Summer paced around the control room of the Beacon company headquarters. All around her, reports came in from various parts of the bare, with each one stating all clear status. Despite the fact that it had been nearly two months since the attack, everyone on the base remained on edge, always expecting further retribution from Atlas due to the damage to their carrier. Despite their worries, however, no attack ever came.

"Ummm, Colonel?" One of the operators called. "I've got contacts on radar. IFF paints them as Atlesian military."

"How many?" Summer replied, walking up behind the operator.

"Just three," she replied.

Summer nodded before picking up a phone from the console. "Airfield, this is Scatter," she called, "Atlesian contacts inbound. Scramble Beowolf one to intercept." She then turned to a radio operator. "Set up to broadcast on all frequencies," she called.

"Ready," the radio operator replied after pushing several buttons on the console.

Summer picked a radio up off the console. "Atlesian aircraft, you have entered Beacon company airspace. Leave immediately, or you will be shot down."

"Beacon Headquarters, this is General Ironwood," a voice replied. "I need to speak with your commander in person. Our only aircraft in the area are my transport and two escort fighters, so we are no threat to you."

Just as summer was about to reply, the door leading into the control room opened.

"General Ironwood, this is Commander Ozpin," the commander replied, "You had better have a very good reason for violating my airspace after the attack on my base."

"That's what I'm here to discuss," the General replied. "And I won't do it over an open channel."

Ozpin paused for a moment. "Very well. Our fighters will escort you into the base and I will have a team meet you when you land."

"Understood," General Ironwood replied.

Ozpin turned to Summer. "Have hunter team RWBY meet them outside of the hangar," he said. "I'll be down there soon."

"Another day, another patrol," Ruby yawned as she and her team left the defensive wall.

"I wonder how much longer they're going to keep everyone on double shifts," Weiss stated

"No idea," Ruby replied with a shrug as they returned outside.

"Probably until they can get our satellite link back online," Blake said.

Before Ruby could replied, there was a roar from overhead. All four women glanced upward and watched as four of the Beacon Company's Wyverns sped away from the base.

"Wonder what that's about?" Ruby said.

"I swear, if it's another attack…" Weiss grumbled.

"Hunter Team RWBY, this is Scatter, come in," Summer called over their radios.

Ruby glanced at her teammates. Weiss merely shrugged, and Blake and Yang looked at her expectantly.

"Red wolf, go ahead," Ruby replied.

"Are you and your team still in your combat gear?" Summer asked.

"We were just about to head into the armory to drop it off," Ruby replied, glancing down at her combat vest.

"Don't. Take your team and head down to the airfield, hangar six."

"Got it," Ruby replied. "Anything else?"

"Not at present, but be ready for anything when the Atlesians get out of their aircraft," Summer stated.

"Atlesians?" Ruby asked, recoiling slightly.

"That is correct,"

"But-"

"You have your orders, Captain," Commander Ozpin said tersely, interrupting Ruby.

"Yes, sir," Ruby replied before turning to face her team. "Come on guys, we're headed to the airfield."

Ruby and her team waited outside the hangar, listening to the roar of aircraft as first, a pair of Atlesian fighters came in to land, followed closely by an Atlesian dropship. Once the Atlesian aircraft were off the runway, four Beacon Company X-02's descended and lightly grazed the runway as they landed. The aircraft were towed into the hangar by the Beacon Company tender vehicles. Almost as soon as they were stopped in the Hangar, the hatch on the back of the dropship opened. From the aircraft emerged two figures in the typical full combat gear of Atlesian Knights and both carrying rifles.

Ruby and her team immediately went into action, bringing their weapons to bear and crouching down into a more stable stance.

"Weapons on the ground, now!" Weiss yelled through her voice modulator.

"You first!" the Atlesian soldier yelled back.

"You're in a base operated by the Beacon Company," Ruby replied. "Put your weapons down."

Both groups stared each other down. Ruby shifted her finger ever so slightly, so it was resting on her rifle's trigger when there was a yell from the transport.

"Sergeant Coal, put your weapons down, now," came an authoritative voice.

"But, sir-" the soldier started.

"You heard me, Sergeant," the voice repeated.

"Yes, sir."

The Atlesian soldiers lowered their weapons, and the Beacon Company forces lowered theirs in turn. From the Atlesian dropship emerged a figure Ruby immediately recognized from pervious missions with the Atlesian military as General Ironwood.

"Where is Commander Ozpin?" He demanded. "I was told he- "

"General," Ozpin said as he walked up behind Ruby and her team. "I hope you have a good reason for intruding on my airspace after your forces participated in an attack here."

"Do you have somewhere we can speak privately?" the General asked.

"Follow me," Ozpin replied.

Ironwood signaled to his soldiers to follow him. From the dropship emerged six more soldiers who, like the first two that had emerged, were wearing a full set Atlesian special forces gear. All eight started walking in two lines behind General Ironwood. Ruby and her team took up positions around Ironwood and his troops, and they all followed Ozpin to the Beacon Company's headquarters building.

As Ruby walked, she carefully watched the movements of the Atlesian soldiers. She could feel the tense atmosphere of the base as they walked past more and more mercenaries, who all shot the Atlesians glares. Despite the visible resentment from the Beacon company soldiers, nothing happened as they continued to the headquarters building.

When the finally arrived outside the doors, Ozpin stopped the group. He pulled out his scroll and placed it against the scanner.

"Ozpin, Commander," he said simply, and the doors immediately started to slowly swing outward.

Before the door was even fully open, Ozpin lead the group into the building. They followed him through the halls until they found themselves outside of a meeting room. Ozpin pulled the door open.

"Bring two of your people with you," Ozpin said to Ironwood. "I will have two of mine as well. The rest will remain out here."

Ironwood turned to his troops. "Sergeant, Corporal, with me," he said.

Ozpin turned to Ruby and her team. "Red Wolf, White Queen."

Ruby saluted before motioning for Blake and Yang to stand on either side of the door. Ruby and Weiss followed Ozpin and Ironwood into the room, followed closely by the Atlesian soldiers. The two mercenaries took up positions on either side of their commander as he sat down, and General Ironwood's soldiers did the same.

"So, Ironwood, what is this all about?" Ozpin asked.

"There has been a coup in Atlas," Ironwood replied. "Almost the entire Atlesian council was killed in an attack a few months ago. Almost the entire Atlesian military turned traitor and launched an all-out assault on the capital building under the guise of 'clearing out White Fang sympathizers.' The few councilors that survived were at home with their families."

"Once they had control of the government, the rogue forces immediately launched an attack on Vale," Ironwood continued. "They managed to seize a sizable amount of territory before Vale forces could muster a defense. The other nations are mobilizing their forces, but yours is the only force that is prepared for rapid deployment, so we need you to aid in the defense of Vale before leading the counter attack to retake Atlas."

Ozpin paused for a moment. "I think you misunderstand our capacity for rapid deployment," he said finally. "While it is true that our forces are optimized for rapid deployment worldwide, that's because we only ever commit to small scale actions, rarely requiring us to deploy more than one of our landing ships. What your asking would involve a month, maybe more, of massing our forces, loading our transports, and building a logistical network. Besides, between the cost of deployment for our forces along with the cost of rebuilding our base after the White Fang's attack, we simply don't have the funding to commit to something of this scale."

"The timeframe isn't a problem," Ironwood stated. "I factored that in already when I made my argument to the remaining members of the Atlesian council. Even if it took you three months to get there, you would still be deployed in force before Mistral and Vacuo can finish mobilizing. And, as for the cost," Ironwood paused as he pulled a small piece of paper out of his uniform pocket. In the corner of the paper were printed the words Atlesian National Reserve Bank in large, bold letters. The entire check was filled out to the Beacon company, with the exception of the amount field. "However much you need, we can get you."

Ozpin stared at the check for what felt like an eternity. "General, can you give us a minute?" he asked.

"Of course," Ironwood replied.

He and his soldiers stood and left the room, closing the door behind them.

"Voice modulators off," Ozpin said, and Ruby and Weiss both quickly complied. "What do you think?" he asked.

"Sir?" Ruby replied.

"I want your opinion, Captain Rose," Ozpin said. "You are going to be among those in the field if we do commit to this. I don't want us to deploy if you feel that it would not be a good idea."

Ruby clutched her rifle as she thought about her response. "I honestly don't know," she replied finally. "We've never done anything close to this. Most of our missions last only a day or two, and we're almost never gone for more than a week. Here though, we'd be deployed for a much longer time, right?" Ozpin nodded. "It's not just going to be complete the mission and go home. Not to mention the fact that we'd be taking a lot more casualties doing this than we ever have before."

"On the other hand, we try to do everything we can to protect people," she continued. "Even performing missions for no pay in some circumstances, and from the sounds of it, we would be helping a lot of people out there." Ruby sighed. "I guess we probably should," she said finally. "We could do a lot of good for people out there, and if there's something we can do to protect people, then we should at least try."

"Lieutenant Schnee?" Ozpin asked, turning to the other mercenary.

"I agree with Ruby," she said. "Helping people has always been our primary mission, even when we've been hired to do something else."

Ozpin nodded. "Very well, then," he replied. "Please inform Ironwood he can come back in."

Ruby stood back up from her chair and walked over to the entrance. When she pulled the door back open, Ironwood stepped in with two of his soldiers at his back. All four individuals returned to their seats, with Ruby taking her place next to Ozpin and Ironwood and his soldiers sitting across the table.

"Well, what is your answer?" Ironwood asked.

"We'll do it," Ozpin replied, nodding. "On the condition that I have final say on where my forces are deployed."

"Of course," Ironwood stated. "You are the commander of your forces, after all."

"If there is nothing else," Ozpin said after a long pause, "I need to get my forces ready for the coming war."

"Very well," Ironwood said. "Good luck, Oz."

General Ironwood signaled to his men, and they filed out of the room.

"Should we escort them back to their transport?" Ruby asked.

"That won't be necessary," Ozpin replied. "Take some time for yourselves. Once this war begins, there won't be very much time to rest."

Ruby saluted and stood from her seat, and the rest of her team followed her out of the building in silence. They started to make their way back to the armory to return their gear when the base intercom went off.

"Attention all personnel, this is the Commander," Ozpin said, his voice echoing across the base. "As you all are no doubt aware, there was an attack on our base several months ago. At the same time as the attack, Atlesian military forces staged a coup, seizing control of all government functions. Once they had seized control of the government, the immediately launched an attack on the nation of Vale."

"We have been contacted by the few remaining members of the Atlesian military still loyal to the surviving members of their government," he continued, "requesting out aid in defeating this uprising, a request we have chosen to accept. All other deployments are hereby cancelled, and all weekly training is hereby rescinded. Any time normally reserved for training is to be devoted to aiding crews in loading supplies, munitions, and vehicles for the coming deployment. As of this moment, the Beacon Company is at war."

A/N: Our heroines just can't catch a break, can they? Of course, there wouldn't exactly be much story if they could. Needless to say, things are only going to pick up from here. As for how things are going to pick up, well, let's just say that their jobs aren't going to be getting any easier.

To reply to the guest review from C. Nightshade, the vehicles the Beacon Company uses, and by extension all of the vehicles mentioned, are included (with some exceptions) because they are actual combat vehicles. There is no connection between ARMA III and this story. Indeed, I've never even played any of the ARMA games.

Anyway, with all of that said, the next chapter should hopefully not take too long. I'll see you all when it's posted! Stay classy, folks!