Weiss wasn't certain how the military structure works exactly here in Atlas. With the military and huntsmen being intermingled so much, it was expected that certain huntsmen would have rank within the military. However, most of that comprised of Atlas graduates whose curriculum also included military training. For Weiss who had trained in Beacon, such positions were rather awkward. For one, she had little knowledge of military proceedings and certainly no leadership training related to this specifically; she had a few when she prepared to become one in Beacon. The reason? Atlas huntsmen also tend to be military officials as well, team leaders especially. Of course, students were lower in rank.
She wouldn't even have this problem were it not for the necessity of them being called into service. Ever since she had returned to Atlas, her father, Jacques Schnee, made sure that she wasn't going anywhere. Under the public guise of being concerned for his daughter's safety, Weiss was certain that it was more securing his assets and public relations. Even when she had been called to service out of duty and obligation to the kingdom might not have worked if it wasn't for the Atlas Council pushing the man. No matter how good the business of the SDC may be, such privileges could not be afforded and as such, Weiss had finally had her freedom again only to be made to fight for her, and other people's, survival. Honestly, better that than cooped up in her room; she was getting rusty in there.
Huntsmen from Atlas were also trained to be soldiers but not every soldier trained to be a huntsman. Therefore, Weiss' Beacon training made it so that she doesn't have the ranking that is normally expected of Atlas but that didn't stop some of the soldiers from referring to her as such; it was simply common practice and with her family name, most forget that she didn't go to Atlas Academy.
Normally, she would have been elated being given such an important role in leadership. However, she failed to grasp much of the jargon being used. Winter didn't exactly use such terminologies when recounting her tales whenever she was around. Even if they weren't using it, Weiss wasn't sure if she could. She had a newfound respect for her partner and team leader having to make decisions under moments like this. Weiss was already reaching that point where she couldn't think well and having to make decisions that affect everyone else? She'd gladly give command to someone else.
A Nevermore's feathers bounced off the pavement next to her. She took cover behind one of the vehicles left behind as people took shelter. Glass shards and pieces sprinkled on her head, there was no blood. The soldiers with her were firing back. Wouldn't it be nice if she had gotten those mechanical ones instead? She didn't want their lives on her shoulders, especially since she didn't have experience leading soldiers. Most of these people were older than her and probably had greater experience.
"Get the commander to safety!" called out of the soldiers. The commander here was Weiss herself.
Not a commander, she thought. Why do you people even take MY orders of all things? Oh, how things have turned out for me to be thinking that. This would have been much easier had she actually been an Atlas student. The council needed to update its protocols to accommodate huntsmen that weren't trained in Atlas. Great. The one time I DIDN'T want to be the leader and they put me in charge of a bunch soldiers twice my age. Silently, she gave them her apologies whenever her plans were…influenced by a certain red reaper.
The other soldiers put Weiss' arms over their shoulders. She can't tell who they were for their faces were hidden behind those helmets. Those that weren't carrying her gave covering fire against descending Grimm. Lancers, Nevermores, and a few Griffons. Atlas' superiority over the other kingdoms came with its rule of the skies. Such reign is threatened by these Grimm and there was no breaking out of this until they could get control of the skies again. There was progress there, but it wasn't safe enough for them simply take to the skies.
Atlas' weapons proved to be well enough for larger Grimm but struggled against the smaller ones. With the Grimm's superior control of the area against their weapon's limited movement by design, people like Weiss had to step up to combat the threat.
How are the kingdoms doing? She wondered. This may not be the time but they were attacked primarily by airborne Grimm. At this point, she could draw them from memory alone.
They brought her to a nearby building. Deeper inside where there was less threat of Grimm-based projectiles from attacking her, they placed her. There were others there as well, mainly the injured and the wounded. For obvious reasons, namely her aura, she wasn't given priority and she had to let her reserves slowly replenish before they could be used again.
The black curtain still hung overhead. They couldn't push too far but they have been making progress. The biggest problem came in the form of Dust supplies. While Atlas essentially seized what they could for this reason, it was still limited in amount. Explosive Dust did more in disrupting the Grimm's flight rather than take them out entirely. Weiss aided a little in preserving it by really pushing her summoning to its limits, using that to deal with the airborne Grimm just to conserve what amount of vials of Dust that they could. The others could make use of that more than she could. She had her means, just give her time to rest and recover.
Outside, the muffled sounds of battle could still be heard. Honestly, with how long Atlas and the Grimm have been shooting at each other, it had become closer to background noise at this point. It was probably a bad thing that that is how she is seeing it now. Her mouth opened and closed; it was dry. She could use some water. When was the last time she drank? It felt like hours since she did.
She had been given a glass after signing for it with her hands. It was crude and hardly from any formal system but it was understood enough. She didn't even have enough energy to speak. Checking the clock with the broken glass, Weiss realized that she actually had been fighting for hours now. They had begun in the early hours of morning and it was now late in the afternoon. It was hard to tell when the Grimm covered much of the skies, not letting much sunlight in. As far as she knew, it had been the most intense night battle that she had even participated in with the colors of weapons firing being the only source of light.
Is there no end to this? She asked herself. What does this Salem person even want? She remembered how ridiculous that declaration had been like. She thought that it had been some terrible prank of some kind. A sentient semblance that could think and act for herself, she could believe but a Grimm? There had to be some precedent at some point. There's a first time for everything, Weiss. Now she is having conversations with herself. She must have been more exhausted than she thought.
While it had only been a couple of days since the attacks have started, it had never stopped. Not once did the Grimm pull back. For every hundred that they managed to shoot out of the skies, it would seem that a hundred more were taking their place. Not even Mantle had been spared by it though in their case, it was land-based Grimm with the frozen tundra from what she heard. Atlas and Mantle had put aside whatever differences they had for this, though it was to be expected that there are a few opportunists still.
In the case of the SDC, there were some already calling for the faunus slave labor being conscripted as meat shields. Arguments were being made against it as the negativity would only draw more Grimm to them. Farther at the end of it, there are those who called to end the labors at all as they claimed that it was these labors that have brought the Grimm in the first place. In a time where they should be spending more time fighting the Grimm, they decide to exchange words and debates as though such civility was paramount. Perhaps they were but there is a time and place for everything and Weiss was certain that this wasn't the time.
Weiss never really engaged in these sorts of things, too busy in dealing with the Grimm. Sadly, for her and the Schnee name, her father had used this time to advertise the Schnee name in favor of keeping the faunus laborers there, despite his being against it when she had been called to service. Making bold claims about how they should be grateful that it is the Schnee that are putting their lives on the line, fighting the Grimm while they would only have to gather more Dust. Ignoring the fact that Jacques himself wasn't fighting on the front lines, Winter was also doing her duty as a soldier but never once did her father give her sister her dues there.
Weiss stumbled as she got back up. She couldn't let herself sit back and rest for any moment longer than she needed to. Right now, people need her, not as the heiress of the SDC but as a huntress. She may not be one from Atlas but that simply means that she should be pushing more. She would have to make Beacon proud.
"Commander!" one of the soldiers cried out. "You should be resting!"
"And let you have all the fun?" Weiss tried to return with her quip. She got into her stance. It was below her standards but that was the exhaustion speaking. To the coming Grimm, she could only say one thing: "en garde."
One Grimm fell, a near endless amount more to go. Baby steps, Weiss. Baby steps.
"Give me some cover," Weiss commanded. It was time for her to really push her summons. They already knew that for it had been one of her plans.
"Yes, ma'am!" they followed without question. Were they familiar with her semblance thanks to Winter? That didn't matter.
Beneath her, a massive glyph appeared. Rather than go for one small creature, Weiss opted to bring forth a small swarm of avian Grimm. Lancers and Nevermores of white colors were devoured by their blackened counterparts but not before they took out most of the Grimm with them.
It was a small thing compared to the bigger picture but for every Grimm that she could take out with her summons, the lesser amount of ammunition that would be exhausted in dwindling their numbers. She could only do this in short bursts.
Weiss charged thrusted her blade into the nearby Grimm. Those Griffons that have come too close would be a problem for many of these soldiers. It was a problem for her since she was still a huntress-in-training. Better her than them. Thankfully, it was weakened, having its wings damaged severely as it crashed to the ground near them. She never gave it the chance to get back up.
There was no cheering. Time spent celebrating these victories, as much as they would inspire the others and maybe even repel the negativity that attracts the Grimm, would be time not spent in eliminating more. For what little that seemed to be doing for the longest time. The only happiness they were having was that the holes in the curtains were getting bigger. They just needed to make sure that it kept getting bigger.
More Grimm fell from the skies. Even as they die, those Grimm were still a problem for the people of Atlas. Weiss was personally glad that none of the sentient soldiers under her command were crushed by their weight. The same cannot be said by the mechanical ones.
Speaking of the mechanical soldiers, those paladins are really proving their use. Weiss will freely admit that she was concerned about their use considering what had happened last time. Those paladins had been hacked and sent to fight the huntsmen and huntresses during the Vytal festival. Now, however, she can at least lower her guard enough to trust that they wouldn't point their guns at her.
Weiss jumped back. The whistling sounds of a dying Nevermore had been warning enough for her. She couldn't rely on the shade; there was plenty of them to be had. She nearly stumbled where she had landed. Sighing, she cursed at herself for forgetting that. With the Grimm falling from the skies, it was expected that much of Atlas' roads needed to be repaired after this. Holes and cracks, glass shards and leakages, flammable materials and the dead, Atlas' streets were practically littered with them. None of the dead were given a proper burial while the others were being given an impromptu cremation. Weiss had nearly forgotten about their scent having gone numb in that.
Above her, beams of green light punctured through the flocks of Grimm. It was Penny Polendina. Apparently, she was a robot. Weiss never knew that before the big reveal. When the thought of essentially throwing one girl against a horde of Grimm, people had enough sense to be outraged about the callousness of it. The revelation of her being a robot left a sour taste in Weiss' mouth. Honestly, she was more human than many of the people that she had met during the many galas hosted by her father.
Penny tore through much of the Grimm and it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that she had become a poster-girl for Atlas. Seeing her form cleave through dozens upon dozens of Grimm did wonders for morale. Some have gone so far as to claim that she alone had been reason for the tears on that black curtain. A ridiculous claim as Penny alone doesn't carry the firepower for a payload that dramatic. Still, Grimm extermination is still Grimm extermination.
Weiss, along with the other soldiers, ran for cover. Wherever Penny would go, Grimm would fall like hail. If the alarm systems of the vehicles left behind weren't going off, they certainly were now. Blaring out like her teammates sometimes would when she wanted to get some sleep, Weiss had half a mind to fully destroy them herself, if nothing else but to shut them up. By the Brothers, she missed her team.
Grimm continued to fall from the outside. For the soldiers here in the area and the ones nearby, this was one of their best moments of rest. It didn't come often as Penny needed to be at many places as one. Essentially working as shock cavalry comprised of a single individual. Everywhere Penny went, Grimm numbers noticeably dwindled. With her being mechanical and only needing to retreat to recharge, she could keep this going for as long as she had energy to spare and they had allocated a significant portion of their resources just for that.
It was hard to tell when Penny would come. All they knew was that whenever she would, it would be a legitimate reason to celebrate. Weiss shook her head but had a smile on her face. Here she was, as a Schnee, simply fighting amongst the rank-and-file while someone else is out there making a name for herself. If it had been when Weiss was a little younger, she would have thrown a tantrum about being upstaged by someone who she wouldn't have considered to be a real girl. Whether it was Beacon or these battles that have humbled her, she wasn't sure. She didn't really care about that right now.
The sounds of falling Grimm have begun to soften. Penny was moving towards the next area, making it safe for them to come out. With what wounded they could carry, they brought as much of them towards the next area for proper treatment. Weiss took charge of that and was in the front of them. Any Grimm that would come from behind them would simply mean that she was the last to fall back, if at all.
Weiss guided them to the best of her memory of the place. Admittedly, it was a hazy memory but that was where the soldiers would step up. They knew their missions and while Weiss may be a huntress, she was still young and inexperienced compared to these soldiers. It was only by a glaring flaw in the bureaucracy that she held rank over them at all. Thankfully for them, a Schnee, because they are supposed to lead, had training in leadership. She may not have used much of it and pretty much forgotten some of those lessons since Beacon but no plan she could have come up with would survive anyway so it balances out, she supposed.
In the distance, other soldiers caught sight of them and gave covering fire at the Grimm above. They all kept their heads low as they ran towards safety.
"What's the status?" asked one of the soldiers under Weiss' command.
"We're pushing them back," answered the one there. "Might get a nice hot plate and a good night's sleep tonight for once."
The thought of that was certainly welcome. Rations were fine and all but those certainly put maximizing nutrition over taste here in Atlas. There were a few tasteful snacks there but their flavors were rather mild that they might as well be bland. Weiss certainly wouldn't be picky about food after this. Those fanciful foods with fanciful names aren't going to cut it. She'd take a seafood platter despite having gotten sick of it courtesy of a certain feline-faunus. For dessert, she'll take one order of "an immediate trip to the dentist." Just add a terrible stand-up comedy routine and Weiss can say she had the perfect night to celebrate her victory today. She missed her team, dearly.
AN: Finally, Weiss' chapter woo.