"Ruby, Yang! Wake up!"
Both Huntresses-in-training came to, and saw that their vehicle had stopped at the edge of a cliff, with a large creviced cliff wall behind them. As they retrieved their weapons and followed Nomad, who had woken them up, toward the cliff wall, Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"Where are we?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"We made it to Erewhon. This way." Nomad simply replied, and brushed aside a large canopy netting that covered a cave entrance. To the untrained eye, it was completely unnoticeable from the ground and likely from the air.
But to Nomad, as he shepherded the girls inside, he knew that aerial-camo netting had been used by guerrilla soldiers and national armies since the development and usage of aerial weaponry. As a trio of civilians armed with M4 rifles showed them down a slope and into a mountain cavern, Ruby and Yang looked around, awestruck.
The entire cavern was large enough to hold the entire village of Homesteaders, with multiple small buildings including a command center, medical clinic and a small ICU, a portable hydroelectric power plant, a large watermill, and even a small Local Area Network hub and radio repeater for communications.
Off to the side was what seemed to be a shop and firing range, and the two sisters could see a few Homesteaders looking over weapons with a black-haired woman wearing a plaid shirt and a down jacket. In a small leisure area to the left of the stall was a firepit and pillows for relaxation.
"This is so cool." was all Yang could say. "But can't we be seen from up there?"
Yang pointed at the cavern opening at the top, and Nomad nodded.
"You might think that. Apparently the local Homesteaders rigged up a drone-defense system that effectively eliminates all signal traces from this place. Plus, they have sensor-jamming nets all over the top and walls of the cavern. It's definitely impressive."
"Who made this place?" Ruby asked, looking around.
"I did."
The two Huntresses turned to see a burly man with a long gray beard, wearing a stetson hat, come forward. He wore a down jacket like many of the people present, but he wore a red shirt and a sidearm was holstered at his waist.
"So, you're the last of those students from Remnant?" he asked. "Well, I'm Mads Schulz. I lead the Homesteaders here in Erewhon. Your friends are up at the med clinic, so head there before you do anything else."
"We're not hurt or anything." Ruby replied. "Why?"
"It's because we need to test you for any bacteria or viruses that may be harmless to you, but dangerous to us." Nomad responded. "Plus, your friend Blake took a flashbang grenade blast directly, so she's getting both her sets of ears checked out."
"Well, I guess that makes sense." Yang said. "Come on, Ruby. It'll be fine!"
Ruby nodded, though she didn't seem convinced. As they headed up the hill to the clinic, the other students greeted them when they approached.
"Are you okay, Blake?" Ruby asked, seeing Blake's cat-ears had some kind of bandage applied to them.
"Yes, I'm fine." Blake replied, rubbing her neck. "My ears are just recovering from that blast. Doctor Burton said they should be perfectly fine in a few hours."
The doctor in question, a woman with blonde hair, wearing a lab coat, waved from where she sat at a computer desk, watching a monitor.
"So, how long do we have to be here?" Nora yawned, leaning back against a crate of supplies. "It's so boring, we're just sitting around and doing nothing."
"Be patient." Ren said. "Not only is this not our world, but this isn't a place like Beacon Academy at all. We need to stay in Mr. Schulz's good graces and play by his rules. We're his guests, after all."
"That is true." Weiss said as she looked over Myrtenaster for any sign of damage. To her relief, the Dust crystals in the rapier's revolving cylinder were still active, and they still glowed, only not as brightly as usual. "It was nice of him to let us in here."
"Speaking of, how long were you two asleep?" Jaune asked. "We actually arrived about an hour before you came in."
"You mean we were alone out there?" Ruby replied, shocked. "Yang and I could've been caught!"
"You two weren't alone." Nomad said. "Me and the Homesteaders at the gate were watching over you. We decided to let you two sleep for a bit, since we felt you needed it."
"Well, thanks." Yang nodded. Then, there was a faint "Ding!" and Doctor Burton came over.
"Good news, I take it?" Nomad asked.
"Yep, they're clear of any harmful bacteria or viral organisms." the doctor replied. "I'd reckon they're free to go and look around, as long as they don't leave the cavern."
"Good thinking." Nomad replied. "Come on, let's get you eight something to eat, then, I've got some questions that I'd like answers to."
As the students picked up an assortment of food from the canteen and sat down in a dining area, the other Ghosts came together near the bonfire to report in with each other.
"I take it we're all intact?" Nomad asked the other team leaders, who nodded affirmatively.
"Alright, here's how I think things should go from here." Nomad took in a breath. "It's safe to say that the original parameters for this Operation have been sufficiently fucked to the point that it's time to redraw the lines."
"Our original orders still stand. In case anyone needs a reminder, we're here to locate Jace Skell, stop Sentinel Corp, and investigate the archipelago as a whole. I've also confirmed that former Ghost and RET Team leader, Cole Walker, is leading the OpFor we encountered back in the forest. According to Mads, these soldiers call themselves the Wolves, and are on our level in terms of skills, tactical training, and other facets. They know this island, and their resources are inexhaustible."
"But we wouldn't have it any other way. It doesn't matter who we face in battle, because we will triumph over them. There is no fight we fear. Because We are Ghosts, and together, we will finish our mission."
"Am I clear?"
The Ghosts sounded off in the affirmative.
"Alright, now that the thrilling speech is out of the way…let's get to the elephant in the room." he continued. "The students from Remnant. We know they're combat capable where they come from, but let's hear what everyone thinks."
"They certainly have potential." said Captain Matthew Gates, the leader of Aegis Team. "Their weapons are interesting as well. Combining melee with ballistic weaponry does have its benefits."
"But they are still basically kids." Fixit replied. "I don't know what counts for combat on their end, but here? I'm not sure the Sentinel mercs or the Wolves will think twice before putting rounds into them."
"That does raise the issue of us not knowing what they are capable of." Kozak hummed. "I say we see the full extent of their abilities, and we'll go from there. We'll need details on their weapons, experiences, physical and mental status, strengths and weaknesses, and the whole nine yards. Then, we can see if they can keep up with us."
"I have to agree with Kozak," Cyclone said. "I think that once they're done eating, we'll take a few of them aside at a time and get a full ops profile made for each of them.
"Then, we could likely split them into four teams of two, and each team is assigned to one of ours. We could train them as we go, and once they're up to speed, we merge them back into two sets of four."
"Works for me." Nomad said. "All in favor?"
Fifteen hands were raised, and Nomad nodded approvingly. As they approached the students, who were cleaning up their dishes with the help of a few homesteaders, Ruby turned to look at Nomad.
"What's up, Nomad?" she asked.
"Well, we've come to a decision regarding how things are going to go for you eight. First of all, we're gonna take you all aside, one at a time, and construct an ops profile for each of you. That means we're going to need data on all your strengths, weaknesses, info on any special training if applicable, all of the details and functions of your weapons, et cetera. We need to know everything about what you can do, because it just might save your life if it comes to it."
"Then, once we've reviewed it all,and seeing as there's eight of you and sixteen of us, each Ghost team will be assisted by a pair of students, who those pairs might be is something that we'll determine later."
"Now, who wants to go first?"
Eventually, Ruby spoke up.
"I will." she said. Nomad motioned to a table out of earshot, and they sat down while Nomad powered up his MRT.
"Let's begin, Ruby." he said, beginning to record. "Full name, please."
Author's notes
Here are the names and weapons of choice for each Ghost member.
Kingslayer Team
Nomad, Koblin
Midas, Super 90
Holt, MK48
Weaver, MSR
Cyclone Team
Cyclone/Captain Jason McCoy, M4A1
Fixit, Stoner 96
Vasily, Scorpio
Fury, Vector
Aegis Team
Aegis/Captain Matthew Gates, ACR 6.8
Domino/Lt. Thomas Sipes, 870 MCS
Sparrow/Sergeant Casey Edwards, MP7
Rook/Sergeant Drew Callaghan, M40A5
Hunter Team
Hunter Lead, HK417
Kozak, Goblin PDR
30K, LSAT
Pepper, M110
