A/N: I've got some bad news that is (hopefully!) good news in disguise. My original plan was to take a small break from writing after the conclusion of BoB to focus on planning and gaming. Given the... glacial pace that BoB is moving at, I'm going to be taking the suggestion of my editor and put my regular writing schedule on hold while I finish the rest of this setpiece. Additionally, I'm adjusting my approach to BoB's narrative. Rather than have a bunch of mini-scenes that try to cover as many perspectives as possible, I'll be focusing on two or three perspectives per chapter that focus on a particular aspect of the battle (Bradford, Vahlen, and Ruby for a chapter on Amity, as an example). Once I've finished writing and editing the rest of BoB, I'll resume posting them on here. I'll still try to keep up with people by PM (though given the fact that the number of unread PMs in my inbox is now in the double-digits, it looks like I'm not doing a terribly good job of it at the moment), since I really do enjoy talking with you wonderful people about whatever's on your mind.

AND WHILE I HAVE YOU HERE. There was a slight hiccup in the last chapter that has since been fixed. While I knew that ffnet has a thing against URLs in uploaded content and removes them, I didn't realize that it assumes anything that has the format of X.Y is a URL. So while I thought I was being clever by adding Atlas-flavored file extensions to the data that Vahlen was browsing through, none of it actually showed up when the damn chapter got posted, and it took me about a week to notice the problem. So... yeah. That was mildly frustrating.

Anyway, onto this chapter.

"Gear check."

MacAuley fumbled through the motions with shaky hands. He wasn't scared (or so he told himself), but this assault on Vale raised the stakes a hell of a lot higher than the random Grimm incursion on Earth. Sabotage? Mass panic? Grimm horde? For the first time since the assault on the Temple Ship, shit just got incredibly real. Moreover, the fact that he'd been helping Van Doorn organize XCOM's response meant that he got to hear every detail about just how fucked things were becoming down on Remnant. Still… there had been no hesitation in his heart whatsoever the moment Bradford issued the order to mobilize the Icarus Squad.

Weapon… check. Ammo packs… check. Comms… check. Dust supply… check. Arc Thrower… check. Medikit… check. He knew he probably wouldn't need the medikit, what with all the Medics already deployed to the AO, but it never hurt anyone to have a contingency plan. Besides, the Engineers were supposed to be the pack rats for this op. The more gadgets he brought along, the easier it would be to MacGuyver a solution for whatever problem the boss man threw at him.

Oh, and a special gift for Jaune, since his dumb ass left his Plasma Dragon back on the Temple Ship like an idiot… check.

"Okay, listen up." At the front of the first squad's formation stood Annette in all her confident glory. With her sword strapped to her back, her arms folded across her chest, and a deadly look in her eye, MacAuley almost felt bad for the Grimm unfortunate enough to get in her way. Once she had everyone's attention, the Major continued. "Standard flight formation once we hit the other side. Assaults on point, Gunners on the flanks and Infantrymen down below. Engineers and Rocketeers stay in the center. Our first job is to disrupt the flier blockade and make contact with the teams on Amity. We'll have a pretty good jump point from there to tackle whatever hot spot Central considers the highest priority, and the Albatross pilots can assist with with the evacuation and redeployment efforts of our operatives. We've never encountered these 'Griffons' before. They're smaller than the Nevermores, which means they'll be more agile. Stay together, but be ready to take evasive action if one of those feathery assholes gets too close.

"We've got a target-rich environment," Annette continued, "But it's also loaded with friendlies and collateral. Since we're coming in from above, any missed shot runs a very high risk of hitting an ally or non-combatant. Check your fire, and only take the shot if you know you can hit the target."

One of the squad members apparently felt like flirting with death. "But what about Bradford's Law, ma'am?"

"Doesn't fucking apply here, soldier." Annette answered curtly. "Friendly fire is not an option."

The Major's lack of a joking mood quickly cleared up any confusion about the severity o f the situation.

"Hyperwave Relay will be live in twenty, Major." The gate technician reported. Annette nodded and turned back to Icarus Squad.

"I won't lie to you, this shit sounds worse than any Grimm incursion we've dealt with so far." MacAuley noticed a gleam in Annette's eye that he knew all too well. "But we're XCOM. While the Grimm are the bogeyman keeping the good little Remnant boys and girls awake at night, we're the motherfuckers that give those soulless bastards nightmares."

"Five seconds, Major."

Annette grabbed the sword off her back and form-shifted it into a shotgun. "Saddle up, boys and girls. Let's kick some ass."

The gate powered on with its usual hum, and the overhead deployment light switched from red to green. Annette disappeared through the gate a moment later, and the rest of the squad followed in short order. MacAuley let out a sigh, secured his oxygen mask, and started to run when the time came for him to make the jump. Even after all the Hyperwave crossings he'd made with Strike Five, the Irishman still hated the split second it took to travel between worlds.

Before he knew it, MacAuley felt the bitter evening air whip past him as he fell in with the rest of Icarus Squad. The extreme height of Drop Point Beta allowed Annette's team to assess the battlefield and engage from the angle of their choosing. Except, no angle looked good from MacAuley's perspective. Through a cloud of Grimm, he saw muzzle flashes, tracer rounds, and explosions light up the darkness. The smoldering wreckages of Atlesian airships lay among the streets below while smaller transports flew in all directions trying to get civilians to safety or to combat the rogue cruiser that Strike Ten had reported. The Griffons circled the Colosseum like a swarm of angry bees. MacAuley saw the Nevermores behind them, attacking airships and performing strafing runs on ground targets.

"Central, this is Icarus Squad." Annette reported over the comms, "We're topside, sir, but it's going to be difficult breaking through the Grimm cloud without going weapons free. Even then, expect casualties."

"Understood, Icarus. I may have a solution for the Grimm problem, but it's going to be a small window of opportunity. Try to engage at range while we prep. Safely, of course."

Annette twisted around to face the rest of her squad as the sword in her hands shifted into a shotgun.

"You heard the man, squad. Hunting season is officially open."

Lily looked out the window of the transport ship at all the chaos and carnage unfolding both above and below. She managed to regain some semblance of control over her mental faculties once the cabin door closed and muted the sounds of panic and terror on the docks. While she never found out who her mysterious savior was, at least Lily had a chance to think now.

There was a safe zone on the ground. There had to be, or else why would the authorities be evacuating everyone off of the Colosseum? And if there was a safe zone, XCOM would be there. She knew that Bradford would be deploying his operatives to help with this crisis, and shoring up the safe zone's defenses with the locals would almost certainly be priority number one. All she had to do was get to the safe zone and find someone who would recognize her (pretty much anyone from XCOM… being the daughter of the Chief Engineer had its perks). Then she could ride this nightmare out, find her dad afterwards, and never doubt his wisdom ever again.

A shudder reverberating through the cabin brought Lily out of her thoughts. She looked out the window, and saw that the source of the explosion was another Atlesian fighter. It looked like something caused enough damage to the engine to blow it out, and now the ship was in a tailspin. It took her another second to process that the death spiral put the ship on the same trajectory as her civilian transport. The transport pilot must have figured out the same thing, because Lily felt the world roll sideways as the transport pulled into a hard bank. With the fighter no longer in view, the only thing Lily could do was brace and hope that the two airships would miss each other.

CLANG.

Stars exploded into Lily's field of vision as the transport ship jerked and slammed her head against the window. The pilot barked something over the intercom, the other passengers screamed, and warning lights flashed throughout the cabin. Lily felt herself pulling in random directions against the seat belt while unsecured items flew every which way over her head. It didn't take a genius to realize that the ship had lost control of its course. With her head pounding, Lily struggled to regain focus and assess the situation. She wasn't dead yet, and that had to count for something.

Okay, so the ship wasn't spinning that wildly out of control, since the ground seemed to be staying in the lower half of her field of vision. The pilot must have corrected the roll, and so all that remained was the yaw. Unfortunately, the rate at which the surface rose up to meet the ship told Lily that the pilot wouldn't have much time to correct said yaw. She needed to protect herself from the crash. Now. A quick glanced around her personal space didn't reveal a whole lot of options, so it looked like all she could do was what flight attendants always instructed during those boring pre-flight checks. The seat in front of her looked close enough to brace against, so Lily tucked her feet back, ducked her head, and pressed her arms firmly against the headrest. The ship continued to spin, and Lily counted down the seconds to keep herself focused on the the danger instead of the panic.

With the sound of screeching metal, the ship slammed into the ground and flipped end over end. A small wave of surprise and pride washed through the back of Lily's mind as she noted that her safety preparations were working. Her bones ached with each flip of the cabin, but she remained firmly in place. With any luck she might be able to get out of this with only a few bumps and scrapes.

The ship slammed to an unexpected halt, causing Lily's head to smash into the wall once more, and darkness overtook her.

"Holy shit! Did you see that, sir?"

Otter looked up from his civilian patient and nodded at Desperado. After the damaged fighter clipped the transport ship and sent it spinning, The Captain watched its entire, horrifying descent to the ground. Part of him felt relieved that it didn't crash into the fair grounds and risk killing even more civilians, but anyone who may have survived the crash was facing an unenviable journey through Grimm territory. Did he risk sending a small recon team to go search for survivors? As it stood, his own Strike team could barely keep the safe zone secure. The Atlesian security had been sending civilians (wounded or otherwise) back to their position, and it was becoming a struggle to keep the Grimm from even getting close. Fonseca had to push his Assaults further forward to act as lightning rods and draw the Grimm to them rather than the terrified populace. Losing even two or three operatives to locate and secure the downed craft would put his soldiers, and all these people, in danger.

Perhaps Bradford would have another option. "Central, this is Six-Actual. A transport ship went down on its way from Amity to our position. We're barely holding on here and aren't in a position to sortie a search party. Your recommendation, sir?"

"Odds of survivors, Actual?"

"The ship came down hard, sir, but we can't be certain without visual confirmation."

Silence. Then, "Keep that safe zone secure, Captain. We're re-routing a small detachment of Icarus squad to reinforce your position so you can secure the craft. But that safe zone is our number one priority."

"Understood, Central." Fonseca sighed. Better than nothing, but he really hoped that the people inside that ship were either dead or unconscious. For their own sake.

"Nevermores, three o'clock!" Seven-Four warned. "They're coming in for a strafing run."

Indeed, a wing of Nevermores broke off from the aerial battle and were flying straight for the fair grounds. And… was Otter imagining things, or did those Griffons join the Nevermores as a defensive escort? Grimm had never shown tactical intelligence before, so that had to be a coincidence.

"Strike the skies, Gunners!" Fonseca shouted. "Everyone else, take cover!"

Otter chucked another Flashbang to stun the ground forces so that his soldiers could focus on the larger threat, then pulled his patient to (relative) safety under one of the festival stalls. The squad Gunners revved up their heavy weapons and alloy-jacketed rounds filled up the darkening sky. To his left, Desperado slapped a magazine into his rifle, and Fonseca noticed the Flak Ammunition identifier stamped on the black casing.

"Always be shooting." Desperado said with a grin before raising his rifle and joining the Gunners in their fusillade. The Griffons came in first, and the withering arms fire tore them apart. As the shrieking fliers fell to the ground in dissolving balls of smoke, the relatively unscathed Nevermores swooped in shortly thereafter and unleashed their flurry of their hardened quills. The earth churned around the safe zone as fatal feathers ripped through stalls, tables, and trees.

"Man down!" One of the operatives shouted as a razorwing pierced the leg of a Gunner. Multiple civilians cried out as they suffered similar fates, and Otter noticed several that died instantly when the Nevermore hit their vital organs.

"Grimm coming in from the forest!" Another soldier reported, "Throwing a Flash to suppress."

The Nevermore finished their run and flew off to bank into a second attack. As the Gunners continued their attack on the deadly fliers, the surviving Griffons touched down in a cloud of dust and let out a bone-chilling screech to announce their arrival.

"Take down those Griffons." Fonseca ordered, though he felt his confidence flagging as the situation started to spiral out of control.

"We're definitely in the shit now, Otter." Desperado commented through gritted teeth as he pulled out his Autopistol and unloaded it into the skull of the nearest Griffon. Fonseca gripped his own rifle and joined in against Ward's target. With new contacts coming in from both land and sky, he knew that the safe zone wasn't going to be safe for much longer.

An unfamiliar shotgun blast rang out and staggered one of the Griffons, followed by a salvo of stone daggers that ripped into its flank and killed the beast before it hit the ground. A caped man leapt towards the next Griffon and sliced it in twain before kicking off to lash out at the next target. A purple hue engulfed several of the Nevermore quills buried in the ground, and caused them to levitate and angle themselves towards the returning fliers. A woman (also caped) stepped forward and kept her sights on the Nevermore.

"Don't give up." She said, brandishing her riding crop. The quills flew like rockets at the Grimm, eliciting another shriek from the horrors as the improvised weapons hit home. "These citizens need our help."

Fonseca nodded, then turned to his operatives to bark out new orders. "Gunners, keep focusing on those fliers until they're no longer a threat. Infantry, get back to keeping the tree line in check. Medics, attend to the wounded. Let's get this safe zone secured, soldiers."

Bradford was overseeing the (unfortunately slow) evacuation of JNPR's triage station in the arena with Penny and Shen when some good news came through the comms.

"Central, several huntsmen have reinforced our ranks. These two are the real McCoy, sir. No idea where they came from, but I won't say no to the firepower they're packing."

To Bradford's surprise, Ozpin's voice answered Otter's question. "Those would be two of mine, actually. I thought your Strike teams could use some help, Bradford."

"How kind of you to join us." The Central Officer answered dryly, "Coordination works much better when both sides communicate, Headmaster."

"I believe Qrow said something similar to James several days ago, so I daresay he'd be inclined to agree with you." Ozpin answered. Was he chuckling? "To be honest, I'd forgotten that you provided me with access to your communication system. I was… preoccupied with other matters."

While Bradford absolutely did not believe the first part of his excuse, he suspected that the second half explained the radio silence, albeit in Ozpin's usual vague and cryptic manner. If Bradford had to guess, Amber and the mysterious catacombs beneath Beacon played a significant role in the Headmaster's actions. "Well, it's good to hear from you all the same. How are things looking on your end?"

"I am… ah… fortifying the basement at the moment, though I would certainly appreciate it if you could lend some assistance.."

"Negative on that, sir." Bradford answered almost immediately, "As helpful as your reinforcements are, we're barely holding onto the fairgrounds as it is. The safety of the citizens has to come first."

"You and I can agree on that, believe me. Perhaps, however, you misunderstand the importance of what I am trying to tell you."

The tone in his voice suggested that there was more importance to the Maidens than Ozpin had let on during their trip down into the labyrinth. Four powerful huntresses with supernatural abilities were a valuable asset, to be sure, but the firmness in the Headmaster's words told Bradford that he valued the Maidens for more than their combat acumen.

"How soon do you need the aid?" Bradford asked with a sigh.

"The sooner the better, though I am aware of the travel difficulties imposed by the Grimm."

True enough, though Bradford had a plan to help with that. "BFG, you ready to go?"

"The Griffons won't know what hit them, sir." Yang answered.

"Central, we've got a problem. A big fucking problem."

Desperado? But the ground team just got help from Branwen and Goodwitch.

"What's the problem, Six-Two?"

"It's the bots, sir. They just turned on us."

Bradford almost choked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"He's not kidding!" Beagle cried over the comms, "Ten-Seven just got shot in the back by a fuckin' toaster! This shit isn't helping with the panicking crowd, Brad."

Wasn't Beagle with Vahlen? Actually, it didn't matter. Bradford needed to find a way to stop this. "I'm open to suggestions, Shen." He said with a sideways glance at his companions.

"If the mechs were infected with a virus that used a trigger to change the IFF protocols, there isn't much we can do beyond putting them down." The Chief Engineer said before glancing at Penny. "If, however, it is a continuous transmitted signal…"

"You would be be correct! I do not know where the signal originates, however."

"So we can either kill the source or drown the signal…" Bradford mused. "Do you have a plan for either option?"

"Ordinarily, it would be difficult to sniff out the signal source given how powerful it must be to transmit the IFF command over such a wide range. Sergeant MacAuley's sensors will have a hard time zeroing in on the direction of the strongest signal. However, that one Atlesian airship did go rogue a minute ago…"

"Rogue airship is a good place to start." Bradford keyed his comm, "Squad leaders, listen up: Xiao Long is about to punch a hole through the Griffon blockade so that Icarus can rendezvous with the Amity team. I want a small detachment from Icarus to break off and target the hostile Cruiser and try to regain control of it. Exercise extreme caution: whatever took control of that ship managed to subdue or eliminate a highly-trained Atlesian crew. If you've got anyone with XCOM's personal brand of spidey senses, Major, I suggest you assign them to the assault team. Captain Rose, can you provide huntsman support?"

"Yes sir."

"Ground team, do your best to keep the safe zone secure. In light of this new problem, I am authorizing the use of explosives. Do not let civilians get caught as collateral damage. Once Icarus has arrived on Amity, Albatross pilots can rapidly redeploy huntsmen to reinforce your position. Amity teams, we need these civilians off the Colosseum ASAP. If there is anything you can do to safely speed up the process, do it. Beagle, double back to Dr. Vahlen's position and keep her safe."

"On my way."

"You tell them them, Mister Bradradford, sir!"

Bradford looked over to see Penny, saluting him with a cheerful smile. That was the second time she tripped over her words, and despite her positive demeanor, something seemed… off. "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I'm c-c-c-c-c-c-combat ready!"

Her eyes struggled to focus and re-focus every second or so, and Bradford noticed a slight twitch in the young girl's neck (though Penny herself seemed to be completely oblivious to the tic). A quick glance at Shen confirmed that Bradford wasn't imagining things, and that the Chief Engineer likewise found the subtle tics in Penny's behavior to be alarming.

"Captain Rose?" Bradford called over the comms, "Belay that order to join the cruiser raid. I need you down here in the arena. Immediately."

"Wonder what that could be?" Yang said as she glanced curiously at her sister.

"I don't know, but the urgency means it can't be anything good." Ruby sighed. "Are you gonna be okay on your own?"

Yang dropped into a braced stance and locked Ember Celica into its open configuration with a grin. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment, kiddo. While it's a shame you won't have front row seats for the awesomeness, I'm gonna be fantastic on my own."

"Sounds good to me. Good luck!" Without another word, Ruby hopped off from her perch next to Yang to see what Bradford needed. Yang, however, had bigger fish to fry.

"Alright, Major. How are we looking?"

"Icarus is maintaining a holding pattern and taking out stragglers from the main swarm. A few minor injuries, but nothing serious. That will probably change once we make a push towards Amity."

Yang's grin grew wider, though she knew that Annette couldn't see it. "Have your Rocketeers tag your break point, and I'll help you blow it wide open."

"Give us a moment… Rockets live in three… two…"

A faint flash beyond the Griffon swarm flickered in and out of Yang's vision for a moment before blooming into a bright orange and red ball of flame. A cacophony of demonic shrieks answered the attack.

"They did not appreciate that." One of the operatives commented.

"They're about to have more burning matters at hand in about five seconds…" Yang quipped. The protective sheath on Ember Celica slid back to reveal the second row of explosives, kindly given to Yang by XCOM's R&D. The first pair of micro rockets racked into position and the targeting lasers flashed on with a quiet hum. Yang raised her arms skyward and aimed at the fading fire plume.

"First Devastator incoming."

The rocket shot into the air with a flick of Yang's wrist, and she tracked its flight path with her gauntlet. It exploded seconds later in a blast that sent the Griffons reeling from the concussive force. Without waiting for the Grimm to regroup, Yang shot a second rocket with her other fist and detonated it a little closer to the Colosseum than the first one. A third rocket followed, then a fourth and a fifth, leaving a trail of fire, flame, and swirling Grimm essence for Icarus to follow.

Yang let out a giddy laugh as a Nevermore spiraled towards the ground after taking a Devastator rocket to the face. "I just want to state for the record: Beags is the best gift-giver of all time."

"Goddamn right I am."

"Central, this is Icarus." Annette reported over comms, "We're taking Xiao Long's opening and punching through the Grimm towards your position."

Of course, the flight to Amity was a lot bumpier than Annette had let on, much to MacAuley's frustration. All of those war games with JNPR and flight training sessions with the interceptor pilots were paying off in spades as XCOM's airborne division bobbed and weaved through the unfriendly skies. Gauss rounds chattered from Autorifles that sprayed into the cloud of monsters swarming in from all sides. Every few seconds, another rocket lit up the night's sky and scattered the Grimm, allowing Icarus to get a little closer to their goal.

"Targets down and to the left." Annette called out. "Light 'em up."

Of course, targets flew at them from above, below, and all angles in between, but Annette's callouts focused on the ones that posted an immediate threat to her soldiers. The squad banked right and the Infantrymen on the formation's belly tore into the Grimm trying to get within claw's reach of the soldiers. MacAuley rolled under an aggressive flier and fired a deterring burst into its flank before tucking his wings back and dropping altitude to dodge the monster's friend. A squawk to his left caused the Irishman to look over and see Annette surfing atop a flailing Griffon with her sword buried buried in its back.

"Showoff." He muttered as the Major sailed past him. He boosted past another Griffon and spun around to put a tight burst into its back. The rest of the squad seemed to be faring alright against the swarm, though the Grimm certainly weren't making things easy. Several operatives reported minor injuries and collisions as the sortie towards Amity continued. Another salvo from Yang, and MacAuley aimed for the burning smoke in an effort to follow his commanding officer.

"Fuck!"

The Engineer looked over to see one of his squadmates with tattered wings struggling to stay airborne. In the chaos from the latest blast, a Griffon managed to get close enough and rake its talons across the operative's back. The hit looked solid, and the Gunner started to tumble as the damage to his wings took its toll.

"Operative down." Eightball called out over squad comms. "I'm moving to recover."

The pilot swooped down from above. He carried no weapon of his own, but he wore the larger, utility-minded Albatross suit. Eightball threw out a tethered device once he was within range of the flailing operative that latched onto his target's suit and reeled him in. The impressive, armored wings of the Albatross had no trouble supporting the additional weight, and Eightball returned to the safety of the squad's interior with a boost from his archangel jets..

"Nevermores coming in fast from the side." Another operative warned.

Annette's response came firm and swift. "Everybody, gain altitude. We cannot afford to get within striking range of those feathers."

"Icarus, I'm getting low on Devastators." Yang said, "I can help you put down those Nevermores, but you need to break through sooner rather than later."

"Understood, Sergeant. We're working on it. Rocketeeers, target those ravens."

The chatter of gunfire, the booms of explosions, and the screams of civilians and Grimm alike echoed in the background as Lily regained consciousness. She had a splitting headache, and spent a few minutes just hoping the throbbing pain would go away. When Lily came to terms with the fact that the headache would be sticking around for awhile, she took stock of her situation. The transport survived the crash… sort of. The entire right side of the cabin looked caved in, with the passenger seats twisted and cracked, and their occupants not moving. Lily heard a few pained groans from her side of the ship, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that others managed to survive the crash as well. Carefully, she undid her seat restraints and tried standing up. The motion felt a little shaky, and an initial wave of pain-induced nausea wash over her, but the feeling thankfully passed after several seconds.

No broken bones, no difficulty breathing, her hearing seemed fine… it was time to stop delaying and to start acting. With ginger steps, Lily began her search for others in need of help.

It didn't take long for her to find her first, unmistakably dead passenger. The shock of coming face-to-face with it for the first time caused Lily to fall backwards and emit a strangled scream, but she had the wherewithal to shove her arm up to her face to suppress the noise. She knew that the likelihood of everyone surviving was slim-to-zero, but that didn't make it any easier to stomach the sight of lifeless eyes and a ragdolled body marked with lacerations and broken bones. While she looked on in horror, the sound of squirming and muted sniffles from several seats ahead gave Lily something else to focus on, and she crawled over to investigate the source. A small faunus child who couldn't be older than eight (unless… was their biology different enough from humans to cause…? No, stop it. Focus, Lily) sat in a seat with his face in his hands and his body shaking.

"Mommy…" He softly wailed, "Mommy, I'm scared."

Nobody sat in the seat next to him, so Lily didn't know who his mother was or where to find her. She did know, however, that calming this boy down needed to become her top priority.

"Shhhh shh shh shh." She soothed, trying her best to project a calm outward appearance, "Hey, now. We'll get out of here and find your mother after this is all over, okay? But I need you to be brave and stay quiet."

The kid sniffled and looked up at the sound of someone talking to him, his eyes both terrified and confused. "Who… who are you?"

"Someone who got caught in the middle of this, just like you." Lily sighed, "But the only way we'll be okay is if we work hard at it. What's your name? Mine's Lily"

"E-Eldric." The boy answered. "Eldric Argentum."

A look at the silver-colored ears of a wolf on his head, and Lily didn't have to think very hard on how Eldric got his surname. "That's a nice name you have. Are you hurt, Eldric?"

After taking a moment to check himself, the kid shook his head. That was good, at least. Onward to Step Two.

"I'm going to undo your strap, alright?" Lily waited for the boy to nod before clicking the buckle and slowly removing the restraint. "Can you stand up for me?"

"I t-think so…"

Eldric slipped off of the chair with a slight thud and looked up at Lily. "What do we do now?"

"We need to help the other people who are hurt." Lily answered. She absolutely did not want him to see the dead passengers, however. She glanced at his ears and got an idea. "I can do that myself, but I need you to stand guard for me, okay? It's super important, because there are a lot of scary noises outside, and it's hard for me to tell which ones are important. If you hear anything coming this way, I need you to let me know. Can you do that?"

Eldric nodded and gave Lily a confident nod. He had a mission now, and a new friend that was counting on him. "You bet."

"Good man." Lily said with a smile. "Here, let's find a spot for you to sit and listen, alright?"

She guided Eldric towards one end of the crashed ship, doing her best to block his view of the dead people as they moved. They reached a small gap in the hull, torn open by the crash no doubt, and Lily indicated where she wanted Eldric to sit. With a promise to come back after she finished checking on everyone else, Lily left her friend to stand guard as she returned to her search for more survivors. If Lady Luck harbored any pity for her whatsoever, one of the other passengers would be willing to take 'command' so Lily didn't have to think anymore. Barring that, all she could do was hope that help arrived soon… or take her own advice and work hard to find the help herself.

The elevator door opened with a friendly chime, and Ozpin strode out of the compartment and into the arched hallways beneath his school. The heels of his shoes clicked against the smooth tiles as he walked briskly towards his destination. While a pitched and deadly battle raged outside, nothing seemed damaged or disturbed down here. A good sign, to be sure, but the headmaster had no intention of leaving anything to chance. With Salem making her move (and such a bold one at that), anything was possible.

What could she possibly gain from something as overt as this? Since the beginning of their private little war, Salem had always stuck to the shadows, using manipulation and her soulless pets to achieve her aims. Tensions were already high among the four kingdoms when she instigated the Great War, which made it easy for her overt actions to be masked as international aggression. Now, though? During a time of peace across Remnant? The White Fang had become more aggressive lately, true, but this was out of character even for them. How did she plan to hide her hand of fate this time? Would she try to hide it this time? Ozpin knew all-too-well that they couldn't keep the grudge match up forever (well… Salem probably could, but he couldn't), and so perhaps his adversary decided that the time had come to adjust her tactics to accommodate the change in their dynamic.

Well, whatever the reason, her decision to launch a full-scale attack during the Vytal Festival was brilliant. Awful, bloody, and quite inconvenient for Ozpin, but the pragmatist in the headmaster couldn't help but acknowledge the extremely effective and efficient play of his opponent. No matter how things played out, no matter how well Ironwood and Bradford succeeded at playing damage control, Salem had radically changed the course of Remnant's future in less than an hour.

He arrived at the end of the hallway, and breathed a small sigh of relief at the view that greeted him. Amber remained in her cell, and nothing looked out of place. Admittedly, Ozpin didn't have a particularly deep understanding of how the life support functioned, but all of the vital signs and biometric readouts looked normal. Moreover, his tripwires or early warning systems remained untriggered, so he could say with certainty that nothing had come this way yet.

However, the tremors in the ground indicated that the situation wouldn't stay that way for very long.

"Bradford." Ozpin said, keying the comm piece given to him only days before, "Sooner rather than later is preferable."

"I'm working on it." Bradford growled in response to Ozpin's request as he shot the head off of an incoming walker. An entire platoon of the damned robots had fallen out of the rogue cruiser as it maneuvered past Amity. While the flyover gave the detachment from Icarus squad a nice opportunity to approach the ship, Bradford now had to deal with all of the Knights landing in the center of the arena.

THUD. THUD.

And a pair of Paladins. Wonderful. At least the Atlesian toys were focused on the huntsmen in the arena and largely ignoring Bradford up in the stands. It made protecting Shen that much easier.

A sniper from Strike Ten took cover next to the Central Officer and glanced at the two newcomers. "So, about those MECs, sir…"

"Looking more and more attractive with every new development." Bradford gritted, "But I'm still holding out hope that we can do this without them. The more hidden abilities we have at our disposal, the better."

The marksman popped up, took a moment to aim her Gauss Long Rifle, and tore a hole through the chassis of another Knight. "Funny that we brought this tech along to deal with the Grimm, and now we're getting some extra mileage out of it with the 'bots."

"Funny indeed." On the arena floor, Ruby and Penny were working to cull the main body of the robots. The Knights fell easily enough, but the volume of return fire forced Ruby to be cautious. The mechanicals were avoiding Penny, which was convenient, but the girl's glitches were becoming more and more pronounced as time wore on. Penny managed to get one shot off with her beam attack before reporting that she was having trouble readying it for a second attack. She would start attacking one of the Knights, get confused, and switch to another. When she seized up mid-strike, Bradford decided that this situation wasn't going to resolve itself.

"Captain Rose, I'm guessing this isn't normal behavior for miss Polendina."

"It's not." Ruby answered, concern written all over her tone. She'd fallen back from the bullet hell in the arena, but kept an eye on her malfunctioning friend. "I've… never seen her do anything like this."

"Central," Van Doorn cut in, "We've recovered the Odin from its latest op. I've been hearing chatter about Penny malfunctioning, so I've asked our Penny to report and see if she can shed some light on the situation."

After Van Doorn finished, Penny's cheerful tone carried over the comms. "Salutations, Bradford! What appears to be the situation?"

Shen keyed his own comm piece. "Penny, my dear, do you know anything about how your original chassis is networked?"

"What do you mean?"

Bradford understood the implication of his Chief Engineer's question, and he didn't like it one bit. "Something or someone has caused the Atlesian robots turn hostile." He explained, "If the re-write instructions were sent by remote signal to the Knights and Paladins, is it possible that they have affected the other Penny as well?"

The fact that Bradford had to wait a whole second for a response spoke volumes. "… I think so. I've heard my father and General Ironwood talk about me coordinating Knight battalions, so it's possible my software is designed to wirelessly interface with their network."

"Fuck." Bradford sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked over at Shen, heartbreak written all over the engineer's face. "Ideas, Doctor?"

"The sooner we can shut down or jam that signal, the better. I have nothing else." Shen answered miserably.

"Arena team, this is Icarus." Annette announced, "We recommend you take cover, because we're coming in hot."

All engaged operatives immediately fell back while the latest wave of Atlesian Knights touched down and formed ranks in the arena's center. Their robotic 'victory' lasted only a few seconds before a hailstorm of gauss weaponsfire tore into the stadium. With collateral damage no longer a concern, the airborne operatives from Icarus toggled their weapons to full auto and saturated the Griffons and mechs as they descended upon them like a host of valkyries from on high. At the head of the charge with her sword brandished was Annette. She crashed into the nearest damaged Knight and tore it in half with a forceful stroke of La Volonté and carried her momentum into a swing at the next target. Operatives landed beside her and continued their relentless assault against all hostiles in Amity's arena. Sniper fire took out critical systems on the Paladins while Icarus Gunners tore them to pieces.

While Griffons still continued to swarm overhead, the Colosseum's interior had been secured once again.

"All contacts down." Annette reported as she and her squad greeted Bradford with a salute. "Squad casualties are moderate but manageable, though I certainly wouldn't be opposed to a medical review from Sergeant Ren. The Cruiser Team is en route to their destination and should be arriving orders, sir?"

No time for small or pleasantries. "We have multiple objectives that need to be addressed simultaneously. First is to get all civilians off of this death trap as expediently and safely as possible. To that end, we have several student teams willing to assist, and Vahlen has requested several Engineers remain on standby in case the situation gets worse. And we expect the situation to get worse.

"Second, the fairgrounds need to be secured. We have huntsman support, but the volume of Grimm combined with their new robotic allies is creating a hostile environment for Otter's crew. Sergeant Schnee has agreed to spearhead that operation and will require the assistance of one of our Albatross pilots to reach the frontlines as quickly as possible. At some point, we need to sortie a rescue party to investigate the transport ship that went down in the area and search for survivors.

"Third, Ozpin has requested assistance at Beacon, and I've tapped Ren and Valkyrie for the job. Ozpin is being his usual self and not offering details, so I think the best we can do is airdrop the support team and let them rendezvous with the headmaster and take it from there."

To Bradford's surprise, Dr. Shen cut in. "Fourth, we are working on a solution for the mech problem. One possibly viable solution is to use Beacon Tower as an oversized jamming device that can drown out the kill order signal and render the Knights effectively inoperable."

"… Do we know how to turn Beacon into a jamming tower, Doctor?" Bradford asked, surprised by Shen's statement. Sure, they had discussed the signal issue, but Shen made it sound like they had a concrete game plan when in fact they didn't.

"Yes." Dr. Shen answered, a determined gleam in his eye, "And I'll need an escort to the tower so that I can implement the software."

"I… what?" Of all the things Bradford had anticipated today, Dr. Shen unilaterally deciding to go off on a commando op was definitely towards the bottom.

Shen picked up on Bradford's concern and looked the Central Officer dead in the eye. "If I'm forced to wait to hear news from my Lily, then the least I can do is lend my skills towards ending this nightmare."

"I think it's an inspired idea. I would be happy to personally escort you on your mission, sir." Annette offered.

"Take Arkos as well." Bradford said before looking at Annette, "It's not an insult to your skills, Major. Rather, you'll be taking one of my closest friends into a war zone, and I would like to provide as much top-tier protection as he'll let me."

"No offense taken, sir." Annette answered with a smile.

Bradford nodded and turned to address the entire airborne squad. "Alright, Icarus. We have our objectives laid out, and we have a battle to win. Let's get started."