Chapter 6: Gundam
Pyrrha and Ruby had tried to go see Jaune and Weiss in the infirmary before the debriefing, but had been denied. Which made sense to a degree. Weiss was still unconscious, so all they could do there would've been to sit at her bedside, mope, and agonize over why she had felt it necessary to throw herself at that final missile. What didn't make sense -to Pyrrha, at least- was why they couldn't see Jaune. Shortly after their return to the Gladius, Jaune had been rushed to the infirmary for no reason that Pyrrha could think of. When she had asked Ruby, she had shrugged and said that she'd explain to everyone during the debriefing.
Glynda stood. "Now, I know that all of you would like nothing more than to have a good night's sleep after what you've all been through, but first we need to go over what we have learned, both about our tactics and the Revitalist's capabilities. First of all, I believe that you all know by now that Cardin Winchester was among our enemies today." Her official admission of Cardin's betrayal earned her nothing but grim nods and a sneer from Adam Taurus, who was representing the White Fang at the debriefing, "However, thanks to both Ensign Aero and the White Fang's salvage teams, we have determined that Cardin may have been coerced into fighting for the Revitalists."
Adam raised an eyebrow, "How so? I've heard his comm logs, and it sounded like standard Atlesian rhetoric to me."
Glynda turned to the lavender haired woman off to her left, "Ensign Aero, your report please."
The woman stepped forward, brushed a lock of her hair out of her face, then nodded. "O-of course, Captain. Upon analyzing the comm data from the Black Box of the upgraded Executioner, I was able to confirm my suspicions. He had a constant commlink with the mercenary ship which was loaded with subluminals."
Ren leaned forward. "Hypnosis, possibly brainwashing."
Blake's cat ears twitched, "Is that even possible? I thought that kind of thing only worked in bad Mistralian cartoons."
Ren rewarded Blake's jab with a soft laugh before continuing, "Well, yes and no. You see, the kind of immediate total control over the victim is a complete farce. However, for the behavior that Cardin exhibited during the battle, all the hypnotist would've had to do is remove or taint his loyalty to Vale, if he even had any to begin with."
"How do you even know any of this, Ren?" Yang asked, "It's kinda weird that you know so much about it."
Pyrrha shook her head, "Not really. recreational hypnosis is quite popular in Mistral. I haven't... partaken myself, but it was rather widespread in the arena circuit."
"Plus the Revitalists had him for a month, plenty of time to empty out his head and dump what they wanted in there." Ruby said, "Okay, the last thing we need is to go up against the Revitalists and have them whammy us mid-battle. Maybe there's some way I could tweak the comm system on our Mecha to cancel out any subluminals, but I'd have to look into it."
Aero raised her hand, "You could tweak the signal amplitude. That should cancel any sublims out, but you'll get a bit more static as a result."
"Inconvenience aside, that's worth looking in to." Glynda said, "Thank you, Ensign, you may return to your duties." Aero left the room, and the door slid shut behind her.
"Next item, the casualty report." Glynda turned to Adam, "How many people did you lose?"
Adam shifted in his chair, "About half of our pilots and two freighters. Replacing the pilots isn't the issue, getting the raw materials to build more Seekers will be. It took us three years to get the materials to build what we had."
Glynda nodded, "Very well, I'll contact Valean Intelligence and see if they can't find some freighter pilots who know how to keep their mouths shut to replenish your supply. A show of good faith."
Adam canted his head to the side in confusion, "Excuse me?"
"We are allies, are we not?"
A pregnant silence descended, and Blake glanced at Adam warily. She fervently hoped that he wouldn't ruin this now.
"Of course." Adam said, "I'm- We're... not used to having allies."
Blake breathed a silent sigh of relief, "You know, I think there might be a way that we can repay your generosity, Captain." Blake activated her Omni-Scroll and projected a chemical formula from it, "Our scientists have been successful in creating an Anti-Beam Coating. It doesn't last forever, but can enable Mecha to survive a couple hits from Beam weapons. It's particularly effective when applied to shields." Blake looked down at her Omni-Scroll, then switched to another screen. "Also, the Beam Cannon that Jaune cut off of Cardin's Mecha was recovered almost completely intact."
Ruby's eyes practically sparkled, "Ooooh, the coating could give us the edge we need until the scientists at Amity figure out Beam Shields, and having the intact Cannon could help expedite how soon we have access to similar weaponry!"
Glynda nodded, "Indeed. Thank you, Miss Belladonna. Now, as for other casualties. Pyrrha, could you detail your battle with the enemy you fought?"
"Yes, I can do that. As per usual when I have occasion to fight human or Faunus opponents, I was challenged to a duel. Her IFF gave me her name and that of her Mecha. Atropos, piloted by Cinder Fall. Her armaments were two Ultra-Autocannons, a Beam Saber, and a chest-mounted Plasma Accelerator."
"Wait, what?" Ruby spluttered, "A PA sized for a Mecha? No one's ever tried that before, for good reason!"
"Mind sharing with the class the reasons why, Rubes?" Yang said.
Ruby laughed uneasily, "Hah... yeah, okay. So, there's... three reasons why PAs -and Plasma weapons in general- aren't really mounted on Mecha. First, you need space for the plasma storage tanks, and weapons-grade plasma is volatile. Like, sneeze at it and you die. Second, the heat generation is insane. Any of us wouldn't be able to get off more than a couple shots off before we start overheating. Third, you wouldn't get many shots with it scaled down for a Mecha. Maybe ten if you push it."
Pyrrha continued, "In any event, we fought. Cinder hit me in the left arm with a plasma blast, rendering it inoperable and causing my heat levels to rise. She then proceeded to taunt me. Specifically about how I wasn't invincible after all. I bided my time until my heat levels returned to operational limits, then counterattacked by piercing her plasma storage tanks. Cinder retreated to her ship, but not before threatening to, and I quote tear my life away bit by bit until my ivory tower crumbles around me, and I beg her to end my miserable existence."
Adam whistled, "Usually it's me getting threats like that, what'd you do to piss her off?"
Pyrrha shrugged at the masked man, "I have no idea, I've never met her before today. Although..."
"What is it, Pyrrha?" Glynda asked.
Pyrrha frowned, "It's just... when Cinder squinted at me she bore a passing resemblance to my father. I'm sure it's nothing, please continue."
"Very well," Glynda looked back at the reports in front of her, "Myrtenaster has taken serious damage from a missile impact, which overwhelmed its IDF, causing Weiss to sustain a head injury. According to Doctor Greene, she'll be just fine. She should be waking up shortly. Meanwhile, Crocea Mors is a total loss, as Jaune sacrificed it to ensure the destruction of Cardin's machine."
"What about Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, "Why's he in the infirmary?"
Ruby sighed, "Captain, do we know how many times he used his PCM?"
Glynda nodded, "Yes, he used it three times."
Yang did a double take, "That's the most that he's ever used it in one battle before!"
Ruby launched into an explanation, "So, by now you all know that Jaune has a Precognitive Combat Module onboard Crocea Mors. When he uses it, it shows him all tactical options for five seconds. The problem is that it sends all of those options straight to his noggin, so the mental strain is extreme. His soft limit is three uses, and his hard limit is four. He's in the infirmary to manage the migraine it gave him."
"And it's not just any migraine." Yang added, "After three uses, it's probably the mother of all migraines."
"What happens if he uses in more than four times in a day?" Pyrrha asked.
"Then Crocea Mors will put him into a coma to prevent permanent damage." Ruby said.
"Or, it would, if it wasn't in pieces." Glynda said wryly, "Ruby, could you-"
"Work on a Crocea Mors Mk 2? Way ahead of you. I'll bring in Weiss and Jeanne, and Penny when we get back to Amity. With any luck, we'll come up with something that'll help give us all an edge."
"Good." Glynda said, "With the Grand Chariot still out there, I have a feeling that we're going to need it."
Weiss opened her eyes and immediately closed them, as it felt like someone was trying to jackhammer their way through her skull. After a count of ten, she tried again, and the jackhammer was still present, but bearable. "Ugh, what hit me?"
"The side of your Mecha's cockpit." Doctor Greene said. Whether the doctor was being sarcastic or distressingly literal, Weiss couldn't quite tell.
"Thank you for your professional assessment, Doctor." Weiss said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "Am I free to go?"
Greene huffed, "That depends, can you get up without falling over?"
Weiss shot Greene a look, her bedside manner was sorely lacking. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed, and rose from it slowly so as not to tempt fate. When she had risen from the bed, she found that Ruby and Blake were waiting for her. "Oh, you're up!" Ruby chirped.
And there was the jackhammer again. "A little more quiet, please." Weiss said.
Ruby winced, "Sorry."
Blake extended her hand, "I just wanted to say thank you, on behalf of Menagerie. Honestly, I never would've expected any Atlesian to do what you did to save the station."
Weiss didn't take the proffered hand, and instead found an interesting spot on a nearby wall to examine, "I didn't do it for you."
Blake's cat eats swiveled forward as she frowned slightly, "What do you mean? Most people on Menagerie are calling you a hero." Similarly, Ruby also had a look of confusion on her face.
Weiss leaned against the bed, "They shouldn't call me a hero. That wasn't some selfless act of sacrifice. When I threw myself in front of that missile, it was a selfish attempt to atone for my sins."
"Weiss, what are you talking about?" Ruby asked, "You've done nothing wrong!"
"Haven't I, Ruby? Haven't I spent years living in the lap of luxury that was bought and paid for on the backs of the Faunus? Haven't I spent years being complacent, at best, to what goes on in the SDC mines? The slave wages, the accidents, the denial of Black Lung and other aliments?" Weiss took a breath, then continued, "Do you know why I had no possessions that weren't given to me by the Atlas Military when I arrived here? It's because everything that I owned -by which, I mean everything that my father bought for me- was paid for by blood money."
Blake gave Weiss an appraising look but said nothing. Ruby shook her head, "But you're not to blame for any of that, Weiss! Your father is!"
Weiss shrugged helplessly, "Yes, but that doesn't stop me from feeling guilty for how I've benefited from every blood-stained Lien."
"Regardless of how you feel about it, Weiss, you saved Menagerie." Blake said, "You. A Schnee. We have long memories when it comes to the atrocities that humans have inflicted on us, that's why the Faunus Rights Revolution happened to begin with, why the White Fang is still necessary today. However, we also have long memories when it comes to those who would stand between us and those that would do us harm."
"I didn't do it for you." Weiss repeated lamely.
"That doesn't matter." Blake said bluntly, "You still did it."
Silence descended over the trio before Doctor Greene broke it. "Good talk kids, but can you do it somewhere else?"
Ruby snorted, "Yeah, we gotta head to the hangar anyways."
"Oh, yes. I need to oversee the repairs to Myrtenaster." Weiss said.
"Actually... me and Jeanne could use your help with something. I've been in contact with Penny, and she's come up with a crazy idea. The downside is that if it works, it'll require a top to bottom retooling of all our Mecha."
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "What's the upside?"
Ruby grinned, "If it works, we'll have the best Mecha in the entire Cluster, bar none."
Blake whistled, "How'd you come up with that?"
"Penny did." Ruby explained, "She came up with an all new operating system for our suits, one that hypothetically will eclipse the Trace Link System in every area. She called it the General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver. Me and Jeanne had an idea for an all new power core to go along with this new OS, but we need Weiss's help with it because we want it to be a hybrid between the normal Matter-Antimatter Core and the GLYPH Drive."
With that, Weiss was as lost in techno-wizard land as Ruby was. "A hybrid... It could work, maybe using the GLYPH Field in place of the usual containment field. Theoretically, that could allow for a higher rate of reaction. Just... is there a shorter name for the new OS?"
Ruby shook her head. "Not yet, but I'm sure we'll think of something."
Due to the Gladius's mission profile it carried less crew then a normal assault frigate, mostly due to the security clearance level that was required. As a result, each Mecha pilot assigned to the Inter-Kingdom Unity Task Force had their own cabin as opposed to having to share. Pyrrha was waiting on a call from her parents, and was literally staring out into space while doing her usual post-mission ritual.
Pyrrha had a had a tendency to analyze the fights that she had been a part of in her head, more due to habit from her time on the arena circuit than anything else. She had gone over her fight with Cinder more times than she had gone over Arslan Altan's fights before their fight, the fight where Pyrrha had claimed the title of champion. She allowed herself a wistful smile, that had been back when she had enjoyed her time in the Grand Arena. She sighed. There was just something that didn't add up about Cinder. Pyrrha had never met the woman before in her life, but yet Cinder acted like she was a blight on reality. A former rival who had taken on a fake identity? That had some promise, if it wasn't for the fact that most arena combatants that became mercenaries or military took their signature weapon -for lack of a better term- with them. It was why Lachesis still had the Shot Lancer equipped. To Pyrrha's knowledge, she had never fought an opponent that used plasma weapons, much less a Plasma Accelerator sized for a Mecha.
She was roused from her introspection by a ping from her comm terminal. Pyrrha crossed the room to the terminal and accepted the call. Her parents' faces sprang into existence and a smile split her face. It had been at least two months since they had last talked face to face.
Her father, Peleus had grime smeared on his left cheek that almost blended in with his well kept black beard and made his emerald green eyes pop. He probably had just gotten off of his job as a construction worker. Even though he never had to work another day in his life thanks to Pyrrha's winnings, he insisted on continuing to work.
Her mother, Clotho had her red hair tied up in a bun and had one of her famous aprons on. She collected them, but firmly believed that they were made to be used and gently demanded that if anyone was to help with housework that they must wear one of them. She had a mischievous look in her amber eyes -a look that Pyrrha had inherited- that told her that her mother had a secret that she couldn't wait to share.
"Hello again!" Pyrrha said cheerily.
Before her parents could respond, they were joined by a new arrival. A gray cat took advantage of Peleus's broad shoulders and hopped up into view. "We were adopted." Peleus said with a rueful smile on his face.
"Yes we were, weren't we?" Clotho began to scratch under the cat's chin, while indulging in baby-talk. Oddly, while the cat responded to the scratching under the chin, it didn't respond to her mother's voice.
Peleus chuckled at the confused look in Pyrrha's face. "Oh, Gyro's deaf. According to the veterinarian, he's been like that since he was born."
Seemingly having his fill of the affection that was being heaped on him, Gyro announced his pending departure with an extraordinarily loud meow, and promptly hopped off of Peleus's shoulder, disappearing from view. "Anyways, how have you been doing, Pyri?" Peleus asked, invoking the couple's nickname for their daughter, "We haven't heard anything from you since you were transferred to that new joint kingdom unit you mentioned."
"Oh..." Pyrrha froze. What could she tell them that wasn't classified? "A lot of the missions we do are classified, so I'm not sure how much I can tell you about that..."
Peleus shrugged, "We assumed as much. What about the people you're working with?"
Pyrrha's mouth twitched up into a smile, "Well, Ren and Nora are here with me. Other than them there's Ruby and her sister Yang. Ruby is a prodigy when it comes to designing and buIlding Mecha, and the best shot out of all of us. Yang is an amazing pilot in her own right, although she can be a bit hot-headed." Pyrrha took a second to order her thoughts, and remember the official story for Blake's arrival. "We also have Weiss Schnee, who is just as talented as Ruby, having built an all new type of reactor for her Mecha. And... let's see, what can I even... Blake Belladonna left the White Fang to join us."
Peleus whistled, and Clotho's jaw hit the floor. "That's quite the lineup, Pyri." Peleus said.
Pyrrha brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, and looked off to the side, "Yes it is... I just..." She shook her head, "Sorry, I'm just distracted. My wingman's Mecha was all but destroyed in our last battle, and he went to in infirmary afterwards as a result. I'm just worried about him."
Peleus and Clotho shared a knowing glance, then turned back to Pyrrha. "I don't think you've mentioned your wingman yet, Pyri." Clotho said.
Pyrrha blinked. "Oh, right! His name's Jaune, and he's..." She trailed off as she made sure everything was going to come out in the right order, it was yet another old habit from her Arena days. "He's a competent pilot, and an excellent sparring partner. His real strengths lie in his grasp of strategy and tactics. He's unconventional, in an endearing way. He got into Vale's Mecha Academy for being good at video games, apparently."
Peleus proceeded to choke on his own spit. Wordlessly, Clotho passed her husband a glass of water. This was a common occurrence in their house. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that last bit?" Peleus asked once he had recovered.
Clotho placed her hand on her husband's arm, "Hold on a second, dear. Pyri, you said that he's an excellent sparring partner. He actually made it through an entire match with you?"
Pyrrha nodded, "Yes, Mom." She frowned as her parents shared another glance, what were they on about?
"Alright, Pyri. We'll let you get back to it." Peleus said, "I'm sure you're anxious to check in on Jaune."
"Call us when you have a mission under your belt you can actually tell us about, okay?" Clotho asked.
"Yep! Love you, Mom! Love you, Dad!"
The call ended, and Pyrrha leaned back in her chair. What would happen next? The first mission she had been on with the task force had been an insane fevered defense of Menagerie from a splinter group within Atlesian society hellbent on conquering the entire Cluster.
How were they going to top that?
The Gladius's Mess Hall was open twenty-four hours a day, for good reason. The crew that worked the night shift needed to eat, after all. It also made the Mess Hall a likely destination for anyone facing any sort of crisis that kept them up at night.
Jaune frowned at the tablet in front of him as he hungrily shoved spoonfuls of Pumpkin Pete's cereal down his throat. Ruby and Jeanne had forwarded him their plans for the new Crocea Mors, and...
He didn't like it.
First of all, there were parts of it that completely defied modern Mecha design. The current generation of Mecha, the Mark Four, stood about thirty meters tall on average. If this schematic was to be believed, then the new Crocea Mors would only stand about eighteen meters tall. Not to mention the reactor! From what Jaune could discern with what knowledge he had about the inner workings of Mecha, it was some sort of hybrid core that combined the standard Matter-Antimatter core with some kind of... semi-perpetual solar furnace? On top of that, the cockpit has been moved to the chest, and the control scheme harkened all the way back to the old Mark Ones.
Even ignoring all of that, the biggest sticking point for Jaune was the weapon loadout. Ever since the Academy, Jaune had insisted on using the same setup his father had during his days as a pilot. Dual Heat Blades and a single Autocannon. If it had been good enough for his father, it was good enough for him. The new Crocea Mors was loaded with weaponry, even by Ruby's standards. It featured dual Anti-Ship Swords stored in sheathes attached to the suit's waist armor, dual 105mm Autocannons mounted on what passed for the suit's collarbone, dual 115mm Rail Cannons mounted on a backpack unit that could swing forward to concentrate fire with the other weapons, and a shield in the left hand that ended in a six barrel 60mm Gatling Gun.
Part of Jaune knew that he had been hopelessly outgunned against Cardin, and that he needed to be more heavily armed for future battles with the Revitalists. However, another part of him felt that if he loaded up on weaponry that he would never get his father to admit that he had been wrong about-
"Mind if I join ya, kid?"
Jaune looked up and saw Onyx, the Gladius's chief engineer. "Oh, sure." He said around a mouthful of cereal. He smiled, it was always kid with Onyx. The old Faunus had been around the block a time or ten, and wasn't afraid to butt his head in when he felt someone could benefit from his advice.
They ate their food in silence for a few minutes before Onyx noticed how Jaune was frowning at his tablet. "What's eating you, kid?"
"It's... it's just that Ruby and Jeanne came up with a new version of Crocea Mors. I'm grateful they took the time to do that, but at the same time... I don't want to change it."
Onyx scratched at his stubble and hummed. "Cause you think using the same setup as he did back in the day will get him to finally believe in you?" He laughed as Jaune stared at him incredulously, "I'm right, ain't I?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, let's put it this way." Onyx took a long pull of coffee before continuing, "Never understood how Rose can handle five sugars. Anyways, back to your daddy issues. If I had chased my daddy's approval, I'd have died in some SDC mine ages ago."
Understanding hit Jaune over the head like a hammer. "You're from Mantle? I always assumed you were from Vale."
"Nah, came to Vale cause you all are more accepting than Mistral and Atlas. I tried Menagerie, but it was too friggin' cramped. Not the point, stop distracting me. Point is, I'm the first engineer in my family. As far back as I know, we were Dust miners, no matter how shitty the Atlesians treated us. My dear old dad wanted me to get a job in the mines, and I told him hell no."
Jaune contemplated his cereal for a moment, "What did he do?"
Onyx threw back his head and laughed, causing his wolf ears to flop about, "Well, he was a Dust miner mired in Atlesian indoctrination that Faunus aren't good for much else. What do you think he did?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "He kicked me out, the old bastard. I found work in a local machine shop that didn't care I was a Faunus, and made enough to make it to Vale. Here's the thing, I get wanting your dad to be proud of you, I do. But there comes a time in a man's life when it'll be time for you to walk out of your dad's shadow and be your own man. Maybe this is yours."
Jaune looked back to the schematic and checked the notes. There was only one line, from Jeanne.
Don't be a dumbass, Jaune.
Jaune sipped his chocolate milk, and typed out a message on his Omni-Scroll to Ruby, telling her to go ahead with the new design. He looked back to it without his subconscious rejection of it from before, and...
Why hadn't he had more guns on his Mecha before?
"Ruby, you're fidgeting."
"I'm sorry, Weiss! I just want everyone to be for what we're proposing!"
Jeanne sighed. They were in the AI core onboard Amity Station, as the results of their endeavor only existed because of Penny's ideas for a new OS for their Mecha, and the three of them had decided that Penny should share in explaining everything to the others.
"Have no fear, Ruby!" Penny said from a nearby interface, "I have no doubt that your friends will be in favor of what we've created together!"
Within the space of a few minutes, the rest of the task force and Captain Goodwitch had joined them. "Uh, hi." Ruby said.
Glynda was already suspicious. Ruby was usually only nervous before showing off a new idea that she wasn't sure if people would be for or not. "What is it, you three?"
"Four, actually." Jeanne said, "If it wasn't for Penny's idea for a brand new operating system for our Mecha, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."
Yang raised an eyebrow, "Lets hear it, then. I'm all for some upgrades."
Penny smiled, "Great! So, my new Mecha OS, the General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver, should provide a substantial increase in pilot reaction time!"
"I'm sorry, the what?" Nora asked.
Ren held up his hand, "Hold on, you said Neuro-link, you intend for us to be linked to our Mecha? Isn't that impossible without two pilots?"
"Not anymore!" Penny chirped, "You see, the reason why the Mark Threes needed two pilots to share the load was because the scientists at the time were in a rush, and didn't consider additional options. By translating the feedback from the Mecha into things that the human brain and body understand, we eliminate the need for a second pilot!"
Jeanne stepped forward, "I double checked all of Penny's findings, and ran them by Doctor Greene. This can work. I've taken the time to devise new Pilot suits for everyone that can facilitate the Neuro-link."
"While we were working on this, me and Ruby thought that we shouldn't stop there. If we came up with some more advancements, we could easily be at the forefront of a whole new generation of Mecha." Weiss opened up a schematic on her Scroll. "First of all, who can give me a quick explanation on how the MAC works?"
"It's pretty simple," Blake explained, "Matter and Antimatter go into a containment field, react to each other, the heat is siphoned off, and the kinetic energy is used for power."
Weiss nodded, "Correct. Now, what if I told you that me and Ruby invented a MAC that uses both the kinetic energy and heat from the reaction for power?"
Jaune gasped, "This is the reactor you want to put in the new Crocea Mors, isn't it?"
"How would it even use the heat?" Pyrrha asked.
Weiss projected the schematic she had pulled up for all to see, "The GLYPH Drive. When I initially designed it, I set out to create a reactor that could rapidly recharge so it could support multiple high power systems. It is a semi-perpetual solar furnace. As long as you do not surpass its limits, it will power whatever it is hooked up to forever."
Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet as she explained, "So, by hybridizing the two drives together, we've invented a reactor that far outstrips anything we've tried to power a Mecha with."
Jeanne took a breath, "There's a catch, though. The new core, which we're calling the HyGMAC, is best when powering a smaller than usual Mecha. By making the Mecha in question closer in size to the Mark Twos, we get the most dramatic increase in performance."
"Also, there is one more thing." Penny said apologetically, "The new OS is incompatible with the Trace Link system, so you will need to revert to a more classical control scheme. However, we all feel like the upsides outweigh the flaws."
"So, what do you guys think?" Ruby asked.
"It's certainly ambitious." Pyrrha said.
"How long are we looking at for retooling our Mecha?" Jaune asked.
"A couple weeks, probably." Jeanne said.
"I think I speak for everyone when I say that this increase in power isn't something we can just ignore. We'll need it if we hope to stand up to the Revitalists properly." Blake said.
"So, what are we calling these things?" Yang asked, "Mark Fives?"
Weiss shook her head. "No, with the naming of these new Mecha, we wanted to honor Penny's contribution, so we planned to name them after the acronym for the new OS."
"So, that would mean..." Jaune began to say before being cut off by Ruby.
"Gundam."
He wordlessly opened up the schematic for the new Crocea Mors and projected it for all to see, and a detail that Jaune hadn't noticed before popped out. Sitting on the forehead of the Gundam was a golden V, looking for all the world like a crown.
Jaune nodded. "Alright then. Gundam it is."
A/N: Shorter chapter this time. I'm a firm believer in not overwriting. If I've written everything that needs to be in a chapter, I'm not going to pad it out, y'know?
Adam not knowing how to react to having allies made me giggle. I wonder if he'll ruin it somehow.
I decided to take a different take on Weiss's feelings about her (former) wealth. This is a Weiss who saw no better option than to follow in Winter's footsteps, and to forsake the SDC for the battlefield, because the SDC is so corrupt from top to bottom, that even IF Jacques had allowed her to take over, there would've been little chance for the reforms she had planned.
And we meet Pyrrha's parents, and the cat that adopted them! They'll all be showing up later, just wanted to go ahead an introduce them now. Gyro is actually based on a cat that adopted my family back when I was in high school. He had Polyps in his ears, which made it so he was deaf.
The design for Gundam Crocea Mors is based off of the Strike Rouge ISWP, minus the wings. Jaune was always going to have a big ballistic based upgrade before the gang starts getting their Beam weapons, for those that want them. Some are not. Nora is not. Nora does not want pew pew, Nora demands MORE DAKKA!
Alright, Mecha history lesson time, since it wouldn't make narrative sense to have all this in the story proper. Mark One Mecha are similar to Titans from Titanfall. They're cute by giant robot standards, barely 7 meters tall. Mark Twos are similar to Gundam proportions, but left a lot to be desired against the Grimm. Mark Threes -as you hopefully have gathered by now- are similar to Jaegers from Pacific Rim. These are big chonkers. We're talking 96 meters tall. The Mark Fours are decidedly smaller, but bigger than your average Gundam. We're looking at about 30 or so meters tall.
Man, trying to get two different pseudosciences -in this case, Star Trek and Gundam- to talk to each other was interesting. But I think I made it work.
Sorry for the lack of action this chapter. I promise that there'll be plenty of action next chapter.
