Sorry for such a long delay! So much is happening outside of this it's hard to find a good time to write. Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter 9.
Chapter 9: Viper
Something about this morning just seemed…lazy. Maybe it was the lack of activity in the public areas, maybe it was the way the morning sun lingered on the horizon, filling the sky with orange and purple. We didn't have any missions scheduled, so I was hoping I could sleep in. Emil and Ozpin, on the other hand, still wanted me ready just in case of emergencies. There go my plans to wake up at eleven.
I trudged through breakfast in my jumpsuit, just in case I had to jump into Crescent Rose. But it was warm and breezy outside, so I sat on the edge of one of the old helipads that adorned the upper highway of Line Ark's connector with a small bowl of cereal. Up here, I could see the whole of the flooded city below, casting long shadows on the calm waters. This may have been the turbulent Atlantic Ocean before, but now waves were a rarity. Water itself in most other places was growing more and more scarce, just like crops. And also like crops, fresh water was considered essential for life and The League had declared that no one company could control all the sources. For all their failures and underhandedness, at least The League tried to provide basic rights for people. Although I'm sure none of it was Omer's doing.
As I crunched down on another spoonful of sugary Marshmallow Flakes, I saw a speck in the distance. Squinting in the light of the morning sun, the speck took on the form of a transport with GA markings, closing fast. I pulled out my comm pad.
"Hector? Did we have any incoming shipments scheduled for today?"
"No, why?"
"There's a chopper coming in, from GA."
"I'm with Oz and Glynda, we see it. We'll try hailing them now, but just in case something's wrong, report to the hangar."
"Right," I closed the pad and quickly headed for the nearest elevator. Normally we were given some kind of heads up about visits, owing to our unique political situation. Anything unscheduled could be a serious threat to our security, and we had to act accordingly. I stopped off at my room only to dispose of my cereal bowl and splash a little water in my face. When I entered the hangar, I could hear the roaring of our normal AC forces skating out onto the highway.
They had been training for years now, although none of them had seen real combat yet. Ironically, that slimy boy from our first day at Line Ark was now a higher ranking captain, with his own squad. By all accounts, he had really turned his attitude around. I guess Yang's beating had set him straight.
I walked over to a console where Hector stood with Glynda and Ozpin, all staring intently at a screen. Ozpin looked up at my approach.
"Glad you could join us Ms. Rose. We've been monitoring this transport for a few minutes, and it appears unarmed. Scans indicate it is empty, although this is still rather odd. Mr. Gustav is attempting to contact GA now, but be ready to arm yourself."
I nodded in acknowledgement as I craned my neck to get a look at the view screen. The helicopter was getting closer, and now hovered just outside the hangar doors. Twelve large guns surrounded it as the three normal squads took aim. A beep sounded off to my right, and I saw Hector turn aside to check his comm pad. He wore a relieved expression when he faced us again.
"That was Emil, he says to let them in. They're picking something up."
My brow furrowed with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. What would they be picking up from here? We didn't produce anything that we could spare. The large doors of the hanger shuddered as they opened, and natural light filled the room, riding on the breeze coming from the transport's rotors. As they touched down, a uniformed man stepped out from the transport bay.
"Hector, what are they picking up?" I asked without taking my eyes from the man.
"If you agree, they're taking you."
I turned to him mouth agape with confusion. If they wanted to pick up Crescent Rose, they wouldn't have landed where they did. She was stationed two spaces down from this entrance.
"Do they need me for a mission or what?"
"Why don't you go see for yourself."
I walked down the stairs to the pad apprehensively, and the uniformed man strode forward to meet me.
"Ms. Rose, your sister has requested your presence on a mission. She would ask you to join us as her operator, since Mr. Roadie is absent." He stared me down expectantly, and in a rather aggressive way. It was kind of unnerving. But I couldn't leave Yang hangin'.
I glanced over at Ozpin and Glynda, and they both gave nods of approval.
"Alright, I'll do it!" As soon as the words left my mouth the man wheeled and started back for the chopper briskly. I had to take longer than normal strides to keep up with him. "Where are we going? What's the mission?" I asked. The man answered over his shoulder as we took seats in the briefing room of the transport.
"Former Peace City Area. This is a training mission for our newest pilot, Don Colonel. The IU foolishly left a transport unit unguarded in the hopes that it could slip under our radar. Needless to say, it didn't work."
I nodded. This was the job Yang had mentioned yesterday. Although I wouldn't get to fight alongside my sister directly, at least I would get to see her again. And I would get to see this new pilot in action. With a little luck, we may have another ace on our hands. Roadie did mention he was a former normal pilot, so at least he would have some combat experience. In any case, Yang was there, so nothing could go wrong, right?
For a training mission, GA was a little heavy-handed with the amount of firepower allotted to our small party. From my seat in the sky, the video display and the radar picked out two NEXTs and six normals hidden among the blackened, eroded buildings jutting from the sand. The normals were armed with bazookas, similar to the ones we had back at Line Ark. Those alone would be enough to obliterate the four Interior Union trucks that puttered through the dunes. But two NEXTs as well? It would be a wonder if a single atom survived.
Don Colonel's NEXT, Wonderful Body, was constructed very similarly to Ember Celica. It was also covered in a darker military camouflage pattern and more heavily armored than Yang's flashy yellow machine. Also like Yang's, it was equipped with a set of shoulder mounted flares and had a spread bazooka in its left hand. Its back held a set of "Osage 03" and "Wheeling 01" vertical missiles, and its right hand held a standard issue rifle. A overall balanced build for physical weaponry, one that could perform adequately in nearly any situation. Now utilizing it effectively, on the other hand, was all up to the pilot.
"Hey sis, I see you got the message!" A cheery voice blasted through my headset. I turned the volume down. "Ready to watch a pro go to work?"
"Yang, technically I'm also a pro."
"Oh, alright miss know-it-all prodigy. I'll ask again, are you ready?"
"Yes, Yang, I'm ready." I shook my head and opened a channel to Don Colonel. "Mr., um, Colonel," I paused, unsure if that was his actual name or his rank. "This is Ruby Rose, I'll be serving as your operator for this mission. " The voice that answered was one of gruff confidence that only comes from having survived through years of conflict.
"Acknowledged miss Rose. Just call me Don." His comm clicked off abruptly.
Well he certainly didn't seem like the chatty type. I'm sure Yang will talk enough for the both of them. Suddenly, a tiny blip appeared on the edge of my radar. Then another, and another, and another.
"Alright everyone," I called. "Our targets have arrived, approaching from the south. Five minutes until they're in range, stay hidden in the city until then."
I was met with affirmative replies from both the normal pilots and Don Colonel. I thought I heard Yang grumbling, but she still confirmed my order. The wind began to pick up, and sand was kicked over the buildings, breaking on skyscrapers like a turbulent sea and caking everything in a layer of light brown. The radar display fizzled a bit, but then cleared. The camera, however, was slowly losing all image quality. If this got any worse, we might have a problem.
The sand on the video camera was so distracting that I failed to notice the transports had gotten within range, until Yang spoke up.
"Uh, Ruby? I have a visual on the transports and they're… stopped. Should we attack now?"
Snapping out of my stupor, I double checked the radar. Sure enough, four white dots were highlighted in a line parallel to the outskirts of the city. They were unmoving, collecting dust as the sandstorm grew.
"Did they break down?" Yang asked. She was hidden behind one of the taller buildings, but I could see the head of Ember Celica protruding from behind the corner. "We're hidden in this storm. We could take them now."
"She's right," Don Colonel added. "We should press the advantage while the enemy is off guard. Orders, miss Rose?"
"Alright, move in and take them out." I conceded. "Don, this would be a good time to get acquainted with the controls of Wonderful Body. Try to switch weapons and move around. If you can, get in the air."
"Understood, Wonderful Body moving out."
I watched with a teacher's eye as the large NEXT slid out from the tangled concrete jungle of the city and into the open desert. He seemed to have picked up ground boosting alright but—he just stopped to walk a few steps. And now he's boosting again…and walking again. Now boosting? I knew he hadn't had training, but there was no way his energy reserves were that low. Yang was following close behind, smoothly gliding across the sand with little effort. I could hear her over the comm channel.
"Don, what are you doing?"
"What do you mean miss Xiao Long?"
"Why do you keep stopping?"
"I'm trying to conserve energy ma'am."
"You don't need to do that though. The amount of energy used to boost over the ground is negligible. Remember, you're not in a normal anymore."
"Of course, you're right. I guess old habits die hard."
While I was glad Yang could take on the mentor role and help Don, if he regressed to his "old habits" during a serious fight, he was done for, no matter how heavy his armor was. Any LYNX, unless they're in a tank, still needs at least some speed if they want to survive.
As the two NEXTs neared their targets, the normal squad began emerging from the buildings and spreading out to form a perimeter, and watch for any other forces. For all their training though, if a NEXT came through here those normals were just as dead as Peace City. When I rotated the camera to view Yang and Don Colonel again, I thought I saw a small ball of light high in the sky off in the distance, but it was quickly obscured by sand on the lens. When it cleared, the light was gone, hidden again by a cloud of dust. I guess even the sun can't take the storm.
"This is Wonderful Body, commencing attack."
In the thick, gritty air, the flashing of a rifle and spread bazooka were silent and dim. Even the small explosions from the transports as their cabs caught fire and ignited the fuel didn't so much as put a dent in the curtain of sand. But the four flaming vehicles still lit up like beacons in the desert as Don Colonel fired a final rifle shot into the last one.
"Objective complete. How was that?" Don Colonel asked passively. And as quickly as the storm had begun, it started to fade. The light of day began to filter down through the settling sands, and the wind slowed back down to the stale breeze it was before.
"Well, you have a grasp of basic movement and weapon systems, but we need to work on more advanced techniques…" Yang's voice seemed to trail off as I scrutinized a tiny point in the sky. The light I had seen before, what I had thought was the sun, was gone. Instead, the sun shone from directly overhead, not coming in from the horizon. Rotating the camera, I again caught a glimpse of the yellowish ball. Only it wasn't a light anymore. It was exhaust from a missile.
The radar began to beep warnings as a purple triangle entered the mission zone. It was approaching fast, but upon visual inspection appeared to be just a small, single missile—no, not single, there were two behind it—no, not two ten, and more still coming! It was a chain of missiles, all headed straight for the two LYNXs standing over the flaming trucks.
"Ambush!" I screamed over the comms. Don Colonel and Yang both turned as their more limited radars picked up the contacts. "Flares out, flares out!"
"Whoa!"
"How do I—got it!"
Small balls of brightly burning magnesium compounds flew out in all directions, forming an umbrella encircling the two NEXTs. Yang and Don Colonel glided away from their position as missiles began to break off and head straight into the decoys. But the chain was not completely broken. As Yang and Don retreated into the city, I saw the normals scrambling for cover. All of them were enveloped in metal and fire, and either collapsed to the ground in pieces or scattered across the dunes. Within seconds, the attack was over.
"Don, Yang check in, are you damaged at all?"
"We're fine, Ruby. What about the others, are they…"
"They're gone Yang, I'm sorry. This was a trap, we need to get out of here before they can attack again."
"Where did it come from?"
"I don't know," I replied as I scoured the horizon for the source of the attack. "I'll call this in to GA headquarters, but it's probably from an artillery piece already zeroed in on this location. If we move we can…" I froze mid sentence as I found what I was looking for. It wasn't an artillery piece. It was a blue and white NEXT, over boosting to the edge of the combat zone. I recognized the thickly built, yet smooth build of the Interior Union's "Tellus" frame, and a pair of old Leonemeccanica "Lamia" Autonomous Seeking missile launchers. And in place of the arms was a custom Aurora AS missile arm part, with Scylla AS missiles mounted on them as well. There were enough missiles in that NEXT to level the entirety of Peace City; and only one LYNX I knew of with that setup.
"Yang, Don, we have Ay-Pool's Vero Nork incoming. It's only armed with missiles, so as long as your flares hold up, you should be okay." I breathed a sigh of relief. The pilot, Ay-Pool, may be an Interior Union veteran, but she was outnumbered and outgunned. Now that the element of surprise had been lost, she was vulnerable.
"Finally, they've thrown a NEXT at us. The Interior Union drag their feet too much. I'll take care of her." Don stated over the comm. As Wonderful Body began gliding forward to meet Vero Nork, Ember Celica also spurred to life and followed closely behind him.
"I've still got your back Don. Alone one of us might not have enough flares to survive all those missiles." Yang cautioned.
"Vero Nork's launching another salvo guys, but she's holding position; if you move in now you can catch her off guard between reloads." I said. On the radar I saw another purple chain of missiles coming from Vero Nork's red triangle streaking towards my team before they scattered and disappeared. The visual camera registered the glow of the flares and the boosters of the NEXTs as they all closed distance. Don Colonel was the first to get in weapons range.
"Firing now. Let's give her a taste of her own medicine."
The vertical missile launchers on Wonderful Body's back opened up and let loose a red torrent of explosives that went streaking high into the sky above Vero Nork. Yang continue dashing past Don as Ay-Pool frantically boosted away from her aggressors. Just as she raised her spread bazookas, something moving on the edge of the radar caught my eye. I studied the display carefully for a moment, and noticed it again. Another red triangle. A second enemy NEXT, moving at high speeds in a flanking approach. And it was heading straight for Don Colonel.
Quickly I swiveled the camera around to get a look at its armaments and identify it. To my surprise, the design was unfamiliar to me. It was a gold colored quadruped; a lightweight, fast variety manufactured by Algebra. But its weapon choices told me it was an independent merc: It had GA bazooka arms, similar to Roadie's, as well as a set of vertical missile launchers on its back, much like Don Colonel had and relations missiles on the shoulders. High speed and very hard hitting physical weaponry made for a deadly combination. One that was cutting trenches through the sand as it sped closer to the unsuspecting Wonderful Body.
"Don, contact on your five! Lightweight quadruped, high speed, vertical and relation missiles and bazooka arms."
"Where? I don't see—"
He was cut off by a series of simultaneous explosions that pulled my attention in all different directions. Yang had reached Vero Nork and was mercilessly pounding the white and blue NEXT with her spread bazookas while simultaneously popping flares. Redirected missiles detonated in the air and on the ground behind her, getting dangerously close to Wonderful Body. The vertical missiles from Don Colonel slammed into Vero Nork as it boosted out of the way of a massive bazooka blast. And the bazooka arms of the quadruped ripped into Don Colonel's backside.
His primal armor briefly sparked, and then died as they absorbed another hit. Don at least had the sense to move forward, out of the quadruped's line of fire, but he was slow to turn around. The agile mercenary was circling him like a vulture. Without Yang's help, Don Colonel was as good as dead.
Farther out into the desert, Vero Nork's PA was gone completely, and Yang's ferocious attack was quickly compromising its hull integrity. Ay-Pool launched into the air and attempted to boost over Yang to link up with her partner, which only worked for a few seconds before Yang wheeled on her and fired a shot from her grenade cannon. Ay-Pool let out an open-channel yell as the left shoulder of Vero Nork was severed in a terrifying pillar of flame. The frame must have been losing power as well, as it crashed into the dirt with a resounding thud, flaming and dark. Only silence came from Ay-Pool, but Yang's triumphant cry was loud in my ear.
"Take that Ay-Fool, next time plan a better ambush." She cheered. I quickly pulled her out of her victory.
"Yang, another NEXT is engaging Don Colonel. He needs help now. It's a light quadruped with heavy bazookas and missiles."
"Oh no, I'm coming."
Ember Celica jetted off in the direction of the battle, which from my perspective was still very one sided. Don Colonel tried to track the quadruped, and fired constantly with his rifle just trying to score a hit. Only a few shots actually connected, and he was quickly running out of flares trying to avoid the mercenary's missiles.
"Don," Yang called. "Get into the air, you can't take on a quadruped from the ground."
"W-wait a second." Don gasped in surprise as Yang lifted off the ground and into the air above. "NEXTs move like…that? S-so… what am I doing?" If this situation wasn't so tense, I would have been slapping my forehead at Don's ignorance of basic NEXT abilities. I guess becoming a veteran nowadays meant never getting involved in a mission with NEXTs.
"Don, don't panic," I ordered. "Remember you are controlling Wonderful Body with your mind, not physical switches and levers. If you lose it, you'll be dead where you stand."
"I-I understand. Thanks miss Rose."
As Yang grew closer and began raining missiles at the quadruped, the tide of battle seemed to be turning. The golden NEXT swerved from its circle to avoid Yang's fire, and Don Colonel was finally able to get a lock and launch a large missile barrage. He even tried flying, which in the end looked more like an extended jump, but it was better than nothing. Most of the missiles were avoided, but a few connected, enough to put the quadruped on the defensive. But when Don Colonel landed, he made a huge mistake. Instead of gliding around to track the enemy, he began walking.
The quadruped's pilot noticed this, and made a beeline for his flank. Everything happened so fast that no one had time to speak. One minute, Don Colonel was lining up a shot, and the next, he was frozen as Wonderful Body staggered under the impact of a close range bazooka arm blast. The golden NEXT was practically on top of him, firing once again into his backside.
"What the- ah!" Don cried. My heart began to thump hard in my chest. There was nothing I could do or say that would fix this situation. I could see Yang in the air taking aim with her grenade cannon, but if she fired now it would hit both the quadruped and Don. We were both helpless to watch as another blast cut through Wonderful Body's PA and into its back, exposing the kojima cells and AMS systems. The ruined, smoking NEXT sagged down to the sand, and a weakened Don Colonel pleaded on the open channel.
"I can't die, not here…"
It fell on deaf ears, and the mercenary fired again. A large fireball enveloped Wonderful Body, and the shattered kojima reactor scattered particles across a wide area. As soon as the flame had come to life, Yang fired a volley of missiles and her grenade cannon, and began overboosting towards the merc.
"You bastard," she raged. "I'll make you pay!"
The merc tried to move out of the way, but was caught in the large cannon's explosion. His speed allowed him to dodge the missiles, but he was visibly startled, if only for a second, by Yang's head on charge. If memory serves correctly, he should be almost out of ammo for his arms by now, and I bet that in those brief moments he was calculating who would go down first in a close range firefight.
He chose correctly, and began backing up away from Ember Celica. Although he seemed almost loathe to run, he turned away and began charging his own overboost as Yang stopped to take aim with her cannon again. A smooth and sinister male voice creeped over the comms.
"My mission is complete. Aspina brute, I'll see you on the battlefield."
I recoiled in shock. How did he know Yang was from Aspina? I didn't have time to ask as the man rocketed off into the dunes, narrowly avoiding a grenade shot. Yang swore under her breath again, but did not pursue. Quickly he was gone from the radar, and we were beginning to lose sight of him as well. I took a moment to survey the desert.
Ember Celica slowly descended from the sky, and landed with a light thump in the sand before jetting over to the flaming corpse of Wonderful Body. The NEXT was ruined. The torso had come apart, splaying the arms and legs in haphazard, disconnected positions around where Don Colonel had gone down. The fire had stopped from lack of fuel, although the kojima reactor was still spreading its deadly radiation throughout the area.
"I failed." Yang muttered solemnly, as she stood over the wreckage. "I couldn't protect him." I remained silent.
"It was a hit," Yang continued. "The IU doesn't want us training any fresh LYNX."
"You defeated Ay-Pool, at least. That should set them back on the defensive. The other NEXT was definitely a mercenary." I said.
"Did you recognize him?"
"Strangely enough, no. He's either new or a well-kept secret. Going by his skills, I'm betting on the latter. We need to tell Roadie."
Speaking of the devil, the satellite comm began to blare inside the chopper. Leaning over from my seat, I pushed the confirm call button and was met with a familiar mustached face.
"Ah, Ruby, fancy seeing you here. I'm guessing Yang invited you on this mission?"
"Yes sir."
He chuckled. "Alright then. How'd it go anyway?"
"Well, not that good. It was an ambush, and the IU came at us with Ay-Pool and some other mercenary. Ay-Pool was killed, but so was Don Colonel and our normal escorts. The merc escaped." I sighed.
"Huh. I suppose it can't be helped. I warned the brass about letting him out in the field too early, but of course they didn't listen." Roadie shook his head. But then he brightened up a little.
"Tell your sister not to take this too hard. Even the best pilot would be hard pressed to keep an amateur safe when they're outnumbered. But all this isn't why I called in the first place. You remember the Rayleonard test subject I mentioned yesterday?"
"Yes."
"I think I may have found him, but he's holed up in what's left of an old bunker in the north. I'm going to investigate, and I called in to ask Yang to join me."
"Ok, I'll relay the message."
"Thanks. I would ask you to come as well, but I don't know your schedule. Perhaps next time."
The comm switched off as Roadie ended the call with a brief blip. My pilot was steadily lowering the helicopter to pick up Yang, while Don Colonel's helicopter had already begun the return trip free of cargo. Ember Celica locked into place inside the bay, and a gust of wind kicked some sand into the room before the large doors sealed shut. A brown figure emerged from the large robot, removing a dark helmet and spilling long hair along her back. Yang's aviator glasses were still hooked on the collar of her suit.
"Yang," I called as I removed my headpiece. "I have a message from Roadie."
"Alright, what is it?" She grunted. I could see she was still angry at herself for what happened. Her eyes even seemed a little red.
"He's going to go search for the Rayleonard pilot he saw fighting without the stabilizers. He wants you to go with him."
"Hmm. Sure, I guess. If he's friendly, then we'll get a new ally. If he's not, we'll have a nice firefight. Should be fun." Yang managed to crack a grin.
"And Yang,"
"Yeah?"
"Roadie also said not to take this all to hard. Protecting someone while outnumbered is very difficult."
"I know…" Yang seemed to trail off as she massaged her left temple. "Let's head back. I doubt Roadie will head out today, and I would very much enjoy some food and sleep."
"I think we all would enjoy that."
And so the helicopter took off, leaving the burning dust and the ruined buildings behind, now with a few extra corpses to add to the boneyard under the dunes of Peace City.
To those of you who suggested ideas and OC characters, I am writing them in with some minor changes to some of the ideas you sent. They are still your ideas though and I give you all credit for them. You know who you are.
I can't post a list of OC names yet since that would spoil the story, but when they are properly introduced I will attribute them to the owner.
Unfortunately I also cannot take any more OC characters, I've already written in quite a few to my outlines. But other ideas in general I am still open towards.
Thanks so much for your support!