Chapter 80: A Nation Secured
Puffs of black smoke trail into the sky that contrasted against the snow - it was dark outside but the flames spreading lit from magazines of dust exploding inside Paladins provided enough light to see the disturbing evidence of slaughter.
The cool steel inside and outside Hanns made him want to shiver despite being a tank but he kept his focus on the hundreds of citizens being arrested and most of the soldiers of the opposing side being executed right in front of him.
[Declaration of A New Order: Progress 59%]
[Civil War Imminent: 6 Days] [Done]
'A shame I couldn't get the rest of the council alive, I'd imagine there would be more value in executing them in front of a camera. Exposing their crimes would help with public support. Though, it's not even the main way I'm going to get the world's opinion to unite under us.'
The dampened steps of military boots shifting amongst the snow reached his ears, though Hanns didn't know where a tank could hear. Hanns turns to greet the soldier in time to see him salute.
"Kaiser, we have a problem. Tracks were seen and we suspect it was from a vehicle of some kind. The vehicle in question looked like it had a cart or something similar being towed behind it."
Hanns was surprised. "Tracks? As in the ones similar to our Leopard I's?"
"No, it's the same ones as the old F-2s. This is my assumption but our enemies, whoever they may be, have begun replicating what we have."
"Is that so? I'm supposing they don't have much to go on, meaning they've seen the F-2s but not the latest ones. Did you already forward this to Torchwick- er… Joseph G?"
"Not yet, we saw it prudent to directly tell you first before reporting it to him, considering it's your own race being replicated."
Hanns was distracted by the thought of someone trying to recreate what he had with the army. Broadcasting was a double-edged sword but Hanns was confident that other nations would take months or years to even catch up to the Volksreich's numbers.
'Tracks aren't hard to make and it's beneficial to places like this and doesn't use much dust compared to the gravity dust requirements of normal snow vehicles in Atlas. It makes sense to make something like this and supply it to rebels. Basing it off from the show, I think Watts is the one doing it.'
He still had to tread carefully, he doesn't want to waste too much manpower by going to war trying to unite the world. If he went to war now, Salem is going to take advantage. He needed a united world, not a conquered one. Meaning the people needed to think they unite against a common enemy.
Hanns was emulating how Germany united during the Franco-Prussian war. He needs the other nations' citizens to see the Volksreich as the protector, not a foreign occupier.
"Thank you… Savin." Hanns had trouble remembering the soldier's name but thankfully he was a major and had a semblance to protect himself, allowing him to not use face plates and heavy armor for ease.
The man salutes again before returning elsewhere. Hanns was ready to leave with them, transporting prisoners over a continent's distance was going to take hours but he hoped the skies would be clear enough once they go down from the northern seas.
'Hmmm… so this is one of her majors that Blake promoted when the Atlesian military was absorbed. If I remember correctly we have Ilia and Sienna in Menagerie with the 3rd and 4th Divisions. While the 1st is in Vale headed by Grylls and the 2nd is Blake's. I think we have around 12 if I don't include non-combat personnel. Granted, Atlesian Divisions are twice as numerous as the previous White Fang before the merger although they had a lot of robots to fill up more combat roles to inflate their numbers.'
Hanns oversaw the troops exiting and doing final checks before most of them headed for the boats they borrowed from the old Atlesian military, more used as scouting boats than actual warships.
'I should really shuffle military organization and also create a general staff. Blake needs to promote her officers to Generals by now since our Divisions are going to be made up of more soldiers later on.'
The soldiers around him numbering hundreds started moving back towards the ships down south. Hanns revved his engines and followed soon after.
'I guess another meeting will be in session.'
A few more minutes passed and Hanns was able to maneuver on top of the deck of the boat and prepared for the hour ahead until they could reach the nearby ports and trek to Atlas.
~
Later in Atlas...
Hanns landed with his VAF-121 and formed back into his Leopard I. He was thinking of upgrading by now but he needed more RP.
A figure showed themselves approaching from the entrance of the building and the sound of robotic legs echoed. Hearing the descent of Hanns, Pietro exited after finishing up with his own tasks.
"Hanns, there's something fortuitous in crossing paths just as I was about to look for you," Pietro calls out.
"Pietro, what brings you here? Aren't you supposed to be working in Mantle? This isn't a usual place to meet a doctor."
"Maybe for you, but Ruby asked me to get the things she needs. I'm guessing she would bring up such a request to me specifically because I was nearby."
"Ruby doesn't do that, she probably picked you because you're another scientist who she can trust. Is this about the special project?"
"If by special you mean the new droids we've been trying to create and a new Reichscopter model then yes. In hindsight, it does make sense for her to choose me to handle the droid aspect."
"In fact…" Pietro then jostles his coat for his scroll, he lifts it out and with a few presses, the display expands for Hanns to see something he'd been waiting for.
"Speaking of robotics, your new prototype for a human body is ready. It just needs a few calibrations to make sure the wearer doesn't get their spine snapped in half, Haha!"
Imagine yourself on the receiving end of general anesthesia during surgery but before the surgeon performs on you, he says something along the lines of losing his medical license.
It wasn't a comfortable fact.
Hanns didn't particularly mind his spine getting split in two, he didn't have one anyway. Though he needed the robotic suit to be a vehicle, so any poor soul being stuck in there might have a chance to enjoy a one-way trip to a heavenly chiropractic adjustment - guaranteed satisfaction.
"That's worrying. Should you really be saying that out loud?"
"Don't worry, it won't do anything extreme like that. Trust me."
Pietro smiled but it didn't soothe Hanns' worry. "...Somehow I feel like I shouldn't. Isn't this supposed to take a week or a month at most as you said?"
"That was the case up until I realized a mistake in my reasoning. You said your body needs to be worn at least once to a battle. I took the time to make a generator or battery of some kind like Penny's but I realized that it doesn't need to last more than a few hours. You say fuel isn't really a problem so I could make it look a lot less bulky but you may need to have to do minor adjustments when you transform into it. It looks different from its suit form and robotic form. Then, I figured that it doesn't need to be size adjusting."
"Size adjusting? Do you mean the kind that can have a one size fits all? Ah, I get your solution - the suit doesn't need to fit everyone, it just needs to fit someone specific for me to use. Since it's not going to be massed produced, it doesn't need a standardized measurement."
"Precisely, I could save so much more time removing the different moving parts inside to the point where I only need someone small enough to pilot it."
"That's great, I can finally speed up the next phase. When can I expect it to be field tested and able for me to use?"
"With all the clearing operations going on in the continent it's not hard to find a squad that can give the prototype a gun and participates in a battle. I just need someone small to fit in it, about this tall."
Pietro raises his arm to a level that was maybe lower than half his current absolute tank height. Hanns immediately knew who was compatible.
"Neo definitely fits that size. She's small enough-"
*CLANG!*
A metallic impact sounded on top of Hanns and the roof of his Leopard I gave out a hollow noise. The knock was powerful enough to make him ring out like a broken bell.
"…"
"Neo is right on top of me isn't she?"
Pietro nods, understanding that Hanns may have just triggered a fate worse than death.
The person in question leaned down from the top of the tank and stuck her face directly into the gunner's viewport which Hanns usually stares through with.
"Uhh, I didn't mean it? Look, I really need to finally fix my problem of not being able to fit anywhere. To be honest you really should accept that you're small-"
*CLANG!*
"Ow! …Wait I can't even feel pain! Why do you always show up randomly-"
*CLANG!*
"Ok, shutting up now."
Neo had an unreadable face as she stared into the empty viewport, if Hanns could physically gulp, he would've done so.
She sighs, maybe as a sign that she wasn't a total psychopath before she hopped off the tank and lightly tapped on the barrel.
"I'm guessing that's a yes. Pietro, do you think you can work with her?"
Pietro took one look at the deadpan Neo before smiling awkwardly as she walked to his side. "Is right now okay?"
She gave a small thumbs up before she shattered out of reality and disappeared as fast as she arrived.
"Sometimes I don't get that girl."
~
Torchwick casually walked inside a nearly massive empty hall. Pairs of guards were posted at every other entrance, which was the living space of team WYBRN apart from Hanns who lived in the common room where everyone lounged around since it was the only room large enough to fit him temporarily when they first took over Atlas.
He stepped up to the meeting room before getting checked by the guards. It was a normal thing so he took out his ID, a physical copy of a document detailing his service to the Wehrmacht, another file that was the verification of that document, and a scan for fingerprints, all the while having aura-suppressing cuffs being latched on while he rummaged through his pockets.
It was tedious but the procedure was important, especially in places that housed important people. Even if Weiss or any of the other girls wanted to enter the building, they had to present these things because it's easy to impersonate someone in a world full of Semblances, hence the aura-suppressing cuffs while being checked.
This wasn't the case before but after the attack, Weiss was adamant in putting place a simple security check for high-ranking officers, down to the enlisted men.
Torchwick returns everything back to his pockets, it didn't take too much space so he entered without being annoyed at the constant checks.
The massive door opened up, plates shifted up and down to reveal a room with a sizable area for a meeting and Hanns to drive around in.
Torchwick takes his scroll out and typed a message before returning it to his coat. He sat down in a seat specifically marked for him as he put out his cigar and waited.
Moments later the rest of the team trickled in one by one or in pairs as they all sat down with Hanns was the one only left to wait for.
"I'm guessing all of you heard that awful messaging thing of his. I was enjoying a nice break once in a while but I guess it's important we talk about what we will do next." Torchwick mentions.
"You'll get used to random telepathic messages." Blake answers.
"Kitty Cat, you're the one longest around Lunchbox. Why can't you tell him to tone it down a little when trying to speak through our minds?"
"I don't think you can control the volume of thoughts, Torchwick."
"But you've never tried." He points out.
"Well… why don't you ask then?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the girl that he basically met from day one and constantly sticks to his side should be the one asking him that? You're acting like an awkward pre-teen."
Blake narrows her stare. "What are you insinuating?"
Torchwick rolled his eyes and sighed. "You had a relationship before this no? How come you don't understand? Hah… this is why you're stuck reading that erotica you keep staring at night."
Her ears shot up in distress. "How?!" She blurts out.
"It's obvious, you don't even hide the fact you keep ordering it online from a website called-"
"No! Shut it, Torchwick!"
The conversation started to become way too hard to understand. It was like a bunch of buzzwords for a certain cookie-eating individual. "Weiss?" Ruby asked the person closest to her, "What's bondage?"
Weiss responded by caressing Ruby's hair. "You sweet summer child."
The massive door opening seemed to disrupt the ongoing small talk as Hanns finally showed up and drove inside. He had made the building compatible with him but soon enough he hoped he could finally enter buildings without destroying the doorways.
"Sorry that I was a bit late, I had to tweak a few things with Pietro on something. Did I miss anything? You all were pretty loud from outside, especially you Blake."
"It's nothing!" Blake's face was still slightly flushing from the embarrassment of her search history being exposed in front of all of them. Yang being the mischievous one had the time to record it all in secret while desperately trying to hold in her habit of teasing Blake even more.
"...Okay?" Hanns drove to the front, the room was widened considerably when Winter gave them the building.
Unlike the rest of them, Winter had been busy in her own right 'convincing' some individuals being resistant to the effects of Hanns' loyalty function.
"We will begin now. Torchwick, I believe you have the right to tell everyone what resulted in our little fight against the Council."
Torchwick stood as his name was called before opening his scroll and sifting through files and notes to read out of.
"First of all, public support has been predicted to be returning to previous levels. News of the Council being in custody has given us more support based on my men's testimonies. Second, we have captured a foreign spy."
"A spy? From where?" Hanns didn't predict that. 'I would've thought it'd be Watts of all people. None of them know him but I'm pretty sure from the snippets from the show, he'd be working with Salem.'
"Vacuo. He tried sneaking out but we caught him along the way. The man only had a data stick on him so we sent it to the scientists and computer geeks. I've already ordered everyone to check our software."
"Good, anything else?"
"I do but it's not going to come from me." Torchwick opens his scroll and taps to send a message. "He should be here any moment."
Minutes passed and the door opened for Merlot to come in. "Hello everyone."
"Merlot? You're related to this?" Ruby asked.
"Of course, since I know who attacked you and orchestrated this."
Weiss suddenly stood up, her demeanor changing once more as her tone deepened. "Who is it?"
"One I know very well in the early days before I even made that island of mine. Arthur Watts but he likes to be called Watts. I suspect he had been the one who supplied these rebels of yours."
"Arthur Watts… doesn't ring a bell," Weiss said in a frustrating way.
"Exactly, he always cared about his achievements but wasn't able to show anything in the end. He was a friend of mine back when he was an Atlesian scientist."
"Was?"
"He left because of some… sourness he felt during his stay. He was the one who designed those Paladins before he left, the ones I have been shown pictures of during the fight. It's why I have my own."
Hanns connected the pieces, even though he didn't know Merlot was friends with Watts. Though it made sense for an enemy of Atlas to be friends with another enemy of Atlas. "So that's why you had something similar back on your island."
"Call it a divergence, he showed me his idea and ranted a lot about his disdain for the 'fools' in Atlas for choosing another project other than his. I agreed on it too but eventually, we separated ways but not before he shared his blueprint with me. I didn't know where he ended up while I worked on my own research."
"What project did he go up against?"
"…The P.E.N.N.Y project. I know, ironic isn't it? I disagreed with the idea that the military would put forth so much funding for what I thought was a foolish idea of a robot with a soul. Then I met you, the master race-"
"Okay! Ignoring that last bit - Yang, are we close with securing the villages in Vale, and are the Belladonnas ready yet?"
"No to the first but yes to the second," Yang answered quickly. "I think we need more of a push, a stunt that will put us on the map. Something bombastic like killing something huge - we still have a few rounds of talking to make them trust us but it's going to take longer without proving in a massive way that the Grimm can be truly defeated in our methods."
"That's true. I already expected to need something to prove since convincing them that a unified military would go a long way. An example would be needed. What about progress with the Anschluss?"
"Menagerie is already integrated as much as possible while respecting international sovereignty and all that. Weiss takes a little while to set it up. We only need a perfect time and we will be ready. Leave it to me to Yang-k them to our side!"
"Yang, I appreciate the report but please, don't do puns."
"Someday you all will understand." She spoke like it was going to be a villain backstory of some kind. "…Someday."
"…Moving on. Weiss, anything new?"
"Well, our policies are finally starting to bear fruit. We have opened up mines everywhere and the Grimm clearing has done so to a great degree. It's freeing up more jobs for people, making their wages higher because of the labor demands and in turn letting them have a higher standard of living as they can buy more goods inaccessible to them before. We are at a net positive ever since you cut down on dust spending in the Wehrmacht. Our imports from food are still high but we switched to directly asking for food from foreign villages in the other continents in exchange for the dust we export."
Hanns was fervently nodding his barrel at the news. 'Oh yeah, it's all coming together.'
"We're creating a dependency as time goes on while keeping costs down from directly importing than going through foreign governments as the middle man. Thankfully the villages all have autonomy in the other kingdoms."
"Last one. Ruby? Is weapons development going smoothly? I heard from Pietro you've been working on the things I asked that are important. The Helicarrier can wait but how are the defensive placements?"
"Oh, yep. It's going to take weeks but since Blake gave me permission to use her soldiers as a workforce, I can say it would be in a week or two. The materials are already on site, so it wouldn't take long with the help of the VAF-121s and tanks hauling stuff around."
"I'm glad it's going well."
"I have a question though, why put a lot of the 88mm PaK43 somewhere surrounding the middle of a lake? Wouldn't it be better to place them around the cities?"
"I guess I'll have to tell you all." Hanns starts to explain. "There is a possibility that there is an ancient Grimm large enough to destroy the continent."
"..."
"What?!" Some of the girls screamed out.
"Lunchbox, do you always drop a bombshell of information like that so suddenly?"
"Hey, I've also been recently notified of the things being woken up. By the way, there's like three others in their respective continents."
"..."
To say the team was shocked was another understatement of the century. World-ending Grimm being exposed to reality was not what everyone expected.
Torchwick though had been used to some kind of Grimm this caliber ever since their meeting in Mountain Glenn. He was beginning to understand why Blake gets used to Hanns' antics.
"Looks like everything is going smoothly enough," Hanns said, ignoring the looks of surprise from the team. He was worried too but it was still 2 weeks away. "If anything else happens, I will take drastic measures as assurance."
"I suppose I should notify all of you while we are all here. As you know, I've been working with Pietro to make a human body for me. Neo here is going to help out after this meeting, so it'll be ready tomorrow for a visit."
"Tomorrow? Where are you going to visit?"
"It's not just me, Blake." Hanns pauses. "All you girls are going to relax once in a while… how do you say we all go for a dance… in Vale?"
"..."
"Huh?!"
Torchwick felt his eyebrow twitch. 'So sudden and not going to explain again? Damnit, Lunchbox.'
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