Giles once again found himself in the troop transport of a flying VS for the second time that day. Except this time instead of being surrounded with men armed to the teeth and on a death or glory run, that was heading into a hellish landscape filled to the brim with berserk Akrid. He found himself looking out on an even more surreal situation. He was looking out over what he had been once told was a "forest", filled with "Trees". His father had at one time mentioned that they had sprung up in a couple corners around E.D.N. lll and he had even seen a picture once. The real thing was vastly different. So much life in all directions. The colors, the variety, the smells. Well admittedly Giles found the smells very outputting but his father had said that it was something you just had to get used to outside the snowfields.
So with that idea Giles had removed his gas mask for longer then he had in quite a long time. The noxious fumes of the VS workshops and battlegrounds he had spent quite a lot of time around growing up had made it kinda a part of him really.
Regardless Giles took a look at the only other person in the compartment with him. He was an odd fellow, jittery as a rule and constantly siping a drink from his thermos and flamethrower thing. Giles was pretty sure that wherever he was the tech gave even NEVEC a run for its money in the materials area. for weapons to fold down so small and still be able to unfold into something combat capable, while still having a secondary use as a drink dispenser must have been something amazing. He had never heard of such things before, hell all the guns that NEVEC and the snow pirates used were bricks in comparison to such a flexible weapon.
Giles couldn't wait until he could get his hands on a workshop to see what he changes to his gear he could make with this new technology. The only problem was that he was being summoned by some one named Headmaster Ozpin. He didn't appreciate authority types much but he figured that the least he could do was meet the guy. He owed him one for sending the ride out here and retrieving him before he ran out of ammo.
"Attention passengers if you turn your attention to the forward view screen you will see the city of Vale and our destination, Beacon Academy." The pilot said over the intercom.
Giles was confused by many parts of that, why would they want to look at a city? Almost all cites on E.D.N. lll were industry choked slums or in ruins from Akrid infestations. And what the hell was a Academy?
Regardless he decided to take a look. If the pilot said to look there was probably a reason. Giles quickly decided he was either not on E.D.N. lll or somewhere he had never heard of before, because he looked upon a large, securely protected and populated city that was not mostly smokestacks and hovels for the first time in his life. It was a large city that was split between residential, industrial, commercial and farming districts. It had two rivers running from inside it out towards the sea. Above it on a large plataeu sat an ornate tower with a couple of large emerald green lights glowing even in the middle of the day.
His surprise must have showed on his face because Oobleck spoke up at this point. "Impressive is it not? Vale and Beacon academy have stood as a bulwark of hope and freedom on Remnant for 70 years, after the schools founding in the wake of the Great war."
"Where are we? What system is this?" Giles asked, confused by the information.
"System? What system do you refer to, our governmental system, economic system, or what?" Oobleck returned the confusion.
"Star system of course. You know Earths in the Sol system and then theirs the E.D.N. system and... well i don't really know many others but you get the point. Where are we?" Giles looked at the man in increasing confusion. The man had seemed intelligent, this shouldn't confuse him.
"Astrological questions? What sort of question is this? This planet we live on is the planet of Remnant. No one on this planet have ever left it, no attempt at doing so has been successful and with the Grimm beating on our walls constantly we have little time to spare for such an attempt in recent years." Oobleck replied with an angered tone at such illogical questions.
"What? But... whatever, fine. Who's this Headmaster Ozpin then?" Giles asked, quickly getting the feeling that things were far weirder then he had thought.
"Where were you raised my boy? Even in the most remote villages have they heard of Beacon Academy, the worlds most famous Huntsmen Academy, and its illustrious headmaster Ozpin. Under his stewardship the Academy has produced the brightest young hunters and huntress's in the world for years. Always a favorite at the Vytal Festival." Oobleck continued.
"I think i'll wait until I meet this Ozpin fellow before I tell this story, I don't think you will believe me and it might be best to get it out all in one go." Giles said, before sighing in dis-belief at the situation he seemed to be facing. To have forgotten the very roots of humanity was just inexcusable. Maybe a crashed colony ship, separated by time and distance from all else. Either way he could figure this stuff out later.
As they approached the tower, or academy as they called it, Giles started to make out more details. It seemed to be a compound of sorts, naturally protected by its location on the cliff tops and had a number of support buildings around it. A second tower with communication arrays, some barracks like buildings, what looked like a workshop, and a small airfield for the Bullhead he was flying in to be based out of. It looked like an extremely well decorated military base honestly.
They landed at the airfield and before he was escorted by Oobleck out of the bullhead he put his mask back on. He decided that it might be best to keep to himself for now. And nothing said "I Don't want to talk." Like a gas mask, at least in his experiences.
It was a good thing he did, otherwise he would have looked like some slack jawed idiot as he walked by everything. The grounds were immaculately kept sheets of green foliage, interspersed with those tree things. But the most amazing things were not things, but the people. They had so many different hair colors and looks about them. Some wore weird animal like accessory's, like tails or ears, and each one was just so jovial acting. Carefree children going about their days like everything was perfect. What was hard to look at for him was the lightness of the clothes, no armor, no utility, no obvious weapons. They were mostly dressed in a uniform and the girls wore skirts, Skirts! He had never seen so much exposed skin in his life. He was blushing like a fool under his mask as he passed a bunch of girls that were talking together.
His life on E.D.N. lll had prepared him for the horrors of war, betrayal, ambush and a constant fight for survival. Pretty girls in light clothes was not something his 17 year old mind was prepared to deal with in the slightest. After the second such group passed he decided to focus on following Oobleck.
He was led to the large tower with the bright green lights on it. Inside he was led to an elevator that seemed to run the length of the tower. Oobleck turned to him, quiet the whole trip, and said to head inside and wait. The Headmaster would summon the elevator to him when he was ready. Giles stepped inside and barely waited a couple seconds before its sealed shut and started to raise.
The veiw out through the windows overlooking the school during the ride was nice but the many oddity's of this place compared to home had him more concerned. It was obvious that he would not blend in among the populace if he was forced to make his own way. Most of his survival training was useless in this verdant land, focused as it was on living in the ice and snow of E.D.N. lll. He hoped he could strike a deal with this headmaster for access to resources or he would have a hard time living on his own. The place did not seem to be littered with the ruins of a destroyed civilization that he was used to scavenging through for ammo and supplies, and his weapon was probably not compatible with whatever was standard ammo on this planet.
The door opened into a large room with gears clinking away overhead and below them was a glass floor. A good deal of it was green in color and at the center was a man sitting at a desk with a holographic display and flanked by a blonde women in purple and white. The man wore a green shirt and scarf under a black jacket. He had silver hair and was wearing a rather small pair of glasses. Ozpin, as Giles assumed him to be, was also sipping a drink while looking at Giles as he stepped out of the elevator.
Giles didn't let he unease effect his body language, he confidently walked up to the desk and started off.
"Headmaster Ozpin I presume." He started with, while extending his hand in a handshake. Start like equals, his father had said in mention of dealing with leaders.
Ozpin stared at him with a bemused look on his face before standing and taking his hand in a firm handshake. "Charmed. You know my name but what is yours young man?" Ozpin asked back.
"Giles Flynn is my name, now down to business shall we. What was i brought here for?" Giles continued without a beat,.
"Please take a seat Giles, and please make your self comfortable, this might take a while." Ozpin said with a gesture at his mask and the seat behind Giles in front of the desk.
Giles sat down and without hesitation took his mask of again and pulled his hood back. His head felt the oddly warm air of this new land for the first time without his clothes coverings and Giles would admit that while sweltering compared to home it was quite comfortable. He took his rifle from his back and sat it on the ground next to him. Noticing the women tensing as he reached for it. "If you don't mind me asking, what is the name of the third member of our meeting? Miss?" Giles decided that bringing her into the conversation might relax her.
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch, I am second in command of the school after Ozpin." She curtly returned without the slightest sign of relaxing.
"A pleasure to meet you Glynda, now if we may." Giles said before gesturing at OZpin to continue.
"Yes, well, to get to the point, we would like your input on the explosion that you were found at the epicenter of. One that was heard even here, miles from its point of origin."
"Ah that, well to be honest I am not sure of what caused it here. My VS and i were caught in an explosion of rather large magnitude but it was not in a forest, nor anywhere near this city. All I am aware of is the when I came to my VS was absolutely destroyed and I awoke to the crater in which your Bullhead found me." Giles decided that what was needed now was trust, he had few other resources to rely on and if this man was influential as he seemed then he should not lie on him.
"You expect us to believe such a weak story?" Glynda returned. Giles decided that she was going to be the troublesome one here.
"I Have no other story for you ma'am for it is the truth." Giles politely returned.
"If we did belive you, which your story does little to persuade, what would you ask us to do in response to it. The explosion was very large and it has shaken the people of the city. These are not peaceful times and many look for any excuse to lash out." Glynda continued.
"What does it matter that you tell them? Tell the truth or tell a lie. Few could tell the difference." Giles cut back, his opinion of governments showing.
Then Ozpin spoke up. "What caused your explosion then?"
"That is a long story Ozpin, and it will be far more difficult to understand then just a "I Don't know.". From what i have seen it would seem more like a tall tale or the rambling of a mad man then anything that you would accept."
Ozpin simply sat back, took a sip and said. "Try me."
So Giles told his story, The fight against NEVEC, the Akrid, The snow Pirates and their assault on the Over-G and his VS's break down. He laid it out plainly. The idea of space travel, humanity reaching for the stars and taking them for their own, but also the need for the fuels of E.D.N. lll that drove humanity to settle their among the bitter cold and hostile creatures. He didn't give much about himself, just his recent actions leading up to the explosion and what he did back home. He was a survivor and a pirate, but above all else he was a mechanic for VS and a pretty good one at that. As he wound down to his battle along Oobleck they both had different looks on their faces.
Glynda had a look of dis-belief on her face, but also thought. She didn't believe him but she had found him at the least to be a compelling story teller.
Ozpin on the other hand had a more appraising look, not dis-belief or complete belief, but the look of someone that was willing to look at the person telling the story instead of just the story itself.
So Ozpin leaned forward and started up. "That was quite a tale young man. I can tell that at the least you believe it without doubt. So This is what we shall do. You claim to be familiar with technology that is beyond what we have. Space travel and mechanical suits of armor capable of taming a world of ice and monsters. I would offer you a position at the school, as a member of its staff, working at the workshop and in the bullhead hanger, if you prove trustworthy for the hanger. You shall stay under observation for a period. If you can work the wonders that you claim, even on such a small scale, I will believe your tale."
Glynda almost recoiled at the words, but Giles just smiled broadly and offered his hand again. This was pretty much exactly what he was looking for, access to resources and a base in this foreign land. "I accept." He said before Glynda could interject. As Ozpin took his hand and shook it again, Glynda deflated a bit before adopting the same stern look on her face that she had earlier.
"Very well Giles Flynn. Welcome to Beacon, we expect great things from your work here." Ozpin said with a grin again.
Okay that seems like a good place to stop the chapter. This has been quite relaxing to get into for me i must say. I had written a couple of short and rarely completed story's years ago but i had lost interest whenever something more interesting popped up. Now I can see the relaxing uses for this when i get annoyed at my life and video games don't cut it. I should be writing more often then ever before.
A review from TheEnderThief asked of their will be pairings. I am not sure really. I can see reasons for several of them based on the idea i have for Giles, but friends and romantic relations are a bigger step in my opinion.
Take for example Ruby, Giles is a weapons tech specialist, Its going to be his definitive combat skill in this story. So naturally he will meet Ruby quite quickly in the workshop, where they will be quite friendly through shared interests. But the naivety of Ruby might grate on him a little. He comes from a world where killing someone for their shiny new VS parts are not only common but expected, Ruby would be horrified by this and might not want to talk to him anymore, or Yang might try to get her away from Giles, trying to protect her sister from a man that admits to murder with no second thoughts. As for the others the ideas i have for them and their relationships will be expanded on later. Although those familiar with Lost Planet might know some of it from a subtle-ish hint i dropped.
Either way thanks for reading.