Chapter 1: Ruin Zone
I'm positive you're considering all the ways to make this work, but it's over. We're Team Ruby. Out of infinite possibilities there's only one way this will go. Our way.
After the quest to Kamin, Team Ruby moved into abandoned Noble grounds. They had to do so by huntship—a somewhat compact aircraft, big enough so they could carry survivors, but not so big it would be easily seen or heard. At least the quiet humming and creaking of the metal plates and Dust turbines at such high altitudes were somewhat soothing, even in areas that were populated by ammo and ration crates, plus the boxes that held their belongings.
Four boxes, one for each of them.
"Still have a hard time flying Weisscream?" Yang teased. When had she sneaked into the supply compartment?
"Nothing like that, just thinking too much," to say she was entirely within her element was a lie, and for better or for worse Yang would see right through it.
"Still don't trust these?" Yang patted the metallic wall of the dropship, "No Grimm is going to be taking over this model. I think."
"Not what I was thinking about but thanks for the mental image."
"You're welcome! So, Lien for your thoughts? You never isolate like this—o-oh; is it about Ruby?"
Weiss closed her eyes, mostly so she could compose herself, avoiding the cheeky smile she'd let Yang wrestle out of her. Yes, she did think about Ruby a lot those days… But their job always came first.
To hell with it, keeping things inside was bad for the mind, the Aura and the job, "Can't say I wasn't thinking about her. But I was also thinking about… the quest."
It was times like these she remembered Yang was a great listener, she simply raised eyebrow and waited for Weiss to elaborate on what troubled her.
"Ruby and Blake, any updates on them?"
"Nope. They're probably fine."
"Probably?"
"Yeah, probably, it's been a few minutes since we used the long-range comm. They got the intel we needed, and can handle themselves, so what's bugging you?" Yang crossed her arms as she moved to Weiss's side, disbelief and concern were mixed in her look, "I mean, we've done this a gazillion times now, I don't see why this would warrant the whole Ice Queen routine."
Weiss sighed, Yang was sharp as a scalpel when she wanted to be, "It's been a while since the last time I was home. Don't know how things changed. How bad it could be."
Yang was silent, so she continued, "It's hard, but it's just a place. I've said goodbye to it once, I can do it as many times as it takes. It's the people I'm worried about."
"Makes sense. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I'd have to come back eventually."
"If it makes you feel any better, Four Seven Niner says we'll be hovering above extraction, not too far away. If anything happens just ping my earbud, she'll be down there in no time."
Weiss smirked, "That does make me feel better. Come on, let's get out of here, it's so depressing!"
Weiss followed Yang to the ship's cabin, a stark, empty internal bay that had somewhere around twenty seats and a single set of handrails above them. Even during the rare occurrence where turbulence meant holding on to dear life, they never really used the seatbelts, not much use doing so when Weiss's glyphs did a better job anyways. They stopped right next to the back door, feeling a sudden pull of momentum, then it slowly subsidized. A sign that the ship was hovering.
Yang whistled once, to get the attention of the pilot, "Are we clear to go?"
The pilot, far away in the cockpit, only gave her a thumbs up. Moments after, the door to their side opened slowly, it slid into the fuselage, revealing the night sky outside. With the moon in view, Weiss almost felt like a few miles above and they could rest on the shattered pieces of the natural satellite.
A silly thing to think, the moon was hundreds of thousands of miles away from Remnant.
At the heights they were in, a drop from that altitude could be a lengthy one. Somewhere around twenty to twenty-five seconds if she estimated right. This was the part Weiss hated, going back to landing strategies was such…
Rookie stuff.
She took a running start, then jumped off the huntship, performed her most gracious backflip just in time to see Yang's amusement, and the ship itself. Its wide and angular body was what actually provided most of the lift with built-in turbines, the wings were so small, she didn't know if they had a purpose other than steering. Ruby had named it The Robin.
Weiss looked down to the ground as it quickly approached, twenty five seconds of head-first free fall was barely enough time to savor any of it. She twisted herself upright and summoned a glyph halfway through, angled so that she'd bounce to the side, then two more, enough to slow down for a silent landing atop the roof of a manor.
Show off, she could imagine Yang saying. Weiss cast off the comment summoned by her own mind, no time for such distractions.
Had she landed on the correct place? A glance told her yes, the garden had a clear view of the mountainside just before the tundra, and there were signs of a struggle. It was the only land large enough it would've taken over an entire block were it in the City of Vale, and it was isolated enough from the settlement nearby that the only way in was likely though aircraft, given the landing pad in the distance.
Definitely the right place. So… time to get to work.
Weiss brandished Myrtenaster in a tight circle, cutting into the roof. It was only as wide as her shoulders, so she could squeeze inside. She summoned a glyph to keep the piece of the roof from falling inside, and slowly lifted it. No signs of anyone inside, the lights were off too. Good. She squeezed into the opening, then summoned a Glyph before touching the ground.
They likely had a panic room, I just need to find where it is, she thought.
She could barely see the room she was in, the moonlight that did pour inside gave her some visibility, it appeared to be a food pantry. As she moved to the door, just when her hand touched the handle, a feeling crept up from her mind, a sensation she was familiar with. In a single motion she turned around and swung Myrtenaster in a wide arc.
Two pieces of a metal body hit the floor. Atlesian knight, bisected at the chest by her weapon.
Not enough, it had to be destroyed completely or else her mission would fail. Weiss rolled Myrtenaster's Dust cylinder to fire, then released a torrent, melting the pieces to slab within seconds. She directed the smoke outside with a chain of glyphs, so it wouldn't activate any home alert system. Left behind only the flaming pile of metal that flickered and died in the chill night air.
Moments passed, nothing, no alarm.
Weiss pressed an ear to the door, were there any others patrolling the corridors? Nothing, no footsteps. She opened the door, only enough to see out of the gap. The hallway was lined with monumental arched windows, and most importantly it was clear, so she moved quickly,. even summoned a glyph to stand on, so she could slide a couple of digits above the floor. It wasn't entirely silent but it was better than footsteps echoing, announcing her presence, that, and conserving her strength was pivotal.
Now's as good a time as any, she thought, pressing the button on her earbud twice. Ruby should be within range.
Before she turned a corner, the measured steps of metallic contraptions approached. Damned knights, even if Ruby picked up her scroll Weiss wouldn't be able to answer without giving her position away, she shut off her earpiece.
Focusing, Weiss listened for footsteps. One… Three… Six? Too weighty, too slow… A Deathknight? That was a pain.
Weiss commanded her Glyph upwards, out of sight, so far up she nearly touched the vaulted ceiling.
The Deathknight marched closer, heavy steps echoing. It produced no light, the only features she could see were the armored plating and the 'sting' that curved upwards from its back. It was large enough to cover the entire hallway, the type of corridor where a team of Huntsmen could walk side by side and never touch the walls.
It passed by, and even though it marched a good distance below Weiss, she held her breath and kept herself still as a statue. Who knew how sensitive their sensors were at that point?
When it was sufficiently out of earshot, Weiss relaxed and moved to her destination, the main hall. As she passed the many, many rooms on her way, Weiss considered the options: The hallways connected the entire place, Blake would be somewhere within the manor already, and unless she was getting sloppy, there should be a…
There, a dust-flared cross mark above the arched doorway, definitely from Blake's blade. Weiss was moving the right way.
Considering the enemies that swarmed the place, Weiss decided the best course of action was staying far away from the ground. She neared the archway that led to the main hall, stuck close to the wall and ceiling.
Peeking in she got a better view, today the place was large was an understatement; three stories tall and wide enough to fit their huntship, the skylight allowed moonlight inside the place, framing a stairway that split at the bottom, divided by a stone fountain. The fountain was still, and the cloudy, green condition of it told Weiss it had been unused for a while.
She could see a couple dozen of androids patrolling the three floors, the walkways that contoured the hall. At least a third of them were Grimm, Ursas and Creeps, as expected. Checking her surroundings twice just to make sure, she turned her earbud back on.
"You know, you can't just leave a girl waiting," said the bright, chirpy voice, Ruby.
Weiss smiled.
"Har har," she whispered, then waved at the window. Immediately after she knew somewhere out there Ruby waved back, unseen, "Give me an update?"
"Numbers are still the same, I think."
"What makes you doubt it?"
"Irregular patrols ever since we got here. They know something is up," Ruby answered, in a matter-of-fact way.
They just don't know what, great. "So we go through just the same?"
"Pretty much. You can move… Now."
Weiss sprung into the hall, as Ruby said the word, conjuring and dismissing Glyphs to dart between the shadows. In a moment, she made it to the third floor, swung under a doorway as a knight walked in, then pulled herself to the ceiling with the use of another summoned Glyph.
She was in another hallway, Weiss stared intently at the knight as it marched into the manor. It didn't seem to notice her presence.
One would think, given her upbringing, that moving in a mansion of that size would be like second nature to Weiss, but it couldn't be further from the truth. She much preferred the dorms of Beacon Academy, the inns they crashed in for a night before a mission, and even the outdoors. They were much better than where she found herself at that moment, it was like a maze, all hallways and useless bedrooms. It all looked the same. Were it not for Ruby and Blake, she'd be lost inside, gliding aimlessly atop her Glyph.
Weiss floated to the nearest door. It was the same, garish kind as the rest, adorned with silver curves, but it didn't budge when she tried to push it.
"That's the blind spot," Ruby warned through the communication link, it was the right door.
She was familiar with the technology at least. A skeleton door, reinforced enough so it could take ten minutes of nonstop dust artillery. It was meant for security, the kind many nobles had for their many, many dirty secrets. The walls were likely just as though. Blake, in her mind, would've been a much better fit, Weiss should've been the one providing the intel. It would've been dealt with by someone more competent in security, but there were so many of these, she had to see it for herself. Half the reason those doors were secure was subterfuge and deception.
They were produced by the Schnee Dust Company after all, it was a saving grace that nobles rarely ever upgraded unless they had to.
Weiss floated down to the keypad just beside the handle. Forcing the panel off would just trigger an emergency lockdown, but the SDC still provided maintenance support, and there were failsafes in place, and a miniscule circular space between the 'zero' and 'two' keys denounced one, a gap in the system disguised as a stylistic choice. She summoned a glyph, only as wide as the palm of her hand, right on top of the digits. If she applied enough pull, but not so much it would disturb the inner workings…
A click, the keys popped out collectively.
Good. The next part was complicated, but looking at the board, it wasn't a dust-fueled or digital model. Whoever paid for it preferred stability over security, and it meant the components inside were analog, they could be moved with the correct input.
What would it take? Perhaps a long, thin piece of metal was a start. Considering the options, Weiss snapped a piece of her tiara, it was as long as her hand, it could do. She inserted it on the panel, running it along the front of the door, to see if she could find the pins inside. Too short.
Starting again, she removed the pin and summoned a glyph at its end, only as wide as her thumb's fingernail. With her free hand, Weiss opened Myrtenaster's cylinder, opened the round in the ice-loaded chamber, filled with the thin, sky-blue Dust powder. As steadily as she could, took a pinch of the ice Dust, careful not to press it, she poured the particles on her makeshift pick, the glyph did its job pulling them.
Weiss felt through the glyph, little by little the specks piled on one another, reacted to the contact by crystallization. It was enough to double the length of the pin.
She firmly pushed the pin inside again, feeling resistance that time. It was a model with pins, practically a museum piece.
She tested the inside, the pins were arrayed vertically, ten of them. Weiss pushed on the pins, a few clicks later, and one use of a glyph to formly spin the cylinder inside, she heard the cascade of mechanisms that lined the door, from the miniscule, diving to the sturdier, larger pieces.
The door unlocked.
Weiss looked inside, found what she expected. It was a big room, big enough to fit The Robin, perhaps. To one side, built into the wall she noticed charging stations, dozens of them. They were as tall as an average person, a concavity in the wall just wide enough one could slide inside and almost touch the sides. Older knight models were strewn about, harvested for parts, most everything that wasn't the armor plates, and even some of those had been cannibalized in the process. Factory arms hung from the ceiling, inert. At the very end wall was a console, it would be about as big as a personal computer were it not for the many, many screens that surrounded it, practically taking over the entire wall.
The putrid stench reached Weiss just as she noticed the silhouette that laid in front of it. Gone and for a long time now, no saving them, whoever they were.
Weiss spun Myrtnaster's cylinder back to fire, just to be sure, then pressed the button on her earbud, "I found it. Tell Yang to do her thing."
—❖—
As she plummeted feet-first to the manor, Yang pressed her hands to her side, aiming for the skylight. It shattered into a million pieces when she touched it.
An instant later she crashed to the stone floor below, hit it hard enough that it cracked underfoot, hit the floor with her knee and foot, one arm extended. She raised herself in time to let the glass fragments rain around her, like snow glittering in the moonlight.
The android knights and the Grimm around her all hesitated. It was as close as she could get to making them feel fear for once, but it was no excuse not to keep trying.
The knights took aim as an Ursa charged her way. Yang stretched a hand just before meeting the Grimm head on, raising it as a shield from the gunfire. She grinned, then slammed the beast down on the marble floor, hard enough it sent fragments and dust into the air.
Inside the dust cloud, she could see the faint hint of lasers touching the particles, knight aiming systems trying to aim for her. Fine then, she'd start with them, if they were so eager the things couldn't wait for their turn.
Yang speared out of the dust cloud, running up the stairs, then leaped to the second floor. She met the first knight with a spinning kick before touching the ground, her foot cut through its chest like it cut through air.
A beat later the others aimed at her, the dozens of Creep at their sides charged, trying to slow her down.
In a walkway like that, with all of them lined in front of them? Like shooting fish in a barrel.
Yang grappled the still moving body of the knight she bisected, charged forward, letting all restrictions fall to the wayside, collateral damage wasn't much of a concern. Shots that tried to hit her blasted the scrap android in her hand instead. Yang extended her left arm, clotheslined the androids as she passed through them. They shattered on impact, and subtle use of her semblance made sure they'd stay down by scrambling their inner bits.
All she really needed was a touch.
At the end of her dash, the Grimm were pulverized, and a pair of knights were stacked in her left arm like meat on a skewer. Yang used her semblance again, the two nearly detonated, shattering in all directions. Maybe she overtuned it that time
She leaped to the floor above, swinging under the floor. The knights there were rushing to the floor below, where she had been. There was a trick she'd been meaning to try…
Yang grabbed the nearest knight by the head, tore it off in the next breath, then plunged her hand in it's chest, where the main systems were.
She'd been thinking: maybe she could cause a delayed effect if she used her Semblance just right? A press of kinetic energy here, heat there. Something important inside the android heated a bit too much, and when it cooled…
Yang tore her hand out of the android then kicked it to the crowd of Grimm and knights, a side kick hard enough to tear blast doors out of their hinges.
The android hit an ursa, then a moment later detonated in a fireball that spread to the others. The knights didn't detonate, unfortunately, but they burned just as well.
Donezo, and it took me what? Thirty seconds? Can't wait to see her face when-
Heavy steps were moving her way, fast. Yang turned around-
Something burst through the wall, fast enough Yang couldn't react, and hard enough it tumbled with her through the air. They hit the fountain below, smashing the edges and spilling the water.
Yang fell on her back, and the giant thing that intercepted her was on its way to land on top of her. She planted her shoulders on the floor, then raised her legs straight into the air, in time to kick whatever it was that attacked her.
It reeled back and stumbled when it fell. Yang pushed herself upright, only under the moonlight she could see it clearly, a Deathknight. It was almost exactly as big as a Giant Deathstalker, six legs, a tail that curved from it's back, and a pair of pincers on the front. The difference? Maybe the black metal limbs, six spheric sensors lined vertically in place of a head, or mayhaps the fact it was entirely mechanical.
The 'sting' at the end of the tail flared up, Yang jumped to the side, in time to see it blow the rest of the fountain behind her to bits.
That sting had to go.
She ran forward and jumped, then kicked one of the back legs with both of her own legs, a drop kick. The Deathknight had little time to react, it stumbled as Yang found her footing then lunged onto its back, wrapping her arms around the tail.
Yang roared and pulled, heard the metal creaking and grinding, just a bit more…
The Deathknight thrashed and fired wildly, hitting the pathways, the stairs, the ceiling with a flurry of shots.
More knights ran out of the doors, dozens of them. Rubble shrapnel hit her back, knocking off some of the Aura shield that protected her body, invisible to the eye. Not enough to warrant repositioning, but enough she registered it. Knights started firing at her, most missed, some hit the back of her knee, her scapula, elbow. Too many shots to count, whittling her aura down, little by little.
Come on!
Yang struggled to pull, she felt her arms straining, another push of her semblance and she was almost there…
Outside, prone on a tree branch, a huntress aimed inside, then fired a piece of heavy artillery.
A silver line ricocheted off the edge of the skylight, hit the base of the Deathknight's tail, then two knights at completely opposite ends of the hall.
Another shot, that time it hit knights and their shrapnel hit others nearby, a domino effect that painted a constellation of destruction around Yang.
Ruby, she really did like those trick shots.
With a final pull, Yang tore the tail off, then slammed it on the Deathknight's head. It shook and trembled, it was a shock to it's systems but not much else.
Yang smiled, a sadistic grin. Blood pumped to her skull harder than it had the entire day, her eyes were red. She brought her fists down, strike after strike. Faster! The Deathknight's legs lost all power, it's pincers still tried to pry her off of it, failing as she dodged with simple, compact moves. She would punch it until-
She hit the ground. Not in a matter of speech, her arms had gone right through the android, one of her fists was embedded wrist-deep in the marble, and it wasn't moving anymore. Hadn't been for a few seconds, she was the last one standing.
She took a moment to cool down.
Like clockwork, as she got up and dusted herself off the generators hummed back online, Weiss had already finished her job, and that was Yang's signal. The lights switched on, taking Yang out of the fight-haze she'd been in. There was another objective, the most important of all.
Yang surveyed her surroundings, pressed her earbud, "Ruby, you there?"
"Did you like the ricochet?"
"Loved it, especially the cascade effect. You're getting better at that."
Ruby sounded so content with herself, "You're welcome. Want directions to the library?"
"Please."
She took a moment to respond, likely surveying the place through her scope, "Second floor, fifth hallway. Third door to the right"
"Thanks."
Yang moved, her stride unbroken by rubble or still twitching android limbs. She crushed those underfoot on sight. Give a knight even a single advantage now, others would turn that to two, or ten down the road. It had been something of a mantra to keep at the back of their minds, always.
Third door to the right. The same as the other doors, with an oval emblem etched on it. Yang opened it and the first thing she noticed was the destroyed androids. Likely twenty or thirty, it was hard to tell, given how they were torn apart, pieces everywhere. The inside was an octagonal room, the recessed lights illuminated the corners more than the center, stopping at the engaged columns on each corner. They were embedded in the wall, projecting from it.
Yang wondered if they provided any support, or if they were there for the ostentatious look.
The arched ceiling was completely dark, though the skylights compensated for some of it, perhaps it was brighter during the day. There was a bookshelf at each wall, and a simple wooden workbench surrounded by what must've been hundreds of books.
"Hey babe," a voice said above her, Blake.
She looked up in time to see Blake land from her perch above, somewhere atop a column, "You did all this?" Yang pointed at the destruction on the floor.
Blake nodded, "They can't see much in the dark."
Yang whistled, impressed, "And this is just patrol?"
Blake turned, moving effortlessly to the other end of the room, Her steps never touched a single android, "From the last hour. What evac point did you choose?"
Yang followed, "The landing pad. It's a bit far and cold out there, but it's a safe landing. He'd have to demolish too much of the main hall to land there, and I don't know if the structure can take it without caving in. Better safe than sorry."
Blake hummed in agreement, then stopped in front of a bookshelf. She removed a series of thick, tall books, revealing a keypad, and a hint of a metallic door behind it. Instead of typing a sequence of numbers, she knocked on the door. Three knocks, then one, then five, without any apparent rhythm.
The bookshelf slid to the side first, some of the books were knocked down in the process. Then the door behind it, metallic and wider than it was tall, opened with the sound of pneumatic latches unlocking, one after the other.
The first thing that caught Yang's attention was the state of the survivors, all of them servants. She expected bad, but expectations and reality were often dissonant, conflicting.
She counted eighteen heads, they were malnourished, skinny and dehydrated men and women, some of them definitely in their early teens, most of them Faunus, all of them still wearing their uniforms. Suits for the men, simple black dresses for the women. They'd been abandoned to the Grimm, elements and corrupted knights by some Noble, Yang recalled the title with disgust. Those callous, parasitic, pieces of-
"Yang," Blake warned her, gently took her hand. Yang was clenching her fist, hard. She'd shut her jaw so tight out of frustration too. Probably scared some of the survivors.
The marks on their necks, shaped like jewelry to fool the idiots that took quests in Atlas. Blake had disarmed the collars that caused them, the marks were too recent. Yang should've suspected it, but she'd kept those things out of mind.
They were safe now.
Blake led them to a panic room just like she promised during the briefing. It wasn't a good place, bleak, sterile and the lights were a bit too bright. They'd used some blankets as makeshift mattresses. To a side, Yang noticed the wooden box of supplies Blake took to the quest. It was around the same size as a beach ball, Yang helped prepare it and she still couldn't believe Blake somehow made it inside with it.
Taking a stronger stance, her back straight and her chin high, Yang broke the silence, her voice firm so it would get their undivided attention, "My name is Yang Xiao Long and this is Blake Belladonna," she pointed to her partner, "Though I'm sure you already know that. We took care of the army outside, you're safe now. Does everyone know the way to the landing pad?"
There were nods among the group.
"Good. Stay close to each other, and close to us. We're getting you out of here."
—❖—
Ruby landed on the craftpad, a square metal plane lifted off sloped terrain by metal beams, surrounded by safety rails on all sides but the walkway. The Robin had already landed, the cargo door was open, making a ramp all the way to the cabin.
Four Seven Niner was leaning on the side of the ship, she was still wearing the oxygen helmet that went along with the pilot suit; it was customized to fit her leopard ears without hurting them. She held her rifle like a Huntress, pointing at the ground, finger off the trigger. It was more for her own peace of mind, Ruby suspected. Being the only other member of the crew, alone, with no Aura for protection would've made Ruby a little uneasy too.
But she was one hell of a pilot.
"Isabella," Ruby greeted.
Four Seven Niner saluted, then her shoulders fell, and she let her rifle hang by the over-the shoulder strap. "All good?" she asked.
Ruby nodded, "All good."
The two words were enough for Four Seven Niner, she trusted that much. Asking was just a formality, if things weren't good Ruby wouldn't be there.
The quest was a bit stressful, that was something she could sympathize with Four Seven Niner on. The hours and hours before they sprung the ambush were the worst. She had nothing to do, and playing games on her scroll was a big no, yet her focus still suffered, her own ticks distracted her.
But by the time of action? Her mind was clear, she could let it all out. Even as she waited there, Ruby could still keep the same headspace, imagining a wire frame of the manor, the insides, focusing on how the surfaces would react to her bullets. Some, like the concrete of the stairs, would shatter and reduce momentum too much, but it was useful to create a shotgun-like spread that hit from unusual angles if she used a fire round. Others were a mix of hard and flexible like the alloy used beneath the outer walls, it would ricochet bullets if the angle was just right. Knights almost always caused ricochets, their armor was too hard, but the insides were fragile, used dust reactions, and if Ruby shot a particularly well placed gravity round?
They fell like dominoes.
It was good that they made it through, everybody uninjured despite the stumbles here and there. Ruby refused to dwell much on it, not worth thinking about what could've been, not when they were technically still in the frying pan.
In the distance, coming out of the manor, she saw Yang, Weiss and Blake leading the survivors. Ruby used her Semblance, burst into thousands of rose petals and flew their way. She met them before they were halfway to the landing pad, waved at the survivors, beckoning them to The Robin.
These final moments in a quest? They were the best. She used her semblance to dart around the group of survivors, lead them. That way her team would be surrounding them. If something came for them during these final moments they'd be the first to take a hit. Something welled up in Ruby's stomach, like a tickle. She smiled at the people behind her.
As they boarded The Robin, she waited outside, a feeling pulling at the back of her neck made Ruby stop in her tracks. The same with the rest of her team, they looked at eachother, letting the survivors pass around them.
Turbines in the distance confirmed her suspicions, it was too easy after all.
Three aircrafts, still somewhat far away. Atlesian seekers, slim, with wide wings lined with propellers. The spotlights on the underside of the seekers lit, pointed at Ruby and her team. Even at the distance they were at, it was bright enough to light up the entire landing pad.
Blake held her hand over her face, to cover from the light, "You think they followed us? No good deed goes unpunished…"
Weiss pursed her lips, "They must've been monitoring the area, I think we can talk-"
A loudspeaker blared, some of the survivors inside flinched at the sound, "Team Ruby of Beacon Academy, stand down and surrender now, you are under arrest!"
Yang clenched her teeth, "What the fu-"
The speaker interrupted her, that terrible noise, "We repeat, stand down, now!"
Oh. That was definitely not happening.