Weiss could feel a chill run down her spine as the cold wind blew in through the dropships open bay door. Her helmet was off, showing her scarred face, and short white hair. Yang was playing music, but Weiss didn't care. No point in arguing over something trivial like that when her focus should be on the mission. Team RWBY was being dropped into Qiilura, a planet with few distinguishing features, as most of the denizens were farmers. The one thing that made this planet stand out was that the Separatists had set up a garrison in one of the 'larger' villages. Calling this place a town would be an exaggeration, but the Separatists were here, and the commandos had been sent to take them out. More specifically, besides the basic search and destroy of all Separatist personnel and equipment, the squad had been sent to assassinate the warlord who had been selling ore to the Separatists, helping them with their war machine.

Weiss could tell her teammates were having a conversation through their body language, so she took one last breath of fresh air, and put her helmet on.

"I don't think poisoning him is our best option here Yang." Ruby was saying to the demolitions expert seated across from her, Yang and Blake sitting right next to each other.

"How would you do it then? We're supposed to assassinate him." Yang replied, the dark haired girl next to her shaking her head and laughing.

"Just snipe him from a distance. It's the easiest solution." Ruby retorted, only to have Yang throw her hands in the air.

"Where's the fun in that?" She said, faking a hurt tone of voice.

"Yang, Ruby's route is more efficient." Blake added, putting her hand on Yang's shoulder.

"What do you think Weiss?" Yang asked, turning to the white-armored soldier.

Weiss shrugged before answering, as if she didn't really care how he died. "I dunno, sniping him sounds easier."

"What if we blow him up?" Yang asked, throwing ideas out for the squad.

"That actually isn't an awful idea." Weiss said thoughtfully.

"Wait, what?" Yang looked around, confused. Blake just shrugged, and Ruby had sat back in her seat, interested to see where this went. "Weiss, did you just agree with me?"

"No, I just said your idea wasn't awful. There's a difference." Weiss looked at Ruby, who just held her hands out like she wanted no part in this. "There is!"

"How would we blow him up?" Blake asked, skepticism evident in her voice.

Yang just shrugged, clearly not having thought that far ahead. "I dunno."

The pilot came in over their comlinks, informing them that they would be dropping in thirty seconds. They were in a repurposed freighter, so the Separatists wouldn't know that the commandos were on the planet. All chatter stopped, and the girls stood, ready to start the mission. They jumped out of the freighter as it hovered above the ground, and the girls immediately began to run into the forest nearby. They had been dropped off in a clearing, and they had to be careful not to be spotted.

"Everyone good?" Ruby asked, leaning against a tree trunk, aiming down the sights of her rifle, scanning the area.

"I'm ready to go." Yang responded, also leveling her rifle, and watching the horizon.

Blake simply nodded, and Weiss gave Ruby a thumbs-up. Ruby crouched down, dropping a holo-caster on the ground. A holographic map of the area appeared above it, casting a blue light on the ground.

"We're about five klicks out from the target area, so we need to start moving." She said, standing up, and taking point.

Weiss followed her leader, the team was spread out among the woods, moving as quietly as possible, but with the fallen leaves on the ground, that task was proving to be very difficult. Every step was met with a crunch, and it seemed impossibly loud in contrast to the silence that surrounded them.

Ruby held up one fist, halting the team, before dropping down to one knee. The rest of the team followed suit, and Weiss instinctively brought her rifle to her shoulder. Ruby wouldn't stop them for no reason.

"What's going on boss?" Yang whispered, her rifle aimed and slowly moving back and forth.

"Contact. Two targets, at our twelve." Ruby responded, and Weiss saw them too. Two Trandoshan mercenaries were walking, rifles lowered, chatting to one another. They clearly didn't know that the commandos were there, and weren't aware of the danger they were in.

"I've got the shot lined up eight-three." Blake said, and Weiss also lined up a shot, ready to engage.

"Negative, do not shoot." Ruby hissed, clearly hoping that the two mercs would just keep walking, but if they noticed the commandos then their cover was blown.

"We aren't exactly hidden here Ruby." Weiss muttered, the crosshairs of her rifle on the head of one of the lizard-men. She silently cursed the squad's armor, not made to blend in, but to stand out. At the time it had seemed like a good idea, a way to be an individual in an army of clones. Right now, it was a liability.

"I fucking know that Weiss. Do. Not. Fire." Ruby shot back, nervously observing the Trandoshans. They were walking towards the squad, and one of them seemed to squint, before raising his blaster.

A puff of vapor rose from his forehead as Weiss squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt of plasma through his brain. The second Trando dropped almost immediately, courtesy of a shot from Blake.

"Fuck." Ruby stood, her rifle still at her shoulder. "Let's go, we need to hide the bodies."

They jogged over, rifle's still at the ready. They were on edge now, afraid of any more contact with the enemy. Ruby stood over the two bodies, staring at them.

"Blake, Weiss, since you two took them down, you get the honor of hiding them. Make sure you check for anything that might help us." She ordered, stepping away from the corpses, taking watch with Yang.

Weiss sighed, before walking over to the Trando she had killed. She checked him, looking for plans, cash, ID, anything that could help the commandos. After taking his wallet, and looking through it only to find it empty, she began to hide the body in some underbrush, making sure the body was fully covered. She looked over to see Blake doing the same, covering up the drag marks on the ground. Weiss began to do the same, before walking over to Ruby.

Ruby looked over her shoulder at her teammate, before looking back towards the horizon. She seemed upset, and Weiss could guess why.

"Didn't have any other options Sarge." Was all she could say, feeling that no more was necessary. Ruby sighed, before nodding. Blake joined them, her rifle held casually at her side.

"Let's move out." Ruby said, taking point once again. This time the squad was talking amongst one another, trying to dispel their nerves.

"Intel didn't say anything about mercs, did they?" Weiss asked casually, slowly walking through the woods.

"Nah, but you know that you can't trust Intel. I'm sure there's more here than they told us." Yang replied, confirming Weiss's suspicions. What else could be out here that Intel didn't know about?

Ruby held her fist up, making Weiss's heartbeat accelerate, but Ruby stayed standing, which confused Weiss.

"Sarge, is everything okay?" Blake asked nervously from the rear of the group.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Was all Ruby said, muttering to herself.

Weiss walked up next to her, and saw what had caused Ruby to swear. The forest in front of them was gone, leading to a massive clearing. They were still three kilometers from their target, and they would have to cover that distance in open ground.

"Intel is just killing it today, aren't they?" Yang sighed, kicking a branch on the ground. Blake sat on a tree stump, surveying the area.

"How are we supposed to do this?" Weiss asked, standing next to Ruby. They would be incredibly exposed when crossing the land, and they couldn't afford to be seen.

"We'll wait for nightfall, and then we'll cross." Ruby said, before sitting down against a tree trunk.

Night descended on the silent countryside, and the squad was growing restless. They were getting increasingly nervous that someone would come for the two mercenaries they had killed. Blake was sitting in a tree, her sniper out. She kept scanning the area, looking for any contacts. Beside a small farmhouse in the middle of the clearing, there was nothing out there. She was aware of the rest of her squad below her, each of them on guard in case any enemies showed up. No one had slept, as it had been decided that they would sleep when they had made it through the clearing, as there were some trees on the other side, and they would rest there.

"Blake, come on down. We're moving soon." Ruby's voice popped into Blake's helmet, the sniper had removed herself from the squad's comlink channel, hoping for some privacy. While the others could join her channel if they wanted, they hadn't, respecting her privacy. She dropped down, landing smoothly next to her leader.

"Back with us Blake?" Yang asked, looking at the clearing.

"Never left." She murmured, as the squad got ready to move.

"Okay guys, move quick, but move quiet. Keep it together, and we'll be fine. Let's go." Ruby ran out first, breaking into the clearing, her three sisters behind her.

They ran low to the ground, spread out, staying wary of their surroundings. They were coming up on the farmhouse, and began to go around it, when Yang slipped and fell.

"Motherfucker! Why is there a hole here?" She cried out, as the rest of the commandos froze, and a light turned on in the farmhouse.

The commandos laid on the ground, hoping that no one would come out. "Stay inside, stay inside." Yang whispered. No one could hear the commandos outside their helmets, but the commotion that Yang made was attracting attention.

The door opened, and Blake had her rifle trained on the door. They couldn't afford to be spotted, and she was prepared to do what had to be done.

"Blake, wait." Ruby hissed, but her rifle was also on the door.

The man that stepped out the door began walking towards where Yang was, and Blake made a split decision.

She stood up, turning her floodlight on, and activating her helmet speaker. "Freeze!"

He stopped, and the other commandos stood up, their lights on.

"How many others are in the house?" Weiss asked, her voice shaky.

"Just my family. Four other people." He replied, trembling.

"Get them out here. Now." Ruby ordered, and the man walked back inside.

"What's the plan Ruby?" Yang asked, walking towards the house.

"They saw us. We'll explain to them what we're doing here, how we're here to liberate them, and leave them be." Ruby replied, as the man walked back outside, his family trailing him.

"They won't care what we're here for, they'll turn us in the first chance they get, their life won't be any better with the Republic than with the Seps." Blake said, hating herself for it, but knowing she was right.

"What exactly are you suggesting seventy?" Ruby shot back, their conversation back to their comlinks, so they didn't scare the locals any more.

"You know what I'm suggesting Sarge." Blake shot back, as she walked behind the group of locals. The man was shaking, and his wife was next to him, holding their children. Two sons, and one daughter. Blake's heart rate begin to accelerate, trying not to think about what was going to happen.

Ruby held her hand to her helmet, calling command. Yang and Weiss stood next to Blake, behind the group of civilians. The night was quiet, no clouds in the sky, the moon shining on the civilians, as they trembled in front of the soldiers.

"Get ready." Ruby said quietly, as she joined her squad, their rifles trained at the family.

"Please, don't do this. We won't tell anyone, just leave us alone." The man began to beg for his life, and the squad prepared for what was about to happen.

"On your knees." Ruby ordered, her voice harsh, surprising Blake.

The family fell to their knees, beginning to weep.

"Do it." She ordered, and the peaceful night was split by the sound of plasma fire, before falling silent again.

Yang ripped her helmet off, retching. Weiss just sighed, and Ruby turned towards Blake. "Happy now?" She demanded, her voice filled with anger.

"No. But you know this had to be done." Blake replied, afraid to look at the gruesome scene before her.

"Do we move them?" Weiss asked quietly, staring at the bodies.

"No, we have to get moving. We've done enough damage today. Yang, square yourself away. Let's go." Ruby replied, her voice still hard, as she moved forward. Yang put her helmet back on, the taste of bile still in her mouth.

She trailed behind the group, the faces of the family haunting her. They're dead because of you Yang. If you hadn't fucked up, they would still be asleep, alive, and warm in their house.

"Yang, you good?" Weiss asked, dropping behind to jog with Yang. Yang just shook her head, not wanting to talk about it. "Okay, we can talk about it later."

They made it to the tree line, and the group continued a decent way into the forest, before Ruby slowed down, and stopped, turning to face the group.

"We'll sleep here. Who wants first watch?" She asked, Yang raising her hand. Blake climbed a tree, and Weiss sat down, leaning against a tree trunk. Yang climbed a tree a small distance from the squad. She propped herself up, her rifle slung across her chest. She knew that she would be getting no sleep tonight, as the sounds of the family begging continued to echo in her head.

A/N: Hey guys! Heil96 back again with another chapter of RC RWBY. I really liked this chapter, and I hopped around perspective a bit, and I'll probably keep doing that, although there will be chapters still that stay from one person's POV. We get into some darker stuff here, and we get to see the effect it has on the squad. Next chapter will be up Friday, and I'll be posting the first chapter of my new fic tomorrow, and that one will update every Wednesday. That's all I've got for this chapter, thanks for reading!

Team RWBY

RC-1183 Ruby

RC-1104 Weiss

RC-1170 Blake

RC-1126 Yang

Team JNPR

RC-1390 Jaune

RC-1163 Nora

RC-8051 Pyrrha

RC-2223 Ren

Vode An

Heil96, out.