As a quick explanation to last chapter since some people misunderstood. Sun was not "tugged" and then instantly killed from near-full aura to zero. He was tugged, pulled taut, then caught in a furious tug-of-war between the Grimm and the aircraft, both pulling in different directions with insurmountable force during which his aura was draining and draining and draining. That was represented by the long moments where Jaune recounted all the different parts of it, which was meant to represent this happening over the space of a good 15-20 seconds.

It was not a one hit kill but more akin to Sun being slowly torn apart.

Which I realise is horrible but such is the life of these people, and the best way to show just how bad things are is to… well, show it. Had the Grimm only snagged Sun instead of fully grasping him then he'd have taken a hit to his aura, maybe a bit of whiplash from the extraction, and then nothing more. It didn't. He was caught between an unmovable object and an aircraft moving at close to 100mph, then he was stretched taut, and then he was continuously subject to those two forces as they fought for supremacy.


Chapter 7


No one said a word. No one had to. They flew over the forests of Vale hung on the back of cable, and Jaune's visored face was brought helmet to helmet with Sun's. The visor was fogged up, a small mercy, but that didn't stop their bodies clacking together like toys on the end of a piece of string. When the aircraft finally began to winch them up, he couldn't move. Yang took his shoulders when they reached the top and hauled him in, and Ren and Nora brought Sun inside. By that point much of his blood had streaked out over the treetops.

Hydraulics whirred as the metal ramp was shut behind them to lock them safely away. Yang pushed him down into one of the seats, forced his arms through the straps and then tightened them over his chest before she even thought of seeing to herself. He could hear her laboured breathing and the little noises that slipped past her lips when her control slipped. Jaune's helmet clacked back against the headrest, his eyes dry and locked wide open. He heard a cut-off whimper from beside him. Ruby's eyes were scrunched shut behind her visor. Technically, they were safe enough in the back of the aircraft to remove their helmets but no one did; it was easier to hide away with the orange-tinted glass obscuring your face.

Lieutenant-General Goodwitch was waiting for them on their return. The XO had seemingly thrown any pretences of confidentiality aside, more interested in making sure they reclaimed the documents than their mission remain hidden. Maybe it didn't matter now that the intel had been retrieved. The woman's green eyes took them in as they slowly walked down the ramp. He caught the moment they flicked to the shape inside, covered by a tarp, and then returned to them. There was no shock there, no surprise, no grief, but then this woman had watched many of her students go to their deaths and he didn't expect any.

"Phoenix Squadron," said the XO. "I trust your primary task was completed." Ruby stepped up and presented the metal case, still locked, and the woman took it. "Well done. I'm sure you know I can't divulge anything we're working with, but I will assure you all that this is more important than you can ever know. Today, you have done a great task for Vale. No, for all of Remnant. Remnant Invicta."

They all saluted, and they mimicked the words, but they were dull and lacking. Such a lack of patriotism would have never stood normally, but their XO recognised it was more out of shock and grief than any loss of faith. Yang stepped forward, still saluting, and said, "Ma'am. I request one week leave of active missions for my squad to come to terms with our loss."

A week. It was a reasonable request, especially given it was only absence from missions. Lessons would continue, as would training, and all she asked was the certainty of knowing they wouldn't be asked to go out again for seven days. As requests went, it was nothing, which was why it came as such a shock when Lieutenant-General Goodwitch shook her head. "Denied, cadet."

"W… What…?" Yang trembled, the shiver taking hold from the tip of her helmet to her boots. Her gloved hands clenched into fists. "Ma'am, I must have misheard you," she rasped out. "I am requesting one week leave of-"

"I heard you, cadet Xiao-Long, but your request has been denied. I am sorry." She neither sounded nor looked sorry. "You have the evening off, and then you are needed for another mission tomorrow morning."

"One night?" cried Yang. "We just lost one of us! Have some fucking compassion!"

Ruby latched her arms around Yang's waist and held on for dear life, stopping her lunging at their commanding officer. That didn't prevent Yang struggling, but Ruby held on and pressed her face to Yang's back, and whatever the height difference between them Ruby was a strong girl bred for war. Her muscles tensed and she kept Yang from taking a single step.

"I will ignore your words this time, cadet Xiao-Long," said the XO. "And do not make the mistake of believing I am unsympathetic to your loss. Cadet Wukong gave his life for a cause greater than himself – greater than all of us – and his name shall be added to the archives."

The digital archives. There had been a monument once, and it still stood, but the practice of scribing names onto it had faded when they ran out of space. It stood in the centre of the arcology, a great plinth of black marble as tall as the arcology itself, and every inch had been filled with names over eighty years ago. Now, new names were added to the digital archives, with the promise that your name would live on forever. It was a fairly empty gesture. It was said that it would take a person eight years to read every name in there, and that was assuming you didn't sleep or stop.

"If this were any other time then I would grant your request for leave. You will have to trust that there is a reason I cannot, and that reason is not that I am a cruel woman. If it helps any, I can assure you your mission tomorrow will take place inside the arcology. You won't be asked to venture outside the walls."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Ren, taking over for Yang, who had slumped in her sister's arms. They all pretended they couldn't hear the angry sobs. "If I may ask, will we be allowed time off to attend Sun's funeral?"

The Lieutenant-General's face softened a tiny amount. "Of course. His wishes shall be carried out tonight, as is tradition. You will all be alerted as to the time and place. I know I said it once but I will say it again – his sacrifice will not be in vain. This," she hefted the briefcase, "-is far greater than you can know." Again, she saluted. "Remnant Invicta."

This time, no one responded. The XO finished her salute, turned on her heel and walked away. Moments later, a medical team arrived to lift the remains of Jaune's partner up onto a gurney. A fresh sheet, this one emblazoned with Vale's flag, was laid upon him. As he was carried away, cadets, huntsman and soldiers stopped to salute. Jaune made to follow, only to have Nora hook an arm through and under his.

"Don't," she said, finally pulling her helmet off. Her eyes were ringed red and puffy. "You don't want to see it."

Sun's body would not be taken straight to the morgue to await his funeral. It would go to the medical bay first, where his body would be opened up and teams would harvest anything they could. Organs, blood, tissue, implants. Whatever they could salvage would be cut out of him and preserved, and in a very real way Sun might save someone's life in the future. Nora was right, though. He wouldn't be able to keep his cool if he saw it happening.

Jaune turned and let Nora guide him away.

/-/

Sun's funeral was a quiet affair. They gathered outside, on a ceremonial patch of ground, and the coffin – a closed casket, for obvious reasons – was set upon a stack of wood, still draped with the flag of Vale, but also alongside Mistral's; the flag of a dead nation that had once been Sun's home. In Sun's will, he had asked to be cremated. The manner in which you were sent off was one of the few choices left to people nowadays, especially once you were a huntsman. Your free time was given to service, your life to the cause, but at least you could still have the dignity of choosing your end.

There were no dress uniforms or finery for them to attend in, so they attended in their usual cargo pants, sleeveless vests but with a jacket thrown over the top. It was standard fair and they all looked close to identical but for hair and height. As the flames roared higher and engulfed the casket, burning away Vale and Mistral's sigils, Jaune looked up and tried to think of anything to say or do. His mind was blank, rational thought long gone, replaced with a deep-rooted exhaustion born of being here before. He'd watched his former squad mates be sent off too many times to count now.

Wasn't Beacon supposed to be different? He'd been so sure he would be the first to die here that standing here now watching Sun depart didn't make sense. Why him? If anyone deserved to die, it should have been me. There was no answer of course, and he knew the reason. Chance. Luck. The Grimm didn't care about who was weaker or stronger, and Sun's only mistake had been a moment of inattention. That was all it took.

They stood until the flames died down and there was nothing left, and then they stood longer, in the moonlight, waiting for someone to say something. In the end it was Ren, clearing his throat and telling them all that Sun wouldn't want them to get sick. It was like a signal had been given. First, Nora turned away, then Ruby, until it was only him and Yang staring at the ashes. And then, with a heavy sigh, Yang turned, reaching out to grasp Jaune's shoulder and pull him along with her.

"He's with Neptune now," said Yang.

Right. This wasn't the first member they'd lost. Sun's best friend had died before, another survivor from Mistral who hadn't made it. He wondered if Sun had been as torn up about that as he was now. Probably worse. They'd been close friends after all, and Jaune had only known Sun for a few weeks. Once they were back in the barracks, Yang kept hold of him and tugged him away from his dorm and toward her and Ruby's. He was about to ask why when he saw Ren and Nora already inside waiting for them. They were sat cross-legged on the floor in a rough circle, and in the middle of the circle was a knife, a corked bottle and several plastic cups.

"Old Mistral tradition," explained Yang, sitting down. Jaune took the spot between her and Ruby. "Sun showed it to us when Neptune was killed; we promised we'd do it when it was his time to go. I told the bastard he'd be doing my funeral before his." Her laughter was hoarse. "Fucker got the last laugh, I guess."

Yang took the knife and clasped it in her palm, then drew it out bloody. She didn't once wince. Opening her hand to show her bloody palm, she took hold of one of the cups, smearing it red as she did, then uncorked and poured some of the frankly horrific-smelling alcohol out. She took a heavy swig, downing half, then poured the rest out over her hand, mixing it with her blood before letting it fall to the ground.

Ruby went next, taking the knife and cutting herself with it, then Nora and Ren, until it was finally his turn and he took hold of the bloody knife. He wiped it clean on his sleeve as the others had before clasping it tight and pulling. The knife was sharp, sharp enough to slice through his skin with only a little pain. He set it down, took a cup and poured himself a drink as the rest had. It tasted as bad as it smelt and must have been at least 70% proof. It burned down his throat, and it burned even worse on his bloody palm, stinging even as it disinfected. His breath sucked in but that was the only sound he made. Ren produced a roll of bandage and they all wrapped their hands up.

Technically, bloodletting was illegal. Then again, so was any one of a million other forms of traditions like these that went on in the forces. Jaune had taken part in stamping before – where an officer didn't pin a badge to your clothing but instead slammed it into your body, punching the needle into you and stamping a badge – or medal – into your skin. It wasn't supposed to happen, but then neither was drinking, drugs and sex. As long as it kept people together and going, the officers knew to look the other way.

"To Sun," said Yang, raising a new cup with her bandaged hand. "A promise to make those fuckers pay tenfold for taking him from us. I swear I'll kill ten myself for this."

"Aye!" said Ren.

"To Sun!" said Nora.

"We'll make them bleed," agreed Ruby.

"For Sun…" said Jaune.

He wasn't sure he could kill ten, but he promised deep inside that he'd kill as many as he could before they took him. If that was only one, then so be it, but if that proved to be more than ten then he would. He wouldn't stop until they were all dead – and him too. Fuck it, he'd kill the Queen of the Grimm himself if he had to.

I'll kill at least one for you, Sun. I promise you.

Yang and Ruby didn't let him return to his room. An empty room, in silence, was a recipe for disaster, especially when they all had EX-Pills on their dog tags. He wasn't sure if they thought he'd actually do it, but it didn't matter. They forced him down on a single bed between Yang and Ruby, none of them caring about the impropriety of it. He might have raised more of a stink if he didn't feel so genuinely afraid of returning to his room, their room, on his own and laying there in the cold dark for hours on end.

He let himself be trapped between two warm bodies instead, and they pretended not to hear the sound of his weeping, even as he pretended not to hear theirs. Be resilient, they said. Remnant Invicta, they said. Fight the good fight.

It was so easy for them to say it when they weren't the ones being broken into pieces.

/-/

"Phoenix Squadron," greeted the lone man in the room. They all paused on seeing General Ozpin himself instead of his XO behind the desk. Their salutes were late, tired, but the man waved them off and gestured to the seats arrayed for them. Five in total. There hadn't been one set aside for Sun. "I received the briefing of your mission from Lieutenant-General Goodwitch. I would offer congratulations on the mission's success but I know you will not see it that way. I hope you had time to put your squad mate to rest."

"Yes sir," said Yang, exhausted from a poor night's sleep, "but we're still struggling to process it."

"Forgive Glynda. Her refusal to grant you leave was on my orders." The words threw Yang back a pace, turning her pointed hint into an admission of guilt, and then a bitter scowl. "Please let me explain the situation to you. But, first, it should be noted that this conversation is a matter of national security. I will not ask you to sign anything but I want it known – in no uncertain terms – that if you speak of this to anyone, you will be executed without question. No trial, no pleas, no appeals."

Nothing out the ordinary then. Military tribunals were a sham anyway. Jaune nodded his acceptance and the others weren't far behind him. General Ozpin inclined his head, shuffled some papers on his desk and then continued.

"As you know, you were sent out into safer parts of Vale to reclaim documents from the fall of Atlas. You were sent out because you were one of the few squads we could be sure was not compromised by the rot. That cadets were sent out at all was because our huntsman forces were being sent out further, into more contested territory, to reclaim equipment there. Had we more huntsmen to spare then you would not have been sent out at all, but even then you were in the amber zone. There were cadets above you sent out closer to the red zone."

"Those zones lay firmly within our normal range and inside the great wall, so they should have been relatively safe. We expected some degree of difficulty because of the Grimm pursuing the survivors from Atlas, but we hoped that sending so many squads would stretch the Grimm thin. That did not prove to be the case. You faced five Grimm at a crash site. Similar difficulties were reported across the forests of Vale. We know now that the Grimm pursuing Atlas are in far greater numbers than those who faced us during the fall of Mistral, and that they are continuing to flood through the breach in the great wall. We are not facing the lingering remnants of their invasion on Atlas seeking to finish the job. Air reconnaissance shows a veritable swarm of Grimm entering through the breach."

"It's an invasion," whispered Nora. "Mistral fell, then Atlas, now it's our turn…"

"That is what the public will believe if this information gets out," said General Ozpin," which is why it must not. It's also worth noting that it took the Grimm Queen almost a decade between her assaults on Mistral and Atlas. It's no small feat to destroy an arcology, especially not when it decides to use anything and everything it has. The dying throes of a city undoubtedly take a devastating toll on her forces, one that takes years to recoup. The numbers coming even now, while great, might not be enough to truly conquer Vale."

"Then why is she risking it all now instead of being patient?" asked Yang. It was the question General Ozpin was getting at, and it wasn't a surprise she figured it out first. "Salem has been patient in the past, and everyone knows deep inside that she's winning. Call me a traitor all you like, sir, but I'm not an idiot. Why push the issue now when she can take her time and be assured of victory?"

General Ozpin smiled and didn't call Yang out on her lack of patriotism; perhaps he accepted what she said, or perhaps he felt the same way. "Why, indeed. That is the question and all questions have an answer if you look deep enough."

"Atlas," said Yang. "The attack on Atlas was sudden, it came from within, and she chased the survivors with way more Grimm than she did Mistral's. Normally, she's happy to let people flee to a new arcology since it's an extra burden on our resources, but this time she committed so many Grimm that the arcology's own batteries had to be used to drive them off. That's never happened before. Atlas did something, didn't they? Pissed her off somehow. Panicked her. And she caught wind of it because of compromised people in the arcology and decided she needed to commit everything to destroying them."

"Very well done, Cadet Xiao-Long. I can see why Glynda recommended you for a leadership position. Your hypothesis is correct; Atlas has long been the most advanced and developed of the arcologies and was as such expected to be the last one assaulted. That it wasn't was surprising enough but it was with the last vestiges of power that General Ironwood, commander of the huntsman in Atlas, reached out to us and explained why. With his dying breath he informed us of what Atlas had done to draw her ire and requested that we carry on the project. That is why Vale was prepared to send so many resources out to ensure the safe arrival of our guests."

Something the Grimm Queen herself wanted to stop. Something that she felt needed to be destroyed, and that she was willing to take active risks to get rid of. They'd thought that it was something to help out the arcology, but before they'd joked that it could be anything – from a new way to synthesise food, to a way to get rid of waste. That didn't seem likely now. This had to be something Salem would actively try and stop.

"Are we allowed to know what it is?" asked Ren.

"It is a weapon," said General Ozpin. "That is all I can tell you. A weapon that Atlas began development on, and that the Grimm Queen learned of. A weapon that led to Atlas' destruction, and which will certainly lead to renewed attacks on us as we seek to complete what Atlas started. Those women you rescued from the downed airship were lead researchers on the project. It's unfortunate that Jacques Schnee died, as he was the head, but his wife and children were involved and know much of his work. The rest was scattered in drops such as the one you collected."

"Sir," said Yang. "I take it that us being informed of all this means we're somehow going to be involved with this…?"

"Yes. The weapon is being constructed as we speak and your squad is being transferred to the project – Project Terminus. You will still be huntsmen; you will still have training. However, you will be conducting missions in benefit of project terminus."

"Why us?" asked Ruby. "I get that we're not compromised and Atlas fell because of the Grimm Rot, but we're still only cadets. With all due respect, this strikes me as something huntsmen should be working on."

"It would be normally, Cadet Rose, but I just informed you that while you were sent out to the amber zone, huntsmen were sent out to the red." General Ozpin's eyes closed softly, and a pit opened up in Jaune's stomach. "You were not the only squad to face difficulties."

"Holy shit," breathed Yang. "How many…?"

"One hundred and eighty-two active huntsmen and huntresses were dispatched. As of this time, only forty-seven have returned alive. Seventeen of those are in critical condition. We even lost Qrow Branwen, our longest-serving active huntsman."

Jaune's eyes roamed down to the desk in shock. His lips parted but no words came forth. Huntsmen were put through the meatgrinder, he'd known that, but they were also the best of the best. The elite. The last protection against the Grimm, and a very real signifier of human spirit against the unending tide of destruction. They were celebrities in a sense, as famous as any singer or newscaster, and household figures in some cases. The greatest, like the famous Qrow Branwen, were names children grew up learning about in military school.

That wasn't to say every huntsman would be dead; these were active huntsmen. There would be retired, injured, pregnant and others that were incapacitated in one way or another or on leave. It wasn't like they'd lost everything. Just most of the best. If people learned of this… fuck, it was impossible to put to words what the reaction would be. There'd be people crying on the streets about how doomed Vale was. Hell, Vale was doomed if this had just happened. So much for a rescue operation. They'd sent their best out to die.

"H-How come we never heard of this?" stammered Nora. "So many. And Qrow Branwen!?"

"The news is being muzzled," explained Ozpin. "The panic that would be seen if we revealed that 75% of active huntsmen had just been culled would be devastating. We'd have to explain why we sent so many out, and what they died for, and that would necessitate the revealing of project terminus. Salem is bound to know we'll continue it in Atlas' stead, but that doesn't mean we want it publicly known how close or far away it is from completion."

"And, as to putting huntsmen on the project instead of you, trust that we have and are. You're one of many squads being transferred to this – engineers, infantry, huntsmen. Almost every huntsman squad we can guarantee free from rot is already in on this. Those who came back will be thoroughly tested and then admitted if they pass without any doubt. Similarly, other squads from Beacon will be brought on for simpler tasks. This is secretive, but the work you do won't necessarily be out of your comfort zone. You will be tasked with guarding locations, vetting personnel, enforcing security and, when the need arises, securing resources for the project. Your missions will be similar to what you would be taking in Beacon, just geared toward a classified project."

That made sense. It wasn't like they were equipped or trained to do much more than that, and it wasn't like they were being brought in to take over this project in any major way. It sounded like they would be guards and security, checking ID, making sure no one tried to sneak in, and potentially dealing with any infiltrators the Grimm Queen might have among the ranks. Important work but work on their level. Safer than going out as they had, too.

"When do we start?" asked Yang.

"Today." General Ozpin brought a familiar briefcase onto the desk. "The contents of this have already been copied down, and this contains one of those copies. You will be transporting it to the project's head. There will be three such squads doing the same. If you should come under attack, even if you believe you can handle it, you are to destroy the documents immediately. Failure is not in failing to deliver the documents, but in letting them be taken. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. I'll provide your destination to your scrolls. Once you are there you are to guard the premises as directed. You will be subservient to the researchers within reason. If they ask you to guard any specific area or personnel, that is fine. Do not let anyone breach security, however, even on the orders of a superior. Inform them that you have orders to enforce maximum security, then detain anyone and await instructions from a commanding officer of clearance level violet or above. If they push the matter, you are cleared to take lethal measures. Understood?"

Yang saluted. "Sir, yes sir. Is our clearance level violet, sir?"

"Officially yes, but you do not have access to any terminals and will not be granted passwords for such. Your clearance level is violet only for the authorisation to be present to offer security in the areas you will be stationed at. Whatever you see or hear will not be held above your heads, but they will be if you share them with anyone else. Project terminus is bigger than you, bigger than me, and bigger than either Atlas or Vale. Lieutenant-General Goodwitch assures me you are all professional enough to handle this. Do not let her down. For your sakes."

This time, they all saluted. "Sir!"

/-/

"One day and we're already on another mission," complained Yang once they were inside the armoured vehicle being driven to their new temporary worksite. Jaune hadn't been informed where it was, and presumably Ozpin had meant that their driver would be told and not them. Maybe that was another layer of protection. He wasn't sure. "This project of theirs had better be worth it for the shit we're being put through. My aura still hasn't fully recovered from yesterday. I'm not even mentally back. I keep looking for Sun and… gah." Yang's eyes clenched shut and she ground her teeth together. "Fuck. I'm sorry."

"My muscles are killing me as well," remarked Ren. He chose to ignore what she's said about Sun or grant her a reprieve. In a way Ren kept the mood from deteriorating further. "That sky hook twisted my shoulder. I'm sure of it. Still, what can we do? It's a mission. We don't have the right to say no."

"Rights. Heh." Nora laughed. "Imagine having those."

"What do you mean? We have plenty of rights," said Ruby. "Like the rights to shut up and do what we're told, or the rights to be beaten up in the name of education, oh – or my favourite – the right to take an EX-Pill so we can die. But only if it's in a situation where we'd suffer a longer or more painful death otherwise. We don't even have the right to kill ourselves when we want."

"I'm not sure that was ever a right," said Ren, "even before the collapse of the old world."

"Meh. It feels like it should be."

"At least this should be an easier mission," said Jaune. He hoped they didn't take that the wrong way, and thankfully none of them looked angry. "I don't think I'm ready to go outside the walls yet. Not so soon."

"None of us are," said Nora, softly. "You heard from Blake, Yang?"

"Her team got back last night. Three dead. Blake lost an ear – torn straight out her scalp by a Grimm. Two inches lower and she'd have lost her head." Yang's smile was relieved, and he couldn't imagine how worried she'd been. At least with Sun, you knew. Dating someone on another squad sounded like the worst fear imaginable. "I offered to let her crash with us, but she spent the night in medical."

"Fucking hell," swore Ruby. "That territory was safe before! Well, not safe but, you know, safer. A mission out there would have been considered FUBAR if you ran into a single Grimm, even if you killed it. It's not five miles out from the arcology!"

It had been. That territory was land he and his squads had travelled in the past as regular infantry. They'd go out on foot, reclaim fallen aircraft or vehicles, then come back. Sure, they went wrong every now and then, and he'd lost teams, but each of those cases was to a single Grimm, and they were separate instances. He'd done maybe fifty missions outside the wall before, and more than forty of those hadn't even resulted in sight or sound of any Grimm. It was just too close to Vale to have been that heavily infested.

"Ozpin was right," said Ren. "This really is more Grimm than usual. Us having to face as many as we did was ridiculous enough. There hasn't been a Grimm presence like this since the great wall fell. Or since Vale tried to reclaim it."

"Yeah, and gutted half its forces doing so," snarled Yang. "What a fucking mess that was."

"I doubt General Ozpin will disagree since it cost him his ability to fight."

It was hard to imagine how that would feel. His parents had survived the military long enough to raise a family, but it was different in the infantry. You were expected to try and survive. Deaths happened, they were unavoidable, but your missions were undertaken with the intention of avoiding the Grimm and getting back in one piece with whatever you were sent out with. Overall, survival rates to the age of forty were at somewhere around 30%, which honestly wasn't bad. Among huntsman, survival rates to that age were practically zero. Oh, there might be the rare exception like Qrow Branwen, but the life caught up with him eventually. The only real exceptions were those who were injured in such a way as to render them unable to fight. Someone like Ozpin.

Did the man resent that? Jaune though that he might if it were him. If he had to watch everyone die over and over, and he had to live through it and not be able to take vengeance, then he thought he might go mad. It was bad enough he'd watched whole squads die before he hit eighteen. He didn't think he could make it to whatever age General Ozpin was and keep his sanity.

In some ways, the ability to die was a blessing.

"We're pulling in to park now," said the driver, over a speaker. "You'll be exiting through the rear."

"Hey! Hey!" called Yang. "And we made it here in one piece."

"The report is in that one of the other transports was hit. A vehicle drove it off the road. Driver killed, squad inside injured but alive. They destroyed their cache before putting down the attackers. Now they're being shuttled for blood tests. Their attackers were rotted."

"Fuck me," whispered Ruby. "She already knows…"

The armoured vehicle came to a stop and the back ramp unlatched. Yang stood there, holding it shut, and turned to them. "Jaune, you keep the case. Have a grenade ready to go if anyone comes near. Nora and Ren with me. Ruby, cover Jaune."

He nodded and pressed a button to flip his visor down. If the last squad was hit by rot then he didn't want to take any chances. The others did the same and then Yang pushed the ramp down, planted a foot on it and charged out. Ren followed, taking left, while Nora took right, the three aiming their SMGs in every direction. A few seconds later, Yang waved it clear for them to come out and Jaune stepped out first, followed closely by Ruby.

They were before a large square warehouse, or a set of warehouses, the likes of which would have contained vast food stores or other important materials. He assumed they'd been hollowed out now, but then he didn't have any idea how large this weapon of theirs really was. In the parking lot were a few other vehicles, along with one aircraft, and a metal gate was being wheeled shut behind them by someone in uniform. Nearby, a woman in a white coat with hair the same shade stood with her hands in her pockets. She was tall, taller than even he was, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail behind her.

"I trust you are one of the teams sent with the schematics?"

"We might be," said Yang, "But you'd better identify yourself first."

"Winter Schnee. Deputy on Project Terminus." The woman offered an ID card hanging from a lanyard around her neck. "You're welcome to scan this or my biometric chip, but I've been told this isn't the first time we've met. Your squadron was responsible for pulling myself, my sister, and my mother out our crashed airship if I'm not wrong."

"You're not, but orders are orders and better safe than sorry." Yang took out her scroll and approached the woman, who found herself quickly under the gaze, and aim, of Nora and Ren. "Your hand please."

Winter offered it. "This is fine. My home fell because of a lapse in security. You won't find any complaints from our team about being subject to more." The scroll beeped twice, then released a happy noise and a green light. "Is that acceptable?"

Yang nodded, waving them down. Guns were lowered. "It is. I apologise for the trouble, ma'am."

"As I said, it's no concern. We would prefer inconvenience to discovery. Come, you're to hand that over to my mother. Willow is heading project terminus after my father died. I'll have to ask you to keep quiet on anything you might see inside."

"We've already been briefed on that, ma'am," said Yang.

"Good. Please, follow me. Once you've handed that over I expect you'll be asked to help guard the site. We've had suspicious activity all morning, and three people have already been killed trying to access the building."

"Already?" asked Jaune. "It's not even noon."

"It is what it is. You can't expect the Grimm Queen to remain idle while we work on a weapon capable of destroying her once and for all." Winter's hand was at the checkpoint, letting them in, when the gasps reached her ears. The woman looked back, cringing mildly. "I should not have said that. Forgive me, I've barely slept since arriving here. This is all classified as you well know. Speak of this to no one or you'll see first-hand what the Grimm will do when their queen is threatened."


No rest for our heroes; no rest for anyone given the severity of the situation.


Next Chapter: 31st January

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