"Good evening. What can I do for you?" General Ironwood asked, his voice calm and welcoming.
For a moment, no one dared to say anything in response as the metallic door slid back together. Ilia looked back and forth between the other occupants of the room, while Weiss and Winter actively avoided each other's eyes. Winter herself looked like the office was the last place on Remnant she wanted to be, though she kept her shoulders square and her expression as neutral as she could. Clover seemed entirely unbothered by the situation, and had his arms folded across his chest as he stared across the room at Ilia.
"…thank you… for taking the time to meet with us, General," Weiss began. "We know you're incredibly busy, and we've been trying to mostly manage ourselves… but we have some questions about multiple things going on in Atlas, and our current… standing."
"Then by all means- ask away," the general encouraged with a wave of his hand before clasping them once again atop the surface of the desk. "I want you to feel as comfortable as possible while we're working together."
"Then why are those two here?" Ilia asked, suddenly finding her resolve once again. "We asked to meet with you. We have questions about personal matters that we don't want to shout out to the entirety of Atlas."
Winter and Clover exchanged sidelong glances, before Winter let out a sigh and shook her head softly.
"…Miss Amitola, with all due respect… the situation we find ourselves in now is one in which we cannot afford secrecy among proven allies. As General Ironwood's second in command, I should be made aware of your concerns. Given Clover's position as the leader of the Ace Ops, with whom you will be working quite often, he should be privy to any such information as well."
"…no secrets?" Ilia repeated. "Then why is Hope being ordered to follow us? Why is our every move being tracked throughout the Academy?"
"No secrets among proven allies," Clover emphasized, earning a venomous glare from Ilia.
Weiss stiffened and mirrored the man's pose, her expression growing cold.
"…we brought you the lamp, and we've volunteered ourselves to participate in a shadow war for your benefit," the ex-heiress reminded. "How have we not proven ourselves to be committed to the cause?"
"I don't know you," General Ironwood explained. "It's really as simple as that- yes, you've already been incredibly helpful, and I am grateful for your assistance. However, as I'm sure you know, Miss Schnee, nearly every system and structure in Atlas and Mantle is balanced on a knife's edge. A single push unprepared for could send everything into chaos, especially right now. As to why I ordered Hope to follow you… I didn't."
"You expect us to believe that?" Ilia asked. "Weiss was tailed down into Mantle, and I've been getting yelled at by your security systems for not having my scroll on."
"Those are two entirely separate issues," General Ironwood began as he furrowed his brows. "And yes- I do expect you to believe that. I'm placing a great deal of trust in all of you, but that trust isn't unshakeable or definite, given what else I'm dealing with in this city. Hope is autonomous. She has her assignments like any other soldier, but her primary role is to serve as the protector of Mantle. Given that she saw an unscheduled transport running from here to the lower city, she followed to investigate and ensure that nothing untoward was going on."
"So, she took it upon herself to follow our aircraft," Weiss clarified. "Without using our scroll signals."
Clover rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.
"…listen, in case you haven't figured it out," the man began as he pointed a finger across the desk toward Winter, "good cop." He redirected his finger to the center of his chest. "Bad cop. You all already think I'm an asshole, so I volunteered to take the role. It doesn't matter if she saw your ship or tracked your scrolls- your scrolls are being tracked, and we expected you to understand that without being told directly. What does matter is that Hope made that call on her own, and it was clearly the right one, given that you and Sun met with Robyn Hill."
Weiss made a small noise of irritation as she rubbed at her arm, looking ashamed.
"…we have a right to speak to whoever we want," Ilia defended.
"Yes, you do," Winter reassured. "However, given the tumultuous situation that is Mantle in the middle of an election cycle, so too do we have the right to know with whom you associate. Robyn Hill is… wrapped up in an agenda that may well collide with our own in time, and we can't afford to let that happen."
"Winter…" Weiss began.
"…Lieutenant Schnee," Winter corrected, her tone joyless as she gave her sister an apologetic look.
Ilia clenched her teeth as she watched Weiss' face twist into one of disappointment and hurt.
"…oh. So that's how it's gonna be."
"It is," General Ironwood confirmed. "Right now, we're not speaking 'as friends', Miss Amitola- this is business. The fact of the matter is that Hope identified a potential threat and acted upon it appropriately. After cross-checking Sun and Weiss' trajectories with the last known location of Robyn Hill, she made her rounds, and eventually saw all three parties leaving the same restaurant, before coming to inform me of the situation. I know you met with her. I also have a pretty decent idea as to why you met with her."
Weiss tried to catch Winter's eye, to absolutely no success. The woman merely continued to look at the floor, her hands clasped behind her back.
"It was my idea," Weiss explained as she met General Ironwood's expectant gaze. "Don't punish the rest of the group for my actions. Please."
"Punish?" Clover questioned. "Nothing about this has been hostile… yet. Right now, we're having an open dialogue. Just because you don't like what you're hearing doesn't mean that it's inherently unfair. The fact of the matter is that Robyn Hill is not your problem, and she shouldn't be your focus, either. She may be an 'ally' right now, and no one here is asking you to stop talking to her… but if it gets to the point where her agenda supersedes ours, then we're going to have a problem. You're not going to be running jobs for her or giving her information about what we're doing. Understood?"
"…have you accepted any such things from her?" General Ironwood asked.
All eyes turned to Weiss as the girl swallowed hard.
"…no… but we said that we'd be willing to…"
Winter pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, her brows wrinkling in frustration.
"…that was a mistake. You cannot be making calls like that without running it by us first…"
"So long as it's during our off time, what does it even matter?" Ilia questioned, her anger rising. "She wants to help Mantle, and so do we. If we end up killing some grimm while wearing her colors, isn't that going to help the public's perception of you three?"
"It matters because we need to know what she knows," Clover explained. "Everything she knows, and especially what you let slip. The five of you aren't even licensed, yet, and Robyn is going to figure that out. Emotionally manipulating you into giving out information that she doesn't need to know would be simple for someone like her. Robyn may have the best of intentions for Mantle, but you don't get into politics without being a snake."
"We're not children," Ilia hissed. "And we're not stupid."
"And no one is saying that you are," General Ironwood offered softly. "However, Clover is right. What did you find out about Robyn, from your meeting?"
"Just… information about the state of Mantle," Weiss confessed. "I asked about the dust shortage that my father is using as a smokescreen, and I asked if she knew anything about gravity dust, specifically. She had no idea what I was talking about. I don't think she knows anything about Amity."
"…of course she doesn't know, but you just gave her a hint," Clover grumbled. "This kind of thing is exactly why you're all on a short leash, right now."
"Then at least tell us how long that leash is instead of tracking us everywhere!" Ilia demanded.
"…do you really think it's just you?" Winter asked, finally eyeing up the girl. "Do you think your scrolls are an exception, and that you're getting an unfair amount of focus? Even with my level of clearance, my every move around the Academy is documented and cross-referenced. You're not receiving any kind of negative special treatment- you're seeing what's it's like to be 'on the inside', and that privilege comes with a price. A high price. If you're unwilling to pay, then those privileges can easily be revoked."
"…what if we compromise?" Weiss asked as she put a hand upon Ilia's shoulder. "What if we… brought an Ace with us, whenever we speak to Robyn? Give ourselves a direct line of communication, and use our good will with her to get more information on what she knows, and where she stands?"
Clover stole a quick glance toward General Ironwood, who gave the younger man a quick nod.
"…alright. Now, it seems like you're starting to get it. Lines of communication need to be kept open. After all, this is about trust."
Winter shifted uncomfortably and finally met Weiss' eyes once again.
"…and you know what needs to happen in regards to Robyn and the election. We can't be benefitting politically from her work around Mantle, nor can you be seen 'wearing her colors' to make that happen. Jacques needs to win, as much as we don't want him to."
Ilia paled, the scales on her cheeks turning ghost white as she looked at Weiss.
"…what?"
"I…" Weiss began, only to shake her head as she looked away. "I'll explain it to you later. I don't like it either, but it's true…"
"…we are not unaware of the unpleasantness of the situation, Miss Amitola," General Ironwood consoled. "But it's the hand that we've been dealt. I have neither the time, nor the interest to explain, but I'm sure Miss Schnee can take care of that."
"…yes," Weiss agreed. "I started this problem. I'll fix it…"
"Good," the general praised as he withdrew a small data drive from with his coat pocket and held it out across the desk. "And in the meantime… I want to offer an olive branch, to reassure you that I'm not an unreasonable man. You came here to discuss the notion of trust. You're asking me to trust you and loosen restrictions that I can't abide. However, I can give you a test, of sorts... and we can renegotiate from there. Make sure that you take it seriously, and do not fail."
Ilia stared hatefully at the small device, while Weiss sighed and walked forward before plucking it from the man's hand.
"Is this…?"
"…the footage from Beacon," General Ironwood answered. "Sun told me that he wanted it specifically to review for training and sentimental purposes. I went back and forth for several days trying to decide whether or not to remove any and all video of Penny from the records… but I decided against it. Everything is in there, Miss Schnee, and I expect you to handle it with great care. I don't think I need to explain to you what not to do with it."
Weiss stared at the small device held between her thumb and forefinger as though it could enable some sort of superweapon. Slowly, she breathed a sigh and placed the device into her pocket, before giving General Ironwood a nod.
"…of course. Thank you, General. "We'll be careful."
"See that you do. Is there anything else?" the man asked, resting his chin atop his hands once again.
Ilia gave the man a cold stare before turning and exiting the room in silence. Weiss turned to watch her go, before shaking her head and moving to follow.
"…I'm sorry. I'll… fix things."
"See that you do," General Ironwood instructed as Weiss exited the office.
Clover waited until the metallic door slid closed once again before turning to General Ironwood and breathing a sigh.
"…really not a fan of having to hold their feet to the fire. They're just kids."
"I know," General Ironwood agreed as he rubbed at his temples. "I'm not a fan of any of this. And Winter…"
"…it's fine," Winter interrupted. "It's the job. I understand. I'm no stranger to disappointing family, when need be."
Clover crossed to the other side of the desk and took Winter's hand, before planting a chaste kiss upon the woman's cheek.
"It'll be worth it. Weiss seems strong, even if the rest of them are… questionable, right now. She'll come around and keep the other four in line."
Winter allowed herself a small smirk and leaned her head gently onto Clover's shoulder.
"…we can only hope. I just… don't want to see this escalating into having Hope retired. I don't think Weiss will do anything stupid with that data, but I don't know about her friends."
"If it gets to that," General Ironwood began, "Dr. Polendina already has her successors constructed, and in the final phases of testing. They're due to be activated soon as it is, but I think it's best to hold off and see what they do with that footage…"
Author's Note:
A few quick hits from reviews-
-Ilia's semblance was shown off briefly in her fight with the Aces and Yang near the beginning of the volume, but it will definitely get more focus moving forward. Neptune's will also be revealed soon… and it sure as hell won't be his canon one. Jesus Christ, RT.
-The Oscar/Ozpin situation is intentionally confusing. There's a reason for that, though I'm defaulting to just calling him 'Oscar' no matter who is speaking.
-As for the chapter being named 'Libra'… there are several reasons. I don't want to answer that one directly just yet, but it should become clear the more Blake and Dai interact.
-RD