Here's chapter 3! This story will periodically dive into the past so just be aware of that.

13 Years Before the Start of the Series:

Cassandra's eyes wandered around the large room she was in. She stood on a platform and alongside the platform were large, pale blue, crystalline structures attached to floating metal blocks. On the edges of the main area of the platform were four white pedestals decorated with marble columns, and atop each pedestal was a bowl containing a blue flame. Across from the pedestal was a tall, pale blue, crystalline structure with a small white platform containing a chamber door. The door had a rectangular pattern on its surface and was situated at a higher elevation than the main metal platform. There was also a considerable gap of open-air between the metal platform and the door. To say she wasn't a bit awed at the intricate architecture would have been a lie. What was a lie, however, was the load of bullshit that she had just heard.

"James…" Cassandra stared at the general as if he were crazy, "do I need to give you a psychological evaluation?"

General James Ironwood, the youngest in the history of the Kingdom of Atlas to rise to the leadership helm of both the military and Atlas Academy, stared back at the woman with such seriousness in his eyes that she had to do a doubletake.

"I'm not crazy Cassandra."

"I mean," she said, "you haven't exactly been acting rationally lately."

That comment earned a questioning gaze from James who looked confused as to what she meant.

"Really James? Don't play stupid with me. You broke off your engagement with Glynda for no coherent reason. Any man would have to be completely insane to end a relationship with a woman like her, and in your case, I think you're even crazier considering what you've just told me."

She wasn't wrong. He had broken off his engagement to Glynda two months ago. His friends hounded him, demanding to know what could have driven him to break the heart of the love of his life who just so happened to be an absolute catch. Glynda Goodwitch was a woman that most men could only dream of. James had fallen head over heels for her when he met her at the Vytal Tournament when they were first-year students at Beacon and Atlas. The tournament was to be held at Atlas Academy and so Glynda and her team spent the second semester at Atlas Academy. She had ignored his initial advances, deeming James as just another hot-blooded moron, but James persisted and after too many attempts to gain her attention, she finally agreed to go out on a date with him, and then she went on a second date and then a third then a fourth and so on until eventually, they were inseparable. Despite the fact that they attended separate academies, they didn't let it come between them. When James suffered his near-fatal accident during his second year, Glynda rushed to Atlas to be with him and help care for him. James was incredibly grateful to have had her in his life during that difficult time. He wasn't sure if he could have made it through without her. After he recovered from his injuries, he earned the nickname 'Tin Man' because of the new prosthetics that adorned his body. People joked that he was heartless, more machine than man, but Glynda personally attested to the Tin Man having a heart. He didn't deserve her and yet she graced him by loving him. He had proposed to her no more than a year ago, fully intending to spend the rest of his life with her. He loved her more than anything, which is why it drove him to a near-breaking point when he broke off their engagement. He dove into bottle after bottle of whiskey in hopes of easing the pain he felt. Whenever anyone tried to understand why he did it, he simply avoided the question or made up some excuse. He could never let the truth be revealed.

"Please," he said with a palpable pain in his voice, "don't bring Glynda into this."

"I'm sorry James, but I'm being serious. I don't think you're well."

"Cassandra," said the general, "I wish I were crazy and that everything I've told you was nothing more than an insane fantasy…but that's not the case."

Dr. Haze rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sighed.

"Let's assume for a minute that I believe a single word you're telling me. Let's say that Professor Ozpin is a reincarnating wizard who has been battling against an evil witch who controls the Grimm, that the Headmasters of each academy are covertly selected by Ozpin to be part of his secret group and that their successors are approved by him, that the Academies each house one of the four relics that a god gave to humanity, that the relic of creation is in this room behind that door," she pointed to the large door, "and that there are indeed four ladies in the world who possess magical abilities. Let's say I believe any of that," she looked at him skeptically, "why would you go behind Ozpin's back and tell the deputy chief scientist of your military? You came straight to me. Why? Why not talk to Pietro?"

"Why do you think your father had you examine that body seven years ago and not Pietro?" James shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Cassandra smirked as she realized what James was playing at. "Because according to 'daddy dearest,' she said with a bit of haughtiness, "I could be trusted with the most sensitive of secrets."

"Exactly."

"Also, because he hated Pietro," she quipped, earning a slight smirk from James.

General Haze and Dr. Polendina were night and day, complete opposites. The two disagreed on virtually every single issue and Pietro knew how to get under his skin and piss Thomas off. The two would fight each other at every point and turn and the general began to grow weary of having so little control over Dr. Polendina. What made it worse was that Haze could never fire Polendina because, for one, the man was an amazing scientist, and two, his firing would not have gone over well with the council. His solution was to groom his daughter, an equally brilliant scientist, for Pietro's position. Hell, in many ways Cassandra was more brilliant than Pietro and Thomas knew it. Once Pietro retired, Cassandra would take over, and with her in charge, General Haze would ensure that he had someone at the helm of the science division who wouldn't fight him. Someone he could trust. General Haze's actions angered a few other notable scientists such as Arthur Watts. Dr. Watts viewed himself as the rightful head of the science and research division, but despite his skills, his intellect was outshined by both Dr. Polendina and Dr. Haze. Unfortunately, General Haze died of a heart attack five years ago. The entire Kingdom of Atlas observed a day of mourning for the longest-serving military officer in the kingdom's history. At the funeral, Cassandra couldn't help but mention that if he had listened to her and retired sooner then he would have lived another ten years at least. That comment at the funeral earned a laugh from many of those who attended, including Dr. Polendina. With the death of General Haze, James Ironwood, his chosen successor, came to the helm of leadership.

He was now General James Ironwood, leader of the Atlas military and Headmaster of Atlas Academy. With two seats on the council, he was effectively the most powerful man in the kingdom.

"That still doesn't explain why you decided to go behind Ozpin's back by telling me."

"Because Cassandra," he replied, "I've recognized that we're running out of time. I've served Ozpin faithfully for five years and we haven't made any progress against Salem. The Grimm have only grown deadlier and more coordinated, and humanity is disunited. Every day that witch lives is another day she has to bring about humanity's destruction. Humanity needs an edge and I believe that you're the person who can help," James reached into his inner coat pocket and retrieved a small folder before he handed it to her. "I found this in your father's safe."

Dr. Haze opened the folder to see the words 'Top Secret' in large red letters across the page. At the top of the page, she could read the words 'Biological and Technological Force Enhancement Proposal.' Her eyes shot up from the paper to the general in an instant.

"I won't lie to you Cassandra," he said with a bit of reluctance, "when I first read this proposal, I was both disgusted and horrified. I can see why your father never allowed you to have your way."

She shrugged. "You said you wanted me to give him a fully detailed report, and I did. He read it, loved it, and then asked for enhanced soldiers. I worked tirelessly to understand and replicate what I found in the autopsy. Surprisingly," she said as she closed the folder, "that was the easy part. Successfully reverse engineering that hardware was impossible, but we did manage to make an inferior prototype. Unfortunately," she sounded disappointed, "my father deemed my proposed methods as far too unethical; even though my methods were the only possible way for him to get what he wanted."

Cassandra had thoroughly examined the remains of the craft that James and his team delivered to her lab. The remains were horribly damaged beyond any sort of recognition and even far beyond any sort of hope for successful reverse engineering, but to Dr. Haze that mattered little. The crown jewel had been safely preserved in the ice inside. The autopsy opened her eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities for human performance and evolution and the hardware that accompanied the body was by far the most advanced thing she had ever seen, and so she worked tirelessly to unravel the secrets. While she succeeded in understanding the biology, she failed to fully grasp the engineering, but she was damn sure she came as close as anyone on Remnant could hope to get.

James sighed.

"Your father was right, but I doubt he would say the same thing today. After all, he was the one who taught me that sometimes the ends justify the means. Sometimes, we must sacrifice ideals and morals in order to ensure victory, and this is one of those times."

The genius scientist examined the Tin Man for a moment, processing everything he had just told her.

"How desperate must you be for you to come to me with such a request?"

"I am very desperate. I will do anything and sacrifice anything to ensure humanity survives."

She smirked. "It makes sense now."

"What does?" He asked.

"Your decision to break it off with Glynda. You didn't want her to potentially get dragged into this whole thing."

He was silent for a moment. "I think you're thinking into it too much…"

"I have a vast understanding of psychology James. Don't try to fool me."

He glared at her.

"Focus on the matter at hand Cassandra. Will you help?"

"I will James. At first, I just thought you were insane when you told me all of this, but if you are willing to do all of this in the name of protecting humanity then I think you're telling the truth."

"Believe me," he replied, "I never thought it would all come to this. I wish your father never chose me as his successor, but I have a duty to humanity, and I will do whatever it takes."

Cassandra nodded.

"If we are going to do this, then we need to come to an agreement."

He was listening.

"I want full reign to run this program exactly how I proposed it."

"Is that all?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Consider it done, but I will personally oversee the training of the candidates."

"Of course," she replied, "I don't see how else it would work."

"Indeed," he placed his hand to his chin in thought, "we need to tread carefully Cassandra. We need to keep the personnel involved to a bare minimum. No one, other than you, is to know about Salem and anything else that I told you about."

"That'll hardly be an issue," she said with confidence, "though I do wonder, what of the candidates?"

"They have to know what they're training to defeat, don't they?" He asked rhetorically.

"Fair enough James."

He nodded. "I want you to send me a list of everything you need to get this program up and running. I don't care what it costs."

"I'll be sure to do just that," she turned and began to walk away.

"Wait," he called out.

She stopped, glancing over her shoulder.

"I have one question that I need to ask you," he paused to make sure she was listening before he continued, "why children?"

"Why wouldn't we use children?" She countered, leaving James momentarily stunned. "Easier to control and easier to indoctrinate."

James moved to speak, but she cut him off before he could say anything.

"More importantly," she said, now fully facing the general, "what better stage of life is there to mold the candidates into the ultimate warriors?"

James said nothing, he simply digested her words. As inhumane as it was, she wasn't wrong. The minds and bodies of children would be far easier to mold into the ideal soldier. He'd seen many amazing soldiers in his years of service, but none came close to the ideal.

"Very well," he said, "let's get to work."

There it is. Please share your reviews and feel free to ask any questions via PM. Thank you!