The ship landed in the desert, about a half mile away from the distress signal's coordinates. When we got out of my ship, Viper and I embarked our Titans and my team climbed on Scavenger's chassis. We started our trek, the crash barely visible in the distance. Viper and Northstar flew ahead, scouting out the path. He was back quickly. "THERE WERE CIVILIANS SURROUNDING THE CRASH SITE," Northstar reported.
I disembarked and climbed on top of Scavenger's hull. "...Fuck," I cursed under my breath. "Are they armed?"
"A couple of them had survival knifes," Viper said.
"That counts." I smirked. Scavenger grabbed her Splitter Rifle.
Northstar knocked the rifle out of her hand. "WE ARE NOT ATTACKING INNOCENT CIVILIANS, WRECKAGE," Northstar said firmly.
"Northstar is right. Why would you even think about harming civilians?!" Ilia yelled at me.
"Weren't you in a cult or something?" I retorted.
She glared daggers, swords, nuclear warheads, and other deadly weapons at me.
"Too soon? Coming from a mercenary?" I shrugged. Scavenger reattached her rifle to her back.
"While I do agree with Hunter that the civilians are in the way, we should get them to leave in non-violent ways," Viper said through Northstar's speakers.
"Oh, I got it. So only threaten violence."
Ilia punched me in the shoulder.
"Fine, fine. We do need to get them to leave, though." I crossed my arms. We started walking forward, coming up on the crash site. It was surrounded by Faunus. I recognized the large man in front of everyone from the Battle of Haven's aftermath. I believe his name was Ghira. He was standing with another Faunus, who I assumed to be his wife. I climbed off Scavenger's chassis, motioning for Ilia to follow me and Viper to disembark.
As we marched forward, people whispered, but not all about me. I heard things like "Isn't that the guy who captured Adam Taurus?" and "What is that?" I assumed they were talking about Scavenger and Northstar. I also heard things like "Is that the White Fang girl?" and "Was she at the Battle of Haven?"
Ghira heard us approaching and turned around. I could tell by his eyes that he recognized me. "I remember you. You captured Adam Taurus after the Battle of Haven," he said bluntly. "And Ilia. Very nice to see you. How are you?"
"I'm doing okay. Things are really nice in Vale," she responded.
"Very good to hear. And you." He turned to Viper. "I don't think we've met."
"I am Voodoo One." Viper bowed.
I elbowed him in the shoulder. "Dammit Viper! We talked about this."
He punched me back. "We did. I said I would drop the soldier act when you stopped being a jackass."
"Sorry, sir," I said to Ghira. "That is Viper."
"I never caught your name," he said.
"My name is Wreckage."
"Why are you here, 'Wreckage?'"
"That ship is Frontier in origin. I came here with my team to scope it out. I my Titan picked up a destress signal before it went offline. Now if you'll excuse us, I'm going in." Motioning for Ilia and Viper to follow me, I stepped passed Ghira and approached the door. "Northstar, if you could give us a hand?" I pointed at the door.
Northstar crouched to be at optic-level with the small door only used by humans and Simulacrums. She punched it several times until it was broken. "Scavenger, Northstar; guard mode. I don't want anyone following us in," I ordered. They stood up at their full height on both sides of the entrance. Emerald and Mercury were still on top of Scavenger's chassis.
As I walked deeper into the ship, I heard a voice. It was not human. Clearly, it was a Titan. The voice got louder as I followed it. "PROTOCOL THREE: PROTECT THE PILOT. PROTOCOL THREE: PROTECT THE PILOT." It was feminine, but robotic. I sprinted towards the voice, Ilia and Viper following. "PROTOCOL THREE: PROTECT THE PILOT."
I skidded to a halt, sparks flying everywhere. My suspicions were correct. It was a Titan. My first assumption was that it was another Northstar, but then I noticed its weapon. A Quad Rocket. This was a Brute Titan. She was repeating Protocol Three over and over again. She did not react when I climbed on her back. The battery was damaged, and a new one was required. Venturing further into the ship, I found a battery in the cockpit. Running back to the Brute, I spoke to Scavenger through our neural link. There's a Titan in here, Scav.
She did not say anything back. Typical.
I climbed onto the Brute's back and replaced her battery. I jumped off and stood in front of her. She stopped repeating the same words and pushed herself up with her arms, her optic darting around as she looked at each of us.
"What's your name, soldier?" I asked the Titan.
"MY TITAN DESIGNATION IS BRUTE-7758, BUT MY PILOT CALLED ME THUNDERCRACKER," she said. She sounded similar to Northstar.
"Who is your pilot, Thundercracker?" Viper cut in.
"MY PILOT IS MILITIA WAR HERO ELLEN BRAVER."
"Where is she?"
Thundercracker opened her hatch and a corpse tumbled out. "SHE WAS KILLED IN THIS CRASH. I HAVE FAILED ALL THREE OF MY PROTOCOLS."
"How so?"
"PROTOCOL ONE: OUR NEURAL LINK IS GONE. PROTOCOL TWO: WE WENT OFF WORLD, ABANDONING OUR MISSION WHEN THINGS WENT SOUTH. PROTOCOL THREE: MY PILOT IS DEAD."
"What do you plan to do here, now that your pilot is dead?" I asked.
"I DO NOT KNOW."
"Why not come with us? I've got plenty of room back at the warehouse for you." Turning away, I commed Scavenger. "Scavenger, I need you or Northstar to open the Titan door on the ship. Feel free to display your firepower."
Viper ordered Thundercracker to stand up, but she refused. Her legs were severed at the knees. That would make restoration more difficult.
The ship jolted slightly as a salvo of rockets was fired into it. The door crumbled and Northstar stood where it was. She took the Quad Rocket out of the ship and held it for Thundercracker, putting it on her back between her thrusters. She and Scavenger hauled Thundercracker out of the crash, starting to walk to my ship. I picked Thundercracker's pilot up bridal style and turned to my friends. "Take these and plant them. Viper, set them off when everyone is clear." I gave them satchels.
I stood before Ghira with Braver's limp body in my arms. "She died on your island. You have the final say on what is done with her body."
Ghira turned to the citizens. "Go back to your homes." As the Faunus were leaving, he turned to me. "Bury her out here."
I took off her helmet and attached it to my utility belt. I laid her body down and covered it with sand. I closed her eyes and covered her face.
Viper tossed me the detonator. "Does Atlas know about this?" I asked Ghira, motioning to the ship.
"No. Atlas would never come out here."
"I don't want Ironwood to get his hands on Frontier tech. I'm going to destroy the ship. It was a light cruiser with room for only two Titans, if that. One if it's an Ogre class or an offshoot of that. There's nothing in there. However, it is on your island, so you have the final say."
"The people of Menagerie have no use for it. Do what you feel is right."
"I would advise you to get clear of the blast radius, sir. The satchels I rigged the ship with pack a punch." Ghira walked away from the ship, and I motioned for Viper and Ilia to follow. When we were all out of range, I pulled the trigger on the detonator and the ship burst into flames.
Ghira started his trip back to town as Viper, Ilia, and I started the trek to my ship. There was sand in my joints. I would take apart my arm later. The sun was starting to set, and classes would start tomorrow. As we approached my ship, Scavenger started the engines and GPS. We climbed in and headed toward Vale.
—-
"Thank you guys, for coming out with me," I sighed. I caught a glimpse of the flaming wreck from the window, the flames still dancing relentlessly. Walking down the ladder to titanbay, I noticed how small it really was. Two Stryders and an Atlas chassis barely fit. Thundercracker was on the on the ground, her power levels decreasing quickly. I would fix the problem when we got back to Beacon, but for now, I settled on replacing her battery again.
—-
The ship landed in the warehouse, still on autopilot. I noticed Oscar waiting at the entrance, resting his weight on his cane. Glynda was with him, her arms crossed. That was not a good sign. Qrow had a flask in his hand. The ship's ramp opened, and I exited with my team and Scavenger. I ordered Viper and Northstar to stay.
"Where were you five?" Oscar, currently Ozpin asked, clearly annoyed.
"WE WERE IN..." Scavenger started.
"Scav! Shut up!" I ordered.
"MENAGERIE, OBSERVING AND SALVAGING..."
"Scavenger! Shut up now or I will dismantle you! That's an order and a promise!"
"A CRASHED SHIP OF FRONTIER ORIGIN."
"Alright. That's it. Where's my fucking wrench?"
"IT IS LOCKED UP RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR."
"Why did you feel the need to leave the kingdom?" Ozpin asked calmly.
"And why did you drag your teammates into this?" Glynda asked, much less calmly.
"I wanted to see if I recognized the ship and maybe salvage something," I replied.
"Milo didn't drag us into anything. He asked if we wanted come, and we did," Mercury defended me.
"Well, fine. I guess what's done is done. What did you find?" Ozpin asked.
"First, I have a favor to ask. Can a couple friends of mine stay here in the warehouse? They've been hiding out in a cave, and they don't have enough money for a hotel. They are pilots, more skilled than myself and their Titans are heavily modified. They will defend the kingdom if needed. All they ask for is a little food a place to sleep. These friends are very dear to me, and I have known them for a while. Please." I sighed.
"As long as they do not get in the way of your school work. And this kingdom could use the defense of three Titans. Fine. They may stay here."
"Professor, are you sure? As far as we know, these friends of Milo's could be lowly mercenary thugs." Glynda pulled Ozpin aside.
"They could also be professional soldiers, more powerful than entire armies."
"Is that a yes?" I asked.
"Yes. You may have your friends stay here."
"Thank you. Viper, you can come out now."
Viper exited the ship with Northstar right behind him.
"Is this the 'friend' you were talking about, Mr. Hunter?" Ozpin asked.
"Yes. This is Viper." I motioned to Viper.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir," Viper said respectfully.
"And you as well. I would like to schedule a meeting with you two and General Ironwood." Ozpin retracted his cane.
"What for?" I asked.
"It is about kingdom defense."
"Alright. Just give me a date and time."
"I will. Now, what did you find in the crash?"
"Scav, Northstar: bring her out," I ordered.
Scavenger and Northstar entered the dropship and exited a moment later, with Thundercracker in their hands. They propped her up against the ship.
"Professor Ozpin, this is Thundercracker. She is a Brute class Titan in need of repairs. Her pilot was killed in the crash." I patted her chassis.
"Understood, Mr. Hunter. Thank you for time. You and your team should rest. You have class tomorrow. That will be all for tonight." Ozpin turned on his heel and exited, the other professors following.
"Northstar, can you do me a favor?" I asked.
"OF COURSE. WHAT IS IT?"
"Wrap some chains around the rafters and then around Thundercracker's shoulders. I'll bring her to Titan optic level. And Thundercracker, as you know, the base legs for Titans are similar. I have a broken-down Legion, and I can replace your legs."
Northstar did as I ordered, and Thundercracker was brought up on the chains, dangling from the rafters.
Viper and the Titans stayed at the ship as my team went to our dorm. Tomorrow was the first day of class. I was not dreading it but I was not ecstatic either.