A lone figure in black walked silently down the deserted street, which was nearly overflowing with snow. As another howling wind from the far north rushed into the tight corridor between buildings, the force of wind pushed the stranger over. If anybody had been there, they would have heard the stranger swear profusely as they brushed the snow off and continued walking until they reached an old warehouse which showed no signs of having been used in years. Turning down an alley beside the warehouse, they walked up to a dilapidated door and rapped on it three times. The door opened for them, and they entered without a word.

A faunus in White Fang armor shut the door behind the newcomer. The warehouse was quiet, but it was packed nearly to the brim with crates and equipment.

"Good to see you made it," the faunus said by way of greeting.

"Where's the human?" the stranger asked demandingly. The faunus gestured to the staircase that led down to the basement. The newcomer nodded and went down, where there were even more crates and pieces of equipment. An Atlesian Paladin-290 sat empty in the corner.

"Glad you were quick about it. I hate waiting." The voice, snarky and carefree, came from a dark corner of the basement.

"I'm here. What did you need?"

Mercury Black jumped down from the crate he was sitting on in a dark corner of the room. He wore a big grey cloak trimmed with fur over his armor, making him look significantly larger than the figure in black.

"I've got news from Vale."

"Spit it out, then, human."

Mercury ignored that. "I've just heard from the boss. Things have gotten even worse in Vale. Ironwood's really hit us hard over there. So, we're going through with the plan we discussed previously."

"We don't have the resources for that, Black."

"Not yet. That's why there'll be Schnee Dust Company freighter coming in next week from Vale loaded with dust, equipment, White Fang.. And the boss herself."

"She's coming here, huh? Alright. I'll get everything ready. Should I recall some of our operatives from their bases in Mantle?"

"Definitely, but not too many. We may need help here in Atlas, but there's still a lot of targets to strike in Mantle."

"Understood." The figure in black turned to leave.

"Oh, and another thing. Half of Ironwood's fleet is on its way back to Atlas. He feels that Vale doesn't need as much protection as it did, now that he's 'beating back the enemy', in his words."

"I see. And Ironwood?"

"He'll be remaining in Vale."

"Will that be all?"

"No. Come here, and take off your hood. I want to look you in the eyes when I say this."

The figure in black threw back their hood, revealing an attractive woman with black hair. tiger ears, and bright yellow eyes, with tiger stripes painted on beneath them. She wore a necklace with the White Fang emblem on it.

"I'll only say this once, Katze. I expect results from you. You're not Adam Taurus, you're not a stupid bull who just charges into his problems. You're a strategist, just like me. And I know what you're capable of, your work against Schnee has proven that you're no weakling."

Mercury paused. "We both know that Taurus has been a most disappointing ally. See that the White Fang of Atlas does a better job than those of Vale, hm?"

The tiger faunus only gave a nod, flipped her hood back up, and walked away.