Templar airship HCS Dominion
Section 9
16:42 hours
"I can't believe we're actually going back to the border countries," Weiss says to Ruby. They're standing on a catwalk towards the bottom of the airship, overlooking the ground below them. Even several miles away from the frontlines, military convoys and checkpoints are frequent. "Vale is where the war is."
"I don't want to leave Vale either," Ruby says. "But to be fair, there's still war on the border."
"What, you think we're going to actually be fighting? We're basically under house arrest during this 'investigation.' We aren't allowed in the field at all. We'll just be sitting on our asses all day while the Feds keep hammering us. Dumbass brass stands down all the Hunter squads even though this is about three."
"More like one," Ruby says, "CFVY Squad. They're probably making sure no other Hunters are spies."
"Which is idiotic. Lock up spies inside our bases? They're asking for trouble."
"Yeah, I guess. Hey, did you ever hear what happened to Velvet?"
"Yeah, she's coming back to Fort Beacon with us. I think she's being held in the medical ward."
"'Still have a thousand yard stare?"
"More like two thousand yards. I saw her right before we left; creepy as hell."
"Can't really blame her, after Blake...you know."
"...Yeah." The two soldiers stand silently for a moment, watching a highway pass under the airship. "Have you...thought, about that at all?"
"Never stopped," Weiss replies. "The way she screamed, jumped him…fuck, I'm not gonna sleep well for a month."
"Do you remember her face when she stopped? All the blood...heh, it's funny."
"Funny?"
"Oh, not like that, I was just thinking. I think that's the first time I've seen Blake express any real emotion."
"What do you mean?"
"She always has that blank stare, like all Faunus. But when she got off of Yat, she looked...scared. Terrified."
"...Yeah. Where is Blake anyway?"
"Port said she got on board with us, but I haven't seen her." Weiss stares at her feet for a moment, then sighs.
"I'm gonna look for her," she says.
"Right behind you," Ruby says.
"No. I...need to do this alone." Ruby nods her understanding.
"Alright, take care," Ruby says, and Weiss walks down the catwalk.
Jaune is walking in the opposite direction on the catwalk, towards Weiss.
"Hey," he says as he passes her.
Weiss ignores him and continues walking. "Uh, yeah, good talk. Cool. See ya."
"Don't worry," Ruby says. "She's always like that."
"Eh, I'm used to it by now," Jaune says. The two squad leaders stand awkwardly for a few seconds.
"Soooo...you're the squad leader of JNPR?"
"Yeah. Well, I guess. Pyrrha does a lot of the work. She was actually a well known sport shooter in Mistral before the war. Four time winner of the Mistral regional...annual… fighting… something tournament."
Ruby's eyes grow wide.
"The Regional Mistral Marksmanship Tournament!?" she exclaims.
"...Yes. Let's go with that."
"You mean Pyrrha as in The Nikos? Damn, I wish I hadn't stopped following that tourney."
"The what?"
"Codename," she says quickly, "The tournament is for the ceremonial Mistral Marksmen of the Mistral Guard. They're all the best shooters in the kingdom. It's half publicity stunt, and half as a cover for black ops missions."
"Black...ops? I thought the tournament was for civilians."
"Yeah, no; Not in the slightest. The Marksmen are Mistral's most elite warriors. They go on top secret missions one day, and put on their traditional uniforms and guard the capital the next. Crazy shit. They use codenames, both for the tourney and in the field, like us. Pyrrha, if it actually was her, used the name 'Nikos,' in the tournament."
"Huh, that's weird."
"Why? I saw her in combat, she definitely fits the special forces role."
"No, I mean, she told me that she was a civilian before the war. Are you sure the Mistral...whatever tournament is for the military?"
"Yup, Mistral loves boasting traditionalism and their glory days from the First War. The Marksmen are the only soldiers that aren't a complete joke in the Guard."
"So why did Pyrrha tell me she was civilian?"
Ruby shrugs.
"Maybe it's all confidential and she can't tell you about it?"
Jaune shrugs and looks down, leaning on the railing of the catwalk.
"It's not confidential," Ruby thinks to herself. "It never is between other special forces."
"I don't get it," Jaune says, partially to himself. "If she was black ops, then why wasn't she made the squad leader? I was just a grunt when I became a Hunter."
"Yeah, same," Ruby says. "You know that Weiss is the daughter of the CEO of Schnee Armaments Corporation?"
"Come again?"
"It's a big weapons producer. She keeps bragging about being a Captain in the infantry. She has loads of experience and training. Her dad even trained her when she was young."
"Wow. I mean, you're a great squad leader from what I've seen, but-"
"Yeah, I know. She was pretty pissed about not being made squad leader."
"She's not anymore?"
"Not really... I don't think."
"How did she change her mind?"
Ruby shrugs.
"I just proved myself, I guess. Stood up to her shit, did some good shooting. Became a leader she was comfortable with."
"Geez, I don't know how I can do that. I'm not a very good shot, I don't know how to lead, I can barely keep myself together most of the time…"
"Alright, time to get ourselves out of this subject," Ruby thinks.
"Hey, speaking of shooting," she says aloud. "What's your rifle? M16A1, right?"
"Huh? Oh yeah," Jaune says, pulling the rifle strapped to his back forward. "It was my grandfather used it in the trenches. It's not very exciting. It jams all the time, too."
"Really? Can I take a look at it?"
"Sure."
Jaune unslings the rifle and hands it to Ruby, who looks it over. It's definitely seen combat; it's covered in scratches and chipped in several places. Duct tape, probably as old as the weapon itself, is wrapped around the end of the stock, holding in place an old, torn, leather strap. The letters "J.A" are carved into the stock.
"This is pretty nice," Ruby says. "I love the weight. I heard soldiers could fire two of these from the hip in the trenches. Is J.A your grandfather?"
"Yeah, his initials. That's where I got the idea for Jaune from."
"Well, it's a good rifle," Ruby says, handing it back. "Just make sure to clean it routinely."
"Yeah, I… can't quite do that?"
"No supplies?"
"No, got that. Not entirely sure what to do with it."
"You...don't know how to clean your gun?"
"Not...no. I mean, I tried to once, but Pyrrha had to help me."
"...Did...I don't want to sound mean but-"
"How did I make it through basic?" Jaune interrupts.
"...Yeah." Jaune looks around nervously.
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Sure."
"I really shouldn't say anything, I've only told Pyrrha this…"
"You can trust me. I'm a Hunter too."
"...Ok. I...didn't go through basic."
"...Huh."
"Not exactly the response I was expecting."
"Oh, sorry. That just kind of explains a few things. So how did that whole thing work out?"
"An old friend of my father in the VAF forged some paperwork for me to put me directly into the infantry. I got picked up by the Hunter Program soon after."
"And you've never cleaned a gun?"
"Well, Pyrrha does it for me, and showed me a few times, but it never quite clicked."
"Huh, alrighty then. So, no offense, but, I have to ask; why did you go through all that trouble that could get you thrown out of the VAF?"
"I have asthma, short sighted, a few stomach and digestive problems that I can't pronounce, plus I've never been the athletic type."
"How have you kept all that hidden?"
"Drugs, mainly."
"Fair enough. But I guess what I was really asking was why you'd still want to join after all that?"
"All the men in my family were war heroes. My father fought in Operation New Haven in the border countries, my grandfather in the First War, my great-grandfather in the Kingdom Conflicts, my great-great grandfather in the Atlesian Civil War, my great-great-great-"
"I think I got it."
"Oh, right, yeah, hehe. I guess I'm just saying that I'm...the broken link in the chain. The last line of war heroes. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna do everything I can to try, to bring honor to my family and to my Kingdom."
"And if you're court martialed?"
Jaune looks away, back towards the window. His face is the most serious Ruby has seen it so far.
"I'll disown my family name. Cut all ties. My mom and sisters don't need me hurting them."
"That's...probably the best reason I've ever heard for risking dishonorable discharge."
"Thanks," Jaune says with a smile.
The two stand silently for a moment.
"Wait," Ruby says. "Were you in the 14th Division?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Are you vomit boy?"
"Goddammit!"
Templar airship HCS Dominion
Section 4
17:02 hours
Weiss walks into one of several cargo holds on the airship. This particular one is for vehicles; dozens and dozens of humvees and Paladins, with several different kinds of variants for each, including ambulance humvees and AA Paladins. Many are severely damaged; those are on their way to Fort Beacon to be repaired, or possibly scrapped, then shipped back into action.
"Blake?" Weiss calls out. Silence. She starts walking down an aisle of humvees.
"Yang said she saw you go this way. I know you're in here."
Still silence.
"We need to talk, and you can't hide forever. Let's get this over with." More silence.
Then a hand extends from the driver's door of a humvee ahead of Weiss and taps the roof. Weiss walks over to it.
"Honestly surprised you caved that easy," she says as she peers into the truck. Blake is sitting in the driver's seat, turning Gambol Shroud over in her hands, feeling all the parts. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah," Blake replies without looking up. Weiss opens the passenger door and climbs in. She watches Blake continue to look over the pistol. New tally marks have been added since the squad was formed.
"You're really obsessed with that thing," Weiss comments.
"I got it off a dead Fed when I was a kid," Blake says. "My first Faunus kill."
"Makes sense, Feds haven't carried the GSh-18 for over a decade," Weiss says, ignoring the question she already knows the answer to. Faunus don't consider any of their kind a true warrior until they get a kill with nothing but their hands.
"Look, Weiss," Blake says, putting the pistol away. "I fucked up, I know that. If it weren't for the fact that it would disband the squad, I would be long gone by now. But I promise that you'll never see me except for the battlefield. I won't make any attempts to reconcile with you, because I know you don't give a shit."
"Damn right," Weiss says.
"Ok, is that all?"
"Yeah, guess so." Weiss opens the door and climbs out, then turns around. Blake looks at her suspiciously.
"What?"
"You haven't been in the mess hall all day," Weiss says. "Let's see if we can find some scraps from lunch."
"...What?"
Weiss sighs and climbs back into the humvee.
"Just because I'm a racist doesn't mean I hate all Faunus, just most. The White Fang are racists themselves, but they know respect when they see it, no matter the genetics. I didn't have a problem with you when I thought you were a human, and that hasn't changed since."
"But...what I did to Yat…" Weiss brushes back her hair, displaying her scar.
"I've seen worse," Weiss says. "Blake, you are my squadmate. I know we don't see eye to eye, and probably never will, but I trust you with my life. I don't let immature reasoning like DNA to get in the way of things like that."
"But, I was in the White Fang-"
"Which doesn't matter because you're obviously not a radical."
"So...you...don't hate me?" Blake asks. Weiss scoffs.
"Your genes, yeah, just not you. If I have any reason to hate you, it's that you didn't tell us sooner. We're supposed to be a team, right?"
"...Yeah."
"But, that's not enough of a reason to hate a battle buddy, so I guess I don't hate you. So how about that lunch?"
Blake stares at the steering while in thought.
"Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind," Weiss says, and climbs out of the humvee and starts walking towards the exit of the cargo hold. A few steps down the aisle of vehicles, she hears a door open and slam shut.
"Wait up," Blake sighs. Weiss smiles to herself.
Fort Beacon
RWBY Squad Barracks
14:32 hours
"Well shit," Yang says, half her body laying off her bunk. The rest of RWBY are up, ready and watching home videos of the war on their scrolls, but with about as much energy as Yang.
"What?" Ruby asks.
"Half a day into house arrest and I'm already bored to death," Yang replies.
"We're not under house arrest," Blake says, not looking up from a video of Feds charging into armed civilians. "We can leave, we just have to leave our AURA here."
"Not much of an improvement for Viktor Speeder," Weiss says. "The closest city is almost entirely Faunus populated and have Coalition troops everywhere. What's there to do?"
"Get wasted?" Yang suggests. "Not like we need to be sober for a while."
"Fuck it, I can't even remember the last time I had a drink," Weiss says. Yang sits up.
"Sweet, let's find a jeep."
"Hold up," Blake says. "This is border territory. Most booze this far out means Faunus moonshine?"
"And?" Weiss asks.
"You sure you can stomach that kind of stuff?"
"I grew up with criminals, remember? Of course I've had Faunus Moon."
"Faunus Moon?" Ruby asks.
"Moonshine with Faunus and boar blood mixed in," Blake explains. "The boar stuff is there to muffle the effects of the Faunus blood to decrease the risk."
"What, is it like blood doping?"
"Kind of. Faunus get a quick flash of heightened senses. Humans usually spend an hour vomiting when they drink it."
"Huh?" Weiss says. "That's not right, I've had it before."
"Faunus Moon has to be fresh for the effects to work," Blake says. "And since it's only grown in the border territories and the Federation, everything shipped to the kingdoms goes stale."
"...Well now I'm definitely going. Ruby?"
"I'm gonna pass," Ruby says. "I heard there's lots of organized crime in the city. Reminds me of home." Yang sits up.
"You mean White Fang?" Ruby shrugs.
"I don't know, probably. It is Viktor Speeder after all." Yang jumps off her bed and snatches the book from under her pillow.
"I have an idea," she says.
"Apparently," Weiss says.
"Wait," Ruby says. "We're not gonna do some vigilante shit on the Fang, are we? Because I don't think Port will like that."
"Yes and no," Yang says with a sly smile. She holds up the book. "I got this off of one of the AURA humans we fought in Vale. One of them is head of the entire White Fang, and another is his lieutenant."
"Wait, what?" Ruby asks, surprised. "Are you sure? There's no way the leader of the White Fang would stick his neck out like that."
"This thing has pictures and names, organizations, dates, everything," Yang says. "And it all checks out with our records."
"When did they drop it?" Blake asks.
"I dunno," Yang shrugs.
"Oh fuck! Can she smell that I'm lying? Does lying give off a specific type of scent? Nah, she'd call me out by now...would she? Fuck it, play ignorant."
"I found it on the floor right before I got wounded."
"And you never showed us before?" Weiss asks.
"Ffffffffffffffuuuuu-"
"I was still authenticating it. I wasn't sure until now."
"Well, what are you planning on doing with it?" Ruby asks.
"YES! Thank you for never being suspicious, Ruby!"
"We find someone in VS-04 that is affiliated with the White Fang leadership and interrogate him."
"But, doesn't that kind of go against our stand down orders?"
"What, you actually want to follow them."
"...Good point. Where do we start?"
"VS-4 is a pretty big town," Blake says. "I went there once when I first joined the Fang. Most of the crime happens in the east side, and the west side is relatively modernized."
"So we split up," Ruby says. "Ice Rose and Bumblebee?"
"I can use contacts in Schnee Armaments to find the nearest cell in the city," Weiss suggests.
"And I know the Fang," Blake says. "Point me to a cell, and I can get us in."
"Ok, so Ice Rose takes the west side and relays information to Bumblebee in the east side?"
"Sounds good to me," Weiss says.
"Hell yeah," Yang says. Blake quickly grabs her gear.
"Get your gear," she says, walking out the door. "I'll find us a ride."
Viktor Speeder town, codenamed VS-04, local name "Strider's Cove"
West District
15:13 hours
"I think the local CCT is down this street," Weiss says. "Either that or we need to double back."
"Need me to jump into a tree again?" Ruby snickers. Weiss rolls her eyes.
"Oh please," she says. "Look around, this place is a mad house."
For being the "nicer" side of town, the West District still looks like something out of the wild west; the majority of the buildings are made out of cinder blocks, clay bricks, and metal sheets. They are stacked bizarrely high, higher than most common buildings in the kingdoms, interconnected by wooden and rope bridges. Many of the power poles, most probably older than the highest stories of the towers, have most of their lines running up instead of down. Piles of debris, where the builders of the towers were less successful, cover up alleyways and open areas, grey and white dust covering the surrounding structures as human and Faunus alike work to move the materials to new buildings.
And, of course, the people; dozens of them, possibly even hundreds, just on this one, two lane street, pouring off the cracked sidewalks and onto the roads, where the precious few cars crawl to their destinations. Their attire is similar to the rest of the border population; recycled First War combat and civilian gear. Many of the larger, official stores have either been boarded up or looted, but side vendors sell everything from locally grown fruit and Federation rations, to baby formula, to second hand tires, to fully automatic AK rifles and bullets by the hundreds.
Being a larger town than most, mercenaries, coming from all walks of life and every corner of Remnant, clad in civilian-grade bulletproof vests, boots, and helmets, and most armed with semi-automatic rifles, go about making their living; everything from guarding their employer's businesses from the street and rooftops, to government (if you call the largest militia group in the region a government) hired forces conducting random searches, usually keeping any valuables they find on the civilians. Many of the off duty, maybe even on duty, private soldiers carry whiskey and cigarettes in their hands, walking into bars and brothels, the more prominent businesses in town, and brandishing their weapons wildly. Ruby and Weiss spot several mercenaries aim their weapons at civilians, who don't miss a beat in handing over their cash, before finding the nearest prostitute. Fortunately, the two Hunters are in their military gear, and everyone for the most part ignores them.
"Yeah, I guess," Ruby says. "I was right, this really reminds me of home. Except the mercs would be gangsters, and there would be a lot more burnt cop cars. And a lot less Faunus."
"Never seen anything like this before," Weiss says, looking upward. The Faunus have no trouble climbing up to the city above; jumping, damn near flying, through the air from roof to roof, platform to platform, making their way to their destination. The humans, on the other hand, have to use stairs and bridges to making their way skyward. "How the hell did they even build all this? Why would they build this."
"I heard Faunus have a lot better farsight than humans, so building up like this isn't a problem for them; they can still see the ground fine."
"My father once told me after coming home from a business trip that Netvorville is like this, only a lot bigger."
"I heard that some Faunus living in the capital can live their whole lives without touching the ground." Ruby is silent for a moment. "You think we'll ever see Netvorville?"
"If the Feds don't surrender long enough, then of course."
"No, I mean if we don't destroy it. Like after the war. I want to see those sky bridges."
"What do you care about Netvorville? It's enemy territory."
"Yeah, but don't you want to see this," Ruby says, holding her arms out. "On a scale like Vale, or a city in Atlas? It's architecture never done before in the kingdoms, and rarely in border countries."
"Well, guess it's too bad they were built on the wrong side."
"Yeah, too bad. Hey, there's the CCT."
The building at the end of the street, the Cross Continental Transmit tower, is more modern than most in the city, with steel and glass walls extending nearly ten stories into the air, but have wooden shacks and bridges on its roof, and some even attached to the sides, held in place by who knows what. Because of its odd, curving architecture, it almost looks like an ancient spaceship, long overgrown and consumed by the ruins of civilization.
"Wow, that's a sight for sore eyes," Ruby says. "Coalition spared no expense, even on the border."
"It was the only way to communicate in the aftermath of the First War," Weiss says. "They had to build them to outlive everything else."
"I believe it. So you really think you can get some legit intel from your dad's sources?"
"I am his daughter, after all. That and I was trained in the White Fang, I have access to all of my father's files, including all the names he does business with."
"He does business all the way out here?"
"Where there's guns, there's my father."
"Good to know, I guess."
A human, dressed in a brown duster and black hoodie under a tan military vest, runs into Ruby, knocking the both of them down.
"Ruby!" Weiss says, hand on her gun holster..
"I'm good," Ruby immediately replies, getting back up. 'You alright, stranger?"
"Uh huh," the person, a woman, says, standing up. Her hood falls back, revealing bright orange hair.
"Probably not a good idea to run in this place," Ruby says. "Lots of people with lots of guns. Doesn't take much to get someone to-" Ruby's mind flips upside down as the person turns to face her.
Freckles. Orange hair. Green eyes.
Ruby's last memories of this are immediately followed by the mighty explosion that began the Second War.
"Penny!?" Ruby gasps. Penny quickly grabs her hood and pulls it over her head.
"Hmm?" Penny replies. "Sorry, I...don't...you're probably confusing me with someone. Goodbye." Penny runs off, ducking between street vendors and into an alleyway.
"Ok, what was that?" Weiss asks. Ruby turns to Weiss, shocked. "Ruby? Who was that?"
"I have to go right now," Ruby replies.
"What's going on? You look like you saw a ghost," Weiss says. But Ruby is already walking towards the alley way.
"Just get to the CCT and tell Blake and Yang where the Fang are! I'll radio you in a bit! Sorry!" And with that, Ruby turns around and bolts down the alleyway.
"Just when you think you know a person…" Weiss thinks to herself. After considering pursuit, she continues walking towards the CCT.
Hello everyone! This is just a quick update on what's been going on. As many of you are probably aware, summer is over, which means I'm back in school. This, combined with my job, means I am back in limbo in terms of my writing schedule, especially since this is my last year of high school, so I have no idea what to expect. I'm still committed to finishing the plot I have prepared for Fort Beacon, and after that I might start on one of my other story ideas. Either way, Fort Beacon will reach a resolution of some sort. For the time being, I'll do my best to write as much as I can with whatever time I can scavenge. And, of course, thank you for sticking with me and reading this story!