Edit 7/11/2022

Hey everyone, Sorry for the delay I few things came up

Nothing to report

Enjoy chapter 8

As always Comments questions and concerns in the comments

-Tom

Neverending War Chapter 8

As the sun rises in the Headmistress's office, she stands staring out the tower that is her office and home. The cup of a hot drink sitting in her hand steams, she sighs as she hears steps behind her. "Alright, Azul what is our situation?"

"I spent all night going over the data from the combat squadrons those kids faced a massive force of Grimm if our counts are correct at least a third of the size of the main force we engaged. Those kids put aside their differences to hold off that horde and complete all mission objectives with no losses. If it weren't for a technically rogue rescue including the cadet pilots and mechanized team and an entire Frigate, they would have all died." The man's lackadaisical persona is nowhere to be found, "I have no idea where that many Grimm came from much less with some kind of organization it is like back during the war."

The woman turns around, "the attack was worrying strong and overwhelming with that military organization and of course the jammers haven't seen those since the war." She looks at Azul, "You are telling me that I messed up hell fucked up with leaving those first years there I should have diverted forces away."

"Crimson, looking at it after the fact you should have sent forces to help them but at the time you could not have known anyway you gave me permission to let them go in a kind of secret way." Azul passes a pastry to his boss, "Classes start in a week and all of those first-year huntsmen will be turning in their reports as well as the cadets. The situation turned out about as well as we could have hoped for."

The headmistress takes the pastry and stares at the man in front of her, "has intelligence mentioned anything about where they think that attack came from?"

"The Vale army says that the attack was a normal Grimm assault with no higher command structure, and I quote 'the only known commander of Grimm has been dead for twenty years and there is no evidence that Salem can or has come back."

The Headmistress sighs, "and this is why we still need the huntsmen, the army is too prepared to go to war with other kingdoms to put more than a passing thought at the idea of the woman who almost wiped-out civilization could be back. See if you can find someone, we can trust who will look into it for us." She rubs her forehead with annoyance. "Sometimes I think Ozpin was right to have a secret inner circle with their own intelligence sources."

"That may be true, I mean we could easily create an inner circle. We have you, me, and that is everyone we could really trust right now, the rest retired, I do believe that Violet described your idea to bring the academies back as insane and suicidal." Azul smiles, "Keeping secrets would only get you shot and me hung. I will have someone look into the Attacks." Azul looks at his leader and walks out. "You have someone to meet you."

"Perfect. Send her in."

The young woman steps in, as the headmistress looks at her, "Miss Keller Pointer congratulations on surviving your first mission."

"Thank you, ma'am," The woman shifts, "what was it you needed me for?"

"Glad you asked, you have made an enemy of a good portion of your peers. What do you have to say about that?"

"I will not apologize," The scowl on her face stiffens.

"Alright then, you have a group of likeminded people with you, they seem to be willing to back you up currently." The Headmistress sits down, "I am not going to tell you to change your stance on the Faunus and Artificials. I will tell you that it gets you nowhere to hate everyone of a single group."

"What do you know about this mess ma'am? Only a few close allies and I face no assistance from those who think I am just a racist and a hatful person."

"They fought for you made sure you survived, they seemed to allow you into the fortress and you, and your forces are alive." The Headmistress sighs, "Look I used to hate the Faunus back in the war, when one was assigned to my team, I didn't trust him for weeks I knew he was going to kill my friends and rape me. I Stayed up many nights watching him terrified. We fought the Grimm and I fought him. He accepted my hatred, and I gave it willingly. When we were in battle in a small town called Juxt coving another retreat I watched him die my rifle out of ammunition and no one near him he was torn to shreds by Grimm. Turns out we all scream the same Miss Pointer."

"That changed your mind about the animals."

"Oh no, the rest of the war did." The thousand-yard stare in her eyes, "It was a long war." She shakes her head, "I recommend rethinking why you feel the way you do; you are a Huntress now follow orders and don't let your personal feeling get in the way of the job. Dismissed."

The Young Huntress Walks out of the meeting with a frown on her face.

The blaring alarm wakes everyone up with a jolt, "I guess it is time to wake up," A groggy Rita moans, "Get up everyone." She sits up her wings flapping uncomfortably. Alec is standing next to her bed with a cup she rolls back, "Gah, what the hell Alec."

"Sorry they are still out cold Thought you could use a drink," He offers the cup, "Go take a shower before the fight for them comes up."

"Great, the guy that just scared me by standing over my bed is saying I smell," Rita takes the cup stretching, "I am going to go and take care of that, wake up Danny next I assume her feathers are a pain to clean properly, Who on your team is the one that take the longest?"

Alec smirks, "You don't smell but you do need a shower there is blood and dirt all over you, and Raven takes the longest. Wake her up when you are done. I will wake up Danny."

"Don't surprise her I think she put a pistol under her pillow." Rita steps into one of the bathrooms, "Thank you."

"Welcome." He turns to the Bird Faunus sleeping in the bed a few feet away one hand under her pillow, a sigh escapes his lips as he grabs another cup and fills it with coffee. He flairs his aura and steps towards the sleeping woman, "Danny, you need to wake up." She shifts the pistol in her hand moving with her dominant hand. "Danny, if you shoot me, I will take it personally," he reaches over and shakes her shoulder, "Wake up."

Eyes shoot open quickly, "What is wrong?" She looks around.

"Nothing, Rita said that you should be next to take a shower," Alec offers the drink to the bird woman in front of him, "You alright, it is not normal to wake up and ask what is wrong."

"We aren't normal Alec," She stands letting her wings rest, "Thank you for the wakeup call and the drink."

"My pleasure," Alec steps aside, "Go get in the shower before one of the others wake up."

Alec watches as the woman walks away and slips into the second bathroom, "Alright Mimi Get up, I know you can hear me get up and wake up Raven."

The shuffling of the bed where the Tiger Faunus is laying, "How did you know?"

"You wake up the same time I do every day," Alec pulls her out of bed, "Wake up Raven tell her she is next for the shower. Then you, followed by Paul, then Tina, Beethoven finally me." He pours a few more cups of Coffee as he hears the rousing of his more fashionable close friend. "Alright Raven, I put you together some coffee for you." He turns around to face the woman in her night gown, her face angry, "Alright Raven I know this is how it has been for years, drink your coffee then get ready for your shower."

The woman follows her directions and downs the Coffee, "We had a long day yesterday Alec a few extra hours would not hurt." Her hand runs through her greasy hair, "Alright I will get my stuff together." She turns around, "I think today is a black jewel day what do you think Alec?"

"I think you always looked better with a blue crystal around your neck." Alec rolls his eyes, "But you love that black choker so I guess I will keep my mouth shut."

"You always hated that black choker Alec," Raven says with an unseen smirk, "if I didn't know I would say you just liked that the blue one sat lower on my chest." She looks over her shoulder, "of course we know better."

"Raven, Leave Alec alone," Mimi says stepping up to Raven, "you are tired, stop being a bitch and finish your coffee, and do not whatever you do continue on your train of thought." Mimi smiles kindly, "I of course think you look better in your amber necklace, easier for someone to leave marks."

Raven turns away from Mimi with a smirk, "Is that why you don't wear a necklace, don't want to get in the way of marks."

"Every morning with you two is like this," Beethoven says stretching awake, "if I didn't know the two of you as well as I do, I would say I need to lock you into a room to get out all of this personal tension." He stands up, "How about you two share a shower and help deal with all of that sexual tension." Beethoven grabs one of the mugs of coffee, "Raven put on the Black Choker Mimi go back and bother Alec."

Rita coughs from the bathroom door, "Do I need to make room for the two of you in this shower it is kinda small, but Raven is thin, and Mimi is pretty lean for being a tiger." Rita steps out as she signals for Raven to take the shower, while walking over to Tina. "Honey it is time to get up. Alec made some Coffee."

Raven quietly slips into the shower. Five minute later Danny walks out her wings open still dripping from the shower, "Shower's yours Mimi. I will wake up Paul."

"I am already up; I am pretty sure no one could have slept through those two." Paul stands up, who is next for showers?"

"That would be you then Tina, Beethoven then me," Alec replies.

Danny wraps her arms around Paul, "Couldn't you have pretended to be asleep."

"Paul you are up," Mimi says as she gets out of the shower. She draws attention of most of the people that have not known her for long, "What I clean easily, short hair simple style. Clothes that cover enough of me, plus I had to compete with Raven for shower time you learn to be fast." She explains as Paul strolls to the shower.

Tina sits up and stretches, "Maybe I should cut my hair too, it is a bit long."

Rita Laughs a little while looking at Tina's hair which is not exceptionally long, "honey your hair is not that long, and the cut you have works well for you. Makes you look good, though we need to find you some nice-looking clothes for when we are not fighting, unless you are hiding some nice clothes in that duffle bag."

Tina reaches into her bag and pulls out a version of her combat suit, "I have been told I look very nice in my combat gear Commander."

Rita raises her hand, "Oh no, no, no, I am not going to have you calling me commander we are stuck together for fifteen years you can't call Alec Commander and you cannot call me Commander; I am Rita."

Tina Smiles mischievously as Raven walks out of the Shower, "Got it boss." She slips into the shower.

"I guess I can live with that if I have to," Rita says with a sigh pulling on her jacket, "What is on the docket for today?"

Alec finishes stacking his clothes for the day on a chair, "unpacking, Full after-action report, then an inventory of what we have and need."

Mimi sighs heavily, "But why do we have to do the reports now we have a week?" She slumps on Alec's shoulder. She wraps her arms around him.

"Because we will have fresh memories and we can make sure that as many of the First years and Cadets have the same information as we do. And you already knew the answer, Mimi. Start unpacking I hear both showers shutting down." A minute later both Paul and Tina step out dressed and ready. "Like I was saying start unpacking." Alec and Beethoven enter the two now free bathrooms.

Paul pulls out a few books from his bag and starts placing them on the single bookshelf, while the others start pulling their items out and stashing them in wardrobes and storage areas. A small supply of music disks and reference books begins to fill the shelves. Mimi grabs the few books from Alec's bag and Raven the books from Beethoven's. By the time the last pair of men finish their showers the room looks a little bit lived in but not like a long-term home, it is still cold it is still just quarters.

Alec stares at the room with a smile, his eyes catch Mimi. "What is it, Mi?"

"The room is boring, there is no warmth," The tiger girl says.

Rita sighs, "She isn't wrong it feels a bit cold."

Tina says nothing as she rolls out blueprints for both the armored vehicle in the garage and the Bull head waiting for them, "Are you all alright with me putting these up over here on the wall?"

Beethoven laughs, "Let's put them up over here should be useful." He takes the large blueprints and helps Tina put them up. "Raven just pull out the posters in the bottom of your bag and put them up."

Paul smiles as he stares at a small picture on the table at his bed side, "the place will warm up to us don't worry." He grabs his scroll and plugs it in to a workstation, "Let's get started on these after-action reports, three pages then we are done."

The others follow the medics lead Alec and Rita writing and proofreading their team reports. Three hours of silence follows as the young adults relive their memories from the day before. The room echoes the typing and clicking, the hours pass and finally they all finish is reports and pass them around reading each other's reports making notes another hour passes in silence editing is done and finished. The reports are as close to perfect as they think they can get.

Alec sighs finally and stares at the typed-out report on the scroll screen, "Alright Rita and I will message the other teams and cadets to see if we can cross reference." He looks at the time, "lunch is in an hour, let's get a shopping list together for items we need, ammunition, weapons, food, snacks, vehicle equipment, survival equipment and so forth before then after that we call it a day. Tomorrow is a shopping trip."