Chapter 8: Raging Storm

January 29, 2682; 0553 Hours

Remnant, Vale

Ivan jumped from the crew compartment of a Bullhead VTOL, landing in the middle of one of Vale's largest boulevards. It was chaos. Huntsmen from all kingdoms were leading groups of civilians into the subway tunnels, old bomb shelters, and the waiting hulls of Atlesian Bullheads. Soldiers from both Vale and Atlas were taking to the streets, attempting to form a cohesive defense with what little time they had left. The Atlesians were working on setting up anti-air emplacements, mortar pits, defensive walls, and MG nests.

Ivan spotted the Darter overhead, ferrying arms and ammunition to the eight Marines and four SPARTANS on the ground. UNSC Weapons Insertion Pods had been dropped from the Avalon before it had retreated to the asteroid belt, and the Marines were arming themselves with ARC-920s, SPNKr Rockets, SRS-99 Sniper Rifles, and M139 Grenade Launchers.

As Team RWBY jumped out of the VTOL behind him, he spotted Fireteam Omega running to his position, all armed to the teeth with the best weaponry they had on-hand. "Major!" Lauren shouted. "Your orders?"

"Each of you will be in command of the defense of a sector of the city!" Ivan ordered, his voice carrying over the sounds of chaos around him. "Lauren, you've got the North." At her nod, and subsequent departure, Ivan turned to Mary. "Mary, you're on the East."

"Copy!" Mary shouted, sprinting off.

"Jacob, West!" The taller SPARTAN didn't offer any acknowledgement beyond sprinting towards the Western sector of Vale. "Team RWBY, you're with me!" Ivan shouted. "We're covering the South."

"Got it!" Ruby's voice was barely audible over the panic in the streets.

Ivan keyed into the comms of the Atlesian Navy and Army assets in Vale, which had been given to him by Ironwood. The General had given him command over the Atlesian forces in this area, due to his knowledge on the enemy. "All Atlesian Fleet assets, this is Major Chesnokov! All airships, pull back to the area outside the city walls immediately!" Fifteen different voices all acknowledged his orders. "All Army assets, continue guiding civilians to safety! Protect them at all costs! I want Knights and Paladins forming the defense of the outer city!" Again, more voices acknowledged his orders. "Your sector commanders are keyed into your comms network. Consider their orders my own!" He closed the comms before the voices responded again.

"Let's move!" Ivan shouted, sprinting off to join in the defense of the Southern Sector.

The group arrived in a plaza in the southern sector, manned mostly by Atlesian Knights with a few Vale soldiers mixed in. There were a few anti-air emplacements that had been set up in the area, manned by Vale soldiers. As the SPARTAN and Huntresses arrived, Ivan saw several bright flashes from the upper atmosphere. Fearing the worst, he looked up, surprised to see a half-dozen detonations against the shields of the Assault Carrier as it neared the atmosphere. Apparently, the Prowler had laid down a small field of HORNET Nuclear Mines. He watched as the Carrier's shields broke against the nuclear onslaught, and shouted out into his comms unit. "All fleet assets, open fire on the Carrier! I don't care if you're out of range, keep its shields down!" He shouted. At his words, the fifteen Atlesian vessels opened fire with their main battery guns: laser cannons in a turret mount. The lasers crossed the distance between the atmosphere and the Carrier relatively quickly, splashing against the Nanolaminate plating of the Carrier.

He immediately keyed into Merlin's comms, secured by a Slipspace encryption system. "Merlin, launch SHIVA nukes, all on the Carrier!"

"Acknowledged, SPARTAN!" Merlin answered. "Nukes away!"

"Shield your eyes!" Ivan shouted out to everyone over a general communication. After a few moments, a dull boom sounded off from the upper atmosphere. Satisfied that the blast had already occurred, Ivan glanced up to see a large chunk torn out of the side of the Assault Carrier. The five SHIVAs had impacted against the rear of the vessel, crippling its engines and sending it on a slow descent towards the middle of the ocean that divided Vale from Vytal. As everyone looked up, a cheer broke out among the defenders.

"We're not done yet!" Ivan shouted, looking to everyone. "Four more ships are in-system!"

"Are they gonna land?" Ruby asked.

"Drop pods first, then Phantoms." Ivan answered. He looked up, spotting the former. "Speak of the devil! Dig in!"

After a few moments of final defensive preparations, Ivan heard the familiar and terrifying thrumming of a Seraph Fighter's engine. Well over six hundred of the strike fighters descended into the atmosphere, firing their repeating plasma cannons. Most of the androids, soldiers, and huntsmen scattered for cover, but a few unlucky ones were charred by the superheated gas. The returning fire from the ground-based anti-air weapons knocked a fair few Seraphs out of the air. The rest began climbing higher into the air. An instant later, dozens of massive drop pods crashed into the tops of buildings, streets, and other locations throughout the city.

Covenant forces of all species piled out of the pods, with Sangheili warriors leading the charge. Ivan instantly opened fire on the hostile aliens, focusing on the Sangheili. One of the Sangheili Zealots ran from its pod and charged at a squad of Atlesian Knights, letting out a deep war cry in the process. The Elite ignited his Energy Sword, hacking through the androids with ease, as they were meant for ranged combat, not melee. The Elite was quickly put down by a massive round from Crescent Rose. "Oh my god!" Yang shouted, seeing a horde of Grunts flood in from an alley.

More and more Covenant forces came from all corners of the plaza, firing plasma weapons wildly. Ivan retained his composure, even as a needle rifle's spiky projectile embedded itself in the skull of an Atlesian soldier. The Atlesian Pulse Rifles were actually quite effective against the personal shields of the Sangheili warriors, which was made even more apparent as an Atlesian Huntsman fired a quick burst through an Elite's head, punching through the shields with relative ease. Ivan pulled a grenade from his combat harness, tossing it down the alleyway crowded with Grunts. The familiar terrified squeal of the Unggoy was quickly silenced by a grenade's detonation.

After what seemed like an eternity of a firefight, Ivan finally realized the actual objective of the suicide drop. He watched as dozens of Unggoy ignited plasma grenades and ran at the various anti-air emplacements in the plaza. Most were stopped before reaching their destination by a few well-placed bursts of gunfire from Ivan, but enough made it to their objective. The AA guns in the plaza all went up in a blinding plasma explosion, the ammunition igniting with the superheated plasma. A few Huntsmen, Knights, and soldiers were knocked back, some killed, by the explosions. The defenders finally began to adapt to the Covenant doctrine, steadily pushing them back. "We need to pull back!" Ivan shouted.

"Why?" One of the Atlesian Sergeants asked from behind a sandbag wall. "We just held them back!"

Suddenly, a few Fuel Rod cannon rounds impacted in the center of the plaza, vaporizing twelve Atlesian Knights. "That's why!" Ivan said, backing into an alleyway. As he and the remainder of the forces in the plaza began pulling back towards the streets, dozens of Phantoms descended from the atmosphere, dropping off even more Covenant Storm forces as they passed. The remaining soldiers, huntsmen, and students retreated into the city as the Covenant managed to secure a landing zone.

Most of the soldiers and Atlesian Knights broke off from Ivan's lead, following their squad leaders instead. A few huntsmen from Beacon, some Atlesian Knights, and Team RWBY remained with him. As he continued through the streets and alleyways, he heard the familiar noise of plasma rifles, repeaters, and pistols being fired from all around the city. As he rounded a corner, he saw a Covenant fireteam standing over a collection of scrapped Atlesian Knights. One of the Elites turned to look at him, surprised to find a SPARTAN. "A Demon!" The Sangheili shouted, priming his plasma repeater.

Ivan raised his Battle Rifle in an instant, firing a few bursts at the Elite. The Elite's shields popped with an arc of energy as the bullets finally wore it down. Ivan's shields flickered out as a final round from the now-dead Sangheili Ultra's plasma repeater slammed against them. He quickly joined the rest of his group behind cover, surprised to find the small remaining squad of Unggoy Grunts holding their ground. Weiss threw a bundle of Blast Dust from the revolving cylinder of her rapier. Four of the six Grunts were tossed aside like rag dolls, the remaining two attempted to run. Blake quickly fired a pair of shots from Gambol Shroud's pistol, ending the small aliens.

Ivan stood back up as his shields recharged, slotting a new magazine into his Battle Rifle. "Ivan!" Ruby asked, standing up from behind a dumpster. "What did that big one mean when he called you a Demon?"

"SPARTANs are called Demons by the Covenant." Ivan responded, helping a Huntsman up. "We're hated by the Elites, but they call us Demons with a… modicum of respect. Now c'mon, we need to keep moving and regroup with the second defensive line."

As Ivan's group continued moving, he could hear the sounds of battle progressively growing louder. As he walked down a large street which was strewn with parked cars, pockmarked by bullets, and scattered with bodies of Covenant, Human, and Faunus alike, he heard the familiar screech of a Banshee diving. "Get down!" Ivan shouted, a bright green flash blinding him. He felt himself tossed back by the impacting Fuel Rod round, skidding across the asphalt for at least ten meters. His armor's gel layer absorbed most of the impact, but his vision was blurred and he felt almost paralyzed by the sudden loss of footing and bearings.

As Ivan's vision slowly cleared, he saw the white blur of Weiss moving towards him and the other downed members of his team. He heard the muffled sound of plasma rifles firing, along with blue blurs whizzing past Weiss. He watched her release a packet of Shock Dust from her rapier, which slammed into the shields of a Sangheili, which managed to punch through the shields and send high amounts of amperage through the Elite's body. Weiss, seeing she was hopelessly outnumbered by at least four Elites and a squad of Jackals, elected to run towards an alley.

Ivan winced as his armor's shields kicked back on, pumped biofoam onto his wounds, and gave him a massive adrenal boost. He quickly pulled himself up and charged at the nearest Elite, grappling the mandibled alien with his hands. He used his element of surprise to quickly snap the Sangheili's neck, ripping the Energy Sword from the Elite's hip. He ignited the energy blade, causing the curved superheated plasma blade to flash into existence. He quickly ran the next Elite through with the blade, ripping it out with a horizontal motion.

The last two Elites were quickly dispatched by Atlesian Knights and the rest of Team RWBY, which was missing its W. "Ivan!" Yang shouted. "You alright?"

Ivan quickly glanced down at his armor, which was singed across the chestplate, had a few marks along the shoulders, and had badly scuffed leg armor. "I'm fine." Ivan said, eyeing his Battle Rifle on the ground. The impacting Fuel Rod from the Banshee heated the rifle up to such a degree that the polymer parts of the receiver were now melted into the concrete of the sidewalk. "But we need to move, Weiss ran off this way." He said, gesturing with the Energy Sword towards the alley. He quickly grabbed one of the Needle Rifles, spare cartridges, and a plasma pistol that an Elite was carrying before he began moving with the rest of his team, searching for the Heiress in the height of a battle.

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January 29, 2682; 0621 Hours

Remnant, Vale

Weiss sprinted through alleyways and side streets of Vale City, hoping and praying that she didn't run into any more of these Covenant. She had a certain expectation of what this invasion would look like, but it was completely shattered the second they hit the ground. She never expected anything like this. She never expected this many, with this type of ferocity. Even when their attack was clearly suicidal, they carried it out without question. They dropped into the heart of enemy territory with the sole intent of destroying everything on her planet, and it honestly terrified her.

She quickly stabbed a "Grunt", as Ivan referred to them, through its neck with her rapier, causing some of the methane that it breathed to leak out of its mask with a slight hiss. She knew that running was cowardly, but she had seen a massive eight foot tall alien cut through four of the most advanced military androids on Remnant with ease. She continued through the alleyways, the sound of plasma fire, gunfire, and alien shouting remaining an ominous backdrop to keep her nervous. She maneuvered through the winding side streets of Vale City, keeping as quiet as possible.

She rounded a corner, spotting the worst case scenario that she could've ever not hoped to run into. She saw two Sangheili, one of them in rather large silver armor. One had an Energy Sword, the other had some strange rifle with large canisters for ammunition. The Concussion Rifle-wielding Sangheili craned his elongated neck to look at the Heiress, letting out a low chuckle as he raised his Concussion Rifle. Weiss released a small cloud of Blast Dust, but the Sangheili managed to get two shots off before the explosives detonated on his chest, caving his bones into his chest cavity.

The two shots from the Concussion Rifle caused Weiss's Aura to fail, the high-pitched droning of her Scroll's Aura Monitoring software reminding her of her perilous situation. The second shot, as it didn't have a full-strength Aura to absorb the impact, sent her back a few feet, slamming her into a brick wall.

Before Weiss could get back onto her feet, the Sangheili Field Marshall was striding over to her. She attempted to grab Myrtenaster, but the Elite stomped on the handguard, sliding the rapier away. "Has your kind become so desperate in their defense of this world that they send children against the might of the Covenant?" The Sangheili asked, glaring down to her with his reptilian, purple eyes. "I find the difference in technology on this planet interesting, but it's of no concern to me." The Sangheili said, noticing that Weiss was slowly reaching towards a satchel on her belt. The Elite reached down, grabbing the Heiress by the neck, squeezing just hard enough to make it extremely uncomfortable. Weiss's hands shot up to attempt to lessen the grasp on her neck. The Elite let out a deep laugh. "Just like the rest of your pitiful race, weak and undisciplined." He ignited his Energy Blade, sending a jolt of fear mixed with adrenaline through Weiss. He held it just in front of her eyes, the contained plasma heating up Weiss's face, illuminating her face with an eerie blue glow. Weiss found herself, for the first time in her life, actually terrified of something. "My face will be the last thing your pathetic eyes ever see." The Elite said, rearing back his blade.

Weiss quickly slammed her eyes shut, her mind racing with ways to possibly escape. In an instant, she suddenly felt… defeated and completely helpless. As she heard the thrumming of the plasma blade being pulled back, she heard a deafening crack, followed by the sensation of falling.

Weiss immediately felt herself freeze up once she was on the ground again, the fear still having a lasting, paralyzing effect on her. She had the unshakable desire to curl up into a ball and recede from the entire world. She had looked into the eyes of a creature that actually seemed to enjoy taking another sentient being's life. The alien had laughed in her face when she tried to escape, calling her weak and undisciplined. It took a few moments for her to realize that someone was actually physically touching her.

Weiss immediately jolted, looking around to find who was making contact with her. She immediately noticed the concerned face of her partner, with her scythe-rifle lying on the ground next to her. "Weiss!" Ruby said, having the heiress propped up against her. "Are you alright?"

"R-Ruby?" Weiss asked, still shaking from the fear of having the face of a towering alien mere inches from her own, preparing to end her life.

"Weiss… it's okay." Ruby said, keeping her hands securely placed on Weiss's shoulders. "You're alright."

Weiss noticed that she was actually embracing Ruby, clutching onto the fabric of her partner's dress for dear life. She immediately let go upon realizing it, attempting to compose herself, with little success. She fumbled as she attempted to pick up her blade, barely fitting it back into its sheath. "I-I'm alright." Weiss managed, unconvincingly. Weiss felt a small pang in her chest as Ruby stood up, placing a hand on the heiress's shoulder. She shrugged the comforting gesture off.

After a few moments of awkward silence so loud that it almost drowned out the plasma fire nearby, Ivan, Blake, and Yang rounded the corner into that small side street, the SPARTAN's armor seeming even more scuffed after a close encounter with a Mgalekgolo pair. "Weiss!" Ivan said, lowering his Needle Rifle. His attention was grabbed by the dead Field Marshall on the ground, a massive hole in his head from Crescent Rose. "I'm glad that you're alright, but we need to keep moving. We're almost at the secondary defensive line."

Weiss nodded, steeling herself with some success. She made the mistake of looking at her younger partner, a pang of guilt running through her after she so easily brushed off the caring gesture. She, and the rest of the group, fell in behind Ivan's lead.

After passing through a few more side streets, regrouping with Team CFVY in the process, they came to their destination: the secondary defensive line. Everything inwards from this massive ring around the city had been secured relatively quickly by the military presence within, and this was where they would hold. Hundreds of Atlesian Soldiers and Knights, dozens of Paladins, and an almost innumerable amount of Vale soldiers held the line behind overturned cars, rudimentary barricades, and deployable metallic cover.

As the group sprinted behind cover under the constant stream of incoming plasma and needles, dozens of Phantoms descended upon the city. They had come under fire from the ground-based AA, taking a few of them down, but there were simply too many. They off-loaded hundreds of Covenant into the streets of Vale, bolstering their numbers and their resolve.

As Ivan popped out from behind the overturned truck he was using for cover, he shouted into his comms unit. "Omega, SITREP!" He demanded.

"We're holding here, Major!" Lauren answered. "We've pushed them back to the wall. We're sending civvies into the city with escort!"

"We're under heavy fire!" Mary's voice crackled over the comms. "Hunters at the rear! Someone get a rocket out!"

"We have a Scarab in the West!" Jacob's voice shouted over the comms. "I repeat! Scarab in the west!"

"Shit…" Ivan muttered, spotting one of the ONISEC Marines manning this section of the defensive line popping out with a SPNKr launcher, sending a homing rocket towards an incoming Ghost, the impact sending the vehicle into the air in a ball of flame. He could hear the distinct roar of a Scarab's energy projector from where he stood, coming from his due West. "Ruby!" He called out, ducking under an incoming barrage of needler rounds from a Jackal.

"Yeah?!" Ruby answered, leaning out from behind a barricade to fire a few rounds at an incoming Elite Zealot, sending it to the ground.

"Hold the line here!" He shouted, tossing a plasma grenade up and over his cover. He heard the terrified screeching of a Jackal before the grenade's detonation hissed over the battlefield, vaporizing the creature. "I'm going to assist the forces in the West!"

"Got it!" Ruby acknowledged, scrambling back into cover as a Beam Rifle speared past her, burning a neat hole through the chest of an Atlesian Knight.

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January 29, 2682; 1701 Hours

Remnant, Vale

Ivan let out a pained grunt as he landed on the deck of a Scarab walker. As if one wasn't bad enough, another had popped up in the North. Since he was the closest SPARTAN, he had offered to go deal with it. The sun had just set, and the fighting was only getting worse. News had started flooding in from the other kingdoms as well. Atlas seemed to be getting the worst of it, but they were holding for now. Vacuo was suffering the worst in the assault, with casualties already estimated to be well over a million. Mistral's walls had broken, and Grimm were flooding the city along with the Covenant. Thankfully, it seemed that the Grimm were indiscriminate in their hatred for sentient life. They seemed to attack the Covenant just as regularly as the defenders. All in all, the current casualty estimates that he had received from Merlin painted it at just over five million. Far too many.

"Vile Demon!" A Sangheili Major shouted, firing his dual Plasma Rifles in Ivan's direction. Ivan quickly ignited his thrusters, pushing himself behind the support strut for the Scarab's anti-air cannon. Hearing the Elite approaching from the left, he ignited the stolen Energy Sword and lunged around the corner, running the alien through with the blade.

Not wasting time, he rushed down the ramp and into the command center for the massive walker. The Grunts and Elites manning their stations didn't even have time to register his existence before he cut them down, leaving the Scarab completely inert. Not one to waste an asset, he ran over to the console that controlled the anti-air cannon atop the Scarab and racked his brain for the control scheme. He had gone through countless simulations for commandeering a Scarab, and he very quickly remembered the procedure.

His hands danced across the display, and he quickly took control of the cannon. He turned the gun on the Phantoms that were ferrying troops towards the Southern sector of the city, swatting them from the air. A wing of Banshees vectored in towards him, and he brought the cannon around to engage them.

Once he was satisfied that he had created a large enough hole in the Covenant air cover for now, he sprinted over towards the console for the Energy Projector controls, and repeated the procedure. Taking command of the powerful main armament of the Covenant walker, he sent a searing beam of plasma towards a column of Wraiths that were lobbing plasma over the nearby buildings, detonating the Covenant armor almost instantly.

With a heavy sigh, he disabled the Energy Projector and sprinted towards the upper deck of the Scarab. He was very thankful that the Covenant had brought mostly-outdated equipment on their little campaign here. It had become abundantly clear over the past few years that Covenant Storm had become desperate, and their use of Human-Covenant War-era tech certainly supported that.

As he came around to the rear of the Scarab, he pulled a pair of Plasma Grenades from his combat harness, priming them and tossing them into the core of the Scarab. The two grenades stuck to the slithering masses of Lekgolo worms that drove the vehicle, and he quickly broke for the side of the walker.

Sprinting off the edge and igniting his thrusters, he found himself on the rooftop of a nearby jewelry store. He continued running and jumped down to the street behind the shop, hearing the deafening explosion and creaking metal that came with a destroyed Scarab. Surprised to find himself in an alley devoid of Covenant forces, he allowed himself a moment to assess the situation. He quickly found himself regretting that.

On the ground nearby, he found the charred and mangled remains of a family that was attempting to flee from the Covenant attack. What little skin remained was a charcoal black, thin strands of sinew and muscle hanging from the corpses. There was a mother, a father, and three children. Five of many that had been lost in the short eleven hour defense. One of the children, a young boy, was clutched in the arms of his father, who had obviously attempted to shield his child from the invaders. A single lifeless brown eye looked to the SPARTAN, almost pleading for his help. Ivan knew better, but deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he could have done to save that boy. All of that talk about protecting people… and he couldn't even protect a single child.

Ivan was only shaken out of his stupor by the frantic mumblings of a Grunt from the other end of the alley. Ivan's head shot up, and he glared at the stocky alien. The small alien noticed him, too, and stopped dead in its tracks. It had seemingly been separated from its leader, and was now trembling in fear. Knowing that his stolen Energy Sword was out of charge, he reached up to his chestplate and produced his combat knife, sprinting towards the small alien as it screeched in fear.

He covered the distance in but a second, grabbing the creature by its methane pack and yanking it around to face him. He brought his knife down through its head once, twice, three times before he gripped its now-slack jaw, snapping its neck upwards. The creature fell to the ground in a pool of neon-blue blood, a faint gurgle escaping its mouth as it let out a final breath.

Ivan let out a heavy sigh, sliding his blade back into its sheath. Ruby's voice rang out in his ear, bringing him back into reality and chasing away the tunnel vision. "Ivan! More of those Hunters are coming our way!"

"En-route." Ivan answered, pulling the Needle Rifle into his hands and breaking out in a sprint back towards the secondary line.

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January 30, 2682; 0545 Hours

Remnant, Vale

Ivan stood behind a wall of sandbags, firing his procured Plasma Repeater into the head of an advancing Grunt, igniting the methane in the tank and causing a small detonation all along the Unggoy's back. The second defensive line was holding exceptionally well now, thanks in no small part to the new Atlesian Paladins that were deployed to assist in the defense. The line had held for about an hour and a half since his return from dealing with a Locust with little issue, only taking a few casualties from the occasional Banshee strafing run, which usually ended with a burning Banshee falling from the sky. A few Grimm had also snuck their way into the city amidst the confusion, and actually assisted in the defense, as they attacked the Covenant forces along with the Humans and Faunus.

Ivan knew something had happened with Weiss and the Elite Field Marshall. He didn't bring it up, but he knew something hit Weiss hard. She remained stoic, even for being the Ice Queen. She had even less reaction to things than usual, and that honestly made him worry. Yang and Blake had been integral in defending their current position, since Blake could easily confuse the Covenant forces with her Shadow Semblance, while Yang was just sending explosive shell after explosive shell at the Covenant. Ruby had the ability to put her sniper rifle to good use against the more heavily armored enemies, only really finding trouble hitting the small exposed torso on a Hunter. Weiss on the other hand was faltering slightly. She missed the occasional Blast Dust usage, seemed a bit more sluggish in her movements, and seemed less focused. He had a few theories about what happened in that side street, none of them very pretty. He knew better than most just how brutal the Sangheili were capable of being, he had seen it firsthand. He knew how the average person reacted to facing a veteran Elite, and Weiss was apparently no exception. She was obviously shaken up by the encounter.

As Ivan ducked back into cover after tossing a plasma grenade, satisfied with the sound of at least four Grunts being tossed aside by superheated plasma, he felt the elated feeling rise in his chest as sixteen IFFs appeared on his HUD, filtered in from the Prowler, which was still evading the Covenant Fleet. The neutered Covenant fleet had a bit more to worry about than one Stealth Frigate now, however. On Ivan's HUD, he watched all of the IFF tags appear in all of their glory. First came the flagship of the 2nd Fleet: In Spirit of Fire, an Infinity-Class Warship. After the Infinity, two Valiant Super-Heavy Cruisers slipped in, incredibly close to the Covenant fleet. After the Cruisers came a mix of four frigates and destroyers, mostly of the Strident and Paris Classifications. Much to his surprise, he saw the remaining IFFs belonged to the Swords of Sangheilios. One of them just so happened to be the newest ship in the Swords' fleet: the CSO-Class Supercarrier Prophet's Bane, helmed by the Arbiter.

He watched as the IFF of the CPV Destroyers in the Covenant fleet blinked out of existence. Apparently, the Swords had joined their allies in responding to the Covenant incursion. That was certainly a welcome surprise.

A voice came over Ivan's comms. It was the familiar, deep voice of Admiral Bishop. "People of Remnant, this is Fleet Admiral Joseph Bishop of the UNSC. We are here to assist." Ivan heard the transmission shift, and a booming voice replaced Bishop's "People of Remnant, I am Arbiter Thel'Vadam of the Swords of Sangheilios. We are your allies in this fight. Our forces will be planetside shortly."

Ivan shouted out into the general comms for the Remnant defenders. "All forces, this is Major Chesnokov!" He declared, a smile on his face for the first time in over a day. "Our support has arrived! Check your fire, do not engage the Elites in red armor! They are your allies!"

He fought with a renewed vigor, knowing that support was only minutes away. After a few moments of continued fighting, he heard the distinctive noise of something entering the atmosphere. He looked up, spotting three hundred SOEIV Pods, which slammed into the ground a moment later. Everyone's attention was grabbed as the shaped charges in the black pods exploded, sending the doors skidding across the street. Four SPARTANs jumped from the pods, each of them carrying a different weapon. One of the shorter SPARTANs with a more feminine frame carried a pair of SMGs, a Magnum, and at least a dozen grenades. The tallest of the three carried a SPNKr Rocket Launcher, MA5E Assault Rifle with a grenade launcher, and a small suppressed magnum. The other SPARTAN carried an M45D Tactical Shotgun and an SRS99 Sniper Rifle System. Ivan instantly recognized the stark-white MJOLNIR Gen-2 Power Armor. This was SPARTAN Fireteam Indigo. Their leader leapt from his pod, wielding an ARC-920 Railgun with two SMGs locked to his thighs.

"Chesnokov!" The larger of the SPARTANs shouted, firing his rocket launcher at a Hunter pair. "More support is inbound!" As if on cue, dozens of Pelican Dropships began descending into the atmosphere, dropping off Grizzly tanks, Warthogs, Marines, SPARTAN IVs, and Army personnel. F-41 Broadsword Fighters began descending into the atmosphere as well, engaging the Banshees and Seraphs at MACH 5. Hundreds of other SOEIV pods began screaming in their descent towards the surface of Remnant, each one bearing an ODST. Many of the defenders stood in stupefaction as the black-clad soldiers piled out of their pods, Marines poured out of dropships, and massive tanks were carried by those same ships.

The orbital battle was somewhat visible from the surface of Remnant, with long white streaks slamming into specks of light, which would almost always detonate in a brilliant display of light as the MAC slug slammed against the hull. Ivan turned to Team RWBY, who were watching in amazement as the UNSC forces pushed the Covenant back with relative ease. "The cavalry's here ladies, let's move!" The leader of Fireteam Indigo shouted out over the carnage of battle.

Ivan quickly vaulted over the waist-high sandbag wall, firing his Plasma Repeater as the rest of Fireteam Omega moved up behind him. Team RWBY followed behind, many of them still watching as the Marines and ODSTs moved against the Covenant. As the orbital battle steadily slowed down, eventually ending with a crushing UNSC victory, the larger capital ships descended into the atmosphere and began providing support. As they did, the positively massive CSO Supercarrier entered geosynchronous orbit, very nearly casting the entire city in shadow in the process. It released a veritable armada of Phantom dropships, all painted a bright green, alongside a swarm of drop pods. All of the pods carried a veteran Sangheili warrior, forged in the fire of their fight against the Covenant.

Team RWBY followed behind their SPARTAN companion, who caught an MA5E assault rifle that the female SPARTAN tossed in his direction. Four Pelicans and three Phantoms landed behind the defensive lines, dropping off twenty Marines or Sangheili each in the case of the Phantoms. The Marines and Sangheili quickly moved up to the line, assisting the Remnant forces. The tides of the battle turned in a matter of moments, with the Atlesian androids moving alongside the UNSC/Sangheili forces. Many of the SPARTANs were impressed with the Huntsmen, finding them capable of actually keeping up with the genetically-enhanced super soldiers. Even the Sangheili seemed surprised by their prowess.

The cleanup operation didn't take long. The UNSC and the Swords had the Covenant forces locked on Remnant and dominated the skies. The Grimm actually wound up giving the Marines and Swords more problems than the Covenant, since they were unfamiliar to the newcomers. The SPARTANs on the ground led the campaign, which ended with the Covenant being expelled from Remnant in a matter of hours. The UNSC had won, thanks in no small part to their allies.

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January 30, 2682; 1900 Hours

Remnant, Beacon Academy

Ivan walked through the courtyard at Beacon, still wearing his armor and weapons. Beacon had escaped from the battle relatively unscathed, with only a few minor plasma burns on the walls of the buildings. Near the center of the campus, where the statue of the Human and Faunus Huntsmen stood, there was a small memorial to the fifty eight Huntsmen who had lost their lives in the initial attack by Covenant Storm. Ivan took a deep breath as he walked past, a small part of his mind feeling slightly guilty for their loss, another part somewhat glad that nobody he knew was on that list.

He saw a few Marine Medical Corpsmen walking around, inspecting a few minor flesh wounds brought on by being a bit too close to a striking bolt of plasma. As he walked, he ran into Ozpin, who was standing in a grassy courtyard, seeming to only want to watch the scene before him unfold. "Ah, Mister Chesnokov." Ozpin said, adjusting his spectacles. "Do you have a moment?"

"Of course." Ivan said, nodding.

"I'd like to thank you for what you did here." Ozpin said. "Were it not for the UNSC and your allies coming to our assistance here on Remnant, I have no doubt we wouldn't be here right now."

"Thanks aren't necessary sir." Ivan said. "The UNSC's simply carrying out its enduring mission."

"That mission being?"

"Protect Humanity and Human interests." Ivan said.

"Does that apply to Faunus as well?" Ozpin asked.

"I don't have an answer for that." Ivan said, shrugging. "But since Faunus, as far as I can tell, are genetic cousins to Humans, I doubt they'll be seen as any different by us." He let out a chuckle. "If we can find ourselves allied with the Sangheili, I think the UNSC can look past some Humans with animal features."

Ozpin nodded, taking a sip from his omnipresent coffee mug. "What comes next?"

Ivan shrugged. "I know that Admiral Bishop and the Arbiter are in talks with all four kingdoms right now, but that's all they've told me. But from what I can tell, the UNSC and the Swords will be helping with the reconstruction efforts."

"That's certainly good to hear." Ozpin replied. "But what about you?"

Ivan sighed. "My Fireteam, Omega, is being sent to Auraxis Prime, the Covenant world that this invasion was launched from. They say that the campaign will be short, but they want us to take an entire planet."

Ozpin nodded. "When are you leaving?"

"Three days." Ivan responded.

"Well, I wish you luck." Ozpin said, giving Ivan a small smile. "Just remember, Ivan… you will always have a place here." Ozpin said.

"Thank you sir." Ivan said, returning the smile.

Ozpin nodded, turning back to his coffee. Ivan took his leave and continued walking towards the cliff. As he approached the cliff, he saw Team RWBY sitting on the edge, their feet dangling over. Off in the distance stood Vale City, with In Spirit of Fire and Prophet's Bane hovering overhead, along with a few Atlesian Military airships, UNSC Cruisers, and a veritable fleet of Pelicans. They had all only been back at Beacon for about an hour, so all of Team RWBY had yet to get any rest following the battle. Ivan walked over and sat down next to Ruby, who was the right-most person. Everyone looked to him with a smile.

Weiss seemed less shaken up by what happened to her. He had personally asked for her to receive a full workup by a field medic as the battle was winding down. The Medic had said it was mostly just a mix of adrenaline and fear, but had warned of the possibility of post-traumatic stress disorder as well. Weiss had insisted that she was fine, and she was certainly looking better. "Well…" Ruby said. "We did it."

"We did it!" Yang parroted, happily.

Weiss scoffed. "If we don't get any extra credit for that, I'm going to be really disappointed."

"Weiss…" Blake began. "Aliens literally invaded all of Remnant. I doubt it."

"And we didn't solve everything." Ruby said. "A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't know what's going on."

"Well… not every story has a neat and tidy ending." Weiss added.

"We might not have all of the answers." Ivan said. "But at least Remnant's people are safe. Well… most of them." Ivan sighed. "Fucking ONI…" He muttered.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked, looking over.

"This is all my fault…" Ivan sighed. "I requested reinforcements months ago, and ONI all but told me to go fuck myself." He clenched his fist. "I should've kept at it. Maybe I could have…"

"Ivan… you did all that you could at the time." Yang offered her comforting words, looking over to the SPARTAN. "And you helped us fight off a freakin' alien invasion!"

"I guess…" Ivan relented.

"Hey, we did very well today." Weiss offered.

"Yeah!" Ruby said. "And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be ready."

Yang leaned back, lying down on the grass. "Yay… teamwork, camaraderie, good job, go team…" Yang's voice was clearly exhausted, she eventually sat up again, resting on her elbows and forearms. "So what now?"

"We could always train for the tournament…" Weiss said, realization suddenly dawning on her. "Wait… the Vytal Festival Tournament only has teams of four, and we have five." Everyone turned to look at Ivan, who simply smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about that." Ivan said. "I'm heading off to the Covenant world that this assault was launched from in three days. Not sure how long I'll be gone, but you guys can just fight in the tournament without me."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Ruby asked, sadness in her voice.

"Not for long." Ivan responded. "HIGHCOM wants someone like me to remain on Remnant as a liaison of sorts, so I'll be back once the campaign against the Covenant is over. But while I'm gone, keep me posted on what happens around here. Before I leave, I'll give you guys something you can use to contact me."

Everyone smiled, which was a refreshing change of pace for the past few days. "So… uh…" Yang said after a minute of silence. "Are we just going to ignore the fact that the same aliens that attacked us are now helping us rebuild?"

"Yeah…" Ruby said, looking to Ivan. "What's up with that?"

"Yeah, the Swords are the same species, but they're radically different in their beliefs." Ivan explained. "I'd go so far as to say that they're Humanity's closest allies."

"An astute observation, SPARTAN." A deep, almost thrumming voice called out from behind them. Everyone turned to see a Sangheili in a golden set of runic armor walking towards them. Ivan recognized the alien immediately. It was the Arbiter. Nobody other than Ruby caught it, but Weiss seemed to tense up. Ruby gently placed her hand atop Weiss'.

Much to everyone's surprise, Ivan stood up and clasped a fist over his heart. "Arbiter…" He said, bowing his head forward slightly. None of them knew it, but it was a gesture of immense respect in Sangheili culture.

"A pleasure to see you again, SPARTAN." Thel allowed his mandibles to form the Sangheili equivalent to a welcoming smile as he returned the gesture. "And this must be the team of young ones that was so instrumental in the defense…"

"Indeed." Ivan nodded. "Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang; this is Arbiter Thel'Vadum, Supreme Commander of the Swords of Sangheilios."

"It is an honor to meet all of you, young ones." The Arbiter offered the gesture to the four of them.

"Y-You too, sir." Ruby managed, somewhat intimidated by the nearly eight foot-tall alien.

The Arbiter chuckled, and Weiss' blood ran cold. It was far too similar for her liking. "Do not be afraid." He held his hands out in a gesture of neutrality. "I am merely here to offer my sincerest apologies."

"For?" Weiss asked, her voice tense.

It seemed the Arbiter sensed the tension behind the heiress' words. "For your first meeting with my kind to go as it has." He explained, his tone mournful. "It is regretful that you have undoubtedly developed a bit of a… perception of my people that is not entirely true to us. I, along with my brothers and sisters in the Swords of Sangheilios, wish for nothing but the strongest peace with your people." The Arbiter craned his neck to look to Weiss, doing his best to appear unintimidating. "And… If there is one thing I can say about your kind, it is that you are strong. I have no doubt that you will recover from this atrocity, and my people will be with yours."

"Will you be leaving a detachment of the Swords here, Arbiter?" Ivan asked, looking to the veteran Sangheili.

"Indeed." He nodded. "It would be a dishonor to those who died at the hands of this war if we simply left. My ships will remain here to assist in the reconstruction of this world, as well as its defense. And… should it be allowed, we will hold an embassy here to repair the damage done that goes beyond scarred buildings." The Arbiter chuckled. "But, you do not wish to listen to the ramblings of an old warrior. Even amidst this devastation, time should be spent with friends and family." He clasped a hand over his hearts, bowing his head. "I will leave you now. I am needed on your Admiral's vessel soon."

"An honor, as always, Arbiter." Ivan returned the gesture. He allowed himself an internal smile as the four members of Team RWBY returned the gesture. Weiss even seemed to have eased up after speaking with the Arbiter for a time.

"Good day, young ones." The Arbiter nodded to the Huntresses, turning back towards the landing pads. Sitting on the pad was a Phantom dropship, guarded by a few Swords.

Ivan sighed, sitting back down beside the Huntresses. "Ivan… you've met him before?" Yang asked. "He said that it was a pleasure to see you again, after all."

Ivan nodded. "I've met him a few times in the past. Mostly back on Earth. He regularly comes to Earth, mostly to visit the memorials from the Human-Covenant War."

"Why?" Ruby asked. Having met him, she wasn't exactly surprised that he would do something like that, but she'd still like a concrete answer.

"As he's told me… it's his way of atoning for what he did during the War." Ivan explained. "He was a Fleetmaster, commanded the Fleet of Particular Justice that glassed Reach."

"Glassed?" Weiss asked.

"Glassing completely destroys the surface of a planet… vaporizes the ground and all of the moisture on the surface." Ivan explained. "It happened to dozens of Human colonies during the War."

"Oh my god…" Yang managed. "H-How many?"

"Died?" Ivan asked, earning a nod from Yang. "Twenty three billion."

Everyone's jaw fell slack. That was over seven times the amount of people that currently lived on Remnant. "Oh god…" Blake muttered. "How long ago was this?"

"It ended a hundred and twenty nine years ago." Ivan answered, sighing. "We're still terraforming a lot of those planets, and our population still isn't back to pre-war numbers. But please, god, enough sad shit." Ivan chuckled. "I've had enough to last me a lifetime over the past few hours."

"True enough…" Blake nodded, allowing the group to fall into a comfortable silence.

"Time for bed?" Ruby asked, breaking that silence.

"Oh yes…" Weiss said.

"I'm going to sleep forever." Blake said, standing up along with everyone else. As Ivan followed behind his team, making their way back towards their dormitory, he turned to look at the two behemoth vessels hovering over Vale City, his departure looming over his mind. A very noticeable feeling of sadness came over him for a few moments; he had really come to love this world.