General James Ironwood kept his fingers pressed firmly against his forehead and his eyes closed. His elbows were planted upon the surface of the desk before him, and he could feel his nightly migraine coming on early. The exhausted headmaster squeezed his eyes shut just a bit tighter, wrinkling his nose as he tried to chase away the sensation to no avail. No amount of massaging his temples would change the situation, and no amount of dialogue would walk back the decisions that had been made for him. A part of him was furious, and a part of him was incredibly grateful that someone else had taken the initiative and set things in motion with the White Fang. Despite knowing fully well that the situation wasn't quite a disaster, he also knew that he couldn't afford to say such a thing out loud.
"I thought I made it abundantly clear," General Ironwood began in a worryingly calm voice, "that you were to run any and all plans involving the Relics or Salem and her underlings by me before making a move."
"…to be fair, you told Sun to run that sort of thing by you," Ilia pointed out. "I was never directly told, and I've been the skeptic of the group since day one. Over time, I've started to fall in line a bit more and understand where you're coming from with the things you do, but… if you're going to come down on someone, then target me, not him. I made the call."
"That may be the most transparent attempt to pass the blame I've ever seen," Clover mused from his place leaning against the wall near the entrance of the office. "If nothing else, you came straight to us and revealed your hand. That's already better than several other foreign powers we've worked with in the past."
"It is," General Ironwood agreed as he opened his eyes and looked Sun over with a stern expression. "And at this point, I'll take what I can get. I'm not happy about this, but I also understand why you made the call."
Sun's tail, which seemed to have been possessed throughout his hurried and shaky explanation of the events that led up to calling Cinnamon, came to an abrupt stop behind him. The tip of the appendage twitched once nervously, and then the entire limb fell limp as he stood up a bit straighter.
"You, uh… you do?"
"I do," the headmaster confirmed as he brought his hands together and rested them atop the desk. "This isn't the first time someone under my command has gone against a direct order of mine, nor will it be the last. I'm not that naïve."
Harriet smirked as she looked over her nails, seemingly unbothered by the turn of events.
"…if General Ironwood was going to fly off the handle every time one of us made a judgment call that went against the original plan while out on assignment, Marrow and I would've been shot ten times over by now."
The dog-tailed faunus laughed nervously, his expression one of embarrassment.
"Harriet's not wrong. Sometimes, you've just gotta… jump on an opportunity before it's gone. The longer we wait when it comes to the White Fang situation, the more of a foothold they gain in Mantle and the harder it's going to be to extract Cinnamon. Maybe going rogue was a blessing in disguise?"
"Don't go that far," General Ironwood warned. "We still need to carefully consider how we're going to play this. I assume you came and told me what you're planning because you want some of the Aces to tail you, in the event that things go south?"
Sun pulled a face and cracked his neck in a fit of nervous energy.
"Actually… we came and told you so you wouldn't do that, in the event that you found out on your own. This will go smoother if you trust us to handle it."
"I know her, and I know the Fang," Ilia asserted. "If she even suspects that the meeting isn't legitimate, things will 'go south' so quickly that there will be no salvaging the situation. We need you to trust us with this. You know, after we just broke your trust, and all."
"You joke, but I see your point," Elm considered as she gave the smaller woman a nod. "While we were out taking care of grimm earlier today, I saw a lot of good in you. I also saw that you try to hide it, because you're uncomfortable in your own skin. Still toeing the line between hero and terrorist. Your actions say 'hero', but your heart isn't quite there, yet. You know how to get things done, and this is one of those things you just have to do your way, isn't it? A way that the Aces wouldn't necessarily approve of."
"…and a way Sun might not approve of, either, when all is said and done," Ilia warned. She ignored the worried look that her friend shot her, and instead turned her attention to General Ironwood. "We used to have a saying, back in the Fang. 'It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.' That's how things get done. If we had waited for you to start measuring out the rolls of red tape, who knows what might have happened in that time period? Let us do this. Please. We'll keep you in the loop."
Sun watched General Ironwood's facial expression shift from one of calm to a scowl, and his hands shift from laying atop each other to clenched fists at Ilia's words.
"…I'm sorry," Sun said as he approached General Ironwood's desk and held his arms out to his sides. "I'm the one that set this in motion, and Ilia tried to cover for me because she's just… like that. You've done a lot for us already- given us a place to stay, new gear, training, and your trust- and you're totally within your rights to strip all of that from us. All I ask is that if it has to be that way, then leave Jaune, Yang, Corsac, and Weiss out of it. They had nothing to do with it."
"I believe I've already made it clear that we're moving forward with your idea," General Ironwood replied as he stood up from his chair. "And while this could go several ways, there is one thing you've said tonight that I can guarantee is incorrect and off the table. I will not be stripping anyone of anything, regardless of how this turns out."
"You… won't?" Sun asked hopefully.
"I won't," General Ironwood confirmed.
The man reached into the jacket of his suit and withdrew his scroll. With a few simples taps upon the screen of the device, a compartment on the surface of his desk opened. As Sun and Ilia watched, a familiar shape outlined in golden filigree began to rise up from within the desk.
"The fact of the matter is… as annoyed as I am with the two of you, and as much as I would like to throw my rank around to ensure that everything goes my way… you and your friends brought the Relic of Knowledge to me. Why is that?"
Sun paused for a moment, trying to discern if there was any ulterior motive behind the question.
"Because… it was the right thing to do?" the faunus replied, the statement coming out as more of a question. He took a moment to rethink his answer, and then met General Ironwood's eyes with confidence. "Because it's safest here. There's no way we could've handled protecting the lamp like you can up here in Atlas."
"That is what I was hoping you would say," General Ironwood acknowledged before turning his attention to Ilia. "And you, who is still uncertain of me, went along with this plan because…?"
"Sun's right," Ilia said simply as she folded her arms over her chest and shrugged her shoulders. "There's no way we could've defended the lamp from Salem and her cronies indefinitely. Even if I'm not Atlas' biggest fan, this is the best place for that thing. There's a clearly defined line between pride and stupidity, and keeping the lamp ourselves would vault over it, especially considering Salem knows that we had the lamp. Sowing misdirection by luring her toward Sanus and bringing the real one here bought us time and allowed us to make sure it's secure."
The headmaster's grimace shifted as the corner of his mouth upturned into an expression of satisfaction.
"Precisely. Disregarding what you've just told me… I owed you a debt, as does all of Remnant, for bringing the Relic here. By letting your current actions going against my orders slide… I am going to say that our debt is now settled. Fair?"
"Fair," Sun answered immediately. "We're even… and nothing like this will happen again. We'll call you if something else comes up. Promise."
"You'd better," General Ironwood threatened, his tone authoritative. "Otherwise, there will be consequences." The man's voice lightened up once again as he walked around the desk, moving to meet Sun. "Now, taking into consideration what you just told me about your decision to bring the lamp to Atlas… I'm going this road because I know I can trust you. When the situation is beyond your depth and the stakes are too high to gamble, the two of you are intelligent enough to seek help. You're telling me you can handle Cinnamon, and your judgment thus far has been sound. So… handle her."
"We will," Ilia said confidently. "And if negotiations fail… she'll get what she has coming to her. If we're talking about debts, she already owes us, big time. If we extract her? Even more so. I'll personally make sure she pays up, one way or another."
"See that you do," General Ironwood instructed as he brought his hands back behind himself while idly turning the remote over in his fingers. "While you're at it, I have additional orders for you. See that y-"
The sound of the office doors sliding open interrupted the man's instructions and clanking metallic boots echoing hurriedly across the floor drowned out what few additional words he managed. Clover backed away from the doorway just as Hope and Pax jogged through, moving with purpose. The pair stopped just behind Sun and Ilia, and the two faunus stepped aside to give the androids a clear view of General Ironwood.
"General," Hope said in monotone voice, "Pax and I have just received a distress signal from Vacuo."
"Vacuo?" General Ironwood repeated, eyes wide. "How… that's impossible…"
"Relaying message," Pax said in a perfect echo of Hope's voice as the occupants of the office began to move in closer to her.
Pax's eyes lit up into a furious red as a holographic image was projected into thin air several feet before her. The crimson image of an unfamiliar man wearing a visor that covered the upper half of his head crackled to life. He spoke in a raspy voice, and there was a noticeable urgency to his words despite his apparent calm.
"This is headmaster Ochre Gumo of Shade Academy, contacting headmaster James Ironwood of Atlas. Encryption key 20WBTBWB07. A large number of grimm have been spotted moving to surround Shade Academy. Salem herself was seen leading the charge with a leviathan class flying grimm. Requesting immediate backup in the interest of protecting the sword. We'll hold them off as long as we can, but we will be unable to drive off a force of this size. This message repeats. This is headmaster Ochre Gumo, of Sh-"
"The sword?" Marrow asked, looking panicked. "She can't… General, if this is legitimate, we c-"
"It isn't," General Ironwood said immediately as he spoke over the holographic image. "Vacuo has no capacity to project such a signal, and we have no ability to receive it. Amity is only 75% complete and hasn't yet been launched. The only distress calls we would hear are from Argus. Anything beyond that…"
"The encryption key is valid," Hope said impartially. "The source of the signal is also confirmed as Shade Academy."
"General…" Clover began as he took a step closer.
"No," the man replied firmly. "Shut off that transmission. Now."
Pax's eyes flickered and dimmed, the apparent virtual headmaster fizzling away from view.
"…how can we be sure?" Ilia asked, her face pale. "Wouldn't that signal have come through your office and radio equipment, if it was being sent in a conventional manner? Are these two the only ones receiving it?"
"Confirmed," Pax replied. "All combat units PN02 through PN04 received the signal. Doctor Polendina has analyzed its legitimacy and scoured all other receivers in Atlas. We are the only ones receiving the transmission."
General Ironwood took a deep breath and turned back toward his desk, away from the others that had gathered in the room.
"…you forget that we are dealing with Arthur Watts," the man said slowly. "Something like this isn't beyond his capabilities. He wants us to divert a section of our forces away from Solitas to make it easier for Salem to get at the Staff of Creation. Doctor Polendina of all people should be suspicious that we're being played."
"But what if you're wrong?" Sun protested as he moved toward General Ironwood. "What if Shade Academy and Professor Gumo did manage to get global communications up before us? If you're wrong about this… then we're potentially abandoning an entire continent, and what sounds to me like another Relic. There's no way to be certain it's Watts."
General Ironwood took a deep, sobering breath, his eyes fixated upon the golden lamp sitting atop the desk.
"…there is a way…"
Author's Note:
Everything is lies.
-RD