It's time!

There were many things about being part of the IXA Project that Jaune liked.

He was finally getting the training he had desperately wanted for most of his life. He was slowly but surely advancing towards his goal of becoming a Huntsman. He had met great people, and he had met Doctor Polendina, who was also great but in a weird mad-scientist way.

Most of all, the IXA Project had given Jaune the sense of direction and independence he hadn't realized he had wanted. Sure, being IXA was hard work. Every day, he had to wake up early in the morning for training and testing, but it was also rewarding work. For the first time, Jaune felt like he was doing something with his life, something he could be proud of.

It felt like he was moving forward.

Also, wearing IXA was really freaking cool, so yeah. There was a lot to like about being IXA.

However, if Jaune had to pick one thing he disliked about the whole thing, it'd be...

"So, like this?"

"Exactly like that. Perfect. Just hold that position while the scanners do their job. You won't feel a thing."

If Jaune had to pick one thing he disliked about being IXA, it would be all the mandatory check-ups.

Of which there were many.

So damn many.

While there had never been an accident as bad as that first explosion, IXA was still experimental technology. Who knew what effects prolonged exposure to the Aura Reactor could have on him? As such, it was necessary for Jaune's health to be carefully and regularly monitored. Better to be safe than sorry, after all.

That meant lots of getting scanned by weird machines, plenty of blood samples, and much awkwardly standing around without his shirt on.

It was why Jaune was currently standing still with his arms spread as five different machines hovered around him. What did they do? Jaune had no idea. He had asked, but the answer contained too many technical terms for him to fully understand. All he knew was that they were scanners of some sort that checked his body for anomalies. That was good enough for him.

While Jaune stood in the center of the examination room, Dr. Onyx sat near the corner. His eyes were not preoccupied with Jaune but rather with the many monitors in front of him, which showed the information being picked up by the scanners.

Personal experience had taught Jaune he was going to be standing still for at least one hour, and this was only the third round of tests he needed to get through before he could eat anything for the day.

This whole procedure was something Jaune went through once or twice every two months to ensure IXA wasn't negatively affecting his health. It was necessary, but Jaune couldn't say he cared much for it.

Yeah, Jaune really didn't care for these tests.

"You can put your arms down now," Dr. Onyx said after many minutes had passed. Jaune couldn't quite stop the groan that came from his mouth as he was finally able to move his arms freely.

"Could we please take a break, doctor?" Jaune asked while he moved his arms to work out the kinks in them.

As expected, Dr. Onyx shook his head.

"No can do. Unless, of course, you happen to fancy the notion of staying here for most of the day. Do you?"

Jaune shook his head vehemently.

The pale, horned faunus smiled. "Thought so. Don't worry. It's only a few more tests now. Although, in my professional opinion, there is no need for them."

"Then why?" Jaune whined.

"The general insisted," Dr. Onyx replied with a shrug, and really, that was all he needed to say.

The other day, General Ironwood had summoned Jaune to his office and briefed him on his next mission. IXA was finally going to be revealed to the public during the Argonaut's launch. Jaune hadn't been familiar with the name, but apparently, the whole thing was supposed to be a fancy party for fancy people aboard an equally fancy ship.

It was far different from the rest of his duties so far, but that hadn't been the real surprise.

For some reason–General Ironwood hadn't been clear on the details–Jaune was going to have to pretend to be a robot while wearing IXA during this mission. Jaune couldn't say he understood it, but at least it wasn't investigating a secret lab full of Grimm and robots. If anything, going to a party sounded like a nice time. Jaune was always up for some dancing.

The downside was that to make sure IXA was in top shape for its unveiling, a full check-up was necessary.

For suit and Rider.

"I must say, I am impressed with your results," Dr. Onyx said as he filled out some information on a clipboard. "Unlocking your Aura has had a very positive effect on your body."

Jaune blinked. "It has?"

Jaune looked at himself but didn't notice much of a difference. Sure, he had shot up an inch or two, and it was true he was in better shape now, but he hadn't changed that much in these past months.

Right?

"I can pull up your old records if you want to compare," Dr. Onyx offered. "Considering the circumstances of your birth, how healthy you are now is rather amazing."

Jaune stared at the horned faunus for a moment.

"The circumstances of my what?"

Individual System

It was the night before the launch of the Argonaut, and a crowd of reporters was gathered in the conference hall of The Iceberg.

The Iceberg was one of the most luxurious and expensive hotels in Atlas. It had seventy-five floors, over five hundred rooms, and all the amenities one could expect with that size. The hotel had three different restaurants, numerous stores, a spa, a fitness center, and an indoor pool. It was often not-so-jokingly said that those who stayed in The Iceberg had no need to ever leave it.

Naturally, a night there cost more than most people earn in a year.

It cost more than some people make in their lifetimes.

Someone like Lisa Lavender usually wouldn't be in such a place. Ace reporter, she may be, but Lisa prided herself on being sensible with her money. The only way she'd ever set foot in a place like this would be if someone else was footing the bill.

Which was exactly what was going on.

This night was not about pleasure. Her presence in the hotel was strictly business.

Like her, all the reporters waiting in the conference hall had been summoned for one last press conference before the big day. According to some rumors, Jacques Schnee had a big announcement to make. In Lisa's experience, that meant Jacques Schnee did have something important to say and had paid people to spread those rumors to build up expectations.

Like any good reporter, Lisa had a few guesses about what the big announcement could be, but for now, she could only wait in her seat, microphone and recorder ready

At precisely the appointed time, he appeared.

Jacques Schnee walked into the stage wearing an elegant white suit with the Schnee emblem on one of its lapels. All muttered conversations ceased. Everyone was suddenly sitting a bit straighter. However, it was not out of respect or fear of the man, that this happened. No, it was something else entirely.

For others, this would simply be something to watch in the evening news. For the reporters assembled here, it was something else. This was their job.

This was a competition.

Jacques Schnee began his speech by making a joke. They all laughed. It was only proper. However, they were only half-paying attention. Their minds were carefully reviewing the information they had available.

The Argonaut had been all over the news for weeks now. Jacques Schnee had spared no lien on this venture. He wanted everyone to know the Argonaut was the ultimate luxury vessel. It could fly through the skies and sail through the seas. It had top of the line defensive systems, including Hard-Light Dust barriers, and after arriving at Argus, it would be going on a trip around the world.

However, if Jacques Schnee had called them here tonight, it meant he had yet another surprise to unveil. The one who got him to reveal it would be the unquestionable winner of the night.

In other words, for the reporters assembled tonight, it was a battle to ask the best questions.

Obviously, they planned to use every advantage they had at their disposal. Those who came from better-established networks had an edge in this contest. Lisa, who represented the Vale News Network, had a seat near the front row. Reporters from smaller channels were all the way to the back. It was unlikely Jacques Schnee would take questions from them.

Of course, being from a prominent network was not the only metric that mattered.

While Lisa wore a wine-colored gown that tastefully accentuated her figure, not everyone had been as restrained as her. Some of the more "gifted" females in the audience were close to spilling out of their tops, no doubt thinking that would help them catch Jacques Schnee's eyes.

Amateurs.

If that sort of thing helped, Lisa would be showing way more cleavage than she was right now. It was true that many negative rumors floated around Jacques Schnee, but infidelity had never been one of them. As far as Lisa could tell, the man's eyes had never once strayed. Not for a woman. Not for a man.

Jacques Schnee was loyal to the SDC and nothing else.

"-but that's enough from me for now. I believe it is time to take some questions."

At once, microphones were raised and cameras aimed. Everyone wanted to be chosen. However, the first question went to an Atlas network, the ARN. Lisa fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Typical.

The ARN always got the exclusive when it came to SDC-related news, largely because the SDC practically owned the channel.

The second, third, and fourth question went by easily enough. Lisa got the feeling they had been screened beforehand. However, when the time for the seventh question came, Jacques Schnee's blue eyes scanned the room carefully before meeting hers.

"Let's see, how about you, Miss…?"

"Lisa Lavender, Vale News Network," she said, her voice strong and her intonation impeccable. "From the moment the Argonaut was revealed to the public, it became obvious that its passengers would be people of wealth."

That was putting it mildly. The passenger list of the Argonaut read like a who's who of Remnant's rich and famous.

Even Spruce Willis was going to be in it!

"However, that has also attracted plenty of negative attention from extremist groups."

A kind of saying the White Fang.

"Since the Argonaut was first announced, the SDC has received several threats from such groups. While it is true the Argonaut boasts impressive defenses against the creatures of Grimm, have any additional measures been taken to protect the ship against other forces?"

"An excellent question," Jacques said, smiling as if bringing up the White Fang hadn't bothered him at all. Knowing the man, it probably hadn't. He'd have to be a fool not to have expected it.

"Let me be the first to say that we at the SDC take security seriously. It is because of that reason that we cannot pay attention to just any threat that comes to our mailbox. Why, if all those threats were true, I'd die at least five times before breakfast."

He laughed, and the room laughed with him. He said it so easily. As if there weren't people in his company who had been executed by the White Fang. As if the White Fang being beneath his notice was common sense, and because they were beneath his notice, they also were beneath the audience's notice.

He was good.

"Rest assured, we are taking security concerns seriously," Jacques continued. "To that end, the Argonaut will be safeguarded by SDC Security."

Left unsaid was that many of the passengers would be bringing their own bodyguards with them, some of which were likely to be Huntsmen. It was far more comfortable on Jacques' pockets than hiring multiple teams of Huntsmen.

"However, that's not all!"

Oh?

Everyone perked up at that. Was this it?

"My good friend, General Ironwood, couldn't make it here today, and he also won't be able to attend the party at Argus. As I am sure you can all understand, he's quite the busy man. However, he sent me his well-wishes along with a gift to ensure the people's protection."

With a snap of his fingers, the floor to the side of Jacques Schnee opened up, and fog filled the stage. The spotlights came alive and aimed themselves at the figure rising from below.

It was not particularly tall, but that didn't mean it wasn't impressive. It was almost reminiscent of a knight clad in white, shining armor. Blue and gold ascents ran over its body. A helmet fully encased its head, and a black visor surrounded by gold took over most of its face.

Lisa really hoped her cameraman was capturing every second of this.

"Allow me to introduce you to the latest in Atlesian Military Technology. Ladies and gentlemen! I give you… IXA!"

xXx

Jaune was very nervous.

Standing on the stage with dozens of reporters and flashing lights all around him, he couldn't help but feel woefully inadequate. His fantasies of slaying dragons had somehow never included press conferences.

"You're supposed to wave now, Friend Jaune."

"Got it," he said, trusting Penny was listening to Jacques Schnee better than he was.

The man was still talking, supposedly about how good IXA was and asking him to make a few simple motions so the people watching could oh and ah at their leisure. Well, Jaune assumed that was what was going on. He wasn't quite sure because he was a bit too overwhelmed to pay attention. If Penny weren't giving him advice every so often, he'd be lost as to what to do.

"Are you still nervous, Friend Jaune?" Penny asked. There was no need to worry about anyone overhearing her. IXA's outward speakers were shut down at the moment, which meant her voice was for his ears only. Anything they said wouldn't be heard by anyone else.

"Extremely," Jaune replied, making sure to keep his voice low even though he didn't need to.

"I have read that imagining the audience naked helps in situations like this."

Jaune's gaze momentarily strayed to a woman wearing a very low-cut dress. He blushed.

"I don't think that's going to help, Penny."

"What about imagining them as potatoes? Please take three steps forward and salute."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, even as he followed her instructions.

"Potatoes? Where did you even get that idea? No. You know what? Don't answer that. I don't want to know, and I don't think it'd be of much help. It'd just weird me out if the room was full of potatoes."

"Have no fear, Friend Jaune! I still have a hundred and fifty-seven different suggestions we can try to lower your stress levels!"

Jaune smiled at Penny's eager voice.

"I don't think we need to go that far, Penny."

"I object, Friend Jaune. As your BFF, it is my duty to help you. Do a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn then march to the edge of the stage and back."

"Just keep talking to me," Jaune said while marching. "It distracts me from the crowd."

"... Very well, if that is what you wish for, Friend Jaune, I shall commence the small talk!"

Jaune had to struggle not to chuckle at that.

Hopefully, they'd make it through this whole thing without him making a fool of himself.

xXx

"Are you seeing this?"

"I am."

"A new Atlesian droid. Fuck! Sienna didn't say anything about this. What do we do? Does this change things?"

"It does, and it doesn't."

"Adam?"

"We have already invested too many resources into this operation. While the new robot is not a variable we had foreseen, we cannot turn back now. We already knew we'd encounter opposition. We'll just have to adjust accordingly. Tell our operative we're proceeding as planned."

"You're the boss."

xXx

Hours after Jacques Schnee's press conference had ended, the Argonaut was going through its final preparations before the big day. Food and other things were being loaded on the ship. The staff was already settling in. Soon, they would have to be ready to receive the passengers.

As the ship was buzzing with activity, one particular person wasn't doing much of anything.

His name was Ashton White,

He was an average-looking man with brown hair and brown eyes. Nothing about him stood out. Every so often, he'd take out his scroll, look at the time, and then go back to staring into the distance. Beads of sweat shined in his forehead, forcing him to wipe them with the back of his sleeve.

His name was Ashton White, but that hadn't been the name he was born with. He hadn't used his real name for years now. Ashton White was the only name he had that mattered.

His name was Ashton White, and though his papers said he was human, he hadn't been born as such.

Back when he had another name, he had been born a faunus. The exact type didn't matter. Not anymore.

He had been born in a small village a week away from Mantle. It had been a quiet place, and during the summer months, it had been beautiful. The sight of the melting snow under the sun was one that always remained in his memory. When the sun rose in the morning, it made all the ice that formed shine like jewels.

Unlike many faunus that lived in the areas surrounding Mantle, his parents hadn't been miners. They had been bakers. They made nice, warm bread which everyone liked. Every morning, Ashton would get up before the sun rose and help his parents prepare for the day. As a reward, he always got the first bite of freshly baked bread, which was the best bite of all.

Then the SDC had moved in.

It started slowly. Dust had been found, and the SDC had acquired the mining rights to the area. Soon miners began moving in, and the SDC build houses for them. Slowly but surely, their quiet little town grew. In the beginning, the villagers had welcomed the change. After all, the village growing could only be a good thing, right?

If only.

More people meant more clients, but it also meant more competition. The SDC didn't only bring in miners. It also started opening all sorts of shops all over town. It didn't happen overnight. The people would have protested if it had. The change was gradual. Like cooking a live frog by gradually bringing the water to a boil.

By the time the frog notices the water is boiling, it's too late.

The SDC spread like cancer throughout their village. The local shops couldn't compete with the SDC-owned stores. They were slowly ran out of business, and their owners had to resort to applying for SDC jobs.

In a few years, the SDC practically owned the entire village.

His parent's bakery didn't fare any differently.

However, his parents were faunus, which meant they couldn't just apply for any job. The SDC hired plenty of faunus, but that didn't mean its hiring practices weren't discriminatory. The jobs they had available for them were all very low paying. Not enough to sustain a family of three.

Mining jobs paid much more, but they were mining jobs.

It was a hard decision to make, but in the end, his family packed up everything they could and left. They sold the house to the SDC and tried to start a new life in the lower districts of Atlas.

It hadn't been easy. They had to rent a tiny apartment that was barely big enough for the three of them. Ashton's parents went from owning their own business to having to work as janitors and dishwashers. Their shifts were so long Ashton didn't see them some days. They were gone by the time he left for school and had yet to arrive by the time he fell asleep.

In time, his parents died. They hadn't been murdered because they were faunus or anything like that. Nothing quite so dramatic.

They just worked too much.

Long hours and not enough to eat did not make for a healthy lifestyle. His parents made sure Ashton was well-provided, but it was often at their expense. They never went to the hospital unless it was for something related to him. They never took sick days, too afraid of losing their jobs. That lifestyle had taken its toll on them until they couldn't bear it anymore.

It was nothing strange.

By then, Ashton had already finished high school. However, his job search was not going well. Not wanting to end like his parents, he had decided to take extreme measures. If he wanted to get a better job, then he was only going to find it as a human.

There were faunus who could pass for human and tried to live their lives as one. However, there were plenty of jobs that checked for that sort of thing. One look at their birth certificate and that was it for them.

Ashton wanted something more.

He wanted an identity.

While not as crime-heavy as Mistral, criminal activity did exist in Atlas. If you knew where to look for, you could buy and sell all sorts of things.

The real Ashton White had been born human. He had wanted adventure, and so, was willing to sell his identity to whoever had the lien to pay for it. It had taken all of the money his parents had left behind and a very dangerous loan, but he had done it. He paid the real Ashton for his identity. He had surgery done on him by an underground doctor to get his tail removed and his face altered enough to look like the real Ashton.

The real Ashton didn't have family or friends. He was an oddball who just wanted to use the money he had gained from selling his life to travel all over Remnant.

The new Ashton was willing to let that happen.

He seamlessly inserted himself into Ashton's old life. The former Ashton hadn't talked with his neighbors that much, so no one noticed the change.

With Ashton's papers, his world changed. He was able to apply for jobs as a human, and the difference showed. The new Ashton was able to obtain a cushy job and make a decent life for himself.

No one ever suspected he had been born a faunus.

However, he couldn't forget the SDC. He couldn't forget what happened to his parents.

Would things have turned out better for them if they had never left the village? Who knew? He didn't, and he found he didn't care.

The SDC took his home. That was the only truth that mattered to him.

His scroll rang.

In an instant, his whole body froze. Time slowed down for him, and it felt like his heart was about to leap from his chest. His scroll rang once. Then twice.

Ashton forgot how to breathe as he waited for the third ring.

It never came.

A minute passed, and Ashton released the breath he had been holding. Two rings. That meant the plan would proceed as planned. Had it been three, it'd have meant the plan was being canceled. He hadn't been sure if that would happen after Jacques Schnee had unveiled the new military android.

Seeing a robot move so much like a human was deeply unsettling.

"Hey, how long do you plan to stand there daydreaming?"

Ashton turned around and plastered a smile on his face. "Sorry, Finn. Nerves. You know how that is."

"Nerves? What for? This is hardly your first flight."

"Well, that's true," Ashton said, adjusting his pilot hat. "But we usually don't fly something quite so fancy."

His human partner who he had known for two years and whose bachelor's party he had attended laughed. "Well, you got that right. Wouldn't want Jacques Schnee angry at us."

"Perish the thought."

AN:

Ah, Lisa Lavender. Clearly everyone's favorite minor character.

Also, an OC, because everyone loves those.

Going to be honest here, I wanted to jump into things straight away, but I needed to do some set up first. As a consequence, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. I could have probably made it longer, but it'd just be padding at that point.

Anyway, the pieces are all in place. It's time for the Argonaut to rise.

Oh, and as a completely minor detail, Dr. Onyx is an Ibex faunus.