Ruby could hear the furious groaning and creaking of metal being beaten out of shape even before the elevator had reached the prison level of the base. She could only guess as to just how angry Yang was at being confined; and the only thing that made her already strong older sister stronger was a less-than-healthy dose of rage. For once, she was glad that Ember Celica was safely stored someplace else and not on her sister's person.
"I hope that Yang hasn't done too much damage," she muttered, shooting a fuming Bradford an apologetic glance, "Sorry! My sister's a bit of a hothead,"
"Well, for your sake, I do hope that she has not torn down the entire prison cell block yet. We do need those on occasion," grumbled Shen, "That, and we really cannot afford to have our engineers fix something that does not need to be fixed,"
When the elevator finally stopped and opened, Ruby winced when she saw the damage that Yang had done on the cell block. The reinforced metal door was all but torn off its hinges, with only a sorry-looking scrap of metal barely holding it up. That is, if you could even call the warped grid of bars a door any more. Or if you could even call the cell a cell any more, with half the concrete wall smashed away on the edge of the door frame.
The blonde girl, now clothed in the same baggy garments as Ruby, was still clinging onto what was left of the door, gritting her teeth as she finally tore it off its hinges. "Yang, stop this!" Ruby cried out, causing her to drop the now-scrapped door in her hands.
"Rubes! What's going on? Where are we?" Yang said, panting. A few guns clicked behind Ruby, trained on Yang, and the blonde girl's eyes widened. "What the...?"
"Hands in the air, where we can see them!" shouted Specialist Vargas, her rifle raised and trained on Yang.
"Yang, please. Do as she says,"
"Why the hell should I? If she wants a fight, I'll give her a fight!"
"I really don't want to do this," Vargas warned, clicking off the safety on her rifle, "But security comes first. Last chance. Hands in the air, or I'll shoot,"
Seeing that Yang had only dropped down into a combat stance, Ruby sighed and sprinted forward with the aid of her semblance, tackling her with enough speed to launch both of them all the way down the hallway and into the wall on the far side, cracking the concrete with the force of the impact. Had she looked back at Vahlen and Shen, she might have noticed their stunned expressions – and in the case of Vahlen, curiously picking up a few rose petals from the floor.
"Rubes! What the hell?" coughed Yang, pushing Ruby off her, "What was that for?"
"Well, you weren't about to do as she says," Ruby said, panting heavily, standing up. "They aren't bad guys, you know. They pulled us out of an alien ship and brought us back to their base,"
"Aliens?" Yang scoffed, rolling her eyes, "You've been reading too much of Blake's comics, haven't you?
"As strange as it sounds, she is telling the truth, Miss Yang," Shen said, approaching the two girls, "And as much as I can appreciate that you desire freedom, we would prefer that our property not be destroyed. Please refrain from destroying our holding cells in the future,"
"You guys locked me up in there!"
"A necessary precaution. And given your apparent predisposition to violence, a wise choice," spoke Doctor Vahlen, shaking her head disapprovingly, "Your...sister here seems to be more agreeable in disposition. Though given your wildly different appearances, I am truly having a hard time seeing the family resemblance,"
"Why, you- gah! Rubes, let – me – go!" Yang shouted, trying to shake Ruby off her arm with all her might.
"I must apologise for my colleague's...abrasive manners," Shen groaned, shooting Vahlen a glare, "But please, do calm down. There is no need for violence here,"
"Hmph! Fine, just...where is this place, anyway?"
"I am not at liberty to say the exact location of this facility, however you may know this as the XCOM Headquarters,"
"XCOM Headquarters?"
"That's right," Ruby added, "XCOM's apparently the first, last and only line of defence on Earth against an alien invasion. They're here to protect people!"
"So you're telling me that...wait, what's Earth? Isn't that just dirt?"
"Earth is the name of our planet, Miss Yang, just as your own is apparently called Remnant," Shen informed her, "And yes, you would be correct that earth is also another term that could be used for...dirt, but in this case we are referring to our planet,"
"You're joking, right?" chuckled Yang weakly, "This isn't Atlas? Or Beacon?
Ruby shook her head sadly. "No, Yang, this isn't Atlas. We're definitely not even on Remnant any more,"
Sighing, Yang put a hand against her head. This was too much for her to think about, and too early after waking up. "Y'know, you really know how to make things hard for me sometimes, Rubes," she grumbled, "I think I need a coffee before I can even try to think about this. But hey, on the bright side, look; you made new friends!"
"I hardly think that they could be considered her 'friends' yet, you dolt. Just look at that female scientist's expression when you mentioned that,"
"...While this is interesting enough to watch, I'd like to have something to read,"
"Weiss! Blake!" Ruby said brightly, "You're here!"
The Schnee heiress had been placed in the last cell in the room, with Blake being kept in the cell next to it. Weiss wore a look of utter disgust as she continued to pick away at bits of lint on her turtleneck, muttering something about cheap clothing and improper care of clothing. Her baggy pants were far too large, flapping about with every little movement. It was almost comical to Ruby; how the almost always impeccably dressed Weiss now appeared so shabbily dressed and flustered by her lack of elegance.
"Of course I'm here. You can see for yourself, can't you?" she said through gritted teeth, "And to think that I would be kept in a prison! Why are we here, anyway? We were supposed to be hunting Grimm in Forever Fall!"
"And I'm sure that we all knew what happened right before we woke up here," Blake added evenly, "I'm sure you were all blinded by a flash of green light, and suddenly, here we are, without the smallest bit of clothing on us, and a bag full of completely oversized clothes on our beds,"
"I did not ask for your opinion, Blake!"
"Fine. Just let me know when you're ready to listen to others, Weiss," Blake replied, shrugging, "I wonder what happened to Gambol Shroud,"
"Gambol Shroud? Wait..." Weiss mumbled, arching an eyebrow. Her eyes widened when she patted her side and realised that there was something missing. Something very important. "Myrtenaster! It's not with me!"
"Take a look at Ruby," said Blake, rolling her eyes, "She's still got her weapon. Why don't you just ask her about where she got it back?"
A loud cough interrupted all of them. "I believe," Shen spoke calmly, his arms crossed behind his back, "I can answer that question. But first, I would ask that you remain civil. Ruby has assured me that she will assist XCOM with our mission, and thus she has been granted permission to receive her weapon for the time being,"
"Wait, wait. You can't just take our stuff away from us, old man!" Yang retorted, huffing loudly, "They're not even yours to start with!"
"Personal property means exactly that!"
"Well, while you are guests of the XCOM initiative and not one of our soldiers, you are not entitled to bear weapons inside this base. This is a restricted military facility, where security is of utmost importance. I do trust that you understand what that means," Bradford growled, "It means that while you are here, you abide by our rules, down to the letter. We have wasted too much time as it is in pointless arguing. Our planet is under siege by aliens, cities are getting invaded with thousands of deaths every week-"
"Thousands of deaths?" Weiss repeated, aghast. That was an enormous number of people!
"Yes, thousands of casualties, miss. So you will understand when I say that we simply do not have any time to waste arguing about petty matters while there are still entire cities and nations under threat of annihilation or subjugation. You will comply with us, or you will stand out of our way. It's your call, and I hope that you make the right decision,"
And with that, Bradford stormed out of the corridor and back towards the elevator. Shen and Vahlen stared as he left, before looking at each other, dumbfounded. The huntresses remained silent, still wondering about just what exactly did they land themselves in. Except for Ruby, who slumped to her knees,
"So, shall we discuss this matter in a more...civil manner? In a more appropriate location, of course?" Shen spoke out first, breaking the silence.
With Bradford returning to his duties and Vahlen excusing herself to continue an autopsy, it fell to Doctor Shen to watch over the newly-reunited Team RWBY in his workshop. If there was one thing that he now realised about Ruby, it was that her fondness for large amounts of sugary, chocolatey cookies was only surpassed by her almost unhealthy obsession with weapons.
And his workshop – next to the Anthill's armoury – had a very good view of weapons. Hundreds upon hundreds of guns of all sizes and configurations; grenades and rockets, flamethrowers and lasers, missiles and autocannons. There were even a few gigantic robotic fists with what appeared to be rocket modules attached to their backs. So many weapons that Ruby could hardly keep her eyes off the armoury without a rather disturbing amount of drool trickling from her mouth. It did not help either that he had set up a tea table next to a window overlooking the armoury's weapon racks, well-stocked with chocolate cookies.
"I do hope that you like tea, Weiss...Miss Schnee, wasn't it? Miss Xiao Long, and Miss Belladonna? And of course, Ruby?" Shen spoke, offering each of them a cupful of tea that was almost black. Tentatively, the huntresses-in-training accepted the drinks. After a single sip, all four of them suddenly reached for the bowl full of sugar in the middle of the table, coughing profusely. Shen smiled at their response. It was exactly the same as with every other operative that he had invited to share a cup of tea. Apparently, his preferred brew was far too bitter without copious amounts of sugar.
"That...was definitely not tea," Weiss choked out, "Coffee would have been a better approximation of this...drink,"
"I assure you, Miss Schnee, that was tea and not coffee. My preferred brew is a little strong, but it does keep you awake. Now, on to business matters, then. Before I continue, I must ask you to keep all that you are about to hear a secret outside of XCOM,"
"Yeah, we got that from Grumpy back in the prison cells. Restricted military facility, keep everything under wraps," Yang said sarcastically.
"I suppose that would be a fair assessment of Central Officer Bradford, given what you have seen of him," chuckled Shen, "But I do ask that you forgive him for his brashness. The last few weeks have not been easy for him or his men, to say the least,"
"Well, excuse me for apparently being asleep for the past I-don't-know-how long!" huffed the blonde.
"Perhaps it is best that we listen to Doctor Shen first about this world's events before we speak any further," Blake said, shifting in discomfort as she adjusted the beret on her head. She made a mental note to ask for a black ribbon at the next convenient time. Hats and feline Faunus ears do not go well together, even if the hat did stretch a little bit to make room for them.
"Very well. I suppose it is suitable that we start from the beginning, as you are likely not aware of what XCOM is, what it stands for, or why it even exists. The XCOM initiative has been founded six months ago after the first alien abductions in the United States of America. With the general public still unaware of the alien threat hanging over our planet, we were founded to combat the impending invasion from the shadows. Hundreds of millions of dollars, dozens of highly-skilled personnel, and state-of-the-art equipment gathered in one place, for one purpose. The defence of humanity, of planet Earth, at all costs,"
Shen spoke with such passion that the four huntresses could not help but sit in rapt attention. Even Ruby had stopped demolishing the bowl of cookies in front of her, now content to chew on the single one in her hands as she listened.
"Persons from every continent; Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America, come together to defend our planet. Technology, the best that Earth can offer, provided to assist them in their noble goal. And so far, we have held our line. Without us, the aliens would have destroyed Earth's governments within weeks. We are Earth's first, last and only line of defence against a threat that threatens to destroy everything we know and love,"
Blake remarked, "That sounds very similar to the goal of the Hunters and Huntresses on Remnant,"
"As much as Ruby has informed me of what Hunters and Huntresses do, yes, I suppose there are notable similarities," Shen said, smiling, "Defending those that can't defend themselves is an admirable goal, and apparently one that transcends most cultural boundaries. Now that you know what we stand for, I'd like you to know that we...haven't been in the best shape for the past month,"
"With the funding of an entire planet, the resources of every nation, I find that difficult to believe, Doctor Shen," Weiss said, frowning. If the Schnee Dust Company could wipe away almost every problem by throwing lien at the source of the problem, then how did this group still fail to deal with the supposed alien threat, with funding that likely dwarfed even her own family's fortune?
"I suppose it would be to some. And our benefactors also seem to think the same way," sighed the doctor, standing up and walking to the window overlooking the armoury, "We have weapons more advanced than any military in the world. Equipment that can stand a reasonable chance against the aliens. And enough funding to turn less developed nations green with envy. But I will ask you, Miss Schnee; if we are well equipped, well funded and well armed, what else does a fighting force need to function?"
Silence. Weiss racked her mind for an answer. Atlas was certainly well-funded, in no small part due to the contributions of her family's company. Its military was enormous, the largest of all of Remnant. There were enough troopers in Atlas to patrol its streets, and probably the streets of all cities in Vale, and still have enough troops left in storage to deploy on an emergency. And from what she had heard from her sister, there was the new model of Atlesian Knight about to enter mass production.
Mass production.
Her jaw fell as she realised the answer. Atlas never had this problem as they relied mostly on automated units; and even then, war was an extremely rare event on Remnant, and thus the Atlesian military had never truly had any appreciable amount of attrition.
"Manpower," answered the silver-haired girl, to which Shen nodded.
"You are perceptive. Precisely, Miss Schnee. Manpower. The aliens' attacks have been increasing in frequency and severity, leaving our veteran squads far too exhausted or gravely wounded. The recent recruits that we have obtained are far from well-trained, and certainly lack the enthusiasm that Ruby has displayed thus far,"
"So...are you saying that you'd like us to join this...XCOM?"
"It is entirely up to you, of course. Every person on this base has joined the XCOM initiative of their own free will, believing wholly in our cause. Those who do not, or have changed their mind, are free to return to their country of origin, provided that they maintain secrecy. However, as you are not a resident of any nation on Earth, it would be rather difficult to repatriate you to your home,"
And there it was. The biggest question of them all. If the aliens had abducted them, and taken them to Earth – how could they return to Remnant? The huntresses looked at each other with worry in their eyes as they all realised the implications of their presence on Earth.
It was going to be a long stay.
"So, there are two options that are available to us. The first is that you will be treated as guests of the XCOM initiative, and will be interned in our facility. You will not have to fight any of the aliens, and we will provide you with all the basic needs that you may have. You will be confined to your cells for the entire duration of your stay, for however long that may be,"
"Sounds awfully boring to me," Yang said.
"And the second is that you join the XCOM Initiative as operatives, and join our squads in their missions. I will not lie; every mission has the risk of injury up to and including death. You will, however, be permitted to visit every non-restricted area of the base and interact with the other operatives, as well as pursue your own interests in the time between missions. And of course, your belongings would be restored to you at the earliest available time,"
"So, if I understood correctly, our two options are imprisonment...or recruitment?" Blake said, crossing her arms and giving a small smile.
"I would not go so far as calling it imprisonment, but yes, that is mostly correct,"
Looking at the rest of her team, Ruby raised her hand up. "Well, let's put this to a vote, team! If you want to help out these people in need, raise your hand!"
"Well, I'm always up to punch a few Grimm. Or aliens. Does it really matter? What they're doing is just wrong!" Yang said with a broad grin, pumping her fist in the air, "Of course I'm helping, duh!"
"I must admit that I feel that fighting these aliens won't be that different from fighting Grimm. And..." Blake said, eyeing the towering bookshelves in the corner of the workshop beside a desk, "...there may be some fine literature that I could read in my spare time,"
"I suppose that fieldwork does help to keep my techniques in practice," muttered Weiss, sighing in resignation, "If the rest of you insist on joining, then I'm coming along to make sure you don't do anything too...stupid,"
"Well, that settles it, then. I will inform Central Officer Bradford of your decision to join us. For now, I would suggest that you head down to the barracks to be assigned your new quarters. Specialist Vargas will take you down there; be sure to introduce yourselves to the rest of the troops when you get the chance. Welcome to XCOM," Shen said, beaming. "If you have any further concerns, simply come and see me when you are not on a mission,"
The barracks was underground, just as the rest of the base was; though given the narrow shaft of sunlight peeking through from the reinforced skylight just out of the central common room, it was likely fairly close to the surface. There were several smaller rooms branching out from the common room, where off-duty soldiers sat and relaxed, playing cards with others or quietly reading a book. In one corner, there were even two burly men comparing their strength with an arm wrestling competition, with several spectators egging them on rather enthusiastically.
"Well, here we are. The Den," Specialist Vargas said, nodding to a soldier on guard duty, "I remember that Papa Bear said that Strike Six currently has no members, so you're all free to take that room," she continued, pointing at a room to their right, "Should be empty, but if you guys need stuff cleared out, we can help,"
"Uh...Specialist Vargas?"
"Please, just call me Emily. Papa Bear would chew me out if I started treating our own folks as strangers out of missions. Ruby, isn't it?" the blonde woman said, offering her a small smile, "What's on your mind?"
"I was wondering about the clothes that we've been given, and the ones everyone else is wearing," spoke Ruby, pointing at the patch on Emily's shoulder. There was a pair of wings embroidered on a diamond on a black shoulder patch, with two dots below it. "Everyone looks like they have something different on there. What's that one mean?"
"What, the rank and class epaulette?" Emily replied, pointing at it, "It shows the specialisation and rank of the soldier wearing it. I'm a medic; that's the wings in the diamond. And I'm not really high up the ranks, either. I'm just a specialist, which is barely a step above rookie. I've only been here for about three weeks, after all,"
"Ooh. So you fix cuts and bruises?"
"Bruises? We'd probably just tell you to walk it off," she laughed. But her face grew serious as she continued with, "Cuts, yes. Bullet wounds? Definitely. But let's hope that it doesn't come to that. Because...when the aliens hit you with their guns, it's..."
For a moment, she froze, her eyes filled with fear and staring at a distant wall. The memories of her first mission came back to her mind. One of her teammates died, and his brains were on her splattered on her. One direct hit, punching straight through his head. It was her fault for not reacting fast enough, and she would've joined him, if it weren't for Stonewall blasting the berserker's head off.
"Emily?"
Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. She had to continue her duty, and that line of thinking didn't help. "I...It's nothing. Okay. Just...try not to get hit. We'd prefer to not patch anyone up, if we can help it," she muttered, forcing a crooked semblance of a smile back on her face. Ruby and the others were still too innocent to trouble with that just yet, the medic thought to herself.
"Hmm. If you say so," Ruby said, looking with interest at the other soldiers in the room. "So...if you fix cuts and bruises...then what do the other soldiers around here do?"
"I think it's probably best that Bradford tells you about them. Honestly, I don't really have a clue about what they can do on the battlefield. I haven't been around them on missions for long enough to know everything just yet," shrugged Emily, "Anyway, I think it's high time that you see what's in your room. Come with me, I'll get it unlocked,"
The room was little larger than the room that the four huntresses shared in Beacon, but there were six double bunk beds inside, along with two footlockers tucked neatly under each bed. The walls were plain and undecorated, though on one side, there was another footlocker that seemingly belonged to nobody in particular, with a photo on top of it.
"Ah...I guess that Strike Six's room didn't have everything removed," Emily said, walking up to the footlocker with the photo.
"Whose photo is that?"
"This..." the medic muttered, flipping it over and reading the scrawl on the reverse side, "This was Strike Six's. Before their last mission to Berlin, apparently. I don't know anything more than that, because that was before my time. But Papa Bear might know more,"
"Oh, okay. Can we meet Papa Bear sometime?"
"Not at this time. He's on a mission to an alien abduction site in Nigeria, if I remember correctly. Should be back in time for dinner. You might be able to catch him then, if he doesn't want to go straight to the showers and then to bed. Now, I've shown you your room, and obviously you haven't got any personal effects with you to put in there...showers are on the other side of the common room, one for girls and one for guys. You'll know if you get in the wrong one when you start getting pelted by soap bars and a lot of colourful language,"
"Hey, I don't mind!" Yang said in jest, eliciting a giggle from Emily.
"Yeah, I'm sure you won't! That should be all that I need to show you here. You don't need to know about the power plants on the second floor, and I don't think that even remotely interests any of us anyway. Let the engineers do their work, and let us tear the aliens a new hole in their backsides. Satellite uplinks are off limits, and Vahlen's got the laboratories locked down for some reason today. That leaves mission control and the armoury. Which one do you girls want to visit first?"
"Armoury!" chorused Yang and Ruby, while the two other huntresses shook their heads in mild amusement.
"Alright, armoury it is. You've talked to Doctor Shen for some time now, so you know him well enough. I'll let him give you a tour of his own domain,"
Engineering, it seemed, had filled up with dozens of workers the moment that the four huntresses had left for the barracks. The cavernous room was now filled with sounds of various pieces of heavy machinery cutting, milling or stamping out various pieces of metal. Periodically, there would even be a gunshot or the staccato blasts of an autocannon whenever the gunsmiths nearest the proving grounds tested a freshly created weapon. A painting booth sprayed newly-minted pieces of armour with various camouflage colours and patterns, overseen by what looked like a robot on four wheels.
In one corner of the workshop, by a workbench, stood Doctor Shen, calmly sipping a cup of his coffee-like tea, while thumbing through a rather thick book. The group approached the engineer, cautiously weaving their way between moving cranes, forklifts and towering stacks of metal crates.
"So, what brings you back to engineering? Actually, ignore that question. I do believe that I know the reason for your visit," Shen spoke with a knowing smile, noticing Ruby's ecstatic expression when a trolley loaded with assault carbines rolled past, "I had Doctor Vahlen send your weapons here for maintenance. Fascinating designs and materials, on all of them,"
"Wait," Yang muttered, slightly annoyed, "You were handling our weapons?"
"Well, yes. As a matter of procedure, all of our operatives' weapons are built and maintained here," he said, holding up his hands, "Don't worry. I assure you that we take great care in ensuring that nothing is broken and everything is maintained to the highest standard. As is everything else that is manufactured in this room. If you would like to see them, they are right here,"
He pulled out a metal crate from behind the workbench and placed it gently on top. "Now, I must admit that I am not sure of who each weapon belongs to, so it falls to you to pick them out and give them to their rightful owners," he said, unsealing the crate and pushing the lid open. Yang immediately snatched out Ember Celica and held the shotgun gauntlets close to her, sighing in relief; Blake rolled her eyes disapprovingly and calmly retrieved her chain sickle-pistol, carefully drawing it and making sure that the Gambol Shroud's blade was still sharp. Weiss, however, frowned when she examined her rapier-revolver.
"I was fairly certain that Myrtenaster had a full set of Dust rounds when I was in the forest," Weiss muttered, frowning as she rolled the empty six-shot cylinder in its hilt, "There are no Dust canisters in here,"
"You will have to speak with Doctor Vahlen regarding ammunition, I'm afraid. She has taken a sample of them to her laboratory for examination, and the rest has been placed in cold storage after a canister of it exploded rather violently when it was dropped,"
"What? You had a Dust explosion?" Weiss exclaimed, nearly dropping Myrtenaster. Dust was volatile in almost any form or shape, and dropping powdered Dust was an almost certain way to cripple a limb or two. Especially when other containers of Dust are in close proximity.
"Yes. Specialist Kusnetzova dropped a box of it, prompting a rather...violent explosion. I believe that she is currently being treated for third degree burns in the infirmary. From your reaction, Miss Schnee, you appear to be more than familiar with the properties of this strange, volatile substance that we have found,"
She nodded quickly. "My family's company is the single largest producer of Dust and Dust-based munitions on all of Remnant. We produce almost everything Dust-based, from munitions to propellants of all types. I am certainly familiar with its proper care and handling,"
"If that is the case, Miss Schnee, then I would assume that Doctor Vahlen would have a great deal to discuss with you regarding this Dust...and potentially a few other things, as well. That can wait for a future date, when your schedules are not quite so busy. For now, however, Central Officer Bradford has left me a notice that you are all to be fitted properly for basic suits of armour,"
"Armour? Why would we need armour?" Yang scoffed, "We've got our Aura to take our hits!"
Shen shot an incredulous stare at Yang. He would have to ask about what 'aura' was at a later point, preferably with Vahlen around. Was it some kind of personal energy shield? "Maybe in Remnant the idea of sending unarmoured young adults to fight dangerous creatures is acceptable, but in XCOM, we insist that every operative be provided with an adequate level of protection. The lives of men and women are precious, and those who are working with us doubly so. There will not be any negotiations on this rule, Miss Xiao Long. We will not permit you to join any operations without at least a minimum level of protection and training,"
"Ugh, fine! Let's get this over with, then,"
"Excellent. Follow me, please; I will try to keep this as brief as I can, so that we can continue onto the next part of your induction into XCOM,"
"And what might that be, dare I ask?" Blake spoke excitedly, half-guessing that it involved plenty of firepower.
"Familiarisation with all of our weapons and equipment. One cannot properly fight a war without knowing how to wield weapons, of course,"
And in that moment, Shen would finally realise that the blast doors leading into the armoury were never truly a waste of resources and time. Especially with Ruby bouncing up and down with excitement at the prospect of testing some new weapons, and her sister looking as though she was ready to tear down the doors of the armoury to get at some hardware as well.
A/N
Cookies. Guns. More guns. And probably enough guns to outfit an army and then some. What more does Ruby need to stay happy? Not much else, probably! Well, unless Shen could come up with an automatic cookie dispenser in her barracks room.
Bradford might seem a little like a total ass in this chapter, but in this scenario it's probably warranted. Everyone who's played XCOM has likely run into a situation where you've lost an entire squad of veterans, your B-team is also on the fritz thanks to lucky graze hits or fatigue, and even your C-team got their backsides whipped by an unexpected multiple-pod trip. You're then left with your completely green squad of rookies and possibly one or two veterans, and obviously the rookies get mulched by those angry mutons, sectopods and chryssalids. Now throw in Ironman, where you can't savescum to fix your fate, and throw yourselves in Bradford's shoes. Who wouldn't be more than a little uptight? Poor bastard probably hasn't slept for ages.
MeleeSmasher:
Yep, turning Crescent Rose into its scythe form might have drawn a few hilarious responses from Bradford and co, but that might also prompt Ruby to get shot to bits by the personnel on duty. After all, not drawing a weapon implies that guns remain unloaded and not lifted up - but you can't say the same for a melee weapon. If it's out, it's out :P
IndecisiveBob:
Yup. They assumed that the rest of the girls are still asleep for a few more hours until the anaesthetic wears off from what Vahlen did to them, and thus no additional guards were warranted. Big. Fat. Mistake.
All:
Thanks for reading this so far! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any feedback, feel free to shoot me a PM or review. 95% chance to hit, no fixed seed RNG. Savescum all you like!
Next: Meeting 'Papa Bear', second guessing the leadership, and determining who's the bigger Ice Queen in the Anthill between the two now present!
A/N 2:
theBSDude:
Well spotted, and now corrected!