Ten Years Later...
Ten years. Ten long years. Ten years of training, years of warring, and of building. Under the leadership of Mand'alor the Invincible, the Remnant Mandalorians had become a major player on the board even if the least numerous. During the first five years the world knew next to nothing about them, let alone where they called home. What they did know was limited to them being a sort of high-end Mercenary faction, with technology that could put Atlas's to shame with relative ease, indestructible armor and individual combative skill to easily make most hunters look like a joke. It was known they'd raid other factions of nothing save Beskar, and no matter what they did to protect their stores of the precious metal, the Mandalorians always succeeded in their raids, almost always without a single casualty... but that was five years ago that so little was known.
Although it would be a mistake to say that much more was known now of the Mando'ade, an exploration fleet of Atlesian Warships had stumbled upon New Mandalore five years ago by accident, and attempted to bombard the Mandalorians' homeland upon identifying it's inhabitants training on the ground. Their assault was short-lived, as the Mando'ade had erected powerful energy shields not based on dust, rendering their bombardment useless. Within a minute of their attack, over a hundred 6-winged aircraft had taken to the skies, accompanied by another thirty slower, bulkier bombers, and by the fifth minute, the entire fleet had been reduced to burning wrecks in the water or on the shores. Six months later, the 1st Atlesian Siege Armada headed by then General of the Army Lucas Marder and Admiral Yola arrived, only to be met with a fleet of ships of Mandalorians' own design. These ships were much larger than Atlas's own, were equipped with powerful shields and armor, and were brimming with weapons Atlas couldn't even begin to hope to match. The battle was short lived, ending with the total annihilation of the 1st Atlesian Siege Armada.
Three brutal months of war followed, waged all across Vacuo between the Remnant Mandalorians and Atlas. It was during these months of war that the Mando'ade had demonstrated just how far ahead of Atlas they truly were, fielding advanced suits of power armor that didn't hinder the user's movements in the slightest, evolutions of vehicles seen in the Battle of Alexandria that now sported shield generators and Beskar armor, massive bipedal walkers that carried borderline apocalyptic weapons and many other new and unique combat vehicles, and showed countless demonstrations of battlefield skill and tactical superiority. By the end of it, all of Atlas's bases and outposts in Vacuo had been razed to the ground, with barely any bodies left to be recovered on account of disintegration weapons reducing them to dust or graviton armaments crushing them to paste. In three months of war, Atlas was forced to withdraw completely from Vacuo and leave the Mando'ade alone, and the very earth under which they'd fought had been left almost unrecognizably scarred, only now looking somewhat recovered four years later.
Spurred on and made confident by their victories, the Mando'ade expanded New Mandalore onto the surface, rapidly turning what was once barren desert surrounding a mountain oasis into a vibrant city, albeit while leaving the forested oasis in which they trained mostly undisturbed. For another three years New Mandalore went uncontested in Vacuo, expanding and recruiting more every day, only halting once they'd felt comfortable with the amount of space they had to call their own. Atlas did eventually return, although with explicit orders not to provoke or attack the Mando'ade, and not to attempt to reclaim any lost bases or outposts occupied by them. For about a year, there's been an uneasy cease-fire between the two factions in Vacuo, with Mandalorian and Atlesian patrols crossing paths often enough to never let the other drop their guard.
Though a powerful faction, most of the world had recognized them to be a mostly reactionary one that doesn't actively seek out conflict with other major powers unless there's beskar to reclaim. Those towns and cities that reside in the territory held by the Mando'ade had been allowed to prosper, unhindered by bandit raids or Grimm attacks since the Mandalorians' presence in the region became so much more overt, albeit with a protection fee and a cut of whatever the town or city produced. Kept the Mandalorians fed and paid, a small price to pay for protection of their caliber. Those cities and towns were now even recognized as some of the nicest in Vacuo, and the region was considered one of the safest places to live in the world.
So why, with all that which was now theirs and their general lack of jingoism, could one occasionally find a Mandalorian operating outside of Vacuo? Truthfully, there were freelance mercenaries, bounty hunters and even bandits that utilized facsimile Mandalorian armor made from inferior metals for intimidation, sometimes even trying to pass off as actual Mandos though it only took seeing them in combat to see whether it was a faker or not, and real Mandalorians killed fakers on sight, so even they weren't the most common sight for fear of repercussions. Yet, it wasn't just fakers outside Vacuo. Imposters made up the majority of "Mandalorian Sightings" in Vale and Mistral, with Atlas being clean of them on account of the "Kill on Sight" orders issued against them there, but once every now and then it was indeed a real Mandalorian, in which case those around them knew they were either screwed or saved. Despite this, global opinion on the Mando'ade remained very mixed, being either you were saved by one or more of them once before and had a positive opinion of them despite the media, or you were once their enemy or had never encountered one in person so had a negative opinion since that's what the global media said to have and almost never covered stories of their heroic deeds outside the major cities.
Naturally, whether it was a faker or not, if you didn't have business with a Mando it was best to give them some space, much like the people in Vale had been doing with her ever since she'd arrived a few hours ago. Facilitating entry was a rather simple matter, simply walking up to the gate and asking to be let through. Though her kind were generally seen as criminals by a lot of these city folk, police and hunters had long since been given stand-down orders unless the Mando was actively committing a crime. Here she was not committing any crimes, however, so she was left undisturbed for the most part, with her only interaction being with the bounty she'd bagged and the police she'd turned them into. Now she was just quietly killing some time with some reading.
A weapons magazine, of course, as she generally wasn't interested in any literature that wasn't in Mando'a. Even if all these "latest" weapons were basically primitive to her and her kin, some of them were at the very least interesting, and viewing them helped to spark some imagination within her which might help with the next time she decided to go creating new weapons and technology again for the Mando'ade, her family. A slight chuckle escaped her lips whenever she'd come over a page and see a picture taken of one of her kin wielding a new or unique weapon, reading their theories regarding said equipment despite knowing what it actually was herself. It was amusing, she thought, reading the thoughts of those inferior to her family put onto paper.
It was around eight o'clock now, she noted, not that she particularly cared. She'd turn back in to the room she'd bought for the night in an hour or so, but until then she was content to just remain here and entertain herself with the ample supply of reading material, listening to the music she had flowing into her helmet right now. She didn't really plan of buying anything, nothing here was really of any interest to her, anyways, but it was at least nice to look at some of this stuff. Despite the shop she was in being called "From Dust Till Dawn," she had no interest in dust, nor any reason to have any interest in it. Mandalorian weapons seldom used dust, so she was naturally unconcerned about the recent string of dust robberies from stores like this one. Besides, it's not like anyone would be foolish enough to try to rob a Mandalorian as well, right? After all, she remembered when the infamous Bandit Clan "Branwen" attempted to rob one of them once. Their near-genocide of the clan was all the media was talking about for weeks, and all over one of them trying to pickpocket a single thermal detonator. So, surely with their well-known intolerance for robberies attempted or successful, surely nobody would be stupid enough to try them... right?"
It was just then that she felt something, a hand, set on her shoulder and attempt to swing her around. It didn't make her budge even slightly, but it did catch her attention as she turned around to face whoever was bold enough to approach her. She assumed as soon as she saw their reaction to seeing her armor that they must've been thrown off by her crimson cloak, and must've been unable to see any armor from the angle they previously had to view her from. However, she also saw the handgun he was brandishing, and didn't quite care that his current mannerisms seemed to be a poor attempt at deescalating the situation, so without hesitation, she raised her right gauntlet and sent twin blaster bolts into his forehead, dropping him to the floor with a sharp but swiftly halted scream.
Stepping over his corpse without any care whether she disturbed it or not, she lowered into a runner's stance and blasted off with her thruster pack as soon as another similarly dressed goon rounded the corner with a sword and pistol, plowing through him and the window and coming to a halt further out into the street with a loud crash. Rolling over her shoulder as she hit the floor, she turned back to the criminal she'd plowed through and stomped on his head with full force, popping it like a cherry against the asphalt. With him now out of the picture, the Mandalorian turned her attention back towards the shop and the gathering of criminals in front of it, chuckling darkly under her mask as she pivoted her body and flicked her cloak behind her with a single arm, revealing black Mandalorian Elite battle armor with a crimson trim, silver visor, and an etched-in silver floral pattern lining the ends of each plate.
The mass of criminals halted, with looks of dread crossing over their faces with the realization that they had indeed crossed a real Mando just now, and with that momentary pause, the Mandalorian took advantage of their terror, pulling forth a crimson box from the small of her back and unfolding it out into a massive scythe with a wavy Beskar blade, and what looked to be some sort of energy weapon built into the shaft. They didn't have any more time to pray, as the Mandalorian didn't waste any time with any fancy moves or flashy flourishes of her weapons, simply charging towards them as her weapon finished unfolding and allowing her semblance to coat her blade in a corona of shadowy black energy that absorbed the light from around it, darkening the world around them to a notable degree.
Though the one in white, she presumed the leader, given all the others were uniform, had started running away further down the street, she opted to deal with the group of other criminals foolish enough to stand their ground and point their weapons towards her as she charged. Just as she came within about five meters, the Mando dug her feet down and slashed horizontally with her scythe, sending an expanding void-black wave of destructive energy towards the mass of fools who'd only now mustered the will to fire, albeit inaccurately. Caught well within the most lethal radius of her semblance's attack, the black wave effortlessly cleaved through all of their auras at once, cleanly bisecting all of the robbers horizontally across the waist and dooming them to a swift demise. The attack, as she'd intended for it to be more concentrated, dissipated just inches from the storefront, preventing any further damage aside from cutting down a street sign.
Turning her attention back towards the Criminal leader, she was annoyed somewhat as a trio of explosive shots impacted against her pauldron, breastplate and mask, momentarily clouding her vision and allowing her new quarry a few more moments of respite. A flick of her eyes to her aura gauge in her helmet's heads-up display showed that even despite a trio of high-explosive shots making direct hits against her, it hadn't even chipped away a quarter of a percentage of her full Aura reserves, and by the time she swept the smoke away with a sweep of her scythe, she'd already recovered in full. Truthfully, using her own semblance was more taxing than those three hits, taking up roughly a full 1% of her aura. Shrugging nonchalantly as she cast the smoke aside, the Mando scanned the area for her quarry, eventually settling upon their retreating form scaling a ladder.
"Go on, run. Makes it more fun for me." She growled under her breath, before kicking off with blistering speed and launching herself upwards towards the rooftop where the criminal was fleeing. Doing a backflip as she crested over the edge of the building for nothing more than flare alone, the Mandalorian landed with a heavy crunch upon the rooftop, cracking the floor beneath her as she landed with just a slight bend to her knees. A small bout of dark laughter escaped her lips as her prey momentarily tripped over his own feet the moment he looked back and saw she'd already caught up, and in an act of desperation, he tossed the entire case of dust crystals back at her and fired at it before it she could swat it away.
The resulting combustion so so many different kinds of dust mingled together enveloped her in a momentary storm of fire, ice, earth, lightning and distorted gravity, something most fully certified Hunters would still take an absolute thrashing from at full aura. She, however, simply reached a hand back, firmly grasping a handle and drawing forth a heavy and ornate longsword from it's scabbard on her hip. The blade, cloaked in a corona of darkness and burning with void-black flames, cast aside most of the dust swirling around her with ease. The full ordeal hadn't done much if anything to her aura, but the few plates of plastoid armor she wore on her legs and upper arms were shredded in the storm. She was still just a Mandalorian Apprentice, after all, so hadn't been merited full Beskar or Beskar alloy armor.
However, just as the storm was cast away from herself, she noted that the criminal had already boarded the bullhead, and someone else had stepped into the cabin, a female wearing a crimson dress with gold sequins. The Mando attempted to identify them, but groaned in annoyance as it seemed after so many years of heavy usage, her helmet's night vision device had given out. It was a pain in her ass, but she angrily made do, keeping both blades cloaked with her semblance, her aura as well in the case of her Aura Blade, and began slashing wildly at the bullhead in the air and launching a wide black wave with every sweep of each blade. In response, the figure held both hands up and shielded the craft with a wall of flames that broke the power of the attacks up just enough to only cause considerable damage to their gunship and not cut it into dozens of pieces.
Just as she finished her initial barrage of slashed and returned to the ground after having flipped around a bit to better manipulate the scythe and sword in her hands, she noticed a large sigil forming beneath her and attempted to bound away with a burst from her thruster pack. However, before she could make any air, some invisible force gripped her by her boots and pulled her back down, levying upon her the full power of the explosion. This she knew couldn't have been either of the two in the bullhead, as her aura sense had picked up the source of the pull quite handily and attributed it to a third party, and considering because of that her thruster pack was now destroyed and her cloak was torn up, she was pissed. She also noted that the non-Beskar alloys that were employed in her scythe had been melted and fused together from the intensity of the heat, effectively rendering the weapon inoperable outside of usage as a melee instrument.
Just before she could clear the dust, a barrage of ice crystals shot down through the smog, blowing it aside albeit mostly pinging harmlessly off her armor. A second look showed it to also be raining down upon the bullhead her quarry had taken to, and a wide miasma of black clouds looming both her and her original enemy's heads, from which rained the crystals. Another glance at her total aura revealed she was down about a quarter, and although it was mostly her own usage of her semblance that took the larger part of it, that explosion had chipped a decent chunk out of her, and the constant attrition was, while not heavy or fast enough to outpace her natural recovery, just enough to slow any recovery to a crawl. Attention back to the fight, the Mandalorian kicked off to the side, beginning a wide sprint in an arch around the rooftop to avoid some of the incoming damage with both weapons held off to either side as she came around and closed in on her prey.
In her peripheral view, she caught the sight of the interloper dropping down, lifting the debris from the rooftop with her semblance and gathering it into a pair of dart-like projectiles, and launching them both, one at her and the other at the bullhead. With lightning reflexes, the Mandalorian drew as short halt of her feet and dropped her weight back, sliding under the attack and dropping the scythe in her left in favor of the DC-17 blaster pistol on her hip. Thrusting forward with her blade, she used the inertia behind such a sudden stop to force herself upright as she slid her left foot back, facing her back to the street and firing away on the bullhead as she released a trio of concentrated black slashes towards the one who dared to pile in uninvited.
Her eyes were mostly on her original quarry still, and took the opening of the break in her defenses as she formed several rings to disintegrate the swirling tendrils of debris that threatened to lash out at her gunship. With her guard open, the Mandalorian managed to sink her down with two shots to the abdomen and a third to their left shoulder, before they could finally raise their right hand to block any more bolts from hitting her with some sort of flame shield extended from the palm of her hand. As the lady threw herself back and out of her line of sight, the Mando noticed a large sigil forming beneath her feet, this time enveloping the entire rooftop.
Knowing she didn't have enough time to escape this one and noting the bullhead already making fast their retreat, the Mando turned her attention back to the uninvited guest, and fired off her whipcord launcher around the interloper's ankle, pulling them back down before they bound all the way out of the explosive radius, forcing her to take the full brunt of the detonation with her. She grit her teeth but cracked a grin as the rooftop gave way under the massive force of the attack, launching the two warriors off of it and into the street. Hitting the ground hard, the Mando was swift to recover, rolling over their shoulder into an almost runner-like stance as she whipped her head back up to take in her new opponent properly.
Middle age, light blonde hair disheveled from being caught in the explosion, ovular glasses with fair skin, a notable bust and wore a white long-sleeved, pleated blouse that had a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flared in pleats at the wrist. Her lower body was covered by a black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black stockings that faded to brown. She used some sort of riding crop as her weapon, and immediately confused the Mandalorian somewhat by the weapon choice, but the girl pressed on nonetheless. Charging towards her enemy at roughly 60% aura, the Mandalorian leveled her pistol onto the threat first, popping off shots as she advanced and forcing what she assumed must be some sort of huntress back into the fight without any respite.
The woman took a shot to the chest as she was rising back up, staggering her somewhat as she came to her feet but not halting her reaction, as naught but the flick of her wrist, a few pieces of burning debris shot up from the ground and slapped her blaster out of her hands. Still with one weapon left in her hands, the Mando continued her charge, coming into melee range in a heartbeat and angling her attack for her enemy's neck. However, before she could connect her attack, the lady flicked her weapon again, shooting debris up and striking the Mando's blade on the pommel and under the crossguard, knocking it out of her hands and leaving her disarmed...
Or so the woman had thought, as it seemed out of instinct the girl had formed her hand back into a fist and sent it uninterrupted straight into the woman's face, sinking her to the floor as she passed her. Shuffling to a halt, the Mando turned back only to be greeted with a large semi-truck slamming directly into her at a 45 degree angle, slamming her against the ground as she didn't have enough time to catch the attack. As her back hit the floor, she kicked the truck off of her with a heavy boost from her remaining aura and semblance, launching it further down the street before rolling back onto her feet and deftly sidestepping the mini van that followed close behind it. An annoyed growl escaped her lips as she furrowed her brow and side-flipped over a lowrider sent scraping across the ground to sweep her legs out, firing off her two left knee-missiles and impacting either side of the huntress and throwing her off balance.
Landing hard, the Mando fired off her last two knee-missiles in her right before charging her quarry once again, impacting once in the lady's gut and another at her feet to force her to double-over drop her back to a knee. Drawing her vibroknife from the sheathe on her boot, she swept for the lady's eyes as she closed the distance, just narrowly missing as the huntress tucked and rolled under the slash and swept back with her riding crop to erect a sort of energy barrier to protect herself as the Mando turned on a dime and washed over her with a column of flames from the left gauntlet.
The lady cried out in pain as her barrier began to fail at the ends and the flames bled through, scorching her under the relentless conflagration. However, she found her respite as with one more flick of the riding crop, she managed to send a shard of burning metal into the gas-tank of a car right next to the Mandalorian, using the ensuing detonation to ragdoll the Mando into the burning wreck of the building their fight had begun atop of. With one last desperate ploy, and her aura already completely shattered, the huntress, swept up with her riding crop, almost making her black out from using her semblance without any aura to draw upon yet successfully and effectively dismantling the building around the armored warrior, raising it overhead, and sending everything crashing down with enough force to be reduced to dust upon the Mandalorian.
Dropping to her knees as she exhausted herself to finish the fight, the huntress hacked and sputtered as she tried to recover, staining the ground beneath her with thick crimson liquid. Raising a hand to her face, she swept away a fair amount of blood, completely staining her hand and sleeve completely red before uneasily and unsteadily pushing herself back up onto her feet. She felt it was absurd to think a single person's aura could possibly tank so much damage, but this opponent made her seriously reevaluate whether the needed to put more focus on aura training going forward.
"Hut'uun! Ne shab'rud'ni! Riding Crop lo'shebs'ul narit, osi'kovid shabuir!" The huntress's jaw dropped as she heard a string of words she couldn't understand stream from the dust clouds that shrouded the rubble of the building in an infuriated tone, but sighed in relief as she saw the Mando just barely limping out as well, and seemed to be bleeding from the several spots she didn't have any armor. However, upon closer examination and seeing her aura was already starting to recover, the Huntress used the last of her strength to rip a power box from the ground and smack the Mando across the side with it, throwing them down to the floor and knocking them out just as the box passed her.
"That's why... ugh... forget it..." The huntress struggled to breath out, before giving up and collapsing face-first onto the ground, letting darkness wash over her in kind...
"Ugh... what the..." She groaned as she started coming to, fluttering her eyes as she began to take in the world around her. Barren, devoid of any decoration aside from the wooden table that sat just in front of her, the chair she was seated in and the cuffs that kept her bound to it. A low groan of annoyance emerged from her lips as she rolled her neck, cracking it to either side before finally noticing her HUD was absent from her normal vision, and most of her battle armor had been removed. A closer examination of the room revealed all her arms and armor to be sitting upon a shelf just behind her to her right, bringing a low sigh of relief to her as she immediately began scanning the room for any means of breaking out aside from the obvious door just before her. She wasn't too concerned about the cuffs, breaking out of them was a fairly trivial matter, after all.
"You're very lucky that the police were able to positively ID you from your helmet and weapons alone, young lady, otherwise this debacle could've lead to a full-scale conflict between the Kingdom of Vale and the savages you call family!" Her eyes turned upwards as she took in the sight of the lady from earlier, quite notably bandaged up rather heavily, storming through the door and smacking the desk with her riding crop while setting down a clip board. The Mandalorian merely rolled her eyes as the weapon came down, turning her wrist to an extent that would've made lesser men cry out in agony without batting an eye to play with the cuffs binding her hands, not that the older lady seemed to notice this. "That being said, your actions tonight will absolutely NOT be taken lightly! I do not care about the wellbeing of a Mandalorian savage such as you, but you put others in great danger tonight!"
"Sooran ni'jagyc, shebs'palon." The Mandalorian groaned in an annoyed manner, nearly finished on undoing her bindings while she distracted the older lady with her profanities, not that she expected a primitive such as this lady to understand the more refined tongue of her people. The older lady growled at this, before stepping away and properly taking in the Mando's appearance, recoiling slightly as she more properly took in this girl's appearance. Choppy black hair that turned crimson at the ends, a couple light scars, one running diagonally down her face at a slight angle at the outside corner of her right eye, another running horizontally across her left cheekbone, and a third a small, vertical cut midway back on the left side of her jaw. However, most notably among everything wasn't even the silver eyes, but the fact that this girl seemed to be a mirror image to the late Summer Rose, albeit the nonchalant and bored glare the girl was giving her was something she never thought she'd see on her late friend's face.
Sighing lightly, she forced herself to recollect her thoughts before pressing on. She knew that 9-1 odds said that this girl was the once believed dead Ruby Rose, and as much as she wished her reappearance now be cause for celebration, that simply wasn't the case. She was clearly deeply rooted within the Mandalorian culture, and given her apparent refusal to speak the language almost everyone else spoke, she felt it safe to assume the girl was more than just fine with that.
"Ruby Rose..." She began, catching the Mandalorian off guard somewhat with the use of the name, more or less confirming her theory. "We've believed you dead for a long time, you know. I'd offer you a chance to return to the family you were born with, but something tells me you aren't so keen to return to them."
"Tch. Ni Kelir not yaimpar at aliit tion'ad trattok'or at tegaanalir ni." The Mandalorian, now properly identified as the long forsaken Ruby Rose growled out, albeit with a slight hint of sorrow coming through her tone. She still couldn't understand a word she said, but assumed that it must've had something to do with what she was saying. Still, it annoyed her that she so clearly understood what she was saying yet refused to speak in any way she could understand in kind. It was frustrating, but she understood that she could hardly force the girl to do anything. She was the adoptive daughter to Mand'alor the Invincible, and if they tried to keep her detained or execute her, it would likely result in an all-out war with the Mando'ade. Even if she did view them as savage barbarians and thieving magpies, she did not like Vale's odds in a war with them.
"If it were up to me, you'd be sent to a prison cell for the rest of your life... or forced into service!" She growled, before smacking down with her riding crop on the child's hand... at least she though it would, as with a light click the cuffs came undone, and the girl caught the strike at the base, and returned with a heavy strike across the woman's head, knocking her back and clutching her head as Ruby had broken what little of her aura had recovered. Groaning angrily, the lady shot upright with a look of fury, but didn't try anything else as she backed off and recollected a clip board she'd set on the desk earlier. "Fortunately for you... I'm not calling the shots, and there's someone here who'd like to speak with you."
As she stepped off to the side, it revealed a man with silvery hair and a wearing brown spectacles, a mostly black suit with gold buttons, coattails, a green undershirt and an ascot of matching color, carrying in one hand a bowl that she could smell a hearty blend of meats and vegetables from this handful of paces away, and in the other a mug of what she assumed by the smell had to be coffee raising a brow as the man approached, Ruby reached down and finagled with the restraints on her ankles until they opened up, just in time to turn back up and look the man in the eyes as he leaned in for a closer look.
"Ruby Rose. You... have silver eyes." He commented curiously, before swiftly backing off and correcting his posture. "Forgive me, it's simply been a long time since I've seen such a thing out of photograph. I knew your parents, you know. Taiyang and Summer."
"Dha Ruby." She immediately cut in, taking both of them off guard as she spoke again, this time, they hoped, in basic. "My name is Dha Ruby, of Clan Juggernaut. Ruby Rose died with her parents and sister." Her tone at he end was remorseful, but her expression was mostly unflinching besides the slight twitch of her eye. Still, they considered it progress, given their names seemed to make her a little more willing to open up.
"...my apologies, Dha Ruby. I know your father, Mand'alore the Invincible is very important to you... nevertheless, I assume he's the one who taught you how to fight like such a beast?" He wondered curiously as the woman from before pulled up the security feet from the street they'd wrecked.
"Partially true." She replied in a short and simple manner, drawing a slight sigh from the older man. Nevertheless, with a slight smile, he slid the bowl, notable with a spoon in it, onto the table and towards Ruby, surprising her with the now very familiar scent and appearance of the stew before her.
"Tiingilar. Three years ago I visited New Mandalore and was fascinated by the unique flavors to come from your people. This is my best recreation, you'll have to forgive if it's a little off." He joked lightly, before turning the point of conversation back on hand after she took a few generous spoonfuls of the stew that was far from kind to the faint of heart. "Though I feel as though I already know the answer, I'd like to ask, what's an adorable young girl such as yourself doing among warriors such as the Mandalorians?"
"I'm following in my father's footsteps, carving out my own legacy of glory and honor through the roar of battle, that my song might one day match his own. I want to be a Mandalorian." She affirmed, drawing a raised brow from the older man.
"Want to be? Are you not already a Mandalorian? You're certainly more powerful and skilled than some other Mandos I've seen in my time."
"I am not Mandalorian, not yet. I am still a Mandalorian Apprentice, undergoing my trials and journeys to become a true Mandalorian." She explained simply, drawing a curious look from the older man and a quick scribbling of notes from the lady she'd smacked only moments ago. A brief moment of silence followed, allowing Ruby to somewhat awkwardly take a few more mouthfuls of tiingilar before they'd recollected themselves and returned to a more neutral gaze upon her.
"Do you know who I am?" He asked, setting his mug of coffee down after taking a sip.
"No idea." Ruby spoke plainly, drawing an almost quizzical expression from the two. The names and faces of the headmasters for the Hunter Academies were among the best-known in the world, it was a rather rare occurrence that someone truly hadn't any clue who they were speaking to whenever conversation was had.
"Hm. Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy. This is Vice Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm not a liar so I won't say "likewise," Ozpin." Her response was about what he expected, but didn't dissuade him from continuing as he had prior.
"Hm. Well, you said you've still many journeys and trials ahead of you. If it's adventure you seek, then perhaps you'd like to come to my school?" He was lucky that his reflexes were as sharp as they were, because he said this while the girl was sipping some of the broth from the stew, and the result was a long spit of hot tiingilar leading a few feet off the table, followed by a fit of loud, bellowing laughs as the girl fell out of her chair, fist slamming on the floor as her other clutched her gut.
"HAHAHAH! Oh that's just Golden! First you want me to speak in your primitive tongue, and now you think I'd ever wanna bother with some fancy-pants academy for inferior warriors? AHAHAHAHA!" Her bellowing fit of laughter didn't end for another minute or so, and the whole time Ozpin was looking down on her with some amount of curiosity as he tried to ignore the insult, and Glynda was glaring down upon her with blatant hatred in her eyes as she clenched her jaw. "Ahaha... haha... ah... by the way... duck."
Although unaware of what exactly Ruby was getting at, he did as instructed and was almost immediately thankful for it, as not a moment too soo, half a wooden door came sailing horizontally down the hallway, shooting into the room dan near mach-speed and burying itself partway into the back wall. Though wide-eyed, Ozpin returned to a more upright posture, and looked down the hallway. Paling somewhat and breaking out in a cold sweat as the girl's own Father was sauntering down the hall, no weapons in hand but his semblance passively burning nonetheless, illuminating his way for a short distance as he walked.
A deep, if uneasy sigh escaped his lips as the Mand'alor himself stepped into the room, looking down into his eyes and sizing him up. The man's visor had long since been replaced with a glowing blue one, similar to that which the Mandalorian Commandos used, but that was hardly the most intimidating thing about the man. Ten years ago, crossing Mand'alor Midnight was already considered to almost be a death sentence... but the man he was back then wasn't even a fraction of a fraction of the strength of the man standing here today. The difference in strength between him and most veteran hunters now simply wasn't quantifiable, and he did truly live up to his title of "The Invincible."
"Ruby, Ni'm glad at haa'taylir gar're pirusti." He began, turning his attention back to his daughter before offering her a hand to get up off the floor. "I was informed by the police upon arrival that they'd already cleared your charges."
"Daddy!" In an almost 180 degree turn from the colder, more aggressive and sarcastic persona that Ruby held with them, the girl leapt up into her father's arms, who spun her around a few times in a tight hug before setting her down and looking her over. "I figured they would, and I beat up the Vice Headmistress of Beacon!"
"'Atta Girl! Now..." He turned his gaze back towards Ozpin, who simple drew his cane and propped himself up against it. He knew it wouldn't turn violent, but it was best to be prepared, regardless. "Ozpin. You wouldn't bother coming all the way down here for something like this unless you perceived some sort of opportunity to capitalize on. Spill it."
"...of course. My apologies if I wasn't forward enough earlier, Miss...?"
"She generally just goes by Ruby." the Mand'alor cut in, drawing an affirmatory nod from the girl still in his arms.
"Very well then, Miss Ruby. I want you to attend Beacon for political reasons. I believe such an event would help to foster a healthy relationship between Vale, Beacon, and the Mando'ade... I could also tutor you on how to properly harness the power of the Devil, Astaroth, bound within you, and teach you of the Demon World." Both the Mand'alor and Ruby seemed taken aback at the mention of Astaroth, especially since it was a secret guarded very closely by the their kin. "Don't be surprised I know of that, I was the one who oversaw the operation all those years ago, after all."
"Hm... Why should we bother with that? You aren't exactly in any position where we stand to gain much from an alliance as you're implying, and your warriors aren't even peers with our own. Inferior warriors and technology, and we don't need any more space to expand." Midnight countered, drawing a small chuckle from the headmaster as he shook his head and tsked lightly.
"Ah, but you do not have Vale's manufacturing capabilities, nor the facilities to mine and refine raw materials on such a massive scale as we do. Yes, New Mandalore has all these facilities but outside of Beskar the region is rather poor in regards to other precious metals and valuable materials, and I'm actively tracking that you often have to buy much of your other resources from us. If we were to formally recognize an alliance, we could greatly lower the cost of such expensive materials, understanding that following your war with Atlas the council dictated we spike the cost of these very resources by 500%. Not only would you and yours greatly save money, you'd have access to a wider range of jobs your kin would be ideally suited towards, but from Beacon and Signal you'd have prime recruiting grounds, understanding that your normal recruitment methods are far less stable... and let us not forget that we do still have many tons of Beskar in our own stocks. You Mandalorians do believe it all belongs to you, do you not?" He pitched his offer, making Midnight scratch his chin with idle curiosity at the prospect. It was indeed their sacred duty to reclaim the Beskar, and upon further consideration the deal was quite heavily weighed in his favor... but then came to mind just what exactly he could want in return for such a deal?
"Hm... And what would you be getting out of this deal? I'd imagine this is a two-way street, right?"
"A Formal recognition of our Alliance, and for Ruby here to attend my Academy both to seal the deal and as a show of good faith. Aside from this, I'd like you and your kin to assist our police force and local hunters in identifying and quelling threats to our way of living, make our lands safer, and assist in student missions where they'll be shadowing a pro. Finally, a military pact. Should either us or yourself come under attack from a threat either foreign or domestic, the other would lend their support... I think such is a rather good deal, considering what you'll be getting out of it." The Mand'alor was silent for a moment, drawing a curious expression from his daughter as he weighed his options. After about a minute, the man nodded, before speaking back to his daughter.
"Ruby, return to New Mandalore and begin gathering what you'll need for the schoolyear... As for you, Ozpin, before we do anything, we're going to establish some terms and conditions. Either these will be met or negotiated, or the deal is off." Ozpin smiled at the declaration, before tapping his cane against the ground and taking a step back so the man wouldn't be directly in his face.
"Of course, my office should be a fine place to discuss the details, if you'd be willing to follow me." He spoke plainly, before leading the way out of the room, his Vice Headmistress following just after him and before Midnight, who waited for them to both be out to hug his daughter again.
"I saw the combat footage, and I'm proud of you... but after i get back, we're training in swordplay again before we get ice cream. Sound good?" Ruby nodded enthusiastically in response, allowing Midnight to break off and give her a solid pat on the shoulder as he began leaving the room, allowing his daughter a little privacy since she had to change out of that ugly orange jumpsuit they'd stuck her in to get back in her armor...