Flight from Atlas

The lessening of pressure, gravity pulling down, and the roar of a jet engine. A continuous burst of light followed by the echoes of sound breaking speed.

[Leaving battle: 0:03]

The air rushed around his wings, chilling him to his metal frame. Hanns adjusts himself in the climb, the force disorientating anyone if Hanns were a normal human.

[Leaving battle: 0:02]

He feels his apex closing in, it was only a matter of time before his system would detect him leaving the battle.

[Leaving battle: 0:01]

He starts to level his jet, his fuel running low after a few minutes of dodging and weaving in between mismanaged fleets of bullheads coming out of Atlas.

[Leaving battle: 0:00]

He felt his fuel coming back and his aerobatic smoke refilling as he flies. Hanns now started to turn to Atlas, ready to keep the Atlesian military at bay while the others prepare their exit.

The Grimm was getting more aggravated by the increasing amounts of negativity that attracted the feral beasts from the skies.

'There's too much now, I'll have to make the others evacuate. We've done enough to cripple Ironwood - I don't need to make them unable to fight back.'

*BOOM!*

An explosion engulfed a section of the air surrounding the city of Atlas. An airship now presented itself along with a dozen others.

'Looks like Ironwood finally arrived. It's time for our exit.'

Hanns taps in into the mind of both Torchwick and Weiss before saying his orders, "We need to retreat, flare your status. Failure or not, rendezvous at the Hangar at the Command Center. I'll escort you while Ironwood gets busy with the Grimm."

He stops his one-way telepathic communication before heading higher to the skies while viewing the entire situation.

'The bullheads are still in disarray. Some of the Grimm are entering dangerously close. That should be enough for today, even if Atlas can fight it off - Ironwood will be under scrutiny.'

*BOOM!*

Another explosion echoes below, the flagship of the entire Atlesian military firing with concentrated beams of dust toward the Grimm flying around.

Hanns notices two separate lights sparking on the ground, it was a glimmer of faint light but Hanns could see it.

'Both green, Jackpot'

It was confirmed to him, flares of green were a sign of success - one way or another. Partial success was an orange color and complete failure was colored red.

Seeing both lights being green meant the mission assigned to them was completed already, they only needed to exfiltrate.

Hanns now had his 2nd phase ongoing, Hanns needed to humiliate Ironwood even further by crippling his precious flagship.

Exploiting the fears and concerns of the people was always a dubious task but Hanns was now completely immersed in gaining as much SL and RP as possible.

Conscience was falling by the wayside and survival for the next world was now a priority. The repercussions were manageable, he thought.

The people wouldn't know who was affiliated with the jet Hanns was using which made it perfect for plausible deniability. He wasn't going to make the Wehrmacht look evil to the world.

His jet was mostly unrecognizable just from the size and speed he was going at, meaning the public wouldn't know who to blame for the attack.

If Ironwood decides to expose the reality that Hanns was a living being in the shape of a machine then Hanns didn't care if that were to happen. In fact, Hanns would be more appreciative of Ironwood doing so.

Who would believe that a sentient machine was the one responsible for scaring Atlas' population? The people would just blame the military for being inept and Hanns was all for that.

Right now, Hanns needed to disengage while escorting a specific bullhead. One that was going to be marked as per their plans.

*BOOM!*

'Hmm? Isn't that- WOAH!'

A charge of light tries to hit Hanns. Cannons powered by dust could still reach him but it was much easier to predict.

His wings buckle from the sudden change in movement and Hanns tilts just enough for the dust-powered cannon to miss.

'Ironwood is not going to make this any easier for me. I guess I could tango for a while. One flagship slowed down won't cripple their fighting force by much but it is going to be a good blow to their pride.'

Hanns started to dive with his nose now pointing straight at the massive ship flanked by escorts heading for him.

His munitions were armed and his fuel topped off to his 6-minute limit. Hanns turned off his engine to let him save fuel while diving.

Bullets started whizzing past him, he begins to weave around making it hard to track him. Hanns goes past them at a blistering speed and the air around his nose starts to show from the speed.

'Let's see… if the fins on the back are for moving with wind dust then those things on the side are where it uses gravity dust. Cannons are strong as hell but I'm a hard target.'

He zooms past the escorts with ease as he finds the generators to the left of the flagship.

*RATATAT* *RATATAT* *RATATAT*

He let out a small burst of his twin wing-mounted 30 mm cannons. To Hanns' expectations, the shots did little to incapacitate it in a single burst.

His shots pinged off or got lodged in without burying deeper. The engine still stood strong even against his cannons.

'I would've guessed the generators were the most armored. These are supposed to be strong against Grimm attacks so I'm not surprised.'

Hanns couldn't take the flagship out without a cannon the size of the entire aircraft, something like a Close Air Support would have better weaponry.

Though it was going to be a stalemate, Hanns was too fast and too maneuverable than the flagship but the flagship could tank hits from Hanns as if it were nothing.

Hanns wasn't going to give up that easily though, if it was going to shame Ironwood then he was going to try his hardest.

'The joints on those fins could be an easier target.'

Hanns managed his fuel use during his flight. Turning it on only if he needed to climb while avoiding using it while diving.

He climbed again, readying for another boom and zoom as dozens of Grimm started distracting the flagship's escorts.

'The number of Grimm are growing but is still being handled well despite the miscommunications. I'll admit that Ironwood does have some kind of expertise in his field.'

Hanns turns around after his climb, shutting off his engine as he moves towards the flagship's exposed rear. The cannon on the flagship tried to turn to shoot down Hanns but the combination of a small target and a slow-moving vehicle made it impossible.

'…There!'

*RATATAT* *RATATAT* *RATATAT*

Hanns' shots hit true on the slow behemoth of a ship, two of the fins break off as their wind dust-powered thrust makes it flail around the broken-off joint before crashing down.

Hanns rushes past, ignoring the escorts trying to chase him down his faster aircraft. Dust could be impressive in certain ways but nothing could beat German innovation.

'That's two, I only have 3 minutes left I'll get out after another pass.'

Hanns used half of his fuel to climb high, he decided on the height and he could see the effects of him tearing off two of the fins from the flagship.

It was swaying to the side, meaning the thurst it produced was uneven. The entire ship was moving forwards at an angle instead of straight ahead.

'Let's go for one more, Ironwood!'

He dives down again with the full force of his speed bringing him closer to the clumped-up fins behind the flagship.

Hanns could see it getting closer as he felt a metallic part in him move as he fires.

*RATATAT* *RATATAT* *RATATAT*

His aim was focused and precise, years of playing war thunder transferred over like muscle memory. Him being the vehicle itself didn't dim his torturous experience of playing for years.

*BOOM!*

A dust-powered ray of light misses him.

'Phew, that was close.'

A defensive shot tried to attack him but completely missed, the Komet could outpace anything, even bullets themselves in certain situations - a slow-moving flagship couldn't hit him.

Five fins were now disabled, all within the left side. The flagship stopped moving, the thrusters were too imbalanced to move forward.

Hanns escaped their reach and sped away from the scene. A fleet of other armed bullheads was now approaching from the city itself.

'Looks like the jig is up, the Command Center should be unresponsive. I'm assuming they're reacting to situations rather than receiving direct commands now. It's been a while though so I guess it was inevitable.'

Hanns then spotted a bullhead heading in the opposite direction, one marked with a cross on the side - drawn on crudely.

'That's them. Time to climb away from the battle.'

Atlas was left in a relatively fine state all things considered, Hanns already got what he wanted. The Grimm were numerous but the ships could finally do their job without being misdirected by the hijacked Command Center.

Hanns reached the air as far as he could until the counter started again.

[Leaving battle: 2:30]

Hanns looked around while waiting for the countdown, he saw everything from Atlas to the mountains beyond the horizon.

'I'll have to manage and get some more capital for my next plan. These other missions are easy enough to do once I get access to more resources.'

He observes the marked bullhead for a while before spotting five pursuing bullheads.

'Shit, I guess Ironwood isn't much of an idiot to not spot that cross or maybe they're just suspicious of desertion. In any case, they have forfeited their lives.'

The bullheads start to open fire on the marked bullhead where the rest of the team was escaping from. It was a struggle but it was clear the marked bullhead was receiving too much damage.

[Leaving battle: 1:33]

Hanns was now worried. Usually, Neo was responsible for using her semblance to shake off pursuit as planned.

'Too much time to wait, they're going to get shot down! Is Neo unable to act? I'm not going to wait for this.'

Hanns dived using the remnants of his speed to intercept the bullheads in pursuit. It was too much of a risk to let the others fight off 5 bullheads behind them.

'My speed is going to retain, as long as I have enough to take all 5 out I'll be satisfied with that.'

Hanns readied his guns, he aimed straight at the front of the first pursuing bullhead before ripping it apart with concentrated fire.

*RATATAT* *RATATAT* *RATATAT*

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

Two of the bullheads went down in flames as Hanns targeted right on the cockpit, post penetration was amazing for the Komet and it showed it through the befallen bullheads.

Hanns pulled up from the dive and saw his speed go down considerably but it was still fast enough. He used the remaining speed he had to try and climb just a little.

The bullheads split into two groups, with one chasing after Hanns and the other two keeping their pursuit of the marked bullhead.

'I can't outrun this one since I don't have my engine thrust anymore but I could try this.'

Hanns swiveled from side to side, making irregular turns while looking for an elevated area like a cliffside or mountain.

Atlas was the perfect place for that as he spots dozens scattered around the environment.

'Let's see if you know your aircraft as much as I do.'

Hanns led the bullhead chasing after him to the cliffside, the pilot inside was determined to take down Hanns before realizing what was going to happen.

Hanns pulled away from the cliff, his turning speed was incredible despite traveling fast in the air. Not as much as his top speed but Hanns was more aware of his limitations.

What better way to know how your aircraft's qualities than being the aircraft itself? Hanns was certainly knowledgeable at that point.

The pilot tried to force the bullhead to turn but the angle was too sharp for him to turn, it was going to happen to him. The bullhead inched closer to the cliff face.

*BOOM!*

The bullhead crashes directly into the mountainside, pieces of its not deformed metal frame flying out in a magnificent explosion.

'Man, that always happened to me before. I can't believe how much you could do with just knowing how good your plane is at something.'

Hanns looked back at the marked bullheads while he leveled his plane, seeing that the team took care of one of the bullheads.

One in the lead of the two that chased the marked bullhead had lost their thrusters, the handiwork of the team - Hanns guessed.

'Uh oh.'

Hanns realized his flying speed was now a measly 120km/h despite being a jet. The maneuvers he did was too much for the plane to handle without an engine.

But there was still one bullhead for him to take care of. Hanns recovered from the climb before going down, hoping gravity was enough to take care of it.

He takes a sharp turn to focus his nose toward the bullhead still chasing after the team.

Then the situation got worse, his structural stability still hasn't recovered from his other dogfight with the flagship, and the wings he had finally received enough stress.

*SNAP!*

'Uh oh!'

Part of his wing flew off behind him, it couldn't take much more stress and Hanns was in trouble.

'Got to take this one fast and fly straight for at least 2 and a half minutes.'

Hanns pushed forward, gambling that his wings could still take one more so he could recover. The bullhead chasing the team was still a risk and he was willing to sacrifice a wing or two if he could get the team to safety.

He got closer, and his speed was increasing because of gravity but he could only muster 200km/h before he opened fire.

*RATATAT* *RATATAT* *RATATAT*

The autocannons ripped apart the thrusters of the bullhead. It plummeted to the earth below as Hanns sighed in relief - if he could. He pulled up to avoid hitting the ground after his boom and zoom.

*CLANG!* *SNAP!*

'UH OH!'

His wings tore off just as he pulled up, the worst fear for any jet. Common enough to him so he knew what to do. Pray.

'At least my fuel is depleted so I won't explode if I catch on fire.'

He sent a message to his team that he needed to wait until he could get back.

"Get to base, I'll catch up in hours at most. My wings got ripped off from the stress, it'll take me a few minutes to get away from Atlas."

Sadly, his prospects for safety were lessening. The speed he had died down even further.

It was a blessing and a curse, he couldn't get as far from Atlas as he would have hoped but the lower speed meant he wasn't going to be crashing on the ground.

'Mantle, I guess it would be better if I landed below Atlas than on Atlas itself. Grimm is going to be a problem, I just hope they're focused on the humans instead of me.'

The snow was deep and he could land carefully if he managed his wrecked plane well. Hanns kept himself as level to the ground as possible before feeling contact.

'Cold!'

Hanns couldn't feel pain but the intense direct chill of the snow made him shiver. He rubbed on the snow before coming to a stop outside the far edge of the city below Atlas, Mantle.

Miraculously he has outmaneuvered and lost chase from the military who were too focused on damage control from the mismanaged coordination from their sabotage and the airborne Grimm starting to swarm Atlas.

'Huh, not much ground-based Grimm around here. Atlas sure does have the terrain and weather to their side. Somehow this reminds me of something.'

[Leaving battle: 2:30]

Hanns waited and waited. The time ticked down as he stared at the snowscape. He was faced away from the city which meant he couldn't see much other than the mountains and cliffs.

'Huh? Shit, someone is coming!'

[Leaving battle: 0:50]

If Hanns could have had a heart attack he could have experienced something similar by this point. The crunch of the snow among the explosions above Atlas alerted him.

The sound came closer-

-and closer-

-and closer-

-finally, it was within a small distance.

'Fuck! I made a mistake, I shouldn't have gone in with no fuel! But if I kept the waiting time, everyone would've gotten shot down.'

"Salutations! Injured personnel!"

'Huh? Wait a minute.' Hanns realized the voice that spoke and the greeting they said.

His cockpit, technically his eyes, got ripped out as his battle timer resets. It was all by a girl with short orange curly hair that easily tore off the front of him.

"What an oddity! I thought I analyzed a lifeform here."

It was Penny, the android created by Pietro Polendina who wished to become a daughter. The same android that befriended Ruby in the original show.

'Why is Penny here?! I thought she'd be in Vale by this point. Is this what they call the butterfly effect? No, focus Hanns - play dead, she might not notice.'

"...Amazing! My scans show you are alive!"

'Damn! Maybe if I stayed silent she'd leave me alone. I wish Ironwood still hasn't programmed her to kill me on sight.'

"I must take you back to Sir Ironwood! He has notified me of a being that describes you, please do not resist."

'Oh, c'mon! Shit, no, no, no. What do I do... wait... if Ruby hasn't met Penny yet then there's a chance I could get away with this.'

"Forgive me for this, unidentified lifeform. I will have to carry you in an uncomfortable position! Let's proceed!"

"Wait!" Hanns used his radio-sounding voice. "Err... Can you please not do that?... Friend?"

Penny had just started to lift the rear end of the jet before dropping Hanns down and staring incredulously at Hanns.

"Did you just call me friend? Am I really your friend?" Penny starts staring down at the destroyed cockpit.

"Yes! Friend... we are both the same are we not?" Hanns was sweating, one wrong communication and he was going on a one-way trip to Ironwood's personal probing rooms.

Penny looks at Hanns blankly. "The same? Do you know my true appearance? This is a matter of national security, a leak will not make Sir Ironwood happy! I must take you back for questioning!"

"Wait that's not what friends do!" Hanns reacted quickly.

She pauses. "...That is true! How does one act like a friend? Friend?"

"Errr... they help each other out?" Hanns stated with a raised tone.

Penny pauses, her eyes suddenly blanking out before reactivating with a new glimmer in her eyes.

"Processing... Accepted. New parameters for 'Friend'. Sen-sational! So that is what friends do. We can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys instead!"

"Err, I'm not a girl Pen- friend." Hanns stopped from saying her name, realizing he shouldn't know that fact yet.

"...Updating profile on 'Friend'. Yes! Body status is not suited for friend activities painting nails, trying on clothes, and talking about cute boys. Will you accept, changing our gears, trying on armaments, and talking about machines instead, friend?"

"Err... that would be great." Hanns questioned the friend 'activities' Penny thought of but he answered anyways.

"Sen-sational! I will take you to my father to engage in our friend activities, new friend. Father will be happy I found a friend like you. So exciting friend!"

Hanns was a bit distracted by the constant mention of the word friend but he focused on the visiting Pietro part of Penny's sentence. "Wait- what?! I mean... yes, of course."

Hanns was helpless anyways, if he was going to get dragged around by someone - it would be better to keep Ironwood away from it. Pietro is a more reasonable man than Ironwood, plus being Penny's 'friend' would be preferable to be killed.

"Wait, ummm. I'm too uncomfortable if you carry me out in the open. As a friend, I would like you to respect my wishes in not being seen." Hanns asked.

"...Updating profile on 'Friend'. If that is what you require then I will do my best, friend!"

Hanns relaxed as Penny started to head towards a direction before coming back with a large tarp. He checked the HUD and saw that he was too close to a battle to be deemed leaving. The system still considered Penny as a combatant from her ripping out the window on the cockpit.

'I guess it'll take more than an hour now. The team should be returning eventually, the Wehrmacht can handle themselves with Blake's supervision while I'm here. Geez, how did it come to this?'