Chapter: Penny
They had scanned her weapons over and over. Checking and tweaking, scoping and glancing. The scientists and specialists had looked over the swords and checked the strings too many times – 193 as of today – before proceeding with plans and schedules.
It is her fault they spend so much time checking it. She told her father that she named the weapon. General Ironwood came by, after the first rush of tests and checks, and quietly told her that she didn't do anything wrong. He calmly asked her if anything had changed on her weapon when she named it.
No sir, Penny had told him.
He had smiled in relief and told her that's good.
After he leaves, she catches the words soul mark from one of the many scientists. They express disappointment that she doesn't have one.
Penny's limited database searching reveals that these are marks on weapons. While she has a soul, hers is a manmade soul.
Why would she have one?
Penny stores the information away and continues with testing. She knows better to ask for information she's overheard, only to ask after the scientists willingly tell her.
It is during her training, after all the tests, that she notices the difference. The strings are easier to manipulate. It takes a few moments to get a handle on the new speed, but she is congratulated on beating her previous record. She is praised on the speedy maneuvers by scientists and doctors alike.
It feels good to be acknowledged by more than her father or the general. It is nice to be treated like a person instead of an experiment.
Praise feels wonderful.
She finds letters on the strings. Once no one, not even a camera, glances in her direction, Penny put the sentence together.
'Um… hello.'
It is written so small; a microscope would have barely caught it. She barely catches it, and her eyesight is supposed to be the best.
Hello, Penny whispers to herself, going over videos and audio of people she's spoken to.
Nothing matches the soft, malleable words that help her weapon cut through air.
Penny spends a week doing… risky things. She easily finds all the information she can off of the Atlas servers on soul marks. By then she knows the name of everyone who has a soul mark registered to the system. She knows she's supposed to tell someone, but since she isn't an 'official' human, not really an Atlas residence, she keeps quiet.
Would they take away her weapons if they find out?
Would her father be disappointed?
Would she ever meet the person who defies all logic and has a soul mark with her?
(It takes a long time to process the fact that a soul mark means she has a soulmate. Her manmade soul has a connection to someone. There is someone who cares about her, and she hasn't met them. Someone she can work in optimal performance with.
Thinking about it makes Penny smile.)
And, after a week of digging, Penny goes to contact the nearest available person to converse with about soul marks. For informational purposes.
Two people come up as reachable candidates.
Professor Qrow Branwen: history professor at Signal Academy.
Professor Danny Askans: the only professor to work with and teach people with broken semblances.
They both are contacts on General Ironwood's phone application.
That last bit of information might have come from crossing the security clause (i.e., breaking the law – but only for 'humans'), but it isn't nearly as bad as what Penny decides to do next.
She steals the general's scroll.
Gloves and everything, just so it won't switch users on her.
And then she makes the call.
"Hey, James," says a woman on the other end. "Long time, no hearing from you."
"Oh!" Penny exclaims. She feels a little guilty – over not being the correct person on the scroll, not the whole stealing thing – as she tries to explain. "I'm sorry, miss. I'm not General Ironwood. My name is Penny Polendina! Salutations!"
There is a short silence on the other end. Then an amused huff. "Is that so?" the woman asks. "Well, salutations, Penny Polendina. My name is Danny. Why do you have General Ironwood's scroll?"
"I'm calling to speak with you!" Penny says happily. "I wished to speak to someone about soul marks. General Ironwood's scroll was both the easiest to acquire, and has the largest possibilities for teachers to contact since it has both the third and fourth rank teachers on the subject on the phone application."
"Huh," Danny tries to stifle a laugh. "Alright then, honey. Just make sure you give it back when you're done."
"I will!" Penny says happily. "Does this mean I can ask you about soul marks?"
"Of course," Danny says softly. "You can ask about anything you want to."
In the dark of her room, Penny eagerly starts chatting.
The glow of the scroll lights up the area of letters on her strings.
Penny's eyes never stray from the sentence below her.