AUTHOR'S NOTE: A short chapter tonight, and something of a filler. I hit a case of writer's block for the next big bunch of battles (plural), and I wanted to do some character development...and a little bit of romance, as well as the fallout from Clover's death. By the time I finished that, it was getting late and the story would've doubled in size if I included even one of the big fights coming up. So again, a bit of a filler episode here, but it does set up for what's coming next.

Poznan-Krezsiny Airbase

Poznan, Republic of Poland

29 August 2001

At least the White Fang taught me how to pack light, Blake mused as she folded her clothes into the duffel bag. Even with Ironwood's extension, Ruby Flight was still scheduled to leave for Lakenheath in the morning, and Blake wanted to have everything ready to put into the luggage pod.

"Yo, Blakey." Yang walked into the barracks room. "Where's Weiss?"

"Having dinner with Marrow." Blake smiled. "Our heiress has come a long way. Now she's on a date with a Faunus."

Yang sat down on Blake's bunk. "Yeah, next thing you know, we'll be having little Schnee puppies running around." She leaned back against the wall. "Blake, can I talk with you for a second?"

"Sure." Blake zipped the duffel up and sat down next to her. "What's up? Aside from the obvious."

"It's about Ruby…and Oscar." Blake nodded; she had a feeling that was it was. Yang had not said anything about Summer Rose, and Blake sensed that her friend was not ready to talk about that yet.

Yang pushed off the wall and leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees. "I'm not pissed," she told her friend. "I kind of want to be, but…I'm not. That's just the big sister in me."

Blake shrugged. "No reason to be angry, Yang. Ruby's a grown woman. She's, what, two years younger than you? And you've said you lost your virginity in high school."

Yang blushed. "Yeah. I got no room to talk, I know. It's just…shit. I don't know what it is." She spread her hands helplessly. "Ruby says she loves him, but does she really? Or is it two people just thrown together and Oscar was the nearest available dick?"

"Yang," Blake warned. "That's not fair."

Yang sighed. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. Oscar's a good dude. And Ruby didn't just hop into his bed because he was available. She likes him, and she's liked him for awhile. God knows the feeling's mutual. I bet Oscar popped a boner every time Ruby bent over. I'm an idiot for not seeing it." She sniffed a laugh. "Hell, maybe I'm just jealous because I got nobody myself. I haven't gotten laid since Beacon. Like, right after Vytal Flag started."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Oh my, that's been, what, five months? Whatsoever shall you do?"

"Says the girl who banged Sun two months ago." The Faunus' ears laid back against her head in embarrassment. Yang laughed. "Geez, Blake. Nothing to be ashamed of. I'd be going around telling everyone that I bagged the Great Abs of China."

"It wasn't like that!" Blake exclaimed. "I told you, I was really lonely, and he was there, and he was…um…"

Yang's smile became a leer. "Really good, from what you told me in Japan."

"Uggh." Blake fell back on the bed. "Yang, did you ever stop to consider that Ruby and Oscar hooked up because they're terrified they're going to die, and they wanted to at least have some good memories in amongst the shit? That's kind of the reason why I went to bed with Sun."

Yang was quiet for a moment. "I guess I do now." She lay back next to Blake. "Maybe it is envy. At least Ruby thinks she's in love." Another stretch of silence. "I've never been in love, Blake. Sex, hell yeah. I love sex. But…it wasn't love."

Blake stared at the bottom of Yang's bunk. She'd been in love once, madly so. And her lover had tried to murder her, and the woman next to her. The silence got uncomfortable, and Yang realized why. "Shit, Blake, I'm sorry. I forgot about Adam."

"I wish I could." Blake waved it off. "It's all right." She sighed too. "Well, Yang, if it makes you feel better…" She turned over and grinned at Yang. "I think you'll make a good aunt."

"I what?" Yang sat up, so fast she nearly smacked her head into the other bunk. "Okay, Blake, that better have been a joke, or this metal fist is going somewhere you don't want it to go! Bad enough you guys didn't tell me what my sister was up to!"

"Oh, please, Yang. Weiss and I had a bet how long it would take for you to catch on. Which I won, by the way." Blake sat up. "And though sometimes she does dumbass things, Ruby isn't stupid, so I'm sure she and Oscar were being careful." She poked Yang in the chest. "And your sister, as has been pointed out before, is a grown woman."

Yang stared daggers at Blake for a moment, then shoved her back on the bed. "Damn you and your logic." She swung out of the bunk and leaned against it, looking down at the Faunus. "Hmm. You know, you make that flight suit talk, Blakey. Maybe we should hook up. I've never banged a girl before, but I'm willing to try new things, especially with you."

Blake laughed, but then noticed Yang wasn't smiling. "Uh…are you serious, Yang?" Yang leaned over a little more, grabbed the top zipper of her flight suit, and slowly began pulling it down. "Yang, uh, I don't…I've never…uh…" Blake's ears were flattened back, and the look on her face was the same as a cornered alley cat. Yang leaned over even further, her bosom ballooning out of the flight suit, barely hidden by a bright orange bra. Her tongue flicked out and licked her lips. Blake's eyes went wide, and her heart began hammering.

"Blake," Yang whispered, close enough for the other woman to feel her breath, "do you know something?" Her voice was husky. The zipper was now down to Yang's navel.

"Y-Yang?"

Yang's lips suddenly split into a vicious grin. "You are way too easy to tease." She snorted in laughter, straightened up and rezipped the flight suit, and stuck her nose in the air. "Hmpf. I'm not that kind of girl. I don't put out on the first date." But she was still smiling.

Blake gave her a murderous look. "You're an asshole, Yang Xiao Long."

Yang was about to reply when there was a knock on the door. Yang, still smirking at Blake, walked over to the door and flung it open. "Hi, Nora! Here for the orgy?"

Nora looked a bit taken aback at that. "Er…um, no." Yang noticed that the smaller woman was not her normal ebuillent self. "I got bad news. Clover Ebi's dead."

"I sure enjoyed dinner," Marrow said to Weiss. They were walking back down a treelined sidewalk to the officers' quarters, in a pleasant early evening.

"It was just the officers' club," Weiss replied.

"Uh, sure…but I still liked it." His tail began to wag, and Marrow frowned, trying to stop it. Weiss smothered a giggle. He checked his watch. "Well, the ceasefire is supposed to hold until about 2 or 3 in the morning, so, um…you want to…I don't know…play some video games?"

Weiss wasn't sure if Marrow was just really bad at trying to seduce her, or he genuinely wanted to play some video games. Then she decided that she didn't care. Marrow reminded her a bit of Jaune, in a good way: he was trying to pass himself off as a ladies' man, but knew deep down that the ladies saw right through his act—and yet, ended up liking him anyway. Weiss had been disgusted by Jaune at Beacon, at first, but that had been a different Weiss, determined to step on or use anyone on her way to the top. Weiss, then, had only seen the façade that Jaune was trying to put on; it had taken Pyrrha to see the man behind it. There were times that Weiss regretted not doing the same.

Marrow she still wasn't completely sure of. He was good looking, by anyone's standards; she'd never met anyone who could actually make a man bun work. Once he'd dropped the Best Fighter Pilot in the World persona, Weiss found him to be fun and affable, and actually a bit modest: he knew that, with Weiss, he wasn't dealing with some wide-eyed fighter pilot groupie, but a seasoned veteran who had seen far more combat than he had—and therefore, he didn't try to impress her. Marrow was genuine, and for someone who had lived with too many lies, Weiss appreciated that.

Now, Weiss thought, the question was this: did she want to go any further with this (assuming that was what Marrow wanted, Weiss considered; not all men were slavering apes bent on sex), or keep things on the simmer? Weiss also had to admit to herself that some of her feelings just might be jealousy—of Ruby, of all people. She'd known Ruby was sleeping with Oscar from the start, of course, and found herself wishing she had someone warm to curl up to in the middle of the night. Blake had once had Adam, and if rumors were true, Sun Wukong, and Weiss doubted Yang ever lacked for male company. Weiss hadn't had anyone, ever. Add to it the very real possibility that she might not survive the next 24 hours, and Weiss found herself also sizing up Marrow, and wondering what it would be like to make love to him. What would Mother think of that? Me with a Faunus. Weiss thought with a small smile. Or better yet, Father? Oh, shameless Weiss! She could see Jacques Schnee having a heart attack at the thought of his youngest daughter sleeping with a Faunus. Assuming he even gives a damn.

"Um, Weiss?" Marrow had the rather uncomfortable feeling of being mentally stripped and mounted as Weiss stared at him. So that's what that's like. Being only human-figuratively-Marrow had often done that himself, to the point of imagining the girls of Ace Flight, Ruby Flight, and Norn Flight, plus the handful of female Polish pilots on base, naked. It felt weird to have the tables turned.

"I'm sorry?" Weiss shook off the mental image of her straddling a very naked Marrow Amin.

"Did you want to call it a night, or play some video games? I've got Final Fantasy X." Weiss had no idea what that was. She hesitated, torn between bidding Marrow a good night, or accepting his invitation for video games, or just blatantly offering herself to him. The first felt unacceptable, the second insincere, and the third slutty.

Then the decision was made for her. Elm Ederne came running up the path, her face twisted with emotion. "Marrow! Marrow!" she shouted.

"Hey, Elm," Marrow said, not understanding why she looked on the verge of tears.

"It's Clover! He's dead!" Elm shook her head in disbelief. "He's dead."

"What? No way." Marrow looked around, as if Vine or Harriet were hiding in the trees, waiting to spring the latest prank on the FNG.

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

Elm looked as if she really didn't want to tell her, but then couldn't stop herself. "He went to go help your commander—Colonel Branwen. He was escorting that crazy guy—"

"Tyrian Callows," Weiss finished.

"Yes. And they got hit by GRIMM—Lancers." Weiss nodded, remembering the desperate dogfight over the Salton Sea with Rick Tardor and the An-12. "They took care of the GRIMM, but…mein Gott…Tyrian got control of the C-130 and rammed Clover. Clover got out, but he was too low, and it's…it's just terrible. No way for a man to die."

"I'm sorry," Weiss said, genuinely.

"Jesus," Marrow breathed. "Clover gone. Just like that, eh? Just like that." He stared at the sidewalk. "Just like that." He looked up at Elm. "You're sure, right? It wasn't someone else?" Elm nodded sadly. "Shit. Just like that."

"We need to talk it over," Elm said. "If you'll excuse us, Hauptmann Schnee…"

"Certainly. I'll tell Ruby Flight." Marrow turned to walk away, still muttering, clearly in shock. Elm put her arm around him, and gave Weiss an odd look.

Ruby walked down the hallway of the base pilots' dispersal, headed for the ready room of Ace Flight. She knew she needed to say something to them. Ace wasn't exactly her BFFs, but they were still people she'd flown with, and with Qrow absent—he'd landed at Stargard to refuel—and with Pyrrha more or less no longer in charge, it was up to her. When you're in command, command, she heard her father say, and then remembered Ironwood talking to her about loyalty and responsibility.

In any case, it was doing something, and anything was better than sitting next to Oscar's hospital bed. He had slept, mostly, but Ruby found herself obsessively watching his blood pressure and heart rate. The doctors were still worried about sepsis, and it filled Ruby with utter terror. She would squeeze his hand, and occasionally he would squeeze back. Ruby had never felt so helpless in her life, aside from a hazy memory of when Summer's gravestone had been placed. Oscar was wounded, Ironwood was ordering her out of the one place she could do something, and Summer Rose was well and truly dead.

Ruby put those thoughts away and came to the closed door of Ace Flight's ready room. She politely knocked on the door. It was answered a moment later by Vine Zeki. "Captain Rose?" he asked.

"Captain Zeki. Can I…can I come in for a second?"

"Of course." He opened the door and let it stay open as Ruby walked in. All four remaining members of Ace Flight stared back at her. "Um, look," Ruby said, trying not to stammer, "I know there was…was some…things with Clover, with Pyrrha. But I don't care about that, not now. He was a good guy, and we liked him, and well…I'm sorry. Losing him is really hard."

"Thank you," Vine said. Ruby wasn't sure if it was sincere; Vine was extremely hard to read.

"Thanks," Marrow added. He gave her a nod, his tail drooped.

Elm didn't say anything, and didn't even look at her.

It was Harriet Ruby expected trouble from, and the short Englishwoman didn't disappoint. "Sod off," she growled. To Ruby's surprise, there wasn't any real force in Harriet's voice; she was subdued. She could see the streaks of tears on Harriet's face—and to Ruby's surprise, Harriet got up, rushed to the bathroom, and slammed the door, but not before she heard sobbing.

"Was that all you had to say?" Elm finally spoke.

"Yeah. Sorry. If there's anything we can do…"

"There isn't!" Elm snapped, but then she softened. "There isn't. Thank you."

Ruby nodded, then retreated, leaving Ace Flight to their grief. Unsure of what else to do, she began walking towards her dorm room. Pyrrha's door opened, and the tall redhead walked out, dressed in her gym clothes. "Going for a workout?" Ruby asked, rather unnecessarily.

"Yes. Would you like to join me?" Pyrrha paused. "It helps, as you know. How is Oscar?"

"He's stable. If he makes it through the next twelve hours or so, he'll be okay." Ruby really didn't want to continue, but Pyrrha needed to know. "Clover Ebi's dead. He got it over the Baltic. Lancers. Well, actually, I guess that nut Tyrian rammed him with a C-130—"

"I know. But thank you. These things happen." Pyrrha touched Ruby's shoulder in sympathy, but her voice was flat and emotionless.

SACEUR Tactical Headquarters

Near Poznan, Republic of Poland

29 August 2001

"Colonel Winter Schnee, reporting as ordered, sir." Winter came to attention in front of Ironwood's desk.

"Winter. Have a seat." Winter did so, taking a camp chair in front of the desk. Ironwood was silent for awhile. Winter noticed that he needed to trim his beard; there was a half-eaten sandwich congealing on a paper plate, obviously dinner. The bags under his eyes were very noticeable. "Sir," she spoke, "permission to speak freely?"

"Of course."

"You need eight hours of sleep, a shave, and a decent meal."

Ironwood stared at her for a moment, then laughed. "Well, that's telling it how it is, Winter." He levered himself out of his chair, glanced at the sandwich, and threw it in the garbage. "I can do the latter two—you're right—but I'm afraid the eight hours of sleep isn't doable. Salem saw to that."

"By attacking Tyrian Callows' C-130, she has broken the ceasefire," Winter observed.

"Indeed. Not that the bitch ever intended to honor it. She's been lying, Winter, and what amazes me is how many people fall for her bullshit." He shook his head as he began to pace. "Lincoln was right: we believe what we want to." He stopped, splaying his hands on his desk. "Losing Clover is tough. He was a good man, and a damn fine flight commander."

"Yes, sir. I would suppose Ace Flight will now be led by Captain Zeki."

"He's next in line. Unless I put you in command." Ironwood looked up at Winter, and his voice dropped a little. "Is Qrow all right?" He knew that they had spoken; Winter had gone up to Stargard as soon as she heard about the battle.

"He's a little shaken up. Blaming himself. He said Clover would have been able to break left if Qrow hadn't been in the way." Winter sighed. "It's survivor's guilt. He'll be all right." I hope, Winter added to herself. Qrow Branwen had a lot of survivor's guilt, and it had driven him to alcoholism. Winter worried it might do it again. Qrow and Clover had gotten to be friends in the weeks since Ruby and Norn had arrived, and this would be another body blow to a man who had already taken far too much. Winter wanted to tell Qrow to leave, get back to America, rest, but knew he wasn't going to do it.

"I hope so. Qrow's a good man too. Should've kept a better handle on his nieces, but he's still a good man." Ironwood started to pace again. "Arashikaze's here. She's coming to Poznan to interrogate the not-so-good Dr. Watts."

"Good. A damned shame that we don't still have Neo Politan as well," Winter said, her voice steel. Arthur Watts had been responsible for a lot of pain and suffering, and it was only fair if he got some in return. Neo was a murderer, who had made a clean getaway after nearly killing Oscar Pine and Penny Polendina. "Is it wrong of me to hope that Arashikaze hurts him, General? Perhaps the ropes? Fan belts?" She was surprised in the vehemence in her voice. We are all monsters. "The thought of someone besides us having JINN…"

"From what I understand, Arashikaze doesn't go in for physical torture. But that's neither here nor there." Ironwood came around the desk and leaned against it, in front of her. "Winter, I'm not waiting around for Salem to hit us again, or for Miss Politan to deliver JINN to her. Our last satellite pass saw a heavy buildup on the northern sector, so I think Salem's going to try to run over the Danes and the Poles, then turn south and pocket the 1st Armored and the 5th Infantry around Kalisz. So to hell with her and this so-called ceasefire. Let's get in our licks first." Winter noted that Ironwood seemed less concerned about JINN than Salem, but then again, he had a better idea of the overall picture than she did. At least she hoped he did.

"Another B-52 strike, sir?"

"No, we took some pretty heavy casualties last time, as you well know. I'm thinking about using the Winter Maiden." He shrugged. "I mean, that's what it's for."

"It's that bad, General?"

Ironwood smiled. "Winter, we've gotten into the mindset that the Maidens are some sort of doomsday weapons that we must never use, when Ozpin always intended that they be used if Salem ever came after us full force. Well, now she is. The Maidens are tools, and it's stupid to be playing Army when we can rain hell on her. We blow her army off the map with the Winter Maiden, and either Salem hauls ass back to Russia, or she comes crawling to our negotiating table."

Winter couldn't argue with that logic. "Very good, sir. When?"

"Well, if you feel up to it, I was thinking tonight. How soon can you get back to Berlin?" Ironwood's smile widened.

"If I may borrow your helicopter, half an hour. But sir," Winter reminded him, "Fria is still alive. You're not asking me to, well…accelerate matters?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. It had always been the last-ditch option for Fria: if she grew too frail or developed dementia, the Maiden bracelet would be taken from her. Winter wondered if that also meant killing the old woman, which was an order she would not execute.

"She's not that bad off, is she?" Ironwood asked with concern.

"Not at all, sir." Winter gave a small laugh. "If anything, the events of the last few days have galvanized her. She offered to play bait for Watts."

"Good to hear she's feeling better, but Watts is our problem." At Winter's raised eyebrow, Ironwood continued. "We know Watts was with Neo and Cinder. Neo escaped—God alone knows where she is now, unless she's dumb enough to turn on JINN—and Cinder's gone to ground as well. Given what Cinder told Ozpin before she shot him back at Beacon, after she shot Glynda, I think it's reasonable to assume that the Fall Maiden was compromised. We've changed the codes, so the satellite itself is useless to Cinder or Salem, but Watts is smart enough to figure out a way to track the Maiden bracelets. If so, he may have compromised Fria—and even if he didn't, if she uses it from the bunker, Cinder might know. That bunker is damn near impregnable, but Neo just waltzed into an airbase, stole JINN, and damn near killed two pilots, then got away clean—after she murdered Hauptmann Wolff and three of her men. With a knife that we didn't know she had—and we strip-searched Politan to her undies." Ironwood shook a finger. "I don't think we'd better underestimate Miss Politan again, much less Cinder Fall."

"No, sir." Winter was taken aback; she hadn't heard of Wolff being killed.

"With that in mind, the Winter Maiden is going mobile." Ironwood faced her. "Winter, I want you to go back to Berlin, get Fria, and put her in the backseat of a Typhoon, or a Tornado, whatever you think is best. Then we'll get you in the air, and Fria can start introducing Salem to the Rods From God." Ironwood snickered. "Sounds like a death metal band."

Winter thought the orders didn't make a lot of sense. True, Fria would be safe from Neo Politan—hopefully—but Cinder Fall was entirely different story. "General, we're almost certain that the Gripen that went missing from Sweden was stolen by Politan to give to Fall. If so, and if the Maiden system has been compromised in regards to location, we can expect Fall to attempt to intercept us—and shoot us down, killing both myself and Fria, and eliminating both the present and future Winter Maiden holders."

Ironwood nodded. "Astute as always, Winter. But there's another part of the plan." He walked over to his map table; Winter got up to follow. "We're going to kill two birds with one stone. When Fria hits Salem with the Winter Maiden, that will draw out Cinder—and then we'll kill her as well." Ironwood's grin became predatory. "We'll have a little surprise waiting for Cinder Fall."

"Sir?" Winter asked.

"Forgive my flair for the dramatic, Winter." Ironwood raised his voice. "Penny, would you mind coming in?"

Penny Polendina walked into the tent, a bandage wrapped around her head and a smile on her face. She wore USAF battle fatigues, and for once they, combined with the bandage, made her look like a warrior rather than a teenager playing dress-up. "How are you feeling, Penny?" Ironwood asked.

Penny came to attention. "General, I am combat ready!"