A/N: Apologies for the delay. With many many MANY University assignments and such, the chapter had to be pushed back. But we're back. Before we begin we've got to get something out of the way first;

So the last chapter didn't get great reception. After reading some of the reviews, we believe there are some things that need clarification. Regarding the reveal of the two worlds to RNJR, you have to remember that Jack is a Private, the lowest rank in the army. He's not going to have the information, or frankly care at that moment, how he reveals that he's from another planet. He just fell back from an engagement that nearly killed him and is in the process of getting first aid from locals. Putting overwhelming fear, confusion and a lack of knowledge of the situation aside, I think it's fair to say that at that moment; he doesn't really care. The primary objective is to survive and revealing it in a dramatic fashion doesn't really matter at that moment in time. Yes, we know it's a story, but we are trying to stay true to how an Infantry Soldier would react in a situation in which his life is in immediate danger. Intel comes second while staying alive comes first. In this chapter, we hope to expand on the conversations between Jack and RNJR to hopefully compensate for this.

As for the issue of characters feeling indestructible, you make a fair and valid point. Our only response to that is; it's a story, and if the protagonist had broken bones and couldn't fight, it wouldn't be a very long or interesting ride. Watch any movie, show or game ever. People survive crazy things. It's also early in the story, so sit tight, there'll be plenty of injuries to go around! Hope this rectifies the issue; 50 or so troops (Infantry + Recce) landed on the beach in chapter 3. In chapter 4, Captain Dietz states that 24 men have been injured, numerous of them in critical condition. There have been two fights as of this chapter, the second one with far superior numbers which will ultimately have more casualties.

Regardless, your reviews are welcome and appreciated; we will take your criticism into consideration and hope to rectify any issues in the coming chapters as we want everyone to enjoy this as much as we do writing it.

On another note, we hope to return to the weekly Friday update schedule now that we're somewhat out of the woods regarding work and school assignments at the moment. On the bright side; this is the longest chapter so far, so we hope you enjoy it.

Now, on to the story:


RWBY: Strangers in a Strange Land

Chapter 5: Symphony of Destruction


VALE, REMNANT
WOODS OF VALE
TIME- 06:05

1ST BATTALION, ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
BRAVO COMPANY
1ST PLATOON
2 SECTION
PTE CARVER

Jack's eyes fluttered open, and light poured in through the tall trees. He had made it to he was still sore, the pain had greatly diminished overnight. He let out a yawn and began to look around. He saw Ren and Nora packing their sleeping bags into their packs, while Jaune was groggily climbing out of his sleeping bag. Looking to his immediate right, Jack spotted Ruby holding his C7A2, examining it carefully. The huntress canted the weapon side to side, looking for the magazine release. After locating the button on the right side of the rifle, she removed the magazine and racked back the charging handle, ejecting the round from the chamber. The longer she had the weapon, the more puzzled she looked.

While at first, Jack was tempted to seize the weapon out of fear of a negligent discharge, he came to be impressed by Ruby's weapon handling after she had cleared the rifle.

"You know how to use it?" Jack asked, startling the curious huntress.

"Oh! You're awake! Hope you're feeling a little better. Sorry, I shouldn't be messing with your stuff." Ruby placed the rifle down.

"Don't worry about it; I understand being curious." Jack slowly got up from the ground. "Have to ask, where'd you learn how to use it?"

"This? Well, the idea is the same as Crescent Rose...just...smaller. No offence."

"None taken...but uh, Crescent Rose?" Jack asked, unfamiliar with the name.

Ruby reached for the red object suspended from the small of her back. The object shifted, taking on the shape of a rifle, rather than the scythe he had seen the night prior. It was then that Jack realized that almost all of their weapons could shapeshift and take the form of other weapons, each deadlier than the last.

"This is Crescent Rose. My sweetheart! A scythe and also a high-impact sniper rifle."

The red rifle had an optic located on the top. On the lower part of the weapon, a large magazine was placed in it, with an exterior bolt action cocking handle on the side, proving to Carver that even on another planet, the ideal design of firearms remained the same, which explained how she was able to operate the C7A2 without previous experience.

"Badass." Jack admired the rifle for a few moments before picking up the discarded round and magazine from his C7. The magazine soon found its place in the weapon again while the spare round was stuffed into his pocket.

"What were you looking for?" He asked while looking over his rifle for discrepancies.

"Dust rounds or anything linking your weapon to dust..." Ruby admitted, rubbing her boot in the dirt.

"Didn't believe me about the dust, huh?" He chuckled with a cocked brow.

"I guess I just kinda had to see for myself, y'know?" She glanced at the weapon again.

On Remnant, almost everything ran on dust or had some relation to dust. Especially armaments. To find something such as Jack's C7 that seemed to have no reliance on dust, especially after his story, only served to reinforce the possibility that he was telling the truth and was in fact not from Remnant. Ruby had thought of returning to the site of the battle to examine it. Perhaps there, where contact between the 'Canadians' and the Grimm had been made, she would find evidence linking them to Jack's story. Other weapons, bodies, gear, anything like that. However, upon careful consideration, the overwhelming presence of Grimm served as her reason for not going through with the scouting operation.

"I get it. When we find my friends, they'll prove it to you. I don't expect you to take my word for it right off the bat. You'll see, I promise. You'll come to learn that I don't lie."

"I don't think you're lying...It's just kind of hard to believe."

"I understand, Ruby." Jack raised a hand, seeing no real issue with her skepticism. "Like I said last night, I don't even truly understand it. Right now, I'm talking with a person from a different planet after battling hostile creatures and traveling through an interplanetary portal. Sounds insane when you say it out loud."

During the night, team RNJR was semi-forced to take his word for it. Grimm had been nearby, and the situation was unprecedented. To waste time arguing and doubting it while Jack needed medical aid coinciding with the possibility of attack was ridiculous. While Jaune had expressed his doubt, the other three had been less concerned at the moment as adrenaline had been high and it seemed foolish to let their guard down and bombard the wounded soldier with questions. Now that the morning came and tensions were lowered, time allowed the questions to roll in.

"I had a look at your armour and gear too...Hope you don't mind, hehe." Ruby nervously chuckled with her arms behind her back.

Jack looked over his shoulder, to where his tactical vest and body armour lay in the grass beneath the rock formation.

"Find anything interesting?" Jack asked with a sly grin, hoping Ruby's findings would make her believe him.

"Well I was sifting through some pouches looking for dust ammo, and I found these." Ruby walked over to the pile of gear and opened a pouch on Jack's tactical vest, revealing the plethora of dog tags resting in it. "They have all these names on them...What are they?"

Jack's smile faded. "Identification tags. Everyone in the Canadian Forces wears them around their necks…" While he explained, Jack reached into the front of his shirt, fetching his own dog tags. He scanned the small metal tags with his eyes and traced the markings with his thumbs. His name, blood type, religious preference and date of birth were engraved on both labels. "They're used to identify the dead...You return them to the family once you retrieve them."

Ruby looked at the tags with new meaning. Each tag represented a dead soldier. Jack had been collecting them, seemingly to return them to their families. "...O-oh…" She closed the pouch. "...Sorry, I shouldn't have rummaged through them."

"You didn't know. It's not your fault."

"I'm sorry about your friends, Jack."

While Jack didn't know them personally, he considered anyone in the CF an ally and friend. To see them hurt or killed was extremely saddening. "Thanks, Ruby...I only wish I got here earlier. Maybe I could've helped them."

The two sat in silence for a minute before Jack cleared his throat and changed the subject back to their previous conversation to lighten the mood. "Find anything else of interest?"

Ruby perked up and looked at all of his equipment again. "Your body armour."

"What about it?"

"Never seen anything like it before!" Ruby shrugged.

"All of my friends have it. Standard issue to the Canadian Army." Jack grabbed the fragmentation vest and hauled it over to Ruby. "Here, try it on!"

He helped the girl don the CADPAT encasing, which was far too large for her.

"It's a little big!" Ruby waddled around, gaining the attention of the other Huntsmen and Huntress, who all chuckled.

"Ha, tell me about it. Let's just say it's not really designed for comfort." Jack chuckled and fished the spare round out of his pocket and displayed the bullet in his hand.

"That body armour is designed to stop these." He pressed the round against the ballistic plate covering Ruby's torso.

Ruby looked at the bullet, comparing it to the dust rounds that were employed into every firearm on Remnant. While in shape and design, they were similar, the dust had been replaced by gunpowder, and the colourful cartridge was absent. Even the armour was odd. It was bulky, awkward and difficult to move in.

"How's that gonna stop a slash or a stab?" Jaune asked, walking over to them. Armour on Remnant, most notably the Atlesian military, had been oriented more towards combating Grimm while Jack's kevlar weave vest with ballistic plates, was not.

"Well...back home, people usually just kill each other with bullets."

"Why? Are you at war or something?"

"Not Canada in particular. But there's always someone fighting someone for a plethora of reasons. No Grimm back on Earth, which makes humans the top dogs."

"No Grimm...That sounds like somewhere I'd want to be!" Jaune pictured the supposed Grimmless world that Jack described.

"Pfft, yeah." Jack nodded. "Never thought I'd catch myself saying I would rather be shot at. Anything's better than getting mauled by these freaks."

"We should go." Ren interjected into the conversation, pack thrown over his shoulder. "It would be wise to get to our destination quickly. Jack, how are you feeling?"

"Better. I should be able to walk on my own." Jack declared while aiding Ruby take the armour off and donning it himself.

The plate carrying vest clung to his body, causing slight irritation to his healing wounds, however, he was forced to deal with it if he wanted protection. Jack grabbed his tactical vest and extended his arms, attempting to put it on over the heavy armour. He instantly recoiled, groaning in reaction to a jolt of pain. A single item that appeared to be a sheet of paper fell from Jack's vest caused by the spur of movement.

"Let me help, you haven't healed fully yet!" Ruby rushed over, taking the tactical vest from him and guiding his arms through the loops carefully to avoid another reaction. She was concerned for his health, seeing little improvement.

"Thanks, Ruby." Jack held his side. "Still a little sore is all."

Jaune and Ruby looked at each other, both thinking that Jack was merely downplaying his injury.

"Hey." Ruby crouched down, just noticing the thin item Jack dropped. "You dropped this!"

Ruby observed the seemingly blank sheet of paper. She turned the paper to the other side, revealing it to be a polaroid picture. In the photo, three people stood shoulder to shoulder while a shorter one stood in front of them. A young boy accompanied by two parents smiled towards where the camera would have been. The older male, the father, wore a formal military DEU set with the proper PPCLI regimental patches and Officer markings as well as jump wings indicating the man was a paratrooper. Jack was among them. Rather than his CADPAT uniform, he wore simple civilian clothes comprised of jeans and a leather jacket. His usual clean-shaven face was absent while a stubble took its place.

"Is this you and your family?" Ruby asked, her eyes still scanning the photo.

"Ha, yeah that's us. That was me before I joined up. That's my little brother Alex in front there. And that's my mom and dad." Jack pointed to the respective figures as he listed off their names. "Hope I can make it back to them still standing. I'm nowhere near as good as my dad was at this Army stuff."

"You'll make it back." Ren interjected, offering words of reassurance.

Ruby handed Jack the photo with a smile. He stuffed the Polaroid into a safe pouch in his tactical vest after taking a long gaze at it.

Nora soon joined the crowd with her backpack on and her weapon slung over her shoulder. "Ready to go!" She declared with a smile.

The foreign soldier scoured the ground, searching for something with a perplexed expression.

"Son of a bitch." Jack murmured, still sifting through the grass where he had slept.

"What's wrong?" Jaune asked, looking over his shoulder.

"My helmet. I must've lost it in the firefight..."

"If we're heading back, we may run into it along the way." Ren said while starting to walk along the path they had taken during the night.

"Hope so...don't really want to get harped at for losing kit while on an operation."

Jack took one last look before falling in behind team RNJR, who had begun their trek back to the beachhead. The soldier's teeth were grit for a majority of the trip, an attempt to prevent himself from cursing the whole way there in reaction to his still aching side.

"So, Jack!" Nora piped up from the front of the group, pushing sticks and branches out of the way to navigate the woods. "Tell us more about home!"

"Hmm. Well, looking around right now, it isn't that much different. Of course there are different climates all over the world, but Canada is mostly temperate and coniferous forests until you reach the colder climates of the North Pole. If you're looking for a more political picture to be painted, well, like I said earlier, no Grimm or anything like that, so that leaves room for political strife, power displays and stuff like that across the globe."

"It's strange that Humanity on your world would fight each other rather than unify." Ren said quizzically.

"Well, to be fair, it's not like humans don't fight each other here, as well." Jaune added. "My grandfather could attest to that…" Jaune looked down at his belt, where his weapon was suspended.

"Humanity does what Humanity does." Jack shrugged. "Differing agendas and such. Hopefully we realize that there's another enemy out there that just waged war on us last night. We'd stop fighting each other…We try to promote and keep the peace where we can, but sometimes it's just not enough."

"You're brave for trying." Ruby broke her silence in the conversation. The determination that came so easily to her lingered in her voice. "You're like us! You want to help. Am I right?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. I want the world to be safer. For my family, for my friends, for everyone. Easier said than done and hopelessly optimistic, I know, I know." He chuckled.

Jaune's head turned to face Ruby. Ruby had mentioned that the one character trait she needed to see was the willingness to help others. Jaune pondered for a moment. While he'd still need to see and hear more, he started to see what Ruby was saying. Maybe, just maybe, she was right about their new friend.

"I've got to ask, though." Jack called out. "I don't doubt your abilities, but what are the four of you doing out here alone? I get that you're Huntsmen and that you want a lift to Mistral, wherever that is, but what's the goal here? What are four Huntsmen looking to get done? I'm curious is all."

"It's uhh...a bit of a long story." Jaune started.

A smirk formed on Jack's face. "Another fact about me; I like stories."

EAST COAST OF VALE, REMNANT
HMCS SIR ISAAC BROCK
EARTH TIME- 06:30

ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY
MARITIME FORCES PACIFIC
MARPAC
COMMANDER WILLIAM DIETZ

Dietz and Reid stepped through the bulkhead into the CIC, removing their hat and beret respectively as they moved to the center of the room. Although small, the CIC of a warship is where everything happens. Fire control, emergency command, radar, sonar, all the ships operations are fed into one centralized room. The right side of the room was lined with combat stations, each manned by NCM's. On the left was a command station with links to all stations in the room, reserved for the CO. Although the room was compact, there was a large translucent board for writing details of operations. The board was filled with the names of the callsigns of LAV's, companies and aircraft. A tall officer did his rounds, overlooking each station as he passed. Unless otherwise addressed, members of the CIC were not required to come to attention due to the sensitive and crucial importance of their work. However, the officer did give an acknowledging nod to the officers.

"Right over here." Dietz lead the way to the center of the room, on the left side of the center whiteboard. "Lieutenant Granderson, we ready to get this show on the road?"

Lieutenant Granderson, who was talking with the fire control operators turned to face the officers and gave a brief salute. "Yes, sir. Once the engineers clear us we can fire on your order."

"Very well Lieutenant, keep me updated."

Ried and Dietz took their seats on the right side of the room, turning to face one another once they were seated.

"So, what's the plan of attack for my men?" Ried inquired, sitting back in the chair

"We will send out the companies under the cover fire of the Mark 45. We've loaded in three incendiary rounds to the feed. That'll wake up the beasties and get them to haul ass to the beachhead. Once the companies engage, we'll send in Farren and his fireteam where there will be much less resistance."

"Sounds good. What are the support option for my men?"

"We'll stay on station and rain in support where needed."

As Dietz went over the specifics of the plan, Granderson rounded the whiteboard to the officer's station.

"Sir, the engineers have finished loading in the belt feed and have concluded their primary inspection. The 5' inch is loaded and ready to fire."

"This is where the fun begins. Lieutenant, the order is given."

"Yes, sir." A small grin grew on the Lieutenant's face as he returned to the fire control station. This would be their first time firing the gun since getting it installed and serviced. "Surface, TAO, confirmed fire on kill track 5-0-2-4."

"TAO, surface aye. Firing kill-track 5-0-2-4."

The battle was about to begin.

EAST COAST OF VALE, REMNANT
HMCS SIR ISAAC BROCK
EARTH TIME - 0635

1ST BATTALION, ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
BRAVO COMPANY
1ST PLATOON
2 SECTION
MCPL FARREN

In an instant, heavy gunfire filled the air. Even with ear protection, the overwhelming amount of fire from the beachhead was deafening, let alone the boom of the Mark 45 on the Brock shelling the shore.

"Master Corporal, you have the go! Begin your operation and bring our man home!" Reid once again came in over the radio for the final time.

"Roger that, Sir." Farren made his way to the cockpit of the Griffon and slammed his fist against the bulkhead to gain the attention of the Pilot and the Co-Pilot. "We're good to go! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Acknowledged!" The chopper pilot shouted back and began the startup sequence for the helicopter. The rotor blades slowly began to swivel and pick up speed until it was impossible to identify each blade due to their sheer speed. Soon, the CH-146 Griffon lifted off of the deck of the HMCS Sir Isaac Brock and made haste away.

Once the helicopter departed the air space of the Brock, the team received a full view of the unfolding battle. Sniper teams exited the safety of the Brock's inner decks and took up positions on the flight deck. The scarcely outfitted, elite sharpshooters deployed their bipods and took aim with the assistance of their spotters before promptly engaging ground targets. The cracks of the high caliber rifles joined in the symphony of destruction.

"The Lieutenant Colonel is throwing everything we've got at them!" Corporal Owens yelled while observing the sniper teams and feeding a belt onto his C9's feed tray.

"That should buy us some time!" Jerome tapped his foot eagerly awaiting the moment to disembark and rescue his friend. Jerome's attention was on the fleet of LAV's rolling onto the beachhead, annihilating the tree line with their primary weapons. Soon, their ramps would drop, opening the floodgates for the angry grunts looking for payback.

"Feast your eyes, boys. You're getting a rare look into an actual can of whoop ass." Lieutenant-Commander Kendall smirked and placed his aviators upon his face, shielding his eyes from the rising sun.

Farren stayed relatively silent while observing the mayhem on the ground. Shortly after the initial barrages from the combined firepower of the Brock and the Armour in the field, the first waves of hostiles came into view. Though they were swiftly eradicated by the fire, their numbers were simply augmented by hidden swarms in the woods. It was early in the fight, and he already had a bad feeling about the outcome, fearing a similar result to that of the night prior. They would have to be as swift as possible in their search to ensure minimal casualties to the ground force.

The Griffon helicopter gained significant distance from the battle, but it could be heard for miles. It approached another part of the coastline visually shielded from the battleground, hopefully providing cover from their foe. The helicopter lowered itself to roughly two meters above the ground, hovering in place.

"This is your stop!" The co-pilot leaned out of her chair, giving them a thumbs up.

"Come on, let's do this!" Kendall lept out alongside Owens and Jerome, who immediately hit the deck to secure the drop zone.

"Thanks for the lift!" Farren yelled back to the co-pilot.

"No problem! We'll stay on station as long as we can! Signal us with red smoke for extraction once you're ready!"

"Copy that!"

Farren jumped from the passenger compartment and walloped the dirt. His eyes scanned the immediate surroundings. At the moment, he could confirm that no hostiles were present in the vicinity. For now, the contingent of Infantry had the enemy's attention. Master Corporal Farren cocked his weapon before turning to the men in his team.

"Okay, time to get this show on the road. Don't fire unless you absolutely have to, we don't want these bastards turning their attention to us while we have no clue where we are."

The other three men nodded.

"And sir, not that I don't think you won't kick ass, but I'd prefer if you were closer to the rear. Just for your protection, sir."

"Your team, your rules, Farren. Show me what you can do." Kendall nodded.

"With pleasure, sir." With a wave of his hand, he gave the signal to move out. "Let's go."

The four-man team rose up out of the grass, weapons raised. In a diamond formation, they made their way to the tree line. Farren was the tip of the spear, carrying his C7 rifle while Owens covered the left flank, the assumed direction of the enemy advance, with the C9. Jerome's C7 covered the right while Lieutenant-Commander Kendall guarded their rear with a C8 Carbine. Concerning firepower, they were decently outfitted for a four-man team.

VALE, REMNANT
WOODS OF VALE
TIME- 0635

1ST BATTALION, ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
BRAVO COMPANY
1ST PLATOON
2 SECTION
PTE CARVER

"Hold on.." Ren stopped and looked around the heavily wooded area.

"What is it?" Jack asked, raising his rifle.

"Does anybody else hear that?" Jaune asked, making his way to the front of the group.

A distant hum was audible from the direction they were marching. The hum became stronger as time went on, in intensity as well as proximity. Jack grinned, recognizing the sound as an approaching column of LAV's.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is the cavalry." Jack joined Jaune and Ren at the front of their patrol, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. "Looks like they realized they left someone behind and they're coming to res-"

A large crack and bright flash interrupted Jack's boast. The boom caused all five of them to flinch and gaze in confusion towards the point of origin. Almost immediately after, an explosion rocked the earth not too far away from them. Dirt and shredded trees were tossed into the air in all directions. The young warriors all recoiled from the sudden devastation and all instinctively dropped low to the ground. Shortly after the initial detonation, numerous impacts battered the tree line, with some missing their targets and entering the woods, near team RNJR and Jack.

"Stay down!" Jack yelled over the explosions.

Each of them hugged the dirt, avoiding the splinters and rock debris flying all around.

"Why are they shooting at us?!" Jaune shouted.

"They're not! At least I don't think so! The splash is too far for them to be effectively targeting us!" Jack slowly and painfully crawled further to get a better look through the brush.

He had to bring up his rifle and aim down the sight to spot the friendly forces that were once again assaulting the beach. His eyes widened upon laying his eyes upon the massive force occupying the beach. Dozens of LAV's and several Leopards rolled onto the sand, guns blazing. Even the HMCS Sir Isaac Brock had come closer to land to bombard it with its heavy weaponry. Soon, hundreds of Infantry soldiers poured out of the LAV's and moved into extended lines with their respective sections and platoons while the armoured vehicles pounded the tree line.

Ruby crawled up next to Jack and looked down the scope of Crescent Rose while taking cover behind a collapsed tree.

"What are they doing, Jack?"

"...I can't tell...Just makin' noise by the looks of it. But that's gotta at least be a company or two of guys out there, plus some Engineers...They wouldn't deploy that many guys for nothing...Just stay down for now, guys!"

As the shelling continued, it was Nora who was the first to hear a loud sound differing from the bombardment, originating behind them. "...Uhh...Guys…"

"How do we get to them?" Ruby asked Jack, failing to hear Nora over the cannon fire.

"Don't think we're gonna be able to get to them until they stop firing. Just have to wait."

"Guys!" Nora yelled frantically.

"What's up, Nora?" Jack turned rolled onto his back and lifted his head, investigating Nora's constant grab for attention. Ruby did the same.

"...Oh come on…" Jaune muttered upon noticing dozens of Beowolves emerge from deeper in the woods.

The sound Nora had heard was their howling getting closer by the moment. The beasts had been alerted by the barrage of fire from the beach. In packs, the Grimm made their way towards the beach to engage the RCR Infantry waiting for them. However, to get to the beach, they would have to pass right by RNJR and Carver.

"Nobody move." Ruby whispered. "Maybe they won't see us…"

As they drew in closer, a handful of the Beowolves turned their heads towards the group and began to growl aggressively.

"They see us." Ren sighed, unamused.

"We can take em!" Nora said excitedly.

"Way too many of them!" Jaune analyzed the pack, which outnumbered them in dozens.

"Change of plans!" Jack quickly rose to his feet, shouldering his rifle. "Book it!"

"Where?!" Nora asked while reaching for Magnhild, her signature weapon.

"Anywhere but here!" Ruby answered. "Come on!"

Jack squeezed the trigger of his rifle, ejecting a burst of small arms fire towards the advancing Grimm. He had attempted to fire an M203 round, forgetting he had depleted his 40mm grenades during their last engagement. He cursed before turning on his heel and following the others through the woods. The Grimm and the fire coming from the beach unintentionally formed a bottleneck around them, forcing the young warriors to run in a path parallel to their intended destination to avoid being obliterated or the alternative of being mauled.

The remainder of RNJR drew their weapons and dodged the raining explosions and fragmentation of trees and dirt all while outrunning the detachment of Grimm pursuing them.

"HERE THEY COME! OPEN FIRE!" A distant scream filled the air during a lull in the fire. Moments later, an absolute hellfire of small arms and heavy caliber weapons fire filled the air and began shredding the tree line where RNJR and Jack had previously been standing. Soon, there would not be much else to provide cover for their escape.

A significant portion of the pursuing Grimm had been annihilated, only for wave after wave to replace them. A handful of Beowolves intercepted RNJR from their front and prepared to strike, only to moments later be obliterated by a 155mm shell. The ensuing explosion knocked everyone to the ground, covering them with dirt and the remnants of trees. Ren and Jaune collided with each other after being tossed by the shockwave.

Jack's ears rang from the tank shell. He managed to raise himself to a knee while trying to reorient himself. His vision was blurred by the dirt and smoke. Jack looked around, seeing the members of team RNJR engaging in close quarters battle all while attempting to dodge the incoming fire. Jaune and Ren had both recovered and cut their way through the Grimm who were closing in fast. Jaune's blade tore through the Beowolves while the gunfire from Ren's weaponry stalled the approaching reserves and made short work of the two-legged 'Creeps.' Nora crushed any Grimm that broke their lines, and Jack could hardly see Ruby, only a red blur zipping across the battlefield. Her sheer speed mixed with his disorientation made her invisible. All the Huntsmen were skilled and amazing to watch. Even during a battle, Jack could notice skill.

Tracer rounds from C9 light machine guns flew into the tree line, narrowly missing their position. Amidst the confusion, Jack barely saw the Ursa charging through the gunfire, merely shaking off any small caliber round making contact through the brush. The already lacking in power 5.56 caliber round native to the C7, C8, and C9's lost even more power when passing through the forest, doing even less damage to the already resilient creature of Grimm.

Running out of options, Jack, out of instinct, raised his rifle and fired the entirety of his magazine into the Ursa, to little effect as he expected. He braced for another swat from the Ursa, until the erratic red blur stopped in front of the creature, twirling her massive red scythe around, dismembering the Ursa piece by piece. Her fluid movements and lethal strikes made her routine look like a dance of death. To finish the beast, Ruby planted her scythe into the ground, barrel pointing towards the hostile and pulled the trigger, blowing the remains of the creature away.

Once she dispatched the Ursa, Ruby aided Jack to his feet and pushed him along to follow the rest of RNJR away from the fire.

"Come on! Let's go!"

"That's two I owe you! Thanks!" Jack yelled while slamming a fresh magazine into his C7.

"Don't mention it!"

Constant explosions rocked the ground next to them, often throwing them to the ground or decimating the Grimm following them. While they ran, they passed a small clearing between the tree line and the beach. Whether or not it was natural or had been made by the bombardment was unknown, but unimportant. Jack was tempted to veer their course through the clearing and make a mad dash for the LAVs to escape the Grimm and heavy fire, however, moments later, 25mm shells came pouring in from the clearing. The first round, a bright red tracer, sped towards Jaune, who had been running past the clearing.

"Down!" Jack dove into Jaune, tackling the knight to the ground. The round went off seconds later against a tree, sending splinters into both their armour.

"Whoa!" Jaune yelled while going down, oblivious as to how close the 25mm shell came to making contact with his body. If it had, there wouldn't be much left of him.

"Up!" Jack yelled again before forcing Jaune to his feet. The two men continued to run alongside one another.

While they escaped the immediate arcs of fire of the small arms, the heavy artillery still pounded the earth in their vicinity. They weren't out of the woods yet, figuratively and literally.

VALE, REMNANT
WOODS OF VALE
EARTH TIME - 0706

1ST BATTALION, ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
BRAVO COMPANY
1ST PLATOON
2 SECTION
MCPL FARREN

Farren lifted his left hand and gave the hand signal to halt. All four men lowered to a knee and observed their surroundings while doing their best to listen for movement over the gunfire. He sighed. The battle was far too loud to hear anything other than explosions and falling trees.

"...Can't hear shit…" Farren shook his head, unsure of how he was going to find a lone soldier in unknown territory amidst an intense conflict between two companies of Infantry soldiers and an army of indigenous creatures.

"What next, boss?" Owens asked, eyes scanning the distant trees for any movement.

"We keep moving."

"How are we gonna find him in all this crap?" Jerome shrugged.

"We will boys, relax. If your Master Corporal says we will, we wi-" Lieutenant-Commander Kendall spoke only to be interrupted by a shout in the distance.

"KEEP MOVING!" The shout was followed by a few bursts of automatic fire. The pop of the rifle was akin to that of a C7A2.

"What the hell was that?" Owens lifted his C9 and aimed in the direction of the shout, trying to use the scope to spot whatever or whoever was making the noise. However, the explosions kicked up too much dirt to determine if anything was there.

"That's one of our guns, Master Corporal!" Jerome said eagerly, resisting the urge to burst into a sprint.

"Let's move!" Farren stood and began running towards the origin.

"Boss! What are you doing?! That's where the arty is falling! We're gonna get utterly wiped out!"

Farren stopped and turned to face Corporal Owens. While Owens was a trusted friend, Farren grew tired of the arguments regarding their objective. He grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in. "If that's Jack, we're going in! He'd do the same for you, Sam!"

"...Goddamn it….Okay...Alright, Alright. Let's do it." Owens sighed and readied his weapon. His hesitance was not due to a dislike of Jack, but due to running into a field being bombarded with artillery. Some things were crazy, even by Infantry standards. His fear was warranted.

"This is gonna be fun! Grunts, don't tell the Captain, he may get a little worried that his XO went sprinting into artillery fire." Kendall grinned and raised his C8.

"Roger that, Sir." Farren looked at the troops under his command and gave the hand signal to move.

"Saving Private Carver…" Jerome muttered, referencing the popular film adaptation of Operation Overlord, more commonly known as D-Day.

Farren chuckled, seeing some parallels between Overlord and their current situation. Running into heavy artillery and small arms fire all while searching for a Private.

"Does that make Jack Matt Damon?" Owens asked, trying to relax himself with humour.

"I guess so." Master Corporal Farren shrugged. "Though I'm the section commander, I don't see myself as much of a Tom Hanks Captain type. I'd give that to you, Sir." He gestured to Kendall, who immediately shook his head.

"Nah, I'm more of a Tom Cruise kind of guy." Kendall grinned once again.

Each man took a deep breath before stepping off deeper into the woods, chasing the origin of the yell. Just prior to Kendall stepping off, his grin grew wider, and he pushed his aviators higher on his nose, adjusting them.

"...Highway to the Dangerzone…"

VALE, REMNANT
WOODS OF VALE
EARTH TIME - 0710

1ST BATTALION, ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
BRAVO COMPANY
1ST PLATOON
2 SECTION
PTE CARVER

A large screech rang out, echoing through the forest, louder than the barrage. A shadow passed overhead, darkening the woods as it progressed through the trees.

Jack looked up, seeing a massive bird-like Grimm soaring overhead, heading straight for the beachhead. "What the hell is that!?" He recalled Grove mentioning the creatures tearing apart the hull of the Endeavour, but they were significantly larger than he had anticipated.

"That's a Nevermore!" Nora provided Jack with a name to the massive sky bound hostile.

"A what?!"

"Don't stop!" Jaune pushed Jack forward.

After swiftly firing a burst into the pursuing enemy, Jack started to sprint again. While the rifle seemed to be somewhat effective against the smaller targets, it still had the same limited damage on the Beowolves and higher class enemies.

While most of the small arms fire was now concentrated away from the group, heavy artillery still battered the forest.

"Where do we go?" Ren shouted after being cut off by another tank shell.

"Follow me!" Jack darted through the smoke, waving his hand forward.

Jack led the Huntsmen further away from the artillery beaten zone, getting closer to the adjacent beachhead that would guarantee their safety from friendly fire. The longer they ran, the more winded they became, which would severely hinder their ability to fight should the need arise. Amidst that thought, four figures appeared in the distance, mantling over fallen trees. Due to the smoke and fatigue, it was hard to make out the identity of the approaching figures. At first, Jack was tempted to engage, only to stop himself once noticing that the figures donned similar armour and uniforms to him, distinguishing them from the mindless beasts stalking them.

"Carver!" The lead figure yelled.

Jack's face lit up. Friendlies.

"Hey!" He yelled back, flailing his free hand frantically.

"Are they your friends?!" Ruby caught up to Jack, trying to get a better look at the approaching figures.

"Yeah, that's them alright!"

"Jack, you've got hostiles on you! Get down!" The lead figure, Master Corporal Farren, yelled while taking up a sight picture with his rifle.

In reaction, Jack turned his to identify the threat. The only contacts immediately surrounding him was team RNJR. He looked back. Farren's rifle was lined up to Ruby, who was on Jack's immediate right.

"No! NO!" Jack shouted.

His warning was too late, however, as Farren's finger squeezed the trigger, sending the round down the barrel, towards the unsuspecting Huntress. The flash of the muzzle indicated to Jack that the round was inbound, heading straight for his new ally, and saviour.

"Look out!' Jack leaped to his right, shoving Ruby to the ground and out of harm's way.

"Whoa, hey!" The unexpected move from Jack caught her off guard.

A split second later, the 5.56mm round struck Jack in the chest, throwing him back to the dirt with a loud grunt.

"JACK!" Both Farren and Ruby yelled loudly in shock.

Jack lay on his side, hands clutching his chest, clawing at the fragmentation vest while coughing violently. Ruby recovered from the shove and rushed to his side, crawling to him. She rolled him onto his back to examine the severity of the wound. Jack's hands blocked her view.

"Lemme see!" Ruby grabbed the dazed soldier's hands, placing them at his sides.

The moment his hands came away, Ruby had expected to see blood pouring from Jack's chest where the bullet had connected. However, what she saw was the torn CADPAT fabric of his vest revealing a steel ballistic plate. An impact mark was left against the steel, indicating that he was in fact hit. The level 3+ ballistic plate made short work of the 5.56 round. Regardless, he coughed heavily and gasped for air and shifted in pain. While ballistic plates were designed to stop bullet penetration, they could not stop the kinetic energy of a projectile traveling more than 3,000 feet per second. The impact would almost always force the soldier down and knock the wind out of him or her.

"Jack! Jack, are you okay!?" Farren slung his rifle and sprinted to Jack's side, taking a knee opposite of Ruby, who was inspecting Jack for injury. Upon seeing that the plate took the hit, Farren let out a sigh of relief. "Holy shit, I shot you!"

"You shot me!" Jack shouted in between his coughing fits.

"You shot him!" Ruby joined in the yelling.

"I wasn't aiming for you! I was aiming for her!" Master Corporal Farren pointed at the red-caped girl.

"Hey! What did I do?!"

"I thought you were a bad guy!" He shrugged.

"Do I look like a Grimm?!"

"What the hell is a Grimm?!"

Kendall, Owens, and Lewis arrived just as the remainder of RNJR did. All six of them had their weapons drawn on one another.

"...When I said I'd rather be shot at earlier...I didn't mean it…" Jack coughed again.

"Ruby! What happened?!" Jaune shouted after raising his shield in defence of the numerous weapons pointed at him and his team.

"What do we do boss?!" Jerome pleaded for a command; his rifle pointed at the unknown warriors. The longer they waited there, the pursuing Grimm that survived the artillery bombardments closed the gap and the likelihood of an artillery round striking their position rose.

"Don't!" Jack coughed and tried to recover to no avail. "Don't shoot!"

"What's going on, Private?" Kendall asked, hesitant to lower his C8. "Who are these people?"

"Friends, Sir!" Jack clutched his chest and once again tried to stand up to act as a buffer between the two teams. Ruby kept him pinned to the ground as moving so soon after the injury was unwise. "They saved my life! Don't shoot!"

A loud howl alerted the large group to the approaching pack of hostiles.

"Shit!" Owens fought the urge to unleash a hail of bullets from his C9.

"Ruby, we can't stay here." Ren turned to face the approaching Grimm, loading fresh magazines into his weapons.

"Farren, your team, your call!" Kendall shouldered his C8, taking aim at the Grimm getting closer.

Farren looked at Jack and then to Ruby, who was staring right back at him. The red girl who tended to Jack had a look of inherent innocence unique to her. He didn't know anything about the strangers, but something told Farren that the girl was the reason Jack was still alive.

"Stand down! Stand down!" He stood up and forced the barrels of his colleagues away from RNJR.

"Here they come!" Nora yelled, firing a few grenades from her weapon before changing the weapon to it's Warhammer form to switch to melee combat.

"Focus fire on the Wolf bastards! Sir, cover our six! Owens, cut em' up! Lewis, get on the left with the pink girl! Nothing gets through!" Farren lifted his rifle and engaged the Grimm while Owens dropped to his stomach to deploy the bipod on his C9. He stepped between Jaune and Ren while emptying his ammunition into the Grimm.

Small arms fire once again erupted in the forest, albeit in a much smaller manner than the beach assault.

"Get him on his feet!" Farren yelled to Ruby while pointing at Jack.

"Are you okay?!" Ruby finally had the chance to ask while tugging at Jack's sleeve, attempting to lift him up.

After coughing some more, Jack nodded, obviously playing off his new injury. "I'm good!"

An abrupt growl and the sound of snapping twigs interrupted their conversation. A Creep, the smaller class of Grimm, dove out of the bushes in direct proximity of where they stood. Jack reached for his C7, only to find that is was too far away. Ruby also spotted the creature, however too late to draw Crescent Rose and quickly dispatch it. She ducked over Jack, sheltering the wounded soldier. They braced for contact, only for Lieutenant-Commander Kendall to intervene at the last moment.

The Naval Officer grabbed the creature by the tail and dragged it away with a loud grunt. Kendall slammed the beast to the ground and pressed his boot against its chest, pinning it to the ground. The Brock's X.O. shoved the barrel of his C8 against the neck of the Creep and squeezed the trigger on automatic, shredding it to pieces.

"Nice save sir!" Jack said in amazement. While no one doubted Kendall's tactical mind, it was often interesting to see a primarily non-combat arms CF member engage in combat. And Kendall was indeed impressive.

"Don't mention it, kid." Kendall said, grabbing Jack by the tactical vest and promptly lifting him to his feet. "You can buy me a beer back on the Brock." The Lieutenant-Commander grabbed Jack's C7 off of the ground and shoved it against his chest.

"Can you fight?" He asked, gesturing to the impact on his plate.

"Yes, sir! Just a scratch!" Jack slammed his fist against the steel plate to display how little pain there was. He was lying, of course, as his fist pressuring the steel against his torso caused significant discomfort.

"Prove it to me, soldier!" Kendall smirked.

Master Corporal Farren looked over his shoulder to investigate the gunfire. Seeing Jack back on his feet and the threat eliminated by Lieutenant-Commander Kendall, he came to the conclusion that now was the perfect time to make a dash for the chopper landing zone and pop smoke for extraction.

"Alright! Fall back to the LZ! Go!" He grabbed Jaune and Ren by the shoulders and shoved them behind him, putting them out of harm's way. "You too, mighty Thor!" Farren stepped in front of Nora, who had been smashing Grimm with her hammer.

"What about you guys?! Don't hog all of the fun!"

"Just go!" Farren shouted. Nora complied, joining RNJR, Kendall and Jack in moving away from the battle.

"Let's go, Farren!" Kendall yelled.

"Roger that, Sir! Okay boys, let's get the hell out of here! Lewis, move!"

Jerome emptied the remainder of his magazine before turning tail to run like hell.

"Okay Sam, you and me! Let's go!"

Owens unloaded the belt of C9 to provide covering fire for the others before collapsing the bipod and joining them.

Farren and Owens quickly caught up with the retreating element making haste for the beach. The Master Corporal rushed to Jack's side, who was surprisingly still standing and running at top speed.

"You feelin' alright there, Carver?"

"Oh never better, Master Corporal. I've barely slept, I got slammed into a metal bulkhead, I was a punching bag for a couple of bear Grimm, and I just got shot. Yeah, I'd say I'm havin' a wonderful time! Good thing I bought level 3+ plates before going on deployment."

"Don't think we're allowed to swap out our armour, Jack." Jerome said, contributing to the conversation.

"Yeah well, probably a good thing I did, or I'd probably have a round in my torso right now."

"Fair point." Jerome shrugged. "But where's your helmet?"

"Lost it when an Ursa Grimm smacked me on the beach, shortly after you dragged that wounded dude out of danger."

"You keep saying, 'Grimm' what is that?" Farren asked, looking for clarification.

"They're the bastards that hit the Endeavour and that are on our tail right now. Those things." Jack lifted his hand, using his thumb to point to the huge mob chasing them.

"Oh. Those." Farren started. "Wait, how much do you learn while you were out here?"

"More than Grove told us, that's for sure." Jack dug into his pocket, retrieving his notepad. "Got it all written down. The CO needs to see this."

"Aha! Carver you genius!" Owens shouted while slamming another belt into his weapon. All men were understandably excited to gain any intelligence on the enemy they'd likely be fighting for a while.

"Don't thank me, thank them." Jack gestured to RNJR, who took the lead alongside Lieutenant-Commander Kendall.

"We'll focus on introductions once we're out of this shit storm." Farren said coldly. "I have a feeling the CO will want to talk to them too."

EAST COAST OF VALE, REMNANT
HMCS SIR ISAAC BROCK
EARTH TIME- 0727

ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY
MARITIME FORCES PACIFIC
MARPAC
COMMANDER WILLIAM DIETZ

Beckett had positioned the ship perfectly so that the Mark.45 had full access to cover ground forces on the beachhead. And in order to launch Griffons, she also dropped anchor so that they could take off. Although the sturdiness and stability of the Cyclone helicopters were unmatched, they didn't have the troop space of a Griffon. Despite the ship being engaged in combat, the ship was silent as the grave. Throughout the screens of the CIC, helmet cams of soldiers filled the screens, mainly views from LAV gunners and a view from the Sea-Avenger UAV. Doctor Grove as well as combat analysts huddled around a screen at the back of the room, watching the creatures. Each of them held a notebook and frantically noted everything from visual descriptions and combat patterns to temporary naming conventions to identify them easily. With any luck, they could produce a field guide for the men to get acquainted with the land and the creatures they'd be fighting. TAO Granderson walked along the combat stations, arms crossed. From time to time, he would lean in and give orders to change the camera angle of the Sea Avenger or to prioritize one of the creatures with the Mark 45. For the most part, the room was silent as the sailors worked away. From time to time, they would get up from their stations and update the white board with ammo count, the number of injured and overall combat strength of the enemy. Ried was focused on the drone camera, giving a bird's eye view of the battlefield, visually worried, yet confident in his men's abilities. While scanning the room, Dietz spotted the radar officer take off her headset, placing it beside her keyboard and getting up from her chair. Anticipating an update, Dietz, too, stood up

"TAO, Radar."

"Go ahead Radar." Granderson was on the other side of the room, but starting to move to the radar officer.

"Sir, I am tracking 15 plus targets inbound." the Chief Petty Officer quickly glanced back down at her monitor, revising her previous statement "Cross, no data now sir. Now a large cluster of targets inbound."

Dietz now joined in, approaching the translucent white board. The radar officer turned, despite being separated by the board, she tried looking him and Granderson in the eye.

"Hostile?" Dietz inquired

"No idea sir. I will need visual confirmation to be sure."

Dietz paused to think. If they were in radar range and had not attacked, there was a chance they were unaffected by the battle on the shore. It was entirely possible this was a new airborne unit that was not hostile.

"Doctor, come over here."

Despite his named being called, the doctor remained seated, seemingly unaware he was being summoned.

"Doctor." Dietz repeated, now raising his voice louder to be heard.

Grove jumped a little, now hearing his named being called. Quickly removing his headset, he navigated his way towards the terminal, taking a small glance at the cluster of targets before meeting the captain face to face.

"Apologies Captain, what seems to be the problem?"

"During your time here, did you or your team ever come across wildlife that was friendly?"

"Captain, I'm afraid this planet does not know the meaning of the word, friendly."

There was a small part of Dietz wanted to wait, perhaps the Doctor was wrong. There was no need in antagonizing a seemingly unaffected part of the planet's ecosystem. Then he remembered the Endeavour. The way the ship hull was bent and ripped into like a Christmas present. There were no second chances here. He was not going to take a chance with their only way back home. Their best chance at surviving on the planet.

"Comms, call the bridge. I want eyes on these things. TAO, prep the RAM's and R2. The minute we get in range of these things you open fire with everything we've got. "

"Aye, sir. Surface, TAO. Prep and load point and air defences, stand by for fire order."

"TAO, surface aye. Standing by."

Dietz now moved towards one of the last terminals in the room, right beside the door. As he leaned in beside the attending sailor, Dietz lifted one of the muffs from the seaman's ear so that he could hear Dietz clearly. Dietz didn't want the crew to know that Kendall had left the ship. As far as the crew knew, Private Carver wasn't even missing.

"Ops?" Dietz whispered, as to not startle the sailor

"Yes, sir?"

"Contact Kendall and get him back on the Brock. I don't want to misplace another four soldiers."

"Shall I contact their Griffon as well sir?"

"Do it. I want them on that bird and back on the ship before those, things get here. If they don't, there will be no chance of extraction until we repel them."

"I also have Lieutenant Beckett for you on the bridge."

"Thank you, comms."

Dietz took a second headset from the sailors terminal, switching on the mic and nodding to the sailor to connect him to the bridge.

"Ash, do you have eyes on targets?"

"Aye sir, we're getting the feed from CIC. OOW's have marked them at five mikes out."

"Draw anchor and rotate 90 degrees starboard. Come full astern, flank one. Let's hit these bastards head on."

VALE, REMNANT
WOODS OF VALE
EARTH TIME - 0734

1ST BATTALION, ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
BRAVO COMPANY
1ST PLATOON
2 SECTION
PTE CARVER

Finally, the group of nine exited the tree line onto the beach that Farren and company had dropped in on. Farren sprinted to the front of the group and waved them through the trees.

"Come on, move it!"

The section sized team pushed to the edge of the beach, just before the calm water. Owens immediately dropped down once again with a loud, frustrated grunt before aiming the weapon at the tree line. Carrying the C9 for hours and constantly dropping and getting up once again taxed the gunner.

"What's the plan here, Jack?" Jaune looked around, seeing no method of escape.

"Yeah, it's a dead end!" Nora added, facing the water.

"We've got a chopper in the area." Kendall dumped the nearly empty magazine from his rifle and searched for a fresh one.

"A chopper?" Ruby asked. "What's that?"

"Uhh...A Chopper is an aircraft that's-"

"Oh like an airship!" Nora interrupted.

"...Yeah, sure." Jack shrugged.

Ren joined in, watching the sky. "...Hopefully, the Nevermores don't impede its progress."

"Okay, get ready everyone!" Farren yelled while reaching into his tactical vest grenade pouch, searching for the red smoke grenade given to him by the chopper crew. Once the cylinder was in his grasp, he unscrewed the cap and prepared to strike the top of the device with the cap. In a swift motion, the Master Corporal slammed the grenade, instantly lighting it. His vision was filled with the bright red smoke that followed. He discarded the cylinder to the sand, waiting for the smoke to rise high enough to summon the CH-146 Griffon.

"Hopefully they had enough fuel to stick around." Jerome muttered.

"Yeah, or we're screwed." Owens chimed in.

"They'll be here." Jack said while rummaging through his ammo pouches. "Anybody got any fourty mike-mike rounds?"

"Yeah, here kid." Farren found three 40mm rounds in his vest and handed them off, replenishing Jack's M203.

"Thanks." Jack fed the grenade into the tube and slammed it shut, readying it for use. "Ruby, ready to show my friends what you and your team can do?"

"You bet!"

Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose and deployed it in its Scythe form. The whirring that Jack had earlier heard now caught the attention of Farren and the rest of the team who had not yet seen RNJR's bombastic weaponry and abilities.

All of their jaws slacked. They looked in awe at the size of the weapon and its ability to change forms so quickly and easily.

"Is that...A Scythe?!" Jerome backed away from the deceivingly innocent girl.

"It's also a gun." Ruby gave a thumbs up.

Owens, who was belly down in the sand, looked up. "...What the fu-"

"They're here." Jaune said while unsheathing Crocea Mors, eyes locked on the tree line where numerous howls and snarls could be heard.

Farren looked around the airspace, looking for the chopper. "...Where the hell are they?!"

"Orders?" Jack's fingers met the triggers of his rifle and his grenade launcher, anxiously awaiting the enemy horde to emerge from the concealment of the trees. The scenario was strikingly similar to the previous day's battle.

"Owens in the middle, use the C9 to thin them out. Carver, the moment they come through, hit them with a shell of 40mm. Sir, you and I are on their sides with rifles."

Each soldier took their place, aiming down their sights.

"What about us?" Ruby asked.

"...How much damage can that thing do?" Farren asked.

Jack chuckled, excited to see Crescent Rose in action again.

"Plenty." Ruby assured.

"Take the center next to Corporal Owens and Private Carver. If they get too close, tear them apart. The same goes for the rest of you. Use ranged attacks until they're close. I'm counting on you four to keep my men alive in close quarters."

"You can count on us!" Nora grinned while Magnhild formed back into its Grenade Launcher state.

"Boss, we can't make them fight, they're teenagers for god's sake!"

"And what am I?" Jack asked with a brow raised.

"That's different."

"They proved themselves in the forest, and I'm not about to turn down help. Like it or not it's our best bet. Now keep your eyes down range, we're about to have company."

The first Beowolf emerged, growling violently at the sight of the Canadians and team RNJR. The monstrosity was much larger than its counterparts. More bone plating covered the creature that stood on its hind legs, rather than all four. The roar let out was significantly louder and much more aggressive.
"You've got to be kidding me...What the hell is that?!"

"That, would be an Alpha." Ren muttered.

"LIGHT THAT SON OF A BITCH UP!" Farren commanded.

Jack launched a shell from his M203, decimating the brush and a few lower class Beowolves surrounding the Alpha. However, it did nothing but agitate the Alpha itself.

"Oooooh, that's not good!" Jack took aim with his rifle and began to fire, as did Owens with the C9.

"Give it everything you've got!" Kendall fired upon the Alpha that stormed its way toward them.

The beast charged towards the center of their extended line, putting Ruby, Jack, and Owens in the direct line of sight.

"Die god damn it!" Owens held down the trigger, spewing link and casings out the side of the machine gun.

"Oooooh, shit!" The Alpha Beowolf was right on top of them. Jack let his rifle hang as he moved to avoid a slash from the creature. He grabbed Ruby and Owens and dove out of the way, narrowly avoid the claws of the Alpha. All three of them tumbled in the wet sand.

"Ruby!" Jaune yelled, preparing to charge the Alpha with his blade.

Farren grabbed the boy by the arm. "Focus on the horde, kid!"

"But what about them!?"

"Trust your friend and my men, they can handle it! But if we get overrun, we're all dead anyway!"

Reluctantly, Jaune listened and turned his back, cutting down the approaching Grimm in anger.

Jack got to his feet, hands and knees soaked from the water inching closer to the shore. He didn't bother shouldering his rifle as the target was close enough to hit without the use of his optic. The Grimm creature set its sights on Jack and Owens who had slowly recovered. Both men fired on the Alpha. The massive Beowolf raised its arm, preparing to strike.

Ruby yelled while dashing forward with Crescent Rose. She swung her scythe, impaling the leg of the Alpha. The beast turned while roaring and swat the Red Huntress away, much to her surprise.

"Die you prick!" Owens yelled again, garnering its attention.

"Oh come on, Corporal! You pissed it off!" Jack was reloading when the Alpha came back to deal with them.

Carver ducked just in time to avoid the heavy handed swat coming from the aggravated creature. Owens, however, was not as lucky. The Alpha's hand made contact with Owens' side, sending him flying into the water. The Alpha assaulted Jack like a bull who had just seen red as it constantly swung for him. Jack had to constantly duck and roll to avoid getting hit. Luckily, Ruby came to his aid. The red blur amputated the Alpha's arm and swung the giant scythe in an attempt to sever the creature into two pieces. The blade of the scythe was lodged into the Alpha's abdomen.

To make the best of the situation, Ruby pulled the trigger on Crescent Rose's firing mechanism, expecting the jerk of movement to result in the desired effect. However, only the notorious click of a depleted magazine could be heard. Her ammo had been depleted while firing on the mass amounts of Grimm assaulting the beach.

"I'm out of ammo!" Ruby shouted while trying to retrieve her Scythe from the Alpha.

"Covering!" Jack advanced while bombarding the Alpha with a plethora of rounds, shooting until the magazine was depleted. The beast shook violently, trying to dislodge the Scythe and the huntress who hung on for dear life.

Just as Jack went to load another 40mm shell, Ruby had been launched from her place in the sand and sent crashing into Jack. They both winced upon contact. The collision caused Jack to drop the 40mm. The Alpha moved in for the kill, raising its remaining arm to impale the two downed warriors with its claws.

"Jack, here!" Ruby scrambled for the 40mm round discarded in the sand. She quickly retrieved the shell, moments away from being stabbed by the Alpha.

"Load it!" Jack pointed to the release button on the M203 that would open the tube, allowing Ruby to place the 40mm round in and slide the tube down the rail into the cocked position. He would have done it himself were Ruby not on top of him, impeding his ability to handle the weapon.

"FIRE!" Ruby yelled while covering her ears.

Jack squeezed the trigger, just as the Alpha lunged forward. The grenade rocketed out of the barrel, traveling at 76 meters per second. While the distance was much too close for the round to arm and explode, it was close enough and had enough force behind it to blast through the Alpha's skull, and exit the other side. The eviscerated creature fell backward. Smoke began to emanate from the Alpha, indicating its expiry.

"Holy hell." Jack muttered, his heart beating out of its chest. "You okay, Ruby?"

"Yeah! You?!"

"I'm good! Get back on the line, I'll get Owens!"

"You got it!" Ruby got up quickly to retrieve Crescent Rose from the deceased Grimm.

Jack got to his feet and went for Owens' C9. He grabbed the Machine Gun by it's carrying handle before darting for the shallow water where Owens' lay on his back. As he passed the Alpha, he kicked it.

"Get some, asshole."

He then rushed to the water, soaking his boots.

"You okay, Corporal?" Jack placed the C9 down and shook Corporal Owens on the shoulder.

"...ooooooooooowwwwwww…"

"I'll take that as a no." Jack pulled Owens' arm over his own shoulder to hoist him up to his feet. Owens groaned in pain the entire time.

"Where's my nine?"

"Right here, it's a little sandy, but it'll work. I think."

Owens painfully retrieved his C9 and wiped some sand from the feed tray.

"Good kill." Corporal Owens admitted, looking at the evaporating corpse of the Alpha.

"Thanks." Jack said, surprised that the usual disinterested Owens complimented him.

"Don't mention it. C'mon, let's get up there."

The two soldiers rushed back to the line. Jerome, Kendall, and Farren were all reloading, leaving RNJR to cut down any Grimm getting too close.
"There's too many!" Jerome pressed the bolt catch on the side of his assault rifle, letting the bolt move forward and slam another round into the chamber after reloading.

"Just keeping hitting them!"

A few dozen Beowolves and three Ursai emerged from the tree line to reinforce the attacking Grimm. One of the Ursai was a major class, similar in strength to the Alpha Beowolf that they had just killed.

As the fresh wave charged the depleted Warriors, they had expected to be overwhelmed. However, a sudden spray of heavy gunfire tore the Grimm to shreds. The sound of the air being beaten into submission by rotor blades filled their ears. Sand and water were blown away by the sheer speed of the CH-146 Griffon's blades. Evac had arrived.

The side mounted C6 GPMG roared, sending 7.62 caliber rounds towards the mob coming out of the tree line.

"COME ON! MOVE YOUR ASSES!" The co-pilot who manned the C6 lowered her faceguard and screamed at the Infantry soldiers.

"You heard her! Move it!" Kendall continued to fire while taking steps backward towards the Griffon.

"Go!" Jack yelled to RNJR while tugging on Ruby's shoulder. "We'll cover!"

The colourful team didn't like leaving a battle for others to fight, but, they listened and made a dash for the helicopter, keeping their heads low to avoid the blades and stream of heavy fire coming from the C6.

"Covering!" Jack yelled.

"Moving!" Kendall yelled and tapped Owens on the shoulder. The two men turned and sprinted at top speed for the Griffon.

"It's just us kid!" Farren yelled while backing up. "You ready?!"

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Jack said eagerly.

"Agreed! Move!" The two soldiers fired off the remainder of their magazines before turning and breaking into an all out sprint. While the Griffon was less than fifty meters away, the adrenaline and intensity of the battle made the chopper look far out of reach.

"RUN DAMN IT!" The C6 gunner held down the trigger, expending the belt into the mob.

Ruby leaned out of the helicopter, extending her hand for the two soldiers. First was Jack, followed by Farren.

"We're clear, go!"

The Griffon immediately veered and started to gain altitude.

"God damn…" Farren wiped the sweat from his brow. "Thanks for the sa-AH!" Farren was jerked back abruptly. A creep had managed to leap high enough and latch onto the back of Farren's tactical vest.

"Boss!" Jack dove forward and gripped Farren's tactical vest and held onto him, though he was reaching the edge of the helicopter. The chopper shook, the shifting weight destabilizing it.

"Get him back on the damn chopper!" The Pilot screamed back into the cabin.

"They're gonna fall!" Ruby and the others joined in a chain, each person acting as an anchor for the next.

"Get off my chopper!" The C6 gunner fed a powerful kick to the bipedal Grimm, sending it flying off of Farren and hurtling to the ground, causing it to fall to its death on the beach below.

Once the Creep was clear of the helicopter, Jack yanked the Master Corporal back onto the Griffon. Both men panted while resting on the floor of the cabin.

"...I hate these goddamn things…" Farren muttered.

"...Me too…" Jack sighed.

"Thanks, ma'am." After catching his breath, Farren stood up and extended his appreciation to the co-pilot who had manned the C6 during the extraction.

The name tape on her flight suit displayed the Air Force's blue eagle and the last name "Langer" printed in blue font. Her shoulder epaulets distinguished her as a Lieutenant.

"No worries, Master Corporal." She smiled.

"Not that I don't appreciate the rescue, Lieutenant." Kendall stepped forward. "But what took so long."

"Skies are filled with hostile air, Sir!" The Pilot yelled. "Had to pull off some fancy flying while Langer opened up with the C6!"

"It's as I thought…" Ren murmured. "Kendall, is it? You'll have to destroy the Nevermores for your aerial units to have a chance."

"Nevermores…Roger that, Ninja-kid. Lieutenant Langer, radio the Brock, let them know what's going with those bird bastards if they don't already know."

"Yes, sir!" Langer left the C6 station for the cockpit where her radio sat.

"Well, mission accomplished!" Jerome pat his fireteam partner on the shoulder.

"We're not done yet." Farren looked out the side of the chopper, looking for the battle that was still being waged. "We've got more bad guys to kill."

An awkward silence filled the chopper as they awaited orders via the radio. Master Corporal Farren finally turned to address team RNJR. He carefully examined the four warriors. Each of them was uniquely armed and coloured.

"Thank you for saving my soldier's life. I don't know you, or really understand anything that's going on...but you've already set yourselves a good example in my books. I'm Master Corporal Farren of the Royal Canadian Regiment, Canadian Army." He extended his hand.

Each member shook his hand.

"Just helping out where we can!" Ruby smiled.

"Oh, right." Jack stepped forward, Farren's introduction acting as a cue. "Guys, this is team RNJR. That's Ruby, Nora, Jaune and Ren. Ruby found me in the woods and saved my skin, numerous times. They took me back to their temporary camp and gave me first aid. And RNJR, this is Master Corporal Farren; my boss, my buddy Jerome Lewis, Corporal Owens and Lieutenant-Commander Kendall. Mr Kendall is the second in command of the boat we came through on."

"A pleasure." Farren nodded. "I'm sure Jack has already harassed you with some questions, but just so I know; where are we, and what are we up against?"

"...Y'know, Ruby...I'm starting to believe him." Jaune said after hearing Farren's introduction and questions.

"I'm also starting to see a trend." Ren agreed.

All of the Canadians donned similar uniforms, flags, and names all in the same places. Regarding uniforms, they all looked like Jack. As Jaune had said, Jack's story was more believable. Everything from their weapons and their vehicles were different from anything they'd ever seen.

"I can tell you what I told Jack! You're on Remnant, more specifically the kingdom of Vale. Those creatures we fought are called Grimm. They're everywhere." Ruby explained.

"I've got it all down, Master Corporal." Jack pat his pocket, reminding Farren of the notepad. "Maybe once we get this info back to the CO, we can go back through and get some reinforcements!" Jack chuckled, expecting to garner some laughs.

No one else laughed. The other soldiers looked to the floor. Lieutenant-Commander Kendall sighed.

"Jack…"

"What? What is it?"

"While you were MIA...The anomaly…" Farren removed his helmet and rubbed the back of his head, unsure of how to word it properly.

"It closed during the battle." Kendall finished. "As of right now, we're stuck here."

Jack's eyes widened.

"...What…?"

"I wanted to wait until we got you back to tell you. We only learned last night once we fell back to the Brock for an AAR."

"We're stuck here?"

"For now...Yeah."

"I'm not gonna be able to get these home…" Jack tapped the pouch that carried all of the dog tags he had collected.

"You don't know that, Jack! Just give it time, you'll figure something out!" Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Right." Jack lifted his head and stared off into the distance at the HMCS Sir Isaac Brock. Flocks of Nevermores flew around the ship, being met with stiff resistance from the AA guns. Captain Dietz and the crew were giving them hell, that was for sure.

"Sir!" Langer returned from the cockpit. "Captain Dietz wants you to come back to the Brock immediately!"

Kendall looked to Lieutenant Langer, and then to the battle being waged on the Brock. If the chopper got too close, the Nevermores may turn their attention to the Griffon, which would risk the lives of all aboard.

"We're not going back to the Brock." He muttered while watching the beach.

"Excuse me, sir?" Langer was taken back by the comment.

"Lieutenant Langer, inform your pilot that we're going to the beach. The RCR guys could use some reinforcements." Kendall looked over his shoulder at RNJR. "And I think I've got just the thing. I want you performing strafing runs with the C6 again, that was damn effective."

"...But, Sir….Captain Dietz-"

"That's an order Lieutenant."

The insubordinate behaviour from such a high figure like Kendall came as a surprise to all. Lieutenant Langer looked to Master Corporal Farren, the most senior combat arms soldier of them all, looking for some insight. Farren nodded.

"...Yes, sir." Langer returned to the cockpit.

"Apparently I don't give Navy guys enough credit, Sir." Farren looked at the Lieutenant-Commander in shock.

"We can be tough like grunts when we want to, Farren."

"Evidently."

"I'm going to get in a lot of shit for this." Kendall admitted. "But I think it's the right move."

While the conversation continued and the Helicopter sped towards the beach, Jack Carver looked out at the water. His hand slowly made his way into his tactical vest to retrieve his Polaroid photo. He looked at his family, specifically his brother, wondering if the picture in his hands would serve to be the last memory of his brother. Maybe he would die while he was gone. It was a terrible thing to think, but it lingered in Jack's mind. His parents would lose two children at once.

He stuffed the photo away and clenched his fist. He refused to let fear or doubt take control of him. He was stronger than that.

"Hey, Jack. Everything alright?" Jaune asked, having noticed the soldier stuff the photo aggressively back into his pouch.

"Yeah, I'll live. Thanks."

"If you say so." Jaune shrugged. "...You say that a lot."

"Hey!" Langer came out of the cockpit one more time, walking towards a crate at the rear of the cabin. "You guys should stock up before you guys get back out there!" She lifted the lid, revealing a handful of magazines for the C7's and C8's as well as three boxes of C9 ammo.

"Hallelujah…" Owens muttered while lifting the boxes out of the ammo crate.

"You're a lifesaver, ma'am." Farren expressed his gratitude while stuffing rifle magazines into his ammo pouches.

"Buy me a beer later, and we'll call it even, Master Corporal." Langer grabbed a spare box for the C6 and began to load the door gun.

"You got it, Ma'am."

Once Jack retrieved a decent amount of ammunition for his primary weapon, he moved to the rear of the cabin, beyond the ammo crate, where RNJR had been sitting and observing the Canadians. They had been making mental notes for certain.

"Hey, Carver." Farren held him up for a moment. "What are they doing?"

Jack watched RNJR carefully with a grin. "Looking for Dust."

"...Why is that funny? I don't get it."

"I'll explain everything after, Boss. It's all in the notes."

"Ack. Just don't go missing again."

"No promises, I think the wildlife likes me."

Both men chuckled. Farren pat him on the shoulder and let him proceed to speak with RNJR.

Jack took a knee. "Hey guys, It's gonna get pretty heavy down there. After what you did for me, I can't ask you to put yourselves in danger again. I can ask the Lieutenant to drop you off somewhere, or maybe even the Brock. But you don't have to go into the thick of it with us."

"Meh, I figured we'd stick around." Ruby shrugged with a grin. "We've made it this far."

"Besides, more evidence for your case, Jack." Jaune added.

Jack nodded. "If you're sure then okay. Well, word of advice, stay away from the tanks and the LAV's. You don't want to be anywhere near the front of those things when they fire. The shockwave alone is enough to mess you up."

"Noted." Ren chimed in while he inspected his weapons.

"Listen up!" Farren shouted after cocking his weapon. "When we hit the deck, we're gonna find and link up with our Platoon in Bravo Company. Stay together, don't get separated like dear Private Carver did. We fight as hard as we just did, we'll all make it out alive and beers will be on me. Hooah?"

"Hooah!" Each soldier chanted.

"Loud noises!" Nora yelled shortly after to coincide with the shout.

The Griffon approached the beach. The battle became so loud that ear protection had to be worn to avoid hearing damage. The occasional tank shell would blast off and decimate the charred forest. Yelling of commands and screaming were other such sounds mixed in with the conflict. In the immediate landing zone, a casualty collection point had been created using a single LAV as a means of transport, just like the night before. Wounded troops were carried or dragged to the CCP before the able soldiers sprinted back to the frontline. The Engineers that Jack had spotted earlier began to fortify the position with concertina wire, fences, and sandbags to construct a FOB.

"Here we go! Give em' hell!" The Pilot yelled.

"I'll cover you from above!" Langer cocked the C6 and took aim, waiting for targets.

"Go! Go! Go!"


A/N: We quite enjoyed this writing this chapter, despite it being way late! So, sorry about that. As we said before, we hope to get back to the schedule for Friday nights but we can't promise there won't be delays. (University and work does that).

After looking at the mess that was the old Glossary, it was decided a change had to me made to make it easier to navigate and locate the important information. If you take a look at the Glossary you'll see that it's been completely redone. It is now organized in categories ranging from Regiments, Gear, Weaponry and so on. Not only has it been redone, we've added a few new terms to the Glossary.


GLOSSARY OF TERMS

REGIMENTS:

RCR- The Royal Canadian Regiment; a Regular Force Infantry Regiment of the Canadian Army.
PPCLI- Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry; a Regular Force Infantry Regiment of the Canadian Army.
R22R- The Royal 22e Régiment, or The Royal 22nd Regiment (Commonly known as: The Van Doos); the third and final Regular Force Infantry Regiment of the Canadian Army. (We haven't mentioned this Regiment as of this chapter, but we thought it was important to put down).

STRUCTURE:

BATTALION- An organization of rifle companies and a support company. (Usually commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel)
COMPANY- An organization of three rifle platoons and a support platoon. (Usually commanded by a Captain)
PLATOON- An organization of three rifle sections and a heavy weapons detachment. (Usually commanded by a 2nd Lieutenant or full Lieutenant)
SECTION- A group of 8-10 Infantry soldiers (Commonly mistaken for "Squad") (Usually commanded by a Sergeant or a senior Master Corporal)
FIRE TEAM- A team of 2 soldiers (Commanded by the most senior member of the fireteam)

COMMAND:

IC- Broad term for an individual who is the Commander or 'In Command' (Examples: Section IC, Platoon IC, Company IC)
2IC- Broad term for an individual who is 'Second in Command' (Examples: Section 2IC, Platoon 2IC, Company 2IC)
CM- Commissioned Member. A Canadian Forces member who holds a commission from the Queen or reigning Monarch of England. Typically known as "Officers" (2nd Lieutenant and above)
NCM- Non Commissioned Member of the Canadian Armed Forces (Private Basic- Chief Warrant Officer)

GEAR:

CADPAT- Canadian Disruptive Pattern (The camouflage pattern printed on combat uniforms, body armour, tactical vests, helmets, etc).
COMBAT SHIRT- A combat shirt is different from the traditional military top. It is a top designed to be worn beneath heavy sweat inducing body armour. The torso is made of a soft, moisture wicking material similar to that of Under Armour to provide comfort. The arms are made of traditional uniform material and still have the CADPAT camouflage printed on them. (For a visual, search "Cadpat Combat Shirt" on google images).
TAC VEST- Short for Tactical Vest. Tactical Vests are load bearing equipment that hold useful supplies for soldiers. Specifically ammunition, grenades and medical supplies.
IFAK- Individual First Aid Kit. A personal kit for a soldier usually mounted on their vest.
FRAG VEST- The Canadian Forces' Frag Vest is designed to protect against fragmentation, however has since seen an upgrade featuring slots for ballistic plates to protect the wearer's vital organs.
LEVEL 3+ PLATES- Ballistic plates designed by AR500 Armor. Significant protection from firearms.

INFANTRY WEAPONS:

C7A2- Standard Issue Rifle to the Canadian Armed Forces. Similar platform to the US Armed Forces' M4 and M16 series. 5.56x45mm round.
C8- Carbine variant of the C7A2. (Shorter barrel length than the full sized C7A2).
C9A2 LMG- Canadian Forces Light Machine Gun. Extremely similar to the US armed forces' M249
C6 GPMG- The C6 General Purpose Machine Gun is a platoon weapon chambered in 7.62 caliber rounds. There is generally one per platoon, however, it can also be mounted on top of vehicles such as the LAV III
BROWNING HI-POWER- Standard handgun of the Canadian Forces. Typically used by officers and section commanders, however on deployments they are issued to common troops. (Yes, it is 'Hi' Power, not 'High' Power oddly enough). Chambered in 9mm.
M203- Grenade Launcher capable of being under mounted to the C7A2. 40mm Grenade.
C-13- Standard issue fragmentation grenade for use by Canadian Infantry.
FOURTY MIKE MIKE- Another name for the M203 grenade launcher. The weapon fires 40mm grenades and the phonetic alphabet title corresponding with M is Mike.
THE 9- Slang for the C9A2 LMG
CARL GUSTAV- The Carl Gustav, or Carl G, is an 84mm 'recoilless rifle' capable of anti armor missions. It is a shoulder mounted rocket launcher.
M32 MGL- A revolver style grenade launcher used by the USMC (United States Marine Corps).

NON-INFANTRY WEAPONS:

JDAM- The Joint Direct Attack Munition is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather "smart" munitions. Canadian variants require laser targeting from troops on the ground.
MARK-45 NAVAL ARTILLERY- Features an automatic loader with a capacity of 20 rounds. These can be fired under full automatic control, taking a little over a minute to exhaust those rounds at maximum fire rate. The gun is designed for use against surface warships, anti-aircraft and shore bombardment to support amphibious operations.
25MM CANNON- The primary weapon of the LAV III. Fires heavy 25mm rounds. Can be referred to as "The 25"
ARTY- Short for Artillery.
AA- Anti-Air

VEHICLES:

CF-18- Canadian F/A-18E/F Super Hornet variant.
MILCOT- Military Commercial Off the Shelf (Military acquired vehicles)
CH-146 GRIFFON- The Bell CH-146 Griffon is a multi-use utility helicopter of the Huey family, designed by Bell Helicopter Textron as a variant for the Canadian Armed Forces
CH-148 Cyclone- The CH-148 is designed for shipboard operations and is intended to replace the venerable CH-124 Sea King, which has been in operation since 1963. Primarily operated by the RCAF
LEOPARD 2A4M CAN MBT- The Leopard 2A4M Main Battle Tank is the Canadian Forces' tank of the armoured corps. Originally made in Germany, the Leopard 2 has seen many upgrades and changes at the hands of the Canadian military.
SEA KING- The Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King is a anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed for shipboard use by Canadian Naval forces, based on the US Navy's SH-3 and has been continuously in service with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Canadian Forces since 1963.
SEA AVENGER- Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike aircraft.
LAV- Light Armoured Vehicle. Standard troop transport and defensive vehicle used by Canadian Infantry
RHIB- Rigged Hulled Inflatable Boat. Fits 8-12 people including a driver and an optional gunner on the bow
HMCS ALGONQUIN- Iroquois class destroyer used by the Royal Canadian Navy from 1973- 2015. Carries the NATO standard DDG classification.
HMCS BONAVENTURE- Fourth and final aircraft carrier used by the Royal Canadian Navy.
After a service of 14 years she was decommissioned and scrapped in 1971.
HMCS ENDEAVOUR- Research ship that was first through the anomaly. The Polar Class 2 Icebreaker was commissioned by the Canadian Coast Guard, later procured for the expedition.
HMCS SIR ISAAC BROCK- Canadian Amphibious Assault Ship, based upon the American Wasp Class under the same classification. Modified from the American design to complement fixed wing aircraft.
HMCS VICTORIA- One of four long-range hunter-killer (Sub-Surface Killer) submarines of the Royal Canadian Navy, the lead ship of her class. She is named after the city of Victoria, British Columbia.
USS PENNSYLVANIA- SSBN- 735 serves as one of many American Ohio-class submarines, outfitted with 24x TRIDENT II Nuclear cruise missiles. With a 475 Kiloton yield per missile, 735 as well as her sister ships, serves as an important part of America's Nuclear Triad.

POLITICAL:

PM- Prime Minister of Canada
MND- Minister of National Defence
CDS- Chief of the Defence Staff
NATO- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
J.A.G- Judge Advocate General. Entity responsible for providing lawyers for military cases in summary trials or court marshals.

NAVAL TERMINOLOGY:

BOW- Front of a boat
CIC- Combat Information Center
CVN- Hull Classification symbol. "C" means aircraft carrier, "V" indicates fixed wing (vice rotating wings as on helicopters), and "N" stands for nuclear powered. So CVN means "aircraft carrier, fixed wing, nuclear powered". 001 represents the ship's Identification number to other NATO vessels on sonar.
CIWS- (Sea-whiz) or Close-In Weapons System or any variant is standard on all NATO vessels and is capable of firing radar guided 20mm shells from is gatling gun on a swiveling base. Nicknamed 'R2D2' Because of the dome like housing.
C.O.- Commanding Officer of the vessel. Commonly referred to as "Captain" although rarely does a C.O hold such a rank. Unless an officer aboard holds the rank of Captain than the crew is free to call his/her C.O the captain. Typically the "Captain" has the rank of Commander despite being the "Captain" (Senior Officer) of the vessel. (Confusing, right?)
EMP- Electromagnetic Pulse. Short circuits all technology within a given range
X.O.- Second in Command of the Vessel. Typically the X.O. holds the rank of Lieutenant-Commander
FANTAIL- Rear gangway system that spans the entire vessel
FLANK SPEED- Flank speed is a nautical term referring to a ship's true maximum speed, but it is not equivalent to the term full speed ahead. Usually, flank speed is reserved for situations in which a ship finds itself in imminent danger.
HELM/HELMSMAN- Junior officer in command of steering the vessel while under the command of a senior officer. Helmsman is bound to follow the orders of these officers even if it threatens the safety of the ship and cannot make judgement calls on behalf of officers.
HMCS- Her Majesty's Canadian Ship.
KNOT- Unit of speed that represents one nautical mile. Equivalent to 1.8 km or 1.1 miles.
NAV/ NAVIGATION OFFICER- Typically the third highest ranking member of the command crew and is in charge of updating the C.O or X.O with relevant navigation data and updates from the ship's CIC, flight control and listening stations.
OOW- Officer of the Watch. Also acts as a temporary commanding officer if the X.O or C.O is not present on the bridge.
PORT- Left-hand side of the ship
REVOLUTION LIMITERS & ENGINE SAFETIES- Safety protocols to protect the engines from long term damage due to overworking. Such protocols can be temporarily overridden to increase the speed of a vessel when receiving resistance from the sea or to decrease the distance to a target.
TAO- (Tee- aee-oh) Tactical Operations Officer who is in charge of coordinating fire control on a naval vessel.
QUIET ORDERS- Systematic orders to reduce the effects of sonar upon a target by reducing the amount of noise and visual identification markers on the surface.
STARBOARD- Right-hand side of the ship
STERN- Back of a ship

BASES:

CFB Petawawa- Headquarters for 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
CFB Esquimalt- Headquarters for the Canadian Pacific Fleet. Located on Victoria Island, British Columbia.
CFB Halifax- Headquarters for the Canadian Atlantic Fleet. Located in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
UNS BASE GUAM- United States Naval Station Guam is one of many NATO designated ports for member nations to use and serves as an ANNEX for Navy ordnance

MISC:

DANGER CLOSE- A warning to ground forces that an attack from artillery or air units may be dangerously close to their position. Within 500m of the unit in question.
BMQ- Basic Military Qualification that ALL Canadian Forces members (Regardless of trade they chose) must go through prior to trade training (An Infantry soldier must do BMQ before going on his/her Infantry course)
OPERATION OVERLORD- The Allied assault on Normandy on June 6th 1944 during the Second World War. Regarded as the largest amphibious assault in human history.
AAR- After Action Report
CCP- Casualty Collection Point
FOB- Forward Operating Base
CONCERTINA WIRE- Coils of barbed wire
ACK- Acknowledged
ROG- Roger