It hadn't taken the regimented force of Ex-Soviet Military personnel, French Foreign Legionnaires and the Misfits themselves too long to load up. The moment the wounded young woman had explained to them all the situation that had developed in her home village, something seemed to snap within each man and woman present, to the point the entire Task Force, counting maybe sixty soldiers in total, moved in together. So three Platoons arrayed to surround their target and eliminated it, pushed forward.
The acrid scent of smoke from the fires set within the village itself filled their nostrils as they approached. The farming village of 'Keiko's Den', supposedly an old smugglers' area now turned into a farming village, glowed in a blaze ahead of them. The rows of neatly ordered vines and fruit-bearing trees choked under the black clouds or burned themselves as people ran away from the village, trying to avoid both the Grimm and the Bandits within.
Quiet and sharp, Rangers, FFL and East-Europeans pushed in, weapons at the ready. A true trial for the youngbloods and a reminder for the Misfits of what they were fighting against before their untimely demises. Leading from the front, Aleksandr, Hassan and Jim pushed by picket fences and light defenses and past the gates, finding the neatly arranged rows of houses ablaze. They heard the screams of the villagers around them as their comrades moved around to secure any entrance and exit into the village.
They saw people running in the town square and heard gunfire as the rest of their unit pushed in beside them. Diana and her Romanian compatriot prepared their weapons, with the girl giving a nod to the trio of Rangers as if to tell them they were their COs for this one. Alex Ryan, the team PJ, nodded in agreement, though his face denoted aggravation at the sight of civilians being wounded.
Some people hid behind the burning houses. Others lay, dead or wounded. Aleksandr looked at the man, convened almost psychically with his Ranger buddies, then gave him a nod of approval, simply motioning to Diana to provide support. The Romanian Sergeant, her compatriot and Alex all nodded, the lattermost smiling as he ran off to help the wounded, many of which were Faunus.
Anya appeared beside the trio with a platoon of her own, donning her uniform and a makeshift plate armor set. She thumbed the selector of her AK to full-auto, then looked to the boys. With a series of hand chops, Aleksandr coordinated the strike teams, squads pushing into the town to rescue civilians and combat the Bandit raid as the fires around them raged, singeing them with ash and choking them up with soot.
Outside, the other members of the platoons surrounded the town as ordered, with a female Foreign Legionnaire leading the way to the Northern Gate. She poked her head past the wall, HK-416 in hand. She peered down the ACOG, down the main boulevard, at the sight of what seemed to be a Samurai, almost. Clad in dark-red armor, flowing black hair marked with crow's feathers and a red headdress with white lines. Her sword was massive, intricate and seemed to almost glow.
It also looked far more futuristic than a simple Katana like the edgy kids back in the day would carry. The FFL soldier primed a grenade, watching the rest of her squad fan into the place as well. They also prepared their frags, Alexi close behind them with his Bulgarian AK in hand. He pulled out an F1, pulled the pin, then, alongside the soldiers around him, long-armed the fragmentation grenade forward.
A rain of explosives came down upon the woman and her escorts. She heard the grenades, swiveled about and cut three mid-flight, causing them to detonate against her blade, which shattered. Scoffing and glaring at the group, her scarlet eyes glowed from behind a Grimm mask. The Warhound rolled in at the other entrance, its fifty tearing into Grimm trying to attack fleeing civilians and manned, obviously, by Robert.
In the middle of the village, the woman herself scoffed as one of her Bandit troops ran up to her. The grenades around them detonated, shattering the auras of several of her troops, which further served to anger her. She looked at the man that'd run up to her and asked, "What?" with fury boiling under the otherwise subsided inquiry. The man shook his head, realizing that the woman already knew. She mumbled to herself, "I heard Oz got a few new soldiers, but I didn't think he'd already drop them after me. Crazy old man must hate me..." before barking, "ALRIGHT, BOYS AND GIRLS! WHOEVER BRINGS THE MOST HEADS GETS A BIGGER SHARE OF THE LOOT! KILL THEM ALL!"
Bad move...
The Rangers, FFL and VDV pushed. Gunfire filled the air as the Bandits engaged them from the cover of burnt-out houses and from behind overturned vehicles and furniture. The Soviets shot accurately, Anya's rifle going off silently through the crackling flames and the sounds of screaming. She and her friends guided civilians out of harm's way. Pushing to the left and into an alley, Jim and a pair of riflemen engaged with some of the Raiders, firing bursts into them.
Anya sighed deeply and said, "The huilo have Aura!" only to surge forward and body-slam one of them to the floor. She put the barrel of her rifle right to his chest and squeezed the trigger, letting the weapon holler until she ran out of ammo in her current bakelite magazine. With said expended Igolnik rounds, there was suddenly a flash of light, followed by a pool of blood.
The pincer continued, road by road and alley by alley. Jim lead the way forward into the alley, firing into the backs of retreating enemies while Anya and the VDV advanced parallel to them. It was an interesting way of intercepting enemies, having both lanes covered in order to engage them. The soldiers reloaded on the run, gunning for the hostiles. Jim aimed for the head and fired in bursts.
The first man's Aura burst, then his brain burst through his face. He toppled over like a bowling pin, washing his buddy in a bloody mess of brains and bone. A rifle butt struck the other guy in the side of the head and the FFL female, a dark-skinned beauty with short, chin-length, standard hair, pinned the man's head to the floor with her boot and, without hesitation, twisted, the man's spine popping.
The Ranger and FFL member nodded to each-other, then advanced to meet the other hostiles, firing and beating the crap out of them. The VDV and their Ranger command team pushed, too, with the Warhound close behind firing its fifty caliber MG at the Grimm still, Robert murmuring to himself, "Of course, they leave me on monster cleanup duty, for fuck's sake..." and grinning. He wasn't upset. It was catharsis in a way, being able to just hold down the trigger of the fifty caliber MG.
Aleksandr and Hassan moved forward with the agility of gazelles, their blades and weapons drawn. Hassan slit a man's throat mid-Aura puncture, then fired a burst into the next one's head. Two shots collapsed the Aura and a third took the skull cap off. They, the VDV and the French linked up, rifles barking still as they tightened the noose around the Bandits.
The Bandits themselves charged, clubs and makeshift blades drawn. Hassan ducked under one, slammed into him and used his muscle mass to lift the man off the floor, throwing him over the head by utilizing his own momentum against him. He then spun about, knelt next to him and grabbed him in a neck lock before pulling his arms back in opposite directions. The man's neck audibly snapped as Hass stood to his feet and grabbed his weapon again.
Aleks grabbed him and pushed him out of the way of what looked like one of those magical anime sword slashes, then fired a burst at the woman that had swung. She deflected the shots utilizing her blade, which cracked visibly, before she paused and let out a laugh. She then spoke, "If it isn't Goodie Two-Shoes Soshkin..." as she examined him. A ragged uniform with running colors and a tired look. With a smirk, she added, "Sure has been a while, Soldier. Didn't know Ozpin hired you."
"Raven," Soshkin scoffed, helping Hass to his feet as the troops surrounded the surviving bandits. He replied to her, "Ozpin didn't hire me... Well, not yet," then cast a glance at his confused friends. Hassan, most of all, stared at him like he was speaking in riddles. He then explained to them, "I and Raven Branwen here met while I was still travelling through Mistral. About two years ago now?"
"We've had other run-ins in the intervening time there," She said with an almost amused tone, "But yeah."
"I almost forgot you've been on this planet longer than the rest of us, Aleks," Hass murmured as he trained his smartscope on the woman's masked face. He asked her, "Why attack a village? Trying to send a message, or just looking for a thrill?"
"Wanted to test out if those little birdies that have been chirping in my ear were right," The woman admitted, taking her mask off to reveal an incredibly familiar face, only with scarlet eyes instead of purple and with black hair instead of blonde. Diana, Hassan and Jim had specifically reacted with a lot of surprise at the sight, though, with Raven grinning and stating, "Guess they were... There's more people like you here."
"You might want to drop that weapon," Warned Anya, keeping her aim on the woman.
Raven snorted and said, "I'm keeping it, thanks," before looking at Soshkin. She told him, "Been nice seeing you again, Aleksandr. Don't go dying before I wring your neck myself," only to... Swing her blade all around, a scarlet whirlpool forming around her and her surviving Troops, enveloping them and causing them to disappear. Aleksandr sighed deeply, then swore under his breath as everyone else lowered their weapons.
"Well," Sighed Alex as he approached them, taking off his bloody latex gloves and tossing them into one of the still-burning fires as clouds started forming overhead. He shrugged and said, "That could've gone better..." as rain began to fall on their heads, slowly extinguishing the fire and soaking their otherwise bloody clothes. He told them, "I managed to treat all of the Civvies, thank God for that..." with a little bit of anger in his voice.
"That's our PJ," Jim quipped, smiling and giving his buddy a pat on the shoulder. Alex smiled back and gave a thumbs up.
"Mind telling us what that was about, Aleksandr?" Alexi asked as he joined them, slinging his rifle onto his back. He looked over to see Hass being just as curious, before continuing, "I think it'd be a good thing to know what you've been up to for the three years you've been on Remnant," and he waited for Aleks's reaction. The American Ranger nodded, then showed them to follow him to the Warhound. Best to tell this story over a drink, he thought, even as the Civvies here, one of which was the Chief, thanked them.
The Soviets could hopefully deal with HUMAID.
Vale, the girls' place
Ayesha was out alone for a change, simply buying groceries (and booze) for the household. Like Vesna and Lita, she needed time to be alone with her thoughts. To process what had happened to them. In her case, it was the implosion of Russia to such a degree that left a deep enough mark on her psyche. Added upon that being the fact that her own people had caused so much pain and suffering in the past and currently and she wasn't exactly proud to be what she was born as. Thankfully, she'd gotten out of Chechnya and out of their damned faith ahead of time.
She didn't much pray anymore. Yet when she'd died and come about, she woke up and found Vesna moments later, scared and alone, but making her way through this weird place that was Remnant. When she'd seen those scared blue eyes suddenly turn into the joyful, tearful ones she'd seen that day, some part of Ayesha's religiousness came back in full force, because God had to have been merciful enough to put her in the same area as one of her best friends.
Then came Lita, the psychotic little shortstack. Then Vera, Vesna's beloved sister/cousin. Despite everything and despite how cold Vera first acted, Ayesha was glad to have finally met her. Lita seemed open, too, though she hadn't been the same since her little issues with Jim. Ah, of course, the boys... They were still missing them. Victor should've dropped somewhere by now, considering he'd died before Li and her.
Hassan... She sighed deeply and smiled, remembering the scraggly little Malay man from Flint, Michigan. Always a gun nut, always a lovable goof to some degree despite his usual deadpan when they were in KFOR. He'd always been nice to her, always brought some trinket or another to her. Some of which she still kept, she thought as she pulled out a Trench Lighter made out of the casing of a Dushka's cartridge.
She wasn't a smoker, but she appreciated it. A memento of Kosovo...
She sighed, stowing it back into her pocket and walking forward, feeling her other pocket for her Grach pistol. Best to make sure shew as strapped, she thought as she went into the local open air market to pick out some fruits. Walking through the crowds, she approached a stand she knew fairly well from their months-long stay here. The elderly man greeted, "Ah, hello, Ayesha, my desert flower!" with a bright smile.
"Hello, Dhahabi," She chuckled, "No, I'm still not gonna date you."
The man clapped his hands together comically and said in a semi-sullen, but comedically over-acted tone, "Damn it all! You are so beautiful, my dear, but very well. At least I can accept you coming to buy from me every day!" before waving his hand over the range of sweet fruits he had on demand. She started picking out a few better-looking green and red apples, some dates, walnuts and the likes. He hummed, then asked, "Are you well?"
She sighed deeply, then nodded, "Just remembering some friends we're still missing back at base," and offered him the money after weighing the stuff on his electronic scale. He nodded in thanks, then ran a hand through his long, greying beard. The elderly man with sickly pale skin had once been a Huntsman, Ayesha recalled. A blonde-haired, tanned man from the lands of Vacuo. He was wise, if flirty for his age.
And of course, he chose to impart some wisdom, "I say with the certainty that you and your friends have told each-other this countless times, but I am sure you will reunite with all of your friends soon..." before showing her to lean forward. She did and he whispered, "In the meantime, as I'm sure you'll be told soon, there is something coming up at the Vale Port within the next few days. SDC Freighter."
She nodded, "Thanks. I'll relay it to Vesna," before handing the man the cash and a little extra. The two waved to each-other and Ayesha started walking out of the place, only to pause. Amidst the crowds, she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. Gently turning her head and casting a sideways glance. She noted something moving in the shadows of the Bazaar's archways, then sighed and stepped out. She was still amidst the crowds, meaning whoever that was would have to wait to ambush her.
She walked faster toward their apartment, keeping up with the crowd. She advanced, noting that the figure, a cloaked soldier with heavy-duty gear, was following her and thumbed the safety off her pistol in the meanwhile, walking through and crossing the road. The crowd would disperse before she'd reach her home, though, meaning whoever this was would have a clear shot.
She took a right in an alley, following a few rowdy students. It was a shortcut... Ish.
... When the students disappeared, though, she felt the cold barrel of a shotgun pointed at the back of her head. She let out a sigh, then swore, "Blyat..." and said, "Look, I'm not your enemy," as she pulled her hand out of her pocket. The unknown hummed and Ayesha soon realized it was a woman. She slowly leaned forward to grab her pistol from her hip and Ayesha immediately exploited this, going low, turning and pushing the shotgun's muzzle up, only to hear it go off. She slammed into the girl and pinned her to the wall, disarming her and stating, "That doesn't mean you get to point a shotgun at me with no consequences, su-" only to pause as she saw the face of a South-East Asian staring at her.
Auburn eyes, dark-blue hair concealed by her helmet and hood and a fairly cute face. She said, "You know, I'd heard from Hassan his fiends were capable, but not like this..." only to watch Ayesha visibly pause. The Chechen took a step back, letting the girl go while still holding onto her SPAS-12 shotgun. The girl crossed her arms, meanwhile, then said, "Specialist Nicole Cabrera, formerly US Army."
Ayesha looked the girl over the moment the word 'formerly' was uttered. She saw the black uniform, the patches of a Private Military Contractor and the weapons for it. She sighed, turned the SPAS and handed it to the girl, before stating, "Blacksteel. I think we saw you fuckers operating in Russia before we dropped in here. Securing foreign interests a lot, huh?"
"Heh. Strength and Muscle and Jungle Work, as the song goes," The girl quipped. She slung the shotgun over her shoulder after setting the safety on, before noting the conflict in Ayesha's eyes. She sighed deeply and said, "You must be Ayesha, then. Yes, I know Hass..." before rubbing the back of her neck, a faint rose-tint on her cheeks, "Fairly well, I think..."
Ayesha's heart visibly sort of dropped at that, the girl's shoulders sagging. She sighed deeply, picked up her groceries and said, "We still have some room back at our place if you wanna tell me more," before showing her to follow. Nicole nodded, donned her cape and hood again so as to not scare the civvies, then followed Ayesha over as rain started falling all around them.
Ayesha's heart did feel like it momentarily snapped in two, honestly. Maybe she knew how Lita felt know, but who knew beside her? The pair walked over to Nikos Towers in the rain, with Ayesha getting soaked as they did so, then took the elevators up after saying hi to mister Mosby. It was gonna be a pain, she already felt, to explain the reality of what had just happened to the girls, but alas. Part of Ayesha now wanted to curl up and cry.
Yeah, she fully understood how Lita and Sammy were probably feeling now...