COMMUNIQUÉ
TO:THE DIRECTOR OF SITE-R001
ALTERNATE DIMENSION 22:REMNANT(R)
FROM:TRANS-DIMENSIONAL OPERATIONS OVERSEER COMMISSION, SCP FOUNDATION
ENCRYPTION TYPE VERMILLION, PRIORITY 1 DELIVERY
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
Good afternoon, Director Samuels,
First of all, let me congratulate you and your staff for four months of continuous operation, despite the annoyance of the assaults by the as-of-yet-uncategorized SCPs you have encountered on the planet's surface and my condolences for the loss of Chief Science Officer Tarik the other week, during a routine scouting operation nearby Village [REDACTED]. I know she was one of the better scientists belonging to your staff. Her loss will be felt across the Foundation, but we and the O5 Council know she has died for a greater cause. The discovery of the portal that links 'Remnant' to Earth was rightfully credited as her discovery in all recent reports, however.
However, your most recent reports relating to an increase in hostile contact with the Uncategorized Anomalous Entities on Alternate World Number 22 have brought forth several questions in regards to the existence of these animals and the cause of their absolute disdain for mankind. Furthermore, your Addendums and continuous reports about failures to capture them due to their proclivity of dying in captivity have aroused the curiosity of several of our more important science staff. Although said staff are currently busy, one particular member has chosen to send forth his most prodigious protégé to your staff, both to replace CSO Tarik and to provide a buff to the MTF Forces present there.
Assigned with her, the O5s' 'Pet Project', MTF Alpha-9 ("Last Hope"), who have cooperated with the good doctor Bright and his subordinate before on matters pertaining to Anomalous Artifacts, should be more than sufficient a buff to the defensive and research capabilities of SITE-R001. Currently, we are also in talks(by the request of the aforementioned protégé of Dr. Bright) with the O5 Council to engage more with the local human population... Perhaps even to make contact with 'Vale City', the Megalopolis the Village Chief of [REDACTED] has told us about. Context on this new, alien world is important and a single village in the middle of nowhere is not going to give us that much of it.
Thank you for your continued service, Director. We expect the next report on the 12th of this month.
Signed:M. Waltz, Director of SCP Foundation's Trans-Dimensional Operations Overseer Commission
END TRANSCRIPT
Day 142 of Site-R001 Operations
"Operation:First Contact"
MTF Epsilon-5 ("Free Range") supported by Alpha-9 ("Last Hope")
Escorting Doctor E. Lilac, PhD.
Trundling forward down a beaten dirt path, three heavy-duty M2A4 'Bradley' IFVs, painted in standard-issue Forest camouflage and bearing the SCP Foundation's symbol on the cheeks of the turrets, rolled on through the thick forest a hundred kilometers beyond Site-R001's defensive perimeter. Aboard the middle vehicle, which contained the VIPs of the Goodwill "First Contact" operation, an electronic song played, muffled by the headphone protectors worn by the lady leading this operation. Humming along with the tune as she wrote a report on her specialized tablet, a black-haired, blue-eyed woman with half-rimmed glasses was smiling and bobbing her head to the tune.
The woman kept bouncing on the folded-out military vehicle's bench, making sure she didn't bump her noggin into the TOW missile tube sat behind her. She set her pen to the side, tugged at her long hair, which reached to her waist, and pulled out a hair pin, arranging it into a bob for now while making sure she didn't knock her headphones off her head. She read the report she wrote back in her mind, partially tuning out the electronic song.
She hummed the tune, then paused as a hand stretched out toward her with a sandwich triangle in it. She followed the outstretched hand, up to the arm(which was covered by the white sleeves of a white-and-blue jersey. Behind said jersey was a black tank top over which lay a black plate carrier vest, covering most of the upper body of the girl, as well as tight blue jeans and combat boots.
Emily gripped the sandwich and smiled at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl beside her and the girl smiled back, then turned back to fiddling with her own transparent sandwich container. The good doctor then looked over her own and read the label and saw it was a good old BLT sandwich. Standard, on rye bread and all. She chuckled, set it aside and continued writing her report.
The blonde-haired girl, meanwhile, kept trying to open the plastic film that sat on top of her sandwich, murmuring a couple of swears to herself as her trimmed nails couldn't quite get a proper grip on the damn thing. She sighed, then murmured, "Alright, sammich, I'm going to give you one more chance..." before bringing it up to her mouth and gripping the plastic wrap with her teeth.
Iris Thompson, also known as SCP-105 to Foundation records, attempted to open her sandwich, which was also a BLT, with the strength behind her bite force and the muscles in her neck. She pulled at it, grinding her teeth angrily as she tried to keep it in place. Iris had the resolve, but, sadly, she lacked the strength. With a scratch on the tip of her tongue from the plastic film and a bruised ego, the girl slumped over and whispered, "Dammit..."
She felt a tap on her knee and looked to see a familiar 'face'. Take into account the quotation marks. It was not as much a face as it was SCP-2913, the hand that lacked a body to be attached to. The flesh on its fingers, palm and back still existed and were healthy, though the connective tissue of the wrist was visible, too, a red blemish wrapped around the front ends of the radial and ulnar bones which poked out some distance behind it, though ended suddenly, lacking the elbow.
"Can I help?" 2913, or just 'Han' to friends, asked. Iris sighed and handed the item to him. Before long, the disembodied hand had opened the sandwich and nudged it toward Iris's own hand.
"Thanks, Han," She said, slightly embarrassed, then took the sandwich.
"Don't mention it, Iris," He replied, then jumped down and skittered around on the bottom of the vehicle's hold. Opposite Iris and the doctor sat agent Adams, one of the Foundation's best. She looked over the hand cannon she was given for this operation. Her combat suit, a slim, black bodysuit that provided various enhancements to Adams' already impressive physique and combat skills, sat nice and snug on her form, as did the holster and the ammo pouches strapped to it for her guns. Beside her, she had a heavily modified SA58 assault rifle. Bigger bullets were needed for the creatures the locals called 'Grimm'.
"So," Iris started, then took a bite out of her sandwich and looked to Adams, "What do you think of this place?"
Andrea shrugged, then said, "The anomalous entities here die, at least... Seriously, those things are surprisingly easy to kill."
"For a Bushmaster twenty-five millimeter cannon and for you, agent Adams," Quipped Lilac as she thumbed her tablet to off, then removed her headphones, letting them hang off her neck. She smiled, pushed her glasses up onto her nose properly, then added, "Your suit provides quite the enhancements to your combat skills and these fine machines made in the good old United States," She bumped the Bradley's armored wall behind her, "Are the icing on the cake. Us, normal humans, can't particularly beat the Grimm to death with our bare hands."
Adams snorted, then bit into her own sandwich, a chicken sandwich with ranch sauce and salad and answered, "Fair enough, doc. You gonna eat lunch?"
"Certainly," Emily replied jovially, lifting the sandwich and biting into it. She hummed, then chuckled, stating, "You know, if it weren't for us being on some alien planet that is both hospitable and not, this could almost be a fun team-building exercise! It's almost as if we're on a camping trip..." as she continued to eat from the food item in her hand. Han chuckled from the front, while the turret of the Bradley whirred electrically, turning on a dime as the gunners scanned the area around them.
"We're on a diplomatic mission, though... Right?" Iris inquired, looking at the woman. Lilac nodded, then thumbed her tablet and selected the files necessary, before handing it to her to read. She took it and started reading, noting that there were images taken by Foundation UAVs deployed in the area that depicted the exact area they were headed toward. She stared at the images, eyes wide, as she saw the sprawling city that sat within the confines of a massive valley.
"The Director and the O5s want us to finally make contact with the locals properly," Adams explained to an attentive and interested Iris, "Early coms were opened by another Mobile Task Force that scouted out the city with the drones. They met guards from what we now know is called 'Beacon Academy', as well as the leader of the place. He said he'd like to talk to our organization face-to-face, rather than just with soldiers."
"And... Why are you, me and Han going along?" Iris inquired, "Can't Free Range handle security?"
"Doc requested we tag along," Adams pointed toward Emily.
She beamed, "Guilty as charged! As much as I appreciate your combat abilities and those of MTF Free Range, ladies, I did want to spend more time with the people I would be working with henceforth beside high-risk missions. You are all a fairly interesting bunch and I'd like to take a stab at learning about all of you. Sadly, for now, it will be just you three that I interact with properly, miss Thompson, Agent Adams."
"This is still a High-Risk Mission, according to command..." Murmured Adams, then she motioned to Iris and stated, "Could've had Iris order the others to tag along. She's Team Lead after all."
Iris let out an awkward, short laugh and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, maybe..."
"I prefer to let people choose to interact with me, Agent Adams," Offered Emily, grinning, then she added, "I can gauge their insanity that way. See how well we mesh. That you three agreed tells me we have a certain level of cohesion," and she left that up in the air for the trio of stunned people, anomalous or not, to process as she wolfed down her sandwich. Iris and Adams looked to one-another, then to Han, and all three shrugged.
"So doc just called us crazy and we're cool with it?" Han inquired, looking up at the others. Iris shrugged and Adams snorted, to which Han sighed and simply crawled back up onto the bench, plopping himself down and 'looking around', even for lack of eyes. He added, "I hafta admit, I do like the Bradley's inside. Cozy and friendly... Ignoring the high-ex munitions behind you and Iris, doc."
Iris looked back and tapped the tube standing a few inches behind her head, then looked to Adams worriedly. The Agent nodded and said, "TOW missile. High-Explosive Anti-Tank Warhead. Don't know if that's the top-down attack version, but it's still a pretty nasty piece of kit. Can punch a hole through a tank sitting several hundred feet from us without so much as a problem."
"Unless said tank has Explosive-Reactive Armor," The doctor added, "Then again, tandem warhead... Eh," She shrugged, "I didn't study military tech."
"Biology, right?" Iris raised a brow.
"Physics," Chuckled Lilac, "With a second bachelor's in medical sciences. Still does not apply to knowing how a TOW missile works."
"Could be useful if you ever have to man the turret of one of these babies," Adams shot back, grinning, "To know if you have to hit it top-down or not."
"I'm with Adams on this one," Han quipped, "Gotta know the tools of the trade."
"Let's hope neither I, nor miss Thompson will have to man the guns on a Bradley..." The Doctor giggled. She liked their company. They were fun to talk to, but Adams was too focused on the equipment she used and had at her disposal. Of course, that made sense for a person with her background and skillset, so Emily had found it rather recomforting when she turned out to be a rather laid-back woman.
Adams put a hand to her ear, where a communication bead device was, then said, "We're approaching meeting point Alpha. The rest of Free Range already linked up with MTF Tau-51, 'Urban Brawl' in the area. The Valkyries are also keeping watch overhead via UCAVs..." before grabbing her rifle off from the side and racking the blot. A round fed into the chamber with a satisfying click. She then looked down the scope of the weapon, keeping it pointed at the floor, turned on the PEQ-15 laser-light combo and confirmed that they were working and did a quick press-check of the weapon. Nodding approvingly, she hefted the gun, keeping the barrel pointed at the floor and away from the others.
Emily, meanwhile, packed her bags and said, "Perhaps you should stay put, Mister Han. We don't know how our friends over in 'Vale' are going to react to us," before putting on her own bulletproof vest, over the labcoat and her black shirt. She clipped the belts shut and smiled, checking the vest with the Foundation Symbol on its chest, before noting, "We don't want to scare them just yet, after all."
"I'll stay aboard, then, doc," Quipped the Hand, "Just don't leave me behind, 'kay?"
"We'll be back before you know it, Han," Iris smiled, grabbing her own MP5SD and checking the red dot sight on top. Afterward, she checked her nine millimeter P226 pistol and her own vest and ammunition pouches, as well as her polaroid camera. She nodded, then racked the bolt of the SMG, loaded a fresh magazine in and doing the patented HK Slap motion, sending the Submachine Gun's bolt flying forward and into battery. She grinned at Adams, who gave a thumbs up and nodded approvingly at her little ward.
The roaring engine of the transport sputtered and quietened down and the rear ramp motors whirred after a button press. Adams dismounted first, followed by Iris and, finally, the doctor. The rest of Free Range had also come out of their transports, twelve soldiers total, each carrying eastern equipment. Kalashnikov-pattern rifles that had been modernized with zenitco upgrade packages stood under the arms of the soldiers, most belonging to countries like Romania, Poland and Hungary. Even some Ukrainians had found their way into this general-purpose operational unit that had just recently been formed, even despite the tensions in the East.
One of them carried a PKP General purpose machine gun, another carried an RPK-16, a couple even carried AT launchers on their backs. And all of them were clad in forest camouflage and standard-issue western body armor and rigs. They also had balaclavas and MICH Tactical helmets with NV mounts and side rails, some of which had cameras attached with all the wiring necessary. Of course, the helms, armor and rigs were all black and bearing Foundation patches, as did their shoulders. They also had tinted black goggles to hide their eyes.
Lilac eyed the area ahead, their intended target, and stopped, somewhat stunned. Sprawling across the face of a cliff and a little farther back, up to them, a complex of apartment blocks, buildings and amphitheaters, as well as a gigantic clocktower and cathedral-sized Mess Hall, stood before them. Hovering above them, in the distance, were a squadron of four strange battleships. Yes, flying ships, with wings and all, including downward-pointing thrusters that glimmered an eerie purple. Even farther, below those ships, stood a city arrayed out for miles, with viaducts, aircraft and even more airships, but of civilian model.
She blinked, then smiled widely as her heart began to race. She started bouncing up and down on her feet, to the point that Agent Adams had had to come and place a hand on her shoulder to keep her from initiating too high a level of friction with the air and burning up. She, however, could not help being excited. This was an entire civilization, born and living, despite the best attempts of the Anomalous creatures outside the wire.
Adams poked her cheek and pointed forward. There was a sort of checkpoint gate, guarded by turrets and a single man. Behind said gate were three people, an elderly man with silver hair and gold eyes hidden behind very small sunglasses with odd frames, as well as an odd sense of fashion that highly involved the color green, a man clad in a more military, white-grey-blue outfit with some red accents, a shaved, military-standard haircut of black hair that greyed near his ears gradually and dark-blue eyes, as well as handsome, chiseled features and, finally, a blonde with emerald eyes and a very strange teacher-dominatrix-witch combination uniform and rimless glasses.
"I think those are our contacts..." Adams noted as she pointed out the commander of Free Range behind them, rifle stowed away on his back and held by the strap next to the man's massive radio backpack. Beside him, the others of that squad of the MTF sat, checking their kit, eating or smoking. The commander, Janek Jagoda(JJ, or Brisket, to friends) sat there, waiting for them to come in.
Iris noted, "Wow. Look at the tall guy in white," in whisper to Adams.
"He's cute, but he looks like too much of a hardass," Quipped the girl. Iris elbowed her in the shoulder, but the girl chuckled and shrugged it off. Armor suit must've helped lessen any sort of damage weak-sauce Iris could've done, one would think. Alas, Adams motioned to the doctor, who nodded in thanks, then walked forward toward the armored gate.
She greeted, "Good afternoon, lady and gentlemen," with a very friendly smile, "My name is Doctor Emily Lilac, PhD. You've already met our escorting comrades in Mobile Task Force Epsilon-5, I presume. The ladies behind me are Agent Adams and Agent Thompson, belonging to MTF Alpha-9, 'Last Hope'. A very welcoming name," and, with that quip, she waited for the three to introduce themselves.
"Mister Jagoda was thorough about introducing us to himself and his team and giving us a short rundown of what we should expect, indeed," The main in the middle leaned on his strangely ornate cane and smiled, "Greetings, doctor Lilac-"
"PhD," Emily smirked, surprising the Headmaster and his adjutants.
"Right," He nodded, "I am Headmaster Ozpin, the man in charge of Beacon Academy, of the Kingdom of Vale."
"Ooh, a kingdom," Iris parroted giddily, "Maybe we'll get to meet the king!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, miss, but I'm afraid our countries run based on Councils elected by the people... The name 'Kingdom' was kept more as a relic of the past than anything else, really. Even if the Royal Family does still play some part in the country, it is mostly ceremonial," Ozpin clarified, to which Iris sighed, disappointed and slouching now. Patting her on the back, Andrea chuckled, while the rest of Epsilon-5 let out muffled chuckles.
"Have to say, Doctor, you came with quite the force for a welcome talk," The man beside the Headmaster said. He arranged his red tie, then added calmly, "I'm General James Ironwood, Atlas Military. Apologies if I butted in, but I figured I should comment on the force of arms you've brought for us to meet," as he examined the Bradley IFVs and the soldiers that had come out of them, including some of the crew now maintaining them
"It's fine, General. Do you wish to discuss these matters elsewhere, because I'd rather we talked somewhere safer," Doctor Lilac suggested, arranging her labcoat. Ozpin nodded, then motioned to the guard to open the Gate, allowing Emily, Iris and Andrea to walk in with the rest of the infantry and the Bradleys. Iris smiled as she entered the grounds of Beacon and immediately went to take a picture with her polaroid, grinning as she pulled the finished photo out of the slot it came through.
"Fan of photography, miss?" The blonde-haired woman with green eyes asked.
Iris smiled, then replied, "You could say that. I just like carrying... Memories... Of the places we visit."
"I see," She nodded.
"Come, Iris. Brisket, keep the vehicles secure if you please," Lilac requested.
"Aye, ma'am," The Polish soldier replied complacently, while his team giggled at the nickname. Iris and Adams did, too, as they moved with the good doctor and the others up toward Beacon Tower. They passed by several items of interest, including some of the local students of Beacon Academy. Good-looking, youthful teenagers, as it seemed, stared at the marching group of people, which included, beside their teachers and the General, a Doctor that didn't look like a doctor at all, more like a model with glasses, a young blonde with blue eyes that carried a polaroid and military equipment, and a woman in a skintight suit that presented her form well, but also seemed dangerous and armored.
All-in-all, Adams felt the teen boys eyefucking them. It wasn't particularly surprising, seeing as the boys usually looked after the hottest of chicks. She smirked confidently, walking beside Iris as the two of them escorted the doctor to the meeting, wherever that may take place. Entering the Academy's clocktower, the young women were all led forth by the trio of 'leader-like' people into an elevator, with Ozpin hitting the 'top floor' button.
Adams was going to comment on the fact that there really didn't need to be an elevator on the clocktower, until the doors opened, revealing the massive office, the bookshelves, the clocktower skylight and the very working mechanisms of the tower itself, all around, above and below them. Lilac was reminded of the reports about SCP-217 and how dangerous that little critter had proven to be.
And Iris? Iris snapped another photo. Emily chuckled at her newfound 'friend's' antics, then said, "My, my, quite the fancy office, Headmaster. I take it this is where you overlook your Students and staff from," as they fanned out of the elevator and onto the open floor made of a mix of thick glass and metal. Ozpin himself gave an affirming nod to the women, before going to take a seat in his chair. Emily quipped, "A fitting place, I'd say..." and that got a chortle out of the General.
He motioned to the two chairs in front and said, "Apologies, we... Didn't expect there to be three of you here to talk to us."
"It's fine, sir. I'll stand," Adams noted, "I'm just one of the bodyguards."
"You sure?" Iris asked her friend. Adams nodded with a smile, then motioned to the girl to take the seat, courtesy which she accepted with grace and a smile as she sat herself down next to doctor Lilac. The good doctor herself pulled her tablet and necessary items for the talks out of the bags, then looked to the Headmaster and smiled proudly.
"Lady and gentlemen," Emily started, "I guess it's time I told you why we're here..."
"We are the SCP Foundation. And we're here to help!" She then added jovially,