Merendinoemiliano – thank you for the feedback. I am enjoying fleshing out the world.
Sorry for the delay, but this is a longer chapter than most. I am also trying to write another story at the same time and there is a single shot story which I hope to publish soon.
Qrow had been sitting quite happily by himself in Rick's bar when the stressed looking Atlesian walked in. He saw that few other people were reacting badly to the man who looked inoffensive enough. He decided that the man needed a friend and invited him to join him at the table.
The man looked around and decided that there was no one else there whose company he preferred." Thank you, Beamish is the name. Can I buy you a drink?"
"Qrow's the name, hunting is the game. I will have whatever you are having."
The man turned to the barman and said, "A bottle of Mouton Schnee please, barman."
"Yes, Lieutenant Beamish. Do you want to open a tab?"
"An excellent idea. Tell me when I have spent 500 lien."
Qrow decided that first the man was rich and second that he was not happy.
He showed Beamish to his table and then returned to the bar, "I will be checking his tab at the end of the evening and so do not rip him off more than normal. Also, I have an excellent palate so no substitutions."
The barman said, "Rick's prides itself on good service. Besides which the lieutenant is a regular customer, and we would prefer it if he stays that way."
"We have an understanding then."
Qrow joined the Lieutenant and said, "Delighted to make your acquaintance. I graduated from Vale more years ago than I choose to remember. I assume you are a recent Atlas graduate." Qrow showed the man his licence as proof, sometime people found it hard to believe that he was a huntsman.
"Yes, you are right. Is it that obvious?"
"The haircut is a giveaway, and I can sense the aura. You do look youthful. Besides which the barman addressed you by rank and surname rather than your forename."
They exchanged potted life histories. Qrow used his old half lie which was that he had fought in the Vytal festival quarter finals rather than saying that his team had won the tournament twice. Summer and Raven had been at least as good as he was (probably slightly better) and Glynda and Ozpin had been persuasive in saying that having an all women duo fighting the semi-finals would encourage more female applicants. Beamish said that his team had been contenders for the Atlas entrants but that they had been 5th and 6th choice both times.
Qrow watched the door and the room. He saw more corporate types arriving. He then saw three versions of a monkey Faunus who was clearly younger than would be served in either Atlas or Vale come through the door with a blue haired dandy. They spotted his drinking companion and disappeared out of the door before the bouncers could throw them out.
He wondered what his companion was drinking to forget and how best to investigate it. They had finished the first bottle in 25 minutes and Qrow had deliberately only being drinking at the same pace as his companion. The second bottle arrived and Qrow prevailed on his companion to buy some food as well. He had gathered that his companion had been on an inspection mission which had taken longer than expected.
He decided to ask a leading question and said, "Do you know Winter Schnee?"
"She is my immediate superior. Impressive lady."
Qrow decided that innuendo would not go down well and said "No one would disagree with that. A little stern perhaps."
"Stern, but fair. How do you know her?"
"Work related. She knows my boss. Disapproves of me. I am not good at deference. We met yesterday at the base."
The man laughed. Clearly he was becoming pixelated quite quickly.
Just then two Faunus walked into the bar. The bouncers looked at them and decided to leave them alone. His companion shouted "Marrow, Mr C., come and join us."
Qrow glanced at the two newcomers. The dog Faunus he assumed was another junior officer, but he was not certain about the Lynx Faunus. He was looking around the bar in the same way Qrow had when he first walked in and seemed to be assessing threats. He then made the connection. Ozpin had shared with him the report of action which Ironwood had sent about the attack on the patrol accompanying Parsifal Campion. Both were staring at him with some suspicion.
"Lieutenant Amin, Leslie Corkran, delighted to meet you. Qrow Branwen." He showed the licence and the two visibly relaxed.
Beamish said "Qrow, could you ask for another bottle and two more glasses?"
Qrow assented and signalled to the Lynx Faunus to join him. He said, "I assume you are his friends and that he can afford to drop 500 lien on a bender."
"Yes to both questions."
"Is there any reason why those corporate types are staring at him?"
"Are they, old chap? Perhaps when he visits the council chamber we should accompany him?" Qrow was a little startled by the accent and the terminology.
"Maybe follow ten seconds later?"
"I think it may be better t' pre-empt a full and frank exchange of views. I would prefer t' guarantee his survival and I do not believe anyone would wish t' help us detain his potential assailants."
When they returned to the table the dog Faunus said and Beamish were having a slightly embarrassing conversation. The inebriated Lieutenant was saying that he had not realised how bad things were for Faunus in the mines.
Qrow said "What have you done to upset those corporate types? They do not look happy to see you."
Beamish said, "Good. Don't worry, Marrow. I have no intention of starting a fight or telling them that they are lower than vermin. However, if they wish to start a fight with me I will protect myself."
Qrow could not resist saying, "Unless James has changed a lot since I last met him, while that may save you from a court martial, it will not help your career to beat up a load of suits. If they make trouble let me deal with them and you keep to dealing with the security types and criminals."
"What security types?"
"The ones who will be here within the next twenty minutes. At least some of these must have the brain cells to know that even at four to one odds they would be unlikely to best you in a fight."
The Lynx Faunus said, "Normally I would agree with you Mr. Branwen, but you may not appreciate the full extent of the annoyance Lieutenant Beamish has caused them and their employers."
A blue haired man in his late thirties arrived at the bar, ordered a beer, and sat down at a table opposite them. The Lynx Faunus volunteered to get Qrow a whiskey, got up and on the way to the bar was greeted by the blue haired man. He had a swift word with the man who nodded and got out his scroll. When the Faunus Beamish had called Mr. C retuned, the dog Faunus Marrow asked, "What was that all about?"
"He is the father of Sun's friend Neptune. He is going to call in Umber Raddock to defuse the situation. Apparently he suspected that trouble may be brewing Lieutenant Beamish, please do not hit or insult Umber Raddock when he arrives. It will only make it easier for him and the SDC to escape retribution. I suspect that Mr. Vassilias rather hopes that tomorrow morning everyone will feel grateful to him."
Qrow asked "Who is this Radish fellow/"
"Raddock. Head of the local operations of the SDC."
Qrow turned to Lieutenant Beamish, "Let me shake your hand, kiddo. You can tell a good man by the quality of his enemies."
/-/
Umber Raddock reached the door of Rick's. He saw that a group of his junior managers Vassilias had warned him about had been joined by some senior security people and that executives and security chief from some other multi-kingdoms were also there. Some of these included ex-officers and people with strong auras and fighting skills. He walked over to Vassilias and said in a loud voice, "Good to see you, Saturn. Would you like to share a bottle of Mouton Schnee?"
"That sounds an excellent idea, Umber."
Umber walked up to the bar. Normally the barman would have come over to the table to take his order, but Umber wanted an excuse to speak to his people.
"It is good to see you all relaxing tonight. It has been a busy few days." This was said loudly. More softly he said, "I appreciate the loyalty, men. However, head office will want heads to roll if Lieutenant Beamish is molested tonight. Also, his three companions are dangerous people. This is probably a trap to cause further trouble for us. I have booked a couple of tables at the Red Windmill for ten minutes time on the SDC corporate hospitality tab to reward your hard work and dedication. I suggest you make your way there." He used his semblance to press the button that this was Raddock looking after his employees and that he had their best interests at heart. The new deputy head of security looked uncertain for a moment and then recalled who was boss. "That is very generous of you, sir. I will let the people we were waiting for know the change of venue."
He ordered the wine and some tapas and beckoned to the head of Atlas Gold's security team. "Good to see you, John. I have heard from head office and the message that I have received is that all the multi-kingdom CEOs want to avoid raising the tension here and in particular do not want to annoy the military or the diplomatic corps. Perhaps you can pass the word around?"
The man clenched his teeth and then nodded, "Understood, Raddock."
He saw out of the corner of his eye the bouncers relax as the SDC employees left the club and John start to circulate amongst the other multi-kingdoms.
He said to Saturn, "Please help yourself. I need to have a quick word with the Lieutenant."
He decided that the Atlas military would be glad to have an excuse to think that while there had been some excesses, the problem was not systemic. He walked up to the table and said, "Lieutenant Beamish, I am glad to see you. While your recent inspection has caused me a lot of hard work, I would like to thank you for your role in drawing our shortcomings to my attention. I am ordering a root and branch review of our operations and I am planning training sessions at the mines to bring home to the SDC family that while profit is important, other factors need to be paid attention to and will be measured in the future."
He could feel Beamish wanting to believe him. The Dog Faunus was neutral and while he could not read what the other Faunus thought, he did not matter. However, the disreputable looking man just burst out laughing at him, and said," That means that you will just learn to hide the evidence better." That was a hybrid Vale and Mistralian accent and he could see that the man was carrying a weapon. He must be a huntsman of some description.
"I can understand your cynicism, Huntsman….."
"You can call me Qrow."
"-But I can assure you that we are taking steps to change things and to improve our reporting procedures. Our previous head of security has been terminated and his reaction showed that he knew that he had exceeded his delegated authority." He felt some resistance to his semblance from Beamish and decided that he would back off.
Lieutenant Amin said, "I hear he was terminated in all senses of the word."
"It is fair to say that he did not take being called to account for his faults well." Umber recalled that he had not seen any payments being made to the Dog Faunus and mentally kicked himself. He had taken his eyes off the detail and Beige's successor was penny wise, lien foolish. He must have decided that there was no need to make payments to the Dog Faunus. He wondered if the man had taken contributions from the other multi-kingdoms and pocketed them. Actually, it was more likely that all the regional financial officers had decided to make a saving. The man was probably honest.
He noticed that the huntsman called Qrow had grasped Beamish 's right arm. Perhaps he should go to the De Lagers mine himself and see how bad things actually were there.
"Anyway, good evening Lieutenant, gentlemen. I look forward to meeting you again."
/-/
Marrow wondered what exactly had been going on there. It had been a relief to see that the huntsman had clearly been looking after Beamish but seeing the blue haired man and Raddock making an appearance had suggested that Marrow did not understand all the ramifications of what was going on. He had also seen that the huntsman had restrained Beamish.
The huntsman waited until Raddock had joined the blue haired man and said, "What a slimeball."
Beamish snorted, "You may be being unfair to slimeballs. Even if he did not know he should have known."
Qrow asked "Who is the bloke with the blue hair?"
Leslie answered, "Saturn Vassilias. He is the local rep for Vassilias Transport. Does his best to get along with everyone."
Beamish caught the bartender's eye and ordered another bottle together with a double whiskey for the huntsman.
Marrow watched the heavies disappear from the bar and most of the suits exited as well. Some stayed around but took tables which were not facing Beamish. He noted that they some people came into the club and immediately left after looking at one table or another and presumably getting a signal that their services were not needed.
He was startled to see Clover and Elm enter the club and walk towards the table.
Qrow said "Of all the gin joints in all the world, you had to walk into this one."
Clover answered, "Hello, Qrow, I thought you knew, everyone comes to Rick's. Lieutenant Beamish, Lieutenant Amin and Mr. Corkran, do you mind if we join you?"
"Be my guest." replied Beamish. "I have a tab at the bar."
Clover chatted easily to Qrow and Beamish. He clearly knew the huntsman and Marrow thought that Qrow hinted that there had been signs of trouble earlier. Elm spoke to Marrow and to a lesser extent to Mr. Corkran. She seemed a little tense.
Eventually Beamish decided that it was time to go to the toilet and Qrow decided to accompany him.
Clover said, "Lieutenant Amin. Mr Corkran. Thank you for watching out for Lieutenant Beamish. I gather from what Qrow said that some people were thinking about giving him a warm welcome."
Marrow nodded and Corkran said "Mr Raddock decided t' defuse the situation."
"What are the chances of persuading Lieutenant Beamish to return to the base tonight?"
Marrow replied, "If you have transport, good, but you may need to wait another hour or so. It would be helpful if you could stop off at the R&R barracks so Leslie and I can collect our bags."
"Fine, Harriet can drive us. I will need to speak to you both tomorrow morning. I have heard a rumour that someone is looking to suggest that the investigation at the mine is a White Fang plot. Nonsense, of course, but helps to have an instant rebuttal prepared."
Marrow sighed. He had hoped that he had put this nonsense behind him. "Yes, sir."
Corkran seemed to count to ten and then said, "Of course."
The prediction was correct. Elm had for some reason become more sociable after beamish returned and it appeared that Beamish knew her sister. The two chatted away while he spoke to Clover and the huntsman spoke to Corkran.
/-/
Clover had awoken early. His call with Theodore had been semi-useful. He felt that the headmaster had been truthful, but honestly believed that the White Fang in Vacuo were a joke. Theodore had no doubt that some of the consulate staff were either White Fang members or sympathisers, but he had not heard of them carrying out any activities beyond assisting escapees from the mines to make their way to menagerie. He commented that most Vacuoans would be willing to assist in this regard. He also said that both Faunus and humans would be up for a little sabotage at the mines, provided that it only caused economic disruption. The Major had warned him that the headmaster enjoyed being rudely honest.
Clover was trying to work out how to play the interviews with Lieutenant Amin and Leslie Corkran. There were two mistakes which he could make. The first was to risk alienating two people who were fundamentally loyal or at least prepared to fulfil the terms of his contract. If you treat someone as a potential traitor because they were a Faunus, it risked becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. The second was not to investigate concerns properly because of the concern of appearing discriminatory.
He had asked Theodore if he knew anything about the Lynx Faunus. Theodore had laughed and said, "He tested for a place at Shade. I think that it was merely to confirm to himself that he was good enough as he declined the offer of a place on the basis that he could not afford the drop in remuneration. As he is not a student, I have not really concerned myself with him, but he is a little disconcerting."
Clover then regarded the intelligence reports he had received overnight from Atlas. The White Fang specialists had been unable to identify the two Faunus who had been in Rick's with Corkran when he had been waiting for the witness protection gang-member to arrive.
He leaned back and tossed a coin twice. He nodded at the result. The result of it was that he would play the upcoming interviews as a means for the two Faunus to give him deep background and to protect the investigation against challenge.
He called in Marrow and said, "Thank you for the assistance last night. I apologise for the questions which I am going to ask you now. There are rumours of a White Fang operation taking place in Vacuo. In addition, some of the multi-kingdoms are almost certainly going to try and protect themselves by saying that pursuing these investigations and insisting on change merely furthers the agenda of the White Fang. They will throw what mud they can and you and Mr. Corkran will be hinted at having manoeuvred Captain Schnee and Lieutenant Beamish into investigating the worse mine in Vacuo. The general and I wish to be able to shut these rumours down at an early stage and generally we believe that the multi-kingdoms will not want to get into a no holds barred fight with the military. They are prepared to obfuscate and lie but will not go in for a big lie that the military are enemies of Atlas or are being used by them."
The lieutenant nodded, although his tail drooped a little. "I understand, sir."
Clover worked for the next ten minutes at asking soft ball questions on marrow's background and training at Atlas to hint to him that the questioning was more of a tick the box exercise.
Clover then said, "It is clear to me that you are first and foremost an Atlesian who happens to be a Faunus and I hope that is how I have always dealt with you. I know that is how general Ironwood wants me to treat the Faunus within the military. I have found two lines of resistance. One is the straightforward that Faunus are Faunus first, and are not real citizens of Atlas. The second is slightly subtler but comes to the same thing. That is that there are too many of those who do not treat you as equals to allow you to feel that you are real Atlesians. This is a little circular – we treat them badly because we can't trust them, we can't trust them because we treat them badly."
Marrow looked up at him and nodded cautiously. "Sir, I am not a fool. Yes, I know that if I had been a human or had come from Atlas I would have been placed on a team which would have been designed to be Vytal festival contenders rather than a team of technical geniuses who could fight decently and needed some protection in team battles. Enough people have apologised to me for that to allow me to believe that the next Marrow Amin will be treated better. I was conscious of students feeling embarrassed around me. I was ignored rather than bullied, but in my first term my only friends were my team members, and they were embarrassed in a different way. It should also be borne in mind that my semblance is useful for dealing with bullies who attack you in the bathroom, especially if you have teammates who are happy to debag them and take photographs. At the end of my first term my uncle gave me an autobiography of Jacques Redbreastson. He was the first Faunus student at Beacon after Ozpin became headmaster there. Enough of it resonated and gave me a pathway to follow. It also helped that my grandfather and father arrived in Mantle thirty years ago and started off working in convenience stores. They now own a chain of their own. I have examples to follow of hard work and enthusiasm being successful."
Clover smiled to himself and said "I think I am beginning to understand. You did not expect things to be easy or to be treated fairly, but you felt that there was a way forward. Could you let me know the title of the book, it sounds like an interesting read? Was coming from Mantle a problem at Atlas?"
"In some ways greater. Enough of the other students are like Beamish who feel it is tacky to publicly insult someone because of animal traits. However, the Atlas elite believes that it deserves to be elite and behaves as though it is acceptable to look down on people from Mantle."
"Lieutenant, thank you. That was helpful as that gives me the ammunition to rebut implied attacks on your loyalty. We will now need to discuss your experience in Vacuo. We have discovered that there seems to have been an informal system of the multi-kingdoms making cash payments to officers and entertaining officers at clubs and restaurants in Vacuo. It would appear that you have not been offered a payment and that you are not invited to restaurants. Is that the case and how did that make you feel?"
"The explanation I have been given is that much of the local management in Vacuo comes from Mistral and have difficulty in taking Faunus officers seriously. I do meet with representatives of middle management and while their expense accounts are lower, they do like to go to decent restaurants with me. They also tend to be Vacuoan residents. Those sessions can be useful in letting me know the gossip on Grimm concentrations and bandit operations. No cash payments have been made to me. On the other hand, I rarely do inspections. The Major has told me that my semblance was far too useful in dealing with Grimm to waste on holding hand duty."
"Do you mind not being offered money which others with less fighting prowess receive as a matter of course?"
"The only people I have spoken to about this are Lieutenant Beamish and Major Magenta. Beamish was insulted that he had been offered money, Magenta seemed pleased that they had not offered me cash. I did not know that cash was paid to other officers."
Clover was increasingly convinced that Professor Theodore was correct in his analysis that any manipulation in relation to the De Lagers mine inspection had been done by Major Magenta and not by the White Fang. He was not certain how happy General Ironwood would be with the Major.
"You were assigned to the patrol which Ambassador Campion and his nephew accompanied. Did you volunteer for that role?"
"No, I was assigned by Major Magenta and Captain Schnee as was Mr. Corkran. Apparently my assignment was requested by the ambassador and Mr. Corkran is our best scout. Sergeant Hartnell was assigned to ensure that I did not do anything stupid. The original assignment was made when it was not known that he would be the Ambassador and I was slightly surprised that I was not reassigned when he was appointed ambassador designate."
Clover asked a few more questions but decided that there was no evidence that Lieutenant Amin was conspiring with the White Fang.
"Thank you lieutenant."
He then prepared for the next interview with the scout. He had now received the security assessment from the embassy on the Lynx Faunus. His involvement with the diplomatic service had suggested that the infighting there was worse than within the military. It was clear that the diplomatic security team were competent but did not speak to the intelligence team at all. It was clear that he needed to speak to the head of the security team about what she thought about the White Fang threat in Vale.
The dossier was illuminating in that it gave him positive clearance which had been signed off at a high level and stated that he was not a member of the White Fang. It recorded that he had been approached by an agent provocateur to test his loyalty. Not only had he refused to take the bait, but he had also followed the agent home and reported where he lived to the military and to the diplomatic security team. Thinking like Harriet, that of course did leave open the possibility that he had known that the approach was a test because he was already a member of the White Fang or that it was an open secret who worked for the embassy diplomatic team. While the military file had a gap on discussion of his parents, the embassy file had redacted that section in its entirety.
He rang the head of security at the embassy and said, "Can I ask you a few questions generally about Vacuo and specifically about Mr. Corkran?"
"Of course. I have no doubt that we are on the same team." That answer could be taken as a straight invitation to talk or an implied hint that other Atlas organisations could not be trusted.
"First, you are involved in protecting embassy staff. In practice, how big is the White Fang threat here?"
"Small, but we do warn our staff to avoid talking about certain topics in public. We have identified five persons of interest, but in reality id we were in Mistral we would not bother with them. The hardliners are ineffective and the competent are sympathisers."
"Have you seen any signs of unusual activity by those people in the last week?"
"Not really. Two have disappeared, but they are desert dwellers and earn a living by accompanying tourists on wildlife safaris. We try and steer executives belonging to the multi-kingdoms away from them. A hunting accident is so hard to disprove especially when the body has been eaten."
"I thought that I should warn you that we have picked up a rumour that Adam Taurus is rumoured to be heading for Vacuo and Captain Schnee has been identified as a potential target. Is there anything else you have learnt recently which perhaps takes on new significance in the light of this rumour?."
"Not if Captain Schnee is the target. One of the two who has left is only on our books because when inebriated he says that the SDC brands children and drops them in the desert to die. He is actually human and when challenged he says he knows what his brother saw. That story is by the way not on the official files but in my personal notes which I keep in a safe. It is of course an unsubstantiated rumour to which it would be invidious to give credence."
"I believe I understand." He wondered whether he could order his uncle to tell Clover which rumours about the multi-kingdoms he believed to be probably true. "If there are any other unsubstantiated rumours which may be of use to the White Fang, I would be interested to know about them. I could do a private meeting tomorrow morning, or I could send Specialist Elm to meet you at lunchtime."
"I think tomorrow morning would be fine."
"Could you let me know why you have given Mr. Corkran a clean bill of health and was happy to allow him to accompany Parsifal Campion and his nephew even after he became ambassador? Also, I you could indicate why some entries in the files are redacted?"
"The redaction is down to my predecessor. He said that there were so many contradictory rumours out there about him that the matter was incapable of proof and only gave a temptation to sell the file to the Remnant Enquirer or to blackmail. The assumption is that he is the bastard child of an Atlesian noble and a Faunus servant. There are however two variants which are more troubling. First, that his mother was a minor Atlas noble who had a Faunus lover and was disowned by her family. The second is that both parents were outwardly human and that in one of them there was a gene which caused him to be born a Faunus. These actually make more sense of the accent."
"Even the fact of these rumours would suggest that he had potentially understandable reasons to be someone to be kept away from an Atlas aristocrat."
"He first came to our attention when he was ten. His mother had apparently recently died. He was brought in by the Mohawks who had discovered him the desert in a lorry surrounded by mole crabs and vultures. Apparently he was the only survivor and was taking occasional pot-shots at crabs and vultures to give them something else to eat besides him. Apparently there had been six of them travelling together, the lorry had broken down, two of the people had managed to fall into a sink hole, the others had panicked and attracted the attention of a Jackelope Grimm. Between them they eventually killed it, but two of the companions died and his mother was gravely injured and later died of his wounds. Before leaving with the nomads, he insisted that they burn her body to prevent her from being eaten. The tribe travelled with him for two months before one of the tribe members who worked in security brought him into Vacuo city. Not surprisingly they tried the embassy on the basis that the accent suggested that he had links to Atlas and perhaps he and his mother's companions had been reported missing. According to the file, there were no reports which matched him, and the nomads had not taken pictures on their scrolls of the dead woman. The other companions had been eaten."
"I can see why the file is sketchy and why parentage is unclear. What happened to him?"
"He ran away and joined various nomadic tribes for six months at a time. He had a knack for making friends and he declared that he wanted to know how to survive in the desert. After a few years he started to seek employment as a desert guide and quickly got a reputation. Every few months an Atlas tourist or a multi-kingdom executive would report to us that they had encountered a Faunus with an Atlesian accent and asked whether we knew about him and what we intended to do about him. All the reports stressed that he was perfectly friendly towards Atlesians provided that they were not overly condescending to him. The analysis was that he did not blame Atlas, but an incompetent guide and mechanic for what happened to his mother. To judge by a few complaints we received about him, his main interest in Atlas was being willing to oblige Atlesian woman and young girls looking for a holiday romance with a mysterious stranger."
"Thank you, that was helpful."
Clover then tried to work out the implications of the backstory for his meeting with the guide. He also wondered about whether the interview would be a disguised interrogation or a disguised job interview or rather a combination of both. He had a quick call with his uncle and then asked Captain Schnee if she would mind listening into the interview and prompting him through an ear plug. Just before the interview he had a scroll message from Harriet.
The Faunus arrived wearing a linen suit with a cravat round his neck.
"Specialist Ebi, to what do I owe the honour?"
"I understand that you have spoken to Lieutenant Amin since his interview with me?"
"As specialist Brees presumably told you, yes. He seemed to think that you were looking for reasons to defend my good name."
"To some extent. As I explained to Lieutenant Amin the recent visit of Lieutenant beamish and Captain Schnee to the De Lagers mine has put the multi-kingdoms in a vulnerable position and they are likely to be looking for reasons to shoot the messenger. Unfortunately, Faunus messengers are particularly likely to be targeted. While we have not publicised it, it is likely to become known that Captain Schnee spoke to you before deciding to encourage lieutenant Beamish to invoke powers which the military had never previously invoked and to investigate workers who had been sent on a second shift just before the inspection team arrived on the base. They will no doubt insinuate that you are a member of the White Fang or at the very least a fellow traveller."
"Understood. I would like to put in on the record that I did not volunteer any information to Captain Schnee and merely responded to questions. She had been referred to me by Major Magenta."
"That is correct." Captain Schnee's voice echoed in his ear. The Lynx Faunus's ears tensed and then relaxed.
"Where did you obtain the information you passed on to her?"
"It is common knowledge in Vacuo. I would also like to put on the record that no information was passed on which originated from the Mohawk tribe."
"Why did you join the Atlas military as a scout rather than the SDC? The money would have been better with the SDC."
"First, the experience I have obtained from working with the military has been better than that which I would have obtained working for the SDC. I am a better all-round fighter of Grimm and the local wildlife and have greater opportunity to identify subtleties suggesting where the sand is treacherous and when bd weather is brewing. Second, a friend in the Mohawk tribe suggested that I would not be a good fit with the SDC for various reasons. This encouraged me to ask questions of other acquaintances which suggested that he was correct in that regard."
"Why did you introduce Brian Thrush to Lieutenant Amin?"
"I owed the Mohawks a favour and I also believe that they are potentially the best scouts the atlas military can employ, also excepting myself."
"You told the Lieutenant and the Captain that you believed the reasons given by Brian Thrush for the Mohawks seeking to diversify their interests. Why was that?"
"Each year I spend a week or two of my annual leave visiting the Mohawk tribe and I speak to their young men and woman. They ask me about the work I do for the military and how I am treated and find it appealing. They also express a desire not to follow their parents into working for the multi-kingdoms."
"You say that the conditions in the De Lagers mine was a matter of general knowledge in Vacuo. Why is that? I understand that most workers in the mines are not from Vacuo itself or are members of eth nomadic tribes with an ambivalent attitude to the capital?"
"R&R applies to overseers as well as the military. Some like t' boast about what they do. For example, I have been informed by one Mistralian overseer that if I turned up at his mine, it would take him ten minutes to convict me of theft and brand my cheek despite my posh accent. Others feel the need to unload their guilt t' the ladies of negotiable virtue who pass on the stories. There was an animal lover accountant who enjoyed regaling his young Faunus companions with stories of how he gamed the rules t' rip off the employees and the loopholes he used to make it plausible that they were self-employed. There are also workers who escape from the mines and are smuggled out to Vale and Menagerie. They also tell stories on the way through."
"Why did you not report these rumours?"
"Do you really want me t' answer that question?"
"I would not have asked if I did not think that it was best for Atlas to know the answer despite the inconvenience and embarrassment."
"The assumption was that the Atlas government either knew and did not care or would refuse t' believe it was happening. You are saying that you want t' believe that me and Lieutenant Amin are telling the truth, but you are challenging us t' prove we are honest. Imagine how easy it would be t' dismiss us if admitting that we were telling the truth challenged everything you wished t' believe about yourself and your kingdom. T' be fair to Atlas, us Vacuoans acknowledge that provided the multi-kingdoms do not do things to us but only to citizens of Mistral and Atlas then that is their affair. Not a terribly attractive attitude, but we all define our tribes as having some limits. The Vacuoan council relies on campaign contributions from the multi-kingdoms and the kingdom trades off oversight and taxes for infrastructure and contributions to local heritage organisations."
"You have been honest with me. I will be honest with you. Lieutenant Amin can be protected from criticism on the basis that he is hard working, talented and an example of someone living the Atlesian dream. His family started with nothing and are now the owners of a quoted company. He has represented Atlas at the Vytal festival twice. I can say that in hid case what you see is what is you get. However, they can exempt him from criticism and still throw you under the Wyvern. You introduced him to the Mohawks, you proposed that he talk to the Captain and the Major about speaking to the Mohawks. You accompanied him there and you told Captain Schnee stories which pressed her buttons about honour. I need a story about you which people can relate to."
"Sorry t' disappoint you, old chap. I am the sum of my contradictions and cannot be put in a box. That may be an advantage as I am hard to place as a hardcore terrorist. I have consistently said that I do not know the identity of my father and I refuse to speak about my mother because no one but me has a right t' her story."
"Given those limitations, can we explore your background. No one seems to know you until you were aged ten and were found surrounded by vultures and crabs. Everyone says the accent is for real. You probably have some family background with aristocratic Atlesian connections. You have made your own way in the world since you were young and are good at your job."
"Look, specialist either back me or kill me. We all know you cannot put me on trial. You have no evidence of treason because it does not exist. T' show motive you will have t' portray me as the abandoned son of and Atlesian aristocrat. There are probably at least a dozen Atlesian families who will be scared that it will be plausible that I am a relative of them. Do you really want to bring up the failed prosecutions for insolence? I was acquitted every time and can say that if I had resented this treatment I could have left at any time. I could even say that it was understood I was being used as a test of character for new officers and I do not believe you would be happy at ordering your uncle to commit perjury."
"What motivates you? What are you looking for out of life? Why do you keep such a distinctive accent?"
"I want to have a comfortable, interesting, and enjoyable life. I want to be one of the best at whatever I make a career in. I do not need worship, but I want respect. I will try and treat other people as I would want to be treated myself, making some allowance for the fact that somethings others find important are immaterial to me. I enjoy female company but prefer it if we are both – all- playing by sufficiently similar rules. When people treat me well I will repay them in kind. If people treat me badly then I will respond in kind but prefer to ensure that they inflict most of the damage on themselves."
"You are a young man. Why did you not pursue a career in the safari package holiday area? It would have been well paid."
"I was in danger of turning into a gigolo. It also caused tensions among the male guests, and I could not think of a decent way to push away those women or girls who I was not attracted to or those who were looking for more from me than I could give them. It was also rather depressing hearing the stories which people made up to explain my tragic backstory. It stopped being fun or amusing, especially when those whom I pushed away reacted with anger."
"Why the accent?"
"First, it is what I grew up with. It is the accent I remember hearing as a child, and it is part of who I am. Second, everyone remembers it and therefore me. The squaddies listened to me from incredibly early days because my accent was one they were used to obeying. Third, it intrigues women. They like to make up stories about me."
"Knowing what you do about the SDC's operations in Vacuo, how did you respond to Captain Schnee."
"Could you give Captain Schnee the opportunity to switch off the microphone before we discuss this? I am afraid in my case at least the ears do enhance hearing and I know she would find my answer embarrassing. I do not mind personally."
"Captain Schnee, you heard Mr Corkran?"
"Yes Clover. Tell him to proceed in five seconds."
Clover suspected that he was being played by both of them but saw no harm in playing along.
"Continue, Mr Corkran."
"No one knew what to expect. She was a Vytal festival champion, a protégé of General Ironwood and seen as the real heiress to the SDC. Everyone knew that the multi-kingdoms did not want the Major to replace the Colonel when the Colonel retired. However, the briefing from the general was not as glowing as either the Major or Colonel was expecting it to be. People thought that we were being given the message that not only was it business as normal for the multi-kingdoms, but that she was been sent to find a reason to get rid of the Major. Alternatively, she was being sent here to fail which also raised interesting questions."
"And when she arrived?"
"She recognised my name and had clearly read the briefings. She was a brave fighter without taking unjustified risks. She brought the best out of lieutenants Beamish and Amin, teaching one to be less certain and the other to be more confident. She said things which showed that she was an officer who was trying to do her best. Perhaps more serious than most, but that is not a bad thing."
Clover felt that he had enough for the moment to hand to Ironwood to help him resist the political pressures in Atlas.
"Thank you, Mr. Corkran. Are you interested in being trained as a mustang at one of the huntsmen academies? You will be paid a stipend while you are there, and it does open up career prospects."
"Sir, is that a real possibility?"
"I have read the after-action reports of the attack on ambassador Campion. You are undoubtedly qualified."
"Perhaps we can discuss again after the immediate crisis. I am interested if the choices include Beacon."
"Why Beacon and not Atlas, Haven or Shade?"
"I prefer not to spend my first month of training having to prove I am tougher than anyone else. The accent and the ears do have some disadvantages."
"Ok, I think you have given me something I can use. We have heard rumours that the White Fang has moved paramilitaries into Vacuo. Have you heard anything which might lend credence to those rumours?"
"The White Fang are irrelevant in Vacuo. I have encountered them, but it is a little like the attentions of Atlesian woman. They have a fantasy view of me which they want me to fit into without the incentives for me to encourage their delusions. I have not heard anything about White fang activities, but I have been otherwise engaged for the last few weeks."
Clover decided that he had enough to sell the Faunus as being an enlightened self-interest type of guy to the General.
He then asked, "Why did you approach the Fox Faunus and her human friend when you were waiting for the informant?"
"Because it was clear that they were also waiting for someone, and the Fox Faunus was going to be hassled until that person arrived. It reduced the risk that people would concentrate on watching me if I were seen as being on the prowl. There are some advantages to having a dissolute reputation. By the way, her companion was not human but a chameleon Faunus. Both were out of towners and so there was a risk that they were giving a message they did not mean to give. There was another vibe which I got off Julie, the Fox Faunus, which was that she was not averse to being paid for companionship. After all, I spent a period of my life in the same game, and we joked around in that area. The Chameleon Faunus was not so relaxed. Out of interest, who were they waiting for?"
Clover saw no reason to not satisfy the Lynx Faunus's curiosity and brought up the footage. He also wondered how he had seen that the other girl was a chameleon Faunus. At the back of his mind he recalled Elm telling him a story about her sister being on work experience at a school in Mantle.
The Lynx Faunus whistled and said "You do recall that I mentioned earlier an SDC accountant with a penchant for young Faunus. That is him and clearly he knew them from before. However, as far I as aware he had left vacuo four years ago."
Clover cursed under his breath, "Thank you Mr. Corkran. I would like you to join another meeting now." He opened his scroll and said, "Ace-Ops, please join me and Mr. Corkran. Vine, could you collect the Major and the Colonel. Elm could you gather the team who were talking to the SDC accountants last week. Harriet, could you ask the ambassador to join us either in person or via the CCT. I will get Winter. I think that the White Fang has a different target."
I feel that Clover as being trusted by Ironwood would have met Qrow before Volume 7. I also like the idea of him being someone who was loyal but was trying to do the right thing and trusting on his semblance to make the right choices. Also, how the Ace-ops ceased to function properly without his presence deserves some backstory. I will be interested in feedback on my OC characters. There is a Mary Sue and Marty Sue risk, but I am trying to use them so that they bring out themes which the show touches on and then avoids or to give the original characters someone to react to in a way which develops character.
