Darkness within the Eternal Light (Male nightstalker OC x RWBY)

Part 10 - The Greatest Kingdom

A/N: What's up y'all? I'm back with another entry for Darkness Within the Eternal Light. It's a bit of a rush job, so expect changes down the line. Anyway, enjoy!

*Jett's POV*
We flew past the massive Atlesian warships and I couldn't help but stare at them in awe. There were dozens, maybe as many as a hundred surrounding the kingdom of Atlas. The sight of their weaponry sent a nervous chill down my back. The Queen was designed for transport like most other ships used by Guardians, so it wouldn't make it in a dogfight. The Queen's radio was overflowing with incoherent chatter and I groaned as I turned it down a little.
"Fireteam Jackal, Manta 5-1, please continue your approach to docking bay Omega-12."  Control directed "A security team will meet you there, over."
The radio clicked and we were left in an uneasy silence. The tension between our four ships was so thick you could cut it with a knife. We knew things weren't great in Atlas, but I don't think any of us excepted this.
"What in the hell is happening here?"  I asked in a low voice.
"I don't know."  Qrow replied, "Never seen it like this before."
"But we are here, aren't we?"  Lucas checked "We got the lamp to Atlas."
"Yeah," I answered "yeah, we made it.  But something about all of this seems... wrong.  It's one thing to prepare for an attack, but it's like they're expecting a war."
"Maybe that's what they're expecting." Karly said, "Salem's got an army at her beck and call, so it'd make sense."
"Why don't we just land and get some answers?"  Jaune suggested.
"I don't think that's such a good idea."  Weiss said.
"Why not?"
"I've never seen our forces deployed so aggressively before.  If we land in a stolen ship there's no way the security team will let us anywhere near Ironwood.  They might even take me back to my father."
"Weiss is right."  I grunted, "If we land in that docking bay, we're asking for trouble."
We were silent for a moment until Weiss spoke up again.
"So, Winter."  She stated, "Maria, put some distance between us and the fleet."
"You don't have to tell me twice."  Maria replied.
"We'll follow your lead, Maria." I said.
Karly, Lucas, and I fell in behind the bullhead and flew towards Atlas. The kingdom hadn't changed very much since my last visit, but what little change there was, was easy to spot. There weren't very many people on the streets and even fewer cars on the road. Almost everyone who was out moved with a purpose and apparently it was a pretty important one. I could see dozens of huge screens around me, each showing Ironwood giving a speech. He looked tired.  During the festival, his eyes were ablaze with hope and life, but now they were cold; serious.  The beard wasn't helping his case either.
"What happened to you, James?" I asked softly.
I looked down at the streets and watched as people shot ugly looks at the Atlesian Knights, and kids threw rocks at drones.  It made me uneasy, to say the least.
"This isn't right." Weiss stated, "None of this is right."
"Fireteam Jackal, Manta 5-1, we've noticed a detour in your route." Control identified "You are to make your way to docking bay Omega-12 immediately. Do you copy, over?"
"We're running out of options here." I called nervously.
"We've got to ditch the ship."  Yang said.
"I agree."  Velvet commented, "If we blend in with the crowd, we might be able to buy ourselves some time."
"I'm telling you, my sister can take us to Ironwood."  Weiss assured.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that Weiss."  Lucas argued, "Check it out."
Everyone turned their attention to a passing Jumbotron with Winter in an Atlas military uniform.
"A reminder, failure to cooperate with Atlas military personnel is a punishable offense."  She stated.
She continued talking, but by now we'd stopped listening.
"There must be something wrong." Weiss denied "There has to be."
"Weiss, let's face it. Your sister can't be trusted." I said, "Nobody can."
"What about Ironwood?" Velvet asked.
"Especially Ironwood. Fear can do a lot of damage when it comes to soldiers. Until we know exactly what's going on here, we need to keep our distance from anyone in the military."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Weiss asked sarcastically.
"Let me think.  What if give them something to chase?  Lucas, Karly, have your Ghosts fly your ships to a location.  I'll send you the coordinates now.  Zwei, put the Queen on autopilot and hack the bullhead.  If we send Atlas on a goose chase, maybe we can buy ourselves enough time to get to Ironwood."
"Roger that."  Lucas complied.
"Locking coordinates in now."  Karly replied.
"Everyone, get ready to jump."  I instructed, "Zwei, are we good?"
"We're all set."  Zwei replied, "Give the word."
Our ships flew over a building and I gave the signal to jump.  My team and I hit the ground in a roll while the others landed gracefully on the rooftop.  I signaled Zwei to head out and the ships took off.
"They're something."  Maria commented, impressed.
"Sure are."  I agreed "Hey, Maria.  You've been to Atlas plenty of times.  Do you know anybody we can turn to?"
"I think I know just the man.  Come on, let's get a move on."