A/N: Let's play a game. It's called "catch the subtle Zhang reference hidden in the chapter."


Two days passed since Bradford's meeting with Ironwood, though they felt like weeks. So much had happened in the aftermath of the catastrophic battle, so much progress had been made, and yet so much work yet remained to be done.

Bradford was relieved to finally have all of his personnel recovered, and the news of the Amity Team's survival came as a welcome surprise. Bradford knew that Beagle was only 'Playing Dead' when he requested that the Central Officer deliver a message to 'Papa Doorn,' but the fact remained that the Captain's team had gone down with a giant, explosive death trap. That they were able to not only survive, but recover potentially valuable technology and data from the wreck was one more piece of good fortune that XCOM desperately needed in its efforts to get back on its feet after losing contact with Earth. Beagle's decision to stay with the Cruiser Team (rather than trek all the way back to Vale) was met with whole-hearted support on Bradford's end. From the sounds of the Cruiser Team's reports, Nicho's group did an excellent job fortifying their position, so Bradford had no concerns for Tygan's safety. Beyond that, Bradford couldn't think of a better use for MacAuley and his engineering cohorts than to add them to the team hard at work on the cruiser's reconstruction effort. He'd dispatched several of his Scouts with a pair of MECs yesterday to carefully navigate their way to the outskirts of Beacon where Blake would be waiting to guide them safely to the wreckage.

Comms were, to a lesser extent, back online. Engineering had rigged up several short-range transmitter/receiver systems that allowed effective communication between the Safe Zone and the Cruiser Team. Sensitive data was transmitted via "MacAuley Protocol." Bradford didn't ask how the protocol worked, and knowing Mac, wasn't sure he wanted to. At the end of the day, the engineers knew how to talk to one another and the Central Officer was provided with frequent progress reports, so he wasn't about to complain about the methods used. He did notice an amused twinkle in Dr. Shen's eye when the Chief Engineer first told him about the protocol, however.

The amount of sick and injured taking up space in XCOM's makeshift infirmary dwindled considerably since the hours after the catastrophe, which allowed Dr. Vahlen to direct a majority of her attention and resources towards Pyrrha Nikos. Vahlen very quickly confirmed Pyrrha's worst fear that she did not have a solution to the huntress's unfortunate condition, especially with the available tech. Bradford scrambled Ren with Fonseca's team to a nearby hospital to see if the medics could salvage any supplies that might help Pyrrha, but Vahlen had privately expressed extreme doubt to Bradford that anything could be done at present for Sergeant Nikos. If she had access to her old lab, perhaps the situation would be different. As it currently stood…

Vale's recovery efforts, while better than Pyrrha's, were still suffering from several major setbacks. Bradford knew that the sheer size of the city would mean slow progress, but that wasn't the only problem facing the population. A team of noncombatants escorted by a pair of huntsmen had found the Safe Zone late yesterday evening, claiming to be part of the Valean Corps of Engineers. Bradford found out after a quick debrief that most of the corps had been dispatched to shore up fortifications on Vale's perimeter that fell during the massive Grimm onslaught. While the vulnerabilities lay open, Grimm would continue to trickle into the city and any eradication efforts would be an exercise in futility. Several teams of huntsmen had been dispatched to escort and protect the corps while they did their work, but the volume of Grimm they expected to find meant that they would need to move carefully, and moving carefully meant slow progress for the engineers. Several sub-groups from the corps, such as the one that found its way to the Safe Zone, were tasked with assessing the internal state of the city and formulate a long-term recovery plan for Vale once the main detachment had accomplished its mission.

After a day's worth of rough analysis, the engineers estimated that Vale would remain in its current broken state for at least several months, and it would continue to remain vulnerable for the better part of a year after that. Restoration of the CCTS (somehow… the corps wasn't going to throw personnel into that meat grinder) might reduce that time table, since it would allow Vale to coordinate with the other kingdoms, but that wasn't a sure thing. And with Ironwood pulling the majority of his forces back to Atlas in a few days' time, the odds of an assault to reclaim Beacon were slim-to-none.

Bradford was still going over the data reports that the engineering team had kindly left for him when a knock on the door to his makeshift office drew his attention.

"It's open."

The familiar slouched figure of one Qrow Branwen made its way into the room, though Bradford was mildly surprised to see Goodwitch, Port, Oobleck, and even Taiyang follow in behind him.

"Did I miss a meeting?" Bradford asked. It was a possibility, given how much work Bradford had to juggle. True to his promise to Shen, he'd gotten better at delegating work, but there was still enough left where a couple of details and appointments might slip through the cracks.

Qrow, however, shook his head. "Not quite. I've got some bad news, though. Something that is relevant for all parties present."

"Ozpin?" Bradford guessed. Not that it was difficult to figure out.

"Ozpin." Glynda confirmed.

Bradford glanced down at the tablet in front of him, sighed, and tossed it aside on the table.

"Shit." The Central Officer breathed, rubbing his eyes. "Dead? Or just missing beyond a shadow of a doubt?"

"Could be either." Qrow answered, "Oz and I had a multitude of contingency plans to keep in contact if he ever needed to make himself scarce. He hasn't left me a message on any of them, which is impossible unless he's being held against his will on another continent. So that makes Option Number Two a possibility. If he's dead, however, and his killer took the body… well, we won't be seeing Oz for a while."

The Central Officer wasn't sure what Qrow meant by his cryptic comment about a dead Ozpin, but given all the bullshit he'd learned about the Maidens, the idea of an immortal Ozpin didn't seem too far-fetched.

"We knew that this was a non-zero possibility. So what's the plan? XCOM stands to help in whatever capacity we are capable of." Bradford offered. He stood up and stepped around his table to stand directly in front of his guests, "Which admittedly isn't much right now, but we're working on changing that."

Glynda nodded. "We are well aware of your plans, Bradford, which is actually why I am here with my colleagues. Given that our highest priority is finding Ozpin and rescuing him if he is alive, working directly with you is our best chance for success."

An interesting proposition, though the fact that these teachers were willing to drop everything to search for Ozpin made Bradford wonder just what exactly the man had done to earn their unyielding trust and allegiance.

"I suppose you won't find the answers you're looking for by sitting around in Vale." Bradford mused. He glanced at Taiyang, "Although, while it makes sense for the Beacon staff to take a leave of absence while their school is occupied by Grimm, won't Signal still be in session for the coming school year?"

"Classes have been suspended until further notice." Taiyang answered, "And you'd be crazy if you thought I'd let my girls go off on a dangerous mission without me again."

"I thought you of all people would be acutely aware of the humiliation that comes with helicopter parents." Qrow snorted.

Taiyang slugged Qrow in the arm and laughed at his teammate's pained yelp, "You're one to talk… Uncle Qrow."

The two teammates fell into a lively squabble, and Bradford leaned back against the table to enjoy the humor of the moment. He'd noticed a sharp decline in the quantity (and, he hated to admit, quality) of comedy that was getting thrown around between operatives and personnel ever since Beagle's extended leave of absence, so he'd learned to appreciate the bouts of banter as they came.

Still, though, there was business that needed to be taken care of. After an impressively loud throat clearing from Glynda silenced the two huntsmen, Bradford started to dig into the logistics of how to best utilize his new personnel. "Dr. Oobleck, I've started to make preparations for a transport team that will take my Chief Engineer to the cruiser tomorrow afternoon. Given your propensity for the sciences and your skills as a huntsman, I think you would make an excellent addition to his group, as well as an ideal escort for the journey."

"Absolutely!" Oobleck agreed, "It would be my honor to work with Doctor Shen on what might perhaps be one of the greatest technical marvels of our time! To take an airship, thoroughly destroyed by combat, and covertly piece it back together again in such a way that avoids the attention of the Grimm? You have my utmost thanks for choosing me to assist the good doctor in this critical endeavor!"

Bradford grinned at the excessive display of enthusiasm. Though some of his associates had begun to roll their eyes whenever they sensed the onset of one of Oobleck's 'episodes,' the professor's enthusiasm never seemed to get old for the Central Officer.

"Professor Port, I would ask that you join your colleague on the journey to the cruiser. The Grimm situation in the Safe Zone is under control, and I would like to have someone of your talents overseeing the security and defenses of the airship as our engineers continue their work to repair it."

"An excellent idea!" Port said, snapping a smart salute at Bradford, "You have my word that the Grimm won't lay a finger on your hard-working craftsmen!"

Next. "Professor Goodwitch, I would like for you to help coordinate the security of our Safe Zone and identify key personnel we can train to take over its operations when we withdraw most or all of our assets to the cruiser. I think we may want to leave a small skeleton crew behind to assist, but they will need some serious logistical support if we want the Safe Zone to grow over time and work to reclaim more of the city from the Grimm."

Glynda offered a curt nod, "I suspect you will want to make use of my abilities in the final stages of the cruiser reconstruction. Unless your construction teams pull a miracle and finish their work in the next three days, I will have no trouble prepping the Safe Zone before you need me at the ship."

"I can see why Ozpin speaks so highly of you." Bradford smiled. He turned his attention to Taiyang and Qrow, "Gentlemen, we're going to need manpower, supplies, and contacts in order to both keep our HQ operational and to maximize our chances of sniffing out hints of Ozpin's whereabouts. Qrow, there's no question that you're the ideal candidate for the 'contacts' bit. Tai, we need to strike a balance between combat assets that we leave here to help keep Vale secure and those that we should bring with us. CFVY and ABRN are both firm locks for the away team, so I need you to coordinate with Goodwitch on the manpower situation here. And once we're out of Vale, it can't hurt to have you putting your talents as an instructor to good use to train up some of my operatives in Remnant's special brand of combat."

"Gearing up for war, eh?" Qrow grinned, "Well I bet She is too, so I don't exactly blame you. And it just so happens that I already have a lead or two for the intelligence side of things. The first one is lying unconscious a few doors down from your little command post."

"I'm sorry?"

"Qrow was doing his thing in the city and ran into Roman Torchwick, a known Valean criminal." Taiyang explained, casting an annoyed look at Qrow, "He was gravely wounded, scavenging inside an abandoned home, and failed to put up any resistance beyond his initial attempt at a sneak attack-"

"Not sure about that one. He wielded that umbrella with all the wild strength you would expect from a cornered rat." Qrow cut in, very clearly amused by his run-in with Roman.

"Our spymaster had the wherewithal to subdue rather than kill his assailant." Glynda continued, "It is likely that he is the one behind the rogue Atlesian airship. We planned to inform you after we finished with our first order of business."

"Not my fault I found an easy segue into the news."

Bradford recalled the report he originally received from Nicho's team about their murderous captive and how she was part of a commando duo that very nearly managed to wipe out the Lieutenant's strike team. Evidently the little cloaker's partner managed to Mary Poppins himself after Nicho threw him off the ship. Nicho's report also pointed out that the diminutive fighter stymied all efforts to interrogate her. The only thing she'd responded to was Voodoo's psi attack during the fight, and Nicho didn't have any other psi operatives after this Roman had murdered the Master Sergeant. Bradford had dispatched Annette to see if she could fix that problem, but perhaps Bradford could also leverage Torchwick against Neo, or vice versa.

"It's certainly worth trying to pump him for information." Bradford agreed, "Qrow, you said you had a second lead…?"

Qrow nodded. "I know a guy. Although, it might be more accurate to say that my niece knows a guy."


"Contacts getting close from the south. Take care of them, Dagger Team."

For a second time, Arslan found herself in Annette's squad. With them were Blake, Orryn, and one of Coco's teammates named Fox. The leader of CFVY had taken a keen interest in XCOM, apparently. Arslan couldn't blame her, since she was guilty of the same, and she was interested in seeing Fox's fighting style.

"Nice and quiet, Dagger." Annette reminded the team, though it went without saying. Dagger was formed as a first responder squad, and comprised of fighters specifically for their ability to silently engage and eliminate anything that wandered within the airship's perimeter. XCOM operatives remained on alert as they watched over the construction crews, but their louder methods of combat were only to be used as a last resort. Arslan had to admit, she was impressed with the technical aptitude of these otherworldly engineers. A few of the more mechanically-inclined huntsmen (such as Ruby) had opted to join in with the repair efforts while the rest worked with Beacon's Professor Port to provide security for the operation. That became easier said than done when news broke that several of XCOM's mechanized units were needed to transport Gravity Dust from the crashed colosseum, but Arslan didn't bother concerning herself with that. Port could figure out the logistics of his little field trip, and Annette was depending on her to help keep the ship itself hidden and safe.

"Ursa." Blake reported, "Three Majors plus an Alpha. We should probably come at them from above."

"Arslan, would you kindly give me a lift into the canopy?" Annette asked. The other three had already begun to make their way up using various means, and Arslan reminded herself that the Sergeant (no wait, the Major) didn't have the same mobility training as the rest of the huntsmen. Apparently Ren from JNPR was helping her with that, but Arslan wasn't surprised that Durand still needed some help from time to time before she really got her sea legs under her.

"Catch." Arslan threw the end of her rope dart at Annette and started to scramble up one of the trees while her partner grabbed the dart and secured it. Annette started her own efforts to climb into the canopy, and Arslan used the rope to make the journey easier. While she was still mildly disappointed and let down by the revelation that Annette wasn't actually a huntress, she certainly possessed the determination and tenacity of one. And whatever she lacked in basic huntress training, she more than made up for it with an array of other skills. The Major's mental abilities were particularly interesting to Arslan, especially after Annette's first 'demonstration.' Arslan quickly learned to develop a healthy respect for the psionic operatives of XCOM after Annette's mild poke left her with a headache for an hour.

Durand finally reached Arslan's tree branch, and the huntress couldn't help but tease her friend, "I'd like to point out that you needed help to get up here while Blake was able to do it one handed."

"Yeah well, the fact that she's a cat probably cancels out her handicap." Annette whispered as she handed the dart back to Arslan.

"Where I come from, we have this thing called 'Faunus Sensitivity Training,' and I really think you could use-"

"Durand has saved my life more times than I can count on my hands." Blake interrupted.

"Six times." Annette added, "She's saying I saved her life six times, since she can only count up to five."

"... Plus, she's not wrong." Blake said, cracking a grin.

"Bears are coming in range." Orryn noted, "The big guy looks like he might be a problem. How are we divvying this up?"

Arslan got her first good look at the targets and realized what Orryn meant. She'd seen her fair share of standard Ursa as well as their Major brethren. These 'Alphas' that started popping up, however… They carried the usual adornment of bone plating and back spikes that marked the Majors, but the armor covered even more of their flesh than usual. Arslan couldn't even see any hide from above, and could only hope that the Alpha had a soft underbelly that the team could exploit. Cracks and gashes in the bone armor indicated just how battle-tested this monster was, and the distance kept by the other three demonstrated the deference of the Majors to their elder.

Blake took a moment to think before giving out orders, "Fox and I will take the Alpha, though I'm not certain we'll be able to kill it quickly. That leaves a three-on-three for the remainder. Deal with them however you like, then support us if necessary."

Arslan and Annette exchanged looks. Their two-step Disrupt and Kill method worked well against the Beowolves during their stint on the Refugee Road, so it couldn't hurt to try that again here.

"No time like the present. You ready, Blake?" Fox asked.

"Yes. Dropping in three… two… one."

Blake fell first, followed closely by Fox. The two of them easily avoided the bone spikes on the Alpha's back and drove their respective blades into its neck and flank. It roared in surprise, though Arslan noticed that Blake's weapon was turned harmlessly from its neck while Fox's weapon only chipped off a piece of bone plating. The remaining three assassins leapt into action before the Majors could react and respond to the assault. Daggers flew past Arslan as she flung her weapon groundward and yanked herself towards her first victim. As she raced towards the Ursa, a sensation of invigorating quickfire tingled at the back of her neck and rippled through her veins. One of the perks of working with the psionic Major, as Arslan had discovered early on. She cocked her arm back and delivered an aura-infused palm strike to the monster's face. The Ursa stumbled backwards for half a second before Annette ran past Arslan and drove her sword straight down through its leg. A flying dagger ripped through its throat to silence the monster while Arslan and Annette turned their attention to the next target.

"So do you have a semblance?" Arslan asked as she swayed under an overhead swipe from the second Major.

"Probably." Annette answered, "I haven't figured out what it is yet, if that's what you mean."

Arslan blocked another strike from their foe and watched as Annette raised her sword like a fencer and darted in to drive it into the bear's chest.

"I thought Belladonna was the one giving you sword lessons."

"It was mostly Pyrrha, actually." Annette corrected as she formshifted her weapon into a shotgun and used the Grimm's body like a silencer as she pulled the trigger, "Picked up a few techniques from Weiss along the way, though."

"Major." Blake cut in. Arslan and Annette looked over to see the Alpha clearly wounded, but still going strong.

"Tag us in, Sabretooth." Annette answered, ripping her sword out of the lifeless body of the second Ursa, "We'll keep it busy while Orryn takes out the third and you can step back and reassess."

Arslan tethered herself to the Alpha and pulled herself into its threat range while Annette circled around to flank it. The Alpha lashed out at the newcomers, and quickly made it clear why Blake needed to call for backup. The amount of force behind each of its swipes was easily thrice that of its lesser brethren, and with far more of its skin protected by bony armor, Arslan struggled to find an opening to exploit.

A crack from the Ursa's rear announced Annette's entrance into the fight as she lopped off one of the weaker bone spikes adorning the monster's hide. The Ursa reacted almost instantly with a surprise backhand and sent Annette tumbling through the clearing. Arlsan flung her dart out and hooked her partner, and she swung the Major around to bring her back into the fight.

"Thanks." Annette grunted as she picked herself up from the dirt and brushed the grass off her shoulders, "Wasn't expecting that."

Arslan fell into a defensive stance, Annette cracked her neck, and the bear sized them up with its menacing glare. Blake and Fox took up positions to the rear and waited to see how Arslan and Annette would choose to engage their foe.

"This thing isn't playing around." Arslan noted wryly as the beast reared up on its hind legs and bared its teeth at the huntsmen.

She noticed a gleam in Annette's eye as the Major brandished her sword and returned the monster's gaze, "Neither are we."

As one the four huntsmen dashed forward while the Ursa swung its forearms down with ground-shattering force. Blake and Arslan tethered themselves to the treeline and swung away from the churning earth while Fox and Annette deftly leapt over the shockwave. Gambol Shroud's shuriken-like handle lashed out and found a chink in the armor on the bear's flank, and the two frontliners used the distraction to strike at the monster's limbs. Arslan's rope secured itself to a bony spine, and she pulled herself in for an Aura-charged palm strike to the back of the Ursa's neck. Hairline fractures grew like a spiderweb from the epicenter of the huntress's explosive blow.

The Ursa cocked its arm as it prepared to swat away the ground fighters, but a silver dagger zipped through the trees and ripped clean through the open paw. The bear roared (much to Arslan's annoyance… so much for a stealth operation), but the huntsmen fought through the aural pain and maneuvered to set up their next assault.

"Fox," Blake called out, "Give me an opening."

Fox whipped his blades around into a forward position and dove at the bear while Annette juked in the other direction to provide a followup distraction should the first one fail. Twin fangs buried themselves in the Ursa's rear, causing it to buck in pain and try to unseat the mounted Arslan who had chosen to remain strapped to the Grimm's back. She yanked on her rope to twist the Ursa into a favorable position for both Blake and Annette. The former wasted no time coming in low and running her sword along the (thankfully) exposed underbelly.

Annette grinned, and Arslan watched the Major crouch low before easily launching herself twenty feet into the air. The Ursan rider yanked again on her rope to pull the monster's face up, and Annette crashed her sword down its gaping maw a few seconds later. La Volonte ripped through the Ursa's throat, and Annette's momentum brought the Grimm crashing face first into the dirt while the Major formshifted her weapon and put two slugs down the bear's throat.

"… Remind me again why I had to give you a boost into the tree earlier?" Arslan asked as she hopped off of the evaporating beast.

Annette shrugged, "Because we're friends now?"

"Adrenaline is one helluva drug." Orryn offered as he left his vantage point to regroup with the rest of Dagger, "It's definitely a lot easier to pull off those kinda tricks when you're in a do-or-die situation."

"Sounds about right." Blake agreed. She keyed her comm and reported back to the ship, "Threats taken care of. Got a little noisy at the end, so we're going to sweep the area for more contacts."

"Understood. Good hunting, Dagger."

Arslan eyed her pseudo-partner as the team started to move once again. By this point, she genuinely believed that Annette didn't have any sinister motive behind keeping these sort of surprises to herself, so she was willing to believe Orryn's theory that adrenaline was the driving factor behind her latest feat of strength. Given how new to huntressing the Major apparently was, it didn't entirely surprise Arlsan that Annette had more power than she realized.

Unlocking her semblance was going to be an interesting experience.


Hei Xiong didn't even bother looking up from the glass he was washing behind the bar at the sound of the front door opening. More than a couple of terrified citizens had stepped through those doors in the wake of last week's madness, and though he was enjoying a minor bump in business on account of the refugees spending their time and money at his club's amenities, his charity was getting close to its limit. Sure, building a good public image among the locals was a smart decision, but he needed to set boundaries and establish when enough was enough. Protecting people wasn't cheap, and the 'profits' he made off of their drinking and gambling seemed to be going right back into security costs. If news was getting around that Junior was accepting one and all under his roof…

"Hei Xiong?"

Junior had made the decision to 'retire' the flashy strobe lighting and the loud music that was once popular among his patrons, as his men had reported that the Grimm wandering the city were seemingly drawn in by the noise. His substitute choice of mood lighting and softer tones (and the lack of clubbers wildly dancing on the central floor) allowed him to clearly hear the man call for him by name.

That got his attention, though he made no move to react. That's what lackeys were for.

"Who's asking?" Came the gruff reply from the doorman.

"Someone who is very interested in doing business with your well-connected boss."

Hei stopped wiping the glass and considered the stranger's response. Gambling, gun running, protection rackets, black market Dust dealing… Junior had spent a lot of time building up and running his low-key criminal enterprise. He never did anything too reckless to draw the ire of the fuzz, and reading people was an important part of walking that fine line. He'd learned early on how to tell when someone was bluffing with a junk hand and when they were packing a full house. From the tone of the newcomer's voice, he was playing with pocket aces.

That certainly warranted some attention.

Junior glanced up from the bar to get his first look at his guest. Although the bags under the man's eyes indicated that he'd been rather busy in the aftermath, Junior couldn't deny that he was otherwise sharply dressed. Clean slacks, a smart green vest over a white dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves and the top of a blue and black tie all indicated that this man was no stranger to professionalism. At the same time, fingerless gloves, a few cuts on his forearms and a bandage on his bicep, and a sidearm holstered on his hip told Hei that his guest wasn't afraid to get dirty, either. He was flanked by a man and a woman, both well-built and both exuding the same confidence as their boss. And while their attire didn't pop quite as much as their boss's, Hei noticed that the duo was definitely dressed for wetwork. The man caught Junior's eye and raised an eyebrow. After the doorman gave him a similar look, Junior nodded, put down his glass, and let out a quiet sigh as he waited for the trio to approach.

The strangers made their way through the main hall of the club, and a hundred pairs of eyes watched their progress as guests and security alike looked on with curiosity at the mysterious man and his entourage. Several of Junior's men walked in step with the newcomers, hands casually resting on their hips and eyes alert behind their matching shades as they searched for any sign of trouble. Junior offered his guests a cautious, concise greeting once they finally reached the bar, "Welcome to my establishment. How may I help you?"

"I think I'd like a drink before I get down to the brass tacks." The man looked up from the bar and flashed Junior a knowing grin, "How about a strawberry sunrise? No ice."

Oh. Oh. So he was one of her acquaintances, was he? Well, surely she would have told him that she wasn't exactly popular around here after the last couple of times she dropped by, and surely she would have told him that dropping her name wouldn't have gone over well.

"This some kind of joke?" Hei asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

The man shrugged. "A little bit, yeah. But I seriously could go for a drink right about now. This city's industrial district is a killer on the throat."

Junior had half a mind to clock his guest right then and leave his men to deal with the bodyguards. But he couldn't deny that the man's opener took some balls. Junior reached under the counter and pulled out one of his stronger drinks. No way in hell was he going to be making a goddamn Sunrise for this guy, but he didn't mind taking the opportunity to gauge how well his guest could hold alcohol. Plus, if he really was here to do business, it couldn't hurt to start by eroding the man's mental acuity a bit.

His guest accepted the glass with a nod and sampled the offered liquor.

"Yep. That'll do it."

While he was mildly impressed that the man didn't immediately choke on the hard stuff, Junior didn't want to spend more time humoring his antics. "So now that we've dealt with the… pleasantries, why don't you tell me why you decided to step foot inside my establishment?"

"Because you're a businessman." His guest answered, swirling his cup and looking Hei dead in the eye, "Or so I'm told."

Hei gestured at their surroundings. "I run a club. Congratulations on having a pair of functioning eyes."

"You do run a club." His guest agreed, "A club that has, at present, thirty guards armed with an assortment of machine pistols, hand cannons, and shotguns, a proprietor that specializes in explosives, a Dust processing and packing room next to the garage, a network of hidden access points into the sewers for discreet travel, heavily fortified storage facilities for illicit tech and the aforementioned Dust, a panic room in the basement..." The man looked around with a squint, "And I don't see the lovely pair of combat specialists that Master Sergeant Xaio Long told me about."

Master Sergeant…? Either way, this man's intel was startlingly accurate, even if he had Blondie giving him information. She never knew any details about his side businesses.

"Make your point." Hei gritted.

The man nodded, "We are in the business of helping people, Mr. Xiong. Saving lives. In addition to your club's… amenities, you have a large network of assets, manpower, and information, as well as a distinct familiarity with the city of Vale. People know you, recognize your men, though perhaps not for the best of reasons. Still, this city has provided you with many opportunities to grow your business, and it has given you enough wealth to give you flexibility in deciding what your next business venture will entail.

"And while some may look down on you for the questionable nature of your work," The man gestured around the room, "… there are many who look to you as a source of strength and protection in these troubling times."

"I didn't become this successful by wasting money on doing 'the right thing.' You do realize that, don't you?" Hei asked. While his guest certainly had the attire of a pragmatic problem-solver, the words coming out of his mouth were annoyingly lofty and optimistic.

"From one businessman to another, believe me when I say that I would never ask you to do anything for free." The man assured, "But I am asking you to think carefully about how you plan to evolve your enterprise over the coming months. Consider the difference between a parasite and a symbiont, Mr. Xiong: A parasite will suck its host dry and leave nothing but an empty carcass behind. And unless the parasite is able to find another victim, it kills itself in the process. A symbiont, however, knows how to beneficially support its partner so that it can continue to thrive and grow." He looked Junior square in the eye as he delivered the punchline of his point, "You and I need to help ensure that Vale recovers from this travesty so that it can continue to provide for us and the hundreds of thousands of people that depend on its survival."

"And what do you expect me to do?" Hei asked, still mildly annoyed. The man had a fair point about his relationship with Vale: without a healthy city, people wouldn't exactly have the luxury of spending their time and money at a club. But how was it his job to fix everything?

Apparently, his guest was a mind reader. "In case your network hasn't found out yet, there's been a bit of a coup at the highest levels of government in Vale. A string of coordinated assassinations have effectively crippled the kingdom's leadership. Combined with the fact that Beacon's headmaster is now missing, and that leaves the various makeshift strongholds in this massive city are now running on autopilot with a disabled chain of command. The huntsmen and security personnel are doing their best to hold down the fort, and there's barely enough leadership available to organize the reconstruction efforts.

"Sure, those might seem like ideal conditions for a power play, for one such as yourself to rapidly expand your material wealth while Vale's law enforcement is all but powerless to stop you. And you would be correct to make that assessment… in the short term." The man finished his drink and slid the glass back across the table to Hei with an appreciative nod, "I believe you to be savvy enough to know what a better course of action may be for your business's, and Vale's, long-term growth rather than an immediate windfall. This city is running on fumes and in desperate need of anyone who is even remotely able to make a difference." The man continued, "You and I both know that you, Mr. Xiong, are one of those people."

Hei gave the man a hard look, "And what if I don't? You come into my club and make demands of my time and resources? It sounds like you're trying to coerce me into doing dangerous work that shouldn't be my responsibility in the first place."

"It's not a threat." The man countered, "Because I am confident you will look at the situation, weigh all of the information, and agree that helping Vale offers the best Return On Investment for your resources. And I wouldn't come in here and tell you all of this without putting my money where my mouth is. My associates here?"

The ones that had sat down with their boss and made no action other than to stare wordlessly at Junior? Yeah, they were starting to unnerve Hei a little bit.

"… I offer them for you to use as you see fit, as a token of my confidence that you will do what must be done. They come with no strings attached, and you are free to put them through whatever trials and tests that you feel are necessary to be assured of their loyalty."

"I already have henchmen." Hei commented dryly, "Thirty of them armed with an assortment of machine pistols, hand cannons, and shotguns, if I recall correctly."

Even as he said it, though, the man tapped his ear, fell silent for a moment, and then cracked a grin. What was his game, now?

"Have you already forgotten the surprise you felt at all the intel I had regarding your operations? Your man on the roof nodded off for a nap five minutes ago. Your shipment of Dust that left the garage while we were speaking would have run into a not-so-small Beowolf problem as it crossed the intersection of Hargrave and Needlerock if it weren't for my people, and you are more than welcome to ask your men if they've noticed the sharp decline in Grimm activity in this district over the last three days."

Hei looked past the man and glanced at one of his grunts, who nodded in agreement with their guest's claims.

"I don't say this things to embarrass you, Mr. Xiong." The man continued, "I only do it to highlight the competency of my operatives and to convince you that accepting my offer is a good decision. I was first advised to seek you out four days ago. My associates have spent their time between then and now performing reconnaissance, securing the area, and learning as much about your business as they possibly could so that I could walk into your club today with the preparations I needed to present you with a business proposal that is worth your time. You don't need to know why my associates and I care for this kingdom, because it doesn't change the fact that we are willing to go through great lengths to see to its safety. And if the best way to do so means we make you a little bit richer? We don't see any problems with that."

Interesting. He always relied on the twins as his ace-in-the-hole whenever a business negotiation required an exceptional amount of muscle. At the same time, these 'operatives' apparently possessed skills that went beyond brute force. Gaining assets that specialized in infiltration and intelligence gathering sounded like a pretty enticing deal, The loyalty thing could be an issue (even if he did test them, as the man suggested), but they would see very quickly what happened to people that double-crossed him.

"And what makes you think I'm worth your time?" Hei asked, "Why are you wasting your efforts down here in Vale's underbelly when you could be working with the government that is, as you've already pointed out, currently in disarray?"

The man nodded, acknowledging that Junior had a fair point. "It's true that working the government angle would probably be a productive use of my time. But the underbelly, as you call it, is no less important. Vale's council may be the heart of the kingdom, but the people? The districts? They are the lifeblood. I've made a lot of friends and acquaintances over the course of my career, and the ones I found in low places were oftentimes the most reliable."

"… Alright, I'll play your game." Hei answered. It was time to see if his guest was bluffing or not, "You leave these two here with me, and then I want you to take the rest of your operatives and make yourselves useful somewhere else."

The man nodded, "That's all I wanted, to be quite honest. Although, there is one other thing I would like to mention."

What now?

"There is a good chance that you will find me swinging by your neck of the woods from time to time to see if you're willing to engage in further business transactions. These will be more material in nature than today's discussion, I think you'll be relieved to hear. I didn't mention your storage facilities simply because I wanted to add them to the list of intel I had on this place. If you have any wares that are relevant to my interest, I would be more than willing find a way to pay you for them."

"Fair enough." Junior answered, "I might even be feeling generous enough to give you a discount if your guys can meet my expectations like you seem to think."

The man stood up, straightened out his vest, and tossed a Lien note onto the table, "I'm giving you two of my best for a reason, Mr. Xiong. You can be certain that they will do far more than meet your expectations. Have a good day."

Rather than watch their leader walk out of the club, the two lackeys kept their attention trained on Junior, evidently waiting for him to give them instructions. Hei waited for the man to leave before turning to look at his newest recruits.

"Well then. Why don't we take you down below to meet my assistants? I'll let them decide whether or not you're all talk."


Dr. Shen studied his tablet as he watched the power team's progress as they integrated Amity's Dust crystals. He'd encountered difficulties with the process until Vahlen suggested he modify some Elerium for use as a bonding agent. Shen made the call to sacrifice the power plant on one of the MEC's, and Vahlen walked him through the conversion process until the power team had a sizable supply of Elerium thermoset. Shen would have to get back to developing Lightning Dust as an Elerium substitute for the MEC, but the short-term trade-off was well worth it when the assembly crew finished its work less than an hour later.

"Systems Check." The Chief Engineer instructed. Several metrics on his tablet responded as Poncho's team tested the ship's power supply with the newly-integrated propulsion system.

"System response looks normal so far, boss." Volt reported, "Grav crystal seems to be holding up."

Indeed, Shen alternated between checking the metrics on his workstation and visually inspecting the propulsion crystal as fresh power flowed through the massive rock. The structure vibrated slightly, and Shen wondered if the thermoset might crack from the energy, but everything appeared to be stable after a few minutes of waiting for something to go wrong.

"Comms are still working." Samuelson confirmed, "We're experiencing minimal change to our signal, which won't be difficult to correct."

"Internal power is still functioning nominally, which is a relief for our brig security team."

"Navigation systems are online." Big Sky announced, "They will require tuning, but they'll work for now."

"R&D bay has adequate power for all systems to function, Doctor." Tygan said, "My experimental shielding remains operational, and Nicho is reporting no issues with the machine shop."

Good. "Repair crews, report."

"Latch systems are installed and ready to be engaged once we make the big push, Shen." Ruby reported, "We'd like to offer our compliments to the machinist for his craftsmanship."

"The machinist is flattered, Captain." Nicho answered, amused.

"All prep work has been completed, sir." MacAuley said, "Not much else we can do before we slap this sucker together and pray."

"This sucker has a name, Mac."

Dr. Shen glanced to his right and made eye contact with Glynda. The two of them had done a walk around the ship after she arrived yesterday, and she made it clear that the ship was simply too massive for her abilities to push back together without assistance. Dr. Shen had spent his time since then working with Engineering to develop and produce as much rigging as possible in preparation for the final step.

It wouldn't be enough to make the ship permanently airworthy, but that wasn't their goal. If they could hold the cruiser together long enough to make a jump to a town away from Vale (Patch, perhaps?), XCOM could work on safely repairing the ship without alerting an undue amount of Grimm from the noise. After a slight detour over the Safe Zone so that Firebrand can ferry the last couple of passengers to Bradford's newest HQ, XCOM would be saying its first farewell to the city of Vale on its mission to find Ozpin.

"If there are no setbacks, then perhaps we should begin our final countdown."

Glynda nodded and left to make her way outside where she could better view her work.

"Captain Beagle, if you would be so kind…?"

A senior staff meeting yesterday resulted in the Captain's appointment as the coordinator for the final push, and Beagle took his new responsibility to heart. He worked tirelessly with MacAuley, Shen and the various crews to develop a flight checklist to ensure that the Big Push ran as smoothly as possible in light of the circumstances.

"Alright boys and girls," Beagle said, and Dr. Shen could imagine Beags pulling out his pad of paper to read through the pre-flight checklist one more time, "looks like we're almost there. One more check, and it's time to make the magic happen. TacSense, report."

"TacSense is go, sir." Samuelson answered, "Scanners reporting minimal Grimm activity in the threat zone."

"Perfect. Dagger Team, report."

Annette's voice sounded off on the comms, "Dagger Team is go, sir. Standing by to move at Tactical's word."

"Security?"

"Weapons are locked and mustaches are waxed!"

Despite his slightly goofy attitude, Peter Port absolutely pulled his weight in the reconstruction effort. Dagger team was XCOM's reactive response to Grimm that wandered within range of Samuelson's Tactical Sensors, but Port had taken on the role of overseeing general security and the safety of personnel as they came and went. His biggest project was coordinating the transportation of Gravity Dust with Ryder's MEC corps, and the fact that the team suffered zero casualties during the mission spoke greatly to the Professor's skill as both a huntsman and a tactician.

"Welders?"

"Welders are go. Got everything we need to glue this scrapheap together after Goodwitch does her thing."

"This scrapheap has-"

"- a name. We know, Captain."

"Then use it. MEC's?"

"MEC systems are go." Ryder reported, "Six units and the Odin standing by to provide additional structural support."

"Flight?"

"Flight crew is go." Big Sky said with his usual drawl, "Should be just like flying a 747 back home."

The comms were quiet for a moment, as Beagle seemed to pause and double-check to make sure he didn't miss anything. Shen watched as Volt's team continued to repair and survey the gravity crystal. Thanks to Vahlen's thermoset, the impact damage to the crystal was hardly noticeable anymore. The repair crew had already burned through ninety percent of the available supply, however, so they would have to start getting creative in their efforts to improve efficiency once they had the luxury of time and safety. The current bubblegum-and-paperclips hack job would have to be enough to get them out of Vale.

"Looks like we're ready for the final countdown. Propulsion, warm up thrusters on my mark."

Shen could practically hear Beagle take a deep breath as silence pervaded the airwaves before the Captain issued his command.

"… Mark."

The crystal, and the ship, hummed to life, and Shen felt the hairs on his arms stand on end as the propulsion room became saturated with energy. None of the safety gauges were sounding off, however, which told the Chief Engineer that the energy emissions were mostly harmless. As Volt's operators dialed up the propulsive output of the crystal, Shen heard the faint sound of creaking metal as the back half of the ship started to push forward under its new power.

"Propulsion is live, sir." Volt announced.

"Contacts inbound at 2 o'clock." Samuelson reported.

"We've got their attention now!" Port exclaimed, "I estimate only a few minutes before a critical mass of Grimm is drawn to the noise."

"Then we'll kick off the countdown timer at t-minus two minutes." Beagle ordered, "Dagger, weapons free. Goodwitch?"

The floor shuddered and groaned as Glynda reached out with her soul's will to pull the two halves together. Dr. Shen felt the crystal vibrate as the operator slowly increased output to match Glynda's efforts, and he commented on the radio with passing amusement, "Captain, are we launching an Atlesian cruiser or a Saturn V rocket?"

"Old man, you have no idea how excited ten-year-old-me is to be doing something like this. You also missed a perfect opportunity to make a Mercury joke instead of an Apollo one. Repair crews, engage latches."

"Throwing the latches now." Ruby reported, and a couple of low thuds reverberated through the ship's hull as the heavy locks snapped into place, "It's a good thing Central left us the MEC's."

"Goodwitch, ease up on the telekinetics so the repair crews can verify latch integrity."

The ship groaned again as gravity sought to pull the two halves apart once more. Dr. Shen held his breath, waiting for a jarring sensation or a loud bang to indicate catastrophic failure of the latches, but felt nothing.

"Latches are holding." Ruby confirmed.

"Excellent. Welders, you're up."

"Piece of cake. Let's roll, Gidjit."

"PLASMA TORCHES OPTIMIZED FOR CURRENT METALLURGICAL COMPOSITION."

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Volt commented to Shen.

"More contacts at 5 o'clock." TacSense warned, "Smaller and more numerous."

"Dagger-Beta is moving to engage."

"Defense crews, keep your eyes sharp!" Port ordered, "This is where it gets hairy!"

Shen switched the active screen on his tablet to view Samuelson's information stream while Volt checked on his operators. Sure enough, the motion sensors picked up a small horde of targets converging on the noisy ship.

"We are at t-minus one minute and twenty seconds. Welding?" Beagle asked.

"We're making steady progress, boss. I'm gonna have to agree with No-Scope's assessment that the MEC's are making this a helluva lot easier."

"Too many targets for Dagger to handle." Annette announced, her voice slightly out of breath, "We're cutting their numbers, but a lot are getting past us."

"Work faster, Mac. Coco?"

"Barrels are hot, Captain."

"Gunners, you're clear to engage the moment you have LOS. Defense teams, switch to Port's channel and follow his orders to the T. Dagger, wrap up and fall back to the cruiser. Propulsion, how are we looking?"

"Propulsion is holding at a steady ten percent of full power." Volt reported. Dr. Shen checked the metrics on his tablet to verify the statement, and was impressed with the ship's performance. Even the Firestorms experienced a larger transient response before settling into a steady state, though those interceptors were admittedly experimental tech. He definitely wanted to spend more time researching gravity Dust with Vahlen after things calmed down on Remnant. "Ready to adjust levels on your order, Captain."

"Hold while welding finishes patching things up. Be ready to boost output to twenty percent on my mark. T-minus one minute."

Gunfire opened up overhead, and Dr Shen took a deep breath. An operation such as this required time and finesse, not a full-blown firefight. Still, they didn't exactly have the luxury of choosing when and where to have their flight test, so the Chief Engineer would have to trust in the skill of the ship's security detail and Port's leadership while he continued to monitor the ship's vitals.

"T-minus forty seconds. Mac?"

"Doing the best we can, boss." MacAuley complained, "The welds will take more time, but the latches and MECs should hold for now."

"CURRENT WELDS CONTRIBUTE FIFTEEN PERCENT TO STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY ENHANCEMENTS."

"Fair enough. Propulsion? Punch it."

The air grew electrified, and several of Shen's safety alarms started to whine. Volt twirled his finger, indicating that the repair crew needed to clear out of the power plant. The propulsion operators could still adjust energy levels remotely through their tablets, but spot repairs would be too dangerous with the chamber energized like this. Shen took one last look over his shoulder into the propulsion room and was happy to see the crystal still holding up.

"Dagger is at the gangway. Wolves are inbound."

"Not if I can help it."

"Atta girl, Cokes."

"Call me that again, and your ass is going to find out just how much ammo I'm packing."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am."

"T-minus twenty-five seconds. Navigation, start routing grav power to the main transformers."

A loud whump echoed through the ship as the potential energy bleeding off of the Dust crystal suddenly found itself funneled through the ship's flight control ductways. Dr. Shen worked with Tygan to test the routing system with bare minimum power and without working Gravity Dust two days ago to better understand how the Atlesian tech operated. While they were able to determine that the internal subsystems of the flight controls were undamaged (the stabilizer fins were a different matter entirely), they couldn't know for certain how the ship would behave once it had actual gravitational energy to work with.

Big Sky coughed, "Sorry for the rocky start, but we're fully buoyant now. Ready to go for lift-off on your mark, Captain."

"Structures are holding." Ruby reported, "Doctor, it was a really good idea to give the Odin hands last month."

"Penny's reporting that the Odin's integrity-"

"Penny?!"

"Shit. Old habits die hard. Didn't mean to get your hopes up, Captain."

"Gangway is closed and hard light shielding is engaged." Tygan said. Several of the Doctor's experimental shields hummed to life nearby to plug a couple of small gaps in the hull. Not a moment too soon, as Shen started to see the beady red eyes of the Grimm as a few of the monsters broke past the wall of ammunition.

"T-minus ten seconds." Beagle answered, "Feather those controls, Big Sky."

The ship vibrated as the pilot poured more energy into breaking Remnant's gravity. Claw's scratched the outside of the ship as the surviving Grimm finally closed to melee range. Dr. Shen watched a couple of wolves try to claw at one of the hard light shields and noted with satisfaction as the force field had no problem repelling the assault. Vahlen would want to spend some time researching further applications of the shielding with Tygan. Perhaps an upgrade to the blast shields carried by the heavy MECs?

"Five."

The engines rumbled, and the room shook.

"Four."

Dirt and sand swirled outside, and the Grimm staggered backwards against the kinetic force generated by the Gravity Dust.

"Three."

Several alarms popped up on Shen's tablet, though a lack of red indicated that none of them were critical.

"Two."

Big Sky put the engines into high gear and Shen held his breath as the ship experienced its first real stress test.

"One."

The ground fell away, and the ship held together as it clawed its way into the sky.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Avenger is airborne."

"I think we could have figured that out for ourselves, Beags."

"Don't ruin the moment, Captain."

Shen analyzed the flashing alarms and reported to the rest of the crew, "Strain gages are holding steady at the fracture site. Our methods of keeping the ship together are working so far. Flight control ducts are seeing increased stress and turbulence, which may or may not be normal. Temperature readings in the Gravity chamber are climbing. Doctor, we may want to look into heat dissipation methods when we have some time."

"Agreed." Tygan answered, "On my end, power readings appear stable, and the ship's aerodynamics appear to be within the boundaries that we defined. I will advise you if that changes."

"Eeeeaaaaaasy does it." Big Sky cooed, as if to comfort the ship and ensure its cooperation, "She flies like a pregnant whale, but at least we've got plenty of open sky for maneuvering. Swinging around to the south to steer clear of Beacon. We should reach the rendezvous point in a few minutes." Big Sky announced.

"Great. I'll radio Central and let him know we're on our way."

"Flyers are breaking off from their loitering patterns and heading towards the ship."

"Snipers, you know what to do."

"Aye, sir. Ballista is loaded and tracking."

"Main welds are completed, boss. Recommend moving Jaegers topside to assist with the fliers. The remaining MECs will be sufficient to keep the ship together."

"Agreed. Keep on top of the patchwork, Mac. The longer we can hold this boat together, the better."

As the ship leveled out, Shen worked on his end to keep problems under control as they continued to crop up. While many of the alarms could be handled with a command or two from his tablet, some of the alarms originating from the Propulsion chamber were really starting to become worrisome.

"Static buildup in the chamber is dropping." Volt reported, "Looks like the crystal just needed a chance to breath after launching this fucker into the air."

Shen nodded in agreement. "So it would seem. We need to get some engineers back in there to check on the crystal's integrity."

"We've got Ginjo in one of the hazmat suits Tygan found in the repair bay. Should help with the static and radiation."

"… And if it doesn't?" Shen asked.

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, sir." Ginjo answered as he donned the helmet and prepped his arc thrower.

"We've got an escort of Atlesian fliers now." Big Sky noted, "Comm chatter is a mixture of excitement and amazement that we managed to pull this off."

Shen checked his readouts again and took a closer look at the strain gages in particular, "We won't be pulling it off for long. Structural gages are showing that we're stable for now, but the fatigue trends put us at roughly thirty minutes of maintained flight until preliminary failure." He tabbed through several of the information streams before adding, "Impressive for a trial run, when you think about it."

Low thumps echoed from the ship's flight deck, followed by a couple of pained squawks from the approaching Griffons. Small arms fire followed the lead of the Jaegers as the marksmen engaged the Grimm.

"TARGET QUANTITIES POSE MINIMAL THREAT. WILL BE NEUTRALIZED WITHOUT DAMAGE TO AIRSHIP STRUCTURE."

"Good to hear, Gidjit. You keep on top of the repair work with Mac."

"CONFIRMED."

"Alright, let's just keep on steady towards our pickup point, and then we're off to Patch to-"

"To patch up this hunk of junk?"

"Yang, why."


Weiss took a moment to compose herself, make sure that no part of her physical appearance looked out-of-place, and knocked on the door to Dr. Polendina's office. She'd arrived back in Atlas several days ago, took some time to settle in at home and briefly make contact with Bradford's operatives, and made her way to meet with Penny's father as soon as her immediate familial obligations were taken care of.

An old, tired voice greeted her with a quiet, "Come in."

Weiss let herself in and gave a small curtsy to the doctor. Polendina looked up and smiled when he saw his visitor. He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk without a word and waited for Weiss to take a seat.

"I've been waiting for your visit, my dear." He said, and his kind, fatherly tone reminded Weiss of Dr. Shen as the man took off his glasses, "General Ironwood informed me that you asked to be my daughter's caretaker for the journey back home."

"I did." Weiss answered, as she placed a small lockbox on the table and slid it towards Dr. Polendina. She watched as the scientist took the offering and examined its locking mechanism. A few turns of a knob here, a push of a button there… the box shuddered and broke at the seams, and the detached plates folded into one another to reveal a small chip safely tucked away in the center of the device.

"I just want to say, Doctor," Weiss began as Polendina picked up the chip and carefully put it into his computer station, "That it's been an absolute honor working with Penny. Her optimism kept my team in high spirits and her skill kept us out of harm's way. Your daughter truly does both you and our kingdom-... is everything alright, Doctor?"

Polendina's eyes were glued to his console, and Weiss could see a mixture of sadness and confusion (with a hint of rage) growing as he stared at the screen.

"Penny isn't in here." He said.

Weiss almost choked. "I… what?"

"The size of the data on this drive is too small by several orders of magnitude to be Penny." Polendina said. He finally glanced at Weiss, his eyes narrowed in anger, "Did you know about this?"

Weiss realized that she needed to be very careful with how she chose to answer the distraught father. "No, sir. Penny downloaded herself into the disk in front of all of us: me, Bradford, Ironwood… everyone. Nothing about her tone made it sound like she regretted coming home, nor did it sound like she was being coerced into faking the download."

She carefully stepped around to stand behind Dr. Polendina and glanced at the screen in front of them. "What is on the drive, if it isn't Penny?"

The Doctor tapped the icon of the lone file on the console, and the smiling visage of Penny splashed up on screen moments later. While the image remained a still frame, the unmistakable sound of Penny's voice filled the room.

"Hello, Father! It's me! Penny!" Penny said. Cheerful as ever.

Penny continued. "I… know that you were expecting a lot more than just a message from me. I know I've hurt you by doing this, and I'm sorry. I really am! You are my father, after all, and I love you more than anything."

"Then come home…" Polendina whispered.

"But that's exactly why I have to stay, father. Look at the Vytal Festival: somebody did that. Somebody that is not happy with the way things are on Remnant. Somebody who will hurt the people I care about if they need to. I can't let that happen!

"I would love to stay with you during these dark times and keep you safe from anything bad that might happen, but that's not my purpose. I know that's not my purpose. You didn't give me life and give me the best Atlesian technology to just sit at home. There are people who need help. And I can help them."

Dr. Polendina looked over at Weiss, who was relieved to see that the rage had lessened considerably now that Penny was talking.

"The time I spent with Ruby and her friends at XCOM has taught me the importance of doing what is right. And while it hurts me knowing that I am hurting you, this is something I must do. I really hope you understand!"

"No…" Polendina whispered, still looking back at Weiss, though his expression continued to soften with each passing second, "I really don't."

"You've told me time and again that I was destined to do great things, that I had a purpose beyond proving that machines are capable of having a soul. I know in my central processing unit that you call a heart, I know that this is my purpose, and you are the most amazing father for giving me the chance to prove myself to the world."

The Doctor turned away from Weiss, gazed back at the image of his daughter, and moved to grab his scroll.

"One more thing, Father. You must keep this a secret."

Polendina's hand froze.

"If you tell General Ironwood, he will be furious with XCOM! He will fly back to Vale with a lot of soldiers and ships, arrest all the brave men and women who put their lives on the line for innocent people, and demand why they are keeping me hostage. Except this wasn't their idea. It was mine. They have no idea that I am still with them, because I know that they would have told me to go home if I asked to stay!"

"I wouldn't blame him." Weiss muttered. The Doctor grunted in agreement.

"I have seen first-hand what XCOM can do as a force for good, Father, and I know that we must make sure they are able to help Remnant. You must make sure that Ironwood doesn't know about this. Please. I'll be home someday soon, I promise! But these are good people, and they need our help."

Silence hung in the air as Penny finished her heartfelt plea. Before Dr. Polendina could do anything, Penny finished her message.

"I love you, Father."

The two occupants of the room remained motionless for a long time, The Doctor because he was still processing everything that had happened in the last two minutes, and Weiss because she dared not interrupt her host's train of thought. Slowly, the Doctor started to drum his fingers on the table. The pattern was erratic, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, before he finally slapped his palm on the table and let out a long sigh.

"Tell me." He said, still looking forward at the still image of Penny, "Tell me that she's right about XCOM. That my little girl isn't making a mistake."

This was something Weiss knew how to do. "I have never met a more honorable and dedicated group of men and women. I watched them, day after day, putting the needs of the whole world above their own as they stepped out onto the battlefield, never once caring that each breath might be their last. To them, the sacrifice they might all one day make was worth it if it meant that the innocent might live."

Weiss put a comforting hand on Dr. Polendina's shoulder. "A good friend of mine once said that the people of XCOM do what they must because they must. Whoever was responsible for the act of evil we all saw at the Vytal festival, XCOM will scour the four corners of Remnant to root them out and bring the criminals to justice."

The Doctor thought on Weiss's words for a moment, then nodded. He shut down his console, stowed his scroll in his pocket, and gestured for Weiss to take a seat.

"I'm glad to hear that Penny's trust is not misplaced. That being said, I feel that there is a lot about this XCOM that your Bradford has kept hidden from the General, and that Penny has kept hidden from me."

"... You are right." Weiss admitted hesitantly, "And since you are willing to trust your daughter with her decision, it is only fair that I trust you with the truth. Bear in mind, this may take a while, and I'm not sure you'll believe everything I say."

"Then it's a good thing we have all the time in the world." Polendina answered, standing up and dusting off his pants, "Perhaps I should make us some tea for your story."

Weiss couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her lips as she watched the older scientist walk to the other end of the study and put a kettle on his Dust burner. At this point, she half expected him to ask if she would like Jasmine in her cup, but she decided to draw inspiration from Pyrrha.

"I think that would be a grand idea."


A/N: True story, I was visiting the Kennedy Space Center while planning out this chapter, and it made me realize that a launchpad countdown was the only real way to write the Avenger's maiden flight. I think that might be my favorite sequence that I've written in recent memory.