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?

4. Chapter 4

Author's notes:

Once again, thank you very much for your reviews, favs and follows. And as usual, your reviews and advice is welcomed.

To dimosgalanis123: Thank you very much. I hope I can write a good scenario for that, and I also hope that you'd like the future chapters.

To kukuhimanpr: That's pretty much what happens whenever the Imperium discovers a new world – simply uses the 'Move aside bitch! I'm sitting at the top of the food chain now!' approach. As for their plan (Tbh, having a common enemy often does wonders, you don't even need to make a plan), it may take a while. Or, it may happen quick based on all the good things the Imperium has to offer to them. As for the regular worshippers of the brothers, the way they have been abandoned by them, I don't think they'll need that much of a persuasion to accept the Imperial Creed. As for the deadbeat fanatics, well…you know what happens to that kind of people.

To Guest 1: Thank you very much. That's the best part about the Raven Guard and their successors, a 1 ton guy built like a tank moving around silently like a featherweight does wonders to human/Faunus psyche. As for the White Fang, I have certain plans for them, and they won't be pleasant to say the least. To your side note, the Rift Stalkers are an actual Primaris Chapter born of the Raven Guard Gene seeds (not much is known about them besides their war in the Bargheist stars and them destroying the Thousand Sons' flagship Vision of Torment). So yeah, they can use it. For starters, all the Captains and the Veterans of the company can use Shadow Walk. While the Chapter Master himself is something else as far as mastery on that ability goes.

To Guest 2: Well, if it isn't Chaos induced, then mutations or genetic changes are entirely hereditary. The Faunus traits fall into this category. And, as far as going after the mutants is concerned, there are plenty of worlds in the Imperium that actually tolerates natural mutants to a degree. It's the Chaos induced ones or the cultist types that the Imperium guns for the most. As for the normal ones, they stay under constant surveillance, but otherwise, tolerated.

To Monster King: Thank you very much. I hope you'll like the future chapters.

To Guest 3: To categorize Aura users like the psykers, it's a tricky thing for me. To be honest, the way Aura and semblance works so far, in most cases it is much closer to physical enhancements using your soul as the energy source, with an unique superpower for each person. Which in many ways is different from abilities that you see in regular psykers. And it also varies from person to person. And if you want me to classify them even after that, I say, novice to regular Aura users fall within a big range, while the veterans will probably go around Delta class or so. Deltas are no pushovers. (though besides Salem and the Maidens, none of them will ever go beyond Gamma or Beta class – Beta classes can wipe out entire platoons just by farting on them). And as far as their durability goes, they can shrug off anything ranged from a las-pistol to heavy stubber rounds. The whole game will change however, if they have to face anything larger than a hellgun blast. And knowing the Imperium, you're not supposed to face only one gunshot. So, I can't factor that one properly at the moment.

To Guest 4: Well…the Imperial Fists are the Imperial Fists. They're good at siege and fortification warfare. Raven Guard doctrines pretty much about speed and stealth, so building fortifications is more of the Salamander/Imperial Guard/Mechanicus thing here. And yeah, there will be a clash of a certain level, but having a common enemy often reduces the conflict levels to very tolerable limits for both sides. And to your side note, the Brother Gods don't fall into the same category as the other Empyrean Gods. They're kind of the Outsiders within the Empyrean Pantheons. The closest I can call them is probably the minor Eldar Gods rather than the Chaos Gods. Those four Nut-jobs are entirely something else.

To Guest 5: Thank you very much. To tell you the truth, Both Guilliman, Dorn and Sanguinius are kind of overrated and to me Primarchs like Corax, Vulkan, Lion are more of my favorites, which is why I focused on the Rift Stalkers and the Dragonspears chapters. As for Augustus calling Trenches useless, the world of Remnant hasn't seen large scale wars since the Great war 80 years ago, and they rely on fast paced attacks rather than grueling sieges, so to them siege and fortification based warfare is kind of a strange thing.

To Guest 6: Thank you very much. As much as I wanted to use the Raptors or the Raven Guard themselves, they both got homeworlds. And, I needed two fleet-based chapters, for which both the Rift Stalkers the genetic sons of Corax, and the Dragonspears, the genetic sons of Vulkan fit the bill, so I went ahead and used them instead. And, canonwise, the differences between the Raven Guard and the Rift stalkers is simply that the Rift Stalkers are 100% primaris based, and they have all sorts of Primaris Equipment alongside some of the more traditional Firstborn Chapter equipment. As for the reactions of Remnant's inhabitants, let's leave that for the future. For their Vanguards, their 8th & 10th companies are slightly oversized compared to the others because, like in chapter one, I mentioned their 10th company is more of a specialist company than a scout company. Thankfully, due to the Genetic stability within Primaris marines, their times as scouts is not as prolonged as the Raven Guard prior to receiving the Primaris influxes within their ranks. To your sidenote, only the Chapter Master, the Captains and the Veterans can use it. As for the Whispercutters, Darkwing Storm Eagles and Shadowhawks, those are Raven Guard and/or Kiavhr exclusive crafts, so the Rift Stalkers won't have it. At most, they'll have a few Javelins alongside regular & Primaris modern day Astartes armor (they will have regular storm eagles though, those things are quality crafts). As for having the Mor Deythan Kill-teams, all Primaris Chapters now have an equivalent version – the Eliminators. These Specialist Space Marines are basically the Mor Deythan, just a little lighter, and are main line units rather than elites.

To Guest 7: The experience of Mankind back at Terra was beyond terrible as far as sentient AI goes since the Dark Age of Technology. So, Adeptus Mechanicus and the entire Imperium in general will have little to no tolerance towards Penny. Chances are, having an organic soul inside of a machine may probably get the Magos and Fabricators rolling in their own graves. But, let's leave that part for the future. To your side note, Penny's soul was the result of her creator, Pietro Polendina (this is Canon BTW), who channeled his own Aura into her shell, thus creating her soul. It is a once in a lifetime ability of her creator's. And the technique you spoke of, it was actually to transfer the Fall Maiden's powers inside of Pyrrha.

And with that, without further ado, I give you 'Dawn of Hope' Chapter 4. I hope you'll like it.

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"They say, often the greatest of alliances are formed in the strangest of times, and in the strangest of places. When we first came to this planet, we thought of it to be just another isolated human settlement from the dark ages, regressing back at the bottom of the evolutionary tree. To our surprise, we found out that the with the Emperor's blessings, the humans and abhumans here have managed to evolve into formidable civilizations, locked into a war with the vilest creatures that the dark powers could ever conceive. And from our conscience, and the Sacred Duty bestowed upon us by Our Immortal Emperor, we couldn't let them fight on alone against this threat. And, thus, both civilizations found a common reason to unite together, and the future of this planet was no longer the same. Ever again."

- General Jairinho Stein, Commanding officer of the Cadian Shock Troops Regiments, Battle-Fleet Halo.

025.11.033. M42. 17:15 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time)

1715. June 9th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Settlement Gate

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.

(47 days since planetfall, 23 hours after 'Tragedy of Cliffton')

Logic and common sense dictates that, if a settlement has walls around it, there is certainly someone guarding it. And, if someone's guarding it, he's definitely going to answer to their call. However, in this case, the walls were deathly silent. And, even though the Tauros Crew were expecting no response at all, well based on the report that is, since the commissar insisted on it, they decided to call out to the now dead / hiding residents of the Ruined settlement. And, Operator Sychkuv took the first shot.

Sychkuv: Hello! Anyone in there? We're from the Mountainside regions from the South of this place! Can you hear me?

A full minute went by. No response so far. He decided to give it another shot.

Sychkuv: Hello! Anyone in there? We've come from a faraway place! It was a very long journey for us! We would be grateful if you could let us in to stay for the night! We have food, medicines and additional supplies for payment!

Med-Officer: Seriously Man? You're offerin' our supplies for payment?

Sychkuv: Isolated world, genius! According to the reports, these people don't even know what the fook's Imperial Credits. Unless, you got something you can give them-

Med-Officer: A'right A'right man! Sheesh…no need to get riled up like that.

All the while, the Gunner of the SUV was getting this uneasy feeling. Ever since, they reached this place and since the minute they smelled that familiar Stench of Death, they already assumed a worst case scenario. Now, that over 3 minutes have gone by, and so far there was no response here, his Gut feeling was hitting on point. The people inside are all dead. Or at least, most of the town is.

Gunner: This feels wrong. Almost four minutes now, and not a single reply. If someone was alive in there, they would at least whisper or something…

Sychkuv: Yeah…I'm feeling that way too. But, let me try one more time-

Gunner: No point. They didn't respond within the first 3 minutes, and if something was alive in there, at least you'd hear steps. It sounds like a ghost town right now.

The gunner does have a point. There wasn't even a single shuffling noise that would let them know that someone is on the other side. Even so, Sychkuv decided to go for it one more time. And, like his previous 2 attempts, all he was greeted by was silence. The sun was slowly going down, and they needed to get inside fast. Finally, realizing that no one will respond anyways, he decided to make contact with the main body, as well as contact with the Reiver team and their Sentinel scout that have been gone for sometime now. He presses some buttons on the panels, and sets up the channels, before he opens his speaker.

Sychkuv: Calling Pathfinder Actual. Calling Pathfinder Vanguard 'Vyk'tar'. Calling Pathfinder Vanguard 'Stallion-One'. This is Pathfinder Vanguard 'Warthog'. Do you read? Sound off on Radio Check for confirmation. Over.

Within seconds, the comms flare up. And all the people he called responds in order.

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

Vyk'tar: Vanguard Team 'Vyk'tar' here. We just finished sweep over the western sides of the settlement perimeters.

Stallion-One: This is Stallion-One. Radio Clear. Returning to your position. Just finished scouting the East side of the walls.

The operator lets out a sigh of relief. So far so good.

Dominic: What's the situation over there?

Sychkuv: Same as before, sir. We made three attempts within five minutes. No response. It is best to assume the worst has happened.

Vyk'tar: Agreed. Signs of destruction of property and living establishments similar to the ones near the gates are prevalent all over the western parts of the settlement.

Stallion-One: Same on the East side. The crop fields are all destroyed, habs completely wrecked or burned. Also found a few bodies. Civilians. Judging from the states of damage, they didn't even get the chance to defend themselves.

Dominic: Oh Throne…

Sychkuv: Shall we hold position until the main body arrives? Or shall we proceed to break the gates and enter?

Dominic: Hold position until you rendezvous with Kill-Team Vyk'tar and Stallion-One. Breach the gates afterwards. We'll rendezvous with all of you in T minus seventeen minutes. Emperor Protects. Pathfinder Actual. Out.

Sychkuv: Acknowledged, sir. Holding position for now. Emperor Protects.

Vyk'tar: Stallion-One. What is your ETA to Rendezvous?

Stallion-One: T minus three minutes, My Lord.

Vyk'tar: Warthog, prepare to breach in T minus three minutes. Sharp.

Sychkuv: Understood, My Lord.

With that the transmission ended. Sychkuv immediately warmed up the engines and remained on standby. And within exactly 3 minutes, both the Reiver team and the Sentinel returned to the front Gate. Within seconds, they arrange themselves in a spearhead position: The sentinel and the Tauros holding up the rear, with their weapons at the ready. The two Reivers of Kill-Team Vyk'tar covered the flanks left and right, while Reiver Sergeant Vyk'tar took point and stood right in front of the gate. Then he simply sliced the log barring the main gate with one of his claws with swift, silent movements, followed by taking up a few steps of distance before ramming into the gates, nearly tearing them off the hinges in an attempt of quick breach. The vanguard team immediately followed behind him as they entered inside the town.

Med-Officer: Throne on Terra….

Sychkuv: Emperor have Mercy on their souls…

Stallion-One: The ones on the outside definitely saw better days compared to this…

The Non-Astartes personnel couldn't help but be taken aback at the scene of absolute carnage and ruin that greeted their eyes now. Broken Habs and small buildings, completely ruined crop fields inside, wreckages of vehicles, farming equipment everywhere. And then, there were the bodies: numbering in the dozens, dead people laid around everywhere. All of them mauled through, brutally mutilated beyond recovery, body parts, organs, viscera, dried out blood spread everywhere. There were also the corpses of the 'Wildlife' here and there, now slowly dissolving into dust. It was clear, there was one hell of a fight here, before the defenders got overwhelmed. The Reiver Sergeant immediately took out both of his Absolver Bolt Pistols, customized to fire Kraken bolt shells and assumed a battle position. Every single member did the same.

Vyk'tar: Tactical team, dislodge and take positions. Stay at the ready for possible combat. We proceed with caution until the main body arrives.

The 5 – man tactical immediately gets off the SUV. It was getting cramped inside that damn thing anyways. The five troopers immediately takes their battle stances – Hellguns and cover fire weapons at the ready.

Vyk'tar: All foot units. Move. Search each possible hab within a 15 meter radius. Warthog and Stallion-One. Scan the surroundings. Report any anomaly you spot.

All soldiers and Reivers immediately begins their search mission. The tactical squad immediately takes to the left, entering a two-storied house, while each Reiver enters a house each on the right. The Sentinel Pilot and the Tauros Gunner scans a full 360 degree on the lookout for anything strange, while moving forward at a ponderously slow pace. As for Sergeant Vyk'tar, he rushes into a hab that resembled a farmhouse of sorts. After 4 – 5 minutes of search & observe, the tactical squad comes out of the house, with one of them carrying a picture. Normally, it is a criminal activity to be taking someone else's belongings, but right now that picture is the only thing that may help them recognize the bodies. Probably. And, as soon as they exited, so did the Reivers.

Vyk'tar: Anything?

Trooper#1: Negative sir. No sign of bodies inside. Only broken furniture and appliances. Surprisingly, nothing was stolen either.

Vyk'tar: Anything on your side, Brother Q'ell?

Q'ell: Nothing, Brother Sergeant. The Hab is clear. The family living there evacuated before the tragedy. Or maybe smeared all around outside.

Vyk'tar: What about you, Brother Crissic?

Crissic: All clear here. No bodies. Only wrecked furniture.

Vyk'tar: Alright. Continue search.

They keep searching each and every house, shop, barn, building around the road that they were on. All the while, noticing that the body counts are going up as they went deeper. Reiver Crissic decided that taking up a high position would give him a better view. So, he went and used his grapple hook to get on top of a water tower, where he scanned the surroundings. Unfortunately, the only thing that greeted him was more destruction and dead bodies. The tactical team now decides to storm inside another 2-storied house, this one looked something like a large family home. However, they soon regretted entering there.

Trooper#1: Aw Emperor No….

Trooper#2: The children…the whole family…

Med-Officer: Enough, soldier…we can all see what happened…

One of the tactical troopers simply clasped his hands together and said a silent prayer for the dead family lying in front of them. A family of ten: A relatively old couple, an elderly woman and seven children ranging within the 8 – 14 year age limits. Bestial slash marks, bite marks, flesh gouged out from the limbs and throats, the man of the family literally got gutted like a fish. The expressions of horror, fear and pain were evident all over their faces.

Radio-Trooper: Should I tell Warthog to call the commanders?

The Med-Officer was lost in thought for a few seconds. Then he opened his lips.

Med-Officer: Do it.

Meanwhile, outside the pilot of the sentinel, and the Tauros crew looked like they would break down in tears: Grieving, pained expressions were all over their faces, as they slowly moved forward, passing by the broken habs and all the dead around. None of them deserved to die like this. This wasn't some sacrificial Rituals conjured by Chaos. This wasn't one of those death-raids by the deranged Drukhari Pirates. And, most certainly not Orks – even their mindless slaughters have patterns. Hell, even the human freebooters and slave raiders are more humane than this. This is just…mindless slaughter. It has no innate purpose. Just, random killing. Slowly, their Grief and frustrations were morphing into anger and hate. Oh…let them show up the next time. And, that time, they'll teach them the meaning of the word 'Fear', 'Pain', and 'Unforgiving Retribution' in ways that even the soulless will shriek in Fear. The God Emperor has no tolerance for such abominable filths. It was at this moment, the comms in the Tauros flared up.

Radio-Trooper: Warthog come in. This is Tactical Fire-team Brigg.

Sychkuv: Warthog here.

Radio-Trooper: Call the commanders…tell them we need to get ready to call for funeral services.

The Radio remained silent for a moment, before it flared up again.

Sychkuv: …Roger that. Calling the main body.

The operator switches channels.

Sychkuv: Calling Pathfinder Actual. This is Warthog. Do you read? Over.

Dominic: This is Pathfinder Actual. We read you loud and clear, Warthog. We have visual confirmation of the walls, will reach the gates in T minus 6 minutes.

Sychkuv: Acknowledged Sir. While at it…tell Father Julius to get ready for funeral services. There's way too many dead here…

Dominic: …Understood. What are the chances of finding survivors?

Sychkuv: With due respect…chances are very low for that. Fire-Team Brigg just went inside a ruined Hab…they found an entire family…all dead…not even the children were spared…

Dominic: ….Keep searching. We'll join you in the efforts shortly.

With that, the transmission ended. And the Crew kept on their duty, while the tactical team and the Reivers continue their search.

The main expedition force entered through the now broken gates at exactly 6 minutes after transmission. The reactions of the Guardsmen, the priest and the Vehicle crews were similar to the Vanguard team. Initial shock and disbelief. Followed by Grief, sorrow and regrets. They were out here to explore and meet new people, yet the first thing that greeted them was only death, ruin and destruction. The Warriors of the Ebon Chalice, while they maintained a stony, neutral expression, they were also grieving inside. They were here to spread the light of the Emperor, yet the ones who were supposed to be among the first to receive them were all dead. Gone. Their souls now belonged to the Emperor. Sister Superior Nadra could offer a simple Prayer to the Emperor that He may take their souls within his warm embrace. The Commissar then issues an order to the infantry to split up into their respective squads and spread out through the city, search for survivors, anyone alive. And, should any squad find any survivors, they were to immediately provide them with food and medical aid, while making contact with the command.

Regalis: So Many dead… for what? They didn't even eat the corpses, nor they were looted since the attack… what kind of vile savagery is this?

Dominic: I wish we all knew… I wish we all knew… May The Emperor usher their souls in now that they've all gone to him.

Ballor: Those vile abominations will answer dearly for this…

Dominic: They will Captain. With their lives. And if those things don't worship anything, they will beg them to save their lives by the time we get our hands on them.

Meanwhile, only Primaris Lieutenant Karadon chose to come along with the main force, while he ordered the other three kill-teams to move and scout outside the walls. The last thing the expedition force needs right now is some abominable xenos filth or other enemies ambushing them. As he moved inside, he rendezvoused with Q'ell and Crissic and shared as much information as possible. And so far, none of them looked promising: the inhabitants got caught in a pincer trap by those creatures of black completely unaware and unguarded. Even though, the local defense force of this settlement fought back, as evident from all the dissolving dead bodies of those creatures, they all got overwhelmed in the end. He, then proceeded to check inside one of the many broken Habs on his right. He went in and began searching for any signs of life. When he reached the part of the residence that resembled a living room / recreation room of sorts, his footsteps went to a slow halt, as he now stood in front of the dead bodies of the house owners. He managed to figure that part out from the pictures that were on display on top of the fireplace section. Their corpses were relatively intact, compared to the ones outside: got skewered, and their throats got chewed on. Hard. Their blood, now dried up was all over the carpets. Two couples: One old, and one Young. The old ones looked normal, an unremarkable looking old man and woman. The one that caught his attention and curiosity, was the younger one. The boy was in his early 20's, ruffled brown hair, a decent build of around six feet. His profession was definitely farming, judging from the stereotypical farmer's garb that he was wearing. While he looked normal, the real oddity here was his now deceased wife / fiancée. She definitely looked pretty: Silver hair, innocent face and with the Jeans shorts, hiking boots, and the lumberjack top + black Tee she wore, she was definitely a looker and a normal female for the humans. Well, that is, if it weren't for her second pair of Lupine ears and her silver fox tail.

The corpse of the Fox Faunus in front of the Lieutenant got his attention to the point, that he actually raised an eyebrow under his visor. This Planet just keeps getting stranger and stranger. First, the strange abominable 'Wildlife'. Next, the abhumans from the report seven days ago. And now, knowledge that Humans and abhumans actually mingle together in this society. The Ecclesiarchy and the usual Fanatics would be rolling inside of their own graves if they saw this. The Lieutenant can actually picture that decrepit old crone of an Arch-Deacon Augustine Pallor declaring a purge just on this reason alone. And, thank The Emperor, the Shield Captain is around to pull the leash on the Ecclesiarchy. Otherwise, one shudders to imagine the carnage that would take place in no time flat.

While the lieutenant looks at the corpse with simple curiosity, he does notice Reiver Sergeant Vyk'tar entering through the front door of the residence. As for the Sergeant, he notices that one the commanders of their Chapter's Vanguard was looking at something with somewhat…curiousity. So, he decides to approach the Lieutenant in silence, before he also gets caught off-guard at the sight in front of him.

Karadon: Surprised?

Vyk'tar: Well…I would be lying if I said I was not … this is…a first…

Karadon: This planet is full of surprises. Humans and abhumans not only co-exist together…they even mingle and mate…like the ones here.

Vyk'tar: That is one way of putting it… a blunt way…

Karadon: (light chuckle)… apologies for being blunt. However, strange things often can make a person blurt out things in the simplest of ways.

Vyk'tar: I suppose…

Karadon: I take the Commanders of the Imperial Guard forces here are preparing for the final rites…?

Vyk'tar: They are. Right now most of the troopers are gathering and cleaning up the bodies. There is that possibility that you may have to attend.

The lieutenant remains silent for a while. Loss of lives is something that he was familiar with all too well. He has seen it happen to his own battle-brothers, their cousins,& their allies. Yet, he always felt unfamiliar to the concept of properly attending these 'Funerals' & 'Last Rites' of the Humans. So, he didn't know how to approach it other than simply watching from afar and offering a silent prayer to The Emperor to watch over the deceased ones.

Karadon: How goes the search?

Vyk'tar: Ongoing. The Tactical Squads are all searching the town hab-block by hab-block, leaving no stone unturned. It seems that the soldiers of the Militarum are determined to find at least one survivor here.

Karadon: Let us hope that the Emperor grants their wish…in some manner…

Vyk'tar: Indeed. The guardsmen in the Vanguard looked devastated at this discovery…which is why I chose to keep my opinion to myself.

Karadon: That the whole settlement may be dead and it would be best to not to have too much hope?

The Sergeant simply nods his head. The Two Rift Stalkers remain silent as they simply look at the deceased family with a more solemn expression.

Outside, the Guardsmen of the expedition force were getting more and more depressed. The inhabitants here, they were just civilians. This wasn't some recruiting ground for terrorists, just a simple hunting town. Yet, the creatures just went ahead and massacred them like this. The tactical and specialist squads split up into 3 to 5-man fire teams, each team was now tasked to conduct search, find the bodies in the hab blocks, bring them over so that the medical teams can clean them up and prepare them for the funeral pyres. The armored column remained in a stationary position close to the town center, while their scouting and reconnaissance vehicles patrolled the streets while scanning the surroundings as best as they can.

(Near Iron Works warehouse district)

To Father Julius Rosenthralle, this place was a troubling one. He has been present in the middle of death and destruction long enough to feel desensitized. After every battle or suppression of rebellions, he conducted funerals, recited the names of the fallen, recorded them on the stones of the Martyrs in different worlds. Yet, here he is, with no idea how to approach things.

He had no idea on what were the names of the dead that were all around the place. Or for the matter, what was the name of the settlement. At least, in case of the Imperial Guards, you get to read out their names from name-tags, and for civilians, there is always the local registration datum that you can gain access to. But here? Nothing. Everyone and everything other than the Imperials who he has been with for these 3 decades seemed so…alien. In a way, this felt like it was a Test of Faith from The Emperor, as if He wanted to see if they held on to their faith, even after being surrounded by the nameless dead like this. Right now, standing in front of the dead bodies of a middle-aged married couple, Julius held the tome in his right, while his left hand balanced the staff with his palm stretched out in a manner of blessing the dead.

Julius: Lord of The Golden Throne. Oh Master and Father of Mankind. These people were far away from Your light, please accept them within Your Warm Embrace. May You Grant Mercy and forgiveness to these poor, departed souls, souls known and loved only by You. May You see them get to the afterlife, and May You help them to attain the peace and happiness that they were denied in this life…

A small chorus of 'Ave Imperator Inexelcus Terra could be heard from the Fire Team that he met along the way while aiding the search. Sure, while they were one of the living, they probably worshipped some other pathetic minor god. But, once they died, they were all equals and seen as so in the Eternally Watchful eyes of The Emperor. So, it never hurts to pray for heathens and unbelievers for once. Even, the abhumans that lived here. When Julius first read the report about the existence of the abhumans, his mind revolted at the mere notion of speaking with those…things. The human form is a symbol of divinity for the Imperium and for the Human race as a whole. Having even the slightest of changes in said form are signs of impurity as sins. And it gives more than enough reason to outright execute the individual with such traits. And in this town… no, this world, abhumans not only lived alongside humans, they mingled and even mated, becoming a couple! Even making hybrid children! This is utter blasphemy and sacrilege of the highest level, and is ground for absolute purge! Fortunately, these abhumans looked much closer to human than most other abhuman races, and there was that specific instruction from The Emperor's personal bodyguards. Forget Julius, not even the Ecclesiarch sitting as one of the High Lords of Terra would dare to question the Adeptus Custodes. Therefore, he had very little choice other than to establish peaceful contact, minus the debasing and reminding abhumans that they are filthy and unclean to a genetic level. Then again, he didn't feel as repulsed as he thought he would after looking at a few of these abhumans. They looked…very human, to say the least.

Trooper#1: If only this World was within the reaches of The Emperor's Light back then…

Julius: I understand what you mean, soldier. Even so, we can only offer our prayers for them. These men, women, abhuman men and women… they all are Martyrs. They fought for the sake of their loved ones. And it is in their deaths, that He may judge them equally.

Trooper#1: …The Blood of Martyrs make up the million worlds of the Imperium…

Julius: And May The Immortal Emperor usher them in His Embrace as his honored Martyrs.

The group simply finishes their prayers in silence, as they proceed towards gathering the bodies to clean them properly. The Cadians, and all other Imperials take death seriously. The more tragic and pointless the death is, the more demoralizing it was for them. For, it was through death, be it them or be it others, the lifeblood of the Imperium is sustained. However, a certain loud shout from one of the neighboring Fire Teams break their thought and work pattern. And judging from what the trooper was trying to say, the faces of every single person who heard it brighten up considerably. They managed to find one of the living, still alive, still breathing in this settlement full of death. Maybe, there was a chance, a sliver of hope. Even though, it may lead them to further disappointment. Without wasting a minute, he joined along with the others to rush to the place where they found said survivor.

(Town square, near Happy Home Depot)

In her 120 plus years of service as a Sister of Battle, Sister Superior Nadra has seen her fair share of strange things. Things like repulsive mutants of Chaos, the vile Daemonic abominations that led them, heretic cults, witches, abominable xenos mutants and so on. Yet, the now fallen abhuman that caught her eyes just a few steps away looked not only strange, but oddly enough…normal. This abhuman male, which she judged from the hairstyle and clothing sported a second pair of beast ears that belonged to household canines. During the search, she got reports from both her sisters and from the Imperial Guardsmen that there were several abhuman families among the deceased. Abhumans mingling with humans, falling in love, procreating with humans – all of them are beyond unthinkable for the devoted servants of the Emperor. The Imperial Creed clearly dictates the Human form to be the ultimate form of Divinity, any sort of blemish or genetic deviation from said form is to be treated with extreme prejudice and not to be tolerated in the least. Yet, she didn't feel any sort of disgust or abhorrence towards these abhumans here. In fact, aside those slight bestial features they sported, they looked surprisingly…human. It was almost as if The Immortal God Emperor himself has bestowed certain blessings to these individuals. She was walking along with a 4-man fire team of the Expedition force. Her fellow sisters, like the noble Demigod warriors of the Adeptus Astartes split up as individuals and aided in the search. While on the lookout, she sort of joined alongside this fire team in their efforts.

On the other hand, the fire-team 'Crossbones' led by Darius Till of Squad Terryl felt sort of nervous around the Sister Superior while storming each hab until reaching this place. And why wouldn't they? Is it normal to simply start talking about the weather to a woman who was literally a full head taller than most of the members of the Expedition force? Even though she looked pretty. Definitely not. Yet, here they are. Right now, they were standing in front of what seemed like a commerce district of this settlement. At least, that's how it looked like judging from the designs of the buildings and habs here. However, right now it was in no shape for business: dead bodies and wreckages were spread all over the place, and the grounds and building walls within a 300 meter radius around the largest building here were littered with black…somethings poking out of the ground.

Vittor: The people here made one hell of a last stand. Well…before they got pounced on by an entire horde…

Tanner: Looks that way. And from the bullet holes and scrapes all over the place…I say…those things had them surrounded from all sides. Probably would've lasted longer if something didn't catch them off guard.

Vittor nods at the simple analysis from their Team's assigned Medical Officer. Whatever caught them off-guard, it was definitely related with the black 'somethings' stuck all around them.

Darius: Aerial attack maybe? That's one way to catch you off-guard if you're too occupied with the hostiles on the ground.

Vittor: Possible. And, if the reports from Templar Squadron and the other Fighter pilots were true, then birds of that size can easily catch the defenders off-guard. Or maybe…they got harassed by lots of Airborne hostiles and lost focus…

Darius: That's also a possibility…

It was at that moment, Darius noticed that the Sister Superior who tagged along with them along the way was now crouching down on one knee. She then proceeded to pluck out one of those black things off the ground with her left hand, while she held the heavy bolter with her right hand like it was no heavier than a las-rifle. Her sort of slender form in spite of the armor she was wearing completely belied her incredible physical strength, you need to have physical strength on par with an Astartes to hold a weapon that big with just one hand like she did. As she plucked it out, she looked at it from different angles to analyze it, trying to figure out what it was. Before, she decided to speak to them.

Nadra: Guardsmen, what do you think of 'this'?

She asked the Fire-Team as she held the object in a way that they all can see it properly. After looking at it for a moment, Tanner spoke out.

Tanner: Is that…a feather? Because, no matter how I look at it, it looks like a feather.

Nadra: Then my eyes were not deceiving me. It does look like a feather. But… as unbelievable as it sounds, it is almost as durable as steel…

The eyes of the whole Fire-team goes wide. Turns out, Darius was spot on, the defenders did get caught off-guard by an Aerial attack. Which leaves only one inquiry.

Darius: My Lady… You don't suppose those things that our fighter and gunship pilots encountered during the patrols can use their body parts as…?

Nadra: That is the only possible explanation I can think of right now. Look at how those things pierced the ground. It was almost like a strafing run with Mutant Avians instead of aircrafts and bullets. The defenders all got hit and the ones who did not die immediately were left to become fresh prey.

Now, that they look at the whole place, her words does make a lot of sense. The feathers all pierced the grounds, walls & the bodies as if they were fired from guns and missile launchers. All of them leaning at an angle along the ground. In short, the attackers simply fired on them while approaching them from the same direction they came from. The ones who died in the initial attack were probably the lucky ones, because the ones that didn't get fatally hit by those feathers were later on ripped to pieces by the ground forces. It was evident based on the amount of limbs, organs and other body parts spread and smeared all over the place.

The midget of Fire-team Crossbones, Letty picked up one of the partially ruined weapons of the deceased defenders, and looked at it with an observant eye. And some details of the weapons does catch her attention.

Letty: For household weapons, these things are surprisingly effective. Even though, they're laughably crude. And… huh. This is new…

Vittor: What is?

In response, she simply opened up the ammo casing of the revolver: it was easy for her to figure out because it was similar in design to the Stubber-pistols used by the thugs of the Hive Gangs. From the open casing, she simply pulled out a bullet and held it in front of Vittor.

Letty: The design and smell's all wrong. Whatever stuff they use for gunpowder or propellant, it's not like anything we use. And the casing almost looks like some kind of stasis storage of sorts.

Now even the sister superior herself is surprised. The reports said that this planet was a backwater one. Then, how in The Emperor's Name they have sophisticated bullet casings like that? Maybe the larger settlements are a lot more advanced than they thought. But, right now, it was wise to keep that thought in lock for later.

Vittor: …This is kinda' weird. Gunpowder or Promethium don't smell like this. Whatever's inside the case, it smells much closer to… dirt. It's better we send it to the Mechanicus Tech-Priests and Fabricators to deal with.

Nadra: Agreed. And right now, we need to prepare the bodies for their final rites. Night is falling all over the place soon. And, there is that possibility that those things can come back.

Darius: Oh…R-Right. Apologies My Lady. If you would excuse us…

The Sister Superior simply responded with a small nod of apology, which created no small amount of panic within their minds. She was a Holy warrior just like the Astartes, for someone like her to nod in apology to mere guardsmen is an unthinkable concept. A counter response of gratitude later, they began carefully carrying the bodies and arranging them in a neat and proper fashion so that they can carry out their funerals. It was common knowledge that the Cadians take death and the dead of war very seriously. Seeing them, Nadra decided to give them a small hand, so she approached and carefully pulled out the feather from the deceased abhuman in front of her. The feather hit him on the left side of his torso, in particular, close to the left lung. Just as soon as she pulled the feather out, the most unexpected of all things happened. The abhuman, who she thought was dead, jolted a bit before he opened his still usable eye, followed by a cough that catches the attention of the Fire-Team. It took a few seconds for the Sister superior to break out of her stupor, before she bellowed out the orders.

Nadra: SURVIVOR! GUARDSMEN, TEND TO THIS ABHUMAN!

Tanner: ON IT MY LADY!

Nadra: As for the others, get in touch with the command teams! Inform them that we have a survivor!

Darius: Yes, My Lady! ….(Touching Microbead)Attention Pathfinder Actual! Do you rea- Ah Screw this! (Disengaging contact with microbead) HEEY! WE GOT A SURVIVOR HERE!

The Veteran trooper shouts at the top of his lungs, and his voice was more than loud enough to catch the attention of the forces nearby. Meanwhile, Tanner begins to apply all forms of primary medical treatment to seal the wounds, and stabilize the survivor. It was clear that the abhuman was trying to get up, but flinched a lot from the obvious amount of pain rushing into his systems. The Medical officer needed to get him to calm down.

Tanner: Easy Mate. No need to rush things…just relax. Let me work on that wound of yours…Ah. There you go, protein foam. Best friend for all kinds of deep wounds…now don't talk…your heartbeat's still unstable, as is your breathing. And I need to work on it.

Nadra: Can you get him to stabilize well enough to speak?

Tanner: Need some time for that My Lady. Emperor's Miracles, the Feather or whatever the fook that thing is, it missed the center and grazed by the side of his left lung a few millimeters. Otherwise, we would be dealing with a fully punctured lung right now and saving him would have been a lot harder. This guy passed out from the pain obviously…

James: (cough)…Uugh..(cough)…W-Wh-(cough)…W-what's goi-(cough)…

Tanner: Hey hey hey, easy there, mate. You understand what I'm sayin'? Just simply move your head up and down if you do, and left and right if you don't. Nice and slow…

James O' Riley slowly moves his head up and down once. Okay, that is a good start. At least the locals of the settlement understands Low Gothic. To the gravely injured Faunus, this was a very strange moment. The last thing he remembered was a pair of Nevermores firing their steel like feathers at him and his group. Then, there was unbearable pain, followed by everything fading to black. For once, he thought he was really dead. Marron, Maria, the Gibbets, Terry, all the townfolks… but NO! He couldn't die just yet. He had family, he gave everyone his word that he'll be back. Then…there was pain. Again. Almost like someone just pulled out something out of the left of his chest. That pain was enough to make him gasp for fresh air, and some of the Air definitely went inside the wrong pipes as he started to cough, before opening his eyes. As he did, the first sight that greeted him was not Grimm, but strange people wearing soldier uniforms and…Heavy Armor? Then he heard the Giant Armored Lady shout out orders to the soldiers, to which his current benefactor immediately responded before applying medical aids all over him. During the process, he hears another soldier screaming at the top of his lungs, definitely calling the others. The whole treatment process was painful to say the least. Whatever he was pumping inside the injured gouge on his left chest, it stung like hell. However, as the treatment continued, he remembered.

James: (cough)…w-wa-w (cough)…w-wait…pl-(cough)..

Nadra: Relax yourself, young one. You are safe now. The creatures that attacked you have left this settlement.

James: N-No…please wait…(cough)…t-there-(cough)-

Tanner: You heard the Lady Mate. Just calm down a little bit, slowly breathe in and breathe out. You need to relax a bit…the hole in yer' left cage was pretty big…whatever you have to say…you can say it after you're stable.

As he tried to get the Faunus to relax a bit, the sister superior took up a defensive stance. Right now, there was a life in her hand that she needed to protect. Even if it was an abhuman life. Within a few minutes, she saw multiple Guardsmen teams and several of her Battle Sisters rapidly converging towards their location. Father Julius was also among them. That was a good thing for now.

The first team that reached their position was Fire-team 'Lantern' of Squad Terryl. As soon as they saw that Tanner was at the spot, they sped up even more.

Goose: Hey Man, I heard Darius shouting-

Tanner: GET YER' LAZY BUM OVER HERE! I NEED SOME HELP TO GET THIS GUY UP AND RUNNIN'!

The second medical officer of Squad Terryl got taken aback a bit at that outburst. Before he got his senses back to reality and immediately rushed to Tanner's place, bringing out additional medical supplies like disinfectants, antibiotics and different first-aid items.

Goose: A'right, here's five milligrams of Muscle and Nerve relaxant. That should stabilize the beats…

Tanner: Good. Now hold the lights on his face, genius. Need to put some patches on his busted eye.

Both medical officers begin to go on overdrive to get the Abhuman back to a relatively healthier state than he was just a few minutes ago. While they keep applying the necessary aids, Darius pretty much alerted every single soldier of the Expedition force on the matter. And, after several minutes of running over the streets and shouting at the top of his lungs, he ran back to the Town Center. Just as he crossed past the last civilian hab, something popped up in his mind. He immediately patched to his squad.

Darius: This is Darius. Vittor, I'm in front of one of the Civilian blocks up west, get over here.

Vittor: Something happened?

Darius: Just get over here already!

Well, no point in prolonging their conversation. It was better that he got over there and see what Darius was up about. So, he left for the aforementioned Civilian Hab. And in 5 minutes, Vittor and Darius came back, dragging what essentially looked like a medical bed: Steel frames with wheels. And a set of mattresses, blankets and pillows. The rest of his team when noticed this, their eyes went wide.

Goose: Where the fook did you even get that thing? Did you two actually drag it all the way here from a Hab?!

Darius: Well…thought it would be better if you guys had a bed to put the patient on for treatments.

Tanner: Appreciate the thought, buddy. Now, give us hand here. Gotta put the guy on the bed.

It took some effort & caution to safely put the abhuman on top of the bed. Mind you, he was still hurt. Protein foams, sedatives, antibiotics, primary medications can only stabilize the patient's physical conditions temporarily. They needed to get him back to the Fort Medicae, where they can provide permanent / long-term solutions. And, as soon as they got him ready for the final medications to stabilize his health conditions, they began their work. Meanwhile, Darius contacted one of the Tauroxes to send somebody with some easy to eat and digest kind of food materials.

The world that James O' Riley knew all his life took one hell of a tumble and spin. Throughout his life, he has seen many kinds of people. He has seen the folks of Vale, his kin and family back in Menagerie, the strange looking folks of Mistral, the cold racist elites of Atlas, the Desert dwelling folks of Vacuo. Yet, the people that he is surrounded by looked completely unfamiliar to him. For starters, the regular soldier looking ones looked normal. Well, except, their Armor, Uniform Color, Equipment were of completely unknown origins. They almost looked like some kind of unique tribe: everybody had fair to moderately tanned skin, and had amethyst purple eyes. Next the dress code: Green Vests on top of Khaki Uniforms with thick shoulder pads, and Green Military/Spec Ops helmets. After that, comes their Guns: Those were the strangest guns he has ever seen. Some looked like regular Military Automatic Rifles, while some carried Grenade Launchers, Flame Throwers, blue-glowing guns, big burly box looking guns and more. Then, their accents: Nobody on Remnant spoke in that accent. Even the elite Racists of Atlas sounded casual compared to these people.

And then, there was this GIANT of a Lady in possibly the heaviest looking set of Full-Plate Armor. She was a complete contrast to these soldiers: She did have the fair skin and long silver hair, but instead of Amethyst Purple, her eyes were a bright silver. Then comes the first obvious difference: She was easily as tall as 7 Foot; in fact, he has never seen any female, Human or Faunus who was that tall. Next, the Armor: While the soldiers wore the more traditional Military Garb of Vest with Shoulder Pads and Helmets, she wore a full-Plated Knight Armor, which made her look sort of like a walking tank. Coupled with the Mantles and Vestments, she looked like some kind of Warrior Priestess. That is, if she didn't carry what was essentially the biggest, burliest Gun he has ever seen. That thing was so big, it was supposed to be carried on a Vehicle. Yet, she was carrying it around in two arms like it was just an average machine gun. Its ammunition delivery was clearly belt-fed and the belt was encased in a red & black belt feed connected to an oversized backpack. Soon, he saw more soldiers with similar Garbs heading towards their position. Well, most of them. Some of those soldiers wore military getups that you'd see the Desert Guerillas of Vacuo wear, only more rugged and brutal looking. And these folks looked more normal. Then there were more of those Giant Women in Armor, all carrying a big scary gun in their hands. They definitely were from some kind of elite warrior clan. And leading one of those groups was definitely the commander, which he assumed.

For starters, his getup looked like one of those Special Law Enforcement Officers from Atlas, but obviously different in design and color code. For starters, he was wearing a black undercoat with Red and Gold linings and decorations. Which was draped over a black painted Breastplate with tons of golden decorations. Then there was that Black & Red Cap of his, its design was a dead giveaway that the wearer was an important military figure. But what set him apart by leagues from those Atlesian Policemen, were the symbols and the frightening looking weapons hanging from his waist: A boxy looking gun, and a vicious looking sword with teeth. And this officer also had the same Amethyst Purple eyes as the other soldiers. And speaking of symbols, they all sported emblems and symbols like he has never seen, while there were other symbols, the ones that all of them wore, regardless of their getups and equipment were two. First was this dreadful Skull with Wings symbol. And second, was an equally dreadful, yet majestically drawn symbol of a two-headed Eagle. Said Officer was flanked by two senior looking soldiers. And, their uniforms while similar to the ones patching him up, they screamed the term 'Veteran Commander'.

Finally, within their ranks, there was this senior, whose garbs and staff screamed 'Priest' all over the place. His old, withered face with Purple eyes…is purple eyes a thing within their clan? James had no way of telling. Either way, these people were now gathering all around him, some just to take a peak, while there were some of the more inquisitive types. Next, he gets to see that Law Enforcement Officer guy pushing the small crowd aside and reach towards him. That Priest guy was also with him. However, there was one thing that caught James O' Riley off-guard the most. They all looked relieved on the sole fact that he was alive.

Commissar Dominic was already in a depressed mood ever since their last radio broadcast with 'Warthog', which kept getting worse after entering the settlement and witnessing all the dead. Finding a live survivor literally changed the state of mind for everyone here in a quick 180 turn. While tending to the person in question, now they can at least learn more about this world. And how this catastrophe happened in the first place. The bright moods of all the Guardsmen, as well as Father Julius was indication of that. Even the sisters of the Ebon Chalice was having this sense of relief, despite their stony looks. Especially, because their commander was the first one to find and defend the survivor in question.

Julius: Praise to The Emperor. We finally found a survivor. And here, we were losing hope of finding any in the first place…amidst all the dead.

Dominic: Indeed, Father Julius. My Lady, how is the survivor right now? Can he speak?

Nadra: According to your medical officer, it may take some time. He was gravely injured when we found him. They are working on healing him even as we speak.

The commissar lets out a small sigh of relief. It will be a short while before he hears the conversation between the soldiers, healers and the survivor…abhuman. It had to be an abhuman, of all the things. But, then again, according to the reports and what he has seen so far, they didn't look so different from a normal human. Other than the beast features, of course.

Goose: You'll be fine, mate. Thank the Emperor, that thing missed yer' vitals. Otherwise we don't know if we would be able to bring you back.

Darius: Yeah, No kidding there. Those things must've fired on everyone here in random. Othewise, he wouldn't have been so lucky.

Tanner: Cork it ya two! Vittor, is that food ready yet?

Vittor: Give me a minute! I ain't carryin' a stove with me, and you need to be careful trying to warm food with a Heavy Flamer.

Tanner: Then put yer' back into it, and get it ready quick! The Patient's been eatin' nothin' for the last twenty hours! He needs his calories to get back on his feet!

Vittor: Don't rush me on stuff like this! Give me a minute!

Darius: Augh…For Throne's sake… I feel like I'm surrounded by kids everywhere… hey mate, just ignore 'em, those two are always like that.

Goose: Yeah…what he just said.

James could only nod in response. Then he begins to speak in a low voice, guess starving for nearly a day does drain all of your energy to exhaustion. But, there was a matter he needed to get to, no matter how bad his condition was.

James: (in a barely audible tone) T-Thank…you…

Darius: Hey look…no need for the thanks, mate. We're simply doing what we were trained to do. Now that we're speaking, got a name?

James: James. James O' Riley.

Darius nods with a small smile before responding. Now, the living has a name to call him by.

Darius: James O' Riley, Huh. Name's Darius Till by the way. We got one James in our squad, James Draquez. Mind if we call you O' Riley then?

James: N-No…not at all…(cough)…ow

Darius: Easy.. Easy ..No need to rush or anything O' Riley. See, we're makin' Progress, don't ya think Captain?

All the while, the Captain of the Delta Company, Regalis A. Creed was listening earnestly. To think the men under his command would work so well with early contacts. Regalis has to admit, Sergeant Terryl has a good eye for good people. And while this conversation was going on, the entire vanguard force, minus the Rift Stalkers built a defensive ring around the Market Building, covering up to a full 500 meter circumference. Even if it is just one survivor, they intend to defend him at all costs.

Regalis: So it seems, son. It's good to know the name of at least one of the locals.

James: D-did anybody else surv-

Darius and the captain simply shook their heads left to right at that question. All the others also looked pretty grim. It didn't take James that much to figure out that he was the only one outside of the warehouse who managed to survive.

James: Oh…

Darius: I understand how you feel. We're not very good at providing mental aids for people. But for now, all we can say that you should feel relieved that you're still alive. That alone is a miracle after all this destruction…

Darius couldn't believe that he was actually counselling someone else for once. He and his fellow Cadians went through similar pains. The loss of Cadia, the death of hundreds of millions of her people. At least, it was worth a shot. It was at this point, James began to behave…odd. It was as if he wanted to add something to it. And gladly for him, it didn't go unnoticed.

Darius: Hmm…? Something bothering you in your mind, O' Riley?

In response, James weakly raises his left hand and points at the now sealed barricade in front of the crowd, before he drops one hell of a bombshell.

James: T-there…are…s-survivors…more families-

The whole crowd now jolts at that revelation.

Darius: WAIT! FOR REAL?! THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE?!

The Faunus weakly nods his head. At that, Captain Regalis immediately bellowed the orders.

Regalis: Praise the Emperor, I knew there had to be more people that survived. GET THOSE BARRICADES OUT OF THE WAY! GET THE SURVIVORS OUT OF THERE SAFE AND SOUND! GET PATHFINDER LIFEBLOOD TO BE ON STANDBY WITH FOOD AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES! WHILE THE EMPEROR STILL WATCHES OVER US, WE'RE NOT LETTING A SINGLE PERSON GET HURT HERE! NOT ANYMORE! GET YER' LAZY BUM ASSES ON THE MOVE! ON THE DOUBLE! I WANT THE SURVIVORS OUT ALIVE AND WELL BEFORE YESTERDAY!

Many loud voices of 'Sir Yes Sir' & 'On it Sir' ring out before several Guardsmen approach the barricades and start taking it apart to get the survivors of Cliffton out safely. Enough civilian lives have been lost here, no more. Not ever. Not while the last Guardsman still draws breath.

---

(Inside Warehouse 2, around 20 minutes before revelation of James' survival)

It has been almost a full day since the fall of Cliffton. The survivors who were ushered in the warehouse for survival were now waiting in fear and hope that someone would come to rescue them. All this time, the elders kept the young ones calm and collected as much as possible. The Grimm may be gone for now, but nobody could tell when they'll be back. Hans Gibbet was still guarding the door with Nickolas Solares, while Hans' wife, Margaret along with Marron and few other women were giving out food and water to the others. At one point, Margaret approaches the two old men, and gently gives them two leather pouches of water to drink along with some dry food.

Hans: Thank you, Dear.

Nickolas: Thank you, Ma'am.

Margaret: And here's some bread and beef jerky. The bread's sort of dry…so make sure to drink as much water as possible.

Hans: We will, dear.

As for the Blacksmith, he simply bows his head in gratitude. His wife and Daughter were now having a moment of shut-eye sitting alongside one of the heavy shelves. And right beside them, little Maria of the O' Riley's was sitting with her face tucked behind her knees. The poor thing was completely heartbroken after everything went silent that night. Nickolas knew how the child would feel, he was a father of a daughter after all. And to say that his little girl Loraene was doing any better would be a terrible lie. Her fiancée, Joe Redwood was one of the defenders who guarded the barricade last night outside. Both him and his wife had to comfort her for at least several hours before she calmed down. And, Oh God, her eyes looked so vacant just this late afternoon.

Nickolas: Old Man… mind if I ask you something?

Hans: What is it?

Nickolas: Don't want to sound pessimistic, but…what will we do once someone comes to get us out? Not like we have much left anyways…

Hans didn't have a good reply for that. What were they supposed to do now that their whole town was destroyed through and through? Rebuild it? Not happening. First, there were only 40 something survivors here. Second, no one from Vale City or any of the other neighboring towns would settle down here after what happened. It was the norm in Remnant, if a settlement is attacked by an entire horde of Grimm, it meant it was unfit for inhabitation. And, no one on this damn world, sane or insane would go and willingly stay in a place like that. Then comes the third reason: this was an age of urbanization, and if they have to move to the city, they're bound to go through very extreme conditions. The young to mid-aged adults here may have a chance, but not the orphans or the withered old people. The Orphans will probably end up on the streets, or worse, in one of those orphanages sponsored by business moguls. And if the rumors are true, those places are worse than criminal hideouts. As for the old people, nobody needs old people. So, their lot will be to end up in one of those 'retirement houses'. Moving to the other neighboring towns like Nest, Carterstown, Marysville, or Logsport was also a choice, but those places frequently get hit by the Grimm just like here. And there's that possibility that the next wave of Grimm will be a LOT worse. So, even the well-fortified Logsport was no longer a safe place to live on. Simply put, their futures looked very bleak. So much for placing their faith on the so-called Brother Gods.

Hans: For once… I wish I could tell…

Nickolas: Ya' think the warehouse districts at Vale City would hire old people like you and me?

Hans: Ya' got the skills with iron and stuff, people needs that kind of skill. On the other hand, I'm one of those useless ones…

Nickolas: Don't say that old man.

Hans: But it's true. I'm already at me 70's. What will people do with someone my age?

Nickolas: Yeah… a 70 year gramps who's built like a walking tank. How about opening up business there?

Hans: (chuckles) Nope. Not happenin'. Ya need money for that. A LOT of money. And sadly, we don't have that kind…

The blacksmith only lets out a small sigh. The future did look blink at this point. Meanwhile, Marron slowly takes a seat right beside Maria. Right now, her daughter needs all the love and comfort that she could give. Not to mention some food, the last thing the little girl ate was just a small loaf of bread and some dry fruits. Today, she, Margaret & some of the other women got the manager of 'Happy Home' to help them warm up some canned food. Said food include: Beef Stews, Mixed Porridge, Preserved fish, canned tomato products, breakfast meals and so on. She managed to get some mixed porridge in a bowl along with some bread. And so, she decided to help her daughter to eat.

Marron: I brought you some bread and porridge, Honeybun-

But before she could even finish, Maria sprung and hugged her as tightly as a 5-year old child could. The mother was shocked, wondering what happened. The next words she heard from the little girl made her choke back on her tears.

Maria: (in a low voice)…(sniffle)…Mommy…please don't leave me…(sniffle)…I don't wanna be alone…(sniffle)…

Margaret Gibbet saw the two in that position, and decided to help Marron out a little bit, by holding the food she had in her hands. As soon as she does that, she almost broke in tears as she saw Marron tightly hugging her daughter in her embrace, while sobbing in a hardly audible voice.

Marron: Mommy will never ever leave you, pumpkin (sob)…you'll never be alone…

Maria: P-promise?

Marron: Pinky promise, pumpkin…

It was a touching site for everyone. For some of them whose families were still relatively intact, they all held onto each other as close as possible. Even the two hardened men in the room almost broke in tears. It took a lot of effort to hold them back.

Nickolas: We can't let anything happen to these folks. Especially the young'uns.

Hans: Yup… now…we should…hmm?

The old man notices that one of the younger men approaching them. Hans then remembered, he was that lad who went bawling all over the place, trying to spread panic within the survivors. He did shut his mouth once Hans put him at gunpoint. Now, he was standing right behind them. His facial expression said it all: He felt guilty, and he wanted to say something.

Townspeople#3: Umm…listen Mister…about what happened yesterday…when I went rambling-

Hans: Forget about it, kid. We all panicked back then. Ya just simply showed it out. There's nothin' to be ashamed of. If I were yer' age and I saw all those Grimm tearin' people to pieces, I would've done the same…

Townspeople#3: I…I…didn't know what to do. I just went ahead and-

Nickolas: You're lucky there was someone to punch some sense into you. In times like those, you don't find anyone like that. And it would have cost you dearly. For now, just pretend nothing ever happened, and next time, think and work with a cool head. You'll see things a lot more clearly.

The man simply lowers his head in shame and embarrassment. Truthfully, he was so scared out of his wits, that his own mental receptors went ahead and said to him that it was all over. And now, he owed a sense of gratitude and a lot of apologies to the two elders. But, seeing the two actually brushing it off and telling him to be careful next time, it made him feel even worse. He needed to make it right.

Townspeople#3: Even so… you don't mind if I stand here helping you keep watch here, Right?

Nickolas: (low grumble of laughter)… suit yourself son. It's mind numbing boring though-

(…): (Loud muffled voice from Outside) SURVIVOR! GUARDSMEN, TEND TO THIS ABHUMAN!

Several heads spring straight towards the front door. They clearly heard a human voice, and they were pretty close to the barricades. Even though the sound was muffled by all the barricades, the speaker's voice was loud enough to hear what she said.

Townspeople#3: Wait…is that-

Nickolas: Sshh. Quiet. Everyone. Don't make any kind of noise. It could be bandits.

Everybody inside now got tensed. Just because someone was here didn't necessarily mean that they were the good guys. Bandits and thieves normally target these kind of ruined towns a lot. So, there was that chance that a group of bandits was now looting everything. The three pairs of ears in front of the doorway now focus their hearing to their highest. While, the rest now gathers together and moves to the back as much as possible. Hans could hear multiple voices, followed by someone coughing. That means, someone survived?

Hans: Maybe one of the boys are still alive…

Nickolas: How? You heard the screams right? They got hit by nevermores, and then the rest of the Grimm just piled on them. There's no way that anyone could-

Hans: Ssshh. Wait, they're saying something…

Mored muffled voices ring out, from which they could barely make out the part of someone shouting at another person to help him. Then, they heard multiple footsteps. All the owners were definitely wearing army boots. Which was followed by the sound of vehicles and giant mechanical footsteps. And judging from those sounds, whoever they were, they were heavily equipped. The engines alone sounded at least several times louder than any of the vehicles owned by the townspeople here - even the tractors. They could hear more loud muffled voices saying something about forming perimeters, along with fixing the surviving defender up. A few minutes later, they heard a loud shout from one of the people outside. And based on whatever they were saying, they could make out the parts hinting towards taking down the barricades. They were about to take the barricades down. The people inside could hear the sounds of heavy objects being lifted, followed by another bunch loud shouts.

(…): HOW DO YOU EVEN START THIS THING? BLOODY HELL, THE WHOLE CONTROL SYSTEM'S ALL WRONG!?

(…): CIVVIE VEHICLE, DUMBASS! THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE NO CONTROLS IN THIS THING! JUST A DUMB OL' DRIVERS SEAT, STEERING WHEELS, GEARS AND STUFF LIKE THAT!?

(…): HOW THE FOOK I'M SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?! I NEVER OWNED A CIVVIE!

(…): Augh…for Thrones Sake…GIVE ME THAT! Let's see here…um…there's supposed to be some kind of port for a key or somethi- AH! Found it! Hol' Up!

Within moments, they could hear the unmistakable sound of the O' Riley Pickup truck starting up with a roar. Followed by it driving away from the door, and a few shouts along the lines of 'Brakes! Brakes! Hit the damn brakes you Moron!' Which was then followed by more wood and furniture being removed. Hans and Nickolas were now pointing their guns straight at the doorway. If they turn out to be bandits, they'll pull the trigger, whether they live afterwards or not. The other men also prepare behind them with rakes and farm tools as weapons. All the while, the older women cover the children like a wall, while Marron and Nickolas' now-widowed daughter Loraene were holding a one-handed farming scythe for weapons. They were no hunter or fighter, much less huntresses. But, they can at least take a swipe at whoever or whatever was now trying to break in.

Hans: Blacksmith. Get ready to shoot on my mark.

The blacksmith simply gives a small grunt. Soon, the door opens up enough for someone to peek inside the warehouse, and before long it opens wide. And the first sight that greets them was a pair of people wearing soldier's uniforms and armor. And as soon as it happens, both Hans and Nickolas point their guns right at the first soldier opening the door and standing in front of them.

Nickolas: STAY BACK!

Darius: WHOA-HEY HEY hey…Friendlies, WE'RE FRIENDLIES! Watch where you point that thing!?

Cole: OH THRONE! I think we were safer back at the fort!

Darius: Yeah no shit Fabricator wannabe! Easy sir…we mean you no harm…please put the weapons away…

Both the guardsmen staring at the survivors now were now trying to put up a more relaxed, friendly face. They were here to help them, not scare the poor folks out of their boots. Darius and Cole, who volunteered to take point while opening the door now had to work as negotiators to get the two senior looking residents to put their guns away.

Cole: G-Good sir, W-we mean you no harm. We saw smoke all over this settlement, so we feared the worst had happened to everyone here. We have supplies for everyone. We have food, medicine, fuel, ammunition…

Hans: Who're you people?

Darius: We're Cadians, sir. As you can tell, we're not from around here. Truthfully, we know very little about this place. Name's Darius by the way. And I'm willing to attest for my Brother-in-Arms, Cole here. We come in peace. Please, let us help you…

After a few minutes of this awkward stalemate, which felt like an eternity for both sides, the two old people finally lowered their weapons. Seeing that, both the Guardsmen now lets out a sigh of relief.

Darius: Thank you senior. Words cannot describe how relieved we are after finding that there were people still alive here.

As the survivors now got the hint that there was no danger anymore, they slowly got up. And soon, they gathered into a group and slowly focused on the soldier.

Hans: How'd you know that there were people still alive here?

Darius: Before I answer that… does anyone of you know someone called a 'James O' Riley'?

At the mention of that name, all of them gets one hell of a shock. None greater than Marron, who felt as if someone extended their hand and pulled her out of her pit of despair. Even Hans, who thought James to have died couldn't believe his ears. He needed to be sure, however.

Hans: What about James-

Marron: My Husband! D-Do you know my Husband?

Darius was now genuinely unprepared for this, a pretty looking woman with waist long black hair was now looking at him with hope & Tear filled eyes, and she was holding onto a 5 year old child. Said child has the same lupine ears as her father, and that left very little for Darius to figure out that they were James' family. Internally, he was now relieved and happy that they managed to at least, help reunite a family together amidst all the carnage.

Darius: Please come with me, Ma'am. All of you as well. We have medics with us. We'll be able to help you folks out…

After 3-4 minutes of persuasion, Darius and Cole finally manages to convince the survivors of Cliffton to follow them outside. As the survivors left the warehouse and came outside, they were greeted by several hundred pairs of relieved human eyes. All of them seemed happy at the fact that they were alive. Followed by several soldiers, who clearly looked like they were medical officers rushing towards them. Soon, the surviving residents were receiving proper first aids, food, water, medicine and of course, iron-solid protection. The residents were completely overwhelmed at this: somebody did hear their prayers, somebody did come to rescue them. Amidst all this, Fire Team 'Crossbones' were carefully escorting Marron and her daughter near to the Tauros Venator of their expedition force. Near that SUV, a medical bed was properly set up, and on that bed was-

Marron: JAMES!

She was carrying Marron, and as soon as she saw her dear husband, she ran with all her might, literally jumping right on top of him. She couldn't hold back her tears anymore, as she cried while hugging her now injured husband, refusing to let go for even one millisecond. And little Maria was the same as her Mother. James, on the other hand decided to ignore the pain completely, as now he was embracing his loving wife and daughter, he held on to them as tightly as he could.

James: (in a sort of weak voice) Hey. Hey. Hey…it's okay babe. I'm perfectly fine-

Marron: Oh…(sob)you're ali-(sob)…thank goodness you're still alive…(sob)…I..I…I…I (sob)…(sniffle)…we thought you-

James: Hey…it takes more than a nevermore to put me down…and I Promised, didn't I?

Both girls could only smile in response, their faces were a complete tear-filled mess. Before, they hug James again and start crying all over. Watching this from not so far was Captain Regalis and Commissar Dominic. To them, they had mixed emotions about it: while they were relieved that they managed to find survivors, they felt sort of awkward at the same time. The lives of Cadians and all Imperial Army Regiments can be summed up as this: The only way they can protect the peace is through unrestrained violence and aggression against the enemies of the Imperium. Opportunities, like helping the common folks out in this manner, was a rare sight in The Emperor's Domain. For something like that to happen in front of them, well… it was something special.

---

025.11.033. M42. 21:00 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time)

2100. June 9th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Town Square

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.

The Town center was right now a center of bustle and activity. Well, not the kind that it was supposed to have, but the kind that involves providing medical attention and food supplies to survivors. The medical officers along with the regular guardsmen were now giving out food to the children, the elderly and the slightly sick people in this group. Administering immediate care to 40 survivors should feel like nothing, but this was normally a job handled by the Munitorum staff, or at least the Ministorum serfs and healers. They were soldiers, so it was kind of challenging for the Cadian and Catachan Guardsmen. While, majority of the expedition forces ran quick patrol within a short perimeter of 2 kilometer radius. As for their Rift Stalker Reinforcements, they were running patrols outside of the perimeter, as well as solving the mystery behind the attack.

All the while, Hans Gibbet felt like they were in a completely different place. The soldiers that were now taking care of them, they definitely weren't from Vale. Heck, they weren't from the other kingdoms either. Their facial features, uniforms, armor, weapons, vehicles, their way of speaking were all dead giveaways. Not to mention, those walking towers of women in heavy armored suits – they looked even stranger. The kids in the neighborhood were all going crazy about the meteor showers and the pillars of Light for the last 47 days, with some of them even going about aliens. But these people? They look deadpan human, no strange green skin, none of those pipe like things hanging all over their bodies, no weird flying saucers – none of that garbage. But, at the same time, he instinctively felt that these people were not from Remnant at all. His thought process was halted by the words of one of their 'Medical Officers'. Needless to say, right now, he, Nickolas, the Manager, that kid were in the middle of medical checkup, followed by administering painkillers, bandages and vitamins. When it was his turn for getting the checkup, he decided to ask. Out of pure curiosity of course.

Hans: Ya' lads ain't from around here, are ya'?

In response, Tanner shook his left to right, before answering with a smile.

Tanner: I'm afraid not, senior. This is the first time we've made contact with this planet's native population. How'd you figure?

Hans pointed towards the Aquila symbol emblazoned on his Flak Armor, before responding.

Hans: Before I became a farmer and settled down here, I was in the Vale National Militia. In those days, Me and my company went on multiple training drills all over the continents. And in my 70 plus year lifetime, none of the four Kingdoms on Remnant had ever seen or heard of that mark ya' got on yer vest.

Nickolas and the others who knew Hans were genuinely surprised. To think that Hans Gibbet was a former soldier. On the other hand, Tanner simply felt impressed, even in his age, he's got a sharp sense of observation. Then he attempted in explaining as best as he could. At the same time, he decided to inquire a little bit. Because, just now he got a crucial information regarding the planet's identity, and its supposed local authorities.

Tanner: Remnant?

Hans: The name of this world. That's what it's called. Never heard of it?

Tanner: Huh…So that's the name of this planet… Eh. I've heard stranger names of stranger planets throughout these years.

Nickolas: Wait Wait Wait….. you're telling me there are more worlds out there? Worlds with people?

Tanner: (light chuckle)… the Milky Way Galaxy is a large place. Throw a stone here and there, and you'll find plenty of worlds with human settlements. Though, most of them are under the control of the Imperium.

To the Cadian, this was a vital information. Now the planet has a name that they can call it by. On the other hand, the revelation of the fact that more worlds outside of Remnant exist hit the patients like a cannonball. Throughout their entire lives, they've learned that Humanity existed only on Remnant, and they cannot exist on any other place. Yet, the very existence of these people was now giving that public knowledge the big middle finger to its face. Then, there was that name.

Hans: The… Imperium?

Right… Tanner remembered that the locals here were completely untouched by the Imperium, or any others they know of. He needed to think carefully to answer this.

Tanner: The Imperium of Man, Yes. That is where we're from.

Hans: Sounds like a faraway world from here. We never heard of the Imperium before.

Yup, long version it is then.

Tanner: Umm… it's a lot more complicated than that. The Imperium is not just one world. Our Imperium is an empire that is made of millions of stars, billions of worlds. Worlds inhabited by people.

Nickolas: …billions of worlds…full of…people…as in…real humans? Real People?

Tanner looked at the blacksmith incredulously, did he seriously think of them as 'Aliens'? On the other hand, the blacksmith and all the other patients in his care were completely shell-shocked at this revelation. There was not one world full of humans, but billions. Not millions, but billions of worlds. And all these worlds were Out there, in the stars. And these…people were from one of these worlds.

Tanner: Yes sir. Humans just like you and me. FYI, if you're thinking around the lines that we're aliens, then don't. We're not aliens, and we don't get along well with their miserable lot anyways.

Townspeople#3: Huh…well I'll be…um…you said your Imperium is made of a billion worlds. Then, care to tell us which… you you guys are from?

Tanner needed to answer this part carefully. The people of 'Battle-fleet Halo' was basically a mix of multiple cultures of the Imperium, all mashed into one single dough. So, just picking one world won't be an accurate answer.

Tanner: That is a tricky question, good sir. In truth, the expedition force you see here is made of at least a dozen different worlds. I, myself and folks similar to me are from the world of New Cadia. It's a militaristic world, really. Anyone born there is destined to join the Imperial Army.

The medical officer then points at the Catachans, Elysians and the Sisters of the Ebon Chalice patrolling around the designated perimeters, and explains:

Tanner: The lot over there, the folks wearing bandanas and face paints carrying big knives? They're from a world called Catachan. Worst place to live, period. Then the ones drivin' the Tauros are from this civilian world called Elysia. As for the Ladies in black and red power armor, they're from the throne-world of our Empire, Terra.

Hans: Throne-World?

Tanner: Ah…pardon me. Terra is the Birthplace of the Imperium of Man. It is the world from where it all began. It is also the Place from where Our Immortal Emperor watches over us. To all humans, Terra is the Holy Land of the Imperium where one must visit, at least once in their lives. There are people in our fleet from other worlds too. It's just that, they're back at the fort right now.

Nickolas, Hans and the others were now feeling dizzy right now. If what he is saying is true, then this 'Imperium of Man' that they come from is possibly the biggest thing in all of existence itself. A vast nation, spanning over billions of worlds all at once, trillions of people all living their lives as citizens under the rule of this 'Emperor' of theirs. And, here they thought the last king of Vale was a visionary. Hans was more than certain of this, all the kings of the four kingdoms as well as the ones of the now-dissolved countries were excellent leaders on their own right. At least, according to the history texts of course. But, none of them were on the level of the 'Emperor' of these people. Not one of them could unite the people of Remnant together as one, let alone unite trillions across the stars. And then, the way he speaks of this 'Emperor', it was almost as if, he venerated him as some sort of a God.

Townspeople#3: It almost sounds like the Emperor of yours is like a God…

Julius: Not like a God. He IS a God. For He is the Immortal God and Master of All of Mankind.

And speaking of venerating, it was at this time, Father Julius approached near their place. And, needless to say, him speaking out of the blue to them caused both the patients and Tanner jump in surprise.

Tanner: THRONE DAMN IT!? Would you please stop doing that, Father Julius?! At this rate you'll kill us with heart attacks before the bo…ahem…the Lords of the Rift Stalkers do!

In response, the priest simply lets out a light, yet hearty laugh. Some of the other soldiers and medical officers nearby on the other hand breathed a sigh of relief. At least, Tanner didn't almost screw up in his speech by calling the Rift Stalkers as the 'You know what'.

Julius: Many apologies, it was not my intention to do so. I just happened to pass by on watch duty, when I couldn't help myself listening to your conversations…

Tanner: At least pretend to knock on the door….

The patients simply stare at the two talking to each other. There was that strange bond of comradery within these people. Each one watches over the other's back wherever they go. And to make the other feel better, even crack small jokes.

Julius: I will take your recommendation to my Heart. As for my fellow human residents, The Immortal God Emperor watches over us from His Golden Throne on Terra. As He has done for over the last Ten Millenia. And, it is He who gives us the strength and resolve to defend humanity against its myriad foes.

Manager: T-T-Te-Ten Thousand…. Years?!

And, in that single statement, Julius delivered a terrifying detail regarding their 'Emperor'. Not only did he unite countless human civilizations under his banner, he even watched over them for a time that vastly exceeds the very history of Remnant itself. Now, Hans went into a state of deep thought, a thought about making certain decisions. Said decisions involved, a probable change of Faith. So far everything that has happened to him and his family, everything that has happened to the people he knew, the So-called Brother Gods didn't respond to any of their pleas. Rather, they put them through even more suffering, and completely abandoned them. Then, there was their 'God Emperor' who clearly looked the type that blessed his subjects with the strength and will to fight off anything that gets thrown in their way. For a while, he mulled over this subject, before he decided to put it on hold. Change of Faith can wait. Right now, more important matters are coming at hand, as he can see the Police Officer looking fellow was approaching towards them. As he reached to their position, all the soldiers and officers present immediately saluted him.

Tanner: Commissar Dominic, Sir!

Dominic: At Ease, all of you. Apologies for the interruption, however at the moment, we require your presence, Father Julius. All the bodies have been prepared for the final rites. Now, they require to be blessed before Cremation and they all require a final Prayer.

So, it was a funeral by cremation then. At that, the mood turned very solemn. As Grim as the residents looked, the troops of the expedition force looked even more grim. On the bright side, the expedition force managed to find the mayor's logbook regarding the residents of this settlement with the help of the survivors. Now, at least the Priest and the sisters will have the names of the Martyrs of this settlement, Cliffton. On the dark side, the settlement is now a dead settlement, 40 survivors out of its 2000 is all that remains. The survivor families began to notice that the air around these people changed considerably. There was sadness, remorse and regret painted all over their faces, mixed with Rage and hatred towards whatever was responsible. But, to tell the truth, none of their people died so far. Then, why they felt more sadness towards the dead than the residents themselves? Many of them now had this question in mind, with James O' Riley being one of them. What made them to take death and destruction so seriously? He and his wife now stood a few meters away from the pyres, while their daughter slept quietly in Marron's arms, James was still hurt and he needed crutches to move around, he is in no condition to be carrying people around.

Goose: The deaths of your folks here was unjust. None of the people that lived here deserved to die like they did… no rhythm, no purpose… nothing. Just… pointless destruction.

The O' Riley Family didn't have a good answer for that. True, the destruction of small towns and villages like theirs is a norm all over Remnant. Especially, the frontier ones as they're much closer to Grimm Hotspots and are under constant assaults. And, if they happen to be as ill-equipped as they were against hordes of that size and cunning, the town or village in question is bound to be annihilated like this.

Marron: Most of us frontier townspeople live sort of isolated from the larger cities, so that we could expand further across the land. So…whenever the Grimm attacks, we have to fend for ourselves. We were one of the closely knitted towns of the frontier belts. Yet…

Letty: Don't you people have any way to contact with the larger hive cities? Or for the matter, can't they even send their defense forces to defend the settlements at the very least?

James: Wish…it was that simple. The Kingdom's National Militia will rarely mobilize. And they only do that whenever the threat is large enough to threaten the entire continent. So, the only outside help we can expect from the Capital are the Kingdom's huntsmen and huntresses. Even that help takes at least several hours to reach to the settlement… no matter how fast the bullhead fleets fly towards the disaster zone.

The fire-team looks at James with a baffled look. What kind of irresponsible continental authority leaves their own expansion assets to their own devices and destruction?! Don't they even have the bare minimum sense of responsibility to defend its people? And, what the hell kind of trash-bucket takes hours to reach a disaster zone only 200 something kilometers away? Even, a half dead Valkyrie or Vendetta with seriously damaged engine and propulsion systems can fly several times faster than that. More importantly, is the authority council so dumb that they don't understand the concept of building forward bases to supply beleaguered settlements like these with emergency aids should it be necessary?

Goose: Then… why don't the defense force of your 'Kingdom' build forward bases at crucial supply points? That way you don't have to die fighting alone like this. Or, die at all for the matter.

James: As much as we wish to… the National Military budget, as well as the treaties made between the four kingdoms put the Vale National Militia on a tight leash. Not to mention… the council members of the Government are too afraid to send forces outside of the existing large cities after what happened to Mount Glenn all those years ago… and just forty-seven days ago.

Darius: Mount… Glenn?

All this time, James more or less came to conclusion that these people are not from Remnant at all. So, they could use the knowledge a bit.

James: There used to be a city south from here. Around two hundred kilometers or so from the same direction you people came from. It was one of the largest attempts of continental expansions made by the Council. But… after the Grimm attacks and the massacres that came with it… they had no choice but to abandon it. It stood as a monument until the… Pillars of Light fell over it…

'Oops' Darius and the others spoke inwards when James spoke of the place. An abandoned city 200 kilometers south from their present location… there was only one place over there right now: Fort Nihilius. And the Pillars of Light? It was them Orbital bombing essentially a mass grave. At this point, all they can do right now is give a silent prayer of apology to the souls that rested there, and hope that The Emperor will take them in account. But more importantly, they felt angry. Angry that the Ruling authority didn't invest on building their armies to defend their people properly, and the ones sitting there are mostly incompetent cowards who only cares for their own safety under the guise of peacetime protocols.

Darius: You speak of Hunters coming to your aid. Are they from your Kingdom's armies or are they independent?

James: You mean huntsmen and huntresses? To tell you the truth… they are part of the Government's combat organizations…but independent at the same time. They are specialists when it comes to hunting and killing the Grimm, and moreover, are the more popular defenders of the people across Remnant. Remnant is the name of this world…mind you.

Vittor: Well… that's sort of reassuring to know that they send at least someone if called.

Letty: Hoh… weird name for a Planet. But I've heard worse…

Darius: These huntsmen and huntresses… does the Government fully control them? You said they obey the authority, but are independent-

James: They all come from Beacon Academy, one of the four largest combat schools built to train huntsmen and huntresses to kill the Grimm. After Graduation, most of them either become Government issued… or become people for hire…

That made them seethe in anger inside. These people have to depend on students of the scholas. And …bloody mercenaries at times!?

Darius: They come from… an academy? And… what is this Grimm you speak of?

Marron stared at the guardsman with a completely shell-shocked expression. These people seriously don't know what Beacon Academy is… or for the matter what a Grimm is? Darius himself was confused at the term 'Grimm' before something hit his mind.

Darius: Ah… Umm… by Grimm, you don't mean those strange creatures in black, now do you?

James: Yup, those are the Grimm…

Well, that is something. Now, the wildlife has a name to call by. Though it is an overall collective name. And based on the chaos that they've caused here, Darius believed it was aptly named. It was at this point, James felt he should ask these people.

James: You folks seem to take death of people very badly. Regardless of who it happens to…

What he didn't expect, was to see so many pained smiles on their faces. Their looks, their eyes now told a different story. A story, where they all have seen too much bloodshed, too much death and destruction to just casually brush it off. Darius decided to take a deep breath before he replied. And it was his response that caught James completely off-guard.

Darius: Let's just say, we have been living with death's company for far too long. And we have seen too many people die needless deaths just to simply 'Brush-it-off'. We take the death of man with a heavy heart. Because in our eyes, it is the price of their blood, our blood, the blood of Martyrs that the Imperium of Man sustains itself. Us Cadians lost our homeworld Cadia a little over thirty three odd years ago in the hands of our arch-enemy. Only three million something souls survived out of over eight hundred fifty million. And billions more keep dying everyday just so that Our Imperium can stand tall after all the tests of time itself. So we need to respect the dead, no matter where.

James: E-E-Eight Hundred Fifty… million people dead… and billions more… dying…

Darius: (Light Mirthless Chuckle) Not the best of results, Aye. So yeah, you could say most of us here are all orphans. But, we moved on. We got back up, and we started building ourselves back to what we were. The Immortal God-Emperor gives us the strength to keep on going…

The O' Riley Family looked at Darius in absolute shock. The numbers he spoke of, it was easily over 3 times the entire Human and Faunus Population combined. And, their enemy was that powerful and that heartless to slaughter so many people without a second thought. Yet, instead of buckling over, they kept moving on. Whatever Deity…this 'Emperor' that they speak about, their faith on him was beyond just absolute zealotry. It was almost as if it was their source of strength.

Regalis: We and your people have something in common. Experiencing the pain of losing your loved ones, your family. Most of us in this expedition force are all orphans more or less. We lost our families, loved ones, comrades, brothers-in-arms. Even our bloody home planet. Perhaps, that is why we can understand what you may be going through…

And speaking of taking death seriously…

Vittor: Sir.

Regalis: At ease, son. We'll be starting the prayers for the deceased ones soon. Stay at the ready.

James: Don't want to sound rude and all… but we don't know a thing about your religion or whatnot…

That hardly counts as a problem. It was already established, since the beginning of the expedition that these folks are completely untouched by the Imperial Creed. So, all they needed to do is give them a small crash course – the kind even the dumbest of orgryns can pull of.

Regalis: That won't be a problem at all, Mr. O' Riley. You folks can just simply clasp your hands together or take whatever posture you make for prayers, and the Good Father and the Sisters of the Ebon Chalice will do the rest.

(ten minutes later)

Dominic: ….Do it…

At the command of the Commissar, the guardsmen assigned to set the fire begin igniting the wooden pyres. Slowly, several places all across the town lights up with the bright lights from the blazing fires of the last rites. This was the funeral for the fallen people of Cliffton. As the pyres now burn in flames, The Captains bellow the orders to the general troopers.

Regalis & Ballor: (In unison) FUNERAL PARTY! PRESENT ARMS!

The soldiers lining along the road raises their Hellguns parallel to their forms, then they raise it vertically pointing the barrels towards the sky. While the other soldiers now stand in groups, all in perfect formation. They all clasped their hands together, close to their chests, eyes closes, and with a grim expression, they stand, as Father Julius and the sisters of the Ebon Chalice individually walks by each pyre, blessing each pyre, each dead person. As the blessings are finished, they stand at the lead of each group, with Father Constantine broadcasting the Final Prayers for the departed.

Julius: In His Glorious Name, we pray. Today, we gather here to bid our farewells to the fallen families of this once-pristine and growing settlement, the fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. Though… they were born far away from The Immortal God-Emperor's divine light, it is through their actions, that the living of this settlement have a chance to see a better tomorrow. In defense of the survivors, in defense of this settlement, they highlighted the Greatest virtues of the Imperium, and of Humanity. Honor, Courage and Sacrifice. Without either of these virtues, many of our numbers would not be standing alongside us.

All eyes turn to the surviving people of Cliffton. The children shrink away shyly, while the adults remain steadfast. Grief and sorrow painted all over their faces.

Julius: Thus, as per our customs and culture as the Imperials, by the powers and authority bestowed upon us by The God-Emperor of Mankind, we declare the fallen of Cliffton as the 'Honored Martyrs of Remnant'. Now then, Senior Hans Gibbet of Cliffton, if you may do the honors…

Taking his cue, Hans slowly approach one of the burning pyres, there in front of it, he placed a small box, inside of which, the survivors all placed something of value to them: Coins, Necklaces, Charms, flowers and more. Many among the crowd break in tears, as they see their family members being cremated. While, the soldiers and the sisters of battle themselves maintain a grieving, yet more stoic expression. All the while, Father Julius continued:

Julius: As their bodies have been committed to the ground, we commit their souls to You, Oh Benevolent and Merciful Lord of Mankind. For, only after death, all becomes equal in front of Your eyes. May You grant them resurrection in their next lives, may you give them the peace that they so rightfully deserved. May Your Divine saints and warriors watch over their living, thus in return, we only ask that You let these people to be resurrected in Your service. Let their lives and memories be sacred monuments in our hearts. We only ask You to accept their sacrifice and service for mankind that they've offered. And we only ask that You usher them in Your Divine sanctum.

Silent repeated murmurs of "Gratias agimus tibi, Domine et Magister Hominum. Qui sedet super solio Divino in Terra" could be heard from both the sisters of the Ebon Chalice, as well as from the Captains and the Commissar. And, listening to that, one by one, all the soldiers begin uttering the same phrase, with both hands clasped together.

Julius: ….Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust. Their bodies have been committed in your name. May you take their souls in account of all Balance. Ave Imperator Inexelcus Terra.

A loud chorus of 'Ave Imperator Inexelcus Terra' could be heard all over the town square. While they continued, the survivors of Cliffton, who were standing along with them stood in front of one of those pyres. They listened to the Father's Prayers, stood solemnly and prayed for the now-dead families that they knew. Seeing everyone you knew and loved die like sheep does more damage than one may think. These people needed a rock to cling on, a rock that would hold them together, a pillar of faith. The So-called Brother Gods were definitely out of the equation after this. Right now, the Emperor of these outsiders sounded more of a guiding divine hand than anything else. And thus, they silently prayed that their Emperor takes the souls of the departed ones in account. While at it, they felt it: sorrow, pain, anguish from all of them. These people have a completely different viewpoint towards death compared to anyone else on Remnant. Only if, the rest of the planet had that kind of view and respect for the dead.

The Imperial Guard and the Sisters of Battle of 'Pathfinder' were not the only ones who gave their prayers. Standing atop the giant clock-tower atop the large Warehouse, Kill-Team 'Vyk'tar' was silently giving their prayers while they kept a watchful eye on the surroundings. Right now, only these 3 Rift Stalkers were on watch, completely unnoticed by everyone else. The reason? Lieutenant Karadon received an emergency message from Kill-Team 'Tur'yan' and had to take off immediately. While that happened, they kept a silent watch over the forces from above.

Q'ell: This is hardly any different from reclaiming the lost worlds during the early years of the Crusade…

Vyk'tar: (A deep low voice)…Mmm… the deaths bother you Brother Q'ell?

Sergeant Vyk'tar noticed the voice of frustration and grief from his brother Reiver. Ever since breaking in and conducting break and search in all the Hab-blocks in this settlement, Q'ell has been in sort of a foul mood. The same was for the other Reiver, Crissic.

Q'ell: It bothers me as much as it does to Brother Crissic. Especially, Deaths as pointless as… these.

Crissic: Have we not fought hard enough? Have the humans not given enough? What more does the stars demand out of them?

Vyk'tar: Calm yourselves, both of you. Do not let your emotions get the best of yourselves. Yes… their deaths frustrate us to no end. Yet… it is the nature of the enemy… and it is our duty to keep them from causing more harm.

Crissic: A perverted abomination is what I would call these creatures… they killed so many, yet they did not gorge on a single one of the corpses… and from what we have seen and dealt with so far… they do not even align themselves with the dark powers. Even our Librarius attested to this…

Vyk'tar: That is what we need to know about. What are these creatures, how they are created or at least where do they procreate? And, what would be the best of options to eliminate them from the roots.

Q'ell: And then… there are 'those' people…

Vyk'tar: The 'White Fang' will be dealt with in due time. By then, they will beg on their knees to the Emperor for Mercy.

Q'ell: On topic, I was wondering about something….

Vyk'tar: Do tell us, brother. As long as it is within logical limits, it may lead to optimal solutions..

Q'ell: These creatures… 'Grimm' as that abhuman called it… was it because of their nature for causing such wanton violence, that the inhabitants chose to name it as such?

That was something to think about. And yes, they heard everything that the guardsmen and the locals were speaking. Just because they weren't in plain sight and watching quietly from above and far doesn't mean that they weren't paying attention. As long as you're within a 40 meter radius around a Primaris Space Marine, you're well within his hearing limits. And, for the sons of Corax, you're a lot closer and louder to them than you think.

Vyk'tar: Perhaps. If so, then it is an apt name for them.

Crissic: Strange yet apt. Well… not as strange as the name of the planet itself. I wonder as well, of what is this planet a 'Remnant' of?

Vyk'tar: Perhaps the dark ages or the age of strife. Later on got caught in the after-effects of the Horus Heresy and the subsequent wars that came along throughout the past ten millennia.

Lots of theoretical possibilities come in mind. Maybe, the people here held on to whatever they believed in all the way back during those time periods, which got morphed into something else altogether. Maybe a supposed Imperial colony of refugees that got washed up on this planet, later on grew into its own civilization. Maybe something else.

Q'ell: As things are at present, the history of this planet is a minor thought. Right now, only the present and the future matters here. This is supposed to be a verdant world. Yet, even here, death and destruction leaves its mark. Only forty survivors out of two thousand settlers, all because of… negligence of the Planetary authority…

Vyk'tar: That is how their culture have grown. As harsh as it sounds, right now, it is best for all of us not to directly interfere into this planet's political matters. At least, until we commence formal diplomacy with them. For now, we do what we can within our limits.

Crissic: And to do that, we need to know more about our opponents…

Vyk'tar: Indeed Brother. And we will-…. Hold up. Brother Karadon is calling.

Right now, Vyk'tar needed to put his personal thoughts on lock, as his vox flares up. Speaking about opponents…

Karadon: Brother Vyk'tar, this is Pathfinder Point.

Vyk'tar: Vyk'tar here. Go ahead, Brother.

Karadon: Change of plans. Get in touch with Pathfinder Actual. We need to move. Now.

Vyk'tar: Did something happen over there?

Karadon: Myself and the rest of the kill teams are on the move. You need to contact with them and begin evacuation ASAP. We have underestimated our enemies.

That statement throws the Sergeant into a complete state of shock. Just what happened that warranted such attention? He needed to be sure.

Vyk'tar: What did you find about the enemy?

Karadon: Kill-Teams 'Ka'ed' & 'Tur'yan' discovered a few bodies outside the perimeter. Notably the settlement defense forces. Brother Sergeant Tur'yan used his Omophagea and saw through the defender's memories. The creatures are far more intelligent than we expected, and this was not some random attack. This was well coordinated, and the other settlements nearby are under threat of a large-scale invasion. The attack here was intended to create fear and panic and to spread it across all the other settlements.

Vyk'tar: Did not expect the Grimm to be an intelligent species.

Karadon: Grimm?

Vyk'tar: That is what the locals call the creatures. It is a collective name for their entire species.

Karadon: Aptly named after what Brother Tur'yan saw.

Vyk'tar: Is he well?

Karadon: He is fine. He just reeled over a little bit from the initial shock. Brother, we no longer have the time to waste on chatters. We need to mobilize. Immediately. We can expect a horde exceeding thousands heading for the nearby settlements.

Vyk'tar: Understood. Moving in to contact with Pathfinder Command.

Karadon: We will keep the coasts clear for now. Get them to move north. The next human settlement is located around 22 kilometers from your present location. I am contacting Fortress Command 'Halo' as well as the 'Raven's Talons' and the 'Hunter's Chariot'. We will need heavy reinforcements if we want to see tomorrow.

Vyk'tar: Understood. Kill-Team 'Vyk'tar' moving out.

No more time to waste. If a horde that massive attacks the other settlements, and if they're as poorly protected as this one, the residents don't stand a chance against them. They needed to leave this place, and the sooner, the better. The sergeant immediately springs into action, with the other two Reivers following him.

Q'ell: What did they find, Brother Sergeant?

Vyk'tar: We have underestimated our enemies. This was not a random assault, this was a coordinated attack. The enemy knew what they were doing. We need to move, quickly.

Crissic: Estimated numbers?

Vyk'tar: According to Brother Lieutenant Karadon, at least several thousand. Our current location is not well suited for sustained combat. We need to get to a fortified settlement first.

They speak the details among themselves as they descend from the tower using their Grapple-hooks: one of their many easy to travel gears. And here in lies another scary factor: Even as they landed on the ground, they didn't make a single noise. Even as they moved, their footsteps were silent. As they quickly sprinted towards the command squad, the first person to greet them was sergeant Clayton Terryl. At this point, the Imperial Guard elements of 'Battle-Fleet Halo' already gave up on figuring out how they pull of the silent walking trick, and simply let them be. The Reiver sergeant immediately states his requirements-

Vyk'tar: Take me to Commissar Dominic. And prepare the rest of the forces to depart. We are all leaving.

Terryl: Right Now? My Lord, I don't know if the survivors-

Vyk'tar: They will be in even graver danger if we stay here for much longer. I will explain to the commanders in detail. Take me to them, now. Brothers, notify the other troops. Get them prepared for departure. We leave in ten.

Q'ell: Understood.

And with that, Vyk'tar and Sergeant Terryl headed towards the command squad. Right now, Commissar Dominic was taking notes regarding the information he got from the conversations between the Guardsmen and the survivors. Turns out, this verdant world is somewhat of a mixed cookie dough made by combining a feudal world, a civilized world, a Feral world, and a death world. Elements of all these types of worlds are present here in abundance. Next, comes the name of this planet: Remnant. Eh, he heard stranger names. Then comes the authorities. And here in lies the pinch: there are four governing authorities, five if one is to count the abhuman tribe residing in the smallest continent in the south of this planet. And in this current age, the power balance is in a very precarious state between the authorities under the strict layers of peace treaties and agreements. Each authority, as the locals call them 'Kingdom', maintains cadres of elite warriors called Huntsmen and Huntresses who specialize in fighting the black creatures, who are collectively and ominously named the 'Grimm'. While all four Kingdoms have an ample supply of these warriors, due to the Technological disparity and political reasoning, they have difficulties moving around rapidly to respond to these 'Grimm' threats. What struck the commissar greatly was the fact, that despite only one of these four Kingdoms being the most technologically advanced compared to the other three, it didn't assimilate them within its territory. According to the common Imperial logic: In any feudal world, if a certain tribe or ruling city reaches a technological and military superiority compared to the others, they slowly absorb the weaker ones as a part of its domains. Yet, here they remain in a constant stalemate. Then comes the next revelation, and this one hardly surprised the Commissar: about 80 Terran Years ago or so, these kingdoms were embroiled in a globe spanning war that left countless regions utterly devastated, and eventually it led to the peace treaty as a symbol of co-existence of the four kingdoms. Well, so much for peaceful. And, as soon as the treaties were made, the kingdoms began to consolidate their powers, securing their perimeters, while advancing themselves at their pace. Well… the Commissar felt he should be frank about this: The progress is as shitty as a Rough Rider's smelly garb. These peace treaties, while forbid the kingdoms to move their armies over the territories of others, it also limited the movement of their own defense forces within their own lands, because of a reason as stupid as: continued movements of the National Defense forces is viewed as a sign of international aggression. To make matters even worse, this Kingdom that Fort Nihilius is sharing borders with, 'Vale', doesn't even have a proper standing army. Only a half-decent National Militia, A MILITIA for fook's sake!

On a side note, the Commissar did go 'Oops' followed by an apology after learning about the truth of Mount Glenn. They unwittingly bombed an entire cemetery and built their fort on top of it. At this point, all he and his fellow peers can do is simply offer a prayer of apology to The Emperor and hope that He would forgive such a transgression.

Back to topic, The state of the forces of Mistral is even worse, because it was entirely dependent on the previously mentioned warrior cadres. Vacuo was similar to Vale, had a militia, however very ill-equipped and lacked manpower and proper logistics to mobilize like its counterpart in Vale, so it was in the same boat as Mistral. Out of these four Kingdoms, only the one called Atlas was the most advanced. And it was here, that the Commissar pieced up some crucial information. Turns out, it was this 'Atlas', that crafted the continental transmission system they identified back in the ships. Which leaves it as the prime suspect for making that one-way transmission wave that scanned their entire fleet. They also developed most of the planet's weapons, technology, transports, fuel and such, not to mention, the pioneers of researching on how to attain the ability to travel in space (LOL), and they are the only ones with a fully functional army. Dominic will give them credit for at least making aircrafts to travel within the planet's atmosphere. And speaking of travel, even the fuel and mineral resource of this planet is messed up. They use this substance called 'Dust', which virtually fuels almost everything here: Weapons, vehicles, buildings, industries – the whole shebang. Emperor on the Golden Throne help these folks, they don't even have a clue on what the fook is Promethium and plasma energy. Finally, comes the 'Grimm' problem. The aptly named wildlife of this planet is literally a plague like menace for the people living here. And they come in shit tons of varieties and sizes. As he was about to enter into this topic with Captain Regalis and Sister Superior Nadra, he noticed that sergeant Terryl was heading their way, with the Rift Stalker Sergeant in tow. And based on the Astartes' movements, something was off. Dominic and the Captain, as well as the sister superior immediately turned towards, bowed and greeted him.

Dominic: My Lord. Did something happen?

Vyk'tar: Let us spare the formalities. Prepare the men and the survivors for departure. We do not have much time.

Regalis: We would love to move right now. But the soldiers are all exhausted, and the survivors-

Vyk'tar: Will all get slaughtered to the last if we are not out of this town and into the next settlement within the next hour. The Kill-teams confirmed the enemy will be back here. And right now, we are in a terrible disadvantage in this settlement if we consider our numbers as well as the territory.

Dominic: Wait… by enemy, you mean-

Vyk'tar: The wildlife or the 'Grimm' as the locals refer to… they are not as mindless as we thought of them to be from our encounters so far. This was a coordinated attack. The enemy intended to create and spread fear and panic among the other settlements.

Nadra: Vile Beasts. They seem to be smarter than we took them to be.

Vyk'tar: So it seemed Sister Nadra. Now, please attend to everyone. Get all the units to mobilize. The other Kill-teams are covering for us. They will join with us after we have reached to the closest fortified settlement.

Dominic: How far is it?

Vyk'tar: Twenty-two Kilometers north. Out of the nearby settlements, this one is the best defended.

Nadra: What kind of numbers are we expecting?

Vyk'tar: At least several thousands. And, according to the tracks identified by the infiltrator teams, more are joining the horde.

The whole group goes silent at this. A meagre 400 – odd something number of soldiers and warriors against a horde as massive as 'Ork waaaagh!'s. There's no way for them to engage the opposition in a fortification warfare. Especially in a ruined town like this: Firstly, the walls are all compromised. Second, the terrain disadvantage: this settlement is literally an open field now with too many blind spots. Third, they have to focus on both fending off the attackers as well as protect the survivors here. While they can call for reinforcements, calling them out in an open field like this is borderline suicidal stupidity. So, there was only one option left.

Regalis: I'll begin mobilizing the men immediately.

Vyk'tar: See to it. Time is of the essence. We must act, now.

Dominic: Acknowledged, My Lord.

Nadra: Understood My Lord. I shall get my sisters to prepare for departure.

Vyk'tar: I leave it to you then. May the Emperor Guide you.

Regalis, Dominic, Nadra: (In unison) The Emperor Protects.

Right now, there was a serious commotion going on within the troopers, as the survivors noticed. Until a few moments ago, they finished the final rites and the funeral services. Followed by them taking some rest, while many of them were keeping watch. All the while, the Men of this group were simply going on with idle chatters on what to do next, or where will they go from now on. All of a sudden, they hear a certain commotion, as they see most of the soldiers immediately taking a bow. Then they saw one of the soldiers running towards the Group of the Police Officer looking fellow and the Leader of the Giant Armored women. And following him was-

Townspeople#3: What in Remnant's name is THAT?

The whole group stares in absolute shock, and a healthy amount of fear, as they see the 'thing' following right behind the soldier. It sort of looked like one of those Atlesian Knights and heavy utility robots, if it didn't have certain disturbingly obvious differences. Firstly, comes the size: it was easily the largest Non-Grimm entity that they have ever seen. If those armored women looked gigantic, well…this thing was basically a Giant. A heavily Armored 8-foot tall Giant. Next, comes that armor: With a bone white color, it looked like a Knight's armor, but much bulkier and much more advanced. Not even Atlas can replicate something like that. And the decorations on it were equally dreadful: those Skull Emblems with wings on both the massive chest-plate and the left Knee-pad of the greaves. Lots of red somethings and paper notes were stamped all over the bloody thing. The left shoulder pad of that armor was as massive as an anvil, and it was here that they saw a new symbol: A stylishly carved Black Raven. The helm that it was wearing was even more dreadful: the face looked like a silver painted skull with red eyes, and breathing pipe like things on both sides of the lower jaw, connected to an obscenely massive Backpack. Finally, and the most brutal and frightening feature of that thing, was the things it was wearing in its arms: Gauntlets with palms big enough to smash open the head of a beringel like a coconut. With four blade tips poking out of the knuckle joints. Combining all these frightening features together, it looked like a physical incarnation of silent, brutal death. It was scaring the adults, so it went without saying that the kids who are awake now were absolutely terrified. All the while, Nickolas was absolutely flabbergasted. With that level of armor plating, it should easily weight over a ton. Yet, as it moved, there wasn't a single noise. Almost as if, it wasn't even wearing any armor for the matter. And the way the soldiers treated it, it was clear that whatever that thing was, it was the one calling the shots. Even that police officer, the giant armored lady, and the veteran captains were bowing to it in respect.

Nickolas: What in Remnant's Name is that… thing?! It just moves around like it wasn't even wearing any armor…

Tanner: Oh, them? They're the Adeptus Astartes, The Emperor's Finest warriors.

The residents just looked at the guardsmen with a dumbfounded look. They have no idea what he was talking about. Or for the matter, what an 'Adeptus Astartes is'. All they managed to understand that whatever it was, it was some kind of a super elite unit of their group. So… they decided to go along with it anyway.

Townspeople#3: Oh… And… what planet do they come from?

Darius: No idea. The only thing we know about them is that their firstborn forefathers are from the Mining world of Deliverance. These guys are a fleet-borne chapter by the way. They don't have any homeworlds like we do. They just travel from one place to another…. Like… nomads.

Nickolas: Wait… you mean, there's actually a human under all that metal?!

Tanner: (light chuckle)… well, yes and no.

Now all of them look at the guardsmen in confusion. Okay, detailed explanation it is then.

Tanner: Technically, there is a person underneath that Power Armor. It's just that… well… the normal folks in our Empire sees them as more than just humans. The way they're made, the way they fight, the way they defend humanity, the way they live… they don't fit into the biological mold of a human anymore.

Nickolas: …M-Made?

Tanner: To tell you the truth, only The Emperor knows how they're created. The Adeptus Astartes were hand-crafted by The Emperor himself long before the birth of the Imperium. And only a select few chosen of His knows the secrets.

They still couldn't get their minds over the part of 'created'. How do you 'make' a full size creature like that? More importantly, these 'Adeptus Astartes' seemed to be a founding aspect of their place, based on how these soldiers depict them. If they see them in this manner, then how their common citizens see them as?

James: How do your people see them?

Darius: As Demigods. Each one of them is as strong as an entire company. They can effortlessly fight in places where normal soldiers like us would end up dying before we even get a chance to take the first step. Just a squad of them can turn the tides of unwinnable battles. One or two of their companies can put an entire continent into submission. And with a chapter of over a thousand of them, they can conquer worlds in just days. In many of the worlds, they're nothing short of a myth.

Hans: (in a low tone) What kind of wars do ya lads fight that ya need soldiers like that?

The reply from the soldier caught the old man completely off-guard once again.

Darius:(A dry, mirthless chuckle) The kind that your world is fortunate enough to stay away from…

At this point, Nickolas, James, and all the other Remnantians could only stare dumbly at the Rift Stalker with awe and wonder. These giants, the way that the soldiers portray them… they were not only from a clan of elite warriors, their clans are deemed as mythical beings, on par with legendary level entities. And from the tones of the guardsmen, they felt that those beings were leagues above everyone here, even the armored women. Hans could take it to an acceptable level; the way it carried itself, its movement and posture were polished to the point that it was flawless. It was ready to fight at the slightest sense of danger, capable of lashing out on its opponents like a beast. Yet, it was graceful. All the while, he thought, 'just what kind of absurd enemies that they fought that they needed warriors like these?' Soon, they noticed that all the squads were now getting ready to move out.

Terryl: All right Lads! Just got word from the Commissar and the Lords of the Rift Stalkers. We're haulin' ass outta here. Seniors, good citizens. We'll help you get onto the armored transports.

Darius: Somethin' happened, Sarge?

Terryl: We got incoming. We need to get to the next settlement and prepare for the worst. This place is an open field. We can't protect the folks while fending them off.

The breaths of the survivors get caught in their throats. Amidst all of this, they completely forgot one thing. This attack would generate lots of negativity. And where there is negativity, the Grimm are bound to be attracted by it. With the amount of carnage that took place over here, it is a miracle that they didn't get swamped by the Grimm already. And right now, the soldiers were finding a way to make sure that they, the last survivors of Cliffton can live to see tomorrow.

Terryl: … And there ya' have it, son. So, we need to move.

Darius: Got it Sarge. Ladies and Gentlemen, please this way…

Soon, the survivors get on board two of the Tauroxes, the supplies within their cargo load were all cleared and evenly distributed among the soldiers. All the while, all the squads were preparing for departure. Their destination was set: the Fortified settlement located 22 – something kilometers north from their current location. As they prepared, it was Specialist squad 'Hal' of the Catachan Jungle Fighters regiment, which noticed the small escort vehicle heading straight towards their group.

Hal: Come in, Pathfinder Actual. This is Specialist Squad 'Hal' do you copy? Over.

Dominic: This is Pathfinder Actual. We read you loud and clear 'Hal'. Any update?

Hal: We got incoming. A small escort vehicle, roughly the same size as a Tauros. Three riders, one civvie and two in… some kind of army garb. Will arrive at our location in T-minus one minute. How do we proceed?

Dominic: Do NOT under any circumstances open fire on them, unless they fire on you first. Establish contact. Possible chances they're from the settlement we'll be heading towards. We could use a guide right about now.

Hal: Acknowledged, Sir. Proceeding to establish contact. All nearby units, remain in combat ready positions. If shit hits the fan, we smoke 'em. Hal York. Out.

His squad immediately gets ready to engage, while maintaining a relaxed demeanor. Catching enemies off-guard has its benefits. Within two minutes, the vehicle arrives at their position, and it was here, that the soldiers of squad 'Hal' got to have a good look at the vehicle and its occupants. This vehicle, while similar to some of the civilian ones they saw after arriving here, was clearly designed for combat. The thick plating all over the body, as weel as the venting systems for the engine all looked pretty advanced looking. There was this emblem: a staff or spear in the middle of two decorated gear shaped circles, Next, on top of the vehicle's roof, there was this manual turret with a…heavy stubber of some sorts. As he observed the vehicle in details, both its doors opened, and three individuals got out. The one that got out of the passenger side, was clearly a Civilian type: Checkered Shirt with a White Tee underneath, along with baggy jeans and brown hiking boots. The 'Kid' was of a decent build of around five feet ten or eleven, with curly brown hair, round face and emerald eyes.

The one that got out of the Driver's side however, was an entirely different kind of beast. For a moment, sergeant Hal York felt like he was staring at a predator ready to pounce should shit hit the fan. And that got him excited for the first time in a long while. Sort of wavy blonde hair, couple of locks and curls flowed at the sides of the face, while the rest was tied in a ponytail. A long, well defined face, with a sharp nose, chestnut brown eyes full of life, coupled with a small goatee on the chin. His build was also impressive: Standing six feet four, heavily muscled frame covered underneath his white uniform with blue trims & linings, and he looked like he was wearing some kind of high tech light exoskeleton. There was some kind of a ribcage like apparatus. And, they were connected to his gauntlets and greaves that were covering almost the entirety of his limbs. Finally, what caught the sergeant's interest were the weapons hanging on both sides of his waist: Two massive Pistols with quad barrels. The size of those weapons reminded him of the Absolver bolt pistols used by the Chaplains, Apothecaries and specialist Sergeants of their Astartes Allies. In short, this guy knows how to fight.

The other guy that came out of the driver's side, assuming that he was the gunner, had his face hidden underneath a black faceplate. The whole armor, uniform motif of this guy was awfully similar to the specialized carapace armor sets worn by those Adeptus Arbites schmucks. Only, this one was a lighter version, was white in colour with a black bodysuit underneath, and he carried a standard issue Lasgun-esque weapon.

Right now, both groups were staring at each other. This was an awkward situation. On one side, there was this 3-man group of one civvie and two soldiers. On the other side, there was this 30-something group of Catachan Weapon specialists. With a whole lot of other Catachan and Cadian squads behind them. And, neither side knew how to approach the other guy. After a full minute of this awkward moment, which felt like forever, Sergeant Hal made the first attempt.

Hal: Hello, Friend. How is everything going?

It was on June 10th, 80 A.V. or at 00:10 hours in 026.11.033 in the 42nd Millennium, The Imperium of Man, made official contact with the representatives of the Authorities of Remnant.

---

(Settlement outskirts, woodlands, about 20 minutes prior to Primaris Lieutenant Karadon He'f issuing a mobilization order for Expedition force 'Pathfinder')

One of the Tenets of being a Son of Corax is that you need to have every bit of crucial information regarding the terrain, the time cycle and the enemy before you strike with the force of an anvil. And this lesson is drilled into every single Rift Stalker Infiltrator since the first day of their initiation. And right now, Infiltrator Sergeant Tur'yan Krukk was staring at the corpse of one of the settlement's defenders. Judging from the injuries and slash marks all over the body, it was clear that he was dragged off the walls during the defensive battle before being viscously killed by the creatures that attacked this place. He and his fellow Infiltrators found similar looking bodies at the western side of the settlement outskirts, and all of them seemed to have been dragged off the walls or the watchtowers around this settlement. For humans, they did fight well. But, what baffled the Rift Stalkers, is that none of the bodies were devoured. Practical logic: A wild animal kills something with aggression in mind, it is bound to eat it. Yet, the corpses here remained completely untouched by the beasts. The possible theoretical of robbers or bandits was out as well, since none of them were robbed.

Domit: A strange pattern of behavior for the local wildlife, is it not, Brother Sergeant?

Tur'yan: That is what baffles me. There is enough bodies for carnivoresand scavengers to gorge on for days in and out. Yet, none of them are touched, and robbed off of their belongings for the matter.

Dommit: According to Brother Lieutenant Karadon, only forty people survived… out of two thousand settlers. The defenders made a valiant last stand… did not last long though…

Tur'yan: They are normal humans, in the end. They can only go on so far. Is there anything that catches your attention, Brother Mordros?

Mordros: Beast tracks. Lots of them. And judging from the sizes, directions and numbers, I say… the horde is actually getting bigger. And there is that possible practical that they may return back to this route.

The sergeant nods in agreement. Before he switched to their encrypted vox channels for communication.

Tur'yan: This is Kill-Team 'Tur'yan', did you find any sort of clue, Brother Ka'ed?

His vox flares up almost immediately.

Ka'ed: Other than more beast tracks and more dead bodies of the defenders, nothing. What about you?

Tur'yan: Same over here. Lots of tracks, and a few dead bodies here and there.

Ka'ed: Approaching towards your location. Some of the discoveries regarding the tracks did not look promising.

Tur'yan: Acknowledged, Brother. Awaiting arrival.

Within 3 minutes, the other Infiltrator Kill-Team approaches Tur'yan and his Kill-Team. Once they made rendezvous, they immediately shared the information that they gathered. And so far, it did not look very promising: first, there was a practical possibility that the horde will return soon within a few hours or so. And second, it was growing bigger. If the numbers are within less than 2 – 3 thousand beasts, then the Expedition force can manage fending them off, while suffering casualties. But if it exceeds the 3 thousand mark, then without reinforcements, they won't last very long. And, most of the clues lean towards the latter: the horde was at least over 4 thousand strong right about now, and it was growing. And with the survivors that the Guardsmen discovered right now, they would have to fight the beast horde handicapped.

Tur'yan: An orderly Airlift evacuation would take too long. The men cannot last for that kind of prolonged period.

Ka'ed: In that case, we could try the other option.

Tur'yan: Are you referring to the other fortified settlement north from here? The one observed by 'Crone Squadron' during one of their patrols and later on located by Brother To'r?

The other sergeant nods in the affirmative. This could be an ideal alternative. Get them to that settlement, prepare for a defensive battle, and hold them off until the Airlift arrives. Forward base 'Nihilius' is infinitely more secured and fortified compared to any of these local settlements. But right now, they were lacking information on the enemy, its nature and attack patterns and so on. At this point, as much as they despised this tactic, it was an effective one. Both sergeants decided to cut off two pieces of flesh from the corpse in front of them, before eating them to use their Omophagea. Immediately, the defender's memories rush into their minds. It was a standoff. 80-odd-ish number of defenders were standing in formation all over the walls, and he was staring at a tidal wave of black. And even if it was just a memory, they could feel it: the Raw hatred, aggression, malice, bloodlust oozing out of the creatures. It was as if, the primal negative emotions of man was given a physical shape. And such a force was approaching towards the defenders. Soon, the attack begins, and it was the charge of the beasts that caught the Rift Stalkers off-guard: the creatures were using wall-breaking strategies using heavier monstrous beasts, while the lupine and the walking dead types quickly followed them behind. The defenders open fire, and the creatures fall by the dozen, yet more keep on coming. At a certain point of this valiant stand, all of a sudden, the defender whose name was Stanson heard a cry of alarm. He then looked at his right, and saw that a large pack of those lupine creatures got on the walls completely unnoticed and the defenders were now in a pincer attack. And, it was at this point, they saw 'IT', an enormous, heavily armored lupine beast looking at the defenders. And its facial expressions, its body movement…

Both Rift Stalkers immediately break out of that state and return to the present. Right now, there were certain emotions working inside of them: Shock, Realization & Shame. To think that, the Sons of Corax, who always gathered information about their opponents and planned on ahead to strike the enemies would overlook such a thing. They underestimated their enemies. These beasts are not mindless at all, they had leader castes among their kind, the pack leaders were all intelligent creatures that could use strategy. And then, there was that beast that led the entire horde. It was in a league of its own. Trying to stop a horde like that in the current settlement is nothing short of suicide. The Expedition force needs to move to that fortified settlement right now.

Ka'ed: You saw it, did you not? That beast?

Tur'yan: I did. It was no mindless beast at all. It knew what it was doing. This was no random attack.

The worst part of all of this? This was a well-coordinated attack with the explicit purpose to spread panic and fear. For what reasons, that is still unknown. But for now, the fact that these beasts can coordinate attacks of this level is enough to warrant them as a threat. So, Without wasting a single second, Sergeant Tur'yan immediately established vox contact with their Lieutenant.

Tur'yan: Brother Lieutenant Karadon, come in. This is Kill-Team Tur'yan. Do you read?

Karadon: I read you loud and clear, Brother Tur'yan.

Tur'yan: There has been a development. We found information regarding our enemy. And particular information regarding these beasts require your urgent attention.

Karadon: Acknowledged, Brother. I am heading towards your location.

The Kill-Teams wait until the Lieutenant arrives. And in 10 minutes or so, he reached their location. As soon as he does that, Tur'yan begins explaining what he and Ka'ed saw from the defender's memories. With each revelation, the atmosphere kept getting darker. Finally, when the final observation was explained in details, the Lieutenant came to a decision: mobilize the forces, get them to that active fortified settlement, and then call in Airlift to get them to a safer place, while whittling down the horde as much as possible. And so, he immediately contacts the Reiver Kill-team stationed at the town center.

Tur'yan: What is our next move, Brother?

Karadon: For now, we cover the route for the expedition force. Once they reach the settlement, we will do what we do best.

Right now, all of them were wearing helms, so nobody could see their faces. Otherwise, those that knew the Rift Stalkers would be terrified to see a smile slowly creeping up on their lips. In other words, there will be death and destruction. And they will be the first ones to unleash it upon these foul beasts.

---

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

0015. June 10th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Northern Entrance

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.

(48 days since planetfall, Approximately 7 days since the arrival of General Ironwood's retinue at Vale)

For the last 7 days or so, Specialist Captain Augustus White has been in the middle of a literal shit-storm. Ever since he and the rest of the people involved in this operation learned more about their visitors, they have been taking every possible steps they could think of: From practicing diplomatic approach to military drills. While doing so, he and his fellow Specialist Captain Winter Schnee went to multiple frontier towns located within the closest proximities of Mount Glenn, reinforcing each one with a 50 – man strong strike team along with additional reinforcements & fast reconnaissance vehicles for safety measures. Then there was the added bonus work of wiping out small Grimm hordes numbering less than 100. Well, to be honest, Winter has to deal with the worst parts. She not only has to conduct all sorts of operations under possible wartime protocols, at the same time, she has to go train the Students at Beacon every now and then, and be a parent to her little sister, who was now a first year freshman in Beacon Academy. General Ironwood and Ozpin are practically rushing over to the office once, then the next minute, they were off to the National Council to discuss on this matter. They have to get the concept of 'Code Black' in the heads of those bureaucrats, otherwise one shudders to imagine what will be in store for them in the future, should the worst come to pass.

In the middle of all of this, he was running reinforcement assignments over the fortified frontier town of Logsport. And it was during this mission he received a call from General Ironwood, where the General proceeded towards explaining how a frontier town got demolished by a Grimm horde over 500 cadavers strong, followed by Strange aircraft patrols flying over that region. Now, according to common logic, when a Grimm horde that massive attacks a small town like that, nothing is supposed to survive. However, just 12 hours ago, the Eyes of Solitas managed to pick up active bio-signatures of Human beings at said town. Which led to him going all the way to Logsport, asking the locals about the status of the town of Cliffton. And unsurprisingly enough, the Mayor said that the last Radio transmission with the town happened a few hours before said assault, and after that, all that the folks of Logsport was greeted with was complete radio silence. For the Specialist, this was a matter of utmost importance and needed to pay attention towards. Because, with the Alien fleet hanging near the orbit, the last thing they need is a Grimm attack to completely ruin any and all chances for diplomacy. With the decisions made, he completed the final attachments to the town's defenses, and then decided to take a reconnaissance SUV with a gunner and a local from the town, and head towards the disaster zone. For scouting purposes of course. Right now, the defenses of Logsport looked something like this: 162 soldiers of the town self-defense troopers, 6 graduated huntsmen, 70 Atlesian soldiers including 2 fire teams from the 'Snow Foxes' a demi-platoon of 20 AK200 Knights, 2 heavy Assault APC's with Anti-Armor load-outs and 6 Reconnaissance SUV's. As for added defenses, they brought in more of the Heavy-Duty Hard-Light Dust Shield wall generators in case they start bombing the whole place again. So, as far as fortifications go, this is the fastest Atlas can patch up small places like this, especially on foreign soil. Satisfied with their work, Augustus took off with his SUV and headed for the destroyed settlement.

He was expecting to see a ruined settlement, and either a few packs of grim going here and there in the middle of the night, or a couple of bandits looting the ruined houses. Well, he did find the settlement ruined beyond recognition, telltale signs of Grimm invasion hitting the place dead-on. But, what he didn't expect, was to find the place occupied by soldiers or at least soldier looking people. Not to mention, their uniforms were completely different from anything the Militias from Vale or Vacuo or the Atlesian Army. Not very far from his position, there were those vehicles: four of them looked like utility walkers armed with guns, at least 7 armored vehicles with one of them heavily armed. Finally, the two SUV's that made the one he used to come here look like a two seated family car: clearly designed for Heavy-Duty Reconnaissance duties and if necessary – crowd control. Right now, he was standing just a few feet away from one of those soldier squads. Their getups were similar to the Desert Guerillas of Vacuo, but the color code was all wrong. They also looked very impressive: Well built, with an average of around six to six and a half feet tall. Then, came those horribly massive combat knives: those things were almost as big as a sword. Along with an assorted variety of guns: Assault Rifles, Portable Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers, Heavy-Duty Flamethrowers, Blue glowing guns and so on. Next, these soldiers all wore a red bandana or a headband on top of their head or forehead region. But the one thing that caught Augustus' attention the most, were the symbols carved on their vests, bandanas and the pendants that some of them wore: the two headed eagle symbol & that skull with wings icon. He saw those two marks on all the ships during their first debrief with Ironwood, and it was here, he immediately realized – these people, they were their 'Alien Visitors'. And, it was this certain revelation that threw him off-guard in a big way. They were assuming that their visitors would look like real aliens, but these people are deadbeat human. There's nothing alien about them. Just. Normal…. People.

At this point, the gunner he took with him to man the vehicle's only weapons turret, decided to whisper his thoughts. Here, we need to mention, later on during the training drills, Ironwood did tell them that they'll be meeting with People from another world soon.

Gunner:(In a low voice) Sir, I thought we were supposed to come in contact with…. Aliens. But these are… people…

Augustus: (In a low voice) I know, Private. I'm surprised myself. Keep your guard up for the time being.

While the two Atlesian soldiers were simply conversing, their guide, William Tyme just stared at the whole expedition force with eyes as wide as dinner plates. In his entire life, he has never seen so many strange people in strange military outfits. Then he noticed, the relatively bulkier guy in the group in front of them took a step forward. Although, he clearly intended to talk, his muscular 6 feet 6 build, coupled with the box like scarred and painted face made him look very… intimidating to say the least. Then he spoke-

Hal: Hello, Friend. How is everything going?

Now, all three of them got caught off-guard. These people clearly spoke remnant. However, their accent was a dead giveaway that they were not from any one of the four Kingdoms. In truth, Augustus now had no idea how to approach this. During their meetings, training drills, he ran enough simulations of an encounter/contact scenario to perfectly portray himself as an ideal public official. Yet, right now, he felt dumber than a 5 year old. 'What the Fuck, Man?! Let's just go for it. What could possibly go wrong?' with this thought in mind, he decided to take the first step for his kingdom for official early stage diplomacy.

Augustus: Uh… hello, Friend. We're doing… great…just… great…

'Stupid! Stupid! Augustus, What the actual F man?! How could you screw up something so simple as a diplomatic greeting?!' He felt so embarrassed right now, he wished that he could bury himself under six feet of soil and disappear. On the other hand, Hal York soon realized that it was probably the excessive show of force that was hanging all over them that caused the other guy to mess up his speech. Not good. 'Not good at all. Need to relax a little', with that in mind, Hal decided to reply in kind.

Hal: Good friend, I hope you've noticed that, we're not from around here. We've come from a pretty faraway place, and during our expedition mission, we saw smoke rising from this place. And for that, we came here to help the people. But, by the time we got here, it was already too late…

Augustus wanted to thank this Good Samaritan. He seemed to be more understanding than his appearance suggests. Even so, he decided to keep his guard up. Normally, these were the typical excuses for bandits in disguise to catch unsuspecting people off-guard.

Augustus: Ahem…Ah, Yes… we got information from the town we are located at. According to the mayor, Logsport lost contact with this town a little over twenty-four hours ago… so we managed to spare a part of our reconnaissance vehicles after reinforcing our locations.

The sergeant felt bad for the big guy here. But, there's no point in veering away from the facts.

Hal: Unfortunately, friend…. You were too late. Only forty odd something people survived… right now they're in our care. And as much as we want to let you have a word with them, we're also in a hurry, so we would be grateful if you could guide us to the nearest settlement. We've travelled a very long way, and we could use a good place to rest for the night.

The big soldier guy doesn't seem to be lying. The specialist could sense the honesty, as well as the urge to quickly leave this place. After thinking about what he should do for a full 30 seconds, he finally came to a conclusion.

Augustus: Very well. In that case, please follow our lead. However, once we reach the town… we would like to speak to the survivors.

The specialist didn't expect the reaction that he saw in the soldier's face. He was actually relieved that things didn't go hostile right off the bat. In fact, his next words were a clear indication of him showing his gesture of goodwill and gratitude.

Hal: Thank you, Friend… And you have my word, with the Emperor as my witness, you'll get to speak to them. Ah…look at me, no manners…(laughs), I didn't get your name…

Augustus: Oh…yes…likewise, My apologies. I'm 'Specialist Captain' Augustus White. I represent the 40th Special Operations Regiment of the Atlesian National Military.

It was at this mention of his rank, that Augustus saw a slight change in the soldier's expressions. He first noticed surprise, followed by a more formal kind of look.

Hal: Apologies, Sir. I wish I had known your rank and stationing earlier. Right now, we'd love to give a more formal reception, however the urgency of our situation deems otherwise, so I once again apologize for my rude behavior. Sergeant Hal York, commanding officer of Specialist Squad 'Hal', Iota Company, Catachan Jungle Fighters Seventeenth Regiment. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Followed by that quick introduction, the Sergeant immediately gave a short salute. Augustus was genuinely impressed by the posture that this 'Sergeant Hal' displayed; it screamed 'discipline' and 'rigorous training' all over the place. These people were no pushovers as far as a fight went. So, he decided to go along.

Hal: Now then…please follow me, sir. I shall escort you to our commanding officers.

Augustus simply nodded in response. And right before he followed, he gave a simple instruction to the gunner and their guide.

Augustus: (in a hardly audible voice) Stay close to the ride. If something goes wrong, head back to the town as fast as you can. Tell them what happened.

Both men nodded in acknowledgement. And with that, he followed sergeant Hal towards the commanding officers. During the short few minute walk, it was silent for almost the entire part, except for the sounds of boots, and the clamor of activities around. The mind of the specialist however, was an entirely different story. It was practically in disarray; right now he was walking right among people, humans who came to their planet from another world, ANOTHER WORLD! In the flesh, no less! He saw people with garbs similar to the sergeant escorting him, all well-seasoned and ready for any kind of combat situation. Same went for the ones that looked like the Vale Militia, except the whole color code and equipment arrays were all wrong. Green Vests, Helms over Khaki Uniform and black boots. Most of them were carrying some kind of Assault Rifle looking weapon, only it closely resembled to their experimental laser based weaponry back at Argus, while many others carried different kinds of other heavy-duty weapons. The strangest weapons among them were the blue glowing ones and the big nasty brother versions of those assault rifles – he had never seen weapons like those before. He was wondering what it did, when all his thought processing went to a halt as he saw some of the 'individuals' standing alongside those soldiers. And at first glance, his thought was, 'Here I thought I was tall'; Women wearing some kind of heavy duty, reinforced full-plate armor. Black and Red vestments and mantles hung all around them, along with obscenely massive backpacks on their back. And each of these women were at least several inches taller than he was. The armor and mantles made them look like warrior priestesses, if they didn't carry ridiculously massive guns. Those things were horribly massive: Heavier versions of regular Flamethrowers, then Flamethrowers with double-ported burners, even bigger versions of those blue glowing guns, some kind of giant plasma cutter like gun, and Belt-fed Machine Guns so big that you're supposed to fit that on turrets. And, they were carrying them around like they were no bigger than assault rifles. None of these regular soldiers were pushovers, yet, these women seemed to stand leagues apart from them, both in strength and in martial capabilities. Finally, it seemed that they reached the command team of this whole army.

It was here, Augustus got an even bigger shock: three men, two of them looked obviously like senior veterans, while the more formal one looked like one of those special law enforcement captains from the central police. Except, the color code and designs were all messed up, and this person was heavily armed and highly combat capable. Next to him, another one of those giant armored women stood ready to depart. She was clearly the one leading the other women, because there was that specific air of seniority around her, and she carried a red-colored belt-fed machine gun. And it was just as obscenely massive as its black counterparts with her other compatriots. And finally, standing beside her, was… well… a Giant. A massive, armored, 8-foot Giant. And when his eyes fell on the Giant, he realized, whatever this thing was, it was in a league of its own. None of the soldiers here, not even he could match it in combat. Only those women seem to be capable of putting up a good fight against it, even then they would lose. And speaking of armor, General Ironwood, that pompous old crone Jacques and the other weapons industrialists on Atlas would drool over the concept of just getting a sample piece of this kind of armor, or at least the design template of it. While it looked a LOT bulkier than the ones of the armored women, it was disturbingly obvious that it was an extremely advanced piece of equipment. The helm, the chest-plate, the shoulder pads, the anvil-sized power pack – all of it. And then its weapons – a pair of auto pistols hanging on his 'Ammo Belt', yes, Augustus can figure out the type of a weapon just by looking at it. And then, Gauntlets with palms big enough to slap his head clean off his neck. But, that wasn't its selling point – it was the pointed objects poking out of the knuckles, which the specialist captain assumed was retractable blades. Finally, like the others, his whole armor was covered in those dreadful symbols – and a new one on the left shoulder pad: a stylishly carved black bird. Whoever designed this armor, he focused on every aspect of artistic crafting, while heavily emphasizing on function.

As the two approached the command squad, Hal immediately gave out a salute before stating his reason.

Hal: Commissar Dominic, Sir! We've made contact with the group. I've escorted their commanding officer along with me. Presenting, 'Specialist Captain' Augustus White of the Atlesian National Military 40th Special Operations Regiment.

And with that, the sergeant immediately left and returned to his station. Meanwhile, at the mention of the name 'Atlesian', the Commissar immediately placed his focus on the person in question. To think, The Emperor would provide such an opportunity for arranging diplomatic missions right off the bat. He couldn't help but feel thankful for it, before he took a formal stance and spoke.

Dominic: It is a pleasure to make an acquaintance with the representative of the Planetary authorities. I would like to take the time to properly introduce ourselves, but I'm afraid time is not on our side at all. I hope you understand.

Augustus: No, not a problem at all, Sir. And I take you require a guide to reach to the town we came from?

The first thing that came into the commissar's mind was 'Smart Man'. Had he been from Terra or any of the other worlds of the Imperium, he would definitely be a Commissar Captain or officer of equal rankings by now. Tall build, with a proper, disciplined stance. He was curious about his weapons and that strange 'Exoskeleton' that he was wearing, but that can wait. The lives of Cliffton's survivors were now Dominic's first priority.

Dominic: Indeed, Captain White. We ask of this from you, only because the lives of the survivors we rescued are at terrible risk. We need to mobilize before the 'Grimm' creatures return back in larger numbers.

Well, that narrows down their chances of being the perpetrators of this disaster. While listening to the 'Commissar', Augustus did notice the soldiers helping the last of the survivors get on one of those Armored Transports. And, there was no hostile intent while doing so. So, they could be trusted for a short while. However, he needed to focus on the topic, and based on the destruction here, there's bound to be a lot of negativity oozing out of this place, and it will attract entire hordes of Grimm towards this town. And before long, they'll notice the other frontier towns…

Augustus: I understand. Me and my unit will guide you to Logsport. I hope you're all ready.

Vyk'tar: We are ready to mobilize, Captain. Commissar, I leave the rest to you and Sister Superior Nadra Here. Me, and the rest of my brothers will provide cover.

Dominic: Understood, My Lord.

The commissar, as well as both the captains, and the sister superior gave a curt bow of respect to the rift stalker, before he returned it with a small nod of his own. Then he departed the place to join with the rest of his team and rendezvous with the rest of the kill-teams. All the while, Augustus was left with quite an impression. While, this 'Commissar' & the 'Sister Superior' here looked like they were the ones commanding the soldiers, but whatever that Armored thing is, it was the one making the final decisions. And, it seemed to command immense respect from everyone here, regardless of who it is, or what rank he holds. Augustus simply made a mental note on that matter, and he needed to get more intel on these guys. As soon as they focused their attention towards him, he began to speak the words that would set the course of Remnant's history to a new direction.

Augustus: Now then, shall we proceed towards the town?

---

026.11.033. M42. 01:30 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time)

0130. June 10th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

Headmaster's Office/Meeting Room of the Inner Circle

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.

(30 minutes since contact with Imperial Expedition force)

To say that the last 8 days have been hectic would be a gross understatement. Ever since Ironwood arrived at Beacon Academy, he and Ozpin have been running joint training exercises with the Atlesian Soldiers & the Vale Kingdom Militia & the Students of the Academy. In Particular, all the students from Second to the Graduating Seniors. While at it, they have been running marches and parades all over Vale City, and most of the Major Cities and settlements across the kingdom, along with reinforcing frontier settlements closer to mount Glenn. And let's not talk about the part, where James and Ozpin had to pacify the council members with promising details of the incident. Ever since the 'Pillars of Light' incident, the council was more than happy to be getting military aid from Atlas. In the middle of all of this, right now, they were sitting in front of the meeting table, with the headmasters of Haven and Shade Academy in holographic display. And standing right beside Professor Ozpin, was his right hand, and disciplinary teacher of the Academy, Glynda Goodwitch. A stern & sharp individual, she was one of the few people on this entire world who knew its true secrets, and right now, she was witnessing the beginning of a new history. A history of otherworldly beings visiting Remnant for the first time in its history. Also, she needed to add to the point, that four of her most promising students: Team CFVY was now outside of the academy for over 36 hours now, and they needed to do something about it. Even if they were with Specialist Captain Winter Schnee, and their resident Drunkard / circle member Qrow Branwen together, there was no telling what might happen. Especially if the reports regarding massive hordes of Grimm assaulting the frontier towns and villages on a regular basis ever since the arrival of the alien fleet were true. Most of the villages were evacuated, some got destroyed by the time they managed to reach there, like the one Ironwood talked about yesterday. And according to him, he sent another one of his specialist captains, Augustus White to go investigate.

And right now, they were sitting in this meeting room in the middle of the night, precisely because of a certain report from a scouting unit led by Augustus White. Said report actually arrived a little around 15 minutes or so, and as soon as James read it, he almost dragged Ozpin and her all the way here, while explaining what happened.

Ozpin: Let us begin. And, I believe I don't need to explain elaborately on why we are holding this meeting in this time of the night.

It goes without saying, right now, anything that warrants to call for a meeting like this is either related to the greater enemy of mankind on Remnant, or their current alien visitors. And, all the people present here had that kind of commonsense to figure it out.

Theodore: So, your boy made contact with them, James?

Ironwood: Specialist Captain Augustus White, Yes. He made contact with our visitors.

Leonardo: What happened so far?

Ironwood: As all of you know, the Frontier Town of Cliffton was attacked by a 500 plus strong Grim horde a little over a day ago. Our probing and reconnaissance units reported today evening that there was signs of human life in the Town. So, I contacted Specialist Captain White, and instructed him to go investigate.

Theodore: What are the chances there were survivors?

Glynda: Theodore, you know as well as all of us do, the frontier towns know how to deal with situations like these. If a horde attacks and you lack the numbers or methods to repel them off, you either hide or evacuate.

Theodore: I know that. I asked because, from what I read out of James' report, the attack came out of nowhere. In situations like that, normally the entire town gets butchered wholesale. So, when you read that there are 'Signs of Human life' in a ruined town, something always feel off. For all we can tell, it could be bandits.

Leonardo: It could happen. Bandits and robbers do like to raid ruined towns like these.

Ozpin: As much as I would like to agree with you, the report is real. James' men did make contact with our visitors, and…

Ozpin wasn't someone who would hesitate to state the facts. However, right now, everyone here could tell that he was having second thoughts. Except for Ironwood, who was the first to read it, everyone else was surprised at this. And also, they realized that something was definitely off.

Theodore: ….Well?

Ironwood: According to the Gunner Private that went along with Augustus, our visitors are….

Theodore: ….Are we seriously going to play 20 questions on this?

Ozpin: Apologies. It's just that… the revelation felt so unbelievable. According to the report, the visitors are actually… humans from another world.

The whole room felt silent at this. For the common knowledge that has been going on for over a thousand years on Remnant, this was a clear middle finger to its face. It was a publicly acknowledged fact that Humans exist on Remnant and Remnant alone. And, even to this day, not even Atlas have figured out how to travel in space without dust turning unusable. Yet, the people that came here, along with their strange dress codes, accents and equipment told otherwise. At least, as per report.

Theodore: You know, James? All these years, you have been ranting around about how people tends to 'See Things' because of taking drugs. Now I'm starting to think your men have been taking whatever shit that you claim that Mistral exports-

James: You think my men are drugged and lying?! I'll let you know-

Ozpin: That is enough! Now is not the time to be bickering amongst ourselves. Whatever happened so far, it is real. And for the record, I am not taking sides with James here.

At this, Theodore droops his head down a little, in obvious shame. So did Ironwood. Although, he was grateful that Ozpin didn't outright dismiss his claim.

Leonardo: I apologize of Theodore's behalf. But, you do understand where he's coming from, right? I-I mean…. We all know for a fact that humans exist only on Remnant.

Ozpin: That is what I believed as well. Yet, here we are. With an entire group of people from outside of our norms practically flipping that knowledge upside down. However, that is not our point here. Right now, we're here to discuss what we should do next.

Theodore: ….So? Did they open fire?

Ironwood: Not at all. On the contrary, they actually were eager to make contact with us. According to Private Brien, the conversation between Augustus White, and one of the soldiers wearing a bandana looked promising…

Theodore: …Wait… soldiers?

Ironwood: Yes, soldiers. The whole group is a ragtag mix of soldiers. However, the insignias and uniforms they wore doesn't match with any of the armies or militias of Remnant. Regardless of eras.

Leonardo: What kind of symbol?

Ironwood: Well…. According to both of them, all the soldiers wore or had two symbols printed on their uniforms and gears. First, is this skull insignia with wings. And second, an elaborately carved picture of a two-headed eagle.

Theodore: That's one hell of a design motif. Almost sounds like some kind of a kingdom.

Ozpin: It could be. One thing is for certain, it is not from Remnant. On that, I assure you, none of the old kingdoms had those two symbols or any symbol resembling any part of it.

This statement from Ozpin held a lot of value. Because, everyone over here knew that the Headmaster of Beacon Academy was a lot older than anybody could imagine him to be. So, if he says that the symbol doesn't belong to any kingdom on Remnant, it definitely is Alien in origin.

Ironwood: Now, what do we do next?

Ozpin: This is a golden opportunity for all of us here. Right now, our visitors are the first ones to extend the olive branches of friendship to us. So, under NO circumstances are we to do anything that would make them change their mind. We do whatever we have to, in order to bring them to our side. Our battle is a dangerous one, and we could use more allies.

Leonardo: C-can we trust these people?

Ozpin: For now, we let lady luck decide it. On to the second issue. While Augustus White did make contact with them, there is that possibility that Mr. Branwen might come in contact with them. And, right now, he has four of our students under his care.

Theodore: You let them go out at times like these?!

Glynda: Training exercise and also a repair mission. Three of our CCT towers went offline, and with the recent events, we were… somewhat short-handed. Therefore, I had to send team CFVY along with him and Specialist Captain Schnee as security details for the repair crew.

Leonardo: B-but with the horde out there-

Glynda: Don't misunderstand what I said. I was against sending them like this. But, our current situation demanded otherwise.

One could sense the worry and regret within Glynda's tone when she stated the reason why they had to send four kids with those adults. They don't want to see another Gretchen Rainart incident happen again. Then again, the whole world was like this: in situations like massive Grimm attacks all over the place leaves all the kingdoms severely short-handed, even Atlas was no exception to this rule. So, they can now only hope that the group is doing fine out there.

Theodore: Then what're we waiting for? Put him on the scroll.

At that, Glynda connected her scroll to the meeting table interface. And within a few minutes, the familiar scruffy face of Qrow Branwen comes in full display.

Qrow: Oz… I ain't gettin' paid enough for this shit!

All the members in the office shows different kinds of emotions. For the likes of Ironwood and Glynda, they literally face-palmed themselves. Ozpin and Leonardo had a more relaxed expression with a small wry smile, and finally, Theodore breaks out into open laughter.

Ozpin: I understand your dilemma Mr. Branwen. And, we can make due arrangements later on. Now, do tell us how is everything?

Qrow: The kids and the princess…. OW! HEY! I WAS ONLY KIDDIN'! STOP GETTING YOUR PANTIES IN A RUS- OI! WILL YOU STOP THROWING YOUR ROCKS AT ME?!

Glynda: BRANWEN!

While Glynda exclaims in shock over Qrow's horrible sense of manners with ladies, the headmasters barring Ironwood simply chuckles on finding humor in his antics. And Ironwood… well… he simply shakes his head like a person who already gave up on fixing an existing problem.

Qrow: Sheesh…. Women. Anyways… before I was so RUDELY interrupted by the Schnee over there, I was gonna say they're doing fine. And Jimmy, don't worry about your tech-boys. They're still in one piece.

At this, General Ironwood let out a small sigh of relief. Well, that was a good news in sort of a way. However, the Huntsman on the other side wasn't finished.

Qrow: We already got two of the towers back up. We only got one more left…. And about that, we got a problem…

Ozpin: What happened?

Qrow: Grimm. I don't know if we're gonna make it in one piece after fixing that last tower….

Glynda: How many?

Qrow: Relax, Goodwitch. We didn't face the horde yet. Only saw it from a distance. You guys need to mobilize the whole army. The Huntsmen cadres can't handle this alone.

Ironwood: Are we looking at thousands?

Qrow: Several thousands at least. And it's getting BIGGER. Those things look like they're on a warpath. You need to step up and start evacuating all the frontier towns here in the south. Otherwise, it'll be more than just the frontier towns that'll get hit.

The whole room falls silent at this revelation. A horde numbering at least several thousand Cadavers. Even if the whole Kingdom mustered all its huntsmen and huntress cadres alongside the National militia and Ironwood's forces, chances of victory is very low. And, there will be large scale casualties while trying to fend them off. This kind of conflict is bound to generate large amounts of negativity, which in turn will attract more Grimm towards joining the horde. By then, it'll become impossible for the whole continent to push back.

Ozpin: I'll contact the council as soon as possible. James, get your troops at the ready to begin evacuation operations.

Ironwood: I'm on it.

Ozpin: As for both of you, keep the huntsmen cadres at the ready, and if possible, get everyone over your places to understand the gravity of the situation.

Theodore: Got it. I'll contact with the Council, and see if I can get to mobilize the Militia, or whatever's left of it.

Leonardo: I'll get the Academy at the ready.

Glynda: About Miss Adel and her team…

Qrow: Look, Glynda. You guys put me in charge with the kids. I'll make sure that they get back home safe.

Glynda: …Thank you.

For a moment, Professor Goodwitch could breathe in relief. In spite of the recent events, and unpleasant developments, her most promising students were safe at least.

Qrow: …On a side note. Jimmy, if your boys somehow come across with guys in white armored suits with two headed eagle or winged skull marks on… tell them not to even think about picking a fight with those things.

All five members jolt back in surprise. This was a development.

Ironwood: You met 'Them'?

Qrow: You mean your 'Alien Visitor' buddies? Yeah, kind of met one. Bugger's actually full three inches taller than Hazel is. And there are entire teams of those things.

Theodore: ….Holy Shitpickles!

Qrow: During runnin' repairs on the second tower, I went on scouting duty. On the way, I saw that town you talked about. I was planning on going in there to see as they were getting on with their funeral… well… before one of those buggers snuck up right behind me.

Ironwood: …And you didn't notice?

Qrow: Nothin'. It was like, he didn't have any presence. He just went and started sayin' 'It is impolite to be spying on someone else', my fuckin' heart almost jumped out of my mouth. We didn't have much of a conversation, I just ran for my life. And yeah… there's actually a guy inside that suit.

The statement had grave implications. A person wearing a full set of Armor was capable of sneaking up on their best infiltrator like it was nothing. And worst part of this? There's more than one of them out there.

Ironwood: What was he like? At least, what impression you had before you escaped.

Qrow: I'll tell you this much. First: He was BIG. Second, don't wanna hit you in the nuts Jimmy, but Atlas doesn't have what it takes to make suits like the one he was wearing. Third, he was carryin' serious amounts of firepower and knives the size of swords. And fourth, I don't think I have much of a chance against somethin' like that, he looked like he can tear apart a beringel with his bare hands if he was serious about it.

Now, everyone was silent. Not only was the being in question highly capable of stealth maneuvers, it was also heavily armed to deal with combat situations, and it was strong enough to make a Veteran Huntsman think several times about even provoking it to a fight. How do you even approach something like that for peace talks? After some thought, Ozpin came to a decision.

Ozpin: I understand. We won't engage any of these 'Armored Soldiers'. James, make sure that if any of your scouts notice them on sight, do not engage it in any kind of hostile situation.

The general simply nods his head in understanding.

Ozpin: As for Mr. Branwen, you and your group are to focus on repairing the third tower if possible. And if not, return to the town of Logsport. Winter's colleague is stationed there, and he'll probably need all the help he can get. We're certain that you and your group will meet some 'unexpected Guests'.

Qrow: Got it… just make sure to drop some more lien for all that extra work.

The room fills up with a small laughter, and with that, contact with Qrow Branwen ended. Time was off the essence, and they needed to move.

Ozpin: Now, we focus on deploying all available assets, and begin evacuation as soon as possible.

---

026.11.033. M42. 02:15 hours. Imperial Calendar (Terran Equatorial Mean-Time)

0215. June 10th. 80 A.V, Altas Mean Time

CCT Transmission station. Designation: CCT Tower Beacon 12-4-beta

Geographical location: 30 Kilometers North-West of Human Settlement. Designation: Logsport. 230 kilometers North Northwest of 'Fort Nihilius'

Governing Territory: City of Vale

Nation: Vale

Continent: Sanus

Planet: Remnant (Previous Name – Unknown)

Star System: Unknown.

Segmentum: Unidentified.

With the conference call with the inner circle over, Qrow now focused his attention towards the group he got assigned to help out. Right now, he was escorting a 3-man technician team from General Ironwood's Military Equipment Maintenance & Repair Squads. And for added security detail / training drill, he even managed to tag in the 'Ice Princess' and four of Glynda's second year kids. The kids in question, Huntsmen team CFVY right now looks exhausted after all the running from one tower to another, fighting off the Grimm and providing protection for the tech-heads. Luckily, he and Winter are around to help them out, otherwise, things would have gotten a lot hairier than it got so far. And, with the massive horde that they saw, this was barely enough to stay out of their sights. To top off, now they have to worry about their 'Visitors', especially after that nasty encounter with one of them. The irony of all of this, time was not on their side right now. So, he needed to get them to the third tower ASAP. All the while, he was recalling his little encounter with one of those 'Armored Giants'.

(30 minutes earlier, 14 kilometers North-west of now-ruined town of Cliffton)

Qrow Branwen did read the report about a frontier town getting demolished by an entire horde of Grimm. And, right now, said town called 'Cliffton' was in clean view from his position, said position being the middle branch of an Oak Tree. Smokes and broken walls, along with ruined infrastructure. Typical scenes of destruction caused by a Grimm Horde. And he can't exactly do much about it, there's only so much that one person can do. He, along with Specialist Winter & Team CFVY have been clobbering several Grimm hordes for the last 36 something hours. Fortunately, they were in numbers less than 100. Which was nothing short of a blessing, otherwise, if a horde the size that they saw when they came to repair the first tower, they would be lying all over the place in lots of chunks by now.

His attention towards the town was drawn, all of a sudden when he saw a large group of armed soldiers entering the town. With the tanks, SUV's and those utility walkers they brought along, these guys mean business. Right now, he was using his binoculars to take a better look at the head honchos of this group, and soon, he probably pointed them out: A guy that looked like a police officer from Atlas, only his dress code was all in black. Next, two soldier guys, who had this air of 'veteran commander' all around them. And then, there was this… 'Oh Mama!' was the first impression Qrow had when he saw the woman in full-plate armor and carrying a belt-fed gun that looked like it belonged in a Bullhead Turret. And here, he thought Glynda was tall. This babe was a full head taller than the Professor. And, leaned on the bulkier side with all that plating. Here, we need to get one thing clear: Those who thinks that Glynda is average in height, she's stands 6 foot 5 inches tall. At first, he thought, these people were probably some kind of heavily equipped mercenaries, and are here to loot the town. But, the next thing that they started doing, caught him by surprise, in many ways. Wherever these guys are from, they seem to respect and honor the dead – A LOT. The way they were cleaning up the bodies, wrapping them in cloth bandages, putting them and arranging the pyres, there was so much regret, so much remorse, so much…grief. But, the harm wasn't done to them, yet, they felt pain more than the residents here. Then, his attention is drawn elsewhere at the town center, where he could guess that they found survivors. Now, he needed to decide, should he go in and see what they do next? Or, sit it out, and prioritize over Schnee, the kids and those tech-heads? He did feel a little relaxed when he saw how they were attending to the survivors: a little around 40 people or so, most of them women and children. But even then, he just couldn't let them be with those…. Who knows who those guys are.

As they light up the funeral pyres, he could see the soldiers and the survivors standing shoulder to shoulder in solemn prayer, while the priest looking dude and more of those armored babes all going around doing 'something'. He wondered if it was some kind of blessing ritual for the deceased. He wasn't one for religion, in spite of being a part of Ozpin's inner circle. Well, only one way to find out, and that was to go over there and take a closer look. And, with that in mind, he decided to go in.

Or, he would have, if 'it' didn't sneak up on him first.

(…): You do understand, that it is impolite to spy on people like that. Especially during funerals and last rites.

For exactly 3 seconds, Qrow felt like his heart was going to jump out of his mouth like a fish out of water. Especially when somebody with a deep, grated voice like that speaks out of nowhere. He literally jumped out of pure fright and landed on the ground, before he heard a light thump. And, when he turned around to look at the person responsible for giving him a damn near heart attack / stroke combo, he wished his heart jumped out of his mouth and ran for its life.

The person or the 'Thing' in question was massive. Hell, it had full 3 inches over Hazel, and that guy was like, the biggest non-Grimm entity he knew, period. Not to mention, it was wearing armor sets that made those of the giant ladies he just saw look no thicker than skintight bodysuits: insanely thick plating, with fully encased joints, gauntlets, greaves – the whole deal, and it came with lots of scary ass symbols: skull emblem with wings and double headed eagle emblem carved all over the chest-plates and the knee pads. On the left shoulder pad, it had another symbol: A stylish, goth style Raven. And this suit was something that Atlas could only imagine developing in their wet dreams. It looked very advanced, judging from the backpack, the pointy things on the sides of the backpack, the shit tons of lenses and camera thingy's on the left side of the helmet, and that 'weird' slit lensed…goggles over the helm? Then comes the crucial bit, it was carrying some serious amounts of firepower: just the pistol hanging on his waist was as massive as a sawed-off shotgun. And, that obscenely massive Assault Rifle with a scope on, it looked less of a rifle and more of a ginormous hand-held cannon. Then, he was carrying a pair of combat knives that were as big as swords, and a whole pack of grenades and magazines. But, the parts that got Qrow even more boggled was; first - the helm was covered by a white hood, and second – in spite of looking like it weighs at least a ton, which it definitely does, it got on the tree and landed on the ground without so much as a single loud noise. It was almost as if it wasn't wearing any armor in the first place. Third – it spoke in a refined accent, but it clearly spoke in Remnant. And fourth – this thing, was NO Joke. It had the 'Silent Predator/Assassin' aura screaming all over the place. Qrow was very confident on gauging one's fighting abilities, and right now, his instincts told him – DO NOT pick a fight with this thing, you'll die a gruesome death. With that, now he had two simple options: One, RUN for your dear life without even looking back for one tenth of a microsecond. Two, try to reason with it and let it allow you to live and go free. Several other options come in mind, and ALL of them involves running like hell. So, he decided to go with the second option, since the thing actually bothered to talk to him first.

Qrow: H-Hey Man, no hard feelings. I was here on simple perimeter watch.

(…): And what kind of perimeter watch involves spying on somebody else? As far as logic dictates, maintenance teams are not supposed to undertake spying missions. That sort of assignment is reserved for pure expedition and combat missions only.

Once again, Qrow's heart felt like it was going to jump out of his mouth. How did this thing even know they were here to fix the CCT towers? The thing seemed to feel a little amused with his reaction.

(…): Rest easy, I am not here to kill you. Although you do look like the Raider type, you do not seem to carry any ill intent.

Qrow: Heh… (light chuckle)… I do get that a lot whenever it comes to my looks.

(…): Duly noted (light chuckle). Although, I would like to take you in custody for further interrogation, unfortunately, Me and my Brothers have other priorities. As such, I have to ask you to return to your comrades.

'Brothers?' The veteran Huntsman wondered what he meant by brothers. Was it that this guy was with those soldiers?… yeah, it's a guy in a heavy power suit. Machines don't respond to jokes and laugh with it. Qrow pretty much came to conclusion on this part. It was at this point, he noticed and his soul sank down to the pits of his stomach, as he saw more of those 'Armored Suits' melting out of the shadows just a little over a hundred yards away. 'SHIT! There's more of 'em?' The only silver lining right now, is that the big guy here was letting him go. So, he decided to take up his request, and take his leave.

Qrow: Thanks for letting me live (in sort of a sarcastic, but scared tone)… And your secret's safe… I ain't telling anyone about this.

(…): It would be preferable. However, call it as you like to call 'Gut Feeling'… we will be seeing each other again sooner than you expect. So, until then…

Poor Qrow, he shuddered a little at that statement, as he turned around and sprinted like his life depends on it. The few minutes he spent out there, in front of that giant, was possibly among the scariest few minutes of his life. And, he wasn't kidding when he thanked the big guy for letting him live. It really was the case, if he had no intention of letting him live, the others hiding there would've taken the shot and he would have been six feet under right there, right then. Completely unnoticed. He didn't notice how far he ran, or how long when the second CCT tower came in full view. Not good, he can't show the guys his panicked face. So he stopped for a minute, took a few deep breaths to cool down a bit, along with a swig of his ale, before he casually walked towards the place.

Coco: There he is! Hey, what took you so long?

Qrow: Oh…huh? Oh…right. Drifted off a bit too far while scouting. Sorry about leavin' you guys hanging like that.

Yatsuhashi: Don't bother. We had it covered here, so far nothing happened. Anything on your side?

Qrow: All clear over my side. Scouted as deep as I could go, and so far the road to the third tower looks clear.

All the while, he was maintaining a calm façade to hide his panic. Now he knows, 'They' are watching him. And if he so much as tries anything stupid… it'll be his head that'll end up on their chopping blocks next.

Qrow: Speaking of clear, where's the Ice Princess?

Coco: Talking to the tech-heads and probably with General Ironwood. The meeting looked intense…

Qrow: Knowing Jimmy, it probably is.

Well, no point in worrying about it too much. Just, need to maintain a silent face and pretend nothing ever happened. Although, they do need to get a move on. They've been outside like this for over the last 36 hours, and they had to deal with all kinds of horrid shit. So, the sooner they can finish the mission and get back home, the better. And thus, he addressed the whole group.

Qrow: All right People! We don't have much time, and we're almost done with our work. Once we get to the third tower, CFVY, you take your complementary rest. Me and the Ice Princess here will keep watch while you tech-heads fix the tower.

Yatsuhashi: No need to worry about us, Branwen. We can-

Qrow: No Buts. Save that strength for now. You'll need it later.

Fox: Wait. You can't be serious about fighting through THAT horde we saw over there, right?

Qrow: We don't have to fight through. The horde's pretty far and on the other direction. So we're safe. But that doesn't meant that they won't head for us. With everything happening so far, by the time we get to Schnee's buddy sitting at Logsport, they'll be swamping us from all sides.

The implication here was bad was pretty much spot on. Right now, they were in the middle of a danger zone, and soon, that danger will be hot on their trails. They needed to move, and they needed to do it NOW.

Coco: A'right, you heard the boss-man. We start moving. Get to the tower, get it back up, then we're hauling ass out of this part of the country.

Velvet: ….I'm so tired… can't even feel my hands…

Coco: So am I, girl. But, right now, a whole lot of things depend on us. So, lead the way, big man.

The Scruffy huntsman simply snorts before he begins to depart. As he does that, he noticed that the other senior of the group, the Specialist Captain Winter Schnee was not watching the scroll with a scrutinizing face. Guess, she heard about the reports from Jimmy.

Qrow: You coming, Schnee?

Winter: Yes. I was just reading a report from the General.

Qrow: About your 'Alien Buddies', Oz said something along the lines of one of buddies met them. And, he's bringing them to the town. I guess that's what it says there.

The specialist said nothing in response. In truth, the situation was far more complicated than that. Augustus White went to investigate a recently destroyed frontier town, and by sheer coincidence, made contact with their 'Alien Visitors' just a few hours ago. And, in the report she had, it was in details regarding how they made contact, and what they looked like. To her shock, the visitors are actually Humans from Space, but that was completely out of the bounds of believability. Humans can't exist outside of Remnant, and it was common knowledge. And, right now, the Expedition force that he met, was turning that knowledge upside down and making it spin on its head. Said group numbered around 400 strong, and was also carrying 40 something survivors from the destroyed town, along with heavy transports and armor.

A second later, the specialist decided to leave the matter for the moment. Right now, they needed to fix that tower and return to Logsport fast, before they get caught in the way of the Grimm Horde. Little did she know, in less than 14 hours, she would become one of the active participants in what would be later described as 'The Greatest Armed conflict in Remnant's history since the Great war'.

The drunk hunter quietly watched as the Huntsmen team, the specialist and the technician team walk forward. Before his scroll ringed up, and he answered the call.

Qrow: Oz… I ain't gettin' paid enough for this shit! ...

And, with that, we're back to the present.

---

T'or: Was it wise to let that boy leave, Brother Lieutenant?

Clearly, the Eliminator sergeant was against the idea of letting an eye witness leave the place alive after the little encounter. In truth, while they were watching the scruffy human's group, they saw him leaving the rest of them, moving deeper into the woods, before he perched on the second branch of a tree. It was clear, he was trying to get a good view of the surroundings, and if possible, the ruined settlement. Now, the question was: whether this human was a raider, or some kind of government appointed contract soldier. He did look like a raider from his facial features and his outfit. But, the mannerisms said otherwise. Theoretical: he simply kept watch over the surroundings. Practical: You don't send armed reconnaissance type warriors with a measly 'Maintenance team' on something like 'Maintenance Run', they're obviously out there on watch for the unexpected, and for espionage purposes if necessary. And in this case, it was the Expedition force that was their 'Unexpected'. The Infiltrators also shared a similar mindset, although, the Lieutenant himself had a different viewpoint. Perhaps, it was because he found that little encounter with him pretty 'Humorous'.

Karadon: Let him leave. We already have his entire team in our sights. And, call it instinct or foresight, but I am confident we will be seeing more of him in the future. For now, keep an eye out on them. Brother Ka'ed, is it done?

And besides, the Sons of Corax never lets a target leave without a way to track its actions and movements. If that human knew about this, he would be pissing in his pants right about now.

Ka'ed: Yes, Brother Lieutenant. The hacking procedure is complete, and now, we have full access to their conversations via his communication device.

After the little 'encounter' with those White Fangs back a few days ago, they learned that the natives of this planet use a certain communication device called a 'Scroll'. It looked no bigger than a palm sized data-slate, and it came with lots of features. With one of the relatively intact scrolls recovered from the corpses of those abhumans, the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus managed to figure out a sure-fire easy tactic to hack into its systems, which they incorporated within the Omni-scrambler devices used by all the Infiltrator teams deployed as perimeter watch. Right now, they hacked into that human's scroll, where they listened to him conversing with multiple people. And, they even listened to the part where, Karadon went ahead and scared the ever living daylights out of the poor kid. Which, the Lieutenant found pretty amusing. He did expect that boy to tell somebody about it at one point. They just needed to know who. And turns out, it was a good thing.

Tur'yan: Seems that, this whole team was deployed by their Government to run repairs on these 'CCT Towers' while whittling out the horde as much as possible.

Karadon: In the battlefield, communication and obtaining information is the key to securing victory. At least, the people in this world values this much.

Ka'ed: Although, I wonder how long will it take for them to mobilize their entire Army. From what it seems, only this 'James Ior Jimmy' of Atlas has brought in a substantial number of soldiers to aid the authority of these lands to evacuate the other settlements. As for the 'Ozpin' fellow, he seems to hold a significant position in the Government council, to the point where he can actually get the armed forces here to deploy en' masse.

Karadon: According to Brother Vyk'tar, one of his specialists have made contact with Pathfinder Actual. And it seems, he agreed to the Commissar's request to guide them to the settlement called 'Logsport'.

Tur'yan: That seems promising. Shall we keep going on our track?

Karadon: We continue with our mission. Once they reach, you all know what to do.

All Rift Stalkers: (In unison) In silence we deliver His Judgement, and in silence we disappear.

Karadon: The Emperor Protects.

With that, they begin to move towards the settlement, while clearing the path for the Expedition Force. In other words, most of their initial moves went according to plan, and within well expected parameters. Now, they just needed to keep an eye on the team, while keeping the coasts clear for the Expedition Force. Once they get to the walls, their job of keeping the lines clear will be done, and then they'll focus on their next mission: deliver Unforgiving Vengeance upon those vile beasts in the only way The Emperor's finest knows how to.

---

And with that, here's chapter 4. Sorry, it took so long compared to the last one. Recently, I was having a lot of pressure from my work, so I had a hard time to properly focus on this chapter. I tried reading the whole thing several times, but no matter how many times I changed the ending, the whole thing felt kind of rushed & incomplete. So sorry about that. For the next chapter, I hope I can pay more attention, and finish the chapter in time.