CHAPTER 19: OPERATION INTERROGATION

0720 Hours, October 6, 2557 (Military Calendar) / Unknown System, Planet Remnant, Continent of Sanas

The Master Chief had contemplated how to obtain any useful information about the White Fang from the girl that Xiao Long had captured.

He doubted that it would take much for the cat faunus to fold under pressure. After all, if her current state of mind and her previous following of commands were any indication, she very much was in abject fear for her own life. Any future attempts at interrogation would likely be met with resounding success given her weak mental defenses.

Additionally, it seemed that she had a strong connection with Adam Taurus. Judging by her numb state at this time, it would be a safe bet to assume that she relied on him for more than just mentorship in combat. Her level of dedication and loyalty was admirable, but it was also extremely misguided and misplaced.

John's brief foray into Taurus's maps, documents, and personal effects afforded him a very clear understanding of the man behind the Grimm mask. What he found was an individual who was clearly a part of the White Fang in order to satisfy his own personal vendetta against humans. It was a sentiment he was all too familiar with; many Insurrectionists expressed similar levels of hatred towards the UEG and the UNSC in particular. The only difference was that this hatred was directed towards a race, not a government.

The anger was understandable, but the fact that innocent civilians and individuals unrelated to faunus mistreatment were the victims absolved the White Fang of any innocence at this point.

That piece of information aside, there was a plethora of information regarding the faunus terrorist group's primary missions in the Kingdom of Vale. Many of their operations were focused on the gathering of resources, lien, and weaponry, no doubt to bolster their forces in support of future operations of a larger scale.

There were already quite a bit of all three stacked in this camp and a detailed map of Vale and its surroundings revealed that there were a number of strategically-placed hidden caches containing even more. Suffice it to say, all of it had been wrongfully taken from various parties from all across the kingdom.

The Master Chief decided that a vast majority of the stolen goods and money would be returned to their origins. The only things that he would take for his team were some dust crystals and a few vials of dust in powdered form. He needed to better understand this universally-used substance more. His trainees would be useful in providing him with a more thorough understanding of its potential and usefulness.

The spartan checked his clock and realized that it was time for him to relieve Xiao Long of guard duty of the POW. He quickly grabbed one MRE and made his way to the makeshift prison. Apparently, his newfound ability to summon weapons didn't strictly apply to weapons and equipment.

His pace was quick and once he opened the tent flap, the blonde female currently guarding stopped pacing and faced him.

"Get some food and get a few hours of sleep." John informed the SAW gunner. "Rose should be up by now."

"Too easy, Chief." Xiao Long yawned, her eyes displaying exhaustion. "Have fun."

Once he was alone with the POW, he kneeled down to look her in the eye, although he still towered over her.

"I have questions. You will provide answers. If you lie or omit information, I will know and you will pay." The Master Chief said quietly, but severely. "Do you understand?"

"..." Belladonna's fear appeared to still have a firm hold because no words came out of her mouth.

"Do. You. Understand?" The spartan leaned in closer so that his visor was less than a half a meter from her face. "Speak."

"Y-y-yes." The gold-eyed girl squeaked out. "I-I-I u-u-unders-stand."

Before she was given food and water, she would first have to give him something in return. What she revealed to him would determine her fate.

John stood to his full height, then stepped back, leaving two meters between them, all the while making sure he was capturing this. "State your name."

"B-Blake B-Belladonna." Fear continued to make the girl stutter.

Chief needed to rectify that. "Speak clearly."

"...Blake Belladonna." She nearly shouted.

She was responsive to commands. Good.

He pressed forward. "What was your role in this branch of the White Fang?"

"...I provided reconnaissance and fighting skills unique to an aura wielder." Her reply was mixed with slight agitated movements.

But her response appeared to align with Taurus's notes.

The spartan proceeded. "How long have you been a member of the White Fang?"

"...for virtually all of my life. I was practically born into the group." Belladonna couldn't look him face-to-visor for more than a few seconds.

More importantly, her answer indicated that she had a storied history with the White Fang, composed of the old and the new.

"What is the overarching objective of the White Fang?"

The girl's head hung loosely, staring at the ground like it was the most important thing in the world.

The spartan stepped over to her, grasped her chin with his left hand, and forced her to look into his visor. "What is the ultimate objective of the White Fang?"

"...to destroy the four kingdoms by taking down governments, militaries… and the huntsman academies." Her golden eyes held fear.

John once again found her words to be truthful, but nothing she had said was useful to him. He could easily connect his experiences with Insurrectionists to the White Fang and deduce the facts based on the striking similarities.

Moreover, the Master Chief now had a new question. "What is your connection to Adam Taurus?"

"My mentor and lifelong friend." Belladonna said quietly. "He… is also a friend of my family; he saved my father's life once."

So there was gratitude mixed with admiration. It made sense, but none of this was particularly relevant to him. He also noted that she seemed like she had not fully processed Taurus's death.

But something else did click in his mind. "You are connected to leadership in the White Fang."

"I… am." The admittance was reluctant, but the cat faunus agreed. "I've always been, what with my father being the former High Leader of the White Fang."

That instantly got John's attention. If what she said was true, then her value had just increased drastically. Not only did she hold value as a hostage, but she was the bridge between the old and new ways of the White Fang.

The Chief decided that for now, he had heard enough. "I will remove your bindings so that you can eat. If you do anything other than what I tell you to, I will kill you."

Belladonna lowered her head, her ears flattening against her head. "I understand."

Quickly removing her binds, he simply tossed her a canteen of water and the MRE he had procured. She looked at what she had been given, then looked up at him. He merely stared at her, waiting for her.

"What are you going to do with me?" She asked him

Spartan 117 deigned not to respond to her. When she realized that he was not going to answer her question, she simply resumed her meal.

Privately, the hulking man in MJOLNIR armor had his answer.

While the value of this POW was considerable, it did not change the fact that she was a known terrorist and her actions reflected as much. He was not sure if she had killed people along the way, but whether or not she had was irrelevant. The fact that she was an active participant in all of this made her no less guilty.

Additionally, her willingness to provide information to him, while useful, indicated that she clearly was not of a strong mind. Fear truly did dictate her mind more than she might even realize herself. While fear itself was nothing to shun, for it to have such a prevalent hold on the mind to reduce this girl to a coward and a traitor did not bode well for his opinion of her overall character.

The Master Chief could not shake off the urge to simply execute her and be done with it. She was a terrorist and she was willing to sell out her comrades. Not only that, but having her around meant that his team would need round-the-clock eyes on her. He could not afford to operate in those conditions.

Ultimately, the spartan had to consider the bigger picture. Blake Belladonna had value as a hostage. If her father was once truly the de facto leader of the White Fang, then perhaps he could force his way deeper into the movement and cripple it from within.

"Hurry up." John ordered the girl.

Belladonna acted accordingly. "Y-yes sir."

Now that he took her responses and mannerisms into account, the girl seemed to respond to authority figures like it was second nature.

Perhaps she struggled without some form of leadership guiding her?

The Master Chief mentally shook his head.

As long as she's obedient, nothing else matters.

Halo - - - RWBY

0750 Hours

The first thing that Ruby did when she woke us was relieve herself, quickly do some personal hygiene, take a long drink of water, then get to cleaning her weapon.

While she didn't anticipate cleaning to take all that long, it was still worth doing regardless of how dirty it was. A clean weapon would take care of her in combat only if she kept up that cleanliness.

It had taken her less than a week to understand every aspect of the weapon. That included disassembly and reassembly, what each part did, the typical reasons for misfires, jams, and jammings, and overall maintenance of the weapon. If there was one thing that she was grateful for in her old life, it was her penchant for weaponry of all kinds. It was actually helping in getting the most out of her rifle.

Among the dirtiest parts of the weapon system were the star chamber, the upper receiver, and the lower receiver. There wasn't a particular order that she needed to clean the weapon parts in, just that they got clean. She had already done a general wipedown of the outside to clear obvious dirt, debris, and carbon.

Lower receiver first. Ruby decided on the first part.

So she grabbed some rags which had been reappropriated from this camp and began to get to work. After a few minutes of work, she decided to play some music, so she loaded the music app on her scroll, cranked up the volume, and resumed.

Whenever she was working with weapons and anything related, the former aspiring huntress often found moments like this to be meditative. She could lose herself to working for many hours and not even realize her body was on autopilot.

Ruby's stomach growled quietly, but it reminded her that she had forgotten to get breakfast. Once she finished up with this, she would wash her hands and find something to eat. They were low on game, so MRE's would have to do. Again like with this team's weapons, she had no idea how the Master Chief obtained this stuff.

She stifled a yawn, a holdover from less sleep last night due to POW watch. Thankfully, she had taken first shift so she had the luxury of an uninterrupted sleep for the remainder of the night. Still, it would be nice to get a couple more hours. Maybe she would get that once she got done with this and getting some food.

A pair of footsteps alerted her to someone approaching, but she didn't stand nor look up from what she was doing, only continued to clean.

"Here, catch." Yang's voice sounded.

Ruby looked up to see something being tossed at her. Instinctively, she reached out her right hand and grabbed the item.

It was an MRE.

"Thought you could use some food." Yang sat down a few meters away, her weapon with her as well. "Chief said you just woke up?"

Ruby just nodded. "Thanks."

"Hey, pass me a rag." Yang gestured to the item in question. "My shit needs some lovin' too."

Ruby grabbed a piece and tossed it. "Here."

"Thank ya." Yang began to get to work on disassembling her weapon.

Although the elder sister was no weapon maniac, she had attained a level of proficiency with her SAW that was actually pretty close to the younger sister.

For the next five minutes, the two girls worked on their weapons, the sound of parts clanking together occasionally along with the music from the silver-eyed girl's scroll still blaring.

Then Ruby had a thought. "So how'd you capture that girl?"

"Kitty cat?" Yang scoffed. "Pretty easily. I mean, she's got some speed, but I'm better. She got some of these hands. It's the boredom that's gettin' to me more than anything'."

Ruby could understand. "Yeah, this job can do that, I guess."

"So, about yesterday." Yang glanced up. "You know how many you killed?"

Ruby ceased her cleaning and looked blonde. "I don't know. A few, I think, I wasn't counting. They just happened."

Yang's expression didn't change. "Huh."

Ruby let out a sigh and stared at her lap. "Here's the weird part. I killed a bunch of guys and I should feel something. It's wrong to kill… but I don't. If anything, I feel bad about the fact that I don't feel anything. Does that make any sense?"

"No, I think I get it." Yang shrugged her shoulders, then made a few motions with her hands. "When I toured the camp, I saw your kills. Pretty fucked up, but I don't know, I just looked at 'em, felt bad for a second, then… yeah."

Ruby dared to make eye contact again. "You think this is a feeling that we would've had as huntresses? No feeling? Or would we just be kind of happy go-lucky and shit like that?"

"I don't even think about it." Yang dismissed, leaning her head against a nearby tree. "Like it or not, we're here and we're alive; I don't know about you, but I actually prefer to live."

Ruby could only nod her head. "We all do."

They fell into silence again for another few minutes. Both of them switched between cleaning their respective weapon parts, then digging into their food. Their hands weren't exactly clean, but they didn't really care. They probably wouldn't die.

"I'm pretty sure dad and Qrow are throwing a bitchy fit." Yang threw out the next random topic. "Especially Qrow because I went after you and I knew he didn't like that. I'm surprised he hasn't come after us."

Ruby hadn't thought about her dad in a while. "How did he take it… dad, I mean?"

"About as well as you can expect from a man who loves his baby girl." Yang took the bolt of her weapon and began inspecting it. "It doesn't help that you're his last connection to mom and all that."

When her sister put it like that, Ruby couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "Yeah, I should've guessed that much but I bet he's even more worried now that you've been gone for a minute."

"Look, I love dad, I respect him, but he can't baby me… he can't baby us forever." Yang began using a pick to get into a hard-to-reach groove. "He should know the risks. He is a fucking huntsman after all."

Ruby worked for a few seconds, then a revelation came to her mind. "You don't plan on going back?"

"Not really. I don't have a reason to go back." Yang regarded the rest of her parts, replacing the bolt in her hand with a barrel. "Yeah, I wanted to be a huntress, but that was just a means to an end. What I really wanted was an adventure and plenty of thrills… and maybe do some good here and there. I'm getting that here."

Ruby closed one eye to look into her upper receiver. "It's not like we're seeing action twenty-four seven. We just fight and maybe do cool shit like yesterday."

"There's also the fact that I don't have my bike." Yang took a sip of water from her canteen. "And I don't trust myself to navigate through the wilds. Plus, safety in numbers; the Grimm out here are actually low-key hard. Oh, and I couldn't face dad or Qrow after I promised to bring you back."

Ruby looked a little sheepish. "Sorry about that."

"Fuck it." Yang didn't appear offended. "At this point, I'm just going with the flow. Yeah, it's not all exciting, but I think it's going to get more exciting down the road. Call it a gut instinct."

Another intermission followed. Both of them found their own rhythm as they slowly made progress on getting their weapons back to full operation. Thankfully, no parts were in need of repair or replacement.

Ruby grabbed a small packet of raisins from her MRE and simply dumped all of the contents into her mouth, chewed quickly, then swallowed. They were fine, nothing amazing or terrible.

"You should probably get some rest. I can watch your SAW for you."

"I'm okay, Ruby."

"I got consistent sleep last night, Yang. You didn't."

For the rest of the morning, the two of them made small talk back and forth, the topics long away from the heavier questions of earlier. One thing that was clear to the younger sister was the frank nature between the two of them.

Before the Master Chief came into their lives, there were certain topics and conversations that they dared not breach. Old morals were the reason for that limitation. Now, it felt like they could address each other not as an older and younger sister, but two combatants who had their own roles to fulfill on this team.

Ruby had only just realized this recently, but she didn't dislike this shift in their relationship. If anything, she felt like her opinion and voice actually mattered to her older sister. In the past Yang had a tendency to dismiss her just because she was younger. Now that attitude was in the past.

And they were on a first-name basis again.

That was progress.

RWBY - - - Halo

0800 Hours

Blake felt like such a traitor for being so loose-lipped with information regarding the White Fang. Never had she thought in her wildest dreams that she would get caught and forced to spill everything that she knew.

Then again, she'd never expected to get caught in what she thought to be a safe zone for the White Fang. This place was tucked away from the Kingdom of Vale. From here, they could do as they wished with very little fear of repercussion. They had always been meticulous when covering their tracks to avoid detection.

And that was a great feeling, to not care about the consequences and just do as she pleased. After so many years of hate and indifference both humans and even her own kind, it was nice to lash out in return. So many repressed emotions could be let out and she could afford to lose herself for a little while.

But now karma was coming back with a vengeance.

Yeah, Blake was letting out so many pent-up emotions due to injustice against her race, but there had always been a small feeling at the back of her mind that sooner or later, their luck would run out. Someone would find them and inflict just as much pain or worse on them. That nagging thought was always there, taunting her, but for the sake of her brothers and sisters, she pushed it aside. Great progress couldn't be made without some sacrifices, she had told herself numerous times.

Now, everyone in the camp was dead. From the looks of the corpses, almost none of them were able to even so much as put up a fight before their lives were taken from them.

Even Adam, the person that she saw as the greatest among the White Fang, was gone. He had managed to go down fighting, but he still ended up the same as everyone else.

For Blake, that was the most unbelievable part.

What made all of this worse was that the perpetrators of all of this death carried on like this was nothing, a minor inconvenience. They just did their own thing, discarding the bodies and burning them without so much as a respectful sendoff or anything. That made the cat faunus angry and disrespected.

She wanted to fight back. More than anything, she wanted to retrieve a weapon and take revenge against the people who had taken her closest friends and allies in the White Fang. How could they just do this and act like it wasn't a big deal?

No matter how many times Blake tried to summon the courage to face her foes, one look from the golden visor and instantly, she was cowed into submission. Her mind seized up with fear and she couldn't even hide it. She couldn't explain it, but her logical mind all but vanished and she just let the words spill out.

The man clad in green armor had bound her again after she had finished eating and hydrating.

She waited for the interrogation to begin.

Only it didn't.

He stared at her.

She didn't know for how long.

Eventually, Blake just her anxiety out. "What's going to happen to me?"

He said nothing to her, only continued to stare at her, remaining as still as a statue. Even with her trained eyes, she could almost mistake him for one.

It made her uneasy.

"What's going to happen to me?" Blake tried again, the unnerving feeling pushed to the side for a moment.

Again, he opted not to speak or move or acknowledge her question in any way, shape, or form. His gold visor remained fixed on her.

Even if she couldn't see his eyes, Blake felt sure he was watching her. "So that's it? You're just going to ignore me?"

Nothing.

"Fine, don't even know why I bothered." Blake just gave up. "Your kind never listens to mine."

The only thing she could do was lean her head back against the crates her back rested against. The silence in her felt more than a little stifling. Not even a day ago and this place was at least filled with some life and the voices of her comrades.

"The fact that the White Fang is composed of faunus is not the reason we assaulted this camp and killed your brothers and sisters in arms." She felt her head snap up when that deep voice sounded off. "We took this place and terminated your friends because you and your ilk have a storied history of terrorism."

Blake scoffed at that reasoning. "We wouldn't have to resort to terrorism if humans didn't force our hands. When the White Fang was peaceful and nonviolent, the only treatment we got was the negative kind. Insults, beatings, even murders. We were tired of being beaten, bloodied, and broken."

"Be that as it may, you still committed many criminal acts against civilians and military personnel alike." He was utterly calm and spoke clearly. "Many of which had no connection to hate crimes committed against innocent faunus men, women, and children."

The armor's indifferent-sounding response had Blake's anger flare up. "Those people are just as guilty because they didn't help us! Humans either hurt us or do nothing to help us! That's why we do what we do! Now they can't ignore us! What we do here gets us results! It makes people respect us!"

"There is a clear difference between fear and respect. The former is forced upon people and the latter is given by others by earning it." He wasn't swayed by her emotional response. "You said it yourself; the White Fang's ultimate goal was the destruction of society. What is that if not a clear inspiration of fear?"

Blake couldn't stand this. "THEN MAYBE THE KINGDOMS SHOULD BE DESTROYED! MAYBE THEY'RE SO FUCKED UP THAT IT'S HIGH TIME THEY GET DESTROYED!"

Why did she even deign to give these people answers like she had done? Why had she conspired with the enemy? What was wrong with her? How would Adam look at her when she saw him again in the afterlife?

Then she heard the sound of a weapon being cocked. She looked up to see the barrel of a pistol lined up in the dead-center of her forehead.

"You mistake me for belonging to one of the four kingdoms. I do not serve any of them nor do I have connections with any of them." His voice somehow reached a deeper tone. "My loyalty lies elsewhere."

Blake suddenly remembered why she had become so weak mentally. This was the reason why and it terrified her still.

"I have my own rules of engagement to follow. Your actions and the actions of your fellow faunus clearly marked you as terrorists in my eyes." The pistol became closer and his tone became deadly. "I took the appropriate action according to my rules. Consider yourself fortunate that you were not in this camp when I entered it."

So he did this because he could? That simple line of thinking was inconceivable. To just dictate who lives and dies only by his own rules…

Blake felt like she had to do something quickly. "I-I-I've never killed anyone before! I-I-I j-just participated in the raids of resources!"

"Your association with the White Fang is more than enough reason for me to kill you." His weapon was now right up against her forehead. "Simply because you did not kill does not excuse your presence and association with a known terrorist group."

The safety on the weapon clicked off. The girl with golden eyes suddenly felt a new level of terror grip her being.

Blake now blurted words of sheer desperation out. "I don't wanna die!"

"Everyone that the White Fang has killed likely felt the same way you do." He was not the least bit sympathetic to her pleas. "What makes you so deserving of life and not them?"

The logical part of her brain had all but shut down, leaving only pure fear for her life and knowing that she couldn't do anything to stop the man in front of her. She couldn't answer his question, not that she would have a satisfactory answer.

"We have everything we need to expose all the cells of the White Fang in Vale and its surroundings." His finger closed on the trigger. "You are no longer of any use to me."

This was it. Her fate had been decided.

She was about to die.

She always thought that she would die bravely, doing the right thing, maybe even in combat protecting her brothers and sisters.

Instead, here she was, absolutely shocked with fear, unable to move or react or do anything other than submit to her execution.

Her breathing had become erratic, her body had resorted to shaking wildly, her eyes wide open, and her teeth were clenched with such pressure that if she were in a more calm state of mind, it would be painful.

Then she felt an impact against her head.

Then she slipped away into the dark.

Halo - - - RWBY

0810 Hours

The Master Chief was never one to be merciful towards his enemies, but in this case, he had made a split-second decision.

Blake Belladonna had fear laced in her eyes that was so potent that even he could not ignore them. What followed was not pity or sympathy, but disappointment. This girl probably could have done greater things in the service of better people. It would be a shame to waste her life when he considered that viewpoint.

There was also the reality that if he killed her now, it would not be a death in combat. It would be him killing a defenseless girl. This went against not only the teachers instilled in him by Mendez, but also the general rules of warfare enforced by the Geneva Conventions. This girl was a POW and that meant she was protected. The use of interrogation and intimidation techniques was starting to break into murky territory.

Oh, and she was also a valuable hostage. He was never going to killer for that reason alone.

Still, he felt it necessary and the fact that she was a terrorist made things a little more uncertain when it came to the interpretation of the Geneva Convention because it strictly applied to individuals belonging to the miliary of a nation or the UNSC.

In any event, he had decided not to kill her. A good pistol whip to the head was what he opted for. Her aura would probably heal her if she had sustained an injury. They would need to find a way to control that as well if she was to stick around.

"Chief?" Rose entered the tent, her weapon with her. "What's going on?"

The spartan simply gestured to the unconscious faunus. "A simple interrogation and intimidation. She'll be fine."

"Okay then." His youngest trainee accepted his answer. "Do you need me to do anything?"

He looked at the girl, initially thinking to dismiss her, then he stopped.

John regarded the teenage girl. She looked so different than when he had first recruited her. Gone was the innocence that she once held. Now, she looked like someone that he would trust in combat. She learned fast and she absorbed knowledge and she could adapt quickly. She was still young and inexperienced, but she was capable.

He made a decision, reaching into one of his pouches to retrieve a very important item. It was an eagle with spread wings, a gold star above its head, three gold arrows in its left talons, and a gold lightning bolt in its right, all encased within a shield emblem.

He placed the patch in her hands. She gently accepted it, looking at its design, then looking at him for an answer.

"That is the symbol of the Spartan Branch." The Master Chief explained. "Anyone who carries this patch has earned the right to wear it through blood, sweat, and tears. Now you have earned the right to wear it."

Rose's eyes widened, her jaw falling slightly.

To snap her out of her trance, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well done, spartan."

She had a long way to go in order to become the best warrior that she could be, but he believed that she was getting closer to reaching that ultimate potential.

"I will do my best to honor my new title." Ruby closed her hand around the patch and placed that hand against her chest. "I swear it."

John nodded his head "I have high expectations of you."

And he hoped she could meet, even exceed them.

I'm not sure if the Geneva Conventions are a thing in Halo, but my logic tells me that even in the future, there are laws and regulations regarding the conduct of warfare. Halo is futuristic fiction for our world after all.

And speaking of the Chief, he's actually being a lot nicer to Blake than he ought to be. In any other situation, he probably would have killed her, but the story kind of dictates that I don't. Plus, you know, the rules of war and all that.

Also, I won't lie: I feel like in order to get Blake to become a more likeable character, she's got to go through some shit in order to grow up. Blake in RWBY canon is not really a good person.

Ruby becoming a Spartan seemed well-earned now that she's able to deal with combat stress. Still, she's considered a spartan, but she's not fully there in the Master Chief's eyes yet.

Yang is kind of there, but she's going to need to have a serious conversation with him or prove her worth in another engagement. Look forward to that.

Thoughts? Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated, even for grammar.

Also if you're interested, I've got a new poll that asks what character that's not used much in FanFiction that you guys would appreciate given the protagonist treatment.

Thanks for reading.

"War is cruel, and none can make it gentle."

Gilbert Parker