Dust and Radiation (RWBY Fanfic)

Chapter 2: Passerelle

Normandy, France. March 21st, 2009.

The aircraft had landed fine at the bumpy airfield. Kunz made sure his mask was properly sealed as he walked down the ramp on the back. Once he was sure it was secured he followed Colonel Bannon and the others as they headed to a convoy of green Peugeot jeeps that were waiting for them. He slung his duffel bag over his shoulder as he looked around.

The sky was covered in a mix of brown and light gray as a storm could be seen in the distance. The airfield had multiple people in different types of masks working like normal. The radiation alarm near the control tower was flashing orange, indicating the wind was only somewhat polluted at the moment.

Europe had it worse than other places in that most of its cities were in so close proximity to each other, meaning that the nuclear strikes were less spread out and more concentrated. Leaving areas between cities with an overlapping blanket of radiation as the concentration of fallout was occasionally picked up by the wind.

Kunz jumped in the same jeep as the Colonel. Major Martin and Captain Miller taking the jeep behind them. Kunz removed his mask and kept it on his lap as the colonel did as well. Soon they were driving off the base and Kunz watched the scenery as Bannon started speaking.

"Thomas, there was a message I got before we were landing. It seems one of the scout parties found some sort of village a few miles out from the base. Once we get you settled in I want you to go with Martin and Miller with some men and investigate. I was going to have you work with some of our mechanized units and get a feel for some of this equipment. But this is a far bigger priority, I'm sure you understand what I mean."

A village? Wait....Someone else is already living on the other side? Who? Are they human like us? Would they be hostile to us? How will they react to us wanting to move in?

Kunz nodded at this and held onto the seat as the jeep swung around a tight bend. Continuing to drive on the broken roads in the farmland countryside. He decided to ask a question.

"Sir, what type of equipment will I be working with?"

"A hell of a mix to be honest. We got armor from the Soviets and Germans, and Humvees from our old stockpiles here. There's a mix of small arms from both our stockpiles and what the Reds send us. For aircraft it's a mixed bag as well, but that is under command of Colonel Marchand. I only command the ground forces, with General Bazarain in command of us all. There's also a wide assortment of more heavy equipment."

"Bazarain?"

"He's Armenian, was a Brigadier General for the Reds before the Burning Night. One hell of a temper but he cares for his men. Unsurprisingly he had a deep hatred for the Ivan's nowadays but isn't that bad to us. The big shots up high trust him with this, so we are under his command. We also got a mixed bag for soldiers but almost everyone speaks English."

Colonel Bannon went quiet as they turned on another road and started approaching a large base. He slowed at the gate checkpoint where a few men stood guard with Ak-74s and an armored vehicle. Kunz couldn't remember the name of the model but he could see the faded but visible French flag painted on its turret, right beside the newer white UF letters. The guards checked the Colonel's badge and then waved the convoy through.

The base itself seemed simple enough with multiple barracks and warehouses that seemed new. They drove to one of the larger hangers and entered which  was after another checkpoint with more guards checked the Colonel's badge. Inside the hangar was something that made Kunz nearly gape in awe.

While he had seen the pictures of the portal, it was different to see it in person. It was a few dozen meters tall and wide, a swirling mass of blue and green that seemed so unnatural but was there. He stared and held more to his seat as they drove right through it.