Redford Village, 230 miles from Vale Outskirts

Redford Village was in no means big nor small. Home to around 400 inhabitants, both human and faunus. They were mainly farmers, producing enough to survive and trade a little with other outlying settlements. Some of the inhabitants were former huntsmen and huntresses, but other than that and a small militia, there was little defense of the village.

This little village harmed no one with its existence, but the reality was to harm them.

"Hey, do you see something out there?" A farmer asked her friend. She thought she saw the bushes move and she heard…"Is that metal footsteps?"

"I think we have a problem." Her friend said. He unlatched his rifle from his back and handed it to her. "Take this, whatever's out there isn't natural."

She took it, and the friend ran towards the village. The farmer aimed the rifle towards the bush, her finger on the trigger. She squinted, trying to see what was in the bush. The footsteps got louder and more in number as they seemed to get closer.

"Who's out there?" The farmer called. "Show yourself!"

The bushes seemed to light up with red lights. Before she could fire a shot or shout, the farmer was shot by a hail of bullets and small plasma rockets. Her body was completely disintegrated by the onslaught. The rifle fell to the ground, and was stepped on by a metal foot.

Reaper-Titanfall 2

The Reaper, and many more like it, marched on towards the village. Behind them, more Reapers and Ogre Titans armed with 40mm cannons, XO-16 chainguns, and cluster missile launchers on their shoulders. The automated legion stretched far back into the forest, with more Reapers and Ogres coming towards the village.

On top of a wall surrounding the village, a lone Huntsman looked out into the field, watching a man run back towards the wall he was guarding. "What is he up to?"

The man made it to the wall, and looked up to the Huntsman. "We got a problem!"

"What is it? Grimm?" The Huntsman asked, looking down at the man.

"Worse!" Was all he got out before a 40mm round destroyed his body.

"Shit!" The Huntsman shouted, aiming his rifle out into the field. He looked through the scope, and he saw the scene before him in full.

He grabbed his scroll, and moved to raise the alarm. His finger was on the button when he was impacted by a 40mm round to his chest. He fell off the wall and onto the ground below.

The alarm didn't need to be sounded, as the explosion was enough. People inside the village started to panic as the metallic footfalls got closer. The Huntsman struggled to get up, the force behind the 40mm cannon shot almost brought his Aura down to 50 percent.

"Sonofa-" He didn't get to finish as he heard a whistling noise from outside the wall he was just standing on. His eyes looked towards the sky, as a smoke trail streaked through the sky. He watched it as it fell from the sky and screamed towards the ground.

Towards the village buildings.

The rocket mortar landed and exploded on the roof of a house, the building erupting into flames. More and more streaked through the sky and landed in the village, destroying houses and killing innocents as they ran from the village and militia as they ran towards the wall with weapons in hand to fight the oncoming force.

The Huntsman got up, and unsheathed his weapon, a sword that changed into a rifle. "Gods, why did today have to end like this?"

The portion of the wall in front of him exploded, showering him with debris as militia forces flew past him from the explosive force of the wall. The Huntsman covered his face with his arm as debris bounced off his Aura. He uncovered his face, and looked up to see a larger version of an Ogre holding what seemed to be a shell launcher. It had a railgun on its shoulder, with a howitzer looking weapon on the other shoulder.

Kaiser Titan-Titanfall 2/The Past Defines Who We Are

"That's new." The Huntsman said, staring down the barrel of the weapon and could see the words 50mm on the launcher. "Huh, well then." The Huntsman charged while the Titan did the same.

And behind the Titan, more and more robots came out of the forest to join in on the onslaught under the merciless barrage of mortar rockets.

Salem's Palace, somewhere in the Grimmlands

The Queen of the Grimm was watching the scene from the eyes of a Nevermore high in the sky. She grimaced as the village was destroyed, but lessened it as she watched the Huntsman die to the hands of a large mech. But it went back to normal strength as she took notice of the new mech demolishing any remaining resistance.

"What is this exactly?" Salem pondered aloud.

"M'lady." A voice said.

Salem looked up from her Seer Grimm to find Watts kneeling at the base of her throne. "Yes Watts?"

"I know this is common knowledge for you. The new enemy is majorly comprised of robots and controlled mechs, yes?"

"I have made notes of that."

"Then, much like Atlas's forces, they have a control point or central computer. Would that be sound logic?"

Salem's mind put two and two together easily. "Are you asking me to have my creations search for a central command hub of this race?"

"I am. With all due respect, M'lady, we can either cripple this force entirely or turn them to our side to help the Grimm with bringing down the Kingdoms." Watts reasoned. "They are strong robots, and numerous as well."

Salem was silent as she pondered the idea. Her silence worried Watts, but he didn't show it. Salem stood up from her throne. "Watts, contact Cinder and order her to keep an eye out for any of these forces. Then contact Tyrian to search for high concentrations of these forces. I want the control hub for these robots, and I want it under my control for the next part of our plans."

"It will be done. Anything else I should relate to Cinder or Tyrian?" Watts said, bowing to his mistress.

"Tell Cinder not be hindered by these forces, they shouldn't be a problem soon." Salem said as she turned to a nearby window. "Now, we must deal with the interloping forces here."

"The foundry bases, yes. Their defenses are quite the masterpiece of technology. Overlapping turret lines, electric wires, heated shrapnel mines, differing artillery ranges, automated turret bunkers, trench lines of android soldiers, laser and SAM turrets for air defense, the bases are built on a terrain impenetrable for our subterranean Grimm forces, and to top it all off they have a constant air guard of airships and a wall surrounding the base." Watts listed as a hologram of the base was brought up.

Salem walked around the hologram, inspecting the layout of the base that the foundries all shared. "We only need one surefire way of getting through to the wall and then we can drop the rest of them." Salem assumed. "All these bases share the same layout, so we only need to crack at one and the rest shall fall."

Watts nodded. "I will get right onto it."

Blacksmith and Forging Room, Beacon

Ruby Rose stared down at her weapon, scowling at the scar on the scythe's blade that was inflicted onto it by that...robot thing. The 17 stared back at her, and it was an insult to her. Ruby wanted to buff it out and remove the blemish from her baby, but she was conflicted. She had faced the robot twice now, and had survived both times. She considered this a reward to her, the robot respected her.

So she was left conflicted.

"Ruby?" The girl turned around to see Jaune in the doorway to the forge. "You okay?"

She sighed. "I guess. I'm just...conflicted about something."

"Is it about the mark on your blade? I know you take a lot of pride in your weapons." Jaune asked.

"Yeah." Ruby said as she lifted her weapon up, the 17 seeable from where Jaune was standing. "I'm not sure what to do with it."

"Well, removing it is one thing."

"But in this line of duty, we're gonna get a lot of damage on our weapons. I...kinda like this little mark of mine." Ruby confessed.

"...I guess I can see that." Jaune nodded.

"Shouldn't you be training with Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.

"Huh?"

"I-I mean, I don't mind your company!" Ruby quickly said, waving her hands in front of her.

Jaune chuckled. "I know, but yeah. Gotta stay ahead of Cardin somehow." And with that, he left Ruby alone to her thoughts again.

"I'm sure your mother said the same thing."

"Did that robot know my mom?" Ruby mumbled to herself as she continued to look down at the 17.

HNV Exiled God, above Remnant

Private Jameson Eckhard was a 19 year old soldier who had joined the HEF straight out of high school. His home planet of Renault was an agricultural planet with cities surrounding the major and minor shipping hubs. His planet had welcomed the Hammond Empire, and fell to the Militia during the Second Titan Wars. His family was scarred from the occupation, his older siblings had been drafted into the Militia forces against their will and had died somewhere else in his star system. His planet was liberated before he started middle school, and was relieved he wasn't going to be drafted into the meat grinder of the Militia armed forces. With his future seeming brighter, he worked hard to get a job in the Hammond Armed Forces. His test put him on the path towards the HEF, which he was more than fine with. He went through basic training and extensive training on SERE, considering he had a higher chance of being lost on foreign and alien lands.

But none of his training could prepare him for this.

"So you're the…'Summer Maiden'?" He asked as he escorted the target back to the hangar where she had arrived.

"Yes." She answered. Lyz Green, formerly known to her watcher as 'Summer Break', had been on the Exiled God for about a week now. She wasn't used to all the crew, especially the Vice Emperor, but she was used to Eckhard now. Her cloak was taken away, and she was wearing the standard grey dry-fit shirt and black athletic pants that were given to her by Eckhard.

"And you control...the weather." He deadpanned.

"Yes. My power lies in lightning and vibrations."

"Vibrations?"

She nodded. "Summer storms have thunder and lightning. Thunder is noise and vibrations, so I have vibrations."

Eckhard nodded. "I see. And you mean to tell me that there are three other maidens, for the remaining three seasons?"

"Yes." Lyz replied.

"So, you have, like, magic powers?"

"Yes, Private." She said, annoyed.

"Sorry Lyz, it's just so weird to see someone with actual magic powers here." Eckhard said, catching onto the tone the target gave.

She sighed. "I know, but how do you think I feel? I'm in a ship in space. Space! Not something that happens on our planet ever!"

Eckhard stopped. "Wait, slow down. Reel that back." He said while making hand motions to match his words. "You're telling me that a planet with mechshifting weapons and people with personal shields and superpowers can't get into space?"

Lyz turned to look back at Eckhard. "Yes, there is a good reason for this."

"Does it have to do with Dust not working outside of Remnant's atmosphere?"

The Summer Maiden arched an eyebrow. "How do you-" Eckhard pulled an empty crystal from one of his chest pouches. "-know...that…"

"This was a fire crystal I grabbed on my last deployment to the ground. The moment the dropship entered exo-atmosphere the red hue and power disappeared. I kept the crystal 'cause I think it looks cool, even if it has no power." Eckhard explained as he put the crystal back. "But back to our topic, the fact that you guys don't use other fuel sources seems...flawed."

"A lot of things are flawed on our planet. I remember you pointing out our CCT system was terrible." Lyz responded.

"It is." Eckhard deadpanned. "Even the logic behind is equally terrible. 'One voice goes out they all do'? Please, you're asking to be wiped out."

Lyz didn't respond. The duo walked into the hangar, where scientists were working on terminals or writing on tech pads. A small crew was working on a table with multiple pieces of armor lying around, wires on smaller tables next to them, and monitors displaying lines after lines of code.

Eckhard walked next to a scientist, who was wearing a metal pauldron with the Hammond Empire symbol on it, and tapped her shoulder. "Doctor Engelmann?"

Engelmann turned around. "Ah! You brought her! Thank you so much, Private." She skipped past the soldier and to the Summer Maiden. "How are you today, Miss Green?"

"I'm fine, ma'am." Lyz responded. Of all the crew, she most certainly wasn't used to the eccentricity of the head scientist she met with every day.

Georgina Engelmann was an accomplished scientist within the Hammond R&D department, with a history of flora and fauna studies and research papers. She also studied the human body, and wrote a thesis on a certain topic that may have helped create the Jaegers and Jaeger Commanders. She wore an unbuttoned lab coat with an old band t-shirt underneath it with a black skirt and white leggings. She had a pale complexion, red hair, green eyes, and always had a lollipop in her mouth.

"So do you remember what we talked about yesterday?" Engelmann asked.

"Uh...excuse me, out-of-loop private here." Eckhard motioned to himself. "What are you two talking about?"

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you." Lyz said, hitting her palm to her forehead. "I knew I was forgetting something yesterday. Doctor Engelmann has created something for me. Apparently it's supposed to boost my powers."

Eckhard raised his eyebrows. "Really? Okay, but how would we test that? We're in space, where there is no summer storms. And we can't go down to the surface, it's too dangerous."

Doctor Engelmann turned to the soldier. "That's where you come in."

"Huh?"

"You will be accompanying me and Miss Green down to the surface to test her new suit. But before we do that, we need to do something to you." Doctor Engelmann said. "Miss Green, if you would."

Lyz nodded, and walked up to Eckhard, and put her hand on his chest. "Don't think about this too much."

Eckhard seemed confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm unlocking your Aura."

Eckhard recoiled. "What!? Why me!?"

"You were chosen by Vice Emperor Grey to watch Miss Green, so you will watch her." Doctor Engelmann explained. "You are vulnerable to Grimm without Aura, and you are still vulnerable with it, but to a lesser degree."

"Why not do that to everyone deployed to Remnant?"

"Unlocking Aura is taxing to even master Aura technique users. You as a new Aura person cannot do it without severely wounding yourself mentally. I can do it to you because it is one person and I am a Maiden." Lyz explained.

"I guess that explains that." Eckhard sighed. "Okay, do your thing."

Lyz put her hand back on Eckhard, and recited the saying to activate his Aura. As she did, Eckhard felt something inside of him start to heat up. He closed his eyes, and was greeted to the sight of small flicker of flame. It started to grow, and he started to warm up even more as the flicker turned into a huge flame, like a bonfire. Soon, it became so powerful that he began to sweat.

"What's happening?" Doctor Engelmann whispered as she watched the scene.

Soon, all Eckhard could 'see' was a wall of flame and the heat became unbearable.

"I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee." Lyz finished, and the moment she did she was blown backwards by a wave of orange energy. The wave washed over the other scientists and the machines, disrupting them and fizzing them out. The lights flickered in the hangar, but regulated themselves.

Lyz propped herself up on her elbows. "What...just happened?"

"Oh my…" Doctor Engelmann said as she looked at what was in front of her.

Jameson Eckhard stood in the center of a blast mark, his body covered in an orange hue. He looked at his hands as they shimmered with energy. "What...what am I?"

Lyz got up and ran to him. "Jameson...you have huge amounts of Aura! Like, holy crap!"

"I don't understand."

"I can explain." Doctor Engelmann said, walking up to the two. "Our machines currently limit Miss Green's Semblance and powers by lowering and limiting her Aura. These machines are able to separate between to people, meaning it won't tax the machines by shutting two people out of their Aura."

"Okay…" Eckhard said, waiting for more.

"You overloaded every single machine the instant your Aura was activated."

"That means your Aura is stronger than a Maidens!" Lyz exclaimed, finishing up the explanation. "I can't wait to see your Semblance!"

"I hope it isn't destructive." Doctor Engelmann mumbled, pulling out her lollipop. "Just so you know, you destroying our stuff isn't a good thing, no matter how cool it was."

"Yes ma'am." Eckhard saluted. "Won't happen again."

"Do make sure of that." The doctor said, putting her lollipop back in her mouth and walking back to the machine area. "Miss Green, we should start training the private on his Aura."

Lyz turned back to Doctor Engelmann, and smiled. "Okay ma'am. I'll be sure to put him in the ringer."

"Oh no…" Eckhard mumbled. "It's basic all over again."

Beacon

"What is this?" Yang asked as she scrolled through the missions board in the Beacon auditorium. "It's all recovery missions!"

Weiss was scrolling through another board. "It's the same here!" She announced, and was met with a groan from all students in the huge room.

"Why are all of these recovery missions?" Ruby groaned. "Where's the search and destroy?"

"Search and destroy missions have been temporarily halted due to some unforeseen circumstances." Everyone in the room turned to see Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch enter the auditorium. "In the past days, contact with villages within a 200 mile radius of Vale has ceased involuntarily. We fear there has been a resurgence of Grimm and they were overrun."

Everyone started whispering in hushed tones, but where silenced by Ozpin raising his hand. "I know you were all looking forward to some missions with 'action' in them, but a Huntsmen and Huntresses duty is to the people first and killing Grimm second. Therefore, we need you all to go into the wild to save the people you are training to protect. For some, this means some rather grueling tasks, for others it might be a cinch. I have the utmost faith in every single one of you and hope to have an overwhelming amount of reports of success when all is said and done. Good luck!"

The students all nodded and went back to looking for missions, albeit with renewed zeal for these recovery missions.

"I'm glad Patch is on an island, no threat there." Ruby said to her sister.

"Agreed. No telling what would've happened if it wasn't" Yang responded. "I think we should take this mission."

Weiss and Blake walked over to join Ruby at looking at the mission Yang was pointing at.

It was to Redford village.

HNV Deterrence, above Remnant

"General March, the forces have successfully silenced all villages 100 miles away from Vale. We are 98 percent sure that there will be no early warning for Vale outside of immediate proximity patrols." A holographic form of a Jaeger Commander reported.

"Excellent, we will be sure to take advantage of this when the time comes." March responded. "Dismissed." The holographic form faded out.

March leaned back into his chair. So far, everything was going to plan for him. The Maidens were on the run, save the Summer Maiden he had currently undergoing training for their own uses. The Fall Maiden was elusive to him, but he was sure 17 Actual had her trail at Beacon. The Winter Maiden was somewhere in Atlas, probably in a room guarded by enough forces to make it a challenge for even the HEF, and the Spring Maiden was nowhere to be found.

March sighed, his thoughts drifting to the Summer Maiden. Lyz Green had been a blessing and a curse to him. She had a sob story and a half. Parents killed by Grimm, some shadow group was chasing her because they wanted to 'save' her, Grimm were always on her tail, people wanted her dead, yadda yadda yadda. She didn't want to come to the HNV Exiled God willingly, no thanks to the now destroyed 16 Actual's methods, but she warmed up to the force surprisingly quickly with the help of a certain private. Now she was somewhat cooperative, but had moments of outbursts when she felt she was being too controlled. March found her agreeable when she wasn't pleading with him and Vice Emperor Grey about the methods they used to "subjugate the populace into absolute destruction unwillingly." Her words, not his.

And then the now very famous private. March looked down at the report from Doctor Engelmann that sat on the table next to his chair. He had read it a couple times, and had to adjust his plan when he heard about Eckhard. He would be useful, probably in infiltrating villages and bases under the disguise of a Huntsmen. His Aura reserves, as the doctor put it, were enough to overload the inhibitors on the ship. That caught March's attention easily, and he already wrote a report back to Doctor Engelmann about how he wanted Eckhard ready for the Invasion of Vale and for the private to accompany the Summer Maiden in capturing the Fall Maiden.

"Such a change." March mumbled. "It's never simple." He poured himself a small glass of whiskey and drank it. "One of these days I'll retire, and shit still will be complicated."

He put down the glass and went back to writing the promotion orders for Eckhard to be promoted to Sergeant.

Almost 4k words, I think that would make this my longest or second longest chapter. Favorite and Review.