Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Soft Snow. Enjoy the 2500-word chapter. I do not own RWBY or Star Wars, Disney, Monty Oum, and Rooster Teeth do.
(Remnant)
Winter did not awaken until 3 hours later. Her room felt drab, without much flavor or color within it, there was something about it all that told her that the empire did not much care for any attempts to be anything LESS than uniform.
Still? it also made her aware of the fact that the empire valued efficiency over being colorful.
Part of her told her that Qrow would whine about it like the overly self-destructive wreck he was.
She grabbed her scroll from the table she had placed it upon, still clad in her pajamas as she tuned to their secure frequency.
"General Ironwood?" Winter questioned as the General answered a few minutes later.
"Yes? We have been monitoring things in the sky and in the air, Winter. These rebels the Lieutenant is after having just as much firepower as that battleship you are on." Ironwood stated.
"The empire is certainly efficient, sir," Winter stated before Ironwood hummed.
"How are things up there? I have not heard from you in a bit, I was beginning to think you had been captured." Winter heard.
"I have not, Lieutenant Mordre has been… Accommodating." Winter stated.
"Well, he's certainly not what I expected from a military force." Winter heard.
"I do not think Lieutenant Mordre is standard military, sir," Winter stated. "He is perhaps either special forces, secret police, or some special counter-terrorism unit within the empire… He acts more like a specialist within the Atlesian Military than a regular soldier." Winter said, sliding her feet onto the ground.
"Yes, it seems he does… We cannot afford to fight a group as large as the empire, Winter. If they have more ships this size? They would turn Atlas into rubble easily and vaporize us down to nothing." Ironwood stated.
"I don't think the Lieutenant means Remnant any harm as of the moment, sir," Winter stated.
"He is only in charge of this operation, Winter. He is a Lieutenant and some officers outrank him. We do not know what is going on and we cannot pretend to act like we do." Ironwood stated.
Winter was silent, tapping a foot on the ground and sighing as she realized that her commander had a point. If they were an empire? Far too many officers were coordinating it for them to properly think they would gain a good deal.
That? And any possible attempt to get a good reaction would end the second an officer found a good excuse to cause problems.
Still? Winter did expect some officers to be reasonable and if they could curry favor with them. It would spare them the hit of the empire.
Winter sighed and began to dress herself, putting her scroll on the table.
"Sir, with all due respect? I do not think the empire CARES about Remnant. Look at this ship, it has enough to reduce a small galaxy to its rule. They possibly have a lot more to worry about than just us." Winter stated, pulling her gloves over her hands.
"Let us focus on what we can handle then. The White Fang recently fled towards Argus. There is a large quantity of dust being shipped there and I cannot tell if they want it." Ironwood responded.
"And the rebels the Lieutenant speaks of?" Winter asked before a blueprint showed up.
"There are several dozen soldiers with gear similar to his in it," Ironwood stated before he sighed to himself. "I assume Lieutenant Mortre was ready to set out to fight them. It will not be easy for him, however…" Ironwood stated.
Winter seemed to be ready to set out into the wilderness. She was too distracted, knowing what would come now and yet? She would fight as all of them would come.
To be fair? Winter was distracted for now. The military problems of what would going on today would consume their time.
The two of them would be dealing with it as they could have been able to. She sighed to herself before closing her scroll as she went to ask Rivefre if he could use the equipment on the bridge.
"Winter?" Rivefre asked. "Are you ok enough to join me on the bridge?" Rivefre stated to which Winter was silent before she sighed to herself.
The ISB agent was silent, knowing that he had a plan to try and think of what was going on. The rest of his mind raced, he seemed to be prepared to try and figure it out as it was all said and done.
Rivefre stayed silent before the door slowly yet surely opened. She looked at him as he directed her towards the bridge, raising an eyebrow.
"I was resting. This ship is very interesting for something that is fielded as a capital ship on the frontlines of combat." Winter stated to which Rivefre shrugged and waved his hands back and forth.
"It is a Star Destroyer. These ships are not meant for comfort, only for power and the projection of force." Rivefre stated to which he crossed his arms.
Winter crossed her arms before she sighed and then looked at her scroll, tapping on it while data scrolled across it.
"General Ironwood just said many of your rebels are moving towards the other side of Argus. Another country and kingdom which the Atlesian military is forbidden to operate on this." Winter stated before she paused to let herself relax.
Rivefre sighed, thinking of his next move for a moment as he checked his gear to make sure he was prepared for the next move so that he could relax next.
Winter checked and then double-checked her gear. She seemed to be dealing with it for now.
The amount of danger that presented them in their next move. He could not let it be dealt with for now as she sighed.
All of it was ending one way or another, it only came down to who and what would come next before it was all said and done.
It meant something to him just what was going on in his mind before it was all said and done.
These sorts of things and done now and for good reason hopefully. He was aware of that and made no effort to change it for now at the end of the day. This sort of thing was chaotic at best.
To be honest? He hoped to not be done with it yet. There was more to learn and do.
"I have tracked all 5 corvettes and the groups they are carrying to a port. It seems their planning to try and recruit the locals into their group… However? I have also noticed several transport shuttles from an unknown group headed toward the coast. I assume these are the rebels you are busy trying to find?" Rivefre stated.
"Do you have a visual?" Winter asked.
"I can show you what I have seen on the bridge. I debated sending a stormtrooper to get you but I believed it rude if I did not tell you myself." Rivefre stated.
"I wish you to know Atlas does not have the room to host an entire fleet and even if we did? We do not wish to have an entire fleet of military warships across Atlas. We already have enough patrolled the skies across the kingdom." Winter stated.
"I know, that is why the crew is busy looking into establishing bases somewhere that does… That? And a permanent garrison requires resources we do not yet own." Rivefre stated.
"I see…" Winter said with a frown visible on her face. "In that case? perhaps we can move on to more pressing issues. You said you have located a White Fang group?" winter questioned.
"I have, yes. There are a lot of soldiers in that location. I do not know what is going on below which is something I intend to grow used to at the end of the day." Rivefre stated before he sighed to himself.
There was a lot more to this, something about the fact he did not know what would be much harder to grasp.
The two passed through the door to the bridge, knowing that it would be impossible to properly figure it out, there were a few little problems that needed to be addressed.
Rivefre crossed his arms before he sighed to himself. He knew very well the Imperial Scoutroopers he had sent out to recon the rebels could very well be dead, the damn rebels would have either killed them or something else. It annoyed him to no damn end and he would make sure they paid…
Just not now, now when they had something else, something that was busy being harder and harder to figure out now.
"I must return to Atlas soon to report to General Ironwood. However? Since it is on the way? I wish to show you the White Fang so you have a good idea of the threat they pose." Winter stated.
"If you insist upon it," Rivefre stated with a frown.
Rivefre could not for the life of him understand what drove this girl. She was from a wealthy family…. Yet she seemed not to have earned her role due to skill and power.
If there were half of those with power in the empire? They would not be so terrible; it would not be so hard to do his job. No, they had to hire people who were corrupt, and inept with so many roadblocks.
He sighed, knowing that he was going to have to fill so much damn paperwork out now when it came down to it now.
All of him was tired, and all of him wished to be dealing with the situation as properly as possible. It was going to be a very interesting problem; he could tell them that.
(With General Ironwood)
General Ironwood sighed as he realized he would have to tell the council what had happened. At times he hated the idea of being forced to deal with others on the task at hand.
He was a soldier. He understood this from now, something which they did not and it made him impossible to figure out sooner or later.
All of it? All the pain and suffering that he endured as a soldier? It was all in the need of trying to understand it for now.
He was a very tired warrior and it bothered him that he had to act alongside soldiers. All of it? All the chaos was something that could be dealt with sooner or later.
"James. You were explaining this deal with the empire? It is not like you to be so willing to extend an olive branch." Ironwood heard.
"Because they have enough firepower to turn us into ash with one warship…. Look at that 'Star Destroyer' as they call it, you think anything we have can put a dent in it? and the fact they have MORE coming?" ironwood questioned.
Both Sleet and Camilla were silent. They had seen the data from the military complex, the Star Destroyer was strong enough to level the entire continent and easily mop up what was left.
That bothered them… Hence? They left their enemies alone and left the strategy to the Atlesian army… Yet? it was going to be a problem that they could be dealing with for now.
To be fair? There was something here, something which needed to be dealt with, some chaos that would become harder and harder to understand.
It was clear that such a thing, such a maneuver was odd for him now. The general was trying to spare them but it was very out of character for him to act like this, at the very least. He was not this cautious.
Ironwood sighed and set his hands on his knees… There was a clear desire to be superior, to act… And to cut it through to the end of it… Such chaos was going to be dealt a savage blow.
(With Winter and Rivefre)
Winter hummed and opened her scroll, pausing to look over the various bits of intel as Rivefre pulled up a datapad.
"Most of what we know is recent… But it seems your White Fang has a base that is dug into that mountain… Perhaps I would be wrong to admit that they did this knowing air support could perhaps reduce them to rubble?" Rivefre stated.
"If anything? I am surprised they have not attacked the city…. Having hostages would make it easier for them to press on." Winter stated.
"What makes you think they don't?" Rivefre asked, raising an eyebrow.
Winter went to say something only to verbally backspace as she realized that he had a very good point. Nothing was stopping them from having an entire group of White Fang storm the city while they mostly waited above.
She was annoyed very much at this, knowing that the Atlas troops in Argus should have reported in and attempted to stop them… Granted, it was an issue of their manpower rather than any failure on the part of their group.
To be entirely honest? There were at least several different ideas as to what went on now… Something about it all came crashing down at the end of this day.
All of it was bothering her and yet? She looked at Rivefre who seemed far more interested in something else, something beyond the chaos which needed to be done now.
He had been too interested in it for now… And he glanced at her with interest with it for now as he clicked it into place.
He seemed to be ready to relax for now as he paused to think. There was something resembling order… A way to relax and unwind. All he had practiced; all he had thrown about was to be rewarded.
He was very quiet for now as he paused, thinking of it in ways he could not allow. He did not know what was to be expected.
This chaos within him did not matter. He had been too tired, too relaxed in his way. There was chaos that he had not been used to, a pain that he had fought through to the end, knowing that would be harder and harder to figure out once again.
To be fair? There was very little he could do… not that he could and would need to figure it all out, knowing what would become of it at the end of the day, knowing when it was all said and done.
He said nothing, wishing to find a way to be honest with how he felt but he did not wish to drag out such a conflict. He knew very well that it would be impossible to end this and very impossible to have fixed it then and there… He could not allow it now, not when it was at the end of the tunnel. That and that alone would not stop them.
No, the only problem with a full-scale assault was how it would end up working, one knew if they sent out such an assault of units. They would end up driving away the Rebels… The White Fang might also leave if they were anything like what he believed they were.
That left other options… Like ground assault, a very costly ground assault against an entrenched enemy position. It was clear that such would be good enough to stop them but it might be harder to figure out.
That alone meant such things were already harder to determine. So much that they felt like numbers on a datapad rather than any military science. Yes, it seemed a few things were already out of their control… A few could and might turn into more.
"If I may?" Winter asked, laying her scroll on the war table.
"No…" They heard before the ISB agent snorted.
"You may," Rivefre stated, casting a glance at the captain in a way a spider would a fly.
"Their position is dug into where ariel support is our best tactic, though, that means trying to not scare them off," Winter said, drawing lines across the board. "I propose a 2-pronged assault which will allow us to pin down their defenses… After that? Combined air support finishes off what is left and allows us to sweep up the rest of the enemy support." Winter stated.
"We are going to take plenty of losses ground side, their dug in… And every second we plot planning is another second for them to send in whatever manner of defenses they need to further push us back." Winter heard.
It was not a lie, the harder they wasted on trying to do things, right? The more they would lose. There were going to be losses either way, all they did was ensure those losses were lesser, and that less died as a result.
Author notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be delayed. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show more of Rivefre and Winter relaxing and such. Until the 900-6500-word chapter, Lighting Wolf out!