VNA Gladiator
Other aliases: Spartan
Length: 2,015 metres
Crew: 7,162
"The Gladiator was manufactured by Zarek shipyards as their answer to Vale's mobile fortress platform. Mounting sheer offensive weaponry on all flanks, the Gladiator served initially as the Navy's frontline warship in spearheading major assaults. Commandeered by Captain Regis Caelum, the Gladiator saw action for a solid 8 years. Her most valiant act was recorded during the battle over the Lucius straights when the lone fortress stood against twenty Atlesian airships. Needless to say, the heroic acts of her Captain and crew prevented the strategic Lucius straights from falling into enemy hands. A feared warship amongst the Atlesian Navy."
Gladiator's motto is 'Ready for all, Yielding for nothing.'
"Fucking hell." Velvet grumbled as she threw her helmet aside.
Allowing her hair to flow freely, she couldn't give a rat's arse if someone told her off for breaking protocol. If anything, the moment someone came up to tell her off she'd twist their necks in a heartbeat. But the reason for her unusual and dangerous anger was because of the battle she had returned from not hours ago.
The fall of the Capital city hit everyone hard and the entire country was in chaos. To make matters worse, the navy had no ships left and a counter offensive was near to impossible if Vale wished to strike back at her enemies. But the Faunus girl knew one thing, it was inevitable and she knew everyone around her felt the same.
It was why for the past two decades or so, the entire country had been preparing for an event like this. But the actual outcome was far worse than predicted and now it was just a shitshow. This was only the beginning, but Atlas would've been severely mistaken if they thought bringing down the Capital would make them surrender.
"Hey, Velvet?" A familiar voice filled her ears. She turned to greet the speaker.
"Grrr." She growled lowly as she wore a displeased look.
"You okay Velv?" The guy asked in a caring tone.
Her anger seemed to somewhat subside, and a cheerier look formed on her face. At least that one question cheered her up, "Yeah, just lost that's all." She smiled but it wasn't genuine
"Don't worry, you and me both. Hell, I bet everyone here feels the same way," He sat down on the crate while gesturing to her to join him.
"I can't believe it actually happened. Those sick bastards murdered innocent civilians like they were nothing. You have a family right Jaune? Aren't you worried sick?" She asked him.
Handing her a canned drink, she nodded a silent 'thank you' and opened it. Gathering his words, he knew it the situation wasn't easy on him, "I am worried sick Velv, I really am. I've got a sister living in Argus and I dread about what's happening there. The rest of my family is living far from the Capital, in a small town called Eos, near the factory city Duscae. To think they'd be near such a prime target for bombardment and invasion. But I have faith Velv, I know that my family will do what it takes to survive, they're fighters all of 'em. I can only hope for the best." Jaune sighed deeply while leaning his head on the larger crate behind him.
"I guess you're right. I can only do the same for my friends and family back home. Hope they do the right thing and pull through." Her ears slumped down in a tired manner.
"Most of the folk around here feel the same way, but we have a duty. All of us, our friends and families, the innocents, they are looking up to us. We swore to protect them, and that's what we're going to do." He encouraged her lightly before scratching the back of her ears which prompted Velvet to tilt her head towards him while thumping her foot on the ground.
"I hate it when you do it to me in public." She hissed at him.
"Hey, you never told me to stop before." He gave her a shit eating grin.
"Lieutenants!" A sharp voice beckoned them.
"Yes sir!" Jaune answered the voice as the duo stood up sharply.
"Glad to see you two in one piece, I would've hated to lose my most elite warriors in these dire times." The Admiral grimaced.
"Don't worry sir, it'll take a lot more to bring us down." Jaune grinned while nudging his partner.
"Follow me, I'm going to need your presence in the command room." He gestured to them before walking off.
Trailing behind the man, the area around them was packed with grounded aircraft as ground crews ran around working on the aircrafts hastily in order to make them sky worthy again. Leaving the gigantic hangar bay, the trio rode an elevator up onto the second levels and were exposed to the lush scenery that surrounded Fort Tarsis. A blend of man and nature, the steel fortress was enveloped by the growing forest that offered a natural barrier to warding prey that wished to attack.
To the south of the fort lay the Cocytus Gulf that expanded as far as the eye could see. It was where the dedicated port that would resupply and repair friendly airships would dock, if they were still around that is.
Velvet and Jaune were still captivated the second time around as they peered out the windows the building. As they walked through the hall, the blonde quietly pointed out the giant mountains and valley below that served as the natural barrier for Tarsis. Truly this was the goldmine of strategic locations.
"How long has the fort been here? This is the first time I've actually gotten a proper look at the place." Velvet asked in awe as she still glanced around.
"The foundations of this base was laid down twenty years ago and was completed within ten years. By then this bastion was a fully functioning base that rivalled that of the Capital city. But Joint Command deemed it unnecessary to divert major resources into this area and thus was only used as a refuel station for our ships. Well now, now it's going to be our new home." The Admiral shrugged his shoulders.
"I noticed the ASG turrets looked different here, their smaller than the ones in the Capital city and it seems we have a lot jotting the area." Jaune pointed out.
Glauca let out a small chuckle, "That's because I authorized the construction of our next gen anti-ship cannons and moved them here. These bad boys are the same type of guns being carried around by our battle stations. Remember Fenrir? Think these as its older brother."
Climbing into another elevator, the group went up another level and appeared onto the highest level of the base. Serving as the hub for all operations, the command room spanned a wide area as it now directed all orders amidst the chaos.
"Admiral on deck!" An officer barked sharply which prompted the others inside to snap to attention.
"At ease." The man ushered just as the doors closed behind him, "General Dorn, status report?"
"We've managed to establish comms with our factory cities. Of the four, only Altis and Nexus have responded to our hails. For Duscae and Podronos still no word, my men are still hailing them repeatedly until a response can be received." The man replied sternly.
"I want every major city on high alert and to restrict access to their respective ASG turrets to military personnel. All personnel have the permission to execute anybody found tampering with the equipment. We can't afford any more risks."
"Understood sir," The man nodded, "Lieutenant, relay the Admiral's word to the two cities at once."
"Yes sir!"
"Gather around men, this meeting is now in full affect. We need to come up with a plan and fast." The Admiral glanced around the room at the sea of serious faces. Interacting with his holopad, he brought up an image of the Atlesian mothership and displayed it on the giant rectangular table, "This thorn in our side is the Edelweiss. The Flagship of the Atlesian navy and home to their Admiral whoever he/she is. Couldn't give a damn really."
"Are we planning to take it down?" Jaune placed his hands on the table as he leaned in to study the ship.
"No, not for now. While I hope to the stars that this ship crashes and burns majestically, I'm not seeing it happen anytime soon. Reason why I brought this ship up is because of the breathing space we've been given thanks to the valiant actions of Captain Ferran." The Admiral paused slightly, his voice still heavy from saying that name, "The detonation of the Trident took out a large portion of the ship and showed visible damage to what is speculated to be vital sections of the Edelweiss. Knowing how prideful the snowy bastards are, my assumption is we won't be seeing this ship for awhile until she is fully repaired. Give or take a few weeks, months if they're feeling generous."
"With all due respect sir, that gives us enough time to bring up a plan to cripple the fleet internally. That ship will pose a major threat to us all until we get rid of it." Commodore Russ chipped in.
"Initiating such a reckless assault would cost us more men, I say we divert our resources into keeping the enemy at bay. Hit and run tactics." Major General Walton suggested.
"Let's keep this civil gentlemen. Both proposals are sound but the execution is another thing. Let us focus on securing the home front first, we need to drive our enemies out of our lands if we hope to even begin operations striking deep into enemy territory." Admiral Glauca told them.
"General Dorn said that the factory cities Duscae and Podronos haven't responded. Those two cities lie north of the Capital city and essentially cut off from us. If we can't secure those cities our production numbers fall by half and we'd be ill equipped in resupplying our men for the greater conflicts to come." Jaune pointed at the holographic map of Vale.
"I agree with the Lieutenant, securing the major cities needs to be our primary goal if we wish to beat Atlas in the long run. And it'll be a boost to morale four our men, knowing that we haven't lost our lands to the enemy yet." The General acknowledged him.
"Afternoon sirs, permission to report?" The tall light brown-haired officer reported sternly.
"Report Lieutenant." General Dorn gestured towards him.
"It's Cerberus sir, Fenrir's twin. No contact has come through, its last reported position was in the city of Duscae. I assume the worst and that the enemy may have initiated an assault, if so I cannot stress how dangerous it would be if the battle station falls into the wrong hands."
The General let out along frustrated sigh, "Damn it, all the more reason we need to know what the hell is going on in the northern region. Your call Admiral?" He looked to the man for the answers.
The authoritative figure cleared his throat, "I think majority of us can agree that securing lost lands is our number one priority before anything else. With the mother ship out of the picture, the Atlesians will be restricted to ground warfare in the event our turrets keep them at bay. But anything can happen, those bastards are willing to throw their men away like fodder they are."
"I have a full brigade ready to move complete with armoured support. Just say the word Admiral and we'll make haste." General Dorn told him.
"How is our air fleet looking Commodore Russ?" Glauca turned to his subordinate.
"We have a total of 200 aircraft ready to deploy sir. The remaining 60 that came back from the Capital City assault are undergoing repairs as we speak."
"I need reports on how many active personnel we have at the ready. What's the numbers at this base and all together including the factory cities that we have contact with?"
"So far we're just shy of 30,000 personnel ready at this base. Our total numbers are estimated around the low 70,000"
"Damn it!" He cursed under his breath. The blow was severe enough and with that many people it wasn't enough to stage even an assault on Atlesian shores. If anything, those numbers would be enough to lock down the entire country, "There were 20,000 combined troops stationed in the Capital City. If I'm right, our boys are probably still putting up a hell of a fight. Once we make sure our factory cities are safe, we re-take our Capital."
"And kick those Atlesian gobshites where it hurts aye?" Commodore Russ grinned.
"Exactly."
"How many planes do you need General?" The Commodore eagerly inquired.
"I won't ask too much, perhaps two squadrons will suffice. I shall enlist the assistant of Fenrir to minimalize the burden. I am aware that our pilots are needed elsewhere as the Admiral has bigger plans?" The General eyed the tested figure.
"I appreciate your concerns General, I will have to dedicate strike craft in defending our cities. While a factory city will contain only five squadrons at maximum, I believe that isn't enough."
"The reason why they only house five squadrons sir, is because the airfield can only sustain that amount. But since this is war, those cities are going to need all the help they can get."
"What about civilians from the Capital? There will be large influx in refugees heading towards any well known civilisation away from the city. What are we going to do with them?" Velvet voiced her concern to the table.
"Good point Scarlatina," Glauca acknowledged her, "General Dorn, can you dedicate a small force to set up crisis response centres outside the city? I'll have drop ships ready at your disposal ready to transport whatever you need."
"I'll organize it right away sir," He replied quickly, "Major Gearing, initiate Crisis response protocols. Tell them they have full responsibility over the civilians fleeing the Capital. Prepare to depart in thirty!" His voice travelled sharply across the room and into the ears of the nearby officer.
"Sir!" He briskly saluted before leaving the room.
"Now that organizations are underway shall we move on to the more classified things?" Admiral Glauca poked around the room, eying the heads looking at him, "If I may begin, I think it's time the Javelin Initiative be brought online. While this may be a fight between regular soldiers and grunts, we cannot neglect the SRED department. The elites of the Atlesian initiative."
The name rang a cold tone and sent just about cold shiver up everyone's spine in the room. The SRED division was notorious for their ruthless and cruel tactics, executing missions with swift precision and stirring up a shit show all around.
"We created the SCARs to counter the SRED forces, but it seems our option are rather limited now. Over the past five years we have been running more and more into SRED Special Operatives rather than their special grunts. Alarming as it is, We are ill prepared to deal with a fully fledged Huntsman or Huntress. Especially those who hail from SRED."
"Why not hire outside help? Or has it been tried before and ended horribly?" Lieutenant Bronzewing asked.
The others around the room merely gave him a hard glance which answered his question thoroughly. Suffice to say, being gunned down by the Admiral was enough of an answer that.
"Returning to the topic, the Javelin Initiative was put in place to handle these Special Operatives. A means for our elites to become even greater. With this, I plan to organize missions that involve going behind enemy lines and causing mass confusion and crippling them at the same time," He paused to look around the room, gaining the assurance that everyone agreed with where he was going, "Let's face it, we are ill equipped to take the enemy on. Full scale battles will always result in us losing, and that is something I wish to avoid. No more lives, we have lost too much."
"With all due respect Admiral, the Biotech project has only recently gotten off its feet, but we still don't have solid evidence that it'll benefit us. Now the talk of putting our soldiers inside suits of armour? We already have aura for that sir." General Dorn protested.
"Except countless battles and our recent fight in the Capital shows how useless aura is against Atlesian weaponry. May I remind you the average Atlesian soldier holds a rifle capable of melting through a slab of composite armour? And the fact it travels faster than a bullet and the Kinetic energy alone is enough to knock out a full grown human before burning through the aura like it was nothing," Glauca eyed the man carefully, "Only reason why are weapons managed to keep up is because we've started firing heavier rounds but how long will that last?"
"But the General has a point sir, do we have enough resources dedicated to launching the Javelin Initiative?" Commodore Russ stepped in.
Glauca pushed his hands off the table and folded his arms, "Of course, in fact the first batch of exosuits are ready to be distributed to the SCAR teams with us. Which means my two most trusted Lieutenants in this room will take the mantle of the Javelin Initiative." He stared proudly at the duo.
"Uh…what?..." Jaune asked in a dumbfounded manner as he looked around the room.
"Petty Officer Nakamoto, escort these two to the Special Operations grounds. Introduce them to their new toys."
"Right away sir!" The woman responded swiftly, "Lieutenants." She gestured towards the elevator.
As the were hastily escorted out of the room, the woman swiped her card and keyed in a password. Feeling the machine jerk under them, it began to take them towards their new destination. Taking this chance, Jaune gave Velvet a confused look.
"Did you know anything about this?" He asked her.
"Absolutely not. Sometimes I wonder if Glauca intentionally keeps these things hidden just so he can dump it on us later." The Faunus girl rolled her eyes.
Nakamoto let out a small chuckle just as the doors opened, "The Admiral was keen on keeping this project a secret and so only a select few knew about it. But if you ask me, he really wanted to drop the responsibility on you two."
"Wow." Jaune commented as he followed her out the door.
"This way please." She tapped her id card against the scanner and the door opened.
Walking inside, the trio were met with a serious of wires running along the floor and a myriad of scaffolding lying about as workmen sat atop the leverages working on bipedal suits chained to their respective areas. It was an engineer's dream to be within such an enclosed space.
"Whoa…." Velvet wore a surprised look as she eyed the mechanical suits.
"What you're looking at is the Javelin Initiative. We hope to finish rolling out the special forces batch as soon as possible. Maybe within the next few days. By then all the SCAR teams will be kitted out for almost any kind of mission." Nakamoto informed them as she led them around the area.
"And we get to wear these things?" Jaune asked curiously while watching a man run some diagnostics on a sleeker exosuit.
"Absolutely, it was made for the SCARS after all. Since SRED is now deploying their Special Operative Huntsman, we figured we'd do the same. Our intentions were never to weaponize huntsman, but it seems Atlas doesn't give a damn."
"Hunstman were trained to protect lives, not take them. The fact that Atlas Academy brainwashes its students into joining the military sickens me. Sooner or later we'll be meeting young eager graduates on the field, and won't that be fun to deal with." She shot Jaune a wry glance.
"Let's just hope we never run into those types." Jaune shuddered at the thought.
"Nakamoto, I see you brought our first tryouts?" A man in a black apron and welding mask greeted them with a cheery attitude.
"Oh boy, this is going to be fun." Jaune commented loud enough for them to hear.
"Lieutenant Ramirez, Chief engineer and co-designer of the Javelin Initiative. Pleasure to meet you Lieutenant?..."
"Arc."
"Scarlatina."
"Ah, I recognize those names from anywhere. Although I've never seen you two in person. You two are the top SCAR elites am I right? Both pilots and ground force specialists?"
"That's who we are alright." Jaune offered a small smile.
"The Admiral told me a lot about you two. Worked on both your suits personally, come this way." He ushered them along like a giddy child, "Since there was a Faunus amongst us, it was only right of me to adjust the helmet design of one of the suits. I think you'll like them very much he stopped to point.
Resting their eyes in the direction where Ramirez pointed in, the duo were presented with a visually stunning pair of exosuits that seemed to be crafted personally for their taste. Covered in smooth ebony texture, it both spurred fear and awe into the eyes of the beholder. Although who wouldn't want to cut down their enemies in style?
"Well bust my carrots this is one helluva piece." Velvet commented as she studied the suit.
"That over there Miss Scarlatina is the Interceptor suit. A Javelin focused heavily on melee, stealth and all around causing mass confusion on the battlefield. I think you'll find it to your liking."
Jaune eyed his comrade suspiciously, "Stealth huh? You never told me you were the quiet type."
Velvet played it off like she had nothing to hide, "What? Can't choose my preferences?" She raised a brow.
"Not complaining, just didn't think you were the silent type," he raised his hands defensively, "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
"Oh, you'll see hot shot." She smirked.
"The suit in front of you is the Ranger class Mister Arc. Our general all around purpose suit, versatile for almost any situation and able to adapt to the ever changing battlefield. Something the Admiral personally told me you'd enjoy." Ramirez smiled heartily.
"By Oum Glauca." Jaune muttered to himself, "So how does this work?"
"I was hoping you'd say that!" Ramirez said excitedly while rushing behind the suit. Interacting with his holopad on his arm, the suits let out a mechanical hiss before the entire rear section opened up to reveal an entry point, "Nakamoto, assist Scarlatina please." He requested in the politest manner.
"Ma'am." Nakamoto lead her to the rear to gear her up.
"A couple of pointers I wish to mention, before you gain full authority of the suit I recommend syncing it to your holopad unless you wish to get locked inside for the next four gruesome hours while we pry you out."
"Duly noted." Jaune nodded.
"Due to your Faunus traits Ma'am the interceptor helm has been modified to accept your ears. Although for safety measures you'll have to bend them back, but don't worry, the helmet won't harm you or clip them off." Nakamoto informed her as she pointed out the modified parts of the helm.
"Now then, just climb in and we'll begin adjusting you to you're new environment." Ramirez assured him.
"Great, what could go wrong? Just what could absolutely go wrong?" Jaune spoke out loud as he climbed the carapace of the suit.
-Zegnautus Keep-
The air was deeply tense and the atmosphere stood the same. The exalted feeling that an explosion or sudden outburst could occur any minute ran through Commander Admiral Sayars Roth as he stood before the highest power, the Admiral of the Atlesian navy.
The woman pursed her lips together to complete her disappointed look. Hands clasped together as she eyed him carefully, "Tell me Commander," She began slowly, her tone resonating with calm approach, "What on Remnant's two feet happened?" Her question was simple yet drove the man over the cliff as if he was on death's door.
Sweat ran down the side of his head, his throat dry as his vocal chords struggled to work. His eyes darted sporadically around the room in order to avoid the Admiral's eternal gaze, "The Vale Navy launched a suicidal assault on the fleet and-" He managed to croak out loud, terrible choice to start a report.
The woman exhaled deeply, her grip tightened visibly as the atmosphere began to change drastically, "Cease," She cut him off, "Let me re-phrase that question. How is it possible that you managed to fail so badly that words cannot even begin to grasp at the complexity of your actions?"
Sayars knew he fucked up now, there was no escaping it. The longer he stayed with Admiral the faster his grave would present itself. And boy was his coffin within visible distance as it approached him like an out of control race car.
"I am deeply sorry for this failure Admiral, we did not expect the enemy to launch such a suicidal attack. We were all taken by surprise." He kept his head low, keen to avoid the infamous deathly gaze.
"Sayars, I couldn't give a rat's arse about what the enemy did. My only concern lies with how I trusted you in fulfilling my orders, leant you my personal flagship, the finest ships and Captains of the Atlesian Navy and yet you still managed to fail me and the Kingdom!" Her sudden outburst quelled all noises in the room, including the ambient ones which somehow never existed before.
"Admiral I request you give me a second chance, I will make things right I will go back and slaughter the animals and bring pride-ACK!" The once proud officer was cut off as he was grabbed swiftly by the neck and held in the air by the strong woman.
Despite her small frame and being several inches shorter than Sayars, the Admiral didn't let that stop her in lifting the 5'11 man off the floor with ease and watched him gasp and beg for air at her mercy.
"Do not mention pride ever again!" She hissed at him while glaring daggers, her grip tightened around his neck as she continued to lecture him, "You were given a chance Sayars, and you failed. Not only that, I explicitly told you to not harm civilians in the operation. But even you seem unable to follow such a simple order. Do you know what sort of war crime you have committed? You will go down in history as the blundering idiot that failed miserable at following even the simplest command. Tell me Commander, who was it that issued the order? Who asked you defy me?!"
As his arms thrashed around wildly, his eyes begged her to let go while his mouth hung wide open is a desperate attempt to suck in whatever pockets of air it could to keep him alive. With a loud -thud- her grip loosened and drop the man to the cold marble floor.
Gasping for breath, he coughed erratically while regaining his composure. Sayars knew very well he was in the endgame now. Whatever his fate was, he was unsure of how it would approach him, the only thing he was certain about was the mountain of pain about to drop on him.
"You still haven't answered my question Commander. WHO issued the order to slaughter civilians?!" Her tone was sharp and struck fear into the now already shattered man. She paced slowly around, watching in disgust at the waste of oxygen before her feet.
"Emperor Aldercapt. He personally visited me and forced me to give the order," He croaked out loud amidst his slow heavy panting. Looking up her, he continued speaking, "I couldn't disobey a direct order from our great leader."
-SLASH!-
"ARGHHHH! AHHHHH! AHHHH! ARGHHHH!" Sayars screamed out in pure pain as his hands clutched the positions of where his eyes once rested.
With a swift single stroke, the rapier of the Admiral took away one of the most precious things available to man. Blood stained the tip of the blade while more splattered itself across the marble floor.
Even the guards who stood witness to the event flinched at the gruesome sight, making notes of never getting on the bad side of the Admiral.
As the shameful remains of Sayars Roth lay on the floor, the man continued to yell out in pain while spouting a slur of curse words towards the woman. Damn everything else, he was going to die, at least he would go down as the man who cursed at the Admiral of the Atlesian Navy.
"I thought you were better than that Sayars. I personally vouched for you when you climbed the ranks. But seeing you return in such a pathetic state tells me you are no longer worthy to be a part of Atlas. The shame you will bear with you Commander, I hope the after life treats you well. Any last words?" She asked him as she drew her sidearm.
Hearing the familiar cocking sound of the gun, Sayars knew it was over. His career, his life and his dream. All gone, all because he was devoted to such a blind cause. If fate wanted to shit so badly on him, it had already done so. But his life did not matter, all he cared about was his wife Aya and his son Dimitri.
"Please, leave my family out of this. Let me suffer, just leave them alone." He spoke out loud in a random direction.
She cocked her head to one side, unexpected of such a bizarre request. But something she would keep nonetheless, "How sweet of you. It was nice knowing you Sayars, unfortunately you were more of a liability then an asset."
-BANG!-
-BANG!-
As the room echoed of gunshots, the stench of gunpowder lingered in the air while smoke gently oozed out of the stainless-steel barrel. Creating an even bigger mess, the body of Sayars Roth now lay lifelessly in his own pool of blood.
The Admiral let out a small -tch- as she realized her marble floors would be stained with the blood of such a low life. But nonetheless, the deed had been done and the liability of an officer was gone. With her most trusted second in command out of her way, a new position for a second had opened.
"You blindly followed your Emperor Sayars. Stubborn and devoted, you were a good officer until you began worshipping that man." She felt disgusted just by thinking of the Aldercapt's name or face.
Moving back to her desk, she set down her pistol and silently gestured towards her personal guards to clean up the mess. Not another word was uttered as the two men respectfully handled the body out of the room.
To her surprise however, a familiar face came through her doors with a concerned look.
"Schnee." The man began sternly.
"General Ironwood, what brings you here at this hour?" She asked him with a small smile, mood and tone shifting incredibly quickly.
As the body of Sayars Roth caught his eye, he watched in shock as the guards hauled his body out the door and out of sight. To think she would turn on her closest ally in an instant. Something wasn't right, not by a longshot.
"What happened here?" He asked her cautiously while the doors closed behind them.
"Why some necessary disciplinary action. A necessary evil performed might I say." She answered him half heartedly while sitting down in her seat. Gesturing him to take a seat, the man complied while she fetched a bottle of whiskey and two cups from her drawer.
"I heard what happened, the whole operation. The entire thing was a mess from start to finish, just what the hell was the Emperor thinking?!" James buried his head into his hands while she slid him a drink.
Her white hair swung gracefully as she gently shook her head from side to side, "Necessary sacrifices were made James. Something I am willing to do for our nation to move forward." She said while glancing at him.
"Do you call the countless mass murdered civilians a necessary sacrifice? The botched operation where unnecessary air ships were lost, and a good portion of our forces wiped?" He took a small swig from the glass, eying the young slender woman with a cautious eye.
She turned around in her chair and gazed outside the window, "While I do not condone the actions of murdering countless innocents, it was an unforeseen event that neither of us predicted. As for the men who died in battle, they gave their lives for our greater cause. But that's in the past, we need to move on." Her voice cold and relentless as ever.
"They were good men dammit!" Ironwood slammed his hands on the table, his face teething in anger as the words from her mouth hit a visible nerve.
A small, but subtle, smile formed on her face as she turned around and leaned in closer towards him, "You care too much James, you may not realize it now, but allowing your emotions to cloud your judgement will lead to your demise."
"They were human beings just like you!" He moved his glass to one side while staring her down, "Or have you changed so much that you've forgotten what it's like to be a human."
The statement hit home hard and the stunned look the heiress wore further reinforced it. While true in most aspects, she never really bothered to reflect her actions. Perhaps being blinded by her work changed her so much no?
"This useless banter is getting us nowhere. Tell me why you're here or else I'll force you out of my office because I have more important matters to handle rather than waste my time with you." She gritted her teeth in anger.
James slowly bat down in his chair before pinching the bridge of his nose, "The decimation of Vale's Navy successful or not is being used as major propaganda in the streets. Talks of Invading Mistral is next, and I have no reason but to comply with the order if the Emperor allows it."
"While simultaneously running a ground invasion against Vale? Has Joint Command forgotten than Vale has the necessary production capabilities to produce warships and more arms to fight back? We demolished their Capital city and the Emperor expects us to invade another country?! The people of Vale are going to bite back harder than ever before and sooner or later they'll be knocking on our doorstep." She made herself abruptly clear on the matter, frightened almost at the fact of Vale's unchecked capabilities.
"That is why I am urging the other members to convince him otherwise. Not to mention this SRED division of yours is also getting more attention with the introduction of new experiments to bolster our war efforts. The Emperor is head over heels for a super soldier program, hell I personally saw him studying a hypothesis on genetically cloned troops." Ironwood pointed towards her as he took another sip from his glass.
"This is fucking ridiculous! I swore an oath to serve and protect this country, I will not stand idle as some brain-dead fool runs our entire nation into the ground because of his lack of poor judgement." She let out a deep sigh, unsure of what to do next in first time since forever, "I'm not even sure if this Aldercapt is even up to the task of leading us to the promised dream we all swore to."
The man stood up from his seat and moved over to the small woman. Resting a hand on her shoulder, the two of them stared outside into the bustling city that was Atlas. Colourful streamers flew wildly in the air as ships and planes paraded the skies. Civilians danced about the streets together with the soldiers in celebration of their victory.
For the two of them, the sight was nothing but a bad scene. It just reminded them of how equally bad the populous was. The blind truth everyone was being fed, no one knew of the horrors that happened.
"You and me both feel the same, but we are also partly to blame for this mess. While we all agreed on the idea of a united humanity it wasn't supposed to be forged this way. Believe me, I don't like where the Emperor is directing the war efforts. But we must obey for now, or else we get branded as heretics and traitors. Then our dream of uniting humanity under one agreeable banner would've been for nothing." He told her. Finishing his drink, he set it down on the table and simply eyed the young woman.
"This isn't going to be easy James. I feel like this entire thing is going to come bite us back in the arse. To be honest, I wouldn't mind being bitten back. Allows me to see a different perspective." She said so casually that if anyone else were to catch whim of it she would've bene branded a traitor.
"You're lucky the Emperor didn't catch you saying that."
"What's he going to do? Court Martial me? If he does, he knows he's going to lose a considerable number of supporters in his war machine. I am after all the role model everyone looks up to. The poster girl if you would like to put it. Their prime example of a fine leader."
"Fair point, but still."
"Admiral Schnee and General Ironwood to the Emperor's chambers. Emperor Aldercapt wishes to speak with you." A sharp voice spoke over the public intercom.
"Well would you look at that." Ironwood glanced at the speaker before back towards the Schnee.
"Come on, let's not keep our 'great' leader waiting." She said with a hint of disgust while rolling her eyes.
Holstering Myrtenaster and her sidearm on her attire, the duo adjusted their uniforms properly before leaving the room hastily. Things sure got interesting in the past ten hours or so.
…
"My loyal subjects, I am overwhelmed to see you again. I must say congratulations Admiral Schnee!" The haughty old figure cheerfully celebrated with his golden goblet in the air, "But moving on however, I must ask of our current reports and strength. Personally, I want to hear it from you all." He lowered the cup to lend his full attention.
As the four most important figures stood around the room surrounded by a myriad of soldiers at the attention, the atmosphere felt awkward at best. Amongst them to step forward first was Chief Scientist and Engineer Professor Merlot.
"Your Grace, the science division is working at its best pace. Soon your answer to an endless army of machinations will come to life. We will find a more efficient alternative than General Ironwood's robots." The bearded man sneered at the built figure, a hidden attempt to jab at his pride.
"Good Professor, and what of you Admiral Schnee? I hear personally that while our assault was successful, our fleet took quite the beating. Is our Navy still prepared to defend our glorious skies from the heretics that wish to tear down and taint our sovereign soil?" He looked directly at the young woman who offered a cold expression.
Weiss exhaled deeply before speaking, "I assure you your Majesty the Atlesian Navy will answer to Atlas' cry for help and turn away those who threaten us. Make no mistake, the Navy will never yield to its enemies." Her arms remained crossed while speaking to him while maintaining her infamous cold calculating demeanour
"Excellent, excellent." He nodded with a sinister smile growing across his face. His fingers tapped the fine golden knobs around his chair at a steady rhythm, "And General Ironwood, is our armies still ready to deploy? I take it many of our men are eager to take the fight to our enemies and show who is just the superior power." A small uncontrolled chuckle slipped the old man's mouth.
Ironwood only gave a nervous glance towards Weiss before wearing a brave look on his face, "Your majesty, I can say with great confidence that our men are still standing strong. We may have suffered major casualties but that only drives our fighting spirit even further. They are ready to move at your word."
That was enough to get the Emperor to let out another unexpected laugh for evil as he simply eyed his seemingly 'loyal' subjects before him. If anything, all was going according to plan and soon the entire world would be at his fingertips. The dream of a united humanity under one banner, he would be praised as a hero by all. The greatest sacrifices that were made to reach that goal would be shouldered by him alone, and that was enough.
"By the stars, such wonderful news. I feel guilty of keeping you entrapped here. Go my subjects, command our armies and lead us to great victory. I eagerly await more good news"
With that, the four most influential people were quickly ushered out of the Emperor's chambers and left to their own devices. Together with the soldiers that were forced to attend, everyone else went their separate ways as they had a duty to resume.
"That was one hell of an anti-climactic meeting." Weiss snorted out of earshot as James joined her.
"You and me both," He smirked, "Listen, I'm on my way to a delegate party later, hopefully I can convince more supporters to vote for a democratic government in time for the next elections. We need to force the Emperor out of power legally."
"Look James," Weiss stopped in her tracks while letting out a tired groan, "I couldn't care less about your political games. I only care about serving Atlas and Atlas alone. While our current leader is somewhat incapable at making decisions, I still back his ideas of uniting humanity as one and I will go to great lengths to see it come to life."
James looked around warily to make sure they weren't being followed, "I hope you know what you're doing. This dream of yours you follow would either be your biggest achievement," He paused momentarily, "Or your greatest demise."
"Trust me James, I will see to it till the end. I just hope 'you' know what you're doing" She let out a tired sigh.
"If you'll excuse me Admiral Schnee." He sharply saluted before leaving her side.
"Ugh, time to do more dirty work." Weiss groaned.
"Sir, FTL portal detected on radar! It's opening up near the Cocytus Gulf and approximately within four hundred metres of the base!" The radar operator informed loudly over the noise in the room.
"What!?" Glauca wore a dumbfounded look as he checked the nearby monitor for the readings.
"That portal is opening up above the airship docking bay!" General Dorn said in a concerned tone as he interpreted the data.
"Get all stations ready to mobilize. I want all ASG turrets ready to point in that direction, if an enemy comes through that portal I want them blasted in oblivion!"
"Aye sir, sounding alarm now!" The officer complied.
The high pitched screeching of the attack siren blared non-stop throughout the base as everyone rushed into action stations in anticipation of another attack. Truly this day wasn't over and another battle was about to take place again.
"Object dropping in three seconds!" The operator announced.
"Get ready!" The Admiral said in heavy anticipation as he stared out the control room.
As if it was right on time, a bright blue vortex of pure energy cackled and formed out of the thin air. Forming a large hole, it only lasted a few seconds as the thing it was transporting made its grand entrance. But the 'thing' that made such a spectacular entry was the direct opposite of what everyone else was expecting.
"Dear god, she's alive..." General Dorn rested a hand on his forehead while gazing out the window.
"Get the emergency crews ready!" Admiral Glauca wasted no time in issuing the order.
Greeting everyone, back again with another chapter. Not a lot of action in this one but mostly just the aftermath of things and more events being set in motion. I would like to give credit where credit is due to the references I made in this story as most of the names used are mostly outright alluding to the actual thing. And since this is an AU universe, everyone we are familiar with so far are in the twenties and above.
Hope you all have a wonderful New Year and cheers to the start of 2019!