A/N: Hello! Sure hope no one thought this had been abandoned, cause here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and the late Monty Oum
RWBY: Operation Remnant
Outbreak
Chapter 2
The squad followed after the Vacuan colonel as he led them down several corridors and deeper into the complex. Each one had multiple soldiers, a mixture of Mistrali, Vacuan and Valean soldiers, patrolling up and down it. Each soldier was fully kitted out in desert gear including fully covered head wear, backpacks and the body armor of their respective corps and nations.
As they rounded the last corner they had to dodge around a patrol of Menagerie Guards as they darted by in their customary black, white and gold-colored uniform and leather armor. The lightly armored warriors couldn't stand up to sustained fire like the rest of the world's Kingdoms but their kit was perfect for the Greater Menagerie Desert and the threats within, and for the Vacuan deserts as well.
The squad was first shocked to see them as they past them by then they glared after the squad with looks of disgust. All except the Lieutenant, that is. He merely gave their fellow soldiers a nod of respect before continuing on after the colonel.
Eventually, the rest followed after him.
As they followed the colonel once more the squad muttered amongst themselves, or, at least the mid ranking ones did, anyway.
"Did'ya see that? Fuckin' animals are here, too." Sergeant Thrush sneered out loud as he looked around, noting the unease with all the patrolling guards, and felt his fingers itching to unsling his shotgun.
"I know, right?" Sergeant Lark returned as he stalked beside him, his personal sniper rifle, The Feather's Edge, over one shoulder. "You'd think they'd learn not to trust 'em a'ter the war."
"Cept, the war's been over and done with." Muttered the Lieutenant. The others ignored him as they usually did.
"Shut it, " The Captain ordered again. The squad quieted back down. Though, Russell and Sky looked at each other and grinned, thinking the Lieutenant had gotten in trouble once again.
"Here we are, Captain Winchester." The Colonel said as he stopped before a plain, black door. "The General is within."
Winchester nodded to the man before knocking on the door. "Enter," a commanding voice said.
He opened the door and walked in. Jaune followed behind. The rest of the squad made to follow only to stop as they saw who was within.
It was a tall man in the white and grey uniform of an Atlesian officer. One with black and grey hair. Above his right eye was a jagged scar and at the edges of the right side of his tunic and at his right wrist one could just barely see the kind of scars got got from surviving a serious burn.
"General Ironwood?" Thrush whispered out loud in awe.
The Atlesian general was currently looking over a variety of reports. He looking up at the Captain and the Lieutenant as they walked in, his blue eyes piercing. Then the door closed, blocking the rest of the squad from the meeting inside.
/ /
"Captain Winchester, you come highly recommended," General Ironwood said on greeting as the two officers saluted him.
"General Ironwood, sir. Heard you had an infestation." The Captain returned as he stood there at attention. He tilted his head to the side as he quirked an eyebrow as he asked, "It's not the White Fang, is it? Saw some members of the Menagerie Guard earlier."
"Careful, Captain," the general cautioned, "that your biases and bigotry doesn't blind you to the actual threat before us here."
Winchester gritted his teeth at that and glanced away before nodding silently in acknowledgement.
"And, what is that, sir?" The Lieutenant asked then.
The general frowned as he said, "Unknown. We've yet to capture one. Even though, we're sure that we've killed a few."
"No, it's nothing so simple." The general then said with a sigh and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "It's, something altogether more strange, and disturbing."
"How so, sir?" Jaune asked after a quick glance over at his superior. "All we've been told was that there was something causing a loss of communications below, and that you've sent in three teams with no response from any of them."
"I see that not even a direct order from me on keeping this on a strict need-to-know basis on this matter could keep Colonel Santiago from discussing it with you on your arrival." The general said with disapproval while crossing his arms. Then he shrugged before saying, "No matter. I was going to direct you to speak with him before you went in for further clarification. Did he say anything that might help you?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.
The two officers looked at each other before Winchester answered, "Uh, n-no, sir. All he said was that communication had been down for a over a week and that there had been incidents of sabotage and attacks from infiltrators here on the surface."
Ironwood narrowed his eyes at that as he asked, "And, did he say anything about the infiltrators themselves?"
"No, sir," Winchester replied with a shake of his head. Jaune looked at him for a fraction of a second but said nothing himself, having not heard exactly what the colonel had him beforehand.
"Mm, very well then. On to the debriefing then," the general returned with another sigh. "The facts are as follows. When communications went down with the lower levels the officer in charge of the watch at the time immediately directed a team of engineers with an escort of soldiers to go down. All communications with the team was lost after an hour."
He frowned before saying, "The last message they sent was a warning of an unknown aggressor. Then nothing."
The two officers frowned at that, but said nothing.
Ironwood then crossed his arms again and began tapping his foot in irritation as he continued, "The same was true of the other two teams that were sent in. Each of various size and strength. None returned." He grimaced and held a brief silence before saying, "Then we sent for you."
"Was there someone else you wanted, sir?" The Captain asked, more accused?
"Yes," the general retorted. "The captain of my special forces. She's someone I trust explicitly. Unfortunately, she off on a mission in Solitas right now."
"Who did you send down in the first place, sir?" Jaune asked before his captain could say anything to that.
"Two full squads of Vacuan Sand Raiders for the first group and a team of Mistrali Outriders for the second." Ironwood returned without pause. The two said nothing to that, thinking of why the colonel seemed to have been inferred as being obstinate to the Atlesian general.
Both Kingdoms were consistently considered to be expendable chaff to the Atlesians. They had ever since the Great War when both sides had used their ally as expendable manpower.
"Is that everything, sir?" Winchester asked after a moment more of silence.
"No," the general replied after a moment. "It's actually far more complicated now."
"How so, sir?" The captain asked.
"We had a VIP here. i was unaware of their being here, or that they were missing until after the second team went down. That was part of why we sent down the third in the first place."
"And, who is this person?" Jaune asked, curious.
Ironwood sighed before rubbing at his face tiredly again then said, "Blake Belladonna. They're apparently related to the Chieftain of Menagerie, so I hear."
"Menagerie? Are we sure this is the White Fang? Seems like the MO of those terrorists." Winchester growled out.
"Well, mayhaps, they wouldn't have become terrorists in the first place if certain Kingdoms hadn't all but blockaded their capitol and forced their people to use subpar equipment and supplies to survive on the very continent that we forced them to live on after having been promised fair treatment after they won the War?" The Lieutenant then asked politely to the room at large.
Ironwood grinned at that as he said humorously, "Is that so, Lieutenant Arc?"
Jaune grinned back faintly as he replied, "Not really, sir. Extremists and Bigots alike don't care about the facts. They just want an excuse to hate." He snapped the last at his captain. Winchester had the wherewithal to look away in apparent shame. He then turned back to Ironwood as he said, "I know how many in my Kingdom see my family and those like me. The Traitor families that sided with the Faunus during the war. Those same people choose to ignore the reasons why we turned traitor in the first place."
He shrugged before saying, "Even in Vale there was still slavery going on after the Great War. How could a man let something so morally reprehensible take place and not do something to stop it?"
"Is that your job, Lt. Arc? Ask the hard questions and keep this one from making a fool of himself?" Ironwood asked with a chuckle.
Jaune grinned as he said, "Not really, sir. My team doesn't really like me for the aforementioned reasons, sir. I'm not good for much. Just here for annoying witticisms and medical treatment."
"Indeed." Ironwood replied, still smiling. "Well, stock up on ammunition and any other supplies you need before you go, and I'll meet at the entrance to the lower levels."
"Sir!" Jaune said as he and Captain Winchester saluted the general before about-facing and leaving the office.
/ /
As they stalked through the halls after gathering up their men, Cardin eventually turned to his second in command and said, "Laid it on a bit thick back there, Arc. What was the point of all that? Trying to make friends with the general?"
"That, and I was attempting to stop you from committing a political and militaristic fo-pa." His lieutenant returned with some measure of fire. At least, more so than usually. He blinked at that and stayed silent as Jaune then said, "You've got a short temper, sir. Makes it easy for you to make mistakes. You should look into that."
He blinked again before turning back to face where they were going. Then he muttered, "I'll make a note of it then, shall I?"
Jaune merely grinned in return.
/ /
She watched as the team of five soldiers walked towards the heavily reinforced bunker doors of the main entrance to the Complex's hidden lower levels. She swallowed taking in their appearances.
They were garbed in the heavy armor styled by Valean troops. One that was reminiscent of ancient plate armor. It wasn't as high tech as Atlesian armor and couldn't even begin to be described as power armor, but it got the job done. Indeed, it actually protected the wearer better against gunfire than the Atlesian model.
She narrowed her eyes as scrutinized them more closely as she noted the more subtle details on their persons. That level of individuality with their individual weapons and armor coloring could only belong to special forces.
Just like the rumors she had heard.
She stood up from where she had been leaning up against the wall and started towards them then.
She might not be as beautiful as her sister, but Yang had taught her well. And she was right. Most men were easily swayed by a pretty face and a smile, though, Yang had said that it could work on some women, too. She didn't know about that.
But, she had used what Yang taught her to get what she needed out of some of the more loose-lipped guards. About another team being sent in to take care of things now that the second team they sent in failed to return.
She knew what that meant. That this would be her last chance. She had to take it now, if she wanted to have any chance of succeeding.
Because, if this team failed, the general would sealed the lower levels permanently, until such time as the officers overseeing the Kingdoms Alliance came up with a plan on how to proceed. A decision, that could take years.
She couldn't let that happen.
She puffed out a breath as she made her way over at an even faster pace as the stress and anxiety inside climaxed. She glanced between the individuals before her, scrutinizing them once more, looking for what she needed.
In hindsight it was fairly obvious.
"Lieutenant!" She called as she found herself jogging up to the tall, blond Valean officer. He stopped and turned towards her, revealing some rather attractive blue eyes. "Can I have a moment of your time,please?" She asked frantically, panting.
He stared at her briefly in silence then nodded as he stood at attention before her, the handle of some kind of blade observed over white plate of his shoulder armor. "Certainly, Specialist. How might I help you?"
"I-" she started before pausing as she tried to thinking of what to say. He looked at her curiously before glancing over his shoulder at a shout from one of his comrades. When he turned back to her she swallowed before blurting out, "You're going in, right! To the lower levels?"
He blinked at that momentarily before frowning at her. Then he asked, "And, why do you want know that, Specialist?"
"I overheard it." She rushed out before suddenly grasping his hand tightly. "Please! Tell me if you are? I need to know!"
He looked down at her hands crushing his then back up into her silver eyes after she had let go. "Why?" He asked her.
She swallowed and licked at her lips with nervous energy. It was now or never. "My sister," she started. "She was one of the engineers that first went down there. She got a message out to me before we lost comms. Said there were more levels that even the schematics said. Said there was something down there. Some thing unnatural."
"Did she?" The lieutenant asked as he rubbed at his chin in thought before looking over at the general with a narrow gaze. "Interesting, and alarming." He looked back at her as he said the last.
He stared at her for a moment before nodding to himself as he then asked, "Your sister. What is her name and appearance?"
She smiled then as her breath hitched and tears pricked the corner of her eyes. She swallowed before answering. "Yang. Master Sergeant Yang Xaio-Long with the detachment of the Valean Engineering Corps. She's blond with lavender eyes. Taller than me, and built like a pin up girl if such wimps decided to work out all their lives."
He quirked an eyebrow at that and tilted his head to the side as he gave her a faint smile and said, "Huh. I'm guessing… half-sisters?"
"Observant, sir." She nodded. "Yes."
"Hm, your name?" He then asked.
"Ruby Rose, Specialist. Valean Rangers, sir!" She answered and took the hand he suddenly held out, shaking it.
"Second Lieutenant Jaune Arc, Valean Second Army, First Company." He returned. "I'll keep an eye out for your sister, but no promises, okay?"
"That's all I can ask for, sir. Thank you." She replied, the tension that had been building within her over the past week slowly dissipating.
"No worries, Ma'am. Good luck, and keep the Faith." He ordered her before turning and walking away. She merely nodded in return.
/ /
As they waited for the bunk doors to open Russell glanced at him before shift in spot. Then..
"Hey, what was all that about, Lieutenant?" Sergeant Thrush asked with a leer back at the curvy young woman who even now was looking at them.
"She wanted to ask something of me," Jaune replied tersely.
"Oh? Is that so?" The sergeant said, ignoring his attitude towards the questioning. He grinned knowingly at him as he said, "Not even here for a day and already got a booty call on standby, eh?"
He nudged him with a elbow as he then said, "Hey, when you're done with her, go ahead and send her my way, LT. I bet that I can make her scream, ha!"
Jaune glared at the shorter, mohawked man as he snarled, "Curb your tongue, Sergeant! We're not here for you get your rocks off. We're here to save lives! Now move!"
Russell blinked back at him in surprise, not expecting the normally subdued young officer to be so enraged at his comment.
"He's right, Rus." The Cardin then said without looking at them as he stalked toward the awaiting large scale elevator inside the building. "We're here to save people. Now, let's get to it."
They said nothing else as they got on and the elevator descended into the depths below.
A/N: So, bit of a backstory for this tale. The Great War and the Faunus Revolution both still took place, but since there was no incarnation as Ozma as the Last King of Vale the Monarchy was never deposed. Atlas is a Military Democracy, Mistral still has a Shogun, Vale a Constitutional Monarchy with a caste of high and low nobility that largely governs and Vacuo a Totalitarian Monarchy. Menagerie has its Chieftain and a council of Elders. And, the White Fang are a world wide group of Faunus Terrorists. The Kingdoms Alliance, much like NATO, has been dealing with the WF for decades now. The Faunus Wars ended slightly over twenty years ago.
Alright, bye-bye!