Chapter 1: Discovery
Chapter Rating: K (All Ages)
Rating Reason: Nothing of Note
'So – just so I'm sure I'm getting this right – Aura doesn't exist where you come from?'
Correct, until today I'd never heard of it before. What you're describing is the stuff of fantasy for us. We have technology that can replicate it – personal energy shields, armoured RemLok flight suits, that sort of thing – but a naturally occurring forcefield breaks every law of physics I know of, and probably a few more I don't.
'Fascinating,' murmured Ozpin, before relaying to the rest of the staff at the impromptu meeting what Thomas had said. Glynda's eyebrows, already at her fringe, disappeared from view entirely. Bart was grinning like a madman, and after a moment he posed a question of his own.
'Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, pleasure to meet you, so what you're saying is that your kind of Humans found a way to battle the creatures of Grimm without the use of things like Aura and therefore Semblances?'
Does that man always speak that fast?
'Yes,' murmured Ozpin.
Hm. Okay. To answer his question, what are these… grim creatures?
'Ah…' said Ozpin, suddenly realising something. 'Creatures of Grimm? Large, black, creatures formed from darkness whose sole purpose is to end mankind?'
Nope. Good way to describe pirates though, if a little harsh.
Ozpin was left speechless. Judging from the silence from everyone else, they had realised why and were similarly struck dumb.
'A world…' whispered Oobleck hoarsely, nearly dropping his coffee, 'without Grimm? Such a thing is… inconceivable to us.'
Really? He sounded genuinely surprised. Your creatures of Grimm again break multiple laws of physics according to our science. You cannot, after all, create something from nothing. The laws on the conservation of mass and energy do not allow it. It sounds like Magic to me.
Ozpin sensed they were headed for dangerous territory, and managed to steer the conversation away by dint of glancing at the clock and acting horrified.
'Oum, is that the time? We should really be preparing lessons for the day, but I'm sure Sir Thomas Reed will still be available later to answer any more questions you might have.'
'One more!' barked Oobleck, seemingly back to his normal self. 'You say you were pulled from your body and into our Headmaster's during your crash. Is there any way you could get back?'
I can feel a faint, tenuous connection between where I am now and where I presume my body to be. It feels like I could if it were stronger and more stable, but right now it would be like transferring a file across a slow, faulty connection. There is a significant chance I could come out… corrupted, if I came out at all. It is simply not something I am willing to risk.
'Then it seems obvious that there is nothing for it! This Grimmsmas, you and Ozpin must go and find your body and the crash site, if not sooner! We could learn many things from your technology!'
I am sorry, sighed Thomas, but I cannot allow that. You are a technologically inferior people. We have rules and laws for this sort of thing, even though it's never happened before. As an independent Commander, I am allowed to assist you in any way I deem fit except in the matter of material or immaterial gain from Pilots' Federation ships or equipment. Basically, I could help you in a war by fighting in that war. I could not help you by giving you weaponry, or the blueprints for weaponry. Even if I could, though, I highly doubt you'd be able to forge the materials required at sufficient purity. It's simply not feasible.
'We could still learn much! I am sure you have much of your civilisation's culture in your ship's… storage?'
Yes, I have much of my civilisation's culture stored in the ship's databanks. I highly doubt they'd be able to interface with your tech, but I do have a cinema / auditorium on board left over from the last retrofitting job. We could use that, if it's still intact and functional. It wasn't a gentle landing; I wouldn't be at all surprised if the shields failed.
'Then that's that. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You two must leave as soon as possible!' With that, Doctor Oobleck swept from the room, following his colleagues down the hall towards their classrooms.
'Well,' mused Ozpin, 'I think that went rather well, all outcomes considered.'
You weren't the one who got interrogated for an hour straight, responded Thomas dryly.
[LB]
By mid-afternoon, Ozpin had decided that Bart had a point, and had begun to make preparations to depart on a ship hunt. As he stuffed a few changes of clothes into a bag and hunted for his jacket, he was vaguely aware of some corner of his mind being used for something… else. He didn't bother to pry, vaguely sure for some unknown reason that the person in his head would tell him when he needed to know.
A knock on the door startled him from his gathering, and he called out for them to enter. Bart pushed the door open, poking his head inside just enough to see the state of Ozpin's normally pristine room. He raised an eyebrow as if in question, and Ozpin chuckled.
'You have a point, old friend. We have decided to go on a ship hunt. I must admit to no small amount of curiosity as to exactly what it looks like. While I'm sure Thomas could tell me himself, nothing quite beats seeing it with your own eyes.'
'I was actually thinking I should come with you, Ozpin. I think it might be beneficial if –'
'No, Bart,' Ozpin cut across wearily. 'I considered it, I really did, but I simply do not think that I can deprive the school of not one but two teachers so soon after the start of the school year. I don't wish to wait until Grimmsmas because I do not think the Grimm will leave that ship alone for long, so I am having to leave during term time. You are a vital teacher and part of this Academy. I can be missed for a few weeks, you cannot. I should be back before the Vytal Festival, hopefully with this… Corvette… in tow.'
Bart didn't look pleased at that, but he didn't protest, simply nodding. 'When do you leave?'
'Today, if we can,' said Ozpin simply. 'I wish to leave as little time as possible for the grass to grow, so to speak. I'm pretty much ready to go, I'm just waiting –'
I have it! Thomas sounded very excited. I know where my ship is!
'Never mind,' said Ozpin, amused. 'I'm not waiting. I leave now.'
Bart nodded, and smiled. 'I will see you in a few weeks then, Oz. Safe travels as always.'
Ozpin nodded, and as he stepped out of his room, jacket on, wearing his hat and rucksack, with Long Memory in his hand, he got the feeling something massive was about to change.
'Well then, my friend, let's go on a treasure hunt.'
[LB]
Ozpin had almost forgotten what it was like to actually be on field duty; he'd graduated straight into a junior teaching position at Beacon after his reincarnation, and had done that with every reincarnation of his for the last two hundred years. It was… refreshing. Seeing the differences in methodology and equipment between his last outing and his current one was inspiring, and that coupled with the attitude of people he ran across reignited his love for Humanity and his determination to see them succeed in a way nothing quite had in centuries.
Ozpin wasn't stupid. He knew his power and influence were waning as Salem's grew, their power dynamic preparing to undergo the same cyclic reversal it did every few thousand years. He knew that if Salem gained any semblance of power she would do her absolute best to undo all Humanity's achievements to date, in her desperate pursuit of death. He knew that he stood no chance against her, for she had been consolidating her power base while he had been resting on his laurels. As he now realised, though, while he might stand no chance against Salem, Humanity as a whole might well be able to defeat her and contain her. For the first time ever in their power struggles, they had the technology for long term storage and containment even of magic.
The Grimm might be a problem, but if he could only persuade Tom to lend his assistance then she could be stored in orbit or similar where the Grimm could not reach, could not threaten. The dying sparks and embers of the fight, still smouldering in his bones, now flared back to blazing life. He gritted his teeth. Salem would not win this fight. He could not and would not allow it.
He shivered a little, tightening his travelling cloak about his person as the rain seemed to increase in intensity even further. Even the Grimm weren't daft enough to be on the roam in such low visibility, taking shelter in caves and under overhangs. They hadn't seen one all day.
Penny for your thoughts? asked Tom quietly.
Ozpin grinned a grin full of teeth. 'You could say I've had something of an epiphany…'
Glad to know it takes pissing rain and zero visibility to make you have an epiphany, my friend responded Tom wryly.
'Friend?' asked Ozpin, a little surprised.
Sharing a mind with someone would tend to either endear you to them or make you absolutely despise them, returned Tom, and Ozpin could feel that he would be grinning if he could. Thankfully for you it's the former. And you did call me friend once, before we left on this little jaunt.
'True, and that feels like weeks ago,' grumbled Ozpin, wiping the rain from his glasses for the umpteenth time.
It was weeks ago, responded Tom.
'…Oh.'
Tom's distant laughter chased him all the way to the bottom of the valley.
[LB]
The rain was dying down by the time Ozpin found shelter that evening. The ground here was dry, the trees shorter and a little stunted. He could only presume, given how bad the visibility was, that this was the result of some rock outcropping he couldn't yet see, towering overhead. The lack of natural light would certainly seem to back up that claim. He foraged for firewood, still dry due to their cover, while Tom set about the usual evening task of attempting to track down his body using the link.
Tom found that little string, tethered to his consciousness, that pointed towards his ship and his body. Except it wasn't a string any more. It was a thick cable, and it was pulsing with energy. It also pointed almost straight up. Tom's breath caught in his throat. Instinctively he followed the cable, pulling himself along it and away from Ozpin's mind and body. Time after that became a little fuzzy. After what felt like forever and yet no time at all, like everything was in limbo, having simultaneously seen the end of the universe and the Big Bang, he felt like he was coming to the end. The end of what, he could not say. Just.. the end. He pulled himself to the end of the cable and then, acting purely on instinct, launched himself into space.
Up on the ship, his eyes snapped open. He sat bolt upright. And Commander Cyrus Quillon, formerly Sir Thomas Reed, took a long, deep breath.
Aaaaand that's a wrap! Trying out something new, a little plot bunny.
Reviews are welcome!