, wanting to speak to the highest-ranked officer.
"That would be me." one of the officers said with a hint of defiance in his voice. He clearly wasn't happy about being captured but wasn't brave or stupid enough to attempt to run or fight.
Eagle locked eyes with the man and stared him down. "Tell me, do you know who I am?" she asked him. She wanted to make it clear that she was now in charge, and she wanted to make sure that the Mistralis knew who they were dealing with and who their lives were now in the hands of.
"No, why would I?" he responded. Questioning her like that was a bold move. Even if he genuinely had no idea who she was, the troops under her command had him at gunpoint and had demonstrated that they were more than willing to open fire.
"I'm the one asking the questions here, any more of that and there will be consequences." Eagle snapped at him, letting him know that she would not accept any more disrespect or defiance from him. If he or any of the others repeated his mistake, she would not be merciful.
Having made herself clear, Eagle continued. "The name's Eagle, by the way, and I'm the only reason you haven't been slaughtered. My people would have killed every single one of you if I hadn't ordered them not to, but I can be merciful, so I spared you," she told the captives. They still weren't safe, but she wasn't just going to have them massacred.
The fear was clearly visible in the faces of most of the captives, as they faced their own mortality and accepted the fact that they had no control over whether they lived or died. But there were a few, mostly the officers, who did their best to conceal their fear.
"The thing is, being merciful is problematic. You see, I have no guarantee that if I let you go, you won't just throw this back in my face and take up arms against us. So, I'm going to have to find something else to do with you." Eagle explained to them, crushing their hopes of being set free and waging a guerilla war on the Tribe.
"Luckily for you, there is something I can do. Now, this is the only chance I'm going to give you, so don't waste it. Any of you who want to join the Tribe, stand up now." she then told them. She was offering them a way out that was mutually beneficial. The Tribe could always use more troops and now was an opportunity to recruit some.
Out of roughly 100 captured Mistralis, around 60 of them got to their feet. All those who stood were recruits and most of them were Faunus. None of the officers, all of whom were human, didn't even seem to consider the idea.
Eagle was more than satisfied with the number who chose to defect, especially since she hadn't really planned on recruiting anyone during the mission. "Alright then. Those of you willing to join us can now consider yourselves allies of the Tribe. Now. I need you to prove your loyalty to me and earn your place with the Tribe." she said. She couldn't just welcome them to the Tribe, not until they had proven that their loyalties now lay with her and the Tribe. "Everyone still on their knees is now your enemy, kill them." she then ordered.
It took a few moments for Eagle's order to sink in, but in the end, the defectors complied. Whether out of a desire to save their own lives or a genuine desire to prove their loyalty, they brutally attacked their unprepared former allies. Most of their victims were taken down before they had a chance to react, the few who tried to flee or defend themselves quickly being caught and overpowered.
Eagle and the rest of the Tribe watched on as the defectors beat their enemies to death with their bare hands. It was a bloody spectacle, and the air was filled with the sounds of flesh hitting flesh, screams of pain, and pleas for mercy. Eagle was enjoying things a little too much, as she saw a Bull Faunus gouging the eyes of the officer she had spoken with.
Sol found it hard to watch the chaos that Eagle had brought about, but he didn't look away or close his eyes. He knew he would have to get used to it, otherwise, he had no place with the Tribe, especially as Eagle's apprentice.
A single severely injured officer managed to escape the slaughter and charged in Eagle's direction in a vain attempt to attack her. None of her troops tried to take him down, knowing that he posed absolutely no threat to her and she would be able to dispatch him like it was nothing. The moment he got within range, Eagle's robotic arm shot out and grabbed him by the throat. Without any hesitation, she crushed his windpipe and threw him to the floor.
The injuries Eagle gave the officer weren't enough to kill him instantly, and he ended up lying at her feet, struggling hopelessly for air. She could have just left him to die like that, in fact, she felt it was what he deserved. But she had another idea. "Sol, kill this pathetic piece of shit," she ordered, wanting him to make sure he was ready and willing to kill for her.
Rather than shooting the officer, Sol decided to use a knife. He mounted the dying man, pinning him in position, then repeatedly slashed him across his already ruined throat. As he did it, he thought about the first person he killed and imagined the officer being just like him. With that in mind, killing was easy, and he felt the man deserved what he was getting. Blood poured from the deep gashes, and the man quickly went limp. Once he knew the officer was definitely dead, he got back to his feet, before looking to Eagle for approval.
"Not what I was expecting, but I like your style. Most people don't like getting so hands-on," Eagle said to him. She was impressed, not only had he not questioned her or hesitated, he'd gone for a more up close and personal kill rather than just putting a bullet in the officer's head. He passed her test easily, and she knew that in time, she could turn him into an absolute killing machine.
"That felt great," he responded. He felt like he'd done the right thing, that he had killed someone who deserved to die violently, and he liked that feeling. Having now killed twice, it was starting to seem easy, like something he could get used to doing.
"It always does when they deserve it," Eagle told him. Now she was more than just impressed, she was proud of him. Now he was starting to see things the way she and the rest of the Tribe did. It was even more evidence of what she could eventually turn him into, and that made her glad to have him as an apprentice.
Turning her attention back to the action, Eagle found that the defectors had finished with their massacre. They were all battered, bruised, bloody and tired, but they had done as they were ordered. Their loyalty could no longer be called into question, now that they had slaughtered their former friends and allies with their bare hands. There was only one thing she could really say to them. "You've done well, welcome to the Tribe," They had more than earned their place in the Tribe now, having proven themselves to be exactly the kind of people that the Tribe needed more of.
Despite the ordeal they had just been through, the new recruits seemed pleased that they had been accepted. Though that was hardly surprising, given that the alternative was death.
Spotting the Bull Faunus from earlier, Eagle walked into the crowd, stepping over numerous bloody corpses as she did so. After what she had seen him do, she wanted to speak to him individually. "You, what's your name?" she asked upon reaching him, she had plans for him so she needed to know who he was exactly.
For a moment, the Faunus looked like a deer in headlights. The reaction was quite natural for someone being singled out by Eagle, as it was almost always a bad sign. Of course, he was quickly able to overcome the fear and respond. "Onyx Cretan, Ma'am,"
"Alright Onyx, walk with me," Eagle said before walking off in the direction she had come from. Onyx did as he was told, walking beside Eagle as she made her way out of the pile of bodies. "So, why did you decide to join us?" Eagle then asked. He'd already impressed her, but she wanted to know his motivation for defecting.
"I only joined the army because it was the only job I could find. I've wanted to join you for a long time, but I didn't know how, Ma'am," Onyx explained. It seemed he was being honest and not lying to make himself look better.
"Well, today's your lucky day. I saw what you did to your commanding officer, and I was impressed. So I'm putting you in command of everyone who joined with you," Eagle told him. She effectively handed him the job of the man he had killed, as a reward for his actions.
Onyx was caught off guard by the sudden promotion. "Thank you, Ma'am, I don't know what to say," he responded.
"You don't need to say anything, you earned this when you gouged that fucker's eyes out. Killing someone to prove your loyalty is one thing, but doing that is on a whole other level," Eagle explained. She had to respect someone who was ready to gouge out their former commanding officer's eyes out for the Tribe, it showed real commitment to the Tribe and a capacity for violence that most people didn't possess. On top of that, Onyx made the guy who pissed her off suffer, which she was very pleased with.
"He deserved everything he got, Ma'am. He had a real problem with my people, and he disrespected you," Onyx responded, obviously pleased with himself for killing the man, and not having any remorse for his actions.
"Oh, he absolutely deserved it," Eagle agreed. Killing people like that was what she and everyone else in the Tribe lived for.
"Ma'am, can I ask you something?" Onyx then asked. He was slightly hesitant about questioning her, but they were now on the same side so she was unlikely to react as badly as she had to the officer he killed.
"Ask away," Eagle told him. She didn't mind being asked questions, as long as they weren't stupid, invasive, or mocking. She was sure Onyx wouldn't ask anything he shouldn't, so she was fine with him asking her whatever he was hoping to ask.
"Do you know what actually happened to Adam Taurus?" Onyx asked.
Eagle stared at him for a moment, then said. "Yeah, why do you ask?" Of all the questions she could have been asked, she hadn't been expecting one about the man who took her arm.
Onyx was unnerved by the reaction but had to answer. "I've heard a lot of different rumours about it. Some people say that he's in hiding, some people say the SDC killed, and others say the Tribe killed him," he explained. There were a lot of rumours going around about the destruction of the White Fang, and the disappearance of its former leader.
"We killed that motherfucker and took his fucking head," Eagle told him. The only time she liked thinking about Adam, was thinking about how they made him pay for everything he did. She hated thinking about all the pain and suffering her caused her and the people she cared about most.
"Oh, thank you, Ma'am. I'm sorry for asking." Onyx responded, seeing that Eagle had strong feelings on the subject. He really didn't want to get on the wrong side of her, so he had no choice but to apologise and hope she didn't turn on him.
"Don't worry about it. That piece of shit got what was coming to him." Eagle told him. There was no way Onyx knew about her history with Adam, so she couldn't really blame him for asking such a question.
"I'm glad you took him out, Ma'am. He only made things worse for my people," Onyx said. Under Adam's leadership, The White Fang had caused more harm than good.
"I'm glad you think so. Now, I have things to do so we're going to have to end our little chat here." Eagle responded before giving Onyx orders. "You should have your guys rest up, you've all been through a lot. We'll call on you when you're needed." Rather than throwing the new recruits straight into the fight, she wanted to give them time to recover from what they'd just been through, to make sure they were ready when they were needed.
"Yes, Ma'am, right away, Ma'am," Onyx responded, before turning and heading back to his men who'd been standing around watching him and Eagle.
With Onyx and the new recruits dealt with, Eagle returned to Sol. "Well, that's this place under control," she said to him. With all hostiles dead and the defectors joining the Tribe, the camp was now theirs.
"What do we do now?" Sol asked. He really hadn't expected things to be nearly as quick or easy as they had been, so he was curious to know what they would do now they were in control of the camp.
"We gather intel and wait for the next wave to arrive," Eagle explained. The camp would have plenty of intel on the training Mistrali soldiers were given, and the tactics the army used. If the Tribe could get hold of enough, then they'd be able to predict and counter every move the enemy made. If they could do that, then Mistral wouldn't be able to defend against them, and what was now a battle, would quickly turn into a massacre.
Things are about to ramp up. I'm now dedicating all of my spare time to writing, and I have enough ideas to keep this thing going for a long time.