Somewhere over Vale Proper
"IGNORANCE, AND UNDERSTANDING! WE'RE THE FIRST ONES TO JUMP IN LINE!" The pilot shouted/sang as the SR-71 Mk2 flew through a spectacle of lasers and missiles aimed at the aircraft. "OUT OF STEP, FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN! BUT WHO'S LEFT? TO START THE PLEADING!"
"STOP SINGING AND KEEP FLYING!" Eckhard shouted. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
"WHY ARE WE SHOUTING!?" Liz shouted. "CAN WE ALL CHILL?!"
"Battlecruiser detected in front." The computer reported.
"SHIT!" The pilot pushed the steering down, forcing the plane to point straight at the ground. "We really might die!"
"There's three battlecrusiers on our tail, and we have no reinforcements. Accurate assessment." 17 Actual said. "Now, how do we get out of here?"
"We could speed past them, but those laser cannons would rip us to shreds." 09 Actual said.
"Cloaking device was damaged, we can't disappear." 10 Actual jumped in. "Good news though, Amber is in stable condition."
"I'm awake, you know?" The Maiden in question said.
"We need to hold a little longer." Eckhard said. "They're on their way."
"Who?" Liz asked.
"Remember when I said I was calling this in? Well, I got a response from Exiled God. The 34th Interdiction Squadron is on their way right now. We got eight battleships coming to support us, so we need to hold position a little longer." Eckhard explained.
"Eight? Won't that announce your presence to Remnant?" Liz asked.
"Only if Ozpin wants people to know about the Maidens and Salem. If that information comes out, there will be panic. Which brings Grimm, and potentially Kingdom ending consequences." Eckhard explained. "We could use that to our advantage, but for now it is what it is."
"That's an extreme plan, perhaps we should reconsider? If Remnant finds out about Hammond too early-" 17 Actual started.
"If everything we have done hasn't alerted them yet, then this will go over their heads as well!" Eckhard interrupted.
"Fair."
Lyz huffed. "Look, we're in the middle of Vale airspace with three battlecruisers on our tail. Let's focus on that problem while Hammond brings in the big guns."
"Agreed." The pilot said.
On the ground
"Breaking news: Beacon Academy has been attacked. Earlier tonight, an unknown force attacked the prestigious Beacon Academy, catching many of its guards unaware. The Atlesian force protecting both Beacon and Vale's CCT has been largely incapacitated for the time being. Both James Ironwood and Headmaster William Ozpin have been unavailable for comment, but communications between the four kingdoms have not been interrupted in any way at this current moment. This is a developing story, so not all information is available at this time." The reporter on the scroll was standing in front of an Atlesian barricade near where the fighting took place. Ruby closed her scroll, and went back to staring at the aerial fight that was above her and her team. The laser Dust cannons were constantly firing at something that she could barely see. It was a jet, but it was quick and nimble for its size. She saw it take some hits, but it shrugged them off. She saw the side of the ship shine. 'Hard Light shielding?'
"Sis, we should head inside. This isn't really something we need to watch." Yang said. "I get that it's cool to you, but we're tired and the ground part is already done."
Weiss nodded in agreement. "Ruby, Yang makes a good point. We should get some sleep, we do still have class tomorrow-"
Blake suddenly perked up, her bow twitching rapidly. "Something's coming."
"What? What do you mean-"
"GET DOWN!" Someone shouted, probably another Faunus. As soon as he had shouted, the night sky flashed white, as if the sun suddenly jerked itself from behind the horizon. There was a loud roaring accompanying the white light. The entire student body who was outside was thrown to the ground.
Ruby and Weiss recovered first. They struggled to stand, heads spinning and ears ringing. They looked up, their eyes readjusting to the night sky again. What they saw terrified them.
An Atlesian Battlecruiser was falling from the sky, the hull of an unknown ship was crushed and melted into the front of it. The other two battlecruisers were still in the air, but seven other ships were with them. Ruby could clearly see the insignia on the sides and bottoms of the ships.
HNV New Sacramento, flagship of the 34th Interdiction Squadron, currently above Vale
Captain Clarke Griswold of the New Sacramento sighed as the HNV Chicago fell to the ground. Her crew had miscalculated the jump, and ended up in the front half of an enemy ship. "All ships, fire at will. Crew, find me that SR-71 Mk2! We need that half maiden ALIVE!"
"Yes sir!"
The captain went back to looking at his console, showing the fight going well. He had six ships in his fleet, not counting his. Three were to attack each ship now, devastating them. Originally, the plan was two to a ship while New Sacramento and Chicago protected the SR-71 Mk2.
"Sir! Incoming transmission! It's the SR!" A radio operator shouted. "I'm putting them through!"
The captain looked at the screen in front of him as it turned on. "Captain Griswold, we are en route to your ship. Have a hangar open for us, I think our ship is too damaged to make a safe landing!" The pilot reported. "I got the engine flaring up and the shield won't hold much longer!"
"They're still shooting at you? Christ alive, get to the New Sacramento in one piece please." Captain Griswold ordered. "Your target is way too valuable to be destroyed over some city."
"Roger, making way to you-Christ! What the hell just hit us? What? A bird? What bird?-" Captain Griswold shut off the video, watching the sky as his ships continued to attack the grossly underprepared Atlesian Battlecruisers.
Blue 1, Atlesian 1st Fleet
Ironwood stared out the window as his three ships were shredded by gunfire from the enemy ships. Blue 4 was still falling from the sky, the enemy ship's inertia bringing them both to the ground. "Where did the target go?" Ironwood asked.
"Sir, the target is docking with the ship in the back. Patching a live feed now." An officer reported, the video came onto a screen in front of Ironwood. It was the New Sacramento.
"All ships converge onto the marked point. I need the target back now!"
Not even had he finished speaking did Green 5 and 2 of the 5th Fleet roar past his ship. The two rushed the lone enemy ship, while two other enemy ships converged on them immediately.
"Sir, scans show the enemy ships who destroyed Blue 5 and 3 are leaving the atmosphere." A different officer reported.
"What? That's impossible. No ship can leave this planet and survive." Ironwood dismissed the report. "They're going to higher altitudes to attack, have scanners keep an eye on them-"
"Sir! They're leaving!" Another officer reported. "Look!"
Ironwood turned to see four ships point their hulls up, and suddenly left the skies, leaving a streak in the direction they left in. "Well...what do you know."
HNV New Sacramento
Captain Griswold watched as two battlecruisers roared towards him. "All guns open fire on the two oncoming ships. Don't let them through!"
Guns and missile launchers fired from the ship, and impacted the oncoming battlecruisers. One battlecruiser was hit by a missile straight through the bridge, and started to fall out of the sky. The other started to turn, but was hit by a multitude of cannon fire. The ship was ripped into two by the Dust Core exploding.
"Sir, the ship was successfully defended. Preparing jump coordinates now."
Captain Griswold nodded. "Good, don't mess them up please. I'd rather not be in the front half of Exiled God with our target."
"Understood sir-Portside!" The officer shouted as something rammed the New Sacramento.
Blue 1
General Ironwood's eyes were wide as he watched Green 3 ram the enemy ship. Both ships started to fall to the outskirts of Vale, near a poorer part of the city. "All ground forces not stationed on wall defence, converge on these coordinates for a high priority retrieval."
There were a multitude of calls coming in, all of them complying with the order and moving to the crash site. Ironwood made a call to Ozpin to inform him of the situation, but was surprised to see Professor Goodwitch answer. "Glynda?"
"James, Ozpin is incapacitated." Professor Goodwitch said. "He got into a fight with three of those super bots."
"So there are more of them…" Ironwood rubbed his chin. "Glynda, how bad is it?"
Glynda sighed. "He's got three broken ribs, and there's a blast mark on his back. He was hit with some kind of large caliber projectile. His Aura kept him alive, but he's unconscious right now."
"Keep me updated. My forces have brought down one of the ships. Two are still in our airspace and my fleet is moving to deal with them. Ground forces should already be on top of the enemy." Ironwood reported. "We will bring back the Fall Maiden, and recapture the Summer one as well."
"Okay James, be safe. Remember, they killed off most of your Specialists here. This enemy is not to be trifled with, they will kill anyone who gets in the way."
"Glynda, I am fully aware of that. But they won't get away." Ironwood said firmly. "I won't let them."
Ground, wreckage of the New Sacramento
"Hold the line!" A grunt commander shouted. "Protect the target!"
Gunfire erupted from inside the wreckage of the ship as Hammond soldiers fired at Atlesian forces heading into the ship and surviving forces in the ship that rammed into them. Explosions lit up the wreckage, as well as flashes from guns on both sides. Several grunt squads moved outside the wreckage, laying serious covering fire against the Atlesian forces, but it wasn't enough. More forces, including several Paladin mechs, poured into the crash site.
"Sir! They're going to the hangar!" A grunt reported. "They're going for the target!"
The grunt commander gritted her teeth and pulled out her radio. "Hangar team, they're going to you!"
"Copy. Grunt squads Albion to Delta are moving to set a perimeter. Sergeant Eckhard and his oversight are with three Jaeger Commanders, they have the target." The radio squealed back. "Be advised that HNV Delhi and HNV York are moving to cover our escape."
"What escape?"
"Be advised, HNV Lyons will be jumping into the airspace to provide support. Dropships will pick up survivors while multi-role fighters cover the retreat. Target must be secured at all costs."
"Wait wait wait! HNV Lyons is dropping in? Like the Supercarrier HNV Lyons?!" The grunt commander shouted. "That ship is too big for atmospheric jump this close-"
"Be advised, HNV Lyons jumping into the city of Vale in three...two…"
Beacon
Ruby was watching her scroll as news teams were following the fighting in the poorer district of Vale. "Guys, I think Atlas is starting to push them back!"
"That's hardly a surprise. Atlas is the best military Remnant has to offer." Weiss said haughtily. "This enemy is hardly worth the effort-"
Before Weiss could finish the sentence, Blake's ears started twitching again. "Guys...another one!"
The team hit the deck as something big jumped in, throwing dust and some debris into the air. Yang and Ruby recovered first this time, and looked up to see a large ship, larger than any airship on Remnant, in the sky above Vale.
And it was emblazoned with the Hammond symbol.
Ruby looked down at her scroll, which was still showing the news channel. "Uhh...this just in! A huge airship has just warped into the airspace above Vale! Fighter planes seem to be exiting from the ship at impossible odds...oh my Oum they're strafing the Atlesian soldiers! A Paladin is going down! Is there a medic!? Where is…" The reporter was cut off as Atlesian soldiers could be heard shouting orders or screaming in pain as more fighters strafed the ground. "Evacuate all civilians! Get that news reporter the hell out of here! Blue Actual, we need to leave, now! There's too many of them! Something's falling from the sky!"
"Shit, that's one of those mech things. Get down!" The sound of gunfire erupted from the screen.
"All forces, fall back! Forget the line!"
"My Oum! Where's our air support!?"
Ironwood's ship
Ironwood was barely aware of the calls as he stared at the supercarrier hovering over the battle site. The fighters that were deployed from it were tearing Bullheads and airships apart. The ship itself was dishing out a lot of damage with missiles and point defenses.
"Sir, forces are retreating from the district. We still have Specialists capable of finding the target." An officer reported. "Shall I-"
"Get the Specialist teams to the target. Bring me the prisoner, now!" Ironwood commanded. "I want a damn explanation for all of this!"
"Understood sir!" The officer ran off, with two soldiers following him into the prisoner hold.
"That damn soldier...that lying sonofabitch pulled a fast one on us!" Ironwood said through gritted teeth. "He'll give me an explanation, then I'll have him hanged!"
The comm device crackled to life. "General, teams have made it to the hangar. Specialists in position to secure target."
"Understood, remember you cannot kill the target. We cannot lose her."
"Understood, Actual out."
Ground, with Eckhard and crew
"We got movement, outside the blast doors." 17 Actual reported. "Seems like Steelbark sent his finest."
"Steelbark?" Lyz asked, turning to face 17 Actual.
"I mean...Ironwood?" 17 Actual said with uncertainty.
"Doesn't matter, his soldier's are coming. We need to protect Amber, before they kill her." Eckhard said.
"Kill me?" Amber asked. "What do you mean?"
Eckhard said nothing, opting to take out a datapad with info Hammond had stolen off the Vale CCT database. Amber took the datapad, and read over its contents.
"They wanted to...fuse my Aura..my soul...with an innocent student at Beacon?" Amber asked. "In hopes of protecting the rest of the Fall Maiden's power from Salem...they were willing to throw me away?"
Lyz scoffed. "Why do you think I was always running? Ironwood and Lionheart wanted me in their clutches to keep me 'safe'. In reality, they wanted to lock me away because I didn't fit their criteria as an effective fighter. If need be, they would transfer my power to someone they believed to be more suited to protect herself. They were going to do that to you as well. Oh, and in the process bring another innocent into the fold of their stupid war."
Amber stared at Lyz, her face conveying her shock to the information she just heard. She handed the datapad back to Eckhard, and sat on the ground. "How long till we leave?"
"HNV Lyons is sending ships to our AO, but the team sent to retrieve us needs time to fight off intercepting Atlesian forces and get to us. We ourselves have to fight off some forces that are coming right...about…"
The blast doors on the side of the hangar exploded.
"Now." Eckhard aimed his shotgun, and fired off an Aura piercing slug. The slug found its mark in a specialist's head, the head exploding into red mist, coating his comrades with blood. "Strike one bogey, several more to go." Eckhard said, the screams of horror from the other specialists echoed in the hangar. "Finish them." Eckhard ordered the Jaegers, who jumped to action.
Several seconds earlier, by the same blast doors
Specialist Team I was not having the best time fighting through all of the chaos and madness that was this battle. Several of their teammates had been injured already in the fight to get here, one had died to a stray 40mm shot landing next to her. The team had been reinforced by a trio of trainees that had recently lost contact with their teammate. According to one of them, she had been part of the intercept group at the CCT. The team leader didn't have it in his heart to tell the trainee team that she was most likely dead.
"Sir, we're ready to breach." One of the specialists reported.
"I'll breach first." One of the trainees growled. "I wanna kill the bastard that hurt Ella."
"Stand down trainee. Let our team leader handle this." The same specialist said. "I know you're worried about your teammate, but now is the time to focus on the objective. We have to secure two targets, without killing them."
"Anything we should know about the target?" Another trainee asked. "You aren't telling us much."
"All in good time." The leader said. "Now, let's go!"
The door in front of the team leader exploded, and he charged through. The others followed, only to hear the sound of a shotgun. Suddenly, the head of Specialist Team I's leader disappeared in a shower of paste, covering the remnants of the team. They started to scream, horrified at the sight of the lifeless body falling down to the ground. Two robots jumped onto the platform they were standing on, and activated their weapons.
Outside the ship wreckage
A Hammond grunt threw down his gun. "I'm out of ammo!" He shouted as he scrambled behind cover.
"Pick up one of the enemy's guns!" Another grunt shouted, firing her pistol into the oncoming enemy. "I'm out of ammo and on my last few clips for my P2020!"
The original grunt nodded, and looked around for a dead enemy soldier. He saw a rifle out of the corner of his eye, and army-crawled towards it. He picked it up, and looked down the sights. It came with an ammo counter on the downrange scope. "Interesting."
"Corporal, I hope you know what the hell you're doing with that thing!" A sergeant shouted.
"Yes, Sergeant!" The corporal rose from his cover, and fired into the oncoming squad of Atlesian soldiers and Knights. "Get some!" He pulled the trigger, causing Dust rounds to fly from the barrel at a moderate rate. The rounds hit the enemy, killing the soldiers and destroying the Knights.
"Man, that thing has some power!" A grunt shouted.
A grunt walked near the corporal, an Ogre titan brought up the rear behind the two. "Why do we have these guns?" The soldier asked.
He was answered by a Dust sniper bullet from across the way. He fell to the ground, his rifle discharging a bullet into a nearby metal structure,
"Oh fuck, they got Kyle!" The corporal exclaimed.
The Ogre hefted it's 40mm. "Beep boop, fuck Remnantians." and started firing 40mm shells at the Atlesians.
"Lyon Actual, where the hell is our objective?!" The corporal shouted into his comm. "We're still waiting for evac down here, and Atlas is pouring on some serious heat for an ice kingdom!"
"Evac ship is en route, objective nearing your position." The device responded.
"Wait, what?" The corporal responded, only to be answered by a body landing next to him with a loud THUD.
"Corporal Preston?" A voice behind him asked.
"Yeah?" The corporal peered into the smoke, looking for who asked for him. He saw several figures walk out from the wreckage. Three Jaeger Commanders, a Grapple pilot, and what looked to be a girl wearing a Specialist jacket being held by a figure wearing some serious wetwork gear.
"Please tell me the dropship is almost here." Sergeant Eckhard asked.
"Not on your life!" A Specialist jumped down, only to be shot by 10 Actual's recoiless rifle. The shot disintegrated the Specialist on the spot.
"One more for me." 10 Actual said.
"It's on the way, Sergeant Eckhard." Corporal Preston responded. "Actually…"
Two dropships warp-jumped right above them. They landed, and opened their doors for the group.
"Here it is." Corporal Preston said. He looked towards the Ogre. "Shutdown code 4-z94-Core."
The Ogre hefted its 40mm cannon, and started to march towards the enemy lines.
"We got 2 minutes, everyone on!" Corporal Preston shouted. The group quickly got onto the dropships, and they started to take off. They watched other dropships lift off as well, as other Ogres charged the Atlesian lines as well.
"What was the code?" Liz asked Eckhard as she walked towards Amber. "I didn't see it when I was reading through your combat manuals."
Eckhard took off his helmet. "Corporal Preston is assigned to a platoon in a Titan battalion. His platoon leader, a lieutenant, has control of the mech, but corporals and squad leaders have access to the codes to "dispose" of Titans to avoid them being captured."
Corporal Preston gestured to the Ogres charging the Atlesian lines.
On the Atlesian side
"Mechanized infantry, charging our line!" A soldier shouted. "Get those rockets ready! Paladins, fire missiles! When those mechs are destroyed, we're charging the line!"
Missile salvos flew over the line as soldiers prepped weapons. One soldier looked up from her cover, watching as one of the Titans tanked several missiles before exploding. "We got one!"
The other Titans dropped their weapons, and started to run at the Atlesian line. They fired missile salvos, emptying their ordinance racks into the enemy line.
"Shit!" An Atlesian captain shouted, explosions shaking up the line. "Kill those bastards!"
"Sir! Scans show the mechs are operating on an autopilot!" A soldier shouted.
The captain paused for a split second, then he realized what was going on. He turned to his subordinates. "RUN!"
It was too late. The Ogres stepped over the line, right in the middle of the Atlesian forces. Their centers were emitting a bright light, and a second later the Ogres erupted in a fiery explosion.
Somewhere behind the frontline, several seconds before the explosions
"Guys, we gotta move! The Atlesian forces might need help!" Ruby shouted, weapon in hand as she ran to the frontline
"Ruby, slow down!" Yang shouted, following her sister, armed with Ember Celica. "We need to wait for orders from Beacon!"
"Yes! They haven't said we can assist in operations!" Weiss shouted.
"We don't have time to wait! They're gonna get away from us!" Ruby shouted back. She turned a corner to see the battlefield, only to be blown back by a concussive wave.
"RUBY!" WBY shouted, running to their team leader to only be stopped by the loud noise of the explosion that caused the concussive wave and the wall of debris that followed it.
Dropship
Lyz stared down at the small mushroom clouds, taking in the sight of the Titans becoming small weapons of mass destruction. Her silence was telling to both Eckhard and Corporal Preston, her planet hadn't even dabbled into the physics and power of the atom.
"This planet's progress will stagnate until they run out of Dust." Corporal Preston mumbled.
"And by the time they realize that, we'll already have won." Eckhard said, making it clear he heard Preston. "Take us back to Lyons, we've got work to do."
"Wait."
Eckhard and Preston turned to Amber, who was being tended to by 10 Actual. "Yes, Amber?"
"What about your ships? Atlesian techs will rip it apart bit by bit if they have even the slightest hint that there might be info on it." Amber explained. "What if they find something you don't want them to find?"
Lyz turned around to face the two men. "Yeah! What the hell is Hammond gonna do if Remnant finds out how actually powerful you are and how actually and utterly fucked they are?"
Preston turned to look at Eckhard. "Sergeant?"
"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but the superiors seem to be feeding false information to the Remnantians by a prisoner we let them capture. Any info on the ship would invalidate the prisoner's story immediately." Eckhard said, his hand on his chin. "Unless…"
Ironwood's flagship
"They've already covered those tracks as well."
The soldiers walked into the prison cell of the captured soldier, who was sitting on his bunk. He turned to face the soldiers, noticing their faces were holding very angry glares. He smiled when he realized why.
"What's the matter? Get your asses kicked again?" He smirked.
He was answered by being hit with the butt of one of the soldiers' rifles.
Beacon
Glynda looked out at the destruction from the landing pads near Beacon. She was overseeing Atlesian Bullheads that were bringing wounded back, and to make sure none of the Atlesian soldiers were just enemies in disguise.
"This was just one night." Port said, his weapon in hand. "What could they do if they had all the time in the world?"
Oobleck walked towards them, his usually speedy self gone. "In one night we lost Amber, Atlas lost a portion of their deployed Specialists and military, and Vale lost any and all sense of safety."
Glynda scowled. "They're stronger than anything we've ever seen. They have the capability to build airships bigger than anything Atlas will probably ever build. We need a daring plan, something to bring that thing down."
"Perhaps there might be something in that ship we can use." The three of them turned around to see Ozpin walk towards them. "I'm sure James's technicians are already going through the ship."
"Ozpin, you healed quickly." Glynda stated. "Surely you don't want to rest a while longer?"
Ozpin shook his head. "Later, Glynda. Right now, all of you should listen."
"Listen? To what?" Port asked.
"What do you hear?" Ozpin asked.
"Sporadic gunfire, Bullheads, that big ship." Oobleck said.
"So?" Ozpin asked.
"What do you mean 'so?'" Glynda asked. "You're the one who asked!"
"Wait." Port said, his demeanor surprisingly serious. "It can't be."
"What?" Oobleck asked.
"Where are the breached proximity alarms?" Port asked. "We should be swamped by Grimm. Nay, we should be overrun by them."
Glynda scowled, deep in thought. "Could it be?"
"Professors of Beacon, this enemy is not only capable of piercing our sanctuary." Ozpin said, his own scowl forming. "They are able to clear out masses of Grimm in such a fashion that no Grimm will interfere with their operations, no matter how much negative energy is seeping from Vale."
Dropship
Eckhard's comm device crackled. "Sergeant, uhh...the Vice Emperor is contacting you."
Eckhard nodded, and took the device. "Vice Emperor?"
"Sergeant, March has just informed me on the next step of the plan. It involves you and Ms. Green, more than what I expected."
"Vice Emperor, what does that mean?" Eckhard asked as the dropship landed in the hangar of Lyons.
"That is a long explanation. Short explanation, we need both you and Ms. Green to stay on Lyons until told to leave it."
"Yes, Vice Emperor." He cut the communication, and turned to Lyz. "We have orders to stay on Lyons until further notice."
"But what about the cozy rooms on Exiled God?" Lyz asked. "I liked my room."
"Change of plans, I guess. General March always had a thing for theatrics."
Lyz shrugged, and went to go tend Amber. Eckhard wondered when he was going to get leave again.
Ironwood's Ship
Ironwood stared down at the beaten and bruised form of the prisoner. "I'm going to ask you again." He said, his rage barely masked. "What the hell is that?" He pointed to HNV Lyons.
"I have no idea, sir." The prisoner asked. "You didn't capture any other soldiers to tell you? That sucks."
"I don't need other soldiers to tell me. You're gonna tell me right now!" Ironwood exclaimed. "Where did all the military strength come from! It doesn't just suddenly appear, you have to have known!"
"Temper temper, Ironwood." The prisoner chuckled. "Being angry at me isn't gonna give you the answers you want."
"I don't care if I have to beat you within an inch of your life myself, you will tell me what I want to know." Ironwood grabbed a rifle from a nearby soldier. "I'll do it in front of my entire staff if I must."
"So that's the most threatening thing you can come up with? Pathetic." The prisoner taunted. "My drill instructor was scarier than you."
Ironwood said nothing, only responding by smacking the rifle across the prisoner's face.
The prisoner landed on the ground with a thud. "Ugh!"
"Think I'm playing around now?" Ironwood asked. "What is that airship!?"
"I'm not telling you shit!" The prisoner shouted. "I won't get the chance to do so!"
"What do you mean?" Ironwood asked, his voice and the rifle lowering. "What does that mean?"
"Oops. Sorry boys." The prisoner said, and suddenly the windows on the bridge were broken by entering figures.
"Sonofabitch!" A soldier shouted, watching his friend get impaled by a metal fist. "Super androids!"
The soldiers raised their weapons to fire, but were quickly killed by any forces that didn't enter the bridge. Ironwood hit the deck, avoiding the bullets that killed his staff and guards.
The prisoner, who was still on the ground, looked around at the carnage. "Huh, guess I didn't screw it up."
A Jaeger walked towards the prisoner, and cut loose his handcuffs. "Operational system status?"
The prisoner suddenly started glowing, and the figure had changed into a Jaeger Commander. "12 Actual, all systems nominal. Those rifles barely dented me."
"Sir, we have secured the data." A Jaeger announced. "We are good to go."
"Excellent, let's get out of here." 12 Actual said. As the squad walked out to the waiting transport, 12 Actual looked down at the cowering figure of General Ironwood. "You know, at any given point that I was here, I could have taken this ship with ease."
Ironwood said nothing, only looking up at the Jaeger Commander.
"I only kept all of you alive because my orders dictated so." 12 Actual said. "Be thankful that my superiors are merciful. I am not such a generous robot."
"You will pay for this." Ironwood sneered.
"We might, but it will be a very small cost." And with that, 12 Actual walked out of the bridge. Ironwood did nothing as it left him with the corpses of the fallen staff, he only seethed in rage.
HNV Lyons
Admiral Sloane looked down at the map of the battle, his units were falling back. He was fully prepared to leave this stupid city, but something in his mind was telling him that he would be back here.
Admiral Ellis Sloane was once a respectable officer in the Hammond Naval Forces. Revered after several years of combat against Militia uprisings in the Dark Wars, and brought to near legendary status after a victory against a superior force at the Battle of Harmony. He was on track to be brought into the close and secure government circle known as the Hammond OverCommand. That was all dashed in an instant following a massive failure at the Battle Over Horathin, when sixty percent of his fleet was demolished by Militia prototype railguns. He blamed Vice Emperor Red for this failure, the tactics he used were solely on orders from Red.
Red, coincidentally, denied any involvement with the Battle.
With this failure of leadership, Admiral Sloane requested transfer to the HEF Naval Forces. His request was granted to the glee of Vice Emperor Grey. He was put in charge of the SuperCarrier HNV Lyons, and given a copy of the General March's plans.
Admiral Sloane didn't hate the plan, but hated what was gonna happen next. He felt it was a small punishment for his failure at Horathin.
"Admiral, the objectives have been secured and all soldiers have been evac'd." An officer reported. "Shall we depart?"
"Yes, immediately." Admiral Sloane ordered. "We need some space from here."
"Yes sir." The officer relayed the order to the helmsman, and the ship began moving out.
Admiral Sloane activated his communication device. "Vice Emperor, we are lifting off as I speak."
"Excellent, be sure that our new guest is aware of our intentions with the planet before we go further." The Vice Emperor reported. "If she wishes to not fight for us, then tell her alternative is to wait out until we are finished."
"What about interning her? Like as a POW?"
"She is not in this war willingly. Amber is hardly a combatant, much less a prisoner." Vice Emperor Grey explained. "She will be interned as a normal person. A civilian consultant for the planet. She probably knows more ins and outs about Ironwood's circle of buddies than we do."
"A valuable asset, then. I'll make sure no harm comes to here."
"See that you do." And the call was dropped.
"This…'Maiden'...better be worth it." Admiral Sloane mumbled.
Hangar of HNV Lyons
The dropship landed on the busy hangar of Lyons as crews rushed around unloading fuel and ordinance from aircraft. Medics were tending to wounded personnel. Quartermasters were looking for missing ships, while casualty counters looked for missing men and women.
The doors opened, and Sergeant Eckhard walked out with the three Jaeger Commanders. "Welcome back?"
17 Actual gave a shrug. "After Action actions are always hectic."
"Agreed." Came the two other Jaeger Commanders.
Lyz led Amber down the walkway to the busy hangar. Amber looked around at the imposingly large room. She could barely keep up with all the people running around doing their jobs at breakneck pace.
"I know, it's overwhelming." Lyz stated. "But it's better than what I got."
"What was your first encounter like?" Amber asked her fellow Maiden.
"I was chased all around like a hunted hare for, like, two weeks. Then, when they finally cornered me with one of those super bots, they took me to a giant ship. I was treated horribly all the way up by the Jaeger Commander, named 16 Actual."
"That's awful!"
"It gets better, I promise." Lyz soothed her friend. "We reached the hangar, where I was met by a large group of soldiers and Jaegers. I was thrown from the ship after I crippled 16 Actual's hand. On the ground was where I first met Eckhard."
"How'd that happen?"
"He approached my body, asked if I was okay. 16 Actual told him to back off, and threatened to break my hand. I was saved by one of their top leaders, who released me into the care of Eckhard. 16 Actual was put down a little later by the same leader, and I was apologized to."
Amber raised her eyebrows. "Wow."
"Yeah, they said they were sorry about how 16 Actual had acted. I still have his head in my room. I don't know what he was shot with, but there's a huge ass hole on the side of it. Blew all the circuits out." Lyz chuckled. "I took it as a gesture of good will, and I started to read about this little group. Turns out little group is the farthest thing from little."
"How big?"
"I couldn't tell you." Lyz shrugged. "But they mean well for this planet."
"I could say the same." The two turned around to see a tall caucasian male in admiral's clothing. "Lyz Green, I would like to speak to Amber alone, please."
Lyz nodded, and turned to Amber. "Don't worry, the officers are gentlemen through and through." With that, she walked off to talk to Eckhard.
Amber turned to face the admiral. "Uh...hi?"
"Greetings. I am Admiral Sloane." The man said. "You must be Amber, the Fall Maiden?"
Amber slightly shook her head. "Kind of?"
"Right, partially. Your powers were somewhat stolen, I believe?"
"Yes sir."
Admiral Sloane raised his hand. "Sloane is fine. You are a guest aboard this ship."
"Yes, Sloane."
"Good. We have some things to talk about."
Beacon
Ozpin stared at the ship pulling away from Vale airspace, sighing as he watched no Atlesian ships give chase to it. "It seems James has suffered another defeat from this enemy."
"So that's two and a tie for him." Glynda said. "He won't be happy."
"And we're out of two maidens." Ozpin looked over the report. "This group was able to bring her back from the edge and safely carried her out to be secured on that big ship of theirs. I'm guessing that's their command ship."
"So what are you thinking?" Glynda asked. "We scout around and look for it's resting place?"
"Exactly that. We need to destroy it." Port said. "Cripple their morale with one easy attack."
"It will be far from easy, my friend." Ozpin said. "It will be the hardest fight of our lives."
"Should we contact James?" Glynda asked. "I assume he will want to be in on this."
"Yes, you'd think he would be here-" Ozpin was interrupted by a call from Ironwood. 'Ah, speak of the devil." He answered the call. "Hello-James!"
The video camera had some red smears on it, but Ironwood was worse for wear. His uniform had red stains over it, while his bridge looked like it sustained a small firefight. "Ozpin, it's bad here."
"James, what happened?" Ozpin asked, worry in his voice.
"I was beginning to interrogate the prisoner about the airship when it's squad attacked. My bridge crew and my staff are all dead, and the prisoner escaped." James reported, his voice emotionless. "And to top it all off, the prisoner was a disguised robot. One of those super bots."
"We still don't know what to call those." Port mused.
"So the prisoner was not even human, just disguised as one?" Glynda asked. "They can do that?"
"That makes this hard then." Ozpin said. "That means they can be any of us."
"What do you mean?" Glynda asked.
"He means that they could kill one of us, and infiltrate our circle with ease." Port explained.
"I hadn't even thought of that until you brought that up, Port." Ironwood stated. "Excellent summarization of this new threat."
"Thank you."
Ozpin turned to Glynda. "On those terms, we have a problem. It has an easy solution."
"A strike at the center." Ironwood answered. "I will mobilise forces."
Glynda sighed. "All these shows of bravado from both sides, you think it's a drama show."
High Council Room Arora
Red was reading some reports from Sigmantium, when the doors opened. "Ah, White. You're back." Red said, without looking up. "How's the defense force?"
"That's not my job, Red." Said a voice.
"Ohshitisthatthe-" Red stood up and turned around in an instant. "Emperor Commander!" He saluted.
"Red, I swear to God, you have problems." The Emperor Commander shook her head. "Get your shit together."
"I'm trying, Emperor Commander."
"Try harder." The Emperor Commander snapped. "Sigmantium was a success, but don't rest on your laurels."
"Yes, Emperor Commander." Red said.
"Good." The Emperor Commander nodded. "Now, I'm only here for the week. I have decided to join the 3rd HEF Military Group in their endeavors on Remnant."
"Is that wise?" Red asked, sitting down. "Surely the HEF can handle themselves."
"Yes, they are more than fine. After reading General March's plans, all losses were expected." The Emperor Commander said. "His affinity to make the enemy predictable still astounds me."
"Yes, it seems that way." Red mumbled.
"However, Sigmantium is done and I still am itching for a fight." The Emperor Commander said. "I will be going to Remnant to fight whoever is strong enough to face me."
"Yes, I think-Wait what?!" Red turned around to face the Emperor Commander. "Emperor Commander, I implore you to reconsider!"
"Why is that?"
"These Remnantians are not normal beings! They are superhuman in strength and possess differing abilities and powers! Not only that, they have personal shields that protect their bodies!" Red explained. "This is not a place to trifle around and fight whoever you want!"
"I assure you, I will be fine. A contingent of Jaeger Commanders will be accompanying me on my adventure." The Emperor Commander explained. "No harm shall come to me."
"Very well." Red said. He picked up a report from the desk. "Good luck, Emperor Commander."
The Emperor Commander nodded. "Thank you, Red." With that, she turned around and walked out of the council room.
"Lord have mercy on Grey, he's in for the ride of his life."
Planet Hyacinthia, somewhere deep in Hammond Territory
"Is it ready?" A technician asked. "The HEF needs this soon."
Another technician waved off the other. "Relax, this thing is ready. Activating." He pressed a button.
There was a soft hum, and a screen appeared in front of the two technicians. It showed a flat surface before a cliff edge, with a metal plate on the ground. The metal plate opened, and a platform brought up a giant bipedal mech. The green machine stood on two legs, with a cockpit in the center. On the left and right sides, where arms would've been, were chainguns. The top of the mech had a Trebuchet equipped on it.
"Is it running, pilot?" The technician asked.
"All systems nominal." The pilot responded.
"Excellent." The technician turned on a recording device. "Beginning test of mechanized unit 1-A/33. Designation: the Vityaz walker."
HNV Lyons, above Remnant
"So that's the plan?" Eckhard asked Admiral Sloane. "This is a terrible plan."
"We need to crush the morale of the enemy. It is the best laid plan." Admiral Sloane countered. "It's quite simple as well."
"Yeah, so it can easily be disturbed by the enemy." Eckhard countered back. "What about the Vytal Festival?"
"General March believes it will be cancelled by now."
Lyz nodded. "Sounds about right. That big of a blow to a kingdom would shut down everything."
"So we wait till they attack us?" 17 Actual asked. "We'll be ready."
"I don't like the look of this plan, at all." Eckhard sighed. "But if the boss says so."
Amber looked over the plan again and again, wondering what force had enough resources for this plan. "Holy shit."
Admiral Sloane turned to his communications officers. "Contact HNV Solaris, HNV Insurmountable, HNV Independence, HNV Gevatter Tod, HNV Mortalidad, HNV Hubris, and HNV Evisceration. Send them this plan, and to await for further orders."
"Aye, sir." They went to work.
Admiral Sloane turned back to the group. "Now, how do we make our position known?"
Eckhard raised his hand. "I have an idea."
Vale
Ruby and Weiss were being tended by medics in the wreckage that was the poorer district of Vale, Yang and Blake had been sent back to Beacon to give a report. The ensuing explosions from the mech units had toppled buildings and destroyed windows all the way to the center of the city. Many of Ironwood's deployed troops had perished in the fighting, and most of his vehicular units were damaged or destroyed.
"So...everything you hoped for?" Weiss asked her partner. "Not exactly our finest hour."
"Weiss, I said I was sorry!" Ruby whined. "I didn't know the giant mechs were gonna suicide charge the frontline!"
"Fair point." Weiss conceded. "But we still shouldn't have rushed down to the fight."
"I know." Ruby drooped. "I just really wanted to get back at them after Redwood."
Weiss sighed. "Ruby, you can't save and avenge everyone. This is a much bigger fight than us. Probably bigger than all of Vale and Beacon. This is a war, actually."
"So we're fighting two of those now?"
"Not quite, it seems to be a three way battle between all parties." Weiss put her fingers on her chin in a thinking position. "The Grimm didn't come and attack Vale, even though negativity in the city should have skyrocketed. That means, while Vale was fighting this 'Hammond Empire' here, the Hammond soldiers were fighting the Grimm or had already wiped them from the surrounding area." Weiss explained.
"You mean they were able to wipe out all of the Grimm near Vale? Just to grab...whatever they wanted to grab?" Ruby asked, dumbfounded. "They would need some serious fire-oh wait."
"Right...that damn airship plus the other eight that were sent with it." Weiss dipped her head slightly. "We're gonna need either a big weapon or a daring plan of attack to take it out, plus it's accompanying support ships."
"Well, there's only six support ships left. And I'm sure the general is tearing apart the crashed one right now." Ruby said. "There's bound to be something in there."
Ironwood's Salvage Team
"Get a light over here!" A soldier shouted. "The General wants this place ripped apart!"
Soldiers and engineers were rifling through the wreckage of the New Sacramento, looking for anything that could help their war effort. The defeat in Vale's poor district had left them bitter, and itching for revenge against the enemy. Their fallen brethren had been either killed, burned, mangled beyond identification, or a blast mark on the ground. Their vehicles and androids were bested with ease, and their weapons, which were slightly more advanced than their enemies, were rendered useless against a mechanized onslaught.
"Hey, I got a computer over here!" An engineer shouted. "I need a techie!"
A technician immediately ran over to the engineer. "Lemme look at it." He immediately plugged in a USB device, and synced his Scroll to the computer. He typed some commands, and was able to unlock the computer. "Success!"
"Whatcha got, doc?" A soldier asked.
"Files, more files, some maps of Remnant...hold on a sec." The technician stared down at his Scroll. "Incoming message from...Lyons Actual?"
"I heard that name get thrown around on comms down here." The soldier interjected. "I think that's the big ship."
"What's the message?" The engineer asked.
"It's coordinates for survivors of the battle." The technician's face lit up. "Coordinates to where Lyons is."
Beacon, a little later
"I see." Ozpin said. "That was an amazing stroke of luck."
"Indeed, we now have the ability to strike at the enemy." Ironwood said. "I have several divisions coming to support our operations, as well as two more fleets of airships for the air battle."
"So we should have enough forces to strike? Huntsmen and Huntresses included?" Glynda asked.
"Yes. I am pulling my fourth years to assist as well. I ask, not demand, if you could do the same." Ironwood said. "If you wish to keep them back, that is fine."
"I would like them to protect Beacon." Ozpin waved off the question. "I need them in case the enemy pulls something, or the Grimm come back."
"Plus, we need the muscle to help rebuild Vale and the surrounding defenses." Glynda said. "We were able to moderately provide air defense, but our turrets were destroyed immediately."
"It's understandable." Ironwood said. "I'll send AceOps instead. They've been itching for a fight."
"Very well, I'll leave you to it." Ozpin ended the call. "I guess that decides the Vytal Festival."
"It's being cancelled?" Glynda asked.
"As of right now, no. The council is looking into what to do, they're actually weighing all options for once."
"Shocking." Glynda sighed. "What do we do now?"
"We do exactly what we said. We rebuild and hope we don't get attacked by Grimm." Ozpin said. "The loss of Amber is still a huge blow to us, but we must remember that whoever was searching for her will now be much easier to catch. Keep an eye on your roster for suddenly missing people, Glynda. That will be our target."
Beacon Guest Dorms
"Dammit!" Cinder crushed her Scroll. "How were they able to take her?!"
Emerald and Mercury were silently standing near the edge of the room, hoping to avoid Cinder's wraith.
"They snuck in her, killed most of Ironwood's guards if not all of them, and stole what was rightfully mine!" She threw her Scroll onto the floor. "And to top it all, they have a huge airship with enough firepower to level a kingdom and a half! Where did these things come from!?"
The duo tried even harder to be silent, Emerald was seriously considering using her Semblance to sneak out of the room.
Cinder quickly composed herself, and turned to her two minions. "We can't use any of our plans now. Torchwick has been captured, along with Neo. Our target has been stolen, and is somewhere else on Remnant. Now, we can't just suddenly leave because that would raise suspicions." Cinder looked between the two. "I want you two to know that none of this is your fault."
"Ma'am?" Emerald asked.
"I couldn't have asked you two to go find and bring me the Maiden from their clutches. I'm pretty sure I saw Ozpin get hauled out of there on a stretcher." Cinder sighed. "We need a new plan."
"Hmm…" Mercury went deep in thought. "We still have access to Ironwood's network, right?"
"Yes." Cinder said. "Not sure how it would help us out."
"What if we rifle through his messages, look for anything that could be happening." Mercury suggested. "They probably ripped that downed airship apart, so Ironwood has to have found something. Maybe a location to were the big ship went?"
"And if we have the location…" Cinder went deep in thought as well. "We couldn't steal the Maiden still. Too many enemies."
"Knowing Ironwood and Atlesian war doctrine, they're gonna go guns blazing on that ship. We simply sneak in during the operation, and take the Maiden for ourselves." Mercury finished. "It's a rough plan, but it's a start."
Cinder nodded. "It's a good start. Excellent work, Mercury." She brought out her hacking Scroll. "Let's see what the tin man has found…"
