Border Country, codenamed Hunter Breach
04:16 hours
"Disembark, platoon," Lieutenant Zlato shouts from the passenger seat of the M939, banging on the thick metal door. The 2nd Platoon of the VAF 4th Infantry Division climbs out of the med of the truck as it rolls to a stop. Among them is
Staff Sergeant Xiao Long. She scans the small Faunus shanty town with her deep purple eyes.
"Wait, this is it?" she asks. As far as border country villages go, this one is on the more malnourished side. Almost all of the buildings in the 500 ft. long town are constructed out of scrap metal, old vehicle parts, rebuilt rubble, plywood, and logs. Many of the houses are on top of rusting shipping containers, which have been there since the First Human-Faunus War; the original structures of the village, populated by 1st generation refugees. Tires and burn barrels are visibly lit, and the entire town reeks of bodily waste.
The only properly constructed buildings are the local police station, whose members have fled since the start of the war, and the Atlesian Army military outpost. Even though it stands only two stories high, it looks like a grand cathedral compared to the Faunus slums it surrounds. Atlesian Shock Troopers, the elite "lightning men" of the AA that were the spearhead of Atlas' fighting force, guard and patrol the dirty streets and bleach white checkpoint of the village.
"Never seen poverty, Sergeant?" Zlato asks sarcastically as he studies a map.
"I have, Sir, it's just that…shit, these people don't look good," Xiao responds. Only a few Faunus walk the torn up streets, keeping close to the buildings and ducking in and out of alleyways every time a Shock Trooper looked in their direction. Most of the traffic is above, where the Faunus use their heightened physical abilities to jump from rooftop to rooftop, the kids racing from the top of the tallest structures back to the top again. Apparently they used to be able to clear the whole street with a running start, but the AA don't allow it and shoot any that do it on site.
Wherever they are, they look exhausted. They wear heavily used and torn clothing, boots held together by tape, either hoods or hats pulled close to their eyes, and, most surprisingly of all, military gear. Not anything like the VAF or AA troops are wearing, mostly stuff that's been around since the First Human-Faunus War; old M1 and M36 helmets filled with dents and bullet holes, stitched up combat vests, looted gear from the police station, and various forms of eye protection, from cheap sunglasses to welding and ski goggles. The start of the war signaled most of the native border population to switch to their long stored militia wardrobe. Fortunately for the Coalition troops, Feds always wear uniforms, so civilian casualties are low; or supposed to be, anyway.
"Who are you guys?" a Shock Trooper asks Xiao and her platoon. The insignia for a captain is printed in black on the front of his blue and white helmet. A blue balaclava covers his face and an OLED targeting system over his right eye.
"I'm Lieutenant Svart, 2nd Platoon, 4th Infantry Division, Vale Armed Forces," Svart answers. "We're here on a mission to clear out a local Federation safe house."
"Sorry, this sector is completely empty of the Feds. We finished here weeks ago."
"So I guess it wouldn't hurt if we took a look around anyway?" Even with only one eye visible, Xiao could detect the glare in the Shock Trooper.
"Alright, go ahead. Just don't get in the way of my guys."
"I'll keep it in mind. Move out," Svart says to his platoon. The VAF soldiers fan out and slowly walk down the street.
Already bored by another search and destroy mission, Xiao kills time by studying the uniforms of the AA troops. In addition to the OPSEC lenses and Ops-Core helmets, each soldier wears a blue undershirt and trousers made 100% out of woven kevlar, starch white Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) covering their torso, modified with magazine pouches on the front and a stainless steel plate concealed inside, a utility belt that carries their pistol magazines, radio, first aid kit, MREs, and grenades, white pistol holder, knee pads and boots. And, of course, their ACR and Vector assault rifles and sling over their shoulders, and their Glock 22 pistols holstered on their hips.
Yang groans as she shifts the weight of her heavy M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) to make herself less uncomfortable. "Why the hell do we have to carry around all this old junk while Atlas gets special forces gear?" She thinks. She and her platoon are stuck with old and clunky PASGET body armor that was developed during peacetime, and has yet to be battle tested on a large scale. At least their weapons, M4s and HK416s for her platoon members and her LMG and Benelli M4 shotgun, are still reliable in this day and age. Xiao silently curses the radical militaristic Atlas government that showers the AA with a ridiculous budget.
"Sergeant Xiao, Private Alza," Svart calls out to her and a young brunette woman with teal eyes, and points passed Xiao, down an alleyway. "Take that route and make your way back to us.
"Yes, Sir," she and Alza says, and two soldiers veer their course in between the grey and brown shacks as Svart barks similar orders to the rest of the platoon.
"This really sucks," Xiao complains as they walk down the alley. Ther boots are stepping on more trash and debris than remnant.
"Why?" Alza asks. She was conscripted only four months ago, and was deployed last week, so she's yet to experience the daily routine that Xiao has been going through for the past two months.
"These missions are a waste of time," Xiao says. They turn a corner and move deeper into the village. A nearby door opens and a child begins to step out, but freezes in place when he sees the soldiers. An adult Faunus, presumably his mother, steps in front of him and slams the door shut.
"Taking out Federation hideouts is a waste of time?"
"Oh, no. That would be a great way to fight the Feds and reduce their foothold on the border countries. The only problem is that there's never any Feds where we're sent. Atlas always clears them out. Some high ranking pogue trying to show off to the AA."
"And you've been doing this since the war started?" Alza asks.
"Since the VAF sent us here, yeah."
"Well, at least it's easy, right?"
"Sure, it's easy. I don't want easy. I want to get some action, hear the bullets zip by, artillery land next to me. I want to spill some Faunus blood. The guys in Viktor Speeder are getting hell thrown at them. I heard one platoon got ambushed by a whole company and were completely slaughtered, and the Feds painted their half destroyed truck with their blood. And another time, I heard that the Feds used their dead and dying as meat shields to try and overrun a human position-" Xiao stops when she realizes that Alza wide eyed, shaking, and as pale as a ghost.
"On the other hand," Xiao says, switching gears. "Easy isn't all that bad. Actually, it's pretty good. Warm shower and bunk every night, right?"
"Yeah, right," Alza nervously chuckles.
They walk into walk looks like a small courtyard, across from where five shipping containers, four next to each other and one on top of the rest, are welded together and act as one large building. It's probably the largest structure in the whole village.
"Svart should be just across from here," Alza says, pointing and walking towards another alleyway. Suddenly, something catches Xiao's eye. "If we just go down-"
"Come here, come here," Xiao says hastily, walking passed towards the center of the courtyard, looking through a large pile of destroyed pallets and crates and trash, a mere five feet in front of the building. "Don't look directly, but do you see that Faunus on top of the roof, my nine o'clock?" Alza awkwardly turns around, then back again.
"Yeah, what about him?" she asks.
"His clothes are too clean, no military gear, standing out in the middle of the open. He's a disguised Fed."
"A Fed?" Alza whispers frantically. Xiao pretends to pick through the garbage, and Alza copies her.
"Shit, I didn't actually think we'd see one," Xiao says.
"So why are you smiling?" Alza asks.
"Because we're actually gonna do something this war."
"Well, what are we gonna do?" Xiao thinks for a moment.
"Well, where there's a Fed, there's a Fed building," she says. She looks at the building ahead.
"Bingo, see that graffiti on the top shipping container?" she says. Alza nods slowly when she spots the black circle with two triangles inside of it. "It's not graffiti, it's a simplified insignia of a Federation unit."
"Should we call for backup?"
"No, that Fed behind us is watching everything we do. We gotta do this alone, or at least hold out long enough for them to come to us."
"Alright, I'm game," Alza says, albeit fidgeting fingers and feet, but Xiao trusts her to keep her cool.
"Ok, you think you can pop that Fed in one shot."
"Of course, that's only like 20 feet."
"Good. When I tell you, take him out while I flashbang the front door. Fall in on me when you're done with him, then we move through the building, breach and clear each room."
"Roger that." Alza slowly moves her shooting hand to the trigger of her HK416.
"Ready?"
"Ready." Xiao takes a deep breath, unslings her IAR, and drops it to reduce weight and keep it from getting in her way.
"Go," she orders, and immediately turns and walks towards the building while Alza whips around and raises her rifle.
Xiao lifts up her shotgun and blows off the lock of the container as three gunshots let loose behind her, all from Alza's rifle. Xiao takes out a flashbang, pulls the pin, rip the door of the container open, chuck it inside, and moves to the side of the container as Alza joins her. The grenade goes off, and they move inside together.
There are five UFF soldiers inside, all of them covering their eyes and ears and staggering around the tight space, the effects of the grenade completely controlling them. Xiao expertly takes out three of them with three shotgun rounds while Alza finishes the last two off with a burst of rifle rounds. Xiao uses hand signals to tell Alza to move behind cover. When she does so, she advances.
An old wooden door, which must have been put in place of a whole in the container, flies open and three Faunus spill out. Alza is able to take down one before they open fire on her, pinning her down. Xiao has already crouched down where she was and sent pellets at them. One falls on top of the first as the other is only wounded and moves back inside his container.
"Suppress him!" Xiao shouts. The door from a third shipping container slowly opens directly in front of her, and she dives onto it, slamming it shut again. She stands up, raises her shotgun, and fires her final two shotgun shells into the wooden door, blowing the lower half into splinters. She drops the empty shotgun and takes out her pistol as Alza opens fire again.
"He's down!" she shouts.
"Cover me!" Xiao shouts back, and kicks in the remains of the door, not wanting to waste time looking through the hole in the door first.
She steps on top of the bloodied bodies of two Faunus and looks around the room. It must be their rec room, but food, tables and chairs, and…
"Why is only one table turned over?" she thinks to herself, but it doesn't take her long to figure out why. A Fed pops out from behind the table and raises his MTAR-21 over his head. Xiao sidesteps just as he shoots, and shoots herself, unloading her mag at him as the zipping sounds of bullets missing her skull by a handful of inches fills her ears.
The Faunus is struck at least five times by her pistol and falls over dead, but not before his last bullet strikes Xiao in the shoulder. Her outdated body armor takes most of the damage, but the sheer force of the bullet throws her against the wall, like a punch thrown by an invisible enemy.
She grimaces through the pain as she reloads her pistol, and looks down at her wound. She can feel the bullet when she shifts her shoulder. It feels like it's caught in the layer layer of her armor, stopping just before reaching her skin. Even so, it stings like a bitch.
She reloads her pistol and steps out into the doorway. She's about to shout to Alza to move to the final door, when she spots her, laying where she last saw her, her pool of blood slowly growing. Two Feds, one inspecting Alza's corpse and the other standing near the last door, which is now open, don't notice her at first.
Xiao's rage releases a new surge of adrenaline, blocking the pain in her shoulder completely. She grits her teeth and shoots the Fed near Alza in the head, dropping him on top of her. She immediately turns and unloads the rest of her mag on the final Faunus, who is caught in the leg on the first bullet and falls behind a body, which absorbs the rest of the bullets.
But Xiao isn't done yet. She won't allow Alza to die so soon for nothing, for one safehouse that shouldn't even exist. She'll make this fucker useful.
She walks over to him, picks him up, and slams him against the wall.
"I surrender!" he shrieks. Xiao starts digging in one of her pickets while holding him by the throat.
"You have less than two minutes to tell me exactly what I know before my platoon can stop me from killing you," she says monotonously. She pulls out an old photograph of a woman in military gear holding an LMG. She's wearing First Human-Faunus War era gear, and it's heavily creased from being folded and unfolded so many times. She shoves it in the face of the Faunus.
"Where is she?" she asks angrily.
"What the fuck, I don't know!" he says. Xiao slams him against the wall again. He cries out in pain.
"Look harder!" she shouts. The Faunus spits in her face.
"Fuck you, human scum!" he shouts. "Just fucking kill me already!" Xiao unsheathes her knife.
"Oh, now you got balls, huh?" she says. She stretches out one of the Fed's arms, and stabs his hand into the wall. The Faunus yells at the top of his lungs in pain as blood drips down the metal wall.
"Show me the fucking picture," he says through gritted teeth. She holds it up again, and the Faunus studies it like his life depends on it.
"One minute," Xiao reminds him.
"I've never seen her before in my life, I swear!" he tells her. His resistance lessens as he loses strength.
"Tell me who knows," Xiao says. "She was special forces, a POW during the First War."
"I'm a Captain, how should I-" Xiao takes the knife out, and the Fed cries out in pain again as his blood flows freely. He forms it into a fist and holds it against his chest. Blood oozes out in between his fingers.
"It goes in your throat next if you don't give me an answer now," Xiao threatens, holding the blade against the Faunus' chest.
"Someone in the intelligence branch would know, that's I can tell you, I swear!"
"Give me a name." When the Fed hesitates, Xiao presses the blade to his throat.
"Colonel Tukson! Colonel Tukson was an intelligence specialist during the First War. He retired shortly after."
"Where is he now?"
"Sergeant Xiao?" Svart calls out from outside. Xiao stares daggers at the Fed with her red eyes.
"I don't know, it's in the records." Satisfied, Xiao slams him into the wall one final time and lets him fall to the floor as Svart and the rest of the platoon enters the structure.
"Oh shit, medic!" Svart shouts, and a combat medic rushes to Alza and pulls the Faunus off of her. "Sitrep, Sergeant!" he says to Xiao. She slowly puts away the knife and picture.
"UFF safehouse discovered and raided. Twelve Feds and one friendly KIA, one Fed captured" she says as calmly as she can. The medic stands up and shakes his head, confirming it.
"Shit," Svart says. "Well, good job killing that many of the bastards anyway. Where's the captured one?" Xiao steps to the side.
"I surrender," the Faunus murmurs.
"Get him out of my face," Svart orders, and two platoon members haul him away as Shock Troopers flood the courtyard outside. "You good, Sergeant?" Xiao looks down as the medic covers Azla with a blanket, and feels the picture inside her pocket.
"Colonel Tukson," her mind repeats over
and over again.
"Yes, Sir," she answers. "I'm good."