[Disassemble]
The voice was back. That damn ghostly voice that whispered to her back in the vault, but now it was so much louder and didn't have a slight echo breaking it up.
Okay, so that didn't make it terribly loud at all, but loud enough that she knew it wasn't some figment of her imagination.
It's robotic now that the sound was clearer, the soft hiss and click every so often was distinct as it calls out again "Wake."
It was way too bright when her eyes crack open and Pyrrha shuts them tight again, her senses come into focus at ruffly the same time. Her arm was throbbing and stinging and her blood was sticking to everything.
"Pyrrha?" The voice calls out again, but she can't speak because her throat is dry and in no shape to be spitting out words "I need you to tell me how to help you" the feminine but distinctly robotic voice reminds her of someone...
What? No... It can't be! Pyrrha killed her! Wait... Was this the afterlife? Since when does it have so much pain? Nobody said anything about pain.
Forcing her eyes open Pyrrha fights tooth and nail for control, after fluttering her eyes many times she manages to adjust to the harsh light and sees an odd form, it had the weirdest limbs and joints... Was this what happened after Pyrrha destroyed her? Was Penny going to kill her now for revenge?
"P-penny?" was all she got out before the figure leaned over, blocking the sun for Pyrrha to see her face and how there was no synthetic skin or flesh, this wasn't Penny.
"I do not know who you speak of, I am Dime" she drags over Pyrrhas backpack and adds "but please direct me on what a human needs, I couldn't address your wounds further than my limited knowledge."
Pyrrha just stares for a long moment, before snapping out of it "medical kit" was almost all she could get out but addded "water" at the last second.
It took a moment for Pen- Dime to get them but she has already done more than Pyrrha could do in this sate, trying to sit up failed before the kind stranger brings a hand around for back support.
Pyrrha uses her good arm to sip at the water, her dry throat being soothed and her headache was already thanking her.
After the bottle was empty Pyrrha tries to open the kit, but with both hands and suffers for it. Wincing she looks over to her snake Induced injury.
"W-what the hellspawn happened to my arm?" Her arm could only described as a cyborgs dream... Actually, a little more disappointing at second glance but still not anything to luagh at.
"I tried all I could to keep your bodily fluids inside and flowing" Dime supplies unhelpfully, Pyrrha starts to hyperventilate but catches herself mid panick.
Control.
Looking back at the medical kit she gets out the antibiotics and tetanus shot, she needs to apply some care to the aches, so she gets some healing creams as well.
Just as Pyrrha was going to start Dime places a hand on her shoulder and starts to glow, emmidetly Pyrrha starts to feel her Aura replenish and seep into her wounds.
Her legs felt healed, bruises and scratches too... It was just her arm that needed all her Aura it seems.
Pyrrha had questions "Is that how you saved me? How did you do that to my arm? How long was I out?" Dime frowns in concentration for a second before answering "yes, I transfered all spare Aura to you, to keep you alive during the time I used my power to mold you an arm... for two days."
Pyrrha just blinked "power? Mold? You mean a Semblance? And how can you transfer Aura?" Questions spawning even more questions like usual.
Dime doesn't seem to mind the questions at all "that was my purpose, they called me the most vital component of the Aura Transfer Machine and I don't know of this Semblance you speak of, my power is similar to your polarity" Pyrrha realises what she's dealing with now.
It was very odd how Dime knew so much about her, but she can't show her worries in this state, Pyrrha needs to treat this situation with care.
"That power is called a Semblance Dime, it comes with unlocking an Aura, later for some and even never for others. but thats rare." Dime was paying her undivided attention, soaking up new infomation as fast as possible.
"Wait..." Pyrrhas question gets Dimes continued attention and she leans in further "what is it?" Pyrrha responds as she starts to work on her wounds "you say your name is Dime and that people called you a component? Do you know who made you?"
Dime looks surprised but nodded "I was built by a team of scientists lead by Polindina, all working in the Neural Networking field before having to switch work to the Aura transfer machine, the chain of command in the Atlas military and its allies needed results."
Pyrrha was getting a lot more than she thought she would "how do you know all that?" Dime looks like she wanted to blush but couldn't "I may have explored a bit more than people thought I did back in development, I was being designed to be smart enough to accept Aura but they underestimated their own work somewhat."
So, if Pyrrha was getting this right, Dime is some kind of Penny prototype used for transferring Aura? Why didn't she escape sooner? Five years is a long time to sit around without a creator telling you what to do.
Voicing her own silent questions Pyrrha continues to apply creams as well "why didn't you escape sooner?" Dime shook her head "I was just as trapped as you two were, I only unlocked my semblance a few days ago when you left me in the vault alone." Pyrrha lets out a gasps, not as innocent as it seemed, but still genuine. She didn't need the person caring for her life to have a bad motive.
"I didn't mean to, I didn't know you were even there! I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha was going to go on but Dime stops her "worry not Pyrrha, I understand and don't hold you responsible for my situation, if anything I am thankful."
Pyrrha frowns "thankful? What for?" Dime blinks "for making those five years bearable, I had a purpose and kept to it faithfully."
Pyrrha thinks for some time, having done all her medical treatment in silence and was helped to a standing position.
She could maybe answer some of her earlier questions? Its worth a shot "Dime, this purpose you speak of, what exactly happened in that vault?"
Pyrrha directs them to the closest dorm room as she listens to Dimes explanation "obviously it all started five years ago, back when I was just keeping Ambers body alive, her state of coma left her vulnerable to aura depletion due to natural bodily functions consuming herself, but the medical equipment in the pod had all the requiments to supply condiments so it was childs play to keep her alive."
Pyrrha nods, it all being information she knew but just from Dimes perspective, they take a moment to pass the roofs barricade before continuing.
"It gets a little more complicated, the headmaster brings you in after some time and gets the pod ready, the transfer would have been quick, but I knew it would kill Amber so I delayed it, unknowingly saving your life at the time as well."
Pyrrha frowns "how so?" Dime looks around nervously before speaking again "An unknown woman infiltrates the vault, determined to get to Amber and the maiden powers she weilds."
"Is that what you mean by saving me? That I don't have the powers at that time?" Dime lets out a small hiss of air in what Pyrrha chooses to translate as a hum.
"The woman used a bow with some kind of Grimm attached to it, it sucked the powers out and left nothing but a husk, the Grimm must have done something or left another type of Grimm behind because Amber changed into what you fought when you woke up."
Frowning Pyrrha interrupts "that reminds me, how did I not starve? Why was I out for so long?" Dime flinches at that.
"T-that was me, I am truly sorry" Pyrrha notes the genuine body language and tone, and her common sense tells her that Dime could have left her for dead if she really wanted to "never mind that, tell me what happened, I don't blame you for anything" Pyrrha wonders if she was going to get herself killed with kindness like this eventually, next thing she knows someone would actually abuse the goodwill.
Dime perks up at that and thanks her deeply as they reach the dorm room and enter, Pyrrha heading strait for the bed and Dime for the desk chair.
"When I felt the battle above the vault and knew that the odds of survival were low, I made a desicion to put you into a medically induced coma, the vials of medicine was apart of my body in a similar state as your fingers, and replenished via Aura like you would blood."
Pyrrha frowns "but why? Why would me being asleep change anything? I was only asleep for the Aura exchange that was potentially painful."
Dime presses on "my primary task was to transfer Aura, but keeping the subjects alive trumped even that. I could not let you run after the mysterious woman and no doubt kill yourself."
Pyrrha wants to argue that but stops, seeing it as a fruitless endeavor. She directs it back to something more important "so how did I eat? I know there was no feeder system for my pod."
"You did not, all damage was fixed by Aura" Pyrrha didn't believe it for a second "everyone knows that an Aura runs out eventually and you have to eat then" Dime shakes her head "there were three people in that vault and only one needed to eat, thankfully I was an Aura transfer machine to direct it all."
The realization dawns on her, the impossibility of it was shattered and Pyrrha was now just standing there in awe "you are telling me that the combined Aura regeneration of three people was enough to keep my body alive even when running out of food and water?" Again, Dime nods "water was thankfully part of my machinery, so you had that, it was just food."
Pyrrha takes a moment to filter it all, never before has she seen someone cheat the natural processes of life so blantently, and to think this was going to be used after development in hospitals and other essential services around the globe.
Well, if not for whatever happened to Remnant while she slept that is.
Hold on.
"You said three people? But wasn't Amber dead? Or Grimmed?" Dimes answer was short "all I know was that Ambers soul was still there, and that her bodily functions were being performed by the Grimm infection."
It seemed the extent of Dimes knowledge was found, leaving both of them in the dark. Pyrrha didn't have to say how much she hated the dark.
"So what changed? Why did we wake up?" Pyrrha was curious as to what Dime planned, was she expecting them to stay there forever?
"I simply aged, my machinery was faltering with my Aura being sent to you and not doing any of the automatic maintenance that comes with the invaluable resource. I also didn't have any means to free us, not having unlocked my semblance then, I suspect the fear of my components failing to keep you alive was what triggered the power." Pyrrha closes her eyes and hums in affirmation.
It was much later that Pyrrha spoke again "you know, when I told myself that I wanted sentient contact and comfort, I wasn't expecting this" the following pause was just to look over at Dime to see if she was listening "but I won't say it hasn't been a pleasure speaking with you, its been a scary few days, waking up in such an environment just to start clawing for survival on the get go..."
Dime shifts in her seat, not sure how to respond "the pleasure is all mine, I have not yet been able to socialize with anyone... Always an observer and silent protector."
Pyrrha wouldn't know how that feels exactly but can sympathize with being in a social situation that limits genuine interactions. Seemed like they had actual common ground between the most unlikely of acquaintances.
It was getting late with the sun now being low enough to shine through the window on its decent, Pyrrha welcomes the low intensity rays on her face and enjoys its warmth in silence.
Dime was sitting out of the windows arc of light and had folded her arms and legs into a very boxy look, the odd mechanics used to make her limbs allowing for such a position.
Now that Pyrrha thinks about it, she hasn't actually asked what Dimes semblance is, usually new ones are pretty unknown but Pyrrha thinks Dime has a little bit of an advantage over humans when it comes to analyzing.
"Do you know what your semblance is or its limitations?" The question was followed up with a praise "it must be impressive if you managed to make not only your own body but fixed my arm with this cast." Dime takes it in stride, not seeing it as the personal question it was.
"I believe it turns metal into machinery, its all I have ever known and my soul seems to have latched onto it" there was a small pause as Dime frowns at her wording "both metaphorically and literally."
Pyrrha hums in thought and Dime continues with the explanation "the alloys in the vault just melted without any temperature change and the slag formed to my will, the will for a body that I based off of a human." Immediately Pyrrha has another question "so why do you look so inhuman? I hope you don't take offense but it has a few flaws." She pointedly looks at the very odd limbs.
Dime borrows a frown and replies "it seems I can't make anything I haven't actually had access to, I had to use mechanical components from the broken elevator to remake parts that are capable of moving, its terribly inefficient."
"So thats your limit? That you need a thing to base your work off of?" Dime relents "I suppose you can say it that way but its more like needing a very physical blueprint."
That got Pyrrha thinking, there was little else to do, both of them were low on Aura and in no shape to brave the wilderness. The subject of thought was Vale and Beacons cafeteria supplies.
"Could you make something to transport survival gear and food in backpacks like mine? I am thinking of moving to the city to look for survivors, its our best chance of survival." Dime thinks it over a bit before answering "I believe I could make something, the elevator motors were pretty strong, it was designed with heavy machinery in mind, like my own Aura transfer rig and those pods."
Nodding along Pyrrha gets an idea "so could you make something like a car? Or truck? How would we power it?" Dime shakes her head "I don't know of this truck thing, but power shouldn't be a problem, my own generator is more than enough to run most things I know of."
Pyrrha sees the problem, no way is she going to be able to explain how a car works in detail, the only mechanics she is a master at is semblance mechanics.
They would have to improvise with the basics, wheels could be made with the pulley system components and such, separate motors for each and hopefully some extra traction with the help of some spikes or bumps.
It took some time but the idea was conveyed and Dime seemed confident in her abilities to make something workable, they ended up drawing the idea out on a nearby wall for perspective and all it really looked like was a large tray with wheels and a drivers compartment. Probably because thats exactly what it was, once it worked they could add some fence like protrusions around the edge so the backpacks don't go sliding away.
All in all, a productive resting day, tomorrow would be when Dimes Aura would be regenerated enough to put ideas into reality.
Tucking into bed after resetting some of the traps Pyrrha felt confident enough to close her eyes, she suspects having a robot that doesn't sleep is a bonus to her peace of mind and sense of safety. It also helped that the lamp was on, Dime seemed to like the light as much as Pyrrha did.
It was a bittersweet thing.
The morning came and went, Pyrrha slept through it deeply and didn't even stir until a distant howl sounded out, even then her rested state overcame any sort of urgency or panic.
It felt like years since she had proper rest like that. How many days has it been since she left that vault? It was all just a blur of pain and confusion.
Groggily swinging her legs out from under the covers and brining her hands up in a back stretcher, the satisfied sigh that follows the click of joints escaped involuntarily.
Dimes eyes flutter open at the signs of life, just in time to see Pyrrha trying to get her dirty hair under control, it was a lot longer than before and seemed to soke up some of her own blood in the fight with the King Taijitu.
Groaning she looks forlornly at the bathroom "wish the showers worked, feel like I am going to fall sick the moment my Aura depletes."
Dime was interested immediately "why don't they work? What exactly do they do? Maybe I can help?" Pyrrha smiles with amusement at the insatiable curiosity.
"Its for human hygiene, it boils water for you to stand under in a stream, then you wash yourself with cleaning products like soap and shampoo." It felt pretty weird to explain such a basic concept but if Pyrrha had anything in abundance it was patience for those that were not Grimm.
It dawns on Pyrrha that Dime could infact help "you could fix pipes and power an electrical boiler! Absolutely grand!" She was out of bed and dragging Dime to her feet in no time.
There was a little delay were they had to locate a tank, pipe and boiler in the first place but it all worked out with a little help from Pyrrhas semblance. They ended up inspecting the combined effort in the bathroom, it seemed to work after a test run.
Moving some stuff to the shower shelves Pyrrha was about to disrobe when she remembers something important. Dime.
Dime was standing there watching her closely, still connected to the boiler to power it. "Did we miss something?" The question stirs Pyrrha back into reality and into a stammering mess.
After spluttering nonsense for a good moment Pyrrha stop to take a breath and remind herself of who was standing before her.
"No, I'm Sorry, I just need some privacy" Pyrrha could see her about to ask something but knows what it was going to be and cuts her off "its a human thing, we tend to be a little shy I suppose, just humor me please? You can extend the cables to the bedroom right?"
Dime doesn't speak, just nodding and focusing on extending the cable, walking away as her semblance works some slack into it.
Taking a moment to make sure Dime didn't need to come back for something Pyrrha turns to the shower, alone at last, she was going to enjoy this a lot.
The water was hot enough to make her yank back out at first, but nothing was getting in her way of this, brining up her Aura she steps back in.
The sigh that follows was deeper than earlier, content on a whole nother level, five long years and a few harsh days of going without a good clean makes it an orgasmic experience.
Not having a lot of water she quickly scrubs down her now noticeably more mature body with haste. After Pyrrha felt clean enough she goes back to slouching slightly, leaning into the stream. Planning on using all the geyser has to offer in what felt like the best moment of her life.
The water slows to a trickle and she let's out a small whine just as it dries up, a single small drop hanging onto the nosle.
Calling out to dime through the door she almost sounds like a kid "is there no more?" Dime herself sounds serious, almost worried "was it not enough? I can try find more? Maybe the communal bathrooms have some?"
Shaking her head Pyrrha knows it wasn't worth it, she was clean already and needed to get things done, she wanted to start the treck to Vale as soon as possible.
"Its fine, just a little disappointing, but it doesn't matter now" dressing in some new cloths Pyrrha moves out to the bedroom proper "we need to make that truck."
they pack up what little they have and make their way down the dorm corridors avoiding sprung traps and holes in the floor.
The atmosphere was ominous, the once familiar building was overgrown and fundemtally changed at a structural level, it was alien in every aspect and it didn't help that even her fellow survivor didn't breath as they continued to walk out the dorms and towards the largest metal construct on the property.
Breaking through the newest line of bushes the beacon tower comes into view. Pyrrha had a few theories on how Dimes semblance worked and her best guess for the metal limitation is actually a mass related issue.
Needles to say, the alloys used in the construction of beacon tower and the expansive vault underneath was top grade, her polarity almost doubled in effectiveness when using that material, hopefully Dime gets something similar out of it.
It didn't take all that long, Dime placed her hand on the tower and nothing really happened at first, until the area under her hand warps into slag, not falling down but trailing up her arm and over her body.
Pyrrha doesn't see any visible change to the tower but knows Dime would is pulling from non vital componentrs first, things they couldn't see at the moment but her own semblance highlighted.
What was interesting is that the moment the metal "melts" it disappears from Pyrrhas semblance point of view.
Dimes other hand started to gather all the slag, slowly drooping down and spreading out just above the ground, little stumps form as the frame is built on them.
Its apparent that the improvised wheels made from the elavotor pulleys they desgined wasn't going to work, and there was very little else they could do, Pyrrha hesitated to suggest legs.
Dime seems to have come up with something else, the spikes started to slot into a very complicated set of links in a long continuous pattern.
Pyrrhas eyes light up "Tracks! Your brilliant Dime!" The compliment falls on deaf ears, the slag was covering her head and torso, probably cutting out the sound.
When it was done Dime explains on her improvements "I used a small structural support beam in the center pulley system and then added others to either end of the beam, cutting down on the number of motors and decreasing risk of foliage getting caught in the system."
Nodding Pyrrha claps in a simple applaud "the motors are now in the center though, might want to increase the height on the trailer" Dime was on the job in seconds, raising the bed so it didn't have a large lump dead center.
All in all, Pyrrha suspects it was a win. Now to test it.
It was a little odd when they realised there was no stearing, both tracks being linked meant they both spun at the same speed, making it impossible to turn the truck.
In the end they had to split the beam down the middle then doubled the number of pulleys and add an extra motor, Allowing to run both tracks but still control the speed separately. Ended up with a side effect of improving the overall speed and power.
Now they just needed to loot the cafeteria and load up the truck thing.
Pyrrha didn't want to step into that building again.
She said as much and Dime offers to do it, leaving her to wait. Waiting wasn't one of the easiest things to do for Pyrrha nowadays so she gets up, planning on getting a mattress for the seats, Dime didn't build the tank truck with comfort in mind.
Leaving a little note in the sand Pyrrha makes her way to the dorms again. On her way back Pyrrha heard stomps, all too similar to a Goliaths massive and powerful legs when they march.
Dropping all her stuff and the mattress she crouches down behind a nearby bush and starts to inch towards the sound.
Dime wasn't anything Pyrrha expected at all, she had some kind of Exo-Suit and what looked like the shelving units from the storage vault slapped on like a backpack.
"Dime? What's all that?" The speed at which the suit turned was oddly not as slow as Pyrrha would have thought, it didnt look too stable "the supplies."
Dimes response sparked an ember of humor but Pyrrha snuffs it out, more interested in her getup "I meant the modifications to your body."
"Oh this is just to improve my strength momentarily, I wanted to do the supply run in a single trip, the change is only temporary, I need to fit into the truck again." Pyrrha nods dumbly "of course, only natural" she didn't know who that was for but rolls with it.
"Let's get moving, the day draws to a close as we speak" true enough the sun was past its apex and they hadn't even started the journey to Vale.
The Exo suit starts to crouch, having sprouted support beams so it doesn't topple forward or backwards.
The legs end up folding in half at the knee and lying on top of each other allowing Dime to climb out of the cockpit and onto said legs, using them as a stepping stone.
They left for Vale the moment they were done packing all the supplies into the truck.
The food at sea was surpringsly better than on land, fresh fish were a whole lot better than field rations and tin goods.
Theo was once again being one of the most useful to the people of Atlas, he would flash freeze the water around a school of fish and watch the new iceberg rise to the surface, were they hoist it up by a large fishing net and let Theo melt the water away, leaving them with a lot of fish.
It didn't even require any effort from someone else, the bigger ships had cranes for doing just that.
Theo and herself were actually busy in the cafeteria, hard at work with their meal of fresh fish on the closest thing to a rice cracker the rations had. It wasn't exactly the same, but the fish was so nice that they didn't really care all that much. They were used to the rations by now.
"Lovely weather we have today" Weiss smiles warmly at Theos remark, he has been pretty smug recently and is generally in a good mood.
Honestly she was too, the freedom recently acquired being a huge mood boost. The last battle at the docks being a very action packed experience helping the feeling of accomplishment even further.
So the little swear under Weiss' breath is understandable when a messenger comes running over to their table with bad news.
"Miss Schnee? Winter requests that yourself and Theo make it to the bridge immediately, something came up." Weiss didn't believe for a second that "something" was going to be good at all.
Weiss replies respectfully, not wanting to shoot the messenger as the expression goes "Will be there momentarily" Theo nods with a "Sure" as they get up to leave.
Navigating the cramped ship halls they arrive at the captains bridge, immediately they see everyone present not looking at the new arrivals but out to the horizon with multiple periscopes and binoculars of different kinds.
With her curiosity compelling her, Weiss moves to the nearest window and the crowd there disperses around her path, letting her past without complaints.
Winter was waiting there with a spare binoculars in hand "you probably want to take a look at this" Weiss takes them without comment, Theo getting one too just before her vision is cut off and sent down into the distance with the help of military grade binoculars.
At first Weiss didn't know what she was looking at, there was the island of Vytal off to the left of her vision, the continent of Sanus curving from out under Vytal and stopping almost directly in front of them before disappearing off the gentle curve of Remnant... But there was a black streak across the horizon, from Sanus' beaches to the far right and seems to also go on forever.
"What... is that?" She genuinely didn't know and didn't like how something so large wasn't within her knowledge already, this... Landmark? Shouldn't have been a mystery while still being so large.
"Focus the binoculars" Winters comment spurs Weiss' hands into action, fiddling with the wheel to adjust the focus she finds the right setting and watches as the dark and blurry thing turns into a dotted line.
Or more specifically, Grimm in a line.
She was speechless.
Theo not so much "what the actual fuck is that!? What are they doing!?" He leans closer, not realizing that won't help much but seems to spark his next question "didn't we just leave one of those things in Atlas!? Why the hell are there so many!?"
Winter nods "the Wraiths seem to be carrying other Grimm on their back, acting as a ferry for the land based Grimm. As far as we can observe, it very well may be a blockade or a supply line of some kind." It all clicks for Weiss, facts and little things all coming together to form an answer.
"No, its a supply line for sure" Theo looks at her "you seem pretty sure about that, mind sharing with the class?" Winter too seemed to be interested "if you wouldn't mind."
"There was a huge Grimm back at the fall of Beacon that spawned other Grimm... But Ruby took it out of action wi- actually it doesn't matter how she did it, just know that it can no longer spawn more Grimm." There was a few nods for her to continue so she did "What if it was the only Grimm to do that on Sanus? Where would the rest of the Grimm come from? They would need to travel over an ocean."
The others were nodding again Winter cuts in "so they must have some kind of source like in the battle of Beacon from over to the West and they are air lifting Grimm over to help the weakened continent!"
Weiss sees that they think the same as her and adds "maybe they are even over compensating to keep the recent apocalypse running smoothly, or even to crush any resistance they found?"
Theo perks up "you mean survivors?" Winter cuts in "don't get your hopes up you two, it may just be the Grimm over doing it, they are brutal creatures in the end."
Weiss concedes the point, hating that the hope she has of there being survivors was challenged. No matter, she will just keep the thoughts and feelings to herself.
"What do we do? They are blocking the way to Vales port" Theo reminds them.
Winter frowns and points over to the island of Vytal "after we loot the Atlas base, we land on the closest beach of Sanus immediately and make our way to Vale by land."
It made sense, even if it would take longer.
Not to mention cutting through the new Grimm being landed on Sanus, they were probably spreading out from the landing zone into the wilderness of Vale as they speak.
Theo wearily pipes up "I don't like this guys, I have no snow in Vale" Weiss winced, she forgot about that. Winter adds dust to the fire "and no train mounted guns to add ranged firepower" seriously, were they trying to give Weiss a headache.
She missed those battleship guns already.
"This is seeming less likely as you two go on" Weiss snipes, still a little sore that her favorite toys were left in atlas.
"If all else fails we power through as a group, we have a lot of members that can deal with hordes" Sprave comes to mind as Weiss thinks it over.
"He is only one man, his Aura will run out eventually and there's a lot of land to cover. I hope everyone is ready for melee" Theo clearly didn't like his own words. No doubt knowing he had no close range combat abilities to speak of.
Winter nods and turns away to the crowd "let's plot course for Vytal now, and hope none of those Wraiths looked this way with their main eye" Weiss looks back into the binoculars, and confirms that they seem dead set on their task, not drifting to the sides, or more importantly, not looking this way.
The Grimm on their backs not having the strong eyes to spot them too.
The crew scatter and go man all the tasks necessary for turning the fleet into the lake separating the huge coastal island from Sanus.
All the captains return to their ships with the required headings, but Weiss and Theo just stand still, gazing out to the sea ahead in silence as the activity plays out behind them.
"Hope this all works out" Theo whispers to himself loud enough Weiss can hear it, she chooses to comment anyway "me too."
It takes a few hours to get the base within sight, but the day was still strong with the sun high enough that they feel confident in landing. Nobody wants to explore what no doubt has become a graveyard in the dark, waiting for some kind of second generation Grimm to hunt them down.
Weiss was waiting with the shock troops on a speedboat, they were going to scout the complex for any danger before getting the supply transfer in full swing.
They had a woman that had a time-based teleportation semblance that would send them back to their previous positions ruffly twenty to thirty seconds in the past, based on the amount of Aura she wanted to use.
She explained it in a way that made Weiss think it was a half or everthing type of deal for only the extra ten seconds.
Hopefully twenty would be enough to get them out of danger, she didn't want to risk someone having no Aura.
The last member gets in the boat and its lowered into the still waters, they don't waste any time and start speeding off to the military base.
Her semblance was on full throttle, scanning the perimeter like a psychic sonar, not letting any movement go undetected.
They do one pass of the docks, with two members of the small group using rifles to clear out some Beowulf chaff before they make the stop.
Deploying and spaning out they make sure there aren't any surprises.
The complex was mostly cement and hangars with a few buildings for personnel and no doubt storage with guns and ammunitions.
The woods on the perimeter have been struggling to find purchase on the tarmac, there was a few cracks in the roads with shrubs spilling through, holes in the outer wall as well.
They pass a damaged sign with the name Fort Clark engraved into the metal, the words barely eligible thanks to what looks like an explosion crater nearby.
Looking around as they made their way to the nearest building entrance there was a lot of bullheads laying about in various states of disrepair, along with armoured cars and ground crew trucks.
No bodies but that was to be expected, any wildlife scavenger would have picked them apart or dragged them away years ago.
They pick up the pace, the faster they were the further back they teleport with the same amount of time.
There was a moment where the reinforced door to the building needed to be blown off with some dust, but they push forward again immediately.
The hallways were dark and brooding, the smell of mold and decay was thick in the air as the group spears into the heart of the hostile environment, using Weiss as a live blueprint of the building.
Weiss points with her flashlight and calls out to the small group "This way" the door that comes up was slightly larger than the rest.
"Its some kind of storage room, with a garage connected on the other side" she explains, blantently cheating with her semblance.
There were nods and the guy with the explosives crouches down for another to unpack the necessary charges from his backback.
The blast kicked up large amounts of dust that made the air quality even worse than before and there was a few coughs for it.
Pushing in and sweeping lights over the nearby shelving units they find what they are looking for, there was a fully stocked military base ripe for the picking.
ERAs in abundance, not to mention weapons and ammunition to field an army.
Rounding a row Weiss' light roams up and into a pack of human skeletons sitting against crates and other improvised chairs.
It annoyed Weiss to admit that it startled her "Shit!" you would think she would be used to seeing this type of thing, those scavenger hunts back in Atlas had stuff like this on the regular.
There was a general hustle as her squad mates moved onto her position to check what happened, coming up behind her to join her staring at the group of dead.
"Wonder how they died?" Someone interjects passed the silence "its not like they didn't have rations and the Grimm didn't seem to get in."
The biggest guy passes the group and crouches down to pry something out of a sekelotons hand. It was a gun.
"I think I found your answer" the deep voice not breaking it nicely at all.
Damn it.
She needs a distraction "Hackler, come with me, let's set those explosives on the next door, there's stuff there as well" the guy with the backpack from earlier nods and follows her.
The next set of doors was large, clearly a packing and unpacking route for trucks.
"Do we have enough explosives for this?" Weiss checks with Hackler "pft, you will never see me without my explosives" she takes that as a yes.
Placing them on strategic locations where the bolts thread through Hackler starts to mutter to himself, it sets Weiss further on edge.
After double checking his work he motions to stand clear and detonates the charges, the wire leading to the door being flung towards them in the explosion.
She placed some Glyphs in advance to redirect the smoke off to the sides so they weren't effected too badly but there was a cough from one of them anyway.
Circles weren't the best at making walls, let's leave it at that.
When the dust clears enough for them to see it came as a surprise that the door was still on its hinges, still holding on and slightly pushed open.
Weiss uses her Knight to push it further. The sound of dying hinges rings out and flashlights focus on the new room.
Bullheads must be stored somewhere else, probably in the hangars, because there wasn't any here.
There was more than a dozen Oxjaws all in neat rows, it was a quadruple track setup designed to be a hunter support vehicle and an Atlesian Knight transporter both.
The four tracks were all in a separated triangular figuration with the suspension giving enough ground clearance that poor Weiss and her shortness could walk under the vehicle and only have to lean her head down slightly.
She bets that five years ago she could have done so with space to spare. Curse her height.
The chassis itself was very boxy and rectangular, very little curves and a lot of slanted armour being the body work. The length and girth was pretty impressive, supporting enough space to have a team of hunters live comfortably, a Bullhead wasn't much bigger than the Oxjaw at second glance.
Then Weiss climbs on top of a track and sees the very flat engine deck but more importantly the roof that seemed to be customizable, with a gun mount universally known as an Atlas support ring, being able to fix a rocket pod, large caliber laser canon, mortar or even flak canon.
Weiss was understandably excited for the trip to Vale.
Looking around in haste she spots all the required armament to kit it out "I think we hit the jackpot guys!" The others were already thinking the same and respond in kind "you don't fucking say!? This is going to get us through Vale in no time! These things are brand new!" Weiss wouldn't go so far as to say new, but they were known for the maintenance that was easy enough to do anywhere.
It had a self contained repair kit with the engine even having its own deployable crane, the Oxjaw was truly designed from the ground up to be a user friendly machine, capable and reliable.
"We best get back to command and tell them the great news, bring one of the larger ships in to load up these bad boys" everyone was nodding and moving out, backtracking their way to the docks.
Nobody noticed the closest bullhead cockpit light up on the way to the docks.
If you couldn't tell yet, I hate Pennys canon backstory and origins. Makes no sense and conflicts with everything Aura related prior to itself, not to mention the most boring take on AI ever.
It all boils down to the fact a soul doesn't equate intelligence (seen by Zwei and other animals) and Penny would have had to become smart enough to pass as a human on her own, before or even after doing an Aura transfer via Papa Polindina.
Making Penny/Dime or any being smart enough to question reality gives them sentience. Sentience being the highest known form of life and therefore making a natural Aura/semblance unlock possible.
Anyway, I hoped that cleared up any confusion and that you enjoyed the admittedly explanation-heavy chapter!
Stay safe out there.