Asher responded instantly, his voice cutting through the comms, "Where are they?"
This time, it was Jade who answered, her voice urgent, with a clear undertone of running.
"Area C3," she said quickly.
"We've pinged their location. They're moving fast, in a convoy of three cargo trucks. They've disguised themselves—took off their masks the moment they finished their business—but we caught a glimpse of them, and it was all recorded. Looks like... they're heading to Mantle?" Asher's eyebrows furrowed, surprised by the mention of the city.
Mantle? Well that explains it. How they've been slipping through our grasp all this time. The White Fang may have been operating in the crater, but their base had been in Mantle all along. If they were disguising themselves as Jade said, their transports from the crater to Mantle were probably masked too. No wonder they'd evaded detection for so long.
The security between Mantle and the crater had always been lax, so it wasn't a surprise they kept getting through unnoticed.
Asher's voice cut through the silence that followed.
"All Insurgent units, you're being reassigned. If your initial points of interest are secured, abandon your next objective and converge on Team 3's position immediately. This takes top priority. If your original tasks are still incomplete, join those who can as soon as possible."
The order was clear, and it immediately sparked action among the team.
At that moment, Team 1—Sable and Auburn—were still at the warehouse. But it wasn't just them and the surrendered smugglers anymore.
The entire area hummed with activity, the sound of Atlas's forces, mobilized by Winter, filling the air. The low rumble of airships mixed with the howling winds outside, and the steady rhythm of soldiers moving crates of stolen goods from the warehouse to the cargo holds of waiting airships.
As for the smugglers, they were handcuffed and would be escorted to the nearest facility for processing.
The Atlas soldiers, unaware of the Insurgency, cast curious glances at Sable and Auburn, initially mistaking them for advanced androids. They only seemed to register their human presence when they spoke. Even the higher-ranking officers didn't question who they were or why they were there.
The mere sight of them seemed to answer any unspoken questions—no explanations were necessary, and it was clear they were above any questions or scrutiny.
As the last few smugglers were being escorted away, Gray's voice crackled over the comms, followed by Asher's order. Standing nearby, Sable and Auburn exchanged a brief glance before nodding to each other and responding.
"We're on it," Sable confirmed. With that, the two of them sprang into action. The ground trembled beneath them as they took off at a speed that seemed impossible for their size. Within seconds, the two figures in Insurgent Armor vanished into the distance, following the coordinates Gray and Jade had sent.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Team 2—Cobalt and Ochre—had moved out of the underground area where the trafficking victims had been held. Now, they were sitting on a broken slab of stone, remnants of what seemed to be a pillar from some long-abandoned structure.
Nearby, a small group of Atlas soldiers were securing the area, while a recovery team tended to the victims, many of whom were gravely ill due to the terrible conditions they'd endured. Some of the victims were so shaken that they had to be reassured they were safe before being carried out, wrapped in thermal blankets since they had no clothes of their own.
Cobalt and Ochre sat in silence, watching the recovery efforts. Cobalt appeared to be handling the situation better than Ochre, but both were clearly affected. There was a difference between killing with intent and having a casualty weigh on you due to indirect involvement.
It was a burden that didn't easily fade.
The quiet was finally broken when Gray's voice came through their helmets, urgent and sharp.
"We've found them! The White Fang! We're tracking them now, but they're about to leave the air vents!" Both Cobalt and Ochre immediately snapped to attention. Cobalt stayed seated for a moment longer, his gaze locked on the map displayed on his HUD as he processed the location of Gray and Jade. He then stood, catching Asher's latest order just in time.
He looked back at Ochre.
"What are you going to do?"
Ochre hesitated for a brief moment, then sighed and rose to his feet.
"We've got a job to do, don't we? Let's catch those White Fang bastards and make sure it's done right." In that moment, a silent understanding passed between them. Without another word, they set off in the direction of the ping.
The only team left now was Team 4—Indigo and Sterling. They were still at the hospital, having heard the comms from Gray, Jade, and Asher. The information spurred them into action, speeding up their current task. They had already located where the people running the so-called "charity" were keeping the list of recipients for the laced items.
Now, they were just searching for the person in charge. Once they had them, they would detour to the nearest group of Atlas forces, drop them off and then make a direct line to the White Fang convoy's location, based on the latest intel on the map.
Back at the mission's operations center, Asher switched the main display, moving away from the four flanking feeds. On the central screen, a live feed of the crater and Mantle was overlaid with a virtual map. The live footage was coming from drones Asher had deployed.
Through the map, Asher, Liv, and Graz could see Gray and Jade's positions, the ping for the White Fang convoy, and the locations of all the other insurgent teams heading that way, with only Team 4 still at their current location.
Leaning into his headset, Asher spoke, "GAIA, do you have a visual on the convoy?"
[Yes, I have a visual.]
The AI's response came almost immediately, its artificially female voice clear as always.
"Good, bring it up for me," Asher ordered.
The main screen shifted briefly, changing from a top-down view of the crater to something closer to the ground.
Just as Jade had described, three six-wheeled trucks appeared. They weren't brand new, nor were they scrap—just well-used, with a few dents here and there. They were perfect for blending in, not attracting any attention.
The trucks were painted in muted browns, with no clear markings linking them to the White Fang. The truck at the front and the one at the back were flatbeds, with crates secured by ropes and six people sitting in the back with the cargo.
Like the trucks themselves, the people weren't wearing White Fang uniforms. Instead, they wore clothes that looked like what movers would wear—simple long-sleeve shirts and pants, all in a dark blue tone, with vests and gloves. The only difference was the truck in the center of the convoy, which had a box instead of a flatbed.
From the top-down view, they couldn't tell what was inside the box, but all three trucks had long since left the old air vent tunnels. They were now driving along a broken road leading to one of the gates connecting Mantle to the Crater. Given that they'd started on the second layer of the crater, they were still about ten to twenty minutes from the gate.
Gray's voice came through the comms, asking, "We've caught up to them, but what should we do now? Should we follow them to wherever they're headed or stop them here?"
Asher tapped his fingers against his lips as he listened, thinking it over. Like Gray had mentioned, he and Jade had caught up with the convoy, their armor's beacons now visible on the virtual map overlay. Thanks to their gear, they had managed to chase down the trucks.
Now, it was all about taking action.
Before Asher could respond, Liv spoke up, adding, "If we let them leave the crater, things could get complicated in terms of our operation range. Not to mention, potential casualties would skyrocket."
Graz nodded in agreement, his voice steady.
"She's right. It's best to stop the White Fang here. If they really are just hired hands from the crater, we can interrogate them easily and find out where they were headed. No need to take unnecessary risks."
Asher rubbed his upper lip for a moment, weighing their words. He glanced at Liv and Graz before giving a brief nod.
"Alright then, you've got the go-ahead. Move in. Try to avoid injuring or killing anyone—we need them alive for interrogation. I'll send in two SU-P's to provide support."
"On it," Gray responded quickly, glancing at Jade.
He gestured to her.
"Since it's just the two of us, we'll cut them off. You take the rear, I'll handle the front."
"Right," Jade replied with a quick nod. The two of them moved out of sight behind the rubble of the buildings lining the side of the road, staying hidden as they plotted their approach. As soon as they had a plan, they split. Gray rushed forward to get ahead of the convoy, while Jade weaved through the crumbling structures to get behind them.
Meanwhile, in the front truck of the convoy, two Faunus men were casually listening to the radio. Well, at least one of them was.
The driver groaned, glancing at his passenger, who was bobbing his head to the low, constant beat.
"Do you really have to play this song every time we drive?"
"Uh, yeah?" the passenger replied without looking away from the radio.
"This place might as well be a wasteland. It's depressing. So, excuse me if I want to be in a slightly better mood. Anyway, just focus on the road."
The driver rolled his eyes, briefly glancing back at the road before turning to the passenger again.
"Telling me to concentrate while you're blasting the most obnoxious music I've ever heard? Besides, like you said, it's a wasteland. No one ever comes down this road. That's why we use it."
"Yeah, well-" The passenger didn't get to finish as his gaze locked forward, his eyes widening.
"Hit the brakes!" he shouted.
The driver looked ahead and froze. A large figure, clad in a suit of armor, was standing directly in the middle of the road. His heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, the driver slammed his foot on the brakes, causing the truck to skid across the broken street. The mix of fallen snow and ice made the truck slide, barely keeping control as it careened toward the figure.
The truck jerked violently, twisting slightly but never quite making a full ninety-degree turn, coming to a stop just short of a crash. The trucks behind it fared a little better. The central truck narrowly avoided colliding with the first, while the last truck stopped even quicker, skillfully avoiding any crash or spin-out.
In the back of the first truck, the six people who had been sitting in the bed were thrown off balance by the sudden stop. They cursed under their breath, one of them even kicking the truck's cabin with a loud thud as he shouted, "What the hell did you stop like that for, you bastard?! You've got people and cargo back here!"
But the complaints quickly died down when one of them called out, his voice sharp with confusion.
"Hey, what the hell is that?" He pointed down the road, drawing everyone's attention. All eyes locked onto the suit of armor standing in the middle of the road. Before they could react, a crackle came over the radio, followed by the voice of the driver in the last truck.
"Hey, we've got a problem back here! I think it's one of the military's androids!"
The mention of the military made all of them stiffen.
"Shit… how the hell did they find us?"
"Does it matter?!" Another voice cut in, tense and urgent.
"We need to get rid of them and get out of here before the real military shows up." The group nodded in agreement, all of them quickly reaching under their seats to grab weapons that had been discreetly hidden in false compartments.
"Alright, I'll go out and approach them first. Let's make sure they're actually here for us before we do anything," one of them said, standing up and vaulting over the side of the truck. He began walking slowly toward the figure in the middle of the road, a sense of cautious tension in his steps. As he passed by the cab, he nodded toward the driver and the man in the passenger seat, signaling for them to prepare.
Both of them subtly nodded in return, their hands reaching for their weapons under their seats.
Meanwhile, the man approaching the armored figure called out, his voice steady but wary, "Can I ask why you've stopped us? If this is a legal issue, we have the paperwork and credentials to use this road and transport our cargo. If you need to contact your superior, we can get this resolved."
Hearing the mention of paperwork, Gray narrowed his eyes beneath the suit, his thoughts racing.
Paperwork? That would have required some kind of background check, right? How did they get approved? Even if they're in disguise, surely the fact that they aren't actually working for any company would have raised suspicion… unless they are working for one. But in that case, whatever company they're with would have to be in on it.
And that could lead them back to whoever is backing them.
After a moment of deliberation, Gray extended his hand and said, "You said you have papers? Alright, hand them over."
The man who had approached Gray seemed momentarily taken aback, having expected to be dealing with an android, not a human.
He paused briefly but then nodded and said, "Right, let me go grab them."
Turning, he headed back to the truck, moving to the driver's side of the cabin. Opening the door, he gave the driver a look, gesturing for him to hand something over. The driver hesitated for a second before reaching into the glovebox and pulling out papers and credentials, handing them over without a word.
The man turned and walked back to Gray, holding the documents out to him.
"Here you go," he said, his smile cautious but trying to maintain confidence.
Gray took the papers, flipping through them as if he were reading. In reality, GAIA was scanning each document as he went through them, taking pictures and noting details—names, identification numbers, vehicle info, the company they supposedly worked for, and so on. By the time Gray was done, everything had already been saved to the network.
"So... are we good?" The man asked, his tone more confident now that he'd seen how thorough Gray appeared to be.
"Hmm," Gray mused, glancing at the papers.
"You know, you White Fang really are meticulous. No wonder it's been so hard for us to find you." The moment the man heard Gray mention the White Fang, his eyes went wide. He froze, staring at the dark, mechanical eyes of Gray's helmet. There was a brief, tense silence, and everyone in the trucks behind them watched the encounter without a word.
Without warning, the man pulled a gun from the back of his waist and aimed it directly at Gray's head. But the Insurgent Armor detected the threat before it was even visible. In the blink of an eye, Gray shifted to the side—just as the trigger was pulled and the bullet had already left the barrel.
The man couldn't process what had just happened—his bullet had been dodged by the massive suit of armor—before Gray reached out, grabbing the arm holding the gun. With a slight twist, the man's wrist snapped with a sickening crack, causing him to scream in agony as the gun slipped from his hand and fell into the dirt and snow.
Seeing this, the rest of the disguised White Fang members reacted. They stood up from the back of the truck, and the driver and passenger flung open their doors, weapons drawn. But before they could even take aim, the unmistakable sound of thrusters and a robotic voice filled the air.
The White Fang looked up and saw the drones descending from the sky. A message echoed over the comms.
[Hostile presence confirmed: White Fang operatives. Weapon signatures detected. Threat assessment in progress. This is GAIA, autonomous combat protocol interfacing with P.A.L.A.D.I.N-class drone command. You are armed and unauthorized. Surrender your weapons and submit to detainment.]
Unlike the S.H.A.D.O.W. Units, the P.A.L.A.D.I.N. Units were designed for anti-personnel missions. Beneath the drones, a cylindrical protrusion resembling a cannon hung. Small dual-barrel mounts were attached to the side, further reinforcing the threat.
The two drones hovered in the air, their weapons aimed squarely at the first and second trucks. Jade had secured the third, her IR-4 combat rifle already in hand, demagnetized from her back and prepped for action.
"Shit..." One of the White Fang members who had gotten out of the front truck cursed under his breath. The situation only worsened as more operatives arrived from seemingly nowhere, weapons drawn. The other teams—Sable, Auburn, Cobalt, and Ochre—had arrived to secure the area.
GAIA's voice filled the air once again, repeating itself.
[Surrender and submit to detainment. You are in possession of unauthorized weaponry and are considered armed hostiles. This is your only chance to comply.]