Why are you getting this today? Because I am ageing tomorrow, and spending much of the day with my family coming to laugh at the person getting one year older. Tis a cruel, cruel affair, this thing we call life.


Cover Art: Mysterywhiteflame

Chapter 9


To say it was cold was like saying that making sweet, sweet love to a Grimm is a bit of a bad idea. It was freezing. Jaune thought he'd known what a cold winter felt like, but he'd soon realised a Valean winter was closer to Atlas' autumn, and that all the heaters and heavy clothing the academy rolled out were absolutely necessary. Their sleeping pods had become miniature ovens, the likes of which steamed up as they laid back and projected holographic displays of summer beaches and tried very, very hard to pretend Atlas wasn't being slowly covered in a sheet of ice.

And then Winter Schnee informed everyone that it was time for their assessment and had shuttled them all onto Bullheads and taken them out to what Jaune could only assume was the ass end of nowhere.

Really, it was nowhere. Jaune could barely make out mountains in the distance obscured by the blustery snow, but the rest of it might as well have been white as far as the eye could see. Slopes of snow, more snow, even more snow, and a single brown command tent set up by Winter Schnee, within which everyone huddled shoulder to shoulder and tried to get closer to the large heater Miss Schnee had set up in the middle. Outside, Bullheads began to land and offload supplies that Jaune suspected would match those they'd submitted for in a "surprise administration test" they had conducted a week ago, that asked them what they might theoretically need to conduct a three-day mission in hostile, snowy Atlas.

Honestly, if it wasn't for them knowing the truth they'd have never seen this coming. As it was, Team JCKP were decked in the thickest, fluffiest outfits their funds could buy, with extra camping equipment and heavy-duty mittens. They weren't the only ones, as both his and Ciel's team had quite easily found two teams that Ciel called sub-contractors to offset their costs onto. Rain's had been approached by Jaune, and they'd been more than happy to give up prizes to win their bunks back, especially with how cold the standard rooms were.

What had quickly become obvious was that they weren't the only ones with functioning brains. There were a few other – not many; maybe two or three – teams that had clearly found out one way or another as well, and come prepared, but most had not. They were cold, miserable, and Winter Schnee warming her hands near a large stove that had been set up wasn't helping them any.

"Good morning to you all," said Winter. "And what a nice, brisk morning it is. I'm told the temperature outside is a crisp negative-eight, and the weather is…" Miss Schnee made a scene of checking her scroll, even if they could all tell from the howling wind what it was. "Bad. The weather forecast is bad. I would say that you're all no doubt wondering why you've been brought out here, but I expect suspicions are starting to creep in. You're correct. Today is your next assessment, and another chance to earn back – or keep hold of – your luxury accommodations. Given it's another harsh Atlesian winter, I dare say the heated pods are more attractive than ever."

No one was impressed with her making the situation feel even worse, though some did sniff unhappily as the cold air crept into the tent.

"One week ago, you were all tested on the hypothetical scenario of a three-day trek through the snowy plains of Atlas." Winter let that sink in. "That was not hypothetical. You will be conducting that mission right now."

There were cries of shock, anger and complaints from many of the people in attendance. Many, but not all. Their team obviously expected it and kept quiet, but others did as well, and then there were some who perhaps hadn't known, but were confident enough in having correctly filled in the forms to stay silent. About half of them looked ready for this, and the other half miserable and defeated.

"There's no room for complaints here," said Winter. "You've been told to treat every lesson, every exam, every test as if it is life or death. If you didn't take the test one week ago seriously, then that's your fault. As we've been talking, the supplies you requisitioned are being dropped off outside. Each team will be given different coordinates and will head to that location. Once you reach it, you will set up a portable CCT transmitter and patch through to Atlas, where you will be given new coordinates."

No mention of the person who would be waiting for them at the first point. Atlas' tests really were unfair, though it was hard to argue with their effectiveness. You never knew who you'd find in a real life scenario, so they were just preparing them for that. Jaune thought everyone would be a lot more forgiving of the fact if they weren't being set up to lose their rooms.

"You have a time limit of seventy-two hours to complete the mission in full. Failure to reach the final point within that time limit will mean failure, and you will keep – or be demoted – to standard dorms. Getting there on time will see a promotion. I shouldn't have to say this, but you obviously need to arrive there as a full team. Should anyone become sick or be unable to continue, I expect you to activate your emergency transponders immediately, at which point you will be evacuated. This will count as a failure. Any questions?"

A hand was raised. "Is there a chance to win a spa trip like the last time?"

"That confident, are you?" chuckled Winter. "Good. That's what we like to hear. There will be an opportunity to win more, but you won't be discovering what that is until you set up your transmitter. That's all I'll say on that. The prize, however, well, I suppose it won't hurt to tell you that."

Yes, it would. It would blatantly hurt to have them imagining something nice and lovely when they were all on the verge of frostbite. Winter Schnee was a cruel, cruel woman, and there was no way she didn't know what she was doing.

"The prize this assessment will see teams taken to an outdoor hot spring in the mountains of Atlas and given a full evening experience. You will be able to sample the natural hot springs and their rejuvenating properties, then enjoy a massage, followed by an evening of fine food and entertainment, before spending the night in the warm, comfortable rooms. You'll then have another chance the day after to relax in the springs, before being taken back to your luxury rooms." Winter Schnee paused. "Any questions?"

"Why?" asked a girl, croaking unhappily. "Why are you like this? Why are you so cruel?"

Winter Schnee smiled cruelly. "Any pertinent questions?"

/-/

"I'd say you take pleasure in this, Winter."

Winter Schnee glanced up as Clover Ebi stepped into the tent. He was wrapped tightly in thick furs with his hood drawn down. Winter made to stand and salute, but he waved her back down with one hand before she could get up. He'd never been one for standing at attention, though he always did so with General Ironwood.

Despite his lackadaisical attitude, Captain Clover Ebi was a Specialist and a ranking officer, and he was above her both in the chain of command, and in experience. Winter held nothing but respect for him. "There is a certain humour in seeing their spirits dwindle, sir. I won't lie."

"The joys of teaching." He chuckled and lowered himself down into the foldable chair beside her. The two of them were close to the stove, stocked high with dust, with a table of scrolls to their side, each attuned to track individual teams. "I suppose it's only fair. They cause us trouble, and we get to hold it over their heads. What are we looking at, do you think? Good odds this year, or more of the usual?"

"I'd say it's about what we expected."

There was no way to know for sure who would or wouldn't fail at this stage, but she'd been appraised of how well each team did on their scores for the administration test on requisitions, and those could be used to forecast the teams with the greatest odds of success. Nothing was certain in the field, of course. Some who had requisitioned well might be slow movers or poor budgeters of food and tap out. Others who had prepared less might just be tougher and choose to push on despite lacking resources. Sometimes fortitude and good old-fashioned resilience won out over preparations.

All in all, the assessments followed a somewhat linear path. The first assessment was almost universally failed by everyone and was used a as a wake-up call to the teams. The second assessment, this one, would see a much better pass rate because people took it more seriously, averaging most years at around 25%. The next was closer to 50%, and then onward and upward until the tests grew harder and averaged around a 75% pass rate. They didn't ever want them to be too easy of course, so they started to get harder once the teams adapted and started putting all their effort into it. It was still too early for that. They were rookies yet.

"There were a few anomalies," said Winter.

Clover looked up. "Oh?"

"Several teams seemed unusually well-prepared, requesting supplies for an additional person. Having looked over those, I can see they're all related in some way to one of the teams that passed the first assessment."

"Someone passed that one?" asked Clover. "I'm amazed. And horrified. How did two second year teams fail to stop a single first year team?"

"Penny Polendina's team."

"Ah. That'd explain it."

"Not as much as you'd think. Penny kept her secret well and… well, it was more luck than anything. Some quick thinking, the element of surprise since they went first, and a whole heaping of arrogance from the older teams."

"Yeah, that'd do it. Nothing like underestimating someone to even the odds. Still, you say they're set to do well on this one?"

"Too well," said Winter. "Team JCKP requisitioned enough supplies for four people, but also came with extra of their own. Not to mention an extra tent, extra sleeping bag, medical supplies and more."

Clover chuckled. "They know."

It certainly looked that way. There were no rules against knowing or finding out ahead of time, and such preparedness was to be celebrated. Within reason. It did take the wind out of Winter's sails just a little bit. "It looks like they informed some teams but not all. A deal, no doubt."

"At least they didn't tell everyone and ruin this whole test."

"It still invalidates it a little anyway," said Winter. "I'm all for them being rewarded for planning ahead, but they won't learn anything from this if it all goes to plan."

"Uh-oh," said Clover. "I think I see where this is going."

He probably did, being her commanding officer and all. Winter shrugged. "I just think a little unexpected addition might help them get more from this test. And if they really are so prepared, we should respect their drive and seek to challenge them. General Ironwood even included a note on their file saying he wants us paying attention to them."

Clover perked up. "Suspicious activity?"

"Nothing to suggest that. I'm sure their performance has impressed him."

"Ah, so he wants to see if it continues or if the first assessment was a fluke. I don't think a team has ever successfully completed every test in a year, have they?" Winter shook her head to his question. "Interesting. It might have been beginner's luck, but it might also be potential. Alright. I'll sign off on a little extra, Winter. The Specialists are always looking for new recruits."

"I think it's too early for that, sir."

"Of course it is. We don't take anyone who hasn't graduated. But there have been teams put through more stringent testing ahead of graduation to test their aptitude." He paused and looked her way. "You would know that personally, Winter."

Because her team had been singled out and tested in the same way. Winter had been the only one to pass the tests and had been fast tracked into the Specialists after graduation because of it. It had blown her mind to realise General Ironwood had been watching her – her! – performance even as she was a student, but she realised now it was just the way things worked. The academy wasn't only a method to teach the next generation of huntsmen, but to identify those who excelled and grant them extra opportunities to prove themselves.

It really was a shame Weiss had elected to go to Beacon to escape their father's grasp. Not understandable, but a shame. Winter was sure her sister would have loved the chance to be rewarded for her hard work and skill.

No matter. It was time to test these teams now.

/-/

Even though they'd prepared, it was still torture crunching through snow that reached up to below your knees. They moved in single file, with Penny opting to take the lead as she claimed she had less trouble. There was no denying having her wade a channel through the snow was making it easier, with them able to file in behind her. Jaune, in second place, wiped a glove across his ski goggles to brush the snow building up there aside. He might as well not have, because the view hadn't changed much. Penny's back, and then a whole world of white spreading out into the distance. Thankfully, his scroll knew the way to go, and the little blinking green dot that marked their position was growing closer and closer to the red dot of their target location.

They weren't going to get there tonight, and the temperature was set to get worse, so the plan had turned instead to finding a place to set up camp. That wasn't going to be easy since he hadn't seen any forests or cliffs or anywhere they could find shelter from the wind. Winter really had taken them to the middle of nowhere.

"We're going to have to set up in the open!" shouted Flynt. Even then, he was barely audible over the storm. Jaune turned around, as did Penny and Neon, each presenting their backs to the storm to try and hear one another better.

"There's no shade!" shouted Neon.

"Isn't going to be at this rate." Jaune had to yell as well. He mimed with his hands. "We're going to have to dig!"

Luckily… No, not luckily. There was no random chance in the fact they'd all had lessons on "outdoor survival" and "snow-terrain camping" in the past week. It was yet more clues the academy has subtly given as to what would happen. Jaune thought the teams who were clever enough to figure that out on their own deserved much more respect than his did, for just paying for the information from an upper-year student. Still, the lessons had focused on how to pitch a tent in the snow, which involved finding a safe area – no slopes for an avalanche risk – and then digging down to the ground beneath.

They shucked their heavy packs and got to work, scraping back snow and piling it up to form a wall of sorts, designed to act as a wind break. Neon got to padding that up and making sure it was thick enough to hold its shape, while Penny gathered their new tent from their bags and pulled out all the pegs and bits, and Flynt and Jaune got to work on stretching it out. It was easier than it looked – though he fully expected that wouldn't last in the future, as camping supplies were always so beautifully packed the first time, and then stuffed back into their bags the next. Penny went to help Neon form a circular wall around their tent area, not higher than the tent itself – they didn't want to be buried – but high enough that the wind would only catch the top of the tent, and not sweep the pegs out.

All in all, it took a good fifteen minutes to get it up, made fiddlier because of their heavy gloves and the way his fingers shook when he took them off to work the smaller clasps into place. Penny was invaluable there, almost seeming impervious to the elements as she worked, and never once complaining. They packed more snow around the base to weigh it down in places, then buried the pegs to give them a bit more support before Flynt dragged their heavy packs inside and set them in the four corners. Yet more weight. By the time they crawled in, the tent was well and truly not going anywhere.

It wasn't as cramped as it could have been, either. Sure, there wasn't a lot of room and they'd be sleeping body to body, but they could sit down and stretch their legs without having a foot shoved in someone's face, and if they sat cross-legged then there was even room to rummage in their packs and bring out some MRE's and the portable dust-powered heater Flynt had bought. That went right in the middle of the four of them, and its heating elements quickly began to glow orange. Neon was practically weeping as she rubbed her hands on the protective grill.

"You know, this is how a winter typically is in Atlas," said Flynt. "You southerners have it easy."

"Winter in Atlas is literally dying in the middle of nowhere, is it?" asked Neon. "Pull the other one. Hngh. The fur on my tail has turned into little icicles." She brought it forward and ran her hands up and down it. "Why did I ever agree to come to Atlas? What was I thinking?"

"I didn't have much of a choice," admitted Jaune. "I applied to Beacon first."

It was the first time he'd said it. He wasn't sure why. Neon and Flynt and Penny didn't strike him as the type to judge on that, and sure enough they looked interested, but not bothered by it. "What made you pick Beacon first?" asked Flynt.

"My dad went there ages ago."

"Ah. Family." He nodded. "Makes sense. I've heard decent things."

"Some say it's the best academy," said Neon.

"Atlas has won more Vytal Festivals," chimed in Penny. "Nine in total, to Beacon's six."

"It's all propaganda at the end of the day, isn't it?" said Jaune, shrugging. Every school would claim it was the best, and he couldn't say he was unhappy with Atlas. "What decides which school is best, anyway?"

"Beacon has famous names," said Neon. "Qrow Branwen is one of the most famous huntsmen there is and he went there."

"And Raven Branwen," said Flynt, dismissively. "Who is the most famous huntress-turned-criminal. Last seen In Mistral and wanted on a whole heap of charges from murder to kidnapping, human trafficking and more."

Qrow and Raven Branwen. Brother and sister by the sounds of things. One had stayed loyal and the other had turned traitor. It was strange to imagine, but if they were what made Beacon famous then he had to wonder if it was Beacon that shaped them, or they that shaped Beacon's reputation. Well, he was sure it went deeper than two people.

"I got rejected from my first choice as well," admitted Neon.

"Let me guess," said Flynt. "Haven, in Mistral?"

Neon smirked. "What gave it away?"

"The fact you can't stop whining the second the weather stops being, like, twenty degrees."

"I'm a tropics kind of girl," said the faunus, shrugging. "All this snow plays havoc with my tail. I had an offer from Vacuo as well, but I picked extreme cold over extreme heat. At least you can wrap up in front of a fire if you're cold. You can only get so naked when you're hot. Don't say it," warned Neon when Flynt was about to make a pun off that. "Don't. Say. Anything."

Jaune laughed and rummaged in his heavy pack for one of the crinkly packets of dried food he'd requisitioned from the military stores. They were like large rectangular boxes wrapped in reflective packaging, and they were soon pooling them all together and pouring the contents out onto the tent space in front of them. They weren't just single meals like people would have expected, but meal packs along with packets of coffee and tea mix, high-energy fruit juice, packets of dried fruits, some chocolate bars, granola bars – all sorts of things. As meals went, it looked like far too much, but it had apparently been designed with calories and carbs in mind in harsh conditions and with a lot of exercise, so you weren't going to lose weight on these. Quite the opposite.

Of course, discipline was the first thing out the window. "Trade you coffee for tea," said Neon.

"Done." Flynt snatched it. "Anyone want my fruit? I'll trade for chocolate."

"In your dreams," scoffed Jaune. "You can have my crackers for them and the fruit juice."

"Only if you give me your sugar. Never get enough for how I like my coffee."

"Done."

Hands were shaken, food was shared and exchanged, and the calorific balance carefully worked out by nutritionists was broken. As, Jaune expected, it usually was among the troops. It was a nice thought to imagine all that hard work being respected, but comfort mattered more when you were freezing in a tent than. Or it felt like it did. That didn't stop them sneaking a few extra treats out their packs that they'd bought from the camping store, such as a portable kettle with its own heating element and a big bar of drinking chocolate they melted down in a pot.

Soon, their meal packs were being cooked in the flameless bags, crinkling and hissing away as dust reactions cooked the food within. It was beef, mash, gravy and veg for Jaune, after Neon had hungrily bartered for his Mistralian chicken curry and rice. The inside of the tent was filled with the smell of cooking food, adding its own warmth to the air, and their plastic cups filled with hot drinking chocolate warmed their bare hands.

"You know," said Jaune. "This isn't so bad."

"Yeah, sure," laughed Flynt. "The part where we stop to eat and drink isn't bad. Tomorrow is going to be cold slogging through the snow again."

"I feel bad for the teams that didn't know about this," said Penny.

Yeah. Him too. There were a whole lot of teams getting by on the bare minimum, and who would be huddled for warmth sharing body heat. He wanted to say it was their faults for not prepping ahead, but that was a little unfair when they'd been given the secret of the assessment test ahead of time. At least Rain and Ciel's teams would be doing well.

"I'm sure they'll be evacuated out before anything bad happens," said Flynt. "No one is going to be in any real danger from this. Honestly, if we were caught and didn't have the supplies I'd say we should back out early and give it up. Save ourselves the trouble."

"You think Winter would let us get away with calling that good leadership?" asked Jaune.

They all laughed. "Hell no," said Neon. "She's a witch."

"I've heard it say all commanding officers are monsters," said Penny. "At least that's what I gathered from hearing the soldiers routinely complain about them."

That certainly fit with the mocking chants during their morning jogs. Jaune had always thought that was something exaggerated for movies, but maybe it was just the normal thing for peace-time soldiers. The officers had to keep you fighting fit and in training, and that meant they were the enemy when a real enemy was lacking. At least we're doing well. We just need to share a watch rota tonight and get some sleep for tomorrow, then it's on to the first rendezvous point.

As the hours ticked on, the four of them laughed and ate and chatted in their warm tent, lit up in an otherwise barren wasteland of snow. They told stories, played games and snuggled into their sleeping bags, sleeping head to toe in a tessellating pattern across the floor of the tent as Penny took first watch.

/-/

The following day was cold but clear of storms, which went to show that Winter Schnee couldn't control the weather, because if she could then it would have been raining Beowolves and Ursa. Anything to make their lives harder. Instead, they got to experience the wonders of snow glare, as the morning sun reflected off the white snow and made it shine like a flash bang straight into your retinas. The ski goggles helped mitigate that somewhat, though it was still uncomfortable.

They'd made good headway and would be arriving at the designated spot only twenty hours into the test – four hours ahead of schedule. That still meant another two days and nights after, or less if they were able to make good time.

"This is the place," said Penny, at the head of the group again. The storm had died down, meaning they could talk normally for once. "At least, it is according to my scroll." She lowered it. "I don't see anyone we're supposed to be picking up."

Neither did he. The area was flat and barren, with no real landmarks to differentiate it from anywhere else. It might have been a road or something under the snow, but that was two feet thick here and there was no way to know. I thought there was meant to be someone waiting for us. Where's our VIP we need to extract?

"This is definitely the place," said Flynt, with his own scroll out. "Do we set the transmitter up?"

"I guess so," said Jaune.

He pulled it off his pack and stretched out the tripod legs, then waited for Flynt and Neon to open up a space in the snow before he put it down. It had a telescopic mount that he was able to bring upward, and from there he just had to fold out the display nestled in the case and turn the thing on. A light at the top flicked blue and the antennae began to slowly rotate, searching for its pre-programmed signal.

It didn't take long to connect, and the rest of his team huddled behind him as the screen flickered and blurred and fuzzed. The connection wasn't as strong as it should have been, and the voice that came out of it was garbled.

"- team – fzzt – report – fzzt – ken- fzzt."

"This signal is awful," said Neon.

Jaune moved the tripod about a little but it didn't get any better.

"This is Team Jackpot reporting," said Jaune, using their full name. "We cannot hear you properly. I repeat, this is Team Jackpot reporting. Can you hear us?"

"-pot – fzzt – oud and clear – fzzt – ctive is – fzzt – ne-nine-six – fzzt – four. Confirm?"

"No confirm!" shouted Jaune into the speaker. "No confirm. We cannot hear you."

"Confirmed," said the person on the line, apparently mishearing them.

"No!" yelled Jaune. "Negative. That's a negative. We do NOT confirm."

"-extraction of wounded soldier. VIP. Bonus prize to be granted for bringing him out well."

The signal had improved! Jaune could even see Winter Schnee on the other side. "Miss Schnee!" he shouted. "The VIP is not here. There's no one here. We haven't found anyone waiting for us and-"

"Over and out."

The screen flickered and went blank, leaving Jaune with his mouth open, and his team with stunned expressions. He smacked the transmitter, pressed the button again and tried to reconnect the call, but as much as it tried and as much as the light flickered, it couldn't seem to find the right signal.

"The fuck is going on?" asked Neon. "She acted like we were supposed to have someone here waiting for us."

"Which we are," said Flynt.

"There's no one," said Penny.

Something had gone wrong. Jaune felt a weight settle in his stomach. "Look around," he ordered them. "I'll try and connect a call back, but the three of you spread out and look for… I don't know. Tracks, signs, or maybe our person waiting on the other side of a rock. Stay close and don't go out of sight."

They nodded and trudged off through the snow, crunching away as Jaune picked up the transmitter and moved it a few metres along, then set it down again. It didn't improve the signal like he hoped it would, so he tried again, and then a fourth time, before realising that they just weren't reaching home base.

"Why is it that Atlas tech works perfectly right up until I need it to, and then it turns into a shoddy piece of crap!" His voice rose in volume with every word, until he struck the transmitter angrily on the last. It wobbled in place but didn't fall over, nor did it magically connect as it was supposed to.

Just garbled static.

"Jaune!" shouted Flynt, sounding worried. "Over here! We have a problem!"

"We have a whole ass load of problems, Flynt," said Jaune, wading over. "Not least of all the fact that we don't know where our extraction point is."

"Yeah, well," said Flynt, pointing down at footprints that seemed to lead to a cliff's edge. And off them. "Now we have another problem."

The edge of it was scuffed, as if the snow had been displaced, and Jaune crawled on all fours to peer over the edge. The drop wasn't massive, not enough to be instantly fatal, but it was more than enough to be dangerous. Worse still, there was a pile of fresh snow at the bottom as if some had slid off recently, and laid out on top of it, not moving, was a body. One wearing the distinctive uniform of an Atlesian soldier.


Adapt and overcome, soldier. Adapt and overcome.

Winter playing games with Team JCKP, though not so much maliciously as because she wants to genuinely test them.


Next Chapter: 26th November

Like my work? Please consider supporting me, even if it's only a little a month or even for a whole year, so I can keep writing so many stories as often as I do. Even a little means a lot and helps me dedicate more time and resources to my work.

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur