Raven wasted no time showing him, firing his assault rifle and a hail of bullets the size of tank shells launched and smashed against the Steel Blizzard's Hard Light Dust shielding.
"Heh, I think I felt a breeze just now." he chuckles before returning fire with his laser rifle, Raven only just blocking the shot with his shoulder-mounted forward-facing Hard Light Dust shield. It functioned quite similarly to the Pulse Shields he used back on Rubicon.
The red beam disperses upon making contact with the blue shield as Raven activates his thrusters and flew away while firing at the Steel Blizzard as the rogue test pilot gave chase,
"So Jacques got desperate enough to let you go?" he snarls over the comms as he fires a cluster of plasma missiles mid-flight, "What did he promise you? Freedom? Lien? It doesn't matter, you can't trust a word he says."
Raven answers by firing back while withdrawing, before flying through a rain of airship debris as the plasma missiles locked in on his heat signature, only to prematurely detonate upon striking the debris and showering the area with superheated plasma.
The test pilot growls as the smokescreen created from the debris clouded his sight just long enough to lose track of his opponent. He tried switching to thermal but all he got was heat signatures from the falling and burning airships all around him. And radar was no good either, with the number of debris surrounding him he could easily hide behind one to fool his radar.
"I don't care what he offered you. I don't care if I've never won against you once. This time it's different. This time I have something to lose." the test pilot growls as he searches the area for where he could be hiding, "Let me tell you a story, 'Raven'...There was once a boy who wanted to be a Huntsman. His father was the owner of a SDC Dust mine, meaning he was set for life. The best equipment money could buy, the best training money could buy."
He then saw movement in the corner of his field of vision, pointing with his laser rifle he fired a shot and tore through a broken piece of the hull only to reveal nothing, forcing him to continue his search.
"His father always brought him to work, his mother was long dead by this time. So he would explore and play all around the facility, making friends with his father's employees. They would all say he had his father's eyes." he continues muttering as his eyes scan the screens of Steel Blizzard's cockpit, "But one day he got curious enough to explore the deep levels of the mines, where the workforce stayed. And what he saw horrified him, the way they were treated, and how all of them were Faunus. Not a single human in sight. All malnourished, sick, beaten and branded. His father wasn't the saint he thought him to be."
Suddenly without warning, he was struck in the back by bullets, chipping his shield's energy by a bit as he turned to fire all he had in the general direction of where the shots came from behind another piece of hull that's broken off from a ship. Once the smoke cleared he rushed in with his energy sword drawn, looking everywhere but couldn't find a sign of where Raven was.
He roars in frustration before continuing both his search and story, "And then he saw the most extraordinary thing…a Faunus girl with his eyes…his father's eyes…He begged his father to at least let her go but he refused, saying she had to pay both her and her mother's debt. He tried to raise the issue to his father's superiors in the SDC but he was laughed away and when he was found out, his father punished him severely. So he ran away, became a Huntsman in Vale, and came back with enough money to buy her freedom only to find she died in a cave-in while he was studying in Beacon!"
He roars the last part in anger as he fires a cluster of plasma missiles in every direction, hoping at least one of them will reveal the location of his opponent,
"Don't you see? That is the company that belongs to the man you're protecting! A company that is what it is because of him! A company that tramples, pollutes, and destroys the lives of innocents!" He screams in anger and frustration, "A man who has kept you captive, just like the Faunus he oppresses! How could you defend such a man? Have you no pride? Honor? Integrity?! Willing to trade it all for a few rolls of paper?!"
Then his radar flared up, detecting high-speed movement from behind as he spun and slashed with his energy sword, only to be surprised as his blade cut into a broken mast of a ship with burning sails still on. The mast smashes into Steel Blizzard with immense force and speed, pushing it down back to the earth as he spots Raven on the other end of the mast, pushing it down with his thrusters at full power.
He screams as he uses his energy sword to cut away the mast and tear the flaming sails, restricting his movements as he tries to stab at Raven who suddenly lurches backwards with his thrusters, pushing him away from his blade as a canister on his shoulder points at him.
Before he could dodge, the trigger was pulled and a cluster of rocket-propelled grenades smashed into Steel Blizzard, destroying its already weakened shields and overloading its circuitry from the stress.
"No, no, no! Not like this!" he pleads almost desperately, all his time in the simulations he knew what came next, "I won't die! Not before Jacques Schnee! Not before I end the SDC!"
Raven gives no reply as he slams his shoulder into Steel Blizzard, pushing him further and faster downwards he raises his left arm with the hydraulic hammer before smashing it into Steel Blizzard's core, punching through the hull, the cockpit, his Aura and his chest.
"No…" he could only groan weakly as his body was torn in half from the blow, blood splattering all over the seats, controls and screens of the cockpit as his eyelids grew heavy. But before he could fully black out from blood loss and pain, he saw a familiar face with familiar eyes,
"Lisa…" he mutters with his last breath, reaching out with his remaining hand as Steel Blizzard powers down from the damage sustained. Raven pulls back his arm with the hydraulic hammer and slowly lowers the damaged prototype, Sentinel.
"...It was him or us, Raven." Ayre says after a moment of silence for the pilot, sounding remorseful and resigned, "And he would have killed Winter if given the chance. He knew what he was doing when he leaked all the information. But hearing of the SDC's crimes…it's different from just reading about it."
Raven nods in agreement as he stares at the blood on the tip of his hydraulic hammer. He had been hoping to put this kind of work behind him when he escaped…
Then they notice their radio buzz with activity and accept the call,
"Raven! Ayre! Do you read me?" yells Colonel Ironwood, "I'm detecting no hostile activity in the vicinity…did you do it? Over."
He asks in disbelief and Ayre responds, "Yes, Colonel. The fleet is wiped out, with the M.N.S Talisman disabled and the rogue AC eliminated. Over."
"I can barely believe it…a whole flotilla against one man. I was only expecting you to hold them off until the Atlas Navy arrives, but instead, you eliminated them without a scratch…" the Colonel mutters before clearing his throat, "Atlas thanks you for what you've done today. Report back to the hangar, the Navy should be arriving soon and once they do I wish to debrief and properly reward you for your service. Over."
"Copy that, Colonel." Ayre responds before pausing, "And Winter, is she well? Over."
"Yes, she is. I think she wants to speak with you." Colonel Ironwood says as the two hear some movement before a young girl's voice is heard, "Raven? Ayre? Are you two alright?"
"We should be asking you that, Winter." Ayre says with relief evident in her tone, "I trust you arrived safely?"
"Yes, we did! Colonel Ironwood made sure I was safe the entire trip." Winter says, "You were fighting pirates and Steel Blizzard! Was it scary?"
Ayre chuckles warmly at the girl's excitement, "Hardly. Steel Blizzard proved to be a determined opponent but…he was no match."
She says somberly as they glance back at the destroyed prototype,
"I want to thank you two." Winter says, "My mother and my little sister, they're here too. If you weren't here, the White Fang…I can't thank you enough for saving us."
Ayre was silent for a moment and even Raven was surprised at the words. While receiving thanks for completing mercenary work was common back on Rubicon, it was rare that either of them would feel pride like this in their achievements during the mission.
But here it was different. Because of their actions, they saved a child, her sister and her mother. It felt…good. If Raven could, he would be smiling behind the bandages now, and he guesses so would Ayre if she had a body. It was unlike their usual numb acceptance after a job was completed on behalf of a corporation or rarely, the RLF or even ALLMIND.
This was a job they both chose to do of their own free will, in order to preserve life instead of ending them, even if it was done at the expense of pirates and a rogue test pilot. It made them feel just a bit proud of themselves.
Colonel Ironwood steps through the hangar of the Atlas battleship, the A.N.S Deliverance, where all around him Bulheads, Mantas and other models of shuttles and gunships lay in the middle of maintenance with crews working diligently on their crafts. All except one corner of the hangar, occupied by their unexpected friend who had to kneel down in order to fit in the hangar.
The news of their actions had earned them respect and awe from the men of the patrol flotilla. He's even overheard some men calling them the 'Fleet Killer' after hearing how he single-handedly destroyed the pirates with ease. It was a well-earned moniker considering the aftermath of their handiwork.
He approaches the corner of the hangar, covered with plastic tarp as curtains for their privacy at their request, where two guards were trying to sneak in a selfie with the Armored Core. He coughs loudly to get their attention, and they immediately return to their stations with embarrassment and a quick salute.
He pushes aside the plastic tarp and approaches the kneeling AC, and he hears his comm bead receive a call. Guessing who it is, he taps it and accepts the call before a familiar female voice speaks through it,
"Colonel, we are glad to see you are well." Ayre greets as the optics of the AC flickered on and off, "I trust you captured the 'Admiral' with little difficulty?"
Ironwood nods, "Yes. The marines were able to board the wreckage where the surviving pirates quickly surrendered unconditionally. All they did was plead that we 'keep our monster away from them'."
He says with fingers raised in air quotes and an amused look, "I never thought I'd see the day the most feared pirate in Mistral is left a bawling catatonic wreck. But I am disappointed we may not get much information from them. They were just hired for the job with the promise of secret SDC technology. Nevertheless, there was a significant bounty placed on the entire fleet. A general bounty of 10,000 Lien for every ship captured or sunk, with 500,000 Lien for the Admiral's death, with double that amount alive. That leaves a hefty sum of 1,250,000 Lien for your efforts. Congratulations, you're a millionaires now. As soon as the Mistralian Council pays up of course, but I'll throw my weight around and push for Atlas diplomats to push the Mistralian Council to pay as quickly as possible with a little bonus as a personal thanks from me…But I doubt any of you have a bank account I can transfer the funds to, can I?"
"...No we don't, Colonel." Ayre agreed as Ironwood stared at the AC's head which stared back,
"Who are you, the both of you?" Ironwood asks, getting to the point, "All the information I've managed to squeeze out of Jacques and his employees just say that you appeared one day out of nowhere."
"...Very well, Colonel. I suppose you deserve to know the truth." Ayre says as Ironwood hears a ping come from his Scroll, "We've shared with you all the information we have about our origins. But before you open the files, please promise us this. No one, not even your superiors, can learn about this. We are telling this to you because you trusted us. And now we are trusting you with our secrets."
Ironwood looks cautiously at the file, fortunately, this was a personal Scroll so there wouldn't be classified data on it, but he looks back at the AC.
"I…can't make any promises. If this info poses a threat to my Kingdom, I will have to inform them," he says bluntly.
"We are aware. You do not have to worry, Colonel. We promise." Ayre says.
Seeing they have been trustworthy so far, Ironwood opens up the files to find a number of videos titled Combat Logs and plays them, all while Ayre explains their situation to him.
By the time it was over, Ironwood couldn't keep his jaw shut any longer as he lets it fall while viewing the latest footage in the logs, with both Raven and Ayre sucked into some black and red vortex in space after combatting a rogue AI in a giant robot on a space station!
He must've been standing there for more than an hour listening to all the details, occasionally forced to ask a few questions to clarify, as he struggled to wrap his mind around this and prevent it from overloading with information.
"...Well. I can see why you wouldn't want me to show this to my superiors." Ironwood says after a moment, "Brothers, I can barely believe it myself…Humans on other planets? Sentient colonies of your equivalent to Dust? Merging them? Stopping a rogue AI from enslaving your people? It sounds like the plot of a video game."
"You believe us?" Ayre asks, honestly thinking more effort would have been needed to convince the Colonel.
"If all this is a convoluted plot I'm honestly tempted to let you pull one over me just from the sheer effort alone." He gestures to his Scroll before realizing something, "Shit…so you're saying Jacques botched first contact between your people and mine?"
"I wouldn't say that Colonel, we are no representatives of any group of our people." Ayre says self-deprecatingly, "Who would care for the treatment of an infamous mercenary and his companion?"
"...Nevertheless, I'm sorry for what you've experienced under the hands of one of our citizens." Ironwood says regretfully, "On behalf of all of Atlas, I apologize for your unlawful captivity in the hands of Jacques Schnee. And I thank you for defending us when you'd have all the reason to leave us."
"Both Raven and I were unanimous. We couldn't leave, not without guaranteeing the safety of young Winter." Ayre says and Ironwood smiles. Even from different worlds, it was pleasing to see humanity had some of the same values no matter where they were from.
"However, that brings me to bad news then." Ironwood says with a frown, "If you don't have any citizenship anywhere on Remnant, it means we can't exactly charge Jacque Schnee with anything done to you during your captivity. And your Armored Core is technically patented by the SDC…He's not letting us leave without returning it. And with how powerful the SDC is, it'll kick up too much of a fuss to deal with. While I can guarantee your safety, I've been ordered to return your AC to the SDC."
He braces himself for arguments and protests, rage and anger. However instead, he got a calm and assuring response,
"Relax Colonel, this was taken into account. We've had one year of silence to plan things out." says Ayre with an almost worryingly calm tone, "We have a list of requirements needed to remove Raven from the AC safely, but afterwards we are glad to hand over this AC to SDC hands."
Jacques scowls into the air as he watches the Atlas flotilla leave after dropping off the AC in the landing pad where his surviving staff was making preparations to transport for another facility for research and development.
"Sir, a quarter of our staff that didn't make it to their bunker in time were killed by the White Fang." Head Researcher Maron says regretfully and solemnly as he looks at a Scroll containing a report of the situation.
"And the research data?" Jacques asks uncaringly, "Was it saved?"
Maron nods, "Yes sir. Our backup servers have all the data we need to replicate Steel Blizzard. Especially with the asset recovered with practical battle data logged inside."
He then gulps nervously, "Now that Atlas knows about him, what should we expect?"
Jacques scoffed, "Nothing. Those fools on the Council don't have anything to charge us with. He's not a citizen anywhere on Remnant. What's important is that our asset managed to prove the validity of our Sentinel Project. Once the army reads their reports, we shall be receiving requests for a contract to supply them with Sentinels."
He turns to face his, "Now that the asset doesn't have anything inside, I feel it would be safe for us to start delving deeper into more of what it had to hide from us. Get our best codebreakers to start working on it. From here, it's going to be smooth-."
Jacques smiles greedily before a loud bang interrupts him and his smile drops into a frown,
"...What was that?" he asks flatly as Maron looks behind him with sweat dropping,
"Uh, it appears the asset…self-destructed sir."
Jacques turns around to find his uninjured workers scrambling to safety as the asset was now glowing orange from heat, part of it melting to slag and sparks of energy bursting from it as any circuitry and hardware inside was melted beyond repair.
Jacques can do nothing but glare with his fist clenched so hard it draws blood, as he watches one of his most valuable assets melt to molten slag in front of him.
"Citizenship for both you and Ayre?" Ironwood raises a brow, "That's doable, but considering Ayre's 'nature' wouldn't it be simpler to create one for you, Raven?"
He asks the bandaged man in a mechanical wheelchair, hooked up to IV fluid and an oxygen mask, wearing a thick Atlas Navy jacket around him for both decency and warmth. It was actually unnerving seeing someone look like that, near thin as a stick and covered head to toe with bandages with the occasional bit of metal poking out for cables to connect with. The only visible thing there was his left eye which has a gray iris with concerning red veins around it.
Raven nods as Ayre speaks through a Scroll tablet he is holding in his arm, a red pulse visible on the screen,
"Yes Colonel, we will need that for our plans in this world," Ayre says and Ironwood looks at the Scroll,
"And pray tell, what are your plans?" Ironwood asks both cautious and curious,
"To live, Colonel Ironwood. Isn't that what any living creature would want?" Ayre asks and he concedes to that.
"Very well. I've a few favors to call in but it should be manageable." Ironwood nods before hesitating, "I don't suppose your plans involve joining the Atlas Armed Forces? We could use a pair like you against the Grimm."
Raven's head perks up in curiosity at this as Ayre speaks,
"You wish to add ACs to your military?"
Ironwood shrugs, "Why wouldn't we? I've seen how you flew against an entire flotilla of some of the most feared pirates in Remnant. Imagine what my men could do with equipment like yours once they've begun production."
"You plan to purchase your ACs from the SDC?" Ayre asks sounding unamused as Ironwood sighs,
"What choice do we have? Unless another company springs up, they're the only ones capable of producing ACs on a mass scale." Ironwood says throwing his hands in the air in defeat, "I hate Jacques Schnee as much as the next person, and I hate how much our Lien goes into his pockets, but what choice do we have?"
"Actually, our plans may allow you a different choice." Ayre says as Ironwood looks at her curious, "Raven, if you would please?"
Raven obliges, straining himself but flipping the tablet to allow Ironwood to look on the Scroll's screen as Ayre, "We had time to analyze and think of our situation on Remnant in our captivity. And from what I've been able to gather, the state of the world is in a never-ending war against the forces of the Grimm."
"You'd be right." Ironwood grumbles, "We kill one hoard, two more show up elsewhere. We make one settlement, and we lose five others. We kill hundreds of thousands, and the next month twice that number replaces them. Do you know why we call this world Remnant? Because it's evident, from our shattered moon, and ruins older than recorded history, we were once something great."
"Something?" Ayre asks and Ironwood shrugs,
"That's what philosophers and historians say at least. Whatever it was, we're what's left and we're slowly dying. The last great attempt at expanding borders was Vale's Mountain Glenn project and that failure crushed all hopes in taking land from the Grimm." Ironwood looks somber as he remembers how his spirits fell from hearing the news, even if it was another kingdom from another continent that was once at war with his so long ago, before determination returns, "It's why we need these ACs, if our basic soldiers can fight better than a Huntsman could ever hope to, wield more firepower than a platoon, the odds may tip in our favor. We may finally do something besides waiting for the Grimm to build up and come at us. We may finally take land back, take back pride for both Humanity and Faunus, and take back the world that was once ours! We don't have to be Remnants of some ancient civilization anymore, we can be the start of something new! Something greater, rising from the ashes of the old!"
Both of them stay silent as they hear Ironwood's impassioned speech, and Ironwood swore he saw a flicker of something akin to respect in Raven's singular eye.
"...That is an admirable dream, Colonel Ironwood." Ayre says genuinely, "And I believe I can offer something to help with that. An idea both Raven and I have been cooking up in our imprisonment, with your support we may see it come to fruition."
Ironwood looks curios as the screen of the tablet changes to a white background with a simple sketch of a black raven in flight seen from sideways with its wings spread, drawn simplistically and sleekly with words below it in a similar font, reading out;
NEST INC.
"Ordering an unsanctioned raid?! Collaborating with pirates?! The death of both SDC employees and members of the White Fang?!" Ghira roars, terrifying the squad of operatives that returned from the ill-fated unsanctioned mission. Even these hardened veterans flinch in fear at the volume and ferocity in the voice of their leader.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" he roars at the face of the squad leader, "The lines you've crossed? The bridges you've burned?! Allies in the government! Supporters! One by one they are now cutting us off! You've set the Faunus rights movement back decades! Decades of work down the drain from your foolish actions! "
The squad leader suddenly gets enough courage to speak up, "W-we were just doing what you were too afraid to, Ghira! Peace with humans? Equality? We all know what humans think of that! All of us but you!"
Ghira cringes as he looks around the Faunus gathered for their hearing, and he sees looks on their faces as they mutter amongst one another with sympathy in their eyes.
"...This hearing is concluded." Ghira orders despite the protest of some members, "I find all of you guilty for an unsanctioned raid against the SDC and the death of our brothers and sisters that foolishly followed you. You will be handed to the Kingdom of Atlas for your crimes. May the Brothers have mercy on your souls."
There was resistance as they tried struggling, but loyal members of the White Fang dragged them away to cells to await their transfer, even through their masks he could see the reluctance in their eyes.
Once the room is cleared he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. He was losing control, faster than he had anticipated. The more extremist and militant sides of the White Fang were rearing their heads, unafraid of him. How can Faunus and Humanity coexist if he can't even get Faunus to coexist?
"Are you alright, High Leader?" one of his lieutenants, a young woman and a rising star in the White Fang by the name of Sienna Khan, approaches him as he groans.
"It's getting harder day by day to keep the militants in line." he sighs, "It was so much simpler back in the founding days. Now even those that protested with me for Faunus rights back then are turning their backs in favor of this."
"You have to understand their frustration." Sienna says sympathetically, "Years of protest has been doing little, with the SDC still operating their slave camps in all but name. They saw a way to free them in one swoop and went for it."
"Contrary to what you believe, I am not blind to our people's plight!" Ghira snaps in frustration before sighing, "But we have to show the humans we are better than them. That is the only way we can win this and achieve true peace between our species. Now is there a reason why you haven't left yet?"
Sienna nods and pulls out a thumbdrive, "This was found on their person when we searched the rogue operatives. Full of SDC data and blueprints."
"Blueprints?" he looks worried at the thumbdrive, "Of what?"
"We're still decrypting them, but our codebreakers mentioned something called 'Project: Sentinel."