Chapter 2: Shadows
August 20, 2681; 1250 Hours
Remnant, Emerald Forest (FOB Alpha)
"Passive Radar systems are operational, Major." The ONISEC lieutenant said, saluting him as he emerged from the tent he shared with Omega. "No air contacts detected."
"Excellent." Ivan nodded, dismissing the salute. "Any word on Merlin's connection to the FOB?"
"Evans managed to get a reliable connection to the Avalon, sir." The Lieutenant nodded. "We'll be able to keep comms with it, even if it leaves orbit."
"Excellent." Ivan added. "You're dismissed, Lieutenant. Return to standard procedures."
"Aye, sir." The Lieutenant nodded, heading back to his post in the rudimentary command center.
Ivan keyed a connection to the Avalon through his neural implant, finding himself answered by the ship's artificial intelligence. "Go ahead, SPARTAN." Merlin began, his light Celtic accent ringing in the SPARTAN's comms unit.
"Merlin, have you made any headway with the planet's comms grid?" Ivan asked, walking towards Professor Evans' tent.
"Affirmative." Merlin answered. "I've prepared a briefing packet for you on the planet's four main bastions of civilization. Bear in mind, a lot of it is based on news articles I've sifted through for you. You're welcome."
"Thank you, Merlin." Ivan responded. Snarky prick. He thought to himself. "Upload it to my datapad."
"Already on it." Merlin affirmed.
"Good. Is there anything you can do to get us into the nearest city without sticking out?" Ivan asked.
"Well…" Merlin seemed thoughtful for a moment. "If you could get your hands on this planet's version of a datapad, or a 'Scroll' as the locals call it, I could fabricate an identity for you."
"That won't look strange?" Ivan asked, stopping just outside Evans' tent. "Someone just appearing on the planet's databases out of the blue?"
"This planet's electronic security systems are laughably weak." Merlin answered. "They only have the most rudimentary artificial intelligence. Asking me to slip you through the system is like using a sledgehammer to put a nail in the wall. It's overkill of the highest caliber."
"Any suggestions for getting my hands on one of these devices?" Ivan asked.
"Well, since this planet doesn't accept UEG credits…" Merlin seemed thoughtful again. Ivan could practically feel the smirk on the AI's digital face as he spoke. "Might I suggest theft?"
"Merlin…" Ivan warned. "I'm here to learn about this planet's culture and society, not get arrested." He knew that any attempt to arrest him would most likely end in a laughable failure for local law enforcement, but he had no desire to make himself known to any degree. Especially not by suddenly appearing on the planet's 'Most-Wanted' list.
"Alright, alright…" Merlin placated. "This planet does make use of an almost ancient card system. You know the ones. Magnetic strip readers? I could create a dummy account for you. All you'd have to do is memorize the number and the security code."
"Alright, set it up." Ivan agreed. "I'll head into the city and get what I can for you."
"Excellent." Merlin acknowledged. "But SPARTAN?"
"Yes?"
"Might I suggest some more… casual clothes?" Merlin asked. "I can have Airman Moore bring down your personal effects, if you'd like."
Ivan sighed. "Alright, have her send them down. All of Omega's, too."
XXXXX
August 20, 2681; 1500 Hours
Remnant, Vale (Market District)
"I feel hilariously out of place…" Lauren commented, noting the strange looks the group of four was getting.
"We're taller than most people here." Jacob shrugged. "You'd stare too if a bunch of 6'7 people were walking down the street and you were still a normal height."
"At least we got the damn things, and we can get the hell out of here." Mary added, fiddling with the strange device that they had all bought at a local electronics store. Ivan wasn't exactly surprised that Merlin's method worked, but there was still a feeling of tension when he was waiting for the transaction to clear.
Strange as it was for them, all four of the SPARTANs were walking down a street in a mostly-human city on an alien world, dressed in casual clothing. Before he had left the FOB, he had sent the mission update to Admiral Bishop, and included a rough description of this new sub-species of Human they had encountered. According to the locals, these people were referred to as "Faunus", likely due to the single animal trait they had. He was still waiting on the tremendous shitstorm that would be causing with ONI.
"City's nice, at least." Lauren shrugged, tucking the Scroll into her back pocket. "More… modern than I expected."
"What were you expecting?" Mary asked. "A Medieval castle and a bunch of farmland?"
"I dunno… it is a kingdom, after all." Lauren shrugged again.
"Let's just get that 'Dust' stuff and get back…" Ivan intervened. He had spent so long in his MJOLNIR that these loose-fitting civilian clothes felt strange to him. "I'd prefer if we didn't get there after dark."
XXXXX
August 21, 2681; 1200 Hours
Remnant, Forever Fall Forest
"Weiss!" Ruby shouted, jogging over to the rest of her team with her jar of red sap in hand. "Are you done yet?" She asked.
Weiss gave an audible sigh. "Almost, Ruby."
"Not everyone has your Semblance, sis." Yang piped up from her seat beneath a tree. She was idly flipping through her scroll.
Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard a commotion coming from deeper in the forest. Ruby saw Team CRDL running towards them, shouting about an Ursa. "What's going on?!" Ruby asked, seeing Dove.
"An Ursa pack has Cardin and Jaune cornered!" Dove declared, slowing down a bit and constantly checking over his shoulder.
"C'mon!" Yang shouted, jumping to her feet and priming Ember Celica. With that, the four members of Team RWBY took off.
Ruby was the first to arrive, thanks in no small part to her Semblance. When she did, she saw Cardin and Jaune boxed in by a half-dozen of the bear-like Grimm. Without hesitation, she deployed Crescent Rose and lunged forward. She took the closest one by surprise, cleaving it in half with a Semblance-assisted swing. She slid to a stop next to Jaune and worked the bolt on her weapon.
The rest of her team emerged from the trees, all of them lunging for the pack of Grimm with their weapons brought to bear. In a flurry of attacks from the team of young Huntresses, the five remaining Ursas were dispatched with relative ease.
As Ruby looked over to Cardin, she saw him scrambling over towards his mace that had been knocked aside by an Ursa. Strangely enough, Cardin had the red sap that they were supposed to be collection splattered against his breastplate. Jaune had been knocked back against a tree, and was caught in a daze.
"Are you guys alright?" Ruby asked, looking over to Cardin and Jaune.
"Yeah…" Jaune nodded, slowly standing back up.
"Yang, go find Goodwitch!" Ruby turned to her sister.
"On it." Yang nodded, running back towards the direction they came from.
As Ruby jogged towards Jaune, she saw a look of surprise spread across his face. "Ruby!" He shouted.
Seeing that Jaune was actually looking past her, she wheeled around, spotting another Ursa. This one looked much older, and far stronger. Just as she registered the fact that the Grimm was charging at her, she heard a thundering boom sound off from her right, and watched as the creature's head was torn from its body. She saw a thin vapor trail passing through the air where the creature's head had been a moment before, and immediately turned her head to follow it.
She found herself looking to the other end of the massive clearing she was standing in. For the briefest moment, she could swear she had spotted an almost transparent figure in the trees, clad in black armor, but it disappeared a moment later. After a single, stunned moment, she shouted out after it. "Hey! Wait!" She called out, throwing herself in the apparition's general direction with her Semblance.
"Ruby!" Blake called out after her, also seeing the figure for the briefest moment. She took off running after the girl, Weiss a few steps behind her.
XXXXX
August 21, 2681; 1159 Hours
Remnant, Forever Fall Forest (10.2 Kilometers from FOB Alpha)
Ivan stalked through the admittedly beautiful forest, but he didn't quite have the time to admire the scenery. He had heard the sounds of a struggle in this direction, and he had deviated from his path to come investigate. "Omega…" Ivan began, speaking into his comms. "Proceed to the marked rendezvous and await further orders."
"Copy." Lauren answered. "What's going on?"
"Gunfire." Ivan answered. "Moving to investigate."
"Understood." Lauren acknowledged.
As Ivan neared the sounds of fighting, he pulled his SRS99-S6 from the magnetic strip on his back and continued his approach, eventually slowing down to ensure that the shimmering of his active camo unit was minimal.
He came to a stop on the edge of a large clearing, seeing the source of the noise. He spotted four familiar figures, and two new ones. He spotted the girls he remembered as Ruby, Yang, and Blake. There was also the ivory-haired girl whose name he had yet to learn. A young blonde boy had been knocked against a tree. Ivan assumed that this had been done by one of the six Ursa Grimm that were quickly disintegrating in the clearing. A much taller boy with brown hair was scrambling towards a positively massive mace. Ivan was surprised by the last person's height. Hell, he probably rivaled the SPARTAN himself without the armor.
Seeing that the group had started talking, he fell down to a kneeling position and watched. "Yang, go find Goodwitch!" He heard Ruby call out, followed shortly after by the blonde acknowledging and heading off in another direction. With that, he figured it was safe to assume that Ruby was either the dedicated leader, or de-facto leader of the group.
He watched as Ruby began jogging towards the blonde boy that had been knocked against a tree. Ivan cursed as he saw an Ursa begin emerging from the treeline behind Ruby. It wasn't until the beast started charging at her when she finally realized she wasn't quite safe yet.
He wasn't quite sure what came over him. Maybe it was the training, maybe it was the oath he had taken, maybe it was the angel on his shoulder. Whatever it was, it caused him to bring his rifle to bear, and let the anti-material round rip through the air, tearing the Ursa's head clean off its body.
It was about now that Ivan truly wished the UNSC had done away with the tracers in their sniper rounds. He saw Ruby begin looking in his direction, and he could tell that his active camouflage unit still had yet to fully conceal him. He couldn't afford to be compromised, so he turned and ran. He heard her call out after him, but paid it no mind.
XXXXX
August 21, 2681; 1209 Hours
Remnant, Forever Fall Forest
Ruby skidded to a stop in the exact location she had seen the mysterious black figure. She looked around, disappointed to see that it was already gone. For a moment, she had thought she might have just been seeing things… that was until she saw a familiar shell casing embedded in the dirt. She knelt down and picked it up. Sure enough, it was the same casing she had found in the Emerald Forest.
"Ruby!" Blake called out, coming to a stop a few feet from the Huntress, Weiss a few steps behind. "You saw it too?"
"Yeah…" Ruby answered. "Look." She held out the casing.
Blake looked at the casing, her normal indifference giving way to a look of surprise. "Are they following us?" Blake asked.
"I don't know…" Ruby admitted. "But we definitely need to bring this to Ozpin."
XXXXX
August 21, 2681; 1932 Hours
Remnant, Beacon Academy (Headmaster's Office)
Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all stepped out of the elevator, spotting Ozpin sitting behind his desk and typing away at a computer. Ozpin didn't even look up from his computer when he spoke. "Please, come in." He beckoned. "What can I do for you girls?"
"Professor… do you remember when we told you about what happened in the Emerald Forest?" At Ruby's question, Ozpin simply nodded. "Well… we found this in the Forever Fall Forest." She walked over, placing the spent shell casing on Ozpin's desk.
Curious, Ozpin took the spent casing in his hand, flipping it over to look at the back. Unsurprisingly, he found the same collection of numbers and letters that occupied the same space on the last casing like this Ruby had brought to him, just after she expanded on her story with the rest of Team RWBY. "M232 APFSDS 14.5x114mm."
"What happened?" Ozpin asked, now a bit more sure of their previous story.
"We were all going to help Jaune and Cardin fend off a group of Ursa." Ruby began. "When we killed the six Ursa, I went over to help Jaune up… that's when I realized there was a seventh Ursa that had just come out of the forest and started charging at me."
As Ozpin nodded, Ruby continued her explanation. "I heard a gunshot, and saw the Ursa's head explode. There was some kind of smoke trail behind the bullet that did it, and I followed it back to where it came from. I know this sounds crazy, but Blake saw it too. There was some kind of figure in black armor there. I only saw it for a second before it disappeared. When I did see it, it was almost transparent."
"Miss Belladonna?" Ozpin asked, looking over to Blake.
"I saw it too…" Blake explained. "Ruby took off after it, but it was already gone. She found that casing embedded in the ground."
"Well…" Ozpin chuckled. "It seems as if you have a guardian angel." Before the girls could respond, he continued. "I know this has you all concerned, I do." Ozpin held his hands up, turning to face all of them. "I'll look into this and keep you all updated."
"Thank you, Professor." Ruby said. "Do you need us to point you to where it first happened?"
"I think your description will be more than enough, Miss Rose." Ozpin smiled. "I'll be sure to keep your offer in mind, however."
XXXXX
August 23, 2681; 0603 Hours
Remnant, FOB Alpha
"Major, something's tripped the motion sensors on the northern end of the canyon." The ONISEC Lieutenant's voice came over his comms. Ivan stood upright from his seat on a crate almost immediately.
"Grimm?" He asked.
"Unlikely." The Lieutenant responded. " Two small contacts, three hundred meters out, bearing 031. They register as roughly human-sized."
"Shit…" Ivan muttered to himself. "Omega, up and at 'em!" He declared, grabbing his helmet from its position on the crate. The three other members of his team jumped up from their positions, grabbing their weapons and helmets. As uncomfortable as it might be, they were forced to spend almost all of their time in their MJOLNIR, simply for convenience's sake. They didn't have the infrastructure down here to support one of the robotic removal apparatuses. On the one occasion they did take off their armor, they had spent almost an hour putting it back on, piece by piece.
As the SPARTANs of Fireteam Omega pulled their helmets on, Ivan spoke into his comms as he grabbed his MA5. "Lieutenant, hold this FOB at all costs."
"Understood, sir." The Lieutenant acknowledged.
"Omega, on me!" Ivan motioned with his rifle, and exited the tent. Once outside, he took off in a full sprint towards the small pass leading out of the canyon. As they emerged over the top of the canyon, they all activated their active camouflage units and began moving towards the ping on their motion trackers. Ivan sent pings to his teammates, ordering Lauren to swing around and approach them from the rear, Jacob from the right, and Mary from the left. As they each sent their acknowledged pings, the three other members of Omega took off.
He knew that this was bound to happen eventually, ever since he had allowed the girls to take those shell casings. He knew that it was probably not the best thing to simply allow them to take evidence of their existence on this planet, but what else could he do? No amount of directives from ONI could make him disregard his training and kill a fellow human for such an asinine reason, much less a bunch of kids.
After a few moments of slowed movement through the forest, he spotted his quarry. Just like the tracker suggested, it was a pair of Humans. One was a man, his hair a light gray. He had a pair of spectacles propped up on his nose, a black suit with a dark green coat and scarf, and carried a cane in one hand. He didn't appear to have any walking disability.
The second figure was a woman with light blonde hair, tied back in a bun. Her green eyes scanned her surroundings carefully, but she didn't seem to notice the light shimmering of the SPARTAN's active camo unit. She wore a white shirt with a keyhole neckline and, strangely enough, a black pencil skirt with heels. How she managed to traverse the forest with clothes like that was beyond the SPARTAN's imagination, but he chalked it up to one of the many strange qualities that this planet had in store.
As the two slowly approached his position, his VISR highlighted the rest of his team. All of them were now in position, and the "Ready" pings blinked across his HUD. When Ivan sent his through, he deactivated his camo module and raised his rifle. "Halt!" Ivan ordered, his voice firm and authoritative.
The two stopped immediately, obviously surprised to find themselves suddenly staring down the barrel of a rifle that was being wielded by a man clad in a suit of armor unlike anything they'd ever seen. "We have you surrounded." Ivan continued. "You, drop the cane." He gestured towards the man with his rifle. Thankfully, the man complied and let the cane fall to the ground. "Good…" Ivan said. "Kick it towards me." Again, the man complied. Ivan knew enough about this world to know that anything could be a weapon. "Who are you?"
For a moment, the man looked around, spotting the two SPARTANs that were on his flanks. When he did respond, his voice was surprisingly level and calm for having four weapons pointed at him. "Who are you?" He asked. "You're obviously not from around her."
"What makes you say that?" Ivan asked.
"The 'UNSC' stamped on your chest." The man easily responded.
Ivan tightened the grip on his rifle. "What does it mean to you?" He asked, suddenly finding his reticle directly on the man's chest.
"United Nations Space Command." The man responded. Much to Ivan's internal surprise, the woman to his right looked just as surprised has he was. "Most people here know it only by the acronym. You're largely dismissed as superstitious nonsense. Only a… select few people on Remnant know where we truly come from."
Ivan was well and truly shocked. The sheer fact that this man had rattled off all of that with no hesitation, no second thoughts… he definitely knew what the UNSC was. "Again… who are you?" Ivan asked.
"Professor Ozpin." The man responded. "Headmaster of Beacon Academy. This is Glynda Goodwitch, a teacher at Beacon. And you?"
To Ozpin and Goodwitch, the man before them remained silent. In reality, he had deactivated his armor's vocal systems. "Wait one." He finally said, closing his vocal systems again. "Merlin, establish comms with FLEETCOM on Reach, get me Admiral Bishop immediately."
"Understood, SPARTAN." Merlin nodded.
Ivan waited for a few moments as the Slipspace communication passed through the void, eventually arriving at Reach's Waypoint Network. In an instant, Admiral Bishop's voice came into his ears with only a few milliseconds of lag. "SPARTAN, what is it?"
"Admiral, we've been compromised." Ivan explained. "A local has pre-existing knowledge of the UNSC and has made contact. How should we proceed?"
"I thought your report said the locals didn't know their origins?" Bishop asked.
"It seems one does." Ivan answered.
"I assume elimination is impossible?" Bishop asked.
"Yes, sir." Ivan responded. "He's well-known. Elimination or capture is out of the question. It would raise too many questions. He wants my name."
"Give it, your rank, and your serial number." Bishop answered. "Keep me on the line, I want to listen to everything."
"Aye, sir." Ivan acknowledged, re-opening his armor's vocal systems. "My name is Major Ivan Chesnokov, serial number: C-124-008-1." Ivan answered, looking to Ozpin.
"Why are you here, Major?" Ozpin asked.
"To reestablish contact with a lost UNSC colony." Bishop spoke into his ear. "We're here to learn about you're planet's society, culture, and technological development."
"To reestablish contact with a lost UNSC colony." Ivan parroted, lowering his weapon. He motioned for his team to do the same. "We're here to learn about your planet's society, culture, and technological development."
"Well, I must thank you for assisting my students in the Forever Fall Forest." Ozpin complimented. "At least, I assume that was you."
"It was." Ivan nodded, not hearing anything from Bishop.
"Well, you say you're here to learn…" Ozpin began, looking to the SPARTAN. "I am the headmaster of an academy, after all." At the SPARTAN's silence, he elaborated a bit more. "Of course, your true identity would remain a secret. To the rest of my students, you would be a transfer student from another academy."
Ivan closed his vocals again. "Sir?" He asked, looking to Bishop for clearance.
"Wait one, SPARTAN." Bishop said, the comms suddenly going silent. After a few seconds, the Admiral returned. "Permission granted, SPARTAN." Bishop answered. "Only one of your team is permitted, however."
"Sir?" Ivan asked, confused.
"A SPARTAN team has been deemed a security necessity for the research station on the planet's surface." Bishop explained. "HIGHCOM cannot spare another team to replace yours at this time. ONI would prefer that you take the reins on this, SPARTAN. You're the most well-suited agent they have planetside."
"Understood, sir." Ivan nodded. "Alright…" Ivan nodded, re-opening his vocal systems. "I'm the only one available for this, however."
"Hmm…" Ozpin hummed. "A bit of a disappointment. Huntsmen generally train in groups of four."
"My team can only spare one member for this." Ivan explained.
Ozpin sighed. He couldn't pass up a learning experience such as this one. "Very well… I'll attach you to another pre-existing team, then. I assume you already have a Scroll?"
"Indeed." Ivan nodded, tapping a compartment on his armor.
"Good…" Ozpin responded with a smile. "If you'll come with me, I can get everything set up for you before the week starts tomorrow. You're lucky it's a weekend."
Ivan couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Omega, stand down and report back to your posts." He ordered. "Lieutenant, you have command."
"Understood, sir." Lauren nodded.
"I'll be back in a moment, I need to get my personal belongings." Ivan said, earning a nod from Ozpin.
XXXXX
August 24, 2681; 0800 Hours
Remnant, Beacon Academy (Dormitories)
Ruby was busy getting her supplies all squared away for a day of classes when a series of short knocks sounded against her dorm room's door. Surprised that someone was knocking this early, she made her way over to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open. Much to her surprise, Professor Ozpin was on the other side, along with a new face that she didn't recognize. He was tall… really tall. He was at least a foot taller than her, probably more.
He was wearing a normal Beacon Academy uniform that seemed just a bit too small for him. He had a short, neatly-kept head of black hair, bright blue eyes, and a cleanly-shaven face. If Ruby had to guess, he was probably just a bit older than Yang was. He had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, and a hard plastic case in his right hand. "My apologies if I've disturbed you, Miss Rose." Ozpin apologized, looking to Ruby.
"Oh, it's no problem Professor. I was just getting ready." Ruby answered with a smile. "Who's this?"
"This is a transfer student from Atlas." Ozpin looked to the man beside him.
The taller man looked down to Ruby, a small smile on his face. Deep down, unbeknownst to Ruby, the man was very nearly about to blow a gasket. Ozpin had promised that his identity would remain a secret, and he sets him up with her team? He shoved those feelings down. He'd make it work. "Name's Ivan." He said. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Ivan!" Ruby responded with a broad smile. "I'm Ruby."
"I'm afraid that, despite it being a last-minute situation, I have no team of three to assign him to." Ozpin continued. "So, your team will be a special exception here at Beacon. You'll have five members instead of four."
"Cool!" Ruby smiled. "Welcome to Team RWBY, Ivan."
"I'll let you get settled in, Ivan." Ozpin gave him a small smile before turning to head back to his office. "Enjoy your time at Beacon." He craned his neck to look to the SPARTAN. "I'll have a bed brought up for you from storage tonight." Ivan internally smiled. With any luck, Ozpin would be bringing the pieces of his armor up with it, just like he had explained to him last night on the ride in.
"Thank you, Professor." Ivan said. "Thanks…" He thought to himself, sighing internally.
"Come on in!" Ruby beckoned in, stepping aside and allowing the newcomer into the dorm.
As Ivan stepped in, he couldn't help but smile. The dorm room somewhat reminded him of his home on Earth. There were posters on the wall, books on the shelves, a closet stocked with various clothes, and desks littered with papers and pens. The bunk beds were certainly a surprise to him, mostly due to their precarious support. It was ropes for the left-most set, and stacked books for the right-most. "Beds look a little unstable there, Ruby." Ivan commented, a smirk on his face.
"Eh…" Ruby shrugged. "They work." She plopped down in one of the wooden chairs. "Set your stuff down anywhere, we can find a place for it later."
"Sounds good." Ivan put his duffel bag down in a corner, placing the plastic case down beside it.
As he placed his belongings down on the floor, he heard the bathroom door open. "Hey Rubes, who was at the-" The voice stopped, seeing the new figure in the room. Ivan recognized the voice as belonging to Yang, the blonde one. He turned around, seeing that she was dressed in her school uniform, her hair damp from a recent shower.
"Oh, Yang!" Ruby said. "This is Ivan, he's on our team now."
"Really?" Yang asked, confused. "We've already got a full team."
"Ozpin didn't have any teams with three, so he put me with you guys." Ivan shrugged. "I just transferred from Atlas."
"Oh man, Weiss is going to like you." Yang said with a smirk. At least Ivan had a name to attach to the white-haired girl now. "Where are Weiss and Blake, by the way?"
"In the cafeteria, getting breakfast." Ruby explained.
"Ah…" Yang said, nodding. "So, Ivan… how are you liking Vale so far?"
"It's not too bad." Ivan shrugged. "A bit humid, but I can't complain."
"True enough." Yang groaned. "God, the weather right now is awful. Anyways… welcome to the team!"
"Thanks." Ivan smiled.
"So… what's your weapon?" Ruby asked.
"Hmm?" Ivan hummed.
"She asks everyone what their weapon is." Yang clarified.
"Ah…" Ivan nodded. "Well…" He walked over to the plastic case and flipped a few retention clips open. He pulled his BR85N-2 out of its case, racking back the charging handle to ensure it was clear.
"Whoa…" Ruby said as Ivan walked towards the two, keeping the weapon's barrel pointed towards the floor. "That's so cool!"
"Damn… that thing looks fancy." Yang said, looking to the bullpup rifle. Thankfully, Ivan had the sense to remove all of the UNSC markings from it.
"Seen me through a lot of shit…" Ivan smirked, patting the side of his rifle. "It's a damn fine rifle."
"What's that?" Ruby asked, pointing to the cylinder protruding from the bottom of the barrel shroud, parallel to the barrel.
"A grenade launcher." Ivan answered.
"Oh…" Ruby began. "My… God… That is awesome." That earned a chuckle from Ivan as he moved back towards the plastic case, placing the rifle back down inside and closing it inside. "Yeah…" Ivan thought to himself. "I can make this work."
