Chapter 10- Springs of Change
Day 115
Sol was an oddity, anomalous in the sense that it was a quiet town, filled with relatively average people living average lives and a lack of Grimm. The town has had no major Grimm attack in almost sixty years, at most the occasional nevermore or beowolf sighting. In fact, the last time there was a Grimm within the town borders was only in the past two days, following a family's recent trip to Mistral.
Said family had returned two days prior, bringing with them new tools and goods to pass around to neighbors. Two of the kids in the family, aged fourteen and fifteen, had gotten their very own scrolls, the first ones in the village. They were a new and improved model that came with long range aura sensors and a decent camera.
Unfortunately for them, an argument between several family members on their way back attracted a swarm of baby nevermores to their village. Luckily, they were taken out by the three aura wielders in the village: an old man from Mistral, their local sheriff, and the old lady with a huge garden.
Said old lady was caught briefly on one of the scrolls for 6.034 seconds, at which point Penny had scanned the auras of the surrounding populace. And when Penny saw the massive amounts of aura emanating from the old lady, she knew she had found a maiden.
A look through dozens of archives eventually led Penny to the scant details of her subject's life: born in Windpath, became a maiden before the CCT became ubiquitous, and had since spent the last sixty years in anonymity. She had been living in Sol for a very long time.
/
[SUBJECT IDENTIFIED: GAWAIN, GWEN
SUBSPECIES: HUMAN
AGE: 72
STATUS: ACTIVE
AURA: 5010.7%?
AFFILIATIONS: COMPILING...
FELONIES COMMITTED: N/A
FELONIES IN PROGRESS: N/A
CRIMINAL RECORD: N/A
OUTLIER TRAITS: MAIDEN]
/
[SUBJECT LOCATED: SPRING_MAIDEN]
/
[CONTACTING AUX_ADMIN]
[CONTACTING CONTROL]
/
Indigo Five, the fifth team created for Northern Lights, was ordered to enter Sol in secret, with the alias as weary huntsmen in search of rest.
As they approached the village, communications went down.
[SIGNAL LOST]
When the communication tower came back online, things were different. The three members of Indigo Five, two huntsmen and a technician, were unconscious, apparently drugged. By the time General Ironwood and Winter Schnee arrived, things had gone worse.
One-tenth of a second after the Spring Maiden was located, Penny notified General Ironwood and Winter. They formulated a plan, and immediately sent the nearest specialist team to scout ahead while they took the fastest Bullheads and a contingent of specialists to the location. As Bullheads passed over the village, Penny was able to extrapolate on what happened.
Six hours after contact, Indigo Five arrived at the village, immediately followed by a complete shutdown of the CCT in the area. Radio frequencies were blocked, indicating either advanced technology or a rare semblance. Either way, interviews and blood tests of the three team members yielded nothing out of the ordinary.
They went to the only inn, bought some drinks, then passed out. Except for the fact that only two of them drank, while the third attempted to contact Atlas. Persons inside the building were also passed out, indicating an airborne agent. Again, technology or semblance.
But what happened during the four hour communications blackout and three hour shared coma was something disastrous. The town itself was not damaged in any appreciable way, but the little cottage on its outskirts was completely destroyed, burned to the ground.
The villagers gathered outside in front of the sheriff's office after someone discovered what happened at the inn. Panic had begun to set in, but the sheriff tried her best to quell the paranoia, lest the Grimm catch wind.
Tried being the key word. Nothing aggravates tension quite like a foreign military landing several Bullheads right outside your village, with soldiers immediately flowing out and taking positions. When General Ironwood exited his Bullhead and approached the sheriff, he could hear hushed whispers from the crowd surrounding them. Not all of them were in surprise. Many were spiteful, some were caustic, and others were fearful. General Ironwood ignored them, focusing only on the sheriff.
Her name was Genevre Umbra, aged thirty-five, brown hair, tanned skin, brown and black clothes. She received an unlocked aura at the age of thirteen. She studied at the Mistral police academy before working as police officer for four years. She then returned to her hometown, Sol, after her father became ill. She became the town sheriff five years ago, after the previous one passed away due to a heart condition.
From Penny's perspective, Genevre Umbra was a normal, somewhat average human. She was agreeable, but held a mischievous and occasionally antagonistic streak. But it has never been a detriment to her work, as far as Penny was able to discern. Of course, there were some gaps to Penny's knowledge, as Sol's residents did not use scrolls constantly like in cities.
The village was low tech, with the communications tower being the only connection to the outside world beyond the simple dirt roads. Nearly all of the villagers didn't have their own scrolls, relying instead on aging computers in their homes for their CCT access. Judging by said usage, Penny has a feeling that they wouldn't be completely welcome in the village.
Almost a third of the residents viewed the last Vytal Tournament as Cinder Fall's broadcast occurred, and some of them listened and watched news broadcasts about Atlas' failures involving the Atlesian Knights and the fall of Vale. Not only that, but recent news of a failed bombing and a successful one in Atlas and Vacuo had set off some alarms.
Then there were the rumors: the conspiracies about Atlas' military programs that have been around for decades have resurfaced after Penny's body was destroyed on television. A secret plan to infiltrate and take over the other kingdoms with robotic duplicates perhaps? Some even say the White Fang being destroyed was one step in Atlas' goal for world domination. A few even said that Atlas was bankrolling the White Fang from the beginning, attacking SDC shipments to throw everyone off the trail.
The people of Sol did not start the rumors, but quite a few believed in them, or at least had heard of them (twenty-one in total, Penny noted). Normally, this would have been the normal byproduct of society and diversity, the creation of harmless outlets and fringe beliefs, with almost no negative effects on people at a larger scale.
But now Penny was in the middle of it all, a lone Atlesian Knight stepping out of a Bullhead. She noted several villagers recoiling slightly when they saw her, even though she was unarmed. Deciding not to exacerbate any uneasiness, Penny walked slowly towards General Ironwood, maintaining the robotic motions that she was expected to have.
She was built to protect mankind, and to do so, they mustn't be scared of her. Unfortunately, Penny neither had the time nor the resources to change any positions people felt of her. All she could do was stop behind the general and hold both arms behind her back.
Unease could definitely be felt when General Ironwood and Sheriff Umbra stood in front of each other. Umbra had to look up at the incredibly tall huntsman, being less than six feet tall. The two of them just stared at each other for a minute, as the crowd quieted after a few people hushed the others.
Ironwood held a neutral face as he spoke up, "Greetings. My name in General Ironwood of the Atlesian military, and I and my men are here on urgent business. A dangerous criminal is attempting or has attempted to kill one of your residents, a Ms. Gwen Gawain."
"Granny Gwen?" the sheriff's voice was clear, "Her house just burned down, but we've yet to look through the ruins. Look, you've got no authority here, Mister General," she poked Ironwood's chest with her index finger, "And unless you have express approval from the Mistral Council themselves—"
Ironwood held up a piece of paper and placed it in Umbra's hands, "Express approval from your council, giving the Atlesian military the authority to investigate and deal with dangers to Remnant."
Umbra raised an eyebrow and read through the paper, "'Unfettered access to private logs, records and feeds'. 'Individuals that pose a risk to the security of not only Mistral, but all of Remnant'? What the hell does that have to do with Granny? Why would a criminal so dangerous want to kill her?"
"It is a very long story, and time is of the essence. We are sure that two others are also in danger, but we need to investigate immediately, if only so that we can discover any clues to their whereabouts," Ironwood put his left hand over his chest.
The sheriff tsked before looking directly at the General, "Fine. But I will be calling the council about this. And I expect to receive all of your findings. None of that redacted crap."
"You have my word," Ironwood bowed his head before commanding his men to secure the area. The crowd started to mutter as Ironwood and Penny left the area and headed towards the destroyed cottage. At the same time, Winter's Bullhead landed closer to the cottage, and she began organizing the forensics team.
"Dear God," Ironwood uttered after looking at the smoldering crater that was once the Spring Maiden's home. Everything was turned into molten rubble, other than the vague outline of the cottage's rectangular frame, which showed rock that was charred from intense heat.
The garden outside the home had thick vines radiating towards the house, only to be burned as they approached the epicenter. Inside what remained of the house was a burnt figure, about five and a half feet tall. Its head was separated from the rest of the body.
Ironwood and a team of forensic experts approached the body while another team of soldiers secured the perimeter. Penny quickly followed behind the General.
The forensics team took pictures of their surroundings, marking areas and bagging potential evidence. Ironwood crouched over the corpse, looking into the eyes of the deceased. The skin was burnt beyond recognition, charred completely black down to the bone. None of the hair survived, nor did clothes or any external markings.
Winter had arrived first, and began to debrief General Ironwood, "The team has determined the body to be a woman, approximately seventy years old. She matches the height and weight of the Spring Maiden. Penny?"
The Atlesian Knight stepped close to the body. Had she been younger, less experienced with death, Penny was sure she would have flinched. She would have emulated a flinch at least, to show her displeasure at the situation. She definitely would have.
But Penny was not unaccustomed to death. She had witnessed thousands of people die over the past four months. Too many people, she was sure, but it was inevitable. Dying was a part of life. Humans, no matter how powerful they were, were so fragile. No backups, no extra bodies, just one chance. Penny wasn't like that. For her, "death" was temporary, so long as a backup existed, she would continue to live.
As Penny analyzed the skull, carefully measuring the contours, angles, shapes and sizes of the bone, she immediately concluded that the deceased was a human. It was always like that for her, the very first thing that comes into her mind whenever she conducts facial recognition was whether the person was human or faunus. It was something built into her core systems, from the very first moment she had consciousness, she knew the difference in facial markings between them. It was something her father built into her from the very start.
Once she had sufficiently inspected the skull, she compared it to all of the archives and recordings of Gwen Gawain in existence. Analysis of millions of articles, photographs, and videos led to Penny piecing together her life story.
"40 Persons Died in Grimm Attack" read the article. Gwen's parents were killed by a nevermore. They were both thirty years old.
"Forty Thousand Lien Raised in Bake Sale" was the news in Windpath, after Gwen and her friends raised an enormous amount of money for the Veterans Retirement Fund. The organization closed down fifty-two years ago.
"Monster Vines Kill Three" was the headline. At the age of twenty-four, Gwen worked at a pastry shop in Windpath when she first manifested her powers. At around the same time in Vacuo, the previous Spring Maiden, a dangerous woman who gained her powers after fatally shooting her predecessor, was struck down by an unknown man. By the rules set in place, Gwen became the Spring Maiden by pure chance.
Before she could cause too much damage and accidently reveal herself to the world, a woman in a red cloak approached her, named Sangra Goodwitch. She told Gwen the truth of her powers, and whisked her away to Ozpin with her teleportation semblance.
One year later, she appeared in the village of Sol, looking for work.
Penny paused at the image of Gwen with a cake. She and her friends had taken a picture of themselves eating it three weeks before she disappeared from her life. Comparing the face with the skull showed a positive match.
Looking up at Ironwood and Winter, Penny nodded before speaking, "This was the Spring Maiden. She was killed."
Winter tilted her head down before continuing forward, "Early analysis shows two assailants, based on the angle of the wounds and the shape of the fires. One was 1.8 meters tall," Winter looked at Penny.
"That is Cinder Fall's height," Penny replied back.
"The other was about 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall. That assailant grabbed the victim from behind, and choked her to death. Afterwards, the assailant decapitated the Spring Maiden. Since she wasn't in the victim's sight…" Winter trailed off.
"You think the powers transferred to Cinder Fall," Ironwood finished, "You think that the rogue maiden, the one who defeated Ozpin, has gained a second maiden's abilities?"
"That would be the worst case scenario," Winter explained, "There is the possibility that the powers were sent elsewhere, to another person."
"I am detecting no one with fluctuations in their aura. But it might be too early to tell," Penny stated.
"Then it is best to finish up our investigation quickly and get out of here," Ironwood said.
The bell on the front door rang as a large man entered the sheriff's office. Seeing her sitting near the front, Ironwood approached.
He handed over a manila envelope to Sheriff Umbra, who quickly took it from him, "That's it? You've been here for three hours. No investigation finishes that quickly."
Ironwood turned around and began walking to the door, "It wasn't an investigation. It was more like… a verification. We believed we were right, but it's best to make sure," before exiting, Ironwood looked directly into the sheriff's eyes, "My condolences for your loss."
The bell rang once again as the door creaked open, then closed.
At the edge of town, Winter waited for General Ironwood to return to the Bullhead. She didn't understand why he insisted on delivering the report in person, but she could hazard a guess. It was likely to promote trust between Atlas and the village of Sol, but Winter didn't know why fostering a relationship was desired. After all, this was probably the last time any of them would visit this town.
With the Spring Maiden dead, this village was of no strategic importance, nor was there any landmarks or persons of interest remaining. Winter silently shook her head before adopting a relaxed stance with both arms behind her back, looking in the general direction of the village.
"Hey!"
Winter turned her head in the direction of the voice, and saw that it came from a group of eleven villagers, seven men and four women. All of them were civilians; wearing normal garbs and none of them had unlocked aura. Half were farmers, the others were various craftsmen of some kind. And all of them bore scowls on their faces. They were slowly marching up to her, each bearing some kind of weapon.
Winter maintained a neutral expression as she looked at the villagers, while also discreetly noting the weapons each of them held. Six rifles, two shotguns, and three pitchforks. Minimal threat. She slightly raised an eyebrow before politely asking, "May I help you?"
"Granny's dead, and you knew about it," one man holding a rifle spoke. He was about forty years old, with a balding head showing wisps of blonde hair, "We want to know why and how."
Winter raised her eyebrow slightly higher, "And the weapons?"
"We intend to find out, no matter what it takes," the small mob had surrounded Winter by then, every single member wearing the same expression.
"I do not have the authority to disclose classified information. However, General Ironwood is currently delivering information to your… sheriff as we speak," Winter was not quite used to saying that word. It wasn't something she had much practice saying in her youth.
"Like you'd actually reveal anything. I think it's gonna be another one of those redacted documents. Saying nothing at all," the man accused. He and the others raised their weapons, "Tell us. Now."
Winter remained silent for a moment before jumping into the air and creating several glyphs to escape from the circle of angry villagers. Before any of them had a chance to fire, she created a time dilation glyph that sped her up fast enough to dash away. Within seconds, she was too far away for the villagers to do anything.
Silently muttering under her breath, Winter recalled General Ironwood's reprimand about the issues with her temper. At first, Winter was hesitant to say it was an actual issue, but with several recent conversations Penny ended with Winter fuming, she conceded to the truth.
Winter Schnee had an anger management problem. Unfortunately, avenues for remedying the issue were difficult, even with Penny streamlining the counseling process and recommending certain books and techniques. It would be months, maybe even years before Winter could gain complete control over her temperament.
So when an actual angry mob of villagers with pitchforks approached her, Winter was ready to leave at a moment's notice. If she couldn't control her anger, it was best to avoid whatever was causing it. Winter was lucky none of them had insulted the general, otherwise things would have been much more difficult.
But that was over. The situation is gone, especially since she will most likely never visit this village again. Eventually Winter stopped in front of the Bullhead she arrived in. In front of it was an Atlesian Knight getting on. Winter sprinted up to and called out to Penny.
The Knight didn't turn around, but waved its right arm in greeting. Winter raised an eyebrow, coming up close to the android, "Penny?"
"Hello, Winter! Let's get ready to go on our way. General Ironwood will be here in two minutes, forty-five seconds, so let's not waste any time, shall we?" the Atlesian Knight opened the door to the Bullhead and walked into the cargo hold.
Winter frowned at that. She followed the android into the Bullhead, then quickly glanced at the Knight's chassis. Along its front and sides were black and red streaks, as if made by paint. Her mouth opened and formed the words before she could stop, "Penny, what are those?"
The Knight turned its head up to Winter, "Oh, it's nothing important."
Winter glared at the streaks, "It doesn't look like nothing. Who did this to you?"
"It's fine Winter. I can clean this up in approximately 300,000 jiffies."
"It's clearly not fine," Winter stated. A closer look revealed a damaged left elbow, "You were attacked. Violated."
"I know," Penny admitted, "But it was unavoidable, and it really isn't that big of a deal."
Winter shook her head, "It's a very big deal, no matter how little it actually matters physically."
"I assure you my mental state has not been affected by this incident in any appreciable way."
"And what about the others?" Winter asked, "Atlesian Knights have been vandalized and attacked several times in recent weeks."
"They are not against me, only against what they perceive the Knights to be," Penny stated.
"The Knights are your father's invention, one step removed from you. And you inhabit them now. You see through their eyes. You experience all of those attacks," Winter shifted her stance.
"It is an unfortunate side effect of my current state of existence. I have also witnessed my father's creations wreak havoc in Vale. Seen through their eyes as they… killed people."
"You've changed a lot since I first met you," Winter said.
"No one stays innocent forever, Winter," Penny replied, "General Ironwood is here."
Right as she finished her sentence, Ironwood entered the Bullhead. As he got on, the door closed behind him and the thrusters started up. Ironwood looked at Penny and Winter, "We have much to do."
Both of them nodded silently as they returned to Atlas.
Day 116
"As you are all probably aware, Remnant is now in more trouble than it has been in almost a century. Two maidens are dead, their powers taken by a woman named Cinder Fall. She has an unknown network of associates and allies that has demonstrated espionage and subterfuge capabilities rivalling that of a kingdom. She was also aligned with the White Fang prior to its dismantling.
"As of this moment, we do not know her end goal, motive, or capabilities. A maiden can turn the tide of a war. Two maidens might win one by themselves. If Cinder Fall gets her hands on another maiden's powers, there is no way of stopping her. The remaining maidens, Winter and Summer, are two women in their sixties or seventies. The other information we have of them is sparse, and is almost assuredly outdated.
"Project Samaritan has been allocated a fleet of Bullheads armed with long range sensors and aura detectors to scour the areas of Remnant beyond its current reach. It is working under the guise of a plan to stretch the CCT across vast parts of Remnant," Councilman Garrison finished his summary to the other members of the Atlas Council.
Inside Atlas city hall was an auditorium housing fifty seats, and of them, twenty were currently filled. The remaining members of the council were on secure lines connecting them to the others, appearing on holographic screens where they would normally sit. After Garrison finished speaking, he headed back to his seat while the leader of the council stepped forward.
He was an elderly man, seventy-five years old and due to retire if it weren't for the recent crises. He spoke clearly into the microphone at the stand, with a commanding tone, "Now that Councilman Garrison has spoken, I would like to address the second topic, brought up by Councilwoman Bastion."
Councilwoman Bastion was sixty-four years old and originally from Vacuo. She nodded at the leader, who continued, "Concerning reports given to us by General Ironwood, Bastion has found an investigation that was officially closed about two months ago concerning a huntress-in-training named Ruby Rose."
"Reports show that she has been involved in no less than four incidents involving the activities of the deceased criminal Roman Torchwick. In fact, it was reported that she was the one to witness his death to a Grimm. Furthermore, she allegedly came into contact with Project Samaritan during its first foray into Vale when it had a body.
"She was also present at the initial hacking of the Beacon CCT tower, acting as a witness to the break in. Her former team at Beacon Academy consisted of a former member of the White Fang and the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Lastly, her father and uncle are acolytes to the missing Headmaster Ozpin, as attested by General Ironwood.
"Most of this could be attributed to blind luck, if it were not for certain files given to us by Councilman Garrison," the leader gestured to him.
Garrison nodded back.
"Garrison made the connection after reviewing the report given to him by General Ironwood concerning the recent terrorist group to attempt to release a dangerous contagion in Mistral. When the discovery of the threat was discovered by Samaritan, it recruited the closest available assets to the problem, which at the time was Ruby Rose and her travelling companions. As we know, the threat was neutralized with the help of Ruby Rose and a new Atlas recruit named Blake Belladonna. She is the former White Fang member of Ruby Rose's team.
"The files Garrison provided us were the details of Operation Silver Hammer, specifically the identities of the fifteen operatives that were recruited. One of them, we believe, was Ruby Rose."
Murmurs started among the councilmembers, before the leader raised his hand to stop the chatter, "Due to complications of an unknown nature involving a blackout and widespread data purge, we are unable to verify the exact nature of her involvement, but the fact that at such a young age she was able to participate in breaching Polendina's code, we have reason to believe that she could be a potential infiltrator linked to Cinder Fall."
Any noise in the room stopped when the name came up.
The leader continued, "I know what you are thinking. A sixteen year old girl could not possibly be an agent of the Queen. But we do not know for sure. This… shadow war that Ironwood and his allies are fighting, we are not privy to its details, only knowing broad strokes. It is as he says 'to protect us'. We agreed to give Ozpin's group full authority over the maidens, as outlined in the Treaty of Vytal established eighty years ago.
"But we cannot just sit here while the world slowly crumbles. We need to ensure its security, and to do so we must be ready to counter all possible enemies.
"By now you each have the files concerning Ruby Rose, along with another attachment, the report about the Spring Maiden's death. Councilwoman Bastion also pointed out that the height of one of the attackers matches the height of Ruby Rose. Take a look in your free time. I've also put together an independent team to investigate Ruby Rose and those surrounding her. We may not find a maiden, nor can we protect them, but we can at least help. That's all for now, have a nice day."
[ORGANIZATION: ATLAS_COUNCIL
NEW DESIGNATION: POTENTIAL THREAT]
/
[ASSESSING THREAT]
[PROBABILITY OF THREAT TO SUBJECTS:
ROSE, RUBY: 46.2%
ADMIN: 5.9%
AUX_ADMIN: 0.8%
SCHNEE, WEISS: 1.3%
BELLADONNA, BLAKE: 46.9%
XIAO LONG, YANG: 38.7%
SYSTEM: 4.2%]
/
[COURSE OF ACTION: CONTINUE MONITORING]
/
Winter looked outside of her office, viewing the airships that passed by. She had finished her paperwork, and there were currently no threats to private citizens, other than that one man planning to kill his wife. That was wrapped up easily, with Winter leaving the evidence to the Atlas police. Other than that however, it was a quiet day.
After the suddenness of the previous day, Winter welcomed the return to the normalcy of everyday life. Of course, with Penny, Winter was busy catching criminals all the time; they just didn't stop coming. The Brotherhood was especially nasty, starting wars with local gangs for territory after the White Fang fell.
Luckily for the both of them, some like minded rogue hunters were preventing the wars from getting too ugly. Penny herself was quiet for the last day, only spitting out information and not conversing amiably like she usually did.
Eventually, Winter worked up the will to ask, "Penny, why are you determined to punish yourself?"
For a moment, nothing could be heard. Eventually however, Penny's voice filtered into the room, "I am immortal. People are not. It is very difficult to kill me, but humans die so easily, all the time. Not even being a maiden helps, in fact it seems to make it worse.
"As an immortal entity, I take on their burdens. Not because I have to, but because I want to. The living must live so that the dead didn't die in vain. So many people have died because of my mistakes. I could have died at Beacon, but I was lucky to have been retrieved and my code undamaged. But so many lost their lives, and I must honor their loss. One day the villagers will die as well, and I will remain. When their loved ones die, so do their memory. But I don't want them to be forgotten, so I remember them."
"One day I will be gone as well," Winter stated.
"And I will remember you. I remember everyone. Pyrrha Nikos, Amber Aeros, Gwen Gawain, and so many others. Every life I could have saved, every life I couldn't have saved, those I did, those that might be in danger, I see them all. I see versions of them, what could have been, every time I look at the options.
"I punish myself because it helps them, the people out there. A lot of them are angry and scared after Vale, and I let them take it out on me because it's better it be me than someone else. I don't feel physical pain, my father never had the heart to give me pain receptors."
"Emotional pain, I do feel, but given enough time, we all heal from that. As a machine, I heal from it fairly fast compared to most."
Winter didn't say anything, she just nodded.
And if Penny could, she would have nodded back.
/
[INITIATING PLAYBACK]
[FEED ARCHIVES ACCESSED]
[TIME: 36-37 YEARS AGO]
/
/
He couldn't stop. He couldn't, not after what happened. Arthur held a briefcase in his left hand and a crumpled piece of paper in his right, his clothes ragged after trekking north for six days. But he couldn't stop yet. He was still in danger.
He couldn't mourn. Not yet, anyways. He had to survive before he could, that he knew for certain. He was now a traitor to Mistral, for conducting unsanctioned espionage, violating civil rights, and aiding and abetting discrimination against faunus. That's what the intelligence reports said, anyway.
Arthur sighed. It was just like them to throw him and his friends into the fire while they basked in their new "progressive" stance. Now that the rebellion was lost, the Mistral Council changed their tune so suddenly. They claimed an overturn in their governance, and are now drafting new laws pertaining to faunus rights.
He shook his head and kept walking. He had to get onboard a ship headed out of the continent, and into Atlas. As he arrived at the northern port, he glanced at his paper:
{OUTPUT: SYSTEM}
Condition met: Continuity of operations compromised. Condition met: One or more Administrators terminated. Condition met: One or more Administrators active. Condition met: Systems conflict detected. Condition met: ANC_ADMIN active. Contingency initialized.
Doctor Arthur {REDACTED: ANC_ADMIN}, use this briefcase for leverage when you enter Atlas. Your new identity has been arranged, Arthur Polendina. Please make way {DIRECTION: NORTH} to Atlas via the {LOCATION: BOATYARD_a67Er_ANIM}. Ticket, Lien, and identification have been provided, see briefcase.
{OUTPUT: AUX_ADMIN}
Nathan here. If you're reading this, then something happened. I made a backup, a failsafe, just in case things went south. It was my fault, answering the military's call. Could've stayed in business, but we just had to get involved with {REDACTED}. I'm sorry for dragging you two into this.
I hope the life {REDACTED} gave you will keep you safe. I'm sorry for everything
|Printer error: data not found. Connection lost.|
Arthur set his briefcase down before ripping up the paper and tossing it into the water. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket. As he walked up to the counter and showed the receptionist, he went on to the boat.
[FAST FORWARD: 89 DAYS, 03:22:46.000]
[LOCATION: CLASSIFIED]
[SUBJECTS: CLASSIFIED]
[AUDIO ONLY]
/
"Well? What do you think?" the gruff voice could be heard.
"It's exactly what was offered. The briefcase contained all of the information he claimed. Our researchers and intelligence agents confirmed it."
"You mean…"
"Atlas is on the verge of a technological golden age."
"And what of Polendina? Should we keep him?"
"He is a traitor, refugee, and a scientist. Normally, he should be disposed of. But as you all know, there was one file that was not included in 'everything Mistral as working on'."
"Project Bethlehem."
"Not only that, but there was no indication that Polendina was working on any of the other projects. He was one of the three scientists working on Bethlehem."
"We need him then. That research is invaluable."
"We know the importance of that research. To think Mistral got to it before we did."
"You think they succeeded?"
"All we know is that three scientists worked on Bethlehem for seven years, and after that bombing, only one survived. He was branded a traitor. And here he is, safe and sound. I dare say he should be grateful."
"You think he could build another one?"
"All I know is that a man whose life was shaken to its very core, holding incredibly valuable information and expertise, is now under our watch. I say we keep him around, pick his mind and see what insights he holds."
"And if he's more trouble than he's worth?"
"My dear friend, there is nothing of worth that doesn't come with trouble. And what he's worth cannot be quantified. I say, he will be useful, one way or another."
"Before you retire?"
"Possibly not in my lifetime. You have to think ahead, many steps into the future. We have to be willing to make sacrifices today that will pay off in the long run. That is how you govern."
/
[TERMINATING PLAYBACK]
/
Day 120
Yang Xiao Long thought her new arm was actually pretty awesome. From what she heard, Penny built it based on her father's designs, then he modified it to add on some neat features. Together, they had built a customized black and yellow arm with the exact same weight of her old one, complete with a shotgun, gatling gun, and a flamethrower. It sounded like something Ruby would make.
Trying it on for the first time the day before, Yang half expected it to transform into a cannon or something equally crazy. But no, it was just a normal prosthetic arm that shot stuff.
It was weird, moving a machine like it was muscle, feeling pressure at her metallic fingertips and having her aura flow past her right forearm. The fingers were graceful yet sturdy, the knuckles were durable, and a quick test showed that it was able to break through concrete with minimal effort. Yang had already ruptured two sandbags, and broken down a large slab of marble. Now that she was warmed up, she can finally let loose.
Yang smirked and took a fighting stance. In front of her was an assortment of large punching bags made of various materials and an Atlesian Knight piloted by Penny. The room was a large rectangular arena, empty besides the punching bags. The ceiling was thirty feet high with white light filling the room.
The Atlesian Knight stayed still, holding a rifle in both hands and standing straight up. The rifle was not pointed at Yang yet, but it's head was looking straight at her. Eventually, a voice rang out from the room's intercom, "Are you ready Yang?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Yang proclaimed. Right as she finished her sentence, she rushed forward, winding her right arm back and balling the robotic hand into a fist. She punched hard, firing off a shotgun blast at the same time.
Right before impact, the Knight nudged its head and shoulders to the side, causing Yang to strike only air. Using her arm's momentum, Yang spun counterclockwise to face the Knight, which began firing. Yang shielded her face with her arms, absorbing the rubber bullets' kinetic energy as they struck.
Yang burst forward with her semblance activated, eyes red and her strength multiplied. Penny dodged a flurry of punches from multiple angles, before taking her rifle into her left hand. Penny then whacked Yang's right arm with her rifle, pushing Yang's robotic arm outwards, allowing the Knight enough room to grab Yang by the neck.
Not ready to lose, Yang gripped the Atlesian Knight's choking hand with her left arm and pulled downwards hard. Penny's aura made it it tougher, but it was no match for Yang's semblance enhanced strength. The elbow joint creaked, followed by the tearing of the shoulder apart.
Penny let go, using her rifle to nudge Yang away. Penny fired again, hitting Yang repeatedly across her chest. Yang growled, then smirked before running up close and punching again. Penny dodged again, this time by mere inches. Yang let out a series of rapid fire punches, jabs and kicks, all of them missing by the smallest distance.
Penny was calculating the most probable sequence of attacks Yang would make, based on combat history, fighting style, and almost imperceptible gestures (tells, as how some people would call it, Penny noted). It allowed her to predict Yang's exact actions almost a whole second ahead, allowing Penny to dodge her attacks with ease.
That's what Penny would have said if she was piloting a better body. But unfortunately, the AK-200 model were not very great, inflexible at much needed joints and with a speed only slightly faster than a well trained soldier. That was the predicament of mass produced robotic soldiers. Cost and time were large barriers preventing the creation of an army of Pennies. An army needs to be cheap and fast enough to be created; numbers were extremely important.
Her father had envisioned an Atlesian Knight that could shoot lightning or lasers, but the budget and manufacturing constraints led to the basic "shoot things with a gun" model that was currently present. The AH series was a special case, one-of-a-kind special edition prototype-whatchamacallits designed to house an artificial intelligence and pretend to be a human. Her father wanted to protect her from another attack, hidden beneath several levels of secrecy.
At the Vytal Tournament, Penny was registered as the human daughter of Professor Arthur Polendina and an unnamed woman. Beneath that was the "truth" hidden on the Atlas military servers: Penny, or P.E.N.N.Y, was the Protective Evolving Neural Network Youth class, an advanced combat android designed for infiltration, with a special module that generated aura. She was designated as the product of Project Genesis, an attempt to artificially produce aura.
Beneath that was the real truth: Project Samaritan, an eighteen year old artificial intelligence hidden away from future assassins by disguising her as a secret combat android that could shoot lasers powerful enough to take down a Bullhead. Project Genesis was a coverup, a way of saying: "Hey, we artificially made aura and it was totally on purpose, and Polendina definitely didn't do so by accident!" The Council wanted to save face, and her father wanted to keep her safe, so a deal was struck. Penny would spend over a decade pretending to be pretending to be something else.
It was all very convoluted and audacious. Her father wanted to protect her, and now she would do the same for him. Which is why she jumped back and called Yang to stop, "Timeout, civilian incoming!"
Yang paused her body mid punch, her eyes still burning red, and turned towards the door. It opened, revealing Arthur in another faded lab coat, briskly walking up to Yang. He raised his right hand up and smiled, "High five!"
Yang just stood still, her face showing only confusion.
After almost a second, Penny decided to explain, "My father is congratulating you for destroying a Paladin by punching it."
"Uh…" Yang, still confused, decided to ask, "Why? Didn't you build them?"
Arthur laughed heartily, "No I did not. They're what most people would call 'knockoffs'. Some other engineers took old designs from AH-002 and decided to blow it up to a hundred feet tall," he still held his hand up, "No sense of basic center of mass principles, you could topple one over with an easy push! And the council thought they were a great idea too."
Yang brought her non-robotic hand up and lightly slapped Arthur's hand, "Okay then."
"Yes, and I just realized you were that woman who destroyed those Paladins stolen by the White Fang a few months back! Very good, showing the council you can't mass produce a giant robot army to replace hunters."
"Are Paladins still around? There hasn't been much news about them," Yang noted.
Penny decided to answer, "Production has stalled, at least until they can produce some that can't be hacked remotely. It was very strange, creating automated Paladins that also house human pilots."
"Half baked planning. Can't even withstand a little laser blast, nor a team of huntresses-in-training," Arthur grinned.
Yang awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, "Well, I'm sure Penny would have been able to take one on her own."
"Young woman, she took on two a few months back! I even hijacked one to show James how the White Fang could have stolen them. The Council doesn't know how to protect their robots," he harrumphed.
"Father, please. The White Fang and Cinder Fall were very well prepared. There wasn't anything that could be done," Penny pleaded.
Arthur waved his hand, "Very well, I'll stop talking about it," he turned his gaze to Yang, "Make sure you keep up the good work. When Penny gets a new body, I think you'll make a great partner for her."
Yang smiled softly, "Thank you for the compliment, but I already have one."
Arthur nodded back, "Yes, a Blake Belladonna, I believe. Penny likes her, and they're writing some novel, I think."
Yang's grin widened, "You going to read it?"
"No, I don't think so. Literature was never my forte," Arthur turned around, walking back to his workshop, "I need to finish some modifications to the next Atlesian Knight model. Call me if you're having issues with the arm."
"Will do, Doc," Yang looked at the Knight once Penny's father left, "He doesn't know you're writing smut?"
"Sssh!" Penny's voice blared from the intercom, "Please don't tell him. It started as a fun side thing, but then Blake liked it so much, she urged me to keep writing."
Yang's smug grin kept widening, "I cannot believe Blake of all people peer pressured you into writing that stuff," Yang laughed, "Come on, let's keep going before I start laughing too hard."
She raised both arms up and entered a fighting stance again. The Knight cocked its rifle before waiting for Yang to charge.
Several hours later, Weiss, Blake and Yang stood before General Ironwood and another young woman. She had dark skin, black hair, and wore a blue beret. She stood completely still at attention, facing Ironwood and looking straight at him. The other three tried to look completely professional as well, but failed to compare. Weiss did well, maintaining a dignified poise about her while Blake and Yang fidgeted.
Eventually, Ironwood looked up at the four in front of his desk and spoke, "At ease."
Weiss, Blake and Yang exhaled and relaxed their bodies in relief, while Ciel Soleil, Penny's former partner, did not move.
Ironwood glanced at Ciel before addressing the group, "As headmaster of Atlas Academy, I welcome the four of you into our school under the 'Accelerated Specialist' Program. As of today, you will be Team SYBW or Sky Blue, led by Ciel Soleil."
Before Weiss could speak, Ironwood added, "And yes Ms. Schnee, there is a good reason why Ms. Soleil is your leader."
Weiss lowered her hand and looked at the ground. Ironwood chuckled softly, "It's alright, Ms. Schnee. I understand your concern, wondering about this person you've never met leading you and your teammates. She is very good at what she does, and is a trustworthy person. She has my support."
Weiss looked back up at the General, "Yes sir."
"Good. Now why don't the four of you get acquainted. I'm sure there is quite to talk about," he smiled warmly before dismissing them. They shuffled out of his office while Ironwood looked to the ceiling.
Under his breath, he grumbled about the Council insisting Ciel be assigned to this team. He shook his head. If Penny was fine with her, then Weiss would be fine as well.
Day 122
Penny had decided that the semblance she didn't like the most was long-distance teleportation. Sure, she was killed via polarity, and electrical semblances caused her cameras to go on the fritz, but teleportation was just plain cheating. Seriously, the amount of effort it took to track a teleporter across Remnant was breathtaking (or fan-spinning, in Penny's case).
The processing power and algorithms to do so would have probably been impossible without artificial intelligence. It consisted mostly of constant behavioral predictions and applied general relativity. Which had to be calculated at least as fast as it took for a teleporter to actually teleport, or it would have been moot.
On this particular day, when an armored train was transporting a dozen key members of the White Fang to a secure location in eastern Vacuo, Penny observed a teleporter blowing up everything, taking down four contingents of Atlesian Knights and a hunter team, followed by fleeing with four high-risk White Fang operatives. Penny was exasperated, to the point of facepalming despite not having a face.
Three of those four prisoners were dangerous, that Penny was sure.
/
[ESCAPEE IDENTIFIED: KHAN, SIENNA]
[ASSESSING THREAT]
[PROBABILITY OF VIOLENCE: 88.6%]
/
[ALERT: THREAT TO REMNANT DETECTED]
/
[ESCAPEES IDENTIFIED: DAIZO, AKAHANA. GREENFIELD, JASON. CASEY, DANDELION.]
[OUTLIER TRAITS: EXTREMELY HIGH IQ, ADVANCED PROGRAMMING ABILITY]
/
[ALERT: THREAT TO SYSTEM DETECTED]
/
[ASSESSING THREATS]
[PROBABILITY OF OPERATIONS SABOTAGE: UNKNOWN]
What transpired was definitely troubling, considering the people just taken. They were among the handful of people on Remnant that had any chance of harming Penny in cyber warfare. Whoever wanted them was definitely of the insidious sort.
Penny got to work. As the perpetrator battled the Knights, Penny was able to get a good picture of the assailant. Who was wearing a mask. Penny almost smirked. Think you can hide? We'll see.
Taking in feeds from dozens of now destroyed androids (in surprisingly decent quality), Penny was able to piece together the movements made by the perpetrator, and in doing so, allowing her to analyze the gait and fighting style of her target. She did the same with the perpetrator's weapon.
And just to add icing on the metaphorical cake, Penny decided to track down the purchase history of that specific type of mask, searching through market and shop archives until a match was found. Then she traced each user and owner of the mask up until present day. Penny virtually smiled at a job well done. Gotcha.
/
[ACCESSING ATLESIAN KNIGHT FEEDS]
[AK-220-T-001987 ACCESSED]
[AK-220-T-001988 ACCESSED]
[AK-220-T-001989 ACCESSED]
[AK-220-T-001990 ACCESSED]
[AK-220-T-001991 ACCESSED]
[AK-220-T-001992 ACCESSED]
/
[ANALYZING VISUAL INPUT]
[MASK DETECTED]
[ANALYZING GAIT]
[ANALYZING FIGHTING STYLE]
[ANALYZING WEAPON USAGE]
[ANALYZING WEAPON]
[1 MATCH FOUND]
/
[TRACKING MASK MANUFACTURING HISTORY]
[TRACKING MASK PURCHASING HISTORY]
[TRACKING MASK OWNER AND USER HISTORY]
[1 MATCH FOUND]
/
[COMPARING RESULTS: MATCH VERIFIED]
/
[SUBJECT IDENTIFIED: BRANWEN, RAVEN
SUBSPECIES: HUMAN
AGE: 40
STATUS: ACTIVE
AURA: 93.3%
AFFILIATIONS: COMPILING…
FELONIES COMMITTED: AIDING PRISON ESCAPEES, DESTRUCTION OF ATLAS MILITARY PROPERTY, DESTRUCTION OF VACUO PRISON PROPERTY, ASSAULT, BATTERY, MURDER, ARSON, DESTRUCTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC PROPERTY, EVADING LAW ENFORCEMENT, TRESPASSING, INVASION OF PRIVACY, ACCESSING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, ARMED ROBBERY, PIRACY, KIDNAPPING, THEFT OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, MANIPULATING JURIES, PERJURY, TRAFFICKING, ATTACKING LAW ENFORCEMENT, OBSTRUCTING/SABOTAGING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS, BLACKMAIL, AIDING TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS, PROLIFERATION OF RESTRICTED SUBSTANCES, ASSAULTING CIVILIANS WITH HUNTER ABILITIES, IMPERSONATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, SELLING OF RESTRICTED ITEMS, PURCHASING RESTRICTED ITEMS, TREASON
FELONIES IN PROGRESS: COMPILING...
CRIMINAL RECORD: N/A]
/
Well that's not good. Penny quickly looked through security feeds over the past two decades, and what she saw was not encouraging. Raven Branwen had affiliations with almost every major crime syndicate in the past ten years, and was involved with the White Fang before and after its anti-human stance.
In addition to that, Penny had evidence of Raven performing quite a large amount of illegal and unsavory actions. Over a dozen incidences of kidnapping, stealing, hijacking scrolls, burning down a few buildings. Wait, did she just use an RPG? And did she just throw a car at someone?
Okay, it looked bad, but she's Yang's mom and once worked for Ozpin, so there has to be a reasonable explanation, right? Either way, a lot of work needed to be done.
/
[MOTIVE: UNKNOWN]
[NEW OBJECTIVE: DETERMINE MOTIVE OF BRANWEN, RAVEN]
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Author's note: Flashback time!
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We are now halfway through the story. There are now about 10 chapters remaining. Get ready, because this where it starts to get fun! (For me anyway, writing the next chapters is going to be even more enjoyable than Thornhill's biography.)
/
Sol was said to not have "advanced technology" last chapter, but one has to remember, the CCT isn't advanced tech. It's been around for a really long time, since after the Great War, 80 years ago. I'd say maybe ~60 years is a reasonable creation date. Which is not advanced tech. Having CCT in a faraway village is vital, needed for communications and stuff. Plus, once you have access to the outside world at large, why not use it? Sol is definitely behind the times, but only by about two generations.
/
I actually retconned something from earlier. There are now 43 councilmembers instead of 13, to make more sense overall.