The moment Winter heard the order for retreat she knew something must have gone terribly wrong. The sight of a massive flying Grimm, larger than any Elder Nevermore she's ever seen, smashing through the walls on the horizon just as the Vanguard forces were attempting to rendezvous with the Watchdogs and Shadowsteel squads.
The Vanguard units returned to their FOB and once docked she immediately ejected out of FROSTBITE to search for her old wingman, finding him in the Watchdog's half of the hangar. Immediately the looks on their faces, and the fact they were missing three of their numbers told her everything.
"Adam." she approached the pilot who was leaning against one of the legs of his AC as technicians rushed over, spraying sparking areas of CHAINBREAKER with white foam as they began making immediate repairs with what tools were available.
Adam was unresponsive, clenching a shaking fist with his head down. Before Winter can do anything she hears a scream from one of the Watchdogs, Sledge if she recalls, throws a toolbox against the walls in frustration and grief.
"Those fuckheads! I knew we couldn't trust them! Fuck…FUCK!" he screams as he starts punching the walls with his bare hands, tears streaming from his eyes. The other Watchdogs fared no better, some looking away to hide the tears as they trembled such as Nightwatch, some wept openly like Sledge did, and some were staring off into the distance with numb looks on their faces like Adam.
Most of the Vanguard watch with hearts sinking. Some of them had befriended the Watchdogs just the day before, spending the night drinking, laughing and exchanging stories now hearing that they were gone.
Ironwood watches in silence before speaking up, "All of you, get as much rest as you can while your ACs get patched up and refueled. I'll have to speak with the rest, and strategise what to do next."
"Sir." the Vanguard salutes as he walks off, helmet under his arms. Winter kneels next to Adam and places a hand carefully on his shoulder,
"Adam…Are you alright?" she asks before feeling the urge to slap herself for asking such a dumb question. But seeing her friend in such a state left her not knowing what to do, what could she possibly say to make him feel better?
"They're gone…" Adam mutters, sounding like he doesn't want to believe it, "Phoenix…Nova…Pearl… They're all gone."
Her heart breaks at the sight, she's never seen Adam like this before so she does the first thing that comes to mind, wrapping her arms around him.
"What the hell was that?!" Ironwood demands as his holographic form materializes in the war room still dressed in his power armored flight uniform, "Are you telling me our reconnaissance failed to find a literal giant Ancient-class Grimm a couple clicks away from us?!"
"We never considered such a beast to be inhabiting Mountain Glenn. It must have been hiding inside, hibernating and growing even before Mountain Glenn's fall which may explain how we've never come across it before." Ozpin mutters, "We had no reason to suspect such a Grimm of that stature would be hiding in wait. Even in the chaos of Mountain Glenn, it decided to lay in wait, growing in strength which is anomalous for Grimm but I suppose Ancients are known to be anomalous."
"We should have made a deeper reconnaissance," Ayre mutters, regret and grief audible in her voice despite her attempts to hide it. She takes a breath and addresses the two of them, "You two have the most experience when it comes to dealing with Grimm. How do we deal with this?"
Ozpin sighs, "I'm afraid that Ancient Grimm are a class of their own, especially a Wyvern. It is beyond anything Huntsmen are capable of killing. The last Ancient Wyvern seen was in the Great War, and it required a ceasefire between two armies to deal with, ending in tremendous casualties on both sides and that's not considering the fact they are usually followed by large hordes. We'll need a fleet, and I believe that is your department of expertise, General Ironwood."
"The Vanguard is a Special Operations branch, Professor Ozpin, we don't have a battleship lying around that's the Navy's department." Ironwood responds sounding irritated, "I can put in a request for the Atlas Navy to intervene but that would require diplomats convincing the Kingdom of Vale for that and I doubt they'll allow it even with the Ancient Grimm at their borders. Even if by some miracle they do, it'll take at least half a day for a capable flotilla to arrive with enough forces."
"What is the Wyvern doing now then?" Professor Ozpin asks Ayre. The CEO clicks a remote and a holographic is displayed on the table where the Wyvern was seen circling the Glenn walls,
"Right now it's at Glenn's walls, where the original breach was now wider than ever from its intervention." Ayre explains grimly, "As we speak thousands of Grimm are assembling at the walls in unprecedented numbers. Our latest count places them at a million. I believe it is assembling forces for a full siege on Vale."
"Gods above…" Ironwood mutters as he realizes the severity before calming himself to take stock of the situation, "How many forces do we have in total, Ayre?"
"As of the latest reports? We've lost three ACs from the Watchdog squad." Ayre looks downcast, "Cedric 'Pearl' Sterling, Lucas 'Nova' Blackwood and Amelia 'Phoenix' Steele were wiped out by the Wyvern, along with two full squads of Construction MTs. Everything else remains intact, but after the latest SDC actions we may be looking at reduced fighting capabilities."
Ayre turns to glare at Watts sitting opposite of her across the war room, who sat there casually sipping his tea.
"Ah yes, the SDC." Ironwood glares with her, "Your men broke formation without warning, and left the Watchdogs for dead. Care to explain?"
Watts finishes his drink and settles it down, "Simple. What could we have done?"
"Your drones are automated are they not?" Ayre asks, sounding accusatory, "They could have diverted the Wyvern's attention, draw it away from the retreating forces, reducing the amount of lives lost."
"These drones are top-of-the-line experimental equipment." Watts says looking disdainfully at the thought of sacrificing his inventions, "We of the SDC came here voluntarily without looking for a reward, you do not get to decide how we use our equipment. You may explain strategies and my men may listen, but we are not obligated to follow your orders. I simply prioritized my men's safety over yours, would you not do the same, General Ironwood?"
"Don't compare us." Ironwood growls, "Clearly it's different in the SDC, but we in the Vanguard do not abandon allies."
"While I find his actions of abandoning allies deplorable, we must return to the matter at hand. How do we kill such a creature?" Ozpin asks, gesturing to the hologram, "An Ancient would be smart enough to understand the range of Vale's cannons, staying out of range. Nothing your forces in Glenn have is capable of penetrating its armor plating and hide."
"...Perhaps not." Ayre mutters under her breath as she performs mathematical calculations in her head, "But what if we can make one?"
"Pardon?" Ironwood asks as Ayre changes the hologram to a drill-like cannon.
"Located in the storage area of our carrier is equipment to be used in extracting Dust from Mountain Glenn, including a prototype Gravity Dust-powered mining laser. It would be meant to crack rocks with immense gravitational force before reversing to draw in the rubble and filter the Dust from rocks. With some tinkering, it can be converted into an improvised weapon."
Watts raises a hand, "And the problem with the power supply? A device of that design would require quite a power source of energy to fire."
"That's where the problem comes in." Ayre grimaces, "The generators designed for standard mining would prove incapable of providing the energy at the rate we need. But our carrier's reactor would."
A hologram displays the NEST Inc. carrier diving into the fray escorted by squadrons of ACs shooting down Grimm on its way, "The range isn't anything like an artillery laser so we'll have to get close to get a shot off accurately. The PD cannons combined with our AC and MT forces will be enough to hold off the onslaught of Grimm and give time for the cannon to charge. But I fear that even with our reactor combined with generators it will prove insufficient. We need more power."
"Then why not get more?"
A voice interrupts as all eyes turn to the entrance of the war room where Qrow Branwen walks in with Harbinger resting on his shoulders and a bundle of Beowolf skulls in his arms tied together with rope.
"Who is this? Security!" Watts calls out only for Ayre to silence him,
"Belay that." Ayre quickly tells the security guards standing in the room as they lower their weapons, as she turns to face Qrow, "Qrow Branwen, I trust your mission was successful? I must ask you to leave now, we're in the middle of-"
"Trying to fix the giant flying problem, I know. And you're gonna hear what I got for you." Qrow insists.
"Go on then." Ozpin says and Qrow nods,
"I went scouting towards Merlot Industries' HQ like you asked and found a lot of things, but the most important right now is something that can fix your power issue." he slides a Scroll towards Ayre who catches it and reads its contents, "Not a tech guy but I remember hearing Merlot Industries' headquarters was supposed to have an underground generator strong enough to supply half the city with power and from what I saw it's still working."
Ayre's eyes widened as she did the math, "This is just what we need! You've earned a bonus for this, Qrow Branwen, that's for sure."
Ironwood scans the map, "And if we fortify positions at Merlot Industries' HQ we'll be right within range of the Wyvern as well. It's perfect! We can get engineers to restart the generators, and then we can link it together with everything else to power our laser."
"I'll assemble all the Huntsmen I can, no doubt it'll be a treacherous journey towards the underground of Mountain Glenn." Ozpin nods, "Qrow, can I ask you to lead the path?"
"As long as I'm getting hazard pay, sure." Qrow grumbles at the thought of being tossed back into the fray again but sighs, "But what the hell?"
"In that case, I'll be taking my leave." Watts stands up and adjusts his jacket, "I have all the data I require for my project. I've gotten what I came for."
"So you're going to ditch us?" Qrow asks with disdain,
"We are volunteers, after all, we're not here to fight to the death." Watts shrugs, "I'll be taking my drones with me, but the Sentinels are free to sign up with this death wish if they please. I'll be sure to pass your request along."
They all watch Watts leave before Qrow turns his attention back to the CEO of NEST Inc., "And Ayre, about your job..."
He settles down the Beowolf skulls on the table and they all realize something odd about the skull, instead of dripping the usual black goo indicating a fresh kill, it was a light green color instead,
"After all this, we're gonna need a really long talk about what I saw."
"You! Utter! Bastard!" Shadow 1 roars looking about to strangle Watts, requiring two of his squad members to hold him back as he glares bloodshot and glowing blue eyes at Watts who stares at him with disinterest,
"Cease your bloodthirstiness Shadow 1, I did you a favor. No good would have come from being sent to certain death. And we certainly couldn't let anyone get their hands on our drones if they fell in battle." Watts says dismissively before turning to the rest of Shadowsteel Squad, "We move out immediately, we've got what we came for."
"No…" Shadow 1 says menacingly, "No we didn't. You're making a big mistake Watts, and if I'm right it'll cost you ya job."
"...Pray tell what exactly you are talking about?" Watts asks the deranged pilot,
"Stories…that's how." he answers, "How does our story look to the general public? SDC abandons allies and turns tail at the first sign of danger? How would that make us look, how would that make you look?!"
He yells towards his own squadmates who look at him with unresponsive blank blue eyes, unmoving while Watts stares at him in silence, listening as he continues ranting,
"Out there…right now, out there is the greatest Grimm ever seen since the Great War. Think of the glory of facing it, of killing it! If the SDC turn tail and run now, while the brave and courageous Vanguard and Watchdogs fight against overwhelming odds to protect Vale…even if they win or lose, it'll make us look bad. They'll think less of us, hit the bottom line, and when the board looks at the problem they'll turn to you, the man in charge. Throw you under the bus. Are you fine with that, Watts?!"
Watts glares at Shadow 1, "If you insist on throwing yourself into the meat grinder out of vainglorious desires, you have my permission. Congratulations, Shadowsteel Squad, you got your overtime."
The other Shadows release their hold as Shadow 1 shrugs them off and, "Glad you saw reason, Watts."
"Please. We both know that reason is the last thing on your mind." Watts says as he turns his back on the Sentinel pilot.
"You! Utter! Bastard!" Adam roars as he punches Shadow 1 across the face, causing him to stumble back slightly but uninjured despite the blow having been augmented with Aura. If Adam had been thinking straight at the time he may have noticed that his blow didn't even impact an Aura barrier.
"You got that out of your system, pal?" Shadow 1 asks as he lights up a cigarette before it is slapped out of his hands by a furious Adam, "Alright, now that was uncalled for."
"All of you turned tail and ran!" Adam roars as he had to be held back by Nightwatch, "You fucking cowards! They all died because of you!"
"Yes, because I personally crushed and killed your friends." Shadow 1 rolls his eyes, "It was out of my hands, pal. You want someone to blame, blame it on Watts, or the Wyvern."
"Adam. Let it go." Nightwatch pleads as he holds back the furious pilot, struggling to keep on a neutral face as it almost twists with anguish, "We're better than this. Professionals."
The rest of the Watchdogs glared from the back but remained composed to varying degrees of success, except for Adam who continued struggling against Nightwatch's hold.
"They might as well have killed them themselves! Cedric! Lucas! Amelia!" Adam screams.
"...Who?" Shadow 1 asks genuinely unsure which only serves to further infuriate Adam. Before anything else can happen, Winter steps in.
"Adam, we can all agree what they did was cowardly." she says sparing a sharp glare at them, "But we need your head in the game. Please, stop this."
"She's right…"
Raven's voice silences Adam as all eyes in the briefing room turned to the veteran pilot walking in with his cane,
"Their deaths were tragic…but we cannot let grief consume us." he says, staring at Adam sympathetically, "Not now…Not while the job's unfinished…it's what they would've wanted…"
"You say that, but that thing looks unkillable!" one of the independent mercenaries protests, "We didn't sign up for whatever the fuck that is! I'm out of here!"
There was murmuring as the other mercenaries began agreeing, as one of the Vanguard argues,
"You can't possibly leave now!" Tortuga asks, "That thing is a danger to all of Vale, we need to kill it!"
"I'm only here because I was paid to, soldier boy!" a mercenary shouts, "And I can't spend my money when I'm dead."
"All of you…have the freedom to choose…" Raven concedes, "Run now…nobody will stop you…But stay and hear our plan…and we become the first to kill an Ancient Wyvern in decades…Fortune…fame…all that waits and more if you stay and listen…"
"Besides, most of you won't actually be there to confront the Ancient Wyvern." two more figures step through the door into the briefing room, all of them recognising General Ironwood but most of their eyes widen at the sight of Ayre dressed in a white and red flight uniform.
"...Ma'am, are you-?" Winter asks in shock before Ayre silences her,
"We need all the pilots we can get. I may be a CEO first and foremost, but I am also a certified pilot," she says firmly before turning to the crowd,
"All of you, I understand how frightened you must be to face such a threat as this." Ayre says sympathetically, "Rest assured if you choose to resign from this battle, nothing will be held against you. Like Raven said, you all have the freedom to choose and we will not take it from you. I am simply asking you to hold your decision until you've at least heard the briefing."
The assembly of various pilots looks at one another before settling down. Nodding her thanks, she approaches the podium where a digital map of Mountain Glenn is displayed with a live feed of the Grimm assembling taken via drones.
"It is as some of you feared and predicted, the Grimm are amassing in numbers rarely before seen in an attack on Vale led by an Ancient Wyvern," Ayre announces as some pilots cringed in dread. Some looked resolved, some looked angry, some were excited and some were staring blankly at the projection, "But we have a plan of attack, a way to hunt this monstrosity down and kill it before it can threaten Vale."
Shadow 1 raises a lit cigarette for a question, to which Ayre obliges, "We all know Atlas' got fancy levels for Grimm. What exactly are we looking at?"
Ironwood speaks up almost hesitantly, "...Projections, size category and estimated destructive potential put it at a low Level 8."
There was immediate muttering among some of the pilots. The last Ancient sighted was almost a decade ago and slain personally by Ironwood himself back when he was in the Atlas Army and it was only an Ancient Beowolf, nearly twice as large as an Ursa but a far cry from this titanic monstrosity before them.
Shadow 1 takes a drag from the cigarette, "Be honest General, what are our odds here?"
"I believe that if all do their part and follow the plan to the letter, we will be able to persevere." Ironwood responds firmly, "Now if Ayre can continue about the plan…"
"Thank you, General." Ayre nods appreciatively before turning back to the crowd, "As we speak, modifications are being made by engineers to repurpose an industrial-grade mining laser cannon into a weapon capable of punching through this Wyvern's thick hide and bone plating. But the power demands far outstretched what we can provide, but we have a solution. One that lies in the heart of Merlet Industries."
The projection zooms in on the headquarters building, depicting the NEST Inc. carrier hovering over and MTs dropping from its hold, escorted by ACs. Once the area was cleared, a larger object was brought down from the carrier via five Bullheads, dropping the cannon along with several large generators.
"While the allied AC and MT forces hold off the Grimm, a team of Huntsmen will escort the engineers into the underground generator of Merlot Industries' headquarters, restarting it and linking it with our improvised laser cannon." Ayre explains, "This will be a perilous task, as I'm sure the Ancient is old enough to understand and send a large amount of forces against us. But what will be more perilous is the task of distracting and grounding the Wyvern."
Most of the crowd pales upon hearing this, seeing a projection of four ACs swarming the Wyvern before it falls.
"This task will be done by a group of four ACs, unfortunately, all hands will be needed to secure the laser cannon and protect it from the Grimm." Ayre says, "That is why this team will consist of some of the most elite pilots in this room. Raven, of course, is one of them. The second will be myself."
Immediately almost everyone reacts with shock,
"Ma'am, with all due respect are you sure?" Nightwatch asks looking worried as she nods,
"Positive. It is my responsibility as the one who initiated this project. The project which may be responsible for awakening this Grimm. Putting it down is the very least I can do." Ayre nods determined.
"CEO of a major corporation jumps into an AC to fight giant Grimm. Sounds like a good story." Shadow 1 smirks, "It also sounds like a suicide mission… I volunteer."
"No." Ayre says firmly and bluntly, surprising him, "Raven and I will need pilots we know and trust, and you are not on that list. Your skillset is better suited for assisting the rest in guarding the laser cannon."
He looked like he wanted to argue but Ayre stared him down, "Might I remind you the SDC Sentinels are on thin ice following their earlier 'retreat' from the combat zone?"
He shuts up at this, sulking as he snaps his cigarette in frustration, "So who else's on the list? Ironwood? One of your hounds?"
"Negative. General Ironwood's tactical ability is best suited for leading the defensive formation." Ayre informs, "And the two have already been selected. Two of the best pilots produced from NEST's Pilot Initiative and Atlas Academy's AC Piloting Certification Course. Adam 'Ravager' Taurus and Winter 'Blizzard' Schnee."
The two widen their eyes upon hearing this, jaws dropping in silence as Raven pipes in.
"Congratulations…" he says, "You're part of a new squad now…Raven Squad…"
"To recap, the objective is for Raven Squad to hold off the Ancient Wyvern and the remaining AC, Sentinel and MT forces to hold off the Grimm forces as the laser cannon is given time to recharge." Ayre says resolutely, " If you wish to leave now is your chance. As I've said before, nothing will be held against you."
"That goes to the Vanguard as well." Ironwood says, surprising them, "Those of you who want to live, buy a ticket for the next airship out of Vale. Those of you who want to fight and die, stay."
There was a quick shared glance between the soldiers before nodding and standing to attention,
"And miss the biggest battle since the Great War? Fat chance, General." Tortuga smirks, "We're the Vanguard! First to fight, first to die!"
"Oorah!" the rest of the Vanguard sound off.
"Like hell, we're gonna miss a chance at payback!" Watchdog 11 Sledge shouts, punching his fists together, "You hurt one of us, you have to deal with all of us!"
He suddenly grabs Adam by the collar, "You better make that son of a bitch scream before we put a laser through its skull, you understand me Ravager?!"
"Make it pay for all of us." Nightwatch agreed as well as the other Watchdogs, shouting their own encouragement.
Seeing this, the mercenary who had earlier been the first to want to run grits his teeth before standing up.
"Fuck…My rep will take a hit if I run now. The hazard pay better be worth it." he grimaces before shouting at Ayre trying to hide his fear, "I expect a statue in New Glenn's city square for this goddammit!"
"Hey…some of us were Huntsmen before this." another independent mercenary stands up hiding fear behind a nervous smile, "It would be a shame to miss out on a big game like this. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing."
"They'll be teaching about us in history classes that's for sure." a third mercenary chimes in as the rest stands up.
"Then it's settled." Ayre says with a proud smile, "Operation: Dragon Slayer is a go. Good hunting to you all."
"Here… you'll need these…" Raven hands Adam and Winter two keycards as they walk through the carrier's hallways towards the AC armory where all their weaponry is located, only they head towards a locked doorway with the words Rank S, "Temporary measures…need the best weapons we have…Rank S granted for mission duration…"
"Rank S…" Winter mutters in awe as the door opens allowing them entry. Most of the weaponry located inside was barely brought out for combat, and only for experimental purposes as all were in their experimental stages.
"What are those?" Winter asks as she points to several odd-ly shaped drones on the walls,
"Those are Multi-Dust Action module Drones." Ayre explains gesturing to them, "They are utilized via direct link with your neural system, directed by your thoughts. A strong mind is required to withstand the burden and use it to its full potential in an AC. Sadly it requires training we do not have time for, so I suggest using other weapons. For example…"
She guides their attention to a set of shoulder-mounted units, rifles, handguns and solid blades all with different designs that were available in the standard market, "Light Wave technology, created utilizing a combination of lasers and NEST's pulse technology for devastating armor piercing strikes. Combat Log data from Pearl gives us insight that pulse-based weaponry proved effective at stunning it, such as his use of his Assault Armor. As such I recommend using Light Wave or Pulse weaponry for the duration of the sortie, if you do make sure to make adjustments to your AC to accommodate for high energy consumption."
"Yes ma'am." Winter salutes before going on to select her choice as Adam stood there in contemplation, almost staring into space.
Raven was about to speak when he sensed something through his bond with Ayre and pulled back, letting the woman approach Adam instead, who placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort.
"Adam…" she speaks softly,
"I'm fine." he insists but Ayre saw right through him,
"Take off those glasses, please," she asks and he freezes. Carefully her hands move to his sunglasses, and when she isn't stopped she takes them off to reveal Adam's eyes red from holding back tears.
"Oh, Adam." she moves in to embrace him.
"She was close to me…that thing could have crushed me instead." Adam mutters, his gaze unfocused, "But it got her…And Cedric… Lukas…"
"You were always close with Cedric." Ayre acknowledges with a bittersweet smile, "I still remember the days you sneak off into the airfield to talk shop with him."
Adam sniffs and wipes his face with his sleeve, "I can't…not now. The job's not over, not until we kill that piece of shit."
He says with anger replacing the anguish in his eyes, Ayre nods, "They'll all be remembered. And they'll be avenged. Everyone who lost their life will be honored for their sacrifice. But we have a job to do. It has to wait until then."
"I know." Adam nods, camping and steeling himself, "So hand me the biggest sword or gun in this damned room, and you won't even need that laser. I'll kill it myself."
"Don't let anger cloud your judgment." she rebukes looking at him sternly, "I will rather not add another funeral to the list. Let your anger guide you, but do not let it drive and cloud your vision. Am I clear?"
"Trust me, I won't. I'm too good for that," he says trying to put on his usual confident smirk as Ayre sighs,
"There's a blade that was a prototype for Light Wave Blades." Ayre recalls, "It's a class of its own, beyond even the heavyweight category."
"Sounds perfect for me then," he says confidently.
"Promise me you'll be careful." Ayre says sternly, "It can lead to damaging the AC if used recklessly. Beyond the limits of an AC, beyond the norms, so much the engineers have come to call its category, Overed Weapons."
Ironwood watches as the giant mining laser settled down with five Bullheads using steel cables to lower it carefully, its sheer weight demolishing entire buildings beneath it as MTs move large power cables and connect them to the device.
All around them, defences were being assembled by remaining Construction MTs, columns of MTs lined up in firing lines each armed with heavy weapons, Tetrapod MTs acting as heavy artillery, and ACs/Sentinels flying around the carrier overhead.
In his days in the army, it took a hundred times this much manpower to fight a horde this size, with more air support than they had. Deep down he wonders if all thai would really be enough, before shaking his head to clear the doubt.
Ayre and Raven have proven themselves time and time again. He will not doubt them now. He will hold the line and give them as much time as they need for their plan to carry out.
He pulls up his comms to contact the Huntsmen team, "This is General Ironwood. The cannon is in place and connected to the main power grid. All on you now, Branwen. Don't screw it up."
"Gee, thanks for the pep talk. We're making our way to the generators." Qrow responds with a grunt as he slices apart the Grimm in his path, "Fortunately I cleared a few of them on my last run here, but it'll still take some time."
A collection of loud roars and screeches could be heard over the horizon, shaking the area slightly as all eyes turned to the tide of black approaching. It was like watching a tsunami slowly approaching, and despite his years, he can't fully quash the growing feeling of dread deep inside.
Ironwood grits his teeth, "We'll buy as long as you need. We're all depending on your Qrow."
"Trust me, I've got every intention of making it out of here alive." Qrow says, "I got gifts to buy my nieces with the Lien I've made today. You're looking at a millionaire here, James."
He rolls his eyes as he hangs up, broadcasting to an open channel to the men under his command.
"Pilots of Remnant, whatever reason you've come today, whatever reason you have to fight, none of that matters. What matters is that this is where we stand! This is where we fight!" he gestures towards the approaching horde with HAMMER's laser cannons, "This is where they die! So do not count days! Do not count miles! Count only the Grimm you kill. Engage!"