Adam Taurus leans back on his chair, legs crossed and resting on top of a table with a screwdriver. Held in his right hand, he begins making some adjustments in his left red cybernetic arm. A souvenir he received fighting the Ancient Wyvern years ago in Glenn's Reclamation.
The EN overload had been severe, what with him overriding every safety protocol there was. It was a miracle his AC didn't explode, and during her scolding and screaming Ayre said he was lucky to get away with permanent nerve damage to his left arm. Had his Aura not protected him, he would have been looking at brain death.
"If I may have your attention, sir? The briefing will begin now." Lauren Greene, the Watchdogs' Handler, reminds him, sounding annoyed. She was older than him by a decade, her auburn hair tied in a bun and wearing a business suit and a pencil skirt with the NEST Inc. Handler badge on her left chest.
"Yeah don't mind me, the damned thing just needs a few tweaks," Adam says casually as he pushes the screwdriver between wiring and components. Lauren sighs but continues with the briefing anyway, knowing Adam's reputation she trusts that he could split his focus.
"Your mission is simple, the Mercenary Overwatch Committee has put out a request for the pilot Watchdog-2 'Ravager' to retrieve the former Sentinel Pilot Blaze-6, also known as Tenne Koamaru, who has been reported as escaped after a prison transport failed to arrive." Lauren explains as a projector displays information regarding this on a white wall behind her, "Upon further investigation, it was discovered the drivers have been bribed into helping him escape."
"Obviously." Adam scoffs, "The SDC ain't letting go of a murder machine like that. Did you see his record?"
"...There is currently no proof the SDC bribed them." Lauren sighs despite knowing otherwise, "They claim that they have no knowledge. That he performed this escape attempt by himself."
"Bullshit, I read his file. Barely had any Lien to his name, blows it all on hookers and Echo." Adam scowls, "So where's he now? We got a location?"
"Yes." Lauren nods as the projector flips to the next slide with an aerial view of Forever Falls, "This is a private SDC railway used to transport goods through Vale. Five hours ago he used his personal Scroll to call his mother, we traced it near an SDC-controlled station and calculated this is his most likely escape route."
Adam actually pauses upon hearing that before he continues tinkering with his cybernetic arm again. To think a war criminal exposed himself for a reason like that…
"Our objective is to capture him and bring him back to the city of Vale where he will be placed on death row. But the Committee has accepted that if he doesn't come quietly, you are free to eliminate him." Lauren continues, "Defences are unknown but we can expect a standard loadout for an SDC armoured train – Knights, Spider Drones and Paladins – but at worst there may even be a Sentinel in the train. I expect you will equip yourself properly for this sortie?"
"Pilots a Principality, right?" Adam asks and Lauren nods, "Heavy armour and shields, but doesn't recover well. I'll need armour-piercing rounds for the plating and disruptor rounds for the shield. Get it staggered, go in for the kill."
"I'll make sure your request gets priority with the quartermaster." Lauren nods and adds to her Scroll tablet, "Should I add your 'Dragonslayer' to your loadout?"
Adam pauses to think on that before shrugging, "Might not need it, but who knows? Put it on board and we'll see how it goes."
*
"You're…you're the Ravager…" Koamaru says with fear evident in his tone, "The Dragonslayer…"
"Really, adding a 'the'? I guess I know how Raven feels about it now." Adam asks with an audible smirk as he adjusts CHAINBREAKER to show off the red Wyvern skull marking painted on the AC's silver right arm, "But what gave it away? The markings, or the giant sword on my back?"
Blake watches the interaction from her spot between the two giant mechs, realising that if they fought now she would be caught in the crossfire. But if she moved now, would that give them the excuse they need to fire on her? Maybe it was best to wait for her opening…
"No…Look, just let me go!" Koamaru pleads, "I'll disappear! Right now! Right this moment! I'll never touch a mech ever again! Not even an MT! I- I have a mother! She's got a farm in the Solitas frontier! I- I'll do work there, honest work, give back to the community or some shit you know?"
"Really?" Adam asks amused, "Farming? A man of your talents? You know what I think? I think that even if you did try, give or take a month you'll hop right back into the SDC payroll. Wanna know why? Because I hear this AEGIS is the hot new thing for you Sentinels. Like a drug isn't it? You just can't get enough of it."
"..." the Sentinel pilot remains silent for a long moment before his voice turns cold, losing all traces of panic and fear, "You heard right."
A blast of plasma erupts from his arm cannons but Adam immediately dodges with a burst of his thrusters, Blake scrambles and makes a break for it as the two armoured titans clash.
"AEGIS…you don't know what she's like… I need her… And if you're stopping me you need to die… Die… Die…! DIE!" He screams in growing desperation as Adam pilots CHAINBREAKER closer to him with each burst of his thrusters, dodging every blast of plasma as he does so. Once he gets close enough, Koamaru tries to raise his Hard Light shield but then it short circuits as he remembers what Ilia did to him, "No…"
The Tetrapod legs of CHAINBREAKER spin and slam his tower shield aside and expose him long enough for one of the drum-fed auto-shotguns to rapidly unload the entire magazines of both weapons at him point blank.
The armour-piercing slugs were accelerated with miniaturised coils, shredding into his armour plating while the slugs imbued with Lightning Dust dug into the weakened armour before detonating and short-circuiting the Principality Sentinel.
Once it was staggered, Adam boosted the forelegs of his AC and forced them to kick into the core and knock it backwards before stomping on it hard, engaging thrusters to add more speed to the blow.
Inside his cockpit Koamaru had his skull rattled from the constant barrage of blows, if it weren't for both Aura and his cybernetically reinforced skull he'd have been comatose from the concussions. In desperation he activates his thrusters and pumps them to full power, forcing Adam off as he flies backwards before rising to the air.
"You won't be the first Faunus pilot I've killed." Koamaru growls through gritted teeth as missile ports open through his legs, priming with their Plasma Dust warheads, "I've killed dozens of Talons ."
"Aw, that's cute." Adam smirks as he watches clusters of almost a hundred missiles fire, "You think I'm as weak as a dozen half-baked pilots in bargain-bin ACs. Maths is a little wrong, you're gonna need fifty at least. Maybe a hundred if you want to make sure."
Each missile detonates with force enough to destroy an MT, the sheer number capable of wiping out platoons of lesser mechs, all targeting and locking onto Adam. While this happens, Blake is forced to run as fast as her Aura can carry her, avoiding stray missiles that missed their target, but just the heat emanating was still able to make her sweat through her Aura. If she was caught in one, there was no question she was dead.
"Shadowcat!" Ilia shouts as her finally repaired AC skids forward and scoops her up, risking the chance a stray missile may catch her, to rescue her friend, "I got you! What the hell do we do now?!"
"Against that?! What do you think?!" Blake asks incredulous she needed orders for something like that, pointing at the sky where the Principality Sentinel was raining down a plasma hell while Adam's CHAINBREAKER weaves through the missiles while skidding on the ground, controlling his boosts with such accuracy and skill he could turn on a dime without pause or running out of EN.
Had Koamaru gone with standard procedure and instead carpet-bombed the entire dome interior with plasma missiles everyone would have been caught in the blast, likely eliminating two of the three enemies. The fact he was instead choosing to focus fire like that meant he had no confidence carpet bombing was enough. Blake doesn't know if that spoke more about Koamaru's capabilities or Adam's.
Without a single missile so much as grazing him, Adam was able to manoeuvre CHAINBREAKER directly below the Principality before aiming shoulder-mounted grenade launchers fired above, detonating and destroying the thrusters upon impact.
"No…Nooo!" Koamaru screams as a chain reaction occurs, the fuel cells detonate and cripple the lower half of his Sentinel. The reason a Principality was always accompanied by lighter and more mobile escorts was to protect weak points like that.
It falls back to the earth as Adam moves out of the way, the crippled Sentinel desperately trying to force its malfunctioning legs to move but failing. It was clear as day that it was over,
"Last chance." Adam says as he reloads his weapon units, "You're coming with me, dead or alive. Come alive and you'll stay alive for a while longer. Death penalties aren't instant, there's give or take a couple years. Plenty of time to enjoy, and come to terms."
"Here… now… what does it matter?" Koamaru asks with a tone of defeat, his Sentinel raising its heavy plasma cannon that was sparking, struggling to come online and fire due to sustained damage, "Better now… Better as a free man… Better than wasting away… take the shot damn it… TAKE IT! END IT! END ME!"
All of them were taken aback by this sudden change in attitude, the anger in his voice, the desperation, and most of all the despair. Full of regret, shame, and fury all directed at himself. Especially Adam who paused to consider his words.
"...Well, looks like the corporate drone's got some fire in him." Adam says almost sounding respectful, "Brave at least, on your deathbed. So I'll give you the honour of killing you with Dragonslayer."
CHAINBREAKER holsters its dual auto-shotguns and reaches for the gigantic blade strapped to his back. No, that thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy and too rough for any standard-designed AC or Sentinel to carry. It was more like a large hunk of steel and technology.
Instead of red, it now glows a blue-green aura of Lightwave energy, making it look almost like a blade of pure light. Koamaru could only pull his trigger one last time, creating only plasma sparks as he screamed in futile defiance.
The sword was swung, unleashing an energy blade that launched forward as fast as a bullet would, slicing the Principality in half like it was made of butter. Both Ilia and Blake watch dumbfounded as CHAINBREAKER swipes the blade again dismissing the aura of energy almost like a swordsman would flick the blood off a blade after a kill.
He straps it back its position behind just as the Principality Sentinel realises it has been cut, the top half of the mech sliding off with the pilot either dead from the energy-burning his body or suffering a similar fate as his mech. It was an instant death that likely only hurt for a brief second. They both realise had he used the sword from the beginning it would've been over just as quick, but he didn't. It wouldn't have been 'sporting'.
This pilot… he was on a whole other level.
Unbeknownst to the two Talons, in his cockpit Adam performed the sign of the Brother Gods and whispered a soft prayer under his breath. Something he had seen his former commander, Cedric 'Pearl' Sterling, perform after the sorties that resulted in the death of non-Grimm enemies. Even to the cruellest bandits, he would perform the same gesture every time, a ritual of sorts.
He had asked him once after seeing it for the first time as a child sneaking into the hangars the Watchdogs used to store their ACs. And then again after their first sortie together raiding a bandit camp in Vacuo.
Respect for the dead he was told. He can't enjoy a kill, he wasn't a sociopath. He won't mourn, and he couldn't regret a kill, it would be disrespectful to two fighters who made their choices. But he could show respect at least, one last act of kindness to anyone before they depart to the next world.
When Adam had asked what if the person they killed was the worst criminal on the planet with no remorse or guilt for committing the worst crimes imaginable. The veteran pilot only smiled bitterly as if remembering an old shame before shrugging and saying,
"What do I look like, a judge? I'll let the gods figure that stuff out." he shrugs before returning to his prayer, "We're all dying one way or another, sometimes at someone else's hands. Treat them how you'd want to be treated on your deathbed. Doesn't matter who they are. Doesn't matter if they won't do the same."
With that done he turns towards his impromptu audience, a scrap ECLIPSE model with a feline Faunus in its hands, uniform and markings making it evident she was part of the White Fang Talons, "Now that's settled, what do we have here? Two lost vultures digging for scrap?"
Ilia grits her teeth at the insult before spitting back, "Says the corporate sellout."
"Enough, Mirage." Blake chastises before looking back at CHAINBREAKER in the cockpit where the pilot sits, "We'd be dead without him. The least we can do is be polite."
Ilia remains silent at this, glaring at the mercenary as Blake takes over speaking for both of them. Although they don't engage each other in open war like with the SDC, NEST Inc. was not an ally of the White Fang. Quite the opposite, as the White Fang routinely robs the more easily accessible and pilotable ACs and Mercenaries have been known to take contracts related to capturing or destroying White Fang holdouts. They needed a way out of this and the best way was to remain diplomatic.
"What brings you here then, Ravager?" Blake asks, "You don't strike me as the type to go on enthusiastic walks in war machines."
Adam chuckles at that, "I do when the mood strikes. But this is purely business. There was a bounty put on him by the Mercenary Overwatch Committee. Three million Lien alive, half that price dead."
"First time I've seen a Mercenary throw away easy Lien." Blake looks at the wreck that was the Principality Sentinel.
"He was asking for it." Adam shrugs sounding surprisingly sombre, "Dying free in a mech, rather than in a cage? Can't say I wouldn't pick the same."
So a Mercenary with something of a code? Rare, and it probably meant bribing him with the contents of the SDC armoured train wouldn't work. But perhaps they could still use it to their advantage. And the fact that the pilot Ravager was a known Faunus…
"We aren't enemies." Blake insists, "We're the White Fang-"
"Yeah, the Grimm helmets and markings give it away." Adam cuts her off sounding bored, "The White Fang, Faunus-rights turned terrorist cult. Who hasn't heard of you these days?"
Blake's pride as a member of the White Fang caused her to flare with anger for a moment but bit back a sharp response. Ilia however had no such restraint.
"How dare you!" she yells indignant, "The White Fang isn't a cult, we risk our lives fighting for Faunus rights all over the world! Fighting off the SDC and saving exploited Faunus in servitude. I won't have us be bad-mouthed by a corporate sell-out fighting for nothing more than pockets of Lien!"
"Wow, really creative with the name-calling. How long did it take to come up with that?" Adam says with a sarcastic clap heard over the comms, "Also, come on! Your boss is literally called the 'High Leader' and you call each other 'brothers and sisters'. If that doesn't scream cult I don't know what does."
"Spoken like someone who has no idea of their culture!" Ilia shouts back, "High Leader is a revered title in Faunus culture during ancient times. But what was I expecting from a dog like you to-!"
"Mirage!" Blake interrupts her with a glare at her cockpit, silencing her immediately, "I apologise for my comrade's behaviour. As I was saying, we don't have to be enemies when we already have a common one. Jacque Schnee and the SDC."
"Yeah, plenty of damage you folks have been doing to him." Adam says sarcastically, "I mean, what's your win-lose ratio again? How many junkyard ACs does it take to beat a single Sentinel? Five? Ten?"
"Sacrifices are unavoidable when facing superiorly trained and equipped foes." Blake grits her teeth, "...We do the best we can."
"Yeah, do the best you can using stolen NEST Inc. equipment." Adam begins sounding annoyed, "So instead of just one, you made enemies with two of the biggest corporations on Remnant. Brilliant strategy, simply brilliant. Speaking of NEST, standing orders are the retrieval or destruction of all stolen ACs. And look at what I'm looking at now… ECLIPSE model, right? They became obsolete the moment the SHROUD came to the market. And is that a modified whaling harpoon turned into an electric whip? Powered by a salvaged Bullhead generator? Brother Gods, you really are scraping the bottom of the barrel."
Blake can hear Ilia stuttering and flushing with anger at the insult to her machine, but she is more nervous at the implied threat Adam just delivered, hiding it behind jokes and insults. But there was no hostile intent behind it, so there was still a chance.
"So you seem intent on talking this out. Go ahead." Adam waves his AC's hand casually at Blake, "Give it your best shot. Convince me why I shouldn't take you in or blow up that scrapheap right now."
"Simple. Because if you wanted to, you'd have done it already." Blake answers quickly and as calmly as she can, trying to appear nonchalant, "I've heard the stories of the famous Ravager. Branded as a child in an SDC mine. Mother was overworked to death in the same mine as well."
"..." Adam was silent at that before sneering, "Not how I'd go convincing someone with a warmachine pointed at you."
"The point is…" Blake continues, "You hate the SDC as much as we do. How could you not? And if I hate the SDC, which I do, but can't do anything about it because of all those pesky laws and regulations in my way, how would I get back at them? Not killing some of the only people fighting back against them would be a good start. You let us go, and you can keep tuning to the news channel and hearing about how much of a thorn we've been to Jacques Schnee."
"...You're crazy." Adam says before breaking out into a chuckle, "But what was I expecting from someone who tried taking down a Principality on foot? You took the words out of my mouth. Too bad, but the Talons that were engaging with the Sentinel before my arrival escaped during my fight. Congratulations, you get to live for today."
Blake lets out the breath she had been holding, attempting to keep herself composed. They managed to survive and live another day, which was good enough for her. But before they can flee, Adam interrupts them.
"But… there is actually one more thing," he says with a mischievous tone that neither Talons liked.
*
"I'm going to kill him." Ilia throws her helmet into her locker before slamming it shut, "I will literally. Absolutely. Kill him the next time we meet!"
"We got out alive, that's what matters." an exhausted Blake hangs her flight suit inside her locker with her usual black and white clothing on, "Be grateful for that, Ilia."
"He made us walk back to the rendezvous point! We walked for three days! " Ilia shouts in anger, " Three! Fighting off Grimm, sleeping in the wilds for three days straight because he destroyed PHANTOM SCALES!"
"I consider the price cheap." Blake sighs at her partner's attitude, "Remember, the cost of the equipment compared to the cost of lives will always be cheaper."
"Quoting your dad again?" Ilia rolls her eyes at being lectured, "I thought you hated him, why do you keep using his words if you do?"
"..." Blake pauses before answering, "We may not see eye to eye on certain things… But his words still hold wisdom in them."
"...Have you tried giving them a call?" Ilia asks and Blake glares at her, "Hey I'm just saying, if my folks were still alive and I'm fighting an uphill war against the SDC, I'd want to talk with them as much as I can… We never know which time will be the last."
She says quietly and Blake's glare softens as she stands up to leave,
"It's not important." Blake claims as her mind flashes back to the fight they had when Blake let her parents know of her intention to join the White Fang, "Communications are restricted for unimportant matters like that. I'm not sure they even want to see me anyway."
Before she can leave, however, the door swings open and nearly hits her as a fellow sister of the White Fang enters,
"Talon Belladonna." she greets with a bow that Blake returns, "I've been instructed to bring you to the High Leader."
"Is something wrong?" Ilia walks up behind Blake looking nervous, "If it's because we were late to the rendezvous-?"
"It is an unrelated matter, Talon Amitola." the White Fang soldier assured, "But High Leader Khan insists it's an urgent matter, and Talon Belladonna must see her at once in the war room. And only Talon Belladonna."
Ilia looks at her partner nervously, who puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles in assurance, "Relax, Ilia. Head back to the barracks without me, I'll catch you at the cafeteria for dinner."
The scales on Ilia's cheeks turn into a soft pink flush as she nods and leaves, while Blake follows the White Fang soldier to the war room where their High Leader is located. After being patted down by two bodyguards she was allowed through, finding Sienna Khan looking over a holographic table depicting the latest updates in their war against the SDC.
"High Leader…" Blake kneels reverently before her as Sienna Khan bids her to rise with a wave of her arm, but her eyes remain on the table, "Forgive me for asking High Leader, but why am I here? Have I failed somehow?"
She asks slightly nervous but Sienna turns and gives her a soft smile, "No. In fact, I'd say you've done well. Although it's a shame supplies weren't retrieved, one of the worst criminals to Faunus-kind was executed today, and you made it back alive with your partner. I'm proud of you, Blake."
Blake smiles as she rises, letting out a sigh of relief as Sienna beckons her over, placing an arm around her shoulder. Her father had been close friends with Sienna back when they were in the White Fang together, and thus Blake was very familiar with the High Leader considering her something of an aunt. They keep things professional in front of everyone, but at times like this, they could act more open.
"Tell me, Blake. What do you see?" she asks as Blake looks over the table. Reports of failed strikes, hidden bases discovered, spies arrested or killed and so on. While there were successes the losses endured were too much.
"...We were doing better last week," Blake mutters softly, saddened by the loss of White Fang lives.
Sienna nods and continues, "Yes. I used to think that with access to these new mechs, finally, we can turn the tide. But like always, the SDC is one step ahead of us. We kill a Sentinel, and they make more. We rob and blow a train, and they make more. We free our brothers and sisters, they enslave dozens more for everyone we save."
Sienna sighs, removing her arm from Blake's shoulder and pinching the bridge of her nose. She had always looked so strong, that Blake was taken by surprise at how tired she sounded,
"Victory at any cost, that's what we tell our brothers and sisters." she mutters, "But the costs keep growing, and the effect of our victories keep diminishing…We can't keep this up. Eventually, it'll be too much to sustain. We need to do something drastic, something bold before it's too late. Something that would be a major blow to the SDC and galvanise Faunus around the world at the same time."
"How would we do that?" Blake asks, not able to think of anything that could do that. And then Sienna taps a button on the war table, and suddenly a map of the city of Vale appears zooming in on Beacon Academy.
"You may not know this, but Beacon Academy recently announced their decision to include a course to train pilots." Sienna explains, "They have selected NEST's greatest mercenary to teach it."
"The Raven?" Blake asks surprised, "But what does that have to do with striking against the SDC?"
"The heiress of the SDC, Jacque Schnee's second child, will be attending this course." Sienna says as Blake's eyes widen in shock at the news, "This is our chance! The heiress to the SDC without her security, far from Atlas, it's perfect."
"You want us to strike at her?" Blake asks but Sienna shakes her head,
"No… at least not yet." Sienna looks Blake right in the eye, "Tell me Blake, how old are you again?"
"What?" Blake asks confused at the sudden question before answering, "I'm seventeen, why?"
"It's the right age you need to be to apply for Beacon Academy." Sienna smiles as Blake slowly realises what her plan is, "Think of it Blake, learning from the greatest pilot on Remnant… You're good, very good. You're one of the best Aura users we have, and one of our best pilots as well. But we both know that our pilots pale in comparison to the mercenaries of NEST or the Sentinels of the SDC. But what if one of us can learn from the best, and bring back knowledge to share with the rest of us? And in doing so, live in the same building as the unprotected heiress of the SDC? Such an opportunity may never come again."
"You want me to infiltrate Beacon?" Blake asks, nervous and incredulous at the idea, "One of the four Huntsmen Academies in the world? Study under the most feared mercenary on the planet, who has been called the 'Harbinger of Death' by some? Who is also the Head of Security for one of the most powerful corporations in the world, which we are enemies to?"
"It's a dangerous mission." Sienna nods solemnly, "Very dangerous. The most you will ever have. But it is also the best chance we have at ending this. I wouldn't ask you to do this if there was any other choice, you know that right?"
She speaks in a calm tone but through their years Blake could tell there was a tint of desperation in Sienna's eyes. By the Brother Gods, were things really that bad? And if it was, what would she do to help the cause?
Swallowing a gulp, Blake slowly nods, "I…understand, High Leader. Will Ilia and I be-?"
"She won't be coming with you." Sienna shakes her head and before Blake can protest she continues, "I know how close the two of you are. How much you trust one another. But this isn't any other mission. Answer me one question, would you trust Ilia Amitola to remain undercover when face to face with the heiress of the SDC?"
Blake turns silent at that, both of them know the answer to that question. If that happened, then Ilia would kill her, or die trying.
"Then… What's my mission exactly?" Blake asks unsure, "What do I do with the heiress?"
"You are to remain in close contact with her, get close and befriend her if you can." Sienna explains, "Feed us any information you can. Weak points in Beacon's defences, how a strike team can get in and get out for example. Then when the time comes we'll take her with us. Even Jacque Schnee cannot ignore his own daughter being taken hostage by us. But if necessary…"
Sienna trails off and for a second she looks conflicted before steeling herself, "You may be ordered to strike her down right then and there, in the middle of an academy full of Huntsmen and Huntsmen-in-training. Death or capture will be unavoidable."
Blake feels the air leave her lungs as she hears this, like a blow to the stomach. If she were to do this mission, there was a likelihood of death. Sure she made peace with that since becoming a Talon, sorties against the SDC were all dangerous, but this felt different.
"You will be forced to cut ties with the White Fang to keep your cover." Sienna continues sounding sad, "You will be branded a deserter, that way if you are discovered you can use that. Claim that you saw the error of your ways, and want redemption. Do whatever it takes."
"...Who else will know about this?" Blake asks, stunned at what she was told to do. Abandon the White Fang? Cut off all ties? It sounded unthinkable, and yet here was the High Leader herself ordering her to do just that.
"Besides Council members, only myself." Sienna says, "Your own Talons will see you as a traitor. Your own brothers and sisters. I know what I ask of you, Blake Belladonna. But here is what you must ask yourself…"
She places both hands on Blake's shoulders, staring intently in the eyes, "What are you willing to do, for the sake of the White Fang, for the sake of Faunus-kind all across Remnant?"
Blake was silent for a moment before steeling herself and saluting to her High Leader,
"I am a Talon of the White Fang…" she speaks slowly, "I will bare my claws against all that threaten us. I will bear my fangs at all that would exploit us. I will do whatever it takes for all Faunus in Remnant to be free from tyranny. Victory at all costs."