Captain Tempest suppressed a grumble as he marched down the ramp of the Storm-bearer. It wasn't good for the crew to see him unhappy. If the Captain was unhappy then things were bad. They were bad but the crew had no idea how bad.

It had been a month since the good times. A month since they were raking it in like Bandit Kings of myth. Now they were broke, so broke he'd had to take out a loan from one of their suppliers. Only reason they still had the ship was because the supplier was gone.

That was worrying. The black market wasn't a safe place by any means. But when people stopped appearing word would get around. Sometimes they crossed the wrong people or just plain got caught.

The odd crew or ship going missing was nothing new. But whole small flotillas were vanishing, had been vanishing, he corrected. Before ships would go out and go quiet on the way out or back. But two weeks ago one of the other ships doubled back to meet with its sister ship.

It had been an agreed gathering point. A place for traders and raiders to make deals under truce. The returning ship found piles of burned bodies and broken ships. A dozen ships, their crews, the merchants and their guards all dead.

Tempest shivered at the thought. Huntsmen didn't do that and Grimm couldn't either regardless of the rumors. They all knew they were haunted. The shackles of the Kingdoms hung over any Free Folk. But it seemed their new visitors were more into nooses.

He strode into the Murky Cloud. It was the only tavern on Cloudy Cove. The door swung in and he let his eyes adjust to the gloom. The owners knew their regular clients liked it dim so they could relax. A rare few visitors also wanted to make themselves hard to identify.

The room was mostly full of tables and chairs. Less were occupied then the last time he'd been in. One of the booths where deals were made was occupied by two figures cloaked in shadow. A few heads turned to look at him then returned to their drinks.

A month ago there would have been a cheer and a welcome. He would have paid for a round for all and they would drink themselves till they passed out. Now he walked over to the bar and ordered his usual.

'Been a while. How's the wind?' The barman asked as he wiped a glass with a rag.
'Not fair. Down right dreadful really. How's business?' Tempest responded before sipping his drink.
The barman shrugged as he said, 'About the same. Might need to look into moving soon. Thinking of heading north again and trying for the Vale Mistral routes.'
Tempest lowered his drink as he responded, 'That far north? Is it really that bad?'
'Yep. Things are dying off. Got to move where the business is. Besides, we don't want to risk any more than we have too.' The barman said.
'You think whatever is hunting us will find the cove?'
'Might be if we hang around. Better to leave whilst we still have air in our lungs,' The barman said, looking over tempests shoulder, 'Speaking of leaving. Guy in the booth asked to speak with you once his other guest left.'

Tempest looked over his shoulder seeing a bulky figure vanishing through the door. Back at the booth a robed figure raised a glass in greeting. Tempest looked down at this cup considering a refill before opting against it. He turned and walked over to the booth.

A woman was sitting there. She had dark green eyes and a few locks of brown hair poked out from her hood. Her glass was full of wine and she had a few small folders on the table in front of her.

'Capitan Tempest I presume,' She said with a gleaming smile.
'That's my name and yours?' Tempest said with a nod.
'You can just call me Green.'
'Green? Rather simple as aliases go but okay. So what do your bosses want Green?' Tempest asked as he dropped into the seat opposite her.
Green bristled at his words.
'What makes you think it's an alias?'
Tempest snorted before replying, 'You have good teeth, drink wine and are having one meeting right after the other. You're either the stupidest Bandit ever or you're an agent for someone else. Let me guess Atlas or Mistral right?'

Green went rigid at his words.
'Oh I'm close aren't I? Let me guess you're only here because your bosses offered a promotion if you did some dirty work.'
'Any arrangement with my employers is confidential,' Green snapped.
'And you just confirmed you have an employer. Nice going agent Green.' Tempest said as he relaxed into the seat.
'That's not. What I meant was… Oh screw it. Do you want a job or not?' Green asked.
'Depends on the job and the pay.' Tempest said, tilting his head.

Green pulled out a map and turned it so Tempest could look. It was the Dragon's tail with a few locations marked with COG logos along with dates. As the dates advanced the icons moved northwards towards a small cluster of other logos.

'The COG is expanding north at a rapid pace. The job is to attack one of their newer locations. You're to retrieve a few key items. Then steal and or do as much damage as you can to whatever else you can,' Green said.
Tempest studied the map. It was more detailed than any other chart of the Dragons Tail he'd seen.
'We can hit them at the new site fine. But what stuff are you after and what are you paying?' Tempest asked.

Green pulled out a list with photos alongside price tags. Tempest's eyes bulged at the numbers listed near the top. There was enough there he could rebuild properly.
'There are a few things we need. Lowest priority are any computers you can find. Followed by examples of their Androids, the more intact the better. The highest rewards would be these two items,' Green said pointing to the top of the list.
'A Fabricator and a JACK unit?' Tempest asked as he looked at the images.
'Yes there will be one of each at the site. We've had it confirmed. We need them as intact as you can manage. The Fabricator shouldn't be a problem but the JACK will pose an issue.'
'How so?'
'Its able to cloak and hide itself from view. You won't be able to see it with the naked eye.'
'So how are we meant to steal it if we can't see it?'
'If you accept the job we'll provide some equipment that will help. But not just a means of seeing the JACK. It will all be yours to keep after the job is done. Do it well enough and we might have more long term offers.'

Tempest scratched his chin pretending to think about it for a moment. He really didn't have a choice, it was this or lose it all.
'Let me see the equipment first. Then I'll decide.'
Green smiled and pulled off the table and pocketed them.
'Sure. Come down to pad sixteen. The first load is waiting for you there.'

With that she walked out leaving a few lien as a tip. Tempest finished drinking his glass. Then waited a few minutes to follow her, no point looking desperate.

He walked out and down to the docking area. Airships of all makes and sizes were sat on pads. Some were being serviced, others were moving their cargo. As he reached one of the connecting bridges he glanced down at the sea far below.

Cloudy Cove had once been an airborne village built to act as a way-station for Airships. Its builders had captured some of Lake Matsu's floating islands to act as foundations. The place was held aloft by the natural gravity dust. And changed course by adjusting its altitude with engines fixed to the rocks.

As far as anyone knew the Cove was the last of the original sky-ports. A few newer forms had been built in the years following. They had the advantage of all artificial lift so were much easier to control. But the Cove had been taken by Bandits years ago and turned into a flying safe harbor.

Tempest reached pad sixteen, then stopped and gawked as he looked at the craft crouched on the pad. It was a bullhead. Not a new machine by any measure but few had made their way onto the black market. The few that had were all ex-transports that had been stolen. But this one was just sitting in its factory gray paint, not a scratch on it.

Green was sitting on a pile of crates at the foot of the Bull heads ramp. She seemed much more confident now. No doubt the look on Tempest's face helped with that. He collected himself and walked over.

'So you brought a Bullhead here? Hope you locked it before you left the cockpit.' Tempest said as he approached.
'Oh no. I've got another ride to leave on. This is just a forward payment.' Green said, waving to the craft.
'This is part of the deal?' Tempest asked as he walked around the craft.
'Yep. And don't go thinking it's just another high-speed courier,' Green said, giving a wave of her hand.

At her signal a hatch on the chin slid out revealing a twin-linked set of rotary guns. Tempest's eyes widened at the sight. This wasn't the regular model that he had seen a few times. The small pylons under the wings and the chin gun meant it was the combat version. That was limited to military, security firms and the rare huntsmen team.

'How did you get this?' Tempest asked, turning to Green.
'Let's just say my employer has some pull,' Green said, patting the box she was sitting on, 'Now. The other part of your payment.'

Tempest walked over as she unlatched the box and lifted the lid. Inside were neat rows of Schnee Arms carbines. Green unlocked the next one to show pistols of the same make. Others were full of ammo both regular and dust infused.

'That's a lot of firepower.' Tempest said, running a hand over one of the boxes.
'You're not attacking a small hamlet. Don't worry about anybody looking for the weapons they've been cleaning.'

Most of their equipment was stolen or built by Bandit blacksmiths. Sorting out ammo and maintenance was a constant problem. Anything firing dust rounds was expensive to maintain. Real rifles and pistols would mean his crew were more deadly than before.

He looked up at the Bullhead as the pilot stood at the hatch waiting. A modern airship to go with their new weapons as well. He knew this was a massive risk. The COG were tougher then Atlas ever was and even with this it would be a bloody fight. But he needed the lien, they all did.

'How much more equipment can you get before the end of the week?' Tempest asked finally.
'Six or seven bullheads and enough guns to arm your crew four times over. More will come,' Green said with a smile.
Tempest took a long breath then said, 'Okay we'll do it. What do we need to see this invisible bot?'

Green waved to the pilot who brought out another box from the hold. It was a grayish blue with small blue lights spaced across it. The COG logo was stamped on all sides. Green unlocked it and lifted the lid. Inside were a dozen small sets of goggles with blue lenses.

'Give these to the men who will capture the machine. Don't turn them on until the attack starts, they will only work for a limited time. The instructions on their use are here,' Green said, lifting out a small manual.
Tempest took it and read the title out loud, 'Tac-Comm field goggles. Interesting, where did you get these?'
'That's a private matter for now. If anyone asks you, say you stole them.'
'Not a problem. I'll get my crew over here to load this all. Nice doing business with you Green.'
'Likewise. Contact us on this number when you have the items,' Green said, passing Tempest a small card.
He pocketed it and turned to continue inspecting his new toys.

Green and her pilot left for a much more subdued Mistral airship. Once they were aboard the two split up, the pilot joining his colleague at controls and Green heading to her room.

Inside she booted up an encrypted terminal and requested a connection. She had a few moments before it was accepted and the screen came to life.

On it was her handlers icon. A silhouette on a gray background.
'He took the offer?' A synthetic altered voice asked.
'He did. He also wants more equipment if we can get it,' Green said.
'That can be arranged. I'll contact you with the locations for collection.'
'I also met our contact. Seems they are calling in that favor already.'
'Really? What do they want?'
'After Tempest finishes this assignment they want him to head to a small village on the mainland. Seems there are some people there our contact wants taken care off. I'm sending you the images now,' Green said, pulling out the file she'd been given and taking the photos out.

There were two men and one woman. All were head-shots but blue uniforms were visible. Green placed each onto a scanner and let them read. Then putting them back in the file.

'No one important from the look of it. Did they give any reason?'
'No but they did say these photos are out of date. Not that it will be an issue. They want these three killed first and then Tempest can do what he wants with the place.'
'Very well I see no issue. Provided our employers get what they want this is a small price to pay.'
'I'll pass the file to Tempest once he gets back. How will we handle the handover?'
'A cargo ship will divert once you signal Tempest has the goods. They will have any and all funds you need on hand to pay Tempest.'
'Okay I'll keep you updated.'
'Do so. And Green.'
'Yes.'
'Keep this up and you will have a good future ahead of you.'

With that said her handler broke the connection. Green smiled to herself and relaxed into her seat. This job already paid enough she could look forward to a comfortable retirement in a decade. A little more on top would only sweeten the deal.

'I'm bored,' Nora announced.
Ren sighed but kept walking as he spoke, 'These patrols are important.'
'I know but we always have to go on patrol. Why don't the others do this stuff at all?'
'Because they are Huntsmen and we are just trainees. We knew this wasn't going to be a cake walk when we signed up.'
Nora sighed heavily then said, 'I know that. But we haven't seen any Grimm since they showed up.'

The they in question was the mine on the other side of the valley. A week or so back it had been rife with Grimm. Then the COG arrived and cleared the place out. For the first few days it was just a small group of troops and their Androids. Then more trucks arrived bringing heavier equipment.

Now the mine was surrounded by a modular wall topped with razor wire and watchtowers. Word around the Gleaming Gem Mining camp was the COG had asked them to leave. Ren sighed and rubbed his head. If the company pulled out Ren and Nora might not get any credit for their time. They might be lucky to get a ride back to Anima let alone Mistral.

'Hey looks like someone new is coming,' Nora said from behind him.
Ren turned to look at Nora. She was pointing out towards the sea. He followed her finger and spotted a group of gray airships approaching.
'That's strange. Who would have bullheads out here?' Ren asked aloud.
'No clue. Could be the COG brought them. Not like they don't have airships coming and going from time to time.'
Nora returned to walking but Ren kept looking at the airships.
'Ren? Everything alright?' Nora asked, stopping and looking back at him.
'Why are they flying so low?'
'Hmm? I don't know. Should we call it in?'
'Yeah. I'll do it.'

Ren pulled out his company issue scroll. It had so many limits it might as well have been a paperweight but it did connect to the company relay. He pressed to call the office. It rang four times then someone picked up.

'GGM field office, what is it Lie?' A board voice asked.
'Are we expecting company?' Ren asked.
'Company? Like what?'
'We're looking at a group of bullheads coming in from the east.'
'I don't think so let me check,' The voice said.
There were a few moments of paper being moved around before the voice returned.
'Nope nothing in the books. Can you make out the logo on them?'
'No they're just gray, no identifying marks,' Ren said, getting more on edge.
'Well they might be another outfit. Not like Bandits can get their hands on those kinds of wings. Carry on.'
'Bu-'
'I said carry on. If you can't follow instructions, what are you doing out here?'
Ren took a breath to steady himself, 'I'm sorry we're continuing now. I'll update you if anything changes.'
'Yeah yeah I wait with baited breath.'
The line went dead.

Ren looked back up at the airships that were now flying over the coast towards the COG camp.
'You've got that look again,' Nora said.
'What look?' Ren asked.
'The "This will get us in trouble but it's the right thing to do" look.'
'I don't have a look,' Ren said quickly.
'So we're not about to follow those ships?' Nora asked, checking her hammer.
'Forget I said anything,' Ren said with a sigh as he gave his own weapons a check.

They set out after the airships. Their path was mostly overgrown forest blocking their view. The sounds around them became distorted by the trees. Proceeding cautiously they encountered no Grimm. But Ren still felt that sense that something was amiss.

Minutes later the sound of several explosions and an alarm met them.
'They wouldn't try blasting the mine would they?' Nora asked.
'I do-' Ren started.
He stopped when they heard the roar of a heavy gun firing. They looked at each other and set off on a run.

Moments later they were approaching the treeline before the COG held mine. Several bullheads were landed and Bandits were charging down the ramps. A few were hovering overhead firing at the walls. Blue tracers flared out from the wall in response. Most bounced off the bullheads with little effect.

One figure was ordering them forward with a cutlass and blunderbuss. As the next group of Bandits formed the figure raised the blunderbuss and fired at the wall. A cloud burst forth from the barrel of the weapon covering the space between the Bandits and the wall. Then the Bandits would charge forward under the cloud using it to cover their approach. Once most of the Bandits had charged forward the figure strode after them into the cloud.

Ren and Nora nodded to each-other. This was their chance. Whilst most of the Bandits were inside they could try and cut off their escape. They dashed forward towards the landed airships. A few guards had been posted but they were facing the mine.

Ren used precise strikes to bring down a few before they could raise the alarm. Nora, gently, tapped them once or twice with her hammer to achieve the same effect. They were doing well… too well.

As Ren was about to subdue one of the guards at the bottom of a ramp another strode down and shouted in alarm. Ren turned and fired at both of them. Stealth was no longer an option. Almost at once more Bandits began to charge them from all sides. Nora used wide swings to knock them back while Ren picked off any with a ranged weapon.

'Where did they get all these guns?' Nora said grunting as she sent another Bandit flying.
'I'm not sure. But for now let's just deal with these few,' Ren said, taking aim.

He fired off careful single shots. He only needed to break their aura, killing would be a last resort. The Bandits had no such rules and were trying to hit them anyway they could. That was part of the reason the two trainees were still fighting.

Bandits swung screaming for blood. Blocking each other's blows and the shots of any with a ranged weapon. Ren worked fast picking off those with ranged weapons. Soon he and Nora were left to finish off the remaining melee fighters.

They had a grand total of four seconds to catch their breath before one of the bullheads decided to try and help. Its help was to start strafing them all with its chin gun. Ren, Nora and the few Bandits able to move ran for the cover of the landed Bullheads.

It was a strange moment hiding from the Bandit airship as it tore into its landed sibling. The fight seemed to have left the Bandits they were hiding with. Suddenly the attack stopped as the bullhead broke off.

Ren and Nora waited for a moment before running out from under their impromptu cover. The cutlass wielding figure had returned leading a small group of Bandits. They threw several containers off the wall and began to climb down. A few of the remaining bullheads swooped in and dropped their ramps to let the returning Bandits climb aboard. Once they were aboard the craft swung about and took off as fast as they could.

Nora and Ren came to a stop as they watched the Bandits escape with their loot.
'No.' Nora said, stomping her foot.
'It's fine Nora. We don't have to stop them all,' Ren said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
'Yeah yeah. But it still smarts when they just get to run away like that.'

As they spoke, figures started to emerge from the gates in the wall. Most were wearing the heavy COG armor and moved quickly to secure the Bandits Nora and Ren had fought. A few were wearing lighter vests and more regular clothes. They must have been Huntsmen judging by their weapons. The usual mix of unique weapons neither two alike. The leading figure was carrying a hammer that he held at ease.

'Hey there,' The leader called, 'Nice work hitting them in the rear like that.'
'No problem, we're happy to help,' Ren said with a polite nod.
'No problem? Do you often charge in outnumbered and outgunned?' The leader asked with a cocked eyebrow.
'It's sort of our style at the moment. You know, helping anyone in need,' Nora said with a shrug.
'Ah it's a shame you weren't able to hit them sooner. They manage to get away with Skip.'

'Skip? They took someone?' Ren asked, trying to recall the containers the Bandits had taken.
'No not a person. A robot. Rather smart little guy too. I still can't see how they got him. But last we saw they were stuffing him into a crate,' The leader said waving a hand.
'Well at least that's the end of the trouble.' Nora said.
'You might want to hold that thought.' The leader said, looking behind them.

Ren and Nora turned to see a team of huntsman emerging from the treeline. Lavan Scale, the huntsman in charge of GGM's security, was leading them.

'What are you two doing out here? You were ordered to stay on patrol. Not run off.' He snapped sheathing his sword.
'Lavan, always a cheery face.' The hammer wielding huntsman said,
'Oh shut your trap Tanner. This doesn't involve you.' Lavan said before turning to the two trainees, 'You two just earned yourselves an early end to your contract.'
'What?!' Nora shouted.
'Wait please. We were only trying to help,' Ren said.
Lavan held up a hand as he spoke, 'Save it. If you idiots like walking off so much, enjoy the walk home.'
'What do you mean?' Ren asked.
'Orders from head office. We're leaving. Your stuff will be waiting but you're making your own way home,' Lavan said as he held out a hand, 'I'm going to need your company scrolls back.'
'Bu-' Nora started.
'No buts this is not a debate. Your contract is void now, return the scrolls or we'll take action.' Lavan said, snapping his fingers.

Tanner sighed and folded his arms.
'Is this what you became a huntsman for Lavan? To shake down kids?' He asked
'Oh get off your high horse Tanner. Not all of us had mommy and daddy waiting in the wings to help out,' Lavan said. As snatched the loaned scrolls from Ren and Nora.
'I'm sorry my parents took an interest in raising me. Perhaps you should have tried being a better adult.' Tanner said mockingly.
'Oh go kiss an Ursas ass.' Lavan said, stomping away.

Ren and Nora sighed.
'Say you two going to be alright?' Tanner asked.
'We'll… we'll manage.' Ren said sadly.
'Yeah. We always do,' Nora said, punching him lightly on the arm.
'Well if you need some work. I know some people who were very impressed with your little show,' Tanner said pointing to mine.
'Think they'll hire us?' Nora asked.
'Provided you clear the background check and have a license you can apply,' Tanner said with a shrug.

Nora and Ren looked to each-other then nodded.
'We would be interested,' Ren said, nodding.
'Great, follow me. We'll get you some references to help it go along.'

A short while later a new pair of applications arrived at Phoenix Bay. They were marked for the new contractor program and directed to the Ministry of Defence. The files were reviewed by the automated agent filtering the traffic.

Both of them had the correct information for the most part. Date of birth was missing along with a few other things. But given the danger of Remnant a few other applicants had been missing information. Leading to the agent flagging too many for review.

Given the limited personnel available the agent had been adjusted. It mainly was looking for a valid form of identification the rest would be filled in later. It found the trainee licenses and inspected them.

The format was different to the full license that was normally submitted. But the signatures and marks were valid so it gave them a mark of approval. After all, it was only looking for the basic information now. No one had ever considered that a student or trainee would apply. Nor that their age would be left out.

As it did so a smaller program scanned the images and matched them to two already on file. It copied the information and sent it to a secured folder then sent an update to the address it was programmed to.

Inside his office Emmerich paused his work as a chime played. He opened the message and examined the profiles that had been sent over.
'Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie,' He muttered as he studied the data, 'Welcome to the COG.'