Reviews:
Janne Rolfe Jalandoni: The Metal Messiah will always be present if there is at least one machine spirit in good care. Glory to the Omnissiah!
Forge Master 00: Another great omake from a great servant of the Omnissiah. Keep up the good work, although I will have to look into how many crew men is required for a baneblade.
Guest: Did I just hear an Ultralaugh? I swear to the Omnissiah if any Ultrasmurfs enter this story Remnant will be put on the Exterminatus list. Besides that, Blake is going to have a fun in the next few chapters
Speech Syntaxes:
-Speech- Lingua-Technis
"Speech" Low Gothic/English
"Speech" Demon/Possessed
Notes: I have been thinking about making a discord server so that we can better communicate about how you feel about the story and where I plan to take it, if nobody wants one then I will not make one. I will make polls for what to happen in the story, for example: Who do you want to be the first tech-priest from Remnant? Sorry for not getting this chapter out sooner, the end of the school year is coming and I am barely passing my math class. Arrays were a bitch even for my cogitators. Also turns out I have been living under a rock, because I just found out about Secutarii and Thermite Assault Drill. (They came out last year in June)
Chapter Seventeen: Examine and Exterminate
Blake did not knew what they were planning, but it was not good. They threatened a professor and hijacked her team's mission, and for what?! It was unfair and unreasonable! She will make sure that they are brought to justice. The Schnee asked, "Professor Oobleck, is everything okay?"
He avoided the subject as much as looking at the tech-priest, "It is Doctor Oobleck, and currently we are already three minutes behind schedule." In a flash, the teacher was already standing next to the bullhead and signaling them to follow him. A short electronic chirp came out of the Dominus, and her entourage started to approach the craft.
Ruby attempted to cheer up her team, "Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oobleck and Dominus Ferr-. Okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse."
"You are not tasked to save the world yet, Ms. Rose. A more accurate description is that your team has been assigned to a task above your current skill set with Doctor Oobleck. If your team is successful then you might have saved a village from an attack for three days," corrected the female Dominus as she left the group to join Oobleck. Blake attempted to turn her into scrap metal with her glare. Ira knew what the abhuman was doing with her back turned, but it humor her when she attempts to resist the Adeptus Mechanicus.
The Faunus questioned her team, "They are planning something and we all know it. What are we going to do about it?"
"Are you guys doing a secret mission!" yelled a boisterous ginger as Blake saw team JNPR walk towards them slowly. Nora wagged her finger at them, "Are you guys investigating the Fangers again?"
Yang corrected her, "No, the white metal men sent ten of their droids to accompany us on our mission."
"The Atlesians?" questioned Jaune.
Weiss glared at him while Yang corrected herself, "No, the other white metal men."
Nora derailed the conversation again, "Those evil toaster fu-"
A loud metallic voice from the bullheads cut her off, "Four minutes late!" Yang was thankful that she did not have to cover her sister's ears.
Ruby stated, "Well…wish us luck!" Team RWBY made way to the bullhead as team JNPR walked towards Beacon.
"Nora, what make the Adeptus Mechanicus evil?" asked Ren.
His partner and close friends answered him, "They do not eat pancakes."
Pyrrha tried to spin her view, "Would that mean there are more pancakes for you then?" The ginger's eyes went wide when she realized her initial mistake.
Team RWBY quietly entered into the bullhead to see Dominus Ferrum having a discussion with the professor, "While I do not believe you should be punished for Ozpin's mistake, but we had to make sure that you would not leave us here."
"I can see the reason that you would threaten me, but I would not believe you would have done so…ruthlessly," explained the Doctor as he rubbed the back of his neck. Once he saw the girl he stated, "Come and join us girls, we are just clearing up misunderstandings. Dominus Ferrum is willing to answer any questions you have. Am I correct to assume that?"
The person in question explained, "While I will answer most of your questions Doctor Oobleck, the same cannot be said to your students for they are not as mature as you. They do not understand the value of different cultures and might regard foreign ideas as barbaric and uncivilized. It is not wise to be at each other throats before we enter enemy territory, but not answering any questions will have the same effect. Therefore I will answer some of their questions while leaving time for a brief of the mission. One question per student is acceptable."
Yang was as blunt as possible, "Out of all the missions to take over, why ours?"
"Magos Dominus Pugnus spotted this hoard of Grimm and proposed to your Headmaster that he should exterminate them before it becomes a problem. He rejected his idea and said a second year team would be sent in to quell the enemy. Since Ozpin broke his end of the deal, we sent a patrol to assist you in case you cannot handle the upcoming tussle," explained the tech-priest.
Ruby was confused, "Like the mushroom?"
"Those are truffles," corrected Blake
"Like the sprout?" guess the team leader.
Her sister helped her out, "Those are Brussels."
"Like the busy movement?" she attempted in vain.
The Skitarii Alpha answered, "That is a bustle, and that counts as your question." Ruby could not help but to pout, she wanted to ask how their weapons worked.
It was now Blake's turn, "What is your view towards Faunus?"
"While they are abhumans, they are willing to fight against the Grimm. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It appears we are already here," reasoned Ira. The bullhead started to descend as they approached the ruins of Mount Glenn. Each member of team RWBY readies their weapons and jump off the bullhead and land into a pose on the cracked concrete ground below. The Adeptus Mechanicus forces on the other hand, and Doctor Oobleck, calmly step off of the bullhead once it was closer to the ground. None of them had their weapons raised. Most fleshbags would view this as them being unprepared, but they always forget the reactions time of the Rangers.
Skitarii Ranger-4880 'Jane' commented, -Dominus Ferrum, you do know that the saying goes as follows: The enemy of my enemy dies second.-
-Yes Skitarii Ranger-4880, I know that is true. But the primitives do not. Everything I say to them can be viewed as skewed to put the Adeptus Mechanicus as saviors in their eyes. They value individualism and democracy, both of which are nonexistent on Forge World Metalica. Then again, I do not know of any code in you that tells you to state the obvious, - remarked Dominus Ferrum as she approached the faulty Skitarii.
-That might be because I am one of the fresh converts Dominus Ferrum, the flesh part of my brain tries to resist the divine rule of the Omnissiah, - theorized Jane. Ira ignored the Skitarii's problems currently, but she will inform the Magos Dominus after the mission.
Her inner thoughts caused her to miss the first part of Doctor Oobleck's speech to the students, "…point forward, you need to do exactly as I and Dominus Ferrum says! Do you understand?" He paused in his ramblings to glare at the youngest student, "RUBY! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school."
"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't," retorted the crimson reaper.
"She's not wrong," muttered the professor to himself as he glanced at the tech-priest. He turned back to face his students, "Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return."
Ira cut the conversation short, "One of the Skitarii will carry to bag instead. If it is left here is could be destroyed or stolen. If Ms. Rose carries it then it will hinder her ability in combat, which at its best is questionable against the predicted enemy."
"But would that hinder the Skitarii's combat ability?" inquired Doctor Oobleck.
"Extra weight will not impact the efficiency of the machine," stated the tech-priest with purpose.
The teacher turned back to his students, "Alright then Ruby, you heard the Dominus." Her eyes were filled with fear and sadness as she handed her backpack over to Skitarii Ranger-4880.
-Dominus Ferrum, my auspex scans show that there is a living creature in the storage unit, - reported Jane. To team RWBY, all they heard was a click and the tech-priest slowly turning to the soldier as if he was crazy.
"Open it," ordered Ira in low gothic. The Skitarii quickly pulled back the flap of the backpack as if there was a dangerous target in there. Then Zwei hoped out of the bag and into Jane's arms, ignoring that fact she was half metal the corgi licked her face.
The Skitarii panicked, -Dominus Ferrum! The creature is attempting to assault me! Orders! It must be put down!-
Since the primitives could not understand Lingua-Technis they ignored the pleas of the soldier. The teacher interrogated Ruby, "We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought…a dog?" Before she could answer he rushed past Jane and ripped Zwei out of her hands, while in the process knocking over all ten of the Skitarii like they were bowling pins, "Genius!"
Within a second the Doctor was on the other side of the destroyed street spinning with the dog, "Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!"
"I'm a genius!" claimed Ruby as she took credit she did not deserve. Dominus Ferrum was too busy checking on the Skitarii to counter her statement.
Blake ignored her partner as she face palmed, "So, what are your orders Doctor?"
Ira was finished with her duties. She reminded him, "You have yet given the team a full brief on the mission. It is not wise for you to hoard all of the critical information, when it should be shared with the masses."
"Then why do you not give Atlas the blueprints to your weapons?" countered Weiss as she crossed her arms. She emitted an aura of faked superiority.
"Are you stating that we have superior technology than Atlas?" retorted the tech-priest, to which the heiress started to mutter insults under her breath.
Ignoring the squabbling, the teacher started to brief, "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being…Grimm." After a short pause of confusion he recertified, "Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." The students frantically turned around to see mankind's most feared enemy on this planet. Before anyone could draw their weapons, the sharp zap of a Galvanic Rifle broke the silence of the city.
"What Grimm?" commented the Skitarii that eliminated the threat. Sixteen more Beowolves strolled around the corner and spotted them.
"And now they've seen us." concluded Doctor Oobleck as he took a sip out of his thermos. His students looked at him dumbfounded at what to do. The squad of Rangers on the other hand did not need to be told to eradicate the xenos from the presence of the Omnissiah's blessed. In less than a minute the pack, if it can even be called one, were turning into dust before the wrath of Metalica.
Ira corrected the students who were stuck staring at the Skitarii, "The enemy will not wait for you to formulate a plan before they attack. You must always have a basic fall back plan if your team leader does not come up with one in time. For example the Ranger's fall back plan is to hold their current position until a superior arrives. But since I am experienced I ordered them to form ranks and send volleys into the Grimm. If you do nothing in the battlefield then you will be the first to die. While you are to follow mine and Doctor Oobleck's orders, that does not mean you have to rely solely on them."
The rest of the day they slowly cleared throughout the city, each encounter team RWBY learned from the mistakes of the previous and did not repeat them. Dominus Ferrum never once fired her weapons or used her axe during the entire day. On the rare occasion that a Ranger was damaged, Blake watched carefully at what the Dominus did to heal them. She could never get close enough to tell if the liquid pouring out of them is oil or blood. They appeared purely machine, but their white robes sometimes turned crimson if a Grimm got past their firing line. Never did they speak, never did they tire, never did they scream, and never did they slow down. Whenever she glanced at them, there was always at least one of them who was staring back. But it was never the same soldier, while they all appeared identical, the few dents and scratches are different on every single one.
Weiss was quiet the entire time as she inspected the weapons of the Adeptus Mechanicus from afar. The heiress could tell her partner was attempting the same but for different reasons, childish curiosity versus fear of the unknown. She could not tell the caliber of the weapon, if there even is one, and they never reloaded their rifles. The firearms themselves were made of metal and wood and appeared to be a flintlock rifle, but their rate of fire proves otherwise. Their rounds were definitely not weaker than dust rounds, the questions if they are better is still up in the air. None of them possessed an aura to protect them, which was baffling for the Schnee. There are no downsides for using aura, but she reasoned that they can't unlock it because they are all simple robots.
After the pack of Grimm around them was slain Doctor Oobleck commented, "Excellent work, girls! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh, well! Moving on!"
"Criminal operations? We are here to exterminate the Grimm, not hunt criminals." questioned the Dominus.
Three members of the first year team glared at the robed figure before Doctor Oobleck explained, "There have been evidence to prove that there is a White Fang outpost or camp in this Quadrant."
"They why has the Headmaster not informed us about this? A better question is why that is not included with our mission? With this team's knowledge about that terrorist organization, they would have been perfect for the job if only they were more component," commented Ira. Her backhanded compliment earned the tech-priest melting glares.
Yang countered, "At least we are doing something, while you just stand there and watch like this pro huntsmen. So why do you stop insulting us and do anything. Like, fighting, or at least, helping us fight?"
The electronic blue eyes the pierced thru the shadow set by the hood switched to crimson red in a second, "Ms. Xiao Long, do you remember our sparring match when I first started teaching? I had to take it easy on you to allow the class to learn from it. If I joined the fray there would be no Grimm left for you to kill."
"Why don't you put your lien where your mouth is?" taunted the blonde bombshell. Doctor Oobleck could hear the tech-priest take in sharp intakes of air in response, was it a form of communication or an unknown costume in their culture. As if on cue, a small patrol of ten Beowolves rounded the corner down the street. Within seconds a firing line was formed, a sharp static hiss from Ira made the Skitarii break formation.
Dominus Ferrum knew it was uncharacteristic of her to give into the primitives taunts, but they needed to be taught to be afraid of the Adeptus Mechanicus. She personally believes actions are louder than words, unless you blast canticles thru your voxs turned up to eleven. Ruby watched as the large weapon hanging at the side of Ira light up as she approached the Grimm without a hint of fear. What was unexpected was that she did not fire any of her ranged weapons until she was about to enter melee with the small pack. The weapon fired a yellow ray that evaporated the three creatures it touched, the sharp crack of gunfire from her pistol field another three. The two handed axe that she carried was ended the beowolf that was dumb enough to lunge at her.
Yang remembered from her match against Ira that she used something that appear to be aura, but the screen could not read it. Turns out the tech-priest had to need for it, because the claws of the Grimm bounces off of her armor harmlessly. One did get a lucky strike and ripped a part of her robes revealing more metal. The creature got pistol whipped for its troubles. Two staccato bangs signaled that the fight was done. Once Dominus Ferrum rejoined the group she was bombarded with questions by Ruby, "That was so cool! You turned three of the Grimm into dust with you death ray weapon! Well not the dust dust, but like dirt dust. Even better is that you did not even use your aura or semblance!"
Ira corrected her, "I do not possess aura."
"Why would you not have aura?! There are not downsides! And you call us dumb," berated the heiress.
The tech-priest countered, "There are downsides, child. Your people rely on this aura as their only defense against weapons, some of your even waste your only defense to attack the enemy. It makes you weak. Also, if aura is so easy to use then why does not every civilian have it unlocked? Or is it reserved for the protectors that sit behind the walls of your cities as villages are overrun?"
"If you do not have aura, then what was the flashes of light that was seen during your sparring match with Ms. Xiao Long?" questioned Dr. Oobleck.
"That is one of our methods of defense. That is all you need to know," explained the Dominus.
Blake taunted her, "Why do you not tell us about your methods of fighting? We are on the same side and working together on this mission. Or are you too scared?"
"Why do you still wear that bow, are you too scared to take it off? Or do you keep it because you used it to replace the Grimm mask?" countered Ira. Blake's fist tightened around the hilt of her weapon, her knuckles became white to keep her from attacking the machine in front of her. The program in the cogitators' of the Skitarii released the threat, their trigger fingers slowly moved from the side of the weapon to the mechanism it is designed for.
Doctor Oobleck was the first to break the silence, "The day is wasting away, and we can clear this portion of the town before night fall if we keep moving." Nobody had any arguments to his statement, the standoff was put on hold as they still had more Grimm to clear out. Instead of being at the center of the group, the professor moved up to Dominus Ferrum's side. "Why did you become a tech-priest?" questioned the green haired speed demon.
"You speak as if I had a choice Doctor Oobleck. The Adeptus Mechanicus does not lie to its citizens when there is a war, unlike Vale. My home forge, Metalica, sits on the edge of Ultima Segmentum, the largest Segmentum in the Imperium of Man. The only other major Forge World in Ultima Segmentum is Triplex Phall, which itself is rebellious to the rule of Forge World Mars. For this, we are held to high standards and have to produce the most out of every Forge World. We are also in close proximity to the Ork Empire of Charadon, forcing us to produce endless legions of war to exterminate the xenos threat," explained Ira.
He repeated himself, "That does not answer the question Dominus."
She answered him, "I was conscripted, that same is true for every member of the Adeptus Mechanicus on this planet. But you who ever have a choice, you would make a great Explorator Doctor Oobleck."
"What does that entail?" questioned the green haired man.
"You would have a fleet at your command with a detachment from the Legiones Skitarii to do your bidding. Your job would be to scour the galaxy for knowledge to save the Imperium at large from repeat the mistakes of the past," explained Ira. For the good doctor, it sounded too good to be true. But the promise of fulling his lifelong dreams for the rest of his prolonged mechanical life clouded his mind.
Afterword: Sorry for cutting it short here, wanted to get it out before Wednesday.