Remnant - XVI

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Requested By : Gib

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His car rolled to a stop outside at the outside curve of one of the Congress' plazas, and almost immediately, the media outside pressed towards him. A line of soldiers kept them far enough away from the car to be safe, each dressed in their service armor and carrying a large metal shield and baton for riot duties if it came to it. They were fewer than the crowd by far, but they were disciplined, and surrounded his car as well as holding a path open across the plaza to the Congress.

There were dozens of reporters and camera operators, too, shining bright lights at him and taking bright flash-pictures as he climbed out of his car. They bellowed questions as soon as he stepped out of the car and, for a moment, he considered simply ignoring them. It was the norm to, and he was due for a meeting besides. But…

"Why won't you answer questions, General?" He just managed to hear someone call out over the din, "Are you just another political coward?"

He knew better, of course, but…

He was not about to be called that, of all things.

He turned to the crowd and raised a hand in a silent gesture for quiet. And, after a minute, the crowd closest to him gave him the quiet he wanted. It was still loud, his request wasn't even visible to a third of the crowd, but he could hear those around him. And, more importantly, be heard.

"I will answer a few questions." He said, raising his voice in his best pantomime of his old sergeant. At his words, the soldiers in front of him stepped forward a bit, pushing the crowd back and opening their ranks just enough for the cameras and reporters to get a clear line on him, but not enough to let them slip through. "But only those I deign to answer, and only what's asked in good faith. If that is clear…."

Sowly, he turned and pointed at a young, mousey looking woman with dull silver hair at the front, and she held out her microphone eagerly, "General, I'm Mary Alum, Metallic Men Today. Is it true over half your body has been replaced by cybernetics?"

That was seriously her question?

He sighed, "Yes, it-"

"And that it was accomplished using advanced technology not allowed to be used by the common working men and women of Atlas or Mantle?"

Ah, now the question made much more sense… And he'd already started to answer, so if he hesitated now, then it would make it obvious what she was saying was right. Which of course it was, but that had been precisely no one's choice. The technology was mostly not even in full, final production - particularly regarding his stomach. Replacing the functionally lost parts of his innards had been difficult, and even he didn't understand most of the science that had been done other than that Polendina had been personally involved.

He sighed and grunted, "Miss, those matters are classified."

"So-"

"And beyond my control." He grunted, "Or do you think I planted a bomb under my seat to put me in the hospital?"

"W-Well, no…"

"Then understand that it could not be helped, and submit your questions to the Atlas military as a whole and not to me personally." He sighed and turned away, raising his voice and grunting, "Next."

"Milly May, Atlas General News." A woman with bright red hair and a flawless figure in a too-short skirt and too-tight shirt called, leaning through the gap his soldiers allowed her and asking, "What do you have to say about the mishap in Menagerie? This would be the second massacre overseen by yourself in the region."

"What I have to say is that the Faunus on Menagerie are getting technological support from someone." He growled loudly, "And I will see them put in the ground if I have to do it myself."

Satisfied he could at least say he had stopped to answer questions, he waved for the soldiers to close ranks once more and turned to head into the Congress.

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The site he had chosen was a small, relatively flat patch of loose, tropical jungle that clung to life along the edge of a moderately large plateau that was itself topped on one side by greenery, and on the other by bare, reddish rock. The flat coastline stretched on for two miles to either side, and was mostly kept greened by rains blown in from more temperate, and wet, Anima and with few standing spots of water besides. The waters were deep and blue, with a sudden dropoff barely a hundred yards out from the beach, which made it perfect for docks. And the plateau was the highest point of flat land from here all the way to Menagerie's walls.

It would do.

From the water, he could detect hundreds of heat signatures moving among the trees, and even see a few with his own bare optic. Most were mere animals, a few small horses, some lazily strolling hounds, and a clutch of tortoises larger than a man with thick, bright purple and red spikes sprouting from their shells. Intriguing creatures, who loved all along the northern coasts of Menagerie and the southern coasts of Anima according to Kali. There were smaller animals, too - plenty of birds and two species of small monkeys - but nothing too intriguing beyond the large tortoises.

And, of course, there were the Grimm.

It was intriguing to stand in the water and observe a pack of Beowolves lazily milling about on the beach. They rolled in the sand and wrestled, kicking up the fine grain and water both as they 'played'. Which was anomalous - according to all data available to him, they were mindless, mad beasts who only roamed in search of Humans and Faunus to attack. They were not social creatures.

And yet, he could see them socialising even now.

How… Interesting.

Unfortunately, research into such subjects would have to wait. For now, he had far more important tasks to see done.

"Scrap Heap." He rumbled, standing in the ocean and staring at the coast with the smaller Insecticon hovering beside him. "I want that area cleared of Grimm. Leave the beasts alone, however. The Faunus will relocate them."

"Yes, Master." The machine answered, ducking its head before it turned and buzzed away towards the coastline.

In total, he only had thirty one Insecticons - including Scrap Heap himself, their nominal leader as of the moment - left after his return to Menagerie. Shockwave had arrived with forty of them, but between Atlas' better-than-average anti-armor weapons going against the Insecticons', at least as of now, below-par armor, and the virtually unprotected wings leading to disastrous falls, he had lost several in the boarding maneuvers.

But the rest had proven themselves the better fighters, and soon, would go through extensive upgrades to rectify their current short-comings.

The Grimm on the shore seemed confused as the Insecticons came down, but as they began ripping into them, the Beowolves quickly overcame that and leapt in to fight. More Grimm emerged from the woods, and the Insecticons answered them. They were brutal creatures fighting equally brutal creatures, but the size difference alone decided the fight. Claws and feet crushed and tore the Grimm apart, and some of them even caught the Grimm and ripped them to pieces or threw them high into the sky to fall and die.

He almost pitied the Grimm…

Almost.

Unfortunately for them, they had inconvenienced his objectives.

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Instead of the large senatorial room he had come into months ago, to receive his unexpected promotion, he was lead through the Congress to the office suites. Halls of the wound through the Congress building, with plaques for hundreds of names and larger rooms squared out by cubicles until they reached a hall lined by conference rooms. Only one of them even had lights on, and was filled by the other two Councilors, who sat across the table from each other, arguing as ever.

"Protests are all over the city!" Councilman Sleet growled, slapping his hand down on the table, "Ever since those heavy-handed-"

"Heavy handed?" Councilor Camilla scoffed, "It was just a few rabble-rousers that were reminded of their place."

"Their place?!" Sleet snapped, "They have every right to protest and unionize both."

"Not according to Atlas' Emergency War Powers doctrine, article seven, subsection four." Ironwood cut in, drawing both the moderately older councilors' attention as he moved to take the head of the table. Easing into his seat he quoted, "As per the merits of war and war time industry, and per the security of the state at large and its peoples, civilian rights may be curtailed when their excercise actively impedes military deployments to the furtherance of the common good."

"Are you seriously suggesting that normal working hours would endanger Atlas' security?"

"Not suggesting, no."

"Then-"

"I'm stating it clearly." He cut the man off, earning raised eyebrows from Camilla. He folded his arms over his chest and explained simply, "Our fleet was decimated at Menagerie, and showed that our technological base had fallen behind. Not only do we need to advance our military technology, which I have seen to-"

"After blowing your budget and storming on to double it." Camilla pointed out, "You're operating in a deficit. How are you going to pay for that?"

"By raising tax revenue from Atlas' larger businesses," he said, earning a wide eyed gasp from Camilla and a snort from Sleet that he ignored to press on, "and levying Mistral for aid."

"Aid?!"

"Prior to the Massacre at Menagerie, we patrolled most of Mistral's coast-lines, as well as handling all of their Faunus expulsion transport." He argued simply, shrugging as though it were far more simple a thing than even he knew it was. But, hard or not, Atlas required it. "I simply wish for Atlas to be remunerated for the costs of such ventures."

"And if they refuse?"

"Then I hate to say it, but I will formally withdraw all military support to Mistral." General Ironwood said simply, fishing his Scroll out of his pocket and adding, "Now, more than ever, we must prepare for what is coming for us."

"What does that mean?"

"If you would give me a moment." He said as he stood and made his way to the end of the room, where a projector screen sat alongside a terminal that connected to a projector mounted on the ceiling. His Scroll slotted in easily enough and he brought the video up, explaining, "This is live video pulled from Admiral Alabaster's ship, when it crashed on Mantle's coastline four days ago."

It took a moment for the video to load and buffer properly, but when it did, Ironwood simply took a deep breath.

And pressed play.

The video was taken from the security camera of one of the hangars, which sat mostly empty now that the interceptors had been disgorged. Airmen were waiting in the heavier craft, at the ready in case they were needed, but for the most part everything was normal. Routine. Quiet and simple.

As it should have been.

"I don't understand, what-"

Camilla's words were cut off as the ship suddenly shook and static filled the screen and overwhelmed the audio systems.

A moment later, the audio returned, and gunshots filled the office.

The video came back a heartbeat after, and he heard Sleet gasp loudly as it did.

Together, all three of them watched the four machines lumber through the hangar. One leapt onto one of the gunships as they tried to lift off and escape. It ripped into the hull, dragging out long lines of cables like entrails. They sparked and the craft wobbled in the air before collapsing, When the pilot tried to make a run for it through the half-open canopy the machine caught them by the legs and turned, hurling them out the open hangar doors and into free-fall. Two more were ripping through still-landed craft and their pilots, while a third herded the security that had been in the hangars together.

When they couldn't retreat any more, and realized their small arms were ineffective, they turned to run.

And the monster moved, ripping through them all with its claws until one managed to duck past it. The armored woman made it five steps before the metal monster caught her by the leg and turned, bringing her over its head and slamming her down to the floor with all the force it could muster. The woman's body gave out, spraying red in an arc away from the monster where she hit.

More security staff entered from the door under the camera and raised their rifles to fire on one of the machines. It roared and turned, rounds sparking off its armored hide, to dig its claws into one of the downed gunships. Then it pivoted sharply and hurled the craft bodily through the air. It slammed down onto the soldiers as they backed away and kept going until it slammed into the camera and killed the video feed.

Then, with a roar of fire that had to be the craft's ammunition going up, the audio died too.

"Gods…"

"By the broken moon…"

"Whoever, and whatever, Menagerie has found to support them…" Ironwood said as he turned to look at the other Councilors, his hands clasped behind his waist, "It is a danger to all of Remnant. It is brutal, cold, and leaves no survivors in its wake. And, most importantly, it is a threat that Atlas as it stands is simply unable to face."

"So yes, I am pressing our work-force." He went on, striding around the table and slowly circling it as he went on, "And yes, I am going to press Mistral, too. And Vale, and Vacuo- Whatever I need to do to protect Atlas, it will be done. Whatever I need to say, or make, you all may rest assured, it will be done."

"So, I need to ask you both one thing…" He finished, slowly retaking his seat before he asked, "Will you help me protect our Kingdom? Or will you get in my way instead?"

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