Once again, Sun watched his namesake slowly cresting the distant horizon through the semicircular arrangement of windows at the far end of General Ironwood's office. There had been several occasions where he had met the man at dawn over the past several weeks, and each meeting seemed to carry a wildly different tone with it. The tone of this particular one was somber and full of tension the likes of which Sun had never felt in his life. He knew that in all likelihood, it would be the last time he would ever see at least one of the others standing there with him.
Sun also knew that the odds it would be multiple people he never saw again were climbing with every passing second.
One of his best friends, Neptune Vasilias. His adopted sister, Ilia Amitola. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long of Team RWBY. Jaune Arc, the sole member of JNPR who had made it to Atlas. Corsac Albain, a former enemy who had turned into a trusted comrade. Oscar Pine, Qrow and Raven Branwen, and Taiyang Xiao Long, the enigmatic veteran hunters with more battlefield experience to each of their names than nearly everyone else in the room combined. Winter Schnee, the spurned would-be Maiden and their leader's second in command. Hope and Pax Polendina, the twin automatons with personalities from a different time. Clover Ebi, Marrow Amin, Elm Ederne, and Harriet Bree, the colleagues, mentors, and trusted friends that made up the Ace Ops. Cinnamon Shoal and Daisuke Aki, the former antagonists that reflected his relationship with Blake a little too closely for comfort. Emerald Sustrai, the former thief and asset wrenched from Salem's grasp.
General Ironwood himself.
Each and every one of them had a part to play in the coming war, and they all meant something to Sun in a way that he would never be able to fully explain. He could only hope that he wouldn't have to speak of any of them in the past tense anytime soon. The mere thought was sobering and led him to the realization that many around him were likely thinking the same about his fate down in Mantle in the coming hours. Sun had so much to live for, and so did the others who had gathered in the office. The young faunus couldn't put the desperate feeling of the need to survive into words, and he suspected that none of the others could, either. Sun merely found that he wanted to stop thinking as his body and mind became numb. Fortunately for him, he got the opportunity to merely stand and listen as knowledge was exchanged amongst the group.
General Ironwood had asked if there was anything else he needed to know before setting the plan in stone. Specifically, he had asked Emerald to share what she had told him down in the cell block with the rest of the group, and they listened in rapt attention. Salem had a monstrous whale-like grimm that was planned to mobilize from the Land of Darkness at an unknown date. Arthur Watts had planted himself amongst Robyn's security forces. Grimm of unknown build were down in the sewers. After that information had been shared, Qrow informed those not in the know that Cinder Fall was indeed alive, but heavily injured. Daisuke ran everyone through the transfer of the White Fang into Kali's command and reassured them that the Fang and Claw had begun to mobilize as reinforcements per his orders. Hope and Pax explained that though they were both the "Penny" that so many knew and that they shared a consciousness, they were able to function independently as two separate bodies.
Both of the constructs had looked at Ruby longingly throughout the explanation. Ruby had tried to avoid their eyes, tears welling in her own as she moved to wrap Hope in an embrace. The girl remained within it for the rest of the explanation, refusing to leave her friend. It was the only sight that gave Sun any sort of joy until General Ironwood so hastily crushed it with a single sentence.
"Then if that is all… we move forward as planned," General Ironwood declared, finally stepping around his desk as he kept his hands clasped behind his back. Upon reaching the front of the small crowd making his spacious office feel like a cramped coffin, he brought an arm around and revealed a small remote. With the click of a button, a floating holographic map of the city of Mantle appeared in the space before him and began to slowly rotate. "We'll be splitting into seven teams to manage the evacuation."
Something about the reveal caused Sun's throat to close. He wanted to say "Seven? Won't we be spread too thin?", but he couldn't bring himself to vocalize the thought. No one else dared to interrupt either, though the looks of doubt upon their faces caused General Ironwood's mouth to become a thin, tight line before he began speaking again.
"Harriet, Pax, and Raven- Squad #7- you all have the capability to cover vast distances in the least amount of time," General Ironwood began to explain. "You will have no specific assignment, but will be 'on call', as it were. If another team calls for backup, I leave it up to you to determine who goes where. Raven Branwen- as one of our Maidens and the bearer of a Semblance capable of pulling people to safety, you will be taking the lead. Every move the three of you make will be at Raven's discretion. Am I understood?"
Pax gave a stiff nod, and Harriet cracked her knuckles.
"Crystal."
"We'll keep an eye on as much ground as we can," Raven confirmed. "I have a lot to make up for…"
"And this is your chance to begin doing so," General Ironwood agreed. "Squad #1- Sun, Blake, Neptune, and Ilia, Squad #2- Jaune, Corsac, Yang, and Ruby, and Squad #3- Taiyang, Oscar, Elm, and Emerald- pay careful attention to your placements."
Four numbered points appeared upon the map of Mantle, hovering above digital buildings somewhat removed from the corners of the projection. Colored lines neatly divided the city into four, and the floating numerals flickered to match their attached districts.
"Each of you will be responsible for covering one sector and have a literal army of Academy students at your disposal. They're being awakened as we speak and given their assignments by school staff. Two of you from each squad will remain at the evac points themselves, defending from any grimm and helping to funnel people onto transports. The other pair will circulate throughout the quadrant as needed, quelling threats from outside… or within the city."
"From within?" Yang questioned. "Does that include people inevitably protesting against the cancelation of the election and arrest of Robyn Hill? What amount of force do you expect us to use?"
General Ironwood drew in a slow breath, studying Yang's eyes and finding only fear where he expected fire.
"It does… and that is entirely up to you. Martial law will be declared as the evacuation begins. The extent to which you use that power is your call… but bear in mind that the more time spent corralling and peacefully squashing dissent, the fewer civilians will be able to safely reach their transports. Every second could be several lives if Salem and her forces make themselves known."
"But no pressure," Ilia said flatly.
"I wouldn't say that," General Ironwood rebuked as he turned his attention to Oscar. "I'm not going to lie to any of you. That isn't going to get us anywhere."
Oscar didn't blink or turn away as the much taller man began to walk around the map, holding the stare for another few seconds before looking at the hologram. Two points highlighted by red dots appeared above specific buildings outlined in gold.
"Squad #4- Clover, Cinnamon, Daisuke, and Hope- you'll be moving to Golden Laurel Assembly Hall, where Robyn Hill is having an election party. Hill needs to be apprehended publicly… and preferably without violence. Any sort of resistance caused by a misstep or her shortsightedness will start a domino effect of riots that will cost lives. I'll be broadcasting the announcement of her crimes live, and you need to time her arrest properly to have a shot at doing this effectively."
"We'll handle it," Clover reassured.
"And if she does resist?" Cinnamon asked. "Certainly, killing her is off the table…"
"Very much so," General Ironwood agreed. "But barring that… do what you need to do. Squad #5- Winter, Marrow, and Weiss- you'll be playing a similar role."
"…at my father's biggest dust shop in Mantle, where he'll be giving his insipid speeches all day for guests who couldn't afford anything in the windows to begin with," Weiss finished. "We're extracting him and Whitley…"
"Precisely," General Ironwood confirmed. "Winter- you'll be tasked with getting them up to Atlas. Clover and Hope- you're to do the same with Robyn. Once those tasks are complete… Marrow will take the lead as you, Cinnamon, and Daisuke rendezvous at the halfway point between the venues in Sector #4. Until you arrive, Squad #7 will temporarily act as your placeholders and begin the evacuation. The sooner you arrive there, the sooner they can be freed to go where they're needed. That leaves Squad #6- myself, Pietro, and Maria. We'll be making the announcement about the need to evacuate and Salem's presence in Remnant."
"…you're telling everyone?" Ruby asked, wide-eyed. "At the start of the evacuation? But… won't that cause mass panic?"
"Which is worse?" Blake began. "Finding that out before she makes herself known… or seeing an unkillable grimm queen descend into the streets and start painting them with blood? This is the lesser of two evils."
Ruby visibly shrank down, looking less than confident in anything that was being said.
"…with that out of the way," General Ironwood continued, "we'll be announcing our intention to use Amity to reconnect communications within Remnant. That may no longer be true… but it's bound to get the attention of Arthur Watts and his allies within Mantle. They'll likely come to try to stop me. I'll make sure they don't leave the arena alive if they do. Any questions?"
"…one," Sun said, his voice coming out dry and scratchy. "Let's assume we pull this off. We rescue as many as we can, we all make it out alive… hell, maybe Salem's forces don't even try to stop us. What do we do then? What happens when hundreds of thousands of people make it to Atlas and need homes while we disappear up into the atmosphere? How do we even begin to go about getting the Atlesian elites to accept the idea of having so many sudden guests, and is there even enough food and access to water to keep them all alive? It seems logistically impossible…"
"…that was more than one question," General Ironwood teased as his pacing came to a stop and he folded his hands behind himself once again. "And if I'm being totally honest… I don't have answers for several of them. There are only the beginnings of a plan in place, and part of it relies on the flexibility and understanding of the people of Atlas."
"So, it's destined to fail," Qrow said testily. "And I've got a question- you left me out of the plan. I know you, James… and I know it was intentional."
"It was… but not for the reasons you might suspect," General Ironwood said with a sigh. "You're remaining here in Atlas."
"What?" Qrow asked, immediately balling a fist.
"…I need an anchor," Raven replied as she gave her brother a knowing look. "You're staying here so I can send anyone in need to you. It's for emergencies… and also probably to keep your Semblance far away from the operation."
"Exactly my intention on both accounts," General Ironwood agreed. "I'm sorry, Qrow, but it was you, Miss Xiao Long, or Taiyang to stay behind. While you might provide the ability to surveil and cover more ground than him… I thought it best to give Taiyang the opportunity to fight alongside and protect his daughters. I'm… trying to consider the human elements of all this as well, no matter how difficult it may be."
"…you've changed," Taiyang said with a faint smile as he threw an arm around Yang's shoulders. "Thank you, General…"
"Don't presume too much," General Ironwood said cryptically as he kept his eyes down on the floor. "All I can say is that… I'm trying. If that is all, then you're dismissed. Head to the landing zones outside of the Academy… but Clover, Hope, Elm, Taiyang, and Ozpin… stay for a moment."
The teams assembled themselves and filed out through the office door, exchanging whispers, hugs, and nervous glances along the way. General Ironwood watched them go, his face twisting into a conflicted expression.
"…food and water won't be an issue," Oscar reassured. "Your plan is a solid one, for the most part…"
"I know," General Ironwood replied as he looked down at the boy. "Those weren't the questions I can't answer. I called you here for a different reason."
"Given who you didn't call, I'd wager this has something to do with Emerald, Cinnamon, and Daisuke," Elm guessed. "They're the only ones missing from our teams."
"Correct," General Ironwood praised as he dispelled the holographic map with a press of button on his remote. "Should any of them show even the first sign of defection or disobeying orders… kill them."
Author's Note:
Probably one more chapter before the evac proper starts.
One more chapter of Jaune, Yang, and Corsac just pounding it bareback for 10,000 words. 10,000 explicit, gooey, hot and heavy words.
Pounding it.
Pounding it.
In all seriousness- no, I didn't expect everyone- or even most people to be on board for the polycule, but don't worry that it'll become a main focus or that everything Jaune, Yang, and Corsac do from this point forward will involve their relationship or sex. I've got a plan, and hopefully by the end of it all, it'll work out and make sense. I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it would help all three of their characterizations, and given some of what's about to happen… all three of them will need the support.
-RD
