Chapter 16: Into the city of the dead
AN: 30k+ words peeps! Just a little FYI guys the no review= castration policy is still in effect. Don't be afraid to ask me questions or criticize I like the attention XD Forgot to mention this in my last chapter, you know that awesome new story bio I have well that's all thanks to my buddy CC whose stories you should really go check out if you're interested in a military fic with badass characters (Like Kale and Shauno for instance).
[Traveling to Glenn, Ramirez]
I've always hated flying actually no it was more than that. I hated putting my life in the hands of others but at the same time I hated having the lives of others in my hands. You could call me a hypocrite I guess but the reality is I should have never been in the military. I had perfect grades, a rich family, and a grandfather who was and is a general in the marines. Most would say I hadn't earned my position fairly, most would say I was too young to lead a hundred men, most would say I didn't have much of back bone.
Most were right.
I'd like those people to see me now though, I've won battles I should have had no part in, my men would die for me and I for them. The most important change for me though was my change from skinny little nerd boy that got shoved in lockers to the man I was now. My own mother didn't recognize me after Ruben field; no she didn't want to recognize me.
I may not want to have the lives of these men in my hand but I wouldn't trust anybody else for the job. I could only feel pride every time I looked through my ranks, soldiers who listened to my every word and looked to me for advice. As heavy as the burden was this position had it merits.
"Want to join the mile high club Captain? "My aide wasn't one of them.
It was funny how fast I went through the ranks; no one could deny that there wasn't some kind of outside force. It was even funnier when a day after I had become Captain here comes Layla. Straight out of the marines before her enlistment ended and assigned as my personnel aid. It was bad enough that he was giving out handouts but he had to put her by my side to remind me why I was where I was. My aide my ass, no doubt every time I took a piss my grandfather knew about it.
"Caaaaappppttttaaain."
Don't think that I hate my grandfather; I loved him more than my own father. I use to sit on his lap and listen to his times in the military while my dad was busy running around with woman that weren't mom. I loved the rank; I even loved having not to work fifteen or so years to get it. I didn't love the fact that I hadn't earned it, no matter how many military accomplishments my Company racked up I would still just be that guy who accepted a handout.
Enough about personal shit though or I'm going to be the first twenty-six year old with wrinkles. This mission should take no longer then a few hours. The roads to the city and into the city were mostly intact so mobility wasn't going to be a problem making my life a lot easier. Any small fry grimm would be easy pickings as well and I wouldn't have to worry about the possible monarch that would be the headhunters problem.
"Are you ignoring me?!"
It was probably a good idea to leave all the heavy armor, having one of those skyscrapers fall down on us wouldn't be any fun. The building has a large open area surrounding it making it the perfect place to defend against grimm. After Saber-One-Alpha and his team finishes there little Boy Scout mission we will high tail it out of there. As long as we don't encounter a monarch personally there should be no causalities.
"Captain!"
Unloading and loading the Geckos would be the most dangerous part of this mission. It'll leave us open, especially if we are being chased by a horde. If it comes to that I'm ditching the vehicles and getting my men into the Bullheads, let the higher ups chew my ass out. My soldiers are worth more than a few hunks of metal.
"Sir, ETA five mikes." The pilot yelled from his position.
"Roger, you heard the man!" I spoke through the comms "Saddle up!"
"Cap-tain" Layla whined
"Sergeant Major, prep for landing."
"You're no fun."
I took a seat with my XM10 siting on its ass between my legs. The XM10 had seen a lot of action the last couple of years, after seeing the other countries modernize Vale didn't want to be left behind so than came the XM series. The weapon of the future designed by Atlas Arms it went through many prototypes before it was deemed worthy.
The gun had a rectangular look to it like most weapons made by Atlas Arms and was a solid black chrome color. It was almost too long and the backwards handle was a bit awkward at first but the link between the gun and our helmets HUD was anything but. It showed where the end of barrel was pointing and how much ammo was in the magazine which was in the back under the stock. The sight of which I had removed opting for iron sights was pretty unique as well. The weight was surprisingly lighter than you would expect given the size.
"Three Mikes!"
I did a once over on my gun for the twelfth time making. Than making sure all of my equipment was in place. A quick tug here and there to make sure all of it was tied down.
"Two Mikes!"
I pulled my bayonet from it sheath and attached it to my gun. You don't want a sharp pointy object out when you're going through turbulents.
"One Mike!"
I retch up and pulled down my faceplate, the boomerang shaped yellow visor blocking out bright lights and little blimps popping up on my soldiers displaying their service code and id, the bottom sporting a filtration unit.
"GO GO GO!"
The side doors opened and we attached the cables to ourselves and rappelled down.
[Outside of Glenn, Thomas (Alpha-Two)]
"GO GO GO!" Yelled one of the pilots through my radio, I pulled the slide back for my XM13 and jumped trusting my aura to protect me and protect me it did. I landed on my knees rolling into it, my joints groaning in protest.
"Show off!" Auburn bitched
This old man's still got game, the other soldiers were busy rappelling down when the first Beowulf clawed his way through the dense tree line surrounding the cracked road. A pack had probably sighted us during our decent.
He was little small by most Beowulf standards and lacking the white bone plating covered fur. He didn't let that hold him down, literally. He was approaching the rappelling soldiers at break neck speed that would put most cars to shame.
A short burst from my rifle sent him to his grave but he was not alone, a few more came from the same direction he had proving my hypothesis about the pack. Some of the soldiers were touching down now and aiding me in the turkey shoot.
Dagger Company lived up to its name as crack soldiers, most of their shots hitting the torso and up on the moving grimm. Still nowhere near as good as headhunters though. Auburn did a little flip at the end before landing next to me trying to outdo my previous performance.
"That was weak"
"Shut up asshole"
The Beowulf were starting to thin out from the collective fire from our guns. The last one was a bit stubborn as he pushed on even after sustaining multiple injuries only to be mowed down by one of the Gecko's HMG.
The troopers of Dagger finished unloading the remaining Geckos and signaled the Bullheads to take off. They secured a defensive area around their colleagues as they checked the Geckos to make sure everything was in working order.
We had landed a little ways out of the city on an abandoned road filled with overgrowth and cracks, the roads were quite large compared to those of Vale. The ocean could be seen a little ways to the left and a scattered forest on the right.
"We're good!" A Dagger specialist raised his voice so everyone could hear him, Communication devises were made for a reason.
"Mount up you ingrates!" The Captain ordered his 'ingrates' "Alpha team, take the middle Gecko. We can't have you getting a hang nail on the way there."
A leader with spunk, I can respect that. I made a scene holding the door open for Auburn to which he saluted me with his middle finger. The Driver was one of Daggers but Leo took the HMG and Robert set up front leaving the rest of us to squish ourselves into the back.
The head Gecko most likely harboring the Captain launched with a start speeding its way down the ruined road followed by those behind it. The gecko in front of us moved to join the convey with our driver right on its ass.
Our driver was a bit young compared to the rest of Dagger team that was comprised of seasoned vets. His faceplate was pulled up most likely from nervousness baring his face to the world. He had the beginnings of a five a clock shadow and the signs of someone seeing battle for the first time. Lucky for him, it's always easier to fight mindless beasts than it is the White Fang.
He was trying to act tough, whether it was because of the reputation of our sector or our female member was unknown. The latter proved correct as he tried to strike up a conversation with Peach. His endeavors were fruitless.
[Patch, Biggs (Delta-Two)]
Tomorrow I'm going to tear that faunus another shit hole. I'm still pissed that Lt didn't let me do it in the first place but I'll get my chance with the animal so I'm satisfied. Besides I've got lots of things to keep my mind off of it, things like a warm bed, warm food, and pretty school girls.
Then there's this asshole.
"What do you want asshole?" I said while walking up to the older man on the bench.
"Don't piss me off." He growled, Cold blue eyes met my own.
"What do you want?" I repeated
"Straight to the point, I like that."
"Think I give a fuck what you like? Even if I hate the fuanus your still a terrorist is my eyes."
"A terrorist that you are holding a conversation with instead of reporting."
I had nothing to say to that.
"We wouldn't be talking if I didn't think you had some kind of potential, my hunch paid off it seems."
"If you think I'm going to switch from badass government soldier to dirty terrorist you're out of your mind."
"You realize that we are one of the most well equipped organizations in Remnant? But you shouldn't go assuming id want your big mouth working for me in the first place."
"Quit playing games what do you want?!"
"The fuanus you captured, I want five fours with him."
"Now I know you're insane." I laughed "You think I would let a terrorist in on military business ?!"
He smiled
"What?"
The smile turned feral
"What?!"
"Have you asked your captive about 'Kraken'?" The terrorist was now the one laughing "Of course you haven't, you don't even know what it is! Erwin this Erwin that, That's all the military has been thinking about no better yet all he's wanted you to think about." He slapped his knee "You've got a fucking animal leading you around with a leash and collar!"
"What's the hell is 'Kraken'?" Fucking asshole is just trying to provoke me, I need to calm down. I was failing however because I didn't even realize he somehow knew about the captive.
"You tell me badass government soldier, you've been given a wonderful opportunity and you guys are just focused on finding the man who's most likely moved after learning his right hand man has went missing. So here's how this going to go, you're going to give me what I want and in return I'll tell you all kinds of wonderful things." He stood up and pushed past me "We are one of the same."
Fuck you
[Glenn outskirts, Dagger Company and Alpha team]
"Motherfuckers on the right!"
The convoy had almost made it to the desolate city, the crumbling skyscrapers becoming visible over the heavy forage. A large Beowulf pack had decided to give chase to the stronger and faster convoy. Poor bastards were getting mowed down.
Dagger Company was proceeding nicely to the objective only encountering the beowulfs and nothing else. The Gecko gunners had begun making bets on who could kill the most. Alpha-Four was leading by a good three kills to the second place contender.
A rather ballsy and pain resistant Beowulf broke through the barrage of bullets to slam into one of the Geckos sending it slightly off course but nothing the driver couldn't handle. The Gecko swerved for moment before returning to its original position.
Ramirez watched through the rearview mirror with bated breath. Everything was going swimmingly and he could only hope things stayed on that course. He had opened his door long ago and was taking shots at passing Grimm, the doors to a gecko opened upwards for this exact reason so they didn't catch any air.
An Ursa major roared its anger to the passing convoy and even attempted to follow them invoking a comedic reaction from the soldiers.
Ramirez went over the map downloaded onto his scroll once again to make sure se he could properly direct the driver without having to refer back to it. Thankfully they would be going through the more open parts of the city instead of the smaller in closed streets.
The Gecko hit a large pot hole causing him to cup check himself.
"Cap-tain need me to massage that for you." Layla inquired
"Don't you have a bet to lose?" He breathed out while cupping his scrotum
Interactions like these were common between the two. There was a pattern, Layla suggest something in the form of sexual harassment and the Captain would either ignore her completely or send her away to do something exhausting. Alas, she never quit though whether it be a suggesting comment or quick ass grab.
"He's only leading by two points-" The HMG came to life on some poor Beowulf "One point, so captain looks like ill have some pocket money after this little game. What's the going rate?"
"Sergeant Major if you're suggesting some form of prostitution I will personally have make sure you find yourself cleaning the men's bathroom when you get back." Damn Ramirez how many guys can say theve had a pretty woman offer to pay them for sex, loose the stick out of your ass.
"I would never imply something as demeaning as that to our wonderful and glorious Captain."
"Good."
"But if the offer happened to get thrown out there…."
Back at Alpha Teams Gecko the same scenario was playing but with different rules.
"So ugh do you have a boyfriend?" Realizing how bold it sounded he added "I mean what's your name?"
The male members of Alpha Team would have intervened had it been anyone but this guy but watching the guy squirm and Peach's growing aggravation was just too good to give up.
"None of your business."
"Which one?"
"Neither."
"Oh…." The embarrassment was eating him alive much to the enjoyment of Alpha team minus Peach who was just glad that he quit his pitiful attempts.
"She doesn't have a boyfriend and her names Peach." Informed Auburn trying to control his laughter as the soldier took the information as encouragement and again pursued the medic. Auburn's chest was beginning to hurt from attempting to contain himself from having a laughing fit. When he spared a glance at Peach though he was given a look he would never forget in his now possibly short life.
She dropped the look for a closed eye smile to the sniper. "Raincheck" His fate was sealed with one word.
"If you jump out right now at least you have a chance with the Beowulfs." Thomas deadpanned
Auburn was to grief stricken to rise to the comment with a comeback.
"May god help you….." Robert prayed for his teammate
Back in the front Ramirez could make out the closing entrance of the city, the real mission starts now. He slipped his scroll into his pocket and radioed the other Geckos through his helmets built in comms. When entering the city they would close the distance between their vehicles until they arrived to there destination to prevent someone from going off course.
He closed the side door due to the closed in spaces they were getting ready to go through so a ambushing Grimm couldn't snag him out and enjoy a full course 'Captain Ramirez special'.
The Gecko lurched through the beginning of the city before slowing down for the others. The gunners now a lot more alert without their speed and open terrain advantage. Anyone of the buildings could be harboring a man-eater.
The city invoked an eerie feeling to all those who entered. The quiet streets, the empty buildings, the state of disarray all a symbol of the Grimm's victory here. A picture of what Vale would like if ever overrun.
No living human had stepped foot here since its fall, the stone structures serving as large headstone to those who had died here…
Welcome to the city of the dead.