"Holy fucking balls," Ilia exclaimed.
"I echo that sentiment," Corsac agreed.
"Then actually say it," Ilia challenged as she gave the older man a scrutinizing look. "Let me hear you say 'fuck', just this once."
"…no."
"Children," Marrow chided as he continued to walk forward, his boots crunching through the snow as he held his assault rifle up and at the ready. "Focus. The assailants could be preparing an ambush, or the commotion from the crash could have drawn grimm. We have to stay on our toes."
"I thought very few grimm could survive this sort of cold," Ilia replied as she adjusted the fur-lined collar of her coat to better cover her neck. "Are there any that actually come this far out into the ice fields?"
"…a few," Marrow answered cryptically. "And they're the kind you would never want to meet. That being said, we would've seen them by now, if they were here. They aren't exactly subtle or small enough to be stealthy."
"Fortunately, it is a clear day," Corsac observed. "Whoever did this would have a difficult time preparing an ambush for us."
"Unless they're still inside the ship itself," Ilia warned. "And what a ship it is. Whoever did this has balls."
"And we need to seize them," Marrow muttered as he walked up to the downed transport. "No more talking until I give the all clear inside."
The dust transport was a long parallelogram about the length of a training room within Atlas Academy and standing perhaps three people tall. Upon the side of the flying box was the Atlesian sigil in red paint. No windows or openings broke up the otherwise featureless steel bar one unplanned hole just to the side of the logo. The metal around the puncture was blackened and twisted, and the scorch marks extended outward from where some sort of blast had punched straight through the wall. Several of the thrusters on the bottom of the flying container were also damaged, and a few scattered dust crystals outside of the transport were glittering in the sunlight.
Ilia knelt down and plucked a dull red crystal from the ground. She held it up to get a better look as Marrow arrived at the hole in the side of the transport. The Ace turned on his gun-mounted flashlight before stepping into the line of sight of the hole and swinging the beam in either direction. Satisfied that the entrance was devoid of hostiles, he beckoned the others to follow him with two fingers before stepping inside of the downed aircraft.
Corsac was the first to follow, his movements nearly silent as he held his pointed staff at the ready. Ilia was soon to pick up the rear, her back pressed to his as she kept an eye on the impromptu entrance and the snowy fields beyond. As soon as the three faunus made it inside, Marrow turned off the flashlight on his gun and began a slow advance, keeping the firearm ready while he explored.
The inside of the ship was thoroughly trashed- what were normally orderly containers had been spilled over onto the floor, their contents of dust crystals littering the steel. Several Atlesian automaton guards had been blown to pieces or otherwise decommissioned and lay strewn about the inside of the cargo hold. A monitor embedded into the far wall of the container had been smashed, the adjoining holographic keyboard beneath it flickering and reading ERROR. A faint smell of flames and gunpowder filled the entirety of the craft, and several dents pocked nearly every wall.
"…clear," Marrow called with a heavy sigh as he lowered his weapon. "And not good. Not good at all."
"The crystals outside… they're spent," Ilia declared as she held up the darkened gem for Marrow to see. "Whoever did this definitely used a shitload of dust to punch through these walls. They're thick."
"Nearly a foot," Corsac agreed as he made his way back to the hole. "This is the work of professionals… though their methods for transporting goods leaves a lot to be desired. So much was left behind…"
"…was it?" Marrow asked as he stooped low and began to look over the scattered dust crystals spilling from the broken containers. "These transports were primarily carrying gravity dust to help us get Amity into the sky. I don't see any in here."
Ilia's blood ran cold as she, too knelt down to the floor and began looking over a nearby patch of scattered crystals. Though the colors were dulled within the darkened interior of the ship, Ilia could make out their typing well enough due to her natural gifts. Ice dust made up the majority of the pile, while scattered crystals of lightning, earth, and plant material were mixed in among the wreckage. Curious, she rose and moved to inspect one of the few intact containers that remained within the cargo hold. Upon removing the lid and peering inside, she found exactly zero crystals of a pale purple among the lot.
"…nothing," the faunus girl announced. "This is only about half full, too."
"I am seeing the same," Corsac agreed as he ran a hand through a messy arrangement of crystals, spreading them apart. "Nothing useful to us at all."
"They knew," Ilia declared as she replaced the lid on the container. "Whoever did this knows what we're trying to do. It can't be Watts or his crew. Cin doesn't know about launching Amity."
"…it could still be them," Marrow cautioned. "Even if they don't know, they could be up to something of their own that requires gravity dust. Reaching Atlas without being seen isn't easy, and if they're trying to infiltrate the city… gravity dust is a good start. We also still can't rule out the possibility of common pirates. The dismantling of the security robots looks professional, but we've dealt with skilled rogues before."
"Is there any combat data stored on these automatons?" Corsac asked as he moved to examine one of the fallen guards. "Perhaps that could help us to identify the culprits."
"That's the next step," Marrow agreed as he took out his scroll. "I didn't expect to find any of the guards still in the ship, let alone intact… but some of them look intact enough that we could glean some information from their data banks. I'm calling in Hope to see what she can extract. Most of these are pretty smashed up, but it's worth a shot."
"While you're at it, I'll call Sun," Ilia replied. "Let him know what we're dealing with out here… and what to potentially look for when dealing with Robyn."
"Wait just a moment, ladies."
Emerald was already halfway out the door when Watts' voice echoed through the small apartment. The man's forceful tone caused her to tense up, and she looked back over her shoulder at Cinnamon as if asking what to do. Being shoved forward by the faunus wasn't what she expected, but Emerald seized the opportunity to leave while she was still able.
"What now?" Cinnamon asked as she turned, putting an arm out to obscure Watts' view of the doorway and Emerald beyond it.
The two men sitting in the kitchen both looked at her, though their expressions couldn't have been any more different. While Arthur Watts regarded the faunus with an impartial look upon his face, Scarlet David was glaring at her with nothing but contempt. Cinnamon didn't bother to return the sentiment or even look at the young man at all as she kept her attention on Watts while he reached beneath the table.
"Wherever you two are going yet again, take this with you," Watts instructed as he placed a weighty suitcase upon the tabletop. "Make yourselves useful to the cause while settling your animal affairs."
"Animal affairs," Cinnamon repeated as she approached the table and swiped the suitcase from the wooden surface. "What an interesting phrase. Showing your true colors, now that you're approaching the point of no longer needing my services?"
Watts crossed his legs beneath the table and balled a fist, resting it beneath his chin as he leaned back in his chair. He wore a rather bored expression, entirely unfazed by the accusation.
"I just see no need to mince words at this point. Based on how frequently the two of you leave to do things other than the work you've been assigned, I can only assume that you're putting the White Fang stationed here before your obligations to Salem. While I may not be able to stop you, I'm sure she won't appreciate such a lack of dedication when she arrives… and she'll be arriving soon."
"If you have no idea what I'm doing, then how do you know I'm not dedicated?" Cinnamon retorted as she lifted the briefcase a few inches. "And what's this? You told us preparations were completed, and Atlas was set to fall to Salem shortly after her arrival. We've already made backup plans, and several signal towers are compromised. What else do you want?"
"Simple. I want another tower scrambled," Watts said with a shrug. "One can never be too careful, after all. The device inside is the same as before- you two do what you've been doing, and things will work themselves out. Keep your scrolls on."
Cinnamon sneered as she let the suitcase back down to her side.
"They are on, so you can track us. If you absolutely must know what we've been doing, we've been hitting dust shops and pilfering high-quality crystals while pinning the heists on local criminals. You want Jacques to win this election, don't you? The sort of rabble that follows Robyn Hill has been implicated. We're influencing the vote and procuring resources for the team. The White Fang actually has very little to do with our outings."
"Is that so?" Watts asked, sounding bored. "Well then. Where is all this dust that you've supposedly managed to acquire?"
Cinnamon hesitated, sensing that something wasn't quite right. Regardless of his body language, she had learned over the weeks that Watts never asked a question without reason. To lie would be rolling the dice on whether or not he followed up on it, while giving him the location would leave her vulnerable. Cinnamon looked over her shoulder to make sure that Emerald was safely down into the hallway before she decided to do neither.
"…in a safe location where we can readily access it if needed."
Scarlet scoffed, his expression darkening. Cinnamon didn't bother to react.
"…I see," Watts replied. "Then be on your way. I expect results."
"And I expect appreciation for our efforts instead of constant scrutiny," Cinnamon retorted as she made her way out the door and slammed it behind herself.
"…tail them?" Scarlet asked after a moment of deafening silence.
"No need," Watts reassured. "It took some doing on account of their efforts to cover their tracks, but I'm well aware of where they've been recently. Mantle is indeed prepped for Salem, and now, we turn our sights to Atlas itself. You and I will be moving forward without them. I'll determine the location of their dust stash using data from their scrolls now that they're back on. Once you have my instructions, carry them out carefully. I'll be busy dealing with Robyn Hill and her 'security detail', by that point."
"Fine," Scarlet answered as he got up from the table. "What exactly am I going to be doing?"
"You'll begin by laying a trap here." Watts explained as he, too, rose. "After that's been taken care of and those two insufferable women have been removed from the equation, you'll be in charge of keeping an eye on the signal towers. So long as at least one remains under our influence, Salem will be able to approach Mantle undetected until it's too late. Quite the honor for you."
"I can handle it," Scarlet reassured. "If this is all going as smoothly as you've said, then I shouldn't meet any resistance. And if I do… I'll be ready, and have quite a bit of dust to back me up. Not even Sun will intimidate me."
"That you will," Watts agreed. "Just remember that a cornered animal is desperate. Who knows what they might do?"
Scarlet huffed as he made his way toward his room.
"Honestly… who cares?"
Author's Note:
Back to Sun next week, and then Ruby on the road…
-RD