Ch27: The raid.
(Y+1, M+4, D+13.)
I sit in the cafeteria and listen to one of the recently-installed televisions, currently tuned to the VNN.
"Yesterday evening, the VPD responded to reports of gunshots in an abandoned warehouse in the industrial sector. The warehouse appears to have been used as a storehouse by the terrorist group known as the White Fang. Upon entering the facility Police state that it appeared to have been raided by an unknown force. They found eight White Fang members bound along a wall. Seven had been brutally killed execution-style by a discarded assault rifle found a couple yards away. The sole survivor's description of the attacker matches that of a man who raided a White Fang storehouse around a month ago. Police were horrified by the discovery of the executed terrorists until they also found a shipping crate that one officer described as being filled with the most disturbing things a person can see. Young children and the elderly are advised to look away as the following images are highly disturbing." Lisa Lavender says, as a series of images display slideshow-style on the screen. Gasps of horror and disgust echo across the cafeteria. Yang, Weiss, Ruby, Blake and JNPR are horrified at the sight and even though I knew what I would see, a look of disgust and hatred spread across my face, scenes different yet the same play in my mind.
"I had no idea." I hear Blake say, so quietly that I could barely make it out even with my Faunus hearing. I make a noise of disgust and stand up to leave. On the way out I hear Lisa start to speak again.
"This unknown vigilante has already gained the nickname of The White Death due to his appearance. All I want to know is what he felt when he killed those seven terrorists. Did he feel anger? Sorrow? Joy?" I bamf to the dorm to gather a few things that I had forgotten.
[Ten minutes later.]
'I'm Queen of the castle! I'm Queen of the castle!" I hear Nora proclaim. 'Food fight.' I think, looking inside and deciding to stay out. I start to think about my plan to raid another White Fang storehouse, one that apparently was being supplied with spare parts for Bullheads. That was likely where the shipping container was headed for transport. A container that large would need to be flown. And a facility that important would be heavily defended. I'd need backup. '*Angelic Choir* I know what I must do. TO THE CAVE!' *bamf*
I spent every free moment during the day preparing twenty of the hundred androids I'd acquired for combat. It was a tedious process; I had to recharge, repair, arm and reset each android individually. The final step was to set them to recognize me as their CO. That part was surprisingly easy. My next problem was transport.
'I can't take the MRAP, that'll blow my cover. Can't bamf them in, same thing would happen. I guess I'll need to borrow one. And I know just who to get it from.'
*This will be the day we've waited for*
"Hey Ruby." I say, answering the phone.
"Can you come up to the room?" 'Oh yeah, they're going to fight Torchwick again today.'
"Not really. I'm quite busy with another project."
"Pleeeeassse."
"I'm sorry Ruby. It's really important that I get this done."
"C'mon Kurt. This is important too!" She begs.
"Ruby, I've got to go." I say, hanging up. "Today I go to war. Nicht ein schlacht, ein rettungsaktion."
[Twenty minutes later.]
"I wasn't asking you a question." I say menacingly, standing in the cockpit of a Bullhead, my SMG in my hands, a silent threat. "You will fly me and my compatriots to your base in Forever Fall or I will kill you and find another pilot who can." I say darkly.
"A-alright. I'll get you there. Please don't kill me." The pilot begs, as the Bullhead starts to rise into the sky.
"If you don't give me a reason to kill you, I won't have to." I say.
[Half an hour later.]
"I'm coming in for a landing." The pilot tells me, still a bit terrified.
"Keep her steady at thirty. When I'm done down there set her down. I won't kill you." I tell the pilot, who visibly relaxes. "MAKE READY!" I bellow a command to my androids and they split into two groups, each facing one of the side doors, weapons held close to their bodies. I slam on the door release, opening the doors on either side of the Bullhead, hovering ten yards above the surface of the underground landing pad. "GO! GO! GO!" I shout. The androids jump to the ground and I follow, my SMG in my hands. I land on the surface of the landing pad, opening fire on the stunned mooks and technicians working on the small Bullhead fleet that the White Fang had managed to assemble. I tackle one technician, knocking him to the ground, I draw a handgun and press it to his temple. "Where is the communications center." I demand.
"I-it. Over that way." he says, pointing.
"Just lead me there. If you try to pull anything funny, you die." I say, pulling him up and holstering my pistol. I grab onto my SMG, attached to my body via a sling, and pull the charging handle back. "Go on." I say, "FORM UP!" I bellow and my androids form two columns on either side of me, having eliminated any resistance in the, rather large, hangar without sustaining debilitating damage. The technician leads me and my androids to the communications room, any resistance being easily swept aside by our guns.
Soon we reached the comms room. I order five androids to breach the room. A handful of moments later, I walk into the cleared room and find the PA system. I hook up a cheap scroll and play a song.
Metal music fills the air as the speakers blare a powerful tune.
*Almost night, a crimson horizon, painting thousand lakes red* White Death by Sabaton plays over the, I assume, massive base.
I see a map of the facility on the wall. It is indeed quite large. "Thank you for your help." I say to the technician, before smashing him in the side of the head with the stock of my SMG. He falls to the floor unconscious.
"Fireteam Alpha: guard this room." I say, five androids moving to cover the entrance.
"Fireteams Bravo, Charlie and Delta, follow me." I say, tearing the map from the wall and leading the remaining androids to the prison. We storm towards the designated area of the map. Much too large for my liking. In a few minutes we had stormed into the prison.
Row after row of metal cells. Men and women locked inside metal cages.
And their jailers. Their jailers were armed with whips and swords and clubs and pistols: weapons designed to scare unarmed, terrified, weakened prisoners. I was none of those.
I dropped my SMG, letting it hang by its sling. I pulled my bolt-action rifle from its sling, placing the iron-sights over one guard.
*CRACK* 'Headshot.' "OPEN FIRE! SINGLE SHOTS! DON'T HIT THE PRISONERS!" I order my androids, as I drop jailers with almost mechanical precision.
In a few short minutes, the jailers were all neutralized and Fireteam Bravo was patrolling while fireteams Charlie and Delta released prisoners and guided them based on their skills: any capable of combat were directed to me while any incapable of combat were directed to gather in the prison mess hall.
"Alright. I say, my voice-distortion unit projecting my voice to the thirty or so freed prisoners. "How many of you have ever used a firearm?" I ask, causing about twenty of the freed prisoners to raise their hands. "Good. Now, how many have actually attended a combat school?" Eleven hands rose. "Do we have any Hunters present here?" I ask finally, seeing three hand rise. "Up here. Don't worry. I won't bite." I say, as a trio of bruised and beaten Hunters make their way to the front of the group. "Let's get you all some weapons." I say, motioning for them to follow. "Bravo! Charlie! Guard the others! Delta! Form up on me!" I order, the various Fireteams complying.
"You." I say, pointing to one of the Hunters, who looked older than the others. 'Please let this be him.' "What is your name."
"Qrow." 'Thank Murphy.'
"Qrow. I've heard of you." I say, "DELTA! Show them to the armory!" I order, gesturing to the other freed prisoners. "Qrow, we will be heading to the comms room. I have a couple of messages to send." I say, leading the way.
"How old are you?" Qrow asks.
"Soon. I just need to make a call." I say, walking up to the comms center door. "ALPHA! Incoming with friendly!" I say, pressing the door open button. The door slides open, revealing the dismantled forms of Fireteam Alpha and a rather large Faunus. "Dammit Murphy." I say, blocking the swing of his sword with my rifle.
"Just who do you think you are kid?" The Faunus, probably a bear Faunus, taunts.
"Isn't it obvious?" I retort, teleporting onto his shoulders and grabbing either side of his head.
*bamf* "I AM THE WHITE DEATH!" I shout, as we appear about a thousand or two feet straight up. *bamf* I reappear in the comms center.
"What did you do to him?" Qrow asks.
"I let gravity work its wonder. He should be hitting the ground soon." I say, walking over to a terminal and picking up the throw-away scroll. I press a few buttons and wait.
"Hello, this is the Vale News Network, how may I help you?" A receptionist answers.
"I would like to talk to Lisa Lavender." I say curtly, my distortion unit still active.
"Ummm… Alright. Are you okay sir? You sound a bit off."
"I'm perfectly fine miss." I say.
"Alright. Here she is sir." I hear the receptionist say.
"Hello, this is Lisa Lavender. Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"The White Death m'am."
"Oh."
"I seem to remember you asking a question of me earlier today. Would you care to repeat it?"
"Alright. What did you feel when you killed those seven terrorists?"
"To be entirely honest m'am, I felt recoil." I say, hanging up.
"Now that that has been take care of, would you mind using one of the holo-terminals to call up Ozpin?"
"Ozpin sent a child to rescue us? Just when I thought it couldn't get any more embarrassing." he says, a hint of jest in his voice.
"He didn't send me. I just have a message."
"Alright then, here he is."
On the holo-screen an image of Ozpin from the waist up appears. The camera seems to be on his desk, aimed at him.
"Hello Headmaster." I say, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"Am I speaking to the White Death?" He asks. I nod. "What may I do for you today?"
"Actually, what may I do for you Headmaster? Or, more specifically, what may I do for you General Ironwood?" I say. the camera quickly turns to show a confused/angry General Ironwood.
"How did you know I was here?" He growls.
"Are you capable of tracing this signal?" I ask.
"Of course."
"Then please do so. I have recently assaulted a White Fang base in Forever Fall. I was able to liberate prisoners being held in the facility, among whom are three members of the Hunter team that was recently declared MIA. With me at the moment is my Uncle Qrow." I say, earning a strange look from Ironwood.
"What?" Qrow asks. "You're not Ruby. And you're definitely not Yang? Did my brother somehow get another kid while I was gone?"
"What, he never told you?" I say, removing my beret and balaclava and turning off my voice-distorter. "My name's Kurt." I say, staring him in the eye with a smirk, before turning back to the screen to see Ozpin, Ironwood, and Goodwitch staring at me. "Now, if you wouldn't mind sending in some troops or Hunters to secure this facility, the White fang should have organiz-" *BOOOM!* "Dammit. Thought I'd at least be able to finish my sentence." I say, replacing my facial coverings and reactivating my distorter. I pull my SMG from its sling and toss it to Qrow, along with a few extra magazines.
"Oh, and do try to keep my identity a secret." I say, pulling a bayonet from my trenchcoat and attaching the eighteen-inch long triangular blade to the end of my rifle. "Let's get to the mess hall, we can escort the noncombatants to the armory. You should be able to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive." I say, working the bolt, ejecting a spent cartridge and then feeding a clip into the magazine and pushing the bolt forward.
We quickly make our way down the corridors, meeting no White Fang mooks.
"Where are they?" I wonder, as we near the mess hall.
A burst of AR fire answers my question, a mook having spotted me and my uncle.
I rise my rifle, but before I can fire a shot, Qrow brings up his borrowed SMG and drops the terrorist.
"Thanks, let's keep moving." I say, "You should take point." I say.
"You scared?" Qrow jests.
"You're the one with a PDW." I say. "I'm keeping Sasha." I say, emphasizing with the rifle.
"Sahsa? People name their weapons, but that's a bit much."
"I'll explain some other time." I say, as we enter the mess hall, passing Fireteam Bravo, their weapons held steady.
"Where'd you get the androids? Even these older models are expensive."
"I borrowed some from the Fang." I say.
"Good job kid."
"BRAVO! CHARLIE! ROUND UP THE CIVVIES! WE'RE TAKING THEM TO THE ARMORY!" I bellow, motioning out the door we entered through. "BRAVO TAKES POINT!"
We head out to the armory, Bravo leading the group and Charlie pulling rearguard. All of a sudden, the lights fall dark, a split second later, my Faunus sight reasserts itself and my vision sharpens. I see mooks creeping down a side-passage towards us.
"BRAVO! FORM UP!" I bellow, removing my bayonet and slinging Sasha. I draw a sword from a scabbard concealed by my trenchcoat and flourish it towards the enemy. "FIX BAYONETS!" I bellow, as my androids draw their eight-inch bayonets from hip-mounted sheathes. They hold their rifles in a firing line with me at the far left. "OPEN FIRE!" I order, as the White Fang abandon all pretenses of stealth and charge us, firing as they run. The androids respond with well-aimed bursts, scything down the onrushing tide, seeming to grow with every second. "QROW!" I bellow, and he rushes to me. "Lead them to the armory. Fireteam Charlie will cover you. Get them there and we'll cover your retreat." I say, drawing a .40 caliber pistol.
"Try not to get yourself killed." Qrow cautions.
"I won't." I say with a smirk that is hidden by my balaclava. "CHARGE!" I shout, leading Bravo in a charge, my sword gripped tightly in my hand as I fired the occasional round into a White Fang mook. We entered the fray, hacking slashing and shooting. It was not exactly pleasant. Stabbing a person at close range is quite different from shooting a man at range. Blood splattered from aura-infused sword strikes and slashes and close-range gunshot wounds. The impact of our charge shatters the enemy. After a few moments of watching comrades getting hacked apart, the survivors break and flee for their lives.
"Bravo! Pull back! To the armory!" I order Fireteam Bravo, all five miraculously intact, albeit badly damaged. But good enough to survive the day. We arrive at the armory, I happily note that both the freed prisoners and my androids appear to be in (mostly) working order.
I make my way to Qrow.
"My androids and I will be leaving momentarily. But I do wish to know what the White Fang was doing with you guys."
"We were being used as slave labor. Dust mining." He says, no small amount of anger present in his voice. I could tell he was more angry over the treatment of the civvies than he was the treatment of himself and the hunters that he had joined.
"Well then. Reinforcements should be here soon. If you wouldn't mind returning my weapon." I say, prompting him to turn over the weapon and extra magazines, which I stow in my trenchcoat. "ALL UNITS! FORM UP!" I bellow, leading my force to the comms center to collect the parts of Fireteam Alpha. Once the androids have collected the important parts and weapons, I bamf us back to The Cave.
"Toss the parts in a pile and standby for repair and rearming." I order my androids. As they follow my orders, I walk over to one of the shipping containers. I walk inside and close the door. Next I take off my White Death outfit, stowing it and the associated weapons in a large white container. I redress myself in a blue tee-shirt and black cargo pants and walk out, seeing my teammates standing there in various states of shock and confusion. I freeze up for a second.
"So, how was your day?" I ask.
"Wha-who?" Ruby mumbles.
"Before any of you ask, yes, I am the White Death."
"Why?" Blake asks.
"Because I decided to fight the White Fang. And I also get some loot as a bonus." I say, gesturing to the shipping containers and MRAP, which was joined by another skeletal vehicle-construct.
"My last few raids were a bit more… destructive in nature. After I found the shipping container I realized that that was just one shipment out of many. I decided that it was my duty to free them. I looked through information I'd gathered from my raids and found out that the White fang had a secret base in Forever Fall. After I heard that Qrow and his team went missing in that area, I decided to try and find them. I raided another storehouse, stole a bullhead, and launched an assault on the base. Once I'd found and freed the prisoners, I called in support from Ozpin, who sent in some Hunter teams and Atlisian troops that should have the facility secured by now." I monologue, taking a breath. "Qrow's alright, by the way. He seems like a nice guy." I say offhandedly, heading over to the shipping containers that I was currently using to store my androids. "We can talk more about all of this tomorrow, but I have some maintenance to perform on my little army." I say, opening one of the containers and directing Fireteam Bravo to a set of large slab-tables for repair.