Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. I wish I did. All characters, terms, and settings are property of Rooster Teeth. This is just a Fan creation. No profits are had. So enjoy this detour into my odd fascination with irrational Ships.

Chapter 5

After a cold shower Jaune found himself in the Observation deck with Clover who was not watching as Nora and Ren faced off against Elm and Vine. It was a very strange match-up. Like watching mirrors fight. There were key differences in styles. Such as Elm favouring complete stability, Nora having mobility. Elm and Ren seemed to have settled into a bout of pure martial arts, neither relying on semblance or weapons. Jaune wished he could watch and cheer on his team, but Clover was on the other side of room looking over footage of Team JNPR at the Vytal Festival.

"Arc, over here." Clover called out looking over his shoulder. "Was just finishing off the last camera angle from your Round 1 match at Amity."

Jaune approached and saw that Clover had been going over the footage of every single camera at Amity during his first fight of the tournament. "You've been going over all of them? Isn't that a bit of overkill?" Jaune asked feeling nervous and a bit on the spot.

Clover waved it off. "Not for this." Clover said turning his attention back to the recording. "Like this. Your stance is very off. You're retreating, your shield is up, but your footing isn't planted. I know you've since corrected this. But if I hadn't seen this from 5 different angles then I couldn't properly critique and suggest improvements. I can clearly see that you've overcome almost all of the flaws I'm seeing here."

Clover paused the recording at a particular moment. "See, right here. You're footing, you can see that now I'd wager." Clover said as he played the footage back in slow-mo as Jaune stepped backwards and repeatedly put himself in a position to be knocked off his feet. "Now I understand that you were, keyword there, were a less then spectacular student. Its fine, we all have to start somewhere. I've seen what you and your team get up to now though and you've come a long way. James was right to grant you guys your licenses early. Not to mention everything you've seen and gone through to get here."

Jaune nodded, solemnly considering what exactly had they gone through. "Its currently my job to see that you keep moving forward. Now, I want you to think back to your hardest fights, be it the Grimm, White Fang, the Enemy, or even, regrettably Atlas Tech. Think about what your short comings were." Clover said before bring up a scattering of recordings. Some of the Vytal Festival, some of the Breach inside Vale, and a few from within the very training facility they stood. "I know this isn't everything, you and your team made it across Anima. Fought at Haven, then in Argus. I want to see what you think if your greatest short coming."

Jaune furrowed his brow. He watched all the recordings. He was so intent on looking at his own failures that he almost ignored his allies in those same recordings. The one thing that separated him from everyone else, was range. Harriet was right. He did need a gun. "Its my equipment. Everyone else I fight with has an effective range that more then just-" Jaune said as he took his sword out and held it straight out. "3 and a half, maybe 4 feet. I'm effectively using an antique. Its an heirloom. My great-grandfather fought in the War. This sword and shield belonged to him."

Clover nodded and thumbed his chin a little. "I see. So you're rather keen on keeping it, traditional then I assume. No plans on incorporating shifting parts and turning it into something, relatively, extravagant?" Clover asked, minimizing the recordings.

Stowing his sword, Jaune considered Clover's question. He had already altered it, and upgraded it to have its Great Sword function. But to drastically change it that much. "Yeah, I don't think I could do that." Jaune said.

"Well then, its like Harriet said. We need to get you a side arm." Clover said gesturing to a large case on a table nearby. "Am I right in assuming you've never learned how to properly handle a firearm?"

Jaune nodded. "Just plinkers back home. Dad would take me out couple times in the summer to shoot cans off a fence, but nothing major." Jaune said remembering the simpler times. "We saw the occasional Grimm back then, but nothing the locals couldn't handle."

"Then how about we see if Atlas can find you something that works for you." Clover said before opening the case. Inside were several small guns of a variety of sizes and functions. "Seeing how well you use that shield of yours I put together a small assortment here that should compliment your skills and style. All one handed that should work well with your sword and shield."

Jaune was in awe of the different types of weapons before him. "You've got a standard pistol, a slightly larger revolver, a few rapid fire, then a few heavy hitters." Clover said gesturing to specific weapons. "I don't think we're gonna give you too much range or power. Your friend Miss Rose seems to have quite the powerful and lengthy means of attack. Anything you could adequately handle on one hand while holding up that shield needs to be highly manageable."

"And Miss Valkyrie seems to have a handle on raw power so I've also omitted anything with a larger, well boom." Clover said gesturing to each gun before taking his scroll out. "I'm sending you the summaries of each one in case you want to read up on them before you make a decision. We're also going to take these down to the range so you can try them out in a controlled settings, but before we do do you have any input, suggestions or preferences? I want you to think and consider this before going back into the field."

Jaune nodded and understood the gravity of what Clover was asking him. He'd need to consider what he was going to arm himself with before he was potentially thrown into combat again. He'd need to think about what could save his life and the lives of those he protected. Jaune started considering the weapons of his friends. Ruby had her High Calibre Sniper Rifle, Nora her Grenade Launcher, Ren had his duel SMGs, Blake favoured her smaller Bladed Pistol. And then there was Yang.

Jaune quickly scanned the case. "Uhm, so I know I don't know a whole lot, but do you guys have maybe, like a one handed shotgun?" Jaune asked pitifully. "I'm not even sure if that's a thing. Its just that, it seems like the closest thing to point and shoot that I can't screw up. It would give me some range and not need too much extensive training, I think."

To say he was surprised was an understatement for Clover. Arc was right. Clover quickly considered it and understood what he was getting at. It wasn't to dissimilar to methods used by some of Atlas' High Risk Anti-Personal Squads, with their Riot Shields and Pump Shotguns. "That's a pretty good idea. Lets take a trip down to the Armoury and see what we can do about that." Clover said with a smile. "Just give me a moment." He closed up the case and walked over to the viewing gallery before activating the intercom. "Elm, Vine. I'm taking Arc to the Armoury to see what else we can find for him. Continue on with Valkyrie and Lie as you see fit, but don't skip out on a post session assessment this time. This isn't just Combat Practice. We want them to learn something remember. Clover out."

A quick stroll and an elevator ride later and Jaune found himself in front of the largest collection of weapons he had ever seen. It seemed as if every inch of wall was affixed with racks of weapons. Ranging from small handguns to heavy vehicle mounted cannons. This place had it all. "Never tell Ruby about this place." Jaune said looking around. "She'll never leave."

Clover smiled. "Yeah, when I spoke to Qrow about this place he had a similar concern. Something about a cot."

They approached a desk secured inside a boxed off area, behind a fence and Clover rapped his knuckles against it a few times. "Gunny! You here? Its Clover." Clover shouted. There was a loud thud followed by a crash and some grumbling.

Eventually from just out of view an older man with a grey beard and a shaved head came into view. He was wearing an Atlas Uniform, but it was covered in grease stains and missing both sleeves, large muscled arms covered in military tattoos. His most striking feature though was a large metal plate cover up his right eye and several scars peaking out from behind it.

"Clover! What can I do for you? Thinking of trading in that hook of yours for a real man's weapons?" Gunny said taking a seat on a roller stool and rolling up to the desk. "You know I still have your old LK-147 in storage somewhere. I'm pretty sure I could dig it up and clean it up for you if you want. They don't make em like that anymore."

Clover just shook his head. "No I'm afraid not Gunny. I'm here with someone special. Jaune Arc, meet Sergeant Major Gungnir Rockwell. Or as almost everyone calls him, Gunny." Clover said gesturing to the man behind the fence. "No one in all of Atlas knows more about firearms then Gunny here. He's fabricated, serviced and commissioned more weapons then most soldiers see in a life time. He's going be the one to get you your shotgun."

Gunny brighten up at the mention of 'shotgun'. "A shotgun you say? That's none to common here in Atlas. Most people want either rate of fire, precision, or just plain old massive guns. Alright, alright. Let's have a good look at you." Gunny said before standing up and disappearing out of sight and a door swung open abruptly. Gunny walked out, his foot falls irregular and loud as his right leg from the knee down was an incredibly large and boxy prosthetic.

"Okay, stand up straight, arms out." Gunny said approaching Jaune who in his confusion and apprehension could only comply. Gunny reached into one of the numerous pockets on a large tool belt and pulled out what appeared to be a laser pointer. He quickly drew lines over Jaune's body and began taking not on his scroll. "Right right. 1.85 meters, Armor seems relatively new, I'm guessing a mix of Mistral work and, hmm, Polendia's work. Smart man. Okay. Show me that sword and shield of yours."

Jaune looked to Clover who simply nodded at him. With his regular flourish he pulled the sword from his sheath which sprung into its full size shield form. Gunny drew some more lines with his laser pointer and took more notes. "That's a Valish sword. Very old. Some Mistalian work in there as well. I see. Okay, now take a stance like you're about to start of a fight. I want to know what you immediately go to when a situation goes to rot."

Jaune still not entirely sure what was happening did as he was told. He brought his shield up and his sword at his side, readied. "Like this?" Jaune asked feeling awkward and embarrassed.

Gunny smiled. "Yeah, if that's what your first thought of ready was, then that's prefect. I've got a few ideas already, but I'll need a few more things before I just start handing out guns." Gunny said stowing his laser pointer. "Let me have a look at your sword hand."

There was a moment of awkward silence as Jaune sheath his sword and held up his hand as if stopping traffic. "No, not like that, just give it here!" Gunny barked as he grabbed Jaune by the wrist and examined his hand closely. It was uncomfortably close and Jaune could feel his breath on his hand. "Right, right. This way, I need to see how heavy you're weapons are next."

Gunny lead them into the facility to what appeared to be a workshop. It was absolutely littered with dozens of different guns in many degrees of disassembly. He walked over to a scale and brazenly swept his arm across it knocking the previous contents onto the floor. "Okay Put your sword on the scale if you would."

Jaune was getting a little frustrated with the lack of communication but Clover just gave him a look of understanding and an implied trust. "Okay, sure." Jaune said before doing just that. Gunny took more notes.

"Okay, now the shield." More notes.

"Okay, now both." More notes.

"Okay, now you see that red handle in the bin over there? Bring it here. I'm gonna need that for the next bit. Clover I assume you've got footage for me." Gunny said sitting down at a work bench and started dissembling what was in front of him.

Clover smiled and shook his head. "Yeah Gunny, got a highlight reel." Clover said point his scroll at a nearby monitor which started playing footage of Jaune's training in Atlas.

Jaune approached the work bench Gunny was at and attempted to give him the handle he had been told to get. "Nope. Changed my mind. Find the green handle. Should be in the same bin." Gunny said before throwing chunks of metal into a furnace. "Clover, who is this kid? I've never seen him before and he's clearly not Atlas."

There was a brief moment of silence as Jaune pouted and walked back to the bin of colored handles. "He's what you'd call a new recruit. James brought him in to help with a special, off the books project. He's from Beacon." Clover said in a knowing fashion.

Gunny nodded. "Beacon? I see. Okay, then he's got the stuff then. No worries." Gunny simply said as he started to assemble the pieces in front of him. Jaune presented him with the green handle. "Nope, that won't do either. Look for the blue one."

Jaune sighed and threw his arms up as he went searching for the blue handle. "Gunny?" Clover asked with a smirk. "You seemed to be having a little fun with him. Everything all right?"

The was a beeping noise from the furnace. "Don't you remember what I was like when I made your first hook? These things are special. I know what I'm doing." Gunny said as he extracted the now molten metal from the furnace and carefully poured it into a mold. He set a timer and set the mold into a brace which clamped down on it tightly before several tubes of dust activated, infusing the molten metal.

Jaune hadn't even made it half way back with the blue handle before Gunny turn and shook his head. "Nope not that one either. Try the white one in the back." Gunny said dismissively.

Jaune threw his head back and let out a disgruntled groan.

Several minutes went by and Gunny had been dissembling and assembling like a man crazed. When Jaune returned with the white handle Gunny scowled and told him to look for the black one, but changed his mind when he saw Jaune swing his arms around in frustration. "No, no. White one will do perfectly. Don't know what I was thinking. The black one? Was I mad?!" Gunny practically scream as he went about opening the mold and taking out a long barrel. "Arc, be a lad and bring me that drum of oil, the one with the letter HI-BR."

Jaune was past being confused or frustrated and simply did what he was told. The drum in question was large and heavy, practically filled to the brim with oil. No sooner did he set it down did Gunny pick up the red hot barrel with a set of tongs and submerge them into the oil. Gunny would lift and lower his tongs periodically looking at the barrel.

"Okay, Seems in near perfect enough condition." Gunny said returning to his work. Jaune was immensely curious but did his best not to get in the way. He watched as Gunny collected, appraised and modified every single piece before putting them together. Eventually the coarse roughness evolved into delicate and meticulous. With most of the pieces laid out in front of him Gunny began pulling out more refined and technologically advanced tools. A cylinder of Gravity Dust here, Ice Dust there. Some circuitry and sensor arrays.

Eventually even Clover started paying attention. "So what are you thinking Gunny?" Clover said gesturing to a seemingly random piece. "The kids strong. Physically held off a Nuckelave and a Alpha Megoliath. Separate occasions mind you."

Gunny nodded. "I'm thinking 12, and a light shock reducer, maybe snout pick, now pass me that square pry bar." he said not looking up from his work. Just held his hand out waiting. Clover smiled and handed him the square pry bar. "And no, before you ask, its not drum fed or pump. I know what I'm doing. Kid doesn't need an obliterator or an intimidating boom stick. He needs to tool to back shit up or to blow its head off."

A few more minutes passed in silence. Clover took the time to read reports on how his team was doing with the rest of the Beacon group, and Jaune was shooting aliens on his scroll. "That should about do it." Gunny said wiping off his brow. "Had most of the part here already, just needed to pour the barrel and customize some preexisting parts. But there you have it."

Jaune rushed over and was in awe. It was brand new and gleaming. He could help but see the similarities with it and Ironwood's Due Process. It just looked like a longer, yet bulkier version, with a large loop covering the trigger and handle. "What's with that?" Jaune said pointing it out.

Gunny scoffed. "That's the lever you dunce!" Gunny said with a disappointed scowl. He picked up and gave it a twirl. "Now, it ain't loaded so here hold it up and see how it feels." Gunny handed it over to Jaune who cautiously accepted.

"Its, I don't know, heavier then I expected, but also lighter? Does that make sense, or am I just being stupid?" Jaune asked as he held it. It was just short enough that it felt wrong to have it in two hands, so he held it in one and had no problems moving it around.

Gunny shook his head. "Not at all. I specifically made it so that it weighed as close to your sword as possible. The handle is as horizontal as you sword arm would be comfortable with." Gunny said leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Wait, so is that why you had me get those handles?" Jaune asked sounding surprised. The grip felt good in his hand. Not like his sword, which was perfectly straight and aligned with the blade, but it fit his hand quite naturally.

Gunny nodded. "Of course. I needed to see how you held them and how they fit your hand. Its also why I needed to get up close and personal with your hand. The full body measurements were so that I knew how long I could make it and where certain balance points needed to be." Gunny said, clearly proud of his own work. "Now the most important thing you're gonna have to learn is how to reload that with one hand. Clover, be a sport and show him what I mean."

With an amused sigh, Clover walked over to Jaune, who handed over his new weapon, and with a practised hand, flipped the weapon over itself cocking the weapon and presumably attempting to reload. He did it a few more times for good measure. "That's terribly smooth Gunny. You've outdone yourself. James might even be jealous." Clover said handing back to Jaune. "Okay now Arc. You give it a try. Just don't drop it and ding up Gunny's work."

Jaune smiled sheepishly and attempted to flip it the way clover did. It was a bit awkward at first, but Clover was right, it was very smooth. He had only needed to figure out how its weight reacted when he threw it out like that. It took him several tries, but eventually he got it in one fluid motion.

Gunny started clapping. "Excellent! Now do it with you're shield in the other hand. See how that feels when your balance is slightly off."

With his Shield in one hand and his new shotgun in the other he eventually got that motion figured as well. "This is amazing. Its so natural." Jaune said appreciating his new weapon in hand. "I guess I'm going to have to spend some time getting proficient with this before I'm back on active assignments aren't I?"

Clover smiled but gave him a nod. "Yeah, not to mention you're off active duty until your Aura Levels stabilize." He said before taking out his scroll. "If you're up to it, I can schedule something with Harriet again. See how you fair now that you've got a reach significantly more then 4 feet. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. I checked her schedule and she's clear."

Jaune considered his offer. "If its all the same, I think a couple of days at least with this thing before facing of against Harriet would do me a world of good." Jaune said as he appraised his new weapon. "Spend a couple of days at the range, check in on Winter, let her know how I'm doing. If that's alright that is." Jaune's humble nature rising to the surface.

He had only seen her just this morning, but he felt it prudent to let her know what had happened. Facing off against Harriet, getting the upper hand, getting pinned a few seconds later, and then ultimately the construction of his new weapon. He felt like she deserved to know.

"Of course. Shouldn't be an issue. I'll see if I can schedule you and your team with some R&R. You guys have deserved it." Clover said gesturing towards the door. "Lets be on our way, I'm sure Gunny here has some actual work to do when he's not playing favourites. Isn't that right Gunny?"

Gunny simply crossed his arms further and looked away. "I have no idea what you're referring to Ace Operative Ebi. You simply have seniority over anyone else that comes through here." Gunny said not making eye contact. "I don't have any particular affinity to you and brand new projects I get to make from scratch. None what so ever."

Clover smiled and shook his head. "Of course, how foolish of me. Come on Arc. Lets leave the Sergeant Major to his work." Clover said already halfway out the door. "Thanks again Gunny!"

After leaving the Atlas Armoury, Clover had brought Jaune to one of the many shooting ranges at Atlas Academy. One reserved for high ranking officers, such as the Ace Ops or Specialist, like Winter. "Yeah, this place is usually empty. Without sounding arrogant, but we really don't need much practise anymore so unless we're blowing off steam or an annual assessment is coming up, you normally won't see anyone here." Clover said turning on the lights and wiping some dust off of a bench. "So for the next couple of days you've got the run of the place. If anyone not in the know asks, this is punishment. They won't be able to get in and see what you're actually doing, so the official story is you've been order to clean it up with a tooth brush."

Jaune laughed at the pitiful, yet sadly believable story. "Yeah, that tracks."

"Ammo's there. Target controls there. Just don't hurt yourself or make a mess of the place and you'll be fine. My advice, take it slow. Don't worry about the targets at first, just get a feel for it." Clover said as he played around with the target controls. "Once you're comfortable with the kick and the power, then set up some stationary targets." A few button presses and Hard Light pylons appeared down range. "Then move on to some moving ones." More buttons and the pylons began sliding back and forth. "You'll be fine. I mean, you have taken fire arm safety courses right?" Clover realized in all of his haste and excitement, he didn't think to confirm is Jaune Arc was even prepared to handle his brand new, custom made, lever action shotgun.

Jaune placed his gun down on the ammo shelf before collecting a few boxes of shells. "Yeah. It was mandatory at Beacon for first years. I think I was the only one in the class that was interested. Everyone else already knew what they were doing and had amazing guns that were also swords, or axes, or spears, or giant 4 foot long warhammers."

Clover smiled and nodded. "Great. Well, if you have any questions there's an automated terminal that should be able to fill you on how to operate this place." Clover said before turning to leave. "Oh and one more thing. No food and drinks in here. You can thank Marrow for that."

Another chapter in the books. This one kind of feels like an elongated period of "down time". Something needed between moments of tension, intensity, or seriousness. Next one if going to try to resume some of that and get some more progression going. Still looking for a Beta if anyone is interested. Later days.