'Hazredous' Interruptions - HunterS

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha / RWBY

Chapter One - A New Day

"Okay, team, gather close! We gotta plan fast before Raising Heart finds us!" Crescent Rose Harvest displayed a holomap of the combat zone at a wave of Ruby Rose's hand, portions of the map flashing in reds and yellows and blues. Airborne dust and grit cast flickering shadows through the display, but it was readable nonetheless. Ruby pointed at one point on the map. "JNPR is pushing down the main thoroughfare, but when they hit here they're going to run into heavy concentrations of infantry. They're tankier than we are, so they'll be fine against the rest of the ground pounders, but they're going to be taking a beating from everything the OpFor has. We need to take the heat off them, which means dealing with the artillery support."

"Oh, right, just the artillery support." Yang Xiao Long cracked a grin, even going so far as to peek out the window to scan the skies overhead. She ducked back, shielding her eyes against the flare of pink that lit up the sky. "A full team of hand-picked flight mages led by Nanoha. That'll be easy!"

"And an irritable Nanoha at that. Fate's been on deployment for months now, and she gets like this every time…" Blake Belladonna shook her head with a sigh. "Who thought it was a good idea for her to be leading the OpFor again?"

"It's that or we take the thoroughfare and deal with Signum. Pyrrha said she can fight her to a standstill for a minute, I'll take that bet. Besides, we don't need to beat them, we just need to hold them long enough!"

"Look at it this way, Yang," Blake murmured, looking over the holomap. Her ears twitched and flattened against another concussive boom of unleashed magic. "If we go after Nanoha, you'll get to play with Vita."

"Oh, Dust, I hadn't thought of that." Yang grinned, flexing her hands. "Okay Rubes, I'll keep the Juggs-ernaut off your back. Blake and Weiss should be able to keep the others distracted, but Nanoha's your playmate."

"If we can drag them down to street level, we'll disengage one at a time to pull up Aura. Give it to 'em rough in close-quarters."

"And if this all goes to plan," Weiss Schnee gave Myrtenaster Absolute a twirl, peering through the scrying window she left hanging in the air, "then SSSN and Cardin will slip through in the confusion and slag the objective."

"That's the plan." Ruby heaved Crescent Rose to her shoulder with a nimble spin. "Let's do this!"

"In Remnant galactic affairs, the first wave of Hunter trainees in the TSAB military are graduating from their vocational training, and are now full-fledged members of the TSAB armed forces and graduate Hunters both. While there are reports of Bureau-wide civil unrest due to Remnant's accelerated inclusion in TSAB policy, I hope that I am not alone in wishing Remnant's rising stars the best in a productive career."

"Upon landing in the Emerald Forest, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years at Beacon Academy. You and your partner must make your way to the ruins northeast of here, retrieve a relic, and return with it to this location."

One of the initiates, a barely five foot tall girl wearing roller skates of all things, pushed blue bangs out of her eyes and smiled at the red-haired girl next to her. They were the two TSAB transfer students in this batch of initiates, and their dossiers had proven an interesting read, one more so than the other. Still, enrolling at the age of fourteen! Even Ruby Rose had been fifteen years old when he'd offered her a place at the academy… but the pair's superiors were confident in their capabilities, and he wouldn't be the one to judge them prematurely.

"For those of you joining us from Administered Space, your enemy will be the Creatures of Grimm. Make no mistake, the Grimm will be attacking you with lethal intent, and your only path to success will be to kill them before they kill you. You have been given emergency transponders if it is necessary to use them, but understand that activating your transponder is an automatic disqualification from initiation. If you wish to succeed, you will be on your own, with only your partner and the other initiates to depend on. Good luck." The tip of Ozpin's cane pressed down on the small pad next to him.

As if on cue, the red-haired girl raised a hand. "Uhm. Headmaster, you said upon landing in the forest. Teleporting is still iffy on the planet, right? Where's the dropship?"

KA-CHANK! The first student catapulted into the air, already assuming a gliding posture.

The redhead went pale. Ozpin sipped his coffee, hiding his smirk. KA-CHANK! "Ah, there is no dropship. You will be using your own landing strategy."

"My own landing strategy? I don't have a landing stra-" KA-CHANK! "-aAAAAAAAAAAA!"

KA-CHANK! The blue-haired girl followed her skyward, yelling. "WIIIING ROOoooaaa…"

Ozpin tilted his head, watching as a path of blue light shot out ahead of the girl, letting her skate effortlessly into the distance to catch her falling friend. He could faintly hear her shouting something about them being partners forever.

"...interesting. They haven't technically landed yet, so that may be against the spirit of the rules, but..." He shrugged. The term would likely prove interesting.

"Worldwide, the Huntsmen Academies report that attendance is at an all-time high. While this number does include exchange students from TSAB boot camps and even from Administered World private interests, the Academy Headmasters have given the joint statement that to see such numbers is heartening, and all four academies are making plans to break new ground for their own expansion efforts."

"So, with everything moving forward so strongly, you should understand the necessity of the increased budget. More students means we need more professors, which means bringing in experts from off-world, which means we need the additional facilities to house them and keep them busy when they're not teaching. The university is an R&D campus as well as instructional, after all."

Kasta Kazella, the CFO of Starmetal Industries Incorporated, met the eyes of the president's holographic avatar, waiting for a moment before giving a small nod. "You're right, Mrs. Opal. I'll finalize and forward your budget request to Ms. Schnee, and I'm sure that your justifications will be enough for her to approve the adjustments. Do you have a list of potential hires?"

"We've received dozens of applications from across TSAB space already, and a few of them are looking rather promising for our needs. I can forward the resumes to you if you'd like."

"That would prove useful. I'll request some background checks from Ambassador Harlaown, I'm sure she'll make the time if I bring them over personally."

"Excellent." Opal keyed a few commands, her hands flickering across a keyboard not represented in her hologram, and the files popped up on Kasta's scroll.

She gave them a quick once over. "Donald Durango from Mid-childa, Gefangnis Chrysler of Ruwella, and Bethany Martin of Mid-childa. I'll get these to Lindy as soon as possible."

"Appreciated. It must be nice having a personal line to the Ambassador."

"Speaking of breaking ground, today marks the first anniversary of the opening day of the Starmetal Fabrications Advanced Sciences University. In grand ceremony, University President Opal broke ground on a twenty-seven acre expansion, upon which dormitory, classroom, and research structures will be built to answer the two-hundred percent increase in numbers from the first year of attendance. Starmetal Fabrications Incorporated CEO Weiss Schnee said in a D-comm interview two days ago that she is, and I quote, 'exceptionally pleased with the progress the university has made in one year's time,' and she looks forward to further growth and development."

"No need to stand on ceremony, Sienna. We were friends before I left the Fang, and I should hope that we can be friends now. Sit, please. Kali is making tea." Ghira Belladonna gestured for her to take her place at the table across from Richard Xerxes. "I'm just glad you're finally here to talk to us."

Sienna Khan hesitated, her ears drooping a little against her hair, then gave herself a little shake. There was no sense in delaying any longer, but the inability to follow up on her promise still hurt. "Adam Taurus is gone, Ghira. I can't find him, the Fang can't find him. He either found a hole so deep only the Grimm could sniff him out, fled off-world during the first exoduses off the planet, or he's dead."

"He's not dead," Xerxes scowled, though not directed at her. "The bastard's too damned cunning to die that easily. He'll be back someday, and we'll have to deal with him."

Ghira sighed, gesturing again and waiting until Sienna finally took the offered seat. "With our luck he threw in with Breeze. But, it's a problem for later. The important thing is that you tried, Sienna."

"I promised you his head on a platter, Ghira. The Khans keep their promises."

"We don't want his head on a platter, Sienna! Imagine the mess I'd have to clean up afterwards." Kali bustled into the room, setting out cups and pouring tea with practiced ease. "You three are here to talk about tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. Better things to come!"

"A better tomorrow." Sienna picked up the teacup, holding it gingerly between her fingers; Kali always favored tiny, delicate ceramics, and they were so damned fragile. She would have preferred a heavy stein, or at least a coffee mug… but that was Kali, and they were in her house. "Not to dwell on the past, but Taurus' assault on Vale was a disaster in the making. I can't fathom how bad it could have gotten if the kingdom had actually fallen that day…"

"Bad enough, that's for certain. Taurus had gone off the deep end long before that point." Xerxes fixed her with a look. "Your ideologies took him there-"

"My ideologies would have worked, if things had stayed sane," she shot back, "but they didn't. I didn't realize he would stoop so low, I left Vale to him because I had three other chapters to worry about. He hid his true intentions too damned well, and I couldn't see behind that Grimm-bedamned mask." She cursed again, and drained her tea, holding the cup out for a refill. "And then the Bureau came out of the woodwork, and the whole world got thrown on its head."

"I admit I was wondering why the masks came off. Haven't seen a Fang wearing one in over a year now. The uniforms, sure, but no more masks." Xerxes tapped his fingers against his own cup, and a small smirk spread his lips. "I have to admit I like it more this way."

She scowled, sipping her refreshed drink and giving Kali a belated nod of thanks. "No more masks. I want to see the faces of my subordinates." Setting the cup down, she sighed, rubbing at her eyes. "It galls me to say this, but Bastion has had the right of it these last two years. I still say my ways would have worked, if not for all the madness with Taurus and the Bureau, but… this way is better. For everyone."

"No one can see the future, Sienna, and hindsight is twenty twenty." Ghira reached out and took Kali's hand, smiling up at her. "But as my lovely wife says, we're here to talk about tomorrow."

"In other Menagerie-related news, yesterday Chieftain Sienna Khan of the White Fang met behind closed doors with Menagerie Chieftain Ghira Belladonna and Bastion Spokesman Richard Xerxes. According to a press release by all three leaders after the session ended, Chieftain Khan has agreed to bringing the White Fang under Menagerie's direct leadership. While the White Fang has been thankfully non-confrontational in the two years since Remnant joined the TSAB, this agreement puts an official stance to the White Fang's posturing. While some people believe that this 'toeing the line' by the White Fang is a blatant attempt to avoid repercussions for past actions, Chieftain Belladonna has stated that he views this as a good decision on all sides. When Ambassador Harlaown was asked for the TSAB's official stance on the matter, she only said that the TSAB takes no issue with local jurisdictional decisions."

"This is Lisa Lavender, Vale Network News."

Hey everyone! This is a teaser for the beginning of the sequel to Hazredous Interruptions. More than that though, this is also an announcement for all of you following this story that the first chapter of Hazredous Interruptions - HunterS is now posted here on FFNet and you can get right to it!