UNSC Dominion, Medical Bay
October 31st, 1726 Local Time, 2552
Richard's hopes for an uneventful evening had been dashed aside the moment that Bradford had asked to speak with him. He could tell that something major had happened just from the tone of voice that Bradford had spoken with, but his words had still sent a chill down Richard's spine.
"Commander, we found her."
The images that Bradford showed him, taken by one of the Dominion's recon satellites, spoke for themselves. An army of Grimm, so vast that counting them was all but impossible, was gathered in a truly hellish environment on the eastern tip of Anima, all lingering around and protecting a single structure. It was a massive tower formed from massive purple crystals, but beyond that, any details were hard to make out through the cloud cover.
"This has got to be it. There's no other reason for the Grimm to congregate like that." Bradford said. "We have a golden opportunity here Commander, we need to make our move."
"Agreed. Meet in the War Room in three minutes, call Ozpin and Ironwood over the priority one channel." Richard instructed his XO. Bradford gave a silent, stoic nod in response.
Taking only a moment to make some excuses to Ben, Curie, and Penny, Richard left Sickbay and sent a call up to the Bridge. "Gillespie? Chen? Anybody reading me?"
"Gillespie here, what's the skinny?" The reply came through.
"Recall all Ops and Weapons Personnel back aboard immediately. Recon just picked up a priority target, and I need all hands on deck. Begin prep for takeoff." Richard ordered.
Fittingly for a Communications and Signals Officer, Gillespies response wasted absolutely no time with pointless questions. "Aye Aye Commander."
He briefly considered waiting even longer and getting everybody aboard, perhaps even assembling a force of Marines to deploy if they were needed, but without any civilians on the ground, their presence would be largely unnecessary. It also didn't help that the sheer size of the Grimm Army would likely leave Zulu Company terminally outmatched, even with every tank in Crusader Company backing them up. Even all of Gamma Company would have struggled against a force like this… what chance would our Marines have?
With the preparations for the Dominion's liftoff begun, Richard made his way to the War Room without any further delay. He arrived to find that Bradford was already bringing Ozpin and Ironwood up to speed on the discovery, with each of them taking up one of the many monitors in the room. Ironwood's expression betrayed nothing, but Ozpin looked as though he was looking at a ghost.
"-that's Evernight Castle." Ozpin was in the middle of exclaiming when Richard walked in. "I had no idea that it was real, let alone intact."
"Well, if nothing else, we can at least put a name to it." Bradford commented, before noticing Richard's presence. "You haven't missed anything here, Commander."
He gave Bradford a silent nod of thanks before turning to Ozpin. "Headmaster, what do you know about this castle?"
"Nothing for certain I'm afraid, most of what I know is just legends and old fairy tales." Ozpin answered. "If they have any degree of truth to them, then we're looking at one of the oldest structures in the world, and it's been host to some of the darkest days in our history."
That's… vague. Richard noted the discomfort in Ozpin's voice, but it was hard to say if he was lying or not. Then again… maybe he's just thrown off by what he's looking at.
Taking a closer look at the image, he could definitely see why it inspired discomfort. The spire itself didn't resemble a castle so much as it resembled a gigantic version of the crystals that the Covenant used in their Needler weapons. It's surface was jagged and uneven, with smaller offshoot crystals branching off of the main body at seemingly random intervals. As a whole, it looked more like an esoteric art piece than a military installation.
At the base of the central spire, similar-looking pillars of obsidian and glass stuck defiantly into the air, reaching nowhere near the height of the central structure. Just to the north of the castle were gigantic lakes of some unknown black fluid, surrounded by beaches of dark-purple glass. Beyond that was nothing but dead, burned, and warped landscape. In a way, it resembled the surface of a glassed planet, but somehow even more unnatural and wrong.
The size of the castle was the biggest thing that he couldn't get his head around. Nothing in any of the images offered a decent reference for comparison, and the sensors indicated that the structure was anywhere between two-hundred meters tall, and fifteen kilometers, which it clearly wasn't.
"I've never seen anything close to that many Grimm before, and certainly not in one place." Ironwood noted with a troubled look in his eyes. "If she sent that army to attack one of the Kingdoms, there's no way that they would survive."
"Don't be so sure…" Bradford muttered.
Ozpin clasped his hands together and narrowed his eyes. "Lieutenant, I appreciate the strength of your ship, but look at what you would be up against. At Argus, you were barely able to hold the line."
"We didn't use our full strength at Argus. If we did, there would have been terrible collateral damage." Richard pointed out. "This time, we don't have to worry about that. I sure as hell don't see any civilians down there, do you?"
"We would need more than a couple of photographs to confirm that." Ozpin argued. "It would not be beneath Salem to take hostages for use as human shields."
"If we send further recon, we risk alerting Salem that we're going to attack." Richard said, and was surprised to see Ozpin's eyes widen with shock.
"Wait, you're going to attack… now?" The Headmaster awkwardly said, his voice straining with disbelief. "That would be suicide!"
Ironwood shook his head in a display of shared disagreement. "Commander, I can appreciate an offensively-minded tactician, but Salem has magic on her side! Even if you could get close enough to use your weapons, who knows what she could do to your ship?"
Richard only thought it over for a moment, their caution was certainly justified, but mostly misplaced. Range obviously wasn't a concern, as the Dominion's arsenal had largely been designed with orbital bombardment in mind. Even so, Ironwood did raise a very valid point about Salem herself: if she could return fire against the Dominion before they struck, there was a risk. Magic was by its very nature, unpredictable to him. "Ozpin, do you think Salem could use magic to do any kind of serious damage to the Dominion, and how far would she be able to do it from?"
Ozpin thought it over for a minute, but eventually gave a hefty sigh. "I don't believe she would be able to destroy your ship, but she has been alive for long enough to devise her own magic, and there is no way to predict what that might be. What I can tell you is that Magic tends to grow weaker the further away from the caster that it's used, and using it without directly seeing what you're doing is very, very difficult."
Visual Range, that's reassuring. Richard thought with a note of satisfaction. "Then we shouldn't have anything to fear. We'll take the Dominion out of the atmosphere and bomb the whole site from orbit."
Ozpin didn't budge a muscle, but Ironwood's doubt seemed to drain away in an instant. "Someday I would like to discuss 'modern' tactics with you, there's a lot I could learn. Are you certain there wouldn't be any danger?"
"None that we know about, at the very least." Richard said. He aimed a venomous glare in Ozpin's direction as he spoke, but if the Wizard noticed, he didn't react.
Bradford's datapad made an audible chirp, signaling that it had received a message. "Commander, message from the Bridge. All Ops and Weapons personnel are aboard, we're ready to lift off on your signal."
"Good. Make your way to the Bridge and have Williams take us up gently, and set the ship to Condition One. I'll be right with you." Richard ordered. Even if the odds of something going wrong were miniscule, it would be best to have everybody at their stations. Indeed, UNSC protocol insisted that any ship conducting an orbital bombardment should have all hands at action stations to reduce the chance of catastrophe.
Bradford silently obeyed his orders while Richard turned his gaze back towards Ironwood and Ozpin. "I'm not going to lie to you, Headmaster, I don't trust you. If there's anything else you're keeping from me, anything that would pose a danger to this ship or it's crew, I expect you to tell me."
Ozpin did not seem to be insulted by Richard's comment, if anything, he seemed to be remarkably unfazed. "I'm sorry that you feel that way, Richard. If it's any reassurance at all, I don't believe that Salem will be able to retaliate, or that she'll even know that you're going to attack."
The half-statement was not lost on Richard. "But…"
"I don't think that you're going to kill her." Ozpin bluntly stated.
Ironwood shook his head in disbelief. "Why wouldn't she die? The Dominion's weapons can lay waste to entire cities. How could a single person survive firepower like that?"
Ozpin scowled and turned his gaze towards the floor. "I'm not sure, but it wouldn't be the first time that she's survived the impossible. I've fought her for thousands of years, and in that time, everything that I have tried has failed. I've struck her with lightning, I've brought armies to bear against her, once, I even brought an entire mountain down on her. Through all of it, she has come back."
Well, that's troubling. Richard thought. He entirely wasn't surprised by the fact that Salem was apparently very adept at escaping her fate, but it raised questions about how she had done it. Magic is the most likely answer, but perhaps she's simply a talented escapist.
"Even if we don't kill her today, there's still that Army of Grimm to contend with." Richard pointed out. "They might not be attacking us now, but that's all the more reason to strike now, while they're vulnerable."
Ozpin looked back at him, and for the first time, Richard noticed just how damn tired he looked. "Then for all our sakes Commander, I wish you and your crew the best of luck."
UNSC Dominion, Bridge
October 31st, 2106 Local Time, 2552
Conducting an orbital bombardment was far from a simple process, and even with a highly-trained, specialized crew, it took some time to prepare the Dominion for what was to come. Weapons needed to be inspected, orbits calculated, the trajectories of projectiles and missiles needed to be plotted, and then all of those processes needed to be repeated ad nauseum.
The reason behind such stringent preparations and safeguards was the consequences of an accident. One misplaced digit in a firing solution could wipe out millions of civilians, and on Remnant, that would likely spell the end of Humanity's presence on the planet for good thanks to the resulting Grimm onslaught. There was no room for error, the crew of the Dominion would do this perfectly, or they would not do it at all.
Richard could feel his patience grind away as he ordered yet another round of inspections, and he could see that his crew were getting sick of him ordering them as well. Even so, he ordered them in spite of any frustration, leaving no room for debate or argument. He had seen firsthand what could happen when Orbital Bombardments went wrong during his time working under ONI, and the memory of watching expanding nuclear clouds erupt across the land from the Bridge of a Prowler would never truly leave him.
Don't get distracted now. Richard sternly reminded himself as he felt his heart begin to race. Read over the plab again while they're working, you have time.
As the ship's weapons officer, Lieutenant Gage was responsible for assembling the plan to destroy the Grimm Army and Evernight Castle. While he didn't know about Salem, neither he nor any of the other Officers showed any reluctance to follow their orders, and there were only a handful of questions about the nature of Evernight Castle which Richard quickly dispelled, playing ignorant to the nature of the gigantic purple obelisk.
The UNSC's Naval Doctrine called for what was called a Layered Barrage when conducting orbital bombardment, effectively having multiple different elements to the bombardment as a way to ensure that the target area was rendered completely and utterly devoid of life. Gage's plan reflected this, and it's simplicity was refreshing.
The first projectile to hit the ground would be a Heavy Round from the Dominion's MAC, which would be fired at full charge. Due to the incredibly fast speeds that it would travel, it would actually be the last round fired during the Dominion's entire bombardment. Special care would need to be taken to account for Remnant's atmosphere and gravity, but it was nothing that Lieutenant Gage couldn't handle.
Three minutes after the MAC round had struck, three Trebuchet Missiles would strike three separate mountains around the castle. The intention was not only to kill anything on the mountains with the blasts and shrapnel, but to create cataclysmic rockslides that would crush anything that could have otherwise escaped.
Then, ten minutes after the Trebuchets had landed, all of Voodoo Squadron would fly over the area in their Sabres. Their role was twofold; they would first use Archer Missiles from the Dominion's inventory to obliterate any large Grimm that had somehow survived up until that point. Each of the starfighters could only carry two of the capital-grade missiles, one under each wing, but they would need the extra firepower for the large targets.
Their second role, and one that was only known to the Pilots, Richard, and Bradford, was to survey the site for any signs of Salem's survival. Richard had been deliberately vague with her true nature, describing her only as a highly-dangerous Grimm that posed a great enough threat to necessitate additional bombardment, which would lead onto the last phase of the Bombardment.
Once the Trebuchet Missiles had been fired, the missile crews would load their absolute last resort into launch tube one, a Hyperion Nuclear Missile. It's warhead was configured to deliver a blast equivalent to forty-five million tons of TNT. Whatever wasn't killed by the blast would inevitably succumb to the intense radiation left behind.
Richard's reluctance to use the nuclear weapon was fuelled by more than the warhead's irreplaceable nature. While the environmental effects of detonating a single nuclear warhead would be fairly minimal, given Remnant's sheer size and surprisingly healthy ecosystems, there were other, more unforeseeable risks.
Remnant itself was an anomaly in that it had never seen a nuclear detonation in its history, at least, as far as the Dominion's instruments could tell. In that regard, it was impossible to say how strange elements on Remnant, such as Dust, would respond to the whirlwind of hell that a nuclear weapon could unleash. It was entirely possible, however unlikely, that they could inadvertently create a blast far in excess of a single nuke. I guess it's just another reminder that we still have a lot to learn about this place…
For that reason, it would only be used in the event that Salem was confirmed to have survived, which was wholly unlikely. Orbital Bombardments rarely left survivors, and that was without the extremely pinpoint information that the Dominion's Clarion Spy Drones were relaying back to the ship.
"Commander, inspections are complete, we're green across the board." Bradford reported, bringing him back to the present. "Should I order another round?"
"No, I think it's about high time that we get on with this." Richard replied. "Williams, adjust our heading, bring us onto Lieutenant Gage's firing orbit. Gage, warm up the MAC, and warn our missile crews to prepare to fire. Bradford, tell Voodoo Squadron to maintain their orbits until we give the all-clear."
"Aye Aye Commander." They reported.
The Dominion gently lurched all around them as it turned, it's thrusters providing tiny and insignificant nudges in numerous directions. At the same time, the lights on the bridge faintly dimmed as large amounts of power were vacuumed up by the MAC capacitors.
Through the bridge's main viewport, Richard watched as the three massive missile silos on the Dominion's dorsal hull slowly opened. The warheads of three Trebuchet Orbital Support Missiles revealed themselves, as if demonstrating their intent for the planet below.
"MAC is nearing half-charge… Missile Crews report firing solutions are set and warheads are hot." Gage reported from his station, even as he continued to do the last of the calculations by hand. "Ready to fire on your command!"
No turning back. Richard thought. A million more thoughts and emotions ran through his mind, hesitation, excitement, concern, and so many more. Despite his mindset, his expression never wavered even as he gave the order. "Open fire."
Three quiet thumps reverberated throughout the hull as the missiles rose from their silos. Their nozzles revealed themselves moments later, emitting an intense flame as they rushed to deliver their payloads to their targets. All three missiles turned as soon as they were able, plotting their course to Salem's Castle.
"Missiles away, time onto target, ten minutes and twelve seconds!" Gage reported.
The Missiles steadily began to disappear from Richard's view as they entered the airspace beneath the Dominion itself. Monitors across the bridge tracked the descent of the weapons, even as a far more deadly payload was being loaded into the Dominion's main gun.
"Clarion Drones are in position. Voodoo Squadron is holding position in low-orbit. They're ready to assault the target site as soon as the damage is done." Bradford reported.
"Bring up the feed from Clarion One, and put it on the main monitor." Richard ordered.
Bradford wordlessly complied, and moments later, a bird's-eye view of Evernight Castle filled the central monitor. Some of the Officers around him caught their breath as they got a look at their target for the first time, and there was an unspoken rise in tension as everybody got a firsthand look at what they were bombing.
With the improved resolution and clarity of the Drone's feed, Richard could make out the forms of some truly gargantuan Grimm who stood in defense of the fortress. Scale once again proved itself to be a difficult obstacle, but many of them utterly dwarved the Goliaths that they stood beside. These were nothing like the vaguely-animalistic monsters that he had seen before, and more so resembled unholy bulbous and misshapen piles of flesh.
How are those things even able to move? There's probably a few ships in the fleet that weigh less than they do… Richard thought. Atlas's records had never mentioned anything about Grimm like this before, and thus, it seemed reasonable to assume that they had never left the Castle.
"Sir, MAC is charged and loaded!" Gage announced.
"Fire." Richard ordered, not even taking his eyes off of the viewscreen as he spoke.
The lights dimmed and flickered, and a small but firm rumble shook the whole ship as the most powerful weapon in the world fired. The sound was very unlike that of a traditional gunshot, but no less powerful even through multiple decks of Titanium-A plating. For a brief moment, Richard caught a glimpse of the MAC slug as it rushed planetside, leaving a faint trail of molten metal particles as it went like some kind of hellish comet.
"Time on target, forty seconds." Gage announced as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "No signs of miscalculation so far."
"Keep me informed." Richard replied. He counted down the seconds in his head, waiting for the moment of impact as he watched the Grimm continue to mill about their ashen landscape, oblivious to what was about to happen.
He never saw the slug as it barreled through the atmosphere, perforated the sound barrier more times than any object that Remnant had ever seen, and landed. The first sign that anything had happened was a visible shockwave that almost seemed to lift the soil from Remnant's surface, tearing it from the bedrock below.
The massive crystalline structure of Evernight Castle shattered like a flimsy window, splintering into hundreds of billions of tiny particles and flying in every direction. The storm of crystalline glass was accompanied by a cloud of dust and smoke that blanketed the entire landscape in mere moments. The vast army of Grimm was instantly buried by the cloud, before presumably being torn to shreds by the hellstorm of shrapnel that must have been raised.
"Direct hit." Gage quietly muttered, his expression of awe mirrored across the whole of the Bridge Crew.
"Stay focused, we aren't done yet!" Richard raised his voice, shaking everybody back to the present.
Although the spectacle was impressive, it was not worth getting distracted over. Even so, as Richard watched the brown and black cloud steadily cover a tiny part of Remnant's total surface, he couldn't help but remember what Ozpin had said. Surely she's dead. How could anyone, no, anything, have survived that kind of force?
"Missiles are coming down now, ETA ten seconds." Gage reported. There was a faint crack in his voice as he turned to face the imminent carnage.
The impact of the missiles was considerably less impressive than that of the MAC in terms of scale alone, but the way that the whole cloud of dust and smog briefly seemed to glow from the trio of magnificent fireballs was a spectacle in it's own right.
"All that dust is clogging our sensors, but it looks like we hit our targets." Gage reported. "All rounds complete, shall I order our missile crews to stand down?"
"Not yet." Richard replied. "Bradford, tell Voodoo Squadron to begin their descent. The skies should be a little bit clearer by the time that they get down there."
"Aye Commander."
As Richard had hoped, the dust and smoke of the bombardment was short-lived when compared next to something like a nuclear explosive. The landscape steadily revealed itself, and the results of the devastation were a sight to behold. What had once been a staging ground for a massive army of Grimm was nothing more than an empty black desert, coated with the fine crystalline remains of what had once been Evernight Castle. Voodoo Squadron's search revealed only a tiny number of surviving Grimm, most of whom had been flying when the bombardment came down, and all of whom were dispatched without issue.
That has to be, it's over… Richard thought, letting out a long gentle breath. "Lieutenant Gage, order our Missile Crews to stand down and return our Nuke to storage. Bradford, bring our birds home."
Even as his fellow officers were acknowledging his orders, he reached for the intercom and spoke with genuine confidence for the first time in weeks. "This is the Commander, all targets have been destroyed. Set Condition Two throughout the ship, good work everyone."
UNSC Dominion, Sickbay
October 31st, 2131 Local Time, 2552
Curie had been just as worried as everybody else when she heard the alarm ring out. At first, she was worried that Ben might attempt to help with whatever was happening, but thankfully, he had the critical thinking necessary to stay put. It also helped that he was still under the effects of the extremely strong painkillers that he had been given, which probably helped enforce his lack of action.
Thank goodness Doctor Clark ordered him to stay here. She thought. If there was anything that could ensure that Ben didn't do something stupid, it was a direct order from a superior officer.
Penny once again proved herself to be nothing short of a godsend by going and getting some news about what was going on. Mercifully, it seemed that there wasn't any kind of Grimm attack as she had feared, but it was still not good news by any metric. According to Penny, the Dominion's satellites had discovered a large cluster of Grimm on the continent of Anima, and both Richard and General Ironwood had agreed that orbital bombardment was the best course of action to take.
If that had been the end of it, Curie wouldn't have had any further questions. A few hundred rounds from the Dominion's coilguns and maybe a Trebuchet Missile or two would be a decisive counterargument to the existence of any group of Grimm. However, four hours later, the Dominion's MAC fired, and that immediately made her suspicious.
"What was that?" Penny asked as she looked around the room. There wasn't any fear in her voice, but certainly a degree of understandable wariness. "Is everything okay?"
"That's the Dominion's Main Gun." Ben explained. "It draws power from the entire ship to charge itself, it shouldn't be anything to worry about."
"I wouldn't be so sure…" Curie spoke up. "Why would Richard feel the need to use one of the Dominion's MAC rounds? It will be very difficult to replace, and I thought that the Grimm were not anywhere near a populated area. Surely using such a precious munition on a target that doesn't pose an immediate threat is a waste."
"Maybe that's exactly why he decided to use it." Ben proposed. "If there wasn't any danger of harming civilians, why not hit the Grimm with maximum force."
"I agree with friend Ben." Penny added. "Back when I was training how to fight Grimm with my Father and my professors, he taught me to not worry about hitting too hard. At least, whenever I don't have to worry about hurting anybody."
Curie had to admit that both of them presented fair arguments, but still, something felt wrong about the whole situation. Then again, it was entirely possible that she was just feeling a bit thrown off by the effects of actually feeling the Dominion shudder when the MAC fired. It was an unpleasant sensation that she had not been expecting, but thankfully, it had passed very quickly.
"Perhaps you are right." Curie said, although she wasn't entirely convinced. "Besides, I'm sure that if anything out of the ordinary was going on, Richard would tell us."
...Right?
Headmaster Ozpin's Office
October 31st, 2140 Local Time, 2552
Dread and anticipation had kept Ozpin all but lassoed to his computer, waiting for that one update from the Dominion that would likely decide so much going forward. Ironwood had waited along with him, albeit with considerably less apprehension for the future.
"Try not to worry, Ozpin." Ironwood said for what felt like the millionth time. "Commander Miller is a capable tactician, and he cares deeply for the men under his command. He wouldn't put them into any unnecessary danger."
"That's not what I'm worried about." Ozpin replied. "I'm worried that Salem will survive, and that Richard will believe that we're still hiding things from him."
Ironwood briefly pondered his words. "Then it's a good thing that we aren't, right?"
Briefly, Ozpin wondered not for the first time how Ironwood would react if he were to learn the whole truth. He'd already received a small sample of how Richard would react during the Vytal Conference, and given what other secrets Ozpin was keeping...
"Yes, it is." Ozpin said with a false degree of confidence.
It was a flimsy facade, but one that seemed to reassure Ironwood even more. "Then there's nothing to worry about. Besides, I'm confident that Richard and his crew will kill Salem. I've seen their weapons in action before, and they are very impressive."
Ozpin didn't reply, a notable silence that Ironwood picked up on.
"Ozpin… is this about Richard not trusting you?" Ironwood cautiously asked. "I wouldn't take it personally, he strikes me as the kind of man who doesn't trust easily."
It was true that Ozpin was worried about Richard's lack of trust, but it was obviously not the only thing that he was worried about. "That's precisely why I'm worried, James. Why doesn't he trust anybody? I've been backstabbed more times than I can count, and even I'm not that paranoid."
Ironwood brought forward no answer, and so they both remained silent and pondered Ozpin's questions. There's still too much that we don't know about Richard and his crew. That man acts like a spy, and not just any half-hearted infiltrator, he was clearly trained to an impressive standard…
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar chirp from his computer, signaling an incoming call from the Dominion. With a fair degree of dread, he patched himself and Ironwood into the communications system, and was once again brought face to face with Richard.
"Gentlemen, I have excellent news." He said with a wide, genuine smile. "Evernight Castle is no more, and God willing, Salem along with it."
Ozpin immediately let out a genuine sigh of relief. Even if he was confident that this attack was eventually going to bite him and the UNSC in the ass, it was still a relief to know that Evernight Castle had been blown to hell. He had, of course, known a lot more about that place than he had told Richard and Ironwood, and he was relieved to know that it was no longer standing.
Ironwood raised an eyebrow at Richard's words. "You didn't confirm the kill?"
Richard's grin faltered. "There's no way that we could have. I'm sending you both a number of files, but the most important one is camera footage from one of our drones. You'll see very quickly why we didn't find a body."
Ozpin downloaded the video file quickly, likely thanks to his upgraded connection, and played it. The first few seconds showed an overhead view of Evernight Castle, intact and upright, protected by the army of Grimm that he had seen earlier. Then… something happened.
Despite rewinding the footage five times, he couldn't get a decent look at whatever was striking the castle. Whatever it was, the results were immediate, and the destruction was apocalyptic. Only the magical wrath of the Gods themselves could have conjured a similar degree of destructive force.
"These images are what we're seeing now." Richard said, sending over yet more files. "Only a handful of small Grimm survived, and they aren't in a position to cause any trouble that far from the Kingdoms, not on their own."
"So I see." Ozpin commented. It was truly a remarkable contrast between the two pictures. In one, a vast army of Grimm stood strong, ready to destroy whatever they came into contact with. In the next, there was nothing but a gigantic crater and a field of black sand, even the nearby hills seemed to have been blown apart. "But even so, there is a chance Salem did survive."
"I strongly doubt that she did. She would have had to know that we were coming, or have been somewhere else entirely, and we have no evidence to suggest that this was a decoy." Richard explained. "But… you have a point, we should stay frosty. Even if we've cut the head off the snake, Salem's agents are still on the loose."
"Hunting them is going to be difficult, but my people might have a lead." Ironwood said. "A number of citizens and police officers in Mantle disappeared several days ago, and eyewitnesses spotted somebody matching the description of Tyrian Callows in the area around the same time."
Ozpin remained silent, he had already known that, but judging by Richard's reaction, this was the first time that he had heard of the matter. "Surely he isn't trying to bring down your defenses? Atlas is far and above better protected than Argus was."
"I can't say for certain, not yet." Ironwood answered. "I have my top team working on tracking him down, and we've raised security in Mantle just in case. The Council's been pushing us to do that anyway, so with any luck, this shouldn't cause any issues with the public."
"Good, keep me informed." Richard said. "I would offer assistance, but I'm afraid that between our new base in Vytal and the White Fang, we're already spread thin as it is."
An idea found its way into Ozpin's mind, although he had a feeling that Ironwood was not going to take him up on his offer. "What about Qrow? I could send him up to Atlas, if you needed the assistance."
Ironwood did a very good job of disguising his grimace. "Thank you, Ozpin, but I don't think that will be necessary. Besides, I'm sure that Qrow would rather spend his time with his family."
"Qrow…" Richard muttered, clearly trying to remember exactly what it was that they were talking about. "He's your spy, right?"
"Typically, yes. He's collected intelligence on Salem's activities for many years." Ozpin explained. "Now, did you have anything else to share with us, Commander?"
"Not at this time, unless you wanted a more comprehensive readup on the bombardment. I'm sure Lieutenant Bradford would be happy to share the fine details with you." Richard said. "I'll contact you as soon as I have something to report."
Richard disconnected from the call, followed shortly by General Ironwood, leaving Ozpin alone with his thoughts. We'll prepare for the worst... but with a weapon like that, maybe they really did kill her.
For the first time in centuries, he dared to hope.
Author's Notes: Kept you waiting, huh?
I don't normally answer guest questions, as I like to keep these Authors Notes as small and infrequent as is feasible. In this context however, Odst Fan asked a very good question that I believe deserves a formal answer. To paraphrase his initial review, they wanted to know why the Dominion seems to have a nonstandard complement of personnel and equipment.
The basic answer to this is that you should never take a ship's crew requirements on paper as an actual indication of what that ship is carrying. In any kind of Sci-Fi War (and indeed, real wars), one can safely assume that the exact complement of a warship's crew will not remain the same, as they suffer casualties and receive replacements, with the same applying for vehicles. This also applies to the missions the ship is ordered to undertake. For example, a battlegroup of UNSC Destroyers assigned to wolfpack duties in Halo: Oblivion is noted as not carrying a Marine complement, presumably excluding those personnel who were serving in shipboard security roles.
In the Dominion's case, the ship was enroute to the embattled Colony of Concord, where the embarked Marines of Zulu Company and Crusader Company would join the fighting under Marine Command. Obviously, this never happened. If you would like to know more about the Dominion's exact complement of vehicles and personnel, chapter 2 of Operation Unusual Paperwork covers that exact topic. You can find that on my profile.