Chapter 26: The Call
January 25, 2683; 1653 Hours
Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck)
If there was one thing that Ivan never expected to see, it was Blake hiding beneath the covers while Yang stood before him, a stupid smirk mixed with a heated red blush on her face. She seemed to take his hot tub comment in stride, while Blake merely tucked herself deeper into the sheets of the bed. "Sorry, forgot to turn it off." Yang said, the awkwardness flooding through her false confidence.
"Right…" Ivan said, suppressing his smirk. "I'm going to get the others, we need to actually plan our next move."
"Sounds good!" Yang said, doing her utmost to sound cheery in spite of the situation.
Ivan finally broke a small smirk and walked away, choosing to end the hideously awkward situation as soon as possible. He quickly descended the staircase, finding Ruby to be joining Winter on the sofa. Winter was casually reading over mission reports, and Ruby was reading a magazine with the quite creative title of "Weapons". "Winter, care to join me? I'm gonna go get JNPR."
"Sure." Winter said, placing the datapad back onto the table. "Coming, Ruby?"
"Yeah!" Ruby said, closing the magazine and bounding to her feet. She quickly ran up to the pair of SPARTANs, following them out of the house.
"Let's get JNPR first." Ivan said, walking to the transport Warthog that rested in front of the housing unit.
"Are Yang and Blake coming?" Ruby asked, climbing into the second row of seats.
Ivan paused for a bit longer than he would've liked. "They're… indisposed right now." Ivan climbed into the driver's seat, keying the ignition and bringing the hydrogen engine to life. Winter jumped into the passenger seat soon after.
Just before Ivan could shift the vehicle into first gear, his communicator beeped in his ear. He pressed a finger to his ear, his retinal display showing the communication to be coming from Pyrrha. "What's up, Pyrrha?" Ivan asked. "We're just coming to get you guys."
"Ivan, you should probably get everyone and meet us at the Mistral Police Headquarters downtown." Pyrrha said, her tone urgent. "Police Chief has something for us."
"On the way." Ivan said, quickly hopping out of the still-on Warthog and jogging towards the front door. He opened it, stuck his head inside, and shouted "Yang, Blake! Get out here, we're heading downtown!" Not hearing the muffled response, Ivan quickly headed back towards the Warthog, linking up to Coco's scroll through his neural implant. "Coco, regroup at the Mistral PD Headquarters downtown."
"Got it." Coco responded, succinct. She cut the communication from her end.
Ivan hopped back into the driver's seat of the Warthog. "Police have something for us." Ivan said, seeing the confused look on Ruby's face.
After a few moments, Blake and Yang came out of the house, wearing their normal attire and carrying their weapons. The two of them climbed into the rear-most set of seats aboard the vehicle, silently and awkwardly. Ivan quickly threw the vehicle into gear and took off.
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January 25, 2683; 1745 Hours
Remnant, Mistral (Mistral PD Headquarters)
Ivan rolled his eyes as he went through another security checkpoint, courtesy of Mistral PD. They had gone so far as to ask him to remove the pins on his uniform, his cap, his belt, everything short of the grey uniform that all UNSC officers wear. After nearly twenty minutes in security, he was finally cleared to pass. Unsurprisingly, he and Winter were the only two who underwent such extensive security checks.
RWBY and CFVY passed through so long as they showed their weapons, which peeved the SPARTAN to no end. Once Yang, being the last in line, was through, a pair of Mistral Police walked them into a large conference room, where JNPR was already standing around a table. Joining the team was an older man with a full beard and bald head. He was wearing a mix of Mistral Police fatigues and combat armor with officer's markings. He seemed surprised by the sheer number of people walking into the conference room. "Well, since you decided to bring everyone, I suppose I should actually get started." The Police Chief said, pressing a key on the underside of the table.
Ivan watched as a projection of Mistral and the surrounding villages popped up from a small holographic projector in the table. The Police Chief continued. "We've been getting dozens of reports of Faunus activity passing through this village here." As he explained, a marker designated the village in question. It appeared small, probably housing no more than a thousand people. It rested at the foot of a small trio of mountains.
"Passing through the village?" Ivan asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he examined the projection of the terrain.
"They pass through the village and head north, towards the mountains." The Chief responded. "No clue why, but it's exclusively Faunus. No humans have been seen doing this. We have limited intelligence on this, since I can barely move my people outside the city walls, it's too dangerous."
For the life of him, Ivan couldn't figure why the police simply left these small towns outside of the city walls to fend for themselves, but he decided to keep quiet. "Is there anything else you can tell us?" Winter asked.
"Nobody that's been seen going up there has ever come back down." The Chief responded, earning a grim look from all those around the table.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention." Winter said, nodding. "We'll look into it."
"Apparently the Mistral Military has already gone to investigate." The Chief explained, earning a sour look from the two SPARTANs."
"We'll deal with that when we get there." Ivan said, sighing. "Thank you, sir."
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January 25, 2683; 1951 Hours
Remnant, Mistral (2km Outside Walls)
Ivan sat in the passenger's seat of a Warthog, which was part of a larger convoy that rolled down the dirt road outside of Mistral's defensive wall. Joining the convoy was a trio of Warthogs equipped with extra passenger seating and an armored canopy, two Gauss Warthogs, and two standard chaingun-bearing Warthgos. The three armored personnel carriers were responsible for transporting the three Huntsmen teams, while the four weaponized vehicles provided fire support and escort. Any extra space in the backs of the passenger Warthogs was taken up by ODSTs.
The roads outside of the city in the late evening were practically devoid of life. There was the occasional truck driving by, but they tended to give the UNSC a wide berth. As they neared the small mountainside village, Ivan threw his MJOLNIR helmet over his head, locking it in place. Winter, who was manning the Gauss cannon on the back of his Warthog, sent him a "ready" ping.
The village they passed through was silent this late at night, save for the Warthog engines. There was the local militia that seemed to tense up at the sight of the UNSC military rolling through their small town in the dead of night, but they were smart enough to ignore the vehicles, save for the occasional glare. The streets were paved, which was rare for a town like this, and the streetlights gave the town an ominous feel. The occasional civilian opened their window to look at the UNSC as they passed, but nothing beyond that happened as they drove through.
As they neared the northern outskirts of the town, they were greeted by the sight of a sparsely-forested area. There appeared to be a very deliberate de-foresting of a small mountainside passage, as well as wear on the underbrush, indicating that people had passed through relatively recently. Luckily, a wide enough area had been cleared to allow even a Scorpion-II to pass through, not that the heavy tank would care about thin pine trees standing in its way.
Ivan gave the motion for the convoy to continue on through the clearing. He hefted his Battle Rifle up to his shoulder, sweeping the treeline with his thermal optics activated. The forest was unnaturally quiet, with only the humming of the Gauss Cannon's inductive coils and the Warthog engine to keep the SPARTAN company.
After a few minutes of driving, the convoy was greeted by a sight that confused the SPARTAN to no end. In the center of a large clearing at the base of the largest mountain, there were six crashed Bullheads, looking like they were torn apart through brute force. There were scorch marks pockmarking the grass, and nearly four dozen Mistral Military personnel laying throughout the clearing, charred, burned, torn apart, and mutilated. Joining the dead Mistral armed forces were roughly two dozen White Fang, their bodies similarly torn apart and battered.
At the base of the mountain, there appeared to be a quarry of some kind. It was a hole in the ground, roughly forty meters wide, and surrounded by excavation equipment. Most of the White Fang corpses were surrounding the quarry. "Form a perimeter!" Ivan ordered, jumping out of the Warthog.
The fifteen ODSTs joining the SPARTAN disembarked from their vehicles, taking up positions around the area. The Warthogs moved to create a rough perimeter around the quarry, which rested off to the side of a four hundred meter clearing. ODST medics rushed over to the Mistral military, inspecting their wounds.
The three teams of Huntsmen jumped out of their vehicles, greeted by the stench of hours-dead corpses. A few of them, namely Jaune, recoiled in disgust. The three teams moved to meet up with Winter and Ivan, who were walking towards the quarry. "Ivan!" Ruby shouted, flashing over with her semblance. "What's going on?"
Just as Ruby arrived, Ivan was looking over the edge of the hole in the ground. He seemed to be staring down, completely oblivious to the redhead's presence. "What is it, Ivan?" Ruby asked, looking over the edge herself. She was greeted by the image of the forty foot-deep hole in the ground. It was dug at a slight angle, allowing people to walk down the slight incline in the ground. At the bottom, about forty feet down, was a wall of silverite metal and fluorescent blue lights. Ruby recognized it as looking strangely similar to the armor that Ivan's semblance gave him.
"Forerunners…" Ivan said, finishing Ruby's thought for her. "Son of a bitch!" He said, quickly wheeling around and pressing a hand to the side of his helmet. "Agent Thorne, do you read?"
"Loud and clear, SPARTAN." Thorne said. "What is it?"
"I need a full deployment to my current position, we've uncovered Forerunner ruins." Ivan said, Thorne's end of the communication going silent for a few moments.
"Mistral Treaty be damned, this overrides their damned security concerns." Thorne said. "Hang tight, Firebase deployment en-route. Hold your position until the deployment completes. Thorne out."
Ivan turned to the ODSTs and confused Huntsmen. "Hold your positions, the UNSC is deploying a full firebase to this location."
"What's going on?" Blake asked.
"Beneath us, there are Forerunner ruins." Ivan explained, earning even more looks of confusion from the Huntsmen. The ODSTs seemed to understand, and began digging in. "What that means, is that this location is currently on lock-down. If the White Fang were doing what I think they were, that puts this entire planet in danger. Forerunner Ruins are dangerous, far beyond the imagining of the White Fang."
"Why are they dangerous? What are Forerunners?" Coco asked.
Ivan sighed, beginning his explanation. "You've all been given clearance by ONI to know this, so I'm telling you now. Everything you see and hear from here on out will be given Zeta-1 Classification. None of you are permitted to discuss the findings in these ruins with anyone outside of ONI or this group."
"Now that that's out of the way, the Forerunners are an ancient race of hyper-advanced aliens that controlled a galaxy-spanning empire. They're responsible for creating the armor that I can call upon, as well as those androids that you've all seen me command. These ruins can house any number of things, from Forerunner Sentinel constructs, Prometheans, or something far worse."
"Worse?" Ruby asked.
"Something that goes far beyond any clearance that any of you will ever have." Ivan explained. "If, God help us, the worst case scenario is down there, then you can know. Until then, it remains classified."
"The thing Ivan is talking about is the reason that SPARTANs still exist." Winter explained. "It's a threat that goes far beyond the Grimm or Cinder."
Before any more questions could be asked, the roar of several dozen engines filled the air. Looking up, the group was greeted by the sight of a UNSC Deployable Firebase, being carried by a Heavy Load Bearing Platform. It was an actual building, looking identical to the command bunker of Firebase India. The group of Huntsmen stood stunned as the building touched down in the center of the clearing, locking itself into the hardened ground with hydraulic clamps.
Just behind the command bunker, seven more buildings were brought down by these load bearing platforms. The platforms deployed a barracks, a field armory, a motor pool/vehicle depot, a small mobile airpad, two supply pads, and a small fusion reactor. The smaller buildings were dropped in a "U" shape around the rear of the command bunker. Behind the smaller load bearing platforms came four Pelicans, carrying Marines and Field Engineers. The Engineers quickly jumped out of the back of the Pelicans, and began working on connecting the reactor to the rest of the newly deployed Firebase. Twelve of the unoccupied Engineers began setting up defensive turrets around the base, as well as railgun platforms, mobile SAM batteries, and incendiary mortars. Everyone other than the SPARTANs and ODSTs stood slack-jawed as the UNSC had just set up a veritable fortress in under five minutes, effectively locking down the area. It suddenly became abundantly clear just how quickly the UNSC could project an immense amount of force anywhere on Remnant.
As Ivan admired the Deployed Fortress, his communicator bleeped to life in his ear. He immediately answered the call, seeing it was from Thorne on his HUD. "Go ahead." Ivan said, internally smirking at the dumbfounded expressions from the Huntsmen.
"Ivan, I'm placing Firebase Echo under your command." Thorne explained. "Soldiers, vehicles, and air assets are at your command."
"Understood."
"But… that also means you'll be dealing with any guests that decide to come investigate." Thorne said. Just as Thorne spoke, a veritable fleet of Mistral Bullheads flew overhead. The VTOLs were a mix of passenger aircraft and ground-attack aircraft. Joining them was their mothership, a Mistral Flagship.
"Son of a bitch…" Ivan muttered. "Understood, I'll deal with the peanut gallery."
"I wish you luck, SPARTAN." Thorne said, his voice very nearly being drowned out by the howling Bullhead engines. "Even the President could barely talk with Mistral." With that, Thorne severed the comms.
Ivan sighed, seeing the Marines around the Firebase begin forming a defensive perimeter. As much as he hated to admit it, he expected a firefight. He linked his communicator to the base-wide comms network. "Marines, this is Colonel Chesnokov." Ivan began. "Dig in and prime the mobile SAMs and Railgun artillery. Set up a defensive perimeter and secure this clearing. Do not fire unless fired upon."
Ivan turned to the Huntsmen surrounding him, their weapons prepared. "Let's keep this civil." Ivan shouted over the roar of the Flagship's engines. "I'd rather avoid a war!"
Ivan felt his comms ping again, answering it. "Yes?" He asked, somewhat irritated.
"Colonel, a Mistral Bullhead is requesting permission to land." The Firebase ATC Commander explained.
"Direct them to my current position." Ivan responded.
After a quick moment of waiting, the Bullhead in question set down near Ivan, allowing a Mistralian Brigadier General to step out of the VTOL. He was joined by four Mistral Elite Guard, their golden armored collars indicating their rank. As the General approached, he seemed to regard the Marines and pair of SPARTANs with disdain, a seemingly perpetual sneer on his mustached face. Ivan keyed Thorne's communicator into the discussion. "Where is your commanding officer?" The General demanded of Ivan, looking up at the SPARTAN, who was easily a foot taller.
"You would be speaking to the commander of this facility." Ivan responded. "Colonel Ivan Chesnokov, SPARTAN Corps and commanding officer of Firebase Echo."
"Well, Colonel, I am ordering you to remove this facility from these grounds immediately. You are trespassing on sovereign Mistral lands, and are in violation of the Treaty of Mistral."
"The situation has changed." Ivan said, drawing a glare from the General. "Forerunner ruins have been discovered here, and under the authority of the UNSC High Command, I have been ordered to secure these ruins and learn their purpose. This mission is a part of an investigation into the White Fang attack on Vale seven months ago, an investigation that was sanctioned by your government."
"We did not sanction the deployment of UNSC military onto our sovereign lands." The General responded.
"Your lands have not been sovereign since the Sydney Accords." Ivan answered. "Despite this fact, we respected your wishes and signed a separate treaty. That treaty, however, gives UNSC HIGHCOM the authority to claim eminent domain over any lands found to be containing Forerunner Ruins. This area just so happens to contain these ruins."
"Where is your proof?" The General demanded once again.
"Look down the hole in the ground, you can see the Forerunner Alloy walls." Ivan answered.
The General scowled, nodding to one of his guardsmen to go inspect the hole. The Elite Guard jogged over to the dug-out section of ground, peering down. After a few moments of staring, he jogged back. "General Blackwell, the SPARTAN is telling the truth. There are massive metallic walls down there."
"Now that we've got that out of the way, I would ask that you allow me to continue my investigation of these ruins." Ivan said, hating the diplomatic tone he was forced to take up. All he wanted, in a very small and vocal portion of his mind, was to knock the scowl right off the General's face.
"I'm sure you wouldn't mind my men accompanying you into the ruins." The General stated, as if it were fact. "This is our kingdom, we have the right to ensure the safety of our people."
"Let him accompany you." Thorne said, nearly startling Ivan. "It'll keep his mouth shut for a while. I'm already getting bitched at by the Mistral Council, and they're asking the same thing. Arrest them if they tamper with anything, however."
Ivan sighed. "You're cleared to send some of your men down with mine. However, you have no knowledge of the dangers of Forerunner technology. Should you or any of your men tamper with the relics found in these ruins, I will be forced to arrest you under the authority of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence. That is non-negotiable."
"Very well, SPARTAN." General Blackwell responded. "I will join you, personally."
"That's fine." Ivan said. "Now, if you wouldn't mind ordering your airship to begin a holding pattern around the mountain range? I have Pelicans that need to land."
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January 25, 2683; 2041 Hours
Remnant, Atlas
Weiss glanced over to her new Scroll, which was quietly playing an Atlesian News station on its screen. It had been about a week since she had Klein help her get a new Scroll without her father knowing, and it was so nice to have something without her father's express knowledge and control over it. She had been working on this song for the better part of two days now, and the light hum in the background served as a good distraction if she found herself stuck. It very quickly caught her attention, however.
This just in from Mistral: numerous independent and state-run groups have reported sighting a massive movement from the UNSC's largest military facility on the continent. Large squadrons of Broadsword Fighters and Pelicans have been seen leaving Camp Vorbeck in the past twenty minutes. There are unconfirmed reports that the UNSC has deployed units from their orbital stations into Mistral's Va'ale Mountain Range, as well as reports of a small column of UNSC military forces passing through a small village on the outside of the city near this mountain range.
Video footage of a convoy of seven Warthogs carrying what appeared to be Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and two SPARTAN-IVs has emerged from this same village. It is unconfirmed, but eyewitness reports suggest that the Pelican dropships departing from Camp Vorbeck are bearing down on the Mountain Range, and are carrying what appears to be Scorpion tanks, Mantis walkers, Cobra anti-armor platforms, Wolverine SAM platforms, and previously never-before-seen vehicles. We will keep you posted on this story as it develops.
Weiss watched as the news anchor's face was replaced by a shaky video recorded on a Scroll. It showed the convoy of Warthogs passing through the small village, and seemed to focus on the lead vehicle for a time. She saw an ODST driving the vehicle, while a SPARTAN in stark white armor manned the Gauss cannon on the back. A familiar set of Helljumper-pattern MJOLNIR sat in the passenger's seat. Weiss immediately knew it was Ivan. She had no idea who the second SPARTAN was, however. She just assumed it was a new addition to Ivan's team.
Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed her Scroll from where she had it propped up against a stack of books and flipped it over. She opened up the number pad, and typed out Ivan's number. She was taking a huge risk here. Her father had the nasty habit of barging in unannounced, but she was willing to risk it for this.
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January 25, 2683; 2054 Hours
Remnant, Mistral (Firebase Echo)
Ivan directed the Cobra railgun artillery piece to lock down at the mouth of the clearing, fully securing the small meadow that Firebase Echo had come to call home for the past thirty minutes. The perimeter was secured by two Cobras, locked down at the mouth of the clearing, four Rhino Plasma Artillery tanks locked down around the Firebase, a group of six MANTIS Mechs that were patrolling around the perimeter, four Hornet Attack VTOLs that were circling the base, a single Vulture Assault VTOL, an armored column of two Grizzly Super-Heavy tanks, four Scorpion-II MBTs, and two Gremlin Directed EMP Vehicles. There were well over two hundred Marines and seventy five ODSTs that had been dispatched to the Firebase, as well.
The Defensive Turrets surrounding the Firebase were on a constant swivel, keeping their quad-autocannons trained outwards and scanning the skies with SAM pods. It would take a veritable army to take this base down, and still Ivan had a feeling of unease in his stomach. Winter was off directing a small group of Combat Engineers as they worked to attach the treads to the drive wheels of a Scorpion-II, The Huntsmen were off by the deployed Barracks, checking their weapons and gathering any needed supplies from the nearby Field Armory. The Mistral soldiers had set up a small camp just outside the Firebase as well, and General Blackwell was currently discussing with his men.
Ivan was so engrossed in his directing of the UNSC soldiers that he nearly jumped out of his own armor when his communicator pinged in his ear. His HUD displayed it as being from an unknown number. He considered not answering for a moment, but eventually decided to answer it and just cut the line if it wasn't extremely important. "This is Chesnokov, go ahead." Ivan said.
"Ivan?" A voice asked, Ivan immediately recognizing it as belonging to Weiss. "It's me, Weiss."
"Weiss?" He asked, surprised. "Here I was thinking you'd lost my number. What's up with the new number?"
"I wanted to be able to talk to people without Father breathing down my neck. Do you know anything about a giant movement of UNSC towards the mountains just south of Mistral?" Weiss asked, being forward as usual.
"I'm sorry Weiss, that's classified." Ivan said.
"So you do know, but you can't tell me?" Weiss asked.
"Pretty much." Ivan responded, smirking behind his helmet.
"Is everything okay?" Weiss asked. "Are Yang, Blake, and Ruby there?"
"They're all checking their equipment." Ivan responded. "We'll be fine. We're not in any danger." Ivan didn't believe himself, but he certainly hoped that Weiss would.
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked, genuine concern in her voice.
"Honestly, Weiss… we'll be fine." Ivan said, turning and making his way towards Winter and her group of Combat Engineers.
"Okay…" Weiss responded, sounding almost… sad.
"Weiss… I know you want to come help us out down here, but I'm actually not allowed to let any civilians in here." Ivan explained. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't be…" Weiss said. "You're just doing your job."
"To make it up to you, I'll see what I can do about coming by at some point soon." Ivan offered. "I know Ruby wants to see you, and you've been out of touch with me and Winter for the past six freaking months."
Weiss seemed to pause for a moment. "I… I don't know if my father would even let you in, to be honest."
"Shit…" Ivan said, sighing. "Want me to put any of them on so you can at least talk with them?"
"I… I shouldn't be taking up any of your time. You're busy."
"Weiss, it's no big deal." Ivan said. "They all miss you."
"I shouldn't… I should probably go." Weiss said.
"Jacques?" Ivan asked. Weiss hummed in affirmative, earning a sigh from Ivan. "Weiss… you know if you need anything, we're here for you."
"Thanks, Ivan…" Weiss said, sounding slightly less-somber. "I'll let you get back to it."
"Alright… seeya' soon, Weiss." Ivan said, quickly adding something to that. "And call your sister for Christ's sake, she's been trying to get through to you for the past six months!"
Weiss let out a soft laugh. "I'll be sure to give her a call. You'd better be treating her right, Chesnokov."
"Only the best for the eldest Schnee princess." Ivan said, grinning as he saw Winter's acute hearing pick up the conversation he was having. He could tell quite clearly that she was glaring at him from behind her visor.
"Good… She'll tell me everything." Weiss threatened.
Ivan chuckled. "Good night, Weiss… Good luck."
"You too, Ivan." Weiss said, hanging up after a moment of hesitation.
Ivan sighed as he pulled his helmet off, tucking it under the crook of his arm as he walked towards Winter. Winter pulled her own helmet off, giving him a questioning look. "Weiss." Ivan responded, knocking his knuckle against his helmet.
"Wait, she called you?" Winter asked.
"Yep, wanted to see if I knew anything about the mobilization." Ivan answered. "She got a new Scroll, apparently. Jacques' been breathing down her neck."
"What'd you tell her?"
"Classified."
"What you told her is classified, or you told her that it was classified?" Winter asked.
"Yes." Ivan answered, grinning.
Winter rolled her eyes, playfully punching his shoulder. "Idiot."
Ivan smiled, rubbing his shoulder in mock pain, earning a laugh from Winter, which earned a laugh from Ivan. After a few moments, both of them settled into a solemn silence. "Are we ready to move?" Winter asked, nodding towards the hole containing the Forerunner construct.
"As ready as we can be." Ivan answered, looking towards the group of Huntsmen gathered around a few supply crates, sitting around. They appeared to be planning and discussing. "I hope to God that this is just a Promethean or Sentinel facility…" Ivan said. "They shouldn't ever have to face the Flood."
"I agree, but we have to be prepared." Winter said, a grim look on her face. "It's a real threat when dealing with Forerunner ruins. Remember what the SPARTAN DIs said? Prepared for the worst?"
"Always be at your best." Ivan finished, grinning. "I know… Let's get this show on the road." Ivan pressed a hand to his ear, linking his communicator with the base-wide PA system. "All personnel to Combat Alert Alpha, Task Force November form up on me, we're going in."
