Marrow had now been in Vacuo for three months and was taking stock as he got up and readied himself for the day ahead. He felt that he had settled in well. It helped that he got on with his fellow rookie lieutenant, Roland Beamish. They had been at the Academy together and although they had never mixed socially, their interactions had always been polite. Here, both had welcomed someone to talk to who they knew slightly. It helped that their strengths and weaknesses were different and so they could help each other. In relation to the other lieutenants, Beamish had apparently reassured them that Marrow was basically a decent sort and a good person to have on your side.

Marrow had always been aware that the fact that he came from Mantle and was a Faunus meant that people tended to underestimate him and that he had to try harder than others to overcome this. He also knew that complaining or feeling sorry for himself did not help. He had been a little nervous that his first posting was going to be like his first few months at Atlas Academy when apart from his team members, he had not had much to do with most of the other students. He was one of only three Faunus students in his year. The other two came from wealthy backgrounds, had Faunus traits which were hidden and lived in Atlas itself. He came from Mantle and was self-evidently a Faunus. It had not been bullying or even deliberate snubbing, but more that the conversations he had with his fellow students were stilted and embarrassed. His fighting ability had gradually changed that, and discussion of classwork and combat skills had eventually resulted in him and the other Atlas students being more at ease with each other. Certainly, after his team had qualified for the Vytal Festival there had been a marked change in the attitudes towards him.

Captain Schnee was proving, as he had hoped, to be firm but fair. She had involved him in meeting the local representatives of the Multi-kingdoms along with Lieutenant Beamish. She had advised him not to be quite so eager to please and had pointed out when his tail gave a little too much evidence of his emotions. She had also got him into the habit of analysing what was happening around him and of learning lessons from missions.

The NCOs and troops had been impressed by his semblance. It had helped that on his first mission he had used it against a Ziraph. He had frozen it in place which had allowed the troops to concentrate their fire against it. They had also appreciated his sniping abilities. The fact that he had been a competitor in the Vytal Festival twice had helped, especially as Beamish had told people that he was the only reason his team had reached the festival. Beamish was correct in his analysis. His team had clearly not expected to be one of the star performers in combat. Two of his team had primarily been picked for their technical skills and were expected to follow the engineering and logistics career paths. However, they had strong auras so it had been decided to include in the huntsman program at the Academy on the basis that the better they could look after themselves against Grimm the more useful they would be in the icy wastes. The fourth member of the team had had a few disciplinary problems at combat school, and it had been decided to teach him responsibility by appointing him as team leader.

He hoped that he would make it easier for other Faunus who came after him. One of the professors had told him the selection procedures at Atlas had already been changed to try and reduce unconscious bias against applicants from Mantle and Faunus. Ironwood had justified this on the grounds that the defence of Atlas required the academy to pick the strongest recruits irrespective of background, provided that they all believed that the defence of Atlas was their main objective and they obeyed orders.

There were limits to incremental progress. While he spent down time with his fellow lieutenants at the main base and was treated respectfully by the troops and politely by senior officers, things were more complicated when he was assigned to civilian liaison or spent time in Vacuo when off-duty.

Winter Schnee had taken both new lieutenants to her initial round of meetings with the local representative of the Atlas multi-kingdom managers and had introduced him to the embassy staff. While they all knew better than to be rude to even a junior Atlesian officer in front of a Captain Schnee, it was clear that they regarded him and Beamish differently. When Beamish came to Vacuo after that first round of meetings, he had standing invites to meet with the managers who came from Atlas and Mistral and the embassy staff. He felt at ease with them and they with him. However, Marrow was not normally invited to such events and when he was he had felt out of place.

He did however tend to meet with the Vacuoan middle managers and local contractors. They clearly felt at ease with him in a way that they did not with the more traditional Atlesian officers. The fact that he had regularly visited his Vacuoan relatives meant that he understood Vacuoan informality better than most Atlesians and he enjoyed having the opportunity to tease people who knew it was meant in fun. It also helped that he could tell when a comment was meant half in fun and wholly in earnest.

It was rare for him and Beamish to be in Vacuo together and it had suited both not to socialise in the evening when they were. After all they spent much of the time in camp in each other's company and their Vacuoan acquaintances did not mix well. They would meet in the Embassy cafeteria for lunch and that was fine.

When he was in Vacuo he often spent time with Leslie Corkran. They had been on a few missions together and they shared an underlying sense of mischief. Both were rather anomalous in the Atlas military and spent time discussing with each other the best way of broaching the legitimate concerns of Vacuoans with Atlas with their superiors and how to persuade Vacuoans to accept that there were some things about the Atlas military they could not hope to change. Marrow realised that although he was friendly with Beamish and the other lieutenants, he did not have the rapport he had with Leslie.

Four months into his tour of duty he was called into a meeting with Major Magenta and Captain Schnee. He arrived to find Sergeant Hartnell and Leslie Corkran also waiting in the Major's outer office. Clearly this was a mission assignment although it was unusual for both the captain and the major to be involved in the briefing.

Major Magenta started the briefing by saying "A senior member of the Atlas diplomatic corps will be arriving in Vacuo in two days time together with his nephew for a week's holiday. His name is Parsifal Campion and is a member of an important family in Atlas. He will be arriving tomorrow with a security team and the nephew. He wishes to take his nephew Grimm hunting and the Atlas diplomatic protection service has asked for an escort team familiar with Vacuoan desert to help ensure that both survive the trip unharmed. The Captain and I have decided to bring forward a Grimm cull planned for next week to accommodate this request."

Marrow was surprised by the fact that he was assigned to this mission. The Campions were part of the Atlas elite and had a reputation for stuffiness. The idea of one of them going Grimm hunting seemed almost as bizarre as assigning him to be in titular charge of the escort team. He presumed that the Sergeant was there to ensure that he did not make a mistake and Corkran was there to ensure that the elements and weather did not take them by surprise. Marrow also saw that his semblance was useful against large Grimm and would help the Grimm hunt be successful. Still, he was surprised by the choice of him and Corkran.

Captain Schnee then outline the itinerary and detailed the sergeant and Corkran to liaise with the head of the security team on what equipment they needed for the hunting trip. Major Magenta then left the office and Marrow was left with the captain.

"Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted."

"While I can see good reasons to assign me and Mr. Corkran to accompany a group of civilians, are you and the Major certain that Mr Campion will be happy about this?"

"Mr. Campion is rather an unusual member of the Atlas diplomatic corps as will become clear when you read the redacted briefing notes. He requested that you accompany the party and that you be primarily responsible for his nephew. It is considered highly unlikely that he will be upset by Mr. Corkran's eccentricities. If you have any questions after reading the briefing notes please do speak to me. In addition, I suspect that Lieutenant Beamish may have some insights. His father was at Atlas with Mr. Campion."

The file made interesting reading. There was a lot of redacted material, but it was clear that Mr. Campion had spent only one of the last twenty-eight years in Atlas itself. For someone from such a prominent family this was surprising. The fact that he was a qualified hunter made the Grimm hunting a little less surprising. He had had two previous three-year postings in each of Vacuo, Vale, Menagerie and Mistral. Reading between the lines, it was clear that he was a liberal by Atlesian standards. Speaking to Beamish had been illuminating. He had been worried that Beamish would resent his opportunity to hob-nob with a member of the Atlas elite but instead Beamish had patted him on the back and said "Best of luck, old man. You are going to need it."

"Can you explain why?"

"He is the Colonel Cordovin of the diplomatic service, although for different reasons. His family connections are good enough to ensure that he can never be sacked unless he makes a truly appalling error and, to everyone's surprise, he has not. He has been regularly promoted, partly because he is prepared to work in Menagerie and Vacuo and partly because ambassadors have in the past recommended him for promotion every three years just to get rid of him. He tends to lead others into excesses without causing a scandal and has the appalling bad taste to be able to remember what everyone with him did. My mother refuses to allow my father to meet him on the rare occasions he visits Atlas and mutters things along the lines of remember the incident with the soup tureen."

The reasons for the redacted portions of the file became more evident.

"Have you heard anything about the nephew? Apparently I will be his bear leader."

"Which one, there are three of them. One of them is our age, another is fifteen and another is twelve."

"The fifteen-year-old."

"He is meant to be artistic. He has been home schooled by tutors so no one knows that much about him. He is also meant to be a good marksman and they are a family which believes that at least one of the spare heirs should qualify as a hunter."

Marrow had spent enough time with Beamish to know that artistic was a synonym for eccentric and odd. Still as the diplomat was willing to work in Menagerie, he presumed that he was comfortable with Faunus, so he was more at ease with the mission.

/-/

A day afterwards Winter was sitting in her office at the embassy. She was in town for the farewell dinner for the outgoing Atlesian ambassador and was detailed to escort Parsifal Campion and his nephew to the base when they arrived tomorrow. Colonel White had also been invited along with Captain Standish and Lieutenants Beamish and Azure. Major Magenta had been left in charge of the base. She had been told that the seating plan had her next to Umber Raddock and his second in command Sebastian Blue. She suspected that money had changed hands to fix the seating plan.

She and the Major had compared notes on his semblance and had decided that it was rather a subtle one. It was a variant of silver tongue which meant that he could persuade people he used it on to believe things which they wanted to believe despite the existence of evidence to the contrary. It appeared that he could not focus it on individuals directly although he could stress things which had a particular appeal to and individual and to which others had no objection. The Major had not got into details, but he said that when he used the semblance to try and persuade you of something which was the contrary of what you believed in, the effect on the person it was being applied to was that you realised that someone was using their semblance against you and to make you feel unwell.

She had become convinced that Raddock was interested in her. He had been a little more circumspect than she had expected at the initial meetings with her although she had noticed that his fellow guests tended to depart promptly after the main course and did not stay on for coffee at the end of the meal. She normally preferred to take Lieutenant Amin to meetings with Raddock. Raddock had tried to be careful with her but comparing notes with Lieutenant Amin after a meeting was instructive. She had given the lieutenant permission to tell her after such meetings when things told her by the managers of the multi-kingdoms did not ring true with him or when he felt that they were only partially telling the truth. While Raddock paid lip service to the view that the military should look after the long-term interests of Atlas when they clashed with the short-term interests of the SDC, he pushed the belief that this was only a theoretical possibility which would not arise in practice. The two times when he had caused her to feel slightly nauseous was when he had tried convincing her that her father was an honourable man and that the SDC treated its Faunus employees well. Luckily pre-warned is forearmed and she believed that she had hidden her response well. Lieutenant Amin had also commented that a conversation where Raddock had talked about the importance of married women being allowed to pursue their own careers after marriage had seemed rather shoehorned into the conversation. She recalled that she had fund herself nodding along at this stage of the conversation and thinking to herself that if she did marry her partner would have to accept that she needed a career.

There was a knock at her door and the head of the embassy diplomatic protection squad came in looking flustered.

"Can I have a word in confidence, sir? It is a matter of some urgency."

"Of course. What is wrong?"

"You may have heard that the ambassador designate was taken ill last week. We have just heard from Atlas that the illness was more serious than his doctors had realised. While he is expected to survive, he has been advised that he will need a long recovery time and that he will be unable to take up his post."

Winter could see that this was unfortunate. The current ambassador was clearly demob happy and she doubted that either he or his wife would be happy to stay on longer. She was a little puzzled why she needed to be told about this.

"I am sorry to hear that. I am not altogether certain why it was urgent to inform me about it."

"Because he had not yet taken up the post, the protocol is that the second placed candidate for ambassador should be offered the role in such circumstances."

Winter recalled that the system was that the Atlas council would be offered two candidates who were considered suitable and then asked to choose between them. Her father had said in the past that while the ambassadorship in Vacuo was not seen as important by the diplomatic service it was important to the multi-kingdoms. They generally lobbied the diplomatic service to offer the Atlas council a forcing choice. She thought she could guess what the news would be and knew the Multi-kingdoms would not be happy.

"So, who will be the new ambassador and why should this concern me?"

"Parsifal Campion was the alternative candidate. He has accepted the post and the news will be released publicly next week after he finishes his holiday. However, I have no doubt that the interested parties in Vacuo will be hearing this afternoon. This means that instead of being a distinguished tourist he will be in effect the senior representative of the Atlas government in Vacuo. I will be to extent possible be strengthening the security team accompanying him and his nephew, but I thought that you should know about this as soon as possible."

"Is there any particular reason to believe that he will be at risk next week? From what I know of him, it is hard to imagine that the White Fang will wish to target him."

"That is true, but I cannot count on that. It would be a propaganda coup and his family does have large holdings in the Atlas Multi-kingdoms. In addition, and speaking in confidence, I am worried that some of the Multi-kingdoms may react badly to the news. It is suspected that when Campion was last in Vacuo he collected the information which was used to justify the introduction of the legislation increasing the oversight which Atlas can take of operations outside the kingdom. While there is no evidence to suggest that he leaked it, some people knew enough to ask the questions which forced the foreign ministry to disclose it to the council."

"Thank you for the warning. It is appreciated. I will discuss it with Major Magenta and Colonel White tomorrow."

She paused and said, "I suppose we had better address the obvious questions. Should we remove Lieutenant Amin and Mr Corkran from the escort party? I would be very reluctant to do so as it would send the wrong message to both. I am happy from my own knowledge of him that Lieutenant Amin is loyal to Atlas and I am aware that general Ironwood considers him a strong candidate for future preferment. If he was a member of the White Fang he had plenty of opportunity in Atlas to cause significantly more damage than the assassination of an eccentric diplomat."

The security head said, "I do not disagree. I would also say that Mr. Corkran is about as non-political as you can get and has no known contacts with the White Fang. We have positively vetted him on three separate occasions. One of these included having someone offer to recruit him and he reported the approach the day afterwards. He also told us where our agent was staying having followed him back following the approach."

"Unless we are going to say that Faunus cannot be trusted, I cannot in all conscience justify their exclusion from the escort party. I assume that there is nothing in the full version of the file to provide a reason for him being a particular target for the White Fang."

"I can confirm that. Shall we agree a joint note for the record?"

"Yes."

The evening was interesting. It was clear that the news had broken and at the pre-dinner reception, Winter watched the directors of the Multi-kingdoms gathering in huddles and looking increasingly shocked. During the dessert course, Umber Raddock who had perhaps drunk a little too much had expressed his displeasure indirectly by given a speech congratulating the outgoing ambassador on his commendable work and stating that he had recognised that the most important role of both the Atlas Embassy and the Military in Vacuo is to safeguard Atlesian nationals and Atlesian business interests and not to indulge personal quirks and eccentricities over the greater good.

He tried to pursue this line with her, but she cut him off at an early stage by remarking that she trusted that the Atlesian diplomatic service would never have nominated someone as ambassador who did not have the best interest of Atlas at heart.

The next morning Lieutenant Beamish reported to her some intemperate conversations he had heard the previous night. While in his hearing, Umber Raddock had been circumspect, he had been clearly winding up the hotheads.

/-/

Marrow, Sergeant Hartnell and Corkran were called into a meeting with Major Magenta at eight in the morning. This rather surprised him as usually his orders came through Captain Schnee. The Major started off by saying, "This is currently officially a secret although not a well-kept one. Parsifal Campion is going to be announced as the Atlesian ambassador to Vacuo and will take over his duties in two weeks. This therefore means that the security concerns are going to be higher than they were previously. Captain Schnee and myself see no need to change the personnel we have assigned to this mission, but I should warn you all that the Atlas diplomatic security squad is likely to be more nervous than they would otherwise be. Please bear that in mind when interacting with them and the Campions. You should also be more wary of any groups you meet on your mission. The new ambassador was not universally popular with all the Atlesian expatriates here for the thoroughness with which he fulfilled his duties the last time he was stationed in Vacuo. I have full confidence in you, but I would like you all to err on the side of caution. I or Captain Schnee will be ready to lend you support if called upon and we would prefer it if you cried Beowulf rather than delay calling us in."

He dismissed the Sergeant and Corkran. He then turned to Marrow and said, "Do you have any observations or questions, Lieutenant Amin?"

Marrow thought about it. He thought he knew what the Major had been telling him without saying it directly. He suspected that this question was a test and that the right answer would be to hint that he knew a message had been given without directly asking the Major to confirm the message. "I believe that I understand the implications of the change in circumstances and your words, sir."

The major looked steadily at him. "I trust you do. As part of overseeing your professional development, I would like you to tell me what I told you without stating directly."

Marrow was now put on the spot. "That our guest was not expected to be the ambassador, that he is not seen as a likely target for the White Fang but that some others may prefer him to have a hunting accident. The security detail will be watching me and Mr. Corkran closely in any event."

The major smiled at him, "I do believe that you understand, Lieutenant."

An hour later he was waiting with the Major and the squad as the airship arrived from town. A squad of ten security guards (up from the originally expected five) exited the airship followed by the captain and the nephew. The nephew was tall for his age and was wearing a monocle. He was also carrying a gun case and wearing a fencing sword. The colonel then exited followed by the ambassador designate. The latter was carrying another gun case and wearing two daggers. One good sign was that both the aristocrats were dressed for the desert rather than a dinner party.

The preparations for departure took less time than Marrow had feared. There was one unexpected aspect in that he was called into Captain Schnee's office where Parsifal Campion was also there. "Delighted t' make your acquaintance, Lieutenant. I would like t' congratulate you on your performance at the Vytal Festival and for graduating in the top five of your class. I would appreciate it if you could spare some time from commanding the mission t' talk to my nephew. He is a good-natured youngster, and I am trying to encourage him t' go to a huntsman academy if he has the talent. I have stressed t' him that he should instantly obey any orders from yourself and the sergeant and any suggestions from our guide. By the way, there is no need t' warn me of Mr. Corkran's accent. I will see you in a few minutes." He then left.

Captain Schnee then said, "I understand that the Major has already talked to you. Last might and this morning I and our colleagues at the embassy have received various warnings that last night some very unhappy drunk Atlesians were talking that it would be best for Atlas if the Ambassador designate never took up his post. It was probably only the drink speaking, but it will behove you to be careful out there. One person who I suspect of having a silver tongue semblance was heard encouraging those rumoured to have close links with bandit gangs and mercenaries to take steps to achieve this end. The wording was such that he could claim that all he meant was that they make representations to Atlas but do take the threat seriously."

The first four days went well. The cull was going to plan, and their guests were not getting in the way. The sergeant in any event could do this type of mission in his sleep. The security team seemed to welcome shooting at real targets. Marrow's aura helped deal with any large swarms of Grimm. The ambassador although rusty still clearly kept himself in training and had a strong aura. The nephew's rifles were top of the range Lumleys. Lumley was the most prestigious and expensive firm of gunmakers in Atlas, but it appeared that the reputation was deserved. Marrow was impressed by the care the boy took with cleaning his guns. He suspected that the boy must have a sharpshooter semblance as he seemed able to pick off Jackelopes at ludicrous distances. The boy also asked questions about training at Atlas academy. However, he seemed more interested in what Marrow could tell him about the other academies and the students he had met at the Vytal Festivals from those academies.

On the evening of the fourth day, Corkran called him and the sergeant over, "Lieutenant, there is a possibility that someone is following us. There have been occasional glints from sand dunes in the last two hours which suggest that someone is watching us. There was also an unexpected small sandstorm which could have hidden people moving across open ground. I would suggest that after dusk I go on a reconnaissance mission to investigate."

Marrow said, "Is it possible that someone has a sand semblance out there?"

The sergeant said, "I will order the guards to wear sand goggles in any event tonight."

Marrow said, "Thank you sergeant. I will put the Captain on notice that we are investigating a potential issue." He saw the sergeant begin to open his mouth, and pre-empted the comment, "The captain and I have agreed a codeword for this eventuality so if our communications are being monitored they should not realise that we expect that they are there.

He called over the head of the security team and passed on the concern. The man nodded and suggested that Corkran take as member of his team with him wearing infrared glasses. This would allow one person to return and report verbally if the two of them located signs of life out there to allow the camp to go on full alert.

He then briefed the ambassador. He listened, nodded and said, "Perhaps you can provide my nephew with some infrared goggles. He is probably the best sniper we have." Marrow arranged for this to happen and the ambassador briefed the nephew..

Two hours later the man from the security detail returned. "We have a problem. There is a group of at least fifty bandits out there and probably more. Your man says that there are at least three people out there who are rumoured to have the ability to create sandstorms. He says that there is a herd of Ziraph out there as well. He has a plan to try and even the odds. Lieutenant, you are going to have to pretend to panic when the attack comes. It may help if you have a code to let the captain know you are bluffing."

An hour later, sandstorms converged on their position from three sides. Marrow sent a communication to base saying "Unnatural sandstorms in our vicinity. Suspect an imminent attack. Cut-glass is being moved to rendezvous point A."

Marrow and the sergeant had correctly anticipated where the first attack was coming from. While the sand was blowing into their eyes it also shielded them from the attackers initially and Marrow's eyesight was only enhanced by the infrared goggles. When he shouted "stay" the attackers in his line of sight froze and the troops and security guards fired at stationary targets. The nephew took out the commander with a head shot using a dust enhanced bullet. The attackers retreated. Marrow anticipate that the next attack would be from three sides at once or slightly staggered.

At that point, a new voice came across the radio headset," Cut-glass t' Ice Queen. Sink hole at rendezvous point A. Am moving t' the hill at rendezvous point B with my remaining guards."

Clearly Corkran was counting on the attackers listening to their communications and having tracker equipment. He was also counting on the attackers assuming that he was the ambassador designate and that Winter Schnee was on her way.

Over the radio came the distinctive tones of Winter, "Ice Queen to Cut-glass. ETA twenty minutes at Rendezvous point B." Marrow was relieved. Winter had clearly caught on to the plan. While he doubted that twenty minutes was a realistic estimate if the bandits were listening in they would at least have to consider that they either had to go all in immediately or give up now. In any event they would need to take the misdirection seriously and split their forces.

The radio operator gestured him over and played over the communications he had intercepted. The attackers had called on teams C and D to head in the direction of the nearest hill to the site of the radio message from Cut-glass.

Ten minutes later there was another message. "Ziraph are blocking route to target hill and are attacking. We are also taking fire."

Five minutes later there was two more sandstorms. Marrow presumed that the attackers had decided that there was a real risk that the radio message had been designed to mislead them and that if their mission was to be successful they needed to attack now.. He presumed that there would now be a simultaneous attack from two directions. Suddenly one of the sandstorms vanished and Marrow was able to use his semblance to stop one group of attackers in their tracks. The troops, VIPS and security guards were able to take full advantage. Most of the attackers either did not have an aura or had weak ones and the survivors quickly fled when Marrow released his semblance.

He was able to turn to face the other sandstorm before the attackers could reach the camp. Bullets were flying in, but clearly the attackers could not yet see to aim. The final sandstorm vanished, and Marrow unleashed his semblance again. As they were closer to the camp than the previous force, the troops and security guards were able to take full advantage of their lack of mobility. The few mobile attackers retreated quickly after Marrow released his semblance. He hoped that he would not have to use it again this evening.

The ambassador approached him and gestured to the sergeant. "Lieutenant Amin, Sergeant Hartnell, there are Grimm in the area. Any wounded out there are radiating negativity. I suggest that we do not bother seeking to take prisoners. If they want to run or crawl away, let them. If they are unable to move, it may be kinder to them to put them out of their misery and certainly safer for us." The sergeant nodded. Marrow was a little surprised but did not voice an objection.

Marrow checked on his men. Some had taken damage, but their armour had prevented any life-threatening wounds. After another thirty minutes Corkran re-joined them after giving them a warning over the radio that he was returning. Marrow asked, "Do we need to worry about teams C and D of the attackers?" The Lynx Faunus smiled and said "Either dead or still been chased by the Ziraph. They were rather demoralised and were radiating negative emotions. The Ziraph are also interested in the remnants of the rest of the attackers. The sandstorm specialists are dead so convoys should be less likely to be attacked for at least the next few months."

Marrow gazed over the battlefield and had the best snipers on standby in case it was necessary to deal with any of the Ziraphs or any other Grimm which may have been attracted by the battle. The sergeant had instinctively gone round the troops raising morale.

Ten minutes later three bullheads arrived. Winter Schnee activated her semblance and swept over the battlefield on a white manticore. The bullheads shone searchlights through the dark. After establishing that the attackers were either dead or fled, Winter dismissed the manticore and joined the group. The bullheads then landed, and reinforcements unloaded.

The ambassador-designate spoke to Winter and the security team leader who both frowned and nodded. Two small squads wandered the battlefield.

Corkran wandered over to Marrow and said, "I will be amazed if there are any prisoners to be interrogated although rumours will be spread that there some members of the rank and file were captured. It is standard operating practice for bandits t' kill the wounded who they cannot take with them. It is better than being eaten by Grimm or the local wildlife and tribes who survive a bandit attack do not go in for mercy."