So, this chapter is going to provide another explanation for Ironwood's attitude during Volume 4. It'll also give another reason as to why Jacques Schnee is so pissed at Ironwood after the fall of Vale.
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or RWBY.
"Tell me what happened."
Winter already knew that the video footage they had had already been viewed by Ironwood, but she also knew that he wanted to hear what happened from her personally, but also for the record. And as much as she'd rather not relive the events again, she took a deep breath and began.
"We were investigating what was supposed to be a White Fang attack at an offshore Schnee Dust mine." Winter said. "When we arrived, we found the mine deserted, and the Grimm had overrun the mine in the struggle. In a desperate act, the surviving miners used some of the more volatile raw Dust and set it off, destroying the mine in the process."
"Thank you, Winter." Ironwood said, shutting off the Scroll and sending the Atlesian Knights guarding the door away. "Now, off the record?" Winter took another deep breath.
"Sir, it... it was aliens." Winter said. "Some form of parasitical life form had taken over the miners, and were using them as soldiers."
"And then you and your team encountered more aliens who contained these creatures?"
"Yes sir." The Specialist nodded. "I know it sounds hard to believe, but dozens of other creatures, plus those that seemed to be human, appeared in an effort to contain the threat."
"But they failed." Ironwood noted, drawing upon his Scroll and displaying an image captured by the Bullhounds present at the incident. "And two ships larger than anything Remnant has ever constructed appeared and burned the entire island and a fair chunk of the surrounding sea in order to contain these parasites."
"Yes, sir."
"And do you think that was justified?" Winter paused briefly, then she nodded.
"I do. These creatures were monsters, and if what one of those other aliens said was true, they would overrun Remnant in a matter of hours."
"You believe they were a threat beyond that of the Grimm?" Ironwood asked.
"I'm certain of it." She replied. "Sir, the Grimm were actively aiding those creatures as they attempted to escape. The creatures also demonstrated the ability to use complicated equipment. They were definitely not mindless like the Grimm. If anything, the Grimm were serving them!"
For a long moment, Ironwood was silent. Then he spoke once again. "That will be all, Winter. You're dismissed." The Schnee Specialist opened her mouth to argue, but then snapped it shut and saluted.
"Yes, sir." She stood up and headed to the door, but just before she reached the threshold, Ironwood spoke up again.
"And remember; everything we've discussed is strictly confidential."
"Understood."
She spun around and exited the room, leaving the General alone with his thoughts.
Once Winter left, Ironwood sighed, his fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose. This was an unmitigated disaster: First the Fall of Beacon, and now this? What was worse was that these creatures matched the descriptions of those from a text held by Ozpin.
He had warned the rest of the Headmasters to be on the look out for such creatures, claiming that they would be worse than the Grimm. Ironwood had listened, but of course found it rather hard to believe, seeing as the 'source' was from a text older than known civilization and considering the fact that they already had a lot to deal with.
But with Ozpin gone and these creatures proving real, and Ironwood now realized just how much he was in over his head. Combine with these aliens that appeared to stop the threat, and he didn't know what to believe anymore.
Right now though, the more pressing problem would be explaining what happened at the Dust Mine to the Council. He obviously couldn't just tell them the truth, since it would end up sparking a panic, which they didn't need right now.
Though one way or another, Ironwood was sure of one thing: Jacques Schnee was not going to be happy.
...
"I am not happy about this James!" Jacques said.
Ironwood suppressed a sigh. This was exactly how he had expected this meeting to go. Not that he was enjoying it in the slightest. They were in the Schnee head's office, one of their increasingly routine meetings ever since Ironwood had returned to Atlas.
As soon as the General had arrived, he had gave the story he had fabricated: The White Fang had heard about the artifact found in the mines and came to collect it. Atlas soldiers followed after them in order to drive them out, and in the ensuing fight, some unstable Dust in the deep caverns ignited, triggering a chain reaction that destroyed the entire mine and severely destabilized the island.
It was all fabricated of course: Ironwood especially refused to show images of the damage, considering how severe it was would give the deception away. Unsurprisingly, Jacques still made a big deal about it anyway.
"One of my most profitable Dust mines destroyed, by the White Fang?" The businessman continued his ranting. "This is unacceptable. First they attack Beacon while the Schnee heiress is there. Now, they attack one of my facilities? The White Fang need to be eradicated."
"I understand your concern, Jacques." Ironwood cut in. "Rest assured, we are taking every step to find them and bring them to justice."
"You'll forgive me if that doesn't inspire confidence." Jacques said. "First Beacon, now this? I'm beginning to question the competence of our great military." He glared at Ironwood. "Or perhaps its leader."
"My soldiers risked their lives in an effort to liberate your mine." The general snarled. "Your own daughter was nearly killed while attempting to liberate it. And let's not forget, it was you who demanded us to secure the artifact your workers found there. You didn't care about the mine. Hell, your safety concerns were obviously lax considering the destruction all that unstable Dust caused."
That was a complete lie, and Ironwood knew it. The mine and island had been burned away to stop some sort of rampaging Parasite, not because of the White Fang. It was dirty business, keeping something this large a secret, but Ozpin did it all the time.
He just had to do the same thing now. It helped that Ironwood really didn't want or need to tell Jacques the truth. Speaking of which, Jacques had grown silent, no doubt thinking over the accusation.
The businessman had always claimed that Schnee Dust Mines were the safest in the world, and now an accident had completely annihilated one of them. Perhaps this lie could do some good, if it forced Jacques to make some real changes to the way his company was run.
"Alright, I will trust your judgement on this." Jacques sighed. "But any more screw ups like this will be brought to the Council."
Salem stood in her tower, overlooking the crystalline wasteland below her as Grimm emerged from the pits of black liquid. She paid that little mind though, as she thought about recent events. The Battle of Beacon had been a step in the right direction, a key to gaining the relics and completing her goal.
But it was also a distraction for the militaries. With the world in turmoil, her master's forces would spread throughout this world, consuming everything within a matter of hours. That was the plan, and indeed, it's what should've happened, but their path to Remnant had been destroyed and what had came through had been thoroughly annihilated by Atlas' military.
She knew her master would not be happy about this. And that displeasure would inevitably be known to her personally. The only question would be when and where. Her thought process was interrupted by the door opening and Watts, Cinder and Tyrian entering.
"I thought I gave you your tasks."
"Forgive us Salem," Watts bowed his head. "we have something you need to see."
Mercury and Emerald walked in, dragging a bruised and bloodied human between them. He wasn't wearing clothes of any familiar fashion on Remnant, and was completely unarmed. The only noticeable thing about him was the strange black rock pendant dangling from his neck.
"Who is this?"
"We're not sure." Watts replied hesitantly. "We found him at the gateway to the castle, no indication of how he got here."
"And the injuries?"
"He says that he wanted to see you." Tyrian giggled madly. "I had to make sure that he wasn't lying."
"Interesting." She strode forward and grabbed the man's chin with one hand, forcing him to look into her eyes. "Tell me, why would you dare come here?"
"I need to talk to you." The prisoner said, surprisingly coherent and calm for someone who had been beaten so badly.
"A foolhardy endeavor." She said. "What could be so important to talk to me that it would spare your life?"
"It's about the mines." The implication of that statement made Salem's blood run cold. Turning her gaze to the rest of her underlings, she gave one order.
"Leave us." The confusion in their gazes was palpable.
"But Salem-" Watts started, but died at the look on her face.
"I said, leave us!"
Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, Watts and Tyrian quickly exited the room, leaving the man on the floor and on his knees. He coughed and spluttered a bit more before rising to his feet. Through it all, Salem had backed up, just in case this man would spontaneously mutate into one of those things.
"You're one of his disciples." She whispered. He nodded.
"One of many." The man said. "I bring a message from the Great Mind. And orders for you."
"You said it was about the incident at the mine?"
"Indeed." The man coughed. "Atlas' military was not responsible for the master's defeat. Others from beyond the stars were. They knew about the portal, and had arrived to shut it down and destroy our master's forces."
"And what do you want me to do?"
"Not me." The man replied. "The master wants you to find them."
"How can I possibly find them?" Salem asked. "If they are not from Remnant, then they are beyond my reach."
"But their spies are not." The Unitologist replied. "And their agents are here. Watching, waiting, observing your world. Any attempt for another attack will suffer the same result. You must root out these spies, however you can, and remove them."
"I will do the master's bidding." The man smiled at her proclamation, pulling out a knife. How he had hid from Tyrian, she didn't know. Salem tensed up, but he made no effort to attack.
"I know you will. And our master will, too." The man put the knife to his throat. "All will become one."
The man jammed the knife into his throat, carving a deep gash into his neck. Blood spurted out in extreme amounts and the man pitched forward, hitting the floor and letting the red liquid pool.
Salem watched, unnerved at this. The suicide itself wasn't what disturbed her; she had seen far, far worse from humans before. No, what scared her was just his eagerness to take his own life. He actually seemed glad that he was going to die. There was no fear, only joy.
Cinder, Mercury and Emerald entered the room, Watts and Tyrian leaving for their tasks in order not to piss off their goddess any more. They stared surprised at the body on the floor, the bloody knife in his hand.
"Dispose of the body." Salem ordered, drawing their attention to her. Silently, Cinder gestured to the corpse, and Mercury and Emerald rushed to pick it up. Despite some disgusted groans from the minty-haired thief, the two of them completed their tasks in silence. Cinder looked at Salem questioningly.
"Go." She ordered. "I will call you back shortly."
Cinder hesitantly nodded and left the room, leaving Salem alone with her thoughts.
Alright, well that's the second aftermath chapter I've written. So yeah, I think the knowledge of the Flood would put more stress on Ironwood, especially since he knows that they were destroyed by more aliens, yet he can't really tell anyone, for fear of causing another panic.
And yeah, Salem and Ozpin knew about them long before this happened. Salem due to her direct service to the Gravemind and Ozpin because he's Ozpin. I'll need to know more about Remnant's history before expanding on this, however.
On a somewhat unrelated note, I'd like to give a shout-out/recommendation for another Flood-themed story: "The Coming Darkness" by Usernamesarebad. If you want to see what would happen if the Flood arrived in the Star Wars galaxy during the Clone Wars, I would seriously recommend taking a look at it.
With all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.