Chapter 36: Semper Vigilans

NOTE: Much of the story prior to this chapter has either been tweaked or completely re-written. I'd advise going back and re-reading the fic so things in the future make more sense.

February 19, 2683; 0800 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck)

Ivan slowly drifted awake, the thin rays of sunlight piercing through the shutters on his bedroom window. He felt a familiar presence clinging onto him. He looked over, finding Winter's face to be obscured by her loose ivory hair. A single icy blue eye met his own, and he couldn't help but smile. "Morning, beautiful." He leaned over to press a kiss to the top of her head.

"Good morning." Winter affirmed, pulling her head up from its resting place beside his shoulder. "They wake you up, too?"

Ivan chuckled as some rather… colorful banter sounded off from downstairs. "I don't even know why I set my alarm anymore." He quickly disabled the alarm on his datapad, placing it back down on the nightstand when he finished. "What're they doing?"

"No idea." Winter admitted. "Let's find out." She playfully nudged Ivan, pulling the covers off.

His eyes drifted to her bare form as she stood upright, stretching. "Might want to get dressed first." Ivan gave a devilish smirk. He couldn't help but laugh when Winter tossed his discarded t-shirt at him.

XXXXX

February 19, 2683; 0812 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck)

"Bullshit!" Coco declared. "There's no way!"

"I'm serious!" Yang defended. "Blake can back me up on this!"

"Don't drag me into this." Blake piped up from beside the blonde, still staring down into the pages of her book.

"There's no way, at all, that-" Coco was stopped by Ruby.

"Can we not talk about this?" Ruby asked.

"But-" Yang attempted.

"Drop it, Xiao Long." Weiss glared daggers at Yang.

"What's the big deal, Weiss?" Yang asked. "It was just you covering for you being-"

"Stop it!" Weiss demanded, staring Yang down.

"Ivan!" Ruby shouted, seeing the SPARTAN and Winter walk out of their room upstairs. "You're up!" She was desperately hoping to change the subject.

"I am…" Ivan nodded, looking around to find everyone gathered in the living room, sitting on the couch, at the table, or some chairs they had pulled in from the kitchen.

"Up later than usual, Colonel." Yang smirked, looking over to him and Winter.

"We didn't get to sleep until later last night." Winter answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"Any particular reason?" Yang asked, suppressing a giggle. She ignored Weiss' death-glare.

"Doing important things." Winter answered.

Not being one to pass up an opportunity, Ivan took it. "Hey everyone, I'm Important Things." He was proud of himself for the slightest moment before Winter wheeled around, the slightest twinge of red dotting her cheeks as she slapped his arm. Everyone in the living room, sans Weiss, broke out into a laugh.

"I'm gonna kill you, Ivan." Weiss deadpanned.

"Not if I beat you to it." Winter sighed, a smirk giving away her joking nature.

Ivan somehow managed to control his laughs long enough to ask the question he had pulled himself out of bed for. "So… what the hell are you all yelling about down here?"

"Oh yeah!" Yang declared, smiling. "Ivan, back me up on this!"

"Yang Xiao Long, I swear!" Weiss clenched her fists.

"Weiss totally had a thing for Neptune at first, right?" Yang asked, keeping an eye on Weiss, just in case she decided to throw something at her. "And it was totally a cover for her being-"

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, causing the blonde to fall into a fit of giggles.

"Seriously?" Ivan asked, eyebrow raised. "That's what you were shouting about?"

"I just want Weiss to admit it!" Yang defended.

"I don't have to admit anything!" Weiss answered.

"Jesus…" Ivan muttered, walking towards the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Are we doing anything about Haven?" Ruby asked as the SPARTAN walked past her.

"Sadly, no." Ivan sighed. "Thorne was serious about us staying on-base. Honestly, it'll probably be good for us. We've been going non-stop since the attack last week." After searching through the rather abhorrent amount of food in the fridge, he eventually found an unopened water bottle and claimed it as his own. "Speaking of which, where the hell's Cinder?"

"Probably still sleeping." Yang shrugged. "Do you seriously trust her not to turn on us first chance she gets?"

"It's either keep true to her word, or she's dead." Ivan shrugged. "If she lies to us, she won't live long enough to regret it."

"She's the Fall Maiden, Ivan!" Yang continued. "How do we even know that thing Thorne put in her head will work?!"

"Woogley-boogley mystical bullshit or not, fifty grams of C-12 between your vertebrae will kill anything." Ivan shrugged.

"I'm still not comfortable with her being here…" Yang relented, sighing.

"How do you think Ivan feels?" Weiss asked, looking to the blonde.

"Christ, enough about that please." Ivan sighed, walking towards the smaller sofa in the living room and claiming a seat. Winter sat down beside him. "I've already got two permanent reminders of that."

"What should we do?" Coco asked. "Just sit around?"

"Once we get ONISEC's report on the interrogation, we should have what we need." Ivan shrugged. "I'm fine with some time off while we can get it."

"Wanna go work on the arm some more?" Yang asked, giving Ivan a smile.

"I'm in." Ivan shrugged. "Let me go grab my kit."

XXXXX

February 19, 2683; 0847 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck)

Cinder tossed and turned on the rather stiff cot that Ivan had set aside for her. She had been given what used to be a small office space to call her own for the time being. She certainly couldn't complain. It was isolated, quiet, and somewhat comfortable. What she certainly could complain about was sharing a building with so many people.

She had been listening to the conversation downstairs. It was faint, but she could certainly hear Yang and Ivan talking about her, and just how easily the SPARTAN could end her life. All it would take is the simple, mindless flick of a switch and she'd cease existing. As much as she hated to admit it, that desire for power… to be feared… she could never match what the off-worlders were capable of. One of their soldiers literally held her life in the palm of his hand at any given moment. All she could do was hope that he had the restraint to keep his hand off that switch.

As she heard a door close, and the conversation downstairs return to its normal hum, she let out a sigh. No sense it sitting around all day, the least she could do is get up. She let out a heavy sigh as she climbed out of her makeshift sleeping arrangements, gathering up her dress and heels from the small box she had found to keep them in.

Making her way out of the small, second-story office space, the sounds of conversation suddenly became clearer. Above all else, she could make out a news report from the TV. She momentarily paused to listen.

"In other news, the UEG Supreme Court Case of Schnee v. Unified Earth Government has officially concluded proceedings. Jacques Schnee, former CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, has been found guilty on the charges of 'actively and knowingly retaining intelligence vital to the operations of the United Nations Space Command, child abuse, war profiteering, monopolizing, and knowingly and willingly operating a corporation in direct breach of Article 3 of the UEG Constitution; specifically regarding Human Rights.'

Schnee has been sentenced to twenty five years in a UEG Federal Penitentiary, a fine of one hundred-fifty million UEG Credits, as well as reparations to Faunus workers in the SDC Dust Quarries for their inhumane treatment, which was brought to light by a Military Police investigation into the operations of the Schnee Dust Company. Mister Schnee has also been stripped of his majority shareholder status in the company, with the shares being transferred to his youngest daughter Weiss, at the request of the prosecution headed by ONI Director Gavin Thorne.

According to the prosecution, the SDC shall remain state-controlled subsidiary of Misriah Armories until the unstable political climate on Remnant has been remedied."

Cinder couldn't help but watch in amazement. Despite her previous allegiance, she could never have hoped to shake up this world in the same way that the UNSC had. With little effort, they shattered the SDC's hold on Remnant, undid the damage to Vale, made the CCT system obsolete, and effectively neutered the White Fang at every turn. She suddenly felt very small in comparison.

Pulling her gaze away from the television downstairs, she stepped into the bathroom, took a bit longer to figure out the shower than she'd be happy admitting, and stripped out of her sleepwear. After waiting a few moments for the water to heat up, she stepped beneath the falling droplets of water and let them wash over her. This was one thing that Salem's fortress certainly lacked: comfort.

As she went through the motions, her mind began wandering. She had spent much of her sleepless night on the UNSC's equivalent to Remnant's global network: Waypoint. Ivan had given her a Datapad, which she knew damn well was monitored, but she frankly couldn't care less. She had looked into more and more of the UNSC's history all night, and she very quickly came to the realization that she was far out of her league, even if she had remained with Salem's outfit.

In the past one hundred and fifty years alone, the UNSC had brought down a genocidal alien Covenant intent on wiping Humanity out of existence, defeated something called a "Didact" over Earth, stopped an artificial intelligence uprising, put down remnant after remnant of the Covenant, and now encompassed almost all of the Orion Arm of the Galaxy. Salem couldn't even keep hold over a single world… how in Oum's name could she possibly hope to bring the UNSC down? After last night, Cinder suddenly felt a lot surer of her decision to leave.

Satisfied that she had spent enough time under the water, she tapped the display on the wall and the shower shut off. She quickly dried herself with one of the towels on a nearby rack, grabbed her dress and heels, and dressed herself. She had a solution… with any luck.

XXXXX

February 19, 2683; 1012 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck)

"Here's your problem…" Ivan muttered, prying back the plate on the forearm of Yang's prosthetic. "Your arm locked up yesterday because one of the CNT muscle fiber connectors got knocked loose."

"That happen often?" Yang asked, looking down to the displaced bundle of carbon nanotubes.

"Not really." Ivan shrugged. "Then again, most people with robotic prosthetics don't go around punching giant monsters through walls."

Yang laughed. "Fair enough."

Over the buzz of the music Yang had started playing when they started, Ivan heard the door slide open, followed by the distinctive click of heels against the concrete floor. They weren't the practiced, smooth steps of Weiss, they were tentative and slow. "Can I help you, Cinder?" Ivan asked, not taking his eyes off of the prosthetic.

Yang glanced over her shoulder. "Damn… you're good." She chuckled, helping Ivan lock the covering back into place.

Ivan turned around after finishing with the prosthetic, seeing Cinder eyeing the varying tools, parts, and in-progress weapons sitting around the garage. She seemed to be focusing on the stripped-down ARC-920 railgun sitting on a stand, surrounded by tools and its polymer casing. Some of its coils and electromagnetic rails were exposed, with one of its tungsten slugs sitting next to it. Ivan could tell rather clearly that she was doing everything in her power to keep her gaze away from him and Yang, without giving away the fact that she was feeling… something. "I just…" Cinder began, searching for the right words. "I wanted to ask how you're doing, Yang… with your mother, I mean."

"I'm fine." Yang locked the prosthetic back into place on her shoulder. "You actually care?"

"I'm not your enemy, you know." Cinder sighed.

"You were." Yang retorted.

"Guys…" Ivan let out a heavy sigh. "We don't need to be at each other's throats. Cinder gave us good information, she's earned a bit of my trust back. And on top of that, she helped you find your mother."

Yang seemed thoughtful for a moment. Ivan couldn't tell, but she certainly looked conflicted. "You're right… and thank you." Yang said in a surprising moment of sincerity. "I'll… stop being so hard on you."

"Thank you… that's all I ask." Cinder gave the slightest hint of a smile. "I've still got my work cut out for me with the others."

"That you do." Ivan nodded, standing up and collecting all of his cybernetic tools. He shot a glance over to his Datapad as it softly bleeped, signaling him that a message had come his way. He swiped a hand over the tablet, reading over the message.

Colonel,

There's a civilian at the outer gate requesting to see you. He insists that he knows you, and refuses to leave until he can speak with you. Appears no older than seventeen. Report to the outer perimeter gate ASAP.

-Cmdr. Leah Wilson

Ivan sighed, closing his Datapad's interface and standing upright again. "I'll be right back, Commander wants me at the gate."

XXXXX

February 19, 2683; 1045 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck)

Ivan disembarked the Warthog that had ferried him across the airbase, stopping at the main entry gate to the facility. Two Marines were standing on either end of the large metallic gate door, which had opened up to allow the Colonel through. As he stepped through the gate, he found himself looking at a rather strange sight.

A pair of ODSTs assigned to the outer wall's patrol were standing in front of a teenage boy clad in what appeared to be farmhand's clothes. His brown eyes looked to the two ODSTs with a slight concern, then darted over to him. It was quite clear that this boy did not know who he was at all, given the look of surprise. It was quite likely that this kid hadn't ever seen a SPARTAN before, and was equally likely that he was stunned to see a man in civilian clothes towering over the ODSTs.

As he approached, the two ODSTs performed an about-face and gave him a crisp salute. "Colonel!" The Sergeant on the right declared.

"At ease, Sergeant." Ivan waved the salute off. "I'll handle this. Return to your duties."

"Aye, sir." The Sergeant nodded, leading his subordinate trooper off on their patrol again.

Ivan turned his attention to the teenager that had wandered up to the UNSC's base, an eyebrow cocked in a questioning manner. "What brings a kid like yourself to a UNSC facility?" Ivan asked. "Better yet, you informed the ODSTs that you know me. How's that?"

"U-Um…" The boy began. "S-someone we both know asked me to come find you. I'm supposed to… ask how your mission's gone since Beacon, and ask for my cane back?"

Ivan's eyes went wide at this. There was no way. "How do you know about the cane?"

"He's erm… in my head." The boy explained. "He told me you probably wouldn't believe me, and said to ask you how you time on Earth was, and if your evaluation went well?"

"Holy shit…" Ivan muttered. "Ozpin?" At his words, the young man nodded. "ONI's going to want to talk with you…"

XXXXX

February 19, 2683; 1103 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck)

"It's not an alternate dimension…" Thorne began, the pieces finally starting to fall together. He had been talking with Raven for the better part of two hours now. "It's a Slipspace bubble…"

"Like your interstellar travel?" Raven asked, confused.

"Exactly." Thorne nodded. "And that means, if it's a Slipspace bubble, then there's an anchor point for it in real space. If we can find it… we can reach it."

"Where is it?" Raven asked.

"Likely, somewhere on Remnant." Thorne added, suddenly remembering something. "That complicates things."

"How so?" Raven asked, still largely in the dark about much of the UNSC's technology. All she knew was that it was light years beyond anything Remnant could ever achieve with Dust alone.

"Dust plays havoc with our subspace sensor equipment." Thorne explained, letting out a heavy sigh. "That rules out a planetary scan from orbit. SATCOM won't be of use, either. Slipspace anchors can be as small as a centimeter."

"Your best option would be to pry it out of one of Salem's agents." Raven offered.

"Agreed…" Thorne nodded. Before he could continue on his train of thought, he heard the door slide open, and found Ivan to be standing on the other side joined by a… teenage boy? "SPARTAN…" Thorne began, looking to Ivan.

"Apologies for interrupting, sir." Ivan offered. "But you're going to want to see this." At Thorne's questioning brow-raise, he continued. "I believe that this boy, Oscar, carries a personality imprint of Ozpin."

Thorne nodded. Truth be told, this was far from the strangest thing he had seen this world drop into his lap, but he still had a hard time believing it. "Do you have proof, SPARTAN?"

Oscar saw Ivan nod in his direction. With a deep breath, he began. "Agent Thorne… I wanted to thank you for everything you did for my students at Beacon. And for all of Remnant, keeping the Maidens a secure matter."

Ivan saw something that he never thought he would… a look of surprise on the Director's face. "Well…" Thorne began, clearing his throat. "I think that's it, officially the strangest thing this world has ever thrown at me." Ivan saw Thorne direct his attention to him. "SPARTAN, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I can handle it from here."

XXXXX

February 19, 2683; 1321 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Camp Vorbeck Simulator)

"I still can't believe it…" Ivan remarked, firing a burst from his Battle Rifle, striking the hard-light rendition of a Grunt in the head, sending it to the ground.

"You think I can?" Winter asked, a smirk almost audible through the short-range communications. She was firing an EMP grenade at an incoming Banshee, knocking it out of the air long enough for one of the groundside Marines to put a sniper round through the canopy, killing the Elite pilot inside. "Are you going to tell the others?"

"Not until-" Ivan grunted, bringing his combat knife down into a Jackal's skull, wrenching it outward and twisting the creature's head around, snapping its neck. "Not until Thorne can confirm it. I don't want to get their hopes up."

"Fair enough." Winter admitted, a grenade from her underslung launcher smacking an Elite across the face before detonating, tossing its limp corpse back a few meters. "Why'd you take me to the Simulator to talk about this?" Winter asked, ducking back into cover as she slid a new grenade into her launcher.

"Needed something to focus on." Ivan admitted, lining up his reticle on a distant Grunt's head, slotting a trio of rounds through the Fuel Rod-toting Unggoy's head before dropping his magazine and sliding a new one into place. "Keep my head on straight."

"You, not being level-headed?" Winter asked, sarcasm heavy in her words. "Tell me more!" She popped out of cover, dumping a few rounds downrange at a distant Sangheili Ranger. Only six more targets to go until their simulation was over, and the next group waiting for the Simulator was up.

"You wound me so, Winter." Ivan chuckled, dropping another pair of Grunts.

It had only taken a few more moments for the pair of SPARTANs to dispatch the four remaining enemies. Two Elites and a pair of Jackal snipers. Once the final Elite had fallen, the holographic rendition of New Mombasa faded away, revealing the internals of a simulation deck, leaving only a pair of armored SPARTANs standing in the large room.

After leaving the simulator, passing a squad of ODSTs making their way towards the simulator, the two stowed their weapons away and removed their helmets once they returned to the outside world. Thankfully, it was quite the distance to cover on foot as they made their way back to their home. Ivan took the chance to enjoy the fact that Mistral was now entering spring, and the weather was, for once, bearable. "I take it we're still on mandated leave?" Winter asked, breaking the momentary silence.

"Yep…" Ivan affirmed with a heavy sigh. "Even with this, Thorne wants us to rest. Let the other Fireteams handle this for a while."

"It'll be good for us, like you said." Winter smirked, looking over to him. "Give everyone a chance to slow down for a bit." After a short lapse in conversation following Ivan's nod. "Anything you have planned?"

"Well…" Ivan thought for a moment, slowly falling into a devious smile. "Since I'll have Thorne crawling up my ass if I leave this base for anything other than shore leave…."

"Yes…?" Winter asked, looking over.

"Since we haven't had the chance to after our trip to Earth… I'm gonna date the shit out of you, Winter Schnee." That earned a laugh from Winter.

XXXXX

February 19, 2683; 1641 Hours

Remnant, Mistral (Haven Academy)

Thorne stepped out of Haven Academy's elevator, adjusting the cuff of his suit jacket as he entered the hallway leading to the Headmaster's office. He couldn't help but smirk, knowing that he had the element of surprise. Even with that bomb Ivan had dropped on him earlier in the day, he still had a schedule to keep, and it was missions like this that made him feel alive.

He put that familiar façade on his face, that forced smile that he had perfected over his years of service to the Office of Naval Intelligence, as he turned the doorknob of the Headmaster's office door, and stepped inside. He really needed to thank the SPARTAN for helping him bug the Headmaster's office all those months ago.

He made the conscious effort to leave the door open as he stepped inside, spotting the familiar Professor Lionheart sitting behind his desk, joined by another man that Thorne recognized immediately. Doctor Arthur Watts. Both men turned to face him as he entered, but it was the headmaster that spoke up. "Agent Thorne…" He began, the slightest twinge of fear in his eyes. That was another thing that Thorne loved about this job. The look of sheer terror on his mark's face when they knew, deep down, that they were well and truly fucked. "To what do I owe the… pleasure of having the Office of Naval Intelligence in my office?"

"Think of it as a… courtesy call, Headmaster." Thorne smirked, sounding almost too happy. As he approached, he looked to Watts. "I don't believe we've met…"

"Arthur." Watts responded, looking to the ONI agent with an indifferent expression. Either Watts had no idea Thorne was here for him, or he was far better at hiding his emotions than the Headmaster.

"A pleasure." Thorne gave a pleasant nod. With that same smile on his face, he turned back to Lionheart. "You know, Professor, it's strange…" He began, resting his weight on one leg. "The reports from your students seem to have stopped. Call me curious for wondering why."

"They haven't found anything of note, I assume." Lionheart shrugged.

"Probably." Thorne returned the shrug. "Or… there's a far more sinister issue I have to deal with." Thorne's smile was wiped from his face in an instant, replaced by hardened professionalism. "You."

Lionheart and Watts both practically jumped as a full Fireteam of SPARTAN-IVs materialized behind the ONI Director, weapons trained on them. Watts found himself staring down a SPARTAN wearing an EVA helmet with a silver visor, the barrel of the SPARTAN's trophy Brute Shot pointed at his head. Lionheart found himself staring down the barrel of an M45 shotgun, wielded by a SPARTAN in full HELLCAT armor. "You are under arrest for collusion with the enemy, Professor." In a blinding display of agility, Thorne wrapped his hand around the back of Watt's neck, a small metal disc embedding itself into Watts' skin and unfolding, forming a metallic harness around the base of his skull. Before Watts could even respond to the move, he felt his Aura completely drained, and the barrel of Thorne's magnum pressed against his temple. "And you…" Thorne locked eyes with Watts. "You're going to tell me everything."

A/N:

Alright, a bit of an explanation about why the "new" chapter is just a lightly re-written old one. I made the decision to re-write this story to give a better sense of the continuity as well as to remedy some canon errors (Like the UNSC using the MA5B in the 2600s). A vast majority of the major re-writing was done in the first half of the fic, although there are quite a few changes done to more recent chapters as well.

I should have a new chapter up for this relatively soon, but reading over and re-writing almost 200,000 words has burned me out on this one.

Let me know what you all think of the re-write.

-TallYapflip