A few days after the "dock incident" and Caelum informing his fellow teammates of the increased security threats along with their successful transaction, further unfortunate news would arrive as they lounged around the school's courtyard at midday. This time Lukas had received information from the syndicate.
"Someone under the syndicate's watch just got iced. He was an informant, a former terrorist who came to us for protection and a new life."
"What was his name?" asked Niel.
"Does that matter to us?" asked Caelum.
"Somewhat. His name was Tuckson. Owned a bookstore that the syndicate leased to him."
"Should you be disclosing this information so easily? He was under a new identity you provided" reasoned Raiden.
"Not like it's gonna do a lot of good for a dead man to keep secrets" scoffed Lukas. "It means the syndicate's power isn't being respected and someone's willing to cross us."
"Where does this concern us?" demanded Caelum.
Lukas sighed. "Always impatient" The hypocrisy of his statement was lost on him. "This next bit is private info from my father. Roman messaged him personally not too long after the hit. Said he had no part but did have an idea who. That while they were working together he has not and will not cross the syndicate. It was their men who did it."
"But he didn't reveal who?" asked Raiden.
Lukas nodded with a frown. Caelum brought a hand to his chin in thought. "That means they're willing to cross us as well. Was there any evidence at the scene?"
"Lukas pulled out his scroll and thumbed through a series of pictures. The bookshop with blacked-out windows, caution tape, paid off cops watching the door as syndicate members surveyed the scene. The final picture was the corpse with a report, forcing Raiden to look away immediately and Niel to somberly close his eyes and turn.
Lukas read off the report. "No CCTV in area, low customer traffic as it was just after eight in the morning. Blinds were shut and the opening sign read closed. They believe the assailants came in and did so before the hit."
"He just let them?" asked Niel.
Lukas shrugged. "Who knows? Moving on, The victim had no aura or formal training and so was an easy target. Killer was swift. A single shotgun shell to the face at less than a meter believe it or not. No shell was at the scene meaning the weapon retained it or the killer picked it up. Killer also stepped on the corpse's head afterward, showing indifference if not clear acquaintance with such work."
"And since they posed as a customer and the shop was open to the public, there's no clear sign of fingerprints or suspect aside from a shoe print that half of Vale could fit into" finished Caelum.
Lukas raised a finger and nodded. "Roman seemed furious about the issue as well. Seems his success hasn't gone to his head. Doesn't want to burn more bridges than needed."
Concerning news all around. The boys felt another hit of mental fatigue at more possible difficulties in the near future. For now, however, they had another class to attend. The four got up and shook off the drowsiness of the lukewarm weather and the tingling rays of the sun as they stretched their limbs and headed toward their next lecture.
On their way, they began seeing more unfamiliar faces and uniforms. Students from all over Remnant had begun flying in to be housed by Beacon in temporary exchange and education programs to promote the Vytal festival. There wasn't too much interaction between the schools despite the headmaster's insistence as cultural differences and the strictness each school upheld laid out clear borders between the students.
Vacuan students were lax and often avoided supplementary lessons held by voluntary teachers to accommodate the foreign arrivals. Atlesian students were strict, and polite, usually keeping to themselves and the code of ethics instilled by their school. Mistralian students were perhaps of the same strictness as Beacon yet the cultural difference led to little intermingling.
Caelum was sure to keep his team focused and tight-lipped. "Relationships with others that you'll never see again are a waste of time. That time you're wasting is more vital now than ever as we have objectives unlike most of our contemporaries."
Though it was his goal, they were all in it together as Caelum and Lukas had reiterated before. His teammates knew less interaction meant fewer slips, especially for Raiden and Niel who were weak with social mingling.
With all this in mind, the boys kept quiet as they passed other teams. Down the hall from their class, another team of four from Mistral approached from the other end. Caelum and Raiden walked behind Niel and Lukas as the four kept to the right side. As they kept their eyes straight caelum glanced over the four.
Matching Mistralian black uniforms. Four people, three girls, and one boy. A tall raven-haired girl stood front and center with a tan, green-haired girl to her right and a gray-haired boy to her left. Behind the three of them, a smaller girl with black hair hid her face.
They didn't paint an unusual picture other than the sense of hierarchy from their looks. Then Niel suddenly stopped in place, bringing his team to a stop with him.
"What? Fallen for another girl?" chided Lukas. The taunt fell flat as he saw his partner's expression. Concern and a furrowed brow followed. The aegean blue in Niels's eyes landed on the raven-haired girl momentarily before drifting away with a look of worry. It was as if his body was recoiling at the sight of her.
The four Mistral students walked past casually with the gray-haired boy intentionally bumping his shoulder into Raiden as he passed. Before he could make a snide comment, Caelum returned the favor in kind, nearly toppling the boy into the small black-haired girl behind him. With a huff, the short girl's bright jade-green eyes, glared for a moment as she shoved the boy off. Being thrown back, the boy took an aggravated stance against Caelum.
"Mercury" came a saccharine voice. Caelum and the gray-haired boy turned to the source. The raven-haired girl had a playful smile on her lips as she stared down at her teammate. "That is enough, let's move on."
A glare and sneer were thrown at Caelum as the boy named Mercury did as she instructed. Caelum glanced at his team, seeing Lukas tending to Niel who had his back adamantly turned to the girl and her group. Raiden watched, surprised the altercation began over such a simple thing.
The girl's Amber eyes followed her pouting teammate as he walked down the hall with the short girl accompanying him. Once they were out of eyesight, she turned to Caelum and flicked a lock of her hair over her shoulder. "Apologies. He tends to play rough for better or worse."
"You've disciplined him well" noted Caelum.
The tan girl with emerald hair snorted at the remark as the raven-haired girl smiled happily, taking it as a compliment. 'I suppose I have~"
Her voice put Caelum on edge, a clear false sweetness behind it, a confidence as if everything was in her control. He immediately deemed that she was a problematic woman.
She began to play with a lock of her hair as she spoke, looking over him with her intense amber eyes. "My name is Cinder. May I know yours?"
With clear suspicion in his eyes, Caelum made a brief introduction. "Caelum. Excuse us but we must get to class. All transgressions are forgiven." Without waiting for her response he turned and ushered his team along.
A glance back showed Cinder and her teammate leaving as well. However, she glanced back at the same time and gave a cunning smile as she sashayed down the hall, exaggerated swings of her hips demanding the eyes.
Caelum's eyes, in particular, narrowed as she gave a lingering smile before turning away as he faced his team. Niel soon spoke in a hush. "That woman, she brings bad omens. There is darkness behind her eyes." The three teammates shared concerning looks. Whenever Niel spoke cryptic, it was an unusually sharp gut instinct of his that had never been wrong. However, this instinct of his only came about during dangerous missions.
The boys entered their classroom with one final addendum on the bizarre interactions topic from Lukas. "Whatever she is, lass sure has a fine ass."
The day then dragged on with classes as usual and dinner, training with team CFVY had become sparse as they were taking on requests for the academy as huntsman initiates of higher grades would. The boys would usually train in private yet with Niel's reaction to those transfers and the fact that the training hall was busier each day, they decided to take the day off and be on standby for any jobs from Lukas' father.
Arriving at their room they were greeted with an astounding sight outside their window. Out off the cliffs of Beacon and heading towards Vale, was the Atlesian fleet. Making a grand entrance the capital ships slowly sailed over the city as the smaller screening ships maneuvered around the city's perimeter. The boy's window was situated to witness the event in its entirety.
Niel and Raiden scrambled to the window to look out as Lukas nonchalantly followed with disinterest and Caelum watched from the back of the room.
"The Atlesian fleet!" announced Raiden, declaring the obvious in his excitement.
"I have never seen such massive ships of war in my life, and so many" commented Niel.
"Now that's not polite, I'm sure Caelum's was bigger" laughed Lukas.
"You know what I mean!" chided Niel, not taking his eyes off the glistening white ships. "These are functioning, even my tribe has heard of Atlas's 'porcelain' navy!"
"They must have brought the entire fleet," Raiden said in wonder.
"Any thoughts on that leader?" asked Lukas.
"Half," responded Caelum sitting on his bed. They brought half the fleet. Atlas has a rule not to send more than half abroad while the rest defend the nation in routine patrols."
Seeing their two teammates take in the information while still staring out the window, Lukas turned to Caelum. "Funny how you know that off the top of your head isn't it?"
"Caelum shrugged with a sharp glare. "It's common knowledge if you know where to search. Perhaps you should read more instead of playing detective."
"Lukas threw his hands up with a smirk. "Read ya loud and clear."
A knock came at their door. Lukas and Caelum exchanged glances before Caelum, stood and answered it. The door swung open as his grip tightened on the doorknob and Lukas froze as they saw who it was.
With distaste in his voice, Caelum's expression stiffened at the man in white before him. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Sir."
"Hyalus" came the deep voice. Raiden and Niel turned to see who it was. The former gasped in surprise and the latter seemed confused at who the strange man in white was.
"General Ironwood?!" Raiden squawked. Niel seemed to recognize the name as he froze up along with Raiden and Lukas.
The general looked about the room and the other three boys with a smile. Looking back at Caelum it dissipated into a professional indifference. "I've come to see how you are fairing. Ozpin's reports have been… sparse."
"Perhaps there is nothing to report Sir," answered Caelum curtly.
The man nodded as he tried to take a step forward. Caelum promptly leaned in and blocked his path. "We wouldn't want you to be seen here, entering and exiting the room of four young men. What would people think?"
Ironwood's eyes narrowed. "Cute. It seems your manner of speaking and lack thereof proper manners has not changed over these months."
"Calling me cute isn't helping your case either" snipped Caelum.
Ironwood sighed, clearly tired of the theatrics. "You would do well to keep your tongue holstered. Your environment has changed but your allegiance and situation has not." The general's tone seemed to emphasize certain words, the meaning behind which was lost to Caelum's teammates.
Caelum himself was well aware of his intent however and responded coldly. "I'm well aware of what allegiance is. Unlike a Cloud chaser like you who only follows orders, I can do both."
The general glowered down the bridge of his nose. "Insubordination is-"
Caelum interrupted his remark, their tempers beginning to fray their thin facade. "I am currently partaking as a student within Beacon to enhance my abilities further and become of better service to my nation as a loyal citizen. Isn't that obvious?"
Caelum's head ticked to the side slightly, signaling Ironwood to take into account the other three watching in silence.
Barely maintaining his thin veneer, Ironwood took a breath. "I believe I've seen what I need to. Atlas will be assisting with the Vytal festival this year so I shall remain here for some time. I look forward to your performance, boy."
Without a farewell, Caelum slammed the door sharply before Ironwood had even finished. He had hardly turned on his heel before Niel and Raiden were upon him.
"What was that?"
"You know Ironwood?!"
Lukas ripped them away to interject his question. "The hell does he have to do with you?!"
Caelum slouched slightly, his attitude worse off after the interaction. Moving over to his bed he took a glance at the mirror leaving his team to wonder what he was looking at past it. "What do you all think of him?"
Niel was the first to speak of the man, summarising the tales of glory and honor he had heard. "They say he is a man of loyalty and dedication. A hero to Atlas I've been told. His physique and demeanor are worthy of the title general!"
Caelum's heavy-lidded eyes drifted to Raiden who was still cooling off from his excitement. "He is at the top of Atlas and holds two council seats! It wouldn't be too far flung to say he is at the forefront of humanity and its defense!"
The giddy response seemed to sour Caelum's mood further. Turning to Lukas he got a more agreeable answer. Lukas raised his hands before throwing them onto his hips and shaking his head. "I don't want anything to do with him, a straight-laced wolf in sheep's clothing like him sells nothing but trouble for me and my family."
Caelum snickered at the remark, again the gangster heir's hypocrisy lost on himself. He shook his head and somberly looked at his feet. "I guess we're more alike than I thought." As if recalling bitter memories, he growled to himself. "He's nothing but a fucking Cloud chaser."
Lukas perked up at the phrase as Caelum stood. "I'll be taking my leave, I have to take inventory at my munitions hideout." Without another word, he stepped towards his mirror and walked through it as if it were a doorway.
His team watched as the reflective glass rippled like water before going still the moment he was on the other side.
"That was a lie" declared Raiden. "There's not a single round he doesn't have accounted for at all times."
"Ya don't say?" asked Lukas sarcastically.
"What is a Cloud chaser?" asked Niel curiously.
"Nothing good, that's what" answered Lukas. Raiden and Niel gave innocent looks, waiting for further exposition. "You two really are from the sticks huh? Never met an Atlesian or Mantlean before Caelum?"
The answer was obvious as the two exchanged a curious gaze with each other before shaking their heads. Lukas sighed. "Don't know too much myself just what I've heard from my father's acquaintances. It's an old term from after the Great War. Slang that the old fallen nobility from Mantle called the newly emplaced Atlas upper class."
"But Cloud chaser?" asked Niel in confusion.
"Lukas pointed out the window at the passing fleet. "Just like the city of Atlas, they're chasing clouds rather than seeing the reality below."
Realization struck the two at the explanation. With the newfound perspective revealed to them, their prior excitement seemed callous to their leader who had clearly shown resentment.
"Don't worry about his feelings" critisized Lukas. "Worry about why he's using that term and with Ironwood of all people."
"What do you mean?" asked Raiden.
"It's an out-of-date term. Everyone loves Atlas nowadays. It should hardly be used by old birds and radicals in the impoverished areas of Mantle let alone our classmate."
"With that in mind, I don't think we'll be seeing him for the rest of the day" reasoned Niel.
"He'll be back on his feet in no time, not like him to stay down. Too hearty for that." shrugged Lukas raising his feet. "But as annoying as it is, Seems we got an even bigger and worse eye looking down on us. Makes you really think about just who Caelum is and what he's plotting."
True to the prediction, the three were left in wonder as Caelum would not return till late that night.
-Chapter End-