NOTE: I admit. This is going to get some updates...
This chapter was not a quick one, too. This one took some thought, a lot of time, and some good hours editing.
"We've lost contact with the recon unit," reported the communications officer.
Captain Arc and First Lieutenant Rose snapped to the table as the radioman tried to gauge the situation.
"It was Staff Sergeant Barclay. Distress call. Last known coordinates...cliffside overlooking the Emerald Forest."
Jaune and Ruby shared a knowing glance. They knew the spot. It was the site of Beacon's unique initiation ritual. No doubt, something must have happened to Barclay and his men when they were sent to probe the edges of the massive expanse of forestry that housed hordes of Grimm that surely overpopulated the area in the several years it was left untouched. It was a direct order from Winter, carried down the chain of command through Jaune to Barclay.
"Lieutenant Gabino, take charge!" the Captain ordered. "I'm going in."
Other than Lieutenant Rose, everyone else in the RDF Beacon command base—a makeshift headquarters set up inside academy's massive amphitheater, most of the glaring damages repaired—gave him strange looks. Rarely did a non-commissioned officer go out of his way to personally salvage a lost cause. Not that they all accepted Barclay was dead. It was common knowledge for years that the Emerald Forest was the most Grimm-infested area in the whole of Vale, housing species more evolved than Nevermores, Deathstalkers, and Nuckelavees.
"What are you all standing around for!? Get moving!" Arc boomed, jolting the nerve center into rapid action.
Rose followed closely behind him as he marched out into the grounds, following the broken cobbled pathway that led to the launch pads. "You think they got lost?"
"More like they got tossed in."
"You sure Gabino can handle all this while we're out?"
"He's got a talent for running things with his eyes closed. I trust him enough."
"You're acting on impulse again, Jaune," Ruby warned.
"Speak for yourself, Ruby," the Captain replied, fully deploying Crocea Mors as Crescent Rose activated shortly behind him.
Together, they made their way out the academy's ruins, across the overgrown gardens, passed the tree line to the launching pads. A few were already angled out of the ground while the rest were buried under thick underbrush. The disturbance in the moss and grass showed signs of panic—evidence that squad was caught off guard while they were setting up. It was clear what had happened.
Jaune shook his head and sighed. "Damn it. They didn't see the platforms. One of them must've stepped on one and got thrown. Knowing Barclay, he'd go after the poor son of a bitch."
"You think the rest still work?" Ruby asked, clearing the moss off the other plates.
"Only one way to find out."
She smirked. "How long has it been since...?"
"Initiation?" Now was not the time to mull but Jaune humored her this moment, stopping short of stepping onto a rusted platform. "I honestly don't remember."
Ruby shrugged, the soles of her boot hovering over the pad beside him. "Well, this is going to bring back memories. You got a landing strategy?"
"Better than yours," he said before confidently kicking the manual switch at the end of his plate, triggering the mechanism that launched him several feet into the air like a rocket.
They found Barclay's squad desperately holding onto the familiar ancient colonnade, some of the pedestals toppled over either by their firepower or the Grimm that came dangerously close to overrunning them.
Captain Arc and Lieutenant Rose cleaved through the hordes, the sheer numbers exhausting their Aura and forcing them to use up more than half their Dust supply. Still, they reached the injured unit, not a single man left unscathed but still stubbornly holding onto dear life, the barrels of their guns close to melting from the constant firing.
"You guys alright?" Jaune panted.
"Low on ammo, first aid's taken care of, still kicking ass, Cap," Barclay said proudly, his right eyelid sagging over a hollow socket, half of his chiseled face caked in his own blood.
The officer found it damnably frustrating how a majority of the frontline troops in the entire RDF were Aura-deficient, his own company a notable example with their casualty rates. Alas, that was why Huntsmen and Huntresses were welcome additions to the military.
Ruby poured fire into their rear flank, her heavy caliber rounds ripping through an advancing pack of Ursai. Seeing this was enough to restore morale in the squad. The riflemen mimicked her and emptied their clips into any Grimm that dared emerge out of the surrounding tree line.
Jaune lifted Barclay to his feet as he yelled into his radio. "Requesting medevac, over."
"Copy. Bullhead on the way. ETA, ten minutes," replied Gabino.
"Didn't think we'd make it, Cap," Barclay admitted.
"No one gets left behind," the senior officer said, amid the noise of the battle raging around them. He raised his voice so the whole unit could hear. "Ten minutes! Ten minutes and we're out of here!"
"Hell yeah!" a rifleman yelled back.
The Nevermore nearly ripped the bullhead out of the sky.
The Grimm beast screeched as it circled back while the pilot dipped to keep the aircraft from spinning out of control. Its talons had come dangerously close to ripping the turbines off the wing, tilting the aircraft and nearly knocking some of the rescued men out of the its exposed rear.
Grimacing, Captain Arc hollered over the wind, "Hold on!"
A second later, Lieutenant Rose landed a shot on the avian's right wing, forcing it to fly directly under them.
Jaune acted on impulse. He leaped off the edge and landed on its head, his sword thrust deep into the back of its cranium between a wedge in its exterior skullcap. The beast screeched and gyrated before magnificently crashing into the dense forest, ripping up a cloud of dirt and leaving a long wake of uprooted trees.
The soldiers on the bullhead could have sworn they heard Lieutenant Rose scream the Captain's name. But they did see her dart towards to the massive Grimm carcass as the bullhead circled around. To their relief and slight surprise, Captain Arc emerged out of the dust with only a few vanishing cuts and bruises, his Atlesian plating nastily bent in some places.
Barclay may have lost an eye but he caught the minute fidgeting that racked the reaper's fingers. He correctly guessed that she stopped herself from hugging the senior officer. Of course, the staff sergeant kept that to himself.
"That's very much like you," acquiesced Brigadier General Winter Schnee over the visual feed.
Standing at attention, Captain Arc nodded curtly. "I did what needed to be done."
Winter tilted her head slightly, studying him for a brief couple seconds, before raising her chin. "Are your flanks secure?"
"For now. However, the Emerald Forest is going to be a recurring problem, ma'am.."
"Spotters have identified three possible Nevermore nests in the same AO," Ruby added. "Other than that, we do not expect any further incursions from our other sectors."
The General nodded. "Very well. I will be dispatching three Huntsman teams to assist in clearing operations. I will also expect a detailed requisition order for the specified materiel necessary to improve your defenses."
"Yes, ma'am," both chorused.
"And one more thing: Captain, I advise you apply restraint in future operations. Such recklessness cannot be easily forgiven and is detrimental to the performance of the men and women under your command." Winter narrowed her eyes at the reaper as well. "And Lieutenant Rose, I expect you to discourage any foolishness that would arise from this." Then the feed terminated.
Jaune and Ruby let their hands drop from their backs to rest on their sides.
"That went well," he remarked, releasing the breath he had been holding.
The Captain felt a nudge on his arm and saw his liaison gesture at him to follow her outside. Wordlessly, they left the bustling nerve center and headed towards a vacant section of the base perimeter: the collapsed food court. The still standing walls contained the echoes of their voices, keeping them clandestine from the patrolling sentries.
"You had me worried, Jaune," the Lieutenant softly admitted.
The senior officer turned to see her clenching her fists. Her silver eyes flashed with anger and...tears? She wiped her face and glared at him. "Ruby—"
"Don't do that again!" she demanded. "You depleted your Aura! You almost died back there!"
"I wasn't aware—"
"Then start being aware." Ruby took a moment to compose herself. "Jaune, I agree with the General. Please, don't ever do that again."
It took him awhile to respond. His shoulders sagged as he failed to meet her gaze. "It's become natural, Ruby."
She scoffed. "You're letting it become natural. Rein it in."
He shook his head, turning away. "What do you want me to say? 'As an upstanding officer of the RDF, I will not carelessly throw my life to the wind over the most trivial matters.'"
"That rescue wasn't trivial."
The Captain threw her a sharp scowl. "Look, I care for everyone in this battalion. We've suffered enough casualties just taking Beacon. I intend not to get whittled down while he hold it." He paused, seeing the reaction in her wide pupils. "Nothing's going to stop me from jumping into the meat grinder to pull them out of it."
"You're not invincible, Jaune."
He exhaled. This was getting frustrating. "I know."
"Please." It came out as a plea more than an order. "Just...make this easy on yourself. On everyone. You'll be hurting a lot of people if you keep doing that. I don't think you've noticed but you're hurting m—"
He held up his hand. "Enough, Ruby." He turned on his heels, intent on walking away but unable to take a step forward. "It's late. Hunker down. We still have a lot to do. This conversation is over. Dismissed."
She deflated but still saluted him. "Yes, sir."
Jaune watched her stomp off to her quarters. Only when she was out of earshot did he say, "You know me. I care too much. I'm sorry, Rubes..."
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: March 14, 2018
LAST EDITED: May 8, 2018
INITIALLY UPLOADED: March 15, 2018
NOTE: Again, this is a creative break from Pit Stop. I happen to like writing stuff like this when I'm frazzled out of my mind. I'll try to keep this sporadic.