The Harvester looked cold, quiet, and uninviting from the outside. As Strike Five approached the rear entrance, Jaune got the sneaking feeling that something within the alien hull was tracking their every step and listening to their every word. If ghosts existed, and Jaune certainly didn't believe in ghosts, he'd pick this UFO as a prime haunting ground for poltergeists. He tightened his grip on Crocea Mors and glanced over at Pyrrha to gauge her reaction to their surroundings. His partner looked stoic as always, ready to face any challenge without a trace of fear marring her expression.

Beagle slowed the squad's advance to assess the tactical situation at the Harvester's gangplank and determine the safest squad formation to proceed into the downed ship. After reviewing some video logs of the Captain's previous operations for research purposes, Jaune realized that this could take a very long time. He decided to make the most of this lull in activity to talk with Pyrrha.

"Hey…" Jaune said, trepidation in his voice.

Pyrrha looked over at him, "Hmm?"

"What's your take on those Nevermores? I feel like we should talk about this before we're bombarded with questions by Bradford and the rest of our friends."

His partner looked thoughtful for a minute, and it occurred to Jaune that perhaps Pyrrha planned to wait until after the fight to think about XCOM's latest crisis. He didn't know if she'd be distracted by the problem now that he forced her to consider it, and wondered if he should apologize and tell her to forget about it. Before he could over think the situation further, she looked up at him and shrugged.

"I can't say for certain. Obviously they're bad news, especially because we have no idea how they got here from Remnant. Maybe we'll get lucky, and they were the result of some extreme, unfortunate, coincidence? The idea that someone or something is willfully sending them across raises two concerns. First, how do they know we're here? As far as I'm aware, Ozpin is the only one on Remnant who knows about Earth, and there's no way he would do this. Second, how could they be sent across? The only method we know of to move between worlds is the Hyperwave Relay, and that's sitting at XCOM HQ."

She examined Miló while she spoke, using the sash on her hip to clean off any dirt or grime that she saw. Jaune knew that she usually did this when something agitated her, and he once again wondered if he made a mistake in bringing up the topic. Pyrrha had more to say, though.

"We really don't have much of anything to go on yet. All we know is that we saw a pair of Grimm burst through the roof of this UFO. Any conclusions we draw from that would purely be conjecture, and I don't think it would be prudent if we started making guesses so soon. Hopefully we find answers during our investigation of the Harvester, or even clues that can lead us to a proper hypothesis. Failing that, we can at least be on guard for the possibility of encountering more Grimm here and on any other op in the future."

"Alright, gladiators," Beagle called out to the hunters through the comms, "You're on point."

Jaune rolled his eyes, "He could've gone with that plan from the beginning. C'mon, let's move."

The duo shelved their Grimm conversation for later and cautiously spearheaded Strike Five's formation as the squad began its sweep of the alien craft. Jaune and Pyrrha took the high ground of the middle walkway while the rest of the squad carefully picked their way along the parallel rooms below. Everything so far pointed to a normal Harvester. Flight computers and stasis tanks littered the first two rooms, as they usually did, and Jaune saw no signs of abnormal equipment. Even the rest of the squad, given all the extra months of experience they had over Jaune and Pyrrha, found nothing out of the ordinary. Except for the complete lack of aliens, of course.

Jaune tightened his grip on Crocea Mors. The last 'ghost op' he heard about from his friends resulted in Blake getting impaled on a Chryssalid's talon. While the idea of piloting a MEC sounded totally awesome to Jaune, he did not cherish the thought of giving up his limbs for the chance to do so.

"Jaune, look." Pyrrha pointed ahead of them, and Jaune saw ripped and sparking power lines hanging down from the ceiling. Several rays of light filtered through, illuminating the smoldering ashes and debris lazily floating through the air.

"That must be where the Nevermores broke out of the ship." Pyrrha whispered, "If we find any kind of answer to what happened here, that's probably our best bet."

Shields at the ready, Jaune and Pyrrha took their last few steps to reach the ship's large main chamber. The sight that greeted them was one of absolute destruction. Dead sectoids lay slumped in the corners while wrecked hardware lay burning and broken across the room's expanse. Claw marks marred every wall, evidence of the Nevermore's sheer strength, whether it's big or small. After the hunters carefully listened for signs of an ambush, Pyrrha gave the rest of the squad an 'all clear' signal.

"Bloody hell." Beagle said, awestruck by the carnage. While the rest of the team fanned out, either to do their own investigating or to set up a defensive perimeter, the Captain picked his way down to the lower deck for a closer look at the main wreckage. A squelching sound reached his ears, and he made a face when he realized he stepped into some fluid leaking from one of the stasis tanks. When he lifted his foot, tarry black matter clung to his sole like some oversized piece of disgusting gum.

He tried shaking his boot free of the tacky substance, "The fuck is this? Did those birds decide to take a shit before flying out the roof?"

Pyrrha landed gracefully next to him and knelt down to examine the material, "I'm not sure. Grimm evaporate into nothingness once slain, so we have no real way of examining their biomass. Even if we capture one and try to cut off samples for study, the separated piece lasts for little more than a few seconds."

She dabbed a gloved finger into the tar and rolled the sticky residue between her fingers. The matter thickened while she rolled it, but oozed off of her finger the moment she stopped.

"I've never seen anything like it," She admitted, "Though if you hold still for a few seconds, sir, it'll probably come off on its own."

While Pyrrha was helping the Captain, Jaune investigated the Sectoids. While several had slash marks indicative of Nevermore attacks, several possessed far more grotesque injuries. Punctured eyes, eviscerated chest cavities… one unfortunate alien had the upper half of its head blown off, though Jaune didn't see the expected gore and brain matter splattering the wall behind it.

"Hey," He called out, "One of these guys is a Commander." Jaune looked over at Beagle and flashed a grin, "So maybe all the aliens really are dead."

"Yeah, well… I'd rather deal with those little shits than whatever can of worms we just saw open up half an hour ago." Beagle said as he tried to coax the black tar off of his boots.

"Just trying to be positive is all."

Ortega's voice came through the comm, "Yo, boss. I got something for ya."

"It better be good news, because I swear if it isn't…"

The Sniper's face appeared above the hole in the roof, and he waved something in his hand, "I think you'll like this. Catch!"

Ortega chucked the small object, and laughed as Beagle unceremoniously tried and failed to grab it out of the air. With a small measure of embarrassment, the Captain bent over and picked up the white, bone-like projectile thrown at him.

"… I'm guessing this is from the Nevermore?"

"I think so." Ortega answered, "Probably got chipped off after Vulcan's opening 'fuck you' to the Grimm. Found it while I was poking around up here. Didn't find anything else, unfortunately."

Beagle flipped the bone over in his hands a few times before casting a raised eyebrow at Pyrrha, "Thought you said these guys evaporate."

"I did." Pyrrha confirmed, apprehension in her voice, "Which is why I'm just as confused by this as you. None of what's happening here is making any sense. Those were definitely creatures of Grimm, that much I know. And yet the more we learn from this place, the more questions I have about the Nevermore. At least we'll have things to bring back for Vahlen to look at."

Ortega's voice over the comms interrupted them once more, "Hey boss… you're not going to like this. I'm seeing contacts approaching from the tree line."

"Oh, you're shitting me…" Beagle grappled to the roof to join Ortega. The Sniper pointed to the south, where multiple quadrupeds raced towards the Harvester. While they varied in size, they were all black as night with skull-white heads and beady red eyes.

"What is this?" The Captain shouted at nobody in particular, "What… what the fuck is this?!"

In an instant, Pyrrha appeared at his side and scanned the approaching forces.

"Nine Beowolves, four Boarbatusks, and two Ursa Major." She counted, "Ursas will be the biggest issue. Still, nothing we can't handle."

Beagle keyed his comm, "Fives! I want a defensive line at the UFO's rear. Vulcan and 3-13 are up on the roof with me taking potshots while our resident hunters will be doing most of the heavy lifting. Watch and learn how to fight these bastards, 'cause I'm guessing we'll be seeing more of them in the future."

"Perimeter's already set." Jaune answered over the line, "I had everyone haul ass the moment '13 mentioned bad news."

"Good man. Now let's show these little shits why you don't fuck with XCOM."

Jaune waited at the mouth of the Harvester for Pyrrha to jump down and join him. Side by side, they stared at the oncoming horde as it rapidly approached.

"How do you want to play this, Pyr?"

"Well, it's safer if we don't rely on support from the squad. Then we'll be pleasantly surprised when they make things easier, but prepared for the worst if they're unable to help. Do you want to handle the big ones or the little ones?"

"I won't lie, not a fan of the big guys. Think you can handle them while I keep the wolves off your back?"

Pyrrha assumed a defensive posture, shield up and xiphos ready, "Just make sure you do keep the wolves off my back."

Jaune matched Pyrrha's stance and cast an offended look her way, "What's that supposed to mean? I won't let them put a single claw on you."

Pyrrha smiled at her partner, "I know. Now let's do this!"

Before the hunters could close the gap and engage the Grimm, a rocket streaked overhead and crashed into the middle of the pack. Concussive force and shrapnel sent the smaller creatures sprawling while the extreme mass of the Ursa let them charge through the explosion and barrel onward towards their prey. A high-density slug shot from Vulcan's particle cannon cracked the skull plating of one juggernaut, forcing it to halt its charge to recover from the shock.

"Take that, you pricks!" Jaune heard Beagle shout, "Vulcan, keep plugging the big ones. That armored plating looks a little too tough for anything less than MEC-class ordnance."

"Understood. Calculating firing solutions for the Ursa-class Grimm."

Pyrrha and Jaune immediately jumped on the opportunity opened up by their allies. They sidestepped the still-charging Ursa, though Pyrrha took a swipe at the lead Grimm's paw to keep its attention on her and off the Strike Five defensive line. Jaune easily dispatched two of the Boarbatusks, as the rocket's explosion threw them to their backs and left their weak undersides exposed. He drove Crocea Mors into the first and then slashed the second before its partner finished it's death squeal.

His first task complete, Jaune stepped back to reassess the situation. Pyrrha spent their opening advantage landing as many blows as she could on the stunned Ursa while the second turned around to assault her. Once the surviving 'lesser' Grimm began to recover, the Boarbatusks took an interest in the UFO and the Beowolves chose to close in on the huntress killing their ally. Jaune raised his shield and charged the lead Beowolf. He threw his weight hard into the impact and caused the Grimm to tumble into the path of the others. Jaune faced the pack and grinned.

"You mutts have to get through me first."

As the Beowolves advanced, Jaune once again heard Beagle giving orders to the squad, "Alright, we've got incoming. Seven was able to kill the boars with a few swipes to their bellies. Flip 'em over with explosives, then unload on them when they're exposed. Dust rounds if you've got 'em."

Jaune sized up the Beowolves while they snarled and snapped their teeth menacingly. Not one to let the Grimm have the first move, Jaune shot forward, sword arm raised. A claw to his exposed shoulder threw him to the dirt with a pained cry.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaimed, risking a moment to glance at her partner, "Are you okay?"

Jaune groaned, "Yeah. Just re-learning literally the first lesson you gave me up on the roof. The hard way."

He rolled to his feet before the Beowolves could capitalize on his downed state. Shield up again, but sword held back this time to avoid overextending his reach, Jaune squared off for round two. He heard the bangs, slashes, and grunts of Pyrrha's two-on-one battle behind him as the first three Grimm pounced. Jaune ducked under the lead wolf, used his shield to deflect the second, and pierced the third cleanly through the chest with his blade. Without hesitating, he ripped it out with a spin and used his momentum to slice the Grimm in half. Before he could worry about whether he should focus on the two closest to Pyrrha or the remaining six, a resounding crack echoed from the ship and a bullet kneecapped one of the two 'problematic' Beowolves.

"I've got your back, buddy." Ortega said over the comm, "Focus on the larger threat."

Jaune nodded in the Sniper's direction before turning to face the remainder of the wolf pack. He charged forward again, his confidence restored by the previous exchanging of blows. He slammed his shield into the closest Beowolf, using the extra space to strike at its partner before shoving a boot into the chest of one trying to sneak in an attack behind him. He backed off momentarily to avoid getting outmaneuvered before diving back in and trying to eliminate another target.

Before long, Jaune fell into a rhythm. Block, strike, evade, repeat, with an occasional mix-up to keep the Grimm from predicting his next move. Whenever he had a moment, Jaune checked on Pyrrha's progress. He realized that he made the right choice when Pyrrha asked which foe he'd rather fight, because the Ursa seemed to be giving her a lot of trouble. Even though Vulcan helped by taking shots against the oversized bears, his attacks merely managed to crack their armor rather than puncture their flesh. While Jaune knew the Ursa back on Remnant possessed impressive vitality, something about these put them on a different level altogether.

The pair of Remnant hunters continued their bladed dance while the roof operatives tried to support them as best they could. Ortega enjoyed better luck, since the Beowolves possessed considerably less plating than the Ursa. Whenever one of Jaune's enemies managed to slip past him, the Sniper had a Dust round ready for the sneaky Grimm. He'd cripple the creature with his shot and leave Jaune to finish it off. Before long, Jaune whittled the Beowolf pack down to one last target.

As he plunged Crocea Mors into Grimm flesh one last time, Jaune heard the deep cry of an Ursa behind him. He turned around to see the evaporating remains of one Ursa, indicating that Pyrrha managed to finally bring it down. She squared off against her second target, weapons at the ready and a look of determination firmly set on her face. The Ursa roared and charged at Pyrrha, and Jaune watched in awe as his partner gracefully flipped over the Grimm's back. Faster than his eyes could follow, she shifted her weapon into a rifle and fired a few shots into the Ursa's slightly-exposed rear. She returned Miló back to its xiphos form before her feet even touched the dirt.

The bear turned to face the huntress, only to be met with Akoúo̱ slamming into its head. Pyrrha capitalized on her brief distraction by following up with a slash to the Grimm's throat. She saw the Ursa raise a claw to counterattack, so she magnetically pulled her shield back to her forearm and parried the blow. As Jaune continued to watch his partner move with lightning speed and experienced precision, his heart sank slightly. While he knew that he should be proud of Pyrrha and happy to have such a skilled mentor, it only reminded him of just how huge the skill gap was between them.

That's quitter talk, and you know it. Fall into that mindset again, and you'll be just like you were before.

"Right." Jaune said to himself, and he gripped his weapons before dashing to assist his partner.

Pyrrha glanced at him, nodded, and leapt back to let Jaune draw the Ursa's attention. Jaune waved his sword in what he hoped was a menacing manner at their target, "Hey! Yeah you! You want a piece of this? Huh?!"

Jaune grabbed a stone from the ground and chucked it at the Grimm's head. The Ursa didn't even flinch before unleashing an ear-shattering roar in response.

Beagle's voice came through the comm, "So, uh… how about you don't taunt the really fucking huge bear?"

Jaune ignored him and ran at the Ursa. Predictably, it tried to swipe him with its heavy claw, but Jaune had his shield ready. He felt the bones in his arm shudder in protest as they absorbed the shock of the blow, but he remained otherwise unharmed. With as much strength as he could muster, Jaune shoved off the gargantuan paw and followed up with a quick swing of his sword. The cut did little more than nick the Ursa's flank, but he now had the monster's full and undivided attention.

The Ursa's newfound rage forced Jaune to remain on the defensive. The hunter gritted his teeth as his shield absorbed a headbutt and an onslaught of slashes and bites from the Grimm. He felt his strength begin to flag under the bear's constant assault, but he steeled himself to continue fending off the blows for as long as possible.

Thankfully, Pyrrha didn't need him to keep the Ursa distracted for much longer. The Grimm let out a howl, and Jaune peeked over the edge of his shield to see Pyrrha standing atop their foe's back, spear driven deep into its neck. She twisted the blade with a heavy grunt, and the Ursa reared onto its hind legs in an attempt to buck its killer. Pyrrha leapt off of the Ursa's back and delivered a hard kick to the base of her spear. With a sickening squelch, Jaune saw Miló's tip explode through the front of the Grimm's throat. The monster let out a pathetic gurgle before falling to the ground with a shudder. After its body dissolved, Pyrrha yanked her spear from the dirt and returned it to its sword form.

As their adrenaline rush died down, the two hunters locked eyes. In that moment, Jaune saw a year's worth of pride and satisfaction in Pyrrha's expression. Her look made Jaune think that maybe he'd become a true hunter after all. Their brief minute of camaraderie was interrupted by Beagle commenting as he walked up behind them, "Holy shit, if that's the kind of stuff you guys pull on a regular basis back home… teach me."

The rest of the team came to a halt behind their Captain, and MacAuley sighed loudly, "No offense, boss… but could we do that after we're back at base? I don't know about you, but the shit I've seen today merits at least three pints of Guinness. Maybe even four."

Beagle rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay. Let's collect those samples for Vahlen and then call it in. I'm sure Bradford is dying to debrief us on this." He sighed and shook his head, "The paperwork's gonna suck."

"You fought Grimm?!"

Jaune smiled at the hint of disappointment in Nora's tone as the excited huntress greeted them in the hangar, "Yes, Nora. We fought Grimm. Pyrrha got to kill some Ursa."

"Aww man. Why do you guys always get to have all the fun?" She complained. Beagle laughed as he disembarked from the Skyranger behind Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Shit, we should just figure out how to make copies Sergeant Valkyrie over here and field a squad of her against those tarry fucks." He gave the exuberant huntress a wary look, "So you actually enjoy fighting those things?"

"Yep!"

"And they don't scare the hell out of you?"

"Nope!"

The Captain nodded, "Right, I'll make a note of bringing up the idea of investigating cloning technology during our debrief with the boss man." He turned to Jaune and Pyrrha, "Seven? Eight? Let's go."

Nora eagerly followed Strike Five, clearly not satisfied with her brief interrogation. She continued to bombard her friends with questions, which they answered with vague comments. After a quick hike to Mission Control, they found Bradford waiting along with Ren, RWBY, Vahlen, Shen, and the rest of the Strike Leaders. Bradford approached Beagle, offered a firm handshake, and began.

"Welcome back, Captain. While I'm happy to receive a report of no casualties on your op, it's the rest of the events that concerns me."

"You and me both, sir. I'm guessing our friends gave you some details on Grimm way back when you first debriefed them, but this was my first time hearing about these hellspawn. So if you don't mind my asking, what the fuck did my team walk into?"

Bradford glanced at Ruby, "A very good question. Admittedly, I only know the basics about the Grimm, since neither the Lieutenant nor I felt that a detailed explanation was necessary. After recent events, however, that sentiment has obviously changed. Miss Rose?"

Ruby glanced at Pyrrha, "You want to do the honors?"

Pyrrha nodded, cleared her throat and began her address to the group, "In the world of Remnant, humans live in four kingdoms scattered across the continents. The rest of the world is, to our knowledge, occupied by the creatures of Grimm. We don't know where they came from, we don't know how they continue to repopulate, and we don't know what their purpose is. What we do know is this: Grimm will kill humans whenever given the chance."

Van Doorn hummed thoughtfully, "So a common enemy for the kingdoms, then?"

Pyrrha nodded, "Yes, sir. However, they weren't always enough of a motivating factor for the four kingdoms to remain allies. We've had… wars in the past. Bloody ones."

Zhang shrugged, "Violence is in mankind's very nature, Nikos. I would be more surprised if these kingdoms you speak of didn't wage war against each other from time to time."

"True enough," Pyrrha admitted, "Getting back to the point, in order to combat the ever-present threat of the Grimm, the four nations began to train a special kind of warrior: Hunters." She gestured to RWBY and JNPR, "We're students at one such academy that produces hunters. Using the power of Aura, our weapons training, and teamwork, we push back against the darkness of Grimm to keep our nations safe."

"So you're basically Special Forces?" Asked Strike Three's Captain O'Connery, "What about general military? Wouldn't that be enough to rout the Grimm? Could you nuke them from orbit or something?"

Weiss stepped in to help Pyrrha with the new string of questions, "My home nation of Atlas has an impressive military. I would go so far as to say it's the greatest among the four kingdoms. Even with our impressive might, however, we learned very quickly not to push too far beyond the edge of our borders. The Grimm closest to human territory are young, weak, and frequently culled. The deeper you venture into Grimm territory, however… they become stronger, deadlier, and more numerous. Thus, we realized our military was most useful in dealing with border threats and internal security issues rather than expeditionary ventures.

"As for nuking from orbit," Weiss continued, "We've never had the need for space technology, as more important and immediate concerns always seem to present themselves. Even simple air superiority isn't a foolproof option. While we do have military aircraft and troop transports… well, I'm sure Captain Beagle can tell you what the Grimm have."

"Bloody evil birds of death that make Heavy Floaters feel like a fucking picnic, that's what." The Captain grumbled.

Bradford refocused the conversation, "So now that we have a better idea of what the Grimm are, let's try to discuss how they got here, and what this could mean for Earth."

"That's the problem." Pyrrha pointed out, "We don't know how they got here. If they've never been on Earth before-"

"Which they definitely haven't." Vahlen supplied.

"… then it stands to reason that their arrival right after ours can't be a coincidence, as we both came from the same place. Did the aliens bring them over? Or can teleportation anomalies occur randomly?"

Dr. Shen cleared his throat, "After hearing about the strange events of your operation, Dr. Vahlen and I sent several members of our respective teams to join the usual salvage crews. In addition to finding a great deal more of that black substance Captain Beagle returned with, they recovered several strange devices that we don't recognize. I must admit I am surprised that we found nothing onboard that Harvester that resembled our Hyperwave Relay, as that would have been the surest sign that the aliens were attempting to bring over Grimm as auxiliary soldiers. However, these other devices merit study, and I'm hoping they'll reveal some answers in due time."

"And there are other issues." Vahlen added, "Such as why the aliens seemed to be inadequately equipped to restrain the Grimm. Surely they would have observed the creatures they intended to capture, developed proper protocol to contain their targets, and then run tests on their new subjects in a controlled environment. Beyond that, though, is the question of this black material." The Chief Scientist turned to Pyrrha, "I believe in the mission logs, you told the Captain that these Grimm always evaporate upon death, yes?"

Pyrrha nodded, "Correct. If the black tar is really from the Grimm, then they have somehow changed in a way that causes them to leave behind material remains. Their bodies still evaporate to some degree, but the process no longer consumes the entire corpse."

Jaune raised his hand, "They're tougher, too. Pyrrha and I had to coordinate to bring down two Ursa, and that was with heavy fire support from a Jaeger. Pyrrha alone should've been able to handle at least three without a problem."

"So you're telling us that they're mutated variants of your Grimm that are stronger, leave behind bodily remains, and we don't know where they're coming from?" Anette asked, "Please tell me that it can't get any worse."

Beagle glared at his fellow Captain, "You know what happens when you say shit like that, right?"

"It gets worse." Blake said.

"Fucking called it."

"How?" Bradford asked.

"If we're lucky, this is an isolated incident. If we're not lucky, then somehow the aliens have found a way to bring over Grimm. But if we're really unlucky, then Grimm essence has infected the Earth much in the same way that it infects Remnant. And since we haven't figured out how to 'cure' our world of the Grimm, we have no way of even knowing if the same is happening to yours." Blake stared unblinkingly at Bradford, "There is also one thing we haven't mentioned about the Grimm yet."

The Central Officer saw all the other hunters stiffen when they realized what Blake was getting at. He sighed, "Might as well give us the bad news."

"Grimm are heavily drawn towards the human emotion of fear." Blake stated.

Even Nora looked glum, "And since the aliens are doing an excellent job of stirring up fear across the globe…"

"Are you kidding me?" Beagle asked incredulously, "They can smell fear?"

Bradford sighed, "Well, shit. I was hoping for a happier moment to give you guys some good news, but I suppose I'll just have to make do with what I've got."

The hunters and the Strike leaders looked at him curiously. Jaune was the only one to notice Zhang's smile.

"… Sir?" Van Doorn asked.

Bradford looked at Ruby, "Lieutenant, do you remember that 'care package' your headmaster so graciously sent us?"

Ruby nodded, still confused, "Yes sir. With all the delicious food from across Remnant."

"And ammo!" Nora exclaimed, "Lots and lots of ammo!"

"It was a nice morale boost." Pyrrha noted, "A little slice of home while we're over here fighting."

In spite of the heavy news he received moments ago, a smile began to spread across Bradford's face, "Well, there was a second part of the care package, one that Ozpin specifically addressed to Vahlen. I admit that I was confused when we first received it, especially because Ozpin was very clear about not telling you of it's existence. But after the good doctor began to investigate… well, I think it may be a silver lining in this very dark storm cloud we've got brewing. Doctor?"

Vahlen checked her tablet, then nodded, "Boot-up diagnostics finished about a minute ago. She's on her way."

"Boot-up diagnostics?"

"She?"

The Remnant operatives didn't remain confused for long, as the sound of Elerium thrusters reached their ears. They all turned to see the source of the noise, and were greeted with the sight of a standard XCOM hover SHIV. At least, the weapon loadout looked standard. The paint job, on the other hand…

"Green and black?" Ruby asked, "But that's-"

"The paint was my idea." Shen interrupted with a chuckle, "Vahlen found some video logs in the system memory, and there was a mirror in one of the files. Thought it would help with the re-acclimation process."

Yang squinted her eyes at the robot, "So what you're saying is…"

"Salutations, Ruby!" Penny exclaimed, "Operative Polendina reporting for duty. I'm combat ready!"

A/N: Ya'll thought I forgot about PennySHIV, didn't you?