[Chapter 2]
Beta: Engineer1869
Qrow's PoV
The drop.
I'd been through this whole process more than a few times in my life – at least more than I can count on both hands. Even before that, I was on the front lines with Vale during the fighting against Atlas. I was no stranger to combat.
I finished the last of my preparations, strapping the two-handed sword I was always outfitted with into the weapons rack built into our small pods, along with the assault rifle. It didn't seem like much, but it would be enough. It hadn't failed me yet, at the least.
On either side of me, the rest of the team were preparing themselves as well.
Winter Schnee, former heiress to a high level Atlas business that provided the government with much of its Lien. She was disowned by her father, or so I'd heard, when she chose to join the military. Anything else I could dig up on her was screened heavily behind multiple layers of redaction and secrecy. She seemed to have no trust for others, and thought she was holier than thou, regardless of the time or place.
Next was Jaune Arc. Kid looked just like his old man did at that age – even had the whole lost and terrified puppy dog look down. I heard after the fact that his whole family was killed in the attack on Ansel. He showed up sometime later in the care of Ironwood and his wife. He tested rather well in terms of Aura reserves and how well he held his composure under pressure, not to mention a knack for the medical field.
Stood next to Jaune, like two peas in a pod, was Sun. There was damn near nothing we knew about him, at least not officially. From what I've seen, he seems a good enough kid. Happy, optimistic, always looking to the future. Kid is a crack shot with any sort of gun based on his testing, showed some affinity for infiltration, too.
Last, but not least, was Cardin. The gruff boy was leaning against his pod, away from the rest of the team with his arms crossed over his chest. He was the son of a noble before Atlas dismantled the nobility completely. After that, he fell off the face of Remnant, resurfacing a few years later as an infantry man. He proved resourceful and creative when approaching problems, earning him an opportunity to join the Helljumpers.
"Listen, man. Don't sweat it, yeah? We're gonna be fine. These things are built to handle it." Sun called out, clapping Jaune on the shoulder. The young boy looked thankful at the least that his new friend was trying.
"That's not what I'm worried about." He said in response. "It's just… I can't help but feel like I'm not ready. Like I'm in way over my head."
"You will be fine." The clipped tone of Winter's voice responded, likely fixing the boy with an icy gaze. "If you weren't cut out for this, you would not have even been accepted into the program."
Cardin nodded. "She's got a point, Jaune. Reservists or not, we've all got the skill to do the job."
I smiled slightly, closing up my pod for the time being and striding over to lean back against the wall in front of the other four. "It's alright to be afraid, you know."
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Hell, I can remember my first drop. Scariest moment of my life – thought for sure that I was gonna die. Maybe the pod was gonna break, or I'd be separated from my team." I shrugged. "None of that came to pass. These things are built like tanks. Never had a Grimm take one out of the sky and kill the passenger since they were developed."
Winter coughed, though didn't say anything.
Sun grinned, shooting a glance back over at me. "See, man? It'll be fine. Plus, it's not like we're the only people in there. There'll be soldiers still there, too." He was trying to show some upside, but that only had Jaune grimace and nod.
"Yeah. You're right. We'll be fine." He muttered, not sounding all too sure of that.
"Hotel-138, prepare for launch." An automated voice called out over the loudspeakers in the hangar bay.
I clapped my hands together. "You heard him. Get to your pods, and strap in, kiddos."
Everyone nodded, slipping into their assigned pods without any complaint.
Even if it was only Jaune who outwardly showed his nerves, I'd be surprised if Sun and Cardin didn't have the same sort of deal. They were just putting on a brave face, or at the least I knew I was when I was in their shoes. Winter, on the other hand. Well, I'm not sure she even has emotions other than disdain, disgust, and suffocating confidence.
I slipped into my pod after making sure the fresh faces had themselves situated and weren't completely lost.
I sat down in the simple seat – a seat that never got comfortable, even after dozens of drops. I strapped the harness sort of thing over my chest, and double checked that my weapons were secure. Once satisfied with that, I hit the button to close the hatch, watching it slowly swing down and seal, locking itself in place.
After a few more buttons hit, and switches flipped, the pod seemed to come to life.
The viewport that was made of thick, military grade bullet proof glass, flickered a few times, revealing the face of Winter in the center, flanked on her left by smaller screens displaying Jaune and Cardin, and on her right displaying Sun and myself.
"Right. Listen up, gentlemen. Your pods have already been preprogrammed to send you towards the city center." The voice of Winter crackled out over the pod's speaker system. "In the worst case, and we are all separated, you are to make your way there as quickly as you are able. Am I understood?"
She was talking like she was the commander of this team – almost as though I had been stripped of my rank completely. That ground on my nerves, though I did my best to ignore it, for now.
She was answered by a chorus of yes ma'am from each of us, not that anyone sounded particularly enthused.
Beneath the pods, the hangar doors opened. Below us, behind the thick cloud cover, and drenched in rain, would be the city of Vale.
"Prepare for drop." The artificial voice of the ship's computer called out over the pod's speakers.
Nobody responded. The jovial Sun was quiet, nerves starting to appear on his face. Jaune looked afraid, though kept his mouth shut and did his best to maintain his composure. Winter was completely unphased. And Cardin, well, he seemed to almost have a slight smile on his lips.
Suddenly, the pod shook, and we went into a brief free fall.
Then, the engines kicked in, and the whole contraption started to shake as we rapidly hurtled towards the ground, piercing through the cloud cover.
When we came out the other side, what we saw wasn't inspiring.
We knew there was a massive storm over Vale – that was why we chose to drop now, it meant the carrier wouldn't be harassed by Grimm if we kept over the cloud cover. But that didn't do anything to help the scene we were presented with.
The city was generally cloaked in shadow, the only light being occasional flashes of lightning, and the burning fires that raged across the once impressive metropolis. Buildings that had once stood tall had collapsed, causing untold damage to the area around them, potentially killing hundreds.
There was a flash of lightning, with thunder nipping at its heels hardly a moment later. Winter's screen flickered out on the display, and where I had been able to see four streaks of orange from the engines of other pods, I now only saw three.
"What…" The voice of Jaune asked, clearly thinking something was wrong.
I didn't get a chance to respond, as my pod violently shook as something impacted it. The viewscreen that let me see out into Vale was blocked by complete darkness. A Grimm.
The pod shook again, and then another time. It happened about four or five more times before the lights and power in the pod went off.
I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Alright, Qrow. You've got this. You've been in worse situations than this, and you're still here.
My viewport was still blocked by whatever Grimm had thrown itself at the pod still in the air. I didn't know how close I was to landing.
I couldn't do anything until I had landed. Without onboard systems to guide me, or react in any way, I was blind.
Here's hoping that the newbies made it out unscathed, at least. I thought, bracing myself for impact.
It never got easier – especially not when the pod lost power. Every time you went hurtling into the ground at high speeds, you were jostled, rattled, and came out with a few bruises. That was lessened, usually, by some of the pod's systems that I didn't understand completely.
Without them, a bumpy ride was about to become a painful one.
I felt the pod slam into the ground, and strained against my harness as momentum tried to throw me forward with it.
It didn't stop there, though. I felt another impact, once again rattling me significantly.
I groaned, shaking my head. Now, I could see out of the viewport.
The pod seemed to have stopped, and I was in the middle of a street, or a sidewalk. It was hard to say.
I sighed, fiddling with the clasp that held my harness together until it eventually came undone. Before opening the pod door, I drew the pistol that I had holstered on my hip. Ambush me once, fine. Ambush me a second time and I'm just plain stupid.
The latch released, and the pod hissed slightly as the door started to open.
I wasted no time in throwing myself out of the now vulnerable drop pod, scanning my surroundings as best I could, keeping the pistol at the ready.
Nothing.
There were ruined cars, even a few human corpses, but no sign of the Grimm. Not currently, at least.
Content that I wasn't going to get jumped instantly upon landing, I went back into the pod and retrieved my gear.
Armed now, with my trusty assault rifle, two handed sword, and a pack of supplies to get me through a couple weeks, I made my way deeper into the city.
"Feet first into Hell." I muttered quietly.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the drop covered and done.
Like I said, there won't be a whole lot of down time in this story, and it's only going to get faster from here.
Next chapter, we see how well Cardin handles being cut off and alone.
Next Chapter - Monday, October 7th
Till next time, this is Valres signing off.
