Chapter Two: Cultists
4 months after first contact
Doctor Polendina had just finished with his last project, a synthetic entity that can generate aura, a few weeks ago. This breakthrough was important to General Ironwood for multiple reasons. One, Atlas can give aura to their robots to make them more durable. And the more important reason, it frees up Doctor Polendina's schedule to begin full research of the scraps from the crash landing four months ago. Ironwood's scroll rang as he cast a glance to see would was attempting to call him, how ironic it is the Doctor he is thinking about. How ironic.
"What is the matter Doctor?" he coldly asked. The doctor interlaced his fingers as he explained, "It is with the…material…provided from the crash. The airship could have held more than the five people found there, and the damage the ship has taking was mostly from the inside. It is probably that there are more of them that survived the crash and fled. This would make an excellent test of Penny's capabilities, as for the technology that I could salvage from the wreck. Nothing of importance could be found because the inside of the airship was melted in the second explosion, but the engines on the wings show that they do not use dust." General Ironwood leaded back into his chair and took in a deep breath.
"Hypothetically speaking. If there were survivors from the crash that fled before my men could reach there, what is the chance that they have undamaged pieced of their technology?" asked the headmaster. The doctor wrote a few numbers on a piece of scrap paper on his desk. He answered, "Since our missile barely scratched the airship, it is likely that the survivors' equipment is undamaged. Whether or not the survivors are alive depends on if they encountered Grimm. If the survivors are dead then the quality of the equipment might have degraded over time." General Ironwood quickly ended the call with the old doctor and made another call. "Mr. Schwarz, I have a new mission for your squad and Penny."
Penny Polendina was curious to say the least, she and her team were assigned a mission with a squad of Atlesian soldiers. First missions were scheduled in fifteen weeks from now, there must be an important reason. During the debrief, she was given the answer. A new cult, called the Adeptus Mechanicus, has made their motives know to Atlas. They seek to overthrow the government. Four months ago one of their airships was shot down, and it is expected that survivors of the crash has escaped the authorities and ran off into the wilderness. The cultist themselves are known to wear white robes and to see that the flesh is weak.
That is why she is on this mission, she is a robot without flesh. General Ironwood wanted to see the reactions of the cultist to a robot that appears humanoid. The bullhead ride to the crash site was quiet, on her left and right were Atlesian soldiers. None of them wanted to hold a conversation, instead they checked their gear and weapons a total of eight times. A majority of the soldiers that she has meet share these habits, how peculiar. The bullhead descended into an abandoned village and opened the doors. The squad leader, if my memory is correct his name is Hans Schwarz, informed the squad, "This village is near where the cultist have crashed, scour the city for any signs of anyone living here! And remember, keep Penny alive and safe."
"Don't worry Mr. Schwarz. I am combat ready!" stated the robot as she gave a mock salute. Hans could not help but to chuckled as he returned the gesture. The squad hoped out of the bullhead and quickly set up three sixty security, repetition does pay off some times. Dane, the AT specialist, remarked, "I got a feeling that tells me that these 'cultists' are remnants from the fascist after the great war." "50 lien says that they are an offshoot of the White Fang!" yelled Alex, the medic. Coy, the marksmen, berated them, "This is no place to gamble, we have a mission to complete!"
The eight man squad created a diamond formation as they walked down the empty streets, with the VIP in the center of the formation. Penny was not happy that she was surrounded by soldiers, but they have reasons to be worried. This was her first time in the field and something has bound to happen. Penny stopped walking when a line of code entered her processors. She could not decipher all of the words while the message repeated over and over again. All she could understand was Atlas, and Adeptus Mechanicus. Hans signaled for the squad to stop as he asked, "Are you okay Penny?" The robot shook her head to stop of train of thought. "I have received a message from an unknown source from inside this city. The message is in a language I do not understand, except for two phrases. Atlas and Adeptus Mechanicus."
Hans looked to his squad before ordering, "Can you track were the message is coming from?" The robot nodded, as he continued, "Then show us where they are hiding." Penny started running down the streets taking turns at random, the squad started sprinting to catch up with her. Dane complained about having to carry all of the AT rockets and his bad endurance as he started to fall behind the others. This was commonplace in all of the operations the squad had. Suddenly Penny stopped running, almost causing Hans to slam into her, and looked around. "They should be here," commented the VIP. Dane soon joined the group and collapsed on the floor wheezing. "Are you sure you don't have asthma?" prodded Alex.
Hans look at the state of his squad, they were all catching their breaths, before giving an order, "I want you to clear out the buildings around here! Leave no pebble unturned!" A multitude of versions of yes greeted the squad leader's ear. As they slow walked to the surrounding buildings, Penny tapped his shoulder as she asked "Should I go help them clear out the buildings?" Hans shook his head, "No, they might have armed the buildings with explosives or mines. Until they find anything, try to decipher the message."
After a near ten minute search a voice called out from the buildings, "Hey Schwarz, I found a bunker, but the entrance is caved in." The squad leader yelled to the unknown voice, "Can you remove the rubble or do you need explosives?" "Did someone say…explosives?" commented one of the soldiers as he held up a satchel charge. Ian stepped out of the building and berated the demolition expert, "John, an explosion created by that would cause the bunker to cave in. We want to find what is down there, not bury it. And by the way, we can use our entrenchment tools to move the rubble." John sighed as he took out his shovel and jogged over to the bunker entrance.
After a painstaking hour the bunker entrance was cleared of the rubble. "Wait!" yelled the robot as John started to enter the bunker. John turned around and gave her a 'what you want' look as he gestured for them to enter the bunker. Penny explained to the squad, "The message I received has stopped transmitting." Hans checked that his mag was full as he paraphrased, "So, you are saying we are going in blind of where the signal is coming from? Which is probably because they know that we are here?" The VIP nodded her head, causing Ian to groan. Hans glanced to his squad as he fought about what to do, he had only eight men in total and some were more important than others.
"Alex, Ian, John, Dane, and Penny. You five will stay above ground and plant charges at the entrance of the bunker. Zander, Julius, and Frank. Your three are with me and heading down into the bunker. John, want you to bury the enemy in the bunker if we do not come back in ten mikes. Do not allow any of them to escape," ordered Hans. A myriad of confirmation touched the squad leader's ear. The four soldiers activated their flashlight attachments and entered into the darkness of the bunker. John could not help but to giggle as he planted the charges around the only entrance and exit. Penny questioned, "Is John the right person to trust the detonator with. He does not appear mentally stable." The group glanced toward John who was currently trying to woo the satchel charges with his singing ability. "Your flat!" yelled Dane from the sidelines. John nodded and corrected his pitch.
Ian carefully explained out of John's earshot, "John is surprisingly stable in the upstairs, all of what he is doing is an act. The only reason that I found out why he does that is because he finds it funny and hopes to lighten the mood of the squad. If we get into a combat situation you will find that his personality can change on a dime. He is the only reason that some of us are here in one piece." Penny slowly nodded her head in understanding as she took a moment to see what the explosive specialist was doing. He was currently attempting to dance with a partner that was not there, constantly stating who she is stepping on his feet. Hallucinations could be cause by drugs, shell shock, or mental insanity. All options are not traits the person in charge of explosives should have.
Dane and Alex were chuckling at their friend's antics, until multiple sounds reverberated out of the bunker. Shots from Atlesian firearms and the unmistakable sound of screams. Inhuman screeches pulled John out of his pretend game as he and his squad mates leveled their rifles to the entrance. Ian quietly whispered to Penny, "Call Hans' scroll with yours, and make it fast." The robot hastily followed the order and called the squad leader's scroll. The squad held their breath as they could hear the ringing sound over and over again. The scroll let out the unwanted response, "Hans Schwarz here, it seems that I can't answer my scroll right now. I will respond to you call after my schedule has been freed." Alex cursed under his breath as the monotone beep confirmed everyone's fear.
The four Atlesian soldiers maintained eye contact for longer than they have should. Without a word the soldiers started running away from the bunker, with Penny taking a moment to figure out what they were planning. Ian and Alex quickly and effortless vaulted over the ruins of a wall and ducked behind it. Dane on the other hand tripped during his vault and fell face first into some rubble, causing a few scratches. John and Penny were the last two over the crumbling half wall as the detonation charges went off, sealing the bunker similar to tombs of ancient kings. Ian turned to his comrades and asked, "Who is going to tell the tin man that we failed our mission?" Alex patted his shoulder as he remarked, "Looks like you just volunteered."
Pugnus Rubrum was in the storage bay overseeing the units under his command, he had nothing much to do during the warp travel for the Gellar Fields were holding surprisingly well. A well-dressed individual walked up to him and introduced himself, "It is a pleasure to meet you Magos Dominus. I am Barron Siezant of House Raven, the pilot of the Knight Crusader called 'Relentless Crusader'. There must be a reason that you have humbled yourself to come here when you could have sent any of you other tech-priests." The Magos Dominus gestured around the storage bay as he responded, "And trust either Ira or Quin with these most blessed machine spirits?" Barron Siezant chuckled to himself at the Magos Dominus' antics. "I have come to inform you about the plans for when we reach the lost colony in a few months."
Notes: There will be a lot of time skips because Malleus' landing party will have little effect on the story until Pugnus' brigade arrives. I would cut to right when they land but a few minor things might be changed to the plot of RWBY before then, and that is why the next few chapters will be short. If you have any ideas for minor changes to the plot of RWBY, just put them in the review. But I have to say, this is going better than I have expected. The names of the Atlesian soldiers come from my friends I have meet in my Arma III group.
Reviews: This section is to answer review from the previous chapter in case anyone else had the same question.
Forge Master 00: Already have the army list for Pugnus, but your army list looks great. If anyone is wondering which edition I will be using, I am using the 8th edition Admech Codex. Thanks for the review, may you toaster army secure many victories for the Omnissiah!
Guest: Malleus believes that he has found a lost human colony with a shatter moon, because that is the only logical explanation to his cogitators. While the people of Remnant have no records of life outside of Remnant's orbit. The answer will be given in a later chapter, don't want to spoil it.
Chapter Master Sinclair: All are welcomed in the eyes of the holy Omnissiah! As long as you don't harm any toaster or defile the machine spirits. Thanks for the review!
Speech Syntaxes:
-Speech- Lingua-Technis
"Speech" Low Gothic/English