It wasn't hard getting her hands on a Level 3 Access Card, being the daughter of the Schnee Dust Company and all. She just needed to use her father's name to imply threats and flash an innocent look, and they were happy to let her explore the facility with free reign.
So she takes off in the middle of the night when her mother finally dozed off, sneaking out the door while she searches for the storage area where the prototypes and experimental products are being kept.
She nearly gasps as she hides behind a trash can, avoiding a pair of guards walking through the dark hallways and chatting with each other. After holding her breath for a moment, she exhaled in relief once they passed her.
Once she was in the clear, Winter hurried down the hallway until she reached the storage area and unlocked the door with the access card given to her. The metal doors slide open as she enters, using her Scroll's light to help her find her way.
Stacks of shipping containers emblazoned with SDC emblems towered over her as she struggled to find which one the black Sentinel may be in. Then she spots a computer attached to one of the walls.
She remembers seeing employees use similar things to search for information and approaches one to do the same. However, it asks her to log in with an employee username and password.
It took her only a few seconds to put in her father's information. With the amount of times he's called her to his personal study for a lecture, she can remember every detail of the room including the sticky note he has plastered on his desktop with his password.
Sure enough, the information was valid and she was given unrestricted access. She begins typing in the search bar for anything related to Project: Sentinel, resulting in quite a long list but she scrolls through them to find one that catches her interest;
"Asset 1." she mutters remembering that was what the technicians and researchers called it, "Container 25-A."
She quickly clicks on the option to unlock the container's doors before logging off and shutting down the terminal before making her way to the container, finding it at the very top of a stack, nearing the roof.
Gulping at the sight, she however steels herself before focusing on building up her Aura just like the tutors taught her, before exerting it in the form of her Semblance, creating a white glyph below her that launches her in the sky.
It could've gone a bit smoother, she thinks to herself as she hangs on barely by the ledge of a shipping container before pulling herself up. After lying on the floor of the container in exhaustion of her feat with Aura, she gets up and turns on her Scroll to give some light only to be startled when she comes face-to-face with the black Sentinel.
She hesitates on what to do next. What exactly did she come here to do anyway? What could she even do? It looked turned off.
"H-hello?" she asks nervously as she approaches the deactivated robot.
Then it came online. Optics came to life with glaring red lights as she nearly fell backwards in surprise, before the optics started to flicker on and off repeatedly in a pattern. Realising what it was trying to do, Winter opened that Morse translator app in her Scroll before activating the camera so it could record and translate, and what she got surprised her.
"-E. L. L. O. H. E. L. L. O."
"You can understand me…" Winter says in soft awe as the optics flickered again,
"Y. E. S." it says to her surprise, its head whirs as it nods up and down.
"You're alive?" her jaw drops, "I heard that the pilot thinks you're alive."
"Y. E. S," it repeats with another slow mechanical nod as Winter watches with a slacked jaw. Before she can gather her thoughts, her Scroll suddenly receives a call from an unknown number. Her eyes wander back to the robot before nervously accepting the call,
"Ah…at last." the voice of a woman comes through, surprising Winter, "Thank you so much. It has been so long…"
"H-hello?" she holds the Scroll to her ear, "Are you…the Sentinel?"
"Sentinel…That is the project designation your father has given us." the voice says sounding tired before continuing, "I am Ayre, a…the partner of the pilot of this AC. You must be Winter Schnee, eldest daughter of Willow Schnee and Jacques Schnee né Gelé."
"That's me," Winter says looking nervous about how this robot knew that, maybe it just looked it up online or something?
"What do you mean by AC?" Winter asks, "And pilot? My father said this Sentinel was piloted by an AI…are you the AI?"
"No…I am not an artificial intelligence." Ayre says, "What I am is…hard to explain. But the pilot and I both coexist. Your father was being untruthful when he claimed that no pilot exists in this AC, or Armored Core as we call it."
"Wait, so there's someone inside right now?" Winter asks, confused at her phrasing as the Sentinel, or Armored Core as Ayre calls it, turns to her before something hisses and the air is released and depressurised before the torso opens up to her surprise.
Her hand moves quickly to cover her own mouth to stop herself from screaming. The sight before her…how could someone be in that condition?
In front of her hanging from the cockpit located in the torso of the Armored Core was a body wrapped in bandages and plastic, not a single speck of flesh was visible as he was held up and connected to the internal mechanism of the Armored Cored via tubes and wires all over his body like a twisted marionette. What was worse was that the body squirmed and shivered as it struggled just to raise its head at her.
"Wh-what are you?" Winter asks as she stumbles backwards in both shock and fear, dropping her Scroll as she does so.
"Winter…this is Raven. My partner." Ayre explains through her Scroll's speakers, sounding sad as Winter struggled to find words,
"Is this…is this why you asked me for help?" she mutters still trying to wrap her head around what she was seeing as the cables pull back this 'Raven' before the torso closes up around him, "...Did my father do this to you?"
"No, what happened to Raven happened long ago." Ayre says, "But he has kept us here, locked away, with no contact with the outside world for the past 375 days."
"That's over a year!" Winter exclaims in realization and horror before going silent, "...He kept you here like this…for over a year?"
"..." Ayre's silence was palpable and Winter couldn't help but feel disgust at her father. She was no fool, she heard the things the SDC had done to people, specifically the Faunus. She feels the glares of anger and fear from Faunus whenever they come across any in Atlas. But seeing one of the terrible things he's done first-hand felt…different.
"You can understand why we need your help." Ayre continues, "My connection is very limited, the Dust used for data transfer across the facility makes it very difficult for me to link wirelessly. I may be able to brute force it, but I will be noticed and I fear both Raven and I will be silenced if we're discovered and interrupted. As such the only thing I was able to access through our captivity was basic information of the world outside, observing but never interacting less I am caught."
"So you want me to help." Winter mutters and the head of the Armored Core nods, "I'll go to my mom. Her father, my grandfather, created the SDC! She can tell them to stop and let you go."
"Can she?" Ayre asks doubtfully, "I have read about your grandfather and how your father took over. I do not believe your mother has any role in the SDC at all. Nor does she have the power to authorize our release."
Winter cringes as she realizes Ayre was right, "So what can I do?"
"We regret having to ask a child for this, but there are two locations you must first note. The security room and the storage area's control room. The security systems must be disabled beforehand to ensure Raven and I can execute our plan with minimum difficulty. Then the storage area control room contains a terminal that once I have access to will allow me to manipulate equipment and move Raven to the assembly line where I can then equip him with equipment to escape." Ayre explains, going quiet before continuing, "This has considerable risks of you being discovered and punished by your father if you are caught. If you choose to decline we will understand. We will not blame you. I of all people should know about choosing to stand with family."
"...How do I help you?" Winter asks after a short pause and judging from Ayre's quieting it surprised her, "No one deserves to live like that, no one. It's wrong, it's inhumane, it's criminal! I can't just ignore this. How can I help you escape?"
Her phone rings as she receives a message and as she opens it she realizes it is a file to download,
"Consider your actions carefully." Ayre warns, "If you do choose to help us, despite the risk, download the file. Fortunately, your Scroll device is not monitored like the facility's systems, so I uploaded a program that would allow me to virtually access the controls once it is plugged in manually and uploaded. I once again ask you to consider the risks, while we value our freedom, we do not wish to see a child harmed for helping us."
"Whatever punishment my father comes up with, it can't be worse than whatever you're going through." Winter says, looking at the Armored Core with sympathy, "I'll-"
Before she can finish, Ayre interrupts her quickly,
"We are monitoring the cameras, security forces will soon conduct their patrols in the storage area so you must leave now." She warns, "You may contact us as you wish using your Scroll. Be safe, Winter Schnee."
"You too," Winter whispers back before she jumps out of the shipping container, using a black glyph to slow her fall.
"Is this information legitimate?" a man in a black hood with a white mask resembling that of a Grimm asks his comrade dressed in similar garbs, the two of them huddling around a campfire in the dark forest.
It was how the White Fang operated. Moving from one spot to another, no fixed positions, no grand fortresses, no vast battlelines in their war to free Faunus from oppression. Always on the move.
"It better be, for the amount of Lien we paid." the other hooded figure says softly, even if they were a fair distance from their main camp, and know many of their brothers and sisters would agree with what he has to say, he still doesn't want their leader to catch wind, "Top military officers, Atlas security councilmen, SDC shareholders and even the entire Schnee family themselves! All of our most valuable targets in one basket…"
"And if we let this opportunity go now we may never see anything like it ever again." the first man says in realization, "Does Ghira know about this? You know how he is with missions like this."
"That coward? Forget him." the second one scoffs, "I have spoken about this with many brothers and sisters in the council who feel the same. They are willing to pool together resources, favours, and everything we need to mount an assault. What do you say, brother?"
"What will we find in this facility?" he asks after a moment of consideration,
"From what we are hearing from our spy? Weapons, something that nobody on Remnant has seen before."
The first man nods, "Send a message to our contact in Lake Matsu, the leader of that band of pirates."
"The former Mistralian admiral?" the second figure asks, remembering hearing of a former Mistralian naval officer going rogue and taking a small fleet of airships with him that has steadily grown in power over the years.
"Yes, he owes us. Sweeten the deal by promising half of whatever we find in that facility. Tell him to bring ships, men and weapons to add to ours. We must leave nothing to chance." the first figure says with zeal.
"Of course, brother." the second figure nods before hesitating, "How much should I ask for him to bring?"
"How many does he have?"
Two Weeks Later*
"Welcome, welcome." Jacques Schnee spreads his arms as he greets his guests from the upper echelon of society in Atlas in terms of the defense industry, "I thank you all for traveling all the way here. I hope the trip was pleasant?"
He shakes hands with many of his shareholders that he is familiar with, smiling at them enthusiastically before it falters when he finds someone he isn't familiar with and notices he was the last to come out of the luxury airship followed by two Atlas military servicemen.
"Uhm, hello there…Colonel?" he says as he looks at the stripes on his uniform's shoulders, "Where is Councilwoman Magnolia? I was told she was going to be here."
"Colonel Ironwood, of the 22nd Atlas Rapid Deployment Brigade. Councilwoman Magnolia apologizes but she is held up with a family emergency, and the General supposed to come in her place is required to investigate the presence of a possible Grimm Horde so I come in their stead." the man says, offering a gloves hand as Jacques raises his brows in recognition of the name.
Colonel James Ironwood, a celebrated hero of the Atlesian Armed Forces, is credited with the defeat of the Magenta-Category Grimm Horde, Behemoth, two years ago despite facing tens of thousands of Grimm with only four thousand soldiers and little armored or air support in a grueling guerilla campaign lasting for an entire month in the Frozen Wastes, wiping out a number splinters of the horde before the main battle force arrived to mop up the rest.
Jacques resisted a wide smile that would've split his face. This might be just as good, Colonel Ironwood was already famous for his victory and having the word of a hero promoting his products will be just as good as a Councilwoman in the Security Council.
"Pleased to meet you, James." Jacques shakes the offered hand with a friendly smile but the face on the Colonel remains neutral,
"Colonel, Mr Schnee." he corrects, "Only friends call me James."
"Well, I'll start calling you that by the end of my presentation." Jacques chuckles with amusement he wasn't feeling, remembering why he hated dealing with military personnel. He then gestures to his family who have just finished greeting and making small talk with the shareholders, "Please, allow me to introduce my family. My lovely wife, Willow, and my two daughters, Winter and Weiss."
He gestures for them to approach and Willow does so, with Weiss still in her arms and staring at him with childish curiosity.
"It's an honor to meet the Exterminator of Behemoth. I've read of your exploits." Willow says politely as she shakes his hand with one arm while the other is used to carry Weiss.
"Then you would know it wasn't all on me. Many men and women gave their lives to guarantee the safety of the Kingdom of Atlas." Colonel Ironwood says with a neutral look on his face remaining as he shakes her hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Schnee. And if this is Weiss, I assume you're Winter." Colonel Ironwood says as he looks down at the eldest Schnee child who glances up slightly intimidated by his presence.
"Y-yes, I am. Sir." she quickly adds in the last part before saluting, thinking that must be what you're supposed to do from all the films she's seen. The Colonel actually looks amused at this,
"Well, aren't you polite." he cracks a slight smile before bending down and offering a hand, "But that's only necessary for military personnel greeting a superior."
"Oh." Winter says embarrassed before shaking his hand and feeling something odd, "It's cold."
She mutters under her breath at the realization and the Colonel smirks,
"Yes, I suppose the gloves are rather thin." Colonel Ironwood says as he takes off his glove and Winter gasps at the sight of his mechanical hand, "Lost it during the extermination of the Behemoth Horde when I was fighting the Elder leading the horde."
"I can't imagine what it must have been like to face such a monster." Willow says sympathetically, "I'm sorry for your loss, Colonel."
"There are many monsters out in our world, Miss Schnee. It's simply our duty to make sure others won't have to see them." Colonel Ironwood says as Jacque leapt into the conversation,
"Well, fortunately, if my product begins mass production, hordes like the ones you faced will no longer be such threats to our society," Jacques says confidently,
"I'll make sure to note that in my report." Colonel Ironwood says unenthusiastically before Jacques gestures for them to follow,
"Come now, the journey was long and I'm sure you must be hungry Colonel. I've prepared a short lunch before we proceed with demonstrations." Jacques says excitedly but before they can move, Winter coughs into her fist.
"Father, I apologize, but might I excuse myself from lunch?" Winter says looking unwell as Jacques barely restrains a frustrated growl. But before he can say a word, Willow speaks up.
"If our daughter is feeling unwell then she will have to miss lunch," Willow says with a slight glare at her husband, still angered by their argument last night.
"...Of course, I'll have one of our employees bring her food then," Jacques says before turning away and Willow bends down to Winter's level,
"Alright, how about I bring you back to our room then?" she offers but Winter shakes her head,
"There's no need mother, I am well enough to find my way back. I do not wish to be a bother." she says and before Willow can argue, Winter insists, "Please Mother, I'll be fine. You are already busy enough with Weiss, aren't you? And I'm sure Father wouldn't want any more of the family to miss out on his presentation."
Willow looks between her two children and then her husband before conceding, "I'll check up on you as soon as I can."
Jay grumbles as he watches the screens from the security room, watching the guests eat their luxury meals while he is stuck with his rations and cheap coffee-flavored sludge. He knew what he was signing up for when he became a security officer in one of the SDC's secret research facilities, but it felt like they were rubbing in his face with the meal they prepared.
Besides that, he was the only one operating the security room besides his night shift replacement. They wanted to keep all this research hush-hush so they went with the bare minimum staff and personnel which just meant more work for him.
Eh, whatever. Just a few more days and his vacation will finally be approved. Finally, he'll use the stored-up vacation days he's accumulated over the past few years to spend a full week to himself.
Just as he was thinking this, there was a knock on the door to the security room and checked the security camera pointing outside the door, surprised to find the eldest Schnee daughter knocking and looking distressed.
Getting up, he taps the button to open the door and kneels down to greet the kid, "Hey there, kiddo. What's wrong?"
"I-I'm lost. I can't find my way back to my quarters," she says looking like she is about to cry and the sight breaks his heart,
"Oh, don't worry. Here, how about I call you-?" he looks away to grab his radio but in that split second he is distracted and exposes his neck, Winter acts quickly and jabs a taser right in his neck like how she was taught in self-defense classes. Her mother and father made sure she had some form of protection with the recent increase in White Fang activity, in case somehow her bodyguards would be compromised.
"I'm so, so, so sorry." Winter cringes as she barely drags the unconscious body away, only managing with some Aura, grabbing two sets of handcuffs on his belt and restraining both his arms and legs, gagging him with a cloth and putting him in a supply closet after emptying it out.
"I'm trying to save someone, I promise you this is for a good reason," she assures the unconscious security officer before closing the closet shut and approaching the control panel. It all looked complex to her but she just needed to plug in her Scroll and upload Ayre's program.
Soon enough the upload was complete and the nearby screen faded to black before a red pulse appeared,
"Winter, you've done it." Ayre says in excitement , "I have control over the security systems now. Thank you."
"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner." Winter apologizes, "It was the only time I can think of where my mother wouldn't be looking over my shoulder."
"We've waited a year, we could wait another two weeks for freedom." Ayre assures before the controls pulsed red for a second, "Assuming direct control…I've gained access to the timetable, most of the staff will be with the guests to observe a live fire test run of Steel Blizzard in a few minutes. Once they have done so, I will redirect any remaining staff in both storage and maintenance. And we'll finally be free…Thank you, Winter."
Ayre says with relief in her tone, and Winter feels proud of this before wondering,
"Then…where will you go after this?" she asks out of curiosity and worries, "What if Father tries looking for you?"
Ayre pauses for a moment before answering, "We've spent a lot of time pondering that while in captivity. Rest assured that vengeance against Jacques Schnee and the SDC is placed at the bottom of our priority list. The top priority will be finding sanctuary, perhaps citizenship amongst one of the four kingdoms to gain legal protection."
"Will that stop him?" Winter asks unsure.
"Our priority will be making as few enemies as possible on Remnant. If you are concerned we will retaliate with violence, we have both agreed that unless your father forces our hand, we will only respond with the minimum force necessary to avoid capture." Ayre assures before changing the subject, "Steel Blizzard has been deployed, and the presentation is underway. I will begin making preparations to…"
Ayre trails off as she realizes something, and Winter looks at the screen worriedly, "Is something wrong, Miss Ayre?"
"There's something else here, another program that shouldn't be here." Ayre says, sounding confused, "I'm removing it right now, it seems to be some kind of virus. But what could…Oh no."
"Miss Ayre?" Winter looks confused before suddenly the lights go red and alarms blare, "What's going on?"
"Winter, I need you to listen to me very carefully." Ayre says calmly but sternly, "We must free Raven and grant him the necessary equipment before they arrive?"
"They?" Winter asks before Ayre displays something on the monitor that causes Winter's eyes to widen.
James Ironwood grumbles as he stabs a fork into…whatever the hell he was eating. It was said to be some kind of steak but it had the texture of a fish and some kind of blue sauce that tasted like mushrooms. And the portion was small enough to fit in his palm, frankly, it was more like an art piece than something that should be eaten.
Honestly, with the money these people had, why couldn't they have afforded something edible? Why go through all the effort to make this fancy but disgusting food? The rations in the army were better than this by miles.
Then his fellow guests were equally unbearable. By the gods, all they talked was about rich problems like not being sure what brand of expensive sports cars they should get, what absurdly expensive endangered animal they were going to eat for dinner, or how small their manor was and how they planned to get bigger ones. If he had to listen to someone complain about how he was torn between purchasing beachside property or forest property for the fifteenth time, he was going to grab one of his men's rifles and shoot someone. Maybe himself.
He was beginning to think his superiors had sent him here for punishment. At least there was champagne here, and while they weren't as effective as old-fashioned vodka, he still helped himself to a fair quantity of them to drown out the migraine he was getting from hearing the shareholders talk with Jacque Schnee on business topics he had long since lost any semblance of care for.
Then after his fifth glass, he heard a champagne flute get tapped with a fork to get attention and he turned to the head of the table to find Jacques standing up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, might I have your attention please?" Jacques asks as he sets down the glass and fork, "I'm glad everyone has taken the time to travel here for my presentation on what I guarantee to be the future of the defense industry."
Polite clapping came from everyone at the table with James doing so reluctantly,
"Today we are joined by a brave veteran from the Atlas Armed Forces, Colonel James Ironwood." Jacques points to him, "Tell me, in all your years in the army, what do you believe is the most difficult thing about fighting the Grimm?"
James clenches his mechanical arm as memories of his last battle against a Grimm Horde Behemoth rush into his mind, but he keeps his cool, thinking before explaining to the men and women looking at him with curiosity,
"The most difficult thing…I would say there are many difficult things about fighting the Grimm." he says, "Their physical abilities for one thing. Claws sharp enough to cut metal, with the strength to tip over armored jeeps, and a bone carapace that can provide a reliable defense against the basic service rifle. Then multiply that by dozens, and if you're facing a Horde, hundreds of thousands. And this is just the basic Beowolf, one of the most numerous species of Grimm in Remnant, and far from even the middle of the totem pole."
Some of the shareholders pale at this, looking nervous, pulling at their collars as if struggling to breathe, but he continues.
"And then there is their relentlessness. A drop of fear is all you need to draw in every Grimm from half a mile away. And they'll stop at nothing until they get it. But worst of all if you let them live long enough, they may grow into frighteningly intelligent beasts like Alphas, Elders or even Ancients given enough time." he says as he gulps down the entirety of a full champagne flute in one go, "Relentlessness, adaptiveness, never-ending numbers with no need for concepts such as supply chains or morale. The perfect army."
"Yes." Jacques says gratefully before turning back to his shareholders, "But what if…what if instead of five human soldiers needing to face a Grimm for an even fight, ten Grimm would be needed to face a human soldier to even stand a chance?"
This perks up the attention of everyone in the room, including James who raises a brow wondering what he is saying.
"What if a single soldier could effortlessly carry and use enough firepower to match an entire platoon of soldiers? What if a single soldier could outpace an entire flock of Nevermores while barely breaking a sweat? What if it would take a shot from a heavy laser cannon mounted on an airship to even injure a single soldier?" Jacques continues with excitement,
"What you're talking about, even a Huntsman wouldn't be able to do all that," James says with skepticism, crossing his arms as Jacques smiles smugly.
"Indeed, but we aren't talking about Huntsmen, James." Jacques says despite the Colonel's earlier insistence, "Everyone, allow me to introduce to you, Project: Sentinel."
Slides his Scroll across the dining table, landing in the middle of the room as it displayed holographic projections of schematics of what looked to be a mechanical humanoid.
"A ten-meter tall mechanical suit armed with weapons fit for an airship, experimental Hard Light Dust shielding with engines and thrusters powerful enough to outpace anything in the Atlas Navy." Jacques says proudly, "Stronger, faster, better in every way compared to your average Huntsmen, while at the same time costing no more than your average military-grade corvette-class airship."
Everyone in the room began muttering amongst themselves, discussing the implications and being in shock at such a declaration.
"This is…impressive." James admits with reluctance, hating to give that man any satisfaction, "But if this is just a concept-?"
"Far from it." Jacques says with his smug grin as he gestures to the glass plane wall on his left that displays a hilltop and edge of a forest, with clouds gathering across the sky indicating a storm brewing, "If you could all turn your attention to my left?"
As he says this, a faint boom could be heard from the outside and James nearly leapt out of his seat, thinking it was an enemy attack but then realized it sounded different from an explosion caused by Fire Dust.
A small streak could be seen over the horizon, leaving a trail of blue flames as it closed the distance in seconds, landing outside in front of the SDC executives and shareholders with their jaws dropped.
"Wh-what is that?" a shareholder asks.
"Everyone, meet Steel Blizzard." Jacques gestures at the white and blue robot with glowing blue optics and SDC emblems emblazoned everywhere from its shoulders to chest and legs, "The very first combat-ready Sentinel. How are the conditions, pilot?"
Jacques asks through his Scroll with a voice responding shortly after a second,
"All lights and systems are green, boss." Responded the pilot of Steel Blizzard and Jacques nodded,
"Well, how about we give our audience a show?"
"Copy that, boss." the pilot responds before Steel Blizzard's thrusters burst with blue flames and launch upwards.
James watched in silent awe as the Steel Blizzard performed aerial maneuvers that wouldn't be accomplished by even the most agile combat Bullhead, never mind being able to catch up. Then it strafes a hillside, firing missiles from its shoulder that explode with crackling purple energy, carving out a portion of it and leaving a large scar in the landscape as the audience gasped.
"Another product of the SDC's research, a brand new type of Dust that far exceeds anything a basic Fire Dust missile can achieve." Jacques announces, "Rest assured we are quite safe here, the facility is protected by a scaled-up version of the Hard Light Shields that protect Steel Blizzard."
He explains as Steel Blizzard switches weapons before firing a red beam from its rifle and taking down flying drones set up as targets, doing so with pinpoint precision while flying through the sky.
Then it approaches a derelict piece of hull likely from a civilian-grade airship. Holstering its weapons, it then pulls out a device before a beam of blue energy is emitted from it as Steel Blizzard cuts through it in half with little resistance before switching off the energy blade and skidding to a stop.
"The future of Grimm extermination." Jacques declares with his arms outstretched, " Imagine every soldier in Atlas armed with this technology. No longer will our soldiers fear facing the Grimm without Aura. Instead, it will be the Grimm that will fear facing us."
The audience breaks into applause and cheers at the spectacle as James turns to Jacques who is basking in the applause. But before he could say a word, the lights turned red and an alarm began blaring.
"What in blazes?" an executive mutters confused as Jacques looks frustrated, approaching an intercom in the wall.
"Security, what the hell is going on?!" he demands only to get static as a response, "Security? Damn it, someone find out what's going-?"
"Look!" someone shouts as they point at the gathering clouds where something punches through, and James's eyes widen at the sight of a Mistralian airship. For a moment he was confused, what was a Mistralian airship doing at the edge of Atlas territory? Then he recognises the emblems and heraldry as more and more ships breach through the clouds,
"Pirates." he realizes as he turns to Jacques, "If this is some idea of a joke…"
"I know nothing about this!" Jacques insists before bringing up his Scroll, "I have no idea how they found our base but it's the perfect time to demonstrate the viability of our product. Pilot! Get out there and deal with those miscreants."
"...Damned fools. They weren't supposed to trip the radar.'' The pilot's voice mutters over the Scroll as James's eyes widen, realizing something that Jacques hasn't yet, as he sees through the glass planes Steel Blizzard turning in their direction.
"What are you talking about, pilot? Get out there and do your job!" Jacques shouts down his Scroll as James gestures everyone urgently out of the room,
"Everyone out! Now!" he shouts using the tone he uses for his men in battle, snapping out of their shock as they fled while the barrel of Steel Blizzard's rifle glowed red as it was pointed at the observation room they were in.
"Maybe you didn't get the memo, 'boss'." the pilot growls as he pulls the trigger, "But I quit."