Chapter 18, A Master's Pride and Sin
The days of continuous training Pyrrha endured under the teaching of Qrow Brawen were long and hard. From the first moment of waking up, both she and Qrow would be in the stadium as he sought to teach her the basic skills. The first few sessions, they continued training with swords. Spending what had been countless hours of clacking swords together. While still a bit heavy for her to hold, Pyrrha gradually had gotten better with it. Countering all the attacks that were made by Qrow and moving more swiftly over the pentagon.
And what started with the art of sword pay, gradually changed over time to other such weapons. Qrow had then began to teach her how to fight with a spear. Holding a staff in both hands, he thrusted it forward. As if he was impaling a Grimm with it's pointed end. Pyrrha, holding her own in her hands, mimicked his movements and thrusted forward hers. Time and time again, repeating them over and over until she had gotten it down pat.
He had even taught her how the throw it at a target. One of the few times he used one of the coliseums training protocols.
A square-shaped barrier appeared between the center and outskirts of pentagon floor. Each one presenting a circler target over it's smooth metal surface. Pyrrha was standing several feet from them, holding a javelin in her right hand. Qrow stood next to her, peering ahead at the target.
"Just like before," he said, glancing down at the girl.
"Keep a firm grip over your spear."
Pyrrha tightened her hold over the spear, raising it up above her head.
"Give it a throw."
Pyrrha looked forward at the target. She held up her spear in her hand and throw it forward. It flew through the air before the tip then struck the top of the target. It the swung down and hit against the barrier before falling to the stadium floor. Pyrrha frowned, seeing that her attempt was without success.
"Nice shot, kid." Qrow said, padding her on the back.
Pyrrha glanced up at him as he walked passed her.
"But I didn't hit the target." She insisted to him.
Qrow walked up to the target.
"Technically, you did hit it," he claimed, reaching down to pick up the spear.
"Just not the center."
He then turned and walked back over to her.
"Remember," He said, as he came before her once more.
"Find the balance."
He held up the javelin before her in an open palm, where the center laid upon and stood steady. Qrow then tossed the spear and quickly grabbed hold just below where his hand was before.
"Then you hold it from below," he insisted to her.
"That will give your spear the angle it needs."
Qrow then turned, peering ahead at the target. He then held up his spear and with all the strength mustered by the Atarian Knight, threw it at target. Souring as straight as an arrow from a bow, the spear struck the very center of the target. Pyrrha gazed in awe.
"Wow." she said.
Qrow glanced down to the kid. Seeing her so amazed by his shot, Qrow felt a sudden sense of nostalgia from his years of being a professor at Ataria Academy. From the times he had trained with his prodigies, they used to be just as amazed by his fighting skills as she was. It was one of the reasons he was so renowned by them and other students of the Academy. Something that made each and every day of teaching seem worth while.
Something he never thought that he would ever feel again.
Qrow then smirked. He then glanced ahead at the target.
"Go get it," he said, with a gesture of his head.
"Lets try this again."
Pyrrha nodded her head to him.
"Okay." she said.
She then turned and ran over to the target barrier as Qrow watched her go. He narrowed his eyes, nodding his head. For the first time in so long, his past brought that of the pride he had lost long ago.
For what may be the first time in years, he was o longer burden by the sins of which he sought to quell for so long.
14 years ago
The outer rim of the Sea of Stars.
The Atarian fleet consisting of seven destroyer class ships and over twelve light cruiser's had reached the outer rim of the Sea of stars. It was there up ahead, the Beacon fleet which consisted of the Phoenix and twelve other destroyer class ships and corvette, blockading the border established by Beacon long ago. As well as a fleet of Atlas and Lothadare ships.
As the fleet approached, it was then the Atarian command ship, the Gladius established contact with the Phoenix.
"Admiral Willard, this is General Maranda of the Atarian Army, do you read?"
It was no long after that they received a response form the Phoenix.
"General Maranda, this is Admiral Willard, we read you."
"Requesting permission to board the Phoenix."
"Copy that General, Permission to doc at Bay 3."
"Understood, we are making our approach."
Qrow and his students were in one of the quarters several levels below the bridge. Qrow was peering out through the Blacken void toward the blockade of Beacon ships. It became clear to him that Ozpin himself was as vigilant toward the threat of Salem as Queen Maria was. And with the few Atlas and Lothadare ships that were also here, it seemed that both General Ironwood and Granger were as well. This was all seeming as bad as he had perceived it to be.
This war was coming a lot sooner then he was fearing. And he was about to subject his own students to it. The same way he was forced to do in the old wars.
Kayla came up behind Qrow. She gazed out in awe and contempt, seeing the armada of ships that were outside.
"Look at all those ships." She said, glancing to him.
One of Qrow's other student's Johnathan, sitting over the couch behind him gazed out through window. Seeing the blockade of ships, he noticed those of Atlas and Lothadare's cruising in separate ways along side those of Beacon. With his keen perception, he could tell the ships were of the First Fleet of Atlas and the Forth Fleet of Lothadare.
"That's the First Fleet of Atlas," he said as he stood up from the couch.
"What's Ironwood doing here?"
Qrow nodded his head in agreement. He then turned back, cocking his head bac to him and his other students.
"The Kingdoms aren't take any chances against Salem," He insisted to them.
"Not after the old wars. Back then, each Kingdom fought to protect themselves. But now, without Akara and the Knights of Opara, we will need to rely on each other."
He turned to face Kayla and the others.
"This time we will not be fighting the Grimm on our own," He proclaimed to them.
"The kingdoms will be defending each other against Salem. That's why we've entered into this alliance."
Kayla came up next to Qrow, glancing to him, curiously.
"Which brings us to our mission," he then said.
"The queen has ordered all knights to help establish military Checkpoints in the outer realms."
"Why the outer Realms?" one of the other students asked, curiously.
"It's believed that the entrance to their realm is somewhere out there," Kayla insisted to them.
"It's where they first emerged thousands of years ago."
Qrow nodded his head.
"That's right," he claimed to them.
"And all the kingdom and realms beyond the blockade have all either joined or fallen to the Grimm. Which means, it stands to reason that they will be coming from that direction."
There was a moments paused, glancing back at the blockade outside. He then turned back to Kayla and his other pupils. They were all aware at just how dangerous a mission this would, having to have been taught much of the history of the Grimm. And with what limited training they all had, he continued to ponder to himself whether this was right.
He turned back to his students, who were all gazing to him.
"Look, I'm not going to lie to you," he said to them.
"This will be dangerous. If any of you wished to back out, no one will fault you for it."
Kayla turned to face her teacher with a look of determination.
"I'm not going anywhere, professor Branwen." she insisted to him.
Johnathan stood up from the couch he was on. Along with Jaydan and the others.
"None of us are," Johnathan claimed to him.
"We'll follow your lead, Professor Branwen."
The other students all nodded their heads in agreement. None of them were willing to leave his side. Even knowing the dangers that they will soon face and the lack of training which they had endured. Needless to say, Qrow was surprised to say the least. Though his expression changed to a sly smirk, nodding his head to them, admiring their courage.
It was then he heard his sister's voice.
"Qrow."
Qrow glanced toward the doorway, where he saw Ravan standing in the hallway.
"The General wants us to meet her in Hanger 1." She insisted to her brother.
Qrow nodded his head, glancing to Kayla.
"Duty calls," he said to her.
"You guys stay here. I'll be back soon."
He then turned and walked forward toward the doorway.
Present day
Pyrrha once more held the javelin over her head, gripping below the centre of it. Qrow stood next to her, helping her line up the shot. He straighten her to face the target, positioning the Javelin.
"Alright..." he said.
"Just keep facing forward. Keep your eyes on the target."
Pyrrha nodded her head to him. She kept her eyes forward, peering forward at the target as she kept lining up the shot. Seeing her at the right angle, Qrow nodded his head. He then quickly stood up and slowly backed away from her. Unwilling to allow for his semblance to act at this very moment.
His semblance of misfortune acted on a will of it's own. It tended to occur at pure random, bringing misfortune not just to himself but to all those around him. He couldn't afford to let it interfere with Pyrrha's training. If anything were to happen to her and because of him no less...
He would never be able to forgive himself for it.
Taking several steps back from the girl, he nodded his head to her.
"Alright," he said.
"Give it a go."
Pyrrha once more nodded her head and then turned forward. Taking but a moments pause, she stared forward at the target. She then ran several steps forward as she then tossed it forward. But upon releasing the Javelin, Pyrrha nearly lost her footing, causing her to fell forward. Qrow gasped and was about to come to her aid.
Though there wasn't any need to do so. Pyrrha was quick to catch herself, her right arm reaching forward as she tried to balance herself out.
When suddenly, her a dark void appeared around girl's hand as her semblance suddenly activated. Pyrrha glanced down, noticing she had just activated her semblance. As too did Qrow. He widened his eyes, recognizing the semblance that she was using. It was the same one as her father's.
The Javelin flew through the air, several feet from her. When suddenly, then paused mid air and then suddenly it shot back toward her. Qrow looked toward, the Javelin.
"Kid, Look out!" Qrow exclaimed.
Qrow then lunged forward as he quickly grabbed the girl in his arms, pushing her out of the way. The two roll over onto the ground as the javelin flew passed them in the nick of time. He glanced up and saw the landed over the stadium ground. He glanced down to Pyrrha, who was curled up beneath him, shuddering in fear. Qrow reached down his hand and placed it atop her shoulder.
"Kid," he said, shaking her.
"Kid!"
Pyrrha lifted her gaze and saw that she was laying under Qrow.
"You alright?" He asked, curiously.
Pyrrha nodded her head.
"I'm fine." she insisted to him.
Qrow narrowed his head, uttering a sigh of relief. He then glanced down at the girl's hands, seeing the semblance the girl had just used. While there was the possibility she had not yet learned to control it. He did not allow for it to fool him. This was no fault of hers.
From behind them, Rueban had entered the stadium. He staggered up to the two, seeing them laying over the stadium floor.
"What happened?" he asked.
Qrow glances back to the professor with a stern expression.
Pyrrha waited outside Rueban's office, hearing them talking. She came up to narrowing opening of the doorway, where she peered inside. She saw Qrow pacing back and forth angrily in Rueben's office. The one thing he feared would happen had become reality. He knew that this would happen. They both knew it. And yet despite the danger, they decided to go through with it.
"I told you something like this would happen!" He exclaimed, glancing to Rueban who was sitting behind his desk.
"Qrow." Rueben said.
Qrow paused and turned to the Headmaster.
"You of all people should know just what a risk it is to have me around her," The Atarian Knight proclaimed to him.
"My Semblance nearly put her in danger. And now that she has her father's semblance..."
"We will have to help her better control it," Rueben insisted as he stood up from his desk.
"The Basic training lessons cover Semblances as well. They should help her better control them. We only need to proceed with her training."
Qrow shook his head to the Headmaster.
"Not we." he insisted.
"Qrow." The Headmaster said.
"I'm not doing this," Qrow stated to the Headmaster.
"I promised that I would get her here safely and I did. But your going to have to find someone else to train her. I won't be responsible for anymore students."
Rueben uttered a sigh of contempt as he bowed his head.
"You still allow your past to cloud your judgement." he said in utter contempt.
"I promised her father that I would keep her safe," Qrow proclaimed to him.
"And I'll be damned if I'm responsible for any more student's death. I'm done!"
Qrow then turned and stormed out of the office. Pyrrha quickly stepped back from the doorway as Qrow pushed them aside and came out into the hall. He then paused for a moment, glancing down at her. Pyrrha stared up at him, frowning in contempt. Seeing those young green eyes filled with sadness, Qrow glanced to the side as he sighed. There was no doubt in his mind that she had heard everything they were saying. Which meant that she would understood why he was doing this.
While he would keep his promise he made to Lukas, it was best for her that he stayed away.
Qrow turned and continued to make his way down the hallway. Pyrrha turned and watched him walked away.
14 Years before.
General Maranda's shuttle entered into the Phoenix's third hanger. As the ship slowly set down over the hanger floor, both Lukas and Admiral Willard approached the ship. As the landing gears extended from under the ship, it then set down over the floor. The lower ramp at the front of the shuttle then lowered as General Maranda, Qrow and Raven came down into the anger.
"General Maranda," Lukas greeted her.
"Welcome aboard."
"General Lukas." She greeted with a nod of her head.
Lukas then turned and saw Qrow and Raven standing to each side behind her.
"Qrow," he greeted.
"Raven."
"General Lukas." Raven said back.
"Lukas." Qrow said with a gesture of his head.
It was then that Willard stepped forward to them.
"If you'd follow us, we will take you to the bridge," he insisted to them.
"Then we can begin discussing strategy for our base deployments. General Ironwood and Granger are already waiting for us there."
General Maranda nodded her head to the Admiral.
"Understood." she said.
Lukas and Willard then turned and made their way back through the hanger. General Maranda followed after them as she was accompanied by both Qrow and Raven.
On the Bridge of the Phoenix, General Ironwood and General Granger were both waiting at the halo-table along with commander Kallius. Peering down at the hologram projection of the outer realms, General Ironwood and Commander Kallius pondered over ideas for establishing bases. He had black hair, with grey side burns, he wore a white overcoat with a black sweater and red tie underneath and the same colored pants.
All the while, General Granger was pacing back and forth, impatiently for Lukas and Willard to return with General Maranada. He was much older then Ironwood, with short white hair and goatee, wearing a dark green uniform with the same coloured pants and black boots.
He paused upon hearing the doors to the lift open. Granger glanced back along with Ironwood and Kallius, where they saw Lukas and Willard along with General Meranda, Qrow and Raven. Seeing the top General of Ataria, he turned to face her.
"General Maranda," Granger greeted
"So glad you could join us."
General Maranda came out of the lift and approached the other Generals.
"Hello, General Granger." she greeted him back.
She then glanced across the holo-table at Ironwood and Kallius.
"Ironwood." She said, nodding her head to him.
"Maranda." he said.
He then turned and saw Qrow and Raven walking up from the lift.
"Qrow," he said.
"Raven. It's nice to see you again."
Qrow glanced up to him. He then paused, seeing his old friend and college.
"Nice to see you as well." He said back.
"Alright, listen up," Lukas said as he came up to the holo-table.
"We've received intel from our scouts in the Outer Realms regarding Grimm movements."
Lukas came up to the controls, where he typed in the transmission codes they had received from the scouts. The hologram projection then changed as several white circular lights slowly changed red, depicting those that had been taken over by the Grimm. And according from the projection, it appeared to be growing closer to that blockade they had established.
"As you can see, Grimm has been made several advances toward Beacon's boarder," Lukas proclaimed to them.
"Capturing several of the Realms in their wake. By all accounts, they have completely conquered all the ones that Jabaria had colonized."
General Ironwood stepped forward to the projection, peering up at the enemy positions.
"By all accounts that gives them a clear trajectory to Ataria," He insisted to them.
"By my estimates, they will be at the border in a matter of weeks."
"Which is why we need to push forward," Kallius insisted to the Generals.
"We will need to set up bases in these realms along the blockade. Establishing a defensive perimeter in the outer realms."
General Maranda came up to the projection, peering at the realms outside Ataria's border. She glanced to the realm, closet to the border.
"If I may, General, I would like to establish Ataria's central command here." she said, pointing to the Realm.
Lukas and the other Generals glanced to where she was pointing. They too recognized the realm that was nearest to the Atarian Border. It was one of the Realms Ataria used in the old wars against the Grimm and Lothadare. There was an old fort that the Kingdom had built in the mountains.
"There's an old fortress there in the mountains," She proclaimed to them.
"From the old wars against the Grimm and Lothadare. "
Granger glanced sternly to the Atarian General.
"Revisiting the past, are we, General Maranda." He said.
Maranda glanced to him with the same stern expression. The rivalry between them and their kingdoms were still a lingering presence between them.
She turned back to Lukas.
"General Lukas, the fort is well hidden within the mountain range," she insisted to him.
"And it is at a good vantage point so that it will be harder for the Grimm to make any assault without being noticed."
Lukas nodded his head in agreement wit her. He was well aware of the fort himself from the records of the old war. It would be hard for the Grimm to assault them without detection from the fleet. It would be a good place for Ataria to make a stand.
"I agree with General Maranda," Lukas claimed.
"The fortress will provide us with a good central command."
Both Ironwood and Kallius nodded their heads in agreement with Lukas.
"I agree." Ironwood said, nodding his head.
"In the meantime, I will take Atlas's main fleet and begin moving Atlas forces into the outer realms."
Kallius turned to Lukas.
"General, permission to take the third fleet and provide aid to Ironwood." Kallius asked his former college.
Lukas nodded his head.
"Granted, commander." He stated, turning to the others.
"General Granger, you and I will cover these realms."
Granger nodded to Lukas.
"Yes General." He said.
As Lukas pressed a singular button over the control panel, deactivating the hologram, General Maranda turned to Raven and Qrow.
"Raven, you and Qrow will be oversee this mission," she claimed to them.
"You will escort a small team to the fort. We need to ensure that the Grimm haven't gotten to it first."
"Yes, General." Raven said, bowing her head.
"We're on it." Qrow insisted upon her sisters claim.