Crater Raids (1)

The motors and components of the Insurgent Armor hummed steadily with each step Gray and Jade took. The ground beneath them, once solid dirt, had turned into slushy, frozen mud due to the snow, giving way with every step.

Inside the armor, neither of them felt the biting cold. Their internal temperatures were regulated, and their HUDs were constantly updated with live data on their surroundings. Indicators locked onto anyone and everyone in sight, even if Gray and Jade hadn't noticed them yet.

Jade broke the silence.

"It feels strange, being on this side of things, walking through here," she said, her voice coming through the private channel between her and Gray.

Gray glanced over his shoulder at her, then scanned the slums around them, nodding slightly.

"Yeah. It's hard to describe." The Crater was split into multiple layers. Each one was a level of the old mining pit. Back when it was still active, it was full of trains and locomotives moving dust mined by the Schnee Dust Company from the deeper tunnels.

Now, the processing plants, factories, and facilities had crumbled. Some were reduced to rubble, while others remained partially intact, serving as makeshift shelters. They were still on the first layer of the Crater, and their target was further along on the second layer, toward the east.

It was clear that the deeper they went, the worse things got—especially the further they strayed from the walls that separated Mantle from the Crater and the slums.

"What the hell are those things?" A Faunus muttered, sitting with a few others on broken tires around a makeshift campfire. Their clothes were torn and patched together, likely scavenged and fixed up to keep warm.

"Hmm, androids maybe? But they don't look like the ones we usually see," one of the others around the fire replied, squinting toward Gray and Jade.

"Well, they're armed to the teeth, that's for sure," a more irritated man added. His voice was laced with hostility.

"Last thing we need is Atlas sticking its nose in places it doesn't belong and stirring up more trouble." Jade overheard the comment and glanced at him. In a flash, the hostile expression on his face shifted to hesitation and then fear. He quickly lowered his head, as did the others around him, looking away.

"This is going to take some getting used to," Jade muttered to herself, shaking her head inside her helmet.

Gray didn't respond, but the slight sigh he let out spoke volumes. He felt the same.

Team 1, Sable and Auburn, reached their point of interest first. It was one of the outer layers of the crater, not far from where they'd been dropped off.

They'd climbed into the boxcar of a long-abandoned train after breaking the lock on the sliding door. Despite their massive size, the Insurgent Armor blended seamlessly into the shadows, offering them excellent cover as they peered through the gaps in the boxcar's wall.

Through the holes, the two of them surveyed the open area ahead, cluttered with old train tracks and junctions, most of which had long ceased functioning. In the center stood a large warehouse, one of the few remaining structures still intact in this part of the crater. It was marked with the faded white paint that was typical of the Schnee Dust Company.

Some of the tracks, now covered in snow, led up to the warehouse doors, a clear sign that trains once rolled in and out, delivering supplies. Now, all the doors were sealed tight, including the massive rolling door that used to serve as the primary entry point.

The only functional entrance appeared to be a set of side double doors, where two figures stood watch outside. Switching to a secure channel, Sable reported back to the mission operations center.

"This is Team 1. We've spotted our designated target." Back at the Atlesian Military Compound, Asher listened in, confirming their location on a top-down map of the crater.

"Good work. What's the situation?" he asked.

Sable, still watching the warehouse through the boxcar hole, replied, "Not much from this angle. We've spotted two guards outside the warehouse."

Auburn, unusually quick to correct, interjected.

"Eleven," he said flatly. Sable shot him a confused look, but Auburn was already silently pointing to areas around the warehouse.

Sable followed his gaze and finally noticed it—the faint movement of figures hidden in the windows of collapsed buildings or behind piles of rubble. At first, they looked like any other people living in the slums, but after watching their movements, it became clear they were positioned as lookouts.

Sable nodded, adjusting his report.

"Correction: we've spotted eleven lookouts in the area, in addition to the two guards outside the warehouse. No signs of White Fang affiliation, at least not yet." Back at the compound, Asher mulled over the information, tapping his chin as his eyes narrowed.

After a moment, he spoke.

"Do you think you'll be able to take them out within the first round of operations?"

There was a short pause before Sable answered.

"I believe so."

"Good. Then stay in position until the others are ready," Asher instructed.

"Yes, sir," Sable confirmed.

Asher switched channels to check on Team 2, Cobalt and Ochre.

"What's your status?" He asked through the comms.

Cobalt and Ochre were positioned on the roof of a crumbling processing building. Half of it had collapsed, but the remaining supports were sturdy enough to hold their Insurgent Armor. They kept their attention focused on the ground below. Among the other makeshift homes in the crater, they spotted a cargo container.

It appeared to have been converted into a small living space—its doors were gone, replaced by worn cloth, and a dim light flickered from inside. What stood out, however, was the fact that more than ten people had entered the container over the past hour, but not a single one had come back out.

There was no way a container that size could accommodate that many people.

"We've got eyes on the target," Cobalt reported. "No other abnormalities so far."

Ochre spoke up next.

"I'm thinking there's an underground tunnel behind the container. Can't confirm it yet until we go in."

Asher nodded to himself, then responded, "Alright, stand by."

He switched channels again, this time checking in with Sterling and Indigo.

"Are you two in position yet?" He asked. Indigo's voice came through shortly after, the faintest hint of a pause before she answered.

"Almost. We're still looking for a good spot, but we can see the target. It looks like an abandoned hospital. The windows are boarded up, and the roofside entrance looks like it's collapsed or been destroyed. From what I can tell, though... the people running the place seem to be handing out food and medicine—nothing that stands out as suspicious."

Sterling chimed in, his voice steady.

"Yeah, I've seen these people around the crater before. They move locations every now and then, but if I remember right, they're backed by Faunus Rights activists. They donate things like food, medicine, clothes... stuff like that to the people down here."

"I'm aware," Asher replied, sensing the skepticism in their voices about why this place was on the list. He reached toward one of the panels near him, clicking through a few buttons to bring up a file on one of the side monitors. It combined drone surveillance data with some field investigations.

"What's odd," he continued, "is that, according to investigations, no Faunus Rights activist group has advertised or even visited the areas where these people are operating. Not in Mantle, and certainly not in the parts of the crater they're working in. Which means they're either trying to stay under the radar... or these so-called activists don't actually exist."

Indigo and Sterling were quiet for a moment, both processing this new information. They understood Asher wasn't done.

"Food and medicine that come in at that volume don't just appear without leaving a trace. Yet we couldn't find any record of it, which means it wasn't through any legal channels that Atlas might be monitoring. It's not necessarily a problem, but it's suspicious, and it points to a possible smuggling operation. If everything checks out and there's nothing underhanded going on, we'll leave it be. But I need you two to investigate thoroughly. Understood?"

Sterling and Indigo exchanged a brief look as they moved through an alley close to the abandoned hospital. They both nodded.

"Yes, sir," they replied in unison.

Finally, there was Team 3—Gray and Jade. Asher didn't need to contact them directly; both of them reached out to him first.

"We've spotted our designated target in the second layer of the crater," Gray reported. Both he and Jade were standing in front of a tunnel with a large, rusted vent cover. Each layer of the crater was progressively deeper, with the previous layer serving as a barrier to the next.

This section of the wall, or rather, the entire area, was lined with tunnels. Judging by their structure, they likely used to function as air vents, designed to carry air from the mines below up to the surface. Though long abandoned, the vents themselves had not collapsed, even after years of neglect.

Jade spoke up, a hint of nostalgia in her voice.

"Me and a few friends used to play in tunnels like these down on the third layer." Her tone shifted slightly, as if remembering something from the past.

"Although these tunnels are all over the crater, most of the vents on the same layer connect if you go far enough. If you're willing to map them, you can use them to travel between different layers of the crater." Gray continued, picking up where she left off.

"Based on what we saw in the tunnel you had drones monitoring, we have a pretty good idea of what these tunnels are being used for, though it's not recruitment."

"And what's that?" Asher asked, his voice steady.

"Black market," Jade answered, without hesitation.

"That's right," Gray confirmed.

"The tunnels are perfect for moving things around the crater that you don't want anyone to know about. Just as good for selling them. Looks like some group's taken control of the tunnels here on the second layer and is using them to organize some kind of trade." It was mostly speculation, but Asher didn't call them out on it.

Gray, Jade, and the rest of them had been living in the crater their entire lives. If anyone knew its ins and outs, it was them.

"We'll still need evidence before we take action," Asher said over the comms.

"So we can't go in loud," Gray said, finishing Asher's thought.

"That's right," Asher replied.

"Think you can handle it? If not, we can organize a separate operation-"

"We'll do it," Gray interrupted, giving Jade a brief glance. She nodded in agreement without hesitation.

"Alright then." Asher didn't say anything further to them. Instead, he switched channels, his voice filling each of the Insurgent's helmets as he spoke.

"All teams have reached their designated positions and identified their targets. Remember, coordination is key. You'll each have thirty minutes to deal with your target before moving to secondary objectives. After that, the element of surprise will be gone, and you'll need to move fast. If the White Fang is tipped off, they may go into hiding. Understood?" Asher's voice was firm, cutting through the comms of every channel.

In response, Indigo's group, who just months ago had been a scattered group of criminals with no real organization, answered in unison: "Yes, Commander!"

"Good. Then begin operation," Asher ordered, and almost immediately, all four teams sprang into action.

The first to move was Team 1—Sable and Auburn. The moment they identified the eleven lookouts around the warehouse, they split up to cover more ground.

At that very moment, Sable was navigating the halls of an abandoned building. The roof had crumbled in spots, exposing the gray, smoke-filled sky, and shafts of light briefly illuminated parts of the hallway. It was through these patches of light that the massive form of Sable's armor could be seen moving.

In stealth mode, the Insurgent Armor engaged its sound-suppression system, which included a suspension system in the boots. Though the crunch of rubble underfoot or the crack of shattered glass could still be heard, the normally heavy footsteps of the armor, almost half a ton of weight, were nearly silent.

Eventually, Sable reached a doorway leading into an adjacent room. On the balcony of that room stood a man who appeared to be using the abandoned building as shelter from the snow. But even from his position behind the wall, Sable could hear the crackle of a radio.

"Just checking in, Nave. Anything unusual?" A voice crackled through the radio.

Leaning on the railing of the balcony, Nave brought the radio up to his mouth and responded.

"Nope, as calm and peaceful as usual. Hardly anyone bothers coming this way."

"Yeah, but we still have to do the check-ins. Boss's orders. Anyway, next contact in thirty minutes. You know the drill," the voice replied.

"Right," Nave answered, and with a click, the radio went silent as he hung it back on his belt.

Letting out a sigh, he muttered to himself, "I swear, if this job didn't pay as much as it does, I wouldn't-"

He froze mid-sentence when he suddenly heard the shift of stone behind him. Frowning, Nave started to turn, but before his body could react, Sable was already in motion. He was fast—faster than any normal person could process. Before Nave could even let out a scream, Sable had grabbed his head, covering his mouth, with his other hand pressed firmly against his chest.

[Electrical Current – Active: Gauntlets]

Electricity sparked along Sable's gauntlets as a brief, controlled current surged through Nave's body, freezing him in place before he lost consciousness completely. When Sable released his grip, Nave's limp body collapsed to the ground.

Reaching down, Sable grabbed the radio from Nave's belt and crushed it before contacting Auburn.

"How's it going on your end, Auburn?" There was no response at first.

Leaning against a wall at the entrance to a dark alley near the warehouse, a man kept an eye on the people passing by. A snake-type Faunus, his scales glistening and tongue flickering, had just lit a cigarette with a lighter and stuffed it into his back pocket. He took a slow drag, lost in the moment.

He didn't even notice the shadow moving deeper into the alley until it was too late.

A flicker of movement caught the edge of his peripheral vision, and as he turned to look, a massive metal arm shot out from the darkness, grabbing his clothes and yanking him into the shadows. There was a brief sound—a struggle, maybe the muffled attempt of a scream—but it faded quickly, and all fell silent.

A moment later, Auburn emerged from the darkness.

He spoke into his comms.

"Done. We can move to the next ones."

"Got it," Sable replied.

The two of them worked with an efficiency that seemed inhuman, moving with speed and stealth that shouldn't have been possible given the size and weight of the Insurgent Armor.

Back at the mission operations center, Asher and the others who were monitoring the live feed sat in complete silence. A scout on a nearby roof had been taken out before he even realized someone was behind him. A man hiding in the wreckage of an old abandoned truck was electrocuted into unconsciousness without a single sound being made.

Watching it all unfold, Winter couldn't help but comment, "They're efficient. All of them, much more than I expected. And the Insurgent Armor... It's even more versatile than I gave it credit for."

Asher glanced over at her, a slight curve to his lips. His hands were clasped behind his back.

"Well, of course they are. I trained them to compete with perfection so they'd have room to grow into the best. The Insurgent Armor just takes that to superhuman levels." Less than a second after Asher finished speaking, the comms crackled with a message from Sable.

"All eleven lookouts have been neutralized. Moving in on target." Turning those once seen as the underside of society into soldiers of pure results.

How satisfying.