Reviews:
Janne Rolfe Jalandoni: Ironwood believes his army is superior because he has not seen any major Adeptus Mechanicus Aerial Force besides transport VTOLs. Since the Ad Mech does codex does not contain dedicated flyers or any forms of transport, he is not entirely wrong.
Forge Master 00: It is perfectly acceptable if your Omake chapters come out later than you would have wanted. I am interested on how you would incorporate the Brothers into the WH 40k universe. I plan for them to be entities of the warp not linked to Chaos, might change it because as an Ad Mech player I know minimal about the warp. I personally love games with limited graphics, mostly because my computer cannot run games with over the top graphics.
Lord Anime: I have two volunteer pre-readers from the discord. Misspelled/wrong words is something that I hate as well. If anyone wants to become a pre-reader, you just have to join the discord. I will still pre-read the chapters myself, but the more eyes checking leaves less room for errors.
Speech Syntaxes:
-Speech- Lingua-Technis
"Speech" Low Gothic/English
"Speech" Demon/Possessed
Chapter's Pre-Readers: jamie and valrak make me a mod (JVMMM)
Notes: Discord code is 8CkRfd. I found out recently that my friends in my Arma group featured in this story also play warhammer 40k as well. Got to say that JVMMM did wonders, he gave me ideas for scenes on top of fixing my grammar. JVMMM also pointed out that during the vote for if Penny should die, it was 5 to 4 in favor of executing the heretical creation. This error may be corrected in the future.
Chapter Twenty: Deserters, Disappointment, and Traitors
It was currently Yang's turn on the night watch, nothing moved under the light of the shattered moon. There was not even a slow breeze to sway the weeds growing through the cracks of the dead city. The first sound to break the pristine silence of the dark was of metal against stone. Her white robe covered her metal parts that reflected the moonlights unto the rubble that is left of the roads. Two electric blue ovals pierced through the blackness created by her hood. The blonde called out from her post, "What ya doing down there?"
"Making sure your team is behaving," answered the tech-priest without breaking stride. Without resistance she entered the camp.
Yang left her post to enter the sleeping room to see what was happening. Upon seeing the dominus standing in the corner of the room, she countered, "I thought that was Professor Oobleck's job."
"Doctor Oobleck is currently tasked with something else," corrected Ira. The other two members of the team stirred from their slumber due to the conversation.
The bombshell was trying to piece everything together, "If Oobleck is not here, than where would he be?! It is not like he would leave the four of…" Her words died in her mouth as her lilac eyes stopped upon the empty sleeping bag of her sister.
The tech-priest explained, "That is what Doctor Oobleck is finding." Her emotionless state was not helping the remnants of team RWBY remain calm.
"Then why aren't WE looking for Ruby! She is our leader for the Brothers' sake!" yelled the heiress as she stood up to meet Ira's eye level. The cyborg did not even flinch at the raise in volume.
Dominus Ferrum elaborated, "Watch your tone with me feudal. None of you are in condition to participate in the search, to send you all out would risk the mission. Doctor Oobleck will find Ruby and determine her punishment."
In a surprising turn of events, the heiress defended her partner, "What would she be punished for! If anything you should be punished for not letting us help our team!" The Schnee was now in Ira's face and showing no signs of backing down.
The tech-priest was silent and did not audibly react to the berating. But Yang did see the white robes were slowly shifting by something moving underneath. Five metallic snakes thrust out from under her cloak in a flash. They stopped before they hit pressure points and major arteries of the Atlesian. "Miss Rose is currently be regarded as a deserter, and is no longer part of your team. She did not leave a note saying where she was going. She did not even tell her sister, who was awake at the time of disappearance, where she was going. You children forget that you are Vale's only defense besides the poorly armed police. Atlas will not always be around to protect your city. Choose your next words carefully Miss Schnee, unless you are a conspirator with the deserter," warned Ira. With limited options, Weiss backed away to stand next to her team.
Lilac turned to red in a flash of fire, "My sister would never abandon us, you metal son of a glitch!" The iron tentacles retracted back into the shadows of the folds of white fabric as she simply gestured to the empty sleeping bag.
Doctor Oobleck was not having a marvelous day. He was trying his best to keep up with the sprinting Skitarii, but the one named Daniel stayed next to him the entire time. Maybe the soldier of the Adeptus Mechanicus have a life outside their war, maybe he could retain his life if he became a tech…no, now is not the time to think about that. Right now he had to focus on finding his lost student. "Any idea if we are going in the correct direction?"
Daniel stated without breaking stride, "Auspex scans show that something in this direction has a beating heart. It can range anywhere from Miss Rose to the White Fang."
"Is your technology that hindering to the point that which you cannot find a single person in an empty city!" snapped the professor. The Skitarii turned his head to face him, neither of them said a word. Oobleck lowered his head as he apologized, "Sorry for breaking there. This whole problem was my fault because I was not overseeing my students." Static burst came out of from Daniel, the other Skitarii did not react. He was not giving out orders, something else was happening
The Skitarii Alpha explained, "While the blame can be placed on you, it was not solely your fault. Miss Rose did not inform any of her team before deserting. And her sister who was on the night watch did not notice her leaving. Therefore the desertion was a shared failure between you and the night's watch" The Doctor noticed how the words used to describe what Ruby was doing went from chasing her dog to deserting.
The professor stopped Daniel before he could continue, "We will discuss who to blame later, right not it is our duty to find Ruby Rose."
"I hear and I obey," replied Daniel as the search party went quiet again. Left alone in silence, Oobleck's mind could not help but to wander like a curious child walking through empty streets. Nothing obstructed him, and the wonder of anything that he found carried him onward.
After his tangent of thoughts scoured half of the imaginary city one of the Skitarii reported, "HVT spotted following one times sentry team of White Fang." Daniel moved closer to the enemy, his augments allowed him to hear the conversation. Accessing the noosphere, he sent out orders to his squad and a report to the dominus. A firing line was formed and opened fire within seconds. Two shot into the chest of the terrorist on the left, and two holes instead of knees for the Faunus on the right. A loud 'eep' could be heard from Ruby as she turned to see the Skitarii.
The Skitarii Alpha hosteled the Forge World's galvanic rifle that was given to him. While the fresh converts call their equipment their own, they are wrong. They and everything they carry is owned by the Adeptus Mechanicus, not the individual. What he saw in front of him was completely pathetic. The abhuman was crying out or his birth parent, gods, and anyone for mercy. Mercy. The only being that could provide mercy is the Omnissiah, how disappointing that he chose to pray to heretical gods before the only true one. Kneeling down, the Skitarii whispered into the Faunus' ear. "No heretical god can save you now. Renounce those pagan gods and tell us where your base is. That is the only way you can receive mercy."
"Please…have…mercy," stuttered out the terrorist as he writhed on the dirty ruined road. The Ranger Alpha could see that dirt from the ground collected onto his wounds every time he moved, if the blood loss would not kill him than the curses of the lord of decay would. A metallic hand clamped over the abhuman's mouth to not break the doctor and student away from their conversation. Muffled cries of pain and agony could not escape his iron fist.
Daniel threatened the prisoner, "Once you calm down I will release my hand, until then be silent for you shall me you comrade within seconds." This only worsened the situation, his cries and movements were becoming more sporadic. But yet his metal grip remained. Weak punched bounced off his armor, the animal was committing his last acts of defiance.
Doctor Oobleck ran towards his student as Daniel approached the legless White Fang member. The crimson team leader mumbled as she rubbed to back of her neck, "Professor Oobleck. Didn't expect you to follow me." Embarrassment make her cheeks as red as her hood.
He placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down, "It is Doctor Oobleck." It did get a halfhearted chuckle out of the girl, but he was not finished talking, "Ruby, why did you leave the camp?" Her eyes hit the floor in a second.
The deserter explained, "Well, Zwei woke me up. But that's normal, he does it all the time he is near me sleeping. Then he started running off, so I followed him. Turns out he left camp to…relieve himself? I do not know why he went so far. Then we encountered the White-" Her story was cut short with a blood curdling scream came from the prisoner. Ruby's eyes were filled with fear and her mouth was agape as she hear the pleas of mercy from the terrorist.
A metallic voice silenced the Faunus, "You will receive mercy once you tell me where you base of operations is. Or do you want your arms to match your legs in length?" The man devolved into a ball of tears and whimpering, Daniel quickly reapplied his grip on his mouth. He turned to the other Skitarii, bursts of static signaled that they were having a conversation. Multiple gestures were made to the prisoner and to their equipment.
"…Fang patrol. So using the skills I naturally perfected, I followed silently behind to find out where their local base is. Then you guys found me. Yeah, that's about it," finished Ruby. Doctor Oobleck could not blame for his students curiosity taking over them, maybe they do pay attention in his class. He might take her name off of the list of students who use his class as a break. The professor could understand why they slept in Port's class, even his boundless energy was put to slumber by his pointless speeches.
Oobleck informed her, "While you will not be punished for leaving your team, you should have told somebody that you were leaving to follow Zwei. Or at the least have written a note or sent a message from your scroll. Remember, I am not mad at you. Just extremely disappointed. Ruby, you scared your entire team and myself. If this ever happens again in the field, that might mean the death of somebody. Whether that be a civilian, a friend, or yourself." The doctor gave Ruby space to think, he had to check in with the Skitarii.
The Alpha Skitarii was done interrogating the abhuman, its cries and pleas continued on into the night. While he did not receive an exact location of the base, Daniel did know that there was a confirmed White Fang base nearby. Doctor Oobleck approached him a simple question was asked, "What did you find out?"
"Not enough. I assume you might be a better good cop than my Skitarii comrades?" retorted Daniel. During their time on this bastardized feudal world, Magos Dominus Pugnus ordered them to use local terms to help communicate with the locals. While the Alpha Skitarii hated the idea, who was he to disobey a direct order. The professor knelt beside the prisoner and placed his hand near the stumps that were his legs. Muttering under his breath and concentration his aura, the professor allowed the enemy to unlock his soul in order to protect himself. The flash of aura was a sickly green color, similar to his own but Oobleck felt as if it was a corrupted version of his aura color.
Oobleck offered, "Hello friend, I am Doctor Oobleck of Beacon Academy. I can call for a bullhead to take you to a hospital, but all you have to do is tell me where your base is so that we can bury your comrade amongst his brothers and sisters."
"Why should I trust you?" countered the Faunus.
"If you do not then you will die. All we need in the place to bury you friend, and then I can take you to a hospital," repeated the professor. The Alpha had to admit that the primitive was convincing. He influenced the abhuman to think about his comrade and saving himself rather than betraying his comrades that have a hope of seeing the next dawn.
Without a better option he confessed, "Mount Glenn, the White Fang base is in-" A single round of a Galvanic Rifle silenced the Faunus before he could finish. Doctor Oobleck turned to face the Alpha Skitarii. The professor's face was filled with shock, betrayal, and hatred. Another 'eep' escaped from the young student.
Daniel lied, "He was going to bleed out before the bullhead would even arrive. Consider this a mercy." In truth he killed him to keep his word of giving the abhuman a different kind of mercy, his unclean life would be ended swiftly as to cure this world of his corruption. The abhuman's soul is without the guidance of the Omnissiah and the Motive Force will not accept him, leaving nothing to protect the abhuman from the terrors of the Warp.
Doctor Oobleck finally realized what the recently passed White Fang member meant, "How could I be so stupid! Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people! Working people commuting to the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"
He received confused looks from Miss Rose and the Skitarii. That was until the Alpha Skitarii spoke up, "The underground crime network that we are looking for is, therefore actually underground in caves."
"No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation. The city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start! As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival. They took up shelter beneath the city! In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway. And they had cut themselves off from the surface!" the professor corrected.
"Like an underground city?" asked the crimson teen.
He chose to elaborate on her choice of words, "In a manner of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until…an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm. After that, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb" Static erupted from the Skitarii, a few of them have holstered their weapons to pull out strange devices. Without telling them anything the marched down the empty streets of Mountain Glenn.
Dominus Ferrum had been eerily quiet the entire time she was in the room. Never did she move or sleep, but her mechanical eyes never moved away from the student. They were all worried about Ruby, and thus none of them could speak. She finally spoke after what felt like an eternity, "The patrol has found Miss Rose, and discovered where the White Fang base has been located. The assault will begin shortly, would you care to join us?"
Blake turned around on her sleeping bag to face the tech-priest, "How?"
"Miss Rose was not a deserter, turns out she was following her dog which is designated as Zwei. During her absence from camp, the two of them accidently ran into a White Fang sentry team. The Skitarii search team lead by Doctor Oobleck engaged the terrorists and questioned them for the location of the base," reported Ira. Weiss could tell she left out a few details for reasons unknown. The female adept walked out of the building silently and continued down the streets. The three members of team RWBY that were left at the camp glanced a look at one another before rushing for their weapons.
Doctor Oobleck walked silently behind the squad of Skitarii, wondering what they were holding. Behind him was the student Ruby who was holding onto her corgi so it would not run away again. Their formation of the patrol was different this time. The Skitarii with the scanner was in the front of the group with the Ranger carrying the strange device beside him. The three other soldiers were behind them with their rifles pointed at the surrounding windows. They were on edge now that there was a confirmed enemy presence, did they not believe the students earlier? The Skitarii with the scanner stopped, a burst of static escaped his faceplate as the squad dispersed into the empty buildings. Daniel signaled for him and Ruby to follow him, curious at what was happening so they followed.
Once they were positioned at a window of a nearby house, the Alpha explained. "Currently the White Fang are below us. Skitarii Ranger-6121, is planting an explosive charge on the breaching point. Blueprints show that there should be a tall building below us which we will land on."
Ruby dropped Zwei and readied her scythe-sniper rifle, "Let's go right now than!"
"Do you not want to wait for your team to regroup first?" countered Daniel.
Yang was currently not having fun like she expected. She, Blake, and Weiss had problems keeping up with the sprinting cyborgs. They did not even slow down when turning around corners. Effortlessly they jumped over potholes without breaking stride, but the blonde was surprised that the heiress with her heels did not trip yet. "Yo, iron lady! Can't ya slow down?" complained the bombshell of Beacon.
Dominus Ferrum countered, "Do you, or do you not want to see your half-sister before dawn?" The students were silenced, and their complaints fizzled out into the empty streets. But it did not last for long. Whenever they emerged, Ira would simply repeat herself. At least she now had a reason she only worked with Skitarii, they can't complain if you take their function to talk.
Magos Dominus Pugnus was sitting on his flagship, the Astral Knight, reviewing his plans for the future. He had enough resources to exterminate the Grimm from this planet without a doubt, but that is only if the feudals are compliant and nothing unexpected pops out of nowhere. But that always happens, how else do you think the orks are still alive? They always build something that should not work by any means necessary but if fracking does. Non-machine spirit using heretek xenos scum. So he made a simple call with an old friend, of course he had to spend one of the favors the person owed him but it would guarantee that this planet will fall. Only problem is if he will get here in time for the Extermination Campaign.
Magos Errant Verraeter was silently sitting in his official office, Doctor Polendina's office. His fake skin was one which allowed him to hide amongst the flesh bags. That was when he received a strange text onto his scroll. 'Doctor Polendina, this is Arthur Watt. I have a job offer for you, but it requires working with the Grimm.' So that disgraced doctor is still alive. While he would like to meet his old college again, his pride as a servant of the Omnissiah does not allow him stoop low and work with Grimm. The tech-priest replied, 'You openly admit to conspiring with the enemies of man. I shall guide the wrath of the machines upon your foul comrades.'