As the bullhead neared Kulsa, Jaune sat in the communications room with his big sister Amber, the team leader of the hunters Darren Marine, and LGDF deputy chief Reynard. They were being briefed by Jesse Earl about the situation in the city, which was best described as tense, and the latest reports from Argus which were horrific. The full details of the terrorist attack had not been released to the public yet but there had been twelve murders, four brandings and four people unharmed if frightened. Seven of the murders had involved being dropped out of a plane without a parachute.
Amber asked, "Ex-Atlas Gold employees took the long drop?"
Jesse said, "Yes, how did….. Oh, of course." Jaune could tell Jesse was not happy.
Amber replied, "Not saying it's right…"
There was a short delay, "I understand. Explains why Chief Arc is trying to talk the mayor into calling in the Kingdom Guard for the next few days and enforcing a curfew."
A pause as an aide placed a piece of paper in front of the old man, "Reports of Grimm eight miles north of town coming out of Blanche Orchards. Could you check that out ASAP?"
Reynard said, "Yes. Over and out."
He turned to them and said, "We can delay dropping me off." The Faunus had the look of someone who felt that he had to make the offer but preferred not to.
Darren and Amber exchanged glances. Darren said, "Best if me and Amber make the scorched earth call as an operational decision and not involve you."
"OK, but remember I have aura. I can jump from one hundred yards at speed still and have plenty in the tank."
Darren turned to Amber, "I know what you want to do, but let's strafe the small fry first. Also, put on the body cam."
Reynard said, "Amber, stay out of Kulsa, please. Even if you don't say they had it coming, people will know you want to say it. Jesse is as open minded as anyone and you saw his instinctive reaction."
"Understood, deputy chief. Don't worry, I know how unhelpful my presence would be. Do your best to keep the celebrations in the enclave low key or at least prevent them being filmed."
Two minutes later they flew over Kulsa. They could see cars streaming in from the farms, factories and shacks surrounding the city towards the gates and walls of the city. The sirens alerting people to head for cover were blaring. Reynard took a jet pack from out of the storage locker. While his aura was robust, there was no point in taking risks when he leapt out of the bullhead. In the rear-view cameras of the Bullhead, Jaune watched the Fox Faunus land on the top of the administrative centre of the Faunus Sector.
Darren asked, "Amber, do I need to know what that was all about?"
"It's why this could get worse. The White Fang are making certain that they win the publicity war and keep the donations coming in from FaunusAid in Vale, Mantle, and Menagerie. They are going to say that this attack was targeted punishment of criminals and not an indiscriminate slaughter."
She paused, "If they have taken out the people I think they may have done, then relatives of cops, councillors and crime bosses have been killed or mutilated. It will not help when the press speculates why some were spared and implicitly suggests that the killings may have been justified. They will also be interviewing the survivors and looking at the revenge killings. At the same time there will be Faunus who will be raising a glass to the Sandman tonight."
Darren nodded, "I get the message."
Jaune was not certain he did. Why should it be worse that there were survivors? Jesse, Reynard, Amber, and Darren clearly thought so.
Amber switched her body cam and recorder on and then with a straight face said "Squad leader Marine, reservist Arc reporting for duty. What do you want me to do, sir?"
"Let's shoot some Grimm, reservist. Be safe out there."
The pilot had switched to the front cameras and had zoomed in on the forest. Through it they could see Grimm coming out of the woods. So far they were normal sized Beowolfs and other pack Grimm. Darren ordered the pilot to bring the bullhead down to around thirty yards from the ground. His team got out the machine gun which for the moment only held ordinary bullets and prepared to fire. Jaune was handed a rifle and prepared to fire into the pack. He had been taught by mother how to maximise the chances of hitting something by firing into the middle of the pack.
The first run accounted for around thirty percent of the Grimm, but more were coming out of the woods and those that were left did not retreat. Darren stated the analysis for the record and then said, "I authorise the use of ice dust grenades and mortars."
The bullhead passed over the Grimm for a second time and the ice projectile either killed or trapped many Grimm. Those that were trapped were easy target for Darren's team and Amber. Even Jaune was pretty certain he had killed a few Grimm. The fact that so many had been immobilised made them easy targets. However, the crops in the fields over which the Grimm had been charging would be ruined and one reason why mother employed Darren's team was that they were good at following protocols which allowed the LGDF to resist claims for damages or contributions from insurers. Still new Grimm were coming from the forest, and they were getting larger. They now included Alpha Ursas and alarmingly a large Death stalker. It was not quite a full Alpha, but it was huge.
They strafed the new group with the bullets and Ice dust. While some of the Ursa dropped, most did not, and the bullets and mortars just bounced off the Death Stalker.
"Any suggestions, Reservist Arc?" This was Darren's contribution which Jaune suspected was more of a request for Amber to show why she had been a Vytal Festival finalist.
"I will deal with the big boys and check for incoming. Just be ready to get me out of there PDQ."
"At your mark, reservist."
Amber drew her two-handed great sword, checked that it was fully loaded with dust and chose a cartridge. She then shouted to the pilot, "Play the music" and prepared to jump.
The sound of Edward Green's "Hall of the Mountain Grimm" blared over the speakers as the bullhead swooped down towards the Ursas and the Death Stalker.
He looked across at his sister who was ready to leap. She said to herself, "Let's dance", fully flared her aura and leapt out of the bullhead. She called her semblance "Jumping Jenny" and had built her fighting style around it. She hurtled down at full speed and targeted the Death Stalker. There were two reasons for the leap from the bullhead. One was that it took the Grimm by surprise and the second was that the momentum of her fall multiplied the impact of the blow. Even by her standards he suspected that she was pleased by the accuracy as she sliced through the stinger of the Death Stalker in one swipe and had enough speed left to crack the outer shell of the body. She had an unexpected bonus when the stinger flew off to the side and took out an Alpha Ursa. She had activated a fire dust crystal and the fire alarmed the Death Stalker and the surrounding Grimm. She plunged her sword through the crack in the carapace of the Death Stalker finishing it off, backflipped off its back before it crumbled away. She decapitated an Alpha Ursa as she then raced towards the woods so that her body cam could record what was approaching.
Darren was watching the body cam footage and he heard him say to Amber, "That's all I needed to know. We have a condition Red. I'm authorising a scorched earth attack. Let's get you of there, reservist."
Darren then took over the machine gun himself as the pilot brought the bullhead down, so it hovered thirty feet off the ground. He concentrated and then fired the gun opening a path in front of the bullhead. Amber in the meantime charged towards the bullhead, taking out the few Grimm who did not avoid her. Her aura was at a level where the stupid small ones could not do much damage, while the flaming sword caused the larger more intelligent ones to hesitate.
Jaune had not actually seen Amber do the next bit before but had heard about it. She used her semblance to power a high jump and leapt thirty feet in the air and landed in the bullhead. Darren and another member of his team caught her, and the pilot took the bullhead further up.
Darren then for the record spoke aloud into his microphone, "As this forested area is within the ten mile woods free area authorised by the LGDF standing orders for Kulsa, we have encountered Alpha and Alpha minus Grimm emerging from the illegal trees and have body cam footage indicating that more Grimm are using the woods to approach the city of Kulsa under cover, it is my judgement that there is a clear and present danger to the city of Kulsa and to its environs. By the power delegated to me by section 15 of the LGDF (Emergency Powers) Act I hereby authorise the use of fire dust bombs to destroy the cover within the ten-mile limit."
The pilot said, "Locked and loaded."
For the next five minutes the bullhead dropped fire dust bombs over the forest area and filmed it. The huntsman took pot-shots at the Grimm they saw trying to escape the flames. Amber sat on the floor of the bullhead laughing. She turned to Jaune and Darren and, with a wink, said, "I love the smell of fire-dust in the afternoon."
She switched off her body cam and turned to Darren, "Do we need to go back to base and rearm?"
Darren nodded, "Yes."
His sister turned to Jaune, "I need you to join mother. There is going to be a row about this. I need you to take her a copy of the footage and my body cam recording showing that we did this by the book and that there was no time to doctor the footage. Also, she needs someone else we can trust down there. Jesse Earl is not a bad man, but he and the others have to live there all the time and they will be under pressure to lose the evidence or let things slide. If you are around him and them, it allows them to do the right thing and blame it on the fact that you were there ready to report him to mother."
She patted him on the back, "You did good. It's just that you can be more useful there."
Darren reported into headquarters that they were coming back to rearm and refuel and that they would be dropping the Trainee (i.e., Jaune) off to report to Chief Arc.
Ten minutes later they were landing at the base which was a mile outside the city walls and was surrounded by Grimm resistant walls. The ground crew were preparing to rush towards the bullhead and do what was necessary to get it airborne again. Amber was doing her normal routine for recharging her aura. She had only taken a ten percent hit, but she had to assume that she would be out there all day. Her speciality was taking out Alpha Grimm. Her theory was doing so discourage the smaller fry and even dad agreed that she probably had something there. Dad hated the risks she took as he said the first time she got it wrong she would be dead.
As they touched down an orange car drove through the gates, the horn blared the first few bars of Misty, did a handbrake turn and screeched to a halt.
Amber looked up, "Is that an old Kingdom flag on the bonnet of that car?"
Jaune realised that this could easily go pear shaped, "They are a team of students from Haven. They are mostly nephews and nieces of Jesse Earl. The twins say that they are basically good people."
He paused, "Just to warn you, they call the car the General Lagune. The twins say they are probably being ironic."
"You have got to be kidding me! Ok. OK. I'll play nice. I'm getting soft in my old age."
Darren Marine and his team laughed out loud at that. They had been with Amber at Haven and knew her well. Softness was not a trait anyone associated with his big sis.
Four young humans got out of the car. There were two tall blonde men of around 6 feet tall, a dark-haired solid man of much the same high and a woman about four inches shorter. They were dressed for warm weather and the woman was particularly striking wearing shorts which showed off her long legs.
The woman walked up to him. "Jaune, is it?"
"Yes."
"We're here to bring you into town. You look like the twins."
Amber looked up and said, "Who are you and what do you want with Jaune?"
One of the boys came forward. "Team Blood, AKA the bloody nuisances. I'm Beau Earl, this is my brother Lucas, cousin Daffy and our good friend Orion. Our uncle Jesse Earl sent us to bring Jaune and the tape he has to Chief Arc at the LGDF headquarters. He wanted to make certain that there were no accidents."
"Do you have some identification on you?"
The bulkier man looked a little annoyed. Daffy nodded and handed Amber an ID card from Haven. "Don't worry. We'll make certain he's safe. We don't want to anger Jessica and Nancy."
Beau said, "Hell no. They'd make us sing soprano if we let any harm come to their bro."
Lucas said, "Are you Amber Arc?" The tone was one which suggested awe rather than contempt.
"Yes, I'm the one who makes the twins seem like pussycats."
"We all admire you. Wish you had settled in Mistral."
"Ancient history. Anyway, if you get my brother to Chief Arc you will have my thanks."
Orion looked as though he was about to say something and decided against it.
Amber looked at him, "Spit it out. I've got a thick skin."
Daffy said, "I think Orion would like an autograph. Doesn't matter what you have said, you have the best record from Haven at the Vytal festival for ten years."
"Fine. We are all a bit busy now, but I'll arrange for my mother to send you one care of your Uncle Jesse."
Orion mumbled something which sounded like thanks. Beau then said, "Any chance of one each?"
"No problem. It's rare for humans to ask me for them in Mistral."
Jaune decided to butt in before the conversation became embarrassing. "Well. Let's be off. See you tonight Amber."
Amber stood up and gave him a hug, "And you doofus."
Daffy said, "You're in the back with me and Orion."
They walked towards the car. For some reason Beau and Lucas got in through the windows rather than the door. Daffy said, "It's not compulsory, they just like showing off."
Just before they got to the car she added, "We do have another passenger who we will drop off on the way. Don't tread on him."
On the floor of the car there was a very scared looking and somewhat battered mouse Faunus. Jaune smiled at him and said "Hello." The Faunus relaxed a little. The orange car zoomed off through the gates of the base and headed towards town.
Daffy said, "Willy, we'll drop you off just outside the gate to the Faunus Quarter. I suggest you don't bother coming to work until this all blows over."
"I think I will move to Vale with my cousins. It'll be safer."
"You're probably right."
They dropped the Faunus off into the custody of a Faunus policeman at the gate into the Faunus quarter and with another blast of the horn as a form of goodbye headed towards the main gate.
"What's the story with Willy?"
"Things are a bit fraught. Police chief's Scarlett's brother Oswald is among the dead. Used to be deputy chief of security at Atlas Gold's Vacuoan operations. Willy is a waiter and last week accidentally spilt some beer on Oswald, and Oswald described what he would have done to him if he had done so in the staff canteen in Vacuo. Same thing happened to Oswald this morning and some idiots decided that Willy was responsible. They had a rope round his neck when we showed up."
Beau added, "Lucas told the crowd that we would take him to somewhere private where he would get what he deserved and there were no cameras. Not exactly a lie, but no way Willy belongs to the Fang."
Jaune gulped. He never felt entirely comfortable in Kulsa, and that sort of attitude was one of the reasons why.
From the front seat, Beau asked, "Is it true the twins used to make you wear dresses and pretend you were the princess in the tower?"
Daffy said, "You have the right to remain silent."
Jaune thought to himself, thank you very much Nancy and Jessica. It seemed to be the one thing everybody knew about him. Well, not quite, but it was the one which they mentioned.
As they approached the gates to the main part of town, Beau said, "Perhaps best if you ducked down like Willy did. Uncle Jesse said that he did not want Chief Scarlett to intercept you before you got to headquarters."
As he tried not to stare too obviously at Daffy's legs, he found himself succumbing to his darker thoughts. Watching Amber strutting her stuff and then joking about it with Darren and his team made him wonder about what might have been. He wanted to be like dad and Amber and save lives and defend the weak and unarmed. Instead of which he was confined to buying and loading ammunition, carrying messages, and doing the paperwork. Most of the time he could tell himself that he helped in his way and that his life had value. He did not believe it when Amber showed how good she was.
Four years ago, before the worst day of his life, he had dreamt of being a hero like dad and Amber. In retrospect he had been naïve and foolhardy. He now knew that the risks hunters took were calculated or at least necessary. Mother employed people who understood the truth behind the phrase, you can be an old hunter, you can be a bold hunter, but you can't be an old bold hunter. Dad was the only member of his team to have survived to collect a pension and mother's brothers had died before they were thirty.
For what felt like the millionth time, he recalled going to headmaster's office to have his aura unlocked. The man had smiled at Jaune, placed his hand on his forehead and intoned the formula. Jaune remembered the anticipation and then wondering why he felt nothing had changed. The twins had said that they had felt different immediately afterwards. Nancy had said, "It's a bit like having your first period only there's less blood."
He had looked up and saw that Headmaster Brown was frowning. "For some reason it did not work. Maybe it's me. Let's try again first thing tomorrow."
His mind was brought back to the present as Daffy nudged him with her foot and said, "Brace yourself Jaune. Beau's going to do another handbrake turn."
He was glad of the warning, the horn blasted Misty again and the car spun and took off simultaneously. Despite the warning he found himself buffeted against the front seat.
It screeched to a halt and the buffeting stopped. Jaune was certain that he was going to be bruised afterwards. Orion looked at him, "Frack, sorry boy, we didn't know that you don't have aura."
He got out of the car and realised that they were in the car park shared by city hall and the LGDF Ansel headquarters.
Beau looked at Jaune. "Oh foot. Please tell the twins that I did not black your eye on purpose."
"No problem. Mind you I'm not certain that saying you did so by accident will help."
"Maybe not. Hopefully they'll decide its beneath their dignity to beat up second years."
They hurried him through to the office with Jesse Earl was in charge. The old man had a beard and usually had a twinkle in his eye. Today he was looking stressed. "Beau, Lucas, I want you near the internal wall and making certain that the police don't overdo it."
He paused, "Daffy, Orion take Trainee Arc to the City Solicitor's ASAP and tell the truth about the chain of evidence."
Jaune protested that he knew the way, but the two students ignored him. Daffy said, "We both want to see your sister in action."
They raced up the stairs to the office of the city solicitor and where shown into a meeting room which two screens on the wall. DA Gris (who was the city liaison with the LGDF) and Attorney Verdi (who was the legal representative of the Ansel LGDF) were waiting for them together with two of Gris's assistants. Gris first interrogated jaune about the process of bringing the tapes here. Jaune testified that he had been handed the tapes by Squad leader Marine and his siter. Daffy and Orion testified that they had seen the bullhead land and had collected Jaune. They stressed that he had not been out of his sight since disembarking from the bullhead. One of the assistants was told to get the statements typed up.
The other assistant readied the two tapes ready to play and synchronised the time stamps. Jaune who had been in this room before served everyone coffee and biscuits. As the junior person there he did not have any objection to this and it kept him occupied. Gris chatted to Orion and Daffy about friends in common. Verdi spoke to Jaune about why Amber was in town. After ten minutes three typed short statements were brought through. Jaune read his and signed it. Daffy and Orion did the same with theirs. Basically there was a pro forma template with the details added in so a speedy turn around was not a surprise.
Gris then used his scroll and called a number, "You can let Judge Blanche know that we are ready for him. We have the body cam footage and the tapes from the bullhead. We have not watched them yet."
He sensed Orion stiffen at hearing the latter name. Daffy whispered to him, "No sweat. I'll do the heavy lifting."
Ten minutes a tall imperious looking man appeared surrounded by assistants. He said, "Gris, Verdi, I'm giving you a chance to justify the destruction of my property before I sue the LGDF for everything it has."
Gris then started playing the tapes.
It was weird watching the combination of the aerial view and Amber's body cam. It had looked impressive enough from the bullhead at a distance but the zoomed in camera of the bullhead and the close up picture of her approaching the Death Stalker at speed really brought things home. Gris slowed the footage down to one-quarter speed at that point and somehow it made it seem more frightening watching big sister taking on the large Grimm. He watched the Death stalker reacting instinctively and trying to use its stinger to defend itself and then the Ursa swinging their paws after standing on their hind legs. Certainly, the two students in the room could not resist cheering to the obvious annoyance of Judge Blanche.
What took him by surprise was that when Amber had turned towards the wood she had deliberately gone for the Alpha Ursa. Even some of Blanche's retinue were unable to avoid audibly gasping. She had also done a full 180 degree scan of the forest and it was clear that it was full of Grimm.
Blanche indignantly started to argue that Marine had exceeded his powers and that there had been no justification for the destruction of the forest. He had gone on to say "Look, you see how easily she dealt with those Grimm. There was no need for the animal lover to destroy my trees."
Daffy intervened and said, "Bull. It was Marine's call and if I had been in his shoes I would have carpet dusted as soon as I saw the Death Stalker and the Ursas."
Blanche glared at the young woman. Orion said, "Sorry great-uncle, but that is what we taught last term by Professor Pink. There's no point risking lives in such circumstances unless you have to."
Gris said, "Judge, take your own advice, but if you take this to trial the expert witnesses will agree with your nephew and his teammate. Make an insurance claim."
Blanche stared angrily at him and then said, "How do we know that the footage is real?"
Gris said, "We have a chain of custody from the time it was shot until this very minute. Your nephew and his teammate collected Trainee Arc as soon as the bullhead landed."
"Pre-shot fakery."
Verdi opened his mouth, "Judge, I know you are feeling emotional at the moment. I know that when you think calmly about it you will realise that you are talking nonsense and that if you repeat these accusations in public the LGDF will sue for malicious slander and libel."
"I will call the Mayor and Chief Scarlett and have the Animal lover arrested."
Gris said, "I doubt the Mayor or the Chief will be in a mood to listen to you today. They have both lost family members in Argus and they are trying to prevent a repeat of the riots."
Blanche harrumphed and left the room surrounded by his entourage.
Verdi said, "Jaune, just in case he still is out for blood, perhaps you can let me have a signed statement about why your sister was with Marine's team. Tomorrow will be fine."
Jaune and the two members of Team BLOD returned to the LGDF operations centre. Daffy said, "Your Great Uncle was in a foul mood. Surely he can claim on the insurance for the damage?"
"I think it was a matter of principle. He really loved those woods and was prepared to fight to the highest court in the kingdom before he allowed them to be destroyed. He hoped that if he kept things going another three years the White Fang would have been crushed and we could go back to a five-mile exclusion zone."
Jaune said nothing. Orion was probably right on the motivation, but Jaune expected that the insurance claim would be null and void.
The next two hours he spent on the communication channels. This mostly involved co-ordinating the reports of Grimm intrusions and keeping track of where the bullheads were. The fact that it was daylight and the lack of cover allowed the LGDF to take out most of the Grimm at least six miles from the city walls and the occasional larger ones which showed up were taken out by the three hunter teams in the air with Amber volunteering to take on the alphas on the ground if need be.
At around three he felt a touch on his arm and he turned round to see his mother. "Come with me to the Mayor's office for the update from Argus and the arguing about what happens next."
The LGDF was represented by mother and Jesse Earl. They were at the table and he was behind them with his back against the wall together with Beau Earl. The man winked at him. He assume that he too had been brought along for the experience rather than because he was expected to contribute. Chief of Police Scarlett and two of his three most senior commanders were also there. There were four of the most senior bureaucrats and three judges. Judge Blanche was noticeably absent.
Mayor Braun stood up. He had been mayor for seven years and was up for re-election next year. "The Kingdom Guard will be here in an hour's time and there will be a curfew from 6 PM tonight. The internal gates between Animal Town and civilisation will be kept closed for three days save for essential supplies or controlled evacuations. We have shut down all CCT operations apart from this building, police headquarters and the LGDF." Jaune suspected that the man did not really believe that Faunus were uncivilised, but needed to say it for the electorate and the police.
"Most of in this room have lost friends and Chief Scarlett and I have lost relatives today. I have asked the authorities in Argus to share the information they have uncovered so far in investigating the incident. We can discuss the implications for our policy in Kulsa afterwards."
The lights dimmed and a similar room in Argus was projected on the back wall. Colonel Cordovin said, "Mayor Braun, Chief Scarlett, Chief Arc, ladies and gentlemen. As requested, I have asked Specialists Harriet Bree and Elm Ederne to update you on the initial results of the investigation into the terrorist incident this morning."
A rather intimidating medium sized young woman with platinum blonde and brown hair shaved on the sides stood up. "Specialist Bree reporting. The Argus authorities have requested Atlas's assistance and I am overseeing the Atlas side of the investigation. Our initial investigations indicate that this was a long term sting operation based in Argus and supervised from White Fang headquarters in bandit country. While I am reluctant to praise terrorists, it was meticulously planned. There is no link so far with Ansel or Kulsa save that the victims came from there."
Jaune suspected the next bit had been rehearsed as the Mayor asked, "Why are you so certain of that?"
Specialist Ederne said, "The White Fang has released to the media copies of internal files from the multi-Kingdoms and testimony gathered during the investigation of business practices in vacuo before the Rising Sun Mine incident concerning the victims. In addition, the manner of the deaths and mutilations were linked to evidence contained in the internal files."
"You said this was a long-term sting operation?"
"Two years ago, an organisation called Humans Matter started operations. It solicited donations from the multi-Kingdoms and individuals to provide holidays and support for ex-employees of the multi-Kingdoms who lost their jobs in the aftermath of the Rising Sun Mine scandal. One year ago, an organisation called Unexpected Surprises LLC became a sub-contractor for the supply of holidays which mixed gambling, skiing and winter sports generally. They provided these at a competitive cost and at a high standard together with armed security guards. Last night the security guards broke cover."
Chief Scarlett swore. When everyone looked at him he said, "John said they checked out and were beyond suspicion."
The briefing went on, but it became increasingly clear that it had been well planned. The people who had gone on this trip had relied on what they were told by people who had been on previous trips. Indeed, on one trip the security guards had thwarted an attack by bandits.
Mother finally asked a question, "Specialists, have your analysts suggested any reason for why the White Fang targeted citizens of Kulsa?"
Specialist Elm Ederne answered, "We believe that they hoped to provoke a reaction against the Faunus in Kulsa which would result in more recruits and greater level of donations. You know the history of your city better than I do, but I gather that there are some incidents in the past which are sensitive."
Jaune desperately tried to keep a straight face at the understatement which was not helped by his neighbour clearly seeking to resist a fit of the giggles. Kulsa had been the scene of one of the incidents which triggered the Faunus Wars when humans had burnt down the then Faunus quarter of the city and killed hundreds of Faunus.
Specialist Bree said, "We have recommended shutting down the CCT network in the light of various films which have been sent to Vale Network 1 and the Faunus rights groups in Argus from Kulsa. These show assaults against Faunus, at least one of which appears to have been fatal. I am afraid that these include police officers using force without evident justification."
The mayor thanked the Atlesians and after they had signed off said, "I'm not an animal lover, and I lost a brother-in-law today, but I'm dammed if I'm going to let the White Fang sucker us into doing their work for them. For the next three days at least, the Kingdom Guard will be in charge of security on the streets."
He turned to Chief Scarlett. "I want all Faunus prisoners transferred to Animal Town tonight. If anyone has fallen down the stairs in custody then transfer them to Barnard Hospital until they have recovered from their wounds. Chief Arc, I authorise you to arrange for the LGDF to provide security at the hospital and to provide support for the transfer of prisoners until the Kingdom guard arrives. Security involves keeping journalists and family with scrolls out as well as the nutters."
He turned to Chief Scarlett, "I trust you chief, but we have to be seen to be doing the right thing. The unfortunate truth is that the LGDF are trusted more by the Faunus and the mainstream media than you are. It's unfair, but we have to play their game today. We can't allow them to make the story about us rather than the White Fang murdering scum. I've already had calls from two of our largest employers saying that their head offices are threatening to move operations to Ansel City if there are any more mob attacks outside their local offices."
Chief Scarlett looked as though he wanted to argue, but then said, "Understood, sir."
As people left the room the mayor called to mother to wait behind and indicated that Jaune and Beau could stay as well. "Claire, I'm glad that Amber was here this afternoon, but get her out of town ASAP and keep the film of her massacring Grimm under wraps. I am forcing people to swallow too much crap today without having to make them accept that your daughter is a heroine. There is only so much cognitive dissonance people can take before shutting their eyes to the truth altogether."
Mother nodded, "Understood. Unless the situation escalates this evening, that won't be a problem."
"Obviously bring her back if the walls are threatened. It looks like you have it under control for now and the main problem is dampening down emotions within the walls."
Mayor Braun turned to Beau, "Could your team avoid saying how dope Amber Arc is in public while you are in Kulsa. I heard how Orion and Daffy could not hide their admiration, but that was in a private meeting. I know she deserves respect. Unfortunately for many here she is a Faunus Justice Warrior. Don't go beyond saying she is brave but wrong minded and avoid that if you can. If you say any more than that people will start thinking that you are just like her. Ansel and Kulsa needs hunters who they can identify with."
A pause, "Thanks for saving that Faunus's life. The bastards who were attacking him were doing it in sight of the local SDC office's surveillance cameras. I won't embarrass you by talking about it to Chief Scarlett."
He then turned again to mother, "Talk to Deputy Reynard and the Faunus leaders in the Faunus Quarter and let them know that I will be pushing the story that our Faunus are not responsible for what happened today. If there is anything I can realistically do to help them keep things cool there, let me know/"
After they left the meeting Mother said to an embarrassed Beau, "He's right that people are too angry to think entirely rationally today."
Mother took Jaune to her office and called Reynard. The Fox Faunus was sombre and said that so far the anger was being contained. There were around two hundred missing Faunus reported to the authorities and he asked her to seek the mayor's help in letting him know the names of those in prison or in hospital. He said bringing in the kingdom guard would help.
After this call mother sent him off to the base to fly back to Red Rock with Amber and Marine's team. "Think about what happened today and the choices I made. You can talk to Amber about what happened, including the meeting with the mayor. Tell her that I want her to discuss with you the implications as part of your education. Remember that the LGDF is not an arm of law enforcement. Our objective is to protect people from Grimm and that includes keeping stresses at a manageable level and avoiding being seen as political players. We can talk tomorrow about your analysis. By the way, do you think I should offer the Bloody nuisances a placement next holiday?"
As he was driven back to the air base and the bullhead back to Red Rock, Jaune wondered about what life would be like in the LGDF long term. He could see that mother was effective, but it involved a lot of compromise. He also was frustrated yet again about being unable to be a hunter.
Part of the reason for writing this story is to explore the tensions in a society between supressing negative emotions and dissent for fear of the consequences and the risk of not changing things for what people perceive as the better. Next chapter will be more about family and the start of Jaune's journey to Beacon.
