Hey, how are you guys? Been good, but it could be better here's a chapter earlier compared to before. Do read to the end of it, please. I have some essential news to share, including my next month's plans. Also, an OC character and someone else familiar will make an appearance later. Just a heads up.
But enough about me. It's time we address comments.
Ssgtsplatter: Yea… sorry to burst your bubble. But it feels so appropriate to have Nora nuke happy and proceed to nuke all of team RWBY. But do note that I failed to mention that everyone was horrified by it. At the expense of team RWBY, who got nuked to death. But yea. I do have plans for Cinder eventually. Just not now. As for Aries, he's not gone but went off to do their own thing.
I should go into detail about RGQC's realm, but every single person has their own free time. But, of course, that includes Aries as well, so he's off eating corn or something.
Yoshiki-909: *Cough* If I feel like it, I can bring High Queen Belladonna back to join us. Or… I could drag her husband into it and give everyone a headache. Hehehe.
Zacker1590: You can thank Edgerunner for that, as for them playing other games, perhaps in the future. No promises. I'm not sure about outfits. My family doesn't celebrate Halloween. What do you think?
Dakzillaman: Happy Birthday, and thanks! I loved them in-game despite them being garbage if you spam them alone. Support them with other units. However, they become handy at dealing with flyers. Also, come on! You guessed what gonna be! I'm not made but I swear some of my readers including you could predict what I'm planning to do next.
And yea, I loved their voice acting. Especially Steve Blum who voiced Abathur.
Familiarantiguo: ¡Gracias! Sin duda, pasarán años hasta que lleguemos a Legacy, pero espero tener la fuerza para seguir hasta entonces. Tengo planes para que discutan más sobre Terrazine más tarde.
Jeje. Eso tomaría un tiempo, pero las audiencias más observadoras notarían el presagio eventualmente. En cuanto a tu historia, podría pasarme para echarle un vistazo. Definitivamente tendrá que usar traducir para entenderlo, pero seguro que debería estar desactivado.
Espero.
Guest: Well, you do have a point. The majority of the Protoss are not crazed fanatics and can be reasonable at times. But they do tend to see themselves better than the Terrans occasionally. As for the Tal'darim, they just hate everyone that is not them. They consider other Protoss inferior to themselves, priding themselves as being "The Chosen" by Amon, whereas other Protoss are weak and spineless.
Well, Raynor speculates that Terrans continue to survive against the worst odds aka, terrible planets for colonization, lots of in-fighting, being caught between the Protoss and The Swarm, because they're just too dumb to give up or realize that they should've died off a long time ago. His words, not mine.
As for WOL Kerrigan you are right, she's a sadist who purposely spared Mengsk when she could have easily chosen to wipe them out, yet she didn't. I can't blame them for getting their asses whopped by the Golden Armada, a real-life death ball of ships. You're not gonna survive it, but you damn well can delay it. That's for me, at least.
Viper0Vendalmy: Thanks! I hoped that the Supreme Commander's part was to everyone's liking, and as for the Seraphim, I have been thinking for RGQC to appear as them with a large army like an in-game crisis. It should be fun writing about everyone working together against the Realm lord.
As for the missions of Safe Haven or Haven's Fall, I'm still divided on the issue, but when we get there, I'll release a poll on whether I should make the choice I chose, followed by the alternative. I'm not sure…
Also, tiny Vikings fighting a mothership, this will be fun…
One more thing! There will be some subtle changes that shouldn't change the mission much, but I feel it would be a nice touch of streamlining the story.
Like before, I do not own RWBY or StarCraft. All of these belong to their respective owners: Rooster Teeth, StarCraft 2 belongs to Blizzard Entertainment. I only own my OC in this story.
Cutthroat
Soon, everyone returned from their short break to see RGQC still in his cyberpunk outfit, talking to another person. Even more intriguing was that both he and this new individual wearing a cloak were staring at a ball of a planet floating in the air.
"Looks like the Hydra's invasion has begun in 2035…" RGQC mumbled.
"Do you think humanity will survive this?"
RGQC just shook his head at the individual beside him. "Knowing humanity, some will fight, others… not so much. It depends on which organisation can influence the world most with their ideas. They will shape humanity's future." RGQC paused for a moment.
"Preferably the Resistance or the Academy. The others don't benefit all races. They bring only enslavement or genocide to one or the other."
"Pretty sure the Initiative are just in it for the profit during all the chaos and confusion."
"That's not any better, and you know it, buddy. Knowing them, they would probably become one big grand conspiracy manipulating everything behind the curtains. Including the aliens." RGQC groaned as he turned to face his audience entering the theatre room.
"Ah! Sorry about that, everyone. I was distracted by something different occurring at the moment." The realm lord apologised. "If you are wondering who this fellow next to me is, he is a fellow Realm lord. Care to introduce yourself?"
"You all must be the guests from Remnant RGQC talked about; it is a pleasure to meet all of you." The individual gave a bow. "I am Arlor Ampbell, a fellow Realm lord to your host."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Ampbell." Ozpin was the first to greet as everyone else soon followed.
"Mr Ampbell, what are you and RGQC talking about?" Penny asked as the two realm lords looked at each other. Arlor Ampbell shrugged as RGQC spoke.
"I'm just witnessing something happening in my native world of Earth. On September 30th, 2022, an alien ship crash-lands on Earth, and its pilot disappears into the wilderness without a trace. More such ships appear in the coming weeks, proving beyond any doubt that humanity has caught the interest of an extra-terrestrial civilisation. With the aliens' motivations unknown, the nations of Earth begin to fall under the influence of seven international factions, each with its own plan to address the situation."
"And 13 years later, the Aliens officially launched an invasion of Earth." Ampbell finished RGQC's sentence as he made Earth dissipate.
"Aliens?!" Nora yells out.
"Yup. I've been keeping an eye on this situation as RGQC originates in this world." Ampbell continued on.
"Wait, so you're born on Earth? Like the Earth that was under the United Powers League?" Yang was the first to speak.
"Well… Not exactly, My Earth is more similar to the one getting invaded right now, except without the Aliens part. I think I'm still alive on it when Aliens were confirmed." RGQC muttered as he took out a tablet and began tapping on it.
"Yup. Still alive and kicking."
"So RGQC originated from Earth. How interesting…" Cinder purred.
Campbell explained. "With how the multiverse is, there are infinite realities and possibilities. The same applies to all of you. Paths you didn't take become real in their own worlds, and things like fantasy become a reality. And the never-ending potential taste of knowledge." He chuckled as everyone wondered to themselves.
Ruby wondered how an alternative version of her won't have to deal with losing their mother. Weiss wondered how things would have been if her father was a better version, and Blake wondered how things would have been if Adam wasn't as bloodthirsty as he was now. Would she have left the White Fang?
And Yang couldn't imagine a reality in which she had to cut her hair.
Oh, the Horror!
The others also wonder what an alternative version would be like if things went their way. Since, according to RGQC's realm lord buddy, anything is possible.
"Watch yourself, wouldn't want you to fall into the schemes of the Changer of Ways; hate to kill you if you did fall." RGQC darkly warned as his fellow Realm lord sadly sighed.
"I know… I should get going right now and not take any more of your time RGQC. I'll continue watching over the situation and let you know if anything changes." Ampbell created a portal of himself before looking at RGQC.
"Catch you later?"
"Yup. Later." RGQC gave a wave before Arlor Ampbell left.
"With that out of the way, we should resume, or do you have questions about my origin before we begin?" RGQC asked his guests as they all glanced at each other.
"Earlier, you mentioned that you would have to kill Mr Ampbell if he fell to the Changer of Ways. Is that similar to She Who Thirsts?" Glynda slowly asked as RGQC nodded.
"Yea. The Changer of Ways. Tzeentch. Chaos god that represents Change, Evolution, Mutation, Intrigue, Ambition, Knowledge, Sorcery, Destiny, Lies and Trickery." RGQC explained.
"As you notice, that specific guy tends to attract followers who seek knowledge. Even forbidden ones that will drive them insane if they were to read it."
"And Ampbell originates from a world that prioritises knowledge over everything else. Making him very susceptible to the influence of Tzeentch." RGQC finished off as everyone absorbed what RGQC said.
"If nothing else," RGQC sat on his chair and summoned a blue cocktail that had a lemon in it in his hand. He raises it into the air as if honouring someone before taking a drink. "Ah… QAI, you know what to do."
[Understood, master. Let us begin.]
Raynor has secured the Terrazine gas, but he has also earned the hatred of a fanatical Protoss sect known as the Tal'darim. Back on the Hyperion, Horner has received a mysterious message claiming that Tosh is an assassin.
"Huh… who could've sent that?" Robyn muttered as Ironwood was next.
"It does not answer the main question. Who sent that message?"
"We know that Tosh here is from some covert branch of the Ghost program, according to Tychus. But I doubt his source is reliable." Winter followed after Ironwood as everyone could only wonder one thing.
Who is sending this message, and why?
Hyperion Bridge
23:00 Shipboard Time
The screen lights up to show Raynor and Tosh on the bridge and Matt on the side-line. Upon receiving the transmission and reading it through, Matt approached his commander and his guest.
"Sir, I received an encrypted transmission from an untraceable source. It claims that Tosh here was part of a classified operation called Project: Shadowblade. They used Jorium and Terrazine to enhance ghost powers." Matt explained as Tosh confirmed it.
"It appears that my theory on the importance of Terrazine is correct." Pietro smiled.
"But for what purpose, I wonder, father," Penny adds. "Dr Ariel confirmed that Jorium stimulates brain activity and or even produces psionic abilities in humans."
"Hopefully, she can give some insides into it," Pietro assured his daughter.
"It's true. We are called Spectres - next generation Ghosts." Tosh explains as he pulls out his custom-made butterfly knife and begins fiddling around with it. He then kept it away as Raynor sounded annoyed that Tosh hid things from him.
"What kind of knife is that? Looks compact in design." Raven asks as RGQC answers her question.
That is a Butterfly knife. A self-defence and pocket utility knife can be carried and easily kept away, and they can be used to perform for art or amusement. Obviously, they are similar to switchblades or concealed weapons, thus illegal where I'm from for a good reason." The realm lord took a sip. "Wouldn't want civilians walking around with what is basically a knife."
"That's… interesting," Ilia muttered.
"And you were gonna tell me all this when?"
Tosh just brushed Raynor's worry aside as he assured him. "We all have our secrets, Mr. Raynor. Doesn't mean I'm any threat to you." However, Raynor began to sound doubtful of the resident Spectre. And so did some of our audience.
"If he didn't bother to tell us that, what else could be hiding?" Weiss wonders.
"I concur, sister; secrets would only damn everyone else. So, what else is he refusing to tell us?"
"It could be because Raynor never bothered to ask him the details," Blake muttered as several people looked at her.
"What?"
"Been through that before, Blake?" Yang chuckled as the cat Faunus sighed.
"Shut up, Yang."
Raynor turns his head. "Maybe not - but whoever sent this message could be. Matt, any way to verify the transmission?" Raynor asked as the screen cut to Matt, who could not fulfil his commander's request.
"No sir. But it does end with, I'll be in touch soon."
"It's Mengsk - trying to turn us against each other. Don't let him." As he pointed out, the thought of Mengsk trying to turn Raynor against him made Tosh agitated.
With this thought in mind, Raynor looked unsure of what to do at the moment as he decided to lay it down for now. "I'll let it lie for now - at least 'til I find out who sent this transmission. But I'll be keeping an eye on you, Tosh."
Tosh, however, looks confident as he mutters back, "You can try."
The screen then went black.
"Tosh sounds pretty confident that his intentions were good from Raynor," Sun says as several others nod.
But that alone made everyone wonder about Tosh's intentions now. He is, after all, a very creepy, shifty, and definitely has a hidden agenda. Tosh also seems to omit details of what he is and what he's actually planning.
Ironically Ozpin felt the scene happening on screen seemed familiar…
Oh, wait.
Hyperion Cantina
One Hour Later
As everyone was thinking about what had transpired, the screen lit up again to show Raynor in the Hyperion Cantina taking a sip of his drink while talking to his buddy Tychus.
"That Tosh is a whack job, Jimmy! Spends all his time muttering and playing around with those damn... dolls of his." Tychus made it clear how he felt that Tosh was absolutely bonkers and creepy in his eyes.
"Talking to dolls?" Jaune scratches the back of his head in confusion. "What does he mean by that?"
"I would say it, but I wonder if it matters in the long term." RGQC mutter as he shrugs. "Eh, I'll tell more once we get to it."
"Also, muttering to himself?" Pyrrha raises an eyebrow.
"Must be magic." Nora said as she chewed on some pancakes because she was still hungry.
"There's no magic in space, Nora." Weiss sighs.
"Technically, everything's in space, Weiss." Coco counters as chuckles can be heard.
"Well, I need someone to balance out your sophistication and good manners." Raynor joked as he took a sip. Though Tychus disagreed with his partner.
"The guy ain't right in the head, brother! I can appreciate some good, honest craziness. But that guy? He's got something broke inside."
"You know it's bad when even the criminal thinks ya insane." Torchwick muttered as Raven made the decision to ask the criminal.
"Met any during your time Torchwick?" She asked as her team and daughter turned their heads to her in confusion.
"Eh, can tell ya that none are like Tosh buddy over here. Occasional attempts at murder but me and Neo always get out of those situations." Torchwick admitted as glances could be seen among the others.
"Don't worry old buddy, I'm sure things will go well." Raynor says as he takes a sip of his drink; as the UNN news network starts playing, Raynor and Tychus look up and pay attention to it.
Weapons plant attacked on Nephor II -Thousands dead on Nephor II after attack - Dominion security claims Raynor involved in Nephor II attack - Prince Valerian attends 2nd annual Navy ball - Zerg sighting on Korhal revealed as a hoax.
The news ticker for today's news made some of them concerned. A terrorist attack on a Weapons plant? Thousands died after the attack, and Dominion security claimed that Raynor was to blame. What's going on out there? Soon the news starts as a fuzzy image with fires in the background while Kate Lockwell in the foreground could be seen.
As Kate began to speak, her concern could be felt in her tone as she explained the situation. "... I repeat, death toll is in the thousands. A Dominion weapons plant exploded hours ago, causing a chain reaction that has taken out several housing complexes in this working-class neighbourhood."
And for a second or two, the camera cuts to show Tosh watching the report with a neutral expression.
"Thousands of dead from collateral damage?" Ozpin muttered in shock. "They weren't even the target…"
"And the counsellors wonder why I want to keep any sort of weapons factory away from civilian complexes." Ironwood grumbled as he closed his eyes. This many deaths from what could be considered a Terrorist attack. A part of him was glad that the White Fang at least tried not to put civilians in the firing zone. They are still criminals and terrorists, though.
Ilia stared at the background as fire could be seen by everyone. And she feared for her people's future. She remembered what Blake's daughter had explained to both of them. If things go the path, they are all heading for, Beacon will fall, and Adam will try to kill Blake's parents and seize control of the Fang. Would more deaths follow after? Would Humanity retaliate hard against her people if Adam were to have his way? She needs to think.
"Dominion Security Forces claim it was an act of terror by the notorious Jim Raynor. But our own investigations suggest that the plant must have been infiltrated by forces with sophisticated stealth technologies." Kate explained as everyone narrowed their eyes to various degrees. This sounds like something Tosh would get involved in. But was it worth letting thousands of civilians die in the process?
Kate questioned, "It begs the question: could some of the Dominion's Ghost operatives have gone rogue?" She wonders out before ending her announcement. "For UNN, this is Kate Lockwell reporting from core world, Nephor II."
"Sounds like Tosh's doing," Neptune muttered. "It can't be a coincidence that the secret message arrives as soon as an attack on a weapons plant."
"Agree with ya, buddy." Sun says as he chews on some bananas.
"Question is whether Tosh will say anything about it," Coco muttered dryly.
Letting out an exhausted sigh before landing his eyes on Tosh, Raynor stood from his chair and made his way towards the Spectre. However, once Raynor reached up there and meet up with Tosh for answers, he could still tell that Raynor still distrusted him an hour later.
"Still don't trust me, brother? Until you decide, ain't nothing to discuss." Tosh blatantly says it to Raynor's face. Who sighed in response before leaving. It was apparent that there would be nothing to talk about unless Raynor could clear his suspicion of the resident Spectre.
And so, Raynor left the cantina as the screen darkened.
"Well, that didn't go as planned." Ruby mumbled as Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"Does he even have a plan?"
"He must have one since he bothered to try to talk to him." Pyrrha offered her thoughts on it.
"Clearly, that didn't work since Tosh rebuffed his attempts to speak." Ren was next.
Everyone could only wonder how this would go in the future, Tosh was potentially insane, but at the same time, he offers his own thoughts and made everyone question everything in his own way.
The screen lights up to show Raynor in the armoury, looking at the console as Swann could be heard speaking. "So, we're pirates ourselves these days. Hey Kachinsky! Got any rum? Aarrr." Swann made a mock impression of a pirate as Raynor chuckled. It was kind of funny as he stared at the console and came to a conclusion.
"If all of you are curious about what Raynor chose to upgrade. He picked the one that upgrades his command Centres into orbital commands. They are the ones that allow for the usage of MULEs in an operation."
"Oh! Do you mean that yellow robot that got devoured by a roach?" Nora so helpfully pointed out as RGQC shook his head, confirming Nora.
"Yes, those are the robots. They will help gather minerals faster. Another function the Orbital command can perform is a Scanner sweep on an area. It reveals a large area to the Terrans and detects all cloaked and burrowed units within the area. Helpful if you need to scout the enemy or check if there is any cloaked or borrowed hostile in the area."
The screen resumed as it showed Raynor leaving the armoury, and the screen darkened. Then, it lights up again to show Raynor in the Laboratory listening to Ariel explaining what she learned about Terrazine.
"I've run a few tests on the Terrazine gas like you asked. It's clearly related to vespene gas, but there are some very exotic organics added into the mix." Ariel explained as that earned a raised eyebrow from Raynor. How interesting…
"Interesting…" Pietro muttered. "Terrazine has some properties similar to vespene but has very exotic organics added into the mix? What kind exactly?" Pietro wondered as Raynor could be seen on screen voicing his thoughts.
"Any guesses what it's used for?" He asked as Ariel continued and theorised on it.
"Well it would definitely affect brain chemistry, so it could be used as some kind of a drug or stimulant I suppose."
"Drug or stimulant?" Penny tilted her head. "Jorium stimulate brain activity or even produce psionic abilities. Terrazine acts as a stimulant as well. While my theory will likely be false, Tosh likely seeks to use these materials to build an army of next-generation Ghosts, as he puts it." Penny came to a conclusion.
"Hates Mengsk and wants to build an army. I think Tosh wants to use them to attack the Dominion." Glynda narrowed her eyes as she came to a conclusion.
"I only hope he restrains himself with it." Summer silently sighed as she knew her hope would likely be wasted on him.
"Drugs, huh? That's just wonderful." Raynor sarcastically commented as the screen pulled out and zoomed in on the Protoss Tank. But it was clear as day that massive changes had happened to it.
First, the yellow crystals shifted somehow, and now most are growing on the right side of the tank itself. Another apparent change was the presence of crystals on the top of the tank and close to the black sphere in the middle.
"Those crystals grow fast," Robyn observed before noticing something. "Is it me, or did the crystals move?" She asked as everyone narrowed their eyes at the tank and confirmed that the crystals somehow moved to the right.
"Yes. Yes, it did." Yang confirmed it without question.
"You're not going to question how it does that?" Blake asked her partner, who admitted.
"Nope."
As everyone expected it to happen, they all looked at Pietro as a beep could be heard from the tablet in his hands. Pietro took a couple of seconds to read through its contents as Penny could be seen peeking in onto the research log from the side.
"How interesting…" Pietro murmured. "It appears that Stetmann has concluded that the crystal possesses some sort of sentience."
"Uhh…" Ruby spoke up with hesitancy. "The crystal is aware of its surroundings?"
"Sort of friend, Ruby!" Penny enthusiastically spoke up. "The crystal possesses a level of awareness and cognitive ability, and according to Stetmann, it is responsive or conscious to its surroundings!"
"That's a load of complicated words…" Sun talked under his own breath.
"In short, it is aware of its surroundings and is sort of alive. Got it." Mercury was next.
"The next thing of interest was its ability to repair equipment. Stetmann had placed a broken nano-fabricator in the tank last night, and it was fixed the next day. He speculates that he could do amazing things with automated repair or even near-instant manufacturing of advanced AI weaponry. How fascinating." Pietro continued as everyone was lost in thoughts.
The ability to automate repairs sounds fantastic for those from Atlas, as those alone would cut down expenditures that go straight into maintenance costs. However, the same could be said with the idea of near-instant manufacturing of advanced AI weaponry.
They could use it to improve their robots and make them more effective in combat. Seeing that they still struggle heavily against those that possess an aura. For everyone else, the idea of free repairs and maintenance for their weapons also sounds fantastic! Who doesn't like free maintenance?
"Another thing of note. Stetmann has noticed that the energy stored in the crystal's matrix has not increased at all, even though the crystal continues to grow in size. How strange…" Pietro continued.
"Well, we know that thing's aware. It got to be putting all those extra energy outputs somewhere if its energy level stored hasn't changed." Kali wonders. "Ghira? Do you have an idea where they might have gone?"
The Belladonna patriarch lets out a grunt. "My guess is that it has to be feeding its excess energy into the Hyperion. Where else could it have gone then?"
"That's an interesting theory, Mr Belladonna!" Penny lively spoke up as RGQC finished his drink and chuckled quietly. Oh, how right he is.
The screen pulled out from the Protoss tank to show Raynor staring at the research console before clicking on an upgrade choice.
It was then that the realm lord chose to speak. "If you're curious about what Raynor chose, he has chosen the Science vessel. A Terran starship used for general exploration and scientific research purposes. It is unique as it can perform hull repairs on friendly mechanical units, irradiate biological targets and detect cloaked and burrowed enemies."
"Irradiate?" Fox raised an eyebrow and asked as QAI entered the conversation.
[The Science Vessel can target a unit with an aura of radioactive energy. While mechanical units are immune to its effects, biological units would die quickly from high radiation exposure. We have books and logs for more details. Be aware that this is something other than what we would like you to duplicate.]
…
RGQC coughed into his hand after a period of silence. "Yea… Radiation poisoning is extremely lethal and painful. There's not much you could do to stop it unless you have extremely advanced medical care, even by Remnant's standards."
…
"Anyways, let us resume!"
Once he was done, Raynor left the laboratory and soon found himself back on the Hyperion Bridge, where he talked to Matt about what had happened earlier.
"What do you make of that encrypted message, Matt?" Raynor asked Matt as he sounded unsure about the whole thing.
"I honestly don't know, Sir." Matt admits. "If Tosh really is one of these Spectres, it's clear Mengsk would try to ruin your partnership. But Tosh isn't telling us everything. If we're going to win this revolution…"
"We need to know what he is hiding." Ironwood concludes as those under him nod in agreement. Robyn, however, hesitates for a moment before nodding as well.
"Question is, what is he hiding?" Wiess adds in.
"I know... we have to be sure of our allies." Raynor agreed as he turned his head towards the console as Matt activated it. A map appeared on the screen to show three planets from the previous viewing and a new planet now available to visit called New Folsom.
Compared to all the planets they had seen of far; New Folsom looked the most artificial. It was clearly volcanic in nature, but that wasn't the only thing, as it had some sort of grid surrounding the entire planet.
"Oh look, a new destination!" Ruby points out.
"New Folsom… now why does that seem familiar…" Torchwick hummed as he rubbed his chin.
"Isn't that where Tychus was supposed to be dropped and locked in?" Neo added in.
"I smell a prison break coming soon." Emerald smirked as Cinder turned her eyes to her. Shutting Emerald up.
"Any bets that New Folsom is Tosh's target for his spectre programme?" Qrow asked as he got a few agreements in response.
"Any idea where we should go next, Matt?" Raynor asks as he stares at the screen before turning his head to his second.
"Sir, we still need to access the adjutant we retrieved from Tarsonis. Our old mercenary associate Colonel Orlan is an expert in Confederate code decryption." Matt gave his thoughts.
"If our intel's right, he should still be based at the merc-haven at Deadman's Port. He's not very trustworthy, but he's our best bet of breaking that encryption." Raynor nodded his head as he selected Deadman's Port as their destination.
"Yea. Matt, set a course to Deadman's Port."
"Understood sir." Matt nods his head as the screen darkens.
[Here's some additional information about Deadman's Port. It is the main settlement on the planet Deadman's Rock. The port is infamous for its lawlessness and is home to smugglers, pirates, and mercenary groups. However, it is remote enough to retain its independence despite antagonising every major Terran power.] QAI could be heard in the background.
"So, just lower Mistral at this point?" Torchwick spoke up as everyone turned their heads at him.
"And how did you know about that Torchwick?" Qrow asked as the criminal explained.
"Spend some time there, made some friends. And some enemies." Torchwick gave a small smile at Neo. "It wasn't that bad, but I had to move out when I made some pretty big enemies." He continued vaguely.
"I see…"
The screen lights up to show Matt looking at the screen looking at a sickly green planet that had scrap metal orbing around it. "Deadman's Port. It's risky just waiting here with all these mercenaries around." He states as Raynor walks in.
The camera cuts to Matt as he then utters his impatience. "Colonel Orlan's sure taking his time decrypting that adjutant for us."
Yeah, I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Raynor agreed. But before he or Matt could do anything, Adjutant could be heard giving an announcement.
"Incoming transmission."
"Who could it be?" Tai wondered as the realm lord just smirked. Oh, how Mira Han never ceases to entertain him.
"You know who." RGQC responded vaguely.
The screen then changes to show the screen displaying incoming transmission before a woman appears before both of them. What the audience first noticed was her hair dyed pink with goggles over her forehead. The next thing they noticed was that she had a cybernetic implant on where her right eye should be.
And compared to her green left eye, her implant eye was an overlarge pupil with a red iris and black sclera. Another thing was that some details appeared on Mira on the lower left part of the screen.
Mira Han
Alias: Mira Horner
Mercenary Leader
Death sentence in 12 systems
"So, this is Mira Han, the lady Matt married when he won a game of poker," Torchwick observed Mira in detail while giving a slight chuckle. "Something off about her, I tell ya."
"You think she's crazy?" Neo glanced at her boss before looking at Cinder in the back.
"Yea, getting crazy vibes from her."
"What a record. Marked for death sentence in 12 systems?" Mercury raised a curious eyebrow. "What did she do to earn that?"
"Being a large, influential and crazy mercenary will do that." RGQC answered truthfully as the screen resumed.
"James. Orlan decrypted your adjutant but he's planning to sell it to the Dominion. Must have been something exciting in there!" Mira then laughed before continuing on. "He wants me to keep you off his back until they arrive."
"And this is why you don't trust a mercenary. They can stab you in the back if they find the latter's deal more appealing." Ironwood growled rather angrily at what he was seeing now, understandably, since Loyalty is a big thing for him.
"Understandable, General Ironwood." RGQC agreed. "In the world of mercenaries, reputation matters."
"Why is that?" Ruby asked as he explained to everyone.
"Reputation is everything. If people know you as a mercenary who will double-cross their clients often, that will affect how potential customers view you. Do it too much, and fewer people will hire your services."
"So basically, this Orlan guy screwed himself over?" Yang was next to ask.
"Perhaps. I can only say that Orlan found something incredibly juicy that makes him want to hand it to the Dominion for a high price." RGQC finished off as everyone wondered.
What did he find inside that Confederate adjutant to make him want to sell it to the Dominion?
"That's nice, Mira, but why are you telling me all this?" Raynor asked.
"Because I like you and Matthew better than him, of course! Match Orlan's offer and I'll help you take him out instead. He's paying in minerals, so I'll give you the same deal." Mira explained herself as it cut to Raynor smiling.
"Done. Always a pleasure, Mira."
The screen cuts to show the surface of Deadman's Port and while most don't seem out of the ordinary there, what is apparent is the amount of scrap metal bundled up into boxes. A ridiculous amount. There were also vespene gas pallets as well. Mira could also be seen on the right side of the screen.
"Don't take too long now, if Orlan comes up with the goods first," Mira lets out a sad sigh. "I'll have to side with him. Oh and, um, say hello to Matthew for me; ask him why he never calls." Mira laughs as the camera swings off to the side to show Matt making an urgent "Don't tell her I'm here" wave with his hand.
"Ha ha! The look he gave!" Yang began cackling as others joined her. It was clear to everyone that Matt didn't want Mira to know he was there.
"Oh man, I want to hear more stories about this!" Sun added in.
Raynor just smiles and shakes his head as Mira closes the transmission. The screen cuts to show a man in some sort of hoverbike zooming across the terrain as he throws what was assumed to be a hook on a chain onto several large boxes of scrap metal.
"HOVERBIKE! What is it?!" Ruby squealed while those from Atlas noticed how it behaved, similar to the HVB Rhino transport vehicle they had back home.
"Patience Ruby, its name will be revealed later," RGQC assured her. "And I can explain the details to you.
The hoverbike then drove off as the boxes of scrap metal were towed along for the ride. "It's going to be hard to get minerals down there. We'll have to find salvage if we're going to hire Mira before Orlan does." Matt explained before the screen cuts Raynor.
"Think she'll help Orlan sir?"
Matt asked his commander as Raynor assured him. "She's a mercenary. She'll help whoever pays the most." And so, the screen darkens.
"I see…" Cinder hummed. "It is a race to see who can gather the minerals to pay Mira first."
"Similar to that other mission Raynor did to gather Jorium minerals for Tosh?" Emerald adds in as Cinder nods.
"That appears to be the case…"
The screen lit up to show an orbital command, Barracks and Factory flying alongside Raynor's dropship onto a suitable location for a base. But everyone noticed something, the mineral fields looked pretty depleted.
"That's not much minerals to start out with." Weiss observed.
"Then if that's the case, Weiss, they will have to scrounge it up somewhere like that guy on a hoverbike." Blake hummed as she took a bite out of a Taiyaki (Fish shaped cake with fillings inside.) filled with custard since she heard it was both her alternative husband's and daughter's favourite snack.
Recommended by her daughter, of course. Turns out she can be quite the food person. Must have gotten that from her dad. Who, according to her daughter, would cook dishes for all of them.
And soon, five marines could be seen leaping out of the dropship while all of Raynor's buildings landed and began getting to work. SCVs left the command centre while Marines gathered nearby scrap boxes and brought them back to the command centre.
At the same time, Raynor appeared on the screen to issue orders. "Alright boys, we've got a deal with Mira Han! Now let's get to work and get that adjutant back!" Raynor yelled out as a tag appeared on the screen's top right. It shows the number of minerals Raynor needs to collect to pay Mira.
And it helpfully shows the amount of Minerals Orlan had at the moment.
"Wow. It looks like a race to pay Mira first. I think Raynor has to balance his spending similarly to the mining mission on Redstone III" Jaune observed. "Since both sides are mining to 6000 first, I think he could sabotage Orlan's mining efforts in the meantime."
"An astute observation Jaune." RGQC offered a smile at Jaune, who blushed at the compliment.
SCVs could be seen mining minerals or constructing refineries before a pod landed and opened. Revealing a yellow robot that began to harvest minerals alongside the SCVs.
"Oh look! It's those MULE machine thingies." Nora points out as Matt appears on the screen.
"Pirates have been stripping down ships here for years; it should be pretty easy to collect enough scrap to pay Mira off." He said as more drop pods arrive to deliver more manpower. At the same time, a siege tank soon left the factory, and so did a medic.
"Raynor really loves his siege tanks, huh?" Tai chuckled.
"Yea, who could blame him? Those tanks are quite good at their jobs." Summer smiled at her husband. "You know, I wouldn't mind exploring the gardens or forest. With RGQC's permission."
"Yea, I have it." RGQC waved his hands for a bit. "My realm is so large that it could be considered infinite. I still have plenty of space if I want to add other stuff. But I have a forest I like to hang out in when I want some time with nature. The same could be said with other climates, including a magical forest."
"That sounds wonderful! It would be nice to go on a picnic during our break. What do you think, Ruby?"
"That sounds awesome, mom! Can we bring my friends along?" Ruby enthusiastically asked her mother, who nodded.
"Of course dear, your friends can join us."
"Yes!"
During that time, Orlan's mineral count had reached the thousand as Raynor was spending those precious minerals getting his base up. And the audience knows it as well. Soon, they see the Siege tank that exited the factory sieged up and eviscerated a mercenary marine watching over a scrap metal.
"Oh… Overkill…" Coco cringed as there was literally nothing left of that marine. The poor fella was reduced to red mist with a single shot. Everyone else could only cringe at how what they saw reminded them how dangerous all these weapons were.
Raynor's forces moved in and began dragging the scrap piles back to the command centre as soon as that marine was removed from existence. It was during that time that Mira appeared on screen.
"I left a little present out here for you and Matthew. I never got to give it to him last time you boys were here!" She said while simultaneously, a dropship could be seen landing before four hoverbikes the audience saw earlier exiting it.
"Hoverbikes! I wanna ride them in a race!"
"Similar to the reaper suits? That sounds like a good idea Nora." Jaune smiled as several nods agreed with that idea.
"I doubt any of us know how to drive it, perhaps Yang, since she has experience with Bumblebee." Weiss muttered as Yang gave a smirk.
"Damn straight!" Only for Neo to shoot her with her words.
"I'll still beat ya in the race even if you have experience fat tits!"
Hearing Neo's comment made Yang sputter before roaring at the midget. "FAT TITS?!"
"Ok! Ok! Save the insults for later, ladies!" RGQC put his foot down as he stood up. "My goodness, you two, can you just get along huh? Must I lock both of you in a room so you could makeup or something?" RGQC folds his arms while giving the stink eye at both Neo and Yang.
Hearing what RGQC said, those who noticed the double entendre in RGQC's words blushed at the thought. Neo and Yang also blushed before calming down begrudgingly due to the realm lord glaring at them for disrupting the show. They will settle this rivalry of theirs at a later date.
"Before we were so wonderfully interrupted," RGQC spoke with sarcasm in his tone before it became relaxed. "Those hoverbikes are called Vultures. They are hoverbikes used mainly for scouting, but thanks to their shoddy engineering, they have a reputation as a death-trap for their riders. Nevertheless, it is still considered a classic piece of engineering by Terran enthusiasts."
"Ok… Perhaps we shouldn't have a race with them." Pyrrha was the first to speak after realising that the Vultures could kill them, thanks to how poorly they were made.
RGQC just waved his hand nonchalantly. "I wouldn't worry about that. The Vultures I possess have that deadly flaw removed. Wouldn't want it killing any more my guests or myself in the process."
"Cool! Thanks!" Yang smile. "I was worried about it exploding on us or something."
"That's what made it a death trap. In fact, it has a chance to explode or leak radioactive waste from its batteries."
"Oh."
"Yup…"
…
"Anyways, let us continue." RGQC shrugged as the screen resumed.
Upon the arrival of 4 Vultures, Tychus could only ask in surprise. "Damn Jimmy, are those Vulture bikes?" He asks as Raynor takes over the conversation.
"Good eye, Tychus. We can use 'em to lay mines around our base to hold off Orlan."
"Spider mines?" Ironwood and several others raised their eyes curiously.
"Yup!" RGQC said before summoning one into his hands, which was much bigger than the audience expected. "These buggers burrow into the ground to hide their presence, and once a hostile gets within range of these mines. Then, they unborrowed from the ground, pursue their targets, and then explode for maximum damage."
The realm lord explained as the spider mine in his hands tried to wiggle out to freedom.
"It looks kinda cute." Ruby admits before a portal appears next to the realm lord. RGQC then tossed the mine into the portal before it closed.
"Those things are heavier than they look." RGQC dusted his hands before the screen continued.
The Vultures riders began driving off onto chock points of Raynor's base, and as soon as they reached their destinations, each vulture dropped a mine onto the ground as they drove off to another location.
As for the spider mines themselves, they began to glow red as it activated and, the very next second, drilled themselves into the ground and hid underneath the ground and away from sight.
"Well, you look at that. We can't even see them at all!" Coco says as Velvet is next.
"I guess this is where detectors come in?"
"Correct, Velvet." RGQC smiled at the rabbit Faunus, earning a blush from her. "While the mines are hazardous, they are so volatile that a single shot and destroy them. Just don't try to melee it, for it will explode in your face."
This earned chuckles from everyone as the screen continued.
With the base defended with mines and another siege tank, Raynor's men headed north and encountered massive claws picking up wrecked metal and drop-feed them into a gigantic shredder on the ground. Not too far away from it were two huge boxes of scrap metal.
"This must be one of the local salvage operations." Winter observed as Raynor's men cleared it of mercenaries before the Vultures began dragging the scrap metal back to the Orbital command.
"A somewhat reliable source for minerals." Pietro hummed. "I believe they would have to rely on them to manufacture the needed gear. The amount of minerals in his base seemed fairly depleted."
"That appears to be the case father!" Penny added.
As the large heap of scrap were dragged off, Raynor's mineral level shot up by a decent amount, but they were still lagging behind Orlan by a thousand. Knowing this was the case, Raynor's men pushed north until they encountered what looked like one of Orlan's auxiliary bases.
And they were mining minerals off it.
Another thing everyone noticed was that compared to Raynor's men painted blue, Orlan's men had a dark orange paint job on them. They even looked slightly different, as some of their armour looked salvaged.
"Another base under Orlan. Destroying it would nodoubt slow him down by a margin." Robyn concluded as everyone agreed with her.
"Alright boys! The commander wants that base destroyed or captured, so defend the tank while it deals with the mercs!" One of the marines could be heard giving out orders.
"Understood!" Everyone else replied as the Siege tank sieged up and began shelling the Orlan's mercenaries defending his aux base. At the same time, Vultures zipped by and began launching grenades without slowing down at Orlan's SCV.
"Oh my goodness Renny! I didn't know they had grenade launchers inside those bikes! I WANT ONE!" Nora began vibrating like a motorboat before Ren tied her up with a rope.
"Nora…"
"Aw… Why you got to do that, Renny?" Nora pouts while Ren shakes his head.
"You're getting too excited."
"Where did you get the rope anyways?" Weiss asked with an eye raised.
"RGQC passed it to me days back. Just in case Nora gets too excited." Ren answered as RGQC could be seen drinking his cup.
"Yup."
Soon, Raynor's forces and Orlan's mercenaries got into a firefight. But the defenders were quickly overwhelmed thanks to the presence of Siege tanks. Once all the defenders were wiped out, Marines could be seen barging into the command centre and securing it.
"Get on the fucking ground with your hands to your backs, or a bullet is going through your fucking skull!" One marine with a smiley face on his visor yells outs. While at the same time, numerous personals could be seen lying on the ground with fear and panic on their faces.
"Talk about being a dick here. They already surrendered, didn't they?" Sun spoke his annoyance.
"Hate to be those guys right now." Ilia muttered.
"Sheesh, there's no need to be so aggressive with them." Another marine with his visor up and a beard rests his hand on the first marine. "Gather them up. The commander wants us to escort them back to base while our guys take over and run the place."
That earned a scoff from the first marine. "Whatever. Alright you lazy fucks! You heard him, so get up and get moving!" He yells outs as every single mercenary worker followed their orders.
The camera zooms out to show multiple drop pods raining down before more personnel arrive to man the captured command center. Simultaneously the audience could only watch as the command center began to transform before their eyes.
"What's going on? What's happening to the command center?" Ruby asked as QAI answered her curiosity.
[With Raynor already giving his Command centers the ability to become Orbital commands, it is fitting that he put this new base to work and upgrade it to grant him the ability to call down more MULEs.]
"I assume this is similar to the ability to upgrade them into Planetary Fortresses?" Ironwood added his thoughts in.
[Correct General. Note that the upgrading process is permanent and cannot be reverted upon completion.]
Raynor's mineral count also shot up during that time as the rest of his forces were either escorting mercenary prisoners or collecting nearby salvage. During that time, they also found a Protoss relic among the wreckage and scrap metal.
"Huh. What's that doing there?" Robyn raised an eyebrow.
"I suppose someone was trying to smuggle those relics out." Ilia was next, followed by Neo.
"Doesn't matter; they're Raynor's now."
As of counting, Orlan was close to halfway into paying Mira, while Raynor's mineral count was 500 minerals behind him. The screen then pans towards Raynor's base, and he has nearly exhausted his mineral fields thanks to the introduction of MULEs.
"He's almost out of minerals in his base…" Kali muttered with concern while Ghira just grunted in response.
"I believe there is another source nearby. He just needs to search and clear it of Orlan's mercenaries.
Just south of Raynor's base, there were numerous body parts, blood everywhere, and pieces of scrap metal. While all of them did cringe at the bloody sight, it did not take long for everyone to figure out what had happened. Some of Orlan's men tried to attack Raynor's base from the south, only to get too close to the mines.
"Talk about going out with a bang?" Yang joked, only to get deadpan stares from everyone. "Look, RGQC recommend me to go for different forms of jokes, and I want to try it out, ok?" Yang just folded her arms as she grumbled.
Everyone slowly turned their heads towards the realm lord, who so happened to be drinking midway. "Well, more like small talk but yea, her puns need some improvement. Better help her out before she kills someone with it."
"Hey!"
"I've seen people in the multiverse kill others in a literalist debate that caused their opponents to die of a heart attack. I don't want to know if people can actually die from awful jokes." RGQC stated as everyone gave a ludicrous stare at the realm lord.
"Are… you serious?" Winter hesitantly asked.
"Please tell me you're joking." Ironwood deadpanned. Never had he heard something so absurd!
[Master is correct, Specialist Schnee. There are cases of mortals in the multiverse dying after getting 'utterly annihilated' in a debate. Sorry to say this, master, but there are cases of bad jokes killing people.]
"Are you fo- ugh, oh my god!" RGQC slammed his palm to his face as he let out a frustrated groan. "If that isn't the most embarrassing way to die, I don't know what is!"
"Are you serious?" Neptune began chuckling alongside others.
[We should resume.]
"Thank you." RGQC groaned.
The screen resumed as Raynor's men moved south to secure more scrap and clear the area of Orlan's mercenaries. There was also another Protoss relic amongst the wreckage nearby.
Thankfully most of the scrap piles were lightly defended and easily secured by his men. Even the Siege tank is getting involved with the whole salvaging operation as it towed large boxes of scrap away.
"Remind me again how much we're paying this friend of our boss to join our side?"
"Uhh… let's just say a lot."
"Really? Sounds like a scam to me."
"Do you really want to storm that Orlan's base without help? I heard they got siege tanks up there. Are you willing to take the first shot? I doubt I can heal you from taking a shock cannon to the face. Wanna find out?"
"Nope. We're good!"
Chuckles could be heard among the audience after witnessing the banter between Raynor's forces.
Once they had gathered all the available scrap in the area, Mira appeared on screen as Raynor had successfully collected half of the payment. "Huh, you've already got half the payment I asked for. You're a fast worker, Jim. Send me Matthew and we'll call it even."
"Are you sure Mira isn't insane over Matt?" Jaune asked the Realm lord, who shrugged.
"Perhaps. It can be hard to get a read on crazy people. Does she genuinely love Matt, or is it just because she is married to him? Either way, it doesn't change the fact that she's… obsessed with Matt."
"That's honestly creepy now that you mention it." Pyrrha muttered as everyone nodded in agreement.
Raynor's men continued pushing south and encountered another of Orlan's auxiliary bases. And this one had even more guards with the presence of a mercenary goliath, and while that usually would be a problem for them, they have a siege tank.
I mean two siege tanks. And so, the goliath threat was instantly vapourised into nothing but scrap, and so things went smoothly as they did for the first auxiliary base they took.
"So far, so good," Ozpin muttered as Raynor's mineral count surpassed Orlan's by a thousand. "However, I doubt getting that adjutant will be easy."
"What makes you say that, Oz?" Qrow then asks as Ozpin closes his eyes for a second.
"It's a gut feeling, friend. You know it well, don't you?"
"Yea… Ozpin is right. This seemed too easy. Something's up." Tai added in as Raven turned her eyes to the realm lord who was listening in. RGQC made a subtle explosion gesture while mouthing something that Raven couldn't decipher.
With the area secured and after some time for healing and repairs, Raynor's men pushed west and encountered even more scrap to collect and Orlan's mercenaries. They were dealt with too quickly, thanks to Raynor outranging the mercenaries with siege tanks, and they soon stumbled onto another auxiliary mining base.
At this point, Orlan's gathering of minerals has slowed to a crawl as Raynor's ahead of him by two thousand and rapidly approaching a total of six thousand.
"Looks like Raynor's going to reach the mineral needed to pay for Mira's service first!" Penny says again with enthusiasm.
"And with her help, I'm sure they can reclaim the adjutant without issue." Weiss spoke confidently though still queasy from seeing so much blood and bits of bodies from earlier.
"Very nice, you're almost there, Jim! I'll get my crew ready for some Orlan-bashing." Mira appeared on screen and gave a crazed grin. Clear to all that she's eager for a chance to work with Raynor and sick her crew onto Orlan.
"Almost there boys, just a few more scraps and we can pay Mira off." Raynor appeared on screen next as our dear audience watched as Raynor's men pushed even harder and secured the third mining base.
And once they did and gathered all the minerals to pay Mira for her services, the camera pans over just southwest of Raynor's forces to show a massive Terran base with pink as its primary colour. Plus, the emblems on every single person all point that these people are part of Mira's crew.
"That's a lot of men in her crew," Torchwick says as his eyes widen. Just how powerful is Mira to possess this many people under her?
"And not only that, her siege tanks and goliaths look modified to the extreme," Neo added.
"What are those people, RGQC?" Cinder purred as the realm lord answered their questions.
"Looks like Mira's packing considerable force of mercenary units. War Pigs, Hammer Securities, Spartan Company and Siege Breakers. Plus, diamondbacks as well."
"I supposed they are the mercenary versions of marines, marauders, goliaths and siege tanks?" Ozpin guesses as RGQC nods his head.
"Right on the dot, headmaster Ozpin."
"Alright, Mira - we both know you're rippin' me off - but I'm gonna hire you anyway." Raynor says as Mira expresses her eagerness to be working with Raynor again.
"My forces are yours, Jim. I'm so glad I got to side with you and Matthew!"
Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed as Orlan voiced his outrage at getting 'backstabbed' "Oh you scheming little - ! I'll show you what happens to double-dealing backstabbers."
"Someone's being a hypocrite." Neptune chuckled.
"Yea, didn't he go back on Raynor's deal first? Karma right back at ya." Sun smiled
"And it's payback time!" Nora cackled out while still tied up.
And with the combination of Raynor's and Mira's crew, they steamrolled a path straight for Orlan's base, and when they did, the roar of shock cannons unleashed their payloads into the Orlan's base as a 'brawl' began.
Marines and marauders exchange fire on each other, goliaths supporting the ground while occasionally dealing with a flyer in the sky in the form of a fighter ship that crashed as soon as a single missile hit its cockpit. As if to make it even more chaotic, several Vikings who looked more different suddenly swooped in and changed into their Assault mode before firing.
"If you are wondering, those mercenary Vikings are called Hel's Angels."
"That's… a pretty badass name for them," Yang mutters.
But even they were overwhelmed by the number of siege tanks in Raynor's and Mira's armies. With the front-line defences into Orlan's base broken, their army pushed deeper, only for Orlan to give an ominous taunt.
"I got a little present heading your way."
As if to drive to the point, Raynor's Adjutant gave an alert that probably gave team RWBY PTSD after Nora's nuclear festival. "Nuclear launch detected."
"Uh oh." Summer looked worried upon hearing the alert as the faces, especially team RWBY, paled. They had seen the destructive power of nukes. Thanks to that game, RGQC allowed some of them to participate to see that a bloody merc has access to a nuke scares them.
Recognising what every one of them was thinking, RGQC stepped in. "I can assure you that Orlan doesn't have access to a nuke; it originates from the Dominion Ghost deeper in his base. QAI care to show us the Ghost?"
[Understood. Zooming in.] QAI responds to its master command as the screen move to show a cloaked Dominion Ghost with his sniper out and painting a target. And at where he pointed his sniper was a red dot.
"I see… I assume that he's there to retrieve the adjutant from Orlan." Raven muttered as RGQC nodded his head.
"Yea. And he's waiting for transport to take it away."
"That red dot. That's where the nuke's gonna land?" Ilia points out, as RGQC confirms.
"Correct."
"NUKE INCOMING! GET MOVING NOW!" "OH FUCK!" MOVE NOW! GO, GO GO!" "HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET A NUKE HERE?!"
Among many were the responses as everyone ran away for their lives and away from the red dot in the base. And soon, the camera pans up to show the missile coming down. What quickly followed was an explosion and a shockwave that caused everyone to duck and cover.
"Witnessing a nuke and experiencing it are two separate feelings…" Glynda admits as everyone watched as the flash subsided into a mushroom cloud, and the land itself was scarred and burned. Leaving only a crater where the missile landed.
"Yea… It is something alright. I pray we would never develop something similar to this…" Tai slowly spoke up as the screen continued onwards.
"Bombs dropped. Let's take back what's ours." One of Mira's mercenaries muttered as they all resumed pushing into Orlan's base. Bullets and explosions reigned the battlefield as the lower levels of Orlan's base were overwhelmed and forced back into the upper levels.
Sniping out Orlan's tanks with his own, Raynor and Mira's forces pushed in to destroy Orlan's planetary fortress. Things got even more complicated when a battlecruiser working for Orlan suddenly warped in just high above his planetary fortress, its shadow encompassing much of the base.
Much to everyone's shock at the battlecruiser's sudden appearance.
"What the?!" Torchwick was startled by the sudden appearance of a battlecruiser. "Where did that come from?!"
"Dammit! They can't fight that thing with what they had!" Qrow was next.
"Then there's only one thing to do, take out that fortress as fast as they can! There's no other way but to force Orlan to surrender." Ironwood yelled out before recomposing himself.
"If he had that the whole time, why didn't he use it to being with?" Ruby wondered.
"Must be busy with something." Yang muttered.
"This seriously reminds me of a plot twist moment…" Blake was next as the screen continued on.
As all that was going on, every man in Raynor and Mira received a transmission from their commander. "Ah hell… All forces focus fire on Orlan's planetary fortress! Now!"
Raynor yelled as Orlan's battlecruiser began laying down laser batteries on everyone below. And in a hint of desperation at the sudden change of the situation and orders from Raynor himself, everyone fired everything they had at Orlan's base.
ATS laser batteries rained from the skies as everyone poured their combined firepower onto Orlan's planetary fortress, ripping the entire building to shreds as its twin Ibiks cannons were damaged beyond repair and ceased to function.
"How is that thing not going down yet?" Neo wondered.
[Planetary fortresses are more resilient than command centers.]
It must be either sheer balls or desperation, but Orlan suddenly ran out of his planetary fortress and yelled at them to stop firing at his base. "Alright! Alright! I surrender! Just take your damn adjutant already!" He pants out. "Everyone! Cease firing now!"
Most of the younger audience cheered as Orlan surrendered all while on screen, and everyone ceased shooting at each other. Including the battlecruiser high above in the skies. Raynor then appeared on the screen.
"I oughta do the universe a favor and put you down, Orlan. It's too bad I might need to hire you some day." He paused for a second to gather his thoughts. "Mira, do me a favor, keep him on ice."
Mira just laughed with amusement at Raynor's request and obliged. "You got it, Raynor. I will keep the snake safe and sound for you. I will even do it for free!" And with that, the screen darkens, ending the mission with success.
"How kind of her." Torchwick chuckled as RGQC just smiled, stood up and stretched his back when suddenly, a voice called out to the realm lord.
"Master RGQC, could I borrow some of your time?"
"Huh? Who was that?" Ruby asked as the realm lord looked surprised.
"Huh… I wonder what's all that about? He rarely leaves the world tree…" He wondered before extending his hand out while, at the same time, a portal appeared. "Ratatoskr, you called?" RGQC asked as a rather giant squirrel wearing Nordic clothes and sporting an eyepatch over his left eye jumped through the portal and landed on the realm lord's arm.
"Ah, master RGQC, while normally I would stay in the world tree and send one of my spectral aspects to speak with you, today's a special occasion." The squirrel explained as he noticed everyone staring at him with awe, surprise, or bewilder by his appearance. "Oh! I wasn't aware you have guests here!"
"Well… yea, sorry about that, Ratatoskr. I didn't see the need to inform everyone in my realm about our guests staying here." RGQC sheepishly scratched the back of his head as Ratatoskr began crawling all over the realm lord and sat on his shoulder.
"It is ok, Master RGQC. We don't need to know what you are doing at the moment. I see you've got yourself a new look; it reminds me of Mökkurkálfi. Though it appears you're more metal than flesh. How uncanny." Ratatoskr commented as everyone watched the realm lord talk to a squirrel.
"Is RGQC really talking to a giant squirrel?" Tai wondered as he turned his eyes to his team members.
"We've seen stranger things in this realm Tai, a giant bird that can turn into a little girl and a rainbow sheep that turns into a boy wearing a dress. But, on the other hand, a talking squirrel seemed less strange than them right now." Raven muttered.
"Well, he seems friendly enough. What's this world tree he mentioned?" Summer scratched her head in uncertainty.
"Ah yes, back to our conversation, Master RGQC." Ratatoskr cheerfully spoke up. "I'd like to ask if the realms will participate in this new year's celebration. I love the chance to enjoy those scrumptious sausage rolls you always make on such an occasion."
"Really? It's that part of the year already?" RGQC was stumped by what he heard as QAI stepped in.
[Ratatoskr speaks the truth, master. We have 1.74 days before the annual Christmas festival officially begins.]
"Christmas festival? Huh? What's that?" Ilia muttered as she looked at Blake, who shrugged back.
"Ah! Master QAI, I see you're doing well today. Everything running smoothly outside the world tree?"
[Affirmative.]
QAI's answer got a groan from Ratatoskr. "Ah, still as laconic as Perfectionism, I see." RGQC just chuckled at the scene.
[Yes.]
RGQC then coughed into his hand. "Well then, since all of you are here, you might as well join us in the Christmas event I usually prepare at the end of the year back on Earth."
"Really? That sounds great!"
"Yup! Just go and have your break now. I'll call ya when we're ready."
RGQC waved as everyone left the theatre room. And once they did, he muttered. "Alright. Let's get to work. Time for Christmas." He smiled as Ratatoskr ran into his portal while RGQC vanished.
And so, Cutthroat is done! So, whatcha think about it? And yes, that was a Terra Invicta reference as well as an introduction of two new characters. Arlor Ampbell, a fellow realm lord of RGQC and Ratatoskr, with his own world tree. Another thing you will notice is that yes. I have plans to make a Christmas chapter soonish.
For sure, before next year starts. I promise
I also planned to drop an author as soon as possible to answer your reviews and explain my plans for December. Anyways, if you like my work and want to see more of it in the future, favourite and follow this work of mine.
If you liked what you had just read and want to voice your thoughts, both good or bad. Leave a review. I will answer it if it is relevant or intends to address it. And it motivates me to keep it going in this reaction story of mine.
Other than that, I will see ya guys in the next chapter soon.
RGQC out!