Ahhhhh, it has been a while. Like what? Year and a half to two years? Damn, my bad guys. Did not relise it would take me this long between but it is what it is. Not sure if I got the perspective I needed but I do feel like I got enough to get back going. The epilogue is going to be a split between a few years in the first half with our Spartan learning how to be a mother and wife again when a certain AI comes to power and makes her demands, with the second half being a surprise visit from the Infinity and our green armored badass swinging by. May even put the academy on Remant.
Again that is what I got at the moment. Now the journey.
So before I let you guys read, I do have something to confess and explain. So while writing, I messed up Robyns name. I wrote it with an i instead of a y. I am sure I corrected them all but I am pretty sure I missed one or two. So make use of that information as you will.
And with that, I shall see you all at the bottom.
/
Adam looked around the town of Mantel and allowed his paradigm to shift ever so slightly. He saw both humans and Faunas living in the lower middle class. Sure a sizable faunas population lived in the crater of Atlas, but there was also a number in homes. And the way both humans and Faunas worked together made him see a side he never saw, or would never willingly see.
It should have been heartwarming to see that not every human was so calloused, and indeed it was, but that still did not change the fact that humans enslaved, tortured, and killed his kind for generations. Just because some humans were doing good by his standards, didn't mean they were all like that. They were the exception to the rule.
As he walked under his hood and cloak, his mind went back to his initiation into Salams cort. Arthur Watts was an arrogant jerk that loved to poke and prod people with his supreme intellect and smarts. Sure he was a robotics and tech, but damn did he gloat and get on his nerves.
Hazel, in contrast, was the definition of a gentle giant. He had his soft spots, but Adam knew better than to try anything. He may be good, but he doubted he could kill Hazel quickly enough to not get hurt himself.
Cinders' two lackeys, Emerald and Mercury weren't anything special. One was the son of a former hitman who he killed and the other a thief with an illusion-based semblance.
Salam mentioned that if he knew of a young female that would join her cause, to let her know. He didn't know a faunas woman who would join. Mostly because the woman he wanted to join never would. It seemed stupid to keep thinking of Blake. The way she left him and joined humans hurt.
He shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus.
Salam had him infiltrate Mantel with Watts. That was pleasant. His job was to cause mayhem and chaos when possible. Watts, to his credit, had a great idea. An election was coming up for a council seat. The candidates were some woman that championed Mantel, some woman named Robin Hill, and the other candidate being that asshole Schnee.
Watts had a plan, but it involved using Jauqe Schnee. Offer him an easy way to win the election, and as a consequence, implant a trojan into the system. All under his name. Perfect. That was the plan.
All he had to do now was to just get the lay of the land. He was going to attack Robyn's victory celebration when she had it. She was so sure of herself. She seemed like a good person, but she was just a human. And all humans deserve to be under his and his brethren's heel.
/
Robyn hung her head in defeat and shame. Try as she might, she only managed to get charades in with the two aliens. No name. No spices. And try as they might, they could not understand her. So all was fair, she guessed. They didn't try to kill her and she didn't try to kill them either. So another start.
She looked at the two as they talked amongst themselves. Their language was a mix of clicks, rattles, grunts, and growls that she could not decipher. From their body language, they were completely at ease. Both had a glass of water in their hands.
She let out a breath. ' How to Break a language barrier for Dummies would be perfect right now. Should I make a call to James and let him handle it? He would have the expertise and facilities to handle them, but what else would he do to them?' she thought.
Robin walked outside and leaned against the wall and looked up at Atlas's underside. So many rich snobby people up there that see Mantel as nothing more than poor idiots that don't know one end of a stick from another.
And she was wanting the open Council seat. She needed the seat. Mantel needed the seat. All the things she could do for Mantel. Better housing for those in the crater. Better conditions for the working class.
But she still had work to do. She still had to know what was happening to Amity Coliseum. What was Ironwood doing to it and why put it under heavy guard? Was he dismantling it for more military hardware? Or was he defiling the thing? Turning it into an Atlas mobile fortress? Or a mobile barracks? A gun platform to rain fire from a safe distance? She didn't know and she needed to know. Or failing that, to take some of the equipment back to Mantel. But to do that she needed an opportunity to surprise a convoy heading to Amity.
A hand landed on her shoulder startling her. She looked to see the male alien looking at her with a puzzled look on his face. Or what she took as a puzzled look. His head was cocked so that was what she took it as.
" I am fine. Just thinking." she told him with a smile.
He blinked a few times not knowing what she said, but seemed to get the jist as he nodded with a pat on her shoulder.
With one last look to the skyline and Atlas stone ceiling, she went back inside to plan her surprise traffic stop for the next convoy to Amity.
/
Etan watched as the female turned and went back inside. He followed her gaze to the skies to see the setting sun and the floating city. He clicked his mandibles in thought before he returned to the only other thing that could understand him, Tela. She looked at him with a raised brow.
" Well, is she okay?"
Etan shrugged. " She spoke a bit but obviously, could not understand her. I think she was looking for some perspective." he told her.
" Could you tell anything from the tone of her voice? What she may be feeling or thinking?" she asked.
Etan shook his head. " Aside from surprise from me letting her know I was there, nothing."
Tela let out a sigh. " We need to find a way past this luggage barrier. I am kind of tired of charades and guessing while possibly getting it wrong." she said.
Etan agreed and looked at the screen that these creatures were watching. On it was a female gesturing and marking a board. Symbols such as snow and clouds appearing on screen. He watched as a red and blue line appeared as the woman kept talking.
What they were watching, he had no idea but the males and females seemed to be planning around it. He saw the numbers, or what he thought were numbers, and began to put together context clues. The woman was talking and jesting in areas where the curving red or blue line. There were symbols in the area of the lines. Forecasts maybe for the weather?
Whatever it is, they seem to treat the person like a prophet.
He clicked his mandibles in a shrug that caught the others' attention. They looked at him with blinking eyes. They asked if he was okay, he assumed that is what they asked. All he did was blink at them causing them to groan in frustration. He pointed at the screen with a cocked head, hoping that it would get the point across. Some did get it, some took a bit, and others might as well have been smoking forerunner plants through a pipe.
And try as they might, they could not describe the weather channel to him. Or to Tela. And she tried her hardest to understand.
/
Noble rode in the lead truck of the four-truck convoy. She leaned up against one of the crates and watched as Qrow and Clover played a card game and chatted. It was about everything and nothing. She watched as a lul happened with Qrow pulling his flask and looking at it.
" You alright man?" Clover asked.
Qrow hesitated for a second before answering, " Yea. Just gave up drinking. A habit that I am trying to break."
" That is good. How long?" Clover asked as he tossed down a card.
" Couple days," Qrow replied with a shrug as he responded with a card of his own.
" If you don't mind me asking, what was your reason?" Clover asked.
Qrow let out a sigh, " Brunswick farms. While my niece and her team were risking their lives in a well full of nightmares, I was in the house's bar drinking. I almost lost her because I was too busy drinking rather than helping them."
" Your niece is Ruby right?" Clover asked.
" And my daughter." She added.
" Ahh, yes. That. Didn't know badass space marines were allowed to have children."
She was going to say something when she felt the truck slow and stop. The three looked at each other with questioning looks.
" Driver, what is going on out there?"
" We are being blocked sir." the driver responded.
" By what?" Clover asked.
"Uhhh, you may want to take a look for yourself sir." the driver reported.
Clover and Qrow looked out the window to see Robyn and Fiona in the middle of their road.
" Oh great. What is she doing here?" Clover asked no one in particular, " You and Penny stay here and act as backup. I doubt we will need you but would rather have you two as our aces in our sleeve."
Both nodded as Clover and Qrow exited the truck and approached the two women.
" What are you two doing here, blocking the road no less?" Clover asked.
" I see you have moved Amity to this mine. Care to explain why?" Robyn said as she crossed her arm and leaned on her hip.
" We have. Maintenance, upgrades, you know, upkeep. And if that is your question, please get out of the way." Clover slightly scolded.
" No. You are taking things and hiding them away from the people of Mantel. A city you all decided to just forget about like we are not important. We deserve to know what you are doing with that coliseum."
Clover took a breath before telling her that if she wanted answers to win the seat on the council and then she can ask all the questions she wants.
Robyn was going to answer with a rebuttal when the truck's doors opened with Penny flying up and Noble shouldering her rifle and aiming at nothing.
" Robyn Hill, kindly tell your people to reveal themselves with their hands up." Penny ordered.
" Ahh, Penny Palindena. Mantel's protector. I have no idea what you are talking about." Robyn said.
The response was a single shot from Noble's rifle and the startled cry from May was heard. And with her concentration broken, her barrier fell revealing May and a few more of Robyn's hunters sneaking up on the trucks.
A curse could be heard from Robyn as Qrow and Clover looked to see the field drop. They turned back to the two women with disappointment in their eyes, if not fury.
" So all that talk was just to steal from us?" Qrow asked.
" It was. We need these supplies in Mantel. What does Amity or even Atlas need with all of this? They got all they want! We get the scraps if anything at all!" Robyn exclaimed.
As she was yelling, May and a few others walked up to her with the white and red armored robot thing aiming its rifle at them. On its shoulder, a man appeared. He had long brown hair, a black leather jacket, and a red and white guitar on his back. And it was he who spoke.
" While you did not make enemies, you also did not make any friends. And I am sure some of the people here would have supported you…"
" Yeah, Atlas soldiers are willing to throw their weight behind me, sure."
" He is more right than you know Robyn. A good portion of the Ace Opps would have backed you, and I am sure there are plenty of people in Atlas who would vote for you. And I am going to be honest, I am second guessing my vote." Clover informed.
" And I should listen to the sentient machine, why?" Robyn asked, still needing to vent.
" I am going to stop you right there Robyn. Since you are talking about me and not the soldier, you still get your freebie to use. Don't make me tell you to use it or to shut it."
" And you are what? A combat computer?" Robyn asked.
The figure wiggled his hand back and forth.
" Kind of sort of. I was originally the caretaker of a subsection research and black sight facility. I oversaw experiments and other such junk."
" So if you are some black sight computer, why are you with this Knight?" Robyn asked, seemingly cooling down.
" Oh, after stalking her and giving her the creeps, she found me, got a bunch of weapons, tools, and other armor pieces into bags, and slotted me into her helmet." Shadow told her.
" She?" Robyn asked.
In response, Noble's visor depolarized to reveal a pair of silver eyes in what she assumed was a feminine face. Kind of hard to tell with a helmet on.
" She." Qrow responded, " And I would not get on her bad side. She can and will rip you apart with little effort."
Robyn looked at the group in front of her.
" And why does Atlas have a soldier like that? Is she for the Grimm? Or to crush the people of Mantel?" she asked.
" Neither." Noble spoke for the first time in the conversation, " I was trained to take on a threat that would make the Grimm seem cute and cuddly in comparison."
" And what would that beeee, what? Aliens with long necks? Mandeblas? Furry coats? Chitin exoskeleton? Blue skin and tentacles on their head?" May asked.
Long necks? Mandibles? What was she getting at? Did she see Thora? Possible but unlikely. And even if they did, what makes them think she was fighting them?
" Long necks and mandibles seem specific. Care to explain why that is?" Shadow asked.
May just shrugged. " Comics." was all she said, " Also, have you seen some the monsters in some of the Sci-fi films?"
" Hmm, point taken."
Clover chimed back in reiterating that if she wants to know what is going on, to win the election.
One could see that Robin managed to get her angst worked out as she let out a breath before agreeing and gathering her troop and heading back. Once they were gone, Noble ordered everyone to mount up. She, Qrow, and Clover waited for the last truck to approach and hopped on.
" Is it just me or did May seem to describe Thora?" Shadow asked.
" It seemed like it but again there are plenty of comics that could have described a few monsters. But yea. It seems like it." Clover said as he slapped the truck telling the driver that they could move.
The driver put the truck in gear and finished their trek to the Coliseum.
/
" Was that at all how you thought it would go down?" Fieona asked Robyn.
" Not at all." Robyn said, " May, what was that about describing our guests?"
May shrugged. " Might as well see what they would say or do. But did you see how that soldier reacted to the description?"
Robyn thought about it. There was no ques for her to pick up on, but the little guy on her shoulder did seem to go on high alert when the description of their guests was given. Did they meet the spices before? And if so where?
" Not the soldier but the biker dude on her shoulder seemed alarmed. Do you think they met them before?" she asked.
" Not sure but something to think about. Maybe even hypothetically ask about them." May replied.
" Maybe. But let's keep them under wraps for now. I don't trust them to not turn around and kill them."
A groan was heard. " Robyn, do you really think Ironwood would jeopardize a peace treaty because of some dick-waving contest? You are a good leader birdy, but you need to get your head out of the anti-Atlas forums and discussions. They are poisoning your mind to the point of nonsense." Fiona said.
The talks went on with Robyn saying she was not diluted and the others saying she was until they got back to their hideout.
/
After a few weeks passed, several things can be found in the coliseum. The engines were installed and ready to go. Counsels were in place and ready. But what stood out was the launch tubes. Shadow had them installed saying that, if all went according to plan, the coliseum would be high enough in the atmosphere that the amount of fuel needed to launch a satellite would not be all that much. Both an early warning system and a comms network to reconnect the world.
" Why not just use Thora's Phantom to place the satellites?" James asked.
" Because you need to know how to make the launch facilities and satellites. Plus we don't want to scare the people with a UFO, do we?" Shadow replied.
Ironwood shrugged at that.
" What is your plan?"
" I plan on using Mantel and Atlas as a test bed. Depending on how they take it, I will tell the world."
" Does that include us?"
" It does."
RWBY and JNPR came to terms with Noble telling Ironwood about Salam and Ozpin and even saying that they all felt lighter not having that weight on their shoulders and minds.
Noble, Thora, Penny, James, and Winter stood in the center of the arena looking at the work that has been done.
" Hard to imagine that so much happened here. Not just what we accomplished, but what all transpired since its last use." Winter said.
" It is." Ironwood replied, " How it all started with Yang vs Mercury."
" Then me vs Phyrra which resulted in my death." Penny added.
" You seem caught up on that." Shadow said.
Penny shrugged at that with James quietly chuckling. He walked up in front of the group and turned to them.
" I am at a loss as to what to say, but I thank you all for your help. None of what you see would be operational if it weren't for you." he said.
" Oh don't be overly dramatic James." Shadow said.
Again James laughed at the sarcastic and sassy AI.
" You were the biggest help Shadow. You made the code and software for satellites and this stadium."
" Yea, I know I am awesome." he gloated.
Noble lightly smacked the side of her helmet causing him to flinch and look at her.
James chuckled at the antics.
" In the coming weeks, after the elections, I will tell the council about all of this. And then if all goes to plan, the world." He looked at the two soldiers. One an alien and another, a human from another world. " For all you have done in getting this set up, playing security, and the aforementioned software, I think you all have deserved some time off. Thora," James turned to the Sanghilie, " I am not sure what you like to do with your free time, but you have my permission to do so." He then turned to Noble, " Same for you. You said that you feel like you have a split in your personality. One of the soldier you were designed to be, and the mother you are. I encourage you to take the time to be with your daughters. Reconnect and spend time with them. It won't be long before we go to war."
They nodded and turned to leave.
" Spartan," Thora called to her.
She turned to him as he looked at her.
" What do you need?" she asked.
He stopped prompting her to do the same. He hesitated for a moment before talking again.
" I was hoping to ask if your construct would be willing to help me with maintenance on my Phantom." he said.
" Don't take this the wrong way but why?" Noble asked.
Thora nodded and gathered his thoughts.
" When the flagship Ascendant Justice left, the fleet was firing upon it. From the comuniques that we intercepted hours later, it was taken over by a small ship's worth of humans." he began, "There were reports of systems shutting down or going through an update cycle. I can only assume the demon's construct infiltrated the ship's systems and did that."
" Okay, what does that have to do with me?" Shadow asked, popping up on Noble's shoulder.
" The Covenant were arrogant and never thought that our enemies would infiltrate their systems. And as such, when it happens, they see it as a fluke and move on." he looked at both the AI and Spartan with a Sanghilie smile, " I am sure if that happened on one of your ships, new protocols would be in place."
He hit the nail on the head there. If what he said was true and happened to a UNSC ship? There would be new protocols in place. New algorithms would be made and set in place. Overall, if a breach was detected, it would have been patched and repaired, and strengthened. Or in other terms, whatever caused the breach in security would never happen again.
Shadow nodded, " Yea, I can see that. And yea, I can help you out. You mind pulling me, kid?"
Noble hesitated. Did she trust Thora that much?
' If you don't start showing trust soon, you may never trust.' the mother part of her told the military part of her.
She shut her external speakers off and told Shadow to contact her if he tried anything and pulled him from the helmet and handed him to the Sanghilie.
" Take damn good care of him." she told him.
" On my honor, Spartan."
She nodded and went to the dorm she walked up to her broker assembly and began to have her armor removed. Once she was down to her tech suit, she pulled it down and off leaving her in her skin-tight bio-layer. She swore she heard a cat whistle from somewhere but chose to ignore it. She grabbed her clothes and made for the shower. And like any military person, she reveled in the hot water, letting it soak into her skin and relax her. When she got done, she dried and dressed making sure to strap a knife onto the breastplate and a sidearm on her hip.
She then made her way to team RWBY's billet. James encouraged her to take some time to spend time with her daughters and reconnect. And reconnect she shall.
It was election day and night and she was going to take Ruby and Yang to a restaurant to eat and maybe to Robyn's celebration party. The only other person running was Weiss's father Jacques Schnee, and people kind of disliked him from what she heard.
She reached the door, knocked, and waited. The door opened with Weiss waving her in.
" What can we do for you, Ma'am?" Weiss asked, not knowing what to address her as.
" I was hoping to take Ruby and Yang out to eat. No offense to you or Blake."
Weiss chuckled and responded that she took no offense and that she would love to have a mother or father like her.
Ruby and Yang stopped what they were doing and bolted to their mother's side.
" What are we doing first?" Yang asked.
" I figured get some good and maybe stop by Robyn's victory party." she said.
" FOOD!" Ruby exclaimed, showing Weiss that she is, and forever will be, the best dolt she could know. To which Weiss facepalmed but smiled saying she was nothing but a child.
/
Bal'Tol Xellus hung his head in exhaustion, frustration, desperation, and a hint of shame. Try as he might, the first contact with Greftus' news leader, Kinsa, was an absolute failure. He offered him help, to which Kinsa refused and had him and his patrollers ambushed.
' Why won't he just submit and get help? I am not going to kill him, I want to help him and the other blood sick.'
" It is war then. We need to strike. Bring Kinsa either to the asylum by force or shoot him out the airlock." C'tenz let out as he looked at the table.
' There has to be something we can do.' Bal'Tol thought, " It seems like execution is the only option left. He won't see reason or accept the offered hand of help."
He paused before he looked up at the other Sanghilie standing around the table.
" Have all the citizens been accounted for?" he asked.
He was sure everyone on his section of the refuge was loyal to him and his but that did not mean Sanghile from compromised sections came to sow deceit.
" All but two." came the reply.
Two. Two Sanghilie have turned against him. " Who were they?" he asked, disappointed.
" Etan Taman and Tela Recam. The two are missing, but it is odd."
" How is it odd that they turned on us?" he asked.
" It's just the fact that they were always so loyal that I sent out feelers to track them down. No ship launches, and no escape pods launch. They just disappeared. Like a portal opened and swallowed them."
Disappeared? How is that possible? Sure the refuge was in disarray and was in need of severe help, but could a portal just pop in and out when it wants? Possible. And it would be the reason why the rumors of the black beasts appearing?
He looked to his staff. " Could this pop-up portal also be the reason we get those black beasts appear ever so often?" he asked.
" It is possible." came Cras'es voice, " But how?"
" Thus the magic of the Forerunners."
/
" That was good. That was really good." Ruby said as she stretched and patted her stomach.
The small dinner they found had a little of everything, all done with love for the trade. It was the way the food was prepared. The vegetables were as close to fresh as possible, same with the fruit. And the meat was well-tenderized and flavored. For example, the pasta she ate had broad noodles in a tasty cream sauce with steamed broccoli and bite-sized, tender chicken with awesome seasoning.
Yang also agreed with her meal, although she stuck to a burger and fries. But it was the way the meat was prepared. It had a thick beef patty full of flavor. If Yang was asked to describe it, she would say that it was done in a flavorful smoke box, with fresh, or near fresh, fixings, with a lightly toasted bun with a flavorful mayo.
Noble, or Summer as she was out of armor, had a unique take. Since she was a Spartan-III and had a Spartan metabolism, she had three entrees and a dessert. While the owners were pleased to have their business, they were inwardly freaking out at what she was putting away.
Steak and potatoes, deep-fried chicken and Mac-n-cheese, and a Chicken Cord-on-bleu. All with a slice of Cherry chip cake and a marble cheesecake. One would see her eating like a queen. The owner and his wife came out to see why she ordered so much to which the wife was ready to have a heart attack at seeing the stack of plates.
Summer walked with her children down the street to the party. The screens on the buildings showed the progress of the election. And so far Robyn was in the lead with Jauqes catching up.
They walked in being greeted by Robyn, Ace Opp Marro and Elm, and Penny. The Ace Opps were there to provide security on the off chance a ruckus forms. Penny was there to add to the security but to also see her friends.
The party was fun and it was something that the three women needed. The ordervs were good…so they heard. They were still full and were not feeling nibbly, but did partake in some of the drinks. They talked to some of the other patrons including the team of MILFs that were bombarding Jaune with pies and casseroles.
All was going well…until it didn't. Fore in the crowd was a man in a heavy hood and cloak. And he was waiting to be given the signal to initiate the plan that was made. He studied the room. Who were the main threats? Who was armed? Who looked like they could fight? Since Mantel's " Protector" was present, he needed to be careful, but he did not worry. After all, pinning everything on her would be what Salam would want. Aside from her, the only ones that posed an immediate threat were the Ace Opps with a race traitor among them.
As he looked around, he saw an abnormally built woman who would not look out of place in a bodybuilding competition, a young girl that looked to be her daughter…and Yang XioLong.
Adam smiled beneath his hood. Twist the knife in Blake's heart and further humble and punish the human that dared to attempt to strike him. He now had two targets. Robyn Hill and Yang.
To be fair, he had nothing personal against Hill, aside from being a human. She was one of the few that he would regret killing as she and her band respected the Fanaus race.
A sadistic smile formed on his lips as a click was heard in his ear.
'Showtime.' he thought as he positioned himself by four women, two on each side, and made his move as his hand shot out with his sword, and in a quick sweep, removed their heads from their shoulders as the lights went out.
The caring, sweet woman known as Summer was suddenly shoved into a back corner as the cold, hard warrior Natsukie took over.
She took in the situation like the professional she was and sprang into action as she drew her knife and sprang into action. She slammed her blade into Adams as he swung it at Robyn. He growled in frustration. She could almost see the glare behind his blindfold. She felt something press against her side and twisted as a loud bang was heard.
She saw Marrow point at Adam. But as the word was leaving his mouth, and triggering his semblance, Adam moved causing her to freeze. She saw Marrow's eyes widen in shock and surprise and horror that caused him to freeze from shock for a full second. And in that second, Adam struck as he plunged his blade into her. She grunted as the blade slid through her skin and into her guts, missing her vital organs and spine. Marrow dropped his arm, unfreezing her. She used the position she was in to plant a fist into his face staggering him back. As he staggered back, he pulled his blade out of her causing blood to dribble out.
During all of this, Yang stood in shock and began to shake, violently so, as Ruby screamed when Adam stabbed her mother. She wanted to jump in and help, had to, but this was a fight she was not ready for. And she knew it.
Penny stood ready with her blades out and circling her, just waiting for her to send them into her target. She heard Ruby scream and saw Yang shaking but could not do anything now as she protected Robyn. She was also concerned for Noble as she saw her get stabbed and the blood.
Unknown to all were the two Sorian figgers watching the fight. They may have not seen what caused it but did know that the female who has been housing them was in danger, and it looked like the orange-haired girl was protecting her, and another female who had the look of a warrior dripped blood as the red-haired and horned male was shoved back. But the question was, who is the instigator and who is the defender? But both had eyes and a brain and could reason.
Fact: Someone cut the power.
Fact: Someone killed at least four women.
Fact: the assailant tried to kill the female that hosted them.
Fact: Despite the blood on the warrior female's attire, she did not kill the women.
Fact: That knife she wielded did not have the reach to behead four women.
Fact: The blade the male wielded did have the reach.
Conclusion: The male was the culprit.
Reaction on their part? Intervene and assist. And that is what the two Sanghilie did. Tela drew her plasma pistol and helped guard their female host as he drew his pistol and burn blade and stepped in and intercepted the red male's swing at the white-cloaked warrior.
/
Noble ignored the blood flowing down her body, her mind in full combat mode. She and Adam eyed each other. Nothing mattered aside from the person they were fighting. So focused were they that the THRUM of and discharged crack of a plasma pistol went unnoticed…until it impacted Adam in the side causing him to stagger yet more with a depleted aura. He blindly swung at the woman, and while the woman could handle herself and catch the blade, he stepped in with his burn blade catching the male's blade on his.
And through the blindfold, he could see the shock and surprise in his eyes. With a click of his mandibles, he gave the blade a shove pushing the man back and giving him some room to operate and jumped after him pushing him on the defensive. Fire pumped in his heart and veins as he continued this deadly dance.
Action, fighting, testing oneself against an opponent, honor. This is what the Sanghilie were made for. And he was reveling in it. So when the red-haired man sheathed his blade, he was disappointed.
He said something that he could not understand before he threw something onto the ground before he was enveloped in smoke.
/
Noble went wide-eyed as a Sanghilie stepped in front of her and caught Adam's blade on a metal sword that appeared to be half an energy sword. She could see the dull red glow in the blade as he was heated.
She should have been on edge, and she was, but he took her side. But where did he come from? How did he get here? And most definitely, was he with the Covenant? She didn't know, and she needed to be careful.
She switched her knife to her left hand and drew her sidearm and had it pointed at Adam.
" My job is done here." he said after a laugh, then threw down smoke bombs covering his escape, and just after that, the power came back.
She heard a growl from the Sanghilie as he flipped a switch on the hilt with the blade beginning to cool down. He slung it onto his back and turned to see the gun pointed at him. He went wide-eyed and held his hands up in a don't shoot gesture.
Noble held it for a moment before she spoke.
" I don't know if you can hear me split lip, but you assisted me, so that earned you some grace." she told him. All she got was more confused staring.
" You did not understand a single word I said, did you."
Again more confused staring. She sighed and holstered her weapons before Ruby ran up to her.
" MOM! YOUR BLEEDING!" she exclaimed.
" I have had worse." she said as she turned to her daughter, and caught Yang standing stock still in shock, shaking, and tears running down her cheeks.
She looked back to the Sanghilie to see him still with his hands up but was also looking at Yang.
She turned and went to Yang's side and gently shook her. Yang blinked to see her standing in front of her and immediately wrapped her in an embrace, shaking and crying. She returned the embrace with Robyn looking shocked more than anything.
She heard exclamations of shock at the carnage and blood-shed as feet hit the deck and surrounded her.
" Ma'am, you need a medic." Marrow said hurriedly and with panic. She could see the guilt in his eyes for freezing her. It was not his fault but he would not see that right away.
" I know that." she told him then turned to Ruby, " Ruby, call Shadow and tell him to get Thora and Ironwood down here on the double." she ordered her.
She acknowledged the order and pulled her scroll out.
" We already called the General about the situation. But we are unaware of how to contact Shadow." Elm said as she looked Yang over.
" She is having a PTSD episode. Ma'am, we do need to separate you to at least get you patched up."
" I know. But she does need help. Tell James to bring me some Bio-foam and to step on it."
" No kidding." Marrow said as he grabbed his scroll and began dialing.
There was a pause before Robyn spoke, saying the dumbest thing possible.
" So let me guess, you're going to kill them all now? Or dissect them?" Robyn asked.
Both Nat and Ruby looked at Robyn ready to scold her but that was not necessary as Fiona bopped her upside the head.
" WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Robin asked as she rubbed her head with a hand.
" For going back into those Anti-Atlas forums."
Nat felt a twinge as the adrenaline began to wear off. She grimaced but knew she was lucky Adam chose a stab instead of a slice.
She turned to Robyn, " You will be coming with us. You and your band."
" So you can kill me too?" she asked.
Again, she received another smack and a very stern talking-to.
As the adrenaline subsided, the soldier Nat began to let Summer take more of the wheel and as such began to do more motherly things to Yang. Stroking her hair, whispering into her ear that she was okay. Ruby added her support as well as she wrapped her in a hug. The tears began to flow more freely as Yang began to come back from her episode as her breathing became more ragged.
A four-fingered hand that rested itself on Yang's shoulder caught the Spartan off guard as she looked to see yet another Sanghilie present. One she missed. And it was female. She glared at it with the female not seeming to care. She made her presence known and was attempting to soothe Yang.
She turned to Robyn and began her interrogation.
" How long have you known these two and why did you not tell us?" she bit out.
Robyn scowled, but when she saw some of her band readying their slapping hands. She sighed and said that it had been a few weeks and that they came up to them looking about as lost as a dog at a fish convention. She took them in and has been trying to figure out what to do.
And as to why she did not try to contact Ironwood was because she did not trust him to not just kill them and be done with it.
Summer left Yang in Ruby's care and let some of her Innie interrogation skills come into place.
" And it did not occur to you that they could be spies pretending to look confused to get close to you and get intel to send to their fleet? That this could be nothing but a ruse?" she growled out.
It was about now that Robyn began to see she may have shot herself in the foot a few times as the woman in front of her began to tear her a new one.
" I have been fighting their kind and others my whole second life. And for what any of us know, an entire Covenant fleet is out there just waiting to drop its troops down to start killing us all."
Yup, she screwed up. Wait, she fought them? She looked at the woman again as she held her wound. The height, the eyes, the attitude.
" You are the armored soldier from the convoy." she stated.
" I am." she said as she pressed a hand to her wound.
Robyn hummed as she watched the woman turn back to Yang and the female alien.
" Can you tell me what they are at least?" she asked.
" Sanghilie, more commonly known as Elites. Highly skilled and deadly warriors with a sense of honor." came Ruby's voice.
" How do you know about them?" she asked.
Ruby gave a ' Are you really asking that question?' look.
" Okay, dumb question."
It was not even ten minutes later when the sound of turbines was heard with the sound of running feet following soon after. When the door burst open, it was Thora running full tilt with a canister of bio-foam.
" Spartan, we came as soon as we could! How are…you…" his voice trailed off as he caught sight of the two other Sanghilie with Robyn's jaw-dropping.
" When and how did they get here?" he asked.
" Not sure. Now hand me that canister." She said.
He tossed it to her and she pushed the nozzle into the wound and with a gasp of chilled pain, she plugged her wound.
She looked over to see Thora walking over to the two Sanghilie and started talking to them.
She could not hear what he was saying but when Ironwood came in, he stopped and was shocked when he saw them…and the bodies. He turned to Winter and ordered her to call a clean-up crew before he walked up to the group.
" Robyn." he greeted.
" General." She looked at the general with questioning eyes.
" When and how…?" she asked, pointing to Thora.
" Classified for now but rest assured, you will be coming with us for questioning."
She scowled ready to go into anti-Atlas mode but let it slide.
" I also have bad news for you sadly." he said as he handed her a data pad. She took it and studied it for a moment.
" How? How did he win with that margin?" she asked.
" I know. It is surprising to all of us."
As they talked about the election results, the Sanghilie were talking.
When Thora approached the two, they were ready to draw their weapons.
" Easy. I am not here to fight." Thora said.
The two looked at each other before speaking in an old Sanghilie dialect.
He had to walk what they were saying through old covenant before he could translate it.
In a sense, they were asking him who he was, who his elegance was to, if he was a free Sanghilie or part of the Covenant. Oh and to stay back.
Working his mandibles to prepare them to speak a language he hasn't used since his early days in the Sanghlile Military.
" Please, take it slow, I am needing to walk what you say through a few translations." he said to them in old Sanghile.
The two looked at each other before the male spoke.
" You are not here to kill us, we can guess that. We can also tell by your armor that you are not Covenant."
Thora sighed.
" I am a former Covenant soldier. One that was told of the lies that we were told since birth and broke away." he said.
" You broke away? And you are still alive?" the female asked.
He chuckled at that.
" I was sent away from my sect's leader to try and make contact with our enemy. To be an ambassador. To try and make peace." he said.
" Make peace? As in, surrender?" the male asked.
Thora hesitated. " Not so much surrender as to atone." he said.
" Atone? What for?"
" A good question for later."
He turned to walk back to the Ironwood when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
" We never got your name."
" Thora Racamai. Former Covenant soldier, former Covenant blade master, and now Sanghilie ambassador." he said.
They nodded and bowed their heads.
"Etan Toman. Resident of the Usan Refuge." the now-named Etan said.
Tela Recam. Usan Refuge Resident.
Usan Refuge? Wasn't Usa the name of a Sanghilie leader during the Covenant founding that did not join? With the Covenant hunting him down?
" Usan Refuge? Wasn't that the name of the Sanghilie leader that ran from the Covenant?" Thora asked.
" That was his name, yes. His descendant is Baltol Zelaus. Kiedon of the Refuge."
" So, he did survive." Thora uttered under his breath.
" He did."
Thora hummed before he heard the General order everyone to the bullhead. Throa ushered the two to the Bullhead and with a quick explanation, boarded. The two had the looks of wide-eyed children in a mall as they reached Atlas. They asked questions along the way such as the name of the woman that has been housing them for the past couple of months as well as the names of the people who follow her.
They landed and were escorted into the academy with Noble being taken to the infirmary to get her wound checked out. And after an hour of waiting, she joined them. Ironwood reasoned that she would be needed. As they waited, Thora continued to explain things to the two Usans. He talked about Sanghelios and other worlds he's been to.
They asked about the comings and goings in the galaxy, and whether or not they would be welcome back to Sanghelios. Thora didn't know but did tell them that once the war with the humans was over, he would send a delegation to the refuge.
Robyn asked questions and was told to wait until Noble was able to join them.
Right as they were getting restless, Noble entered with a bandage wrapped around her waist.
" What did I miss?" she asked.
" Uhh, nothing. Thora was showing our newcomers how to use the translation disks." James said.
She nodded, " So let's get started." she said as she turned to the two new Sanghilie, " You two I am unfamiliar with. So, who are you and how did you get here." she asked/demanded.
The male stepped forward. Caution and skepticism in his eyes. He spoke his native tongue with the translation following, " I as well don't know you, female. And I am just as curious as to who you are, where we are, and how we got here."
" Then let's trade questions then." Shadow said, popping up on James's desk.
The two looked at him in surprise.
" What? Never saw an AI before?" he asked.
" No, it's, well, we never saw anything like you." the male said.
" What are you?" the female asked.
" Let's save stuff like that for later."
They nodded with Noble asking them where they came from. They talked about the refuge and its people…including the sickness that has been plaguing them. They were still not sure how they got to Remant however. Noble nodded and asked what their views were on the Covenant. The response was a scoff.
" We fled that oppressive regime millennia ago. As for now? We still wait for them but with the way things are going? We could use the help." the female said.
There was a pause.
"Do you know what is going on in the universe at large?" Noble asked.
They shook their heads. She looked to the others asking if they thought they should know. But the one that she wanted to know was Thora.
He thought about it for a moment before nodding. She took a breath and dove into the war. And how it was going.
The two looked pensive. Thora chimed in talking about his time at the gas mine as well as the destruction of the Halo ring. The mention of the Ring had the two want to ask more questions about it, but mostly about the Forerunners.
/
Shadow listened to everything. He pulled video and other images up when asked. Video of the war from the human's side as well as the Covenant. Robyn asked questions not understanding what was going on. Shadow could see the gears working and pointed her and her troop out.
James apologized and began to explain everything to them. How Thora came to him and explained everything to him. The war and his defection. Who the Forerunners were and why the Covenant worshiped them. Questions were asked about why they were worshiped, and when they were shown things that were made? Well, they understood why they would worship them as space gods with space magic.
Most of the footage came from Thora and his band of soldiers as well as transmissions from the fleet. The halls of the gas mine, the forests and plains of Halo, hidden passages in the ring, and even the human ship.
As all this was going on, he split off a subroutine. Something smelt off about the count. He could not place it, but it smelt like a last-minute ballet dump found in most if not all third-world worlds/countries, and even some first-world countries where…well we won't go there.
Since he was in the primary computer, he followed the pathways that the electronic ballots used.
" Hello." he said as he saw something fishy, " So there was a rogue program that moved a ballet from Robyn to the mustache twirler at a certain point of time or if she got too far ahead."
He checked in to see what the crew were talking about, and could not blame Nat for really going into her headhunter days for information now that she was in a more controlled environment.
' Kind of feel bad for her honestly. She can be wicked scary. Let's just hope it doesn't affect her kids. Speaking of her kids, how are those two bundles of innocents doing?'
Hacking into the cameras, he saw Ruby stand next to Yang and provide the comfort that a sister can offer. And boy did Yang seem to need it as she was still shaking. He sent a text to the infirmary to send a nurse to the office for the girl.
He went back into the network and went back to work on the election.
' Did Weiss's old man know about this or was he not in that loop? No way of knowing without being in the house.'
He spent a few cycles of his run time just sit idle and come up with something new.
An alert came in.
' Probably nothing. Alert for an email or a report from Robyn's nest. Nothing to worry about.' he thought.
' Wait, it's coming from Thora's Phantom. What did we forget to hook up?' he thought as he entered the dropship system to see what was up.
' Oh. Ummm that is not good. Not good at all.'
/
What was supposed to be a quick jump was still quick, but they went further than the helmsman anticipated. What they thought was a few lightyears outside of the core, turned into something even further.
" My question is how? It was supposed to be a quick hop to re-calibrate the map and then head for High Charity. How did we end up in the wrong end of nowhere?" The Prophet of Relic Study said.
" We are still looking into that, Holy one." Valin said.
Relic Study looked at Valin and let out a breath, " Shipmaster, Valin, we have served on this ship probably longer than what is normal. I think we can skip the formalities."
Valin nodded, " As you wish, Koe' Mec. We are checking the drives and they seem to be working fine. The only drive we did not look at was the craft strapped to our hull. We hesitate to enter the vessel because it is a sacred relic."
The now-named Koe' Mec nodded. " I understand your thoughts and normally I would say you are right. But if there's a problem, we should find it. I am willing to take the heat for any defilement that the High Prophets may see."
Valin looked at him with slightly wide eyes. Koe saw the look of disbelief on his face.
" I am a bit more on the logical side of things. One could even say I defile and blaspheme the Forerunner's gifts but I like to call myself a realist. Take a look at this." he said as he pushed a button and two plasma rifles appeared in the air. " The rifle on the right is our current rifle with the one on the left being a rifle from over eight hundred years ago.'' He waited for a moment or two for Valin to study the images.
" I don't know what you want me to see or say, Koe."
Koe' Mec sighed.
" We are still using the same style and form. We never upgraded the rifle to have better batteries or to make it more accurate. We never experimented with the Forerunner technology. Never asked '' what would happen if we threw the Plasma Pistol, Rifle, and Carbine in a blender to see if the shake would be good." kind of question?"
There was a pause and Koe continued, " Out there, somewhere, I am willing to bet my apartment that there is a race that found Forerunner tech, saw how advanced it was, and used the strengths of the Forerunners as well as the strengths of their weapons to make something we would tremble at."
Valin sighed.
" I know it is blasphemy to even suggest someone to be superior to the Forerunners but again, I am sure there is a race out there that either are or will be superior to them and by extension us."
Koe saw the wheels click together.
" And the vessel we are carrying may have the technology to give us the edge needed against them." he stated.
" Exactly."
The Helmsman rattled his mandibles to get their attention.
" We have exited slipspace shipmaster. The fleet has followed with us perfectly."
" Good. Begin a scan of the region. Let's see where we are and if there is a world we can claim for the Covenant."
The aid went back to work but came back a moment later.
" Shipmaster, we detect a single habitable world. Long-range sensors point to inhabitants on the world." he hesitated.
" What else did you find?" Valin asked.
After a moment, the aid spoke, " Shipmaster, our sensors are outdated and need to be recalibrated, but they say that a Covenant ship is on the surface."
So the planet was already discovered. " Good. Ping the ship and let's see if we can't get some talks going." Valin said as the steward went and pressed the right keys for the ping.
The ping was sent and what they got back was an ID of the ship. It was a drop-ship. One for exploration.
" What is taking the guy so long?" Koe asked.
/end/
And that is that. Was it worth the wait? You all tell me. I hope I delivered a well thought out chapter but I am sure you will tell me one way or another. I did struggle a little bit but managed to power through it.
The next chapter will be the inevitable meeting between this Covonant fleet and Remants forces. After that it would be the dinner with the council and Jauqe, and his ousting. So that is the next chapter.
" What all is going on your life Red?!"
Well, work, work, work, and more work. I have been stepping back from video games. I am only playing Destiny because I sunk so much time into it and Halo Infinite was nothing but a flop.
What is going on with the games that I love? What is going on with TV shows and movies these days? Feels like everything is going to hell.
You know what? I am going to let that lie and get to comments. It feels long over due.
D3Diton
wanna see MOOOOOOOOORE soooooooooon!
Well here it is. Hope you enjoyed it.
Lorenzo Ferrari
Is a good motivation the fact that you can change the things in better? If you didn't like how vol. 7 ended, you can turn it better in this story. Said this, I want to see soon a new chapter.
Yea, like I said in the last chapter, RWBY kind of lost its luster. To much agenda pushing disguised as entertainment. Same with the rest of the things that I enjoyed. And what you said is important. I can change things as I see fit.
As to wanting more…here you go!
sacke110
Reading this really makes me want to keep playing Reach.
More Shangheili? Haven't played anything but first game so don't know if tey're canon characters or not.
Go for it. I personally have a love/hate relationship with the game, and that mainly comes down to the lore between book and game.
As to the Sanghilie, Etan, Tela and, Thora are OC charters that I made up. Etam and Tela are from the Refuge that is seen in Halo : Broken Circle with Thora being from the Heritic faction from Halo 2.
And I highly recommend you playing the other games. I would start with Reach and then move to CE, then in order. 2, ODST, 3, 4, 5 and then Infinite.
sacke110
Love Six aka Summer reconnecting with her daughters.
As much as i find it weird that Red is in this story, I really loved that Leroy Jenkins lmao.
Why thank you. I like to make the odd appearance.
sacke110
Nice reveal, very nice. Love how chocked everyone was. Looking forward to the talk that's about to come.
Haha, Raven feels bad and fled. Good.
Well that was the point and it. And yes Raven felt to bad and confused to stay around for the bbq.
sacke110
Took me half the chapter to go back to the AN to realize this was for another story. And here i was so weirded out that blue team appeared outta nowhere. Lmao.
LOL
sacke110
Wth is with this Red October character? I thought this was a Halo x RWBY crossover with Summer at the helm, why in the world add a random OC that has the ability to not only time travel but also travel between dimensions? .. oh he went away again… weird.
* spooky noises*
sacke110
I like her and Shadow so far, interesting characters. And i like how they interact with the others.
First time reading a RWBY story in like 1.5 years but i still remember my deep hatred for Raven… may she die a horrible death… bandit scum.
…Wait and see young one. Wait and see.
Xenokiller419
White rose the only correct ship
* sigh* We are going to need to agree to disagree. I only ship it in the platonic sense. I am not going to get into a shipping war with anyone.
Lorenzo Ferrari
Please! Update quickly this story! I want to see the next chapter soon!
Here you go, and sorry for the wait. Had things to do.
1999
Will there be an update for this and I want to know what happen and will the clone of Ruby's mother leave them again or will she stay with them forever, who will take control over the body Summer or Noble when they get reconnected.
Hmmhmmhmmm.
XPkiller210
*Highly Recommend if you don't mind some grammar errors* I really enjoyed reading this, in one go might I add. Decided to read CH1 at breakfast and there goes Sunday. Honestly the entire concept felt well executed. I really do not care about the nitpicks as they just get autocorrected while reading. I do feel you struck a nice balance between the character development in the show, showing just enough to refresh the memory, while not overfocusing on it too much and allowing our new faces to grow. And did they. I have to say this work is leading to now check out the others you have. Wish you the best and hope you enjoyed Infinite.
I thank you for the praise. But be sure to eat, drink and sleep. Spend time with people. And I need to take the same advice from time to time. My problem is that I work way to damn much. I hope that his chapter continues the trend that you like. Also, I am weak when it comes to writing and spelling.
Lorenzo Ferrari
Update quickly
*update noises*
PoofyOhio
Alright, so this is actually bad; like really bad. The grammar is awful, there's spelling errors every other sentence, the dialogue is a mix of okay and cringy, the plot is so far just a copy paste of RWBY's with no real deviations, the pacing is genuinely awful(it takes literally less time to read this than it takes to watch season 5 of the show), the writing is simple and sparse, Red only makes sense if you read an authors note, and the characters act very nonchalant about important shit.
On the plus side, the concept of N6 being a clone of Summer and then sent back to Remnant is unbelievably fucking cool, and it's admittedly fun to read despite its flaws.
Ummm, *confused screaming*
Okay so thank you for the review. As for the grammer, I am actully weak at writing and grammer. So think of this as me testing myself and you grading me.
I like to think that I alter enough of the episode to make it unique and not a copy and paste. ( I have seen and read some and dont wish to falllow them.)
Spatialyeti8
I like this story the AI is hilarious and can technically stop the covenant if he knows about the halo games but he chills eating virtual pizza and being a dick.
Dick? Yes. Could he end the conflict if he knew of the Halo games? Sure. But like you said, he likes his pizza to much.
Spatialyeti8
This is a mix of some pretty good research of halo lore with A.I. and explosives and the worst about the Spartans and guns. For example a spartan could never hate O.N.I. because every spartan 3 was a volunteer and they all knew about Spartan 2's as they were trained by one and they were the 3rd generation. With weapons the Spartan and most regular soldiers would also know. DMR has best range AR is CQC and BR is a mix between the two, any spartan would know and use all of them to great extent and in saying that the BR55 was the best choice. BR55 and a shotgun or grenade launcher probably would have been best combination.
Why thank you. I try to do my research and if I am unable to get something concrete, I try to let the audience know.
Vigriff
You are right about them being step-sisters.
Yea, I may have got things mixed up from time to time.
KiraSouen
Another awesome chapter red october I didn't see this coming a covenant fleet coming across a human ship (forerunner era) and that the Happy Huntresses find an Elite colony (can't spell the true name for the life of me and yet I can pronounce it easily)
Dont worry about it. I am sure I misspell it all the time. And they didn't find the colony, two colonists found them
And that will be my rain of terror ends for this chapter. Not sure what else to talk about. Dont want to talk season 9 because i did not watch it. As I said last time, RWBY lost its luster.
But it is what it is. Sooooo, now what? Tacos? Take-out Chinese? Okay that sounds good atully.
Fly Fast, Check 6, and I will see you all at the restaurant, I mean, on the virtual Battle Field.