A/N: I own nothing. Let the lawyers leave me alone. I'm noticing that I'm trending to shorter chapters, writers block is a thing when I don't have the established plot to run with. For now we are going to have at least one more peacefull chapter a little bit of action, and then we will enter V2. All feedback is welcome and I hope you enjoy.
"UP! DOWN! HALFWAY! UP! DOWN! HALFWAY! UP!" The entirety of the Militia force on Remnant was lined up in formation, hours before the sun would rise. Johnson had been pushing to get the unit together for morning PT. It had started with Johnson joining Steele on his morning workouts, then the rest of the Pilots had joined. Now this. Hundreds of soldiers working out in the dark for no good reason, the poor souls could be working out during the day, its not like they had classes. As usual, the Pilots were off to the side doing a workout more in line with their fitness levels. The school probably hated them all for all the shouting this early in the morning.
They went for about an hour before breaking off, the Pilots making their way to the Gauntlet to maintain their skills. Steele joined them for a short session before setting up for the morning class. It was the last day of the semester and Steele wasn't looking forward to being dragged off to face a trial. He had decided to stop taking mercenary work now that there was something like a Militia presence on Remnant, he was an officer and represented the entirety of the Militia at all times; acting like a self important merc wouldn't do the organization any favors. He had to think past himself now.
"Alright you all, gather round!" Steele shouted the students into a circle around him. "Today is the last day of semester. Before I cut you all loose, I'd like to announce the standings. On the two-minute par. In first place, at 38.7 seconds: Scarlatina! Almost as good as a Pilot, keep it up. Second place, at 52.4 seconds, Nikos! Excellent time. Third place, at 59.8, Rose! Your run using your semblance doesn't count, otherwise, good work. Honorary mentions: Winchester and Arc. Winchester, that was one hell of a bold jump, perfect form. Arc, your last run here was three times faster than your first, fantastic improvement. The kill house will be opening next semester, names of those permitted have been posted on the group chat. See you all in three weeks. Dismissed!"
The rest of the day passed quickly, most of the classes were just tests. Lunch was awkward, everyone had been talking about what they were doing for their break over the last few days. Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Phyrra, and Juane were all going home, Blake, Ren, and Nora were staying behind, and everyone had found out about Steele's trial. Thankfully only his team knew the details, that had been an awkward night.
Flashback
Steele sat on his bunk while Weiss sat at one of the desks with the rest of the team gathered around her. "They are charging you with quite the list, thankfully most of these are baseless. No one person could reasonably disrupt the peace in the Kingdom. The 115 counts of murder on the other hand, while hard to prove, is very much something that is in character for you. As long as you didn't actually commit any murders you should be fine. You… didn't kill anyone unlawfully, did you?"
The look of forced innocence on Steele's face prompted a mixed reaction from the team. Yang facepalmed, Blake's shoulders drooped, and Weiss groaned. "ughhh, you did."
"Well, they weren't unlawful. Just frowned upon. Nothing that would stick in court according to XR." Steele protested; it was true too. His status as a huntsman in training gave him certain protections for actions taken for the good of the Kingdom. Fighting criminals and terrorists were within those protections, he might get in trouble for taking payment, but it wouldn't be serious.
"Did you ever consider that you could have just not killed people for money?" Blake asked. They had come to an understanding after the incident at the docks. They had fought the Fang together; they both knew how bonds developed during combat and had leveraged that, sharing stories and experiences giving them a level of mutual respect.
"It didn't really cross my mind. Once the first contract came to me, I just went back to my old way of life."
"and your contract came the night we went to the night club, from a woman who is a rival mercenary acting as a double agent working for the Fang. This is normal for you?" Yang asked.
"close enough to, paycheck is a paycheck. The fact that I got to mess with the kind of people I would normally work against was a bonus."
There was a collective stare that communicated the team's exasperation with Steele, he had dug himself into the hole he now found himself in. They were confident in his ability to handle himself. But they still worried.
Weiss straightened her back. "we will just have to prepare your defence ahead of time. There isn't a ton on the Knights of the Maidens, but I know Vale's laws fairly well. We can start tomorrow; I need to do some studying. Just keep out of trouble."
Present day
"So, Forrest. How comfortable are you with the defence we prepared for you? You know your lines? Your rights?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah. I'm feeling pretty good about it, I think I got it down. If not, XR will be with me and he has everything loaded up. All else fails, I refuse to acknowledge their authority and shoot my way out. I think that's the bad option though." Steele didn't want to talk about it in front of the whole damn school, but here he was. The letter that Luna had given him detailed how they would be making their way to the Clan fortress, they would be stepping off today, an hour after classes ended. And the thought of what waited for him at the end of the journey made him nervous.
"Look, you have nothing to worry about. Unless they have something on you that we haven't prepared for, they can't make anything stick… right? Ruby and I will be cheering for you." Yang's support would have been better if she didn't sound so uncertain. "Dad took us to the fortress once over summer break, there is this cool little village at the bottom of the mountain. You take this old staircase up over a few days to the top. The clan's people are good people, you'll get a fair trial."
"Oh yeah. It was super cool, they all have so many weapons. They're kind of weird though, they worship the brother gods and believe in the Maidens. Something about being charged with the defence of the Maidens, but if the Maidens were real, someone would have seen them in the last few hundred years. OH! While you're there you should pick up some cookies from the baker, they are almost as good as mom used to make." Ruby seemed to have her priority's, none of which were worrying about Steele. Much more reassuring than Yang's uncertainty.
Team JNPR stood up from the table next to them, Juane and Ren patting him on the shoulder as they went past, Nora nearly breaking his aura with her slap on the back. It was good to have friends. As JNPR went past, RWBY got up and followed them out; their entire afternoon would be together. Slowly, as the afternoon passed, Steele began to feel on edge. The only possible way for them to implicate him would have been for them to have been the people the Fang were meeting in the forest, the only time he left a witness behind. And that person would have to have been able to connect him, his armour, and his bullets. So, either they had been at the docks, or the witness knew him.
Steele sat on the edge of the landing pad with his feet dangling over the edge, he and XR were waiting for Luna and the bullhead that would be taking them to Vale. He was carrying his R-301, R-99, Longbow DMR, Archer, P-2020, Mk 7 SP, and the Intruder, he was bringing a bag with the SMR, MGL, and CAR in it with some extra supplies. Food, water, sports mix, camping gear and sleeping bags, and some spare survival tools he had picked up over his time on Remnant. XR was loaded up with the rest of his armoury, the AWS in storage mode, and a survival shelter. XR would be carrying Steele's Go-bag for most of the journey, just to keep travel time down.
The roar of a Bullhead's engines signaled that it was time for him to get up and get ready. XR phased out to make room for the Bullhead. As steel stood and turned, he noticed Luna approaching from the school alongside Johnson. Luna stepped into the Bullhead and gave Steele and Johnson time to talk. "you got the toys we packed for you?"
"I did, very much appreciated. I can see plenty of uses for a bundle of spicy bois. You know I can't physically carry half of what you packed me."
Johnson smiled at him before shrugging. "You never know what you'll run into out there, we wanted to have an amped weapons card for you, but we couldn't make it work with the AWS properly. One last thing, take this." Johnson handed him a B3 Wingman. "more firepower never hurt. And frankly, we can not afford to lose you. If the Militia come back, we need someone to act as a point of contact. So, ill give you the same brief I give my men before they go on leave. Don't add to the population. Don't subtract from the population. Don't get yourself in jail or prison, if you can't manage the latter, assert dominance immediately."
Steele took the gun and the advice, nodding as he shook Johnson's hand. He jumped up into the passenger bay of the Bullhead. Steele waved out at Yang and Ruby who were standing at one of the main landing areas as his Bullhead lifted off. As far as he knew, the Bullhead would take them into Vale where they would be picked up by another transport that would take them out to village that tended to the fortress. Luna caught his attention with a small wave. "Now that we are away from prying eyes and ears, you aren't getting a trial. The clan wants answers, not blood. We know the White Fang is up to something big, you seem to know more about what's happening on the ground than we do. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the whole thing is a show to put you on edge. Just tell them what they want to know, please."
Steele considered it; she had known the whole time that this was for show. She had deliberately hidden it from the school, just to keep him on edge. So that was policy, this was her asking him politely, personally. "I'm willing to cooperate. I won't divulge anything beyond the scope of my mercenary work and what I know of the White Fang and their operations."
"That is more than acceptable from my point of view. Play along, be cooperative. And everything will go well."
They landed, transferred to the new Bullhead, and travelled for the next few hours in silence. There was plenty to do, weapon maintenance, playing solitaire on his HUD, weapon maintenance, listening to music, weapon maintenance. Steele was more than ready to start moving by the time the village came into view.
The village was exactly what Steele thought of when he heard the word village. Wooden houses, dirt roads, and sturdy walls. It was strange seeing the mix of old architecture and the hidden signs of modern technology. Underground cabling, the occasional CCT transceiver, digital locks, and other assorted pieces of tech. A sign over the gates announced the village as Pestel's Palisade. Luna hopped out and lead Steele towards a building with a sign depicting roaring Beowulf. Stepping inside made it clear that it was an inn. A large wooden bar, wooden tables, and a large TV hung above the bar. Luna called out. "Dusty! Get your ass out here, you have paying customers."
There was a loud crashing sound and some shouting before a brown-haired Faunus in his mid 20ies with a pair of massive rabbit ears. "Luna? Luna! Get over here!" he stepped out from behind the bar to wrap her in a massive hug "its good to see you again. You send so few letters to your parents and you haven't come by in years. I guess you're heading up the mountain tomorrow?"
She managed to wiggle free of his grip. "Yes. We need a place to rest to make the journey at first light. Food and lodgings, perhaps some strong drink."
Dusty looked over them both. "I can set you up, this the guy that's got upstairs all in a knot? Nice guns."
Steele popped his helmet and held out his hand. "Forrest Steele. nice place."
"so, two rooms, dinner, drink, and breakfast. Can do, dinner is in an hour. C'mon ill show you to your rooms." Dusty lead them upstairs pointing them into rooms on opposite sides of the hall, the rooms were far better than Steele had expected. Firm beds with plenty of padding and blankets for the cold, a radiator in the corner, a desk, and a closet. Steele put his bag at the foot of the bed with his rifles, keeping his R-99 and pistols before he went back downstairs.
There was already a mug of what looked like ale was sitting on the bar, Dusty waved him towards it. "been hearing a whole lot about you. If even half of it is true, you must have some stories. Make you a deal, you keep the stories flowing, I keep the booze flowing. Sound good?"
Steele took a deep drink, considering the taste before nodding with approval and chugging the mug down. It was bitter and hoppy, but definitely had a fruity taste that he liked once you got past the initial taste. "I hope you have a lot of drink then."
The rest of the night passed in a haze for Steele, first it was just Dusty, then it was a constantly growing group of locals. The locals were a fantastic audience, they cheered with every victory, and moaned with the losses. For dinner he was given a steaming bowl of stew, a chunk of seared meat, and a small loaf of bread. All of it delicious. The last thing he remembered was an exasperated Luna dragging him from a group of locals and shoving him into his room, he started to drop his kit, panicked when he couldn't find Justice, realized it was in the bag already in the room, and faceplanted into his bed.