So, I'm finishing this up at four in the morning. I have a final today. My brain is fried from studying. And here I am, pounding out the last few edits to this chapter so I can push this out in time.
I love my life.
Cheers, guys. Tell me what you think, I have an open-door policy for questions, comments, and critiques.
Connie grunted as she concentrated on her drawing as hard as a six-year old could. It wasn't anything spectacular – the lines were wobbly, the corners were always a little too short or wide, and there was an awkward crook where she had tried to make the lines join together to make a rectangle. But to her it was a work of art, a masterpiece that joined the likes of the Moaning Lisa, Sunflowers, and the Lasting Supper.
It wasn't any of those famous works. No, what made it so important was that it was the same type of drawing that Daddy did all the time. It was a blueprint, drawn on professional grade paper; expensive, and now covered with the whole-hearted doodles of a child.
She giggled as she put the finishing touches on her creation and stood from where she had been lying on the living room floor.
"Daddy! Daddy!" she cried, racing through the kitchen and into her father's study. The room was an example of organized chaos – papers and books were stacked in corners, on bookshelves and piled on the miserable-looking cot squatting in the corner, and yet they were all sorted into their respective piles. Connie dodged around a precariously stacked tower and ran to her father, who was hunched tiredly over his desk as he pored over a blueprint of his own.
When heard his daughter's voice, however, he turned to her with an excited grin and exclaimed, "Connie! What is it, sweetie?"
"Look! Look at mine!" she all but shouted, bouncing up and down as she shoved the blueprint into his hand.
Inwardly, he grimaced at the waste of the expensive paper, but smiled all the same as his heart soared at the sight of the girl's doodles of a crudely drawn tank. "This is excellent, Connie. Did you draw this?"
She nodded. "I did! Do you like it?"
"Of course I do! You made it yourself," he said with an overly large grin on his face. "I'll go put this in my book. Why don't you find your mother? I have to finish this."
Ears twitching excitedly, Connie beamed and raced out of the room, leaving her father to slump back in exhaustion. He was a wry man, thin and haggard with sharp features that left him somewhat worse off for his multi-day marathon to finish his latest design in time. Admittedly, he had been holed up in his office for days, entering as soon as he woke and not leaving until well after it had gotten dark. The only reason he remembered to eat or stop before he passed out was because of his wife.
God, how he loved that woman.
On his desk was the design in question. It was for a new type of tank, or at least the turret for one. The gun was advanced – highly advanced – utilizing a bank of Dust capacitors to deliver rapid fire destruction. Paired with a reactor to give it even higher output, it would change the very role that Armor played on the battlefield. The only issue was how it would move. Treads were too slow, and air cushions were too fragile. What he needed was an idea, something revolutionary that would put his company on the map and perhaps even compete with Altesian Robotics. What he needed was some form of mobility that could get his turret to any location, regardless of the terrain.
But what? If he wanted the damn thing to fly, he would've made a plane.
He sighed and dragged out the scrapbook of every single one of his daughter's doodles. He loved his daughter, truly he did, but parenting took all the attention he had when he should be focusing on the company in order to get food into their mouths. It was especially true now, with Carlisle Industries still in its infancy. Without something to prove to his investors that he was true to his word, they would pull funding, and not one of those old bastards would be sympathetic to him and his Faunus family.
Opening to a fresh page, he was about to slip the new blueprint into a laminated sleeve when he noticed something about it. Either by accident, coincidence, or design, Connie hadn't finished drawing the tank. No treads or cushion, although there were ports all along the sides. But ports for what?
Gears clunked into place in the suddenly-awake man's mind. He wrenched himself back toward his blueprint, already picturing a system of turbines and ducts to direct the hellfire of a Dust reactor. For an hour he worked like a madman, eyes wide and a crazed grin on his face as he brought his creation to life. Finally, after what seemed like only a minute, he lifted the completed design and studied it, looking for any imperfections or defects.
There were none.
Loud, booming laughter filled the house, and seconds later his alarmed wife was at the door to his study. Her eyes were wide with worry as she said, "Eduard? Eduard, what's wrong?"
"I did it!" he yelled triumphantly. "I finished it!"
Her confusion only lasted a moment longer before a large grin spread across her face, her fox ears perking up in excitement. And little Connie, the spitting image of his wife and innocent as only a child could be, was smiling all the same despite not having any idea what was going on.
-O-O-O-
#1
She was used to seeing the inside of her tank when she woke. At first it was out of necessity – she needed to be onsite right then and there in case a fellow student tried to sabotage her machine… again. Some of her Faunus brethren did the same, although much more reluctantly and always developing shadowy bags under their eyes by morning. It was fortunate for Connie that the reclined seat was heavily padded in order to protect against shock.
If nothing else, it made an excellent substitute for a bed.
However, this time, Connie woke up in pain. Her head throbbed just behind her eyes, and god, how her body ached. It felt like someone had put her through a meat grinder and then tenderized the bits. The smell of strong alcohol and disinfectants assaulted her nose and made her head spin, and her skin was irritated by scratchy blankets. In addition to this amalgamation of pain, her ears pulsed in time to a slow, steady beeping… still, she was conscious of mind enough to realize that she was in a medical facility of some sort, the gagging smell alone was enough to tell her that. In short, she was having a hell of a time. With a groan, she brought a hand to her pounding head.
"Ah, so our wayward Armor pilot is finally awake."
Connie groaned at Ozpin's voice. "Get the license plate of the truck that ran me over," she grumbled.
Ozpin chuckled. "Unfortunately they got away. However, there is someone who would like to meet you."
Suppressing yet another moan, Connie forced her eyes open and immediately shut them again. Blinding light assaulted her with a vengeance that must have spanned generations.
"Let me shut the blinds," a familiar voice said. A second later, the piercing lights dimmed from a level that was agonizing to merely throb-inducing, and Connie hesitantly opened her eyes once more. She stared at an unfamiliar ceiling, sterile and pure white. The beeping was coming from a heart monitor to her left. The blinds had been closed on the left-hand wall, and straight ahead on the far wall was a locked cabinet full of vials of medicine.
She was in the infirmary or at least part of it. There had to be more to it as she was in a relatively small room with a single bed, albeit a comfortable one.
Connie looked to her right, where Ozpin sat leisurely sat in a chair with a cup of coffee in hand. Standing at his elbow was a tough looking girl, toned muscles visible beneath the brown jacket and pleated skirt of her school uniform. Despite that, she looked at Connie with a stern expression on her face … and her eyes seemed familiar, somehow.
Despite that, the fox glared back in suspicion.
"Good evening, Miss Constance," Ozpin said.
Pressing a hand to her face, Connie slowly sat up, wincing as her sides twinged. "How long have I been out?" she asked, her ears drooping.
Ozpin took a sip. "Not for long – two hours at the most. You gave us quite the scare when you injected yourself with medical grade Dust. Of course, passing out from heat exhaustion didn't help, either."
With a sigh, Connie gave Ozpin a half-hearted glare through her fingers. "I'll be fine, I've done it before."
At this, the unknown girl stepped forward. "You've injected yourself with Dust before?" she demanded.
Connie gave a slow blink and a flick of her ear, staring blankly at her as she said, "Yes."
"You fool," the girl berated, stepping forward with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. "Don't you know how dangerous that is if your Aura isn't unlocked? You nearly killed yourself!"
"Why do you care?"
Even Ozpin was taken aback by the blunt question. There was no inflection, no emphasis, and no anger in Connie's voice. It was just a simple question, like she herself didn't care. However, before she could continue, Ozpin cleared his throat.
"Before you begin the interrogation, allow me to introduce you both," he said, gesturing to Connie as he looked at the unknown girl. "This is Constance Carlisle, pilot of the M7."
He looked to Connie. "And this is Nina Keller, leader of Team PSFN. She was one of the pair that you retrieved from the Emerald Forest."
The girl, Nina, stepped forward. "That was a reckless and foolish thing you did," she said. "Never, ever do that again."
Connie didn't know what to say to that.
"At any rate," Ozpin said, "you saved your own life, Miss Constance. Using the Dust depleted your body's own energy, but you sealed some rather severe wounds that would have killed most people, or at the very least crippled them for a time. You had three fractured ribs, a severe laceration and internal hemorrhaging. Your quick thinking saved yourself and all of us quite a bit of grief. However, until you have unlocked your Aura, I have confiscated the rest of your stores."
A snarl twisted Connie's face, and she opened her mouth to snap at him.
"It's for your own protection," Ozpin interrupted, this time giving the girl a stern look. "Using it may have saved your life in the short term, but repeated use can permanently damage your body's ability to generate Aura. And as you've shown nothing but carelessness for your own survival, I would prefer to extend your life as long as I possibly can."
At this, Connie snorted.
"Nina is going to show you around the school now that classes have ended," he continued. "You'll need to get the lay of the land as soon as possible, seeing as you'll be joining class tomorrow."
Ozpin reached into his back pocket and pulled out a collapsed tablet. "This is your Scroll. It is registered to you and you alone. It cannot be replaced if it is lost or stolen. Any additional programs you want installed have to be run by our tech department, however."
He held the device out to her, and she hesitated before her arm snapped out and snatched it out of Ozpin's hand before he could blink, afraid to touch his skin.
Nina stared at the interaction, stupefied into silence.
Connie's ears flicked back and forth as she examined the collapsible tablet, her eyes wide in interest. Gone was her annoyance, and even her pain seemed diminished as she inspected the thing and played with it, quickly grasping the touchscreen controls. She was, quite honestly, a puppy fascinated by a new toy and Ozpin and Nina ceased to exist right then.
Ozpin, for one, was happy that the girl was distracted. One didn't act like she did without reason.
Nina on the other hand was watching the Faunus girl with something akin to morbid curiosity. It was like she had never seen a Scroll before…
Still transfixed by the device, Connie cleared her throat to speak.
"What happened to my tank?" she asked. A moment passed, and her eyes narrowed before she growled, "You didn't leave her there, did you?"
With a calming wave of his hand, Ozpin smiled and said, "Rest assured, it's been airlifted here so it's out of danger. It will be a few days before we finish the necessary preparations to house it however, so it may be some time before we can get around to repairing it," Ozpin said.
"Grendel."
At Nina's interruption, the other two looked up and gave her incredulous stares, and in Connie's case her ears went erect. The knight shrugged and said, "It was the name on the side of the turret. That's its name, right?"
Connie nodded, giving her a cautious stare. "Y-yes, that's her name."
Nina smiled. "I remember reading a poem by the same name a long time ago. A monster had been living outside a village for its whole life, struggling to survive, even as it tried to protect the people within it."
The room went silent. Ozpin got comfortable in his seat as Connie leaned forward in rapt attention. Her eyes were wide, somewhat shocked.
"It had been shunned for years, until another monster came and threatened the village, demanding it to hand over all the food meant for the winter or it would kill them all," Nina continued, a faraway look in her eyes as she recalled the story. "The villagers knew what it wanted though – they were just good sport for it, and that even if they gave in, they would surely be killed. The villagers resigned themselves to their deaths."
Nina smiled. "But the good monster couldn't stand for this, as it had grown to love the villagers and how they lived. On the eve of when the evil one would return for its demands, the good monster kept watch over the village gates, ready to attack when it arrived."
"And it did," Connie continued in a quiet, solemn voice. "It dropped rocks over its head to drive it away, and pushed it back towards a nearby gorge with spears made from tree trunks."
"Just as he was about to deal the killing blow," Ozpin cut in, "the evil one pulled him in close and ripped out his throat with his teeth, promising to kill the villagers as slowly as possible."
Connie was doubly shocked, and stared at Ozpin.
"With its dying breath, the good monster grabbed the evil one around the middle and ran them both through with his spear, and died with a smile as they toppled over the cliff," Nina finished. "The villagers saw the monster's sacrifice and built a monument in his honor, and named him Grendel."
Nina looked to Ozpin. "I wouldn't have thought you would have been interested in old legends, professor."
Ozpin smiled and said, "As time passes, you'll find that even though legends have changed throughout the generations, there's always some small spark of truth to them," he said.
Connie set the scroll aside. "You… k-know the story of Grendel?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"It's a famous tale throughout Atlas. Even if weren't, tales like those are often the most important to remember," Ozpin said.
With an ever-so small smile, Connie clutched the scroll to her chest. "My mother used to read that story to me," she murmured, though it was too quiet for the other two to hear.
Nina stepped forward, getting the girl's attention with a small wave.
"About what happened in the forest," she said, wringing her hands. "I am a Huntress, so I know I wouldn't have survived that horde if you and Grendel hadn't been there to drive them back. So thank you, truly."
What she did next shocked Connie to the point that she went deathly pale. Without another word Nina dipped forward into a bow, a fist over her heart in a sign of respect.
"I owe you my life," she said. "Ask anything of me, and my team and I will assist you."
Connie was still flabbergasted, her mind having gone blank.
Neither of them noticed Ozpin leave, either.
It was only when Nina stood straight again that Connie hesitantly asked, "Why?"
It was Nina's turn to be confused, quirking an eyebrow. "Because you saved my life? Do I need a reason?"
Her simple statement was lost on Connie. Reason? Of course you need a reason! You don't pledge loyalty for no reason! First Ozpin and now her? What's wrong with these people?!
Connie didn't voice her thoughts, however. "I see," she said.
"At any rate," Nina said, "it's time for dinner. If you'll follow me, please."
Nodding, Connie swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, though she barely took three steps before Nina blushed and looked away. "You might want to change out of that."
With a blink, Connie looked down at herself and the open-backed paper gown that protected her modesty.
"Oh."
-O-O-O-
It had only taken a few minutes for Nina to find a spare uniform. Granted, the jacket was one – or three – sizes too big, but it worked. That is, if 'working' meant hanging down past her skirt. There was an uncomfortable tightness in her side, a side effect of the rapid healing the medical Dust forced on her body, but hopefully she could work it out in her morning routines.
She fiddled with her jacket sleeves as she followed Nina through the halls, matching her pace but always keeping a step behind. Connie didn't know what to think about the older girl. She seemed to notice Connie's discomfort and filled the silence for the both of them, rattling off information as it came to mind. So far, Connie learned that she and her team were in their second year, the names of her shields were Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and that her partner was perhaps the biggest ass on Remnant.
The girl was loud, boisterous, and serious about her work. Somehow … she seemed trustworthy. But Connie had been fooled before.
"… We're in the West Wing right now," Nina said. "The infirmary's here, as well as the Engineering Lab and Armory. A lot of the classrooms and lecture halls are here, too."
Connie's face lit up. "Is my tank here?"
Nina shook her head. "No, it's being stored in the VDF hangars until the old Armory's ready. I can take you there tomorrow, if you like."
"VDF?" Connie questioned.
"Vale Defense Force," Nina explained. "They're stationed here. Under the school, actually. They're irregulars – the Vale Army doesn't have jurisdiction over them so Professor Ozpin offered for them to stay here in case an Emergence happens. They can be deployed even before the Huntsmen are."
Connie frowned. "Were they the ones who brought the Hammer?"
Nina paused. "The what now?"
"The airstrike," Connie said flatly.
"Oh!" Nina exclaimed. "Yep! That's them."
With a distracted nod, Connie looked out the windows as they walked through the halls. They had made their way to the second floor and were passing by an empty study room when she noticed how expansive Beacon was. The school's three wings were arranged in a triangle around Beacon Tower – the West Wing had a clear view of far-off Vale, the North overlooked the Forever Fall, and the Southeast Wing kept a close eye on the Emerald Forest. Each was large enough to house the entire school population at any given time.
The school was impressive.
Connie's expression must have betrayed her thoughts, as Nina was watching her over her shoulder as she said, "It's pretty cool, isn't it?"
"It… it is. There's just so much color," Connie said blissfully.
Nina frowned. "Color?"
"It – never mind, it doesn't matter," she said, flustered.
Though she was tempted to press for details, Nina nodded curtly and continued on her way. "We're heading to the Southeast Wing right now – it's the cafeteria – and the North is where most of the dorms are. Of course, if you ever get lost your Scroll has a built-in map."
Ear only half-tuned to the knight, Connie nodded as she looked around, eyes on swivels as she tried to take in everything that she could.
Nina watched in amusement. "You know, you don't have to look at everything. You're going to be here for a while."
Connie blinked. "But I was told by Professor Ozpin to orient myself with the school as soon as possible," she said, her voice flat.
"Yes, orient yourself, not push yourself to the point that you're making a three dimensional map in your thick skull," Nina countered with a smile. A moment passed, and Connie's mind went blank when the knight reached out and grabbed her hand. "Now come on, let's go get some grub before everything good is taken."
Before Connie could jerk her hand back, Nina latched on with an iron grip and dragged her through the halls. Unable to rip her arm away, Connie settled for glaring daggers into the back of the girl's head, her own hand numb and deprived of blood. She huddled further into herself as they went along, her head ducking as they passed faceless students. It was an occurrence that happened more and more often as they got closer to the stairwell – by the time they reached it, Connie's face had taken on a stiff, pained expression, and once they actually made their way to the first floor her ears were laid back and her eyes were constantly darting back and forth.
They passed through the massive auditorium which was the center of Beacon Academy and where most of the duels took place. The mass of students was thicker here now that it was right in the middle of the dinner rush. The cafeteria was no exception.
The hall was gigantic for being a simple cafeteria, with rows of long tables stretching all the way down to the buffet. But more than that, it was filled to the brim with other students – humans mostly – but Connie could see an odd Faunus here and there, including a meek-looking rabbit Faunus that fidgeted as she waited in line. And that was just at the entrance, where the chatter of the room washed over them in a tidal wave.
"C'mon, let's go meet the team," Nina said, hauling the girl along. To Connie's horror she barreled right down an aisle between two tables, leading the pair through a mass of humanity. She felt curious eyes look her over as the chatter around them fell slightly, only to pick back up again as they went back to their meals and conversation. For this, Connie was grateful.
She hated drawing attention.
Passing by a group of four girls – where one in a red hood squealed, babbled, and pointed at her as soon as she saw her – Nina led Connie towards a table cut off from the main ones. Three others were there, one a surly-looking teen wearing a cardigan, and the other two nearly identical with unruly blond mops for hair. With their uniforms exactly the same, the only way to tell them apart was by the color of their eyes – one pair was blue while the other was brown.
They were obviously waiting for their leader, having set a fourth plate at an empty seat.
Nina smiled as she came to the table. "Rug rats, listen up! I brought Sleeping Beauty, so be nice."
The brothers looked up with cheeky grins, while the third glared at her with equal parts contempt and suspicion. Both carried a sense of foreboding to Connie. Her heart was in her throat, but she schooled herself into impassiveness a second later. An exercise in not showing weakness was something she was very familiar with. They reached the table, and Nina finally let go of her hand as she said, "Guys, Connie. Connie, this is Patrick O'Brien," – a wave at the glaring one – "and Shawn and Franklin Connor."
The twins grinned. "Hey there, pretty lady," Shawn asked, being the one on the right with brown eyes. "Am I in heaven? Or are you an angel?"
Connie blinked. What the hell?
Nina's face fell into her palm as Franklin groaned and said, "Aw geez, that was terrible, dude!"
"Oh yeah? And you can do better?" Shawn sneered.
"Fuck yeah!"
"Fuck me life …" the one named Patrick groaned, slouching in his seat as he picked at his barely-touched dinner.
Franklin grinned. "Hey baby! Roses are red, and bananas are yellow, so you wanna go out with a nice little fellow?"
Four pairs of eyes stared at Franklin, who still wore a wide, shameless grin.
"Frankie," Shawn said warningly. "Do you have to flirt with everything in a skirt?"
"You're one to talk!"
"At least I complimented her! You didn't!"
"I did so compliment her!"
"Where the fuck did you compliment her?!"
"I asked her out!"
"Asking her out is not a compliment, dude!"
Franklin grinned. "It is if it's from me."
Not knowing what to do, or even say for that matter, Connie's blank, cold stare bored into Franklin.
"If we are done," Nina growled, "I'm trying to get Connie familiar with everything. She starts tomorrow."
Patrick scoffed and threw his fork into his mashed potatoes. "Familiar? The only thing an animal'd be familiar with is how to spread a little frothmouth, Nellie. Keep it away from me, I need ta get meself a shot."
He suddenly stood, knocking his chair away as he looked to his leader. "I'm headin' ta bed. Later," he said, refusing to look at Connie before he turned and stalked away, shoulders hunched and fists clenched in annoyance. Driving a shoulder into the crowd, he quickly disappeared and Connie lost sight of him.
She released a breath.
"Sorry about him," Nina said. "He's a little… culture-shocked, around Faunus."
"Culture-shocked?" Shawn asked incredulously. "More like racist dick!"
"Don't insult your teammate, Shawn."
"But-!"
"Anyway," Nina stressed, "now that my partner has left we can actually be civil."
With that, she took a seat. Connie was much more reluctant to, longing for space to herself – possibly that dark, abandoned corner over there – but she didn't know or want to know what would happen if she refused. She'd seen things like that all the time back in Ironwood …
And so, she forced herself to sit. Even if it was tentative.
From there, things seemed to blur. Dinner was slow. The twins were curious, but a warning frown from Nina kept them at bay. Any fool with the balls to come up to Connie and ask questions was quickly shot down with deathly glares as well. She'd barely talked either, the flavors melded together, completely unappetizing at the seemingly claustrophobic table, but Connie forced bite after bite down her gullet. A plate had been left for her and so she'd eat it, hungry or otherwise.
But all she wanted to do right now was ease her churning stomach.
Still, it was… peaceful, in a sense. Not to her, not when she was too busy eyeing the students closest to her and trying to gauge if they were a threat. But to the other students, everyday life passed as it always did. They ate. They talked. They laughed. They… bullied.
Connie's lip curled when she saw a girl – the one with rabbit ears, no less – get stopped by… that punk!
She shot up from her seat, her meal forgotten as she glared at the bully, the same one that had insulted her tank. Aggravated by the lack of a black eye, surely healed by his Aura, Connie leveled her fiercest glare at a hapless Cardin and grabbed an errant glass of orange juice from a nearby table.
Nina saw this. "Connie? Are you alright?" she asked.
She was ignored. Connie strode away, muttering apologies to people she bumped into as she slowly approached the hounded girl. By now the other three had joined in, surrounding the poor Faunus and leaving no escape.
Why isn't anyone doing anything?! Where's the teacher?
Connie stopped herself. A teacher wouldn't help. With a scowl, she noted that even her fellow Faunus were not doing anything, instead pointedly ducking away so as not to not get caught up in it.
It was a tragedy to see allies of blood forsake one of their own.
Pushing her thoughts away and a letting out a small huff, Connie walked until she was right behind the bully. It was only then she noticed how… massive he was. Sure, she had noticed it before, but the slight against her tank had dulled her awareness. Now? She wouldn't be surprised if he was related to a Beowolf somehow.
The trepidation disappeared when she heard the girl nervously say, "U-um … may I help you?" To see the group of strangers around her made the rabbit Faunus freeze, too used to the abuse heaped on her by the rest of society.
Connie could imagine a sneer on the punk's face, and heard him ask in a mocking tone, "Yeah, I'd like to settle a bet with my boys here. Are those things real?"
He pointed to the girl's rabbit ears. At her confused expression, he reached out to grab one of them
Connie tapped his shoulder and cleared her throat.
Growling, the bully turned and snapped, "What the hell do you –"
He recognized her. Stunned by her sudden reappearance, Cardin had no time to defend himself as Connie sloshed her juice directly into his eyes. The bully stumbled back, yelling in pain as he clawed at his face. Connie leapt into the group, shouldering by Mohawk as she grabbed the stunned Faunus' arm and blew through them like a storm. Ignoring the girl's protests, Connie ducked and weaved her way through the equally stunned students as they stood to see what the commotion was about. In record time they made it to the cafeteria entrance, where there was only a trickle of students coming in.
It boggled the mind to think that the entire student body was in that one room and not a single one did a thing to stop the bullying. At least back in Ironwood, the Faunus had grouped together and supported each other. If a bullying was about to take place and a group of Faunus was present, Cardin would've been beaten within an inch of his life.
It was only that that Connie realized that the girl she was dragging along was yelling "Stop!" right in her ear.
Connie let go, allowing the poor girl to huddle into herself with a frightened look on her face.
"Why? Why did you do that?" she asked with tears in her eyes.
This wasn't the reaction Connie was expect had expected.
"I-I –" she stammered. "I… got you away from them."
"Why?" the girl repeated. "If you'd have just let them have their fun, they would have left me alone! Now they'll look for me! They'll bully me! I don't have time to deal with them!"
Connie opened and closed her mouth, ears laid back, unable to form a sentence.
It was the Faunus girl's turn to stumble over herself. "I-I'm sorry. But… please, I don't need your help."
With that, she turned and strode back into the hell that was the cafeteria, leaving Connie to stand there in confusion. Even after leaving Ironwood, even after traveling by herself for months, she had never felt more alone than she did right then.
-O-O-O-
CODEX: Vale Defense Force
The Vale Defense Force, or VDF, has existed ever since the founding of Vale itself in one form or another. The kingdom's natural defenses, being located on a coast and sandwiched between canyons to the south and mountains to the north, allowed the kingdom to maintain a relatively small army. Militia groups would gather in times of crisis, such as an invasion or natural disaster. The advent of gunpowder allowed more people to defend their homes, which the Vale Army took to with gusto – within ten years, every soldier was outfitted with a firearm.
However, many people were still dissatisfied with the Army and began establishing armed groups. Competition between groups led to skirmishes throughout the city, and to prevent the Army from cracking down on them they combined into a single large entity that would be much more effective than many small groups, eventually becoming a full third the size of the regular army. While this group would be called many names, it wasn't until the Great War that the group became known by their current title – the Vale Defense Force, or VDF, dedicated to the sole defense of their home. Being irregulars, they are not governed by standard military protocol and operate under the sole direction of the acting commander, although his orders can be overruled at any time by the Council or the headmaster of Beacon.
Currently, the VDF forces are housed in a secure bunker in the Beacon Plateau. They number five thousand strong with an assortment of light vehicles, tanks, and three flights of combat-ready Bullheads, though they have been blocked from acquiring any usable amount of legged vehicles on account of their informal status. The base itself is well-defended, with multiple gun emplacements dotting the surface of the plateau, including one-hundred and fifty separate cannon emplacements, twenty-five rocket and missile emplacements, and multiple elevators and tunnels to allow the VDF to deploy anywhere within a ten mile radius of the plateau, just outside Vale itself where the Army has jurisdiction. Most soldiers operate on a rotation, and no more than one thousand soldiers remain on call at any time under orders of the Vale Council, in an effort to quell any possible uprising.
Rumors persist that they are working on a rapid deployment system of high-speed rail tunnels under the city and beyond to allow near-instantaneous deployment. However, such an endeavor is unfeasible as it would require multiple building permits and allowances to build such a system, making such rumors easily dismissed.