Dawn of Hope

by A.Islam.TMAX2021

'Battle-Fleet Halo' possibly one of the largest battle-fleets of the Indomitus Crusade is now lost in unknown space thanks to a freak storm surge in the warp. In search of a way to return back, they discover a new planet with a shattered moon - Remnant. Will this be the world where they find hope? Or is their destiny forever to be embroiled in war?

3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes:

Once again, thank you so much for your reviews, favs and follows. To be honest, I didn't expect this many follows right of the bat. And as always, I eagerly look forward to your reviews and constructive advice

To Izcoatl: Thank you very much. And like last time, your reviews and advice are warmly welcome (Sorry for my next to horrible English, I forgot the right sentence).

To kukuhimanpr: Yup, the vanguard class fleet (27 ships is literally a vanguard class) of nightbringer24's 'A light in the darkness' does leave that impression at first. And as I said before, his fanfic was by far the best in terms of platforming. As for the power-scaling, and how the story will progress regarding introducing factions and wars, I have to figure something out along the way.

To JustAMoron: Thank you very much. I hope you'll like the future chapters. And, as for power scaling, it's just like I said to kukuhimanpr, the RWBY verse has some decent opponents, and I have to figure it out how to adjust. As for encounters, I already gave the bombardment scene, and I hope you'll like a few scenes that I gave in this one.

To LiquidusSnake: Thank you very much. Mordians are not half-bad for siege regiments, they're famous for their discipline and stubborn nature. A small reference, the Mordian 237th siege regiment. The poor bastards got slaughtered to the last man against Skarbrand, but were stubborn till the end. So, I kind of figured I put those guys along with Kriegs. As for the bombardment, I didn't put the Wyvern or the Teryx yet. However, I do have some plans on vaporizing at least a pack of them with Plasma Blastgun or a Volcano Cannon ordinance in the later chapters.

To Cringyusername SBSVQQ: Thank you very much. And yeah… I'm still working on improving the format a little bit. I hope I can get it right with the future chapters.

To Guest: It depends. It's just like you said, the indifferent types like most of the common soldiers, and some Astartes Chapters won't have much of a reaction. Maybe some of the command echelons can find them useful and recruit them within their ranks. I mean, if they can take Orgryns, Ratlings and Squats, Faunus is fair game. They're much more human looking. The mechanicus spooks (magos biologis) will drool all over the concept of studying Faunus biology, and the ones who'll outright hate them will mostly be the Ecclesiarchy and the Fanatic types. Let's just see how it pans out.

To Guest 2 (I guess): Thank you very much. I'm still in the learning phase as far as writing fan-fics go. And I look forward for yours as well as everyone else's opinions and criticisms to improve even further.

To AbyssWatcher: Thank you very much. I hope you'll like the future chapters and I'm racking my head real hard to prepare a good scenario for the diplomacy.

And with that, here you go, Chapter 3 of 'Dawn of Hope', I hope you'll enjoy it. On the first side note, I had to re-upload chapter 2 because of a slight time miscalculation there.

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"Oh…Oh Gods! I-It…they…t-they…they killed everyone. Dave. Jacob. Chun. Nikkaid. All of them. They killed our entire raid group. Bella and I are the only ones left. We…we have to get out of the forest before they kill us both. We couldn't even see them….B-b-but they picked us apart one after the other. We entered the forest with over forty of our Proud Faunus brothers and sisters. Now…N-now, only the two of us remain. Adam needs to know about this. The White Fang cannot fight against this…the Faunus kind cannot fight against this…Oh…they…they are the iron death! Brothers…Beast God…h-have mercy on o-our souls! Death is coming for us! Oh Gods- "

- Voice message from White Fang Lieutenant Richard Fang prior to his scroll going offline

019.11.033. M42. 15:00 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time)

2100. May 30. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Imperial Forward Base

Designation: Fort Nihilius

(32 kilometers north of Barricade fortifications and Artillery field, outer woods)

Authoritive Lands: Unknown

Continent: Unknown.

Planet: Unknown

Star System: Unknown

Galactic Segmentum: Unknown

(37 days since arrival and Planetfall of 'Battle-Fleet Halo' Vanguard elements)

Richard Fang was a proud Wolf Faunus of the Revolutionary Organization 'The White Fang'. Originally, the White Fang was a peaceful, activist organization seeking to improve the relations between the Humans and Faunus. However, even after the Faunus rights Revolution, as they kept on getting discriminated, with Sienna Khan taking over as high leader, the White Fang decided to take more radical actions. Namely, launching raids on slave trades and corporations that treated Faunus kind like they were disposable garbage. The High leader then appointed Adam Taurus as the leader of all White Fang operations on the Continent of Sanus.

Adam Taurus was originally an employee of the SDC, the most despicable corporation in existence that put zero value on Faunus lives. After a certain incident with SDC, followed by his eye getting branded by the SDC logo, he left the company and joined the organization. Eventually, through his actions and accolades he became prominent enough to be recognized as one of the White Fang's founding pillars.

Within a short time, the Faction under Adam Taurus kept growing larger, and the actions of said faction soon became more and more brazen, to the point of open acts of terrorism. And ever since one of their own, and Adam's Ex, Blake Belladonna, left him and the organization, he became a bit more extreme than usual and turned the Vale sector of the White Fang into the biggest terrorist organization, rivalling the likes of the Mistralean Mafia gangs. Naturally, Richard felt proud of the fact that he was one of Adam's closest Lieutenants. And as such, he led a 40 plus member raid cell of the White fang into the outer forests of the former Mount Glenn.

Getting all the way here wasn't easy though. Ever since that 'Pillars of lights' and the daily Meteor showers that have been taking place, the Human Law Enforcement forces of Vale have tightened the security of the whole region. To make matters worse, the Armies of their hated foes, the Kingdom of Atlas was now providing military reinforcements to tighten the ring even further. But, that wasn't going to stop them from getting to where they want to go.

And the reason for all of this hassle? About 27 days ago, the White Fang and one of their business associates, a repulsive Human called Roman Torchwick stocked up a huge supply of dust and weapons near one of the abandoned warehouses in the City of Glenn. Said supplies were supposed to be for some grand plan to overthrow the Kingdom of Vale. But, whatever they had in plans all got flushed down the toilet when the aforementioned warehouses and the entire 200 kilometer spanning region of Glenn got completely obliterated by the pillars of light. Ever since, the humans tried entering the remaining forest lands, but all ran away after going halfway through. And this is where Richard & the White Fang comes in – they will enter the forest, find the ones responsible for ruining their plans, make them pay, take their heads and their supplies and return back to Adam Taurus. Nobody messes with the White Fang, and lives to tell about it.

Little did he know, he was going to regret that decision, as well as every single choices that he made through his life to this day.

Dave: How deep is this place? We've been walking for ages now.

A Ram Faunus expresses his annoyance as they travel deep into the woods. It was obvious that the long journey and all the hassles they went through annoyed him a lot. He was practically itching to go loose over unsuspecting humans.

Richard: We keep walking. I know you don't like this, but this is about the face of the White Fang. And, it ain't even a tough job. Just find out who trashed our supplies, trash them instead when they're not looking, chop their heads off, take their supplies and gear and we'll be back home.

Dave: Yeah…sure. Easy peasy. That's because it feels easy to you.

Richard: Not what I meant. And, stop looking down on yourself, man. You guys are all White Fang for a reason. And a Part of Adam's group no less.

Dave: Uh…Huh.

Richard: Seriously man, I ain't kidding.

Jacob: Thanks for the word of encouragement, boss.

A bear Faunus voices out his opinion. Jacob was a massive Faunus, even in their standards. He was close to 7 feet in height, and was built like a boulder. If only his personality was the same as his size. Richard could only let out a sigh of defeat. Sometimes, they can be even more stubborn than their leader Adam is as far as taking their own credits go.

Chun: Even so…did you guys see the video? People are saying that they're all aliens…

Bella: Pfft…(laughs)…yeah… (chuckle)…Right. That B-rate movie really got into the head of the Humans.

Richard: …And some of our guys.

Some of the videos regarding those pillars of light and the meteor showers even went as much as saying ridiculous things like aliens exist, or those 'You-Know-What's' from that aforementioned movie. But that kind of honky-tonk BS is only for movie maniacs. There's no way Aliens exist.

Chun: Off topic. What are the chances that us Faunus some time ago spread across the stars, you know like in that 'Remnant Troopers'?

Richard: If a Boarbatusk and an Ursa can fly and paint pictures of Saint Margaret, then sure…we Faunus 'did' spread out in outer space.

Many of the White Fangs burst into laughter, while Chun's face turns as red as a tomato at that response. Even to this day, neither the humans nor the Faunus themselves have found out a way to achieve space travel. It baffles Richard to no end, how does ideas like these even pop inside the heads of one of their own? Of course, he and people like their leader, Adam were always the more logical people in the group. Having air-headed fanatics like these have its benefits. But nonetheless, they are his brothers and sisters In-Arms, so he is sort of obligated to reprimand their thoughts every now and then. With that out of the way, they slowly reach to half point within the woodlands.

However, once they enter deep within, he began to feel uneasy. And he wasn't the only one.

Bella: Boss…something…something doesn't feel right here. It's like…somebody or something's watching us.

As a snow leopard Faunus, she like Richard had several superhuman features reminiscent of Carnivores. One such feature being, a heightened perception of danger. And Richard had to agree with her. He was getting that feeling right now. And it wasn't the observing kind – it felt more like a predator or at least a pack of predators scanning their prey.

Richard: Uh-Huh. I feel that too. Something's off. Maybe this is why those human scouting parties ran away.

Bella: What do we do now?

He decided to weigh in his options. Option One, he could press forward. But in that option, the chances are they may end up meeting something that they want to avoid at all costs. Then there's Option Two, return back to the way they came from. The downsides to that are, Adam's going to be pissed off about this, and the business relation with that Human will go up in smoke. He needed to make a choice. But then, a sudden voice of alarm broke this thought chain.

Nikkaid: Something's wrong. Boss, can I do a head-count?

Richard: Go ahead.

With that, the monitor (monitor lizard) Faunus began taking the roll calls of all the members present. And it was at this moment, the whole cell realized that something was horribly off.

Nikkaid: Um …Boss? We had forty five guys in our group, right?

Richard: Uh-Huh.

Nikkaid: Then… did we leave any group behind? Like in case something goes wrong?

Richard: Nikk… I thought I told you not to drink before going on missions!

Nikkaid: Boss I'm perfectly sober! I didn't take even one sip since yesterday! It's just… Tien, Adian and Marco's groups have gone missing!

Dave: For real?! But I saw them right behind Tisha's group half an hour ago while we're walking…

Nikkaid: I know that! That's why I'm saying something's wrong!

Richard went completely silent. The uneasy feeling that he and Bella got, they were on point. Something horrible just happened. 15 White Fang raiders have vanished right from under their noses. And they didn't even notice that until the roll call.

Richard: Spread Out! Don't go any further than fifteen paces from the group. We need to find them…or at least whatever's left of them. Fuck! Just when we thought we were making progress…

The whole group lightly spreads out, all the members were now maintaining a distance of no more than 12 – 15 steps from the center of the group, maintaining a sharp eye, and on lookout for their now missing members. They keep looking as they move forward, when a raider notices something.

Raider#1: Oh…Gods…

Richard: Did you find something?

Raider#1: Boss…you might wanna see this…

At that, the whole group proceed towards the Raider's position. And the first members who witnessed the sight that he saw were left with their jaws hanging open in pure shock. Even Richard was having a hard time believing what he was seeing.

In front of them, laid yet more trees, only with these, the gaps between two trees were big enough to build entire camping sites. But, it wasn't the gap that they were looking at. The absolute carnage laid in between those gaps was what caught their attention. And, their fear.

In between those large gaps, entire packs of Beowolves, Ursas, Boarbatusks and Creeps now laid dead. Even now, their bodies were slowly disintegrating. But it wasn't the fact that so many Grimm of such varieties now lay dead that scared them. It was how each one of them were killed that scared them. Some of their heads along with part of their torsos were missing. Almost as if something blasted them into pieces. Some of them got viciously mutilated: limbs hacked off, heads sliced clean off their necks, heads, faces and torso stabbed so hard that they broke in pieces even while caving in, some straight out ripped in two. Not as in a clean sword strike kind, but the kind of getting torn vertically in two by sheer brute force. Some of the mutilations looked even more brutal: something with four bladed or clawed digits cleaved those Grimm into pieces, some of them were literally gutted like fish and left to die suffering in agony, some of them even got skinned alive before being torn to pieces. Then there were some of those headless corpses that looked like they were shot to death. But some of the shot up corpses looked entirely different. Whatever weapon was used on these ones, it was either some Atlesian secret superweapon, or it didn't belong to this place at all. Some of those corpses looked as if their whole body got sucked inwards, getting reduced to a ball of black viscera and ether. Some of them got straight out melted halfway. Some of them have a perfectly carved hole with most of the torso missing. And even more gruesome, at least an entire pack of Griffons now hung along several branches – all dead. Either shot to death or viciously mutilated like the ones on the ground.

This wasn't a battle. This was a complete, one-sided massacre. And, when Richard realized what happened, he immediately sprung to action. This wasn't just a demonstration and a standard terror tactic, it served another purpose. And, if they didn't get out of the forest right now, they'll all end up just like the Grimm in front of them.

Richard: All right, SCREW THIS! Let's get outta here. We shouldn't even be standing here right now. We'll end up like the Grimm here.

Jacob: Y-yeah…no kidd-

'SPLAT'

Before Richard and the others could even realize what just happened now, before Jacob could even finish his last words on Remnant, the head and part of his torso exploded like as if something big just slammed straight on it. And, all that gore splattered all over the White Fang around him. Then to break them out of their stupor, the now headless corpse of the massive Bear Faunus, as well as another White Fang fell down front side first.

The Snow Leopard Faunus screamed in pure fear. Followed by a second scream from Dave.

Dave: SNIPEEER! GET TO COVER! GET TO-

'SPLAT'

Poor Dave couldn't even finish as the now terrified white fangs saw the head of the Ram Faunus blasted clean off the shoulders, and within an eye-blink, his lifeless corpse now toppled over. They didn't need a third warning to realize there was a sniper around here somewhere. And, said sniper was the one who laid this trap. Richard wanted to flush the bastard out, but right now, he was underequipped for this job. As the surviving white fangs took cover, he screamed the orders hiding behind an uprooted tree.

Richard: STICK TO THE COVERS! WE RETREAT IN ORDERLY FASHION! WE NEED TO LET THE MAIN CELL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!

At the cue, all white fang members begin to move through the cover. And, it was then, they realized what death and despair truly looked like.

Raider#2: AAAAAAHH! SOMEONE HELP MEEE!

They all saw in cold horror as a 6 foot tall Bison Faunus got lifted off the ground by an invisible force. Then, before anyone could do anything about it, the poor raider got skewered at the stomach. The blood covered the object of murder used to do this vile act revealing its shape: Four massive blades, spaced out sort of like a pitchfork. But the design of the blades themselves reminded of massive claws. And then, terror creeped into their souls as they saw the Bison Faunus getting ripped apart in two. They immediately realized that whatever killed those Grimm was now hunting them. And, they no longer had the luxury of moving through cover: it was either run or get slaughtered like animals.

The remaining White Fangs ran, they ran with all their might. Their very survival now depended on it. But, even with their superhuman capabilities, the tragedies couldn't be avoided. Even as they ran, more sniper shots flew towards them – each shot took the life of a white fang. Not a single wasted ammo. Then, instead of regular sniper shots, a pair of light blue beams of light cut right through and instantly vaporized the heads of three white fangs running along the same pathway, and carved a clean hole through another's torso. Their numbers were dwindling rapidly.

Nikkaid: WHAT THE HELL MAN?! WHAT IS THI-

Poor Nikkaid couldn't even finish, as all of a sudden, a harpoon like object flew toward him & skewered his left leg, And, before he could even realize what happened, the rope immediately started to retract.

Nikkaid: AAAAAAHHH! HEEELP MEEEE!

The poor monitor Faunus screamed for his life as he got dragged away into the large bushes. Which followed up with a sound that sounded like someone got his throat slit, followed by a sharp object gutting flesh and splattering gore all over the leaves.

Richard was scared out of his mind. They got picked apart one after the other in an unimaginable speed. They couldn't put up a fight, they couldn't get their guards up, hell they couldn't even see them. The predator Faunus within their ranks, none of them could see what slaughtered the entire raid team wholesale. Even as he ran, he beckoned Bella to move ahead. The poor girl was terrified out of her wits. So many of her own comrades, her brothers and sisters In-Arms all got slaughtered like animals. It was only a matter of time before it was her turn to die. But Richard won't let that happen. Right now, including Chun, Bella and himself, there were a total of 4 survivors of their party. All they have to do, is run past the last patch of woodlands, and they will be able to find a way to go back safely. But he also knew, someone has to die to help the rest.

Bella: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Richard: BUYING US SOME TIME! GET OUT OF HERE!

CHUN: ARE YOU NUTS?! WE'RE ALL GETTING OUT OF HERE TOGETHER-

Richard: WE WON'T MAKE IT IF WE DO THAT! BELLA! GET IN FRONT! TAKE THE LEAD!

BELLA: B-BUT-

Richard: NO BUTS! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE THROUGH THIS, DO AS I TELL YOU TO DO RI-

Richard couldn't even react in time as a sniper round took his left foot off clean from the knee joints. He practically jumped right on Bella who fell as soon as she got hit by Richard's now incapacitated body. Both of them fell on the ground, with the snow leopard Faunus getting knocked out cold. Richard himself was barely conscious, and that was because of the unimaginable agony he was experiencing from losing his leg. He pulled out his scroll to send his last message to their leader, Adam. But, it was then, he saw another horror scene.

Chung and the other surviving white fang barely made it twenty paces, when suddenly a massive object fell right on top of Chun. The force of the fall coupled with the sheer weight of that object must've broken all the important bones in his body, as a vicious, sickening crunch of spines and bones snapping could be heard as soon as the thing connected with Chun. As for the other white fang, he got lifted off the ground like that raider back then. And then four invisible metal claws skewered the poor guy before those blades ran upwards and cleaved the top of that man into perfect steak slices. Richard wanted to scream at the ones and tear them to pieces. But, the moment their hunters revealed themselves for the first time, all colors of his face drained away. Now, he desperately tried shielding the now unconscious Bella as best as he could. She doesn't need to look at these monstrosities.

Their executioners looked a lot like an Atlesian AK130 Knight. But, there were key differences. First, the size: they were massive, a lot bigger than an Atlesian Knight. Judging from the height and the armor plates, they were at least close to 8 feet tall, maybe more and weighed in at least a full ton. Next, the design of the plating resembled much closer to armored suits rather than robots. In fact, the two in front of him resembled the Knights of the old orders, only a lot more advanced looking. The chest plates of their armor was decorated with a skull in the center of a golden ring and a pair of wings. The right Shoulder Pad was pretty big, with an arrow & the symbol V marked on it. The left shoulder pad on the other hand was massive, and it was decorated with a strange symbol: a stylishly carved black bird. Next, the helms that they were wearing: it looked like a silver skull mask with red eye lenses. And a pair of breathing apparatuses sprouted out on both sides. These white armored things were wearing something like a cloak, which was changing color. But the most distinguishable feature that identified them as the killers of the white fang were the gauntlets they were wearing: the palms were big enough to grab a Beowolf's head and squash it to a paste, but its most iconic feature were the things poking out of the knuckles of the gauntlets – four massive blades. They looked almost like the claws of a predator.

The two things standing just 20 paces away from him and Bella were predators. Pure and simple. They have no intentions on letting anyone or anything that saw them live to take another breath. Proof: the one on the left reached for the right side of its waist, and pulled out a box shaped gun. From its perspective and size, that gun looked no bigger than a handgun, but Richard knew very well, it was as big as an assault rifle. And the first thing it did since showing itself was immediately fire one round straight at the downed body of Chun. The poor guy was already dead from that impact on his body, but that thing made sure he stayed dead.

Richard was running out of time, whatever happens now, he had to make sure that word got out about this. He quickly turned on the group voice message in his scroll. And with a trembling voice he began.

Richard: Oh…Oh Gods! I-It…they…t-they…they killed everyone. Dave. Jacob. Chun. Nikkaid. All of them. They killed our entire raid group. Bella and I are the only ones left. We…we have to get out of the forest before they kill us both. We couldn't even see them….B-b-but they picked us apart one after the other. We entered the forest with over forty of our Proud Faunus brothers and sisters. Now…N-now, only the two of us remain. Adam needs to know about this. The White Fang cannot fight against this…the Faunus kind cannot fight against this…Oh…they…they are the iron death! Brothers…Beast God…h-have mercy on o-our souls! Death is coming for us! Oh Gods-

He couldn't finish the message however as the signal goes off, and all of a sudden the device itself turns off abruptly. He didn't understand why, until a deep voice with a metallic tone spoke;

(…): I believe you have spoken enough.

With a shaky head, and enough fear to unconsciously piss himself, he slowly looked behind. And, whatever was left of his soul sank right into the deepest pits of despair.

Three more of those giants now stood just a few steps away from him. These ones were colored a light green instead of white. And instead of the skull helm that the white ones wore, their helms looked more like a Knight's helm, with a double vented protrusion that looked like a speaker. And while they wore cloaks, it was clear that they were as heavily armored as those two white killers. The symbol on their left shoulder pad were two crossed spears in the center of a white shield. And from a glance of their weapons, it didn't take Richard that much to figure out that they were the snipers. But there was that problem: said sniper rifles were the size of heavy-duty cannons you find on vehicle turrets. While the green one in the middle carried a gun that looked like an oversized Scoped SMG type gun, the one on its left carried a humongous sniper rifle like it was no bigger than an average hunter's rifle. The one on its right carried an even more exotic weapon. It looked like a massive sci-fi laser cannon with a futuristic design and a scope, with a pair of thick power cables in its magazine slot connected to some sort of battery pack hanging from his waist.

Five Giant Armored monsters now stood around him. There was no way for him to escape. Judging from how quickly they killed his whole team, killing him right now is as simple as breathing for them.

Rift Stalker Reiver#1: I take the Omni scrambler Beacon is online.

Dragonspear Eliminator Sergeant: Indeed, Brother Vyk'tar. We cannot have unnecessary information spilling out now can we?

Vyk'tar: Practical and sound, Brother Da'tac. What about the others?

Da'tac: Eliminator Kill teams Re'mus, Elysi, To'r & Vel'yith have already cleared sectors two-A, two-C and security perimeter 'Hunter's Lair' of those Xenos we have been using as bait to lure the rest of their kin within the forest towards us. As for Infiltrator Squad Ka'ed, according to their reports, the main vanguard defense perimeters and all the scrambler beacons are in full operational strength. Finally…

Vyk'tar: My squad. My brothers and me just finished clearing our side, and happened to coincidentally drop by here during your 'hunt'.

Da'tac: It was much less of a 'hunt' and more of a … 'keep the intruders away'.

Both of them nods their heads in agreement. Richard mustered the very last drop of perseverance within him from involuntarily soiling himself. Their voice, it sounded human, but at the same time they sounded metallic. The most frightening thing about their voice was, there was no emotion. Just plain indifference. But more importantly, he couldn't believe that he and his raid party unknowingly walked right into one of their kill-traps. And, judging from their conversation, they don't want any unwanted intruder to snoop around. But, was that enough reason to justify them slaughtering all the Faunus of his party?

Da'tac: Now on to…the point. What do you think of this one?

Vyk'tar: …Strange. If you would ask me. This is the first time I have seen abhumans like these.

Da'tac: Stranger than Orgryns or Ratlings?

Vyk'tar: Yes. They look human, but they also seem to possess animal traits. Almost like a mutation.

Da'tac: But they did not see or feel like a mutant. Their traits seemed more inherited. Natural born more likely.

Vyk'tar: There is 'that way' to find out more about this one. Brother Q'ell.

Q'ell: Understood.

The White monster that they called 'Brother Q'ell' now moved closer to the corpse of Chung. And, the next thing it did, Richard will NEVER be able to forget until his last breath. It pulled out an obscenely massive 'Combat Knife' from the sheath behind its waist. That massive blade looked less of a knife, and more of a horribly massive short sword. Next, it cut right into Chun's dead body and with surgical precision pulled his heart right out of the chest.

Richard's eyes became as big as dinner plates when that thing took its helmet off. To think, there was a human underneath all that metal. But, for a human, he looked very odd. Even the fairest of humans he have seen had a bright complexion as far as skin goes. But the human or human-looking thing in front of him had a complexion paler than a ghost. Coupled with the long, raven black hair, and those pitch-black eyes of his, he looked much closer to a wraith than a human. It was then, he started remembering how the humans and members of the white fang were fanboying over the arrival of 'Aliens'. He began to realize, maybe those videos were telling the truth. Maybe these monsters are actual aliens. But, all that thought immediately went to a halt. And, he saw with muted horror as the human started eating the heart.

"Brothers, Beast God have Mercy. These things are Man-eaters?!" That was the first thought that went into Richard's head. However, that did not seem to be the case entirely, as after taking a few bites, it stood up, disposed the heart and put its helm back on. Whatever it did, it was content with it.

Vyk'tar: What does your Omophagea tell you. Brother?

Q'ell takes a deep breath in before he speaks.

Q'ell: The dead one over there is named Chung Lie Ytet. The woman lying there barely conscious near to you, Brother Sergeant is named Bella Snowfell. And, the one right beside her minus his left leg is named Richard Fang. Apparently, these abhumans have a native name in this planet. Their species is called a Faunus. They…are basically a different breed of abhumans altogether.

The two sergeants nod their head in understanding. All the while, Richard's very breath got caught in his throat. How did that thing managed to know Chung's real name? And more importantly, how did it know the other names and his own? They didn't even meet each other until now, and they don't know what's a 'Faunus'? After some thinking, it finally dawned on him, that thing just ate Chung's heart and somehow saw his memories. If that was the case, then Brothers have Mercy…

Q'ell: Majority of their kind is located on the continental landmass named Menagerie. The beast traits that these abhumans possess grant them abilities on par with many superhuman races like enhanced senses, physical augmentations and more. They seemed to be peaceful. However…

Da'tac: These ones are different?

Q'ell: These ones belong to some radical organization called the 'White Fang'. And it seems that their headquarters on this landmass, 'Vale' as called by the natives inhabiting here, is responsible for multiple cases of raids on local settlements, business zones, murder, arson, espionage and more.

Vyk'tar: A terrorist organization then.

Q'ell: So it seems, Brother Sergeant. The organization itself dubs itself as a rebel organization that seeks to end oppressions against their kind. Although the actions of this one's commander says otherwise.

Da'tac: Did you get any information regarding their commander?

Q'ell: Based on that dead one's memory, not much. Only that the commander of their faction is named 'Adam Taurus'. And they were heading towards 'Fort Nihilius' to launch a raid and take the supplies from the Militarum reserves at the orders of this Adam Taurus. The one lying down, called Richard appears to be one of their lieutenants.

Vyk'tar: ….Well…that was pretty foolish of them.

SHIT! They know everything. These monsters now know everything that they need to know. This meant that now the Vale Cell of the White Fang was in danger. More importantly, Adam Taurus and the entire White Fang is in danger. If what they said is true, there's more of them. The white fang cannot fight against these. Then Richard saw that the monster called Vyk'tar simply put a finger on the right side of his helm, in the fashion of pressing a switch.

Vyk'tar: Overlord Nihilius Actual, this is Squad Vyk'tar. Designation. Rift Stalkers Fifth Company. Stationing. Northeastern perimeters. Woodland outposts. Do you read? Good. There has been an update. Notify General Jairinho Stein and the rest of the field command. And get them to relay the message to all regiments as well as to Marchioness Seleinne of House Raven and to Princeps Tanithos. If anyone spots humanoid intruders with beast features, white masks and uniforms with a mark resembling a canine predator with three slash marks painted in red anywhere near the perimeters, capture them if possible. If not, eliminate them with extreme prejudice. These individuals are part of a local terrorist organization. Elements of their raiding parties have been terminated by Rift Stalkers and Dragonspears Kill-Teams. Their primary objective is to get within the fortress walls. And for added leverage in security details, put a few extra Catachan Sniper teams and if possible, a few Assassins on the Wall watch posts from the Vindicare temple. We will notify you of further updates. Squad Vyk'tar. Out.

And with that, Richard now knew, they were screwed. The whole White Fang just got screwed over. Big time. All he could do now, is make a last ditch attempt to save the Leopard Faunus. Because, now he felt all of them has focused their attention on him.

Vyk'tar: As for this one…

Richard noticed at the corner of his sight, that Bella was awake. But, she was pretending to be unconscious. With that, he knew what he needed to do. With them unaware of his actions, he already had his right hand close to his Talwar/Shotgun hybrid weapon. Channeling the last bit of energy within his aura, he empowered himself and jumped right towards the one called Vyk'tar. He knew it was a futile attempt because they managed to kill all the elites of the raid team, each strong enough to take on some of the best huntsmen and huntresses in all of Remnant, in less than 15 minutes. Even so, he could at least take an attempt to hurt one of them.

Or not.

Q'ell: A futile attempt till the end…

Something massive slammed on his front, and it was as if something pinned him in mid-air. And based on the horrible amount of pain rushing up from the stomach, he had an idea what happened just now. He got skewered by one of those 'Claws'. These things moved at speeds that someone of that size and weight have no right to do so. Richard could feel his life force draining away slowly as he got hoised upwards. Then, the one responsible, that monster called 'Q'ell' slowly brought Richard to his level of sight.

Q'ell: Was it worth the effort? All you succeeded in doing is buying a few more days of life for your companion retreating there.

The monster pointed at Bella, who immediately sprung forwards like a cat and started running like never before while Richard provided that momentary distraction. For a moment, the wolf Faunus thought he managed to save her. But the next words that he heard, made him realize that all he managed to do was stall the inevitable destruction of the White Fang.

Da'tac: Put a tracker round. Once it marks the target, contact the bloodied scales and Kiavhr's Dagger. Begin tracking her position and keep an eye out on the last place she will visit. With the orbital satellites pinpointing their position, we will deal with these 'White Fangs' in our terms. As for this intruder here…put him out of his misery. He deserves at least this mercy.

The last thing Richard saw was another set of claws flying straight towards his face.

In her entire life, Bella Snowfell had never ran as fast as she was right now. Back when she was in combat school all the way back in Kuo Kuana, she was at best the third or fourth fastest in any speed contests. If only she could run like she is at the moment all those years ago, maybe she would have been the fastest. But, this wasn't some competitive speed race. This was a run for survival. Even as she ran, tears of pain, regret and fear flowed down like a waterfall in a storm. All her comrades in the White Fang, Richard, who she admired sincerely as a commander, all died deaths worse than a dog's. She saw them getting their heads explode into splinters of gore, their torsos getting holed by unknown weapons, got ripped into pieces. But, she couldn't do anything. When she regained consciousness, the first site that greeted her was three massive giants clad in green armor with strange symbols all over. Those things spoke in Remnant, yet their accent, their voices were different. She had to muster all her strength to keep her from soiling herself when she heard the sickening squelches of flesh being cut and organs being pulled out of a body. She thought her heart stopped for good when she heard the crunching sound of someone eating raw flesh. At that time, she saw Richard giving silent gestures to wait for his signal before making a break for it. The very second that Richard lunged forward, she sprung and ran for her life. Well, not before noticing that there were two more of those things, painted in white and slightly different symbols, and an even scarier helm than the green ones. The weapons in their arms told her about everything that happened so far. Those five monsters brutally tore apart the Grimm & their raiding party limb by bloody limb. And they couldn't even put up their guards to defend themselves. That was how fast it happened. While she ran, for a moment, she thought something hit her in the back, but she was in no mental state to check it out. After what seemed like an eternity of running, she finally saw the clearing, and the entrance path to the forest that they used to enter.

Bella: (hah)…..(hah)….(hah)….light…bright….(hah)…light…(hah)…Uuu…

She was finally back on the path that they took to get inside the woods leading towards the little hunting town of 'Nest'. Yet, she couldn't go on further, she slowly approached towards a large rock lying along the sides. There, she leaned her back towards it, and once sure that nothing was following her, she curled up, and completely broke down in tears.

Bella: (sob)…I'm sorry…(sob)…I'm so sorry…(sob)…I-I…(sob)…I couldn't..(sob)…I couldn't save…(sob)…I'm so sorry…you guys…(sob)…B-bo..Richard…Dave…Nik…(sob)…Mom…Dad…I'm so sorry…

She kept crying for at least several minutes. There will be many days to come, but she will never forget the living nightmare she went through on this day. And, finally when she calmed down enough to pull the reigns on her senses, she stood up and slowly walked towards 'Nest'. From there, she will head to their rendezvous point, an abandoned warehouse town close to Vale City. The abandoned warehouse gimmick was just a ruse, because it hid one of Atlas' so-called "Black sites" for Research and Development of new Weapons and technology. Right now, their leader, Adam Taurus was waiting there with the rest of the army in tow.

She began to gradually quicken her pace. Adam needs to know about this. The massacre, the monsters, the army waiting deep within the forests of Mount Glenn – all of it. She kept on walking, unaware of the tracker now entered deep within her flesh, and the inevitable doom she was bringing along with her.

---

During his time as a Reiver Sergeant of the Rift Stalkers' Fifth Company, Vyk'tar has seen plenty of strange things. He has seen mutated Orgryns, Possessed, Daemons & slithering repulsive mutated spawns of Chaos. He has seen the horrible chimeras, Wracks, Mandrakes, Grotesques created by those deranged Haemonculi covens of the Drukhari. He has seen the mutated, grotesque bio-beasts of the Tyranid Hive Fleets. He has even seen strange iterations of the human evolution in squats and ratlings.

Yet, the creatures in front of him look even stranger than all of them. The creatures of black did look similar to daemonic beasts and some of the more familiar Xenos variety, but these? They looked human, but there was those slight changes: Bestial Features. Some had horns, some had sort of reptilian like skin, some had another pair of beast-ears along with their human ones. Some had wool coats like manes, hell; some even had tails. The Imperial Creed dictates the human form to be a symbol of perfection and divinity. With that in mind, these people, the 'Faunus' as Brother Q'ell described, would be regarded as nothing short of abominations. Mutants even. But, no matter how he looked at the corpses now, they didn't feel or look like a mutant. Rather, part of him even went as much as accept it as an exquisite genetic trait. Sadly, they marked themselves as rebels and potential enemies in the eyes of the Imperials. Otherwise, who knows, maybe the army could recruit people like these for their traits. And, once again, unfortunately the Rift Stalker had to focus on other priorities.

Vyk'tar: Is it done?

Da'tac: It is. The tracker chip is already within her systems, and is transmitting at one-hundred percent capacity.

The Rift Stalker nods his head in acknowledgement. Then he proceeds to contact the ships of his chapter within the Vanguard.

Vyk'tar: Attention. Vanguard Strike Force Rift Eye come in. This is Squad Vyk'tar. Do you read?

Within seconds, the microbead in his ear flares up as the voice on the other side responds.

(…): This is Captain Thane Kraeon of Strike Force Rift Eye. I read you loud and clear, Brother.

Good, the Captain himself answered the call.

Vyk'tar: Brother Captain Kraeon. This is Sergeant Vyk'tar Reporting in. Our cousins put on a tracker on a bait. Bait is currently on the move. Destination. Headquarters of priority Target Gamma. A terrorist organization. In particular, composed of abhumans.

Kraeon: Duly noted, Brother Vyk'tar. We are launching Augur Satellites to tracker positions. We will send you the updates on target movements and status.

Vyk'tar: Acknowledged, sir. As soon as construction of Fortress command 'Halo' is completed, I recommend launching a rapid strike team to eradicate all hostile elements.

Kraeon: Acknowledged. Estimated number?

Vyk'tar: At least in the hundreds.

Kraeon: Armaments and Armor?

Vyk'tar: Unknown at the time. Terminated raid squad composed of only infantry.

Kraeon: In that case, continue with your current mission. We will deal with them in due time and in our terms. While at it, remain prepared for deployment in expedition missions.

Vyk'tar: Estimated time for mission?

Kraeon: Within ten days. Your mission will be to be in vanguard support. Provide Cover for the regimental forces alongside our infiltrators and Eliminator Kill Teams, and take out hostile defenses in advance. Prior to expedition date, we will send you heavier armaments to deal with armored targets. Until then, maintain standard deployment protocols.

Vyk'tar: Much appreciated, Captain. May the Emperor Guide us. Sergeant Vyk'tar, Out.

Kraeon: May the Emperor Guide us. Thane Kraeon, Out.

With that, the transmission ended. And now, they will do what they have been doing; keeping the perimeters secure, and eliminate anyone foolish enough to tread deep in their territory. Especially the ones that think that they could get away by attacking Imperial assets & personnel. And, once the 'White Fang' terrorist cell is found and marked, they'll descend upon them in silence, deliver the Emperor's Justice and then disappear in silence, leaving only the corpses as proof that they were there.

---

1100. June 2. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Atlas Command Center, Top floor

Location premise: Atlas Academy

City of Atlas, Kingdom of Atlas

Continent: Solitas

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown

Galactic Segmentum: Unknown

(40 days since arrival & planetfall of 'Battle-Fleet Halo')

In less than an hour, James Ironwood will be departing for Beacon Academy in Vale. He already assigned the Officers to their spots. As for the Scientists, he thought he should check on them before he left. Boy, is he regretting that thought and choice right at this moment.

Ironwood: Oh Gods….Doctor Polendina…You look…Horrible. What happened?

Richard: Apologies for answering on behalf of the good doctor. Due to recent developments, and the speed at which they have been happening, it left Doctor Polendina in a state of absolute shock and disbelief.

Ironwood: Yes, I can see that….

The only way to describe the current looks of Doctor Pietro Polendina is: completely exhausted after getting shell-shocked nonstop. The dark circles under his eyes, his sulken cheeks and his now uncared hairdo was proof of that. To say that, the last 40 days have been turbulent for the doctor is a gross understatement. Since the arrival of the vanguard elements of the alien fleet, followed by the bombing of Mount Glenn and the Meteor showers, he has been taking readings once every 2 – 3 hours. And with every update, he received so many new data, and each new update looked so ridiculous that he had to verify whether or not the 'Eyes of Solitas' was working properly or not. However, the sad case of reality revealed that the device is working just fine. In other words, the 'construction and expansion of the Alien fortress base' at Mount Glenn was going on at such fast paces, that it was almost like watching Remnant's evolution on 32X fast forward motion. And he would have been content if it was only on Remnant. Ironwood decided to read the latest update on the landing party, and when he started reading it, he had to blink several times, and get his eyes cleaned properly.

Ironwood: Doctor…please tell me this is not real…

The way Doctor Polendina responded, made the General flinch involuntarily. Doctor Pietro never sounded so…defeated.

Pietro: For once…I also wished that report was false. But…reality is a cruel mistress. All of it is real.

When Pietro first compared the reports, he went on a complete rage out of a Brain-fart moment. Thank the Brother Gods, Richard was still around to stop him from wrecking the display interfaces with a baseball bat. Otherwise, one would shudder to imagine the damage that would have been done. Ironwood had to clean his eyes again, clear his mind of any doubts before he started seeing the data again. Their otherworldly visitors somehow managed to build an entire fortress city spanning around a radius of 100 kilometers atop the now cleared area of Mount Glenn. And they did that in only 40 days. 40 DAYS! What kind of crazy engineering and logistics service did they bring with them to pull off something like that?! Not only that, they even fortified the whole place: Artillery and missile batteries, Massive military bunkers, Entire Vehicle bays and Air-fields, Civilian districts, City perimeter walls, trenches, Bunkers. Everything. They even managed to field soldiers and military grade vehicles while doing that. But, something told Ironwood that this was far from over. And it wasn't the only reason why the Doctor was in a sorry state like this.

Ironwood: I take, there's more to this…

Pietro simply handed him a second file. Ironwood opened it and the moment he started reading the report in it, he immediately went to the photographic and schematic print display to double-check.

Ironwood: You mean to tell me…. Our moon is getting….'Bigger'?!

Both doctors nodded in the affirmative. Ironwood practically flinched at the way they did that. They looked so….lifeless.

Richard: When Doctor Polendina first realized that the moon was actually getting 'Bigger', he….um….kind of went into a….uh…rage quit.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that in his rage moments he probably started throwing furniture's around. Which explained the broken water filter, and the tables and chairs flipped all over this room. But, as of right now, broken appliances and furniture were the least of their headaches. And Ironwood needed to address this matter. The report in his hand explicitly detailed how all of a sudden, the Planet's one and only natural Satellite began to expand on the outside. And, some of the broken parts of said satellite going missing. Followed by another detailed explanation, how there was a fortress being built there. This wasn't funny anymore. Compared to their technological prowess, Atlas looked like monkeys discovering the use of stone for the first time. The revelation of such a fact would completely collapse the status quo and the balance of power. Which gave him even more reason to use the 'Public Safety Protocol'.

Ironwood: This…I…I-I don't know how…t-to even approach this. This doesn't even fit into humor anymore. They're really doing it, aren't they?

Pietro: In blunter terms, they practically terraformed our entire moon and built themselves a base of operations over there. As well as over here. On Remnant no less. And the one on the Moon seemed even bigger.

Without a doubt, that is where the alien fleet will command all its operations on the planet. But, even in terms of common science and logic, that was impossible. The moon doesn't even have an atmosphere to breathe in. Then how did they even terraform so much landmass in such a short time? Much less build an entire capital city and further fortify it.

Pietro: And…based on the new…you know what? To heck with the reports, both of the bases are getting even bigger. These people somehow just went and slapped an entire breathable atmosphere on an entire moon! And to keep it there, they even adjusted the moon's natural gravity! How do you even do that? And don't even think about asking me to see if it is possible. We still haven't figured out how to make Dust usable after breaking through the stratosphere, how we're supposed to even create and apply techniques to control the gravity of an entire planetoid?! Much less, create an artificial atmosphere for the matter?

Ironwood: There has to be some sort of technology to accomplish this-

Richard: With due respect, General. Whatever technology they used to pull it off, it's literally out of our reaches. Until the day we can figure out how to use dust outside of our atmosphere, we have to give up on making anything that can compete with 'that'.

Poor Ironwood. Just when he thought he was going to catch a break. Then again, there's no point in worrying about it either. If they can establish diplomatic contact with them, who knows, maybe they can get their hands on some of their tech.

Ironwood: …Understandable. For now, just keep an eye out on things and keep us updated. And…um…try not to wreck the lab too much out of your…'rage quit'.

Richard could only laugh lightly at this. Then again, based on Doctor Polendina's rage episodes that he had seen firsthand, there is that chance he might go at it if he sees something ridiculous happening in the future. As for Ironwood, he simply gave his farewells and proceeded to go to the Airship hangar of Atlas academy.

1150. June 2. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Atlas Command Center, Docking Bays

East wing, Main Hall Premises

Location: Atlas Academy

City of Atlas, Kingdom of Atlas

Continent: Solitas

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown

Galactic Segmentum: Unknown

After the horrendous few minutes of discussing the matter about how their visitors decided to make themselves at home, and unraveled all sorts of technological wonders – all of which is impossible for Atlas to achieve within the next thousand years, Ironwood finally reached the East wing Docking Bay of the Atlas Command Center. Not far from his position, his personal airship and the Military's flagship was undergoing the final preparations before departure. His personal Airship, "The Iron Angel" is a testament of Atlesian and SDC engineering: A colossal 700-meter plus size battleship armed with Broadside and prow mounted Laser weapons. And further reinforced with multiple Missile Pods and heavy ordinance Gatling Cannons, it was capable of taking on multiple armies all at once. However, as powerful as it was for an attack craft, it was also a mobile transport. Like a floating fortress, it carried entire regiments of proud Atlesian troopers and Companies of AK200 Knights and Paladin 290 Multipurpose Battlesuits. And providing further support with all that, it had a formidable armory full of Armored Personnel Carriers, Combat Vehicles and Bullheads. And the Iron Angel never approaches the enemy alone. When it enters enemy Airspace, it is always flanked by Wings of Mantas and Dropships as battlefield support.

Standing in front of such a magnificent Craft, Ironwood had a mixed feeling of Awe and slight depression. Yes, it was truly a gigantic & marvelous Aircraft. However, now that their visitors were hanging around near the planet's orbit, it felt no bigger than an offshore tugboat compared to their ships. And after learning about their engineering feats of the recent month, he now had doubts on whether they would be interested in Remnant's technology at all.

While thinking about it, he notices that Specialist Captains Augustus White and Winter Schnee are waiting in front of the boarding stairways. And judging from their preparations, they fully considered the possibility of going into a full-armed confrontation. With the only differences being that one has a much slimmer version of the same gear, and that each one was built to suit the user to their needs, they both wore a newly designed power armor. Said armor was charged by the use of Aura, and it greatly magnified the wearer's combat capabilities. Black and Red Pauldrons decorated both their arms and legs. Said Pauldrons are made of a unique Lightweight composite alloy that granted the full defensive capability of a standard issue Heavy Power Armor, without sacrificing the user's mobility. And further bolstering such defense, a light exoskeletal frame covered their torsos, in similar fashion as Armor Cuirasses and Chest-Plates. And hanging along their waists, were their own signature weapons. For Winter, her twin swords and for Augustus, his trademark Quad Barreled Heavy Pistols. Whenever Ironwood looked at those two in combat, he felt nothing but awe and respect. They were a lot younger than him, but in terms of capabilities, they were very close to surpassing him on individual levels. Now, all they need is a decent push.

Ironwood: Apologies for the delay. I hope I did not keep you waiting for too long.

Augustus: Not at all, Sir.

Winter: It is as Specialist White said. In fact, we got here just several minutes ago.

The General nods his head in acknowledgement. Well, no point in delaying any further. The sooner they can be on their way, the better.

Ironwood: In that case, let us get on board.

And with that, they took to the stairways.

1157. June 2. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Atlas Command Center, Docking Bays

Iron Angel, Command Bridge

Location: Atlas Academy

City of Atlas, Kingdom of Atlas

Continent: Solitas

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown

Galactic Segmentum: Unknown

(3 minutes before takeoff)

As impressive the Airship is on the outside, it is equally impressive on the inside. State-of-the-Art control panels and interfaces, display daises, communication arrays – all operated by some of the best and brightest the army has to offer. Right now, standing at the command bridge, near to the Commander's dais, the three figureheads now discuss the matters of their trip.

Ironwood: How are the preparations?

Augustus: Optimal. The 40th and the 44th regiments of the Armed service corps, along with 40 full companies of AK200's, 100 Paladin 290's, three full wings of Bullheads and three companies of Armored Transport forces. We're good to go.

Winter: On top of that, we have two entire companies of the Atlesian Special Forces "The Snow Foxes", and the two of us. Although, the exact number of enemy forces are currently unknown, this much force will be sufficient to slow them down.

The General nods in satisfaction. Leave it to them to figure out the optimal combat strength to deal with imminent problems. Under normal circumstances, this kind of force is more than enough to put the likes of Mistral into complete submission. And thus is forbidden to cross the borders. Ironwood initially didn't want to take this much military force with him. But right now, the safety of the whole planet is at stake. And based on the speed that their visitors were advancing, there is no room for taking chances.

Ironwood: Excellent. And by the way, Specialist Schnee. I hope you contacted with your sister.

Winter: …I did, sir. She seemed to be…thrilled.

Well, the last part was sort of a lie. Weiss was more than a little bit intimidated by the fact that her sister chose to call her and say that she was coming to Beacon. In between Weiss running away from home, and the current situation of the Schnee Family members, let's just say things aren't as jolly as one would expect. Ironwood understood the dilemma that Winter was going through as far as her sister was concerned. And frankly, he was glad that Weiss was at Beacon. Otherwise, her shit-stain of a father would end up ruining her life completely if she chose to stay in Atlas. Right now, Winter could really use a little bit of mental support.

Ironwood: It's okay you know. Family problems are a common thing. And it may take some time, but eventually, everything will be solved out.

Winter: Thank you for your concerns, Sir. I'll be able to manage.

Ironwood: …That is…good to hear. But, should you need any help…

Winter: Of course sir. But, I believe I can sort it out with my sister in time.

The General simply nods.

Augustus: …Must be hard. To be a parent, deal with family problems and to deal with matters in the office.

Winter: I can handle for the time being. And Weiss is no longer a Child, she understands how things are right now.

The Specialist simply nods his head in response. He sometimes had to deal with these kind of situations. During his younger days, his sister, Cynthia was quite the handful. And since they became orphans when they were children, the responsibilities of being a parent to her fell on his shoulders. Maybe the experiences he had while parenting his younger sister could be of use if Winter asked him for advice anytime soon. And speaking of matters in the office..

Augustus: Come to think of it…What have 'They' been up to?

Ironwood: Well….it is…

No point in hiding. Might as well explain everything. Within a few minutes, the docking cranes and fuel cables dislodge themselves from the Airship, as it ignites its vertical thrusters for Takeoff. And in only 15 minutes, the Airship reaches the optimal height for full flight speed, and at that point, the ship ignites its main flight thrusters and propels itself forward. Destination: Beacon Academy, Vale.

While the ship continues in its flightpath, the mood in the command dais seemed to darken a little bit.

Winter: If this is some sort of attempt at a dry humor, then it is not working at all. All of this…in only forty days?

Augustus: And the fact that they also turned our whole moon into their base of operations…

Anyone on Remnant who would read that absurd report from the Command Centers R & D labs would think like that in the first place. Who in their right mind is going to believe that someone out there just went and built an entire city comparable or even superior to Atlas in terms of fortifications in only 40 days? Much less, built two bases with the second one being even bigger, and on the Moon for that fact.

Ironwood: What I wouldn't give for a little dry humor. I'm afraid this is every bit as real as the reports say.

Winter: What kind of absurd logistics and engineering departments do they have anyways? The manpower, the costs, the materials…it's no different from building an entire country from scratch.

Ironwood: That is what we need to know. Anything that we can assimilate from them within our own, it will be a boon towards a better future.

Augustus: Assuming they're friendly enough in the first place.

Ironwood: (chuckles)…there is that. We all have to agree to your statement, Specialist White. At least, based on the primary schematics the Eye managed to pick on regarding their Gun and Missile Batteries all over the place.

With that, Ironwood pressed a few buttons on the computer screen in front of the Dais. Within moments, a 3D schematic design of the Alien Fortress City along with its surrounding structures. It not only catches both specialists by complete surprise, even a few of the flight command personnel walking to their stations stare at the display with wide eyes.

Winter: Dear Gods…It…It…I-It's a practical mess! I can't see even a single structure within this thing that doesn't have a gun or a missile launcher strapped to it!

Augustus: Not even Argus is this heavily fortified. The first thing that hits the eye is this…complete mess of Artillery and Missile Launcher Batteries laid out in pockets around the walls. Then comes…Augh…a seemingly unending web of…trenches. Who even uses trenches these days? And almost three fourth of all their buildings there are just….bunkers. Different kinds of Bunkers…and another mess of Artillery Guns, Anti-Aircraft Guns and Missile launchers inside. The roads in there are big enough to make our ones look like alleyways and….wait. That is a Gods awful lot of military vehicles. How many did they bring anyway?

Ironwood: According to our Good Doctor Polendina, they managed to build…entire factories to manufacture Tanks and other vehicles.

A fortress the size of a large Capital City, entire fields full of guns and bunkers, factories potent enough to churn out tanks and other vehicles, massive airfields – all of these point to the side that they're here to pick a fight. You don't go to shake hands with someone with friendly intentions while pointing a barrel of a gun at their heads. Now, both specialists were having doubts if there was any opportunity for a peaceful diplomatic talk. Then again, knowing the fact that the spot they landed on was pretty much a Grimm Hotspot. It is perfectly normal to bring in guns and gears to deal with the Grimm problem there. But this is Overkill. Not even Leviathans and Tempests would dare to go near that place. And by chance, if they did, they will definitely get mowed down with all those guns.

Ironwood: And according to Ozpin, the local militia sent search parties to investigate, only for them to return back after going halfway.

August: Were they attacked?

Ironwood: Not at all. According to the reports, it was more of…an unpleasant feeling. Like…someone was watching them.

Winter: Perimeter Watch Parties perhaps?

Ironwood: Possible. That could be an explanation for their unpleasant feeling.

Augustus: Any reported casualties?

Ironwood: None thus far. The only kind of casualty they managed to get a glimpse on are all the dead Grimm that were attracted by the negativity generated there.

Winter: That's probably a good sign. Since they didn't open fire on any human so far.

Ironwood: Perhaps. Even so, we need to expect the worse.

Augustus: Agreed.

They kept thinking and discussing about how to deal with the matter at hand, while the display of the fort remained on. Little did they know, rather than them, it would be the Imperium that would make an attempt at first contact.

---

1730. June 2nd . 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Beacon Academy

Geographical location: 20 Kilometers East of the City of Vale

Governing Territory: City of Vale

Nation: Vale

Continent: Sanus

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown.

Segmentum: Unidentified.

(4 hours since Ironwood's departure)

To say that Weiss was in a distressed state of mind would be a gross understatement. Just when she thought that she finally got away from her family, she gets a call from her dear Older Sister. Said Older Sister was coming to Beacon, no less. Although she did say that she was coming to Beacon on an 'Official Mission', that does very little to alleviate her worries. It has been close to a month and half since she ran away from home, and while she did leave a letter to Winter, it was hardly a good excuse to just leave everything behind. Then again, who even cared in the family? The butlers and maids? They only did because they were told to do so. Her mother? She spends more time drowning her sorrows in Alcohol rather than pay attention to her children? Whitley? That conniving little shit was always jealous of his older sisters because he knew he'll never be able to attain even a fraction of the capabilities that his older sisters have. Her Dad? Hah! Joke of the century, he doesn't even care if she ended up becoming an isolated shut-in. Amidst all of this, Winter was the only one she could call a parent because she taught Weiss how to fight, how to use her Aura, her Semblance. Well, she wasn't exactly the role model of a parent, but she did her best in raising her. So, it was only normal that her sister would be furious about the fact of Weiss running away to attend Beacon like this.

Jaune: Hey…Umm… Weiss…I-I was hoping if yooou were-

Weiss: Maybe Later, Jaune. Now is not the time. Or the mood.

Jaune: O-Oh…Oh…It's ok…it's alright.

Poor guy couldn't even get to ask her out to watch the meteor showers today. Something's definitely chewing her out on the inside. And judging from her pissed off face, it was best if he left her to her own devices. Then all of a sudden, Weiss' team leader, Ruby approached towards her with the intent on knowing what happened. Ever since lunch time, Weiss has been in this constant 'Distress' mode. And unlike Jaune, Ruby Rose wasn't the brightest tool in the shed when it came down to reading moods and taking the right actions.

Ruby: Hey Weiss…Wanna hang out? Blake, Yang and I are going out-

Weiss: I-I'll pass, Ruby. I have something else to deal with right now.

Ruby: Something wrong?

Weiss: Nothing that you need to worry about. It's just a family matter.

Ruby: Umm…O…Kay. But in case you need help-

Weiss: I'll ask. Don't worry.

Ruby: 'Kay. Say, want us to bring something for you on the way back?

Weiss: No thanks, Ruby. I'll manage somehow.

And with that, their conversation ended, and Weiss kept walking towards their Dormitory.

Jaune: Hey…Rubes…Any idea on what happened?

Ruby: Not a clue. She's been like this since lunchtime.

The little Redhead has been on good terms with Weiss ever since their little pep-talks with professor Ozpin and Professor Port. And, as team leader, she has this natural sense of 'responsibility' whenever one of her teammates is in a state of distress. But, so far, she hasn't been able to contribute to doing anything that may make Weiss feel better.

Jaune was also making decent progress ever since the 'Ursa incident' during their field trip, Cardin was no longer bullying him around. And, he is commanding a healthy amount of respect from his teammates as well as his fellow peers. With that, he thought maybe he had a chance to ask the fabled 'Ice Princess' out on a date/meteor watching. Alas, reality wasn't very kind to him as far as that was concerned.

(…): I believe it concerns her sister coming to Beacon. Not everyone is thrilled about their family visiting them at school as it seems.

Both of them turns around at hearing the familiar voice of Professor Ozpin. They didn't even notice that the headmaster of Beacon somehow managed to appear right behind them without alerting anyone.

Jaune: Evening Professor Ozpin.

Ruby: Evening Professor Ozpin.

Ozpin: A very Good Evening to both of you.

Ruby: Wait. You mean, her older sister is coming to visit her here? At Beacon?

Ozpin: Indeed. Although, her reason of visiting Beacon is on a more 'Official matter'. Visiting her sister is more of a secondary concept due to her being around at the time.

Jaune: By Official, you don't mean about what happened back at Mount Glenn all those days ago. Right?

Ozpin simply smiles at the youth before responding. The boy has a knack for picking up on things.

Ozpin: I'm afraid so, Mr. Arc. In fact, the Headmaster of Atlas Academy is coming to Beacon in person regarding this matter.

Ruby: As in General James Ironwood?! THE General James Ironwood who can beat up a beringel with nothing but his bare hands and tear the heads of Beowolves?! THAT General Ironwood is coming to Beacon in person?!

And there it was. Ruby was practically an obsessed fangirl when it comes to famous Huntsmen and Huntresses. For her teammates and her classmates, this was on a level of borderline zealotry along with her serious case of weapons fetish. But, in front of the Headmaster of Beacon…Oh So Innocent, So Adorable.

Ozpin: (chuckles) Indeed Ms. Rose, THAT James Ironwood is coming to Beacon. And judging from your reaction, I believe it's a good thing.

Jaune: For the Military Leader of an entire country to show up here…But it's at least another five or six months before the Vytal Festival.

They did hear from Yatsuhashi that General Ironwood was going to come to Vale in person. But to think that, he would really head over here just like that got both of them surprised.

Ozpin: I'm afraid, matters have gotten a lot more complicated within the last forty days or so regarding the 'Pillars of Light' incident. And, it already reached to the point where we cannot handle this on our own. Thus, the extra cautions.

Matters getting a lot more complicated was an understatement. Ever since that day when James called him and the other members of the Inner Council, he has been in touch with him whenever he could. After all, how many times Remnant got to face an entire fleet of 'Alien Warships' through its long history? And, ever since that 'Pillar of Light' incident, which he later of learned was in fact a bombing run, he was on full alert. He sent Huntsmen teams and got the National Council to dispatch entire platoons of the Vale Militia to investigate, all of which failed miserably. They couldn't even get halfway before running back here. And, according to James, this is just a Vanguard fleet. The main fleet was still a few days away from reaching Remnant's Orbit. Anyone with the slightest sense of safety would be on constant alert all the time. If just a 15 minute Bombing run can effectively reduce all of Mountain Glenn to molten glass, chances are Beacon and Vale city could be next due to the mass concentration of Humans in these two places. Even as they spoke, Ozpin continuously took initiatives to fortify the Academy, intensify the training levels for both the Freshmen, Sophomores, Seniors and soon to be Graduates in case the worst doesn't come to happen: Remnant being threatened towards utter annihilation and a declaration of war from their visitors. For now, it is a good thing to keep the students as much unaware of this matter as possible. But, at the same time, keeping them combat ready was also a good thing.

Ozpin: Anyway, I believe it is already getting late. And both of your teammates are waiting for you eagerly for dinner…

Ruby: Oh…right. Totally forgot about that. Umm…well…alright then. Have a nice evening, Professor Ozpin.

Jaune: Yeah…what she said. See ya, Professor Ozpin.

Ozpin: (chuckles)…And both of you have a Nice Evening as well.

The enigmatic Headmaster looks as the two young warriors in training head towards the Cafeteria. Ah Youth. It is so beautiful to be young and energetic. While he almost got lost in his thoughts, a certain matter decided to bring him back to reality. That matter being Ironwood coming to visit them. He needed to make necessary preparations to receive his comrade and a member of Atlas' national council. Along those lines, he also needed to keep an eye out for the person who put Amber in a coma. In between the visitors, the ongoing machinations of Remnant, 'Her' and the later on advent of the Brother Gods, he had a lot of work to do. And so, he began walking back towards his office. While at it, he decided to make a mental note to himself: to get the second year team CFVY prepared for a scouting / repair mission. Several CCT transmission relay towers went down recently, and with the technical teams coming from Atlas, it should be a simple matter to resolve. Ironwood would never begrudge him for asking to lend him a technical maintenance team. And it often does wonders, namely getting his students accustomed to working alongside people from other countries in joint missions.

At that time, Ozpin had no idea how good of a decision it was to get the aforementioned team to be a part of that scouting mission. And the sheer impact that it will leave in the minds of everyone taking part in it.

---

025.11.033. M42. 10:00 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time)

1000. June 9th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Imperial Forward Base

Designation: Fort Nihilius

Central Square, 600th Barracks.

Authoritive Lands: Unknown (Unofficial Name 'Vale' collected from data obtained from now - deceased intruders on 019.11.033. M42. 15:00 hours)

Continent: Unknown.

Planet: Unknown

Star System: Unknown

Galactic Segmentum: Unknown

(47 Days since planetfall and construction initiation of 'Fort Nihilius')

It was a particularly jolly day for the Cadian 600th regiment. Yesterday evening, they received word from Field command. The orders were directly from the upper echelons now sitting in Citadel Command 'Halo' in the Moon. The fortress over there was still under construction just like 'Fort Nihilius' due to both of their immense sizes. Not to mention, 'Fort Nihilius' got a territory increase of a 100 kilometer radius now instead of its previous 50. Right now, most of the buildings required to 'be used on a regular basis' were complete. The Mechanized & Mars commands were churning out regular vehicles and their fabled STC based super-tanks as required. The Infantry commands and Tactica controls were holding all the troops and their armories. The Air Fields and the Air command bunkers were holding their surface to orbit Gunships, Transporters and their fighter wings. The Hab Districts were ready for the civilian staff to live by. Artillery and Anti-Aircraft weapon batteries along with perimeter defense turrets were on place. The Trenches for military and logistics purpose were on full function. The Titan hangars and Knight Maintenance bays were on full duty. Heck, they even managed to build farmlands of decent size to rear crops and livestock: hey man, even a Space Marine has to eat! All that was left right now was to finish constructing & fortifying the walls, constructing & fortifying the Spaceport for the ships of 'Battle-fleet Halo' to dock for refuel and servicing should it be required, and installing the final components for the Superweapons center: a dumb title for three batteries of Deathstrike Missile Launcher Silos.

In the middle of all of this the 600th Cadian regiment received the orders that, today two companies of the 600th along with a full company of Catachans are going to form an expedition force and deploy within the next 1 hour. And the level of joy was now doubled for 'Squad Terryl'. And why the fuck not? Their very own Delta Company and their fellow Zeta Company were chosen to be one of the three companies for this mission. They will be going on this mission alongside Iota Company of the Catachan 17th Regiment, and scouting squads of the 92nd Elysian Drop Troops. Now, the Elysians are famous for jumping into the battlefield as a surprise attack corps. But, that doesn't mean they don't keep scouting companies within their ranks.

Letty: Hurry your ass up you bum! How long does it take to get ready anyway?!

Cole: Cork it kid. I'm almost done…just need to…Ah! There it is.

Private 'First Class' Eryyck Cole. Possibly the clumsiest member of Squad Terryl. It's probably a subject of wonder on how did someone this disorganized managed to become a Cadian Veteran. And right now, he seemed to have found his copy of the 'Uplifting Primer' which he somehow 'misplaced' during his stay here. The 'Uplifting Primer' is a standard issue Guidebook detailing every single tidbits on being a soldier of the Imperial army & is given to every single guardsman in the Imperium. It is an absolute mandate that one must carry it with him all the time, and if any guardsman is ever found without it….it's better not to know about what will happen to him.

Darius: HURRY YOUR ASS UP MAN!? The rest of the squad's waitin' outside because of you! How did you even lose the damn book in the first place?!

The veteran Guardsman responds as he picks up the book from their 'Card Table' and puts it back in his utility pack.

Cole: Cut me some slack man…I just happened to…erm…somehow misplaced it…doesn't matter though. I found my book and that's that.

Darius: DON'T Give me that 'misplaced' sales pitch, bro! Y'know what? Forget about it…let's just pretend nothing happened. Just keep the book in your back pocket from now o- ARE YOU PUTTING IT IN YOUR BACKPACK AGAIN?!

Cole: A'right, A'right! No need to shout about it…sheesh…

Letty: Now look what ya' did. We're already a full minute late! Come on!

And with that, the three of them rushed to the rally spot where one could see the all the participants of the expedition. A little over four hundred heavily armed and equipped soldiers of varying colors, along with their armor elements parked neatly by the sides. And standing in front of the command vehicle, were the commanders of this little expedition force.

Regalis: They look perked up for this. Guess we don't have to give any particular inspiration speeches like we normally do.

Captain Regalis A. Creed of the Cadian 600th Delta company states the condition of the men and women as he looks at them. A senior veteran of the 600th regiment, and to all of its soldiers, and even to his fellow captains, he was simply known as 'pops'. As he grew older, more and more youngsters joining the regiment looks up to him as an ideal to be a Cadian Guardsman. While, the older members seek to him for advice and mental support.

Dominic: So it seems, Captain. Even so, as the protocols dictate, a word of inspiration or two, followed by a Prayer of Goodwill has done harm to nobody.

The Captain nods his head in approval to the Commissar's reply. Dominic was without a doubt, an intimidating figure, befitting his role as commissar. However, for all those intimidation factors, just like his commanding officer VanGorich, he was also pretty popular among the Guardsmen regiments, even among the Catachans. Normally, the Catachans 'hate' commissars because of their viewpoints on commissars being "come on all high an' mighty." However, in the last 3 decades of them fighting side by side, he began to earn the respect of the Catachan Regiments. Which is why he was assigned to this expedition force.

Ballor: To think we're actually going out there to meet new people instead of killing alien scums. Somehow…it does feel odd.

Dominic: It does. But, after the strategy meeting aboard the 'Raven's Talons', it made more sense.

The commissar then began to explain the things that he learned during the meeting aboard the Rift Stalker's flagship after dropping out of realspace to the Captain of the Zeta Company of the 600th, a fellow senior commander of the expedition force.

Ballor: Y'know sir, after everything that has been happening to the Emperor's domains, it's kind of hard to believe that worlds like this exist…ones out of touch of the Emperor's light since the dawn of time.

Dominic: As hard as it is to believe, Lord Arkas and Lord Captain Aadilus of the Emperor's personal bodyguards assured themselves on this fact. So, we just need to drill the idea in the heads of the rest of the people here not to shoot on the locals if they speak of anyone else other than the Emperor, or the Imperium for the matter.

Both captains voiced their acknowledgments. This may take a bit of effort. Almost everyone in the fleet, barring those Mechanicus spooks, the Astartes themselves and the Custodians; are completely unaware of the fact that worlds untouched by the Imperium exists. The sisters of the Ebon Chalice, as devoted as they are, they are also logically sound. So, they can probably manage their own ranks regarding this issue. As for the rest, the commissar needed to get them to understand that. Minus the part that they may not get to return back to the Imperium ever again.

Regalis: Off the Topic, sir. How was it like to be there? You know, with the Commanders I mean.

Dominic: To say that it wasn't intimidating would be a terrible lie. I felt overwhelmed. I didn't expect to see so many heavyweights of the Imperial forces all gathered in one spot. Luckily, Captain VanGorich was there, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do or how to answer.

Dominic recalls the meeting with his eyes closed momentarily. It was very nerve-wracking for him to say the least. If the Commissar-Captain wasn't there, he really wouldn't know how to handle things at that time. Alongside their General, there were prominent figures of the Militarum who had more martial glory and wisdom than he ever did. Then there were the warriors of the Ebon Chalice, both the Chapter Masters & warriors of the Astartes Fleets and the leaders of the other factions. And to say that, the Shield Captain of the Custodians was scary was an oversimplified understatement. He was as big as a mountain, and coupled with his wisdom, accolades and that heavy deep voice, he wasn't someone you could talk back to.

Dominic: Nonetheless, it was quite the experience to say the least. And with the subjects that I learned about, they may come in handy during this mission.

Regalis: We'll hold onto that. Even so…for an expedition mission, don't you think this is a bit of an overkill?

Dominic: I believe it's adequate when you think about where we are, and the wildlife that we have been dealing with.

Ballor: Yeah, no joke there, sir. The 'wildlife' here is a bit…weird. Ever since we landed here, those are the only things that just keeps coming back in numbers. Not that we can't handle them…it's just…it's what happens when they 'die'. They just…crumble into dust. None of the teams have ever managed to get an intact corpse of any of those things to properly check in time. By the time we hauled the bodies in, they all turned into dust.

They all had to agree at that. The wildlife here was peculiar to say was an understatement. While, yes, they do look like the more common creatures that they know of from other Death Worlds or Feral worlds, as well as the ones you read about in fairy tales, it was how they differed to certain levels from the base designs: Black bodies with protrusions, bony plates, and a bone white mask or face plate with carvings. And whenever one of them dies, they just dissolve into dust. The most common types that they encountered looked like bipedal wolves, giant armored bears, giant boar like beasts, massive scorpion beasts that reminded people of the Catachan Devils, Massive Elephant like creatures, Giant birds as big as a thunderbolt, Chimera-like creatures that sort of looked like a big cat, but had a bird like face and wings on its back. At times, they encountered some rare types; like the ones that looked like giant armored apes, almost as big as an Ork Nob. Almost. Then there were those ones that reminded of the walking dead. Then, there were those that looked liked the ghost mounts of the Drukharis, as well as a couple of packs that reminded them of small Chaos Daemons. Heck, there was even a Giant Snake like one with two heads. And all of them ended up the same after they died: Crumpled and dissolved into dust. Too bad for them, they may be a terror to the local populace here, but in front of the Imperials, Hah! Even those Gretchins that the Orks use put up a better fight than them. No strategy, no feints, no ambushes. They just blindly charge towards the fortress perimeters, only to ger blasted to pieces by heavy artillery fire and the heavy weapons teams stationed outside. And after a recent encounter, the walls got even more fortified with snipers and Vindicare Assassins. Valkyries, Vultures, Vendettas patrol the skies along with the Avenger, Lightning and Thunderbolt fighter wings stationed here, letting not a single one of those critters get near to them. But, then again, they didn't get the chance to see the smarter ones in detailed action either, so the exact behavior pattern was still a mystery. The only obvious fact known about those things was that they are definitely hostile.

Regalis: Still, I see this as sort of an overkill. Around four hundred soldiers, a salamander outfitted with a twin-linked autocannon and a Heavy bolter, two Cadia-Pattern Sentinels and Two Catachan-Pattern Sentinels, A Tauros Armed with a Grenade Launcher Turret, a Tauros Venator with a Multilaser Turret for crowd control and Six Tauroxes for Transporting Food, Medicine, Munitions and other supplies. This almost looks like a reconnaissance force than a peaceful expedition corps.

Dominic: Testudos would have been a better choice, if we had any. All the Testudos we had, we pretty much left them back at New Cadia. So, Tauroxes are our next best bet. And, with the 'Wildlife' out there, this is barely a minimum safety.

The Captain could only nod in agreement to this. For expeditions, Testudos are the best vehicles for carrying supplies. But, that thing was pretty much outdated, and the original template used to design it got replaced by Chimeras, so there was no way of replicating one. So, with that option out, they had to go with the next best APC's that can be modified to use as supply vehicles.

Ballor: Now, all that is left is for Father Julius to arrive here, and after our obligatory Prayer, we can be on our way. By the way, this will be all that's going out, right?

Dominic: No, Captain. I'm afraid, we'll have certain reinforcements. We'll have to rendezvous with them along the way. According to the orders from General Stein, they're stationed at the entry points of the woodlands.

Ballor: You mean…t-the Boogeymen?

Dominic: SShhh. Are you nuts?! Don't you dare bring up that name in public! Just call them Astartes, all right?! Never call them that!

Ballor: Sorry, sir…a slip of tongue. It's just…their way of handling things…it kind of gets unnerving.

Ballor's way of giving his reasons spoke volumes of just how frightening the Rift Stalkers are in the battlefield. They just show up silently, massacre the enemy to the last organism, and vanish just as silently. And not a single soul manages to figure out what just happened. Them charging into battle like other Space Marine Chapters was a very rare sight. That made their presence…even more unnerving. Even though they did make attempts at trying to be friendly to normal people.

Dominic: Even so…!?

Regalis: How many of them will be joining us?

Dominic: According to Colonel Ikin, thirteen of them. Four of those three-man teams under the command of a Vanguard Lieutenant. They will be providing cover and heavy support.

Ballor: So…they will be giving the orders or will they act independent?

Dominic: They're independent of the command chain. The heavyweights sitting at 'Halo' wants to know everything in details. They will do what they need to do.

Something felt odd about the reinforcement elements. And Captain Regalis had to be sure about it.

Regalis: Strange. The Lords of the Rift Stalkers are joining in, but not the Hunters?

Dominic: Try imagining a diplomatic meeting with the locals with one of the Dragonspears. Do you really believe they will be able to speak normally?

Ballor: (laughs)…hell naw! I don't see that happening.

The mental image of a Dragonspear discussing diplomatic matters with a regular human just doesn't fit, no matter how you look at it. Imagine a 8 foot tall super soldier with charcoal black skin and bright red glowing eyes sitting in front of a normal human. The poor bastard will faint on the spot with foam in his mouth, while involuntarily pissing himself. No wonder the Rift Stalkers decided to be the reinforcements. Which left the final query.

Regalis: What about the Ebon Chalice?

Dominic: Only a Retributor Battle sister squad. A twelve-member team armed with standard munitions. They will be joining with our forces near the gates.

(…): Apologies for the delay, Gentlemen. I hope I did not take up too much time.

The commanders look at their right and sees the source of the voice. A seemingly old aged man wearing the black garbs of a Firebrand Priest. A wrinkled face with a beard, with the tattoo of the Imperial Aquila marking his forehead, Father Julius Rosenthralle was anything but weak. He was a devoted preacher, as he was a deadly warrior in the battlefield. The massive, two-handed Eviscerator Chainsword hanging on his left was a good proof. Various kinds of texts and purity seals were stamped all over his garb, and for added defense, his left arm sported a Shoulder pad, and a partially armored pauldron. And hanging on his right, was a tome of the 'Imperial Creed'.

Dominic: Not at all, Father Julius. You're just in time.

Julius: My Gratitude. Now, with the God Emperor willing, allow me to make a Prayer.

The Commissar gave him the platform, as Father Julius stood in front of the men and women of the expedition force. Seeing Father Julius take the center stage, all the soldiers immediately took their places and grasped their hands in a form of Prayer. Seeing them ready, the Priest began:

Julius: Oh Father and Lord of the Imperium. Oh Great God Emperor of Humanity. Today, these brave men and women shall march into the unknown, hoping to find new civilizations upon this far-flung world. People still untouched by your Divine Light. May You watch over them from the Golden Throne. May You guide their hearts to the right path. May You give them the strength to fulfill their duty. May You usher the inhabitants of this world within your caring and loving Embrace. For You are Ever Merciful, Ever Loving. But most importantly, For You are the One, True Master of Mankind. And may you give us the chance to prove our faith, and to be of service to Your Glorious Majesty, for we are forever Your loyal servants, and shall remain so even after death. Ave Imperator Inexelcus Terra.

A chorus of 'Ave Imperator Inexelcus Terra' could be heard at the square. Now that the Prayer is done, it is now time to let them know what they'll be doing.

Regalis: ALL RIGHT, LISTEN UP! Today, the Emperor has given us the Golden Opportunity to become the first group of people to explore this world. And, if possible, make peaceful contact with the locals here. As you've all heard, this here is a verdant world, completely untouched by the Imperium, or by anybody else.

A sound of murmur echoes among the group. The concept of discovering a new world was almost unthinkable under normal circumstances. The last time, such a feat was possible was when Lord Solar Macharius was still around. To think that they'll be the first group to do something as discovering a new human civilization since that Great Man-

Regalis: Yup, you lads heard me right. We're the first people in the Forty Second Millennium to find a new world. So, on making contact with the locals, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES engage them in combat! Unless, you encounter anyone with a red canine head symbol with three slash marks. They are so far the only hostile locals. Other humans, abhumans are all within contact limits. I repeat, DO NOT OPEN FIRE ON THE LOCALS ON CONTACT! Unless they fire on you first or they have the previously mentioned symbol. We're doing peacekeeper missions this time, and the command has specific instructions on not starting a damn war with the inhabitants. This goes double with some of you Trigger Happy schmucks here! We'll travel all the way until we come in contact with any sort of local inhabited settlement. During this time, we get to map out as much as we can, study the surroundings as much as we can. And if the Emperor wills it, we'll expand to these places. So…any questions?

The group remains silent at this. Good. No objections so far.

Regalis: Good! We move out in T minus three minutes. And before we start, here's a little something to remember by. Our expedition force is codenamed: Pathfinder. So for any comms message or whatnot, use the Call sign 'Pathfinder Actual' for internal communications. As for contacting home, Call sign is 'Overlord Nihilius Actual', drill this into your skulls and don't you ever forget! So, GET YOUR SHIT STRAIGHT! GET YOUR ASSES UP! GET YOUR GEARS READY! And Don't even think about ruining this Golden Moment that our Lord & Master the Emperor has given to us! The Emperor Protects!

A loud chorus of "The Emperor Protects" could be heard at the square. Which was followed by several "Hurrah" and "All Right let's do this!" from several soldiers. Within the next 3 minutes, all the soldiers finished the final maintenances of their wargear, and as the time passed, the entire group began marching along the road, with their mechanized elements following at a decent pace. Within 10 minutes, they reached near the colossal Main Gates, where they saw the first part of their reinforcement: a 12-member team of Sisters of Battle of the Ebon Chalice. This team was clearly armed and ready to fight: Melta Guns, Multi-Meltas, Heavy Bolters, Heavy Flamers – the whole package. And leading this squad was Sister Superior Nadra: A pretty yet very intimidating individual. Standing a full 7 feet tall, right now she was the tallest member of this force. The Battle sisters under her command were no slouches either: Retributors. The Battle Sisters of the Order specializing in using Heavy Duty Firepower. As for Sister superior Nadra herself, she was equipped with a Master-Crafted Godwyn-Deaz Pattern Heavy Bolter. As the forces get closer to the group, the Commissar signals the soldiers and vehicles to stop for a moment. Then, he gets off the Salamander, and greets the warriors of the Ebon Chalice.

Dominic: My Lady.

Nadra: We'll be in your care, Commissar Dominic. Father Julius.

The Commissar and the Priest nod in approval.

Nadra: I take we are supposed to meet the Lords of the Rift Stalkers outside the walls?

Dominic: Yes, My Lady. At the outer perimeters.

The Sister Superior nods in approval.

Nadra: Then I suppose we should begin with our expedition. Our Beloved God Emperor has granted us such an opportunity, and as such, we should make the best use of it.

Dominic: Indeed, My Lady. It would be wise for us not to test His Generosity.

Once again Nadra nods her head in approval. The men and women in this mission are all true servants of the Immortal God Emperor. And as His Blessed warriors, she & her sisters will do everything they can to aid them. Finally, with a roll call within the ranks, followed by a quick discussion on their objectives, Expedition Force 'Pathfinder' begins to move as the Gates now open for them.

The 400 plus strong expedition force marched through the only land route built for them in perfect formation, and soon, they entered the forest regions of their perimeters.

Regalis: This is Pathfinder Actual to all active personnel. All members of Expedition force Pathfinder respond for radio Check. Over.

The Captain initiates a final head count while he takes a look at the map along with his fellow commanders as they move through the forest, along the straight path that leads outside. The map over here right now is pretty vague. Most of the settlements marked on it were taken based on observation data from the flight patrols. While the data on the large populated hive cities or similar structures were collected long before the planetfall. The Spooks of the Mechanicus took Augur Scans of the major continents of the planet and marked out only the larger settlements. And the closest of these larger settlements will take at least 4 – 5 days worth of walking before they reach their first destination. Which is why, if they can come in touch with the smaller ones, they can contact with them first, gather more information about this planet, while update their existing map based on the new informations they can get.

As they march along, the move aside the wild foliage and bushes. While, the Catachans felt like this was no different from home, only on the much more peaceful side, everyone else were in a state of awe. For Cadians and Elysian Scouts, all the worlds they visited were either completely covered in Industrial Hive Cities, with skies polluted to the point of using breathing masks just to move around everyday. Or Completely devastated by civil wars and enemy invasions. Compared to those worlds, this place was straight out of heaven. And some of the younger, more athletic members decided to take a swing or two by trying to grab the lower branches of the trees. Heck, one of the veterans momentarily separated from the column and took some of the verdant soil to put it inside a tin can. Then, he carefully placed the can inside of his backpack and rejoined the column soon after. Equally in awe were the sisters of the Ebon Chalice. While they focused their minds on discipline and combat, it never hurt to enjoy the sights around.

Throughout this journey, the Remembrancer assigned to the force kept taking pictures of their travels with his pict-recorder. To Dominic, having a remembrancer for this made perfect sense. As General Stein says: It's better to have someone who can use a weapon in bad times and take pictures in good times than having someone who sucks at both during bad times.

As for the Remembrancer himself, Trooper Kortez of the 600th Zeta Company was having quite a time. As they moved on, his collection of pictures kept growing. The pictures include: some of the troopers touching flowers reaching to a person's waist. Some of the medical staff examining different kinds of herbs growing in abundance. The command team looking at the map as the troops & the armored column move past large trees. The Sentinels scouting out the surroundings. their Tauros recon vehicles getting over dead logs and large stones like dune buggies. The sisters of the ebon chalice marching in perfect formation like the rest of the troopers. Some of the soldiers smoking cigarettes and other similar narcotics. Heck, the Catachans were chewing some of those … Emperor knows whatever the fuck that stuff is: looks like tobacco leaves, but way more intense & has a horrid aftertaste. In short, everybody was in a happy mood.

And just like that, they reached the 50 kilometer mark of their travel path. As the group approached the last patch of split land that separated the outskirts of Mount Glenn and the other settlements, Captain Regalis raised his hand to get them to halt.

Dominic: What seems to be the problem, Captain?

Regalis: It seems, we were a little behind on schedule. Our reinforcements are waiting there.

Regalis simply pointed at a tree just a few steps away from them. The commissar was going to inquire why he was pointing at the tree, but decided not to, when 'they' decided to just melt right out of the shadows. Three massive figures: each one wearing the weight of a full armored vehicle, yet moved around with the Grace and silence of an alpha predator. Their Power Packs sported scrambler antennae while their Left shoulder Guard sported the symbol of the Rift Stalkers: the Black, Stylized carved Raven. These three were armed with Marksman Bolt Carbines, and Bolt Pistols for range, while massive Combat Knives hung on their ammo belts for melee. One of them beckoned to another tree. And turns out, he signaled the other teams as three more teams emerged from different shadows and slowly approached them. There were 4 of these teams in total: 2 teams were armed with Marksman Bolt Carbines and the Scrambler devices – The Infiltrators. One team was armed with a Mark III Shrike Pattern Bolt Sniper Rifle & two Las-Fusils, and they all were covered in large robe like clothes. Which in truth, were their Chamelionic cloaks – the Eliminators. Finally, came the team of three Warriors, who had somewhat different kind of loadouts: the armor was same, but with a large left shoulder Guard. Which was coupled with the leader's pair of Lightning Claws while the other two were armed with Plasma Exterminators – the Reivers. For the Reivers to wield such heavy munitions instead of the regular melee weapons is a strange thing. But, for this mission, the Captain of the Rift Stalker's 5th company, Thane Kraeon saw wisdom in fielding heavy munitions, thus the heavy plasma weapons.

Twelve Rift Stalker Vanguards. They were not only the strongest and fastest warriors guarding the perimeters, but also the quietest ones. The dogma of the Rift Stalkers is speed and silence while attacking, and they are unnervingly silent for most of the part. The Imperial Guard Officers had no idea how to approach and ask them about their commander. Then, Captain Ballor noticed that Sister Superior Nadra and her warriors take a curt bow, before she…well, looked upward at their Salamander. To be specific, right behind Commissar Dominic. Then he decided to look at the Commissar's back. It's a good thing that he had a strong heart, and he didn't get jump-scares that easy. Otherwise, he would have had one hell of a heart attack right now. The soldiers who saw 'him' land on the salamander above in complete silence all flinched in shock and perhaps more than just a little fear. And seeing their reactions, the other soldiers decided to look at the source, and had more or less similar reactions.

Not a single soldier noticed when 'He' got on the Salamander and stood right behind the Commissar until Captain Ballor decided to look, in spite of the immensely heavy Mark X Phobos Power Armor he was wearing. The 'He' in question, was a massive, individual. He easily stood at 8 feet tall, and weighed at least a full ton. His Cuirass was decorated with multiple purity seals and honor badges along with the Imperialis icon. The Power Pack of his Armor was equipped with a much more advanced version of the Grav-Chutes. And befitting a warrior of his status, he was armed heavily. Two massive combat knives hung on the left of his ammo belt, while an Absolver Bolt Pistol hung on his right, with an entire array of grenades and ammo cartridges hanging on both sides. As for his primary weapon, he was carrying a very potent weapon – A Master-Crafted Occulus Bolt Carbine, outfitted to fire anti-armor Kraken Rounds. And to further enhance the targeting capabilities of this weapons, as well as to scan the surroundings, his helm was equipped with targeting optics and sensors and an Occulus Visor. Finally, the top of his helm was covered underneath a white hood. The overall getup of this person screamed 'Silent Assassin'. The commissar and the Captain Regalis at this point got the hint that the commanding officer of their Rift Stalker Reinforcements was now standing right behind them, and steeling their heart to not to flinch at all, they turned around and took a bow to greet 'him'.

Dominic & Regalis: (In unison) My Lord.

(…): At Ease, Officers. I am not one for demanding haughty titles like 'Lord'. Commissar Dominic Kade, I take? And you must be Captain Regalis A. Creed of the 600th.

Dominic: Indeed, My Lord.

Regalis: Regalis A. Creed of the Cadian 600th regiment, reporting, My Lord.

This is hopeless. After all the attempts in breaking this ice of using titles, it's still like a constant here. The Vanguard Lieutenant decided to ignore that.

Karadon: Primaris Vanguard Lieutenant Karadon He'f of the Fifth Company. We will be your Vanguards for this mission.

Dominic: W-We are Grateful for your aid, Lord Karadon.

The commissar stutters a bit as he replies. Trying to be friendly is one thing, but sneaking up like this is an entirely different thing. Their habits are the worst enemies for a Human Heart. As for the Primaris Lieutenant, he simply returned the greeting with a simple nod of the head. Before, he turned to his right and greeted the Sister Superior of the Ebon Chalice with a curt nod.

With the rendezvous with the Rift stalkers complete, the expedition force begins to move again. The formation of the group can be described like this: Four columns of soldiers, each column holding a hundred Guards. Said columns are split in three parts. First part holds four columns of 30 men, who are covering the Salamander. The second part held 20 men per column, and they covered the Taurox Supply vehicles. The remaining part holds 50 men per column, and they are in charge of bringing up the rear, with the Tauros SUV's covering their left and right. The Retributors of the Ebon chalice split into individual members, as they cover the Salamander and the Tauroxes. Covering these formations were the Sentinels and the Rift Stalker Kill Teams. Each of the four teams positioned themselves along with one sentinel, and their positioning was rather simple: The Reiver and one of the two infiltrator teams assigned themselves to the Catachan Sentinels leading the front, while the other infiltrator team and the Eliminator team assigned themselves with the Cadian Sentinels at the rear. These four team covered the first part of the column and acts as their eyes and ears, and taking point for the force was Lieutenant Karadon himself. As they kept moving, the Primaris Marine decided to take a radio check.

Karadon: Pathfinder Actual. This is Pathfinder point. All Kill teams and squads. Respond for radio check. Over.

Vyk'tar: Reiver Kill Team 'Vyk'tar' Aye.

Ka'ed: Infiltrator Kill Team 'Ka'ed' Aye.

Tur'yan: Infiltrator Kill Team 'Tur'yan' Aye.

To'r: Eliminator Kill Team 'To'r' Aye.

Nadra: Retributor Squadron 'Nadra' Aye.

Dominic: Command Squad 'Pathfinder Actual' Aye.

Sergeant Terryl: Specialist Squad 'Terryl' Aye.

Sergeant Ronnan: Tactical Squad 'Ronnan' Aye.

Sergeant Thade: Tactical Squad 'Thade' Aye.

Sergeant Curtz: Heavy Weapons Squad 'Curtz' Aye.

Sergeant Ghir: Tactical Squad 'Ghir' Aye.

Sergeant Hendrick: Heavy Weapons Squad 'Hendrick' Aye.

Sergeant Hal: Specialist Squad 'Hal' Aye.

Sergeant Maul: Tactical Squad 'Maul' Aye.

Sergeant Ortiz: Demolition Squad 'Ortiz' Aye.

Taurox Command Vehicle Driver#1: Armor Column 'Pathfinder Lifeblood' Aye.

Cadian Sentinel#1: Lance Sentinel 'Stallion-One' Aye.

Cadian Sentinel#2: Lance Sentinel 'Stallion-Two' Aye.

Catachan Sentinel#1: Jungle Sentinel 'Swamp Mamba-One' Aye.

Catachan Sentinel#2: Jungle Sentinel 'Swamp Mamba-Two' Aye.

Tauros: Reconnaissance Vehicle 'Warthog' Aye.

Tauros Venator: Reconnaissance Vehicle 'Matador' Aye.

All the squads and the armored columns answer to his radio call one by one. All the assigned squads are still with them, and so far nothing suspicious happened.

Vyk'tar: All Squads & Armor columns are an 'Aye' Brother Lieutenant.

Karadon: Acknowledged. All units, maintain your usual formations. Notify contacts if you spot any. The Emperor Protects. Pathfinder Point. Out.

With the radio check complete, the forces keep on moving in perfect formation. And before long, they exit the outer forestlands that surrounded the front perimeters of the fort.

---

1630. June 9th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Ruined Town (Formerly Human Settlement. Designation: Cliffton

Geographical location: 22 Kilometers South-East of Human Settlement. Designation: Logsport

Governing Territory: City of Vale

Nation: Vale

Continent: Sanus

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown.

Segmentum: Unidentified.

Until 24 hours ago, the Hunting town of Cliffton was a center of bustile and activity. However after a certain incident, now the entire town remains silent. And, due to the utter devastation that it suffered, not even the sounds of the survivors could be heard. The only thing that lay all over the streets are wreckages of smaller houses, farm vehicles, and bodies. Lots of bodies. All brutally torn apart, mauled, mutilated, disfigured in every bestial ways possible.

Marron, a farmer woman of Ciffton was now hiding along with several other survivors within one of the large Public Cellars of the Town Market. Survivors included: the Gibbets who lived 3 houses away, the manager of 'Happy Home', some of the other farmer families; mostly women and children, including her daughter Maria. A deathly silence now hung around the place, which made everyone inside feel like they were the only survivors left in the entire town. Her Daughter, Maria was a Dog Faunus. Her Faunus lineage comes from her father and Marron's Husband James O' Riley, who ushered them both and the other survivors safely within this Cellar, before he joined with the other remaining capable hands to fend of the Grimm invasion. As of right now, she was terrified, and she clung on to her mother.

Maria: (In a low voice)…Mommy…(sniffle)…where's Daddy?

The mother couldn't tell her the truth. It was possible, that her James was no more. Nothing could have survived against that kind of numbers. Even so, part of her was yearning to believe in the same way as her little angel. She hugged her tightly, as they shrunk at the corner of the Cellar Room.

Marron: Daddy will be back, sweetie. You know Daddy right? When did he ever break his promise? He will be back.

She had to summon every ounce of mental fortitude to choke back her tears. She couldn't do it. She couldn't tell her daughter that her father was…gone. How did it come down to this? What will happen to them now?

To know what happened to Cliffton and how they ended up inside the Cellar, let us turn back the clock. Just a little bit.

1830. June 8th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Human Settlement. Designation: Cliffton

Geographical location: 22 Kilometers South-East of Human Settlement. Designation: Logsport

Governing Territory: City of Vale

Nation: Vale

Continent: Sanus

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown.

Segmentum: Unidentified.

It was a busy day in the O' Riley Family household. It was harvesting day for Millets and Game fish: Mostly Salmons and the Vale Catfish. James O' Riley, a strong, well-built Retriever Faunus & a well-rounded individual. Living near the farmer's district at the east of the Hunting Town of Cliffton, the O' Riley Family owned a neat and proper two-storied House, and a decent 20 thousand square meter patch of land, where He grew seasonal grains like Millets, Rye, Oats, Corn and such. And to further provide for the family and to make reserves, he was also a gifted hunter who travelled deep within the forest to catch wild game such as Deer, Rabbits, Game Birds and of course, river fishes. This year is an exceptionally blessed year as their harvests looked wonderful. Enough Millets to stockpile and sell in the Town Market for profits. As well as an enviable catch of River Salmons and Catfish. As he finished selling his crops to the biggest trader for grains and fisheries in town 'Happy Home', he returned home with a sort of happy mood.

Now why sort of instead of a very happy mood? Yes, he got a good margin to save for his daughter's future and to further update the living conditions of the family, mind you it is decent anyways. But, a certain something got him slightly worried, and that was the recent events that have been happening within the forests close to the Mount Glenn Woodlands. It has been around 45 days since those logic-defying pillars of light fell all over Mount Glenn. And the massive earthquakes and storm gusts that swept over Cliffton and all of its neighbor towns and villages. And, ever since then, the ever persistent Grimm attacks have gotten worse. A lot worse. Back then, the towns got hit by a few dozen cadavers of Beowolves and at most a pack or two of Ursas once a month or twice. But since that day, they were getting attacked by Grimm almost twice a week. The border Patrols have been able to repel the incoming Grimm thus far, but the reports from the Town Patrols sounded alarming to say the least. It was almost as if something terrifying had chased out all the Grimm living within the forests. Different varieties of Grimm popped out of the woods ranging from Creeps to once in a lifetime sightings of King Taijitu. And, with every passing day, it became more uncertain if they could keep on repelling the Grimm attacks like this. The fastest the national militia or the elite huntsmen of Beacon Academy could arrive to reinforce their location would take at least several hours, and while their neighbors Logsport could send in their local militia as reinforcement, some of the Grimm are beyond their leagues. All these, have made hunting and fishing in the woods to secure the livelihood of nearly 60% of the towns population very difficult for this month and it will certainly have an impact on the town's economy in the near future.

Well, he can worry about that part later, safety of the family comes first. And not even a leviathan would dare to put its filthy fingers on his family as long as he's still breathing. As he opens the door, the first thing that greeted him was a speeding blur of black. And before he even realized it, he was lying on the floor face staring upwards as his one and only little angel Maria hugged him with all her might.

Maria: Welcome home Daddy!

The man was a little bit shell-shocked from the sudden surprise, which morphed into an expression of pure joy and happiness as he got up and took her in his lap. All the while giving her kisses all over her forehead and her adorable, squishy cheeks. And who wouldn't love this adorable 5 year old bundle of energy? Just a minute of quality Father-Daughter time does wonders to body and mind all the time.

James: Thaank you My Little Pumpkin… how was your day?

Maria: I…had…a niice day. And how was your day?

James: I'm having the best day ever. (whisper voice) Wanna know why?

The little Faunus girl nodded her head. Oh so adorable! At this rate, he'll have diabetes from all that cuteness.

James: Because I'm spending my time with you now, My Little Pumpkin.

The little girl giggles at his response. And watching this father-daughter interaction was his loving, beautiful wife Marron O' Riley. She couldn't help but feel happy at this moment. It is these moments in life that she cherishes the most. And as long as these two are with her, nothing could go possibly wrong.

Marron: Welcome home, love.

James: Good to be home, love.

They both kiss each other, before Marron takes their loving daughter in her embrace, and gets her workhorse of a husband to take a shower before dinner. Within a short time, all three inhabitants of this little house were gathered at the dining table. While having dinner, they all discuss about what happened today, and what they did. Well, for most of the day, all three of them worked at the fields harvesting the crops and getting them prepped for taking to the markets. Even so, it makes for a lovely atmosphere.

By the time it was 9, they were already in the bedroom, as James and Marron tucked their daughter in so that she could have a good night sleep. As soon as little Maria was in her dreamlands, now was a time, when they could show some signs of fatigue & worry.

Marron: What happened today?

James: Nothing special, love. It's been the same topic ever since the 'Pillars of Light'. The Grimm attacks getting worse, the patrols getting tighter…that kind of thing.

Marron: You think we should leave the town for a while? For Maria's sake. I don't like leaving the folks here like this, but-

James: I know, love. I know. Maybe we should. The hordes are getting bigger every day. I kept the truck ready in case we need to leave town all of a sudden.

Marron: I heard from the neighbors. Remember the Gibbets?

James flinched a little at the mention of the Gibbet Family. They live just 3 houses away from them. Their only son, Eiric Gibbet went deep in the woodlands just a few days ago and he never came back. Later on, the search parties that went to look for him came back with his mutilated corpse. It was clear from the injuries that he got killed by the Grimm. With their son dead, now the elderly couple have regressed into a state of fear, panic and mental devastation.

Marron: Let's take the Gibbets with us. They could use all the help we can give right now.

James: We will, love. We will. But, for now, let's just pray to the Brother Gods that it doesn't have to come down to leaving town.

Marron simply nods her head once. They have been living in this town for nearly 10 years now. And, in this time, they grew close to many of the long term residents here. They even bought a small plot of land, which they managed to grow into its current size. Then, they brought Maria to this world: literally their single greatest reason to stay in this town. While leaving Cliffton like this during an emergency would be the wisest of options, it still left a bad aftertaste in the mouth. Both husband and wife silently gives their Prayers to the Twin Brothers before they went to sleep.

The troublesome thing on Remnant is: the Brother Gods are like a pair of rocks. Maybe even worse. You can shower them with all the Prayers & Offerings, and unlike a certain Someone we know worshipped as a Deity, the only thing these two had to give to the people of this planet was – eternal suffering and pain. Followed by indifference and wanton abandonment. And, the residents of Cliffton learned that lesson the hard way on this night.

2200. June 8th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Stewart Green was one of the captains of Cliffton's self-defense militia. And calling this ragtag bunch of people proficient in handling weapons, coupled with the hunters of the town a militia would be sort of an insult to the term 'Militia'. Then again, for a town of their size, this was the best they could pull off. And it wasn't half bad either – they could at least hold of Grimm hordes that numbered less than a hundred with their skills.

And as usual, he was on wall patrol. Guarding the borders, as he and the 12 something men under his command kept a watch outside of the town walls from incoming Grimm hordes and bandits. After several rounds, just when he thought everything was clear, he and his subordinates saw IT.

Patrol Guard#1: T-This…this can't be real, right?! We…W-w-we can't fight against THAT!

Stewart: Cork it, Boy! You! Go get everybody! Tell the mayor to get the town for Evacuation.

Patrol Guard#2: G-Got it!

With that, the patrol Guard ran with all his might towards the Mayor's residence located at the center of the town.

Patrol Guard#1: W-w-what should we do, Captain?

Stewart: Man yer stations. Tonight's gonna be a long night for us. We can't let this get to the townfolks.

Patrol Guard#3: Are you nuts?! We can't fight all of 'em?

Stewart: Then go home, hide in your cellar and wait as they drag you out of it later when the town falls! Ya think they'll let ya live if you hide? And ya think ya can run away from 'em?

The guards all go silent. There was no way they could outrun that.

Stewart: Then quit yer yappin' and man up! Get to yer stations!

All the while, Stewart himself was unsure if they could fend of a horde 'This Big'. Standing a little over 5 kilometers from the town borders, a massive horde of Grimm was slowly approaching towards them. Until today, the town Militia managed to stave off the recent invasions. But, neither Cliffton, nor its neighbor towns can fight off against this.

The horde was massive: easily numbering over 300 beasts. Majority of their numbers included Beowolves and Apathies, while ranks of Creeps and Boarbatusks moved among them. Leading this enormous horde was a hideously massive Beowolf Prime. The Beowolf Prime was basically an Alpha Beowolf, only on unhealthy amounts of steroids. This beast lived for more than 3 centuries and it kept growing stronger until nothing within its territory could ever challenge it. With its strength, it could even fight toe-to-toe with a Beringel. Yet, its most frightening aspect wasn't its strength, but its wisdom and experience. Three hundred years of living often does wonders to your mind. It gives you the gifts of strategy and cunning. And thus, it used its wisdom to amass a horde large enough to outright break through the defenses of this human settlement. It needed to sate its urge to cause death and destruction tonight. And, it was in an extremely foul mood, especially after what has been happening to thousands of its kin for the last 47 days. Any Grimm pack or horde that ventured deeper within the forest in search of prey no longer returned back. All died trying to attack that 'Human Castle' built there. The humans there were so repulsive…their stench was unbearable. Humans were supposed to have the smell of fear, panic, misery and despair all over them. Yet, the ones in the castle reeked of Hate and anger whenever they saw it and its kin. And, there wasn't even a single trace of fear or panic around them.

After sending so many of its own kin to get completely obliterated by the human weapons, it came to the conclusion that, trying to reclaim their now-lost territory from those humans was a completely futile exercise. And, all it did was just whittle down its own numbers. So, it chose to abandon that castle and look out for a much easier prey. And lo and behold, he found one just a few days ago: this little settlement. The defenses were pathetically weak, and if he attacked this place with just a pack, it would be sufficient. But, he chose not to. Instead, it amassed an entire army, and then it marched towards the settlement. Tonight, it shall reap a bounty of blood and organs. Tonight, it shall spread fear amongst the humans, gather more of their numbers and destroy all of humanity on Remnant like a Tidal Wave.

All for its 'Queen'.

The entire Town militia of Cliffton was now gathered atop the front of the town walls. The bells were tolling all over the place, as families exited their houses with only the bare minimum necessities and they all headed towards the town center, where the more experienced townsfolks were getting the residents for evacuations. Their objective is very simple: Hold off the horde for as long as possible, while the mayor takes some strong hands and help evacuate the rest of the people to Logsport. Their militia is much larger and better equipped than Cliffton's and their walls are a lot sturdier. Not to mention, they also have huntsmen living there who can fight off the Grimm. With that set in motion, the defenders of Cliffton now readies themselves as the horde slowly approached them.

Stewart: Men! Guns at the ready! Don't let these bastards get close to the walls!

Sounds of acknowledgement could be heard from all the men. However, their tone wasn't convincing enough, in fact many of them now had outright fear in their hearts. And that was a bad thing.

Stewart: Stop chickening out! Ya panic, they get a chance at rippin' yer head off! Y'all know what happens when ya panic in front of a Grimm!

Along with a few more words of encouragement, he whips the men in shape before he takes his own position atop the walls. Now, they can only wait before the horde enters within firing range.

The tension in the air keeps on rising as the horde keeps getting closer. It was almost as if they were approaching on a leisure stroll. Then, at the very moment the horde reached within a 2 kilometer range, all of a sudden, the boarbatusks and beowolves immediately broke into a sprint, with the former ones leading the charge. The guards immediately prioritized in attacking the boarbatusks first because if those things are not taken down, they will ram right through the walls. And, that will give the Grimm all the openings they need to massacre the entire town. While, the Boar Grimm make their charge, the Beowolves sprint at full speed with the full intention of latching and climbing on to the walls.

Stewart: OPEN FIRE! DON'T LET ONE OF THOSE FILTHY MONGRELS GET NEAR THE WALLS!

Near perfect volleys of fire cut down several beowolves and Boarbatusks. But that was hardly enough, as more of them keep advancing. The defenders reload and open fire again. And once again, many Grimm fall down under fire. Now, all the defenders fire on the grim at their own pace, picking favorable targets. As expected of a hunting town, they can cut down more Grimm compared to other towns. And with their current progress, the belief of repelling the horde comes into many minds. And as such, the firing intensifies.

However, the ones charging the front are just a simple diversion. The true intention of the prime was to keep the defenders occupied so that the pack of beowolves along with a swarm of apathies he sent to go around the defensive perimeters can get within the town unseen. That way, they will be able to put the humans in a pincer attack. Bit by bit, they will cut off their escape routes and once they are completely surrounded, Checkmate.

Soon enough, the tragedy of Cliffton began to unfold. As the Grimm that the Beowolf prime sent to get within the walls unseen by its defenders succeeded. And the first thing that greeted them were streets full of people evacuating. Before the humans could even react to how they got in, the beasts pounced on their victims with the fury of the daemons of the old myths, tearing them apart limb from limb, piece by piece.

It was absolute Chaos. And call it irony or quirk of fate, the O' Riley Family along with the Gibbets got caught right in the middle of it.

James: Hurry…get in the Truck! Things don't look so good right now.

Marron and the Gibbets nod as they get in the Pickup truck. The family woke up at the sound of the town bells repeatedly ringing. James and Marron knew what happened – Grimm. And this time, it was an invasion, and they need to get out of town as soon as possible. They quickly wake Maria up, pack up the bare minimum essentials, get ready, pick up the household weapons they had – hey, they're a hunting family too, you know! Finally, as they get out of the house, the first sight that greets them are hunters and farmers desperately firing at the Grimm that already got inside the town. It literally got them in shock: how did they outflank the Guards without them noticing? James quickly gets Maria inside the pickup truck. At that time, a Beowolf gunned straight for them. It only made it halfway though, as its head got blown off clean by a gunshot.

As the beowolf toppled over, James tried to figure out who it was, and saw Hans Gibbet, the elderly father of the now deceased Eiric holding a decent looking double-barreled rifle. His wife, Margaret Gibbet followed close, carrying a small bag full of necessary belongings. For someone his age, Hans Gibbet was surprisingly strong and stiff for the matter. James quickly signaled the elderly couple to come to the pickup truck. And as soon as they got in, James got on the Driver's seat and got the truck starting and getting on the road – full throttle.

All the while, the little girl was terrified: black monsters jumping around left and right, hurting people. One of them ran right for them. Maria had no idea why this was happening. Her mother immediately sensed her fear and hugged her tightly as the vehicle drove straight for the town square.

Marron: It's okay, Pumpkin…Mommy's here. Daddy's here. Grandpa and Grandma Gibbet are here. Everything's going to be okay.

Margaret Gibbet nods her head while looking at her with a smile.

Hans: Don't you worry, Maria dear. As long as your father and I are still breathing, we won't let a single one of them get close to you.

Maria: I-I'm scared.

Marron: It's okay Pumpkin…nothing will happen to us…Mommy and Daddy will let nothing happen to you.

Maria: Aren't you scared…?

James: We all are a little bit, honeybun. But it'll be all fine. The monsters will all go away.

Within a short time, the Truck reaches the Town Center, near the wholesale depot of 'Happy Home', where they can see the surviving residents all gathered up, with the normal civilians all being protected by the armed men and women of their families.

James: Terry!

A strong, stout redheaded man was unloading his gun on incoming Grimm. As soon as he took the head of a creep, he turned right to see the O' Riley Family

Terry: James! What took you guys so long?!

James: Got hit by a Beowolf! How many are here?

Terry: The rest of the families. Most of 'em from the blocks closer to the Market Districts. You and the Gibbets are the only ones from the border-sides who made it so far.

James had never felt so grim before. This was bad, very bad. While most of the people living close to the center of the town made it, their lives are now measured at minutes, maybe hours at most if they don't get out. The ones living further from the center were the ones who got hit badly. Asides from the O' Riley's and the Gibbets, no one else made it in time. Did the Town Guard get caught in a pincer attack? But, it doesn't make any sense. For all his years, James knew that the beasts of Grimm don't use any strategy, just charge straight at their victims. Something was wrong here.

James: Did anybody hear anything from the Town Guards?

Terry: Nothing so far. The only thing we caught on radio was that they were fighting off the horde. And that was like 15 minutes ago.

They keep sharing as much information as possible. If the town guard have already collapsed, then this place would've been full of Grimm right now. It meant that, they're still fighting, while another horde attacked from their blind spots and got inside.

James: We're running out of time! Where's that old fart?

Terry: The Mayor?! That old coot's hiding inside his office right now. Ever since the bells, he's been like this. We don't even know what to do. We're supposed to evacuate in ordered fashion, but as soon as the shootings started inside of the town, it ended up like this.

Fuck This! James realized that trying to convince the mayor to get on with the evacuation is pointless. And someone over here needed to take that initiative.

James: Alright people Listen Up! We don't have much time! Right now, our boys in the town guard are holding of the Grimm for as long as possible. We need to use this chance, get our rides and evacuate to our neighboring town until the National Council can send an army to clear up this place!

Every survivor gathered here now focused their attention of James.

James: So, get your gears ready, take as many people as you can! The longer we stay here, the more the chances become that we'll all die. We need as many people to survive this as possible. Some of us are going to stay here, so that the rest can get out. If the town guards make it by then, we're hauling our asses out of this place! Get to Logsport, or Nest. They need to know about this. The hordes are getting bigger. If somebody doesn't stop it at its tracks, it's going to be more than just Cliffton.

Townspeople#1: Can't we just barricade ourselves and hold out until help arrives?

James: How long you think they'll hold, Smartass?! Look over there! The Grimm already broke inside! It's only a matter of time before they get here.

James points at the direction towards the town exit leading to Mountain Glenn. And as he points there, everyone's faces become pale at what they saw.

Terry: Oh Shit!

Nearly 80 men were fighting at the walls. Now, with horror and fear in their eyes, the survivors see about a dozen of the guards running towards them. And right behind them, a tidal wave of black and white fury was heading right for the rest of the town.

Townspeople#2: Oh screw this! I ain't staying here!

Terry: No! Wait-

He couldn't even finish, as some of them immediately get on their getaway rides, before they start the engines, and head towards the main entrance to leave the town. Unfortunately, they only manage to go so far, before the vehicles get rammed aside by several boarbatusks that managed to sneak through alleyways. As soon as they spotted the human vehicles, they immediately charged at them, ramming and toppling the trucks, bikes and tractors before other Grimm swarm over them and drag their occupants out while the helpless victims scream for their lives before getting torn apart.

Marron pales in fear as she hides Maria in her embrace. She doesn't need to see such wanton violence. The Grimm already surrounded them before they even noticed.

Margaret: Oh Gods…

Their lives were now measured in measly minutes. They had to do something about this. All the while, they kept shooting at all directions, at the beasts as they keep on cornering them.

Terry: You know what…at this rate, no one's getting out. Maybe that guy over there is right. We should make up a barricade while we keep them off.

James: Are you nuts?! I told you, it won't hold for long-

Terry: Just listen, Man! We still got plenty of guns left. We keep shooting, take down as many of them as we can. All the while, a couple of strong arms build up a thick-ass barricade and blockades over the biggest cellar in the Market building. I remember Warehouse two goes all the way underground. We get the families and the kids in there with some food and supplies to live for a few days. Then we clog the doors as much as possible so that not even the midget Grimm can't get inside. Finally, we put up the biggest, sturdiest barricades we can make.

James: Then you need to get inside-

Terry: No, man. I'm staying out here!

James: Are you nuts?! You got two kids! You can't just-

Terry: Hey…you got your kid there too, right? Some of us has to stay.

James knew the people who will stay outside of the barricade will be selling their lives dearly for the barricade to last as long as possible. He looked at his family once. Before he looked back at Jack and replied.

Terry: Hold 'em off for a minute…I'll be back.

James quickly rush to his family and the Gibbets. Then, before he makes his intentions clear, he takes a deep breath in.

James: Listen-

Marron: You can't be serious….

James: Babe, someone has to do it. And, I can't leave those guys outside to die like that. At least I need to help them out-

Marron: NO! There has to be some other way…Maria…I-I…you're all that we have-

James quickly hugs them both. His time was growing shorter with every minute. He needed to do this.

James: Love…please…for Maria's sake. She'll need you. Mr. and Mrs. Gibbet will look after the two of you if anything happens…

Marron: NO! I'm not taking-

James: Please, love…

Marron couldn't hold her tears any longer. Her husband is planning on dying trying to save them. To save her. How could she accept that? She couldn't. She hugs James even tighter, refusing to let go. It took him sometime to get her to let go, before he took their daughter in his embrace. The poor thing doesn't even know what was happening. All she could understand was there were monsters everywhere, and everybody was scared just like her. He now slowly gets Maria to raise her chin so that he could look at her for one last time.

James: Pumpkin…you're gonna go with Mom and Grandpa and Grandma Gibbet…Okay? I'll be right behind you.

Maria: D-daddy…do you have to go?

James: I'll be back, sweetheart. I promise.

Maria: P-promise.

James: Pinky promise, Pumpkin. Now go with them. Daddy loves you.

James felt like his heart was getting stabbed by a thousand knives as he was saying his last goodbyes to his daughter. But, if he can keep both Marron & Maria safe by doing this, then so be it. He'll have no regrets dying trying to save them. Now, all he had left to do was to ask the Gibbets for this one favor.

James: Mr. Gibbet. Please look after-

Hans: Don't give me those last moments words, boy. I'll look after them as long as I'm still alive. So you better come back alive. For their sakes.

James: O-Okay…I will. Now…all of you. Go. We're running out of time.

Terry: We're getting cornered here! Hurry up man!

They were running out of time. James quickly ushered his family and the Gibbets along with the others as they all go inside the market building cellars. And, with that he ran back to the front lines and immediately took aim with his Double-Barreled Rifle and started firing on the encroaching Grimm horde. During this time, 8 of the surviving town guards managed to reach the last barricade in time. 4 of them didn't make it as the beasts managed to catch up with them and kill them before the poor guards could even react.

Terry: What the hell happened?! Where are the rest?

Guard#1: T-They're all dead…they're all dead! We fought so hard. But, we didn't even see it coming…a full horde of 'em flanked us from our right. They hit us like a battering ram before we could do anything…

Terry, James and the other townsfolk outside the barrier couldn't believe it. The Grimm were using strategy to exploit their blind spots. They never use strategy on this level.

Townspeople#1: B-but that's impossible. Grimm never use strategy.

Guard#1: The big one leading them…I-I-It was different. It was like a Beowolf alpha…but bigger. It's worse than any Grimm we ever faced.

Guard#2: That thing led the horde that flanked us…it immediately went after Captain Stewart. Before we could do anything, it tore his head off… And after that, everything went to shit. That one was targeting the leaders, while it sent the grunts to take us out…we couldn't hold the line after that…

Guard#3: W-we're all gonna die like pigs…it…it's all over man…

James had to stop shooting for a moment, and slap some senses into the panicking guard.

James: GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER! Yeah, we're all gonna die. But, if we keep shooting at them, maybe we'll get to buy some more minutes for us. So, make those shots count and help us buy those couple of minutes.

The surviving guards and the remaining able-bodied gunmen of Cliffton keep shooting, forming a semi-circular barrier around the second group, who were done pushing the O' Riley family Pickup truck in front of the Barricade. The main entrance to the cellar was now fully sealed, with the only option for Air and light being the stone vents built on top of the roof. There will be sufficient air for everyone to breath, and they have enough food and supplies to sustain for at least a week. Somebody will come to save these people. And, James and the others fought back even harder holding on to that belief. They were taking down good number of Grimm, but more of them just keep on coming.

(Inside of the Mayor's office)

Mayor Boris Bullgogi was shaking in pure fear and terror under his office desk, as he could hear the Grimm horde rampaging through the streets. The very minute he saw the Grimm on the city streets, he ran for his life. Screw the townspeople, his life was his first priority. Everybody else can die for all he cares. As soon as the Grimm will be done killing the rest of the town, they will leave for new prey. He will wait until then. And the very minute that moment comes for him, he'll bug out of here.

At that moment, Boris forgot that, there is something in this universe called "Karmic Retribution". All of a sudden, he heard the sound of something breaking through the door. He immediately went quiet and hid himself. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough, as the Beowolf Prime, the one that orchestrated this tragic event on Cliffton immediately sniffed out the source of fear within the room.

And, within the next minute, a blood-curdling scream could be heard throughout the entire town. The Beowolf Prime burst out of the Mayor's building, with his dead corpse in tow. Its intentions were very clear: to sow fear, hopelessness and despair. It chose a suitable spot where everybody could see it perform the vile act. Then, once it reached the spot, it took the center stage, displayed the mutilated corpse of the mayor, before ripping said corpse limb from bloody limb, spilling organs, blood and entrails all over the place. The expressions of pure shock and fear was painfully visible right now on every single one of the humans here.

Townspeople#3: Brother Gods have Mercy…

Guard#2: T-that's the one… that's the Grimm that led every one of them here.

James: This changes nothing. Either we take it down with its kin, or we die trying.

While some of them voices their affirmation of the matter, most of the others were still in a state of shock and it took the sounds of gunfire to snap back to reality. They see, as the Beowolf Prime stands upright on its two legs and makes a gesture, that if not mistaken looked like it wanted to say "Struggle all you want, you'll die all the same".

James: Fire everything on that thing! Don't let it get any closer!

However, what happens next, catches them all off-guard. The Beowolf Prime simply points at them. And before the last defenders even realized what was happening, they saw their impending doom flying towards them: two Giant Nevermores gliding at their direction.

The last thing James remembered seeing was a rain of steel feathers falling right on top of them.

(Underground Cellar, Warehouse 2, Wholesale Market, Town Center)

The sounds of intense gunfire, followed by bestial howls and roars, screams of people dying could be heard outside of the cellar. The good thing about this hiding spot was, there was no window or wooden platforms here: the doors were made of solid iron, and the walls are all made of thick layers of cobblestone and mortar. As for ventilation, there were built-in vent grills made of stone and iron on the top so, air flow was sufficient. But, right now, lack of Air Ventilation was the least of worries for its occupants. Right now, this cellar was the last safe haven for the survivors of Cliffton, less than 50 people whose family members were now fighting outside to keep them safe.

Many of them were praying to the Brother Gods, praying with the hope that someone will come rescue them. They Pray with hope that their family members outside there will survive. Marron was one such individual, as she clasped her hands together and Prayed to the Brother Gods to return her husband back safe and sound. Seeing her mother, Maria does the same.

Margaret: It'll be okay…we just need to stay strong…

The elderly woman simply pats the little girl in the head while putting her palm on Marron's shoulders to give her some form of comfort.

Townspeople#3: Stop giving people false hope…nobody's gonna-

The poor guy got smacked at the left side of his face by an old man – the blacksmith shop owner of Ciffton, Nickolas Solares.

Nickolas: Do you even have a brain inside that head of yours?! People here needs a little bit of hope, and all you do is spew more of your honky tonk shit!

Townspeople#3: What am I gonna say?! Lie that we'll be fine?! We'll live to see tomorrow?! No need to give anyone fake sugar-

The poor guy couldn't finish his sentence however, as he felt something metallic touch the back of his head. Slightly turning around, he sees that Hans Gibbet was aiming his double-barreled Hunting rifle right at his head.

Hans: Keep runnin' yer mouth like that… and I'll start paintin' the floor with yer brain. Nobody's dyin' here tonight! Not anymore. Too many have died, many are still fightin'! All of ya start praying that they get to live and come back to all of us!

The residents simply nod in agreement. Even the man who was arguing with Nickolas just now, as he went pale standing right in front of a gun barrel.

Hans: How good's yer aim, blacksmith?

Nickolas: Good enough to take a Grimm head or two, old man.

Hans: Good enough for me. Take yer gun. Help me guard the door. No need to take any chances.

The blacksmith nods in agreement. At times like this, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

All the while, Marron keenly listened to the noises outside. Sounds of Gunfire could still be heard, followed by shouts of men giving orders to guard sides, alongside the bestial sounds of Grimm. Then, all of a sudden, sounds of something metallic raining down and piercing the ground could be heard. Which was followed by the bestial howls getting louder, and death screams of the defenders. She quickly shielded Maria's ears, and seeing her, the other women who had children did the same. Soon, the sounds of screams, roars and gunshots slowly die down. And all that greeted them was silence.

Townspeople#4: I-Is it over?

Townspeople#5: Maybe the Grimm left-

Nickolas: No.

Townspeople#5: Eh…?

Nickolas: They didn't leave. The ones outside are all…gone.

At that, muffled sounds of sobbing could be heard from many places, as several women tightly embraced their children. All of their husbands, sons and fathers were dead. Marron silently sobbed holding her daughter as close as possible, as tightly as possible. Her beloved husband, James was gone. He was never coming back. Not anymore. All that Prayer, all their hopes got destroyed completely and utterly. Even then, she kept praying:

Marron: Oh Brother Gods…Great masters of Remnant…(sob)…Please keep them safe… (sob). Anyone…(sob)…whoever can hear me…(sob)…please. Please, I beg to you…please save them.

Her Prayer gets cut off in the middle, as she heard something break into the main building above the ground. Followed by some kind of animal sniffing for prey. Everyone inside the cellar went silent. The few men inside, including Hans and Nickolas silently gestured everyone to remain calm and not to panic. The Grimm just broke inside the building and it was now walking on the floor right above them. If those things hear just one sound, they will figure out where the survivors were hiding. And then, not even the Brother Gods will be able to save them.

Minutes pass away in terrifying silence, as more Grimm break inside the building. They're eagerly breaking down everything in that floor. Their fears increased even more, as after several more objects getting destroyed, several screams could be heard inside the building. Human screams, to be more accurate. The survivors in the cellar couldn't believe that there were more survivors hiding in the markets. Well, now the ones not inside Warehouse 2 were as good as dead, as they heard the sounds of flesh being torn, coupled with more screams, the wet slopping sound of organs and viscera spilling on the ground. Within a few moments, all the survivors got slaughtered wholesale by the Grimm. And silence enveloped the whole place once again.

After another several minutes of the Grimm sniffing around the whole place, the sound of several animals stampeding out of the building could be heard. They left, they were gone. For now. Everybody within the cellar now slowly let out a silent breath of relief. But, now that they're gone, the whole town is basically dead. Less than 40 people survived this violent ordeal, this living hell. Out of over two thousand residents of Cliffton, only around three dozen residents were all that remained. And if nobody comes to this town within the coming days, their numbers will go down even faster. Even after realizing this fact, there was nothing they could do. One cannot stop a force of nature. The Grimm Horde of this night was a force of nature. They tried stopping it, and they got destroyed. What will they do? What will happen to them? Who'll rescue them? Is there anymore hope left for them? All they could do was Pray. Pray and hope that, even if the Brother Gods don't do something to help them, at least someone else would.

If the Beowolf Prime had a way to express its emotions like a human being, then it would be something around the lines of 'Vile, Smug Satisfaction'. It reaped its bounty, its army laid complete and utter waste to this human settlement here. Although, slight essences of fear still lingers around, but no matter. There are more settlements lying around, and it already had a target in mind. It gave out a loud howl, called out to all the Grimm that flocked under its command. Soon, just a little short of two hundred Grimm gather in front of it. Sure, its army suffered several losses tonight. But, it gained valuable lessons in turn along with its bounty. The tactics it used to outflank the humans, the strategies of diversion, division and conquest, the art of using speed, terror tactics. Now, with all the negativity that this will spread, it will gather more under its paws to lead, Build a new army – bigger than before. An Army that none of the bigger settlements can ever hope to topple. It will use the strategies that it used here, crush the resistance within a black and white vice, and once their pathetic defenders are dead, more fresh Prey, More bounty, More Conquests. With its goal set, it led the horde towards the parts of the forests where more of its kin prowled around. While heading for the forest, it swore it heard the sound of one of the human flying machines above them, before the sound of something big crashing down somewhere far from them. It paid it no mind however, as it moved along.

It was the king of the skies. After the Wyverns themselves, nothing can contest against it in the air. The Griffons were nothing but paltry paupers in front of it. The Nevermore flew atop of the now stampeding horde as they headed towards the forests of the east, ready to reap a new bounty of blood and gore out of the humans. It already reaped a delectable one tonight from this settlement. Yet, it craved for more, and the horde that it chose to follow will surely take it some place where it can sate its innate lust for carnage.

Alas, the last thing it saw was a flash of light before it and its partner got blasted into bits by a pair of bright lights, and the last sound it managed to hear was the sound of an aircraft flying away.

---

Templar 1-1: What the fook was that?!

The pilot of the lightning fighter craft was visibly surprised when he first spotted the giant birds flying along with a horde of the local 'Wildlife' that was constantly trying to get within base perimeters. Well, it wasn't anything that a couple of salvoes of las-fire can't solve. Tonight was Templar Squadron's turn to patrol the skies, while running short-range reconnaissance details. Even though he did see the reports from the other patrol squadrons, it was still hard to believe that something of that size exists. Well, to be honest, both the giant birds were the least of his concerns. As he flew on, he noticed a settlement, and the onboard visual devices showed that this was a human settlement. Things didn't look very good: whatever happened to the settlement, it was already too late, and the horde down there was already moving away from it. A possible practical: the horde was probably heading for a new settlement, or possibly, towards the fort. Then, said horde will definitely gather more of their numbers. And that wasn't promising. And, just when he decided to make the call, his comms flared up.

Templar 1-2: Templar one-one, this is Templar one-two, how copy? Over.

Templar 1-1: This is Templar one-one. Read you loud and clear one-two. Over.

Templar 1-2: Sensors flared up a few seconds ago, was it you?

Templar 1-1: Affirmative. Had Incoming Airborne hostiles. A pair of Las-shots dealt with them. Nothing special.

Templar 1-2: Wildlife?

Templar 1-1: Yup. Just passed by a horde of the local 'Wildlife' as per reports. Also passed by a human settlement. Sending pict-records now.

The pilot pressed a few buttons on the cockpit interfaces, as he sent the message to his fellow squadron pilot. The comms went silent for a few seconds, before it flared up again.

Templar 1-2: That…doesn't look good.

Templar 1-1: Possible attack from the horde I saw during the patrol. They were already leaving the settlements by the time I reached there.

Templar 1-2: Call the shot.

Templar 1-1: No need to tell me twice. Patching to Headquarters.

The pilot (Templar 1-1) pressed some switches and a small dial. And then he spoke.

Templar 1-1: Calling Overlord Nihilius Actual. This is Templar one-one of Templar Squadron. Do you read? Over.

Overlord: This is Overlord Nihilius Actual. We read you loud and clear Templar one-one. Over.

Templar 1-1: Alright. I'm sending in some visuals. Possible human settlement. Already have been attacked by local wildlife. Location. Two hundred clicks North Northeast. Notable landmarks none spotted other than the settlement perimeter walls. Settlement size average.

The communications staff back at 'Fort Nihilius' runs a thorough check through the visual image feeds received from the Lightning Fighter.

Overlord: Visuals received…Oh Throne…that's a lot of habs burning and trashed. And…a lot of fields burning…and a LOT of dead bodies…

Templar 1-1: Couldn't do anything about it. It was already like that by the time I reached there. The attackers are already on the move. Possible next target. Other probable settlements. Possible theoretical. The horde will gather more of its numbers and head for the base.

Overlord: Duly noted one-one. Sending details to perimeter watch. Looks like the Militarum boys will be having another picnic day in hand.

Templar 1-1: (Laughs)…Thank the Emperor for the action. Make sure to tell Pathfinder about this before they leave the fort.

Overlord: Duly Noted one-one. Good Job. Make a final run over the perimeters. Then return to base for final debriefing. The Emperor Protects.

Templar 1-1: Roger that Overlord Nihilius Actual. The Emperor Protects. Making final run over the skies. Templar one-one. Out.

With that, Templar 1-1 finished his in-flight report. Now, all that was left, was to make a final patrol and reconnaissance run over the designated perimeters before returning to base. All the while, he decided to make a silent Prayer.

Templar: (in a quiet mumble) Immortal Emperor, Lord and Master of Mankind. Please watch over the survivors until we get there. Ave Imperator Inexelcus Terra.

Whatever minor Gods the inhabitants worship in this planet may not listen to their pleas, but The God Emperor was not such a Deity, He would surely do something to keep them safe.

---

Now, back to present.

025.11.033. M42. 16:50 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time)

1650. June 9th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Settlement Outskirts

Ruined Town (Formerly Human Settlement. Designation: Cliffton

Geographical location: 22 Kilometers South-East of Human Settlement. Designation: Logsport. 200 kilometers North Northeast of 'Fort Nihilius'

Governing Territory: City of Vale

Nation: Vale

Continent: Sanus

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown.

Segmentum: Unidentified.

Turns out, another patch of forests still covered a massive area around this region. And, Terra be Damned, that much of these woodlands were still in one piece after the first bombardment and the subsequent deforestations for collecting materials. So, it wasn't before 7 hours of travel, and shooting at a few of the local 'wildlife' that attempted to attack them, the Expedition force 'Pathfinder' finally got to exit out of the forests of Mount Glenn's surrounding areas. It was at this exit point, that they find the first signs of civilization. And, once he spotted that first sign, Lieutenant Karadon raised his fist up to get the troopers to pause at their tracks.

Dominic: Enemy Contact, My Lord?

Karadon: Negative. However, I happen to be standing in front of a rockcrete structure of sorts.

Hearing that in his microbead, the Commissar gets off the Salamander. He, then took a soldier from the expedition force to see what was so important, followed by Sister Superior Nadra, who simply commanded the rest of her warriors to remain on standby, as she went to check it out. And, as they reached the spot, they realized what it was that the Primaris Lieutenant found.

Trooper: Is this…what we think it is, My Lord?

Karadon: It is exactly what you think it is, Trooper.

Dominic: For a road, this seems to be very worn-off…

Nadra: Rather than worn-off, this road seems to be abandoned for a very long time. And, based on where it was leading, it seems to be for a reason.

If followed back into the forest, said road actually led to the now-obliterated city of Mount Glenn a.k.a. Fort Nihilius. In other words, there was some kind of a human or humanoid settlement on the other side of said road.

Karadon: Tell me something. Where may this road lead?

Trooper: My Lord, is it possible that it leads to the settlement that was mentioned in the report from yesterday?

Solid Practical. If it was a large settlement, then the road outside of the woods wouldn't be left unattended like this for so long. So, it either has to be a smaller settlement that is economically short-handed. Or, the larger settlements around deemed the road to be too dangerous and costly to maintain repairs on a regular basis, thus abandoning it. Signs of corrosion and natural decay was evident everywhere.

Trooper: Umm…between the reports from yesterday, and the last updates on the map, I say…we need to decide which route we should take…this road branches out in two directions.

The road splits into 2 ways after several yards, one headed for Northeast, the other one towards Northwest. Which led to the question: should they take the one for Northwest? Or should they continue as they were and keep moving on Northeast.

Karadon: So, which route would all of you like to take?

Dominic: Based on yesterday's report, I believe we should move towards Northeast. According to the report, the settlement isn't that far from where we are right now.

The Lieutenant nods in agreement, before voicing his opinion, and contacting the perimeter squads covering the Expedition force.

Karadon: Northeast it is then. Pathfinder Perimeter watch. Call sign: Vyk'tar come in.

Vyk'tar: This is Vyk'tar. We read you loud and clear Pathfinder Point.

Karadon: Take point with your team. Take Stallion-One and Warthog with you. And take a scouting team from the Militarum squads in case.

Vyk'tar: Understood, Brother. Moving in to take point. Vyk'tar Out.

As the transmission ended, the 3-man Reiver team, along with a Sentinel and a Tauros immediately detached themselves from the group. Within moments, the forward elements pass by the Lieutenant & the other commanders, as they move in to take the lead. As, the element moves ahead picking up speed, the rest of the force resume to march following their tracks.

The Tauros barrels forward at full speed, with the Sentinel and the Reivers not so far behind. These SUV's are possibly among the best reconnaissance vehicles produced by the Foundries of the Imperium. Powered by four High Performance Galvanic Motors, it takes only seconds for it to reach 100 mph and can maintain this speed along with grace and balance on even the rockiest terrains for hours. As the SUV keeps on moving, the driver, Operator Sychkuv of the 92nd Elysian Drop Troops noticed the smoke from a good distance. Seeing that, he stepped on the pedal as he drove closer to the town walls. And the only sight that greeted him outside said walls, were burnt & ruined crop fields, broken houses and fences. And, then there was that unmistakeable stench – the Stench of Death. The settlement got hit real hard. And, within a short time, the same sight comes in view of the Reiver Team and the Sentinel Scout.

Vyk'tar: Calling Warthog, do you read?

Sychkuv: Warthog here. I read you loud n' clear, My Lord.

Vyk'tar: Hold position near the gates. I am taking my team along with Stallion-One to scout out the rest of the place. Contact with the main force, and wait for further orders from them.

Sychkuv: Understood, My Lord. Contacting the command squad. May the Emperor be with you.

Vyk'tar: And May He be with you.

With the conversation ending there, Vyk'tar and his Reivers began to scout out the rest of the regions outside the wall, while the Sentinel Scout followed them keeping a close watch. In the meantime, Operator Sychkuv opened up the comm-link in his vehicle to contact with the command squad.

Sychkuv: Calling Pathfinder Actual. This is Pathfinder Vanguard. Call-sign 'Warthog'. Do you read? Over.

Dominic: This is Pathfinder Actual. We read you loud and clear 'Warthog'. Over.

Sychkuv: Currently holding position near the gates of the settlement walls. It's practical carnage all over this place. The fields are burnt to a crisp, smaller habs outside the walls are all completely demolished or burned to cinders.. Should we attempt contact?

Dominic: Is there anybody on the walls?

Sychkuv: Negative, sir. Not a single soul. It almost feels like those Ghost hives in stories. Completely silent, not a noise even on the insides.

Dominic: What of Kill-Team Vyk'tar?

Sychkuv: Lord Sergeant Vyk'tar and Stallion-One are currently scouting the rest of the Walls. Lord Vyk'tar instructed to contact you and wait for further orders.

The radio remained silent for a minute or so, before it flared up again.

Dominic: Try to shout out. If they don't respond, contact again, then prepare to breach the gates if you think something's wrong.

Sychkuv: Not to sound disrespectful here, sir. But, the whole thing feels wrong right now. The stench of death's all over the damn place. Should we breach the gates if nobody responds?

The radio went silent again for another minute or so. Before it flared up.

Dominic: First, attempt to call out to someone in there. If there's no response within the next five minutes, breach the gate. We'll reach you position within the next thirty minutes. Once you breach in, maintain caution and all scout protocols and initiate search and rescue protocols. The Emperor Protects.

Sychkuv: Understood, sir. Will proceed as per instructions provided. The Emperor Protects.

With the transmission ending, now the Tauros crew needed to call them out first. Not that anyone would respond to them for the matter, with all the destruction that is evident all over the place. Even so, it never hurts to try.

It will be on 025.11.033. M42. 18:30 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time) or 1830. June 9th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time, the Imperium of Man would officially come in contact with the first local group of residents of this landmass.

And, with that, here you go: Dawn of Hope Chapter 3. I hope you guys will like it. Sorry that it took so long this time. Between my job as a salesman and part-time production line worker, I hardly got enough free time to focus properly this week. I hope I can finish the next chapter on time. On some side notes:

I decided to make Cliffton the victim. Because, both in Nightbringer24's 'A Light against the Darkness' and gamerjay's ; 'Remnant Inferis', they decide to burn down this little town called Marysville. It Practically ends up getting annihilated, or the disturbing things that the Demon cults did and massacred the whole place – I just cringed at all those stories, and couldn't bring myself to massacre the town again. And also, in the last chapter, I got the name of the Colonel of the Harakoni Warhawks wrong: it's not Akin, it's Ikin. I'll try to keep it correct this time and in the future chapters.