Jaune whistled a tune from an old show as he finished loading spare ammunition into the van. 'Tonight was the night, just one more big raid then things should slow down.' he pondered before turning to another pile. Grabbing the first of the guns he slowly disassembled it before reassembling it and placing it back in its case. He did the same with the next one, then the next one. 'Still, we've found some rather strange things. A man with potential connections to the Cults, several businesses funded by said man that the Cults have been using for recruitment.' Jaune paused as he remembered Ren's description of the man.
"Dressed in a long coat, orange sunglasses, and has a tattoo running from his torso to his neck, at least if what Ren said is true." Jaune murmured, pausing his disassembly before putting his hand on his chin. "Oh well, if his name sets any alarms back at Arcadia we'll know." Jaune muttered before he finished with his current weapon. "Besides, it'll be less than a week until our new base will be finished. We just have to finish this raid and everything will slow down. Not like other people are trying to stop us." he chuckled at that last part.
Yang couldn't really say what she was looking at. "Blake... What the hell is this?" she asked with a twitching eye. Blake just turned to her, bags resting under her bloodshot eyes. Yang was referring to a large board just behind Blake, a series of notes and red string connecting them dotted the whole of the board. "Its evidence." Blake retorted. Yang just looked over the board, notes and threads intertwined in a most confusing manner. At the center of the board rested the sentence "War between Arcadia and the White Fang." Yang just turned back to Blake and sighed. "Blake, when was the last time you slept?" She asked. "I don't need sleep, I need answers." Blake retorted with wobbling feet.
Yang just starred her down and spread out her arms. Blake raised a brow before Yang lowered into a crouch. Blake tilted her head as Yang took a step closer. "Blake, you need to get some sleep." Yang blunted stated. "Stop, don't you see? Tukson must have found something that the White Fang were planning. Fearing for his life he struck a deal with a powerful kingdom that doesn't have much at stake in the local area. Knowing that Vale's council is rather corrupt he choose to inform Arcadia and gave them everything. They either send him somewhere safe, or they kill him and dispose of the body. From this point on they start sending agents and troops in small numbers, all so that they can start clearing out White Fang hideouts and gain favor with Vale. They may even go so far as to start pushing against White Fang activity in Minstral and Vacuo. All this will eventually lead to Arcadia setting up a base at Menagerie and neutering the White Fang's ability to fight." Blake said without any pause.
Yang just looked at her, now within arms reach of the cat girl. "You... are getting some sleep." Yang stated as she wrapped her arms around Blake. "What no... We need to investigate this." Blake stated as she began to struggle. Yang just ignored her, hoisting the Blake over her shoulder and turning to their bunk bed. Blake slowed down, a steady purr emanating from her torso. Yang felt her wrap her arms around her and sighed. Calmly she put her partner into her bed, having to wrestle with the sleeping girls hold before she tucked the cat girl to sleep.
Yang turned back to the conspiracy board and shook her head. "By the Brothers, why does she do this? I know I agreed to keep her secret, but sooner or later the rest of team will realise that she's an ex White Fang member." Yang lamented. She ran a hand along the board and found that it could fold in half. Carefully she folded it and hid it under Blake's bed. "Now please get some sleep?" Yang half begged before the door opened and the other half of the team walked in. "Oh, hey guys, I got Blake to fall asleep." Yang said.
"Are you sure what they're saying is true?" Adam inquired as he ran a hand along his mask. "Yes, the previously thought mad ramblings of Unit Fourteen may hold actual merit." The synthesized voice from the screen replied. "I still doubt that. I interviewed those men myself, something wasn't right with them." Adam replied. "Don't be so sure, after all, whenever weird things appear Arcadia isn't far behind." The voice replied. "Excuse me?" Adam inquired. "Arcadia has sent a small team from Minstral to aid their operations in Vale. There is a high likelyhood that they will pursue those AWOL members. It will be imperative to find them first." The voice instructed.
"I may have made a deal with you, but let me be clear. Those AWOL troops are dead, regardless of if I find them or not." Adam stated. "And why is that?" The voice inquired. "BECAUSE THEY CARVED UP SEVERAL OF MY MEN AS THEY FLED!!!""" he shouted before cutting off the connection. He grit his teeth as memories of those bastards played again and again.
They were good men once, loyal to the cause of the White Fang. Yet one mission went wrong, a scouting and recruitment mission in the more run down areas of Vale. Twenty loyal soldiers left for that mission, only ten returned. Those Ten rambled madness, of sentient stars and a being watching all from the ruins of the moon. Speeches of a Being sound asleep, yet dreaming at the bottom of the waves. Even going so far as to talk of a figure preaching it's own form of madness. He had them all restrained as they began talking about an approaching hunter and its love of trophies.
He had hoped they would regain some semblance of sanity. All he got was the mad men breaking free, even going so far as to break their own limbs just to escape their bindings. Those ten madmen killed anyone who tried to stop them, only loosing three of their own in the end.
He only told High Leader Khan the bare minimum. He had no desire for the true extend to get out, to let such shame cling to his record. If he even reported half of what those men said his entire division in Vale would under investigation. Such an investigation would sabotage both his own mission and the job his "Benefactor" had him doing.
Still, the feeling in the back of his mind. The sheer amount of fear and anger that his every being felt while doing with those madmen. How his instincts almost killed him as he put down one of the traitors.
Adam grit his teeth as he surpressed a shutter. Letting out a sigh he pressed the screen and scrolled through his contacts. It rang three times before another synthesized voice spoke up. "Yes... What do you wish to contact us for?" The voice on the other side inquired. "How long until your shipment reaches the meetup spot?" he inquired. "Only a few days more." The voice responded. "Good, the second half of the payment is waiting at the location." Adam replied.
There was a moment of silence.
"Now mister Taurus, are you truly sure that such a mission is in your best interest?" The voice inquired. "It is, such an infestation in Vale, in the minds of my men. I wouldn't use my one favor if I wasn't going through with it." Adam stated with growing anger. "Understood, it is nice speaking with you once more Mister Taurus." The voice said before ending the call. Adam stood up, turning over to glance around the tent. "No one heard, good." he murmured before moving to the small trunk near his bed roll.
He opened it, running his hand deep into the darkness and pulling out a small necklace. Held on plain black string was a sigal, a blue diamond with a red and black X in the centre. Each edge ending in a sharp point, light seemed to shine off it regardless of the angle it was held at. "One favor indeed." Adam muttered before quickly hiding the necklace deep into the trunk.
Ren narrowed his eyes as he watched through the lens of his binoculars. For the past several hours trucks had been driving too and fro from the hideout. Some had large metal cases in their beds, others remained open topped with Cultists piled in. "Ren, Report in, what's our current situation?" Jaune's voice called in. "Two trucks, each making a trip and back within the hour. One with a large metal case while the other had a large amount of Cultists in it. Both have returned, though the Metal Case seems to be moving." He reported into his comms.
"Its moving?" Jaune repeated. "Must be some sort of beast?" Ren surmised. "Think there's an underground Beast market in Vale?" Nora interjected. "Possibly, I'll see if we can get a tracker on those trucks. Ren, do you have any tracking rounds?" Jaune inquired.
Ren put his hand into his nearby bag and shuffled through the mags. Finding his target he pulled out a magazine with a picture of a x and dotted line on the side. "Affrimative, I think I see another Truck being prepped to leave." Ren said. "Aim and take the shot, just remember to be silent." Jaune instructed. Ren nodded as he put his hand back into the bag and pulled out a silencer. Quickly attaching the silencer to the end of the barrel he took aim. Slowing his breath he watched as another pair of trucks moved out. Same as the prior sets of trucks.
Lining up the shot and waiting for the right moment.
He waited.
Then took his shot.
The tracker round splattered against the side of the back truck. The truck showed no change in its destination, not even a sign that the driver felt the hit. He watched as the mark faded away, blending in with the rest of the truck's paint. "Do you have it?" he called in. "Yep, Charlie is already tracking it now. We might find a Beast Market, or maybe a back up facility that the Cult would use." Jaune mused before the call ended.
Ren turned his gaze back to the main compound, ready to continue his stakeout.
Charlie remained stern as she watched the now active tracker move on the digital map. With turns and the occasional stop she kept track of every move made by the truck. She took a quick glance back to the map Jaune had marked, comparing the two maps to see where they'd have to target next.
Still, the fact that they were gathering beasts from somewhere just opened up another can of worms. They may even find out where that Preacher Cult got all those beasts.
Still, whatever location they reveal on the map will need to be investigated.
As she should have investigated before.
'No... No, no self deprecating right now.' She slapped her cheeks and grit her teeth as she watched the tracker move through the streets of Vale's more run down districts.
Jaune raised his gun after having kicked down the door of the compound. A standard night time approach, Pyrrha and Nora following behind him while Ren kept watch from a far away vantage point.
He watched as a pair of Cultists turned to him, their stares blank and almost vacant. "ON THE GROUND!!" he shouted while aiming his shotgun at them. One seemed to have a spark of recognition in their eyes as the other charged forward, pulling a knife from their belt. A single shot struck the attacking cultist, sending him to the ground with a large hole in his torso. The other just remained frozen, eyes shifting crazily as he fell to his knees.
Nora was quick to restrain the other one as Pyrrha took point. "One Cultist restrained at the entrance. Any changes outside?" Jaune reported in. "None so far, keep moving. They might try to flee if you take too long." Ren responded before a shot rang out. Jaune turned, watching as Pyrrha put a hole through the chest of another Cultist. "Move up, there's a chance they'll try to escape." Jaune instructed as Nora and Pyrrha nodded.
Moving through the hallways Jaune kept his ears open and his sights trailed on whatever may be ahead of him. "Ren, Thermals?" he inquired. "Only faint signatures, the walls are too thick. I can see a large mass of heat approaching from your left though." Ren said as the three stopped, quickly taking aim down their left.
What approached wasn't a Cultist.
Running on all fours, elongated limbs that ended in two sharp claws. With pronounced muscles along it's back legs and exaggerated shoulders that extended far past the main body. Spikes ran along the top and bottom of its body with small serrations running along each spike. The creature's head was sunken into the head, only its jaw stretching far enough from the shoulders. Four glowing eyes along the shoulders that seemed to glare at them.
It was a Ridge Runner.
The Ridge Runner lept into the air as the first shots were fired. Pyrrha quickly pulled one of her Xiphos from her belt and aimed for the Ridge Runner's head. The Ridge Runner grabbed the wall and made another jump, aiming right for Jaune. Three shots rang out as the Pellets sunk into the leathery limbs of the Ridge Runner. Jaune jumped back as the Ridge Runner struck the ground, Pyrrha's blade taking off its limb in exchange before it could jump away.
The Ridge Runner clawed it's way too the ceiling, Green colored blood leaking from the stump. He could see the beast glaring at them from above. He could see the beast shifting its position, rearing for a second strike in a more awkward manner than before. Nora put a stop to it by firing a grenade just the beast began its next jump. The explosion threw the beast to the ground as Pyrrha rushed it.
The head never got to hit the floor.
They continued, bullets flying as Cultist tried to hold them back with any manner of melee weapon they could find. They would occasionally be met with counter fire, but it was too little to stop them as they clear out the building.
An explosion shook the building, forcing them to grab onto the walls to stay on their feet. "REN, WHAT WAS THAT?!" Jaune called into the comms. "A truck tried to flee, hit the driver and send them into a lamp post. As for the explosion my guess would be fire dust." Ren called back. "Anymore fleeing?" he inquired. "None so far, I'll call in if anymore try to escape." Ren responded. "Understood." Jaune said before he turned back to Nora and Pyrrha.
They gave him a silent nod and the trio turned back to the mission at hand. Guns raised as they moved deeper through the compound.
Ren had to resist a sigh as he watched the burning wreck of the truck burn on the streets. There wasn't many other trucks in the compound, but such a fire risks unwanted attention. All it would take is someone with a scroll calling in the fire department and this mission would turn into a mess. Even with their call scramblers in place, someone outside its range could still call in.
So he had too take care of it.
"Charlie, we got a big fire, Call in Evac and Crowd Control." He stated over the comms. "What? What happened?" Charlie replied. "Took out one of the trucks, crashed into a lamp post. Seemed too be carrying lots of fire dust." he reported. "Ah hell, alright I'm getting Evac and Crowd Control on it, but it will take time." Charlie replied. "Understood." Ren said before his eyes caught something.
Three cars, all armored with armed to the teeth rushed too the scene.
"Charlie, we got company, three armored cars with no identifying marks." He reported in. No reply came before static hit the comms. He Grit his teeth and hid deeper in as the cars stopped just ahead of the burning wreckage. Two of them began to maneuver around the streets, setting up an impromptu roadblock as the third drove up towards the bay doors. It changed position, putting the tail end of the car upto the bay doors. The back door opening as something rushed out, tearing through the metal of the bay doors with little issue.
He took aim back at the other two cars as people in combat armor stepped out of them.
"Ren... Ren... Those are not with us. Tell the others and get our of there." Charlie shouted through the static of the comms. Ren glared through the scope, before sighing. "Jaune... Jaune, Nora... Anyone that can hear me we have company. They already let something into the compound." he spoke just as gunfire began to hit near his spot. "Damnit, I've been spotted, just get out of there!!" he shouted.
He had no way of knowing if they heard him. All he could do was flee, taking his sniper rifle and bag as gunfire peppered around his hiding spot.
Arcadian Bestiary Entry: ?;.
-Ridge Runners.
Ridge Runners are a pursuit and ambush predator from a far off moon found in the solar system. They are built for fast maneuvering and long distance pouncing. When Ridge Runners find prey they will often seek out ways to attack it from a higher vantage point. They will use their spike in conjunction with their long limbs and claws to grapple with their prey until they can sink their jaws into a kill spot.
Ridge Runners will often find ways onto our world through portals and rituals. Ridge Runners can also be tamed through an extensive and well thought out routine. It should be noted that Ridge Runners were named for their ability to move quickly over even the most difficult of terrain.