Act I: The Captain
Chapter Three: A War of Many Colors
"Captain Arc?"
Jaune turned, raising an eyebrow at the woman in the doorway. The dark brown hair cut off at her shoulders, the standard military uniform… had he met her before? She looked familiar but… he couldn't really place why.
She walked toward him, casually holding out her hand, "I'm Angela Carter, special weapons procurement officer for the Vale Intelligence Agency. You, Dr. Callus, and Sergeant Bronzewing are to accompany me to the armory immediately."
Now it was Dove that raised an eyebrow, "Right now? The general said-"
"These orders are coming from the director, Sergeant. You, the Captain, and Dr. Callus are to accompany me to the armory immediately."
Jaune nodded a few times, shaking her hand before the four started walking, heading for the armory. As Angela and Callus led the way, Dove and Jaune lagged behind a little, "Jaune? Don't you think this is a little weird? I mean, we were just at the general's office." Dove whispered, leaning up to try and shield his words from the woman in front of them.
Jaune nodded, one imperceptible if you weren't looking for it -like Dove was. "I know it's weird, but… I mean, let's hope for the best, right? Maybe it's a management mixup, two different higher-ups giving different orders. Or… maybe the general wants us leaving at 0800 tomorrow instead of Tuesday and he… uh, asked someone else to deliver the message? Could be a lot of things," Jaune whispered back, more trying to convince himself than Dove at this point.
Dove nodded, seemingly satisfied -if nervous- about the whole thing. The two followed the Doctor and procurement officer. While Dove couldn't hear a word the two were saying -and thus was somewhat paranoid about it- Jaune… well, he could hear just fine.
"What's the meaning of this? Very seldom would the general change his mind over such an order." that was Callus.
The girl shrugged, "I just know the director ordered me to get you three and bring you to the armory."
The rest of their conversation followed a similarly uninteresting vein, mostly discussing protocol and other such things. Jaune tuned them out, for the most part, content to follow behind until the group reached the armory doors.
Two guards flanked the door, both in full uniform and heavily armed, maybe a few inches shorter than Jaune was. The second they saw the woman, they pulled the doors open, letting them walk through the solid steel doors into a cooler, concrete hallway.
The three walked for about a minute before reaching another set of doors, with another two guards flanking it. Both seemed more on edge than last time, each with their rifles ready to fire. Angela reached into her pocket, pulling out a badge and flashing it at the two soldiers. They looked at each other before nodded, shouldering their weapons as the four walked through.
Jaune and Dove's eyes widened as they stepped through the doors, into what looked to be almost a warehouse. Tables laden down with rifles, submachine guns, bullets, grenades, vests, rocket launchers -you name it, it was there.
At most tables, there were soldiers either stripping the weapons down to repair and/or clean them (neither Jaune nor Dove really knew which). Massive industrial lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating most of the room with the occasional patch of shadows. Jaune heard what sounded like engines running, followed by a fleeting glimpse of a small cart driving in the distance.
Angela turned around, leaning against one of the tables that was actually empty. "Take a rifle and a pistol. Whatever you think you can use well. You've got one hour," she said, Dr. Callus taking a seat next to her.
Dove immediately went to the rifles, eyes taking on a strange, almost zen-like quality as he started slowly lifting some of them, hoisting them to his shoulder and aiming down the sights. Jaune followed, looking at the somewhat larger, more long-range weapons. He lifted a few, testing a few of the grips, aiming away from anybody.
He'd gone through about four rifles when his eyes caught sight of something… different. It was only there for a moment -just a slight glare in the corner of his eye- but it was enough for him to notice. He slowly turned, walking toward where he'd seen the glare. It took him passing two rows to finally see what it was that had caught the light:
A shield.
It was a simple thing, really. Gray metal with a few lines around the center like a bullseye or an old record, a simple handle on the back. Jaune picked it up, raising an eyebrow at how light it felt… and how sharp the edge felt when he accidentally pricked his finger on it.
The man nearby gave him a small smile, "Captain Arc, am I right?" he held out a hand, "I'm quartermaster Hayes. I gotta say, you've got good tastes." Jaune shook the man's hand, returning the smile. He looked down at the shield a second later, running his finger along the smooth surface, finger just barely trailing over the lines.
"That's high-quality dust alloy's you're feeling. Took a standard 1/8th-inch steel plate and turned it into an indestructible circle. That thing's survived every weapon in this armory," Hayes said, gesturing to the many tables of weapons, each with what Jaune now guessed were quartermaster's over them.
Jaune held the shield over his head, moving it around as if the edge were cutting through the air itself, "Why doesn't everyone have one of these?" Jaune asked. It seemed like it would be much easier to win the war if all the soldiers were effectively bulletproof.
Hayes shook his head, "Wish they were. After the army made that one, they didn't even have enough dust left over to make some indestructible earrings. What's in your hands is all we got… then again," he lightly tapped the shield, "I'm thinking it's in the perfect hands to use it."
Jaune flipped the shield over, looking at the shiny surface at his own reflection. The blue eyes, the blond hair… if he tilted it the right way, it looked like he hadn't changed at all. That he was the same, scrawny recruit he had been just a few days ago.
"Jaune?" Dove asked, raising an eyebrow at the taller man. Jaune looked up, raising an eyebrow in kind when he noticed the large assault rifle on Dove's back, the combat knife in his boot, and the revolver at his hip.
"Don't you think that's… a little overkill?" Jaune asked.
"Someone has to pack the firepower. You're just carrying a shield," Dove retorted.
Jaune nodded, "Yeah, fair enough… wonder how well-"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Jaune didn't move an inch, shield instinctively placed between him and Hayes's small pistol. When the sound of the gunshots finally died down, Hayes holstered his pistol, a little smirk on his face, "That's, how well it works captain. See," he leaned down, crawling beneath the table before picking up the flattened remains of a bullet, "Didn't even ricochet."
"About time we found someone for that shield."
The three turned, Jaune and Dove raising an eyebrow at the man approaching them. Clad in a simple black trench coat, dark glasses perched on a snowy white face, the man looked oddly… just odd. Jaune couldn't quite put his finger on it but… something about him was just off.
"Director, the soldiers are almost ready for transit," Angela said, marching up next to Jaune before saluting. The director waved it off, nodding a few times as his head turned between the two. Then he looked down, sunglasses pointed in the general direction of Jaune's new shield. He slowly shook his head, lightly tapping on the front of it.
"A good shield… you know why we're fighting this war son, right?" he asked, looking back up to Jaune. Jaune slowly nodded, vocally confirming it a moment later -mostly since he had no clue if the glasses meant the man was blind or if he was just wearing them for no reason… indoors.
"My family had to flee from Mistral… two of my sisters are in jail because they wouldn't comply with the whole 'no artistic expression' law… I don't know if that's why Vale's fighting, but I know that's why I am," Jaune said, gripping the handle on the shield a bit tighter than he needed to.
The director nodded, "Well, sort of. Officially we're fighting because Mistral attacked our colonies in the east. Course no one likes the idea of a government imprisoning you just for painting a picture…" he chuckled, "I'm thinking when you go out there you show them what we think of their little anti-art crusade."
Jaune nodded a few times… "Will any paints stick to this shield?" he asked. He wasn't sure exactly how dust-infused metal would work… though, if it was anything like normal metal, it might be a bit of an issue.
The director shook his head, "No, it'd have to be dust. We'll handle that," he reached into his coat, pulling out a small piece of paper, "all you have to do, Captain Arc, is make the designs."
Jaune nodded a few times, grabbing the paper and pressing it against the wall and immediately started to sketch. "One side for the shield, the other for the suit, Captain," the director said.
It took Jaune five minutes for both of them, handing the emblems off to the director. He looked at them for a few seconds before handing it to Angela, gesturing with his hand to the suit… which apparently caused the doors to close. How that was possible, Jaune didn't know.
Ten minutes later, the doors came upon and there she was. "How did she… nevermind." Jaune… figured he may as well stop questioning it. He didn't know how it was happening or why, but at the same time he wasn't sure how important it was. What was important was what was behind her.
"Well? Go on, try it on!" Dove said, lightly pushing Jaune's shoulder. He was almost more excited about this than Jaune was -and he was the one getting to wear the suit! Jaune nodded a few times, walking into the room.
When he came out, even Callus had a hard time recognizing him.
The blond hair was hidden beneath a navy cap, stretched up over his head. Clear goggles covered the Arc's eyes as he stepped forward, the suit flush against his skin as he walked forward. In his hand was his shield, a small part of it gray near the bottom, the Arc family crest created in bright yellow along the front, a ring of blue between them with a white star in the center.
The emblem he'd chosen for his chest were two white axes, crossed near the center. The symbol of Vale, replicated on each of his shoulders, surrounded by the same blue fabric as the rest of the suit. Jaune pulled up his goggles, looking out at the group. The director and Hayes looked pleased, while the others looked moderately impressed.
"Oh, one more thing," the director walked up to Jaune, handing him a small slip of paper before turning around and giving another one to Dove. "Codenames for secure contact. Like the old general said, can't have everyone in their mother knowing about our new secret weapons," he said, a little smile on his face.
At that, Dove and Jaune immediately looked at their names. "Looks like I'm 'Bird of Prey'... I'm fine with that." Dove said, a small smile on his face as he shoved the paper in his pocket. Jaune nodded a few times, looking down at his own. He'd expected something about project new blood, something about his name, maybe even something about Vale. Though… he kind of liked the codename he'd been given, honestly.
"Guess I'm 'Captain Remnant' then."
