AN: We are back for good.

One of our Patrols had made contact roughly one klick away from our location. We received an order from command to head over to support our brothers who were pinned down in the center of the village. Our convoy could see the smoke rising in the distance, as well as mortars raining down on the Village from where we were. We hauled ass over to the village, entering from the east; flanking the Taliban Fighters. Due to this, we were able to take out three mortar squads with our Humvee's fifty cal. As soon as we made it to the first of the houses, we disembarked and continued on foot. Clearing house by house, slowly making our way over to our brothers. While the entire engagement felt like it lasted for hours, our AAR showed that we had only taken about twenty minutes to mop up, the enemy retreating as soon as they realized we had arrived from the side. We went about starting to clear every house in the village, when we heard a bloodcurdling scream of agony that would haunt me for the rest of my nights. I ran towards the screams, over to an alleyway, and froze as I saw the bloody and broken body of Badih being cradled by his screaming aunt. His eyes were still wide open, a hollow shell of the joy that used to twinkle in them.

I awoke to gentle shaking. Opening my eyes I could barely make out a concerned Emily looking at me through the dark. I could see a sleeping Sophia in her arms.

"Are you okay? You were twisting and crying out." Emily asked with worry and concern in her voice as she wiped the tears off my face.

All I could do was grab her and sob into her embrace. It wasn't my proudest moment, but I didn't care. She held me and comforted me until I fell back asleep.

I was awoken by a harsh slap to the face. Blearily opening my eyes once more, I could see Kopman standing over me in the darkness.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty. We have to head over to the Docks. Get your shit together. We have to be down there in 20." Kopman whispered in order to not wake up Emily and Sophia.

I quickly got all my gear on and packed enough ammo for both my M4 and Barrett. Groaning at the familiar weight of my re kitted Plate Carrier and ruck, I quietly made my way over to the guys, where we began checking over each other's equipment. Once that was done, we made our way out to the Bullhead Docks. We were met shortly after by Winter and a unit of six Atlesian Special Operations Officers. Unlike their regular operations counterparts, these men carried themselves like Snake Eaters. Take away some of the more sci-fi looking rifles, they could've been mistaken for a group of SEALs. Winter greeted us.

"Good morning gentlemen. I have to say I am impressed. You beat us here. These men behind me are my unit of Special Operations Officers. The ACE Ops would have joined us, however Ironwood has them on another assignment safeguarding a certain VIP." She let out a quiet humourless chuckle as she pulled a white e-cig out of her coat pocket, taking a drag.

Kopman and Volk both looked at me. I was clueless until I remembered. "Oh shit that's right. Here's your smokes." I offered sheepishly as I pulled three packs of cigarettes from my cargo pocket, handing two to Volk and Kopman, and the other I shoved back in my cargo pocket after grabbing one of the tiny sticks from within.

"Much appreciated motherfucker" Volk said as he pulled out a smoke and lit it, Kopman and myself doing the same. The snake eaters also partook of the age old practice of Death Sticks.

"So. What's the plan gentlemen?" Winter sighed and ran a hand through her hair as best she could with her bun. Meanwhile we were kinda shocked. This was a far cry from the Winter we saw yesterday. She noticed this.

"Gentlemen, we're working. It would be unbecoming of me to continue being so formal out on the battlefield. As far as I'm concerned on the killing fields we are all equals. Now, what's the plan?"

Kopman chuckled. "Well shit Winter. I like the sound of that. Alright. Here's the low down. We're gonna set up on the end of a row of Connexes, with every Connex being a quadrant. They have to come by ground to move the connexes from around their target. Intel indicates there is a possibility of a biological weapon, so have MOPP gear on hand. If someone gets hit, we pull them back and give aid and call for MEDEVAC. The police want to push in from the outside, from the opposite direction of the Docks that the White Fang is approaching. We're gonna bring the Humvee with us, it has the M240 on the turret, and they secured it to the bottom of our transport per my request. We also have sandbags and Razor Wire being brought by Team CFVY from Beacon. We also have some explosives. If any of you snake eaters knows how to set up some boom boom, we'll let you at it." They paused as the ASOOs began to laugh.

"First time I've been called a snake eater. I like that shit. Nutt's got you. Ain't that right Snake Eater?" The lead officer asked the man next to him, the tough looking soldier shrugging.

"Fuck it sir, after the week we've had it sounds like music to my ears." Nutt said with a grin. "Let's fucking do this shit."

Kopman put his hands together and began rubbing them to keep warm. It was a rather cold morning. "Excellent. Okay, Frias, you can take the rooftop of the building next to our position, and give us overwatch. Radio in anything you see. If you guys are gonna go close quarters, make sure to keep out of our line of fire, these will punch through aura relatively easily. Just be careful on it, Move forward or backwards, keep your lateral movements to a minimum. I would rather keep friendly fire to a minimum. We haven't had any real time to work together and familiarize ourselves with our fighting styles. So I want a lot of communication and in simple civilian terms. There is a high likelihood that some acronyms or slang won't be understood by others. Regardless, I want no one to step a single foot past our barricade until the enemy has made it within 30 meters of our position. Beware of possible Soviet Opposition or possible Soviet weaponry. Move from cover to cover when possible. I'm sure you know well enough what those bullets can do to you. DO NOT Fight with all of that flashy Hunter bullshit. We are here to get a job done and make sure all of us make it home. Keep your shots tight, conserve ammo, and fight smart. Do not get caught slacking. Keep it close, short, and efficient. Frias, make sure you stay hidden. Unless any of y'all are a designated marksman or sniper?"

Winter and the SOOs looked at each other, the lead nodding. Winter turned back to Kopman.

"He was unfortunately killed in action when we were pushed out of Atlas." She answered, her voice sullen. We all grimaced. We knew how much it hurt, physically hurt, to lose a brother.

"Shit. I'm sorry to hear that. He must've been a good man." Kopman apologized. We all nodded. Winter sighed and took another drag.

"Indeed he was. Indeed he was." She then smiled. "Let's kick some ass in his honor?"

We all smiled as well, and, lighting another cigarette, Kopman acknowledged her. "Let's fucking trash the shit out of them."

We all laughed, Volk letting out a throaty "Hooah!" Five minutes later, after shooting the shit and chain smoking like the heathens we were, the Bullhead arrived. The crew Chief helped us into the aircraft, and then shut the door. With that, we lifted off and made our way to the Docks. We went way low, scud running, as the pilots said over the comms. It took us less than fifteen minutes to get there, after which we disembarked and secured the Humvee from the bottom of the Transport. As they lifted off, Kopman unlocked the vehicle and backed it into place at our first road block. The white fang would have to drop their people at the entrance to the docks, as the nearby buildings would not provide adequate room further in. This gave us the perfect set up. The VPD so far only had a few officers set up several hundred meters away, on the opposite side of us. As soon as they saw us, they radioed up. Soon after, more VPD officers began arriving.

Volk, ever the knucklehead he was, commented on the growing mass of Officers.

"Hah. Only animals my ass. They look like they are about to piss themselves. At least it looks like they are actually taking it seriously."

As he said this, one of the junior cops glared at us. Only to turn around rather quickly as the Atlesian SOO's and Winter came into view. Volk laughed hard, his cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Pansy ass motherfucker." He cackled as he checked the mag on his M4.

Winter spoke up as she glared at the police, "It seems like the Valish Standards have really dropped in recent years. You know the Valish knights and their military prowess were the golden standard on Remnant, once upon a time? Seems like they grew fat and complacent on their wealth and comfort. The Valish have become soft people over the years. Fertile land, Natural protection, and abundant trade made them successful, but will be their undoing. Unlike Vale, Atlas is a harsh, inhospitable land that grew a tough and hearty people. Unfortunately we became too harsh and cold. Uncaring and cruel to a degree, but our military prowess was never in question. We had over the years become the pinnacle of military might. We were efficient and strong. Trained harder than any other force on Remnant. However, these so-called Soviets and their Fang allies systematically took us down and ripped us apart. If we, the strongest military here, couldn't beat them back. Then how exactly are we supposed to actually trust this undisciplined trash to watch our flank against this enemy?"

I decided to pitch in at that point, "We aren't trusting them to watch our flank. We are planning on it being an absolute bloodbath over there. We are counting on the Police losing this fight. We simply hope they take down as many as they lose and gather the majority of the enemy's attention. Maybe they'll surprise us and pull a victory out of their ass, but I highly doubt they will."

"That's rather cold." Winter replied shocked by my response turning away from us to stare out at the dock.

"It's war Ma'am, consider them acceptable losses." I walk over to her side and point out towards the barricade the police were forming with their cars. "I would gladly let a ten thousand of them die if it meant that the innocent civilians of Vale get to survive this war. I'm sure you know by now that most of us won't live to see the end of this war, we are all expendable and acceptable losses. Those children playing in that park we flew by earlier are not acceptable losses. It's simple calculus, a cold one, but simple nonetheless. We have more training and are worth much more in this war. They are not. The ones that survive will be better and stronger and will help the effort. Regardless they refused our help when we offered, so It's not as if we were the ones to decide their fate. That lies solely on their commanding officers. I don't want to see all of those men and women die Ma'am. I'm sure they all have innocent loved ones that are waiting for them at home. I'll just add it to the list of demons that follow me at night. We do what is needed, not what is wanted Ma'am."

"Winter" She replied as her hard glare had softened.

"Ma'am?" I replied as I turned to face her.

"It's Winter, not Ma'am. We are going to be spilling blood together soon enough. If we make it out of this alive I'll buy you a drink and you can tell me all about those demons." She said as she pat me on the shoulder before turning over to Kopman.

"If we make it out of this in one piece first round is on me tomorrow night!" She replied loudly to a roar of approval.

"Who's down to get fu-king smashed!?" Volk yelled out

Kopman shook his head as he laughed. "Shit man. You know I like my booze bruddah. Count my ass in. Frias can be designated driver."

"Yo fuck you." I responded. "I drove your sorry asses last time. Y'all damn near puked on the gate guard ya chucklefucks."

We all broke down laughing, Winter adding in her own quip at her teammate and friend.

"That reminds me of when we let Nutt get drunk the first time."

Nutt had been looking through the explosive goodies we had brought. He looked up at this comment, however, and walked over to us.

"Nah Winter, ya gotta let me tell this story, see, I was a little fuckhead, young ass LT Boot, and was like, hell yeah, this shit's my turn. So we hit up the bar. Right. And we get fucking trashed. Destroyed. And this fine woman, right -OOF!" Nutt began, only to be elbowed by Winter. "The fuck was that for!?"

Winter laughed. "Nothing. Just the thought of that poor woman waking up to your baboon ass made me want to hurt you."

Nutt just chuckled. "Heh. Fuck you too asshole."

We all broke down laughing at that. After that, we all got into position, Nutt and Volk setting up some explosives near where the WF would touch down, Kopman setting up the ammunition for the M240 on the Humvee. Winter and the SOOs were running through peels, cover, and firing positions. Team CFVY showed up roughly an hour after we did and went about setting up the barbed wire. We quickly went over the plan of attack with Team CFVY. It was decided that Velvet would accompany me after her team mentioned that her Semblance would come in handy. They didn't explain further, but we decided to trust their judgement. We made our way up to the Watchtower at the waterfront. After about fifteen minutes, we got in place. Now, we just needed to wait.

And wait we did. All. Day. Long.

"Hey Velvet, right?" I asked the bunny girl next to me.

"Y-yes?" The timid girl replied keeping her gaze on the docks.

"You're a second year team right? How does that work?"

"What do you mean 'how does that work'?"

"Well I guess this whole school system you guys got going on here. Is there like a pass/fail system? Do you join a military faction after graduation? What happens to the drop outs? I really don't know much about the academy system. I was hoping you could shed some light on it." I scratched my head, my Kevlar resting on the ground next to me.

"Oh well it's kind of like school, you can pass or fail any specific class. However you would simply have to retake any failures. The teachers won't allow any of us to fail out, making sure we all graduate at the same time. You can't just break up teams because of a bad exam. Grades do have an impact since our grades will be shown on our Hunter's License so employers can see them. Any drop outs usually drop out as a team and go on to join the Civil Defense Force or they go rogue." Velvet replied never taking her eyes off the docks.

"Civil Defense Force? I thought Vale didn't have a military?"

"Vale does not have a military. The Civil Defense force is more like a militia. They protect the various villages and towns outside of Vale proper. They guard the town and police the area. They aren't up to Huntsman levels nor are they as well paid or equipped, but they are more than enough to handle a few grimm and the occasional bandit. Every applicant that fails initiation is given the option to join the Civil Defense Force."

"Why are they not well paid or equipped?"

"I wouldn't say they aren't well paid, because they make a generous living. But in comparison to a Hunter it's not as much. They won't be able to afford the amount of dust we run through every mission, but they also don't need to because they shouldn't be in those situations in the first place."

"So if the council has the Civil Defense Force alongside their huntsman, why aren't any of them here?'

"The Civil Defense force is paid for by the towns and villages. They can't afford to be pulled from the towns and villages that need them. Regardless they have no jurisdiction in Vale Proper. The Council made sure of that. As for the Huntsman, well I'm not entirely sure what they are up to."

"What do you mean 'the council made sure of that'"

"Oh that. The council passed legislation a few years ago ensuring that Militias could not act within Vale proper."

"Ah gotcha. So…...how's...umm…. School?"

"Small talk isn't your strong suit is it?" Velvet giggled softly.

"At least I'm trying!" I overdramatically reply raising my hands in the air.

"I appreciate that!" Velvet giggles, "I'm not used to small talk myself. Usually Coco takes control of the conversation from the get go."

"That's the one with the sunglasses that gave me the stink eye a while ago right?"

"Ah. Yeah. That's Coco. She's really big on fashion and considering you guys aren't exactly dressed up as fashionably as she would desire ..."

"What do you mean? I think I look quite dashing in this."

"I'm pretty sure you would look a lot better in something else" Velvet whispered under her voice, well I'm just going to ignore that.

"Regardless I still don't like her attitude."

"It's Coco, you'll learn to either love her or tolerate her."

"I'm not really sure I want to do either."

"Coco isn't going to give you guys much of a choice. One of you has caught her eye and interest, Coco is relentless and stubborn. Good luck."

"Well I'm already spoken for so I sure as hell hope it ain't me."

"Oh really? Is it Yang? I've heard rumors about that."

"Well they are just that. Rumors. Emily would have my ass."

"Emily? Is that another First Year?"

"Nah, she's Blake's Cousin. She doesn't go to Beacon."

"Is she a Faunus too?"

"Pardon?"

"Is she a Faunus like Blake too?"

"You know about that?"

"Puh-lease everybody that's not a First Year knows. Her disguise sucks. The bow even kind of looks like cat ears themselves. And honestly Kali and Ghira Belladonna are important international figures that look a lot like her and share a last name. It doesn't take too many brain cells to connect the two. The Newbies don't really look underneath the underneath so to say. They take everything at face value. It doesn't really change until their first real missions. It usually takes a hard mission or two for them to wisen up."

"Point taken."

"So I guess this means you aren't prejudiced against faunus."

"Not in the slightest!"

"I figured as much, but still good to know for sure."

"I live life by a very simple rule. You treat me right, I'll treat you kindly. You treat me like shit, I'll be your worst nightmare. Very simple. I don't care about anything else."

"Well I hope I fall into the first category."

"So far so good. You haven't done anything wrong by me yet."

"Well that's good to know. Hey by the way what is up with all those you and Yang rumors anyways? They couldn't have started out of nowhere, because it's all over the school. Even Professor Port knows about it. PORT! The man who still thinks Suede Jackets are in!"

"Ah well, I think Yang has it in her head that I will be her boyfriend soon. She just thinks I need a lot of therapy and other shit first. Essentially she wants to groom me to be her boyfriend. Now don't get me wrong, she's an amazing girl and she's probably right about the therapy...but I think I'm far too gone off the deep end to fix. Besides I'm already in a relationship so she's kind of barking up the wrong tree."

"I see...Well, best of luck with it." Velvet offered. I let out a sigh and ran my hand though my hair.

"Thanks. I'm gonna fucking need it." I replied as I sat down on the ledge, my feet dangling over the catwalk, the only thing separating me from the water.

After about an hour, we agreed on watches, and while Velvet took first, I ate a sandwich from Beacon's Cafeteria. CFVY was kind enough to grab a bunch before they left. After that, I put some music on from my phone, and took a cat nap. I woke up about two hours later for my watch, and myself and Velvet switched positions. That's how the rest of the day went. The police looked absolutely bored to tears. We were bored too, don't get me wrong, but we had some….interesting ways of dealing with it. My radio crackling to life was proof. **"Hey Vogel."** Nutt's voice came over the radio, talking to the leader of the SOO team.

**"Yes Nutt?"** came the reply.

**"I spy with my little eyes, something black."**

**"Uh lemme guess. You closed your eyes again?"**

**"hehe, Naw. Your big ass forehead."**

After the last transmission went through, a bottle of water flew across the path between connexes, hitting Nutt on the helmet harmlessly.

**"Heh. Love you bro."**

Mind you, we had been trading jokes and bullshit like this for some time, Kopman and Winter has switched to a private channel and were talking about Officer shit. Kopman had been looking into commissioning for a while now, and wanted to see what was required for the Atlesian Military. Of course, Volk thought Kopman was trying to get lucky.

But I didn't give a fuck.

So it didn't matter. At around 1800, during my watch, I heard a steady droning sound coming from the Entrance to the docs. Looking into the sky with my M107 Optic, I saw four WF marked Bullheads coming our way, about six minutes out. All four had side mounted Gun Pods. As I prepared to sight in and shoot one or more down, I heard the door to the Stairwell open behind me. Turning around, I came face to face with Blake, a German Shepherd, and a Big dude wearing a Jungle Camouflage BCS under a Tan plate carrier with an IR American Flag Patch on the front, carrying a SCAR-H, a Barrett M107 slung on his back. A Glock Sidearm sat in a thigh holster, and on his back was a heavy looking ILBE pack, atop which was strapped an AT4.

"Ready to stack bodies Soldier?" The man asked me. I was left speechless at the sight of this trio. At least for a moment. "Blake?" I asked. "What the-?"

The big man chuckled as the three of them approached. "Relax soldier. The name's D. You might know me as the Dark Knight. Good to meet officially. Well, as official as the daily bullshit gets. Anyways, we need to get sketchy. Raise your guys, tell 'em we got Whiskey Foxtrot on the way." D explained as he set down his SCAR next to me, untying the Anti-Materiel Rifle from his Ruck and placing it next to the SCAR. As he dug out ammunition, I looked up to Blake.

"So….what?" I asked her, my mind going a million miles a minute.

"Relax. Just do what you do best. We'll explain after. Radio your team." She answered as she checked her blade, an M4 slung across her back. Quickly, I grabbed my Blackgear, and keyed it.

**"Reaper 4-6, Reaper 4-4, Whiskey Foxtrot inbound, in range three minutes, Whiskey Foxtrot inbound, out three mike."**

**"Reaper 4-4, Reaper 4-6, Copies all. Buttoning up down here. Take shots at them when in range, see if we can knock a few into the Sea. Once Whiskey Foxtrot units touchdown, begin overwatch. Reaper 4-6 out."**

That done, I looked over to D, who had pulled several Magazines from his ruck.

"Take what you need brother. We all up in this shit together. Range 2.5 miles. Thank god for a clear day, no wind. Once they hit 1.5 we'll take out a few." The man said as he sighted in. I did the same.

"I'll take the front right one, you take the left, we work em back and back copy?" I suggested as I sighted in on my chosen target.

D shifted his position slightly as he put the reticle on the transport to the left. "Kill!" He let out heartily as he called the ranges out. "1.9, 1.7, 1.6, 1.5, give them hell." At the 'H' in Hell, I checked my aim, and squeezed the trigger. The round leapt from the rifle, a loud bang in its place as it roared through the air, spinning as it made its way to the target. Metal, bone, blood, and glass flew around the cockpit of the now doomed Aircraft as the 50 BMG round tore through the pilot, Avionics, and motor assemblies, finally exiting the craft and continuing it's travel, unexpectedly ripping through the wing of the Bullhead behind it, ripping the fuel tank open. From here, the round finally fell into the ocean. Back on the Watchtower, D gave a low whistle. "Damn bro. Good shot. My turn."

As D pulled the trigger, I sighted in on the next Bullhead, and took aim, this time not waiting for a fire command as I let loose another round. And another, and another. Soon, we had cut down a dozen of these bastards, when D put his hand on my shoulder.

"We can't shoot them down anymore. Can't risk collateral damage. The cops didn't clear civvies out of here. Dumb as fuck, but we'll make do."

I gritted my teeth. Those imbeciles. But D was right. We'll make do. Within the next couple of minutes the first of the Bullheads touched down at the docks. However, a few kept heading straight for our position with return fire from their guns. We quickly took cover behind the brick ledge as the bullheads pounded the position.

"Reminds ya of home don't it?! Gotta love that adrenaline!" D yelled out over the incoming fire.

"Ah hell yeah." I replied as I pulled my sleeve back showing my forearm. "You can just see those goosebumps."

"It's like a drug ain't it. God we have the best job in the world." D replied with a large smirk on his face. Looking over to Velvet and Blake I can only see pure confusion and slight concern for our conversation/ sanity.

Shortly after our exchange, the barrage ended and the Bullheads flew over our position dropping twenty or so WF and a rather peculiar looking girl with a pink umbrella off on the other side of the rooftop. We quickly began exchanging fire with the WF. Blake wielding the M4 like a professional, keeping herself low to the ground and advancing slowly towards the White Fang Fighters. Both her and D had gone into a forward peel. D released the K9, which effectively took down each fighter it attacked like a rabid wolf. Hot damn. Velvet leaped high into the air only to come crashing down only twenty feet in front of me. "Velvet! Are you ok?" I shouted as I ran over towards her, and dragged her behind the cover of the stairwell.

"Agh! It hurts so much! Why didn't my Aura protect me!" She whimpered as she grabbed at her side. Carefully pulling her hand away from her side, I could see that blood was profusely pouring out her wound. Shit! It must have ruptured her spleen.

"MAN DOWN! COVER MY POSITION AND HOLD. LIVE ROUNDS! LIVE ROUNDS! IT'S NOT DUST ROUNDS! Damn it Velvet. There's a reason I said not to do any of that fancy huntsman shit." I warned D and Blake, and admonished Velvet as I cut away at Velvet's Jumpsuit so I could get a better look at her wound. Gently rolling her, much to her anguished moans, I was able to see an exit wound coming out her back. Good. Found an exit wound. I ripped my IFAK off of my PC, and began addressing the wound.

"Watch out!" Velvet grunted out as she pushed my face to the side only for a blade to slash by where my face used to be. Looking at my attacker I could see that it was the multicolored midget with an Estoc concealed within the shaft of an umbrella. Quickly, I hip fired my pistol, only for the girl to shatter into millions of shards of glass and disappear.

"FUCK D, BLAKE WATCH MY FUCKING SIX! I HAVE TO STABILIZE VELVET!" I shouted out as I rush back to applying pressure on the wound. Only for me to see an Estoc headed right for Velvet's heart. I quickly dove on top of her taking the sword to my vest. The estoc stuck itself in my back plate. I grinned wickedly, and whipped around, my Kabar flying towards her throat in my hands. Too late I realized that this little circus freak had aura, as my blade bounced off her neck. She fell to the ground, rolling around and clutching her throat. Seems like I had no small amount of force behind that thrust. Probably scared the shit outta her. I ripped the now dull and slightly warped estoc from my back plate, and threw it into the sea. I pulled my sidearm, and aimed at the Circus freak. Only to see her going for D, a small dagger in her hand. I called out a warning, and he turned, grabbing her by the throat, and slamming her on the rooftop. Her head smacked a guard rail on the way down, and I could hear the pop of her neck breaking from here. Without even pausing, D, pulled his Glock, and let fly the entire clip into the Circus Freak's Face. He dropped the clip in his dump pouch, reloaded and holstered the Glock, and went back to firing on the now very few and mostly dead WF fighters. This man had to have been really deep in the shit to be this nonchalant.

Seeing as most of the insurgents were down for the count I went back to attending Velvet, while Blake, D, and the K9 mopped up the rest. Finishing up wrapping the wound I quickly took her vitals after calling in for medevac. The bullet went cleanly through her upper left abdominal quadrant. She would bleed out if we didn't get her out in time and I did not need a needless casualty on my shoulders.

"I can still fight." Velvet said trying to sit up only to be stopped by my hand forcing her back down.

"No you can't. Medevac will be here shortly to take you back to Beacon. You don't need to prove anything to anyone here. You just had the shitty luck of getting hit first. It could have been any of us. Now stay still and rest. You'll have plenty of more chances to fight alongside us in the future, I will not have you die on me. You copy?" I tell her as I grab her hand and squeeze it.

"Yes sir." She morosely replies.

"Good." I reply before looking over to where Blake and D were checking the bodies of the WF. "Blake, watch over Velvet for me while D and I get back to our Overwatch."

"I swear I'll be better next time." Velvet says to me as she stops me from leaving.

"Don't worry. It wasn't about you being better, it was simply you didn't know their capabilities and were unlucky. If anything I should have warned you of the possibility and been a better brother." I say as I stand up and get back to the ledge.

Looking over the edge I could see that things had gone to shit in very short order. It looked almost apocalyptic. Various Bullheads were scattered around and destroyed in the docks. Various police cruisers were destroyed or flipped over. Police and White Fang used both for cover as various explosions and mortar rounds rocked the line. Over toward our front it seemed like our line was holding and no white fang had made it to the last row of barbed wire yet. Using my Optics I could see there was some distress down with the Atlesians. It looked like one of them was hit, but not dead since they were seemingly applying bandages. Quickly looking back towards the battlefield I could see a man between a series of Bullheads that looked like he was conveying orders to the rest. He was dressed in a pure white suit along with a black bowler hat. And was he wearing fake eyelashes? And EYELINER? It didn't matter. He was leading the enemy. He was an easy target. I put my reticle on his head, and squeezed the trigger. A fraction of a second later, his head exploded like a ripe melon. Cut off the head and let the body die. The WF Fighters nearest to the dude were visibly shaken. It's not everyday you see your boss' head explode. I chuckled at that dark thought as I began picking out and taking down targets.

Looking over towards the Police I saw that the White Fang had closed ranks with the Police line and it was a massive melee fight. The Police lost as many as they killed. Our line was holding with Winter running interference and taking down any WF who got too close to the line. The WF for the most part stayed away from our boys and focused most of their charge on the police line.

D joined me after a moment, and we mopped up the few WF that were a threat to our boys below. Before I decided to help the police and take some of the WF out. Carefully picking my shots and neutralizing targets until the fighting slowly finished and came to an end with a few WF surrendering to the dozen or so Officers still standing. Seeing that the fighting had come to an end I started to pack my things up.

As I began to pack up, I heard the drone of more Bullheads coming our way. These had Beacon markings, however, and were not armed. While two began flying around the docks, waiting for the ground team, one broke off towards us. Our MEDEVAC. As it touched down, two Beacon students jumped out, and walked over to where I had now moved next to Velvet. As I rattled off what injuries I knew she had, they did a rapid assessment. That done, one ran back to the Bullhead for a gurney. As he brought the gurney over to us, D, the student, and myself prepared to lift her on the thing. As we lifted, Blake grabbed what medical supplies were needed from the ground and put them on the gurney. We then lifted the gurney into the Bullhead, and joined her, save for Blake, who made her way back down to the Docks. As the Bullhead lifted off, I looked down to see a second MEDEVAC underway with our guys. Seems like Coco and two of the Atlesian Operators had also been WIA. Thank God. It could have been way worse. I looked over to where D and his K9 were sitting. The big man was scratching the happy looking pooch's ears. That dog. Was scary. I sighed, and took off my Kevlar.

"Fuckin' A That was a bit of a grind!" I announced into the relative silence of the bullhead. D just nodded.

"Yup. It was. Don't worry about Blake. She went to drive my vehicle to the beacon Airlift docks. We'll pick it up there." He answered as he followed my example, and released the chinstrap of his Kevlar. "How you doing Soldier?"

"I'm doing good man. Name's Frias. Specialist, US Army." I replied. Diaz nodded.

"Diaz. Gunnery Sergeant. Marines. Good to see another brother from the Land of the free." He smiled a little. "It's been a long ass time since I saw that flag. Motivating as fuck."

"No shit? When'd you get here?" I asked. Depending on when this dude got here, some theories may be proven or disproven.

"About four weeks ago. Somewhere way fuckin' North of here. I got a shit ton to tell you. Too jumpy right now though. Now, I'm looking for a shower and some actual food. Not that vacuum packed MRE bullshit." Diaz chuckled as he scratched his chin through his beard. I was absolutely jealous. Special Operations. Had to have been. The gear and demeanor certainly matched.

"Hey man, you can take the first shower when we get back. I do have a question though. Are you Force Reconnaissance or something? You certainly give off the Operator Vibes." I questioned as I opened my canteen and took a swig. I hate this damn thing. Makes water taste like cancer. Diaz smiled as he rubbed his K9's head.

"I was Recon. Now I'm in MARSOC. 3rd Raider Battalion. Was on a Two Month Cycle with my unit when I ended up in this shitstorm. I won't lie though. It's been fun. Now it's gonna be even better." Diaz answered. "Chaz here came through another of what I'd assume are tears in space or whatever. I found him just laying there. US Tags on him. He was cranky and rather sketched out by all this at first, but he came around. Didn't you, you mangy Devil?"

While Diaz messed around with Chaz, I looked out the porthole as we approached the Airdocks. Now we just had to pick up the Vehicle and we'd be on our way back to Beacon.