The Eternal Commander

Chapter 11

The Wicked Never Rest

Two weeks earlier

Despite the sun going down more and more, the forest itself was just as loud as it was a couple of hours ago. The only difference was that the animals making them.

One of these animals was a group of primarily furless bipedal who set up a camp in a clearing. Everything about the base just screamed 'nomadic lifestyle,' like a lack of fortified defence and a few vehicles nearby.

Everyone wore a black-and-white uniform, with a mask covering their entire face. None of them seemed in a light-hearted mood. On the contrary, they were intense, wanting to be part of the action. But there was nothing to do. Their patience waivered by the minute. Despite trying to distract themselves with games, stories, drinking, or sex, every single attempt failed to lighten them up.

One tent was somewhat different. Unlike the rest, it was slightly more prominent, and its insides had additional furniture besides beds to sleep in and chests to store equipment. It also had a table with a detailed map of Remnant next to it.

The red-haired, masked man remained quiet as he was reading something. He was deep in his thoughts, not caring about the outside world.

At least he would have, if not for the black-haired girl standing next to him. She wore black-and-white clothing, with a black ribbon decorating her head.

"So, are you sure about this, Adam?" She questioned.

"Yes. This will be one of our greatest triumphs. We won't have any opportunity like this, so the time to strike is now." Adam said as he was looking at a blueprint of a building. "After that, we will create chaos to get much-needed resources. Have you managed to acquire the train schedule for the next month?"

"Yes, it should arrive momentarily. But Adam, if this is our greatest Triumph, why won't you let me partake in it?" The cat girl huffed in frustration.

"Blake," answered Adam, "I have told you before: There is a higher than usual chance that this will go badly. And I don't want to put you in any more danger than necessary."

"But I am not that young girl I was when you took me in. You have trained me to fight. You have trained me to think. Without hesitation, I have killed many on your orders. And yet you want me to do something else?!"

"Yes, you have matured. But you still have much to learn about our ways."

"Do you mean that you think civilian causalities are perfectly acceptable?!" Shouted Blake.

"You seem to think that there is such thing as a civilian. We are fighting a war against humans. And in that war, there are only enemy combatants. I would have chosen to do it that way if there was any other way."

Blake became confused upon hearing these words.

"You see, humans react only to one thing: Violence. Give them an open hand, and they will raise their fists. Give them a hug, and they will push you away. Give them compliments, and they will give you insults. Give them love, and they will only give you hatred."

"But you can't just think of them as a hive mind! There are a lot of sympathizers in many parts of Remnant."

"It's easy being a sympathiser. It gives you the comfort that you are not as hateful as the others around you. That you actually care about others. It makes you think that you are doing enough. But you are not. A couple of kind words won't erase racism. A positive comment on a forum won't make it easier for the discriminated. You are supporting the system with your inaction. Sympathisers are cowards because they lack the will to act. They are cowards, who will abandon your cause at the first sign of trouble. I despise them. They are no better than the system they claim to be against."

Blake heard these words before. They had arguments about how far their methods should go, and Adam was always the more radical. She looked up to him, but at the same time, this thought made her question if her loyalty toward him was worth it.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she turned around and left the tent in a hurry without saying goodbye.

Adam was not in the mood to stop his apprentice. Of course, she always had her own ways of doing things, so disagreements were not uncommon. Still, he thought that given time, she would understand the meaning of his words.

But Blake was not the only person in his head. There was someone else. Someone he had his eye on for a while now.

Adam knew that this operation was a risky one. The eyes of the kingdoms will be on them, including the Commander. He was different than the others. He knew that he was willing to help the cause. But he was still new on the playing field. An unknown.

And there was the only way to test his resolve.

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"Any new demands?"

"No, still the same."

The Chief of the Vale Police Department, Lucas Robles, was still shocked at the current line of events. It was unlike anything he had seen before. Sure, the White Fang was always a thorn in the Department's hand, with a long list of crimes, including robbery, assault, inciting riots, smuggling, illegal drug and weapon trading, and the occasional murder. But they were willing to go far.

However, even for them, this move seemed a bit ballsy. Infiltrating a luxury hotel, taking the executive board of the SDC and the staff hostage, and demanding the dissolution of the company was not something he expected to happen.

The man in front of him, Caelestis Abano, was unhappy. "Kale," as he was known in the Department because he tended to make funny faces, especially when annoyed by the lack of professionalism around him, was walking in circles. While he was trying to find a solution, his mind was a mess.

"What about the other huntsmen we have?"

"You mean the one who is not on vacation right now and we have been unable to contact? He is still lying on a hospital bed in a coma after that nasty bite. The doctors said they needed three more days to completely heal it and two days to rest. Apparently, it was a previously unknown venom, so they need to create a cure first."

"So, Chief, what can we do if we don't have any available huntsmen? Do you anyone has any type of experience or expertise when it comes to hostage rescue in this fucking Department?!" The officer was getting frustrated. He picked up the pace more and more.

"If only I knew, Lieutenant. Look, I have mentioned before and will repeat it: while I understand your complaints when it comes to… everything in this Department, I urge you to behave. Besides, I have no idea how we can function with a budget like this. So, we can't even offer a good enough salary for a new huntsman."

"Can we get a little bit of raise, just in case? You know, because we are an important part of any functioning society!"

"If we can convince the council that we are just as important as Beacon Academy, then maybe we could get some money. In other words: no."

The cop wanted to shout in frustration, but he was too tired at that point.

He wanted to leash out. He tried to turn over his boss' table, tear up the books on the shelves, yell at him, turn around, kick the door open, and do unthinkable things to those idiotic morons who are his "colleagues." Finally, he just had enough of them. Enough of their lack of professionalism. Their lack of success in anything other than being idiots. Their ways of making him a joke for trying to change things up so they can actually stop criminals other than jaywalkers. And the Council of Vale, for trusting more in mercenaries, than their dedicated Department for upholding the rule of law.

He was too tired to deal with all of this.

Suddenly, the door was swung open, with a man who looked like a horse and exhausted from a race.

"Boss, you need to see this!" He said, holding a tape. The boss didn't say a word. Instead, he just nodded while making a surprised face.

He quickly inserted the player on the shelves, turned off the lights, and they all watched it.

They were quiet while watching the video, but eternally, they were screaming. And when it ended, they were in shock, unable to do anything.

"We need to call GDI to deal with the matter!" Broke the silence of the Chief.

"Why…why them?!" Asked Caelestis.

"Lieutenant, you have seen the state of this Department with your own eyes. Do you really think they could mount a hostage rescue operation? Of course not. It would be a disaster! And even if we had any available huntsmen, they would be useless since they have not been trained to deal with this. So, tell me, Lieutenant, who else should we turn to!?"

The cop wanted to say something in return, but he couldn't. He could only stare in silence as his boss reached for his phone.

He knew that there would be no going back.

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Weiß was having the worst day of her life.

No, scratch that! She was having the worst week of her life.

It all started with the attack. It was during the morning hours when everyone was still tired from jetlag.

Some of them came charging through the doors. Others came from hiding places she did not even know about. They entered her room, took away her weapon, knocked her out, and bounded her. She could not do anything, as the members of the executive board and the hotel's staff were taken hostage.

For the next few days, she didn't know what to do. While they gave all of them food and water and allowed them to use the toilets, they kept following them everywhere, seldom taking off the eyes of the hostages. They didn't talk much, and she was only able to exchange whispers with the others during the few moments of privacy. It was nerve-wracking.

At the moment, she was kneeling in what was supposed to be the room for the conference. But instead, it was used for housing the most high-profile hostages. The SDC's CFO, CBO, and the Chief of Staff were on one side of the room, beat up and in sleazy clothes. On the other side was Weiß herself, who, unlike the other hostages in the room, was not blindfolded but was still gagged. Between them was a row of guards eyeing them with weapons.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and a couple more White Fang grunts entered the room. Strangely, one of them had a camera, with an appropriate tripod along with it. They quickly managed to set it up, facing the high-profile hostages in the room. Then the one with the camera gave a thumbs up.

They didn't say a single word during this. They knew exactly what they wanted.

After the signal, one behind the hostages started talking.

"It's been four days. We have given you our demands, yet you have failed to do anything about them. We have the company's leaders in our custody, yet you have failed to act. You may think we are bluffing, but you have underestimated us." Then he pulled the gun from his pocket and pointed towards the back of one of the hostages.

The CFO, through great struggle, managed to free himself from his gag and started pleading.

"Please, don't do this! I have a fa-!" Before he could finish his sentence, the bullet went through his head, leaving a messy bullet hole on his forehead.

Immediately, a series of shots were fired, and the hostages were lying on the ground with large, bleeding wounds. But, of course, the masked faunus was not bothered by these gruesome murders.

"You have one hour to comply with our demands, or everyone in this building will suffer the same fate."

He quickly nodded, and the one behind the camera turned the device off. Then, the rest of the guards picked off the hostages and carried them out of the room. None of them said a single word during all of this.

Weiß tried to struggle against her binds to free her hands or legs, or at the very least her mouth, just so she could do or at the very least say something. But it was futile. Those binds were sturdy, not giving her any opportunity to act.

After everyone else left the room, the hostage executor approached her and leaned closer to her face.

"Soon, this will be your fate, you little bitch. Your days of enjoying a life of luxury built on the slavery of people are no more. Soon, your head on a spike will be the sign of change, and you will be remembered as the face of the oppressors. I hope you will suffer in your last moment."

She wanted to scream for help. But she was unable to do so.

A/N: Okay, this chapter took much longer than anticipated. I mentioned it in the update before the reasons for it.

Still, I want to reassure you guys unless I say it explicitly, I won't cancel or abandon this story. And I still want to continue it.

Comment replies!

mrwinterdk: Well, I am glad you are looking forward to the story.

Guest: Update

Janny092: I see why you would say that it was anticlimactic. But I didn't want that fight to drag on.

Interesting you pointed out the nativity. I never thought about it, but now that you have mentioned it, I think it is an interesting point.

By the end of the fic, the GDI will be strong enough to strike anywhere globally.

frankieu: The people of Remnant will one day know the GDI's true power.

snipervtk4: Okay, this might be one of the most extended comments I have ever received.

I honestly don't know how to reply; other than that, I want to thank you for typing that all out. I don't know if I can apply all of them in the story, but I will incorporate as many as possible.

wolves567: Don't worry. She already has her eyes on the GDI.

Monster King: Thank you!

I promise the next chapter will be longer. It will even feature a fight scene! I can't say exact relesase date, but I would say early spring, if nothing else.

See you guys next time!