Within the confines of their defended abode, the Tech-priestess had been welcome with the silent jubilation of the entire twelve-person Squadron. Both the Lieutenant and her were glad to see that the soldiers still remembered the one who tended to their weaponry. She hesitated little in beginning her work as soon as the Sniper of the team provided her an item to fix:His scope. It'd lost its zero and one of the lenses had slightly cracked.

The Lieutenant watched from afar as the woman had gotten herself working rapidly at repairing the weapon's scope, going first to detach it from its mount, quickly disassemble it with the help of her Mechadendrites and quickly 'patch up' the glass by a rapid heat-treatment method that was taught to the Priests of Mars. She had been armed, the man now noticed, not only with tools at the tips of her tentacle-like extra metal limbs, but with specialized tools as well, ranging from plasma torches to a flamer directly fed by a rubberized and armored tube leading to a promethium pack underneath her robes.

She voiced the Litanies and Rites of Armaments as she reassembled the scope with precision, sliding the treated and cooled glass into place, locking it and fixing up the Zero via test-firing the weapon on its lowest setting and powered, not by a hotshot pack, but by a normal one. She unloaded the half-empty power pack and slid back the Hotshot one, handing it to the Sniper with a nod. Her Mechadendrites retreated beneath her robes, a smile on her face as she turned to face the Lieutenant and the Watchmaster.

"Ah... It is good to be back." She smiled rather proudly.

"As it is to have you back, Tech-Priestess." The Lieutenant nodded. He hummed, hearing an electronic ping coming from the island in the middle of the place. He approached it, picking up the Scroll that had sounded off and looking over the message. Ozpin, of course. The Lieutenant quickly made a list of supplies necessary for the Kriegers' own development of the house before getting the next message.

He smirked, "Well, it looks as though we will not sit back for long... The Headmaster of Beacon has requested of us to deploy to the Emerald Forest and clear out a horde of the animal Daemons the people called Grimm. He wishes to test our mettle, it seems..." And he turned to the soldiers, all of them already ramrod straight and with their weapons at the ready. Dora seemed most excited to go, hauling both ammunition packs over her shoulder, mortar hanging off of her back. The Kitten sat on the shoulder of their Sergeant, purring as it rubbed its head against the leather mask of the woman.

He hummed, "Let me go grab my things, ladies and gentlemen..."

Moments later, the Commissar emerged from his room, in his full battle regalia and with his gas mask on. He rallied the squad around himself, readying his own weapons. The group marched out of the place, with the boy taking his own scroll with them. He thumbed the device, calling the Headmaster, then, upon the man's answer, he said "We are heading to the landing pad..."

"You have my thanks, Lieutenant. That Horde was getting too close for my taste." The Headmaster replied coyly.

"Thanks are not necessary, Headmaster... It is part of our deal after all. Emperor have you in his watch." The boy said before turning off the phone and sliding it into one of the inner pockets of his greatcoat. As she walked with them, the Tech-Priestess settled the armored mask onto her face, locking it in place with a quiet hiss of pressurization. She drew her master-crafted plasma pistol and looked over it, nodding approvingly.

While the Tech-Priestess winced at the sight of the rotund craft that was the Bullhead, she settled rather quickly into her seat aboard it, as did the rest of the squad once more. The Aircraft took off from the landing pad, engines roaring as it turned for the forest. A blanket of emerald tree canopies covered the rich, green grass and shrubbery below, as well as the Grimm that the Tech-Priestess's armor-mounted Auspex revealed were hiding there.

The pilot swung the bird by into a clearing and said "This is a bit of a junction point where the Grimm are gonna converge! If you wanna take'em out, it'll have to be here!"

"Many thanks!" The Lieutenant said as he and his team dismounted, "We shall see each-other when the clearing is safe!" and the pilot gave him a nod and a mock salute before lifting off. The good Commissar then drew his Power Sword and started ordering, "All units, deployment pattern Alpha-Five." and his team scattered, with Dora intimately aware of this formation. A wide half-circle around their landing zone, providing a wide coverage of the area ahead of them. To their backs, there were a hundred-odd ancient ruins and a wall of rock, meaning no Grimm could easily sneak and strike them from behind.

The Lieutenant looked to Dora and gave a series of hand signals. 'Rapid-fire, alternate shells, maintain spread, target ten meters ahead of main point:Edge of treeline, Fire at Will'. She smirked behind the mask, nodding and setting up the mortar with swiftness by deploying, first, the plate with the pin that set off the mortars rounds' primers, then the tube in itself with the tripod. She spun two wheels, making calculus for windage and distance correction by eye. She propped open her two mortar shell boxes, with Mikhail beside her, ready to use his trench club.

Kohle and Natty sat together, weapons at the ready, while Mathilda hoisted up her rapid-fire Hellgun, shouldering it and looking down the iron-sights as she waited for the trampling Grimm Horde to arrive. Their sniper had perched himself atop one of the structures, a perfect vantage point. Rosa and Emma, meanwhile, held close to him, with the Tech-Priestess already aiming her Plasma Pistol, Natty right by her side.

The creatures of Grimm, shadows in their own right, moved through the shade of the trees ahead. Lasguns charged and hissed to life, the twins readying their autocannon. He didn't know how much ammunition they had to expend right now, but that could be alleviated, with the Tech-Priestess here. The first Grimm to appear was a Creep, a small, bipedal, lizard-like creature with bone armor like scales. The sniper snapped off the first shot of the campaign, the harsh snap-crackle-pop of the Hotshot las-bolt striking the creature clean between the eyes and splitting it in twain.

Its brethren emerged by the dozen from the shrubs across the treeline. When they reached the point-mark given by the Lieutenant for Dora, the hard, rapid th-thunk, th-thunk of mortar shells echoed. The rounds arched high into the clear sky before diving with their explosive-tipped warheads toward the Grimm. As the first bigger creature, a Beowulf, appeared, the first shell detonated in a blast of shrapnel, followed by the second immediately after in one of burning-hot, promethium-fueled fire.

Any Grimm that hadn't died by the first shell was set ablaze, only for the following string of eight shells to blast them apart and into their comrades. Lasguns, shotgun and autocannon echoed. He grinned behind his mask, watching as Creeps and Wolves alike were torn and broken to pieces by the hellfire of the girl's mortars. Their Flamer belched scarlet fire into the tide as well.

A beam of Plasma lanced forward, atomizing a Beowolf Alpha with a single shot, while the Lucius-pattern weaponry each Krieger hauled cut swathes into the lines of the enemy. They'd stemmed the tide, barely, but more and more monsters poured into the line, to the point where the twelve-strong firing line did little to halt the bigger monsters while dealing with the smaller ones. Jacob waved forward Natty and Mikhail, both of them readying their melee weapons-the shovel and spiked bludgeon, respectively-and took the Colonel's flanks while Rosalind's Shotgun barked and spat buckshot.

The Commissar thumbed the activation rune of his Power Sword, letting the electric-blue energy crawl up the weapon's emitters and into the blade. When the first Grimm, a Beowolf Alpha, made it to him, he took the monster's head clean off with a hard-right swing clean across its exposed neck. Following up, Natty put the sharpened blade of her shovel into the knee of another, before kicking up. Her steel-toed boot made contact with the monster's open mouth, shutting its jaw and breaking teeth.

Following up on the attack, Mik rammed the spiked club into the first Creep he saw, before drawing an anti-tank Grenade off his belt, pulling the pin on the bottom of the stick-grip and throwing it into the horde. He clambered aboard another Creep, jumped and rammed the spiked bludgeon into the chest of another Beowolf. Rosa executed the Creep that the melee boy had climbed upon with one quick round of buckshot into its open mouth.

Jacob watched as the Tech-Priestess herself strode into melee range, her Plasma Pistol hissing with overheat as she fired it like an automatic weapon. She ceased fire, activating the weapon's secondary cooling vents and sliding it into its specially-designed holster under her robes. Her Mechadendrites then emerged, flamer-weapons and power-weapons included.

She raised her fists in defense, stopping a clawing attack with adamantium-reinforced augmetic armor plating. She jabbed the monster that attacked her in the jaw, snapping said jaw nearly clean off thanks to the strength. Augmetic legs then made contact with the monster's midsection, the high-powered strike vivisecting the monster at its waist in a less-than-pretty shower of shadow and bone fragments.

She nodded to the Lieutenant, directing the flamer-dendrite toward a swathe of Grimm and firing with just her thought. A small beam of red-burning promethium lanced forth, melting the monsters like a beam of highly-focused energy. Her other armed, reinforced mechadendrites struck into the horde like the jabbing spikes of Catachan Devils' tails.

"Proficiency in melee was never something you specified, Tech-Priestess." Laughed the Lieutenant heartily as he gutted another monster with his Power Sword.

"A lady never fully reveals all her talents." The girl quipped, her voice modified by her helmet. She drew her Plasma Pistol again and aimed for another of the approaching monstrosities. This thing looked like it had two chitinous, black and white claws poking upward, angled, like... She blasted into the horde at full power, steam exiting the sides of the pistol's muzzle as she tried to cool it down again. She slid it back into its holster, unsure if she should waste another shot at the risk of the weapon detonating in her hand.

A Beowulf that had managed to sneak behind her caught six Autocannon shells into its side. The Techpriestess looked to the Heavy Weapon twins and gave them a hearty, thankful nod, which they returned before going back to utilizing their heavy weapon. She needed to upgrade or at least provide more ammo for that thing, she thought. She caught another Grimm's fist and the Lieutenant's Power Blade thrust by her ear and into the monster's jaw, killing it nigh instantly.

Once again, she fired her flamer into the crowd while the Lieutenant's pistol hissed and charred the Grimm. Through it all, the roaring, the gunfire and the sound of bone and armor plate cracking, they could hear the snap-crack of the Long-Las. The man had been busy, presumably taking out a multitude of higher-ranking Grimm. The Lieutenant didn't blame the man, this place was a target-rich environment.

Blades sang and lasguns chirped again, with the th-thunk of Dora's mortar echoing. She expended the shells as she needed, not out of a habit. Still, her rapid-fire seemed to be thinning out the Grimm somewhat. Samara reported "Auspex reveals that we've almost dealt with the Horde! What could even have attracted so many of them here?" as she jabbed, stabbed, punched and defended.

"We will ask the Headmaster." Replied the Lieutenant, exchanging his empty power-pack for a fresh one as they cut into the Grimm again. With one motion of the Lieutenant's hand, the team began to push forward into the thinning horde. Emma's lasgun and their Grenadier's Hellgun barked and hollered in unison as lasbolts tore into the creatures. The Sniper, meanwhile, continued firing, covering Kohle as he advanced to join his sister and the Grenadier.

The Lieutenant needed to re-make the list of names he had for them, if he remembered them. He did remember, however, that the Cook was hauling their Flamethrower. He hadn't even hesitated to join them in combat, even though he had a civilian role. Or as civilian as it came with the Kriegers. As the sun began to set on the day, the area ahead of the ruins was littered with the disappearing corpses of hundreds of Grimm and the treeline was marked by thousands of marks and cuts from lasers and energy weaponry.

The Lieutenant sighed in relief, sliding his blade into its sheath, the sweat from an hour's combat draping him from head to toe. He stared forth at the scarred ground ahead. Like a lunar landscape, it was filled with the craters of explosives from his allies and the lancing, burning hot markings of promethium hellfire and plasma burns. He looked to his right, to see the Tech-Priestess, seemingly staring back at the ruins.

He hummed, then ordered "All squad members, stand guard outside..." before walking up to the Tech-Priestess. He stated, "I will follow you in."

"My thanks, Commissar, but I would suggest you summon our craft..." The woman answered. She stepped forward alone as her Auspex pinged, drawing her plasma pistol and walking into the ruin while the weapon cooled in her hands. She'd fire again if need be, but only once. The cell of the weapon was nearly spent and she only had two more. Perhaps some substance here could help replenish it.

She scanned the ancient stone walls around her, carved blocks that fit perfectly into one another raised as high walls, broken in places by both the passage of time and, possibly, the Grimm hordes travelling these forests. She approached an overturned chunk of a well-carved column within the ruin complex, pushing it forward with her foot. It rolled aside, revealing a narrow hole in the ground. Her Auspex's incessant pinging intensified, grew louder, to the point she had to mute it as her sensory-suite in the helmet displayed the information on her HUD.

She knelt, sliding the plasma pistol back into its holster again as the thunder and jet-wash of engines echoed and rumbled. She pushed aside ancient soil and dirt, until her emerald eyes were met with a strange little trinket. A rod of oxidized steel poked out through the dirt, a long, hollow tube with what looked to be a spring-recoil management system. Strange. She tugged, pulled and yanked, freeing the weapon in five semi-rehearsed motions from her days as an Explorator's Acolyte. She hoisted up the item and her eyes grew wide.

She stowed the item under her robe, digging a bit further as to see if she could find the rest of the device. She'd have to find a quiet room to examine it back at home, but she figured she could do that easily. There was nothing else in the small hole, sadly, but just as she stood up to leave, her Auspex, now set to search for similar items and patterns, flared with activity.

A devious smile grew behind her mask. Those were all Adeptus Mechanicus signals and hymnals. Oh, she'd drag the Lieutenant and his squad over here to search every nook and cranny of this damnable forest. Until then, she moved out of the building, saving the location of each and every single item into her Databanks. She climbed aboard the ship, taking her mask off and wearing a smile.

"I presume your search was well-worth the trouble?" The boy raised a brow. She nodded approvingly.

"I will take the team on more expeditions, if that is good with you, Lieutenant... What seems to be here is a treasure trove." She stated plainly. Jacob knew to trust their Tech-Priestess. She had never been wrong before and if she referred to something as a 'treasure-trove', it must definitely have been well-worth the interest, both hers and theirs, to recover the items here.

The return trip was short, sweet and beautified by the rising of the Broken Moon of Remnant. One had to wonder what kind of megalithic force had to have been used to break a natural satellite of that size in so many pieces. Emperor and the Omnissiah protect them, may they never have to find out in person. Returning to their small, soon-to-be-reinforced Cottage, the Lieutenant had reported the news of mission completion to Ozpin and gone up to his room. It'd been a long day and he set himself to get some rest, ordering the rest of his unit to do the same.

He'd also taken the time to compile a list of his squadron's names on his scroll, just in case he forgot... He fell onto his bed, flat out and asleep, leaving the list open.

"The Black Cats" Squadron active personnel

The Emperor Protects:

Lieutenant Commissar Jacob Harran-Officer

Watchmaster Rosalind-NCO

Sergeant Emma-NCO

Corporal Kohle-Rifleman

Corporals Hanna and Mara-Autocannon Crew

Trooper Lukas-Voxcaster/Rifleman

Trooper Volk-Marksman

Trooper Hansel-Flamer/Rifleman

Trooper Natty-Sapper

Trooper Dora-Mortar

Trooper Mikhail-Raider/Ammo Hauler

Trooper Holt-Cook/Rifleman

Tech-Priestess Samara-Supply