We are approaching the "Infinity War" of Destiny 2 or so I've been told.
All rights go to their respectful owners.
Story takes place right after Neo and the Wolves of Mars and Spider and the Schnee
Some deals are for profit, personal gain, desperation…and some are just the first step towards a much bigger prize.
Jacques Schnee to his son Whitley.
Over the seas of Remnant. Southeast of Solitas and Northwest of Anima
Over the stretch of sea separating the continents of Solitas and Anima flew a personalized bullhead of the Schnee Dust Company. And within that bullhead is the youngest of the Schnee household, Whitley. And he was preparing himself for something big…contact with a militarized race of aliens on an island that according to official records, doesn't exist anymore.
If Whitley was told months ago that he would be talking to an alien race, he would have called for security and have you either evicted from his presence or thrown into an asylum. But, ever since a robotic race of aliens invaded Remnant, stopped by Guardians composed of humans and two other races; Awoken and Exos from another world called Earth, his mind is now open to many things.
And thanks to his new partner, he's about to do business with one of the Guardians enemies.
He was interrupted by his thoughts by the pilot.
"We are approaching the coordinates sir."
He nodded "Thank you." He smiled that everything was going to plan.
Officially, he is going to one of the SDC Dust Refineries in the city of Argus in norther Anima along with a quick inspection of Dust shipments at the local Atlesian Military Outpost stationed there. He called his butler Klein that a storm was near and his pilot planned to go around it with the travel time taking a few hours more. Traveling and inspecting in Argus is true, but those few extra hours will be used to travel to the supposed sunken island continent of Isolitas.
Isolitas was an island continent a little southeast of Solitas and northwest of Anima. The island continent was used as both a trading outpost, a joint military installation and testing site between the Kingdoms of Mistral and the Kingdom that would eventually be Atlas during the Great War. However, midway through the war there was an incident. What that incident was, varies.
Some say it was a faulty weapon that the armies were developing. Some say it was experimentation on a large subterranean Grimm that they managed to catch and contain. There are even some conspiracy theorists that say that the scientists were experimenting on a female Faunus who had the ability to control the very elements of nature itself. Whichever one is true; the end is the same. The island continent of Isolitas shook itself to pieces destroying both the settlements and the military outposts and it sank into the sea. Another large casualty in the Great war. All maps from then on, changed to what is known now today. Or so everyone was led to believe.
His new partner managed to get her hands on a few unredacted files pertaining to Isolitas and its current state. While it didn't mention what caused it, the end was VERY much different from the official release. Only 87% of the island did sink beneath the seas taking a large portion of the settlement and outposts. But some of it remains. She also stated that within the next decade the remaining landmass will disappear into the sea and that a race of aliens called the Cabal are stationed there right now and will be leaving by weeks end.
After he Convinced his father to let him inspect the refinery in Argus, he then Convinced the pilot to go to the coordinates.
Whitley looked out his window and saw the remains of Isolitas. A landscape that looked like a gigantic blade slice the land into many pieces. The pieces falling into the ocean below forming jagged spires of rock and dust poking out of the water. Ancient houses and streets teetering over the precipice of the waves below. The fins of some aquatic Grimm breaking the surf and flocks of Grimm Seagulls flew in the small cervices of the landscape. And just ahead in the distance was a large alien warship.
The bullhead flew over a small suburban area and landed right next to an ancient car. Whitley grabbed a large cloak and put it on.
He then turned towards the pilot eyes shining from the depths of the hood, "You will stay right here."
"Yes sir." The pilot said.
Whitley smiled and left the bullhead and headed towards the warship ahead.
He followed the remains of a street towards what was once a cul-de-sac suburban neighborhood and then walked into the wild grass. Whitley looked around him and expected a Grimm to pop out and devour him. But his partner stated that the only Grimm present were avian and aquatic in nature, so he had nothing to worry about. He heard a snap of branches from his right and saw a hulking behemoth in grey armor wielding a large weapon in its hand. It growled in its language and pointed its weapon at Whitley's head. Whitley remembered the limited Grimoire entries that the Guardians shared with the world and recognized it as a Cabal centurion. He mentally prepared himself, stared into the eyes of the alien and used his Semblance.
Unknown to all save his newest partner, unlike is older siblings; Weiss and Winter who inherited the Glyph semblance from their mother, and thanks to years of his father bring him on business meetings and acquisitions, he developed a Semblance all his own that he called, Convince. Requiring his voice and eye-contact, his semblance allows him to manipulate any individual to do exactly as he tells them to do. He tested the limits on some literal street-rats and found in Mantle that on weak-minded individuals, they will obey all his commands, while those who are strong of will and mind will resist. He never tested his semblance on a Guardian or an alien, but now was the time.
He stared right at the alien and said, "You will lower your weapon and escort me to whoever is in charge of you muscled oafs." He said, his eyes shining brightly. The large centurion lowered his weapon several inches and shook its head and placed his finger near the trigger.
"I said, you will lower your weapon and escort me to whoever is in charge!" He said channeling energy into his voice.
The Cabal's eyes shined behind its helmet and lowered its weapon, signaling to Whitley to follow next to him. Whitley smiled for the shining eyes was a signal that he is now under his control, and followed next to his enthralled bodyguard.
It was a good twenty-minute walk when they reached the landing sight of the hulking warship. The large ship landed on what was part of a military installation and the Cabal used the remains of the outpost as their own.
As they walked towards the ramp, Whitley observed the militaristic race around him. He saw Cabal legionnaires begin patrols around the landing site. A large Colossus was directing a large force of Centurions and a small group of Psions move some large crates and cylinder test tubes onto a series of large carts. Whitley and his "body guard" passed one of these carts and he briefly caught the label of one of them.
WARNING: this crate contains Experiment 14 of the Mantle-Mistral Science Division codename: MIND-LINK. USE WITH CAUTION.
As they walked the large ramp leading into the ship, he caught the stares of many. Some just stared at him, while others brought out their rifles and pointed them in his general direction. He ignored their stares and paid attention to where they were heading deeper into the ship. He calmed his breathing and prepared himself for what's to come.
After meeting with the large Cabal Colossus that called itself, The Warden, Whitley used his semblance again and made him communicate with the leader of the Cabal. After a holographic display of a council chamber came on the screen, he introduced himself and began his pitch. He knew who these individuals' names are thanks due to his partners dossier she supplied him. From left to right was Princess Caiatl, Primus of All Legions Uma'arath, The Consul, Dominus Ghaul, Freeborn Otzot and Beast Master Traask.
After he introduced himself, all save Dominus Ghaul sneered in contempt and rage. The one identified as Uma'arath slammed her shield down and shouted,
"Not only does this human discover the Shadow Legions location, but comes to us begging for an alliance with us?! Ha! We are cabal! Cabal don't make alliances with weaklings!" She then pointed her shield at the Cabal Centurion that escorted Whitley here. "You, execute this pathetic human and perhaps the Dominus won't demote you further!" The Centurion didn't move a muscle, shocking the council members present, for no Cabal has ever refused and order from the Primus of All Legions herself.
Whitley smiled at their shocked faces, content knowing that as long as he controls this Centurion, it won't obey anyone till he releases them.
"Allow me." He said then turned to the Centurion. "Take your weapon and shoot yourself in the head." The Centurion's hand twitched for only a second before bringing its rifle under its chin and blowing its head off, pressurized air and a black bloodied brain staining the wall. Silence filled the room at the display. The dead Centurion refused an order from Uma'arath, but obeyed a small male human youth. How is this possible.
It was the Dominus himself who asked this.
"Boy, how did you control him?"
Whitley feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you mean great emperor."
"I am no emperor boy. We ended the reign of the last emperor. I am Dominus of the Cabal. And I saw your eyes glow before you ordered his death. Now answer truthfully"
Whitley bowed his head. "My apologies Dominus, as for your question… all can be revealed from this." He brought out a modified Scroll and handed it gently to the Warden who then placed it onto a small holo-table which then was sent to the Cabal Council. On that Scroll was a small cliff notes version of everything related to Remnant. From Dust to Kingdoms, to Grimm, stories and some select Atlesian troop movements to even current events regarding the Guardians.
Dominus Ghaul and his cohorts went through it in detail.
Uma'arath and Caiatl went through the Atlesian files. Otzot went through Dust and scientific advancements. While the Consul went through the Kingdom files. And Beast Master Traask…
"Beautiful…such savagery!" The Beastmaster said to some of the files pertaining to the Creatures of Grimm. He was viewing a video of a pack of Beowolves destroying a small town in Anima. He idly scratched the top of the head of one of his Warbeasts. "It has been many a century since we've found anything as savage as out hounds. These Grimm are magnificent, and they come in varieties! I can't wait till we conquer this world and add them to the Legions!" He laughed heartily. "I can't wait to tame them myself!"
"While I too admire these savage beasts, not to mention their bodies rapidly dissolve on death. I am more interested in these Auras and Semblances." The Consul said gesturing to all at the files he has on display.
"This Aura is a manifestation of one's soul and by honing it, an individual also manifest a secondary power called a Semblance. From elemental manipulation to telekinesis, the skies the limit on what your semblance is. Not two semblances are the same."
He gestured to Whitley. "I believe this human child has demonstrated a Semblance allowing him to manipulate a person's mind, allowing him to control the weak minded. Not surprising since the Shadow Legion is made up of those with subpar intelligence." He turned to his leader, friend and pupil.
"Ghaul, I know you seek to use the human's Traveler to enhance the empires many legions, as our right! But these semblances, this Aura, and many other things currently on this world might prove useful to us." He huffed in resignation and turned towards Whitley on the holo-vid. "As much as it pains me to say, but we should listen to what this boy has to offer."
"I agree…" said Ghaul said breaking his silence and with finality. For what the dominus says, goes. He then turned his attention to the young Schnee. "Why do you come to us with this knowledge, knowing that if you are found out you will be either arrested or executed for treason against your race…and what do you want in exchange?"
Whitley took a deep breath, knowing that this was make or break, to win them over completely or lose his life completely.
"Yes, I know that my actions here…the knowledge that I'm currently sharing with you would definitely be labeled as treason…but everything I'm doing is for Remnant and its inhabitants. Recently, thanks to my partner, she has shown me what was coming…something that even the Guardians themselves might not be able to beat…something that might defeat them. And if/when it does happen, what will happen to Remnant? Who out there will help our world? The Fallen…their just a few steps above the White Fang, obviously not the Vex or the Hive; they want to either convert us to zeros and ones or kill us outright. But you Cabal… you with your vast armies and worlds under your control…perhaps allying with you would be better than extinction…even if the price for our survival is subjugation. The knowledge I shared with you is merely a sample of what I can do for you. As for my price…I notice that you have a vacancy on your council and if anyone should lead humanity and the Faunus after subjugation, it should be the one who knows what's best for Remnant…me"
The council was silent hearing his words, contemplating the price for this information. It was broken when Otzot exclaimed. "Dominus! Once again, my OXA Machine has proven true. This human's knowledge he has shared has provided the answer to the travelers cage!" She then brought up the file that caught her attention: a hologram showing two devices, both diamond shaped glowing red and blue, one small no bigger than a battery while the other was at least fifteen feet tall. Alongside the images was a Atlesian military file.
PROJECT: A. (AURA NULLIFIER DEVICE)
Created in conjunction with Project REDACTED and the A.T.D (AURA TRANSFER DEVICE). While the A.T.D transfers Aura from one vessel into another, the A. suppresses it entirely. Knowing full well that Huntsman could go rogue (see criminal files attached) and most prisons can't hold them indefinitely due to the various semblances the have, the A. is created to solve this problem. The device once activated creates a suppression field within twenty-five feet of the device. The only fully operational large device is currently used in Atlas Facility Omega (a secured facility in northern Solitas used to house rogue Huntsman and Huntresses) has an effective range of one mile.
Otzot then gestured to a holographic representation of the Last City and the coveted Traveler hanging above the city.
"The Traveler is the source of a paracausal energy that the guardians call Light. It seeps into every Guardian, potential Guardian, landscape and planetary body in the Sol System, with exceptions to locations that the Guardians call Darkness Zones." As she explained, the holographic mimicked her words, showing energy coming off of the Traveler and seeping into the populous, into rivers and mountains, to other planets in the system.
"I make a larger version of this A. and invert the suppressor field and integrate it into the cage we are currently constructing. Instead of creating a suppressor field outward, it will be inward, keeping the paracausal energy contained within the traveler, cutting off the guardians from their source of power!" Otzot concluded, the hologram showing the results, the council nodding their heads in approval.
Ghaul smiled under his mask. "Excellent Freeborn, once again you machine has done wonders for this empire and its people. How long until it can be finished?"
"If I get these plans down to the forges, by fifty days hence."
"And if I want larger suppressor fields to be built?"
"If I get the forges working round the clock, I can have five made in one hundred and twenty-seven days."
Ghaul nodded and turned towards his friend, his father figure and teacher the consul. "I want you, old friend, to convince the Praetorate to bring in extra men to assist the forges in construction."
He then turned to Uma'arath. "You are to select two additional Legions. They will be fighting alongside the red legion not only in the conquering of the sol System, but also in the claiming of Remnant."
He then turned and stared hard at Whitley, amused that the young boy flinched a bit at his hard stare. "You can teach us how to awaken Aura into my legions and by extension our Semblances. Fulfil this and you will have a seat on this council. But if this is all a diversion, a trick or that the knowledge you brought us is false…there will be no world, no barren moon, no crevasse where you won't hide from the Almighty's wrath!"
He then pressed a command into the Shadow Legions Battle Net, summoning four Legionaries. When they entered the room and saw who was on the other end, they instantly straightened up and said an honorific in their language.
"You four are witnesses to my orders." He pointed his hand at Whitley. "Escort our newest ally to his ship and prepare the Shadow Legion to depart and return to the Homeworld for reassignment. And launch the Swept Footprints Protocol." He said terminating the transmission. The four Legionnaires saluted as the hologram dissolved and flanked Whitley on both sides and escorted him out of the room.
As Whitley left with his escort and out of the ship, he noticed that the cabal soldiers outside were disassembling their base and bringing everything back into the ship. Crates and weapons were loaded onto transports and squads were heading right back into the ship. They went through the woods and found that Whitley's ship stayed right where it was and as he went up the ship, dismissing the soldier to return to their ship.
As he approached the ramp to the bullhead, he tripped over something. He caught himself as he fell and looked to see what it was.
Poking out of the ground was a small dark object. He picked it up and brought it up to his eyes to examine it. It was a tetrahedron like object made out of pure blackness no bigger than a pen, with small red and blue lights running down the sides. Whitley didn't know what it was, but something was compelling him to take it with him. Shrugging, he places the object in his pocket and went up the ramp and had the pilot proceed to take-off.
Twenty minutes later the bullhead was in the air and heading to argus. Five minutes later the large cabal ship belonging to the shadow Legion left Isolitas and into the depths of space, but not before they unleashed the "Swept Footprints Protocol" which boarders down to shooting down a large rocket that shot deep into the ground and exploded.
As it exploded, the small island continent of Isolitas jumped briefly and proceeded crumble outwards from the site of impact. The cabal finishing what an experiment in the Great war couldn't do…completely sink the island continent into the sea. The remains of a suburban neighborhood and a military outpost crashing into the waves below.
As the remaining earth crumbled it revealed a small tetrahedron vessel hidden underneath that defied gravity, no bigger than the bullhead that was several feet above it a while ago, where Whitley Schnee took a tiny piece of it away. Orange light briefly glowed from within as it sailed high into the air, breaking Remnants atmosphere and traveling into the dark reaches of space into the void at the very edge of the galaxy, awaiting with others like it for the call.
The call of Salvation.
Argus Military Outpost
A few hours later
After arriving at the Argus Military Outpost and using his semblance on the pilot to quickly delete and change the flight logs, he started by meeting the one in charge, a diminutive woman by the name of Caroline Cordovin and her two Nubuck lackeys, Whitley began his inspection of the base as his first priority before the nearby refinery. All the main military Dust supplies met expectations, along with the reserve supply, the power core for the Colossus mech is not in need for a recharge or replacement. The outpost passed with flying colors.
Whitley returned to his room generously supplied by the military on base and sat in the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. He put his hand in his pocket and took a closer look at the tetrahedron object he found. It felt hot and cold in his hand, and he may be imagining it, but it looked like it was absorbing all illumination in the room making it darker than it was.
He was so engrossed gazing at the object he nearly jumped when a voice said, "I take it you were successful?"
He quickly placed the object back in his pocket and turned to the owner of the sensual voice.
She was wearing a dark emerald evening dress that hugged her generous mocha skinned figure, showing a good amount of cleavage. Raven hair framing her face with full red lips and bright green eyes that seemed to glow. Around her neck was a choker with a symbol in a shape of a diamond with small horns branching off the points.
Whitley smiled and sighed a relief at the sight of his partner, Ms. Thune. He didn't know her first name, but some time after the vex invasion of Remnant failed, she approached him with a partnership that would benefit both her and himself in the long run. It was she who supplied him with the old military files, the coordinates to Isolitas, helped him prepare his speech to the Cabal and even helped with his Semblance. He owed her a lot, and he hoped that this partnership will eventually lead to pleasure than its current business.
"I would not be standing here if I didn't succeed. But you know that don't you Ms. Thune."
She waved a hand at him. "Oh please, Whitley. Call me Sarah, we're partners after all, we should be on a first name basis by now."
Sarah Thune…he said the name to himself and loved the sound of it.
"I have succeeded in allying with the cabal. The ones stationed here have returned to their world, all traces of their existence here have sunk beneath the waves, and they are sending an army called the Red Legion here. When, I don't know…but what I don't know is how to awaken their Auras and by extension their semblances when they arrive?"
Sarah Thune stood up from her seat and went to the fridge in the adjacent room and opened the door. As she bent down to grab something within, Whitley took the time to admire her backside and lower anatomy, then averted his eyes as she stood right back up, holding two glasses and a bottle of red wine. She then took her seat and poured their glasses, giving him one and keeping the other.
"Don't worry yourself, you'll find a way and the opportunity to do so. Everything's going according to plan."
"And, if you don't mind me asking what do you get out of this?" He asked.
He knew from numerous lessons from his father to always know what a potential partner wants before agreeing. He dismissed that lesson due to the alluring nature and was mentally slapping himself for asking that now this deep in.
She laughed and leaned over and stroked Whitley's cheek with her hand, sending red to Whitley's pale face.
"Let's just say…there are two objects that if everything goes to plan, will give me Knowledge and Creation at my fingertips. And you my dear, will be in charge of your fathers' company."
He nodded, figuring that Knowledge and Creation is either figuratively or literally since they are living in an age with aliens and god-like entities. He then grabbed his glass and brought it up. Sarah Thune brought up her glass and mimicked him.
"To our plans!"
"To our plans."
After this chapter will be taking a short break to play Beyond Light.
Some facts about this story:
In the original maps for Remnant there was indeed an island continent above Anima in the shape of dragon wings before the future volumes phased it out and we got the current map. So I used it as the basis of Isolitas and gave a good lore based reason why it no longer shows on the maps. For those wondering, "Why doesn't General Ironwood or anyone in the Atlas military/council know that it still exists?" My answer: The Great War took place a good 80 years ago, lasted for 10 years, and it might not have digital technology at that point, probubly had it on paper. Some files might still exist in some archive or an elderly retired individual might still know of it, but the chances of that are slim.
To those wondering who is Sarah Thune, is she an OC? No, she's a destiny Character. here's a hint: say her name as fast as you could and you'll have your answer.
To that one reviewer who asked "What the heck is a hind?" from the chapter, The Spider and the Schnee. A Hind is a very large deer.
Announcements:
From now on, all future chapters of Iron Rose Shorts will be in chronological order instead of creating and posting whichever chapter catches my fancy. Here's the future chapters in order:
A Schnee Party
Prison of Elders Blues
Fallen Conclaive
Farmboy and the Fallen
Yang's SRL
Stay safe out there!
