Destiny No More

Chapter 73

Fort Malik had been designed and built long before the Great War ever started, a regional base meant to help Vacuo hold back any potential army from Vale during a time when the two kingdoms were competing for everything, land, people, even easy access to drinking water. People fought over the stupidest things sometimes, forgetting that there was usually enough to go around for everyone.

History would tell you the Kingdoms were different then, and that the days of prioritizing their own interests at the expense of others were long behind them. As a man who traveled around frequently, Qrow would laugh at anyone who said that with a straight face. When he was in a good mood he would be willing to admit it was less obvious than it had been, but it was absolutely still a problem, and he'd seen more than enough examples to prove it.

The signing of the Vytal Treaty at least meant that, on paper, everyone had agreed to cooperate and be seen as equals, so the fort wasn't in regular use, and more to the point, wasn't seeing regular upkeep. With the waves battering the old stones of the fortress's foundation, it would stand to reason that the fort might not be in top-notch shape.

None of that meant that the walls didn't stand tall, and the fort was still an imposing sight to see, but it was in clear need of repairs. Repairs the White Fang seemed eagerly willing to give. They were far more alert than the ones he'd seen in Vale, but they failed to notice the bird watching them just a little too closely. Scouting out the base had been a secondary objective according to James, but it had been the first thing he had decided to do. He'd rather keep the others waiting than to realize the White Fang had back up guns covering the same area they planned to come in from.

Scouting had been the right idea as it turned out, allowing him to see that not only were there back up guns, but they were already manned and crewed by almost a dozen personnel each. Usually the weapons would only need three or four people to function at peak efficiency, so the fact they were so well manned was worrying. That worry only grew as it became clear that the White Fang were mobilizing for something.

They know. Qrow realized as a sinking weight filled his gut. Something, or someone, had tipped off the White Fang about their arrival. The element of surprise was already shot, but that didn't change much of the plan; they were too far committed to pull back now.

Despite the increased numbers, Qrow managed to take the first gun down easily enough. They might have been vaguely prepared for an attack from the sea, but they weren't prepared for the bird they had been tossing crumbs at to suddenly become a Huntsman. The first four hadn't even realized they were under attack and went down easy, the other eight were split into two groups; four personnel manning and operating the gun that had to scramble for their weapons, and four that had their backs turned and were looking out to sea. Kicking the barrel of the gun emplacement, it swiveled around just hard enough to push two of them over the walls and down to the sharp rocks below; their screams swallowed by the heavy winds, helping to quiet the attack.

That left six, two of whom rushed Qrow in an attempt to either overwhelm him or buy time. Had they realized he was a Huntsman they probably would have given it a second thought, but with the suddenness of the attack, and already being down half their fighting force, they failed to notice the important details. Those two went down with ease, a single strike to the side of one's head and a kick to the leg of another. They were better trained than the ones in Vale as it turned out. Rather than lay there limply on the ground they struggled for their weapons to continue the attack. A swift kick to one had him launched into the other, knocking both out as their heads smacked together in a stroke of bad luck.

Four were left, specifically the ones who had been manning the gun and watching in the vague direction that Winter and Pyrrha's teams would be approaching from. They were armed now, although the rifles they tried to level on him were no use in the ensuing melee. One managed to fire a shot at him, but Qrow had already ducked down as it did and so the bullet went flying past his head to hit the anti-aircraft gun behind him, pinging off and ricocheting in the direction of their comrade. The man went down with a cry, the other three being startled just long enough for him to close the distance and bodily throw the first man into the other two.