Brevity is the soul of wit, and while this turned out shorter than I thought it would, it sets the stage exactly as I hoped to. Thanks again to Dishwasher for permission to use the concept and for the artwork. Make sure you check out Dishwasher1910 on Tumblr and Twitter! If there's interest I may add more chapters in the future.
"General Ironwood, I must implore that you do not carry out your planned assault on the Faunus camp just south of the capital!" Blake demanded as she slammed her fists against the long oval-shaped wooden table before her. Ilia glanced at her from her left as Sun remained motionless on her right, watching for any signs of agreement on the faces of the holograms that joined them on the far end of the table. Directly across from Blake was General Ironwood, a man who had more or less gone mad with power and daily toed the line between Atlas's Great Savior, and Tyrant of the North. To Ironwood's right was his right hand, General Winter Schnee. Tactically brilliant didn't even begin to cover how thorough and unfathomable Winter's strategic abilities were. And to his right… there was Colonel Weiss Schnee.
Blake regarded Weiss as a friend, someone she could confide in if the moment called for it, but her rise to power was virtually unchecked, and as the sole proprietor of the SDC, Weiss had more funding and manpower than nearly the regular divisions of the military itself. Ironwood had tasked her with the formation of SRED, a division meant to push the boundaries of science and focus solely on the elimination of Grimm, but after Ruby had lost her legs, things changed within Weiss. Rules were broken or ignored, ethics were called into question. Weiss cleared her throat to speak.
"If the camp is not registered with the High Council, then it's safe to assume that they're with the Liberation Front, is it not?" Weiss asked. Blake gritted her teeth before Ilia cut her off with a raise of her hand.
"This is not a point in Remnant's history during which we can act off of assumption alone," Ilia reminded them. "They may be neutral, there's a reason that the 74th Battalion is up to their arms in Grimm along the south border of The Capital. When would they have time to register with the High Council if they can't even reach the city?"
"That's their problem," Ironwood stated.
"It's your problem too, General," Sun scoffed with a chuckle. "If you wipe them off of the face of Remnant and they aren't Liberation Front soldiers, then you have an entirely new problem."
"And what would that be?" Winter asked.
"A call to arms by the Faunus race," Blake replied flatly as she sat.
"You can't explain to them that it was a necessary sacrifice?" Weiss inquired. Blake sneered but hid it quickly. How long have you been flying above the Capital in the Edelweiss to be naive enough to think that it would be that easy?
"It will not be enough," Blake replied folding her hands together. "There will be a demand for action and if I do not act they may come for my chair on the High Council and that's not something that you can afford."
"Then how do we solve this?" Winter offered.
"Maybe send someone there to find out their intentions?" Ilia suggested. Ironwood laughed.
"And sacrifice our men if they are Liberation Front?" He asked. The room was flooded with silence as Sun and Ilia glanced at Blake whose fists were clenched. How could he be so petty? Was it alright if she had to sacrifice a few of her own? Blake knew the answers to these questions, they had recruited virtually every man and woman of age in the kingdom, and the safety of the kingdom came above all else.
"I will send someone to take care of the situation," Blake informed them.
"Five days," Ironwood replied without wavering. Blake glared at him.
"General-" Blake pleaded.
"Five days."
Well, that could have gone better," Sun said as he stretched his arms out above his head, opening the door in front of him and letting Blake and Ilia out into the hallway as they followed him for a moment. "How are we possibly going to get to Atlas and find the camp that fast?"
"He has to be bluffing, right?" Ilia asked. "They won't just eviscerate that sect like wild animals, will they?"
"They're fighting a war on two fronts right now," Blake reminded them. "Between dealing with Grimm and Salem's Remnant, they can't afford to spread themselves any thinner."
"Would we attack if they go through with it?" Sun asked concerned. Blake sighed as she stared out the open sliding door, the moon large in the opening and shining brightly into the hall.
"We'd have no choice," Blake answered after a long moment.
"Ms. Belladonna!" One of the guards addressed her as they rushed into the building to greet her. "We had to begin the festival without you, the people are waiting for you to make an appearance." Blake nodded, motioning for Sun and Ilia to join the guard and head out before her.
"Let them know that I'm on my way," Blake said with a soft smile. Sun nodded and took off running down the hall.
"Slow down, Sun!" Ilia called out after him as she picked up the pace.
"And let you beat me, no way!" He shouted back laughing.
"This isn't a race!" Ilia replied loudly in a jog around the corner. Blake shook her head and chuckled before turning back to the open door, a silhouette filling the space that Blake knew in an instant, the shape and curves were ones that she'd traversed many times with her own body. She walked slowly to her, unsure if Yang was actually filling the doorway, or if she was simply seeing what she wanted to see.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Yang asked Blake as they stood beside each other for a few minutes and admired the moon.
"How have you been?" Blake questioned. Yang turned to her and attempted to pull her in but Blake left her with a clone and stepped to the side as it crumbled. "Yang…"
"How did your meeting go?" Yang asked, her voice concealing her pain. Blake wanted to hold her. Blake wanted to embrace her and to let things go back to the way that they were, but she couldn't. She loved Yang, but the two of them were on different paths and Blake needed to ensure the safety of her people… no matter the cost.
"The military cares less and less what I have to say each time," Blake informed her. Yang stared into her eyes, yearning for her touch. She had been on her own path for longer than she could remember and she only wanted Blake at her side. But she understood. It was hard to say that she wouldn't make the same choices in Blake's shoes. "I have a favor to ask of you."
"Anything," Yang told her.
"I need you to find out if this Faunus camp is working with the Liberation Front, and if they are, eliminate them with extreme prejudice," Blake instructed her as she removed her scroll and gave Yang the information. Silence once more filled the space between them before the fireworks of the festival thundered through the air. "Yang, I…"
"I wish we could take it all back," Yang cut her off. "Maybe Ozpin was just as afraid as we were, maybe things would have been better than we thought!" Blake shook her head.
"They wouldn't have been," Blake denied. She reached out, pulling Yang in and the two of them enjoyed a long and passionate kiss, the moon's light bathing the two of them in brilliance as Blake's eyes welled with tears, pulling away from Yang who placed her forehead against her lover's.
"I love you," Yang told her. Blake felt the first tear slip down her face as Yang lifted her chin.
"I love you too," Blake gasped.
"Promise me that when all of this is over, we can run away together," Yang told her. Blake nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I promise," Blake said. They released each other, Yang lingering for a moment before disappearing into the night again, leaving Blake alone in the cool of the darkness. They both did their best to forget but did their damndest to remember. Blake headed back in and closed the door behind her.
Someday we will escape this hell.