Act II: Rediscovery
Chapter 23: A New Era
January 21, 2683; 2138 Hours
Remnant, Vale (Wilderness)
Ivan stared down the scope of his Battle Rifle, scanning over the perimeter of the small compound, watching as armed figures strolled around the rooftops and fenced-in perimeter. The compound was completely surrounded by dense forest, and had a pair of buildings. The VISR of his MJOLNIR GEN-2 helmet highlighted hostiles as he passed over them with his reticule. Sixteen hostiles on the perimeter alone, all of them carrying rifles and wearing some measure of body armor. "Winter… are you in position?" Ivan asked, his suit's comms equipment crackling to life.
"Ready." Winter responded, flashing her armor's IFF.
"Moving up." Ivan said, standing upright and activating his armor's active camouflage module.
"We have eyes on your positions, SPARTANs." Came the voice of the ODST sniper watching over them from a great distance away. "Ready to initiate the operation on your mark."
Ivan slowly crept up the short distance between his initial position and the compound's fence, coming to a full stop a few feet away. He watched as his VISR recognized the green outline of Winter's MJOLNIR armor, which was visible across the compound's short fifty meter perimeter. Winter flashed her "Ready" ping, which Ivan mirrored. Ivan quietly whispered into his communicator, putting him on a wide channel connected to Winter and the five-man ODST team. "Operation is a-go on my mark. Three… two… one… mark!"
At Ivan's word, four suppressed sniper rifle rounds sounded off from various points in the tree line, each one finding its mark on a White Fang's center-mass. Simultaneously, Ivan fired off a few bursts from his rifle towards the patrolling White Fang, the high-caliber rounds cutting through their fiber body armor. Ivan heard the distinct sound of an SMG rattling off a few caseless rounds.
Seeing that the visible hostiles before him had been eliminated, either by his Battle Rifle or ODST sniper fire, Ivan decided to move. He ignited his armor's mobility thrusters, using the added momentum to propel himself through the fence, plowing through the thin metal rather easily. Ivan heard a similar noise from the other end of the compound, accompanied by the signature sound of a Dust explosion.
As a pair of rifles poked from a nearby window to open fire on the black-clad SPARTAN, Ivan's shields flared to life and began absorbing the kinetic weapons rather easily. Ivan fired a few bursts in the window's direction, suppressing the two White Fang within. He moved up, reattaching the Battle Rifle to its magnetic clamp on his back, and drew his magnum. He moved up towards the window, his VISR's low-light capabilities allowing him to easily dispatch the two White Fang with a pair of well-placed shots.
As the sniper fire from outside died down, Ivan vaulted through the window, shattering the small remaining pieces of glass. The room within was rather bare, with a few cots lining the wall and a few footlockers at the base of the beds. A few startled White Fang, many of them being jolted out of their sleeping state by the sound of gunfire, were on the floor, their hands up in surrender. "Barracks clear, four surrendered." Ivan said into his communicator.
"Command and Control clear, hostiles eliminated." Winter responded, her voice coming through as detached and all-business.
"Perimeter clear." The ODST NCO responded, the sound of a sniper round impacting being audible just before he spoke. "All hostiles eliminated."
"Excellent work, team." Ivan said, motioning to the four surrendered White Fang with his magnum. At his request, they all removed their masks and put their hands on the backs of their heads. Ivan felt a slight feeling of guilt, seeing that these White Fang were very green, none of them having much experience. One was a rabbit Faunus, one was an Elephant Faunus, one was a Wolf Faunus, and the fourth was a Horse Faunus. "Get down here, secure these prisoners, and radio in for extraction. SPARTAN Winter and I will clean up here."
"Copy that, Colonel." The NCO said, cutting the communication.
Ivan slid his magnum back onto its magnetic clamp on his hip, turning to face the four Faunus. "As of right now, you are all prisoners of war under the jurisdiction of the United Earth Government. You will be given all rights, privileges and accommodations that come along with carrying such a title. You will not be harmed, you will be relocated to a UNSC POW camp here on Remnant."
As Ivan spoke, five ODSTs moved in through the window, spotting the four surrendered Faunus. They moved to begin apprehending them while the NCO remained back by the window, speaking into his communications earpiece. "We've got this from here, Colonel." An ODST corporal responded, standing up from his place behind the Rabbit Faunus.
Ivan nodded, turning to step out of the Barracks and make the short walk across the way towards the Command and Control building. There were a few groups of ODSTs moving around the compound, checking the area for any hiding hostiles.
As Ivan stepped through the blown-open door to the Command Bunker, he was greeted by the sight of six White Fang lying on the ground, most of them with blade wounds running through their sides. Standing over a computer console was a suit of MJOLNIR armor, colored a stark white, with a sheathed sabre along the back-plate. "Anything good?" Ivan asked, stepping over a few trashed papers and pieces of electronics hardware.
"Maps of declassified UNSC military bases, photographs of the outsides of bases, and a whole lot of junk." Winter responded, not taking her eyes off the screen. "This one's just as useless as the last."
"Damnit…" Ivan muttered, looking around the room. On the central desk was a map of Remnant, with various points highlighted. He recognized these points as being either the main cities of the four kingdoms, or publicly-availably UEG installations. "Nothing we didn't already know."
"Exactly." Winter responded, standing upright. "Either way, I copied the terminal's data onto a mobile drive. We can hand it over to ONI for more in-depth analysis."
"Good idea." Ivan responded, making sure to capture every square inch of the room with his retinal implant's internal recording device.
"Any word on the prisoners?" Winter asked.
"They're all green as hell." Ivan responded. "None of them look any older than Yang, so I doubt they know much. ONI can handle that, though."
Winter sighed. "This is way harder than it should be…" Winter commented. "Seems like they're just toying with us at this point. Not a single one of these 'secret' bases has anything even resembling useful information."
As Ivan and Winter continued discussing the situation, a pair of DT-77C Stealth Pelican Dropships arrived just outside the compound, sending a signal to all nearby UNSC assets that their extraction had arrived. "We're heading out." Ivan said, nodding towards the faint VISR outline of the Pelican.
Ivan and Winter climbed into the back of the nearest Pelican, along with fourteen ODSTs and the four captured Faunus. Winter and Ivan removed their helmets, along with a few of the ODSTs. A few of the captured Faunus looked surprised to see three of their own kind wearing the ODST BDU.
Winter looked to Ivan, giving an almost invisible smile. Ivan was truly surprised by how well the augmentation procedure went with Winter. The only visible difference on her was the fact that her eyes seemed to glow a slightly brighter shade of blue. Ivan returned the smile, settling in for the rather long flight back to the UNSC's main base on Patch, Avery Airfield.
XXXXX
January 22, 2682; 1135 Hours
Remnant, Patch
Ruby sifted through her drawers, eventually coming across her normal attire buried beneath the t-shirts and jeans that she had been wearing for the past few days. She threw her normal combat skirt on, along with her boots and stockings. Just as she was about to grab Crescent Rose from its resting place next to her bed, the doorbell rang out, causing Zwei to start barking madly.
Ruby darted to the door, knowing full-well that Yang wasn't going to answer it, and that Blake had no intention of leaving the Blonde's side anytime soon. Unsurprisingly, her father was already at the door, giving her a sly smile. When he opened it, Ruby was surprised to find Ivan and Winter standing on the other side. "Ivan, Winter!" Taiyang said, smiling. "It's great to see you two again."
"Good to see you too, Mister Xiao Long." Ivan responded, giving a nod. Ruby couldn't quite place it, but Winter seemed slightly taller than when she last saw the ivory-haired Specialist.
"Please, come in." Taiyang said, gesturing inside.
As Ivan stepped inside, he smiled as he saw Ruby. "Hey Ruby!" Ivan said, finding himself wrapped in a hug from the shorter redhead. Ruby was definitely taller than when Ivan last saw her almost six months ago. Instead of standing at forearm-height when compared to the SPARTAN, she was almost up to his shoulder. "Hit a growth spurt while I was gone?" He asked, tousling the young leader's hair.
Ruby shrugged. "I think you just got shorter." Ruby responded, smiling.
"Certainly seems like it." Winter remarked, playfully nudging Ivan.
"Where were you guys?" Taiyang asked. "Haven't heard from either of you in months."
"Reach." Ivan responded. "Winter here had to get her Augs and Armor."
"You were on Reach for six months?" Ruby asked, only having a very basic knowledge on the UNSC's second-largest colony world.
"If Winter wasn't a Specialist, she would've been there for two years." Ivan responded. "She got to skip most of the boring physical tests and go straight into the Augmentation procedure, augmentation testing, and armor training."
Winter shrugged. "It wasn't as hard as he made it seem."
"And that's the cockiness that earned you ten laps around the entire FLEETCOM Facility." Ivan said, chuckling.
Winter nudged Ivan with her elbow. "He's just jealous."
Ivan rolled his eyes, earning a giggle from Ruby. "So…" Ivan began. "Where's Yang?"
"She's in her room." Taiyang said, gesturing towards the hallway. "Why?"
"I needed to talk to her about something." Ivan explained. Before Taiyang could question him, he smiled. "It's a surprise." Ruby gave an inquisitive eyebrow-raise, prompting Ivan to immediately remember something. "And speaking of surprises." He began, giving Ruby a smile. "I've got one for you too, Rubes." Ruby gave a wide smile. "I'll show you after I get Yang."
Taiyang smiled. "Well, feel free to go see her. Like I said when we first met, you're practically family as far as I'm concerned."
"Thank you, Mister Xiao Long." Ivan said, giving the older blonde man a smile.
With Taiyang's blessing, Ivan, Winter, and Ruby made their way through the hallway. Ivan smiled as he saw the photos lining the wall of younger versions of Ruby and Yang. Ruby hadn't changed a bit, other than height. Yang was rather obvious, her blonde mane never shorter than elbow-length.
As Ivan approached the slightly-ajar door to Yang's room, he knocked his knuckles against the wood. "Come in." Yang said from the other side, a slight bit of her voice's normal happiness evident.
Ivan, Winter, and Ruby stepped through the door, spotting the blonde brawler laying on her bed with Blake glued to her side. Yang wore a brown t-shirt and had her hair in a familiarly unruly state. Blake had her ears visible, and wore her normal attire. Ember Celica was still sitting where Ivan remembered seeing the gauntlets last, on Yang's nightstand. Yang seemed legitimately surprised to see Ivan and Winter, while Blake had her trademarked look of passive indifference. "Hey, blondie." Ivan said, smiling as he walked towards the bed that she and Blake shared
"Ivan!" Yang said, sitting upright. "Where've you been?"
"Reach." Ivan responded, kneeling down next to the bed. "I oversaw Winter's SPARTAN Training."
"You're back!" Yang said, wrapping an arm around the SPARTAN, happily.
Ivan returned the gesture, letting go so Yang could pull Winter into a similar gesture. "And it's good to see you too, Winter."
"Likewise, Yang." Winter responded, returning the hug.
"Good to see you too, Blake." Ivan said, smiling.
"I'm glad you're back." Blake responded, nodding. "It's been boring without you around."
"Ivan! Didn't you have something you wanted to tell Yang?" Ruby asked, reminding the SPARTAN.
"Oh yeah…" Ivan said, giving Yang a smile. "Get dressed, I've got a surprise for you."
"What is it?" Yang asked, giving the SPARTAN an inquisitive look.
"Oh c'mon… I can't tell you!" Ivan said. "Then it's not a surprise."
Yang gave a small chuckle, pulling herself onto her feet. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants, which were hidden under the sheets of her bed. "Alright… give me a few minutes." Yang said.
"Sure thing." Ivan said, standing upright again and straightening out his dress uniform. Ivan, Winter, and Ruby stepped out of Yang's room to give her the privacy to change. Ruby followed with the two SPARTANs back into the living room, where Taiyang was making a cup of coffee. "Hey, Mister Xiao Long, mind if I borrow Yang for a few hours?"
"Where're you guys going?" Taiyang asked, setting the mug down on the counter.
"We're going into town for a bit." Ivan responded. "Other than that, I'm not at liberty to say." Ivan gave a knowing smile, and a quiet flex of his cybernetic hand. Ruby didn't notice the mechanical limb moving, but Taiyang did, and he broke out into a broad smile.
"Well…" Taiyang said, chuckling. "Just make sure she's not out too long."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Ivan responded, hearing Yang's door opening then shutting from down the hall.
Yang and Blake stepped into the living room, with Yang having changed into her normal yellow top, brown jacket, black shorts, and boots. The only difference was her right sleeve being unoccupied from below the bicep. "Ready." Yang said.
"Awesome." Ivan said. "I've got a car outside, I'll meet y'all out there."
With a fair bit of excitement, Ruby bounded outside. She was followed by Yang and Blake, who had their fingers intertwined. Once the three younger huntresses left for the front yard, Taiyang let out a sigh and made his way over to Ivan, clapping him on the back. "Ivan… I… I really don't know what to say."
"Don't worry about it." Ivan said. "It's the least I can do."
"You've already done too much for us." Taiyang said, giving the SPARTAN a sincere look. "You made sure my daughters made it back to me safe… you made sure Qrow didn't get his stupid-ass killed, and you made sure that my daughters were safe when those aliens showed up." Taiyang chuckled, giving Ivan's shoulder a surprisingly powerful squeeze. "I hope you don't intend to get away with this without some kind of repayment."
"Tai… That's not necessary." Ivan said, smiling.
"Trust me, son. It is." Taiyang said. "You've done way too much for us. Hell… I don't think I've ever seen Yang happier than when she's talking about the trouble you five got into."
"Which is plenty…" Ivan added, smiling. "Either way… repayment is absolutely unnecessary."
Tai chuckled. "You're almost as stubborn as she is…"
"I wouldn't go that far." Ivan responded, earning a hearty laugh from Tai.
After a few moments of laughter, Tai gave Ivan another sincere smile. "Thanks, Ivan… I know Yang will be happy."
Ivan smiled in return, nodding. "I'll have her back by midnight. Promise."
As Ivan turned to join Winter at the door, Tai chuckled. "Try to get Blake to follow that rule for me?" Tai asked, earning a laugh from Ivan.
"No promises… but I'll do my best." Ivan responded.
Tai gave a small wave as Ivan and Winter stepped outside, closing the door behind them.
XXXXX
January 22, 2683; 1149 Hours
Remnant, Patch
Ivan stepped outside with Winter, unsurprised to find Ruby, Blake, and Yang already crowded around the civilian-grade M12 Warthog. The Warthog's gun had been replaced with seats and a canopy, and was painted a more neutral grey as opposed to the UNSC's standard OD-green. Ruby, Blake, and Yang had never seen one of the light vehicles up-close before, let alone outside of a battle.
As Ivan approached, he saw Ruby climbing into the row of back seats with Yang and Blake. Ivan chuckled as he walked up. "Alright, before we head out… I've got something for you two." Ivan gestured to Ruby and Blake. Blake gave a conservative smile in response, but Ruby decided to forgo that and look simply ecstatic.
Ivan reached behind the passenger's seat near the front of the vehicle, producing a rather sizable ammo canister and a small disc-like object. He handed the ammo can to Ruby, and the disc to Blake. "Nothing for me?" Yang asked, giving a small grin.
"Yours is in a few minutes." Ivan said, giving the blonde a small smile.
Ruby was the first to more-closely inspect her gift. She opened the latches on the side of the canister, popping the aluminum lid open and looking inside. She was surprised to find a few rather large packets of ammunition, all of them unmarked. She pulled one of the ammunition packages out, tearing off the brown paper wrapping. She found a bundle of twenty large bullets, each one having a different style of tipped ammunition. "Check out the back of the rounds, by the primer." Ivan explained, prompting Ruby to pull one of the stranger rounds, having what appeared to be a cross-design on the round's tip, and inspect the rear of it more closely. She was surprised to see the dimensions: 14.5x114mm.
"Wait… this is what Crescent Rose shoots." Ruby said, checking the dimensions again. "Where'd you get these?! I've never seen rounds like this before!"
Ivan smiled, seeing Ruby happily inspecting the +P round she pulled from the package. "I ran into a Misriah Armories technician on Reach. I had him special-make some rounds for me. Kinda ties into yours too." Ivan gestured to Blake and Yang.
"What is this?" Blake asked, rolling the small disc around in her hand.
"It works better when you have armor on, but press the little indentation in the middle." Ivan explained.
Blake pressed the small black metal piece in the middle of the silver disc. She nearly let out a startled yelp as she watched her arm shimmer out of sight, eventually becoming nothing more than a faint outline with some distortion. As she looked, she found that the rest of her was also semi-visible. She quickly pressed the button again, not realizing that a small smile had crossed her face. "You got me an active camouflage thing?"
"Yeah." Ivan said, smiling. "I didn't really know what you'd like, and I figured that I'd get you something you could use with your Semblance."
"Thank you Ivan… that's very thoughtful." Blake said, smiling as she tucked the small device into a slot on her belt.
"And now for yours." Ivan said, giving Yang a grin. He jumped into the driver's seat of the Warthog, with Winter jumping into the front passenger's seat. Ivan pressed the activation button on the dashboard, causing the hydrogen-cell engine to roar to life. He shifted the Warthog into drive and pulled out, getting on the main road into Patch.
Along the way, Ruby kept trying to guess where they were going, progressively getting further and further off from the actual destination as she went. Winter simply listened with an amused smile while Blake and Yang sat quietly, Yang resting her head on Blake's shoulder.
The small town of Patch was surprisingly humming with activity, even for a Saturday morning. Shops were tending to patrons, restaurants were serving their guests, and people were walking along the sidewalks, going about the business of their day. Nobody seemed exceptionally surprised to see a Warthog driving down the street, due in no small part to the fact that the largest UNSC airbase on the planet was a mere 10 miles away. That was also indicated by the sheer number of UNSC military personnel walking around Patch, mostly congregating around restaurants and bars.
The strange feeling of tension building up in Yang was only getting stronger as the Warthog drove through Patch, continuing on the road out of town, towards Avery Airbase. After a few more minutes of driving, the airbase came into view.
It was a massive, fenced-in compound with five landing strips and dozens of ground-based hangers. There were dozens of Broadsword fighters resting off to the sides, along with a few barracks buildings and an ATC tower. Pelican Landing Pads dotted the perimeter of the base, with a constant hum of activity around it. Aircraft were constantly taking off and landing, offloading supplies, or simply relocating. There was even a motor pool containing a few Rhino Plasma Artillery Tanks, Scorpion-II MBTs, and Military-grade Warthogs with varying weapons systems mounted on the back.
"What're we doing on base?" Yang asked, looking at the massive installation before her. She had watched its construction on the news, but had never seen it up close. It had to have at least ten thousand people inside, making sure everything was working properly.
"Surprise." Ivan said, smiling. As Ivan pulled up to the entrance checkpoint, there were a pair of UNSC Military Police standing guard at the gate. The senior officer walked over, checked Ivan's ID, and waved him through.
"Welcome back Colonel, Lieutenant." The officer said, giving a quick salute to Ivan and Winter.
Ivan returned the gesture and continued through, into the base. Yang got to look around, surprised to find that this airbase more-closely resembled a small town than a military base. It had on-base restaurants, fitness facilities, community center, officer's housing, a religious building of some kind, and a few small shops. There was even a rather large clinic on-base, which was open to civilians. Much to Yang's surprise, they pulled in front of the Clinic. "Alright, we're here." Ivan said, turning the engine off and jumping out. Everyone else followed suit.
"What're we doing here?" Yang asked, still completely oblivious.
Ivan smiled as he stepped through the automatic door. "Remember how I talked with the Misriah Rep?" Yang nodded in response, stepping through. "Well… Misriah's been getting into cybertechnology in the last few years. And they wanted to comp you a cyberarm."
Yang, and everyone else in their group with the exception of Ivan and Winter, looked absolutely floored. "They… want to just give me a new arm?"
"You'd be correct." A rather well-groomed man in a three-piece suit said, walking over. "David Welshberg. I'm a cybernetics engineer for Misriah."
"I… I don't know what to say." Yang said, looking to Ivan, then at the engineer.
"Well… it's also a bit of a test-run." David explained, earning a cocked eyebrow raise from the Huntress. "We took a page from Atlas' book and developed our newest generation of robotic limb replacements around the idea of channeling Aura. Since you're a Huntress, this working in conjunction with the fact that you'll be designing the arm should make the transition seamless."
"Wait… I'm designing it?" Yang asked, confused.
"You'll be designing the basic appearance, internal components, and will be helping the engineers get it right." David explained, smiling slightly. "It'll be like you never lost the arm."
Ruby squealed quietly, wrapping her older sister in a hug. Yang smiled, returning the gesture. Simply from the news, coupled with the emotions that came along, tears threatened to make their way out from Yang. Blake wrapped her blonde girlfriend in a comforting hug, earning a smile from Ivan and Winter.
"Shall we get started?" David asked, earning an excited nod from Yang.
XXXXX
January 22, 2682; 1345 Hours
Remnant, Atlas (Schnee Estate)
Weiss sighed as she glared out of her window of the Schnee Estate, looking over the massive courtyard with a strange sense of disdain. She had grown up here, but it didn't feel like home anymore. For six months she had been confined to Atlas, hearing nothing from her old team or her sister. Her father wasn't quite forthcoming with information either, only telling Weiss that Winter was "alright".
Weiss sighed as she turned back to the small mirror on her desk, applying the finishing touches to her makeup. From the reflection on the smooth glass, she could see Myrtenaster, resting in a corner next to her bed. Her blade had been collecting dust for the past half-year, remaining unused. Seeing the empty Dust chambers resting in the hilt brought a feeling of wrenching sadness.
Every time she looked to her rapier, she found her thoughts wandering back to that night in Vale. She didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to Blake, Yang or… Ruby. Thinking of her leader brought a strange feeling of emptiness to Weiss' stomach. The last she heard of her cheerful, energetic leader was her being taken to a UNSC field hospital after being evacuated from Beacon, where she climbed the tower that the Wyvern was circling. The sheer thought that she had left one of her only true friends, the friend that she had the courage to confide her weaknesses and secrets in, hurt more than anything else.
As if he could sense her not wanting to be disturbed, a short series of raps sounded off against her door. She heard Klein's voice call out from the other side. "Miss Schnee… I believe your father wishes to speak with you in his study."
Weiss balled her hands into fists, forcing that horrid feeling down. She put on the familiar mask she was so used to wearing whenever she was home. "I'll be there in a moment, Klein." Weiss responded, forcing a happy tone. Satisfied that she had satiated her father for at least a few more minutes, Weiss pulled her ivory hair into its familiar lopsided ponytail, letting it hang down to her waist.
Weiss looked into her mirror, ensuring that her dress was immaculately pressed and clean, and left her room. She walked through the sterile, white halls of the Schnee Estate, eventually coming to the foyer's staircase. The monoliths of armor continued their steadfast vigil over the foyer. She continued through the halls until she came to the large oak door that led to her father's study. Just before her hand reached out to open it, a voice made itself heard from the other side. It was her father's. Whitley had warned her about this… much to her surprise. She took a moment to listen.
"I'm not talking about the good of my company, I'm talking about the good of Atlas! Our entire Kingdom!" Jacques shouted.
"That is a load of bullshit and you know it, Jacques." Another voice retorted. She recognized it as Ironwood's voice.
"I beg your pardon?!" Jacques shouted.
As Weiss slowly and carefully opened the door, she was happy to find that neither of the two men had noticed her entry. She continued to listen for a moment. Much to her surprise, Ironwood wasn't in an Atlesian General's uniform… he was wearing a UNSC Officer's uniform with four silver stars pinned into the collar. There was a small 'Atlas' patch on his shoulder, signaling that he was the commanding officer of Atlas' UNSC Detachment.
"Jacques… will you please just hear me out?" Ironwood sighed.
"You are a trusted friend and ally to this family, James. But what you're suggesting is absurd!"
"You're blowing it out of proportion." Ironwood gestured with his hands.
"The Council will never agree to it!" Jacques shouted, standing up after slamming his glass of scotch down onto the table.
"It's not the council you need to be concerned with, Jacques." Ironwood casually responded, standing upright and making his towering nature over the Schnee patriarch known. "The UEG Senate's already voiced their concerns over what's been going on. Even if my second seat on the Council doesn't see this embargo through, the Senate will."
"This will cost me millions, James!"
"So this is about you!" Ironwood returned.
Weiss silently cursed as the door clicked shut behind her, signaling her presence to both men. "Miss Schnee…" Ironwood began, nodding his head in her direction. "Sorry, I should've been gone by now."
"I-It's okay." Weiss answered, correcting her stance and locking her arms behind her back.
"We'll continue this at another time, Jacques." Ironwood said, turning to her Father.
"Indeed." Jacques responded, a low growl just barely peeking out from behind his 'indifferent' tone. "Klein can show you out."
Ironwood chuckled. "I know the way." As he approached the door, Weiss stepped aside and allowed him to pass. Before he did, he turned to her. "Please know, Miss Schnee, that you'll always have a place in Atlas Academy. It'll be back in session before you know it." With that, he left, closing the door behind him.
"Did you forget your manners while you were in Vale?" Jacques asked, causing Weiss to immediately stand at attention.
"No, father… I'm sorry."
Jacques sighed. "Can you believe that there are still people out there who blame Atlas for what happened in Vale?" He asked, probably rhetorically.
"They weren't there…" Weiss was hopeful that her response wouldn't provoke her father's ire.
"It's a wonder Ironwood wasn't stripped of his rank!" Jacques snarled. "Even better, the UNSC decides to bring him into their ranks and promote him!" He sat down in his cushioned chair, sighing. "I suppose the Council still trusts him… for better or worse."
"I trust him…" Weiss shrugged.
Jacques huffed. "Thanks to him, Atlas is forbidden from exporting Dust to other kingdoms or any UEG world. 'A precautionary measure' as he puts it, until we're certain no one is going to declare war! How anyone could possibly find that to be sound logic is beyond me, especially with the ever-watchful UNSC hovering overhead." With an exaggeratedly exasperated tone, he continued. "Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks. We need to show the people of Remnant and beyond that we are on their side, and that we are all victims of the fall of Beacon."
"That's… wonderful news." Weiss smiled. Truth be told, she didn't expect something like this from her father.
"I know." Jacques said, proudly. Weiss certainly expected that. "Which is why I think it would make a lot of people happy if you performed at the event."
"Excuse me?" Weiss asked.
"Many forget that you were there." Jacques added. "My own daughter on the grounds defending another kingdom. We need to remind them, and we need to show them that the Schnee family is just as strong as ever."
"Are you asking me if I'd like to sing, or telling me?" Weiss asked.
"I think it would make a lot of people happy." Jacques leaned his arms against his desk, looking to his daughter.
"I'll start practicing." Weiss relented.
"That's… my girl." Jacques smiled.
With a quick curtsy, Weiss turned to head for the door. As she opened it and stepped back into the hallway, she was surprised to find another familiar figure walking towards the study. "Thorne…?" Weiss asked, confused.
The ONI Agent gave her a small, almost apologetic smile as he approached. "A pleasure to see you again, Weiss." He said, lightly adjusting his coat. For the faintest moment, Weiss could see the black polymer grip of a Magnum beneath his clothing.
"What are you doing here?" Weiss asked, surprised to see him in her own home. Admittedly, this wasn't the first time. He had come with a few ONI Agents just a week after her return, mostly to oversee an investigation into the Atlesian Knight production, but he made it a point to check up on her.
"Following up on something." Thorne explained. "Classified, I'm afraid."
"I assumed as much." Weiss sighed. "How's everyone else doing?"
"Couldn't tell you, honestly." Thorne shrugged. "I just got back on-planet yesterday. Been on Earth for the past few months getting things straightened out."
"Oh…" Weiss sighed. All she wanted was the slightest bit of news about her friends in Vale. "I'll let you get back to it, then."
"Alright…' Thorne nodded, seeing the saddened look on the heiress' face. "When I do see the others, I'll let them know you're doing alright."
"Thank you, Thorne…" Weiss gave a half-hearted smile in return.
